To Toland, ‘the history of the Druids, in short, is the complete history of priestcraft’ (his emphases), and functioned as a warning against the impostures and deceits of clergy in his own time. By understanding the way in which these ancient priests had starved their flocks of knowledge, terrorized them with the threat of excommunication, and appropriated their wealth, he believed, people would be able to reject clerical power and pretension in the present.
