{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_13983/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_13983","id":"gutenberg_13983","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13983","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Classics of Literature","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Epic poetry -- Adaptations"],"text":"THE BOOK OF THE EPIC\n\nThe World's Great Epics Told in Story\n\nby\n\nH. A. GUERBER\n\nAuthor of _Myths of Greece and Rome_, _Myths of Northern Lands_,\n_Legends of the Middle Ages_, etc.\n\nWith an Introduction by J. Berg Esenwein, Litt. D.\n\nWith Sixteen Illustrations from the Masters of Painting\n\n1913\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nEvery now and then in our reading we come suddenly face to face with\n_first_ things,--the very elemental sources beyond which no man may\ngo. There is a distinct satisfaction in dealing with such beginnings,\nand, when they are those of literature, the sense of freshness is\nnothing short of inspiring. To share the same lofty outlook, to\nbreathe the same high air with those who first sensed a whole era of\ncreative thoughts, is the next thing to being the gods' chosen medium\nfor those primal expressions.\n\nAll this is not to say that the epic is the oldest form of literary\nexpression, but it is the expression of the oldest literary ideas,\nfor, even when the epic is not at all primitive in form, it deals\nessentially with elemental moods and ideals. Epical poetry is poetic\nnot because it is metrical and conformative to rhythmical\nstandards,--though it usually is both,--but it is poetry because of\nthe high sweep of its emotional outlook, the bigness of its thought,\nthe untamed passion of its language, and the musical flow of its\nutterance.\n\nHere, then, we have a veritable source book of the oldest ideas of the\nrace; but not only that--we are also led into the penetralia of the\nearliest thought of many separate nations, for when the epic is\nnational, it is true to the earliest genius of the people whose spirit\nit depicts.\n\nTo be sure, much of literature, and particularly the literature of the\nepic, is true rather to the tone of a nation than to its literal\nhistory--by which I mean that Achilles was more really a Greek hero\nthan any Greek who ever lived, because he was the apotheosis of Greek\nchivalry, and as such was the expression of the Greeks rather than\nmerely a Greek. The Iliad and the Odyssey are not merely epics of\nGreece--they are Greek.\n\nThis is an age of story-telling. Never before has the world turned so\nattentively to the shorter forms of fiction. Not only is this true of\nthe printed short-story, of which some thousands, more or less new,\nare issued every year in English, but oral story-telling is taking its\ndeserved place in the school, the home, and among clubs specially\norganized for its cultivation. Teachers and parents must therefore be\nincreasingly alert, not only to invent new stories, but--this even\nchiefly--to familiarize themselves with the oldest stories in the\nworld.\n\nSo it is to such sources as these race-narratives that all\nstory-telling must come for recurrent inspirations. The setting of\neach new story may be tinged with what wild or sophisticated life\nsoever, yet must the narrator find the big, heart-swelling movements\nand passions and thraldoms and conquests and sufferings and elations\nof mankind stored in the great epics of the world.\n\nIt were a life-labor to become familiar with all of these in their\nexpressive originals; even in translation it would be a titanic task\nto read each one. Therefore how great is our indebtedness to the ripe\nscholarship and discreet choice of the author of this \"Book of the\nEpic\" for having brought to us not only the arguments but the very\nspirit and flavor of all this noble array. The task has never before\nbeen essayed, and certainly, now that it has been done for the first\ntime, it is good to know that it has been done surpassingly well.\n\nTo find the original story-expression of a nation's myths, its\nlegends, and its heroic creations is a high joy--a face-to-face\ninterview with any great first-thing is a big experience; but to come\nupon whole scores of undefiled fountains is like multiplying the\nPierian waters.\n\nEven as all the epics herein collected in scenario were epoch-making,\nso will the gathering of these side by side prove to be. Literary\njudgments must be comparative, and now we may place each epic in\ndirect comparison with any other, with a resultant light, both\ndiffused and concentrated, for the benefit of both critics and the\ngeneral reader.\n\nThe delights of conversation--so nearly, alas, a lost art!--consist\nchiefly in the exchange of varied views on single topics. So, when we\nnote how the few primal story-themes and plot developments of all time\nwere handled by those who first told the tales in literate form, the\nsatisfaction is proportionate.\n\nOne final word must be said regarding the interest of epical material.\nHeretofore a knowledge of the epics--save only a few of the better\nknown--has been confined to scholars, or, at most, students; but it\nmay well be hoped that the wide perusal of this book may serve to show\nto the general reader how fascinating a store of fiction may be found\nin epics which have up till now been known to him only by name.\n\nJ. Berg Esenwein\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n    Introduction by J. Berg Esenwein\n\n    Foreword\n\n    Greek Epics\n\n    The Iliad\n\n    The Odyssey\n\n    Latin Epics\n\n    The Aeneid\n\n    French Epics\n\n    The Song of Roland\n\n    Aucassin and Nicolette\n\n    Spanish Epics\n\n    The Cid\n\n    Portuguese Epics\n\n    The Lusiad\n\n    Italian Epics\n\n    Divine Comedy\n\n    The Inferno\n\n    Purgatory\n\n    Paradise\n\n    The Orlandos\n\n    Gerusalemme Liberata, or Jerusalem Delivered\n\n    Epics of the British Isles\n\n    Beowulf\n\n    The Arthurian Cycle\n\n    Robin Hood\n\n    The Faerie Queene\n\n    Paradise Lost\n\n    Paradise Regained\n\n    German Epics\n\n    The Nibelungenlied\n\n    Story of the Holy Grail\n\n    Epics of the Netherlands\n\n    Scandinavian Epics\n\n    The Volsunga Saga\n\n    Russian and Finnish Epics\n\n    The Kalevala, or the Land of Heroes\n\n    Epics of Central Europe and of the Balkan Peninsula\n\n    Hebrew and Early Christian Epics\n\n    Arabian and Persian Epics\n\n    The Shah-Nameh, or Epic of Kings\n\n    Indian Epics\n\n    The Ramayana\n\n    The Mahabharata\n\n    Chinese and Japanese Poetry\n\n    American Epics\n\n    Index\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n  Odin Bids Farewell to Brunhild before He Surrounds Her by a\n    Barrier of Fire (Frontispiece)\n         From the painting by Th. Pixis\n\n  Oedipus Solving the Sphinx's Riddle\n         From the painting by Ingres\n\n  Achilles Disguised as a Girl Testing the Sword in Ulysses' Pack\n         From the painting by Battoni\n\n  Circe and Ulysses' Companions Turned into Swine\n         By L. Chalon\n\n  Venus Meeting Aeneas and Achates Near Carthage\n         From the painting by Cortona\n\n  Roland at Roncevaux\n         From the painting by L.F. Guesnet\n\n  The Palace Where Inez de Castro Lived and was Murdered\n\n  Dante Interviewing Hugues Capet\n         From an illustration by R. Galli\n\n  Hermione Finds Tancred Wounded\n         From the painting by Nicolas Poussin\n\n  The Body of Elaine on its Way to King Arthur's Palace\n         By Gustave Dora\n\n  Una and the Red Cross Knight\n         From the painting by George Frederick Watts\n\n  The Heralds Summon Lucifer's Host to a Council at Pandemonium\n         By Gustave Dore\n\n  The Dead Sigfried Rome Back to Worms\n         From the painting by Th. Pixis\n\n  St. John the Evangelist at Patmos Writing the Apocalypse\n         From the painting by Correggio\n\n  Sita Soothing Rama to Sleep\n         From a Calcutta print\n\n  The Monk Breaks into the Robbers' House to Rescue White Aster\n         From a Japanese print\n\n\n\n\n\n    \"It is in this vast, dim region of myth and legend the\n    sources of the literature of modern times are hidden; and it\n    is only by returning to them, by constant remembrance that\n    they drain a vast region of vital human experience, that the\n    origin and early direction of that literature can be\n    recalled.\"--Hamilton Wright Mabie.\n\n\n\n\nFOREWORD\n\n\nDerived from the Greek _epos_, a saying or oracle, the term \"epic\" is\ngenerally given to some form of heroic narrative wherein tragedy,\ncomedy, lyric, dirge, and idyl are skilfully blended to form an\nimmortal work.\n\n\"Mythology, which was the interpretation of nature, and legend, which\nis the idealization of history,\" are the main elements of the epic.\nBeing the \"living history of the people,\" an epic should have \"the\nbreadth and volume of a river.\" All epics have therefore generally\nbeen \"the first-fruits of the earliest experience of nature and life\non the part of imaginative races\"; and the real poet has been, as a\nrule, the race itself.\n\nThere are almost as many definitions of an epic and rules for its\ncomposition as there are nations and poets. For that reason, instead\nof selecting only such works as in the writer's opinion can justly\nclaim the title of epic, each nation's verdict has been accepted,\nwithout question, in regard to its national work of this class, be it\nin verse or prose.\n\nThe following pages therefore contain almost every variety of epic,\nfrom that which treats of the deity in dignified hexameters, strictly\nconforms to the rule \"one hero, one time, and one action of many\nparts,\" and has \"the massiveness and dignity of sculpture,\" to the\nsimplest idylls, such as the Japanese \"White Aster,\" or that exquisite\nFrench mediaeval compound of poetry and prose, \"Aucassin et Nicolette.\"\nNot only are both Christian and pagan epics impartially admitted in\nthis volume, but the representative works of each nation in the epic\nfield are grouped, according to the languages in which they were\ncomposed.\n\nMany of the ancient epics are so voluminous that even one of them\nprinted in full would fill twenty-four volumes as large as this. To\ngive even the barest outline of one or two poems in each language has\ntherefore required the utmost condensation. So, only the barest\noutline figures in these pages, and, although the temptation to quote\nmany choice passages has been well-nigh irresistible, space has\nprecluded all save the scantiest quotations.\n\nThe main object of this volume consists in outlining clearly and\nbriefly, for the use of young students or of the busy general reader,\nthe principal examples of the time-honored stories which have inspired\nour greatest poets and supplied endless material to painters,\nsculptors, and musicians ever since art began.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOOK OF THE EPIC\n\n\n\n\nGREEK EPICS\n\n\nThe greatest of all the world's epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, are\nattributed to Homer, or Melesigenes, who is said to have lived some\ntime between 1050 and 850 B.C. Ever since the second century before\nChrist, however, the question whether Homer is the originator of the\npoems, or whether, like the Rhapsodists, he merely recited extant\nverses, has been hotly disputed.\n\nThe events upon which the Iliad is based took place some time before\n1100 B.C., and we are told the poems of Homer were collected and\ncommitted to writing by Pisistratus during the age of Epic Poetry, or\nsecond age of Greek literature, which ends 600 B.C.\n\nIt stands to reason that the Iliad must have been inspired by or at\nleast based upon previous poems, since such perfection is not achieved\nat a single bound. Besides, we are aware of the existence of many\nshorter Greek epics, which have either been entirely lost or of which\nwe now possess only fragments.\n\nA number of these ancient epics form what is termed the Trojan Cycle,\nbecause all relate in some way to the War of Troy. Among them is the\nCypria, in eleven books, by Stasimus of Cyprus (or by Arctinus of\nMiletus), wherein is related Jupiter's frustrated wooing of Thetis,\nher marriage with Peleus, the episode of the golden apple, the\njudgment of Paris, the kidnapping of Helen, the mustering of the Greek\nforces, and the main events of the first nine years of the Trojan War.\nThe Iliad (of which a synopsis is given) follows this epic, taking up\nthe story where the wrath of Achilles is aroused and ending it with\nthe funeral of Hector.\n\nThis, however, does not conclude the story of the Trojan War, which is\nresumed in the \"Aethiopia,\" in five books, by Arctinus of Miletus.\nAfter describing the arrival of Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons, to\naid the Trojans, the poet relates her death at the hand of Achilles,\nwho, in his turn, is slain by Apollo and Paris. This epic concludes\nwith the famous dispute between Ajax and Ulysses for the possession of\nAchilles' armor.\n\nThe Little Iliad, whose authorship is ascribed to sundry poets,\nincluding Homer, next describes the madness and death of Ajax, the\narrival of Philoctetes with the arrows of Hercules, the death of\nParis, the purloining of the Palladium, the stratagem of the wooden\nhorse, and the death of Priam.\n\nIn the Ilion Persis, or Sack of Troy, by Arctinus, in two books, we\nfind the Trojans hesitating whether to convey the wooden steed into\ntheir city, and discover the immortal tales of the traitor Sinon and\nthat of Laocoon. We then behold the taking and sacking of the city,\nwith the massacre of the men and the carrying off into captivity of\nthe women.\n\nIn the Nostroi, or Homeward Voyage, by Agias of Troezene, the Atridae\ndiffer in opinion; so, while Agamemnon delays his departure to offer\npropitiatory sacrifices, Menelaus sets sail for Egypt, where he is\ndetained. This poem also contains the narrative of Agamemnon's return,\nof his assassination, and of the way in which his death was avenged by\nhis son Orestes.\n\nNext in sequence of events comes the Odyssey of Homer (of which a\ncomplete synopsis follows), and then the Telegonia of Eugammon of\nCyrene, in two books. This describes how, after the burial of the\nsuitors, Ulysses renews his adventures, and visits Thesprotia, where\nhe marries and leaves a son. We also have his death, a battle between\ntwo of his sons, and the marriage of Telemachus and Circe, as well as\nthat of the widowed Penelope to Telegonus, one of Ulysses'\ndescendants.\n\nAnother sequel, or addition to the Odyssey, is found in the\nTelemachia, also a Greek poem, as well as in a far more modern work,\nthe French classic, T\u00e9l\u00e9maque, written by F\u00e9nelon for his pupil the\nDauphin, in the age of Louis XIV.\n\nAnother great series of Greek poems is the Theban Cycle, which\ncomprises the Thebais, by some unknown author, wherein is related in\nfull the story of Oedipus, that of the Seven Kings before Th\u00e8bes, and\nthe doings of the Epigoni.\n\nThere exist also cyclic poems in regard to the labors of Heracles,\namong others one called Oechalia, which has proved a priceless mine\nfor poets, dramatists, painters, and sculptors.[1]\n\nIn the Alexandra by Lycophron (270 B.C.), and in a similar poem by\nQuintus Smyrnaeus, in fourteen books, we find tedious sequels to the\nIliad, wherein Alexander is represented as a descendant of Achilles.\nIndeed, the life and death of Alexander the Great are also the source\nof innumerable epics, as well as of romances in Greek, Latin, French,\nGerman, and English. The majority of these are based upon the epic of\nCallisthenes, 110 A.D., wherein an attempt was made to prove that\nAlexander descended directly from the Egyptian god Jupiter Ammon or,\nat least, from his priest Nectanebus.\n\nBesides being told in innumerable Greek versions, the tale of Troy has\nfrequently been repeated in Latin, and it enjoyed immense popularity\nall throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. It was, however, most\nbeloved in France, where Benoit de St. Maur's interminable \"Roman de\nTroie,\" as well as his \"Roman d'Alexandre,\" greatly delighted the\nlords and ladies of his time.\n\nBesides the works based on the story of Troy or on the adventures of\nAlexander, we have in Greek the Theogony of Hesiod in some 1022 lines,\na miniature Greek mythology, giving the story of the origin and the\ndoings of the Greek gods, as well as the Greek theory in regard to the\ncreation of the world.\n\nAmong later Greek works we must also note the Shield of Heracles and\nthe Eoiae or Catalogue of the Boetian heroines who gave birth to\ndemi-gods or heroes.\n\nIn 194 B.C. Apollonius Rhodius at Alexandria wrote the Argonautica, in\nfour books, wherein he relates the adventures of Jason in quest of the\ngolden fleece. This epic was received so coldly that the poet, in\ndisgust, withdrew to Rhodes, where, having remodelled his work, he\nobtained immense applause.\n\nThe principal burlesque epic in Greek, the Bactrachomyomachia, or\nBattle of Frogs and Mice, is attributed to Homer, but only some 300\nlines of this work remain, showing what it may have been.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 1: A detailed account of Oedipus, Heracles, the Argonauts,\nand the \"War of Troy\" is given in the author's \"Myths of Greece and\nRome.\"]\n\n\n\n\nTHE ILIAD\n\n\n_Introduction._ Jupiter, king of the gods, refrained from an alliance\nwith Thetis, a sea divinity, because he was told her son would be\ngreater than his father. To console her, however, he decreed that all\nthe gods should attend her nuptials with Peleus, King of Thessaly. At\nthis wedding banquet the Goddess of Discord produced a golden apple,\ninscribed \"To the fairest,\" which Juno, Minerva, and Venus claimed.\n\nBecause the gods refused to act as umpires in this quarrel, Paris, son\nof the King of Troy, was chosen. As an oracle had predicted before his\nbirth that he would cause the ruin of his city, Paris was abandoned on\na mountain to perish, but was rescued by kindly shepherds.\n\nOn hearing Juno offer him worldly power, Minerva boundless wisdom, and\nVenus the most beautiful wife in the world, Paris bestowed the prize\nof beauty upon Venus. She, therefore, bade him return to Troy, where\nhis family was ready to welcome him, and sail thence to Greece to\nkidnap Helen, daughter of Jupiter and Leda and wife of Menelaus, King\nof Sparta. So potent were this lady's charms that her step-father had\nmade all her suitors swear never to carry her away from her husband,\nand to aid in her recovery should she ever be kidnapped.\n\nShortly after his arrival at Sparta and during a brief absence of\nits king, Paris induced Helen to elope with him. On his return the\noutraged husband summoned the suitors to redeem their pledge, and\ncollected a huge force at Aulis, where Agamemnon his brother became\nleader of the expedition. Such was the popularity of this war that\neven heroes who had taken no oath were anxious to make part of the\npunitive expedition, the most famous of these warriors being Achilles,\nson of Thetis and Peleus.\n\nAfter many adventures the Greeks, landing on the shores of Asia, began\nbesieging the city, from whose ramparts Helen watched her husband and\nhis allies measure their strength against the Trojans. Such was the\nbravery displayed on both sides that the war raged nine years without\nany decisive advantage being obtained. At the end of this period,\nduring a raid, the Greeks secured two female captives, which were\nawarded to Agamemnon and to Achilles in recognition of past services.\n\nAlthough the above events are treated in sundry other Greek poems and\nepics,--which no longer exist entire, but form part of a cycle,--\"The\nIliad,\" accredited to Homer, takes up the story at this point, and\nrelates the wrath of Achilles, together with the happenings of some\nfifty days in the ninth year.\n\n_Book I._ After invoking the Muse to aid him sing the wrath of\nAchilles, the poet relates how Apollo's priest came in person to the\nGreek camp to ransom his captive daughter, only to be treated with\ncontumely by Agamemnon. In his indignation this priest besought Apollo\nto send down a plague to decimate the foe's forces, and the Greeks\nsoon learned from their oracles that its ravages would not cease until\nthe maiden was restored to her father.\n\n  Nor will the god's awaken'd fury cease,\n  But plagues shall spread, and funeral fires increase,\n  Till the great king, without a ransom paid,\n  To her own Chrysa send the black-eyed maid.[2]\n\nIn a formal council Agamemnon is therefore asked to relinquish his\ncaptive, but violently declares that he will do so only in case he\nreceives Achilles' slave. This insolent claim so infuriates the young\nhero that he is about to draw his sword, when Minerva, unseen by the\nrest, bids him hold his hand, and state that should Agamemnon's threat\nbe carried out he will withdraw from the war.\n\nAlthough the aged Nestor employs all his honeyed eloquence to soothe\nthis quarrel, both chiefs angrily withdraw, Agamemnon to send his\ncaptive back to her father, and Achilles to sulk in his tent.\n\nIt is while he is thus engaged that Agamemnon's heralds appear and\nlead away his captive. Mindful of Minerva's injunctions, Achilles\nallows her to depart, but registers a solemn oath that, even were the\nGreeks to perish, he will lend them no aid. Then, strolling down to\nthe shore, he summons his mother from the watery deep, and implores\nher to use her influence to avenge his wrongs. Knowing his life will\nprove short though glorious, Thetis promises to visit Jupiter on\nOlympus in his behalf. There she wins from the Father of the Gods a\npromise that the Greeks will suffer defeat as long as her son does not\nfight in their ranks,--a promise confirmed by his divine nod. This,\nhowever, arouses the wrath and jealousy of Juno, whom Jupiter is\ncompelled to chide so severely that peace and harmony are restored in\nOlympus only when Vulcan, acting as cup-bearer, rouses the\ninextinguishable laughter of the gods by his awkward limp.\n\n_Book II._ That night, while all are sleeping, Zeus sends a deceptive\ndream to Agamemnon to suggest the moment has come to attack Troy. At\ndawn, therefore, Agamemnon calls an assembly, and the chiefs decide to\ntest the mettle of the Greeks by ordering a return home, and, in the\nmidst of these preparations, summoning the men to fight.\n\nThese signs of imminent departure incense Juno and Minerva, who, ever\nsince the golden apple was bestowed upon Venus, are sworn foes of\nParis and Troy. In disguise, therefore, Minerva urges Ulysses,\nwiliest of the Greeks, to silence the clown Thersites, and admonish\nhis companions that if they return home empty-handed they will be\ndisgraced. Only too pleased, Ulysses reminds his countrymen how, just\nbefore they left home, a serpent crawled from beneath the altar and\ndevoured eight young sparrows and the mother who tried to defend them,\nadding that this was an omen that for nine years they would vainly\nbesiege Troy but would triumph in the tenth.\n\nHis eloquent reminder, reinforced by patriotic speeches from Nestor\nand Agamemnon, determines the Greeks to attempt a final attack upon\nTroy. So, with the speed and destructive fury of a furious fire, the\nGreek army, whose forces and leaders are all named, sweeps on toward\nTroy, where Iris has flown to warn the Trojans of their approach.\n\n  As on some mountain, through the lofty grove\n  The crackling flames ascend and blaze above;\n  The fires expanding, as the winds arise,\n  Shoot their long beams and kindle half the skies:\n  So from the polish'd arms and brazen shields\n  A gleamy splendor flash'd along the fields.\n\nIt is in the form of one of Priam's sons that this divinity enters the\npalace, where, as soon as Hector hears the news, he musters his\nwarriors, most conspicuous among whom are his brother Paris, and\nAeneas, son of Venus and Anchises.\n\n_Book III._ Both armies now advance toward each other, the Trojans\nuttering shrill cries like migratory cranes, while the Greeks maintain\nan impressive silence. When near enough to recognize his wife's\nseducer, Menelaus rushes forward to attack Paris, who, terrified,\ntakes refuge in the ranks of the Trojan host. So cowardly a retreat,\nhowever, causes Hector to express the bitter wish that his brother had\ndied before bringing disgrace upon Troy. Although conscious of\ndeserving reproof, Paris, after reminding his brother all men are not\nconstituted alike, offers to redeem his honor by fighting Menelaus,\nprovided Helen and her treasures are awarded to the victor. This\nproposal proves so welcome, that Hector checks the advance of his men\nand proposes this duel to the Greeks, who accept his terms, provided\nPriam will swear in person to the treaty.\n\nMeanwhile Iris, in guise of a princess, has entered the Trojan palace\nand bidden Helen hasten to the ramparts to see the two armies--instead\nof fighting--offering sacrifices as a preliminary to the duel, of\nwhich she is to be the prize. Donning a veil and summoning her\nattendants, Helen seeks the place whence Priam and his ancient\ncounsellors gaze down upon the plain. On beholding her, even these\naged men admit the two nations are excusable for so savagely disputing\nher possession, while Priam, with fatherly tact, ascribes the war to\nthe gods alone.\n\n  These, when the Spartan queen approach'd the tower,\n  In secret own'd resistless beauty's power:\n  They cried, \"No wonder such celestial charms\n  For nine long years have set the world in arms;\n  What winning grace! what majestic mien!\n  She moves a goddess and she looks a queen!\"\n\nThen he invites Helen to sit beside him and name the Greeks he points\nout, among whom she recognizes, with bitter shame, her brother-in-law\nAgamemnon, Ulysses the wily, and Ajax the bulwark of Greece. Then,\nwhile she is vainly seeking the forms of her twin brothers, messengers\nsummon Priam down-to the plain to swear to the treaty, a task he has\nno sooner performed than he drives back to Troy, leaving Hector and\nUlysses to measure out the duelling ground and to settle by lot which\nchampion shall strike first.\n\nFate having favored Paris, he advances in brilliant array, and soon\ncontrives to shatter Menelaus' sword. Thus deprived of a weapon,\nMenelaus boldly grasps his adversary by his plumed helmet and drags\nhim away, until, seeing her prot\u00e9g\u00e9 in danger, Venus breaks the\nfastenings of his helmet, which alone remains in Menelaus' hands. Then\nshe spirits Paris back to the Trojan palace, where she leaves him\nresting on a couch, and hurries off, in the guise of an old crone, to\ntwitch Helen's veil, whispering that Paris awaits her at home.\nRecognizing the goddess in spite of her disguise, Helen reproaches\nher, declaring she has no desire ever to see Paris again, but Venus,\nawing Helen into submission, leads her back to the palace. There\nParis, after artfully ascribing Menelaus' triumph to Minerva's aid,\nproceeds to woo Helen anew. Meantime Menelaus vainly ranges to and\nfro, seeking his foe and hotly accusing the Trojans of screening him,\nwhile Agamemnon clamors for the immediate surrender of Helen, saving\nthe Greeks have won.\n\n_Book IV._ The gods on Mount Olympus, who have witnessed all, now\ntaunt each other with abetting the Trojans or Greeks, as the case may\nbe. After this quarrel has raged some time, Jupiter bids Minerva go\ndown, and violate the truce; so, in the guise of a warrior, she\nprompts a Trojan archer to aim at Menelaus a dart which produces a\nnominal wound. This is enough, however, to excite Agamemnon to avenge\nthe broken treaty. A moment later the Greek phalanx advances, urged on\nby Minerva, while the Trojans, equally inspired by Mars, rush to meet\nthem with similar fury. Streams of blood now flow, the earth trembles\nbeneath the crash of falling warriors, and the roll of war chariots is\nlike thunder. Although it seems for a while as if the Greeks are\ngaining the advantage, Apollo spurs the Trojans to new efforts by\nreminding them that Achilles, their most dreaded foe, is absent.\n\n_Book V._ Seeing the battle well under way, Minerva now drags Mars out\nof the fray, suggesting that mortals settle their quarrel unaided.\nCountless duels now occur, many lives are lost, and sundry miracles\nare performed. Diomedes, for instance, being instantly healed of a\ngrievous wound by Minerva, plunges back into the fray and fights until\nAeneas bids an archer check his destructive career. But this man is\nslain before he can obey, and Aeneas himself would have been killed by\nDiomedes had not Venus snatched him away from the battle-field. While\nshe does this, Diomedes wounds her in the hand, causing her to drop\nher son, whom Apollo rescues, while she hastens off to obtain from\nMars the loan of his chariot, wherein to drive back to Olympus. There,\non her mother's breast, Venus sobs out the tale of her fright, and,\nwhen healed, is sarcastically advised to leave fighting to the other\ngods and busy herself only with the pleasures of love.\n\n  The sire of gods and men superior smiled,\n  And, calling Venus, thus address'd his child:\n  \"Not these, O daughter, are thy proper cares,\n  Thee milder arts befit, and softer wars;\n  Sweet smiles are thine, and kind endearing charms;\n  To Mars and Pallas leave the deeds of arms.\"\n\nHaving snatched Aeneas out of danger, Apollo conveys him to Pergamus\nto be healed, leaving on the battle-field in his stead a phantom to\nrepresent him. Then Apollo challenges Mars to avenge Venus' wound, and\nthe fray which ensues becomes so bloody that \"Homeric battle\" has been\never since the accepted term for fierce fighting. It is because Mars\nand Bellona protect Hector that the Trojans now gain some advantage,\nseeing which, Juno and Minerva hasten to the rescue of the Greeks.\nArriving on the battle-field, Juno, assuming the form of Stentor\n(whose brazen tones have become proverbial), directs the Greek\nonslaught. Meanwhile, instigated by Minerva, Diomedes attacks Mars,\nwho, receiving a wound, emits such a roar of pain that both armies\nshudder. Then he too is miraculously conveyed to Olympus, where, after\nexhibiting his wound, he denounces Minerva who caused it. But,\nalthough Jupiter sternly rebukes his son, he takes such prompt\nmeasures to relieve his suffering, that Mars is soon seated at the\nOlympian board, where before long he is joined by Juno and Minerva.\n\n_Book VI._ Meanwhile the battle rages, and in the midst of broken\nchariots, flying steeds, and clouds of dust, we descry Menelaus and\nAgamemnon doing wonders and hear Nestor cheering on the Greeks. The\nTrojans are about to yield before their onslaught, when a warrior\nwarns Hector, and the just returned Aeneas, of their dire peril.\nAfter conferring hastily with his friends, Hector returns to Troy to\ndirect the women to implore Minerva's favor, while Aeneas goes to\nsupport their men. At the Scaean Gate, Hector meets the mothers,\nwives, and daughters of the combatants, who, at his suggestion, gladly\nprepare costly offerings to be borne to Minerva's temple in solemn\nprocession.\n\nThen Hector himself rushes to the palace, where, refusing all\nrefreshment, he goes in quest of Paris, whom he finds in the company\nof Helen and her maids, idly polishing his armor. Indignantly Hector\ninforms his brother the Trojans are perishing without the walls in\ndefence of the quarrel he kindled, but which he is too cowardly to\nuphold! Although admitting he deserves reproaches, Paris declares he\nis about to return to the battle-field, for Helen has just rekindled\nall his ardor. Seeing Hector does not answer, Helen timidly expresses\nher regret at having caused these woes, bitterly wishing fate had\nbound her to a man noble enough to feel and resent an insult. With a\ncurt recommendation to send Paris after him as soon as possible,\nHector hastens off to his own dwelling, for he longs to embrace his\nwife and son, perhaps for the last time.\n\nThere he finds none but the servants at home, who inform him that his\nwife has gone to the watch-tower, whither he now hastens. The meeting\nbetween Hector and Andromache, her tender reproaches at the risks he\nruns, and her passionate reminder that since Achilles deprived her of\nher kin he is her sole protector, form the most touching passage in\nthe Iliad. Gently reminding her he must go where honor calls, and\nsadly admitting he is haunted by visions of fallen Troy and of her\nplight as a captive, Hector adds that to protect her from such a fate\nhe must fight. But when he holds out his arms to his child, the little\none, terrified by the plumes on his helmet, refuses to come to him\nuntil he lays it aside. Having embraced his infant son, Hector\nfervently prays he may grow up to defend the Trojans, ere he hands\nhim back to Andromache, from whom he also takes tender leave.\n\n  Thus having spoke, the illustrious chief of Troy\n  Stretch'd his fond arms to clasp the lovely boy.\n  The babe clung crying to his nurse's breast,\n  Seared at the dazzling helm and nodding crest.\n  With secret pleasure each fond parent smiled\n  And Hector hasted to relieve his child,\n  The glittering terrors from his brows unbound,\n  And placed the beaming helmet on the ground;\n  Then kiss'd the child, and, lifting high in air,\n  Thus to the gods preferr'd a father's prayer:\n  \"O thou! whose glory fills the ethereal throne,\n  And all ye deathless powers! protect my son!\n  Grant him, like me, to purchase just renown,\n  To guard the Trojans, to defend the crown,\n  Against his country's foes the war to wage,\n  And rise the Hector of the future age!\n  So when triumphant from successful toils\n  Of heroes slain he bears the reeking spoils,\n  Whole hosts may hail him with deserved acclaim,\n  And say, 'This chief transcends his father's fame:'\n  While pleased amidst the general shouts of Troy,\n  His mother's conscious heart o'erflows with joy.\"\n\nThen, resuming his helmet, Hector drives out of the Scaean Gate and is\njoined by his brother Paris, now full of ambition to fight.\n\n_Book VII._ Joyfully the Trojans hail the arrival of both brothers,\nbefore whose fierce onslaught the Greeks soon fall back in their turn.\nMeanwhile Minerva and Apollo, siding with opposite forces, decide to\ninspire the Trojans to challenge the Greeks to a single fight, and,\nafter doing this, perch upon a tree, in the guise of vultures, to\nwatch the result. Calling for a suspension of hostilities, Hector\ndares any Greek to fight him, stipulating that the arms of the\nvanquished shall be the victor's prize, but that his remains shall\nreceive honorable burial. Conscious that none of their warriors--save\nAchilles--match Hector, the Greeks at first hesitate, but, among the\nnine who finally volunteer, Ajax is chosen by lot to be the Greek\nchampion. Overjoyed at this opportunity to distinguish himself, Ajax\nadvances with boastful confidence to meet Hector, who, undismayed by\nhis size and truculent speeches, enters into the fight. The duel is,\nhowever, not fought to a finish, for the heralds interrupt it at\nnightfall, pronouncing the champions equal in strength and skill and\npostponing its issue until the morrow.\n\nIn his elation Ajax offers thanks to Jupiter before attending a\nbanquet, where Nestor prudently advises his friends to fortify their\ncamp by erecting earthworks. While the Greeks are feasting, the\nTrojans debate whether it would not be wise to apologize for the\nbroken truce and restore Helen and her treasures to the Greeks. But\nthis suggestion is so angrily rejected by Paris that Priam suggests\nthey propose instead an armistice of sufficient length to enable both\nparties to bury their dead.\n\nAt dawn, therefore, Trojan heralds visit Agamemnon's tent to propose a\ntruce, and offer any indemnification save Helen's return. But,\nalthough the Greeks consent to an armistice, they feel so confident of\nsuccess that they refuse all offers of indemnity. Both parties now\nbury their dead, a sight witnessed by the gods, who, gazing down from\nOlympus, become aware of the earthen ramparts .erected during the\nnight to protect the Greek fleet. This sight prompts Neptune to\nexpress jealous fears lest these may eclipse the walls he built around\nTroy, but Jupiter pacifies him by assuring him he can easily bury them\nbeneath the sand as soon as the war is over.\n\n_Book VIII._ At daybreak Jupiter summons the gods, forbidding them to\nlend aid to either party, under penalty of perpetual imprisonment in\nTartarus. Having decreed this, Jupiter betakes himself to Mount Ida,\nwhence he proposes to watch all that is going on. It is there, at\nnoon, that he takes out his golden balances, and places in opposite\nscales the fates of Troy and Greece. A moment later a loud clap of\nthunder proclaims the day's advantage will remain with the Trojans,\nwhose leader, Hector, is protected by Jupiter's thunder-bolts each\ntime that Diomedes attacks him. This manifestation of divine favor\nstrikes terror in the hearts of the Greeks, but encourages the\nTrojans. They, therefore, hotly pursue the Greeks to their ramparts,\nwhich Hector urges them to scale when the foe seeks refuge behind\nthem.\n\nSeeing the peril of the Greeks, Juno urges Agamemnon to visit Ulysses'\ntent, and there proclaim, in such loud tones that Achilles cannot fail\nto overhear him, that their vessels will soon be in flames. Then,\nfearing for his companions, Agamemnon prays so fervently for aid that\nan eagle flies over the camp and drops a lamb upon the Greek altar.\nThis omen of good fortune renews the courage of the Greeks, and\nstimulates the archer Teucer to cause new havoc in the Trojan ranks\nwith his unfailing arrows, until Hector hurls a rock, which lays him\nlow, and rushes into the Greek camp.\n\nFull of anxiety for their prot\u00e9g\u00e9s, Juno and Minerva forget Jupiter's\ninjunctions, and are about to hurry off to their rescue, when the king\nof the gods bids them stop, assuring them the Greeks will suffer\ndefeat, until, Patroclus having fallen, Achilles arises to avenge him.\nWhen the setting sun signals the close of the day's fight, although\nthe Greeks are still in possession of their tents, the Trojans bivouac\nin the plain, just outside the trench, to prevent their escape.\n\n_Book IX._ Such anxiety reigns in the Greek camp that Agamemnon holds\na council in his tent. There, almost choked by tears, he declares no\nalternative remains save flight, but Diomedes so hotly contradicts him\nthat the Greeks decide to remain. At Nestor's suggestion, Agamemnon\nthen tries to atone for his insult to Achilles by gifts and apologies,\ninstructing the bearers to promise the return of the captive and to\noffer an alliance with one of his daughters, if Achilles will only\ncome to their aid. Wending their way through the moonlit camp, these\nemissaries find Achilles idly listening to Patroclus' music. After\ndelivering the message, Ulysses makes an eloquent appeal in behalf of\nhis countrymen, but Achilles coldly rejoins the Greeks will have to\ndefend themselves as he is about to depart. Such is his resentment\nthat he refuses to forgive Agamemnon, although his aged tutor urges\nhim to be brave enough to conquer himself. Most reluctantly therefore\nUlysses and Ajax return, and, although sleep hovers over Achilles'\ntent, dismay reigns within that of Agamemnon, until Diomedes vows they\nwill yet prove they do not need Achilles' aid.\n\n_Book X._ Exhausted by the day's efforts, most of the Greeks have\nfallen asleep, when Agamemnon, after conversing for a while with\nMenelaus, arouses Nestor, Ulysses, and Diomedes to inspect their\nposts. It is in the course of these rounds that Nestor suggests one of\ntheir number steal into the Trojan camp to discover their plans. This\nsuggestion is eagerly seized by Diomedes and Ulysses, who, on their\nway to the enemy's camp, encounter Dolon, a Trojan spy, who is coming\nto find out what they are planning. Crouching among the corpses,\nDiomedes and Ulysses capture this man, from whom they wring all the\ninformation they require, together with exact directions to find the\nsteeds of Rhesus. To secure this prize, Ulysses and Diomedes steal\ninto the Trojan camp, where, after slaying a few sleepers, they\ncapture the steeds and escape in safety, thanks to Minerva's aid. On\nseeing his friends emerge from the gloom with so glorious a prize,\nNestor, who has been anxiously watching, expresses great joy, and\ninvites his companions to refresh themselves after their exertions.\n\n  Old Nestor first perceived the approaching sound,\n  Bespeaking thus the Grecian peers around:\n  \"Methinks the noise of trampling steeds I hear,\n  Thickening this way, and gathering on my ear;\n  Perhaps some horses of the Trojan breed\n  (So may, ye gods! my pious hopes succeed)\n  The great Tydides and Ulysses bear,\n  Return'd triumphant with this prize of war.\"\n\n_Book XI._ At daybreak Jupiter sends Discord to waken the Greeks and,\nwhen they appear in battle array, hurls a thunder-bolt as a signal for\nthe fight to begin. Stimulated by Hector's ardor, the Trojans now\npounce like ravening wolves upon their foes, but, in spite of their\ncourage, are driven back almost to the Scean Gate. To encourage\nHector, however, Jupiter warns him, that once Agamemnon is wounded the\ntide will turn. Soon after, a javelin strikes Agamemnon, and Hector,\nseeing him borne to his tent, urges his men on with new vehemence\nuntil he forces back the Greeks in his turn. In the ensuing medley\nboth Diomedes and Ulysses are wounded, and Achilles, moodily lounging\non the prow of his ship, sees Nestor bring them into camp. Wishing to\nascertain who has been hurt, he sends Patroclus to find out. Thus this\nwarrior learns how many of the Greeks are wounded, and is persuaded to\ntry to induce Achilles to assist their countrymen, or at least to\nallow his friend to lead his forces to their rescue.\n\n_Book XII._ Although the Trojans are now fiercely trying to enter the\nGreek camp, their efforts are baffled until Hector, dismounting from\nhis chariot, attacks the mighty wall which the gods are to level as\nsoon as the war is over. Thanks to his efforts, its gates are battered\nin, and the Trojans pour into the Greek camp, where many duels occur,\nand where countless warriors are slain on both sides.\n\n_Book XIII._ Having effected an entrance into the camp, the Trojans\nrush forward to set fire to the ships, hoping thus to prevent the\nescape of their foes. Perceiving the peril of the Greeks, Neptune, in\nthe guise of a priest, urges them to stand fast.\n\n  Then with his sceptre, that the deep controls,\n  He touched the chiefs and steel'd their manly souls:\n  Strength, not their own, the touch divine imparts,\n  Prompts their light limbs, and swells their daring hearts.\n  Then, as a falcon from the rocky height,\n  Her quarry seen, impetuous at the sight,\n  Forth-springing instant, darts herself from high,\n  Shoots on the wing, and skims along the sky:\n  Such, and so swift, the power of ocean flew;\n  The wide horizon shut him from their view.\n\nBut the advantage does not remain continuously with the Trojans, for\nHector is soon beaten back, and, seeing his people's peril, again\nhotly reviles Paris, whose crime has entailed all this bloodshed.\n\n_Book XIV._ In the midst of the gloom caused by a new irruption of the\nTrojans in the Greek camp, Nestor hastens to the spot where the\nwounded Agamemnon, Ulysses, and Diomedes are watching the fight. But,\nalthough Agamemnon renews his former suggestion that they depart,\nDiomedes and Ulysses, scorning it, prepare to return to the fray, in\nspite of their wounds. This renewal of Greek courage pleases Juno,\nwho, fearing Jupiter will again interfere in behalf of the Trojans,\nproceeds by coquettish wiles and with the aid of the God of Sleep to\nlull him into a state of forgetfulness. This feat accomplished, Juno\nsends Sleep to urge the Greeks to make the most of this respite, and,\nthus stimulated, they fight on, until Ajax hurls a rock which lays\nHector low. But, before he and his companions can secure this victim,\nHector is rescued by his men, who speedily convey him to the river,\nwhere plentiful bathing soon restores his senses.\n\n_Book XV._ Thus temporarily deprived of a leader, the Trojans fall\nback to the place where they left their chariots. They are just\nmounting in confusion, in order to flee, when Jupiter, rousing from\nhis nap, and realizing how he has been tricked, discharges his wrath\nupon Juno's head. Hearing her attribute the blame to Neptune, Jupiter\nwrathfully orders his brother back to his realm and despatches Apollo\nto cure Hector. Then he reiterates that the Greeks shall be worsted\nuntil Patroclus, wearing Achilles' armor, takes part in the fray. He\nadds that, after slaying his son Sarpedon, this hero will succumb\nbeneath Hector's sword, and that, to avenge Patroclus' death, Achilles\nwill slay Hector and thus insure the fall of Troy.\n\nOnce more the Trojans drive back the Greeks, who would have given up\nin despair had not Jupiter encouraged them by a clap of thunder.\nHearing the Trojans again burst into camp, Patroclus rushes out of\nAchilles' tent and sees Teucer winging one deadly arrow after another\namong the foe. But, in spite of his skill, and although Ajax fights\nlike a lion at bay, Hector and the Trojans press fiercely forward,\ntorch in hand, to fire the Greek ships.\n\n_Book XVI._ Appalled by this sight, Patroclus rushes back to Achilles,\nand, after vainly urging him to fight, persuades him to lend him his\narmor, chariot, and men. But, even while furthering his friend's\ndeparture, Achilles charges him neither to slay Hector nor take Troy,\nas he wishes to reserve that double honor for himself. It is just as\nthe first vessels are enveloped in flames that Patroclus rushes to the\nrescue of his countrymen. At the sight of a warrior whom they mistake\nfor Achilles, and at this influx of fresh troops, the Trojans beat a\nretreat, and the Greeks, fired with new courage, pursue them across\nthe plain and to the very gates of Troy. Such is Patroclus' ardor\nthat, forgetting Achilles' injunctions, he is about to attack Hector,\nwhen Sarpedon challenges him to a duel. Knowing this fight will prove\nfatal to his beloved son, Jupiter causes a bloody dew to fall upon\nearth, and despatches Sleep and Death to take charge of his remains,\nwhich they are to convey first to Olympus to receive a fatherly kiss\nand then to Lycia for burial. No sooner is Sarpedon slain than a grim\nfight ensues over his spoil and remains, but while the Greeks secure\nhis armor, his corpse is borne away by Apollo, who, after purifying it\nfrom all battle soil, entrusts it to Sleep and Death.\n\nMeantime, renewing his pursuit of the Trojans, Patroclus is about to\nscale the walls of Troy, when Apollo reminds him the city is not to\nfall a prey either to him or to his friend. Then, in the midst of a\nduel in which Patroclus engages with Hector, Apollo snatches the\nhelmet off the Greek hero's head, leaving him thus exposed to his\nfoe's deadly blows. The dying Patroclus, therefore, declares that had\nnot the gods betrayed him he would have triumphed, and predicts that\nAchilles will avenge his death. Meantime, pleased with having slain so\nredoubtable a foe, Hector makes a dash to secure Achilles' chariot and\nhorses, but fails because the driver (Automedon) speeds away.\n\n_Book XVII._ On seeing Patroclus fall, Menelaus rushes forward to\ndefend his remains and rescue Achilles' armor from the foe. Warned of\nthis move, Hector abandons the vain pursuit of Achilles' chariot, and\nreturns to claim his spoil. He has barely secured it when Menelaus and\nAjax attack him, and a mad battle takes place over Patroclus' remains,\nwhile Achilles' horses weep for the beloved youth who so often\ncaressed them.\n\n_Book XVIII._ No sooner is the death of Patroclus known in Achilles'\ntent than the female captives wail, while the hero groans so loudly\nthat Thetis hears him. Rising from the depths of the sea, she hurries\nto his side, regretting his brief life should be marred by so much\nsorrow. Then, hearing him swear to avenge his friend, she entreats him\nto wait until the morrow, so she can procure him armor from Vulcan.\nHaving obtained this promise, she hastens off to visit the god and\nbespeak his aid in behalf of her son.\n\nMeanwhile the Greeks, who are trying to bear away Patroclus' remains,\nare so hard pressed by the Trojans that Juno sends word Achilles must\ninterfere. Hampered by a lack of armor and by the promise to his\nmother, the hero ventures only as far as the trench, where, however,\nhe utters so threatening a war-cry that the Trojans flee, and the\nGreeks are thus able to bring Patroclus' body safely into camp, just\nas the sun sets and the day's fighting ends.\n\nHaving unharnessed their steeds, the Trojans assemble to consider\nwhether it will not be best to retreat within their walls, for they\nknow Achilles will appear on the morrow to avenge Patroclus. But\nHector so vehemently insists that they maintain the advantage gained,\nthat they camp on the plain, where Jupiter predicts his wife's wish\nwill be granted and her favorite Achilles win great glory. It is in\nthe course of that night that Thetis visits Vulcan's forge and in the\nattitude of a suppliant implores the divine blacksmith to make an\narmor for her son. Not only does Vulcan consent, but hurries off to\nhis anvil, where he and Cyclops labor to such good purpose that a\nsuperb suit of armor is ready by dawn.\n\n_Book XIX._ Aurora has barely risen from the bosom of the sea, when\nThetis enters her son's tent, bearing these wonderful weapons. Finding\nhim still weeping over his friend's remains, Thetis urges him to rouse\nhimself and fight. At the sight of the armor she brings, Achilles'\nardor is so kindled that he proclaims he will avenge his friend.\nPleased to think the Greeks will have the help of this champion,\nAgamemnon humbly apologizes for the past, proffering gifts and a\nfeast, which latter Achilles refuses to attend as long as Patroclus is\nunavenged. Before entering into battle, however, our hero implores his\ndivine steeds to do their best, only to be warned by one of them that,\nalthough they will save him to-day, the time is fast coming when he\ntoo will fall victim to the anger of the gods. Undaunted by this\nprophecy, Achilles jumps into his chariot and sets out for the fray,\nuttering his blood-curdling war-cry.\n\n  With unabated rage--\"So let it be!\n  Portents and prodigies are lost on me.\n  I know my fate: to die, to see no more\n  My much-loved parents and my native shore--\n  Enough--when heaven ordains, I sink in night:\n  Now perish Troy!\" He said, and rush'd to fight.\n\n_Book XX._ The gods, assembled on Mount Olympus, are told by Jupiter\nthat, whereas he intends merely to witness the fight, they may all\ntake part in it, provided they remember Achilles is to reap the main\nhonors of the day. Hearing this, the gods dart off to side with Troy\nand Greece, as their inclinations prompt, and thus take an active part\nin the battle, for which Jupiter gives the signal by launching a\nthunder-bolt. Not only do the gods fight against each other on this\nday, but use all their efforts to second their favorites in every way.\nBefore long, however, it becomes so evident they are merely delaying\nthe inevitable issue, that they agree to withdraw from the field,\nleaving mortals to settle the matter themselves.\n\nThere are vivid descriptions of sundry encounters, including one\nbetween Achilles and Aeneas, wherein both heroes indulge in boastful\nspeeches before coming to blows. At one time, when Aeneas is about to\nget the worst of it, the gods, knowing he is reserved for greater\nthings, snatch him from the battle-field and convey him to a place of\nsafety. Thus miraculously deprived of his antagonist, Achilles resumes\nhis quest for Hector, who has hitherto been avoiding him, but who,\nseeing one of his brothers fall beneath the Greek's blows, meets him\nbravely. But, as the moment of Hector's death has not yet come, the\ngods separate these two fighters, although their hatred is such that,\nwhenever they catch a glimpse of each other, they rush forward to\nrenew the fight.\n\n_Book XXI._ Fleeing before the Greeks, the Trojans reach the Xanthus\nRiver, into which Achilles plunges after them, and where, after\nkilling hosts of victims, he secures a dozen prisoners to sacrifice on\nhis friend's tomb. Hearing Achilles refuse mercy to a young Trojan,\nand enraged because he has choked his bed with corpses, the River God\nsuddenly rises to chide him, but Achilles is now in so defiant a mood\nthat he is ready to fight even the gods themselves. In spite of his\ncourage he would, however, have been drowned, had not Neptune and\nMinerva come to his rescue, fighting the waters with fire, and\nassuring him Hector will soon lie lifeless at his feet.\n\n  He ceased; wide conflagration blazing round;\n  The bubbled waters yield a hissing sound.\n  As when the flames beneath a cauldron rise,\n  To melt the fat of some rich sacrifice,\n  Amid the fierce embrace of circling fires\n  The waters foam, the heavy smoke aspires:\n  So boils the imprison'd flood, forbid to flow,\n  And choked with vapors feels his bottom glow.\n\nThe course of this day's fighting is anxiously watched by old King\nPriam from the top of the Trojan ramparts, and, when he sees\nAchilles' forces pursuing his fleeing army across the plain, he orders\nthe gates opened to admit the fugitives, and quickly closed again so\nthe foe cannot enter too. To facilitate this move, Apollo assumes the\nguise of Hector and decoys Achilles away from the gates until the bulk\nof the Trojan army is safe.\n\n_Book XXII._ Meantime the real Hector is stationed beside the gate,\nand Achilles, suddenly perceiving he has been pursuing a mere phantom,\ndarts with a cry of wrath toward his foe. Seeing him coming, Hector's\nparents implore him to seek refuge within the walls, but the young man\nis too brave to accept such a proposal. Still, when he sees the fire\nin Achilles' eyes, he cannot resist an involuntary recoil, and\nturning, flees, with Achilles in close pursuit, hurling taunts at him.\n\nThese warriors circle the citadel, until the gods, looking on, knowing\nthey can no longer defer Hector's death, but wishing it to be\nglorious, send Apollo down to urge him to fight. In the guise of one\nof Hector's brothers, this god offers to aid him, so, thus supported,\nHector turns to meet Achilles, with whom before fighting he tries to\nbargain that the victor shall respect the remains of the vanquished.\nBut Achilles refuses to listen to terms, and in the course of the\nensuing duel is ably seconded by Minerva, while Hector, who depends\nupon his supposed brother to supply him with weapons when his fail, is\nbasely deserted by Apollo.\n\nSeeing him disarmed, Achilles finally deals him a deadly blow, and,\nalthough the dying hero tries to abate his resentment, loudly\nproclaims he shall be a prey to vultures and wolves. Hearing this,\nHector curses his conqueror and dies, predicting Achilles shall be\nslain by Paris. His victim having breathed his last, Achilles ties him\nby the heels to his chariot, and then drives off with Hector's noble\nhead trailing in the dust!\n\nMeantime Andromache, busy preparing for her husband's return, is so\nstartled by loud cries that she rushes off to the ramparts to find out\nwhat has occurred. Arriving there just in time to see her husband\ndragged away, she faints at the pitiful sight, and, on coming back to\nher senses, bewails her sad fate, foresees an unhappy fate for her\ninfant son, and regrets not being able to bury her beloved husband.\n\n_Book XXIII._ On reaching his tent with his victim, Achilles drags it\naround Patroclus' remains, apostrophizing him and assuring him that\ntwelve Trojans shall be executed on his pyre, while his slayer's body\nshall be a prey to the dogs. Then, having cast Hector's corpse on the\nrefuse heap, Achilles assembles the Greeks in his tent for a funeral\nrepast, after which they retire, leaving him to mourn. That night he\nis visited by Patroclus' spirit, which warns him he will soon have to\ndie, and bespeaks funeral rites. This vision convinces Achilles that\nthe human soul does not perish with the body, and impels him to rouse\nhis companions at dawn to erect a huge pyre on the shore, where\ninnumerable victims are to be sacrificed to satisfy his friend's\nspirit. Then he renews his promise that Hector's body shall be a prey\nto the dogs, little suspecting that Venus has mounted guard over it,\nso that no harm may befall it.\n\nIn describing the building and lighting of the pyre, the poet relates\nhow the flames were fanned by opposite winds, depicts the sacrifices\noffered, the funeral games celebrated, and explains how the ashes were\nfinally placed in an urn, where those of Achilles were in time to\nmingle with those of his friend.\n\n_Book XXIV._ Although most of the Greek warriors are resting after the\nstrenuous pleasures of the day, Achilles weeps in his tent until\ndaybreak, when he harnesses his horses to his chariot and again drags\nHector's body around Patroclus' tomb, little suspecting how Venus and\nApollo guard it from all harm. It is only on the twelfth day after\nPatroclus' death, that the gods interfere in behalf of the Trojans, by\nsending Iris to Priam to guide him to Achilles' tent, where they\nassure him his prayers will obtain his son's body. The rainbow goddess\nnot only serves as guide to the mourning father, but brings him unseen\ninto Achilles' tent, where, falling at the hero's feet, the aged\nPriam sues in such touching terms that the Greek warrior's heart melts\nand tears stream down his cheeks. Not only does he grant Priam's\nrequest, but assures him he is far happier than Peleus, since he still\nhas several sons to cheer him although Hector has been slain.\n\n  These words soft pity in the chief inspire,\n  Touch'd with the dear remembrance of his sire.\n  Then with his hand (as prostrate still he lay)\n  The old man's cheek he gently turn'd away.\n  Now each by turns indulged the gush of woe;\n  And now the mingled tides together flow:\n  This low on earth, that gently bending o'er;\n  A father one, and one a son deplore:\n  But great Achilles different passions rend,\n  And now his sire he mourns, and now his friend.\n  The infectious softness through the heroes ran\n  One universal solemn shower began;\n  They bore as heroes, but they felt as man.\n\nStill guided by Iris, Priam conveys the body of his son back to Troy,\nwhere his mother, wife, and the other Trojan women utter a touching\nlament. Then a funeral pyre is built, and the Iliad of Homer closes\nwith brave Hector's obsequies.\n\n  All Troy then moves to Priam's court again,\n  A solemn, silent, melancholy train:\n  Assembled there, from pious toil they rest,\n  And sadly shared the last sepulchral feast.\n  Such honors Ilion to her hero paid,\n  And peaceful slept the mighty Hector's shade.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 2: All the quotations from the Iliad are taken from Pope's\ntranslation.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE ODYSSEY\n\n\n_Book I._ Homer's second great epic covers a period of forty-two days.\nAfter the opening invocation he proceeds to relate the adventures of\nUlysses. Nearly ten years have elapsed since the taking of Troy, when\nthe gods looking down from Olympus behold him--sole survivor of his\ntroop--stranded on the Island of Calypso. After some mention of the\nfate of the other Greeks, Jupiter decrees that Ulysses shall return to\nIthaca, where many suitors are besieging his wife Penelope. In\nobedience with this decree, Pallas (Minerva) dons golden\nsandals--which permit her to flit with equal ease over land and\nsea--and visits Ithaca, where Ulysses' son, Telemachus, mournfully\nviews the squandering of his father's wealth. Here she is hospitably\nreceived, and, after some conversation, urges Telemachus to visit the\ncourts of Nestor and Menelaus to inquire of these kings whether his\nfather is dead.\n\nTelemachus has just promised to carry out this suggestion, when the\nsuitors' bard begins the recital of the woes which have befallen the\nvarious Greek chiefs on their return from Troy. These sad strains\nattract Penelope, who passionately beseeches the bard not to enhance\nher sorrows by his songs!\n\nAssuming a tone of authority for the first time, Telemachus bids his\nmother retire and pray, then, addressing the suitors, vows that unless\nthey depart he will call down upon them the vengeance of the gods.\nThese words are resented by these men, who continue their revelry\nuntil the night, when Telemachus retires, to dream of his projected\njourney.\n\n_Book II._ With dawn, Telemachus rises and betakes himself to the\nmarket-place, where in public council he complains of the suitors'\ndepredations, and announces he is about to depart in quest of his\nsire. In reply to his denunciations the suitors accuse Penelope of\ndeluding them, instancing how she promised to choose a husband as soon\nas she had finished weaving a winding sheet for her father-in-law\nLaertes. But, instead of completing this task as soon as possible, she\nravelled by night the work done during the day, until the suitors\ndiscovered the trick.\n\n  \"The work she plied; but, studious of delay,\n  By night reversed the labors of the day.\n  While thrice the sun his annual journey made,\n  The conscious lamp the midnight fraud survey'd;\n  Unheard, unseen, three years her arts prevail:\n  The fourth, her maid unfolds the amazing tale.\n  We saw as unperceived we took our stand,\n  The backward labors of her faithless hand\"[3]\n\nThey now suggest that Telemachus send Penelope back to her father,\nbut the youth indignantly refuses, and the council closes while he\nprays for vengeance. That he has not been unheard is proved by the\nappearance of two eagles, which peck out the eyes of some of the\nspectators. This is interpreted by an old man as an omen of Ulysses'\nspeedy return, and he admonishes all present to prove faithful, lest\nthey incur a master's wrath.\n\nThe assembly having dispersed, Telemachus hastens down to the shore,\nwhere Minerva visits him in the guise of his tutor Mentor, and\ninstructs him to arrange for secret departure. Telemachus, therefore,\nreturns to the palace, where the suitors are preparing a new feast.\nRefusing to join their revels, he seeks his old nurse Eurycleia, to\nwhom he entrusts the provisioning of his vessel, bidding her if\npossible conceal his departure from Penelope for twelve days.\nMeantime, in the guise of Telemachus, Minerva scours the town to\nsecure skilful oarsmen, and at sunset has a vessel ready to sail.\nThen, returning to the palace, she enchains the senses of the suitors\nin such deep slumber that Telemachus effects his, departure unseen,\nand embarking with Mentor sets sail, his vessel speeding smoothly over\nthe waves all night.\n\n_Book III._ At sunrise Telemachus reaches Pylos and finds Nestor and\nhis friends offering a sacrifice on the shore. Joining the\nfeasters,--who gather by fifties around tables groaning beneath the\nweight of nine oxen apiece,--Telemachus makes known his name and\nerrand. In return, Nestor mentions the deaths of Patroclus and\nAchilles, the taking of Troy, and the Greeks' departure from its\nshores. He adds that, the gods having decreed they should not reach\nhome without sore trials, half the army lingered behind with Agamemnon\nto offer propitiatory sacrifices, while the rest sailed on. Among\nthese were Nestor and Ulysses, but, while the former pressed on and\nreached home, the latter, turning back to pacify the gods, was seen no\nmore! Since his return, Nestor has been saddened by the death of\nAgamemnon, slain on his arrival at Mycenae by his faithless wife\nClytemnestra and her lover Aegistheus. His brother, Menelaus, more\nfortunate, has recently reached home, having been long delayed in\nEgypt by contrary winds.\n\nWhile Nestor recounts these tales, day declines, so he invites\nTelemachus to his palace for the night, promising to send him on the\nmorrow to Sparta, where he can question Menelaus himself. Although\nMentor urges Telemachus to accept this invitation, he declares he must\nreturn to the ship, and vanishes in the shape of a bird, thus\nrevealing to all present his divine origin. A sumptuous meal in the\npalace ensues, and the guest, after a good night, participates at\nbreak of day in a solemn sacrifice.\n\n_Book IV._ Riding in a chariot skilfully guided by one of Nestor's\nsons, Telemachus next speeds on to Sparta, where he finds Menelaus\ncelebrating the marriages of a daughter and son. On learning that\nstrangers have arrived, Menelaus orders every attention shown them,\nand only after they have been refreshed by food and drink, inquires\ntheir errand. He states that he himself reached home only after\nwandering seven years, and adds that he often yearns to know what has\nbecome of Ulysses. At this name Telemachus' tears flow, and Helen, who\nhas just appeared, is struck by his resemblance to his father. When\nTelemachus admits his identity, Menelaus and Helen mingle their tears\nwith his, for the memory of the past overwhelms them with sorrow. Then\nto restore a more cheerful atmosphere, Helen casts \"nepenthe\" into the\nwine, thanks to which beneficent drug all soon forget their woes. She\nnext relates how Ulysses once entered Troy in the guise of a beggar,\nand how she alone recognized him in spite of his disguise. This\nreminds Menelaus of the time when Ulysses restrained him and the other\nGreeks in the wooden horse, and when Helen marched around it mimicking\nthe voices of their wives!\n\nSoothed by \"nepenthe,\" all retire to rest, and when morning dawns\nTelemachus inquires whether Menelaus knows aught of his father. All\nthe information Menelaus vouchsafes is that when he surprised\nProteus, counting sea-calves on the island of Pharos, he was told he\nwould reach home only after making due sacrifices in Egypt to appease\nthe gods, that his brother had been murdered on arriving at Mycenae,\nand that Ulysses--sole survivor of his crew--was detained by Calypso\nin an island, whence he had no means of escape. The sea-god had\nfurther promised that Menelaus should never die, stating that, as\nhusband of Helen and son-in-law of Jupiter, he would enjoy everlasting\nbliss in the Elysian Fields. Then, after describing the sacrifices\nwhich insured his return to Sparta, Menelaus invites Telemachus to\ntarry with him, although the youth insists he must return home.\n\nMeantime the suitors in Ulysses' palace entertain themselves with\ngames, in the midst of which they learn that Telemachus has gone.\nRealizing that if he were dead Penelope's fortunate suitor would\nbecome possessor of all Ulysses' wealth, they decide to man a vessel\nto guard the port and slay Telemachus on his return. This plot is\noverheard by a servant, who hastens to report it to Penelope. On\nlearning her son has ventured out to sea, she wrings her hands, and\nreviles the nurse who abetted his departure until this wise woman\nadvises her rather to pray for her son's safe return! While Penelope\nis offering propitiatory sacrifices, the suitors despatch a vessel in\nAntinous' charge to lie in wait for the youth. But, during the sleep\nwhich overcomes Penelope after her prayers, she is favored by a\nvision, in which her sister assures her Telemachus will soon be\nrestored to her arms, although she refuses to give her any information\nin regard to Ulysses.\n\n_Book V._ Aurora has barely announced the return of day to gods and\nmen, when Jupiter assembles his council on Mount Olympus. There\nMinerva rehearses Ulysses' grievances, demanding that he be at last\nallowed to return home and his son saved from the suitors' ambush. In\nreply Jupiter sends Mercury to bid Calypso provide her unwilling guest\nwith the means to leave her shores. Donning his golden sandals, the\nmessenger-god flits to the Island of Ogygia, enters Calypso's\nwonderful cave, and delivers his message. Although reluctant to let\nUlysses depart, Calypso--not daring oppose the will of Jupiter--goes\nin quest of her guest. Finding him gazing tearfully in the direction\nof home, she promises to supply him with the means to build a raft\nwhich, thanks to the gods, will enable him to reach Ithaca.\n\nAfter a copious repast and a night's rest, Ulysses fells twenty trees\nand constructs a raft, in which, after it has been provisioned by\nCalypso, he sets sail. For seventeen days the stars serve as his\nguides, and he is nearing the island of Phaeacia, when Neptune becomes\naware that his hated foe is about to escape. One stroke of the\nsea-god's mighty trident then stirs up a tempest which dashes the raft\nto pieces, and Ulysses is in imminent danger of perishing, when the\nsea-nymph Leucothea gives him her life-preserving scarf, bidding him\ncast it back into the waves when it has borne him safely to land!\nBuoyed up by this scarf, Ulysses finally reaches the shore, where,\nafter obeying the nymph's injunctions, he buries himself in dead\nleaves and sinks into an exhausted sleep.\n\n  Close to the cliff with both his hands he clung,\n  And stuck adherent, and suspended hung;\n  Till the huge surge roll'd off; then backward sweep\n  The refluent tides, and plunge him in the deep.\n  And when the polypus, from forth his cave\n  Torn with full force, reluctant beats the wave,\n  His ragged claws are stuck with stones and sands;\n  So the rough rock had shagg'd Ulysses' hands.\n  And now had perish'd, whelm'd beneath the main,\n  The unhappy man; e'en fate had been in vain;\n  But all-subduing Pallas lent her power,\n  And prudence saved him in the needful hour.\n\n_Book VI._ While Ulysses is thus sleeping, Minerva, in a dream\nadmonishes Nausicaa, daughter of the Phaeacian king, to wash her\ngarments in readiness for her wedding. On awakening, the princess,\nafter bespeaking a chariot with mules to draw the clothes to the\nwashing place, departs with her maids for the shore.\n\nThe clothes washed and hung out to dry, the princess and her\nattendants play ball, until their loud shrieks awaken Ulysses. Veiling\nhis nakedness behind leafy branches, he timidly approaches the\nmaidens, and addresses them from afar. Convinced he is, as he\nrepresents, a shipwrecked man in need of aid, the princess provides\nhim with garments, and directs him to follow her chariot to the\nconfines of the city. There he is to wait until she has reached home\nbefore presenting himself before her parents, as she does not wish his\npresence with her to cause gossip in town.\n\n_Book VII._ Having left Ulysses behind her, Nausicaa returns home,\nwhere her chariot is unloaded; but shortly after she has retired,\nUlysses, guided by Minerva in disguise, enters the town and palace\nunseen. It is only when, obeying Nausicaa's instructions, he seeks her\nmother's presence and beseeches her aid, that he becomes visible to\nall. King and queen gladly promise their protection to the suppliant,\nwho, while partaking of food, describes himself as a shipwrecked\nmariner and asks to be sent home. After he has refreshed himself, the\nqueen, who has recognized the clothes he wears, learning how he\nobtained them, delights in her daughter's charity and prudence. Then\nshe and her husband promise the wanderer their protection before\nretiring to rest.\n\n_Book VIII._ At daybreak the king conducts his guest to the public\nsquare, where Minerva has summoned all the inhabitants. To this\nassembly Alcinous makes known that a nameless stranger bespeaks their\naid, and proposes that after a banquet, where blind Demodocus will\nentertain them with his songs, they load the suppliant with gifts and\nsend him home.\n\nThe projected festive meal is well under way when the bard begins\nsinging of a quarrel between Ulysses and Achilles, strains which so\nvividly recall happier days that Ulysses, drawing his cloak over his\nhead, gives way to tears. Noting this emotion, Alcinous checks the\nbard and proposes games. After displaying their skill in racing,\nwrestling, discus-throwing, etc., the contestants mockingly challenge\nUlysses to give an exhibition of his proficiency in games of strength\nand skill. Stung by their covert taunts, the stranger casts the discus\nfar beyond their best mark, and avers that although out of practice he\nis not afraid to match them in feats of strength, admitting, however,\nthat he cannot compete with them in fleetness of foot or in the dance.\nHis prowess in one line and frank confession of inferiority in another\ndisarm further criticism, and the young men dance until the bard\nbegins singing of Vulcan's stratagem to punish a faithless spouse.[4]\n\nAll the Phaeacians now present gifts to the stranger, who finds\nhimself rich indeed, but who assures Nausicaa he will never forget she\nwas the first to lend him aid. Toward the close of the festivities the\nblind bard sings of the wooden horse devised by Ulysses and abandoned\non the shore by the retreating Greeks. Then he describes its\ntriumphant entry into Troy, where for the first time in ten years all\nsleep soundly without dread of a surprise. But, while the too\nconfident Trojans are thus resting peacefully upon their laurels, the\nGreeks, emerging from this wooden horse, open the gates to their\ncomrades, and the sack of Troy begins! Because the stranger guest\nagain shows great emotion, Alcinous begs him to relate his adventures\nand asks whether he has lost some relative in the war of Troy?\n\n  Touch'd at the song, Ulysses straight resign'd\n  To soft affliction all his manly mind:\n  Before his eyes the purple vest he drew,\n  Industrious to conceal the falling dew:\n  But when the music paused, he ceased to shed\n  The flowing tear, and raised his drooping head:\n  And, lifting to the gods a goblet crown'd,\n  He pour'd a pure libation to the ground.\n\n_Book IX._ Thus invited to speak, Ulysses, after introducing himself\nand describing his island home, relates how, the ruin of Troy\ncompleted, he and his men left the Trojan shores. Driven by winds to\nIsmarus, they sacked the town, but, instead of sailing off immediately\nwith their booty as Ulysses urged, tarried there until surprised by\ntheir foes, from whom they were glad to escape with their lives!\nTossed by a tempest for many days, the Greek ships next neared the\nland of the Lotus-Eaters, people who feasted upon the buds and\nblossoms of a narcotic lotus. Sending three men ashore to reconnoitre,\nUlysses vainly awaited their return; finally, mistrusting what had\nhappened, he went in quest of them himself, only to find that having\npartaken of the lotus they were dead to the calls of home and\nambition. Seizing these men, Ulysses conveyed them bound to his ship,\nand, without allowing the rest to land, sailed hastily away from those\npernicious shores.\n\nBefore long he came to the land of the Cyclops, and disembarked on a\nsmall neighboring island to renew his stock of food and water. Then,\nunwilling to depart without having at least visited the Cyclops, he\ntook twelve of his bravest men, a skin-bottle full of delicious wine,\nand set out to find Polyphemus, chief of the Cyclops. On entering the\nhuge cave where this giant pursued his avocation of dairyman, Ulysses\nand his companions built a fire, around which they sat awaiting their\nhost's return. Before long a huge one-eyed monster drove in his\nflocks, and, after closing the opening of his cave with a rock which\nno one else could move, proceeded to milk his ewes and make cheese.\n\nIt was only while at supper that he noticed Ulysses and his men, who\nhumbly approached him as suppliants. After shrewdly questioning them\nto ascertain whether they were alone, believing Ulysses' tale that\nthey were shipwrecked men, he seized and devoured two of them before\nhe lay down to rest. Although sorely tempted to slay him while he was\nthus at their mercy, Ulysses refrained, knowing he and his companions\nwould never be able to move the rock.\n\nAt dawn the giant again milked his flock, and devoured--as a relish\nfor his breakfast--two more Greeks. Then he easily rolled aside the\nrock, which he replaced when he and his flock had gone out for the\nday, thus imprisoning Ulysses and his eight surviving men. During\nthat long day Ulysses sharpened to a point a young pine, and, after\nhardening this weapon in the fire, secured by lot the helpers he\nneeded to execute his plan. That evening Polyphemus, having finished\nhis chores and cannibal repast, graciously accepted the wine which\nUlysses offered him. Pleased with its taste, he even promised the\ngiver a reward if he would only state his name. The wily Ulysses\ndeclaring he was called Noman, the giant facetiously promised to eat\nhim last, before he fell into a drunken sleep. Then Ulysses and his\nfour men, heating the pointed pine, bored out the eye of Polyphemus,\nwho howled with pain:\n\n  \"Sudden I stir the embers, and inspire\n  With animating breath the seeds of fire;\n  Each drooping spirit with bold words repair,\n  And urge my train the dreadful deed to dare.\n  The stake now glow'd beneath the burning bed\n  (Green as it was) and sparkled fiery red.\n  Then forth the vengeful instrument I bring;\n  With beating hearts my fellows form a ring.\n  Urged by some present god, they swift let fall\n  The pointed torment on his visual ball.\n  Myself above them from a rising ground\n  Guide the sharp stake, and twirl it round and round.\n  As when a shipwright stands his workmen o'er,\n  Who ply the wimble, some huge beam to bore;\n  Urged on all hands it nimbly spins about,\n  The grain deep-piercing till it scoops it out;\n  In his broad eye so whirls the fiery wood;\n  From the pierced pupil spouts the boiling blood;\n  Singed are his brows; the scorching lids grow black;\n  The jelly bubbles, and the fibres crack.\"\n\nHis fellow-Cyclops, awakened by his cries, gathered without his cave,\nasking what was the matter. But, hearing him vehemently howl that\nNoman was hurting him, they all declared he was evidently being\npunished by the gods and left him to his plight!\n\nWhen morning came, the groaning Cyclops rolled aside the rock,\nstanding beside it with arms outstretched to catch his prisoners\nshould they attempt to escape. Seeing this, Ulysses tied his men under\nthe sheep, and, clinging to the fleece of the biggest ram, had himself\ndragged out of the cave. Passing his hand over the backs of the sheep\nto make sure the strangers were not riding on them, Polyphemus\nrecognized by touch his favorite ram, and feelingly ascribed its slow\npace to sympathy with his woes.\n\n  The master ram at last approach'd the gate,\n  Charged with his wool and with Ulysses' fate.\n  Him, while he pass'd, the monster blind bespoke:\n  \"What makes my ram the lag of all the flock?\n  First thou wert wont to crop the flowery mead,\n  First to the field and river's bank to lead,\n  And first with stately step at evening hour\n  Thy fleecy fellows usher to their bower.\n  Now far the last, with pensive pace and slow\n  Thou movest, as conscious of thy master's woe!\n  Seest thou these lids that now unfold in vain,\n  (The deed of Noman and his wicked train?)\n  Oh! didst thou feel for thy afflicted lord,\n  And would but fate the power of speech afford;\n  Soon might'st thou tell me where in secret here\n  The dastard lurks, all trembling with his fear:\n  Swung round and round and dash'd from rock to rock,\n  His batter'd brains should on the pavement smoke.\n  No ease, no pleasure my sad heart receives,\n  While such a monster as vile Noman lives.\"\n\nOnce out of the cave, Ulysses cut the bonds of his men, with whose aid\nhe drove part of Polyphemus' flock on board of his ship, which he had\nhidden in a cove. He and his companions were scudding safely past the\nheadland where blind Polyphemus idly sat, when Ulysses tauntingly\nraised his voice to make known his escape and real name. With a cry of\nrage, the giant flung huge masses of rock in the direction of his\nvoice, hotly vowing his father Neptune would yet avenge his wrongs!\n\n_Book X._ After leaving the island of the Cyclops, Ulysses visited\nAeolus, king of the winds, and was hospitably entertained in his cave.\nIn token of friendship and to enable Ulysses to reach home quickly,\nAeolus bottled up all the contrary winds, letting loose only those\nwhich would speed him on his way. On leaving Aeolus, Ulysses so\ncarefully guarded the skin bottle containing the adverse gales that\nhis men fancied it must contain jewels of great price. For nine days\nand nights Ulysses guided the rudder, and only when the shores of\nIthaca came in sight closed his eyes in sleep. This moment was\nseized by his crew to open the bottle, whence the captive winds\nescaped with a roar, stirring up a hurricane which finally drove them\nback to Aeolus' isle.\n\n  \"They said: and (oh cursed fate!) the thongs unbound!\n  The gushing tempest sweeps the ocean round;\n  Snatch'd in the whirl, the hurried navy flew,\n  The ocean widen'd and the shores withdrew.\n  Roused from my fatal sleep, I long debate\n  If still to live, or desperate plunge to fate;\n  Thus doubting, prostrate on the deck I lay,\n  Till all the coward thoughts of death gave way.\"\n\nOn seeing them return with tattered sails, Aeolus averred they had\nincurred the wrath of some god and therefore drove them away from his\nrealm. Toiling at the oar, they reached, after seven days, the harbor\nof the Laestrigonians, cannibal giants, from whose clutches only a few\nships escaped. Sorrowing for their lost friends, the Greeks next\nlanded in the island of Circe, where Ulysses remained with half his\nmen by the ships, while the rest set out to renew their supplies. This\nparty soon discovered the abode of the enchantress Circe, who, aware\nof their approach, had prepared a banquet and a magic drug. Enticed by\nher sweet voice, all the men save one sat down to her banquet, and ate\nso greedily that the enchantress, contemptuously waving her wand over\nthem, bade them assume the forms of the animals they most resembled! A\nmoment later a herd of grunting pigs surrounded her, pigs which,\nhowever, retained a distressing consciousness of their former human\nestate.\n\n  Milk newly press'd, the sacred flour of wheat,\n  And honey fresh, and Pramnian wines the treat:\n  But venom'd was the bread, and mix'd the bowl,\n  With drugs of force to darken all the soul:\n  Soon in the luscious feast themselves they lost,\n  And drank oblivion of their native coast.\n  Instant her circling wand the goddess waves,\n  To hogs transforms them, and the sty receives.\n  No more was seen the human form divine;\n  Head, face, and members, bristle into swine:\n  Still cursed with sense, their minds remain alone,\n  And their own voice affrights them when they groan.\n\nThis dire transformation was viewed with horror by the man lurking\noutside, who fled back to the ships, imploring Ulysses to depart.\nUnwilling to desert his men, Ulysses on the contrary set out for\nCirce's dwelling, meeting on the way thither Mercury in disguise, who\ngave him an herb to annul the effect of Circe's drugs and directed him\nhow to free his companions.\n\nFollowing these instructions, Ulysses entered Circe's abode, partook\nof the refreshments offered him, and, when she waved her wand over\nhim, threatened to kill her unless she restored his men to their\nwonted forms! The terrified Circe not only complied, but detained\nUlysses and his companions with her a full year. As at the end of that\ntime the men pleaded to return home, Ulysses told his hostess he must\nleave. Then she informed him he must first visit the Cimmerian shore\nand consult the shade of the blind seer Tiresias. The prospect of such\na journey greatly alarmed Ulysses, but when Circe had told him just\nhow to proceed, he bravely set out.\n\nWafted by favorable winds, Ulysses' ship soon reached the country of\neternal night. On landing there he dug a trench, and slew the black\nvictims Circe had given him, and with drawn sword awaited the approach\nof a host of shades, among whom he recognized a man killed by accident\non Circe's island, who begged for proper funeral rites. By Circe's\norder, Ulysses, after allowing the ghost of Tiresias to partake of the\nvictim's blood, learned from him that, although pursued by Neptune's\nvengeance, he and his men would reach home safely, provided they\nrespected the cattle of the Sun on the island of Trinacria. The seer\nadded that all who attacked them would perish, and that, even if he\nshould escape death and return home, he would have to slay his wife's\ninsolent suitors before he could rest in peace.\n\nAfter this had been accomplished, Ulysses was to resume his wanderings\nuntil he came to a land where the oar he carried would be mistaken for\na winnowing fan. There he was to offer a propitiatory sacrifice to\nNeptune, after which he would live to serene old age and die\npeacefully among his own people. His conversation with Tiresias\nfinished, Ulysses interviewed his mother--of whose demise he had not\nbeen aware--and conversed with the shades of sundry women noted for\nhaving borne sons to gods or to famous heroes.\n\n_Book XI._ This account had been heard with breathless interest by the\nPhaeacians, whose king now implored Ulysses to go on. The hero then\ndescribed his interview with the ghost of Agamemnon,--slain by his\nwife and her paramour on his return from Troy,--who predicted his safe\nreturn home, and begged for tidings of his son Orestes, of whom\nUlysses knew nought. Ulysses next beheld Achilles, who, although ruler\nof the dead, bitterly declared he would rather be the meanest laborer\non earth than monarch among shades!\n\n  \"Talk not of ruling in this dolorous gloom,\n  Nor think vain words (he cried) can ease my doom.\n  Rather I'd choose laboriously to bear\n  A weight of woes and breathe the vital air,\n  A slave to some poor hind that toils for bread,\n  Than reign the sceptered monarch of the dead.\"\n\nTo comfort him, Ulysses described how bravely his son had fought at\nthe taking of Troy, where he had been one of the men in the wooden\nhorse. The only shade which refused to approach Ulysses was that of\nAjax, who still resented his having won the armor of Achilles. Besides\nthese shades, Ulysses beheld the judges of Hades and the famous\nculprits of Tartarus. But, terrified by the \"innumerable nation of the\ndead\" crowding around him, he finally fled in haste to his vessel, and\nwas soon wafted back to Circe's shore.\n\n_Book XII._ There Ulysses buried his dead companion and, after\ndescribing his visit to Hades, begged his hostess' permission to\ndepart. Circe consented, warning him to beware of the Sirens, of the\nthreatening rocks, of the monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis\non either side of the Messenian Strait, and of the cattle of\nTrinacria, giving him minute directions how to escape unharmed from\nall these perils.\n\nMorning having come, Ulysses took leave of Circe, and, on nearing the\nreef of the Sirens, directed his men to bind him fast to the mast,\npaying no heed to his gestures, after he had stopped their ears with\nsoft wax. In this way he heard, without perishing, the Sirens'\nwonderful song, and it was only when it had died away in the distance\nand the spell ceased that his men unbound him from the mast.\n\n  \"Thus the sweet charmers warbled o'er the main;\n  My soul takes wing to meet the heavenly strain;\n  I give the sign, and struggle to be free:\n  Swift row my mates, and shoot along the sea;\n  New chains they add, and rapid urge the way,\n  Till, dying off, the distant sounds decay:\n  Then scudding swiftly from the dangerous ground,\n  The deafen'd ears unlock'd, the chains unbound.\"\n\nNot daring describe to his companions the threatened horrors of\nCharybdis and Scylla, Ulysses bade his steersman avoid the whirlpool,\nand, fully armed, prepared to brave the monster Scylla. But,\nnotwithstanding his preparations, she snatched from his galley six men\nwho were seen no more! Although reluctant to land on Trinacria for\nfear his sailors would steal the cattle of the Sun, Ulysses was\nconstrained to do so to allow them to rest. While they were there,\nunfavorable winds began to blow, and continued so long that the Greeks\nconsumed all their provisions, and, in spite of their efforts to\nsupply their larder by hunting and fishing, began to suffer from\nhunger. During one of Ulysses' brief absences the men, breaking their\npromises, slew some of the beeves of the Sun, which although slain\nmoved and lowed as if still alive! Undeterred by such miracles, the\nmen feasted, but, on embarking six days later, they were overtaken by\na tempest in which all perished save Ulysses. Clinging to the mast of\nhis wrecked ship, he drifted between Charybdis and Scylla, escaping\nfrom the whirlpool only by clinging to the branches at an overhanging\nfig-tree. Then, tossed by the waves for nine days longer, Ulysses was\nfinally cast on the isle of Ogygia, whence he had come directly to\nPhaeacia as already described.\n\n_Book XIII._ Having finished this account of his ten years'\nwanderings, Ulysses, after banqueting with Alcinous, was conveyed with\nhis gifts to the ship which was to take him home. Then, while he slept\nin the prow, the skilful Phaeacian rowers entered a sheltered Ithacan\nbay, where they set sleeper and gifts ashore and departed without\nawaiting thanks. They were about to re-enter their own port when\nNeptune, discovering they had taken his enemy home, struck their\nvessel with his trident, thus transforming it into the galley-shaped\nrock still seen there to-day.\n\nMeantime Ulysses, awakening, hid his treasures away in a cave. Then,\naccosted by Minerva in disguise, he gave a fantastic account of\nhimself, to which she lent an amused ear, before assuring him of her\nidentity and of his wife's fidelity. She then reported the insolence\nof the suitors lying in wait to murder Telemachus at his return, and\nsuggested that Ulysses, in the guise of an aged beggar, should visit\nhis faithful swineherd until time to make his presence known.\n\n_Book XIV._ Transformed by Minerva into a sordid mendicant, Ulysses\nnext visits the swineherd, who sets before him the best he has,\ncomplaining that the greedy suitors deplete his herds. This old\nservant is comforted when the beggar assures him his master will soon\nreturn and reports having seen him lately. Ulysses' fictitious account\nof himself serves as entertainment until the hour for rest, when the\ncharitable swineherd covers his guest with his best cloak.\n\n_Book XV._ Meantime Minerva, hastening to Sparta, awakens in the heart\nof the sleeping Telemachus a keen desire to return home, warns him of\nthe suitors' ambush, instructs him how to avoid it, and cautions him\non his return to trust none save the women on whose fidelity he can\ndepend. At dawn, therefore, Telemachus, after offering a sacrifice\nand receiving Menelaus' and Helen's parting gifts, sets out, cheered\nby favorable omens. Without pausing to visit Nestor,--whose son is to\nconvey his thanks,--Telemachus embarks, and, following Minerva's\ninstructions, lands near the swineherd's hut.\n\n_Book XVI._ The swineherd is preparing breakfast, when Ulysses warns\nhim a friend is coming, for his dogs fawn upon the stranger and do not\nbark. A moment later Telemachus enters the hut, and is warmly welcomed\nby his servant, who wishes him to occupy the place of honor at his\ntable. But Telemachus modestly declines it in favor of the aged\nstranger, to whom he promises clothes and protection as soon as he is\nmaster in his own house. Then he bids the swineherd notify his mother\nof his safe arrival, directing her to send word to Laertes of his\nreturn. This man has no sooner gone than Minerva restores Ulysses to\nmore than his wonted vigor and good looks, bidding him make himself\nknown to his son and concert with him how to dispose of the suitors.\nAmazed to see the beggar transformed into an imposing warrior,\nTelemachus is overjoyed to learn who he really is. The first\ntransports of joy over, Ulysses advises his son to return home, lull\nthe suitors' suspicions by specious words, and, after removing all\nweapons from the banquet hall, await the arrival of his father who\nwill appear in mendicant's guise.\n\nWhile father and son are thus laying their plans, Telemachus' vessel\nreaches port, where the suitors mourn the escape of their victim. They\ndare not, however, attack Telemachus openly, for fear of forfeiting\nPenelope's regard, and assure her they intend to befriend him.\nMeantime, having delivered his message to his mistress, the swineherd\nreturns to his hut, where he spends the evening with Telemachus and\nthe beggar, little suspecting the latter is his master.\n\n_Book XVII._ At daybreak Telemachus hastens back to the palace,\nwhither the swineherd is to guide the stranger later in the day, and\nis rapturously embraced by his mother. After a brief interview,\nTelemachus sends her back to her apartment to efface the trace of her\ntears, adding that he is on his way to the market-place to meet a\ntravelling companion whom he wishes to entertain. After welcoming this\nman with due hospitality, Telemachus gives his mother an account of\nhis trip. While he is thus occupied, Ulysses is wending his way to the\npalace, where he arrives just as the suitors' wonted revels reach\ntheir height. But as he enters the court-yard, his favorite hunting\ndog expires for joy on recognizing him.\n\n  He knew his lord;--he knew, and strove to meet;\n  In vain he strove to crawl and kiss his feet;\n  Yet (all he could) his tail, his ears, his eyes,\n  Salute his master and confess his joys.\n  Soft pity touch'd the mighty master's soul:\n  Adown his cheek a tear unbidden stole;\n  Stole unperceived: he turn'd his head, and dried\n  The drop humane.\n\nHumbly making the rounds of the tables like the beggar he seems,\nUlysses is treated kindly by Telemachus, but grossly insulted by the\nsuitors, one of whom, Antinous, actually flings a stool at him. Such a\nviolation of the rights of hospitality causes some commotion in the\npalace, and so rouses the indignation of Penelope that she expresses a\nwish to converse with the beggar, who may have heard of her absent\nspouse.\n\n_Book XVIII._ Meantime Ulysses has also come into conflict with the\ntown-beggar (Irus), a lusty youth, who challenges him to fight. To his\ndismay, Ulysses displays such a set of muscles on laying aside his\nrobe that the insolent challenger wishes to withdraw. He is, however,\ncompelled by the suitors to fight, and is thoroughly beaten by\nUlysses, whose strength arouses the suitors' admiration. Then, in\nreply to their questions, Ulysses favors them with another of those\ntales which do far more honor to his imagination than to his veracity.\n\nMeantime Penelope indulges in a nap, during which Minerva restores all\nher youthful charms. Then she descends into the hall, to chide\nTelemachus for allowing a stranger to be insulted beneath his father's\nroof. She next remarks that she foresees she will soon have to choose\na husband among the suitors present, as it is only too evident Ulysses\nis dead, and, under pretext of testing their generosity, induces them\nall to bestow upon her gifts, which she thriftily adds to her stores.\nBeside themselves with joy at the prospect that their long wooing will\nsoon be over, the suitors sing and dance, until Telemachus advises\nthem to return home.\n\n_Book XIX._ The suitors having gone, Ulysses helps Telemachus remove\nall the weapons, while the faithful nurse mounts guard over the palace\nwomen. Secretly helped by Minerva, father and son accomplish their\ntask, and are sitting before the fire when Penelope comes to ask the\nbeggar to relate when and how he met Ulysses. This time the stranger\ngives so accurate a description of Ulysses, that Penelope, wishing to\nshow him some kindness, summons the old nurse to bathe his feet.\nBecause she herself dozes while this homely task is being performed,\nshe is not aware that the old nurse recognizes her master by a scar on\nhis leg, and is cautioned by him not to make his presence known.\n\n  Deep o'er his knee inseam'd, remain'd the scar:\n  Which noted token of the woodland war\n  When Euryclea found, the ablution ceased;\n  Down dropp'd the leg, from her slack hand released:\n  The mingled fluids from the base redound;\n  The vase reclining floats the floor around!\n  Smiles dew'd with tears the pleasing strife express'd\n  Of grief, and joy, alternate in her breast.\n  Her fluttering words in melting murmurs died;\n  At length abrupt--\"My son!--my king!\" she cried.\n\nHer nap ended, Penelope resumes her conversation with the beggar,\ntelling him she has been favored by a dream portending the death of\nthe suitors. Still, she realizes there are two kinds of dreams,--those\nthat come true issuing from Somnus' palace by the gate of horn, while\ndeceptive dreams pass through an ivory gate. After providing for the\nbeggar's comfort, Penelope retires, and as usual spends most of the\nnight mourning for her absent partner.\n\n_Book XX._ Sleeping beneath the portico on the skins of the animals\nslain to feast the horde of suitors, Ulysses sees the maids slip out of\nthe palace to join the suitors, who have wooed them surreptitiously.\nThen he falls asleep and is visited by Minerva, who infuses new\nstrength and courage in his veins. At dawn Ulysses is awakened by\nTelemachus, and soon after the house is once more invaded by the\nsuitors, who with their own hands slay the animals provided for their\nfood. Once more they display their malevolence by ill treating the\nbeggar, and taunt Telemachus, who apparently pays no heed to their\nwords.\n\n_Book XXI._ Meantime Minerva has prompted Penelope to propose to the\nsuitors to string Ulysses' bow and shoot an arrow through twelve\nrings. Armed with this weapon, and followed by handmaids bearing bow,\nstring, and arrows, Penelope appears in the banquet-hall, where the\nsuitors eagerly accept her challenge. But, after Antinous has vainly\nstriven to bend the bow, the others warily try sundry devices to\nensure its pliancy.\n\nMeantime, noticing that the swineherd and one of his companions--upon\nwhose fidelity he counts--have left the hall, Ulysses follows them,\nmakes himself known by means of his scar, and directs them what to do.\nThen, returning into the hall, he silently watches the suitors'\nefforts to bend the bow, and, when the last has tried and failed,\nvolunteers to make the attempt, thereby rousing general ridicule. All\ngibes are silenced, however, when the beggar not only spans the bow,\nbut sends his first arrow through the twelve rings. At the same time\nthe faithful servants secure the doors of the apartment, and\nTelemachus, darting to his father's side, announces he is ready to\ntake part in the fray.\n\n_Book XXII._\n\n  Then fierce the hero o'er the threshold strode;\n  Stript of his rags, he blazed out like a god.\n  Full in their face the lifted bow he bore,\n  And quiver'd deaths, a formidable store;\n  Before his feet the rattling shower he threw,\n  And thus, terrific, to the suitor-crew:\n  \"One venturous game this hand hath won to-day;\n  Another, princes! yet remains to play:\n  Another mark our arrow must attain.\n  Phoebus, assist! nor be the labor vain.\"\n  Swift as the word the parting arrow sings;\n  And bears thy fate, Antinous, on its wings.\n  Wretch that he was, of unprophetic soul!\n  High in his hands he rear'd the golden bowl:\n  E'en then to drain it lengthen'd out his breath;\n  Changed to the deep, the bitter draught of death!\n  For fate who fear'd amidst a feastful band?\n  And fate to numbers, by a single hand?\n  Full through his throat Ulysses' weapon pass'd,\n  And pierced his neck. He falls, and breathes his last.\n\nGrimly announcing his second arrow will reach a different goal by\nApollo's aid, Ulysses shoots the insolent Antinous through the heart\nand then begins to taunt and threaten the other suitors. Gazing wildly\naround them for weapons or means of escape, these men discover how\ncleverly they have been trapped. One after another now falls beneath\nthe arrows of Ulysses, who bids his son hasten to the storeroom and\nprocure arms for them both as there are not arrows enough to dispose\nof his foes. Through Telemachus' heedlessness in leaving the doors\nopen, the suitors contrive to secure weapons too, and the fight in the\nhall rages until they all have been slain. Then the doors are thrown\nopen, and the faithless maids are compelled to remove the corpses and\npurify the room, before they are hanged!\n\n_Book XXIII._ The old nurse has meantime had the privilege of\nannouncing Ulysses' safe return to his faithful retainers, and last of\nall to the sleeping Penelope. Unable to credit such tidings,--although\nthe nurse assures her she has seen his scar,--Penelope imagines the\nsuitors must have been slain by some god who has come to her rescue.\nShe decides, therefore, to go down and congratulate her son upon being\nrid of those who preyed upon his wealth. Seeing she does not\nimmediately fall upon his father's neck, Telemachus hotly reproaches\nher, but she rejoins she must have some proof of the stranger's\nidentity and is evidently repelled by his unprepossessing appearance.\nHearing this, Ulysses suggests that all present purify themselves,\ndon fresh garments, and partake of a feast, enlivened by the songs of\ntheir bard. While he is attended by the old nurse, Minerva sheds upon\nhim such grace that, when he reappears, looking like a god, he dares\nreproach Penelope for not recognizing him. Then, hearing her order\nthat his bed be removed to the portico, he hotly demands who cut down\nthe tree which formed one of its posts? Because this fact is known\nonly to Penelope and to the builder of the bed, she now falls upon\nUlysses' neck, begging his pardon. Their joy at being united is marred\nonly by Ulysses' determination soon to resume his travels, and pursue\nthem until Tiresias' prediction has been fulfilled. That night is\nspent in mutual confidences in regard to all that has occurred during\ntheir twenty years' separation, and when morning dawns Ulysses and his\nson go to visit Laertes.\n\n_Book XXIV._ Mindful of his office as conductor of souls to Hades,\nMercury has meanwhile entered the palace of Ulysses, and, waving his\nwand, has summoned the spirits of the suitors, who, uttering plaintive\ncries, follow him down to the infernal regions.\n\n  Cyllenius now to Pluto's dreary reign\n  Conveys the dead, a lamentable train!\n  The golden wand, that causes sleep to fly,\n  Or in soft slumber seals the wakeful eye,\n  That drives the ghosts to realms of night or day,\n  Points out the long uncomfortable way.\n  Trembling the spectres glide, and plaintive vent\n  Thin hollow screams, along the deep descent.\n  As in the cavern of some rifty den,\n  Where flock nocturnal bats and birds obscene,\n  Cluster'd they hang, till at some sudden shock,\n  They move, and murmurs run through all the rock:\n  So cowering fled the sable heaps of ghosts;\n  And such a scream fill'd all the dismal coasts.\n\nThere they overhear Ajax giving Achilles a minute account of his\nfuneral,--the grandest ever seen,--and when questioned describe\nPenelope's stratagem in regard to the Web and to Ulysses' bow.\n\nMeanwhile Ulysses has arrived at his father's farm, where the old man\nis busy among his trees. To prepare Laertes for his return, Ulysses\nrelates one of his fairy tales ere he makes himself known. Like\nPenelope, Laertes proves incredulous, until Ulysses points out the\ntrees given him when a child and exhibits his scar.\n\n  Smit with the signs which all his doubts explain,\n  His heart within him melts; his knees sustain\n  Their feeble weight no more; his arms alone\n  Support him, round the loved Ulysses thrown:\n  He faints, he sinks, with mighty joys oppress'd:\n  Ulysses clasps him to his eager breast.\n\nTo celebrate their reunion, a banquet is held, which permits the\nIthacans to show their joy at their master's return. Meanwhile the\nfriends of the suitors, having heard of the massacre, determine to\navenge them by slaying father and son. But, aided by Minerva and\nJupiter, these two heroes present so formidable an appearance, that\nthe attacking party concludes a treaty, which restores peace to Ithaca\nand ends the Odyssey.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 3: The quotations of the Odyssey are taken from Pope's\ntranslation.]\n\n[Footnote 4: See chapter on Venus in the author's \"Myths of Greece and\nRome.\"]\n\n\n\n\nLATIN EPICS\n\n\nLatin literature took its source in the Greek, to which it owes much\nof its poetic beauty, for many of its masterpieces are either\ntranslations or imitations of the best Greek writings. There have\nbeen, for instance, numerous translations of the Iliad and Odyssey,\nthe first famous one being by the \"father of Roman dramatic and epic\npoetry,\" Livius Andronicus, who lived in the third century B.C. He\nalso attempted to narrate Roman history in the same strain, by\ncomposing an epic of some thirty-five books, which are lost.\n\nAnother poet, Naevius, a century later composed the Cyprian Iliad, as\nwell as a heroic poem on the first Punic war (Bellum Punicum), of\nwhich only fragments have come down to us. Then, in the second century\nbefore our era, Ennius made a patriotic attempt to sing the origin of\nRome in the Annales in eighteen books, of which only parts remain,\nwhile Hostius wrote an epic entitled Istria, which has also perished.\nLucretius' epic \"On the Nature of Things\" is considered an example of\nthe astronomical or physical epic.\n\nThe Augustan age proved rich in epic poets, such as Publius Terentius\nVarro, translator of the Argonautica and author of a poem on Julius\nCaesar; Lucius Varius Rufus, whose poems are lost; and, greatest of\nall, Virgil, of whose latest and greatest work, the Aeneid, a complete\nsynopsis follows. Next to this greatest Latin poem ranks Lucan's\nPharsalia, wherein he relates in ten books the rivalry between Caesar\nand Pompey, while his contemporary Statius, in his Thebais and\nunfinished Achilleis, works over the time-honored cycles of Th\u00e8bes and\nTroy. During the same period Silius Italicus supplied a lengthy poem\non the second Punic war, and Valerius Flaccus a new translation or\nadaptation of the Argonautica.\n\nIn the second century of our own era Quintius Curtius composed an epic\non Alexander, and in the third century Juvencus penned the first\nChristian epic, using the Life of Christ as his theme. In the fifth\ncentury Claudianus harked back to the old Greek myths of the battle of\nthe Giants and of the Abduction of Persephone, although by that time\nChristianity was well established in Italy. From that epoch Roman\nliterature practically ceased to exist, for although various attempts\nat Latin epics were made by mediaeval poets, none of them proved of\nsufficient merit to claim attention here.\n\n\n\n\nTHE AENEID\n\n\n_Book I._ After stating he is about to sing the deeds of the heroic\nancestor of the Romans, Virgil describes how, seven years after\nescaping from burning Troy, Aeneas' fleet was overtaken by a terrible\nstorm off the coast of Africa. This tempest, raised by the turbulent\nchildren of Aeolus at Juno's request, threatened before long to\ndestroy the Trojan fleet. But, disturbed by the commotion overhead and\nby Aeneas' frantic prayers for help, Neptune suddenly arose from the\nbottom of the sea, angrily ordered the winds back to their cave, and\nsummoned sea-nymphs and tritons to the Trojans' aid. Soon, therefore,\nseven of the vessels came to anchor in a sheltered bay, where Aeneas\nlanded with his friend Achates. While reconnoitring, they managed to\nkill seven stags with which to satisfy the hunger of the men, whom\nAeneas further cheered by the assurance that they were the destined\nancestors of a mighty people.\n\nMeantime Venus, beholding the plight of her son Aeneas, had hastened\noff to Olympus to remind Jupiter of his promise to protect the remnant\nof the Trojan race. Bestowing a kiss, the King of the Gods assured her\nthat after sundry vicissitudes Aeneas would reach Italy, where in due\ntime his son would found Alba Longa. Jupiter added a brief sketch of\nwhat would befall this hero's race, until, some three hundred years\nafter his death, one of his descendants, the Vestal Ilia, would bear\ntwin sons to Mars, god of War. One of these, Romulus, would found\nthe city of Rome, where the Trojan race would continue its heroic\ncareer and where Caesar would appear to fill the world with his fame.\n\n  \"From Troy's fair stock shall Caesar rise,\n  The limits of whose victories\n  Are ocean, of his fame the skies.\"[5]\n\nHaving thus quieted Venus' apprehensions in regard to her son, Jupiter\ndirected Mercury to hasten off to Carthage so as to warn Dido she is\nto receive hospitably the Trojan guests.\n\nAfter a sleepless night Aeneas again set out with Achates to explore,\nand encountered in the forest his goddess mother in the guise of a\nTyrian huntress. In respectful terms--for he suspected she was some\ndivinity in disguise--Aeneas begged for information and learned he has\nlanded in the realm of Dido. Warned in a vision that her brother had\nsecretly slain her husband and was plotting against her life, this\nTyrian queen had fled from Tyre with friends and wealth, and, on\nreaching this part of Africa, had, thanks to the clever device of a\nbull's hide, obtained land enough to found the city of Byrsa or\nCarthage. In return Aeneas gave the strange huntress his name,\nrelating how the storm had scattered all his vessels save the seven\nanchored close by. To allay his anxiety in regard to his friends,\nVenus assured him that twelve swans flying overhead were omens of the\nsafety of his ships, and it was only when she turned to leave him that\nAeneas recognized his mother, who, notwithstanding his desire to\nembrace her, promptly disappeared.\n\nThe two Trojans now walked on in the direction she indicated until\ndazzled by the beauty of the new city of Carthage, which was rising\nrapidly, thanks to the activity of Dido's subjects. In its centre\nstood a wonderful temple, whose brazen gates were decorated with\nscenes from the War of Troy. Hidden from all eyes by a divine mist,\nAeneas and Achates tearfully gazed upon these reminders of the glories\npast and mingled with the throng until Queen Dido appeared.\n\nShe was no sooner seated upon her throne than she summoned into her\npresence some prisoners just secured, in whom Aeneas recognized with\njoy the various captains of his missing ships. Then he overheard them\nbewail the storm which robbed them of their leader, and was pleased\nbecause Dido promised them entertainment and ordered a search made for\ntheir chief.\n\nThe right moment having come, the cloud enveloping Aeneas and Achates\nparted, and Dido thus suddenly became aware of the presence of other\nstrangers in their midst. Endowed by Venus with special attractions so\nas to secure the favor of the Libyan queen, Aeneas stepped gracefully\nforward, made himself known, and, after paying due respect to the\nqueen, joyfully greeted his comrades. Happy to harbor so famous a\nwarrior, Dido invited Aeneas to a banquet in her palace, an invitation\nhe gladly accepted, charging Achates to hasten back to the ships to\nannounce their companions' safety and to summon Iulus or Ascanius to\njoin his father. To make quite sure Aeneas should captivate Dido's\nheart, Venus now substituted Cupid for Iulus, whom she meantime\nconveyed to one of her favorite resorts. It was therefore in the guise\nof the Trojan prince that Cupid, during the banquet, caressingly\nnestled in Dido's arms and stealthily effaced from her heart all\ntraces of her former husband's face, filling it instead with a\nresistless passion for Aeneas, which soon impelled her to invite him\nto relate his escape from Troy.\n\n_Book II._ With the eyes of all present upon him, Aeneas related how\nthe Greeks finally devised a colossal wooden horse, wherein their\nbravest chiefs remained concealed while the remainder of their forces\npretended to sail home, although they anchored behind a neighboring\nisland to await the signal to return and sack Troy. Overjoyed by the\ndeparture of the foe, the Trojans hastened down to the shore, where,\non discovering the huge wooden horse, they joyfully proposed to drag\nit into their city as a trophy. In vain their priest, Laocoon,\nimplored them to desist, hurling his spear at the horse to prove it\nwas hollow and hence might conceal some foe. This daring and apparent\nsacrilege horrified the Trojans, who, having secured a Greek fugitive\nin a swamp near by, besought him to disclose what purpose the horse\nwas to serve. Pretending to have suffered great injustice at the\nGreeks' hands, the slave (Sinon) replied that if they removed the\nwooden horse into their walls the Trojans would greatly endanger the\nsafety of their foes, who had left it on the shore to propitiate\nNeptune. Enticed by this prospect, the Trojans proved more eager than\never to drag the horse into their city, even though it necessitated\npulling down part of their walls. Meantime part of the crowd gathered\nabout Laocoon who was to offer public thanks on the sea-shore, but,\neven while he was standing at the altar, attended by his sons, two\nhuge serpents arose out of the sea and, coiling fiercely around priest\nand both acolytes, throttled them in spite of their efforts.\n\n  He strains his strength their knots to tear,\n  While gore and slime his fillets smear,\n  And to the unregardful skies\n  Sends up his agonizing cries.\n\nOn seeing this, the horror-struck Trojans immediately concluded\nLaocoon was being punished for having attacked the wooden horse, which\nthey joyfully dragged into Troy, although the prophet-princess,\nCassandra, besought them to desist, foretelling all manner of woe.\n\nNight now fell upon the city, where, for the first time in ten years,\nall slept peacefully without fear of surprise. At midnight Sinon\nreleased the captive Greeks from the wooden steed, and, joined by\ntheir companions, who had noiselessly returned, they swarmed all over\nthe undefended city. Aeneas graphically described for Dido's benefit\nhis peaceful sleep, when the phantom of the slaughtered Hector bade\nhim arise and flee with his family, because the Greeks had already\ntaken possession of Troy! At this moment loud clamors awakened him,\nconfirming what he had just heard in dream. Aeneas immediately rushed\nto the palace to defend his king, he and his men stripping the armor\nfrom fallen Greeks to enable them to get there unmolested. Still, they\narrived only in time to see Achilles' son rush into the throne-room\nand cruelly murder the aged Priam after killing his youngest son. They\nalso beheld the shrieking women ruthlessly dragged off into captivity,\nCassandra wildly predicting the woes which would befall the Greek\nchiefs on their way home.\n\n  Ah see! the Priameian fair,\n  Cassandra, by her streaming hair\n    Is dragged from Pallas' shrine,\n  Her wild eyes raised to Heaven in vain--\n  Her eyes, alas! for cord and chain\n    Her tender hands confine.\n\nThe fall of aged Priam and the plight of the women reminding Aeneas of\nthe danger of his own father, wife, and son, he turned to rush home.\nOn his way thither he met his mother, who for a moment removed the\nmortal veil from his eyes, to let him see Neptune, Minerva, and Juno\nzealously helping to ruin Troy. Because Venus passionately urged her\nson to escape while there was yet time, Aeneas, on reaching home,\nbesought his father Anchises to depart, but it was only when the old\nman saw a bright flame hover over the head of his grandson, Iulus,\nthat he realized heaven intended to favor his race and consented to\nleave. Seeing him too weak to walk, his son bade him hold the\nhousehold goods, and carried him off on his back, leading his boy by\nthe hand and calling to his wife and servants to follow. Thus\nburdened, Aeneas reached a ruined fane by the shore, only to discover\nhis beloved wife was missing. Anxiously retracing his footsteps, he\nencountered her shade, which bade him cease seeking for her among the\nliving and hasten to Hesperia, where a new wife and home awaited him.\n\n  \"Then, while I dewed with tears my cheek\n   And strove a thousand things to speak,\n     She melted into night:\n   Thrice I essayed her neck to clasp:\n   Thrice the vain semblance mocked my grasp,\n     As wind or slumber light.\"\n\nThus enlightened in regard to his consort's fate and wishes, Aeneas\nhastened back to his waiting companions, and with them prepared to\nleave the Trojan shores.\n\n_Book III._ Before long Aeneas' fleet landed on the Thracian coast,\nwhere, while preparing a sacrifice, our hero was horrified to see\nblood flow from the trees he cut down. This phenomenon was, however,\nexplained by an underground voice, relating how a Trojan was robbed\nand slain by the inhabitants of this land, and how trees had sprung\nfrom the javelins stuck in his breast.\n\nUnwilling to linger in such a neighborhood, Aeneas sailed to Delos,\nwhere an oracle informed him he would be able to settle only in the\nland whence his ancestors had come. Although Anchises interpreted this\nto mean they were to go to Crete, the household gods informed Aeneas,\nduring the journey thither, that Hesperia was their destined goal.\nAfter braving a three-days tempest, Aeneas landed on the island of the\nHarpies, horrible monsters who defiled the travellers' food each time\na meal was spread. They not only annoyed Aeneas in this way, but\npredicted, when attacked, that he should find a home only when driven\nby hunger to eat boards.\n\n  \"But ere your town with walls ye fence,\n     Fierce famine, retribution dread\n   For this your murderous violence,\n     Shall make you eat your boards for bread.\"\n\nSailing off again, the Trojans next reached Epirus, which they found\ngoverned by Helenus, a Trojan, for Achilles' son had already been\nslain. Although Hector's widow was now queen of the realm where she\nhad been brought a captive, she still mourned for her noble husband,\nand gladly welcomed the fugitives for his sake. It was during the\nparting sacrifice that Helenus predicted that, after long wanderings,\nhis guests would settle in Italy, in a spot where they would find a\nwhite sow suckling thirty young. He also cautioned Aeneas about the\nhidden dangers of Charybdis and Scylla, and bade him visit the Cumaean\nSibyl, so as to induce her, if possible, to lend him her aid.\n\nRestored and refreshed by this brief sojourn among kinsmen, Aeneas and\nhis followers resumed their journey, steering by the stars and\navoiding all landing in eastern or southern Italy which was settled by\nGreeks. After passing Charybdis and Scylla unharmed, and after gazing\nin awe at the plume of smoke crowning Mt. Aetna, the Trojans rescued\none of the Greeks who had escaped with Ulysses from the Cyclops' cave\nbut who had not contrived to sail away.\n\nTo rest his weary men, Aeneas finally landed at Drepanum, in Sicily,\nwhere his old father died and was buried with all due pomp. It was\nshortly after leaving this place, that Aeneas' fleet had been\novertaken by the terrible tempest which had driven his vessels to\nDido's shore.\n\n  So King Aeneas told his tale\n    While all beside were still,\n  Rehearsed the fortunes of his sail\n    And fate's mysterious will:\n  Then to its close his legend brought\n  And gladly took the rest he sought.\n\n_Book IV._ While Aeneas rested peacefully, Dido's newborn passion kept\nher awake, causing her at dawn to rouse her sister Anna, so as to\nimpart to her the agitated state of her feelings. Not only did Anna\nencourage her sister to marry again, but united with her in a prayer\nto which Venus graciously listened, although Juno reminded her that\nTrojans and Carthaginians were destined to be foes. Still, as Goddess\nof Marriage, Juno finally consented that Aeneas and Dido be brought\ntogether in the course of that day's hunt.\n\nWe now have a description of the sunrise, of the preparations for the\nchase, of the queen's dazzling appearance, and of the daring\nhuntsmanship of the false Iulus. But the brilliant hunting expedition\nis somewhat marred in the middle of the day by a sudden thunderstorm,\nduring which Aeneas and Dido accidentally seek refuge in the same\ncave, where we are given to understand their union takes place. So\nmomentous a step, proclaimed by the hundred-mouthed Goddess of Fame,\nrouses the ire of the native chiefs, one of whom fervently hopes\nCarthage may rue having spared these Trojan refugees. This prayer is\nduly registered by Jupiter, who further bids Mercury remind Aeneas his\nnew realm is to be founded in Italy and not on the African coast!\n\nThus divinely ordered to leave, Aeneas dares not disobey, but,\ndreading Dido's reproaches and tears, he prepares to depart secretly.\nHis plans are, however, detected by Dido, who vehemently demands, how\nhe dares forsake her now? By Jupiter's orders, Aeneas remains unmoved\nby her reproaches, and sternly reminds her that he always declared he\nwas bound for Italy. So, leaving Dido to brood over her wrongs, Aeneas\nhastens down to the shore to hasten his preparations for departure.\nSeeing this, Dido implores her sister to detain her lover, and, as\nthis proves vain, orders a pyre erected, on which she places all the\nobjects Aeneas has used.\n\nThat night the gods arouse Aeneas from slumber to bid him sail without\ntaking leave of the Tyrian queen. In obedience to this command, our\nhero cuts with his sword the rope which moors his vessel to the\nCarthaginian shore, and sails away, closely followed by the rest of\nhis fleet. From the watch-tower at early dawn, Dido discovers his\nvanishing sails, and is so overcome by grief that, after rending \"her\ngolden length of hair\" and calling down vengeance upon Aeneas, she\nstabs herself and breathes her last in the midst of the burning pyre.\nThe Carthaginians, little expecting so tragical a denouement, witness\nthe agony of their beloved queen in speechless horror, while Anna\nwails aloud. Gazing down from heaven upon this sad scene, Juno\ndirects Iris to hasten down and cut off a lock of Dido's hair, for it\nis only when this mystic ceremony has been performed that the soul can\nleave the body. Iris therefore speedily obeys, saying:\n\n  \"This lock to Dis I bear away\n   And free you from your load of clay:\"\n   So shears the lock: the vital heats\n   Disperse, and breath in air retreats.\n\n_Book V._ Sailing on, Aeneas, already dismayed by the smoke rising\nfrom the Carthaginian shore, is further troubled by rapidly gathering\nclouds. His weather-wise pilot, Palinurus, suggests that, since \"the\nwest is darkening into wrath,\" they run into the Drepanum harbor,\nwhich they enter just one year after Anchises' death. There they show\ndue respect to the dead by a sacrifice, of which a serpent takes his\ntithe, and proceed to celebrate funeral games. We now have a detailed\naccount of the winning of prizes for the naval, foot, horse and\nchariot races, and the boxing and archery matches.\n\nWhile all the men are thus congenially occupied, the Trojan women,\ninstigated by Juno in disguise, set fire to the ships, so they need no\nlonger wander over seas they have learned to loathe. One of the\nwarriors, seeing the smoke, raises the alarm, and a moment later his\ncompanions dash down to the shore to save their ships. Seeing his\nfleet in flames, Aeneas wrings his hands, and prays with such fervor\nthat a cloudburst drenches his burning vessels. Four, however, are\nbeyond repair; so Aeneas, seeing he no longer has ship-room for all\nhis force, allows the Trojans most anxious to rest to settle in\nDrepanum, taking with him only those who are willing to share his\nfortunes.\n\nBefore he leaves, his father's ghost appears to him, bidding him,\nbefore settling in Latium, descend into Hades by way of Lake Avernus,\nand visit him in the Elysian Fields to hear what is to befall his\nrace.\n\nWhen Aeneas leaves Drepanum on the next day, his mother pleads so\nsuccessfully in his behalf that Neptune promises to exact only one\nlife as toll.\n\n  \"One life alone shall glut the wave;\n   One head shall fall the rest to save.\"\n\n_Book VI._ Steering to Cumae, where the Sibyl dwells, Aeneas seeks her\ncave, whose entrance is barred by bronzen gates, on which is\nrepresented the story of Daedalus,--the first bird man,--who, escaping\nfrom the Labyrinth at Crete, gratefully laid his wings on this altar.\nWe are further informed that the Sibyl generally wrote her oracles on\nseparate oak leaves, which were set in due order in her cave, but\nwhich the wind, as soon as the doors opened, scattered or jumbled\ntogether, so that most of her predictions proved unintelligible to\nthose who visited her shrine. After a solemn invocation, Aeneas\nbesought her not to baffle him by writing on oak leaves, and was\nfavored by her apparition and the announcement that, after escaping\nsundry perils by land and sea and reddening the Tiber with blood, he\nwould, thanks to Greek aid, triumph over his foes and settle in Latium\nwith a new bride. Undaunted by the prospect of these trials, Aeneas\nbesought the Sibyl to guide him down to Hades, to enable him to visit\nhis father, a journey she flatly refused to undertake, unless he\nprocured the golden bough which served as a key to that region, and\nunless he showed due respect to the corpse of his friend. Although\nboth conditions sounded mysterious when uttered, Aeneas discovered, on\nrejoining his crew, that one of his Trojans had been slain. After\ncelebrating his funeral, our hero wandered off into a neighboring\nforest, where some doves--his mother's birds--guided him to the place\nwhere grew the golden bough he coveted.\n\nArmed with this talisman and escorted by the Sibyl, Aeneas, by way of\nLake Avernus, entered the gloomy cave which formed the entrance to\nHades. Following the flying footsteps of his mystic guide, he there\nplunged into the realm of night, soon reaching the precinct of\ndeparted souls, where he saw innumerable shades. Although he\nimmediately crossed the river in Charon's leaky punt, many spirits\nwere obliged to wait a hundred years, simply because they could not\npay for their passage. Among these unfortunates Aeneas recognized his\nrecently drowned pilot, who related how he had come to his death and\nby what means he was going to secure funeral honors.\n\nIn spite of the three-headed dog and sundry other grewsome sights,\nAeneas and his guide reached the place where Minos holds judgment over\narriving souls, and viewed the region where those who died for love\nwere herded together. Among these ghosts was Dido, but, although\nAeneas pityingly addressed her, she sullenly refused to answer a word.\nFarther on Aeneas came to the place of dead heroes, and there beheld\nbrave Hector and clever Teucer, together with many other warriors who\ntook part in the Trojan War.\n\nAfter allowing him to converse a brief while with these friends, the\nSibyl vouchsafed Aeneas a passing glimpse of Tartarus and of its great\ncriminals, then she hurried him on to the Elysian Fields, the home of\n\"the illustrious dead, who fighting for their country bled,\" to\ninquire for Anchises. The visitors were immediately directed to a\nquiet valley, where they found the aged Trojan, pleasantly occupied\ncontemplating the unborn souls destined to pass gradually into the\nupper world and animate the bodies of his progeny. On beholding his\nson, who, as at Drepanum, vainly tried to embrace him, Anchises\nrevealed all he had learned in regard to life, death, and immortality,\nand gave a synopsis of the history of Rome for the next thousand\nyears, naming its great worthies, from Romulus, founder of Rome, down\nto Augustus, first emperor and ruler of the main part of the world.\n\nThis account of the glories and vicissitudes of his race takes\nconsiderable time, and when it is finished the Sibyl guides Aeneas\nback to earth by one of the two gates which lead out of this dismal\nregion. Pleased with having accomplished his errand so successfully\nand duly encouraged by all he has learned, Aeneas returns to his fleet\nand sets sail for the home he is so anxious to reach.\n\n_Book VII._ We now skirt with Aeneas the west coast of Italy, sail\npast Circe's island, and see his ships driven up the winding Tiber by\nfavorable winds. On his first landing the Muse Erato rehearses for our\nbenefit the history of the Latins, whose royal race, represented at\npresent by Latinus, claims to descend from Saturn. Although Latinus\nhas already betrothed his daughter Lavinia to Turnus, a neighboring\nprince, he is favored by an omen at the moment when the Trojans land.\nOn seeking an interpretation of this sign, he learns he is not to\nbestow his daughter upon Turnus, but is to reserve her hand for a\nstranger, whose descendants will be powerful indeed.\n\nMeantime the Trojans feast upon meat which is served to each man on a\nwheaten cake. Young Iulus, greedily devouring his, exclaims playfully\nthat he is so hungry he has actually eaten the board on which his meal\nwas spread! Hearing these significant words, his happy father exclaims\nthey have reached their destined goal, since the Harpies' terrifying\nprophecy has been fulfilled.\n\n  \"Hail, auspicious land!\" he cries,\n     \"So long from Fate my due!\n   All hail, ye Trojan deities,\n     To Trojan fortunes true!\n   At length we rest, no more to roam.\n   Here is our country, here our home.\"\n\nThen the Trojans begin to explore, and, discovering Latinus' capital,\nsend thither an embassy of a hundred men, who are hospitably\nentertained. After hearing all they have to say, Latinus assures them\nthat men of his race once migrated from Asia, and that the gods have\njust enjoined upon him to bestow his daughter upon a foreign\nbridegroom. When he proposes to unite Lavinia to Aeneas, Juno, unable\nto prevent a marriage decreed by Fate, tries to postpone it by\ninfuriating Amata, mother of the bride, and causing her to flee into\nthe woods with her daughter.\n\nNot satisfied with one manifestation of power, Juno despatches Discord\nto ask Turnus if he will tamely allow his promised bride to be given\nto another man? Such a taunt is sufficient to determine hot-headed\nTurnus to make war, but, as a pretext is lacking, one of the Furies\nprompts Iulus to pursue and wound the pet stag of a young shepherdess\ncalled Sylvia. The distress of this rustic maid so excites her\nshepherd brothers that they fall upon the Trojans, who, of course,\ndefend themselves, and thus the conflict begins. Having successfully\nbroken the peace, Discord hastens back to Juno, who, seeing Latinus\nwould fain remain neutral, compels him to take part in the war by\nopening with her own hand the gates of the temple of Janus. Here the\npoet recites the names of the various heroes about to distinguish\nthemselves on either side, specially mentioning in the Rutules' force\nMezentius, his son Lausus, and the Volscian maid Camilla, who prefers\nthe stirring life of a camp to the peaceful avocations of her sex.\n\n_Book VIII._ Because Turnus is reinforced by many allies, Aeneas is\nanxious to secure some too, and soon sets out to seek the aid of\nEvander, king of Etruria, formerly a Greek. On his way to this realm,\nAeneas perceives on the banks of the Tiber a white sow with thirty\nyoung, which he sacrifices to the gods in gratitude for having pointed\nout to him the spot where his future capital will rise. On reaching\nthe Etruscan's stronghold, Aeneas readily secures the promise of a\nlarge contingent of warriors, who prepare to join him under the\ncommand of Pallas, son of the king. He then assists at a great\nEtruscan banquet in honor of one of Hercules' triumphs, and while he\nis sleeping there his mother, Venus, induces her blacksmith husband,\nVulcan, to make him a suit of armor.\n\nDawn having appeared, Evander entertains his guests with tales, while\nhis son completes his preparations. Aeneas' departure, however, is\nhastened by Venus, who warns her son that his camp is in danger when\nshe delivers to him the armor she has procured. This is adorned by\nmany scenes in the coming history of Rome, among which special mention\nis made of the twins suckled by the traditional wolf, of the\nkidnapping of the Sabines, and of the heroic deeds of Cocles, Cloelia,\nand Manlius, as well as battles and festivals galore.[6]\n\n_Book IX._ Meantime, obedient to Turnus' orders, the Rutules have\nsurrounded the Trojan camp and set fire to Aeneas' ships. But, as Fate\nhas decreed these vessels shall be immortal, they sink beneath the\nwaves as soon as the flames touch them, only to reappear a moment\nlater as ocean-nymphs and swim down the Tiber to warn Aeneas of the\ndanger of his friends. This miracle awes the foe, until Turnus boldly\ninterprets it in his favor, whereupon the Rutules attack the\nforeigners' camp so furiously that the Trojans gladly accept the\nproposal made by Nisus and Euryalus to slip out and summon Aeneas to\nreturn.\n\nStealing out of the Trojan camp by night, these two heroes bravely\nthread their way through their sleeping foes, killing sundry famous\nwarriors as they go, and appropriating choice bits of their spoil.\nLeaving death in their wake, the two Trojans pass through the enemy's\nranks and finally enter a forest, where they are pursued by a troop of\nthe Volscians, who surround and slay Euryalus. But, although Nisus\nfirst manages to escape from their hands, he returns to defend his\ncomrade and is slain too. The Volscians therefore bear two bloody\nheads to the Rutules camp to serve as their war standards on the next\nday. It is thus that Euryalus' mother becomes aware of the death of\nher son, whom she mourns in touching terms.\n\n        \"Was it this, ah me,\n  I followed over land and sea?\n  O slay me, Rutules! if ye know\n  A mother's love, on me bestow\n    The tempest of your spears!\n  Or thou, great Thunderer, pity take,\n  And whelm me 'neath the Stygian lake,\n  Since otherwise I may not break\n    This life of bitter tears!\"\n\nTo recount all the deeds of valor performed on this day would require\nmuch space, but, although Mars inspires the party of Aeneas with great\ncourage, it is evidently on the verge of defeat when Jupiter orders\nTurnus to withdraw.\n\n_Book X._ Having convoked his Olympian council, Jupiter forbids the\ngods to interfere on either side, and decrees that the present quarrel\nshall be settled without divine aid. Hearing this, Venus vehemently\nprotests that, having promised her son should found a new realm in\nItaly, he is bound to protect him, while Juno argues with equal force\nthat the Trojans should be further punished for kidnapping Helen.\nSilencing both goddesses, Jupiter reiterates his orders and dissolves\nthe assembly.\n\nThe scene now changes back to earth, where the Trojans, closely hemmed\nin by foes, long for Aeneas' return. He, on his way back, encounters\nthe sea-nymphs, who explain they were once his ships and bid him\nhasten and rescue his son. Thus admonished, Aeneas hurries back, to\ntake part in a battle where many heroic deeds are performed, and where\nTurnus, Mezentius, and Lausus prove bravest on the enemy's side,\nalthough they find their match in Aeneas, Pallas, and Iulus. Among the\nbrilliant duels fought, mention must be made of one between Pallas and\nTurnus, where notwithstanding his courage the Trojan prince succumbs.\nAfter stripping his companion of his armor, Turnus abandons his corpse\nto his friends, who mourn to think that he lost his life while helping\nthem. Vowing to avenge him, Aeneas next attacks his foe with such fury\nthat it seems as if Turnus' last day has come, but Juno pleads so\neloquently in his behalf, that, although Fate has decreed he shall\nperish, she grants him brief respite.\n\nTo preserve Turnus from the deadly blows of the real Aeneas, Juno\ncauses him to pursue a phantom foe on board a ship, whose moorings she\nloosens, thus setting him adrift upon the Tiber. Perceiving only then\nhow he has been tricked, Turnus threatens to slay himself, but is\nrestrained by Juno, who after awhile allows him to land and return to\nthe battle. Thus deprived of his principal foe, Aeneas ranges over the\nbattle-field, where he wounds Mezentius and kills Lausus. Seeing his\nbeloved son is gone, Mezentius is so anxious to die that he now offers\nan unresisting throat to Aeneas, who slays him on the spot.\n\n  \"One boon (if vanquished foe may crave\n   The victor's grace) I ask--a grave.\n   My wrathful subjects round me wait:\n   Protect me from their savage hate,\n   And let me in the tomb enjoy\n   The presence of my slaughtered boy.\"\n\n_Book XI._ Having made a trophy of the enemies' spoil, Aeneas, even\nbefore proceeding to bury his own comrades, adorns the body of Pallas\nand sends it back to Etruria. Then he bargains with Turnus'\nambassadors for a twelve-days truce, during which both parties\ncelebrate pompous funerals, the finest of all being that of Pallas.\n\nHoping to check further bloodshed, Latinus now proposes a peace, whose\nterms Aeneas is willing to accept, but which Turnus angrily rejects\nsince they deprive him of his promised bride. The conflict is\ntherefore resumed, and the next interesting episode refers to Camilla,\nthe warrior maid, whose father when she was only a babe tied her to\nthe shaft of his spear and flung her across a torrent he was unable to\nstem with her in his arms. Having thus saved her from the enemy's\nclutches, this father taught Camilla to fight so bravely, that she\ncauses dire havoc among the Trojans before she dies, using her last\nbreath to implore Turnus to hasten to the rescue.\n\n  \"Go: my last charge to Turnus tell,\n   To haste with succor, and repel\n   The Trojans from the town--farewell.\"\n   She spoke, and speaking, dropped her rein,\n   Perforce descending to the plain.\n   Then by degrees she slips away\n   From all that heavy load of clay:\n   Her languid neck, her drowsy head\n   She droops to earth, of vigor sped:\n   She lets her martial weapons go:\n   The indignant soul flies down below.\n\n_Book XII._ Unappeased by Latinus' reiterated assertions that he is\nbestowing Lavinia upon a stranger merely to obey the gods, or by the\nentreaties in which Amata now joins, Turnus still refuses peace. More\nfighting therefore ensues, during which Aeneas is wounded in the\nthigh. While his leech is vainly trying to stanch his blood, Venus\ndrops a magic herb into the water used for bathing his wounds and thus\nmiraculously cures him. Plunging back into the fray, which becomes so\nhorrible that Amata brings Lavinia home and commits suicide, Turnus\nand Aeneas finally meet in duel, but, although Juno would fain\ninterfere once more in behalf of her prot\u00e9g\u00e9, Jupiter refuses to allow\nit. But he grants instead his wife's petition that the Trojan name and\nlanguage shall forever be merged into that of the Latin race.\n\n  \"Let Latium prosper as she will,\n   Their thrones let Alban monarchs fill;\n   Let Rome be glorious on the earth,\n   The centre of Italian worth;\n   But fallen Troy be fallen still,\n     The nation and the name.\"\n\nToward the end of this momentous encounter, during which both heroes\nindulged in sundry boastful speeches, a bird warns Turnus that his end\nis near, and his sister Juturna basely deserts him. Driven to bay and\ndeprived of all other weapons, Turnus finally hurls a rock at Aeneas,\nwho, dodging this missile, deals him a deadly wound. Turnus now\npitifully begs for mercy, but the sight of Pallas' belt, which his foe\nproudly wears, so angers Aeneas that, after wrathfully snatching it\nfrom him, he deals his foe the deadly blow which ends this epic.\n\n  \"What! in my friend's dear spoils arrayed\n     To me for mercy sue?\n   'Tis Pallas, Pallas guides the blade:\n   From your cursed blood his injured shade\n     Thus takes atonement due.\"\n   Thus as he spoke, his sword he drave\n     With fierce and fiery blow\n   Through the broad breast before him spread:\n   The stalwart limbs grow cold and dead:\n   One groan the indignant spirit gave,\n     Then sought the shades below.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 5: All the quotations in this article are from Virgil's\nAeneid, Conington's translation.]\n\n[Footnote 6: See the author's \"Story of the Romans.\"]\n\n\n\n\nFRENCH EPICS\n\n\nThe national epic in France bears the characteristic name of Chanson\nde Geste, or song of deed, because the trouv\u00e8res in the north and the\ntroubadours in the south wandered from castle to castle singing the\nprowesses of the lords and of their ancestors, whose reputations they\nthus made or ruined at will.\n\nIn their earliest form these Chansons de Geste were invariably in\nverse, but in time the most popular were turned into lengthy prose\nromances. Many of the hundred or more Chansons de Geste still\npreserved were composed in the northern dialect, or langue d'oil, and,\nalthough similar epics did exist in the langue d'oc, they have the\n\"great defect of being lost,\" and only fragments of Flamen\u00e7a, etc.,\nnow exist.\n\nThere are three great groups or cycles of French epics: first the\nCycle of France, dealing specially with Charlemagne,--the champion of\nChristianity,--who, representing Christ, is depicted surrounded by\ntwelve peers instead of twelve disciples. Among these, to carry out\nthe scriptural analogy, lurks a traitor, Ganelon; so, in the course of\nthe poems, we are favored with biblical miracles, such as the sun\npausing in its course until pagans can be punished, and angels\nappearing to comfort dying knights. The finest sample of this cycle is\nwithout doubt the famous Chanson de Roland, of which a complete\nsynopsis follows. Other remarkable examples of this cycle are\nAliscans, Raoul de Cambrai, Garin le Lorrain, Guillaume d'Orange, Les\nQuatre Fils d'Aymon, Ogier le Danois, etc.\n\nEven the character of the hero varies from age to age, for whereas\nCharlemagne in the Chanson de Roland--which dates perhaps as far back\nas the tenth century--is a heroic figure, he becomes during later\nperiods, when vassals rise up against their overlords,--an object of\ncontempt and ridicule. A marked example of this latter style of\ntreatment is furnished by Les Quatre Fils d'Aymon.[7]\n\nThe second group, or cycle of Brittany, animated by a chivalrous\nspirit, and hence termed court epic, finds its greatest exponent in\nthe poet Chrestien de Troyes, whose hero Arthur, King of Brittany,\ngathers twelve knights around his table, one of whom, Mordred, is to\nprove traitor. The principal poems of this cycle are Launcelot du Lac,\nIvain le Chevalier au Lion, Erec and Enide, Merlin, Tristan, and\nPerceval. These poems all treat of chivalry and love, and introduce\nthe old pagan passion-breeding philtre, as well as a whole world of\nmagic and fairies. These epics will be noticed at greater length when\nwe treat of the English versions of Arthur and the Knights of the\nRound Table, because many of the poems have been reworked in modern\nEnglish and are hence most popular in that language.\n\nBesides the Chansons de Geste pertaining to various phases of this\ntheme, the Breton cycle includes many shorter works termed lais, which\nalso treat of love, and were composed by Marie de France or her\nsuccessors. The best known of all these \"cante-fables\" is the idyllic\nAucassin et Nicolette, of which a full account is embodied in this\nvolume.\n\nOne of the best samples of the domestic epic in this cycle is the\ntwelfth century Amis and Amiles, in which two knights, born and\nbaptized on the same day, prove so alike as to become interchangeable.\nStill, brought up in separate provinces, Amis and Amiles meet and\nbecome friends only when knighted by Charlemagne, whose graciousness\ntoward them rouses the jealousy of the felon knight Hardr\u00e9. When\nCharlemagne finally offers his niece to Amiles (who, through modesty,\npasses her on to Amis), the felon accuses the former of treacherously\nloving the king's daughter Bellicent, and thereupon challenges him to\nfight. Conscious of not being a traitor, although guilty of loving the\nprincess, Amiles dares not accept this challenge, and changes places\nwith Amis, who personates him in the lists. Because Amis thus commits\nperjury to rescue his friend from a dilemma, he is in due time\nstricken with leprosy, deserted by his wife, and sorely ill treated by\nhis vassals. After much suffering, he discovers his sole hope of cure\nconsists in bathing in the blood of the children which in the\nmeanwhile have been born to Amiles and to his princess-wife. When the\nleper Amis reluctantly reveals this fact to his friend Amiles, the\nlatter, although broken-hearted, unhesitatingly slays his children.\nAmis is immediately cured, and both knights hasten to church together\nto return thanks and inform the mother of the death of her little\nones. The princess rushes to their chamber to mourn over their\ncorpses, only to discover that meantime they have been miraculously\nrestored to life! This story is very touchingly told in the old\nChanson, which contains many vivid and interesting descriptions of the\nmanners of the time.\n\nIn this cycle are also included G\u00e9rard de Roussillon, Hugues Capet,\nMacaire (wherein occurs the famous episode of the Dog of Montargis),\nand Huon de Bordeaux, which latter supplied Shakespeare, Wieland, and\nWeber with some of the dramatis personae of their well-known comedy,\npoem, and opera. We must also mention what are often termed the\nCrusade epics, of which the stock topics are quarrels, challenges,\nfights, banquets, and tournaments, and among which we note les\nEnfances de Godefroi, Antioche, and Tudela's Song of the Crusade\nagainst the Albigenses.\n\nThe third great cycle is known as Mati\u00e8re de Rome la grand, or as the\nantique cycle. It embodies Christianized versions of the doings of the\nheroes of the Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, Thebais, Alexandreid, etc. In\ntheir prose forms the Roman de Th\u00e8bes, Roman de Troie, and Roman\nd'Alexandre contain, besides, innumerable mediaeval embellishments,\namong others the first mention in French of the quest for the Fountain\nof Youth.\n\nLater on in French literature we come across the animal epic, or Roman\ndu Renard, a style of composition which found its latest and most\nfinished expression in Germany at the hands of Goethe, and the\nallegorical epic, Le Roman de la Rose, wherein abstract ideas were\npersonified, such as Hope, Slander (Malebouche), Danger, etc.\n\nThere are also epic poems based on Le Combat des Trente and on the\ndoings of Du Guesclin. Ronsard, in his Franciade, claims the Franks as\nlineal descendants from Francus, a son of Priam, and thus connects\nFrench history with the war of Troy, just as Wace, in the Norman Roman\nde Rou, traces a similar analogy between the Trojan Brutus and\nBritain. Later French poets have attempted epics, more or less popular\nin their time, among which are Alaric by Scud\u00e9ri, Clovis by St.\nSorlin, and two poems on La Pucelle, one by Chapelain, and the other\nby Voltaire.\n\nNext comes la Henriade, also by Voltaire, a half bombastic, half\nsatirical account of Henry IV's wars to gain the crown of France. This\npoem also contains some very fine and justly famous passages, but is\ntoo long and too artificial, as a whole, to please modern readers.\n\nThe most popular of all the French prose epics is, without dispute,\nF\u00e9nelon's T\u00e9l\u00e9maque, or account of Telemachus' journeys to find some\ntrace of his long-absent father Ulysses.\n\nLes Martyrs by Chateaubriand, and La L\u00e9gende des Si\u00e8cles by Victor\nHugo, complete the tale of important French epics to date.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 7: See the author's \"Legends of the Middle Ages.\"]\n\n\n\n\nTHE SONG OF ROLAND[8]\n\n\n_Introduction._ The earliest and greatest of the French epics, or\nchansons de geste, is the song of Roland, of which the oldest copy now\nextant is preserved in the Bodleian Library and dates back to the\ntwelfth century. Whether the Turoldus (Th\u00e9roulde) mentioned at the end\nof the poem is poet, copyist, or mere reciter remains a matter of\nconjecture.\n\nThe poem is evidently based on popular songs which no longer exist. It\nconsists of 4002 verses, written in langue d'oil, grouped in stanzas\nor \"laisses\" of irregular length, in the heroic pentameter, having the\nsame assonant rhyme, and each ending with \"aoi,\" a word no one has\nsucceeded in translating satisfactorily. It was so popular that it was\ntranslated into Latin and German (1173-1177), and our version may be\nthe very song sung by Taillefer at the battle of Hastings in 1066.\n\nIt has inspired many poets, and Roland's death has been sung again by\nGoethe, Schiller, Pulci, Boiardo, Ariosto, Berni, Bornier, etc.\nHistory claims that French armies, once in the reign of Dagobert and\nonce in that of Charlemagne, were attacked and slaughtered in the\nPyrenees, but not by the Saracens. Besides, Charlemagne's secretary,\nEginhart, briefly mentions in his chronicles that in 778, Roland,\nprefect of the Marches of Brittany, was slain there.[9] Although the\nremainder of the story has no historical basis, the song of Roland is\na poetical asset we would not willingly relinquish.\n\nPART I. A COUNCIL HELD BY KING MARSILE AT SARAGOSSA.--The Song of\nRoland opens with the statement that, after spending seven years in\nSpain, Charlemagne is master of all save the city of Saragossa.\n\n  The king, our Emperor Carlemaine,\n  Hath been for seven full years in Spain.\n  From highland to sea hath he won the land;\n  City was none might his arm withstand;\n  Keep and castle alike went down--\n  Save Saragossa the mountain town.[10]\n\nIt is in Saragossa that King Marsile, holding an open-air council,\ninforms his followers he no longer has men to oppose to the French.\nWhen he inquires what he shall do, the wisest of his advisers suggests\nthat, when might fails, craft can gain the day. Therefore, he moots\nsending gifts to Charlemagne, with a promise to follow him to France\nto do homage and receive baptism. Even should Charlemagne exact\nhostages, this councillor volunteers to give his own son, arguing it\nis better a few should fall than Spain be lost forever. This advice is\nadopted by Marsile, who then despatches bearers of olive branches and\ngifts to Charlemagne.\n\n_Council held by Charlemagne at Cordova._ The Saracen emissaries find\nthe French emperor seated on a golden throne in an orchard, his peers\naround him, watching the martial games of fifty thousand warriors.\nAfter receiving Marsile's message, Charlemagne dismisses the\nambassadors for the night, promising answer on the morrow. When he\nbids his courtiers state their opinions, Roland impetuously declares\nthat, as Marsile has tricked them once, it would not become them to\nbelieve him now. His step-father, Ganelon, thereupon terms him a\nhot-headed young fool, and avers he prizes his own glory more than his\nfellow-men's lives. The wisest among Charlemagne's advisers, however,\nDuke Naimes, argues that the Saracen's offers of submission should be\nmet half-way, and, as the remainder of the French agree with him,\nCharlemagne calls for a messenger to bear his acceptance to Marsile.\nAlthough Roland, Oliver, and Naimes eagerly sue for this honor,\nCharlemagne, unwilling to spare his peers, bids them appoint a baron.\nWhen Roland suggests his step-father, Ganelon--who deems the\nexpedition hazardous--becomes so angry that he reviles his step-son in\nthe emperor's presence, vowing the youth is maliciously sending him to\nhis death, and muttering he will have revenge. These violent threats\nelicit Roland's laughter, but Charlemagne checks the resulting quarrel\nby delivering message and emblems of office to Ganelon. To the dismay\nof all present, he, however, drops the glove his master hands him, an\naccident viewed as an omen of ill luck. Then, making speedy\npreparations and pathetically committing wife and son to the care of\nhis countrymen, Ganelon starts out, fully expecting never to return.\n\n_The Embassy and the Crime of Ganelon._ On his way to Saragossa,\nGanelon converses with the Saracens, who express surprise that\nCharlemagne--whom they deem two hundred years old--should still long\nfor conquest. In return Ganelon assures them his master will never\ncease fighting as long as Roland is one of his peers, for this knight\nis determined to conquer the world. The Saracens, noticing his bitter\ntone, now propose to rid Ganelon of his step-son, provided he will\narrange that Roland command the rear-guard of the French army. Thus\nriding along, they devise the plot whereby this young hero is to be\nled into an ambush in the Valley of Roncevaux (Roncesvalles), where,\nby slaying him, they will deprive Charlemagne of his main strength.\n\n  \"For whoso Roland to death shall bring,\n   From Karl his good right arm will wring,\n   The marvellous host will melt away,\n   No more shall he muster a like array.\"\n\nArriving in the presence of the Saracen king, Ganelon reports\nCharlemagne ready to accept his offers, provided he do homage for one\nhalf of Spain and abandon the other to Roland. Because Ganelon adds\nthe threat that, should this offer be refused, Charlemagne proposes to\nseize Saragossa and bear Marsile a prisoner to Aix, the Saracen king\nangrily orders the execution of the insolent messenger. But the\nFrenchmen's truculent attitude forbids the guards' approach, and thus\ngives the ambassadors a chance to inform Marsile that Ganelon has\npromised to help them to outwit Charlemagne by depriving him of his\nmost efficient general. Hearing this, Marsile's anger is disarmed; and\nhe not only agrees to their plan to surprise Roland while crossing the\nPyrenees, but sends Ganelon back laden with gifts.\n\nOn rejoining his master at the foot of the mountains, Ganelon delivers\nthe keys of Saragossa, and reports that the caliph has sailed for the\nEast, with one hundred thousand men, none of whom care to dwell in a\nChristian land. Hearing this, Charlemagne, imagining his task\nfinished, returns thanks to God, and prepares to wend his way back to\nFrance, where he expects Marsile to follow him and do homage for\nSpain.\n\n   Karl the Great hath wasted Spain,\n   Her cities sacked, her castles ta'en;\n   But now \"My wars are done,\" he cried,\n  \"And home to gentle France we ride.\"\n\n_The Rear-guard and Roland Condemned to Death._ On the eve of his\nreturn to \"sweet France,\" Charlemagne's rest is disturbed by horrible\ndreams, in one of which Ganelon breaks his lance, while in the other\nwild animals are about to attack him. On awaking from this nightmare,\nCharlemagne divides his army so as to thread his way safely through\nthe narrow passes of the mountains, arranging that a force shall\nremain twenty miles in his rear to make sure he shall not be surprised\nby the foe. When he inquires to whom this important command shall be\nentrusted, Ganelon eagerly suggests that, as Roland is the most\nvaliant of the peers, the task be allotted to him. Anxious to keep his\nnephew by him, Charlemagne resents this suggestion, but, when he\nprepares to award the post to some one else, Roland eagerly claims it,\npromising France shall lose nothing through him.\n\n  \"God be my judge,\" was the count's reply,\n  \"If ever I thus my race belie.\n   But twenty thousand with me shall rest,\n   Bravest of all your Franks and best;\n   The mountain passes in safety tread,\n   While I breathe in life you have nought to dread.\"\n\nBecause it is patent to all that his step-father proposed his name\nthrough spite, Roland meaningly remarks that he at least will not drop\nthe insignia of his rank, and in proof thereof proudly clutches the\nbow Charlemagne hands him, and boastfully declares twelve peers and\ntwenty thousand men will prove equal to any emergency.\n\nFully armed and mounted on his steed (Veillantif), Roland, from an\neminence, watches the vanguard of the French army disappear in the\nmountain gorges, calling out to the last men that he and his troop\nwill follow them soon! This vanguard is led by Charlemagne and\nGanelon, and, as it passes on, the heavy tramp of the mailed steeds\ncauses the ground to shake, while the clash of the soldiers' arms is\nheard for miles around. They have already travelled thirty miles and\nare just nearing France, whose sunny fields the soldiers greet with\ncries of joy, when Duke Naimes perceives tears flowing down the\nemperor's cheeks, and learns that they are caused by apprehension for\nRoland.\n\n  High were the peaks, and the valleys deep,\n  The mountains wondrous dark and steep;\n  Sadly the Franks through the passes wound,\n  Fully fifteen leagues did their tread resound.\n  To their own great land they are drawing nigh,\n  And they look on the fields of Gascony.\n  They think of their homes and their manors there,\n  Their gentle spouses and damsels fair.\n  Is none but for pity the tear lets fall;\n  But the anguish of Karl is beyond them all.\n  His sister's son at the gates of Spain\n  Smites on his heart, and he weeps amain.\n\nThe evident anxiety of Charlemagne fills the hearts of all Frenchmen\nwith nameless fear, and some of them whisper that Ganelon returned\nfrom Saragossa with suspiciously rich gifts. Meantime Roland, who has\nmerely been waiting for the vanguard to gain some advance, sets out to\ncross the mountains too; where, true to his agreement with Ganelon,\nMarsile has concealed a force of one hundred thousand men, led by\ntwelve Saracen generals, who are considered fully equal to the French\npeers, and who have vowed to slay Roland in the passes of Roncevaux.\n\nPART II. PRELUDE TO THE GREAT BATTLE. It is only when the Saracen army\nis beginning to close in upon the French, that the peers become aware\nof their danger. Oliver, Roland's bosom friend, the first to descry\nthe enemy, calls out that this ambush is the result of Ganelon's\ntreachery, only to be silenced by Roland, who avers none shall accuse\nhis step-father without proof. Then, hearing of the large force\napproaching, Roland exclaims, \"Cursed be he who flees,\" and admonishes\nall present to show their mettle and die fighting bravely.\n\n_The Pride of Roland._ Because the enemies' force so greatly\noutnumbers theirs, Oliver suggests that Roland sound his horn to\nsummon Charlemagne to his aid; but, unwilling to lose any glory, this\nhero refuses, declaring he will strike one hundred thousand such\ndoughty blows with his mighty sword (Durendal), that all the pagans\nwill be laid low.\n\n  \"Roland, Roland, yet wind one blast!\n   Karl will hear ere the gorge be passed,\n   And the Franks return on their path full fast.\"\n  \"I will not sound on mine ivory horn:\n   It shall never be spoken of me in scorn,\n   That for heathen felons one blast I blew;\n   I may not dishonor my lineage true.\n   But I will strike, ere this fight be o'er,\n   A thousand strokes and seven hundred more,\n   And my Durindana shall drip with gore.\n   Our Franks will bear them like vassals brave.\n   The Saracens flock but to find a grave.\"\n\nIn spite of the fact that Oliver thrice implores him to summon aid,\nRoland thrice refuses; so his friend, perceiving he will not yield,\nfinally declares they must do their best, and adds that, should they\nnot get the better of the foe, they will at least die fighting nobly.\nThen Archbishop Turpin--one of the peers--assures the soldiers that,\nsince they are about to die as martyrs, they will earn Paradise, and\npronounces the absolution, thus inspiring the French with such courage\nthat, on rising from their knees, they rush forward to earn a heavenly\ncrown.\n\nRiding at their head, Roland now admits to Oliver that Ganelon must\nhave betrayed them, grimly adding that the Saracens will have cause to\nrue their treachery before long. Then he leads his army down the\nvalley to a more open space, where, as soon as the signal is given,\nboth friends plunge into the fray, shouting their war-cry\n(\"Montjoie\").\n\n_The Medley._ In the first ranks of the Saracens is a nephew of\nMarsile, who loudly boasts Charlemagne is about to lose his right arm;\nbut, before he can repeat this taunt, Roland, spurring forward, runs\nhis lance through his body and hurls it to the ground with a turn of\nhis wrist. Then, calling out to his men that they have scored the\nfirst triumph, Roland proceeds to do tremendous execution among the\nfoe. The poem describes many of the duels which take place,--for each\nof the twelve peers specially distinguishes himself,--while the\nSaracens, conscious of vastly superior numbers, return again and again\nto the attack. Even the archbishop fights bravely, and Roland, after\ndealing fifteen deadly strokes with his lance, resorts to his sword,\nthus meeting the Saracens at such close quarters that every stroke of\nhis blade hews through armor, rider, and steed.\n\n  At the last it brake; then he grasped in hand\n  His Durindana, his naked brand.\n  He smote Chernubles' helm upon,\n  Where, in the centre, carbuncles shone:\n  Down through his coif and his fell of hair,\n  Betwixt his eyes came the falchion bare,\n  Down through his plated harness fine,\n  Down through the Saracen's chest and chine,\n  Down through the saddle with gold inlaid,\n  Till sank in the living horse the blade,\n  Severed the spine where no joint was found,\n  And horse and rider lay dead on ground.\n\nIn spite of Roland's doughty blows, his good sword suffers no harm,\nnor does that of Oliver (Hauteclaire), with which he does such good\nwork that Roland assures him he will henceforth consider him a\nbrother. Although the French slay the pagans by thousands, so many of\ntheir own warriors fall, that, by the time they have repulsed the\nfirst Saracen division, only sixty of Roland's men remain alive.\n\nAll nature seems to feel the terrible battle raging in the valley of\nRoncevaux, for a terrible storm breaks forth, in France, where,\nhearing the roll of the thunder, seeing the flash of the lightning,\nand feeling the earth shake beneath their feet, the French fear the\nend of the world has come. These poor warriors are little aware that\nall this commotion is due to \"nature's grief for the death of Roland.\"\n\n  Now a wondrous storm o'er France hath passed,\n  With thunder-stroke and whirlwind's blast;\n  Rain unmeasured, and hail, there came,\n  Sharp and sudden the lightning's flame;\n  And an earthquake ran--the sooth I say,\n  From Besan\u00e7on city to Wissant Bay;\n  From Saint Michael's Mount to thy shrine, Cologne,\n  House unrifted was there none.\n  And a darkness spread in the noontide high--\n  No light, save gleams from the cloven sky.\n  On all who saw came a mighty fear.\n  They said, \"The end of the world is near.\"\n  Alas, they spake but with idle breath,--\n  'Tis the great lament for Roland's death.\n\n_The Horn._ During the brief respite allowed them, Roland informs\nOliver that he wishes to notify Charlemagne that France has been\nwidowed of many men. In reply, Oliver rejoins that no Frenchman will\nleave this spot to bear such a message, seeing all prefer death and\nhonor to safety! Such being the case, Roland proposes to sound his\nhorn, whereupon Oliver bitterly rejoins, had his friend only done so\nat first, they would have been reinforced by now, and that the emperor\ncan no longer reach them in time. He can, however, avenge them and\ngive them an honorable burial, Roland argues, and he and his friend\ncontinue bickering until the archbishop silences them, bidding Roland\nblow his horn. Placing Olifant to his lips, the hero, after drawing a\npowerful breath, blows so mighty a blast that it re-echoes thirty\nmiles away.\n\nThis sound, striking Charlemagne's ear, warns him that his army is in\ndanger, although Ganelon insists Roland is hunting. While blowing a\nsecond blast, Roland makes so mighty an effort that he actually bursts\nthe blood-vessels in his temples, and the Frenchmen, hearing that\ncall, aver with awe that he would never call that way unless in dire\nperil. Ganelon, however, again insists that his step-son is in no\ndanger and is merely coursing a hare.\n\n  With deadly travail, in stress and pain,\n  Count Roland sounded the mighty strain.\n  Forth from his mouth the bright blood sprang,\n  And his temples burst for the very pang.\n\n  On and onward was borne the blast,\n  Till Karl hath heard as the gorge he passed,\n  And Naimes and all his men of war.\n  \"It is Roland's horn,\" said the Emperor,\n  \"And, save in battle, he had not blown.\"\n\nWith blood pouring from mouth and ears, Roland sounds his horn a third\nand last time, producing so long and despairing a note, that Naimes\nvows the French must be at the last extremity, and that unless they\nhurry they will not find any alive! Bidding all his horns sound as a\nsignal that he is coming, Charlemagne--after ordering Ganelon bound\nand left in charge of the baggage train--leads his men back to Spain\nto Roland's rescue.\n\nAs the day is already far advanced, helmets and armors glitter beneath\nthe rays of the setting sun as the Frenchmen spur along, tears\ncoursing down their cheeks, for they apprehend what must have befallen\nRoland, who was evidently suffering when he blew that third blast!\n\n_The Rout._ Meanwhile, casting his eyes over the battle-field, now\nstrewn with corpses, Roland mourns his fallen companions, praying God\nto let their souls rest in Paradise on beds of flowers. Then, turning\nto Oliver, he proposes that they fight on as long as breath remains in\ntheir bodies, before he plunges back into the fray, still uttering his\nwar-cry.\n\nBy this time the French are facing a second onslaught of the pagans,\nand Roland has felled twenty-four of their bravest fighters before\nMarsile challenges him to a duel. Although weak and weary, Roland\naccepts, and with his first stroke hews off the Saracen's right hand;\nbut, before he can follow this up with a more decisive blow, Marsile\nis borne away by his followers. Seeing their master gallop off towards\nSpain, the remainder of the Saracens, crying that Charlemagne's nephew\nhas triumphed, cease fighting and flee. Thus, fifty thousand men soon\nvanish in the distance, leaving Roland temporary master of the\nbattle-field, which he knows the emperor will reach only after he has\nbreathed his last.\n\n_The Death of Oliver._ Although the Saracens have fled, some Moors\nremain to charge the Frenchmen, whom they wish to annihilate before\nCharlemagne can arrive. Once more, therefore, Roland urges his\nfollowers to do their best, cursing those who dream of yielding. Not\ndaring approach the small handful of doughty Frenchmen, the pagans\nattack them from a distance with lance, arrow, and spear, tauntingly\ncrying Charlemagne will have no cause to pride himself upon having\nappointed them to guard his rear! Mortally wounded by one of these\nspears, Oliver, blindly cutting down the foes nearest him, bids Roland\nhasten to his rescue, as it won't be long before they part. Seeing the\nstream of blood which flows from his friend's wounds and catching a\nglimpse of his livid face, Roland so keenly realizes Oliver's end is\nnear that he swoons in his saddle. The wounded man, no longer able to\nsee, meanwhile ranges wildly around the battle-field, striking madly\nright and left. In doing so he runs against Roland, and, failing to\nrecognize him, deals him so powerful a blow that he almost kills him.\nGently inquiring why his friend thus attacks one he loves, Roland\nhears Oliver gasp, \"I hear you, friend, but do not see you. Forgive me\nfor having struck you,\"--a more than ample apology,--ere he dies.\n\n  See Roland there on his charger swooned,\n  Olivier smitten with his death wound.\n  His eyes from bleeding are dimmed and dark,\n  Nor mortal, near or far, can mark;\n  And when his comrade beside him pressed,\n  Fiercely he smote on his golden crest;\n  Down to the nasal the helm he shred,\n  But passed no further, nor pierced his head.\n  Roland marvelled at such a blow,\n  And thus bespake him soft and low:\n  \"Hast thou done it, my comrade, wittingly?\n  Roland who loves thee so dear, am I,\n  Thou hast no quarrel with me to seek.\"\n  Olivier answered, \"I hear thee speak,\n  But I see thee not. God seeth thee.\n  Have I struck thee, brother? Forgive it me.\"\n  \"I am not hurt, O Olivier;\n  And in sight of God, I forgive thee here.\"\n  Then each to other his head has laid,\n  And in love like this was their parting made.\n\nOn seeing that his friend has passed away, the heart-broken Roland\nagain swoons in his saddle, but his intelligent steed stands still\nuntil his master recovers his senses. Gazing around him, Roland now\nascertains that only two other Frenchmen are still alive, and, seeing\none of them severely wounded, he binds up his cuts before plunging\nback into the fray, where he accounts for twenty-five pagans, while\nthe archbishop and the wounded soldier dispose of eleven more.\n\n_Charlemagne Approaches._ The last Frenchmen are fighting madly\nagainst a thousand Moors on foot and four thousand on horseback, when\nthe spears flung from a distance lay low the wounded man and deal a\nmortal wound to the archbishop. But, even while dying, Turpin joins\nRoland in declaring they must continue to fight, so that when the\nemperor finds their bodies he can see they have piled hundreds of\ncorpses around them. This resolve is carried out, however, only at the\ncost of dire suffering, for the archbishop is dying and Roland's burst\ntemples cause him intense pain. Nevertheless, he once more puts his\nhorn to his lips, and draws from it this time so pitiful a blast that,\nwhen it reaches the ears of Charlemagne, he woefully exclaims: \"All is\ngoing ill; my nephew Roland will die to-day, for the sound of his horn\nis very weak!\"\n\nAgain bidding his sixty thousand trumpets sound, the emperor urges his\ntroops to even greater speed, until the noise of his horns and the\ntramp of his steeds reaches the pagans' ears and admonishes them to\nflee. Realizing that, should Roland survive, the war will continue, a\nfew Moors make a final frantic attempt to slay him before fleeing.\nSeeing them advance for a last onslaught, Roland--who has dismounted\nfor a moment--again bestrides his steed and, accompanied by the\nstaggering archbishop, bravely faces them. They, however, only fling\nmissiles from a distance, until Roland's shield drops useless from his\nhand and his steed sinks lifeless beneath him! Then, springing to his\nfeet, Roland defies these cowardly foes, who, not daring to linger any\nlonger, turn and flee, crying that Roland has won and Spain is lost\nunless the emir comes to their rescue!\n\n_The Last Blessing of the Archbishop._ While the pagans are spurring\ntowards Saragossa, Roland remains on the battle-field, for, having\nlost his steed and being mortally wounded, he cannot attempt to pursue\nthem. After tenderly removing the archbishop's armor, binding up his\nwounds, and placing him comfortably on the ground, Roland brings him\nthe twelve peers, so he can bless them for the last time. Although\nArchbishop Turpin admonishes him to hasten, Roland is so weak, that he\nslowly and painfully collects the corpses from mountain and valley,\nlaying them one by one at the feet of the archbishop, who, with right\nhand raised, bestows his blessing. While laying Oliver at Turpin's\nfeet, Roland faints from grief, so the prelate painfully raises\nhimself, and, seizing the hero's horn, tries to get down to the brook\nto bring him some water. Such is his weakness, however, that he\nstumbles and falls dead, face to the ground, before he can fulfil his\nkindly intention.\n\nOn recovering consciousness and seeing nothing save corpses around\nhim, Roland exults to think that Charlemagne will find forty dead\nSaracens for every slain Frenchman! Then, feeling his brain slowly\nooze out through his ears, Roland--after reciting a prayer for his\ndead companions--grasps his sword in one hand and his horn in the\nother, and begins to climb a neighboring hill. He tries to reach its\nsummit because he has always boasted he would die face toward the\nenemy, and he longs to look defiance toward Spain until the end.\n\nPainfully reaching the top of this eminence, Roland stumbles and falls\nacross a Saracen, who has been feigning death to escape capture.\nSeeing the dreaded warrior unconscious, this coward seizes his sword,\nloudly proclaiming he has triumphed; but, at his first touch,\nRoland--recovering his senses--deals him so mighty a blow with his\nhorn, that the Saracen falls with crushed helmet and skull. Having\nthus recovered his beloved Durendal, Roland, to prevent its again\nfalling into the enemy's hands, vainly tries to break it by hewing at\nthe rocks around him, but, although he uses all the strength he has\nleft to deal blows that cut through the stone, the good sword remains\nundinted. Full of admiration, Roland then recalls the feats Durendal\nhas enabled him to perform, and, lying down on the grass, places\nbeneath him sword and horn, so as to defend them dead as well as\nalive! Then, having confessed his sins and recited a last prayer,\nRoland holds out his glove toward heaven, in token that he surrenders\nhis soul to God, and begs that an angel be sent to receive it from his\nhand. Thus, lying beneath a pine, his face toward Spain, his last\nthoughts for France and for God, Roland dies in the presence of the\nangels, who bear his soul off to Paradise.\n\n  Roland feeleth his hour at hand;\n  On a knoll he lies towards the Spanish land.\n  With one hand beats he upon his breast:\n  \"In thy sight, O God, be my sins confessed.\n  From my hour of birth, both the great and small,\n  Down to this day, I repent of all.\"\n  As his glove he raises to God on high,\n  Angels of heaven descend him nigh.\n\nPART III. REPRISALS. Roland has barely breathed his last when\nCharlemagne arrives on the battle-field and, gazing around him,\nperceives nothing but corpses. Receiving no answer to his repeated\ncall for the twelve peers, Charlemagne groans it was not without cause\nhe felt anxious and mourns that he was not there to take part in the\nfray. He and his men weep aloud for their fallen companions, and\ntwenty thousand soldiers swoon from grief at the sight of the havoc\nwhich has been made!\n\nStill, only a few moments can be devoted to sorrow, for Duke Naimes,\ndescrying a cloud of dust in the distance, eagerly suggests that if\nthey ride on they can yet overtake and punish the foe! Detailing a\nsmall detachment to guard the dead, Charlemagne orders the pursuit of\nthe Saracens, and, seeing the sun about to set, prays so fervently\nthat daylight may last, that an angel promises he shall have light as\nlong as he needs it. Thanks to this miracle, Charlemagne overtakes\nthe Saracens just as they are about to cross the Ebro, and, after\nkilling many, drives the rest into the river, where they are drowned.\n\nIt is only when the last of the foe has been disposed of that the sun\nsets, and, perceiving it is too late to return to Roncevaux that\nnight, Charlemagne gives orders to camp on the plain. While his weary\nmen sleep peacefully, the emperor himself spends the night mourning\nfor Roland and for the brave Frenchmen who died to defend his cause,\nso it is only toward morning that he enjoys a brief nap, during which\nvisions foreshadow the punishment to be inflicted upon Ganelon and all\nwho uphold him.\n\n  In the mead the Emperor made his bed,\n  With his mighty spear beside his head,\n  Nor will he doff his arms to-night,\n  But lies in his broidered hauberk white.\n  Laced is his helm, with gold inlaid.\n  Girt on Joyeuse, the peerless blade,\n  Which changes thirty times a day\n  The brightness of its varying ray.\n\nMeanwhile the wounded Marsile has returned to Saragossa, where, while\nbinding up his wounds, his wife comments it is strange no one has been\nable to get the better of such an old man as Charlemagne, and exclaims\nthe last hope of the Saracens now rests in the emir, who has just\nlanded in Spain.\n\nAt dawn the emperor returns to Roncevaux, and there begins his sad\nsearch for the bodies of the peers. Sure Roland will be found facing\nthe foe, he seeks for his corpse in the direction of Spain, and,\ndiscovering him at last on the little hill, swoons from grief. Then,\nrecovering his senses, Charlemagne prays God to receive his nephew's\nsoul, and, after pointing out to his men how bravely the peers fought,\ngives orders for the burial of the dead, reserving only the bodies of\nRoland, Oliver, and the archbishop, for burial in France.\n\nThe last respects have barely been paid to the fallen, when a Saracen\nherald summons Charlemagne to meet the emir. So the French mount to\nengage in a new battle.\n\nSuch is the stimulus of Charlemagne's word's and of his example, that\nall his men do wonders. The aged emperor himself finally engages in a\nduel with the emir, in the midst of which he is about to succumb, when\nan angel bids him strike one more blow, promising he shall triumph.\nThus stimulated, Charlemagne slays the emir, and the Saracens, seeing\ntheir leader slain, flee, closely pursued by the Frenchmen, who enter\nSaragossa in their wake. There, after killing all the men, they\npillage the town.\n\nOn discovering that Marsile has meantime died of his wound,\nCharlemagne orders his widow to France, where he proposes to convert\nher through the power of love. The remainder of the pagans are\ncompelled to receive baptism, and, when Charlemagne again wends his\nway through the Pyrenees, all Spain bows beneath his sceptre.\n\nAt Bordeaux, Charlemagne deposits upon the altar of St. Severin,\nRoland's Olifant, filled with gold pieces, before personally escorting\nthe three august corpses to Blaye, where he sees them interred, ere he\nhurries on to Aix-la-Chapelle to judge Ganelon.\n\n_The Chastisement of Ganelon._ On arriving in his palace, Charlemagne\nis confronted by Alda or Aude, a sister of Oliver, who frantically\nquestions: \"Where is Roland who has sworn to take me to wife?\" Weeping\nbitterly, Charlemagne informs her his nephew is no more, adding that\nshe can marry his son, but Aude rejoins that, since her beloved is\ngone, she no longer wishes to live. These words uttered, she falls\nlifeless at the emperor's feet.[11]\n\n  From Spain the emperor made retreat,\n  To Aix in France, his kingly seat;\n  And thither, to his halls, there came,\n  Alda, the fair-and gentle dame.\n  \"Where is my Roland, sire,\" she cried,\n  \"Who vowed to take me for his bride?\"\n  O'er Karl the flood of sorrow swept;\n  He tore his beard, and loudly wept.\n  \"Dear sister, gentle friend,\" he said,\n  \"Thou seekest one who lieth dead:\n  I plight to thee my son instead,--\n  Louis, who lord of my realm shall be.\"\n  \"Strange,\" she said, \"seems this to me.\n  God and His angels forbid that I\n  Should live on earth if Roland die.\"\n  Pale grew her cheek--she sank amain,\n  Down at the feet of Carlemaine.\n  So died she. God receive her soul!\n  The Franks bewail her in grief and dole.\n\nThe time having come for the trial, Ganelon appears before his judges,\nladen with chains and tied to a stake as if he were a wild beast. When\naccused of depriving Charlemagne of twenty thousand Frenchmen, Ganelon\nretorts he did so merely to avenge his wrongs, and hotly denies having\nacted as a traitor. Thirty of his kinsmen sustain him in this\nassertion, one of them even volunteering to meet the emperor's\nchampion in a judicial duel. As the imperial champion wins, Ganelon\nand his relatives are adjudged guilty, but, whereas the latter thirty\nare merely hanged, the traitor himself is bound to wild horses until\ntorn asunder.\n\nHaving thus done justice, Charlemagne informs his courtiers they are\nto attend the baptism of a Saracen lady of high degree, who is about\nto be received into the bosom of the church.\n\n  The men of Bavaria and Allemaine,\n  Norman and Breton return again,\n  And with all the Franks aloud they cry,\n  That Gan a traitor's death shall die.\n  They bade be brought four stallions fleet;\n  Bound to them Ganelon, hands and feet:\n  Wild and swift was each savage steed,\n  And a mare was standing within the mead;\n  Four grooms impelled the coursers on,--\n  A fearful ending for Ganelon.\n  His every nerve was stretched and torn,\n  And the limbs of his body apart were borne;\n  The bright blood, springing from every vein,\n  Left on the herbage green its stain.\n  He dies a felon and recreant:\n  Never shall traitor his treason vaunt.\n\n_End of the Song._ Having thus punished the traitor and converted the\nheathen, Charlemagne, lying in his chamber one night, receives a visit\nfrom the angel Gabriel, who bids him go forth and do further battle\nagainst the pagans. Weary of warfare and longing for rest, the aged\nemperor moans, \"God, how painful is my life!\" for he knows he must\nobey.\n\n  When the emperor's justice was satisfied,\n  His mighty wrath did awhile subside.\n  Queen Bramimonde was a Christian made.\n  The day passed on into night's dark shade;\n  As the king in his vaulted chamber lay,\n  Saint Gabriel came from God to say,\n  \"Karl, thou shalt summon thine empire's host,\n  And march in haste to Bira's coast;\n  Unto Impha city relief to bring,\n  And succor Vivian, the Christian king.\n  The heathens in siege have the town essayed,\n  And the shattered Christians invoke thine aid.\"\n  Fain would Karl such task decline.\n  \"God! what a life of toil is mine!\"\n  He wept; his hoary beard he wrung.\n\nHere ends the Song of Th\u00e9roulde.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 8: Another version of this story can be found in the\nauthor's \"Legends of the Middle Ages.\"]\n\n[Footnote 9: See the author's \"Story of Old France.\"]\n\n[Footnote 10: All the quotations in this chapter are from John\nO'Hagen's translation of the \"Song of Roland.\"]\n\n[Footnote 11: See the author's \"Legends of the Rhine.\"]\n\n\n\n\nAUCASSIN AND NICOLETTE\n\n\n  Who would list to the good lay\n  Gladness of the captive grey?\n  'Tis how two young lovers met,\n  Aucassin and Nicolette,\n  Of the pains the lover bore\n  And the sorrow he outwore,\n  For the goodness and the grace,\n  Of his love, so fair of face.\n\n  Sweet the song, the story sweet,\n  There is no man hearkens it,\n  No man living 'neath the sun,\n  So outwearied, so foredone,\n  Sick and woful, worn and sad,\n  But is heal\u00e8d, but is glad.\n       'Tis so sweet.\n  So say they, speak they, tell they the tale.[12]\n\nThis popular mediaeval ballad is in alternate fragments of verse and\nprose, and relates how the Count of Valence made desperate war\nagainst the Count of Biaucaire, a very old and frail man, who saw that\nhis castle was in imminent danger of being taken and sacked. In his\ndistress, this old lord besought his son Aucassin, who so far had\ntaken no interest in the war, to go forth and fight. The youth,\nhowever, refused to do so, saying his heart was wrapped up in love for\nNicolette, a fair slave belonging to a captain in town. This man,\nseeing the delicacy of his slave and realizing she must belong to some\ngood family, had her baptized and treated her as if she were an\nadopted daughter.\n\nOn account of Nicolette's lowly condition, Aucassin's father refuses\nto listen when the young man proposes to marry her, and sternly bids\nhim think of a wife better suited, to his rank. The young lover,\nhowever, vehemently insists that Nicolette is fit to be an empress,\nand vows he will not fight until he has won her for his own. On seeing\nhow intractable this youth is, the father beseeches the owner of the\nslave to clap her in prison, so that Aucassin will not be able to get\nat her in any way.\n\nHeart-broken to think that his lady-love is undergoing captivity in\nhis behalf, Aucassin spends his time moping. To induce him to fight,\nhis father finally promises that if he will go forth and drive away\nthe foe he will be allowed to see Nicolette and kiss her. The prospect\nof such a reward so fires the young hero, that he sallies forth, routs\nthe besiegers, and, seizing the Count of Valence, brings him back a\nprisoner. On entering the castle, he immediately begins to clamor for\nNicolette, but his father now declares he would rather see the maiden\nburned as a witch than to let his son have anything more to do with\nher. Hearing this, Aucassin indignantly declares such being the case\nhe will free his prisoner, an act of generosity which infuriates his\nfather, who hopes to be enriched by the count's ransom. To punish\nAucassin, the Count of Biaucaire now thrusts him into prison, but,\nalthough the lovers are sharing the same fate, they languish apart,\nand, therefore, spend all their time lamenting.\n\nOne night, when the moon is shining bright, Nicolette, who has heard\nshe is likely to be brought to trial and burned, decides to effect her\nescape. As the old woman who mounts guard over her is fast asleep, she\nsoftly ties together her sheets and towels, and, fastening them to a\npillar, lets herself down by the window into the garden, from whence\nshe timidly steals out into the night.\n\nThe poem now artlessly describes Nicolette's beauty as she trips over\nthe dewy grass, her tremors as she slips through the postern gate, and\nher lingering at the foot of the tower where her lover is imprisoned.\nWhile pausing there, Nicolette overhears his voice lamenting, and,\nthrusting her head into an aperture in the wall, tells him that she is\nabout to escape and that as soon as she is gone they will set him\nfree. To convince her lover that it is she who is talking, Nicolette\ncuts off a golden curl, which she drops down into his dungeon,\nrepeating that she must flee. But Aucassin beseeches her not to go,\nknowing a young maid is exposed to countless dangers out in the world,\nand vehemently declares he would die were any one to lay a finger upon\nher. He adds that she alone shall be his wife, and that the mere\nthought of her belonging to any one else is unendurable. This\ndeclaration of love cheers poor Nicolette, who is so entranced by her\nlover's words that she fails to notice the approach of a patrol. A\nyoung sentinel, however, peering down from the walls, touched by\nNicolette's beauty and by the plight of these young lovers, warns them\nof their danger. But not daring to speak openly to Nicolette, he\nchants a musical warning, which comes just in time to enable her to\nhide behind a pillar. There she cowers until the guards pass by, then,\nslipping down into dry moat,--although it is a perilous\nundertaking,--she painfully climbs up its other side and seeks refuge\nin a neighboring forest, where, although the poem informs us there are\n\"beasts serpentine,\" she feels safer than in town.\n\nIt is while wandering in this wilderness that Nicolette runs across\nsome shepherds, whom she bribes to go and tell Aucassin a wild beast\nis ranging through the forest, and that he should come and slay it as\nsoon as possible. Having thus devised means to entice her lover out of\nBiaucaire, Nicolette wanders on until she reaches a lovely spot, where\nshe erects a rustic lodge, decking it with the brightest flowers she\ncan find, in hopes that her lover, when weary of hunting, will rest\nbeneath its flowery roof, and guess that it was erected by her fair\nhands.\n\nMeantime the Count of Biaucaire, hearing Nicolette has vanished, sets\nhis son free, and, seeing him sunk in melancholy, urges him to go out\nand hunt, thinking the exercise may make him forget the loss of his\nbeloved. Still, it is only when shepherds come and report that a wild\nbeast is ranging through the forest, that the youth mounts his steed\nand sallies forth, his father little suspecting that instead of\ntracking game, he is bent on seeking traces of his beloved.\n\nEre long Aucassin encounters an old charcoal-burner, to whom he\nconfides his loss, and who assures him such a sorrow is nothing\ncompared to his own. On discovering that the poor man's tears can be\nstayed with money, Aucassin bestows upon him the small sum he needs,\nreceiving in return the information that a lovely maiden has been seen\nin the forest. Continuing his quest, Aucassin comes in due time to the\nflowery bower, and, finding it empty, sings his love and sorrow in\ntones that reach Nicolette's ear. Then, dismounting from his horse to\nrest here for the night, Aucassin manages to sprain his shoulder.\nThereupon Nicolette steals into the bower and takes immediate measures\nto mitigate the pain.\n\nThe mere fact that Nicolette is beside him helps Aucassin to forget\neverything else, and it is only after the first raptures are over,\nthat they decide not to linger in the forest, where the Count of\nBiaucaire will soon find and separate them. To prevent such a\ncalamity, they decide to depart together, and, as there is no extra\nsteed for Nicolette to ride, her lover lifts her up on his horse\nbefore him, clasping her tight and kissing her repeatedly as they\ngallop along.\n\n  Aucassin the Franc, the fair,\n  Aucassin of yellow hair,\n  Gentle knight, and true lover,\n  From the forest doth he fare,\n  Holds his love before him there,\n  Kissing cheek, and chin, and eyes;\n  But she spake in sober wise,\n  \"Aucassin, true love and fair,\n  To what land do we repair?\"\n  \"Sweet my love, I take no care,\n  Thou art with me everywhere!\"\n  So they pass the woods and downs,\n  Pass the villages and towns,\n  Hills and dales and open land,\n  Came at dawn to the sea sand,\n  Lighted down upon the strand,\n       Beside the sea.\n\nThus the lovers travel all night, reach the sea-shore at dawn, and\nwander along it, arms twined around each other, while their weary\nsteed follows them with drooped head.\n\nAt sunrise a vessel nears the shore, upon which they embark to get out\nof reach of the wrath of the Count of Biaucaire. The vessel, however,\nis soon overtaken by a terrible tempest, which, after tossing it about\nfor seven days, drives it into the harbor of Torelore. This is the\nmediaeval \"topsy-turvy land,\" for on entering the castle Aucassin\nlearns that the king is lying abed, because a son has been born to\nhim, while the queen is at the head of the army fighting! This state\nof affairs so incenses Aucassin, that armed with a big stick he enters\nthe king's room, gives him a good beating, and wrings from him a\npromise that no man in his country will ever lie abed again when a\nchild is born, or send his wife out to do hard work. Having effected\nthis reform in the land of Torelore, Aucassin and Nicolette dwell\nthere peacefully, for three years, at the end of which time the castle\nis taken by some Saracens. They immediately proceed to sack it,\ncarrying off its inmates to sell them as slaves. Bound fast, Aucassin\nand Nicolette are thrust into separate ships, but, although these are\ngoing to the same port, a sudden tempest drives the vessel in which\nAucassin lies to the shore of Biaucaire. There the people capture it,\nand finding their young master, set him free, and invite him to take\npossession of his castle, for, his father having died during his\nabsence, he is now master of all he surveys.\n\nMeantime Nicolette, landing at Carthage, discovers that this is her\nnative town, and recognizes in her captors--her father and brothers.\nThey are so overjoyed at recovering this long-lost sister that they\npropose to keep her with them, but Nicolette assures them she will\nnever be happy until she rejoins Aucassin. Meantime she learns to play\non the viol, and, when she has attained proficiency on this\ninstrument, sets out in the guise of a wandering minstrel to seek her\nbeloved. Conveyed by her brothers to the land of Biaucaire, Nicolette,\nsoon after landing, hears that Aucassin, who has recently returned,\nis sorely bewailing the loss of his beloved. Presenting herself before\nAucassin,--who does not recognize her owing to the disguise,--Nicolette\nplays so charmingly that she draws tears from his eyes. Then she begs\nto know his sorrows, and, on hearing he has lost his lady-love,\nsuggests he woo the king of Carthage's daughter. Loudly averring he\nwill never woo any one save Nicolette, Aucassin turns sadly away,\nwhereupon the strolling minstrel assures him he shall see his beloved\nbefore long. Although it seems impossible to Aucassin that this\nprediction should be verified, Nicolette has little difficulty in\nfulfilling her promise, for, hastening back to her old home, she\nobtains some of her own clothes, and, thus restored to her wonted\nappearance, presents herself before the delighted Aucassin, who,\noverjoyed to see her once more, clasps her rapturously to his heart.\n\nThe ballad adds that the two lovers, united for good and all, lived\nhappy ever after, and were an example to all faithful lovers in the\nbeautiful land of Biaucaire.\n\n  Many years abode they there,\n  Many years in shade or sun,\n  In great gladness and delight.\n  Ne'er had Aucassin regret,\n  Nor his lady Nicolette.\n  Now my story all is done--\n      Said and sung!\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 12: All the quotations in this chapter are from Andrew\nLang's version of \"Aucassin and Nicolette.\"]\n\n\n\n\nSPANISH EPICS\n\n\nLiterature was born in Spain only when the Christians began to\nreconquer their country from the Moors. The first literary efforts\ntherefore naturally reflected a warlike spirit, and thus assumed the\nepic form. Very few of these poems still exist in their original shape\nsave the Poema del Cid, the great epic treasure of Spain, as well as\nthe oldest monument of Spanish literature. Besides this poem, there\nexist fragments of epics on the Infantes of Lara and on Fernan\nGonzales, and hints of others of which no traces now remain. These\npoems were popularized in Spain by the juglares, who invented Bernardo\ndel Carpio so as to have a hero worthy to offset to the Roland of the\njongleurs,--their French neighbors. But the poems about this hero have\nall perished, and his fame is preserved only in the prose chronicles.\nIn the Cronica rimada of the thirteenth century, we discover an\naccount of the Cid's youth, together with the episode where he slays\nXimena's father, which supplied Corneille with the main theme of his\ntragedy.\n\nThe Spaniards also boast of a thirteenth century poem of some\ntwenty-five hundred stanzas on the life of Alexander, a fourteenth\ncentury romance about Tristan, and the chivalric romance of Amadis de\nGaule, which set the fashion for hosts of similar works, whose\npopularity had already begun to wane when Cervantes scotched all\nfurther attempts of this sort by turning the chivalric romance into\nridicule in his Don Quixote.\n\nThe Spaniards also cultivated the epic ballad, or romanceros, previous\nto the Golden Age of their literature (1550-1700), drawing their\nsubjects from the history or legends of France and Spain, and treating\nmainly of questions of chivalry and love. Arthur, the Round Table, and\nthe Quest for the Holy Grail, were their stock subjects, previous to\nthe appearance of Amadis de Gaule, a work of original fiction\nremodelled and extended in the fifteenth century by Garcia Ordonez de\nMontalvo. During the Golden Age, Spain boasts more than two hundred\nartificial epics, treating of religious, political, and historical\nmatters. Among these the Auracana of Erzilla, the Argentina of\nCentenera, and the Austriada of Rufo can be mentioned. Then Velasco\nrevived the Aeneid for his countrymen's benefit, and religious themes\nsuch as Azevedo's Creacion del Munde became popular.\n\nThe latest of the Spanish epics is that of Saavedra, who, in his El\nMoro Exposito, has cleverly revived the old Spanish legend of the\nInfantes of Lara. It is, however, the Cid which is always quoted as\nSpain's representative epic.\n\n\n\n\nTHE CID\n\n\nThis poem, of some three thousand seven hundred lines, is divided into\ntwo cantos-and was written about 1200. It is a compilation from extant\nballads in regard to the great Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar,\nborn between 1030 and 1040, whose heroic deeds were performed at the\ntime when the Christian kings were making special efforts to eject the\nMoors, who had invaded Spain three hundred years before.\n\nThe first feat mentioned relates that Rodrigo's father, having been\ninsulted by Don Gomez, pined at the thought of leaving this affront\nunavenged, until his son, who had never fought before, volunteered to\ndefend him. Not only did Rodrigo challenge and slay Don Gomez, but\ncutting off his head bore it to his father as a proof that his enemy\nwas dead, a feat which so pleased the old gentleman that he declared\nRodrigo should henceforth be head of the family.\n\nAfter thus signalizing himself, Rodrigo was suddenly called upon to\nface five Moorish kings who had been making sallies into Castile. Not\nonly did he defeat them, but took them prisoners, thereby winning from\nthem the title by which he is commonly known, of \"The Cid\" or \"The\nLord.\"\n\nShortly after this Donna Ximena, daughter of Don Gomez, appeared\nbefore King Ferrando demanding satisfaction for her father's death,\nand consenting to forego revenge only on condition that Rodrigo would\nmarry her. The young hero having assented, the couple were united in\nthe presence of the king, after which Rodrigo took his beautiful bride\nto his mother, with whom he left her until he had earned the right to\nclaim her by distinguishing himself in some way.\n\nIt seems that Ferrando of Castile was then disputing from the king of\nAragon the possession of Calahorra, a frontier town. Both monarchs\ndecided to settle their difference by a duel, stipulating that the\ntown should belong to the party whose champion triumphed.\n\nFerrando having selected Rodrigo as his champion, our hero set out to\nmeet his opponent, delaying on the way long enough to rescue a leper\nfrom a bog. Then, placing this unfortunate on his horse before him,\nRodrigo bore him to an inn, where, in spite of the remonstrances of\nhis followers, he allowed the leper to share his bed and board. That\nnight, while lying beside his loathsome bed-fellow, Rodrigo suddenly\nfelt a cold breath pass through him, and, on investigating, discovered\nthat his companion was gone. He beheld in his stead St. Lazarus, who\nproclaimed that, since Rodrigo had been so charitable, he would meet\nwith prosperity, and might know whenever he felt a cold shiver run\ndown his spine that it was an omen of success. Thus encouraged,\nRodrigo rode on to take part in the duel, but he had been so delayed\nthat the battle call had already sounded, and Alvar Fanez, his cousin,\nwas preparing to fight in his stead. Bidding his cousin step aside,\nRodrigo entered the lists, and soon won Calahorra for Ferrando.\n\nPleased with what Rodrigo had done, the king now showered honors upon\nhim, which so aroused the jealousy of the courtiers that they began to\nconspire with the Moors to ruin him. It happened, however, that they\naddressed their first proposals to the very kings whom Rodrigo had\nconquered, and who proved loyal enough to send him word of the plot.\nOn discovering the treachery of the courtiers, the king banished them,\nbut the wife of Don Garcia pleaded so eloquently with the Cid, that\nhe furnished the banished man with letters of introduction to one of\nthe Moorish kings, who, to please his conqueror, bestowed the city of\nCabra upon him.\n\nAlthough treated with such generosity, Don Garcia proved ungrateful,\nand even tried to cheat the Moors. Hearing this, the Cid, siding with\nhis former enemies, came into their country to take away from Don\nGarcia the city which had been allotted for his use.\n\nDuring one of Ferrando's absences from home, the Moors invaded one of\nhis provinces, whereupon Rodrigo, in retaliation, besieged the city of\nCoimbra. While he was thus engaged his army suffered so much from lack\nof provisions that it finally seemed as if he would have to give up\nhis undertaking. But the monks, who had advised the Cid to besiege the\ncity, now came to his rescue, and by feeding his army from their own\nstores enabled Rodrigo to recover another town from the pagans.\n\nDelighted with this new accession of territory, Ferrando knighted\nRodrigo, who meantime had added to his title of the Cid that of\nCampeador, \"the champion,\" and hereafter was often mentioned as \"the\none born in a fortunate hour.\" In addition, the king bestowed upon\nRodrigo the governorship of the cities of Coimbra and Zamorra, which\nwere to be reoccupied by Christians.\n\nShortly after this, the Pope demanded that Ferrando do homage to the\nempire, but the king rejoined that Spain was independent and therefore\nrefused to obey. Hearing that large forces were marching against him\nto compel him to submit, Ferrando placed the Cid at the head of an\narmy, and our hero not only defeated the enemy at Tobosa, but won so\nbrilliant a victory that the Pope never ventured to renew his demands.\n\nFeeling death draw near, Ferrando divided his realm between his sons,\nwho became kings of Castile, Leon, and Gallicia, and bestowed upon his\ndaughters the cities of Zamorra and Toro. Although disappointed not to\ninherit the whole realm, the eldest prince, Don Sancho, dared not\noppose his father's will, until one of his brothers proceeded to\ndispossess one of their sisters. Under the plea that the promise made\nto their father had already been broken, Don Sancho now set out to\nconquer the whole realm, but proved so unfortunate in his first battle\nas to fall into his brother's hands. There he would have remained for\nthe rest of his life, had not the Cid delivered him, taken his captor,\nand confiscated his realm in Sancho's behalf. Hearing this, the third\nking, Alfonso, clamored for his share of his brother's spoil, and, as\nnone was allotted him, declared war in his turn. In this campaign\nSancho proved victorious only when the Cid fought in his behalf, and\nthe struggle resulted in the imprisonment of Alfonso, who would have\nbeen slain had not his sister asked that he be allowed to enter a\nmonastery. From there Alfonso soon effected his escape, and hastened\nto seek refuge among the Moors at Toledo.\n\nDon Sancho, having meantime assumed all three crowns, became anxious\nto dispossess his sister of Zamorra. But the Cid refused to take part\nin so unchivalrous a deed, and thereby so angered the king that he\nvowed he would exile him. When the Cid promptly rejoined that in that\ncase he would hasten to Toledo and offer his services to Alfonso to\nhelp him recover all he had lost, Sancho repented and apologized. He\ndid not, however, relinquish his project of despoiling his sister of\nZamorra, but merely dispensed the Cid from accompanying him.\n\nBecause Zamorra was well defended by Vellido Dolfos,--the princess'\ncaptain,--King Sancho was not able to take it. He so sorely beset the\ninhabitants, however, that Vellido Dolfos resolved to get the better\nof him by strategy. Feigning to be driven out of the city, he secretly\njoined Don Sancho, and offered to deliver the city into his hands if\nthe king would only accompany him to a side gate. Notwithstanding\nadverse omens, the credulous Sancho, believing him, rode off, only to\nmeet his death at the postern gate, inside of which his murderer\nimmediately took refuge.\n\nOn learning that his master has been slain, the Cid hastened to\navenge him, and, as Sancho had left no heir, proclaimed Alfonso his\nsuccessor. We are told that this young prince had already heard of his\nbrother's death through a message from his sister, and, fearing the\nMoors would not allow him to depart for good, had merely asked\npermission to visit his kin. The wary Moorish king consented, but only\non condition Alfonso would promise never to attack him or his sons,\nshould he become king.\n\nWhen Alfonso arrived at Zamorra, all the Spaniards readily did homage\nto him save the Cid, who refused to have anything to do with him until\nhe had solemnly sworn he had no share in his brother's death. To\nsatisfy the Cid, therefore, Alfonso and twelve of his men took a\nthreefold oath in the church of Burgos; but it is said Alfonso never\nforgave the humiliation which the Cid thus inflicted upon him.\n\nThe new monarch proved to be a wise ruler for the kingdoms of Leon,\nCastile, Gallicia, and Portugal. He was not without his troubles,\nhowever, for shortly after his succession the Cid quarrelled with one\nof his nobles. Next the Moorish kings became disunited and Alfonso's\nformer host summoned him to his aid. Not only did Alfonso assist this\nking of Toledo, but invited him into his camp, where he forced him to\nrelease him from the promise made on leaving his city. Not daring to\nrefuse while in the power of the Christians, the Moorish king\nreluctantly consented, and was surprised and delighted to hear Alfonso\nimmediately renew the oath, for, while not willing to be friends with\nthe Moors under compulsion, he had no objection to enter into an\nalliance with them of his own free will.\n\nNot long after this the king of Navarre sent forth his champion to\nchallenge one of Alfonso's, the stake this time being three castles\nwhich the Cid won. But the Moors, taking advantage of the Cid's\nillness which followed this battle, rose up against Alfonso, who was\ncompelled to wage war against them. In this campaign he would have\nfallen into the enemy's hands had not the Cid risen from his sick-bed\nto extricate him from peril! By this time the renown of the Cid was\nso great, that people in speaking of him invariably termed him \"the\nPerfect One,\" thereby arousing such jealousy among the courtiers, that\nthey persuaded Alfonso his subject was trying to outshine him! In\nanger the king decreed Rodrigo's immediate banishment, and, instead of\nallowing him the customary thirty days to prepare for departure,\nthreatened to put him to death were he found within the land nine days\nlater! As soon as the Cid informed his friends he was banished, one\nand all promised to follow wherever he went, as did his devoted cousin\nAlvar Fanez.\n\nIt is at this point that the present poem of the Cid begins, for the\nballads covering the foregoing part of the Cid's life exist only in a\nfragmentary state. We are told that the decree of banishment proved a\nsignal for the courtiers to plunder the hero's house, and that the Cid\ngazing sadly upon its ruins exclaimed, \"My enemies have done this!\"\nThen, seeing a poor woman stand by, he bade her secure her share,\nadding that for his part he would henceforth live by pillaging the\nMoors, but that the day would come when he would return home laden\nwith honors.\n\nOn his way to Burgos the Cid was somewhat cheered by good omens, and\nwas joined by so many knights in quest of adventure that no less than\nsixty banners fluttered behind him. A royal messenger had, however,\npreceded him to this city, to forbid the people to show him\nhospitality and to close his own house against him. The only person\nwho dared inform the Cid of this fact was a little maid, who\ntremblingly reported that he was to be debarred from all assistance.\n\n  \"O thou that in a happy hour didst gird thee with the sword,\n  It is the order of the king; we dare not, O my lord!\n  Sealed with his royal seal hath come his letter to forbid\n  The Burgos folk to open door, or shelter thee, my Cid.\n  Our goods, our homes, our very eyes, in this are all at stake;\n  And small the gain to thee, though we meet ruin for thy sake.\n  Go, and God prosper thee in all that thou dost undertake.\"[13]\n\nPausing at the church only long enough to say a prayer, the Cid rode\nout of the gates of Burgos and camped on a neighboring hill, where his\nnephew Martin Antolinez brought him bread and wine, declaring he would\nhenceforth share the Cid's fortunes in defiance of the king. It was to\nthis relative that the Cid confided the fact that he was without funds\nand must raise enough money to defray present expenses. Putting their\nheads together, these two then decided to fill two huge chests with\nsand, and offer them to a couple of Jews in Burgos for six hundred\nmarks, stating the chests contained treasures too heavy and valuable\nto be taken into exile, and assuring them that, if they solemnly\npledged themselves not to open the chests for a year, they could then\nclaim them, provided the Cid had not redeemed them in the meanwhile.\nTrusting to the Cid's word and hoping to enrich themselves by this\ntransaction, the Jews gladly lent the six hundred marks and bore away\nthe heavy chests.\n\nHaving thus secured the required supplies, the Cid proceeded to San\nPedro de Cardena, where he entrusted his wife Ximena and two daughters\nto the care of the prior, leaving behind him funds enough to defray\nall their expenses. Then, although parting with his family was as hard\nas \"when a finger-nail is torn from the flesh,\" the Cid rode away,\ncrossing the frontier just as the nine days ended. He was there\ngreatly cheered by a vision of the angel Gabriel, who assured him all\nwould be well with him.\n\n  The prayer was said, the mass was sung, they mounted to depart;\n  My Cid a moment stayed to press Ximena to his heart:\n  Ximena kissed his hand, as one distraught with grief was she:\n  He looked upon his daughters: \"These to God I leave,\" said he;\n  \"Unto our lady and to God, Father of all below;\n  He knows if we shall meet again:--and now, sirs, let us go.\"\n\n  As when the finger-nail from out the flesh is torn away,\n  Even so sharp to him and them the parting pang that day.\n  Then to his saddle sprang my Cid, and forth his vassals led;\n  But ever as he rode, to those behind he turned his head.\n\nEntering the land of the Moors with a force of three hundred men, the\nCid immediately proceeded to take a castle and to besiege the city of\nAlcocer. But this town resisted so bravely, that after fifteen weeks\nthe Cid decided to effect by strategy the entrance denied by force.\nFeigning discouragement, he, therefore, left his camp, whereupon the\ninhabitants immediately poured out of the city to visit it, leaving\nthe gates wide open behind them. The Cid, who was merely hiding near\nby, now cleverly cut off their retreat and thus entered Alcocer\nthrough wide-open gates.\n\nNo sooner did the Moors learn that the Cid had conquered this\nimportant place, than they hastened to besiege it, cutting off the\nwater supply, to compel the Christians to come out. To prevent his men\nfrom perishing of thirst, the Cid made so vigorous a sortie that he\nnot only drove the enemy away, but captured their baggage, thus\nwinning so much booty that he was able to send thirty caparisoned\nsteeds to Alfonso, as well as rich gifts in money to his wife. In\nreturn, the bearer of these welcome tokens was informed by King\nAlfonso that Rodrigo would shortly be pardoned and recalled.\n\nMeanwhile the Cid, leaving Alcocer, had taken up his abode on the hill\nnear Medina, which still bears his name. Thence he proceeded to the\nforest of Tebar, where he again fought so successfully against the\nMoors that he compelled the city of Saragossa to pay tribute to him.\nRumors of these triumphs enticed hundreds of Castilian knights to join\nhim, and with their aid he outwitted all the attempts the Moors made\nto regain their lost possessions. We are also told that in one of\nthese battles the Cid took prisoner Don Ramon, who refused to eat\nuntil free. Seeing this, the Cid took his sword, Colada, and promised\nto set him and his kinsmen free if they would only eat enough to have\nstrength to depart. Although doubtful whether this promise would be\nkept, Don Ramon and his follows partook of food and rode away,\nconstantly turning their heads to make sure that they were not\npursued.\n\n  He spurred his steed, but, as he rode, a backward glance he bent,\n  Still fearing to the last my Cid his promise would repent:\n  A thing, the world itself to win, my Cid would not have done:\n  No perfidy was ever found in him, the Perfect One.\n\nAs some of his subjects were sorely persecuted by the Moors, Alfonso\nnow sent word to the Cid to punish them, a task the hero promised to\nperform, provided the king would pledge himself never again to banish\na man without giving him thirty days' notice, and to make sundry other\nwise reforms in his laws. Having thus secured inestimable boons for\nhis fellow-countrymen, the Cid proceeded to besiege sundry Moorish\ncastles, all of which he took, winning thereby much booty. Having thus\nserved his monarch, the Cid was recalled in triumph to Castile, where\nhe was told to keep all he had won from the Moors. In return the Cid\nhelped Alfonso to secure Toledo, seeing the king with whom this king\nhad sworn alliance was now dead. It was while the siege of this city\nwas taking place that Bishop Jerome was favored by a vision of St.\nIsidro, who predicted they would take the city, a promise verified in\n1085, when the Cid's was the first Christian banner to float above its\nwalls. Our hero now became governor of this town, but, although he\ncontinued to wage war against the Moors, his successes had made the\ncourtiers so jealous that they induced the king to imprison Ximena and\nher daughters.\n\nPerceiving he was no longer in favor at court, the Cid haughtily\nwithdrew, and, when Alfonso came down into Valencia, demanding that\nthe cities which had hitherto paid tribute to his subject should now\ndo so to him, the Cid retaliated by invading Alfonso's realm. None of\nthe courtiers daring to oppose him, Alfonso had cause bitterly to\nrepent of what he had done, and humbly assured his powerful subject he\nwould never molest him again. Ever ready to forgive an ungrateful\nmaster, the Cid withdrew, and for a time king and subject lived in\npeace.\n\nAlthough the Cid had permitted the Moors to remain in the cities he\nhad conquered, they proved rather restive under the Christian yoke,\nand guided by Abeniaf finally told the Moors in Northern Africa that\nif they would only cross the sea they would deliver Valencia into\ntheir hands. But this conspiracy soon became known to the Moors who\nfavored the Cid, and they immediately notified him, holding their\ntown which was in dire peril for twelve days.\n\nTo keep his promise, Abeniaf finally hauled some of the Moors up over\nthe walls by means of ropes, and the presence of these foes in their\nmidst compelled the Moors who favored the Cid to leave the city in\ndisguise, thus allowing Abeniaf and his allies to plunder right and\nleft and even to murder the Moorish king. This done, Abeniaf himself\nassumed the regal authority, and began to govern the city in such an\narbitrary way that he soon managed to offend even his own friends.\n\nMeantime the Moors who had fled rejoined the Cid, and, when they\nreported what had occurred, Rodrigo wrote to Abeniaf, reproaching him\nfor his treachery and demanding the surrender of the property he had\nleft in town. Because Abeniaf replied that his allies had taken\npossession of it, the Cid termed him a traitor and swore he would\nsecure revenge. Thereupon our hero set out with an army, and, finding\nhimself unable to take the city by assault, began to besiege it,\npulling down the houses in the suburbs to secure necessary materials\nto construct his camp. Then he began a systematic attack on the city,\nmastering one of its defences after another, and carrying on the siege\nwith such vigor that he thereby won additional glory. All the Moorish\ncaptives taken were sent out through his lines into the open country,\nwhere they were invited to pursue their agricultural avocations, and\nassured protection, provided they would pay tribute of one-tenth of\nthe produce of their lands.\n\nMeantime the people in the besieged city suffered so sorely from\nhunger, that they finally sent word they would treat with the Cid if\nhe would allow Abeniaf and his followers to leave the country\nunharmed. The Cid having consented to this proposal, the invading\nMoors withdrew to Morocco, whence, however, they soon returned in\nincreased numbers to recapture Valencia and take their revenge upon\nAbeniaf, who had proved treacherous to them too. To check the advance\nof this foe, the Cid flooded the country by opening the sluices in\nthe irrigation canals, and the invaders, fancying themselves in danger\nof drowning, beat a hasty retreat. Because Abeniaf took advantage of\nthese circumstances to turn traitor again, the Cid besieged him in\nValencia for nine months, during which the famine became so intense\nthat the inhabitants resorted to all manner of expedients to satisfy\ntheir hunger.\n\nThroughout this campaign the Cid ate his meals in public, sitting by\nhimself at a high table and assigning the one next him to the warriors\nwho won the most distinction in battle. This table was headed by Alvar\nFanez, surrounded by the most famous knights. A notorious coward,\npretending to have done great deeds, advanced one day to claim a seat\namong the heroes. Perceiving his intention, the Cid called him to come\nand sit with him, whereupon the knight became so elated that when he\nagain found himself on the field of battle he actually did wonders!\nSeeing his efforts, the Cid generously encouraged him and, after he\nhad shown himself brave indeed, publicly bade him sit with the\ndistinguished knights.\n\nThe city of Valencia having finally opened its gates, the Cid marched\nin with a train of provision-wagons, for he longed to relieve the\nstarving. Then, sending for the principal magistrates, he expressed\ncommiseration for their sufferings, adding that he would treat the\npeople fairly, provided they proved loyal in their turn. But, instead\nof occupying the city itself, he and the Christians returned to the\nsuburbs, enjoining upon the Moorish governor to maintain order among\nhis people, and slay none but Abeniaf, who had proved traitor to all.\n\nSoon after, seeing that the Moors and Christians would never be able\nto live in peace within the same enclosure, the Cid appointed another\nplace of abode for the Moors. Then he and his followers marched into\nValencia, which they proceeded to hold, in spite of sundry attempts on\nthe part of the Moors to recover possession of so important a\nstronghold.\n\nWhen the Moorish king of Seville ventured to attack the Cid, he and\nhis thirty thousand men experienced defeat and many of his force were\ndrowned in the river while trying to escape. Such was the amount of\nspoil obtained in this and other battles, that the Cid was able to\nmake his soldiers rich beyond their dreams, although by this time he\nhad a very large force, for new recruits constantly joined him during\nhis wars with the Moors.\n\nAs the Cid had vowed on leaving home never to cut his beard until\nrecalled, he was now a most venerable-looking man, with a beard of\nsuch length that it had to be bound out of his way by silken cords\nwhenever he wanted to fight. Among those who now fought in the Cid's\nranks was Hieronymo (Jerome), who became bishop of Valencia, and who,\nin his anxiety to restore the whole land to Christian rule, fought by\nthe Cid's side, and invariably advised him to transform all captured\nmosques into Christian churches.\n\n  But lo! all armed from head to heel the Bishop Jerome shows;\n  He ever brings good fortune to my Cid where'er he goes.\n  \"Mass have I said, and now I come to join you in the fray;\n  To strike a blow against the Moor in battle if I may,\n  And in the field win honor for my order and my hand.\n  It is for this that I am here, far from my native land.\n  Unto Valencia did I come to cast my lot with you,\n  All for the longing that I had to slay a Moor or two.\n  And so, in warlike guise I come, with blazoned shield, and lance,\n  That I may flesh my blade to-day, if God but give the chance.\n  Then send me to the front to do the bidding of my heart:\n  Grant me this favor that I ask, or else, my Cid, we part!\"\n\nNow that he had a fixed abiding place, the Cid bade Alvar Fanez and\nMartin Antolinez carry a rich present to Don Alfonso, and obtain his\npermission to bring his wife and daughters to Valencia. The same\nmessengers were also laden with a reward for the Abbot of St. Pedro,\nunder whose protection the Cid's family had taken refuge, and with\nfunds to redeem the chests of sand from the Jews at Burgos, begging\ntheir pardon for the deception practised upon them and allowing them\nhigher interest than they could ever have claimed. Not only did the\nmessengers gallantly acquit themselves of this embassy, but boasted\neverywhere of the five pitched battles the Cid had won and of the\neight towns now under his sway.\n\nOn learning that the Cid had conquered Valencia, Alfonso expressed\nkeen delight, although his jealous courtiers did not hesitate to\nmurmur they could have done as well! The monarch also granted\npermission to Donna Ximena and her daughters to join the Cid, and the\nthree ladies set out with their escorts for Valencia. Nine miles\noutside this city, the Cid met them, mounted on his steed Bavieca,\nwhich he had won from the Moors, and, joyfully embracing wife and\ndaughters, welcomed them to Valencia, where from the top of the\nAlcazar he bade them view the fertile country which paid tribute to\nhim.\n\nBut, three months after the ladies' arrival, fifty thousand Moors\ncrossed over from Africa to recover their lost territory. Hearing\nthis, the Cid immediately laid in a stock of provisions, renewed his\nsupplies of ammunition, and inspected the walls and engines of his\ntowns to make sure they could resist. These preparations concluded, he\ntold his wife and daughters they should now see with their own eyes\nhow well he could fight! Soon after the Moors began besieging the city\n(1102), the Cid arranged that some of his troops should slip out and\nattack them from behind while he faced them. By this stratagem the\nMoors were caught between opposing forces, and overestimating their\nnumbers fled in terror, allowing the Cid to triumph once more,\nalthough he had only four thousand men to oppose to their fifty\nthousand! Thanks to this panic of the Moors the Cid collected such\nhuge quantities of booty, that he was able to send a hundred fully\nequipped horses to King Alfonso, as well as the tent which he had\ncaptured from the Moorish monarch. These gifts not only pleased\nAlfonso, but awed and silenced the courtiers, among whom were the\nInfantes of Carrion, who deemed it might be well to sue for the Cid's\ndaughters, since the father was able to bestow such rich gifts. Having\nreached this decision, these scheming youths approached the king, who,\ncounting upon his vassals' implicit obedience to his commands,\npromised they should marry as they wished.\n\nWhen the bearers of the Cid's present, therefore, returned to\nValencia, they bore a letter wherein Alfonso bade the Cid give his\ndaughters in marriage to the Infantes of Carrion. Although this\nmarriage suited neither the old hero nor his wife, both were far too\nloyal to oppose the king's wishes, and humbly sent word they would\nobey.\n\nThen the Cid graciously went to meet his future sons-in-law. They were\nescorted to the banks of the Tagus by Alfonso himself, who there\nexpressed surprise at the length of the Cid's beard, and seemed awed\nby the pomp with which he was surrounded, for at the banquet all the\nchief men ate out of dishes of gold and no one was asked to use\nanything less precious than silver. Not only did the Cid assure his\nfuture sons-in-law that his daughters should have rich dowries, but,\nthe banquet ended, escorted them back to Valencia, where he\nentertained them royally.\n\nThe wedding festivities lasted fifteen days, but even after they were\nover the Infantes of Carrion tarried in Valencia, thus giving the Cid\nmore than one opportunity to regret having bestowed his daughters'\nhands upon youths who possessed neither courage nor nobility of\ncharacter. While the young men were still lingering in Valencia, it\nhappened one afternoon--while the Cid lay sleeping in the hall--that a\nhuge lion, kept in the court-yard for his amusement, escaped from its\nkeepers. While those present immediately rushed forward to protect the\nsleeper, the Cid's sons-in-law, terrified at the sight of the monster,\ncrept one beneath the hero's couch and the other over a wine-press,\nthus soiling his garments so he was not fit to be seen. At the lion's\nroar the Cid awoke. Seeing at a glance what had occurred, he sprang\nforward, then, laying a powerful hand on the animal's mane, compelled\nhim to follow him out of the hall, and thrust him ignominiously back\ninto his cage.\n\nBecause the Infantes had so plainly revealed their cowardice, people\nmade fun of them, until they roused their resentment to such an extent\nthat, when the Moors again threatened Valencia, they offered to go\nforth and defend the Cid. This show of courage simply delighted the\nold hero, who sallied forth accompanied by both sons-in-law and by the\nbishop, who was a mighty fighter. Although most of the warriors\npresent did wonders on this occasion, the Infantes of Carrion were\ncareful not to run any risk, although one of them purchased a horse\nwhich a soldier had won from the Moors, and shamelessly passed it off\nas his own trophy. Pleased to think this son-in-law had so\ndistinguished himself, the Cid complimented him after the battle,\nwhere he himself had slain so many Moors and won so much booty that he\nwas able to send another princely present to Alfonso. Perceiving they\nwere still objects of mockery among the followers of the Cid, the\nInfantes now begged permission to take their wives home, although\ntheir real intention was to make these helpless girls pay for the\ninsults they had received. Although the Cid little suspected this\nfact, he regretfully allowed his daughters to depart, and tried to\nplease his sons-in-law by bestowing upon them the choice swords,\nTizona and Colada, won in the course of his battles against the Moors.\n\nTwo days' journey from Valencia the Infantes prepared to carry out the\nrevenge they had planned, but while conferring in regard to its\ndetails were overheard by a Moor, who, vowing he would have nothing to\ndo with such cowards, left them unceremoniously. Sending on their main\ntroops with a cousin of the girls, Felez Munoz, who served as their\nescort, the Infantes led their wives into a neighboring forest, where,\nafter stripping them, they beat them cruelly, kicked them with their\nspurs, and abandoned them grievously wounded and trembling for their\nlives. When the Infantes rejoined their suite minus their wives, Felez\nMunoz, suspecting something was wrong, rode back hastily, and found\nhis cousins in such a pitiful plight that they were too weak to speak.\nCasting his own cloak about the nearly naked women, he tenderly bore\nthem into a thicket, where they could lie in safety while he watched\nover them all night, for he did not dare leave them to go in quest of\naid. At dawn he hurried off to a neighboring village and secured\nhelp. There, in the house of a kind man, the poor ladies were cared\nfor, while their cousin hastened on to apprise the Cid of what had\noccurred.\n\nMeantime the Infantes had met Alvar Fanez conveying to the king\nanother present, and, on being asked where were their wives,\ncarelessly rejoined they had left them behind. Ill pleased with such a\nreport, Alvar Fanez and his troops hurried back in quest of the\nladies, but found nothing save traces of blood, which made them\nsuspect foul play. On discovering what had really happened to the\nCid's daughters, Alvar Fanez hurried on to deliver the present to the\nking, and indignantly reported what treatment the Cid's daughters had\nundergone at the hands of the bridegrooms the king had chosen for\nthem, informing him that since he had made the marriage it behooved\nhim to see justice done. Horrified on hearing what had occurred,\nAlfonso summoned the Cortes, sending word to the Cid and to the\nInfantes to appear before it at Toledo three months hence.\n\nMeantime the Cid, learning what had befallen his poor girls, hastened\nto them, took them home, and, hearing that the king himself would\njudge his case, decided to abide by the decision of the Cortes. At the\nend of the third month, therefore, the Cid's followers--who had\npreceded him--erected in the royal hall at Toledo the ivory seat he\nhad won at Valencia, and Alfonso himself openly declared the Cid quite\nworthy to occupy a throne by his side, seeing no one had ever served\nhim as well as the man whom the courtiers were always trying to\nbelittle. The day for the solemn session having dawned, the Cid\nentered the hall, followed by a hundred knights, while the Infantes of\nCarrion appeared there with equal numbers, being afraid of an attack.\nWhen summoned to state his wrongs, the Cid quietly rose from his ivory\nthrone, declaring that, having bestowed upon the Infantes two swords\nof great price, he demanded their return, since, as they refused to\nhave anything more to do with his daughters, he could no longer\nconsider them his sons. All present were amazed at the mildness of the\nCid's speech and at his demanding merely the return of his swords, and\nthe Infantes, glad to be let off so easily, promptly resigned both\nweapons into the Cid's hand. With his precious swords lying across his\nlap, the Cid now declared that having also given the Infantes large\nsums of money he wished those returned also, and, although the young\nmen objected, the court sentenced them to pay the sum the Cid claimed.\nBoth of these demands having been granted, the Cid next required\nsatisfaction for the treatment the Infantes had inflicted upon his\ndaughters, eloquently describing to the Cortes the cruelty and\ntreachery used.\n\n  \"So please your Grace! once more upon your clemency I call;\n   A grievance yet remains untold, the greatest grief of all.\n   And let the court give ear, and weigh the wrong that hath been done.\n   I hold myself dishonored by the lords of Carrion.\n   Redress my combat they must yield; none other will I take.\n   How now, Infantes! what excuse, what answer do ye make?\n   Why have ye laid my heartstrings bare? In jest or earnest say,\n   Have I offended you? and I will make amends to-day.\n\n  \"My daughters in your hands I placed the day that forth ye went,\n   And rich in wealth and honors from Valencia were ye sent.\n   Why did ye carry with you brides ye loved not, treacherous curs?\n   Why tear their flesh in Corpes wood with saddle-girths and spurs,\n   And leave them to the beasts of prey? Villains throughout were ye!\n   What answer ye can make to this 'tis for the court to see.\"\n\nWhen the Cid added that Alfonso was responsible for these unfortunate\nmarriages, the monarch admitted the fact, and asked what the Infantes\nof Carrion could say in their own defence. Insolently they declared\nthe Cid's daughters not worthy to mate with them, stating they had, on\nthe whole, treated them better than they deserved by honoring them for\na time with their attentions.\n\nHad not the Cid forbidden his followers to speak until he granted\npermission, these words would have been avenged almost as soon as\nuttered. But, forgetting his previous orders, the aged Cid now\ndemanded of Pero Mudo (Dumby) why he did not speak, whereupon this\nhero boldly struck one of the Infantes' party and challenged them all\nto fight.\n\nThus compelled to settle the difficulty by a judicial duel, the king\nbade the Infantes and their uncle be ready to meet the Cid's champions\nin the lists on the morrow. The poem describes the encounter thus:\n\n  The marshals leave them face to face and from the lists are gone;\n  Here stand the champions of my Cid, there those of Carrion;\n  Each with his gaze intent and fixed upon his chosen foe,\n  Their bucklers braced before their breasts, their lances pointing low,\n  Their heads bent down, as each man leans above his saddle-bow.\n  Then with one impulse every spur is in the charger's side,\n  And earth itself is felt to shake beneath their furious stride;\n  Till, midway meeting, three with three, in struggle fierce they lock,\n  While all account them dead who hear the echo of the shock.\n\nThe cowardly Infantes, having been defeated, publicly confessed\nthemselves in the wrong, and were ever after abhorred, while the Cid\nreturned to Valencia with the spoils wrung from his adversaries, and\nproudly presented to his wife and daughters the three champions who\nhad upheld their cause.\n\n  He who a noble lady wrongs and casts aside--may he\n  Meet like requital for his deeds, or worse, if worse there be.\n  But let us leave them where they lie--their meed is all men's scorn.\n  Turn we to speak of him that in a happy hour was born.\n  Valencia the Great was glad, rejoiced at heart to see\n  The honoured champions of her lord return in victory.\n\nShortly after this the Cid's pride was further salved by proposals of\nmarriage from the princes of Aragon and Navarre, and thus his\ndescendants in due time sat upon the thrones of these realms.\n\n  And he that in a good hour was born, behold how he hath sped!\n  His daughters now to higher rank and greater honor wed:\n  Sought by Navarre and Aragon for queens his daughters twain;\n  And monarchs of his blood to-day upon the thrones of Spain.\n\nFive years now elapsed during which the Cid lived happy, honored by\nall and visited by embassies even from distant Persia. But the Cid was\nnow old and felt his end near, for St. Peter visited him one night and\nwarned him that, although he would die in thirty days, he would\ntriumph over the Moors even after life had departed.\n\nThis assurance was most comforting, for hosts of Moors had suddenly\ncrossed the seas and were about to besiege Valencia. Trusting in St.\nPeter's warning, the Cid made all his preparations for death, and,\nknowing his followers would never be able to hold the city after he\nwas gone, bade them keep his demise secret, embalm his body, bind it\nfirmly on his steed Bavieca, and boldly cut their way out of the city\nwith him in their van.\n\nJust as had been predicted, the Cid died on the thirtieth day after\nhis vision, and, his corpse having been embalmed as he directed, his\nfollowers prepared to leave Valencia. To the amazement of the Moors,\nthe gates of the city they were besieging were suddenly flung open\nwide, and out sallied the Christians with the Cid in their midst. The\nmere sight of this heroic leader caused such a panic, that the little\ntroop of six hundred Christian knights safely conveyed their dead\nchief and his family through the enemy's serried ranks to Castile.\nOther detachments led by the bishop and Gil Diaz then drove these\nMoors back to Africa after securing immense spoil.\n\nSeeing Valencia abandoned, the Moors whom the Cid had established\nwithout the city returned to take possession of their former houses,\non one of which they discovered an inscription stating that the Cid\nCampeador was dead and would no longer dispute possession of the city.\n\nMeantime the funeral procession had gone on to the Monastery of St.\nPedro de Cardena, where the Cid was buried, as he requested, and where\nhis marvellously preserved body sat in his ivory throne ten years,\nbefore it was placed in its present tomb.\n\nFor two years and a half the steed Bavieca was reverently tended by\nthe Cid's followers, none of whom, however, ever presumed to bestride\nhim. As for Ximena, having mounted guard over her husband's remains\nfour years, she finally died, leaving grandchildren to rule over\nNavarre and Aragon.\n\n  And so his honor in the land grows greater day by day.\n  Upon the feast of Pentecost from life he passed away.\n  For him and all of us the Grace of Christ let us implore.\n  And here ye have the story of my Cid Campeador.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 13: All the quotations in this chapter are taken from\ntranslation, of \"The Cid\" by Ormsby.]\n\n\n\n\nPORTUGUESE EPICS\n\n\nPortuguese literature, owing to its late birth, shows little\noriginality. Besides, its earliest poems are of a purely lyrical and\nnot of an epical type. Then, too, its reigning family being of\nBurgundian extraction, it borrowed its main ideas and literary\nmaterial from France. In that way Charlemagne, the Arthurian romances,\nand the story of the Holy Grail became popular in Portugal, where it\nis even claimed that Amadis de Gaule originated, although it received\nits finished form in Spain.\n\nThe national epic of Portugal is the work of Luis de Camo\u00ebns, who,\ninspired by patriotic fervor, sang in Os Lusiades of the discovery of\nthe eagerly sought maritime road to India. Of course, Vasco da Gama is\nthe hero of this epic, which is described _in extenso_ further on.\n\nIn imitation of Camo\u00ebns, sundry other Portuguese poets attempted epics\non historical themes, but none of their works possess sufficient\nmerits to keep their memory green.\n\nDuring the sixteenth century, many versions of the prose epics or\nromances of chivalry were rife, Amadis de Gaule and its sequel,\nPalmerina d'Inglaterra, being the most popular of all.\n\nLater on Meneses composed, according to strict classic rules, a\ntedious epic entitled Henriqueida, in praise of the monarch Henry, and\nde Macedo left O Oriente, an epical composition which: enjoyed a\npassing popularity.\n\n\n\n\nTHE LUSIAD\n\n\n_Introduction._ The author of the Portuguese epic, Luis de Camo\u00ebns,\nwas born at Lisbon in 1524. Although his father, commander of a\nwarship, was lost at sea during his infancy, his mother contrived to\ngive him a good education, and even sent him to the University at\nCoimbra, where he began to write poetry. After graduating Camo\u00ebns\nserved at court, and there incurred royal displeasure by falling in\nlove with a lady his majesty chose to honor with his attentions.\nDuring a period of banishment at Santarem, Camo\u00ebns began the Lusiad,\nOs Lusiades, an epic poem celebrating Vasco da Gama's journey to India\nin 1497[14] and rehearsing with patriotic enthusiasm the glories of\nPortuguese history. Owing to its theme, this epic, which a great\nauthority claims should be termed \"the Portugade,\" is also known as\nthe Epic of Commerce or the Epic of Patriotism.\n\nAfter his banishment Camo\u00ebns obtained permission to join the forces\ndirected against the Moors, and shortly after lost an eye in an\nengagement in the Strait of Gibraltar. Although he distinguished\nhimself as a warrior, Camo\u00ebns did not even then neglect the muse, for\nhe reports he wielded the pen with one hand and the sword with the\nother.\n\nAfter this campaign Camo\u00ebns returned to court, but, incensed by the\ntreatment he received at the hands of jealous courtiers, he soon vowed\nhis ungrateful country should not even possess his bones, and sailed\nfor India, in 1553, in a fleet of four vessels, only one of which was\nto arrive at its destination, Goa.\n\nWhile in India Camo\u00ebns sided with one of the native kings, whose wrath\nhe excited by imprudently revealing his political tendencies. He was,\ntherefore, exiled to Macao, where for five years he served as\n\"administrator of the effects of deceased persons,\" and managed to\namass a considerable fortune while continuing his epic. It was on his\nway back to Goa that Camo\u00ebns suffered shipwreck, and lost all he\npossessed, except his poem, with which he swam ashore.\n\nSixteen years after his departure from Lisbon, Camo\u00ebns returned to his\nnative city, bringing nothing save his completed epic, which, owing to\nthe pestilence then raging in Europe, could be published only in 1572.\nEven then the Lusiad attracted little attention, and won for him only\na small royal pension, which, however, the next king rescinded. Thus,\npoor Camo\u00ebns, being sixty-two years old, died in an almshouse, having\nbeen partly supported since his return by a Javanese servant, who\nbegged for his master in the streets of Lisbon.\n\nCamo\u00ebns' poem Os Lusiades, or the Lusitanians (i.e., Portuguese),\ncomprises ten books, containing 1102 stanzas in heroic iambics, and is\nreplete with mythological allusions. Its outline is as follows:\n\n_Book I._ After invoking the muses and making a ceremonious address to\nKing Sebastian, the poet describes how Jupiter, having assembled the\ngods on Mount Olympus, directs their glances upon Vasco da Gama's\nships plying the waves of an unknown sea, and announces to them that\nthe Portuguese, who have already made such notable maritime\ndiscoveries, are about to achieve the conquest of India.\n\nBacchus, who has long been master of this land, thereupon wrathfully\nvows Portugal shall not rob him of his domain, while Venus and Mars\nimplore Jupiter to favor the Lusitanians, whom they consider\ndescendants of the Romans. The king of the gods is so ready to grant\nthis prayer, that he immediately despatches Mercury to guide the\nvoyagers safely to Madagascar. Here the Portuguese, mistaken for Moors\non account of their swarthy complexions, are at first made welcome.\nBut when the islanders discover the strangers are Christians, they\ndetermine to annihilate them if possible. So, instigated by one of\ntheir priests,--Bacchus in disguise,--the islanders attack the\nPortuguese when they next land to get water. Seeing his men in danger,\nDa Gama discharges his artillery, and the terrified natives fall upon\ntheir knees and not only beg for mercy, but offer to provide him with\na pilot capable of guiding him safely to India.\n\nThis offer is accepted by Da Gama, who does not suspect this pilot has\ninstructions to take him to Quiloa, where all Christians are slain. To\ndelude the unsuspecting Portuguese navigator into that port, the pilot\navers the Quiloans are Christians; but all his evil plans miscarry,\nthanks to the interference of Mars and Venus, who by contrary winds\nhinder the vessels from entering this port.\n\n_Book II._ The traitor pilot now steers toward Momba\u00e7a, where\nmeanwhile Bacchus has been plotting to secure the death of the\nPortuguese. But here Venus and her nymphs block the entrance of the\nharbor with huge rocks, and the pilot, realizing the Christians are\nreceiving supernatural aid, jumps overboard and is drowned!\n\nVenus, having thus twice rescued her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s from imminent death, now\nvisits Olympus, and by the exercise of all her conquettish wiles\nobtains from Jupiter a promise to favor the Portuguese. In accordance\nwith this pledge, Mercury himself is despatched to guide the fleet\nsafely to Melinda, whose harbor the Portuguese finally enter, decked\nwith flags and accompanied by triumphant music.\n\n  Now Gama's bands the quiv'ring trumpet blow,\n  Thick o'er the wave the crowding barges row,\n  The Moorish flags the curling waters sweep,\n  The Lusian mortars thunder o'er the deep;\n  Again the fiery roar heaven's concave tears,\n  The Moors astonished stop their wounded ears;\n  Again loud thunders rattle o'er the bay,\n  And clouds of smoke wide-rolling blot the day;\n  The captain's barge the gen'rous king ascends,\n  His arms the chief enfold, the captain bends\n  (A rev'rence to the scepter'd grandeur due):\n  In silent awe the monarch's wond'ring view\n  Is fix'd on Vasco's noble mien; the while\n  His thoughts with wonder weigh the hero's toil.\n  Esteem and friendship with his wonder rise,\n  And free to Gama all his kingdom lies.[15]\n\n_Book III._ As Vasco da Gama has solemnly vowed not to leave his ship\nuntil he can set foot upon Indian soil, he refuses to land at Melinda\nalthough cordially invited to do so by the native king. Seeing the\nforeign commander will not come ashore, the king visits the Portuguese\nvessel, where he is sumptuously entertained and hears from Da Gama's\nown lips an enthusiastic outline of the history of Portugal. After\ntouching upon events which occurred there in mythological ages, Vasco\nrelates how Portugal, under Viriagus, resisted the Roman conquerors,\nand what a long conflict his country later sustained against the\nMoors. He also explains by what means Portugal became an independent\nkingdom, and enthusiastically describes the patriotism of his\ncountryman Egas Moniz, who, when his king was captured at the battle\nof Guimaraens, advised this prince to purchase his liberty by pledging\nhimself to do homage to Castile. But, his master once free, Egas Moniz\nbade him retract this promise, saying that, since he and his family\nwere pledged for its execution, they would rather lose their lives\nthan see Portugal subjected to Castile.\n\n  \"And now, O king,\" the kneeling Egas cries,\n  \"Behold my perjured honor's sacrifice:\n  If such mean victims can atone thine ire,\n  Here let my wife, my babes, myself expire.\n  If gen'rous bosoms such revenge can take,\n  Here let them perish for the father's sake:\n  The guilty tongue, the guilty hands are these,\n  Nor let a common death thy wrath appease;\n  For us let all the rage of torture burn,\n  But to my prince, thy son, in friendship turn.\"\n\nTouched by the patriotism and devotion of Moniz, the foe not only\nspared his life, but showered favors upon him and even allowed him to\ngo home.\n\nThe king, thus saved from vassalage by the devotion of Moniz, is\nconsidered the first independent ruler of Portugal. Shortly after this\noccurrence, he defeated five Moorish rulers in the battle of Ourique,\nwhere the Portuguese claim he was favored with the appearance of a\ncross in the sky. Because of this miracle, the Portuguese monarch\nincorporated a cross on his shield, surrounding it with five coins,\nsaid to represent the five kings he defeated. Later on, being made a\nprisoner at Badajoz, he abdicated in favor of his son.\n\nAfter proudly enumerating the heroic deeds of various Alphonsos and\nSanchos of Portugal, Da Gama related the touching tale of Fair Inez de\nCastro (retold by Mrs. Hemans), to whom Don Pedro, although she was\nbelow him in station, was united by a secret marriage. For several\nyears their happiness was unbroken and several children had been born\nto them before the king, Don Pedro's father, discovered this alliance.\nTaking advantage of a temporary absence of his son, Alphonso the Brave\nsent for Inez and her children and sentenced them all to death,\nalthough his daughter-in-law fell at his feet and implored him to have\nmercy upon her little ones, even if he would not spare her. The king,\nhowever, would not relent, and signalled to the courtiers to stab Inez\nand her children.\n\n  In tears she utter'd--as the frozen snow\n  Touch'd by the spring's mild ray, begins to flow,\n  So just began to melt his stubborn soul,\n  As mild-ray'd Pity o'er the tyrant stole;\n  But destiny forbade: with eager zeal\n  (Again pretended for the public weal),\n  Her fierce accusers urg'd her speedy doom;\n  Again dark rage diffus'd its horrid gloom\n  O'er stern Alonzo's brow: swift at the sign,\n  Their swords, unsheath'd, around her brandish'd shine.\n  O foul disgrace, of knighthood lasting stain,\n  By men of arms a helpless lady slain!\n\nOn returning home and discovering what his father had done, Don Pedro\nwas ready to rebel, but was restrained from doing so by the\nintervention of the queen. But, on ascending the throne when his\nfather died, Don Pedro had the body of his murdered wife lifted out of\nthe grave, decked in regal apparel, seated on the throne beside him,\nand he compelled all the courtiers to do homage to her and kiss her\ndead hand, vowing as much honor should be shown her as if she had\nlived to be queen. This ceremony ended, the lady's corpse was laid in\na tomb, over which her mourning husband erected a beautiful monument.\nThen, hearing his wife's slayers had taken refuge with Peter the\nCruel, Don Pedro waged war fierce against this monarch until he\nsurrendered the culprits, who, after being tortured, were put to\ndeath.\n\nVasco da Gama also related how another king, Fernando, stole fair\nEleanora from her husband, and vainly tried to force the Portuguese\nto accept their illegitimate daughter Beatrice as his successor.\n\n_Book IV._ Rather than accept as queen a lady who had married a\nSpanish prince,--who would probably unite their country with\nSpain,--the Portuguese fought the battle of Eljubarota in favor of Don\nJohn, and succeeded in dictating terms of peace to the Spanish at\nSeville. Some time after this the king of Portugal and his brother\nwere captured by the Moors, and told they could recover their freedom\nonly by surrendering Ceuta. Pretending acquiescence, the king returned\nto Portugal, where, as he had settled with his brother, who remained\nas hostage with the Moors, he refused to surrender the city.\n\nAfter describing the victories of Alfonso V., Vasco da Gama related\nhow John II., thirteenth king of Portugal, first began to seek a\nmaritime road to India, and how his successor, Emmanuel, was invited\nin a vision, by the gods of the Indus and Ganges, to come and conquer\ntheir country.\n\n  Here as the monarch fix'd his wond'ring eyes,\n  Two hoary fathers from the streams arise;\n  Their aspect rustic, yet, a reverend grace\n  Appear'd majestic on their wrinkled face:\n  Their tawny beards uncomb'd, and sweepy long,\n  Adown their knees in shaggy ringlets hung;\n  From every lock the crystal drops distil,\n  And bathe their limbs, as in a trickling rill;\n  Gay wreaths of flowers, of fruitage and of boughs,\n  (Nameless in Europe), crown'd their furrow'd brows.\n\n_Book V._ Such was the enthusiasm caused by this vision that many\nmariners dedicated their lives to the discovery of this road to India.\nAmong these Gama modestly claims his rank, declaring that, when he\ncalled for volunteers to accompany him, more men than he could take\nwere ready to follow him. [History reports, however, that, such was\nthe terror inspired by a voyage in unknown seas, Vasco da Gama had to\nempty the prisons to secure a crew!] Then the narrator added he\nhad--as was customary--taken ten prisoners with him, whose death\nsentence was to be commuted provided they faithfully carried out any\ndifficult task he appointed.\n\nAfter describing his parting with his father, Vasco da Gama relates\nhow they sailed past Mauritania and Madeira, crossed the line, and\nlosing sight of the polar star took the southern cross as their guide.\n\n  \"O'er the wild waves, as southward thus we stray,\n  Our port unknown, unknown the wat'ry way,\n  Each night we see, impress'd with solemn awe,\n  Our guiding stars and native skies withdraw,\n  In the wide void we lose their cheering beams,\n  Lower and lower still the pole-star gleams.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n  \"Another pole-star rises o'er the wave:\n  Full to the south a shining cross appears,\n  Our heaving breasts the blissful omen cheers:\n  Seven radiant stars compose the hallow'd sign\n  That rose still higher o'er the wavy brine.\"\n\nA journey of five months, diversified by tempests, electrical\nphenomena, and occasional landings, brought them to Cape of Tempests,\nwhich since Diaz had rounded it was called the Cape of Good Hope.\nWhile battling with the tempestuous seas of this region, Vasco da Gama\nbeheld, in the midst of sudden darkness, Adamastor, the Spirit of the\nCape, who foretold all manner of dangers from which it would be\ndifficult for them to escape.\n\n  \"We saw a hideous phantom glare;\n  High and enormous o'er the flood he tower'd,\n  And 'thwart our way with sullen aspect lower'd:\n  An earthy paleness o'er his cheeks was spread,\n  Erect uprose his hairs of wither'd red;\n  Writhing to speak, his sable lips disclose,\n  Sharp and disjoin'd, his gnashing teeth's blue rows;\n  His haggard beard flow'd quiv'ring on the wind,\n  Revenge and horror in his mien combin'd;\n  His clouded front, by with'ring lightnings scar'd,\n  The inward anguish of his soul declar'd.\n  His red eyes, glowing from their dusky caves,\n  Shot livid fires: far echoing o'er the waves\n  His voice resounded, as the cavern'd shore\n  With hollow groan repeats the tempest's roar.\"\n\nThe King of Melinda here interrupts Vasco da Gama's tale to explain\nhe has often heard of that Adamastor, a Titan transformed into a rock\nbut still possessing supernatural powers.\n\nResuming his narrative, Da Gama next describes their landing to clean\ntheir foul ships, their sufferings from scurvy, their treacherous\nwelcome at Mozambic, their narrow escape at Quiloa and Momba\u00e7a, and\nends his account with his joy at arriving at last at Melinda.\n\n_Book VI._ In return for the hospitality enjoyed on board of the\nPortuguese ships, the king of Melinda supplies Da Gama with an able\npilot, who, steering straight for India, brings the Portuguese safely\nto their goal, in spite of the fact that Bacchus induces Neptune to\nstir up sundry tempests to check them. But, the prayers of the\nChristian crew and the aid of Venus counteract Bacchus' spells, so Da\nGama's fleet enters Calicut, in 1497, and the Lusitanians thus achieve\nthe glory of discovering a maritime road to India!\n\n_Book VII._ We now hear how a Moor, Mon\u00e7aide, detained a prisoner in\nCalicut, serves as interpreter for Da Gama, explaining to him how this\nport is governed by the Zamorin, or monarch, and by his prime\nminister. The interpreter, at Da Gama's request, then procures an\naudience from the Zamorin for his new master.\n\n_Book VIII._ The poet describes how on the way to the palace Da Gama\npasses a heathen temple, where he and his companions are shocked to\nbehold countless idols, but where they can but admire the wonderful\ncarvings adorning the walls on three sides. In reply to their query\nwhy the fourth wall is bare, they learn it has been predicted India\nshall be conquered by strangers, whose doings are to be depicted on\nthe fourth side of their temple.\n\nAfter hearing Da Gama boast about his country, the Zamorin dismisses\nhim, promising to consider a trade treaty with Portugal. But, during\nthe next night, Bacchus, disguised as Mahomet, appears to the Moors in\nCalicut, and bids them inform the Zamorin that Da Gama is a pirate,\nwhose rich goods he can secure if he will only follow their advice.\n\nThis suggestion, duly carried out, results in Da Gama's detention as a\nprisoner when he lands with his goods on the next day. But, although\nthe prime minister fancies the Portuguese fleet will soon be in his\npower, Da Gama has prudently given orders that, should any hostile\ndemonstration occur before his return, his men are to man the guns and\nthreaten to bombard the town. When the Indian vessels therefore\napproach the Portuguese fleet, they are riddled with shot.\n\n_Book IX._ Because the Portuguese next threaten to attack the town,\nthe Zamorin promptly sends Da Gama back with a cargo of spices and\ngems and promises of fair treatment hereafter. The Portuguese\nthereupon sail home, taking with them the faithful Mon\u00e7aide, who is\nconverted on the way and baptized as soon as they land at Lisbon.\n\nBook X. On the homeward journey Venus, wishing to reward the brave\nLusitanians for all their pains and indemnify them for their past\nhardships, leads them to her \"Isle of Joy.\" Here she and her nymphs\nentertain them in the most acceptable mythological style, and a siren\nforetells in song all that will befall their native country between\nVasco da Gama's journey and Camo\u00ebns' time. Venus herself guides the\nnavigator to the top of a hill, whence she vouchsafes him a panoramic\nview of all the kingdoms of the earth and of the spheres which compose\nthe universe.\n\nIn this canto we also have a synopsis of the life of St. Thomas, the\nApostle of India, and see the Portuguese sail happily off with the\nbeauteous brides they have won in Venus' Isle of Joy. The return home\nis safely effected, and our bold sailors are welcomed in Lisbon with\ndelirious joy, for their journey has crowned Portugal with glory. The\npoem concludes, as it began, with an apostrophe from the poet to the\nking.\n\nThe Lusiad is so smoothly written, so harmonious, and so full of\nsimiles that ever since Camo\u00ebns' day it has served as a model for\nPortuguese poetry and is even yet an accepted and highly prized\nclassic in Portuguese Literature.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 14: See the author's \"Story of the Thirteen Colonies.\"]\n\n[Footnote 15: All the quotations in this chapter are from Mickle's\ntranslation of the \"Lusiad.\"]\n\n\n\n\nITALIAN EPICS\n\n\nThe fact that Latin remained so long the chief literary language of\nEurope prevented an early development of literature in the Italian\nlanguage. Not only were all the popular European epics and romances\ncurrent in Italy in Latin, but many of them were also known in\nProven\u00e7al in the northern part of the peninsula. It was, therefore,\nchiefly imitations of the Proven\u00e7al bards' work which first appeared\nin Italian, in the thirteenth century, one of the best poets of that\ntime being the Sordello with whom Dante converses in Purgatory.\n\nStories relating to the Charlemagne cycle found particular favor in\nNorthern Italy, and especially at Venice. In consequence there were\nmany Italian versions of these old epics, as well as of the\nallegorical Roman de la Rose.\n\nIt was at the court of Frederick II, in Sicily, that the first real\nschool of Italian poetry developed, and from there the custom of\ncomposing exclusively in the vernacular spread over the remainder of\nthe country. These early poets chose love as their main topic, and\nclosely imitated the Proven\u00e7al style. Then the \"dolce stil nuovo,\" or\nsweet new style, was introduced by Guinicelli, who is rightly\nconsidered the first true Italian poet of any note. The earliest\nItalian epic, the \"Buovo d'Antona,\" and an adaptation of Reynard the\nFox, were current in the first half of the thirteenth century at\nVenice and elsewhere. In the second half appeared prose romances, such\nas tales about Arthur and his knights, the journey of Marco Polo, and\nnew renderings of the old story of Troy.\n\nProfessional story-tellers now began to wander from place to place in\nNorthern and Central Italy, entertaining auditors of all classes and\nages with stories derived from every attainable source. But the first\ngreat epic poet in Italy was Dante (1265-1321), whose Divina Commedia,\nbegun in 1300, is treated separately in this volume. Although\nPetrarch was prouder of his Latin than of his Italian verses, he too\ngreatly perfected Italian poetry, thus enabling his personal friend\nBoccaccio to handle the language with lasting success in the tales\nwhich compose his Decameron. These are the Italian equivalents of the\nCanterbury Tales, and in several cases both writers have used the same\nthemes.\n\nBy the fifteenth century, and almost simultaneously with the\nintroduction of printing, came the Renaissance, when a number of old\nepics were reworked. Roland--or, as he is known in Italy, Orlando--is\nthe stock-hero of this new school of poets, several of whom undertook\nto relate his love adventures. Hence we have \"Orlando Innamorato,\" by\nBoiardo and Berni, as well as \"Morgante Maggiore\" by Pulci, where\nRoland also figures. In style and tone these works are charming, but\nthe length of the poems and the involved adventures of their numerous\ncharacters prove very wearisome to modern readers. Next to Dante, as a\npoet, the Italians rank Ariosto, whose \"Orlando Furioso,\" or Roland\nInsane, is a continuation of Boiardo's \"Orlando Innamorato.\" Drawing\nmuch of his material from the French romances of the Middle Ages,\nAriosto breathes new life into the old subject and graces his tale\nwith a most charming style. His subject was parodied by Folengo in his\n\"Orlandino\" when Roland began to pall upon the Italian public.\n\nThe next epic of note in Italian literature is Torquato Tasso's\n\"Gerusalemme Liberata,\" composed in the second half of the sixteenth\ncentury, and still immensely popular owing to its exquisite style.\nBesides this poem, of which Godfrey of Bouillon is the hero and which\nis _par excellence_ the epic of the crusades, Tasso composed epics on\n\"Rinaldo,\" on \"Gerusalemme Conquistata,\" and \"Sette Giornate del Mundo\nCreato.\"\n\nSome of Ariosto's contemporaries also attempted the epic style,\nincluding Trissino, who in his \"Italia Liberata\" relates the victories\nof Belisarius over the Goths in blank verse. His fame, however, rests\non \"Sofonisba,\" the first Italian tragedy, in fact \"the first regular\ntragedy in all modern literature.\"\n\nAlthough no epics of great note were written thereafter, Alamanni\ncomposed \"Girone il Cortese\" and the \"Avarchide,\" which are\nintolerably long and wearisome.\n\n\"The poet who set the fashion of fantastic ingenuity\" was Marinus,\nwhose epic \"Adone,\" in twenty cantos, dilates on the tale of Venus and\nAdonis. He also wrote \"Gerusalemme Distrutta\" and \"La Strage degl'\nInnocenti,\" and his poetry is said to have much of the charm of\nSpenser's.\n\nThe last Italian poet to produce a long epic poem was Fortiguerra,\nwhose \"Ricciardetto\" has many merits, although we are told the poet\nwagered to complete it in as many days as it has cantos, and won his\nbet.\n\nThe greatest of the Italian prose epics is Manzoni's novel \"I Promessi\nSposi,\" which appeared in 1830. Since then Italian poets have not\nwritten in the epic vein, save to give their contemporaries excellent\nmetrical translations of Milton's Paradise Lost, of the Iliad, the\nOdyssey, the Argonautica, the Lusiad, etc.\n\n\n\n\nDIVINE COMEDY\n\nTHE INFERNO\n\n\n_Introduction._ In the Middle Ages it was popularly believed that\nLucifer, falling from heaven, punched a deep hole in the earth,\nstopping only when he reached its centre. This funnel-shaped hole,\ndirectly under Jerusalem, is divided by Dante into nine independent\ncircular ledges, communicating only by means of occasional rocky\nstairways or bridges. In each of these nine circles are punished\nsinners of a certain kind.\n\n_Canto I._ In 1300, when thirty-five years of age, Dante claims to\nhave strayed from the straight path in the \"journey of life,\" only to\nencounter experiences bitter as death, which he relates in allegorical\nform to serve as warning to other sinners. Rousing from a stupor not\nunlike sleep, the poet finds himself in a strange forest at the foot\nof a sun-kissed mountain. On trying to climb it, he is turned aside\nby a spotted panther, an emblem of luxury or pleasure (Florence), a\nfierce lion, personifying ambition or anger (France), and a ravening\nwolf, the emblem of avarice (Rome). Fleeing in terror from these\nmonsters, Dante beseeches aid from the only fellow-creature he sees,\nonly to learn he is Virgil, the poet and master from whom he learned\n\"that style which for its beauty into fame exalts me.\"\n\nThen Virgil reveals he has been sent to save Dante from the ravening\nwolf (which also personifies the papal or Guelf party), only to guide\nhim through the horrors of the Inferno, and the sufferings of\nPurgatory, up to Paradise, where a \"worthier\" spirit will attend him.\n\n_Canto II._ The length of the journey proposed daunts Dante, until\nVirgil reminds him that cowardice has often made men relinquish\nhonorable enterprises, and encourages him by stating that Beatrice,\nmoved by love, forsook her place in heaven to bid him serve as Dante's\nguide. He adds that when he wondered how she could leave, even for a\nmoment, the heavenly abode, she explained that the Virgin Mary sent\nLucia, to bid her rescue the man who had loved her ever since she was\na child. Like a flower revived after a chilly night by the warmth of\nthe sun, Dante, invigorated by these words, intimates his readiness to\nfollow Virgil.\n\n_Canto III._ The two travellers, passing through a wood, reach a gate,\nabove which Dante perceives this inscription:\n\n  \"Through me you pass into the city of woe:\n  Through me you pass into eternal pain:\n  Through me among the people lost for aye.\n  Justice the founder of my fabric moved:\n  To rear me was the task of power divine,\n  Supremest wisdom, and primeval love.\n  Before me things create were none, save things\n  Eternal, and eternal I endure.\n  All hope abandon, ye who enter here.\"[16]\n\nUnable to grasp its meaning, Dante begs Virgil to interpret, and\nlearns they are about to descend into Hades. Having visited this place\nbefore, Virgil boldly leads Dante through this portal into an\nante-hell region, where sighs, lamentations, and groans pulse through\nthe starless air. Shuddering with horror, Dante inquires what it all\nmeans, only to be told that the souls \"who lived without praise or\nblame,\" as well as the angels who remained neutral during the war in\nheaven, are confined in this place, since Paradise, Purgatory, and\nInferno equally refuse to harbor them and death never visits them.\n\nWhile he is speaking, a long train of these unfortunate spirits, stung\nby gadflies, sweeps past them, and in their ranks Dante recognizes the\nshade of Pope Celestine V, who, \"through cowardice made the grand\nrenunciation,\"--i.e., abdicated his office at the end of five months,\nsimply because he lacked courage to face the task intrusted to him.\n\nPassing through these spirits with downcast eyes, Dante reaches\nAcheron,--the river of death,--where he sees, steering toward them,\nthe ferry-man Charon, whose eyes are like fiery wheels and who marvels\nat beholding a living man among the shades. When Charon grimly orders\nDante back to earth, Virgil silences him with the brief statement: \"so\n'tis will'd where will and power are one.\" So, without further\nobjection, Charon allows them to enter his skiff and hurries the rest\nof his freight aboard, beating the laggards with the flat of his oar.\nBecause Dante wonders at such ill-treatment, Virgil explains that good\nsouls are never forced to cross this stream, and that the present\npassengers have richly deserved their punishment. Just then an\nearthquake shakes the whole region, and Dante swoons in terror.\n\n_Canto IV._ When he recovers his senses, Dante finds himself no longer\nin Charon's bark, but on the brink of a huge circular pit, whence arise,\nlike emanations, moans and wails, but wherein, owing to the dense gloom,\nhe can descry nothing. Warning him they are about to descend into the\n\"blind world,\" and that his sorrowful expression--which Dante ascribes\nto fear--is caused by pity, Virgil conducts his disciple into the first\ncircle of hell. Instead of lamentations, only sighs are heard, while\nVirgil explains that this semi-dark limbo is reserved for unbaptized\nchildren, and for those who, having lived before Christ, must \"live\ndesiring without hope.\" Full of compassion for these sufferers, Dante\ninquires whether no one from above ever visited them, and is told that\nOne, bearing trophies of victory, once arrived there to ransom the\npatriarchs Adam, Abel, Noah, and others, but that until then none had\never been saved.\n\nTalking busily, the two wend their way through a forest of sighing\nspirits, until they approach a fire, around which dignified shades\nhave gathered. Informing Dante these are men of honored reputations,\nVirgil points out among them four mighty figures coming to meet them,\nand whispers they are Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan. After conversing\nfor a while with Virgil, these bards graciously welcome Dante as sixth\nin their poetic galaxy. Talking of things which cannot be mentioned\nsave in such exalted company, Dante walks on with them until he nears\na castle girdled with sevenfold ramparts and moat. Through seven\nconsecutive portals the six poets pass on to a meadow, where Dante\nbeholds all the creations of their brains, and meets Hector, Aeneas,\nCamilla, and Lucretia, as well as the philosophers, historians, and\nmathematicians who from time to time have appeared upon our globe.\nAlthough Dante would fain have lingered here, his guide leads him on,\nand, as their four companions vanish, they two enter a place \"where no\nlight shines.\"\n\n_Canto V._ Stepping down from this circle to a lower one, Dante and\nVirgil reach the second circle of the Inferno, where all who lived\nunchaste lives are duly punished. Smaller in circumference than the\npreceding circle,--for Dante's hell is shaped like a graduated\nfunnel,--this place is guarded by the judge Minos, who examines all\nnewly arrived souls, and consigns them to their appointed circles by\nan equal number of convolutions in his tail.\n\n  For when before him comes the ill-fated soul,\n  It all confesses; and that judge severe\n  Of sins, considering what place in hell\n  Suits the transgression, with his tail so oft\n  Himself encircles, as degrees beneath\n  He dooms it to descend.\n\nOn beholding Dante, Minos speaks threateningly, but, when Virgil again\nexplains they have been sent hither by a higher power, Minos too\nallows them to pass. Increasing sounds of woe now strike Dante's ear,\nuntil presently they attain the intensity of a deafening roar. Next he\nperceives that the whirlwind, sweeping violently round this abyss,\nholds in its grasp innumerable spirits which are allowed no rest. Like\nbirds in a tempest they swirl past Dante, to whom Virgil hastily\npoints out Semiramis, Dido, Cleopatra, Helen, Achilles, Paris, and\nTristan, together with many others.\n\nObtaining permission to address two shades floating toward him, Dante\nlearns that the man is the Paolo who fell in love with his\nsister-in-law, Francesca da Rimini. Asked how she happened to fall,\nthe female spirit, moaning there is no greater woe than to recall\nhappy times in the midst of misery, adds that while she and Paolo read\ntogether the tale of Launcelot they suddenly realized they loved in\nthe same way, and thus fell into the very sin described in this work,\nfor \"book and writer both were love's purveyors.\" Scarcely has she\nconfessed this when the wind, seizing Francesca and Paolo, again\nsweeps them on, and Dante, hearing their pitiful moans, swoons from\ncompassion.\n\n_Canto VI._ Recovering his senses, Dante finds Virgil has meantime\ntransferred him to the third circle, a region where chill rains ever\nfall, accompanied by hail, sleet, and snow. Here all guilty of\ngluttony are rent and torn by Cerberus, main ruler of this circle.\nFlinging a huge fistful of dirt into the dog's gaping jaws to prevent\nhis snapping at them, Virgil leads Dante quickly past this\nthree-headed monster, to a place where they tread on the shades which\npave the muddy ground. One of these, sitting up, suddenly inquires of\nDante whether he does not recognize him, adding that he is the\nnotorious Florentine glutton Ciacco. Fancying this shade may possess\nsome insight into the future, Dante inquires what is to become of his\nnative city, and learns that one political party will drive out the\nother, only to fall in its turn three years later. The glutton adds\nthat only two just men are left in Florence, and, when Dante asks what\nhas become of his friends, tells him he will doubtless meet them in\nthe various circles of Hades, should he continue his downward course.\n\nThen the spirit begs that, on returning to the \"pleasant world,\" Dante\nwill recall him to his friends' memory, and, closing his eyes, sinks\nback among the other victims, all of whom are more or less blind.\nVouchsafing the information that this sinner will not rise again \"ere\nthe last angel trumpet blow,\" Virgil leads Dante over the foul mixture\nof shades and mud, explaining that, although the accursed can never\nhope to attain perfection, they are not entirely debarred from\nimprovement.\n\n_Canto VII._ Talking thus, the two travellers descend to the fourth\ncircle, ruled by Plutus, god of wealth, who allows them to proceed,\nonly after Virgil has informed him their journey is ordained, and is\nto be pursued to the very spot where Michael confined Satan. The mere\nmention of his master, the ex-archangel, causes Plutus to grovel; and\nDante and Virgil, proceeding on their journey, discover that the\nfourth circle is occupied by all whom avarice mastered, as well as by\nprodigals, who are here condemned to roll heavy rocks, because their\nlives on earth were spent scuffling for money or because they failed\nto make good use of their gold. Dante descries among the victims\ntonsured polls, proving that monks themselves are not exempt from\nthese sins. Meanwhile Virgil expounds how the Creator decreed nations\nshould wield the mastery in turn, adding that these people are victims\nof Fortune, whose proverbial fickleness he ably describes.\n\nAfter passing a well, whose boiling waters overflow and form a stream,\nthey follow the latter's downward course to the marsh called Styx,\nwhere hundreds of naked creatures wallow in the mire, madly clutching\nand striking each other. Virgil explains that these are those \"whom\nanger overcame,\" and adds that the sullen are buried beneath the slimy\nwaters, where their presence is betrayed by bubbles caused by their\nbreath which continually rise to the surface. Edging around this\nloathsome pool, the two poets finally arrive at the door of a tall\ntower.\n\n_Canto VIII._ From the lofty turret flash flaming signals, evidently\ndesigned to summon some bark or ferry, since a vessel soon appears.\nOnce more Virgil has to silence a snarling boatman (Phlegyas) ere he\ncan enter his skiff, where he invites Dante to follow him. Then they\nrow across the mire, whence heads keep emerging from time to time. One\nof the sufferers confined here suddenly asks Dante, \"Who art thou that\nearnest ere thine hour?\" only to be hastily assured the poet does not\nintend to stay. Just as Dante expresses the wish to know whom he is\naddressing, he recognizes this sinner (Argenti) and turns from him in\nloathing, an act which wins Virgil's approval. When Dante further\nmutters he wishes this monster were stifled in the mud, Virgil\nsuddenly points to a squad of avenging spirits who, sweeping downward,\nare about to fulfil this cruel wish, when the culprit rends himself to\npieces with his own teeth and plunges back into the Styx.\n\nSailing along, Virgil tries to prepare Dante for their arrival at the\ncity of Dis, whose minarets, colored by a fiery glow from within, now\nshine in the distance. Steered into the moat surrounding this city,\nthe travellers slowly circle its iron walls, from which hosts of lost\nsouls lean clamoring, \"Who is this that without death first felt goes\nthrough the region of the dead?\" When Virgil signals he will explain,\nthe demons disappear as if to admit them; but, when the travellers\nreach the gates, they find them still tightly closed. Virgil then\nexplains that these very demons tried to oppose even Christ's entrance\nto Hades, and adds that their power was broken on the first Easter\nDay.\n\n_Canto IX._ Quailing with terror, Dante hears Virgil admit that few\nhave undertaken to tread these paths, although they are familiar to\nhim, seeing that, guided by a witch (the Sibyl of Cumaea), he came\nhere with Aeneas. While Virgil is talking, the three Furies appear on\ntop of the tower, and, noting the intruders, clamor for Medusa to come\nand turn them into stone! Bidding Dante avoid the Gorgon's petrifying\nglance, Virgil further assures the safety of his charge by holding his\nhands over Dante's eyes. While thus blinded, the author of the poem\nhears waves splash against the shore, and, when Virgil's hands are\nremoved, perceives an angel walking dry-shod over the Styx. At a touch\nfrom his hand, the gates of Dis open wide, and, without paying heed to\nthe poets, who have instinctively assumed the humblest attitude, their\ndivine rescuer recrosses the bog, leaving them free to enter into the\niron fortress. There they find countless sinners cased in red-hot\ncoffins sunk in burning marl. On questioning his guide, Dante learns\neach open sepulchre contains an arch-heretic, or leader of some\nreligious sect, and that each tomb is heated to a degree corresponding\nto the extent of the harm done by its occupant's teachings.\n\n_Canto X._ Gingerly treading between burning tombs and fortress wall,\nVirgil conducts Dante to an open sepulchre, where lies the Ghibelline\nleader Farinata. Partly rising out of his glowing tomb, this warrior\ninforms Dante that the Guelfs--twice driven out of Florence--have\nreturned thither. At that moment another victim, peering over the edge\nof his coffin, anxiously begs for news of his son Guido, thus proving\nthat, while these unfortunates know both past and future, the present\nremains a mystery to them. Too amazed at first to speak, Dante\nmentions Guido in the past tense, whereupon the unhappy father, rashly\ninferring his son is dead, plunges back into his sepulchre with a\ndesperate cry. Not being able to correct his involuntary mistake and\nthus comfort this sufferer, Dante begs Farinata to inform his\nneighbor, as soon as possible, that his son is still alive. Then,\nperplexed by all he has seen and heard, Dante passes thoughtfully on,\nnoting the victims punished in this place, until, seeing his dismay,\nVirgil comforts him with the assurance that Beatrice will explain all\nhe wishes to know at the end of his journey.\n\n_Canto XI._ The poets now approach a depression, whence arises a\nstench so nauseating that they are compelled to take refuge behind a\nstone tomb to avoid choking. While they pause there, Dante perceives\nthis sepulchre bears the name of Pope Anastasius, who has been led\nastray. Tarrying there to become acclimated to the smell, Virgil\ninforms his companion they are about to pass through three gradations\nof the seventh circle, where are punished the violent, or those who by\nforce worked injury to God, to themselves, or to their fellow-men.\n\n_Canto XII._ His charge sufficiently prepared for what awaits him,\nVirgil leads the way down a steep path to the next rim, where they are\nconfronted by the Minotaur, before whom Dante quails, but whom Virgil\ndefies by mentioning Theseus. Taking advantage of the moment when the\nfurious, bull-like monster charges at him with lowered head, Virgil\nruns with Dante down a declivity, where the stones, unaccustomed to\nthe weight of mortal feet, slip and roll in ominous fashion. This\npassage, Virgil declares, was less dangerous when he last descended\ninto Hades, for it has since been riven by the earthquake which shook\nthis region when Christ descended into hell.\n\nPointing to a boiling river of blood (Phlegethon) beneath them, Virgil\nshows Dante sinners immersed in it at different depths, because while\non earth they offered violence to their neighbors. Although anxious to\nescape from these bloody waters, the wicked are kept within their\nappointed bounds by troops of centaurs, who, armed with bows and\narrows, continually patrol the banks. When these guards threateningly\nchallenge Virgil, he calmly rejoins he wishes to see their leader,\nChiron, and, while awaiting the arrival of this worthy, shows Dante\nthe monster who tried to kidnap Hercules' wife.\n\nOn drawing near them, Chiron is amazed to perceive one of the\nintruders is alive, as is proved by the fact that he casts a shadow\nand that stones roll beneath his tread! Noticing his amazement, Virgil\nexplains he has been sent here to guide his mortal companion through\nthe Inferno, and beseeches Chiron to detail a centaur to carry Dante\nacross the river of blood, since he cannot, spirit-like, tread air.\nSelecting Nessus for this duty, Chiron bids him convey the poet safely\nacross the bloody stream, and, while performing this office, the\ncentaur explains that the victims more or less deeply immersed in\nblood are tyrants who delighted in bloodshed, such as Alexander,\nDionysius, and others. Borne by Nessus and escorted by Virgil, Dante\nreaches the other shore, and, taking leave of them, the centaur \"alone\nrepass'd the ford.\"\n\n_Canto XIII._ The travellers now enter a wild forest, which occupies\nthe second division of the seventh circle, where Virgil declares each\nbarren thorn-tree is inhabited by the soul of a suicide. In the gnarly\nbranches perch the Harpies, whose uncouth lamentations echo through\nthe air, and who greedily devour every leaf that sprouts. Appalled by\nthe sighs and wailings around him, Dante questions Virgil, who directs\nhim to break off a twig. No sooner has he done so than he sees blood\ntrickle from the break and hears a voice reproach him for his cruelty.\nThus Dante learns that the inmate of this tree was once private\nsecretary to Frederick II, and that, having fallen into unmerited\ndisgrace, he basely took refuge in suicide. This victim's words have\nbarely died away when the blast of a horn is heard, and two naked\nforms are seen fleeing madly before a huntsman and a pack of mastiffs.\nThe latter, pouncing upon one victim, tears him to pieces, while Dante\nshudders at this sight. Meantime Virgil explains that the culprit was\na young spendthrift, and that huntsman and hounds represent the\ncreditors whose pursuit he tried to escape by killing himself.\n\n_Canto XIV._ Leaving this ghastly forest, Dante is led to the third\ndivision of this circle, a region of burning sands, where hosts of\nnaked souls lie on the ground, blistered and scathed by the rain of\nfire and vainly trying to lessen their pain by thrashing themselves\nwith their hands. One figure, the mightiest among them, alone seems\nindifferent to the burning rain, and, when Dante inquires who this may\nbe, Virgil returns it is Capaneus (one of the seven kings who besieged\nTh\u00e8bes[17]), who, in his indomitable pride, taunted Jupiter and was\nslain by his thunder-bolt.\n\nTreading warily to avoid the burning sands, Virgil and his disciple\ncross a ruddy brook which flows straight down from Mount Ida in Crete,\nwhere it rises at the foot of a statue whose face is turned toward\nRome. Virgil explains that the waters of this stream are formed by the\ntears of the unhappy, which are plentiful enough to feed the four\nmighty rivers of Hades! While following the banks of this torrent,\nDante questions why they have not yet encountered the other two rivers\nwhich fall into the pit; and discovers that, although they have been\ntravelling in a circle, they have not by far completed one whole round\nof the gigantic funnel, but have stepped down from one ledge to the\nother after walking only a short distance around each circumference.\n\n_Canto XV._ The high banks of the stream of tears protect our\ntravellers from the burning sands and the rain of fire, until they\nencounter a procession of souls, each one of which stares fixedly at\nthem. One of these recognizes Dante, who in his turn is amazed to find\nthere his old school-master Ser Brunetto, whom he accompanies on his\nway, after he learns he and his fellow-sufferers are not allowed to\nstop, under penalty of lying a hundred years without fanning\nthemselves beneath the rain of fire. Walking by his former pupil's\nside, Brunetto in his turn questions Dante and learns how and why he\nhas come down here, ere he predicts that in spite of persecutions the\npoet will ultimately attain great fame.\n\n_Canto XVI._ Reaching a spot where the stream they are following\nsuddenly thunders down into the eighth circle, Dante beholds three\nspirits running toward him, whirling round one another \"in one\nrestless wheel,\" while loudly exclaiming his garb denotes he is their\nfellow countryman! Gazing into their fire-scarred faces, Dante learns\nthese are three powerful Guelfs; and when they crave tidings of their\nnative city, he tells them all that has recently occurred there.\nBefore vanishing these spirits piteously implore him to speak of them\nto mortals on his return to earth, and leave Dante and Virgil to\nfollow the stream to the verge of the abyss. There Virgil loosens the\nrope knotted around Dante's waist, and, casting one end of it down\ninto the abyss, intimates that what he is awaiting will soon appear. A\nmoment later a monster rises from the depths, climbing hand over hand\nup the rope.\n\n_Canto XVII._ This monster is Geryon, the personification of fraud,\nand therefore a mixture of man, beast, and serpent. When he reaches\nthe upper ledge, Virgil bargains with him to carry them down, while\nDante converses with neighboring sorrowful souls, who are perched on\nthe top of the cliff and hide their faces in their hands. All these\nspirits wear purses around their necks, because as usurers while on\nearth they lived on ill-gotten gains. Not daring to keep his guide\nwaiting, Dante leaves these sinners, and hurries back just as Virgil\nis taking his seat on the monster's back. Grasping the hand stretched\nout to him, Dante then timorously mounts beside his guide.\n\n    \"As one, who hath an ague fit so near,\n  His nails already are turn'd blue, and he\n  Quivers all o'er, if he but eye the shade;\n  Such was my cheer at hearing of his words.\n  But shame soon interposed her threat, who makes\n  The servant bold in presence of his lord.\n    I settled me upon those shoulders huge,\n  And would have said, but that the words to aid\n  My purpose came not, 'Look thou clasp me firm.'\"\n\nThen, bidding Dante hold fast so as not to fall, Virgil gives the\nsignal for departure. Wheeling slowly, Geryon flies downward,\nmoderating his speed so as not to unseat his passengers. Comparing\nhis sensations to those of Phaeton falling from the sun-chariot, or to\nIcarus' horror when he dropped into the sea, Dante describes how, as\nthey circled down on the beast's back, he caught fleeting glimpses of\nfiery pools and was almost deafened by the rising chorus of wails.\nWith a falcon-like swoop Geryon finally alights on the next level,\nand, having deposited his passengers at the foot of a splintered rock,\ndarts away like an arrow from a taut bow-string.\n\n_Canto XVIII._ The eighth circle, called Malebolge (Evil Pits), is\ndivided into ten gulfs, between which rocky arches form bridge-like\npassages. This whole region is of stone and ice, and from the pit in\nthe centre continually rise horrid exhalations. Among the unfortunates\nincessantly lashed by horned demons in the first gulf, Dante perceives\none who was a notorious pander on earth and who is justly suffering\nthe penalty of his crimes. Later on, watching a train of culprits\ndriven by other demons, Dante recognizes among them Jason, who secured\nthe Golden Fleece, thanks to Medea, but proved faithless toward her in\nthe end.\n\nCrossing to the second division, Dante beholds sinners buried in dung,\nin punishment for having led astray their fellow-creatures by\nflattery. One of them,--whom the poet recognizes,--emerging from his\nfilthy bath, sadly confesses, \"Me thus low down my flatteries have\nsunk, wherewith I ne'er enough could glut my tongue.\" In this place\nDante also notes the harlot Thais, expiating her sins, with other\nnotorious seducers and flatterers.\n\n_Canto XIX._ By means of another rocky bridge the travellers reach the\nthird gulf, where are punished all who have been guilty of simony.\nThese are sunk, head first, in a series of burning pits, whence emerge\nonly the red-hot soles of their convulsively agitated feet. Seeing a\nruddier flame hover over one pair of soles, Dante timidly inquires to\nwhom they belong, whereupon Virgil, carrying him down to this spot,\nbids him seek his answer from the culprit himself. Peering down into\nthe stone-pit, Dante then timidly proffers his request, only to be\nhotly reviled by Pope Nicholas III, who first mistakes his\ninterlocutor for Pope Boniface, and confesses he was brought to this\nstate by nepotism. But, when he predicts a worse pope will ultimately\nfollow him down into this region, Dante sternly rebukes him.\n\n_Canto XX._ Virgil is so pleased with Dante's speech to Pope Nicholas\nthat, seizing him in his arms, he carries him swiftly over the bridge\nwhich leads to the fourth division. Here Dante beholds a procession of\nchanting criminals whose heads are turned to face their backs. This\nsight proves so awful that Dante weeps, until Virgil bids him note the\ndifferent culprits. Among them is the witch Manto, to whom Mantua, his\nnative city, owes its name, and Dante soon learns that all these\nculprits are the famous soothsayers, diviners, magicians, and witches\nof the world, who thus are punished for having presumed to predict the\nfuture.\n\n_Canto XXI._ From the top of the next bridge they gaze into a dark\npit, where public peculators are plunged into boiling pitch, as Dante\ndiscovers by the odor, which keenly reminds him of the shipyards at\nVenice. Virgil there directs Dante's attention toward a demon, who\nhurls a sinner headlong into the boiling tar, and, without watching to\nsee what becomes of him, departs in quest of some other victim. The\npoet also perceives that, whenever a sinner's head emerges from the\npitchy waves, demons thrust him down again by means of long forks. To\nprevent his charge falling a prey to these active evil spirits, Virgil\ndirects Dante to hide behind a pillar of the bridge and from thence\nwatch all that is going on.\n\nWhile Dante lurks there, a demon, descrying him, is about to attack\nhim, but Virgil so vehemently proclaims they are here by Heaven's will\nthat the evil spirit drops his fork and becomes powerless to harm\nthem. Perceiving the effect he has produced, Virgil then summons Dante\nfrom his hiding-place, and sternly orders the demon to guide them\nsafely through the ranks of his grimacing fellows, all of whom make\nobscene gestures as they pass.\n\n_Canto XXII._ Dante, having taken part in battles, is familiar with\nmilitary manoeuvres, but he declares he never behold such ably\nmarshalled troops as the demon hosts through which they pass. From\ntime to time he sees a devil emerge from the ranks to plunge sinners\nback into the lake of pitch, or to spear one with his fork and, after\nletting him squirm aloft for a while, hurl him back into the asphalt\nlake. One of these victims, questioned by Virgil, acknowledges he once\nheld office in Navarre, but, rather than suffer at the hands of the\ndemon tormentors, this peculator voluntarily plunges back into the\npitch. Seeing this, the baffled demons fight each other, until two\nactually fall into the lake, whence they are fished in sorry plight by\nfellow-fiends.\n\n_Canto XXIII._ By a passage-way so narrow they are obliged to proceed\nsingle file, Dante and Virgil reach the next division, the author of\nthis poem continually gazing behind him for fear lest the demons\npursue him. His fears are only too justified, and Virgil, seeing his\nperil, catches him up in his arms and runs with him to the next gulf,\nknowing demons never pass beyond their beat.\n\n    \"Never ran water with such hurrying pace\n  Adown the tube to turn a land-mill's wheel,\n  When nearest it approaches to the spokes,\n  As then along that edge my master ran,\n  Carrying me in his bosom, as a child,\n  Not a companion.\"\n\nIn the sixth division where they now arrive, they behold a procession\nof victims, weighed down by gilded leaden cowls, creeping along so\nslowly that Dante and Virgil pass all along their line although they\nare not walking fast. Hearing one of these bowed figures address him,\nDante learns that, because he and his companions were hypocrites on\nearth, they are doomed to travel constantly around this circle of the\nInferno, fainting beneath heavy loads.\n\nA moment later Dante notices that the narrow path ahead of them is\nblocked by a writhing figure pinned to the ground by three stakes.\nThis is Caiaphas, who insisted it was fitting that one man suffer for\nthe people and who, having thus sentenced Christ to the cross, has to\nendure the whole procession to tramp over his prostrate form. The\ncowled figure with whom Dante is conversing informs him, besides, that\nin other parts of the circle are Ananias and the other members of the\nSanhedrim who condemned Christ. Deeming Dante has now seen enough of\nthis region, Virgil inquires where they can find an exit from this\ngulf, and is shown by a spirit a steep ascent.\n\n_Canto XXIV._ So precipitous is this passage that Virgil half carries\nhis charge, and, panting hard, both scramble to a ledge overhanging\nthe seventh gulf of Malebolge, where innumerable serpents prey upon\nnaked robbers, whose hands are bound behind them by writhing snakes.\nBeneath the constant bites of these reptiles, the robber-victims turn\nto ashes, only to rise phoenix-like a moment later and undergo renewed\ntorments. Dante converses with one of these spirits, who, after\ndescribing his own misdeeds, prophesies in regard to the future of\nFlorence.\n\n_Canto XXV._ The blasphemous speeches and gestures of this speaker are\nsilenced by an onslaught of snakes, before whose attack he attempts to\nflee, only to be overtaken and tortured by a serpent-ridden centaur,\nwhom Virgil designates as Cacus. Further on, the travellers behold\nthree culprits who are alternately men and writhing snakes, always,\nhowever, revealing more of the reptile than of the human nature and\nform.\n\n                         \"The other two\n  Look'd on, exclaiming, 'Ah! How dost thou change,\n  Agnello! See! thou art nor double now\n  Nor only one.' The two heads now became\n  One, and two figures blended in one form\n  Appear'd, where both were lost. Of the four lengths\n  Two arms were made: the belly and the chest,\n  The thighs and legs, into such members changed\n  As never eye hath seen.\"\n\n_Canto XXVI._ From another bridge Dante gazes down into the eighth\ngulf, where, in the midst of the flames, are those who gave evil\nadvice to their fellow-creatures. Here Dante recognizes Diomedes,\nUlysses, and sundry other heroes of the Iliad,--with whom his guide\nspeaks,--and learns that Ulysses, after his return to Ithaca, resumed\nhis explorations, ventured beyond the pillars of Hercules, and, while\nsailing in the track of the sun, was drowned in sight of a high\nmountain.\n\n_Canto XXVII._ In the midst of another bed of flames, Dante next\ndiscovers another culprit, to whom he gives the history of the\nRomagna, and whose life-story he hears before following his leader\ndown to the ninth gulf of Malebolge.\n\n_Canto XXVIII._ In this place Dante discovers the sowers of scandal,\nschism, and heresy, who exhibit more wounds than all the Italian wars\noccasioned. Watching them, Dante perceives that each victim is ripped\nopen by a demon's sword, but that his wounds heal so rapidly that\nevery time the spirit passes a demon again his torture is renewed.\nAmong these victims Dante recognizes Mahomet, who, wondering that a\nliving man should visit hell, points out Dante to his fellow-shades.\nPassing by the travellers, sundry victims mention their names, and\nDante thus discovers among them the leaders of strife between sundry\nItalian states, and shudders when Bertrand de Born, a fellow minstrel,\nappears bearing his own head instead of a lantern, in punishment for\npersuading the son of Henry II, of England, to rebel.\n\n_Canto XXIX._ Gazing in a dazed way at the awful sights of this\ncircle, Dante learns it is twenty-one miles in circumference, ere he\npasses on to the next bridge, where lamentations such as assail one's\nears in a hospital constantly arise. In the depths of the tenth pit,\ninto which he now peers, Dante distinguishes victims of all manners of\ndiseases, and learns these are the alchemists and forgers undergoing\nthe penalty of their sins. Among them Dante perceives a man who was\nburied alive on earth for offering to teach mortals to fly! So\npreposterous did such a claim appear to Minos--judge of the dead--that\nhe ruthlessly condemned its originator to undergo the punishment\nawarded to magicians, alchemists, and other pretenders.\n\n_Canto XXX._ Virgil now points out to Dante sundry impostors,\nperpetrators of fraud, and false-coiners, among whom we note the woman\nwho falsely accused Joseph, and Sinon, who persuaded the Trojans to\nconvey the wooden horse into their city. Not content with the tortures\ninflicted upon them, these criminals further increase each others'\nsufferings by cruel taunts, and Dante, fascinated by what he sees,\nlingers beside this pit, until Virgil cuttingly intimates \"to hear\nsuch wrangling is a joy for vulgar minds.\"\n\n_Canto XXXI._ Touched by the remorseful shame which Dante now shows,\nVirgil draws him on until they are almost deafened by a louder blast\nthan was uttered by Roland's horn at Roncevaux. Peering in the\ndirection of the sound, Dante descries what he takes for lofty towers,\nuntil Virgil informs him that when they draw nearer still he will\ndiscover they are giants standing in the lowest pit but looming far\nabove it in the mist. Ere long Dante stares in wonder at chained\ngiants seventy feet tall, whom Virgil designates as Nimrod, Ephialtes,\nand Antaeus.\n\n                   As with circling round\n  Of turrets, Montereggion crowns his walls;\n  E'en thus the shore, encompassing the abyss,\n  Was turreted with giants, half their length\n  Uprearing, horrible, whom Jove from heaven\n  Yet threatens, when his muttering thunder rolls.\n\nAntaeus being unchained, Virgil persuades him to lift them both down\nin the hollow of his hands to the next level, \"where guilt is at its\ndepth.\" Although Dante's terror in the giant's grip is almost\noverwhelming, he is relieved when his feet touch the ground once more,\nand he watches with awe as the giant straightens up again like the\nmast of a huge ship.\n\n                 \"Yet in the abyss,\n  That Lucifer with Judas low ingulfs,\n  Lightly he placed us; nor, there leaning, stay'd;\n  But rose, as in a barque the stately mast.\"\n\n_Canto XXXII._ Confessing that it is no easy task to describe the\nbottom of the universe which he has now reached, Dante relates how\nperpendicular rocks reached up on all sides as far as he could see. He\nis gazing upward in silent wonder, when Virgil suddenly cautions him\nto beware lest he tread upon some unfortunate. Gazing down at his\nfeet, Dante then becomes aware that he is standing on a frozen lake,\nwherein stick fast innumerable sinners, whose heads alone emerge,\neased in ice owing to the tears constantly flowing down their cheeks.\n\nSeeing two so close together that their very hair seems to mingle,\nDante, on inquiring, learns they are two brothers who slew each other\nin an inheritance quarrel, for this is Caina, the region where the\nworst murderers are punished, and, like every other part of the\nInferno, it is crowded with figures.\n\n                     \"A thousand visages\n  Then mark'd, I, which the keen and eager cold\n  Had shaped into a doggish grin; whence creeps\n  A shivering horror o'er me, at the thought\n  Of those frore shallows.\"\n\nIt happens that, while following his guide over the ice, Dante's foot\nstrikes a projecting head. Permission being granted him to question\nits owner, Dante, because he at first refuses to speak, threatens to\npull every hair out of his head, and actually gives him a few hard\ntugs. Then the man admits he is a traitor and that there are many\nothers of his ilk in Antenora, the second division of the lowest\ncircle.\n\n_Canto XXXIII._ Beholding another culprit greedily gnawing the head of\na companion, Dante learns that while on earth this culprit was Count\nUgolino de'Gherardeschi, whom his political opponents, headed by the\nArchbishop Ruggiero, seized by treachery and locked up in the\nFamine-tower at Pisa, with two sons and two grandsons. Ugolino\nfeelingly describes his horror when one morning he heard them nail up\nthe door of the prison, and realized he and his were doomed to starve!\nNot a word did the prisoners exchange regarding their fate, although\nall were aware of the suffering awaiting them. At the end of\ntwenty-four hours, beholding traces of hunger in the beloved faces of\nhis children, Ugolino gnawed his fists in pain. One of his grandsons,\ninterpreting this as a sign of unbearable hunger, then suggested that\nhe eat one of them, whereupon he realized how needful it was to\nexercise self-control if he did not wish to increase the sufferings of\nthe rest. Ugolino then describes how they daily grew weaker, until his\ngrandsons died at the end of the fourth day, vainly begging him to\nhelp them. Then his sons passed away, and, groping blindly among the\ndead, he lingered on, until, famine becoming more potent than anything\nelse, he yielded to its demands. Having finished this grewsome tale,\nUgolino continued his feast upon the head of his foe!\n\n                 \"Thus having spoke,\n  Once more upon the wretched skull his teeth\n  He fasten'd like a mastiff's 'gainst the bone,\n  Firm and unyielding.\"\n\nDante, passing on, discovers many other victims encased in the ice,\nand is so chilled by a glacial breeze that his face muscles stiffen.\nHe is about to ask Virgil whence this wind proceeds, when one of the\nice-encrusted victims implores him to remove its hard mask from his\nface. Promising to do so in return for the man's story, Dante learns\nhe is a friar who, in order to rid himself of inconvenient kinsmen,\ninvited them all to dinner, where he suddenly uttered the fatal words\nwhich served as a signal for hidden assassins to despatch them. When\nDante indignantly exclaims the perpetrator of this heinous deed is on\nearth, the criminal admits that, although his shadow still lingers\nabove ground, his soul is down here in Ptolomea, undergoing the\npenalty for his sins. Hearing this, Dante refuses to clear away the\nice, and excuses himself to his readers by stating \"ill manners were\nbest courtesy to him.\" _Canto XXXIV._ Virgil now directs Dante's\nglance ahead, until our poet dimly descries what looks like an immense\nwindmill. Placing Dante behind him to shield him a little from the\ncruel blast, Virgil leads him past countless culprits, declaring they\nhave reached Judecca, a place where it behooves him to arm his heart\nwith strength. So stiff with cold that he is hovering between life and\ndeath, Dante now beholds Dis or Satan,--Emperor of the Infernal\nRegions,--sunk in ice down to his waist, and discovers that the wind\nis caused by the constant flutter of his bat-like wings. He also\nperceives that Satan is as much larger than the giants just seen, as\nthey surpass mankind, and states that, were the father of evil as fair\nas he is foul, one might understand his daring to defy God.\n\n              \"If he were beautiful\n  As he is hideous now, and yet did dare\n  To scowl upon his Maker, well from him\n  May all our misery flow.\"\n\nThen Dante describes Satan's three heads, one red, one yellow and\nwhite, and one green, declaring that the arch-fiend munches in each\nmouth the sinners Judas, Cassius, and Brutus. After allowing Dante to\ngaze a while at this appalling sight, Virgil informs his charge that,\nhaving seen all, it behooves them to depart. With a brief order to\nDante to cling tightly around his neck, Virgil, seizing a moment when\nSatan's wings are raised, darts beneath them, and clutching the\ndemon's shaggy sides painfully descends toward the centre of the\nearth. Down, down they go until they reach the evil spirit's thighs,\nwhere, the centre of earth's gravity being reached, Virgil suddenly\nturns around and begins an upward climb with his burden. Although\nDante fully expects soon to behold Satan's head once more, he is\namazed to discover they are climbing up his leg. Then, through a\nchimney-like ascent, where the climbing demands all their strength,\nDante and Virgil ascend toward the upper air.\n\nExplaining they are about to emerge at the antipodes of the spot\nwhere they entered Hades, where they will behold the great Western\nSea, Virgil adds they will find in its centre the Mount of Purgatory,\nconstructed of the earth displaced by Satan's fall. Thus, Dante and\nhis leader return to the bright world, and, issuing from the dark\npassage in which they have been travelling, once more behold the\nstars!\n\n                   \"By that hidden way\n  My guide and I did enter, to return\n  To the fair world: and heedless of repose\n  We climb'd, he first, I following his steps,\n  Till on our view the beautiful lights of heaven\n  Dawn'd through a circular opening in the cave:\n  Thence issuing we again beheld the stars.\"\n\n\n\n\nPURGATORY\n\n\n_Canto I._ About to sing of a region where human spirits are purged of\ntheir sins and prepared to enter heaven, Dante invokes the aid of the\nmuses. Then, gazing about him, he discovers he is in an atmosphere of\nsapphire hue, all the more lovely because of the contrast with the\ninfernal gloom whence he has just emerged. It is just before dawn, and\nhe beholds with awe four bright stars,--the Southern Cross,--which\nsymbolize the four cardinal virtues (Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and\nTemperance).\n\nAfter contemplating these stars awhile, Dante, turning to the north to\nget his bearings, perceives Virgil has been joined in this\nante-purgatorial region by Cato, who wonderingly inquires how they\nescaped \"the eternal prison-house.\"\n\nVirgil's gesture and example have meantime forced Dante to his knees,\nso it is in this position that the Latin poet explains how a lady in\nheaven bade him rescue Dante--before it was too late--by guiding him\nthrough hell and showing him how sinners are cleansed in Purgatory.\nThe latter part of Virgil's task can, however, be accomplished only if\nCato will allow them to enter the realm which he guards. Moved by so\neloquent a plea, Cato directs Virgil to wash all traces of tears and\nof infernal mirk from Dante's face, girdle him with a reed in token\nof humility, and then ascend the Mount of Purgatory,--formed of the\nearthy core ejected from Hades,--which he points out in the middle of\na lake with reedy shores.\n\nLeading his charge in the early dawn across a meadow, Virgil draws his\nhands first through the dewy grass and then over Dante's face, and,\nhaving thus removed all visible traces of the passage through Hades,\ntakes him down to the shore to girdle him with a pliant reed, the\nemblem of humility.\n\n_Canto II._ Against the whitening east they now behold a ghostly\nvessel advancing toward them, and when it approaches near enough they\ndescry an angel standing at its prow, his outspread wings serving as\nsails. While Dante again sinks upon his knees, he hears, faintly at\nfirst, the passengers in the boat singing the psalm \"When Israel went\nout of Egypt.\"\n\nMaking a sign of the cross upon each passenger's brow, the angel\nallows his charges to land, and vanishes at sunrise, just as the\nnew-comers, turning to Virgil, humbly inquire the way to the mountain.\nVirgil rejoins that he too is a recent arrival, although he and his\ncompanion travelled a far harder road than theirs. His words making\nthem aware of the fact that Dante is a living man, the spirits crowd\naround him, eager to touch him. Among them he recognizes the musician\nCasella, his friend. Unable to embrace a spirit,--although he tries to\ndo so,--Dante, after explaining his own presence here, begs Casella to\ncomfort all present by singing of love. Just as this strain ends, Cato\nreappears, urging them to hasten to the mountain and there cast aside\nthe scales which conceal God from their eyes. At these words all the\nsouls present scatter like a covey of pigeons, and begin ascending the\nmountain, whither Virgil and Dante slowly follow them.\n\n      \"As a wild flock of pigeons, to their food\n  Collected, blade or tares, without their pride\n  Accustom'd, and in still and quiet sort,\n  If aught alarm them, suddenly desert\n  Their meal, assail'd by more important care;\n  So I that new-come troop beheld, the song\n  Deserting, hasten to the mountain's side,\n  As one who goes, yet, where he tends, knows not.\"\n\n_Canto III._ While painfully ascending the steep slope, Dante, seeing\nonly his own shadow lengthening out before him, fears his guide has\nabandoned him, and is relieved to see Virgil close behind him and to\nhear him explain that disembodied spirits cast no shadow. While they\nare talking, they reach the foot of the mountain and are daunted by\nits steep and rocky sides. They are vainly searching for some crevice\nwhereby they may hope to ascend, when they behold a slowly advancing\nprocession of white-robed figures, from whom Virgil humbly inquires\nthe way.\n\n      \"As sheep, that step from forth their fold, by one,\n  Or pairs, or three at once; meanwhile the rest\n  Stand fearfully, bending the eye and nose\n  To ground, and what the foremost does, that do\n  The others, gathering round her if she stops,\n  Simple and quiet, nor the cause discern;\n  So saw I moving to advance the first,\n  Who of the fortunate crew were at the head,\n  Of modest mien, and graceful in their gait.\n  When they before me had beheld the light\n  From my right side fall broken on the ground,\n  So that the shadow reach'd the cave; they stopp'd,\n  And somewhat back retired: the same did all\n  Who follow'd, though unwitting of the cause.\"\n\nThese spirits too are startled at the sight of a living being, but,\nwhen Virgil assures them Dante is not here without warrant, they\nobligingly point out \"the straight and narrow way\" which serves as\nentrance to Purgatory. This done, one spirit, detaching itself from\nthe rest, inquires whether Dante does not remember Manfred, King of\nNaples and Sicily, and whether he will not, on his return to earth,\ninform the princess that her father repented of his sins at the moment\nof death and now bespeaks her prayers to shorten his time of\nprobation.\n\n_Canto IV._ Dazed by what he has just seen and heard, Dante becomes\nconscious of his surroundings once more, only when the sun stands\nconsiderably higher, and when he has arrived at the foot of a rocky\npathway, up which he painfully follows Virgil, helping himself with\nhis hands as well as his feet. Arrived at its top, both gaze\nwonderingly around them, and perceive by the position of the sun that\nthey must be at the antipodes of Florence, where their journey began.\nPanting with the exertions he has just made, Dante expresses some fear\nlest his strength may fail him, whereupon Virgil kindly assures him\nthe way, so arduous at first, will become easier and easier the higher\nthey ascend.\n\nJust then a voice, addressing them, advises them to rest, and Dante,\nturning, perceives, among other spirits, a sitting figure, in whom he\nrecognizes a friend noted for his laziness. On questioning this\nspirit, Dante learns that this friend, Belacqua, instead of exerting\nhimself to climb the mount of Purgatory, is idly waiting in hopes of\nbeing wafted upward by the prayers of some \"heart which lives in\ngrace.\" Such slothfulness irritates Virgil, who hurries Dante on,\nwarning him the sun has already reached its meridian and night will\nall too soon overtake them.\n\n_Canto V._ Heedless of the whispered comments behind him because he is\nopaque and not transparent like the other spirits, Dante follows\nVirgil, until they overtake a band of spirits chanting the Miserere.\nThese too seem surprised at Dante's density, and, when assured he is\nalive, eagerly inquire whether he can give them any tidings of friends\nand families left on earth. Although all present are sinners who died\nviolent deaths, as they repented at the last minute they are not\nwholly excluded from hope of bliss. Unable to recognize any of these,\nDante nevertheless listens to their descriptions of their violent\nends, and promises to enlighten their friends and kinsmen in regard to\ntheir fate.\n\n_Canto VI._ Because Virgil moves on, Dante feels constrained to\nfollow, although the spirits continue to pluck at his mantle,\nimploring him to hear what they have to say. Touched by the sorrows of\nmen of his own time or famous in history, Dante wistfully asks his\nguide whether prayers can ever change Heaven's decrees, and learns\nthat true love can work miracles, as he will perceive when he beholds\nBeatrice. The hope of meeting his beloved face to face causes Dante to\nurge his guide to greater speed and almost gives wings to his feet.\nPresently Virgil directs his companion's attention to a spirit\nstanding apart, in whom Dante recognizes the poet Sordello, who mourns\nbecause Mantua--his native city as well as Virgil's--drifts in these\npolitical upheavals like a pilotless vessel in the midst of a storm.\n\n_Canto VII._ Virgil now informs Sordello that he, Virgil, is debarred\nfrom all hope of heaven through lack of faith. Thereupon Sordello\nreverently approaches him, calling him \"Glory of Latium,\" and\ninquiring whence he comes. Virgil explains how, led by heavenly\ninfluence, he left the dim limbo of ante-hell, passed through all the\nstages of the Inferno, and is now seeking the place \"Where Purgatory\nits true beginning takes.\" Sordello rejoins that, while he will gladly\nserve as guide, the day is already so far gone that they had better\nspend the night in a neighboring dell. He then leads Virgil and Dante\nto a hollow, where, resting upon fragrant flowers, they prepare to\nspend the night, with a company of spirits who chant \"Salve Regina.\"\nAmong these the new-comers recognize with surprise sundry renowned\nmonarchs, whose doings are briefly described.\n\n_Canto VIII._ Meantime the hour of rest has come, the hour described\nby the poet as--\n\n      Now was the hour that wakens fond desire\n  In men at sea, and melts their thoughtful heart\n  Who in the morn have bid sweet friends farewell,\n  And pilgrim newly on his road with love\n  Thrills, if he hear the vesper bell from far\n  That seems to mourn for the expiring day.\n\nDante and Virgil then witness the evening devotions of these spirits,\nwhich conclude with a hymn so soft, so devout, that their senses are\nlost in ravishment. When it has ended, the spirits all gaze\nexpectantly upward, and soon behold two green-clad angels, with\nflaming swords, who alight on eminences at either end of the glade.\nThese heavenly warriors are sent by Mary to mount guard during the\nhours of darkness so as to prevent the serpent from gliding unseen\ninto their miniature Eden. Still led by Sordello, the poets withdraw\nto a leafy recess, where Dante discovers a friend whom he had cause to\nbelieve detained in hell. This spirit explains he is not indeed\nlanguishing there simply because of the prayers of his daughter\nGiovanna, who has not forgotten him although his wife has married\nagain.\n\nDante is just gazing with admiration at three stars (symbols of Faith,\nHope, and Charity), when Sordello suddenly points out the serpent, who\nis no sooner descried by the angels than they swoop down and put him\nto flight.\n\n              \"I saw not, nor can tell,\n  How those celestial falcons from their seat\n  Moved, but in motion each one well descried.\n  Hearing the air cut by their verdant plumes,\n  The serpent fled; and, to their stations, back\n  The angels up return'd with equal flight.\"\n\n_Canto IX._ Dante falls asleep in this valley, but, just as the first\ngleams of light appear, he is favored by a vision, wherein--like\nGanymede--he is borne by a golden-feathered eagle into a glowing fire\nwhere both are consumed. Wakening with a start from this disquieting\ndream, Dante finds himself in a different spot, with no companion save\nVirgil, and notes the sun is at least two hours high.\n\nVirgil now assures him that, thanks to Santa Lucia (type of God's\ngrace), he has in sleep been conveyed to the very entrance of\nPurgatory. Gazing at the high cliffs which encircle the mountain,\nDante now perceives a deep cleft, through which he and Virgil arrive\nat a vast portal (the gate of penitence), to which three huge steps of\nvarying color and size afford access. At the top of these steps, on a\ndiamond threshold, sits the Angel of Absolution with his flashing\nsword. Challenged by this warder, Virgil explains that they have been\nguided hither by Santa Lucia, at whose name the angel bids them draw\nnear. Up a polished step of white marble (which typifies sincerity), a\ndark step of cracked stone (symbol of contrition), and one of red\nporphyry (emblem of self-sacrifice), Dante arrives at the angel's feet\nand humbly begs him to unbar the door. In reply the angel inscribes\nupon the poet's brow, by means of his sword, seven _P's_, to represent\nthe seven deadly sins (in Italian _peccata_), of which mortals must be\npurged ere they can enter Paradise.\n\nAfter bidding Dante have these signs properly effaced, the angel draws\nfrom beneath his ash-hued mantle the golden key of authority and the\nsilver key of discernment, stating that when St. Peter entrusted them\nto his keeping he bade him err \"rather in opening than in keeping\nfast.\" Then, the gate open, the angel bids them enter, adding the\nsolemn warning \"he forth again departs who looks behind.\"\n\n_Canto X._ Mindful of this caution, Dante does not turn, although the\ngates close with a clash behind him, but follows his guide along a\nsteep pathway. It is only after painful exertions they reach the first\nterrace of Purgatory, or place where the sin of pride is punished.\nThey now pass along a white marble cornice,--some eighteen feet\nwide,--whose walls are decorated with sculptures which would not have\nshamed the best masters of Greek art. Here are represented such\nsubjects as the Annunciation, David dancing before the Ark, and Trajan\ngranting the petition of the unfortunate widow. Proceeding along this\npath, they soon see a procession of spirits approaching, all bent\nalmost double beneath huge burdens. As they creep along, one or\nanother gasps from time to time, \"I can endure no more.\"\n\n_Canto XI._ The oppressed spirits fervently pray for aid and\nforgiveness, while continuing their weary tramp around this cornice,\nwhere they do penance for undue pride. Praying they may soon be\ndelivered, Virgil inquires of them where he can find means to\nascend to the next circle, and is told to accompany the procession\nwhich will soon pass the place. The speaker, although unable to raise\nhis head, confesses his arrogance while on earth so incensed his\nfellow-creatures that they finally rose up against him and murdered\nhim. Stooping so as to catch a glimpse of the bent face, Dante\nrealizes he is talking to a miniature painter who claimed to be\nwithout equal, and therefore has to do penance.\n\n                          The noise\n  Of worldly fame is but a blast of wind,\n  That blows from diverse points, and shifts its name,\n  Shifting the point it blows from.\n\n_Canto XII._ Journeying beside the bowed painter (who names some of\nhis fellow-sufferers), Dante's attention is directed by Virgil to the\npavement beneath his feet, where he sees carved Briareus, Nimrod,\nNiobe, Arachne, Saul, etc.,--in short, all those who dared measure\nthemselves with the gods or who cherished overweening opinions of\ntheir attainments. So absorbed is Dante in contemplation of these\nsubjects that he starts when told an angel is coming to meet them,\nwho, if entreated with sufficient humility, will doubtless help them\nreach the next level.\n\nThe radiant-faced angel, robed in dazzling white, instead of waiting\nto be implored to help the travellers, graciously points out steps\nwhere the rocks are sundered by a cleft, and, when Dante obediently\nclimbs past him, a soft touch from his wings brushes away the P. which\nstands for pride, and thus frees our poet of all trace of this heinous\nsin. But it is only on reaching the top of the stairway that Dante\nbecomes aware of this fact.\n\n_Canto XIII._ The second ledge of purgatory, which they have now\nreached, is faced with plain gray stone, and Virgil leads his\ncompanion a full mile along it ere they become aware of a flight of\ninvisible spirits, some of whom chant \"They have no wine!\" while the\nothers respond \"Love ye those who have wrong'd you.\" These are those\nwho, having sinned through envy, can be freed only by the exercise of\ncharity. Then, bidding Dante gaze fixedly, Virgil points out this\nshadowy host, clothed in sackcloth, sitting back against the rocks,\nand Dante takes particular note of two figures supporting each other.\nHe next discovers that one and all of these victims have their eyelids\nsewn so tightly together with wire that passage is left only for\nstreams of penitential tears.\n\nWhen allowed to address them, Dante, hoping to comfort them, offers to\nbear back to earth any message they wish to send. It is then that one\nof these spirits informs Dante that on earth she was Sapia, a learned\nSiennese, who, having rejoiced when her country was defeated, is\nobliged to do penance for heartlessness. Marvelling that any one\nshould wander among them with eyes unclosed, she inquires by what\nmeans Dante has come here, bespeaks his prayers, and implores him to\nwarn her countrymen not to cherish vain hopes of greatness or to sin\nthrough envy.\n\n_Canto XIV._ The two spirits leaning close together, in their turn\nquestion who Virgil and Dante may be? When they hear mention of Rome\nand Florence, they hotly inveigh against the degeneracy of dwellers on\nthe banks of the Tiber and Arno.\n\nShortly after leaving this place with his guide, Dante hears the wail:\n\"Whosoever finds will slay me,\" a cry followed by a deafening crash.\n\n_Canto XV._ Circling round the mountain, always in the same direction,\nDante notes the sun is about to set, when another dazzling angel\ninvites them up to the next level,--where anger is punished,--by means\nof a stairway less steep than any of the preceding. As they climb, the\nangel softly chants \"Blessed the merciful\" and \"Happy thou that\nconquer'st,\" while he brushes aside the second _P ._, and thus\ncleanses Dante from envy. But, when Dante craves an explanation of\nwhat he has heard and seen, Virgil assures him that only when the five\nremaining \"scars\" have vanished from his brow, Beatrice herself can\nsatisfy his curiosity.\n\nOn reaching the third level, they find themselves enveloped in a dense\nfog, through which Dante dimly beholds the twelve-year-old Christ in\nthe Temple and overhears his mother chiding him. Next he sees a woman\nweeping, and lastly Stephen stoned to death.\n\n_Canto XVI._ Urged by his guide to hasten through this bitter blinding\nfog--a symbol of anger which is punished here--Dante stumbles along,\nmindful of Virgil's caution, \"Look that from me thou part not.\"\nMeanwhile voices on all sides invoke \"the Lamb of God that taketh away\nthe sins of the world.\" Then, all at once, a voice addresses Dante,\nwho, prompted by Virgil, inquires where the next stairway may be? His\ninterlocutor, after bespeaking Dante's prayers, holds forth against\nRome, which, boasting of two suns,--the pope and the emperor,--has\nseen the one quench the other. But the arrival of an angel, sent to\nguide our travellers to the next level, soon ends this conversation.\n\n_Canto XVII._ Out of the vapors of anger--as dense as any Alpine\nfog--Dante, who has caught glimpses of famous victims of anger, such\nas Haman and Lavinia, emerges with Virgil, only to be dazzled by the\nglorious light of the sun. Then, climbing the ladder the angel points\nout, Dante feels him brush away the third obnoxious P., while\nchanting, \"Blessed are the peacemakers.\" They now reach the fourth\nledge, where the sin of indifference or sloth is punished, and, as\nthey trudge along it, Virgil explains that all indifference is due to\na lack of love, a virtue on which he eloquently discourses.\n\n_Canto XVIII._ A multitude of spirits now interrupt Virgil, and, when\nhe questions them, two, who lead the rest, volubly quote examples of\nfervent affection and zealous haste. They are closely followed by\nother spirits, the backsliders, who, not having had the strength or\npatience to endure, preferred inglorious ease to adventurous life and\nare now consumed with regret.\n\n_Canto XIX._ In the midst of a trance which overtakes him, Dante next\nhas a vision of the Siren which beguiled Ulysses and of Philosophy or\nTruth. Then, morning having dawned, Virgil leads him to the next\nstairway, up which an angel wafts them, chanting \"Blessed are they\nthat mourn, for they shall be comforted,\" while he brushes away\nanother sin scar from our poet's forehead.\n\nIn this fifth circle those guilty of avarice undergo punishment by\nbeing chained fast to the earth to which they clung, and which they\nbedew with penitent tears. One of these, questioned by Dante, reveals\nhe was Pope Adrian V., who, dying a month after his elevation to the\npapal chair, repented in time of his grasping past. When Dante kneels\ncompassionately beside this august sufferer, he is implored to warn\nthe pope's kinswoman to eschew the besetting sin of their house.\n\n_Canto XX._ A little further on, among the grovelling figures which\nclosely pave this fifth cornice, Dante beholds Hugues Capet, founder\nof the third dynasty of French kings, and stigmatized as \"root of that\nill plant,\" because this poem was composed only a few years after\nPhilip IV's criminal attempt against Pope Boniface at Agnani. The\npoets also recognize there Pygmalion (brother of Dido), Midas, Achan,\nHeliodorus, and Crassus, [18] ere they are startled by feeling the\nwhole mountain tremble beneath them and by hearing the spirits\nexultantly cry \"Glory to God!\"\n\n_Canto XXI._ Clinging to Virgil in speechless terror, Dante hears his\nguide assure the spirit which suddenly appears before them that the\nFates have not yet finished spinning the thread of his companion's\nlife. When questioned by the travellers in regard to the noise and\nearthquake, this spirit informs them that the mountain quivers with\njoy whenever a sinner is released, and that, after undergoing a\npunishment of five hundred years, he--Statius--is now free to go in\nquest of his master Virgil, whom he has always longed to meet. Dante's\nsmile at these words, together with his meaning glance at Virgil,\nsuddenly reveal to the spirit that his dearest wish is granted, and\nStatius reverently does obeisance to the poet from whose fount he\ndrew his inspiration.\n\n_Canto XXII._ The three bards are next led by an angel up another\nstaircase, to the sixth cornice (Dante losing another _P._ on the\nway), where the sins of gluttony and drunkenness are punished. As they\ncircle around this ledge, Dante questions how Statius became guilty of\nthe sin of covetousness, for which he was doomed to tramp around the\nfifth circle. In reply Statius rejoins that it was not because of\ncovetousness, but of its counterpart, over-lavishness, that he\nsuffered so long, and principally because he was not brave enough to\nown himself a Christian. Then he inquires of Virgil what have become\nof their fellow-countrymen Terence, Caecilius, Plautus, and Varro,\nonly to learn that they too linger in the dark regions of ante-hell,\nwhere they hold sweet converse with other pagan poets.\n\nReverently listening to the conversation of his companions, Dante\ndrinks in \"mysterious lessons of sweet poesy\" and silently follows\nthem until they draw near a tree laden with fruit and growing beside a\ncrystal stream. Issuing from this tree a voice warns them against the\nsin of gluttony--which is punished in this circle--and quotes such\nmarked examples of abstinence as Daniel feeding on pulse and John the\nBaptist living on locusts and wild honey.\n\n_Canto XXIII._ Dante is still dumbly staring at the mysterious tree\nwhen Virgil bids him follow, for they still have far to go. They next\nmeet weeping, hollow-eyed spirits, so emaciated that their bones start\nthrough their skin. One of these recognizes Dante, who is aghast that\nhis friend Forese should be in such a state and escorted by two\nskeleton spirits. Forese replies that he and his companions are\nconsumed by endless hunger and thirst, although they eat and drink\nwithout ever being satisfied. When Dante expresses surprise because a\nman only five years dead should already be so high up the mount of\nPurgatory, Forese explains that his wife's constant prayers have\nsuccessively freed him from detention in the other circles. In return\nDante states why he is here and names his companions.\n\n_Canto XXIV._ Escorting the three travellers on their way, Forese\ninquires what has become of his sister, Piccarda, ere he points out\nsundry spirits, with whom Dante converses, and who predict the coming\ndownfall of his political foes. But these spirits suddenly leave Dante\nto dart toward trees, which tantalizingly withold their fruit from\ntheir eager hands, while hidden voices loudly extol temperance.\n\n_Canto XXV._ In single file the three poets continue their tramp,\ncommenting on what they have seen, and Statius expounds his theories\nof life. Then they ascend to the seventh ledge, where glowing fires\npurge mortals of all sensuality. Even as they toil toward this level,\nan angel voice extols chastity, and Dante once more feels the light\ntouch which he now associates with the removal of one of the scars\nmade by the angel at the entrance of Purgatory. Arrived above, the\npoets have to tread a narrow path between the roaring fires and the\nabyss. So narrow is the way, that Virgil bids Dante beware or he will\nbe lost!\n\n       \"Behoved us, one by one, along the side,\n  That border'd on the void, to pass; and I\n  Fear'd on one hand the fire, on the other fear'd\n  Headlong to fall: when thus the instructor warn'd:\n  'Strict rein must in this place direct the eyes.\n  A little swerving and the way is lost.'\"\n\nAs all three warily proceed, Dante hears voices in the fiery furnace\nalternately imploring the mercy of God and quoting examples of\nchastity, such as Mary and Diana, and couples who proved chaste though\nmarried.\n\n_Canto XXVI._ As the poets move along the rim, Dante's shadow, cast\nupon the roaring flames, causes such wonder to the victims undergoing\npurification that one of them inquires who he may be. Just as Dante is\nabout to answer, his attention is attracted by hosts of shadows, who,\nafter exchanging hasty kisses, dash on, mentioning such famous\nexamples of dissoluteness as Pasiphae, and the men who caused the\ndestruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Turning to his interlocutor, Dante\nthen explains how he came hither and expresses a hope he may soon be\nreceived in bliss. The grateful spirit then gives his name, admits he\nsang too freely of carnal love, and adds that Dante would surely\nrecognize many of his fellow-sufferers were he to point them out.\nThen, bespeaking Dante's prayers, he plunges back into the fiery\nelement which is to make him fit for Paradise.\n\n_Canto XXVII._ Just as the sun is about to set, an angel approaches\nthem, chanting \"Blessed are the pure in heart,\" and bids them\nfearlessly pass through the wall of fire which alone stands between\nthem and Paradise. Seeing Dante hang back timorously, Virgil reminds\nhim he will find Beatrice on the other side, whereupon our poet\nplunges recklessly into the glowing furnace, where both his companions\nprecede him, and whence all three issue on an upward path. There they\nmake their couch on separate steps, and Dante gazes up at the stars\nuntil he falls asleep and dreams of a lovely lady, culling flowers in\na meadow, singing she is Lea (the mediaeval type of active life), and\nstating that her sister Rachel (the emblem of contemplative life)\nspends the day gazing at herself in a mirror.\n\nAt dawn the pilgrims awake, and Virgil assures Dante before this day\nends his hunger for a sight of Beatrice will be appeased. This\nprospect so lightens Dante's heart that he almost soars to the top of\nthe stairway. There Virgil, who has led him through temporal and\neternal fires, bids him follow his pleasure, until he meets the fair\nlady who bade him undertake this journey.\n\n                 \"Till those bright eyes\n  With gladness come, which, weeping, made me haste\n  To succor thee, thou mayst or seat thee down\n  Or wander where thou wilt. Expect no more\n  Sanction of warning voice or sign from me,\n  Free of thine own arbitrament to choose.\n  Discreet, judicious. To distrust thy sense\n  Were henceforth error. I invest thee then\n  With crown and mitre, sovereign o'er thyself.\"\n\n_Canto XXVIII._ Through the Garden of Eden Dante now strolls with\nStatius and Virgil, until he beholds, on the other side of a pellucid\nstream (whose waters have the \"power to take away remembrance of\noffence\"), a beautiful lady (the countess Matilda), who smiles upon\nhim. Then she informs Dante she has come to \"answer every doubt\" he\ncherishes, and, as they wander along on opposite sides of the stream,\nshe expounds for his benefit the creation of man, the fall and its\nconsequences, and informs him how all the plants that grow on earth\noriginate here. The water at his feet issues from an unquenchable\nfountain, and divides into two streams, the first of which, Lethe,\n\"chases from the mind the memory of sin,\" while the waters of the\nsecond, Eunoe, have the power to recall \"good deeds to one's mind.\"\n\n_Canto XXIX._ Suddenly the lady bids Dante pause, look, and hearken.\nThen he sees a great light on the opposite shore, hears a wonderful\nmusic, and soon beholds a procession of spirits, so bright that they\nleave behind them a trail of rainbow-colored light. First among them\nmarch the four and twenty elders of the Book of Revelations; they are\nfollowed by four beasts (the Evangelists), and a gryphon, drawing a\nchariot (the Christian Church or Papal chair), far grander than any\nthat ever graced imperial triumph at Rome. Personifications of the\nthree evangelical virtues (Charity, Faith, and Hope) and of the four\nmoral virtues (Prudence, etc.), together with St. Luke and St. Paul,\nthe four great Doctors of the Church, and the apostle St. John, serve\nas body-guard for this chariot, which comes to a stop opposite Dante\nwith a noise like thunder.\n\n_Canto XXX._ The wonderful light, our poet now perceives, emanates\nfrom a seven-branched candlestick, and illuminates all the heavens\nlike an aurora borealis. Then, amid the chanting, and while angels\nshower flowers down upon her, he beholds in the chariot a lady veiled\nin white, in whom, although transfigured, he instinctively recognizes\nBeatrice (a personification of Heavenly Wisdom). In his surprise\nDante impulsively turns toward Virgil, only to discover that he has\nvanished!\n\nBeatrice comforts him, however, by promising to be his guide\nhereafter, and gently reproaches him for the past until he casts\nshamefaced glances at his feet. There, in the stream (which serves as\nnature's mirror), he catches a reflection of his utter loathsomeness,\nand becomes so penitent, that Beatrice explains she purposely brought\nhim hither by the awful road he has travelled to induce him to lead a\nchanged life hereafter.\n\n_Canto XXXI._ Beatrice then accuses him of yielding to the world's\ndeceitful pleasures after she left him, and explains how he should, on\nthe contrary, have striven to be virtuous so as to rejoin her. When\nshe finally forgives him and bids him gaze into her face once more, he\nsees she surpasses her former self in loveliness as greatly as on\nearth she outshone all other women. Dante is so overcome by a sense of\nhis utter unworthiness that he falls down unconscious, and on\nrecovering his senses finds himself in the stream, upheld by the hand\nof a nymph (Matilda), who sweeps him along, \"swift as a shuttle\nbounding o'er the wave,\" while angels chant \"Thou shalt wash me\" and\n\"I shall be whiter than snow.\"\n\nFreed from all haunting memories of past sins by Lethe's waters, Dante\nfinally lands on the \"blessed shore.\" There Beatrice's hand-maidens\nwelcome him, and beseech her to complete her work by revealing her\ninner beauty to this mortal, so he can portray it for mankind. But,\nalthough Dante gazes at her in breathless admiration, words fail him\nto render what he sees.\n\n                        \"O splendor!\n  O sacred light eternal! who is he,\n  So pale with musing in Pierian shades,\n  Or with that fount so lavishly imbued,\n  Whose spirit should not fail him in the essay\n  To represent thee such as thou didst seem,\n  When under cope of the still-chiming heaven\n  Thou gavest to open air thy charms reveal'd?\"\n\n_Canto XXXII._ Dante is still quenching a \"ten-years thirst\" by\nstaring at his beloved, when her attendants admonish him to desist.\nBut, although he obediently turns aside his eyes, like a man who has\ngazed too long at the sun, he sees her image stamped on all he looks\nat. He and Statius now humbly follow the glorious procession, which\nenters a forest and circles gravely round a barren tree-trunk, to\nwhich the chariot is tethered. Immediately the dry branches burst into\nbud and leaf, and, soothed by angelic music, Dante falls asleep, only\nto be favored by a vision so startling, that on awakening he eagerly\nlooks around for Beatrice. The nymph who bore him safely through the\nwaters then points her out, resting beneath the mystic tree, and\nBeatrice, rousing too, bids Dante note the fate of her chariot. The\npoet then sees an eagle (the Empire), swoop down from heaven, tear the\ntree asunder, and attack the Chariot (the Church), into which a fox\n(heresy) has sprung as if in quest of prey. Although the fox is soon\nrouted by Beatrice, the eagle makes its nest in the chariot, beneath\nwhich arises a seven-headed monster (the seven capital sins), bearing\non its back a giant, who alternately caresses and chastises a whore.\n\n_Canto XXXIII._ The seven Virtues having chanted a hymn, Beatrice\nmotions to Statius and Dante to follow her, asking the latter why he\nis so mute? Rejoining she best knows what he needs, Dante receives\nfrom her lips an explanation of what he has just seen, which he is\nbidden reveal to mankind. Conversing thus, they reach the second\nstream, of whose waters Beatrice bids her friend drink, and after that\nrenovating draught Dante realizes he has now been made pure and \"apt\nfor mounting to the stars.\"\n\n\n\n\nPARADISE\n\n\n_Introduction._ The Paradise of Dante consists of nine crystalline\nspheres of different sizes, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars,\nJupiter, Saturn, the Fixed Stars, and the Empyrean, enclosed one\nwithin the other, and revolved by the Angels, Archangels, Princedoms,\nPowers, Virtues, Dominations, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. Beyond\nthese orbs, whose whirling motions cause \"the music of the spheres,\"\nlies a tenth circle, the real heaven (a Rose), where \"peace divine\ninhabits,\" and of which the Divine Essence or Trinity forms the very\ncore.\n\n_Canto I._ Paradise opens with Dante's statement that in heaven he was\n\"witness of things, which to relate again, surpasseth the power of him\nwho comes from thence.\" He therefore invokes the help of Apollo to\ndescribe that part of the universe upon which is lavished the greatest\nshare of light. Then, while gazing up into Beatrice's eyes, Dante,\nfreed from earth's trammels, suddenly feels himself soar upward, and\nis transferred with indescribable swiftness into a totally different\nmedium.\n\n_Canto II._ Perceiving his bewilderment, Beatrice reassures him in a\nmotherly strain, and, gazing around him, Dante realizes they have\nentered the translucent circle of the moon (revolved by angels). After\nwarning his fellow-men \"the way I pass ne'er yet was run,\" Dante goes\non to relate what Beatrice teaches him in regard to the heavenly\nspheres and spiritual evolution, and how she promises to reveal to him\n\"the truth thou lovest.\"\n\n_Canto III._ In the pearl-hued atmosphere of the moon, Dante beholds,\n\"as through a glass, darkly,\" shadowy, nun-like forms, and is told by\nBeatrice to communicate with them. Addressing the form nearest him,\nDante learns she is Piccarda (sister of Forese), who was kidnapped by\nher husband after she had taken the veil. Although she would fain have\nkept her religious vows, Piccarda proved a faithful wife, and declares\nshe and her fellow-spirits are content to remain in their appointed\nsphere until called higher by the Almighty.\n\n      \"She with those other spirits gently smiled;\n  Then answer'd with such gladness, that she seem'd\n  With love's first flame to glow: 'Brother! our will\n  Is, in composure, settled by the power\n  Of charity, who makes us will alone\n  What we possess, and nought beyond desire.'\"\n\nAll her companions also wished to be brides of Christ, but patiently\ndid their duty, and, knowing that \"in His will is our tranquillity,\"\nthey now spend all their time singing \"Ave Maria.\" When these nun-like\nforms vanish, Dante gazes at Beatrice in hopes of learning more.\n\n_Canto IV._ In reply to Dante's inquiring glance, Beatrice explains\nthat those compelled to sin against their desire are ever held\nblameless in Heaven. Then, stating:\n\n  \"Not seldom, brother, it hath, chanced for men\n  To do what they had gladly left undone;\"\n\nshe adds that \"the will that wills not, still survives unquenched,\"\nand that by will power only St. Lawrence and Mucius Scevola were\nenabled to brave fire. Then she makes him see how truth alone can\nsatisfy a mind athirst for knowledge.\n\n_Canto V._ Beatrice asserts that the most precious gift bestowed upon\nmankind was freedom of will, and that \"knowledge comes of learning\nwell retain'd.\" She concludes that when man makes a vow he offers his\nwill in sacrifice to God, and that for that reason no vow should be\nthoughtlessly made, but all should be rigidly kept. Still, she admits\nit is better to break a promise than, like Jephthah and Agamemnon, to\nsubscribe to a heinous crime, and states that either Testament can\nserve as guide for Jews or Christians. Again drawing Dante upward by\nthe very intensity of her gaze, she conveys him to the second circle,\nthe heaven of Mercury (revolved by Archangels). Here, in an atmosphere\nas pellucid as water, Dante perceives thousands of angels, coming\ntoward him, singing \"Lo! one arrived to multiply our loves!\" These\nspirits assure Dante he was born in a happy hour, since he is allowed,\nere the \"close of fleshly warfare,\" to view the glories of\nheaven,--and express a desire to share their lights with him. So Dante\nquestions the spirit nearest him, which immediately glows with loving\neagerness to serve him, until it becomes a dazzling point of light.\n\n_Canto VI._ This spirit announces he is Justinian, chosen to clear\n\"from vain excess the encumbered laws,\" five hundred years after the\nChristian era began, and that it was in order to devote all his time\nto this task that he consigned the military power to Belisarius. He\nproceeds to give Dante a _r\u00e9sum\u00e9_ of Roman history, from the\nkidnapping of the Sabines to his own day, laying stress on the\ntriumphs won by great generals. He also specially mentions the hour\n\"When Heaven was minded that o'er all the world his own deep calm\nshould brood,\" the troublous days of the empire, and the feud of the\nGuelfs and Ghibellines, the two principal political factions of\nDante's time. Next he explains that Mercury is inhabited by \"good\nspirits whose mortal lives were busied to that end that honor and\nrenown might wait on them,\" and quotes in particular Raymond B\u00e9renger,\nwhose four daughters became queens.\n\n_Canto VII._ After this speech Justinian vanishes with his angelic\ncompanions, and Dante, duly encouraged, inquires of Beatrice how \"just\nrevenge could be with justice punished!\" She informs him that, as in\nAdam all die through the power of sin, all can by faith live again\nthrough Christ, thanks to God's goodness.\n\n_Canto VIII._ Although unaware of the fact, Dante, whose eyes have\nbeen fixed on Beatrice, has during her exposition been wafted up to\nthe third heaven, that of Venus (revolved by Princedoms). In the\nplanet of love--where Beatrice glows with increased beauty--are\ninnumerable souls \"imperfect through excess of love,\" which are\ngrouped in constantly revolving circles. All at once one of these\nluminous spirits approaches Dante, and, after expressing great\nreadiness to serve him, introduces himself as Charles Martel, King of\nHungary, brother of Robert of Naples. Thirsting for information, Dante\ninquires of him \"how bitter can spring when sweet is sown?\" In a\nlengthy disquisition in reply, this spirit mentions how children often\ndiffer from their parents, quotes Esau and Jacob as marked examples\nthereof, and adds that nature, guided by Providence, produces at will\na Solon, Xerxes, Melchisedec, or Daedalus. _Canto IX._ The next\nspirit with whom Beatrice converses is the fair Cunizza, who like the\nMagdalen \"loved much,\" and therefor obtained pardon for her sins.\nBefore vanishing, she foretells coming political events, and\nintroduces the Proven\u00e7al bard Folco, whose poems on love were to be\nrepublished after five hundred years of oblivion. After relating his\nlife, this poet informs Dante the harlot Rahab was admitted to this\nheaven in reward for saving Joshua's spies. This spirit concludes his\ninterview by censuring the present papal policy, declaring it far too\nworldly, avaricious, and time-serving to find favor in heaven.\n\n_Canto X._ Drawn upward this time by the attraction of the sun, Dante\nfinds himself in a dazzling sphere (revolved by Powers), where he and\nBeatrice behold consecutive moving wreaths, each composed of twelve\nblessed spirits who while on earth were noted as teachers of divinity\nand philosophy. One of these singing, revolving wreaths encompasses\nour travellers, until one of its members, St. Thomas Aquinas, ceases\nhis ineffable song long enough to present his companions and explain\ntheir titles to immortal glory.\n\n_Canto XI._ St. Thomas Aquinas, in his conversation with Dante,\nrelates the life of St. Francis of Assisi, dwelling particularly upon\nhis noble character, and describing how, after becoming wedded to\nPoverty, he founded the order of the Franciscans, received the\nstigmata, and died in odor of sanctity, leaving worthy disciples and\nemulators, such as St. Dominic, to continue and further the good work\nhe had begun. He adds that many of the saint's followers are\nrepresented in the innumerable glowing wreaths which people the heaven\nof the Sun.\n\n_Canto XII._ Still encompassed by one rainbow circle after another,\nDante is told by St. Buonaventura of Dominic's inestimable services to\nmankind, and hears about his fervent zeal and deep faith.\n\n_Canto XIII._ While Dante and Beatrice gaze with awe and admiration\nupon the circles of light which revolve through all the signs of the\nzodiac, St. Thomas Aquinas solves sundry of Dante's doubts, and\ncautions him never to accede to any proposition without having duly\nweighed it.\n\n     \"Let not the people be too swift to judge;\n  As one who reckons on the blades in field,\n  Or e'er the crop be ripe. For I have seen\n  The thorn frown rudely all the winter long,\n  And after bear the rose upon its top;\n  And bark, that all her way across the sea\n  Ran straight and speedy, perish at the last\n  E'en in the haven's mouth.\"\n\n_Canto XIV._ Proceeding from circle to circle, Dante and Beatrice\nreach the innermost ring, where the latter bids Solomon solve Dante's\ndoubts by describing the appearance of the blest after the\nresurrection of the body. In words almost as eloquent as those\nwherewith St. Gabriel transmitted his message to Mary, Solomon\ncomplies.\n\n  \"Long as the joy of Paradise shall last,\n  Our love shall shine around that raiment, bright\n  As fervent; fervent as, in vision, blest;\n  And that as far, in blessedness, exceeding,\n  As it hath grace, beyond its virtue, great.\n  Our shape, regarmented with glorious weeds\n  Of saintly flesh, must, being thus entire,\n  Show yet more gracious. Therefore shall increase\n  Whate'er, of light, gratuitous imparts\n  The Supreme Good; light, ministering aid,\n  The better to disclose his glory: whence,\n  The vision needs increasing, must increase\n  The fervor, which it kindles; and that too\n  The ray, that comes from it.\"\n\nAs he concludes his explanation, a chorus of spiritual voices chant\n\"Amen,\" and Solomon, directing Dante's glance upward, shows him how\nthe bright spirits of this sphere group themselves in the form of a\ncross,--glowing with light and pulsing with music,--whereon \"Christ\nbeamed,\" a sight none can hope to see save those who \"take up their\ncross and follow him.\"\n\n_Cantos XV, XVI._ In the midst of the rapture caused by these sights\nand sounds, Dante is amazed to recognize, in one of the angels which\ncontinually shift places in the glowing cross, his ancestor\nCacciaguida, who assures him Florence proved happy as long as its\ninhabitants led simple and virtuous lives, but rapidly degenerated and\nbecame corrupt when covetousness, luxury, and pleasure took up their\nabode within its walls.\n\n_Canto XVII._ Encouraged by Beatrice, who stands at a short distance\nto leave him more freedom, Dante begs his great ancestor to reveal\nwhat is about to befall him, so that, forewarned, he may most wisely\nmeet his fate. In reply Cacciaguida tells him he will be exiled from\nFlorence, and compelled to associate with people who will turn against\nhim, only to rue this fact with shame later on. He adds Dante will\nlearn how bitter is the savor of other's bread and how hard to climb\nanother's stairs.\n\n  \"Thou shalt leave each thing\n  Beloved most dearly: this is the first shaft\n  Shot from the bow of exile. Thou shalt prove\n  How salt the savor is of other's bread;\n  How hard the passage, to descend and climb\n  By other's stairs.\"\n\nThen Cacciaguida goes on to state that Dante shall finally find refuge\nin Lombardy, with Can Grande, and while there will compose the poems\ndepicting his memorable journey down through sin to the lowest pit and\nupward through repentance to the realm of bliss.\n\n  \"For this, there only have been shown to thee,\n  Throughout these orbs, the mountain, and the deep,\n  Spirit, whom fame hath note of. For the mind\n  Of him, who hears, is loath to acquiesce\n  And fix its faith, unless the instance brought\n  Be palpable, and proof apparent urge.\"\n\nSeeing Dante's dismay at this prediction, Beatrice comforts him by a\nsmile, and, seeing he is again wrapped in contemplation of her, warns\nhim that \"these eyes are not thy only Paradise.\"\n\n_Canto XVIII._ Then Beatrice leads her charge into the fifth heaven,\nthat of Mars, revolved by Virtues and inhabited by transfigured\nmartyrs, confessors, and holy warriors, such as Joshua, the Maccabees,\nCharlemagne, Orlando, Godfrey of Bouillon, and other men of note.\nThese worthies form a part of the mystic cross, and each glows with\ntranscendent light as Beatrice points them out one after another. Then\nBeatrice wafts her change into the sixth heaven, that of Jupiter\n(revolved by Dominations). Here the spirits of rulers famous for\njustice, moving with kaleidoscopic tints and rapidity, alternately\nform mystic letters spelling \"Love righteousness ye that be judges of\nthe earth,\" or settle silently into the shape of a gigantic eagle.\nThis sight proves so impressive that Dante sinks to his knees,\nfervently praying justice may indeed reign on earth as in heaven.\n\nCanto XIX. To his intense surprise Dante now hears the mystic eagle\nproclaim in trumpet tones that justice and pity shall be exacted, and\nthat no man shall be saved without them. He adds that eternal judgment\nis incomprehensible to mortal ken, that mere professions are vain, and\nthat many so-called Christian potentates (some of whom he names) will\npresent a sorry figure on Judgment Day.\n\nCanto XX. After a period of silence, the same Eagle (an emblem of the\nEmpire) proceeds to exalt certain rulers, especially those glorified\nspirits which form the pupil of his eye (David), and his eyelids\n(Trajan, Hezekiah, Constantine). As he mentions their names they glow\nlike priceless rubies, and he explains that, although some of them\nlived before Christ was made flesh, all have been redeemed because\nFaith, Hope, and Charity are their sponsors.\n\n                     \"The three nymphs,\n  Whom at the right wheel thou beheld'st advancing,\n  Were sponsors for him, more than thousand years\n  Before baptizing. O how far removed,\n  Predestination! is thy root from such\n  As see not the First Cause entire: and ye,\n  O mortal men! be wary how ye judge:\n  For we, who see our Maker, know not yet\n  The number of the chosen; and esteem\n  Such scantiness of knowledge our delight:\n  For all our good is, in that primal good,\n  Concentrate; and God's will and ours are one.\"\n\n_Canto XXI._ Meantime Beatrice, who has grown more and more beautiful\nas they rise, explains, when Dante again gazes upon her, that she no\nlonger dares smile, lest he be consumed like Semele when she beheld\nJove. The magnetic power of her glance suffices again, however, to\ntransfer him to the seventh heaven, that of Saturn (revolved by\nThrones). This sphere is the abiding place of contemplative and\nabstinent hermits and monks. There our poet beholds a ladder, up whose\nsteps silently ascend those whose lives were spent in retirement and\nholy contemplation. Amazed by all he sees, and conscious he no longer\nhears the music of the spheres, Dante wonders until informed by one of\nthe spirits, coming down the steps to meet him, that at this stage the\nheavenly music is too loud and intense for human ears. Seeing his\ninterlocutor suddenly become a whirling wheel of light, Dante inquires\nwhat this may mean, only to be told spirits obscured on earth by\nfleshly garments shine brightly in heaven. The spirit then gives his\nname (St. Peter Damian), vividly describes the place where he built\nhis hermitage, and declares many modern prelates have sinned so\ngrievously through lechery or avarice that they are now detained in\nInferno or Purgatory. As he speaks, spirit after spirit flits down the\nstairs, each bound on some errand of charity to the spheres below.\n\n_Canto XXII._ Startled by a loud cry, Dante is reassured by St.\nDamian's statement that no harm can befall him in heaven. Next\nBeatrice directs his attention to some descending spirits, the most\nradiant of which is St. Benedict, who explains how blissful spirits\noften leave the heavenly abode \"to execute the counsel of the\nHighest.\" He adds that Dante has been selected to warn mortals, none\nof whom will ever be allowed to venture hither again. Then St.\nBenedict describes his life on earth and inveighs against the\ncorruption of the monks of Dante's time.\n\nHis speech ended, St. Benedict vanishes, and Beatrice wafts Dante up\nthe mystic stairs, through the constellation of the Gemini, to the\neighth heaven, that of the Fixed Stars (revolved by the Cherubim).\nDeclaring he is so near \"the last salvation\" that his eyes should be\nunclouded, Beatrice removes the last veil from his sight, and bids him\ngaze down at the spheres through which they have passed, and \"see how\nvast a world thou hast already put beneath thy feet.\" Smiling at the\nsmallness of the earth left behind him, Dante, undazzled by the mild\nlight of the moon or the glow of the sun, gazes at the seven revolving\nspheres until all the scheme of creation is \"made apparent to him.\"\n\n_Canto XXIII._ Beatrice, who is still standing beside him, finally\ntears him away from his contemplation of what is beneath him, and\ndirects his glance aloft, where he catches his first glimpse of\nChrist, escorted by his Mother and by the Church triumphant. Too\ndazzled and awed at first to grasp what he sees, Dante feels heart and\nmind expand, as he listens enraptured to sweeter music than was ever\nmade by the nine muses. Meantime the spirits escorting Christ crown\nthe Virgin with lilies, and all sing the praises of the Queen of\nHeaven.[19]\n\n_Canto XXIV._ Beatrice and Dante are now joined by the spirit of St.\nPeter, who examines Dante on faith, receiving the famous reply: \"Faith\nis the substance of the thing we hope for, and evidence of those that\nare not seen.\" Not only does St. Peter approve Dante's definition, but\nhe discusses theological questions with him, leading him meanwhile\nfurther into this sphere.\n\n_Canto XXV._ Presently a spirit approaches them which is designated by\nBeatrice as St. James. After greeting St. Peter and smiling upon\nBeatrice, St. James reveals he has been sent hither by Christ to\nexamine Dante upon hope, whereupon our poet, lifting his eyes \"to the\nhills,\" gains courage enough to answer thus: \"Hope is the certain\nexpectation of future glory, which is the effect of grace divine and\nmerit precedent.\" St. James is so pleased with this answer that he\nglows even more brightly, as St. John, \"who lay upon the breast of\nhim, our Pelican,\" appeared, shining so brightly that Dante, turning\nto ask Beatrice who he is, discovers he can no longer see her\nalthough she is close beside him.\n\n  \"I turn'd, but ah! how trembled in my thought,\n  When, looking at my side again to see\n  Beatrice, I descried her not; although,\n  Not distant, on the happy coast she stood.\"\n\n_Canto XXVI._ Dante now ascertains he has merely been temporarily\nblinded by the excess of light which emanates from St. John, who\nproceeds to examine him in regard to Charity. His answers are greeted\nby the heavenly chorus with the chant \"Holy, holy, holy,\" in which\nBeatrice joins, ere she clears the last mote away from Dante's eyes\nand thus enables him to see more plainly than ever. Our poet now\nperceives a fourth spirit, in whom he recognizes Adam, father of\nmankind, who retells the story of Eden, adding that, 4232 years after\ncreation, Christ delivered him from hell, and enabled him to view the\nchanges which had taken place in the fortunes of his descendants\nduring that long space of time.\n\n_Canto XXVII._ After listening enraptured to the melody of the\nheavenly choir chanting \"Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to\nthe Holy Ghost,\" Dante gazes upon the four worthies near him, who glow\nand shine like torches, while \"silence reigns in heaven.\" Then St.\nPeter, changing color, holds forth against covetousness, and expounds\nthe doctrine of apostolic succession. Because the early popes died as\nmartyrs, he considers it a disgrace that their successors should be\nguilty of misgovernment. He adds that the keys bestowed upon him\nshould never figure on banners used in waging unrighteous wars, and\nthat his effigy on the papal seal should never appear on worldly\ndocuments.\n\nThen Beatrice affords Dante a glimpse of the earth from the Straits of\nGibraltar to the Bosphorus, and, when this vision ends, wafts him up\ninto the ninth heaven, the Primum Mobile, or spot whence all motion\nstarts, although itself remains immovable.\n\n  Here is the goal, whence motion on his race\n  Starts: motionless the centre, and the rest\n  All moved around.\n\n_Canto XXVIII._ From this point Dante watches the universe spin around\nhim, until \"she who doth emparadise my soul\" draws aside the veil of\nmortality, and allows him to perceive nine concentric spheres of\nmultitudinous angels constantly revolving around a dazzling point\nwhile singing \"Hosanna!\" These are the heavenly host, the hierarchy of\nangels, Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Virtues, Powers,\nPrincedoms, Archangels, and Angels, in charge of the various circles\nwhich compose Dante's Paradise.\n\n_Canto XXIX._ Able to read Dante's thoughts, Beatrice explains some of\nthe things he would fain know, and disperses his doubts, cautioning\nhim, if he would be blessed, to rid himself of every atom of pride,\nsince that caused even angels to fall!\n\n_Canto XXX._ Once more Dante's eyes are fixed upon Beatrice, whose\nbeauty far transcends his powers of description, and is by her\nconveyed into the next circle, the Empyrean, or heaven of pure light,\ninto which he is told to plunge as into a river. Eagerly quaffing its\nethereal waters to satisfy his ardent thirst for knowledge, Dante\nbeholds the court of Heaven, and descries its myriads of thrones, all\noccupied by redeemed spirits. These thrones are grouped around a\nbrilliant centre (God) so as to form a dazzling jewelled rose.\n\n_Canto XXXI._ Robed in snowy white, the redeemed--who form the petals\nof the Eternal Rose--are visited from time to time by ruby sparks,\nwhich are the angels hovering above them, who plunge like bees into\nthe heart of this flower, their glowing faces, golden wings, and white\nrobes adding charms to the scene. After gazing for some time at this\nsight in speechless wonder, Dante, turning to question Beatrice,\ndiscovers she is no longer beside him! At the same time a being robed\nin glory near him bids him look up at the third row of thrones from\nthe centre, and there behold her in her appointed seat. Eagerly\nglancing in the direction indicated, Dante perceives Beatrice, who,\nwhen he invokes her, smiles radiantly down upon him, ere she again\nturns her face to the eternal fountain of light.\n\n                    \"So I my suit preferr'd:\n  And she, so distant, as appear'd, look'd down,\n  And smiled; then towards the eternal fountain turn'd.\"\n\nMeanwhile the spirit informs Dante he has been sent by Beatrice to\nhelp him end his journey safely, for he is St. Bernard, who so longed\nto behold the Virgin's countenance that that boon was vouchsafed him.\nKnowing Dante would fain see her too, he bids him find, among the most\nbrilliant lights in the Mystic Rose, the Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven.\n\n_Canto XXXII._ Because the dazzled Dante cannot immediately locate\nher, St. Bernard points her out, with Eve, Rachel, Beatrice, Sarah,\nJudith, Rebecca, and Ruth sitting at her feet, and John the Baptist,\nSt. Augustine, St. Francis, and St. Benedict standing close behind\nher. He also explains that those who believed in \"Christ who was to\ncome\" are in one part of the rose, while those who \"looked to Christ\nalready come\" are in another, but that all here are spirits duly\nassoiled, and adds that, although occupying different ranks, these\nspirits are perfectly satisfied with the places awarded to them. Told\nnow to look up at the face most closely resembling Christ's Dante\ndiscovers it is that of St. Gabriel, angel of the annunciation, and he\ndescries further on St. Peter, Moses, and St. Anna, as well as Santa\nLucia who induced Beatrice to send for him.\n\n_Canto XXXIII._ This done, St. Bernard fervently prays the Virgin, who\nnot only \"gives succor to him who asketh it, but oftentimes\nforerunneth of its own accord the asking,\" to allow Dante one glimpse\nof Divine Majesty. Seeing this prayer is graciously received, St.\nBernard bids Dante look up. Thanks to his recently purified vision,\nour poet has a glimpse of the Triune Divinity,--compounded of\nlove,--which so transcends all human expression that he declares\n\"what he saw was not for words to speak.\"\n\nHe concludes his grand poem, however, by assuring us that, although\ndazed by what he had seen, his\n\n          \"will roll'd onward, like a wheel\n  In even motion, by the love impell'd,\n  That moves the sun in heaven and all the stars.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 16: All the quotations in Divine Comedy are taken from\nCary's translation.]\n\n[Footnote 17: See the author's \"Story of the Greeks.\"]\n\n[Footnote 18: See the author's \"Story of the Chosen People,\" and\n\"Story of the Romans.\"]\n\n[Footnote 19: See the author's \"Legends of the Virgin and Christ.\"]\n\n\n\n\nTHE ORLANDOS\n\n\nRoland, nephew of Charlemagne, hero of the Song of Roland and of an\nendless succession of metrical romances, was as popular a character in\nItalian literature as in the French. The Italians felt a proprietary\ninterest in Charlemagne because he had been crowned emperor of the\nWest in Rome in the year 800, and also because he had taken the part\nof the pope against the Lombards. Even the names of his twelve great\npeers were household words in Italy, so tales about Roland--who is\nknown there as Orlando--were sure to find ready hearers.\n\nThe adventures of Roland, therefore, naturally became the theme of\nItalian epics, some of which are of considerable length and of great\nimportance, owing principally to their exquisite versification and\ndiction. Pulci and Boiardo both undertook to depict Roland as a prey\nto the tender passion in epics entitled Orlando Innamorato, while\nAriosto, the most accomplished and musical poet of the three, spent\nmore than ten years of his life composing Orlando Furioso (1516),\nwherein he depicts this famous hero driven insane by his passion for\nan Oriental princess.\n\nAssuming that his auditors are familiar with the characters of\nBoiardo's unfinished epic, Ariosto, picking up the thread of the\nnarrative at the point where his predecessor dropped it, continues the\nstory in the same vein. It therefore becomes imperative to know the\nmain trend of Boiardo's epic.\n\nIt opens with a lengthy description of a tournament at the court of\nCharlemagne, whither knights from all parts of the globe hasten to\ndistinguish themselves in the lists. Chief among these foreign guests\nare Argalio and Angelica, son and daughter of the king of Cathay, with\ntheir escort of four huge giants. The prince is, moreover, fortunate\npossessor of a magic lance, one touch of which suffices to unhorse any\nopponent, while the princess, by means of an enchanted ring, can\ndetect and frustrate any spell, or become invisible by putting it in\nher mouth. On arriving at Charlemagne's court, Argalio stipulates that\nall the knights he defeats shall belong to his sister, whom in return\nhe offers as prize to any knight able to unhorse him.\n\nSuch is the transcendent beauty of Angelica that Argalio is instantly\nchallenged by Astolfo, who is defeated, and then by Ferrau, who,\nalthough defeated in the first onset, proves victor in the second,\nsimply because he accidentally seizes the magic lance and directs it\nagainst its owner! Since the laws of the tournament award him the\nprize, Angelica, seeing she cannot otherwise escape, rides hastily\naway and conceals herself in the forest of Arden. She is, however,\npursued thither by many knights who have been captivated by her\nbeauty, among whom are Rinaldo (Renaud de Montauban) and Orlando, who\nwere proposing to challenge her brother next. In the precincts of the\nforest where Angelica takes refuge are two magic fountains, one whose\nwaters instantly transform love into hate, while the other induces any\npartaker to love the next person seen.\n\nProwling around this forest, Rinaldo unsuspectingly quaffs the water\nwhich turns love to hate, so he immediately ceases his quest and falls\nasleep. Meantime Angelica, drinking from the other fountain and coming\nupon the sleeper, falls madly in love with him and watches for his\nawakening. But, still under the influence of the magic waters he has\nimbibed, Rinaldo rides away without heeding her timid wooing, and\nleaves her to mourn until she too falls asleep.\n\nOrlando, coming up by chance, is gazing in admiration upon this\nsleeping princess, when Ferrau rides up to claim her as his prize.\nThese knights are fighting for her possession when the clash of their\nweapons awakens Angelica. Terrified she retreats into the thicket,\nand, thrusting her ring into her mouth, becomes invisible! Meantime\nthe knights continue their duel until a messenger summons Ferrau to\nhasten to Spain, where war has broken out.\n\nAngelica, unable to forget Rinaldo since she has partaken of the\nwaters of love, now induces the magician Malgigi to entice her beloved\nto an island over which she reigns, where she vainly tries to win his\naffections and to detain him by her side. Still under the influence of\nthe waters of hate, Rinaldo escapes, only to land in a gloomy country,\nwhere he is plunged into a loathsome den. There a monster is about to\ndevour him, when Angelica comes to his rescue. But, even though she\nsaves his life, he ungratefully refuses to return her affection, and\nabruptly leaves her to encounter other untoward adventures. Meantime\nOrlando, still searching for Angelica, encounters a sorceress who\ngives him a magic draught which causes him to forget the past, and\ndetains him a captive in the island of Dragontine.\n\nMeanwhile the many knights enamoured with Angelica have gone to\nbesiege her father's capital, but while they are thus employed she\nescapes from the city--thanks to her magic ring--and goes to deliver\nOrlando. In return, he pledges himself to drive the besiegers away and\nsave her father's capital, and on the way thither encounters Rinaldo,\nwith whom, not knowing who he is, he fights two days, so equally are\nthey matched in strength and skill. The moment comes, however, when\nOrlando is on the point of slaying Rinaldo, and refrains only because\nAngelica opportunely reveals his opponent's name.\n\nStill urged by Angelica, Orlando next hastens off to destroy the magic\nisland and free its captives, who hurry back to France while their\nrescuer journeys to Cathay. There Angelica pretends she has fallen in\nlove with him, and accompanies him when he returns to France under\npretext of becoming a Christian. Their way again lies through the\nforest of Arden, where this time Angelica drinks from the fountain of\nhatred. All her former love for Rinaldo therefore vanishes, and, as\nthe latter has at the same time partaken of the water of love, their\nparts are reversed, for it is he who now pursues Angelica whom he\npreviously loathed. His attentions so incense Orlando that he begins a\nfight, which Charlemagne checks, declaring that Angelica--who is\nplaced in charge of Duke Namus--shall be awarded to the warrior who\ndistinguishes himself most in the coming war.\n\nIn the course of this campaign these two knights meet with many\nadventures, and are accompanied by Bradamant--Rinaldo's sister--who\nmanfully fights by their side. Among their opponents the most\nformidable are Rogero and the pagan Rodomont, whose boastful language\nhas given rise to the term rodomontade. During one of their\nencounters, Rogero discovers that his antagonist is Bradamant--a\nwoman--and falls desperately in love with her.\n\nIt is at this point that Boiardo's poem ends; and Ariosto, adopting\nhis characters, immediately begins weaving three principal strands of\nnarrative,--one relating to the wars of Charlemagne, another to\nOrlando's madness, and the third to the love of Rogero and\nBradamant,--Rogero, an ancestor of the Ferrara family (Ariosto's\npatrons), being the real hero of his poem.\n\nNot satisfied at being placed under the care of Duke Namus of Bavaria,\nAngelica escapes from his guardianship, only to be pursued by the\nunwelcome attentions of Rinaldo and Ferrau. While these two fight for\nher possession, the lady, who spends her time fleeing from unwelcome\nsuitors, escapes, only to fall into the hands of Sacripant, King of\nCircassia, another admirer, who bears her off in triumph. They meet a\nknight in white armor (Bradamant in quest of Rogero), ere they are\novertaken by Rinaldo. A new duel now ensues, this time between Rinaldo\nand Sacripant, during which Angelica runs away and seeks refuge with a\nhermit-magician, who then informs the combatants Angelica has been\ncarried off to Paris by Orlando. Hearing this, the rivals cease\nfighting and join forces to rescue the lady, but, when they arrive in\nParis, Charlemagne despatches Rinaldo to England and Scotland, where,\namong other marvellous adventures, is told the lengthy and fantastic\nyet beautiful story of Ginevra.\n\nIt seems that, although loved by the Duke of Albany, this lady prefers\nthe knight Ariolant. She thereby so enrages her noble suitor that he\nfinally bribes her maid to personate her and admit him by night to her\nchamber by means of a rope ladder. With fiendish cunning he has\nadvised Ariolant to watch Ginevra, so this true lover, witnessing what\nhe considers irrefutable proof of his lady-love's unchastity, departs\nin despair to commit suicide. His brother, deeming him already dead,\ndenounces Ginevra, who, brought before the judges, is sentenced to die\nunless some champion will vindicate her honor. Having meantime\ndiscovered the truth, Rinaldo clears the lady by winning a brilliant\nvictory, and leaves only after she is safely married to the man she\nloves, who after all has not taken his life.\n\nThe poet now picks up another thread and shows us Bradamant seeking\nRogero, and discovering, by means of Angelica's magic ring, that he is\ncaptive of a magician. After a narrow escape, and a vision of the\nfeats her descendants will perform, Bradamant helps Rogero to escape.\nSoon after, this reckless man vaults upon a hippogriff which lands him\non an island, where an enchantress changes her visitors into beasts,\nstones, trees, etc. Instead of becoming one of her permanent victims,\nRogero, warned by the myrtle to which he ties his steed, prevails upon\nher to release her captives, and after many adventures is borne by the\nsame hippogriff to the island of Ebuda, where a maiden is daily\nsacrificed to a cannibal Orc. When Rogero discovers that the present\nvictim is Angelica, he promptly delivers her and conveys her to\nBrittany.\n\nMeantime Orlando, mad with love, is vainly seeking Angelica. He too\nvisits Ebuda--but too late to meet her there--and delivers another\nmaiden. Then he returns to France to find Charlemagne so sorely\npressed by foes, that he has implored St. Michael to interfere in his\nbehalf. This archangel, cleverly enlisting the services of Silence and\nDiscord, brings back Rinaldo and other knights, who drive away the\ndisintegrating pagan force after sundry bloody encounters. After one\nof these, Angelica finds a wounded man, whom she nurses back to\nhealth, and marries after a romantic courtship in the course of which\nthey carve their names on many a tree.\n\nStill seeking Angelica, Orlando in due time discovers these names, and\non learning Angelica is married becomes violently insane. Discarding\nhis armor,--which another knight piously collects and hangs on a tree\nwith an inscription warning no one to venture to touch it,--Orlando\nroams hither and thither, performing countless feats of valor, and\neven swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar to seek adventures in\nAfrica since he cannot get enough in Europe. In the course of his\nwanderings, Orlando (as well as sundry other characters in the poem)\nis favored by an apparition of Fata Morgana, the water-fairy, who\nvainly tries to lure him away from his allegiance to his lady-love by\noffering him untold treasures.\n\nEvery once in a while the poem harks back to Rogero, who, having again\nfallen into a magician's hands, prowls through the labyrinthine rooms\nof his castle, seeking Bradamant, whom he imagines calling to him for\nhelp. Meantime the lady whom he is thus seeking is safe at Marseilles,\nbut, hearing at last of her lover's plight, she too visits the magic\ncastle, and would have been decoyed into its dungeons had not Astolfo\nappeared with a magic horn, whose first blast makes the castle vanish\ninto thin air! Thus freed, the magician's prisoners gaze around them\nin wonder, and Rogero and Bradamant embrace with rapture, planning to\nmarry as soon as Rogero has been baptized.\n\nBut, on their way to Vallombroso where this sacrament is to take\nplace, the lovers meet with other adventures and are again separated.\nUnder escort of Astolfo, Bradamant sadly returns home, where her\nmother decrees she shall remain until Rogero can come and get her.\nMeantime Rogero has again joined the Saracens, just as Discord has\nsucceeded in kindling a quarrel between Rodomont and Mandricar, who\nboth admire the same lady. They are about to fight for her favor, when\nthe umpire of the lists pertinently suggests the lady be allowed to\nexpress her preference! She frankly does so, and Rodomont, rejected,\ndeparts in high dudgeon. In this unhappy frame of mind he attacks\neverybody he meets, and after many victories is defeated in a battle\nwith the Christians. During this last encounter Rogero is too\ngrievously wounded to be able to join Bradamant, who, hearing a fair\nlady is nursing her lover, is consumed by jealousy. She\ntherefore--notwithstanding her mother's decree--sets out in the garb\nof a knight to challenge her recreant lover and defeat him by means of\nher magic lance.\n\nAfter unhorsing on the way all those who venture to tilt with her,\nBradamant meets Rogero, who, recognizing her in the midst of their\nduel, flatly refuses to continue the fight, and implores her to\naccompany him into a neighboring forest, where he promises to explain\nall to her satisfaction. They are, however, followed thither by the\nmaiden who has nursed Rogero, who, jealous in her turn, now attacks\nBradamant. Rogero, infuriated by Bradamant's imminent peril, is about\nto slay his nurse remorselessly, when an enchanter's voice proclaims\nshe is his sister, stolen in infancy! All excuse for mutual jealousy\nbeing thus removed, the two women agree to join forces and fight in\nbehalf of Charlemagne until Rogero can discharge his obligations to\nthe Saracens, receive baptism, and join the Christian ranks.\n\nMeantime Astolfo has ridden off on the hippogriff to the earthly\nparadise, where he has interviews with sundry saints and apostles, and\nwhence St. John conveys him up to the moon. In that appropriate region\nthe apostle explains that Orlando's insanity is due to the fact he\nloves an infidel! He further points out where the hero's stray wits\nare stored, and directs Astolfo how to catch them in a vial and\nrestore them to their rightful owner. Then, before conveying Astolfo\nback to earth, St. John vouchsafes him a glimpse of the Fates, wearing\nthe web of Destiny, which they cast into the stream of Oblivion,\nwhence only a few shreds are rescued by poets!\n\nOn returning from this eventful trip to the moon, Astolfo joins the\nSaracens. When they finally capture the mad Orlando, he produces his\nvial, and, making his friend inhale its contents, restores him to his\nsenses. His mad passion for Angelica being now a thing of the past,\nOrlando concentrates all his efforts to conquer the Saracens and\ntriumphs in many a fight.\n\nMeantime Rogero, on his way to join Bradamant, has been shipwrecked on\nan island, where a hermit converts him to the Christian faith. While\nhe is here, Orlando and Rinaldo arrive with their sorely wounded\nfriend, Oliver, whom they entrust to the hermit's care. Not only is\nOrlando sane once more, but Rinaldo, having drunk the waters of the\ncontrary fountain, no longer loves Angelica, and willingly promises\nthe hand of his sister Bradamant to the new convert. But, when brother\nand prospective bridegroom reach court, they learn Charlemagne has\npromised Bradamant to a Greek prince, to whom the lady has signified\nthat ere he wins her he must fight a duel with her. On hearing that\nthe Greek prince is at present besieging Belgrade, Rogero hastens\nthither, and performs wonders before he falls into the enemy's hands.\nBut the Greek prince has been so impressed by Rogero's prowess that he\npromises him freedom if he will only personate him in the dreaded duel\nwith Bradamant. Rogero immediately consents to fight in the prince's\narmor, and defeats Bradamant, whom Charlemagne thereupon awards to the\nGreek prince.\n\nIn despair at having forfeited his beloved, Rogero rides off to die of\ngrief, but the Greek prince, riding after him to thank him, not only\ndiscovers the cause of Rogero's sorrow, but generously relinquishes\nall claim to Bradamant and volunteers to witness her marriage to\nRogero. The courage shown by the bridegroom while at Belgrade has\nmeantime so impressed the Bulgarians, that an embassy arrives to beg\nhim to mount their throne. But before Rogero can assume the Bulgarian\ncrown he is forced to conquer and slay the boastful Rodomont, who\nenvies his exalted position.\n\nMany other characters appear in this poem, complicating the plot until\nit seems hopelessly involved to most modern readers, but, owing to the\nmany romantic situations, to the picturesque verse, and to the\nunflagging liveliness of style, this epic is still popular in Italy.\nIt has besides given rise to endless imitations, not only in Italian\nbut in many other languages. It forms part of the great Charlemagne\nCycle, of which the last epic is Ricciardetto, by Fortiguerra, a\npriest who wagered he too could compose a string of adventures like\nthose invented by Ariosto. He won his wager by adopting the characters\nalready made famous by Boiardo and Ariosto, and selected as his hero a\nyounger brother of Rinaldo mentioned by his predecessors.\n\n\n\n\nGERUSALEMME LIBERATA, OR JERUSALEM DELIVERED\n\n\nTorquato Tasso, one of the three great Italian poets, was born at\nSorrento in 1544, and, after receiving his education in various\nItalian cities, conceived, while at the University of Padua, the idea\nof writing an epic poem, using an episode in the First Crusade as his\ntheme. In 1572 Tasso became attached to the court of Ferrara, where\nthe duke and his two sisters delighted in his verses, admired his\npastoral Aminta, and urged him to finish his projected epic.\n\nDuring his sojourn at this court Tasso fell in love with Eleonora,\nsister of the duke, to whom he read the various parts of his epic as\nhe completed them, and for whose sake he lingered at Ferrara, refusing\noffers of preferment at Paris and at Florence. Although he completed\nhis epic in 1575, he did not immediately publish it, but sent copies\nto Rome and Padua for criticism. The learned men to whom he submitted\nhis poem criticised it so freely that the poet's sensitive nature was\ngreatly injured thereby. Almost at the same time the duke discovered\nthe poet's passion for his sister. Furious to think Tasso should have\nraised his eyes to a princess, yet afraid he should carry his talents\nelsewhere, the duke, pretending to deem him insane, placed him under\nclose surveillance. While Tasso was thus a prisoner, sundry false\naccusations were brought against him and his poem was published\nwithout his consent.\n\nAlthough Tasso contrived several times to escape from Ferrara, he\ninvariably came back there, hoping to be reconciled to the duke. It\nwas only in 1586 that he left this place for good and betook himself\nto Rome and Naples, where he was forced to live on charity. Just as he\nwas about to be publicly crowned in Rome for his epic, he died there,\nat the age of fifty-two (1595).\n\nThe epic \"Jerusalem Delivered\" contains an account of the Crusade of\n1099 and extends over a period of forty days. It is divided into\ntwenty cantos, written in ottava rima, or eight-rhymed stanzas, and,\nowing to its rhythmic perfection, is still sung by Italian bards to\npopular audiences.\n\n_Canto I._ After stating exactly what task he proposes to perform in\nhis poem, the poet describes how the Eternal Father, sitting on His\nheavenly throne, gazes down upon the plain of Tortosa, where the\nCrusaders are assembled. Six years have elapsed since they set out\nfrom Europe, during which time they have succeeded in taking Nicaea\nand Antioch, cities now left in charge of influential Crusaders. But\nGodfrey of Bouillon is pushing on with the bulk of the army, because\nhe is anxious to wrest Jerusalem from the hands of the infidels and\nrestore it to the worship of the true God. While he is camping on this\nplain, God sends Gabriel to visit him in sleep and inspire him with a\ndesire to assemble a council, where, by a ringing speech, he will\nrouse the Christians to immediate action.\n\nOn awakening from this vision, Godfrey loses no time in convening such\nan assembly, and there eloquently urges the Christians to fight,\ndeclaring their efforts have failed hitherto mainly because they have\nlacked purpose and unity. Hearing this, Peter the Hermit suggests the\nCrusaders should select one chief, whose orders they will obey, and\nthereupon the warriors present unanimously elect Godfrey of Bouillon\nas leader. Having secured this exalted post, Godfrey reviews his\nforce, thus giving the poet an occasion to enumerate the leaders of\nthe different corps, or armies, and explain from what countries they\ncome. Amongst other resounding names, the poet specially mentions\nEdward and his fair bride Gildippe, who, unwilling to be parted from\nher spouse, has donned a man's armor and followed him to the Crusade.\nAmong the bravest fighters there, he also quotes Tancred, who,\nhowever, seems listless, and has accomplished no deed of valor since\nhe beheld near a fountain and fell in love with Clorinda, a fair\nAmazon.\n\n  To the same warbling of fresh waters drew,\n  Arm'd, but unmhelm'd and unforeseen, a maid;\n  She was a pagan, and came thither too\n  To quench her thirst beneath the pleasant shade;\n  Her beautiful fair aspect, thus display'd,\n  He sees; admires; and, touch'd to transport, glows\n  With passion rushing to its fountain head,\n  The heart; 'tis strange how quick the feeling grows;\n  Scarce born, its power in him no cool calm medium knows.\n\nAnother hero is Rinaldo (the same as the French Renaud de Montauban),\nwho, although but a boy, escaped from his foster mother, Queen\nMathilda, to go and fight for the deliverance of the Holy Sepulchre.\nHis review completed, Godfrey of Bouillon orders his force to march on\ntoward Jerusalem, whence he wishes to oust the Sultan Aladine\n(Saladin), who at present is sorely taxing the Christians to obtain\nfunds enough to make war against the advancing Crusaders.\n\n_Canto II._ Advised by the sorcerer Ismeno, Aladine steals the image\nof the Virgin from the Christian temple, and sets it up in his mosque,\nwhere he resorts to all manner of spells and incantations to destroy\nher power. During the night, however, the Virgin's image disappears\nfrom the mosque and cannot be found, although Aladine offers great\nrewards for its restoration. Finally, he decrees that, unless the\nperpetrator of the theft denounces himself, he will slay all the\nChristians in the town. He is about to execute this cruel threat when\nSophronia, a Christian maid, suddenly decides to sacrifice herself to\nsave her co-religionists. She therefore appears before Aladine,\ndeclaring she stole the image from the temple, whereupon the sultan in\nanger orders her bound to the stake and burned alive.\n\n    Doom'd in tormenting fire to die, they lay\n    Hands on the maid; her arms with rough cords twining,\n    Rudely her mantle chaste they tear away,\n    And the white veil that o'er her droop'd declining:\n    This she endured in silence unrepining,\n    Yet her firm breast some virgin tremors shook;\n    And her warm cheek, Aurora's late outshining,\n    Waned into whiteness, and a color took,\n  Like that of the pale rose or lily of the brook.\n\nScarcely has Sophronia been fastened there, and while she is praying\nfor God's aid to endure martyrdom without flinching, Olindo, a young\nChristian, deeming it impossible to allow a girl to sacrifice her\nlife, rushes forward, declaring he alone committed the crime, but that\nthe maiden, out of love for him, has assumed his guilt to save his\nlife. Only then does he discover that the maiden tied to the stake is\nthe very one he loves, but who hitherto has received his advances\ncoldly! On hearing the youth accuse himself of having stolen the\nimage, Aladine questions the maiden, who denies it, insisting she\nalone is to blame. Thereupon the sultan decrees both shall perish in\nthe flames, and orders them tied to the stake back to back. It is in\nthis position, and while in imminent peril of death, that the young\nman deplores the fact he is to die beside the one he hoped to marry\nand with whom he expected to spend a long and happy life. The\nexecutioners are about to set fire to the pyre where these generous\nyoung lovers are to end their days, when a young knight steps forward\nloudly proclaiming none of the Christians are to blame for the\ndisappearance of the image, since Allah himself removed it from the\ntemple because he considered it desecration to have such an image\nwithin its walls. This young knight turns out to be the warrior maid\nClorinda, who not only convinces Aladine that the young people are\nguiltless, but bribes him to release them, in exchange for her\nservices in the coming war. Touched by each other's devotion, the\nyoung couple marry as soon as released, and, instead of dying, live\ntogether as husband and wife.\n\n    Restored to life and liberty, how blest,\n    How truly blest was young Olindo's fate!\n    For sweet Sophronia's blushes might attest,\n    That Love at length has touch'd her delicate\n    And generous bosom; from the stake in state\n    They to the altar pass; severely tried,\n    In doom and love already made his mate,\n    She now objects not to become his bride,\n  And grateful live with him who would for her have died.\n\nMeanwhile two ambassadors have come from Egypt to visit Godfrey in his\ncamp, and try first by persuasions and then by threats to dissuade him\nfrom his projected attack upon Jerusalem. In spite of all Alethes and\nArgantes can say, Godfrey insists upon carrying out his purpose, and,\nafter dismissing these ambassadors with a haughty speech, marches on\nwith his host.\n\n   \"Know, then, that we have borne all this distress\n   By land and sea,--war, want, reverses--all!\n   To the sole end that we might gain access\n   To sacred Salem's venerable wall;\n   That we might free the Faithful from their thrall,\n   And win from God His blessing and reward:\n   From this no threats our spirit can appal,\n   For this no terms will be esteem'd too hard--\n  Life, honors, kingdoms lost, or dignity debarr'd.\"\n\n_Canto III._ When they come within sight of Jerusalem, the Crusaders,\noverjoyed, hail the Holy City with cries of rapture, and, falling on\ntheir knees, swear to deliver it from the hands of the infidels.\nSeeing them advance, the pagans make hasty preparations to oppose\nthem, and Clorinda, at the head of a small force, volunteers to make a\nsortie and boldly attacks the vanguard of the Crusaders.\n\nFrom the topmost tier of Jerusalem's ramparts, the Sultan Aladine\nwatches their sortie, having beside him Erminia, daughter of the late\nking of Antioch, whom the Crusaders have sent on to Jerusalem, because\nthey do not care to detain her a prisoner. During her sojourn in her\nfather's town, Erminia has learned to know by sight all the Crusaders,\nand during her brief captivity she has fallen in love with Tancred,\nwho was detailed to guard her. She can therefore give the Sultan\nAladine all the information he wishes, and acts as cicerone while the\nbattle is going on. From this point of vantage the sultan and princess\nwatch Clorinda and Tancred meet, and behold how, after a lively\nencounter, Tancred strikes off the helmet of his opponent, whose sex\nis revealed by the streaming of her long golden hair. At sight of the\nwonderful maiden with whom he has fallen in love, Tancred refuses to\ncontinue the fight, although Clorinda urges him to strike. Undaunted\nby the fact that she is his foe, Tancred not only refuses to strike,\nbut immediately begins to sue the beautiful maiden, who refuses to\nlisten to him, and is soon swept away by Saracen forces, which\nintervene between her and Tancred.\n\nA battle now rages, in the course of which various knights perform\ngreat deeds, but, although Godfrey proves victor on this occasion, he\nloses Dudon, chief of his Adventurous Band and one of the bravest\nwarriors in his army. While giving her explanations to Aladine in\nregard to the fight waged beneath their eyes, Erminia carefully\nexplains she feels deadly hatred for Tancred, although the truth is\nshe loves him dearly and is greatly relieved to see him escape from\nthe fray uninjured.\n\nMany people having died in the course of this action, a truce is\nagreed upon so that both sides may bury their dead, and so, many\nfunerals are celebrated with all due pomp and ceremony. Next the\ncrusading force decides that siege-engines and towers will be\nnecessary to enable them to scale the high walls of Jerusalem. They\ntherefore send out a force of woodsmen to hew the trees which are to\nserve for the construction of the required towers.\n\n    The duke, when thus his piety had paid\n    The fun'ral rites, and shed his duteous tears,\n    Sent all his skill'd mechanics to invade\n    The forest, guarded by a thousand spears;\n    Veil'd by low hills it stood, the growth of years,--\n    A Syrian shepherd pointed out the vale,\n    And thither brought the camp-artificers\n    To fabricate the engines doom'd to scale\n  The City's sacred towers and turn her people pale.\n\n_Canto IV._ The scene now changes to the infernal regions, where Satan\ndeems it time to frustrate the Christians' aims, because it would\nill-suit diabolical ends to have them recover possession of Jerusalem.\nNot only does Satan stimulate his hosts by reminding them of their\nforfeited bliss, but he encourages them to thwart the Christians by\nreminding them of the great deeds they have already done. His\neloquence is not expended in vain, for the fiends all approve of his\nsuggestions, and, when the council is over, flit forth, intent upon\nfomenting dissension among the leaders of the Crusade, and hindering\ntheir attempts in every other way possible.\n\nOne demon in particular is to determine a wizard to send his niece\nArmida to ensnare the Christians. This enchantress, decked out with\nall the charms beauty and toilet can bestow, soon appears in the\nChristian camp, where, falling at Godfrey's feet, she proceeds to\nrelate a tale of fictitious wrongs, claiming to be heiress of the city\nof Damascus, whence she has been ejected, and vowing if she could only\nsecure the aid of a few knights she would soon recover her realm. In\nreturn for such aid as she implores from the Christians, she promises\nto do homage to them for her realm, and even pledges herself to\nreceive baptism. Her artful speeches, the flattery which she lavishes\nupon Godfrey, and her languishing glances are all calculated to\npersuade him to grant her request; but the Crusader is so bent upon\nthe capture of Jerusalem that nothing can turn him aside from his\npurpose.\n\nBut, although Godfrey himself is proof against all Armida's\nblandishments, his knights are not, and among those who succumb to\nthe lady's charms is his own brother Eustace, who begs his permission\nto take ten knights and accompany the damsel to Damascus. Although\nArmida professes great gratitude for this help, she entices many other\nCrusaders to desert the camp, by casting languishing glances at them\nand making each man whom she looks upon believe she loves him only.\n\n    All arts th' enchantress practised to beguile\n    Some new admirer in her well-spread snare;\n    Nor used with all, nor always the same wile,\n    But shaped to every taste her grace and air:\n    Here cloister'd is her eye's dark pupil, there\n    In full voluptuous languishment is roll'd;\n    Now these her kindness, those her anger bear,\n    Spurr'd on or check'd by bearing frank or cold,\n  As she perceived her slave was scrupulous or bold.\n\n_Canto V._ Not content with beguiling many knights, Armida further\nfoments a quarrel between Rinaldo and Gernando, Prince of Norway, in\nregard to the command of the Adventurous Band, which is now without a\nleader. In the course of this quarrel, Rinaldo is so sorely taunted by\nhis opponent that, although the Crusaders are pledged not to fight\neach other, he challenges and slays Gernando. Then, afraid to be\ncalled to trial and sentenced to death for breaking the rules of the\ncamp, Rinaldo flees to Egypt.\n\nOn perceiving how greatly his army is weakened by the desertion of so\nmany brave men, Godfrey is dismayed--all the more so because he hears\nthe Egyptian army is coming to attack him, and because the supplies\nwhich he expected have been cut off.\n\n_Canto VI._ The Egyptian army boasts of no braver warrior than\nArgantes, who sallies forth to challenge the Christians, bidding\nClorinda follow him at a short distance, and come to his rescue should\nit be necessary. Although Argantes has summoned Godfrey to come forth\nand fight him, it is Tancred who is chosen as champion for the\nChristians, but as he draws near his opponent a glimpse of the fair\nClorinda's face makes him forget everything but her.\n\n    He noted not where the Circassian rear'd\n    His frightful face to the affronted skies,\n    But to the hill-top where his Love appear'd,\n    Turn'd, slack'ning his quick pace, his am'rous eyes,\n    Till he stood steadfast as a rock, all ice\n    Without, all glowing heat within;--the sight\n    To him was as the gates of Paradise;\n    And from his mind the mem'ry of the fight\n  Pass'd like a summer cloud, or dream at morning light.\n\nOne of the knights in his train, seeing he is not going to fight,\nspurs forward and meets Argantes, by whom he is defeated. On seeing\nthis knight fall, Tancred, suddenly brought to his senses, starts\nforward to avenge him, and combats with such fury that Argantes' armor\nfairly rings with the blows which rain down upon him. Argantes,\nhowever, is nearly as brave as Tancred, so the battle rages until\nnightfall, when the heroes are separated by the heralds, although both\nvow they will renew the struggle on the morrow. But, when they have\nceased fighting and both discover they have serious wounds, their\nrespective armies decree a six-days' truce and pledge themselves to\nawait the result of the duel.\n\nThe wounded Argantes has returned to Jerusalem, where Erminia uses her\nmagic balsams to heal his wounds, secretly wishing meanwhile that she\nmight lavish her care upon Tancred, whom she still loves. So ardent is\nher desire to behold him, that she finally appropriates Clorinda's\narmor and rides off to the Christian camp, sending a messenger ahead\nto announce a lady is coming to heal Tancred if he will give her a\nsafe-conduct to his tent. Tancred immediately sends word the lady will\nbe welcome, but meanwhile the Christians, catching a glimpse of the\nwaiting Erminia, and mistaking her for Clorinda owing to her armor,\nendeavor to capture her.\n\n_Canto VII._ To escape from her pursuers, Erminia flees into a\ntrackless forest, where, after wandering some time, she meets a\nshepherd, who gives her an asylum in his hut. There she turns\nshepherdess, but does not forget Tancred, whose name she carves in\nmany a tree. Meantime the news spreads through the camp that Clorinda\nhas been seen and is even now closely pursued by a troop of\nChristians. Hearing this Tancred, disregarding his wounds, sets out to\nfind her. While wandering thus in the forest, weakened by loss of\nblood, he is captured by Armida, the enchantress, who detains him in a\ndungeon, where he eats his heart out for shame because he will not be\nable to respond when the trumpets sound for the renewal of his duel\nwith Argantes.\n\nThe moment having come for this battle and the Crusaders' champion\nbeing absent, old Count Raymond volunteers to meet Argantes, and is\nabout to get the better of him, when an archer from the wall suddenly\ndischarges a shaft at him. Such treachery exasperates the Christians,\nwho, exclaiming the truce has been broken, precipitate themselves upon\ntheir foes, and in the general battle which ensues many deeds of valor\nare performed.\n\n_Canto VIII._ During this battle a great storm arises, and the\nChristians, who, notwithstanding their courage, have been worsted,\nbeat a retreat, finding on their return to camp that one of their\ncompanions, defeated and mortally wounded, has despatched a messenger\nto carry his sword to Rinaldo. The Italian force thereupon accuses\nGodfrey of having done away with Rinaldo, but he not only succeeds in\nrefuting such an accusation, but sentences his chief detractor to\ndeath.\n\n_Canto IX._ Sultan Solyman of Nicae, who has joined Sultan Aladine of\nJerusalem, now comes to attack the Christians by night, assisted by\nmany fiends, but the archangel Michael warns the crusaders of what is\ncoming and enables them to get the better of their foes by bringing\nback the troops which followed Armida to Damascus. In this encounter a\nChristian knight slays a page of the sultan, who, seeing this child\ndead, experiences such grief that, after avenging his death, he wishes\nto withdraw temporarily from the battle.\n\n    \"Let Godfrey view once more, and smile to view\n    My second exile;--soon shall he again\n    See me in arms return'd, to vex anew\n    His haunted peace and never stable reign:\n    Yield I do not; eternal my disdain\n    Shall be as are my wrongs; though fires consume\n    My dust, immortal shall my hate remain;\n    And aye my naked ghost fresh wrath assume,\n  Through life a foe most fierce, but fiercer from the tomb!\"\n\n_Canto X._ The sultan, after journeying part way back to Egypt, pauses\nto rest, and is visited by a wizard, who spirits him over the\nbattle-field and back to Jerusalem in a magic chariot. This pauses at\na hidden cave, the entrance to an underground passage, by which they\nsecretly enter the sultan's council chamber.\n\n    Ismeno shot the lock; and to the right\n    They climb'd a staircase, long untrod, to which\n    A feeble, glimm'ring, and malignant light\n    Stream'd from the ceiling through a window'd niche;\n    At length by corridors of loftier pitch\n    They sallied into day, and access had\n    To an illumined hall, large, round, and rich;\n    Where, sceptred, crown'd, and in dark purple clad,\n  Sad sat the pensive king amid his nobles sad.\n\nSolyman, overhearing as he enters some of the nobles propose a\ndisgraceful peace and the surrender of Jerusalem, hotly opposes such a\nmeasure, and thus infuses new courage into their breasts.\n\n_Canto XI._ Meantime Godfrey of Bouillon, having buried his dead,\nquestions the knights who were lured away by Armida, and they relate\nthat, on arriving near the Dead Sea, they were entertained at a\nsumptuous banquet, where they were given a magic draught, which\ntransformed them for a time into sportive fishes. Armida, having thus\ndemonstrated her power over them, threatened to use it to keep them\nprisoners forever unless they would promise to abjure their faith. One\nalone yielded, but the rest, delivered as prisoners to an emissary\nfrom Egypt, were met and freed from their bonds by the brave Rinaldo,\nwho, instead of accompanying them back to camp, rode off toward\nAntioch.\n\nThe Christians now prepare for their final assault, and, advised by\nPeter the Hermit, walk in solemn procession to the Mount of Olives,\nwhere, after singing hymns, all devoutly receive Communion. Thus\nprepared for anything that may betide, they set out on the morrow to\nscale the city walls, rolling ahead of them their mighty engines of\nwar, by means of which they hope to seize the city.\n\nMost of the Crusaders have laid aside their heavy armor and assumed\nthe light gear of foot-soldiers the better to scale the walls, upon\nwhich Clorinda is posted, and whence she shoots arrow after arrow at\nthe assailants. Wounded by one of the missiles flung from the wall,\nGodfrey seeks his tent, where, the physician failing to extract the\nbarb, an angel brings a remedy from heaven which instantly cures the\nwound.\n\nCanto XII. After awhile, seeing she does not do as much execution as\nshe would like, Clorinda proposes to Argantes that they steal out of\nthe city by night, and by chemical means set fire to the engines with\nwhich the Christians are threatening to capture the city. Willingly\nArgantes promises to accompany her in this perilous venture, but her\nslave, hoping to dissuade her, now reveals to her for the first time,\nthe story of her birth, and informs her she is the daughter of a\nChristian. He adds her dying mother besought him to have her child\nbaptized, a duty he had failed to perform, although repeatedly warned\nby visions to repair his neglect. But, although similar visions have\nfrequently haunted the dreams of Clorinda herself, she persists in her\nundertaking to set fire to the war machines.\n\nShe has no sooner done so, however, than the Christians, aroused, set\nout in pursuit of her and of her companions. Bravely covering their\nretreat so they can re-enter the city safely, Clorinda delays her own\nuntil the gates closed. But with great presence of mind, the\nwarrior-maid, who is wearing black armor, mingles in the darkness with\nthe Crusaders. None of these suspects she does not belong to their\nranks, save Tancred, who follows her to a remote place beneath the\nwalls, where he challenges her to a deadly fight, little divining who\nshe is. The battle proves fierce, and both combatants strike until\nTancred runs his sword through his opponent. Dying, Clorinda reveals\nher name and faintly begs Tancred to baptize her before life leaves\nher body.\n\n    \"Friend! thou hast won; I pardon thee, and O\n    Forgive thou me! I fear not for this clay,\n    But my dark soul--pray for it, and bestow\n    The sacred rite that laves all stains away:\"\n    Like dying hymns heard far at close of day,\n    Sounding I know not what in the sooth'd ear\n    Of sweetest sadness, the faint words make way\n    To his fierce heart, and, touch'd with grief sincere,\n  Streams from his pitying eye th' involuntary tear.\n\nSuch a request cannot be disregarded, so, although Tancred is frantic\nwith grief at the thought of having slain his beloved, he hurries to a\nneighboring stream, draws water in his helmet, and, after baptizing\nhis dying sweetheart, swoons over her body. His companions, finding\nhim there, convey him and Clorinda's body to his tent, where they\nvainly try to rouse him, but he is so overcome with melancholy that he\nthinks of nothing but joining Clorinda in her tomb.\n\n_Canto XIII._ Meantime the foe, having heard of Clorinda's death, vow\nto avenge her, while the Crusaders seek materials to reconstruct their\ntowers. Hastening to a forest near by, they discover a wizard has cast\nsuch a spell upon it that all who try to enter are frightened away.\nFinally Tancred enters this place, and, although he is met by\nearthquakes and other portents, he disregards them all, and starts to\ncut down a tree. But, when blood gushes from its stem, and when\nClorinda's voice informs him he has wounded her again, he flees\nwithout having accomplished his purpose. Heat and drought now cause\nfurther desertions and discourage the Crusaders, until Godfrey, full\nof faith in the justice of their cause, prays so fervently that rain\nis vouchsafed them.\n\n_Canto XIV._ In a dream Godfrey is now admonished to proceed, and\ntold, if he can only persuade Rinaldo to return, Jerusalem will soon\nfall into the hands of the Christians. Because no one knows where\nRinaldo has gone, Godfrey despatches two knights in quest of him.\nAfter some difficulty they interview a wizard, who, after exhibiting\nto them his magic palace, tells them Armida, to punish Rinaldo for\nrescuing his companions from her clutches, has captured him by magic\nmeans and borne him off to her wonderful garden in the Fortunate\nIsles. The hermit then bestows upon them a golden wand which will\ndefeat all enchantments, and bids them hasten to the Fortunate Isles.\n\n_Canto XV._ Hastening off to the sea-shore armed with this golden\nwand, these two knights find a magic vessel, wherein they sail with\nfabulous speed over the sea, and through the Strait of Gibraltar, out\ninto the western ocean, the nymph at the helm meanwhile informing them\nthat this is the road Columbus is destined to travel. Sailing thus\nthey reach the Fortunate Isles, where, notwithstanding many\nenchantments and temptations brought to bear to check their advance,\nthey, thanks to the golden wand, force their way into Armida's\nwonderful garden.\n\n_Canto XVI._\n\n    These windings pass'd, the garden-gates unfold,\n    And the fair Eden meets their glad survey,--\n    Still waters, moving crystals, sands of gold,\n    Herbs, thousand flowers, rare shrubs, and mosses gray;\n    Sunshiny hillocks, shady vales; woods gay,\n    And grottoes gloomy, in one view combined,\n    Presented were; and what increased their play\n    Of pleasure at the prospect, was, to find\n  Nowhere the happy Art that had the whole design'd.\n\n    So natural seem'd each ornament and site,\n    So well was neatness mingled with neglect,\n    As though boon Nature for her own delight\n    Her mocker mock'd, till fancy's self was check'd;\n    The air, if nothing else there, is th' effect\n    Of magic, to the sound of whose soft flute\n    The blooms are born with which the trees are deck'd;\n    By flowers eternal lives th' eternal fruit,\n  This running richly ripe, while those but greenly shoot.\n\nThen, peeping cautiously through the trees, they behold Rinaldo\nreclining amid the flowers, his head resting in the enchantress' lap.\nBiding their time they watch Armida leave the enamoured knight, then\nstep forward and bid him gaze into the magic mirror they have brought.\nOn beholding in its surface a reflection of himself as he really is,\nRinaldo, horrified, is brought to such a sense of his depraved\nidleness, that he springs to his feet and proposes to leave\nimmediately with his companions. They are about to depart without\nbidding farewell to the fair enchantress, when she pursues them, and,\nafter vainly pleading with Rinaldo to stay with her, proposes to join\nhim in any quality. When he abruptly rejects her advances and sails\naway, Armida, disappointed and infuriated because she has been\nscorned, hastens off to the Egyptian camp.\n\n_Canto XVII._ There she joins the Christians' enemies, declaring she\ndreams of naught save slaying Rinaldo, and takes an important part in\nthe review which the poet describes minutely. To compass her ends the\nartful Armida, whose charms have so lavishly been displayed that they\nhave fired every breast, promises to belong to the warrior who will\nbring her Rinaldo's head. Meanwhile this hero has returned to\nPalestine, and is met by the wizard, who, after reproving him for his\ndalliance, gives him wonderful armor, and exhibits on the shield the\ngreat deeds of ancestors of the Duke of Ferrara.\n\n_Canto XVIII._ Newly armed, Rinaldo now returns to the crusaders'\ncamp, apologizes to Godfrey for breaking the rules of the crusade,\nrelates his adventures, and, after humbly confessing his sins, starts\nforth to brave the spells of the magic forest. Not only does he\npenetrate within its precincts, but, undeterred by all Armida's\nenchantments, cuts down a tree, although, in hopes of staying his\nhand, her voice accuses him of cruelly wounding her! No sooner has\nthis tree fallen than the spell is broken; so other trees are cut down\nwithout difficulty, engines built, and all is prepared for a new\nassault on Jerusalem.\n\nGodfrey is particularly eager to make this new attempt immediately,\nbecause a carrier-pigeon has been caught bearing a message from the\nEgyptians to the Sultan of Jerusalem, apprising him that within five\ndays they will come to his aid. During this assault of Jerusalem, a\nsorcerer on the walls, working against the Christians, is slain by a\nrock.\n\nSoon after, thanks to the efforts of the Crusaders, the banner with\nthe Cross floats over the walls of Jerusalem!\n\n    Then raised the Christians all their long loud shout\n    Of Victory, joyful, resonant, and high;\n    Their words the towers and temples lengthen out;\n    To the glad sound the mountains make reply:\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n    Then the whole host pours in, not o'er the walls\n    Alone, but through the gates, which soon unclose,\n    Batter'd or burnt; and in wide ruin falls\n    Each strong defence that might their march oppose.\n    Rages the sword; and Death, the slaught'rer, goes\n    'Twixt Wo and Horror with gigantic tread,\n    From street to street; the blood in torrents flows,\n    And settles in lagoons, on all sides fed,\n  And swell'd with heaps on heaps of dying and of dead.\n\n_Canto XIX._ Tancred, scaling a fortress, meets and slays Argantes,\nreceiving at the same time so grievous a wound that he swoons on the\nbattle-field. Meantime Godfrey has sent a spy to the Egyptian camp to\nfind out whether the army is really coming on to Jerusalem. This spy,\nmeeting Erminia there, induces her not only to reveal all the\nEgyptians' plans (including a plot to slay Godfrey), but to go back\nwith him. While they journey along together to rejoin the Christian\nforces, Erminia relates her adventures, saying that while she was\nplaying shepherdess, some freebooters seized her and carried her to\nthe Egyptian camp, where she was placed under Armida's protection. Her\nstory is just finished when they perceive what appears to be a\nlifeless warrior. By the red cross on his armor the spy recognizes a\nChristian, and further investigation enables him to identify Tancred.\nErminia--who has owned she loves him--now takes possession of him,\nbinds up his wounds with her hair (!), and vows she will nurse him\nback to health.\n\n_Canto XX._ Warned by his spy that the Egyptians mean to send sundry\nof their number to mix, during the battle, with his body-guard and\nkill him, Godfrey changes the ensigns of his men, and thus discovers\nthe conspirators, who are promptly put to death. Seeing the Egyptian\narmy advance, Godfrey, in a stirring speech, urges his men to do their\nbest for the Holy Sepulchre, and thereby stimulates them to fight so\nbravely that many of them lose their lives. Among the slain are\nGildippe and her husband, who, having fought together side by side\nthroughout the campaign, die together and are buried in the same tomb.\nThe other party, however, is far more unfortunate, for the Saracens\nlose the sultans Aladine and Solyman, the former slain by Godfrey and\nthe latter by Rinaldo.\n\nMeantime Armida, wavering between love and hate, tries to shoot\nRinaldo, then flees, but, a little later, seeing him slay Solyman, she\ntries to kill herself. It is at this moment that Rinaldo approaches\nher, and offers to marry her provided she will be converted. Not only\ndoes she now promise conversion and marriage, but accompanies Rinaldo\nback to the camp.\n\nThe Crusaders having completely defeated their foes and secured\npossession of Jerusalem, march, with solemn hymns of praise to the\nHoly Sepulchre, where all kneel, thanking God for permitting them to\ndeliver it from the hands of the heathen. It is with these thanks that\nthe poem ends.\n\n    Thus conquer'd Godfrey; and as yet there glow'd\n    A flush of glory in the fulgent West,\n    To the freed City, the once loved abode\n    Of Christ, the pious chief and armies press'd:\n    Arm'd as he was, and in his sanguine vest,\n    With all his knights in solemn cavalcade,\n    He reach'd the Temple; there, supremely bless'd,\n    Hung up his arms, his banner'd spoils display'd,\n  And at the sacred Tomb his vow'd devotions paid.\n\n\n\n\nEPICS OF THE BRITISH ISLES\n\n\nAlthough the name Celt was given by the early Greeks to all the people\nliving West of their country, the Romans included under that name only\nthe tribes occupying the countries now known as France, Western\nSwitzerland, Germany west of the Rhine, Belgium, and the British\nIsles. Blocked together under a generic name, the Celtic nation was,\nhowever, composed of many tribes, with separate dialects and customs.\nIt has been surmised that two of these tribes, the British and Irish,\nearly took possession of England and Ireland, where they flourished\nand subdivided until disturbed by invasions of various kinds.\n\nThe Celts all practised what is termed the Druidic cult, their priests\nbeing poets, bards, or gleemen, who could compose or recite in verse,\nritual, laws, and heroic ballads. During the four hundred years of\nRoman occupation, the Celts in England became somewhat Romanized, but\nthe Irish, and their near relatives the Scots, were less influenced by\nLatin civilization. It is therefore in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales\nthat the oldest traces of Celtic literature are found, for the bards\nthere retained their authority and acted as judges after Christianity\nhad been introduced, and as late as the sixth century. Although St.\nPatrick is reported to have forbidden these Irish bards to continue\ntheir pagan incantations, they continued to exert some authority, and\nit is said Irish priests adopted the tonsure which was their\ndistinctive badge. The bards, who could recite and compose poems and\nstories, accompanying themselves on a rudimentary harp, were\nconsidered of much higher rank than those who merely recited\nincantations. They transmitted poems, incantations, and laws, orally\nonly, and no proof exists that the pagan Irish, for instance,\ncommitted any works to writing previous to the introduction of\nChristianity in their midst.\n\nThe heroic tales of Ireland from a large and well-marked epic cycle,\nthe central tale of the series being the anonymous \"Cattle of Cooly,\"\nwherein is related the war waged by the Irish Queen Mab against her\nhusband for the possession of a mystic brown bull. In the course of\nthis war the chief hero, Cuchulaind, makes himself famous by defending\nthe country of Ulster single-handed! The still extant tales of this\nepic cycle number about thirty, and give in detail the lives of hero\nand heroine from birth to death, besides introducing many legends from\nCeltic mythology. The oldest MS. version of these tales, in mingled\nprose and verse, dates back to the twelfth century, and is hence about\nas venerable as the Edda.\n\nThe Fennian or Oisianic poems and tales form another famous Irish\ncycle, Finn, or Fingal, their hero, having acted as commander for a\nbody of mercenaries in the third century. His poet son, Oisin (the\nOssian of later Romance), is said to have composed at least one of the\npoems in the famous Book of Leinster. Between the twelfth century and\nthe middle of the fifteenth, this Fennian epos took on new life, and\nit continued to grow until the eighteenth century, when a new tale was\nadded to the cycle.\n\nThe names of a few of the early Irish poets have been preserved in\nIrish annals, where we note, for instance, Bishop Fiance, author of a\nstill extant metrical life of St. Patrick, and Dallan Frogaell, one of\nwhose poems is in the \"Book of the Dun Cow,\" compiled before 1106. Up\nto the thirteenth century most of the poets and harpers used to\ninclude Scotland in their circuit, and one of them, Muiredhach, is\nsaid to have received the surname of \"the Scotchman,\" because he\ntarried so long in that country.\n\nWhen, after the fifteenth century, Irish literature began to decline,\nIrish poems were recast in the native Scotch dialect, thus giving rise\nto what is known as Gaelic literature, which continued to flourish\nuntil the Reformation. Samples of this old Gaelic or Erse poetry were\ndiscovered by James Macpherson in the Highlands, taken down from\nrecitation, and used for the English compilation known as the Poems of\nOssian. Lacking sufficient talent and learning to remodel these\nfragments so as to produce a real masterpiece, Macpherson--who\nerroneously termed his work a translation--not only incurred the\nsharpest criticism, but was branded as a plagiarist.\n\nThe Welsh, a poetic race too, boast of four great poets,--Taliessin,\nAneurin, Llywarch Hen, and Myrden (Merlin). These composed poems\npossessing epic qualities, wherein mention is made of some of the\ncharacters of the Arthurian Cycle. One of the five Welsh MSS., which\nseem of sufficient antiquity and importance to deserve attention, is\nthe Book of Taliessin, written probably during the fourteenth century.\nThe Welsh also possess tales in verse, either historical or romantic,\nwhich probably antedated the extant prose versions of the same tales.\nEleven of these were translated by Lady Charlotte Guest, and entitled\nMabinogion (Tales for Children), although only four out of the eleven\ndeserve that name. But some of these tales are connected with the\ngreat Arthurian cycle, as Arthur is the hero _par excellence_ of\nSouthern Wales, where many places are identified with him or his\ncourt.\n\nAlthough almost as little is known of the historical Arthur as of the\nhistorical Roland, both are heroes of important epic cycles. Leader\nprobably of a small band of warriors, Arthur gradually became, in the\nepics, first general-in-chief, then king, and finally emperor of all\nBritain. It is conjectured that the Arthurian legends must have passed\nfrom South Wales into Cornwall, and thence into Armorica, \"where it is\nprobable the Round Table was invented.\" Enriched by new accretions\nfrom time to time, the Arthurian cycle finally included the legend of\nthe Holy Grail, which must have originated in Provence and have been\ncarried into Brittany by jongleurs or travelling minstrels.\n\nIt has been ascertained that the legend of Arthur was familiar among\nthe Normans before Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his books, and it\ncertainly had an incalculable formative influence on European\nliterature, much of which can be \"traced back directly or indirectly\nto these legends.\" It was also a vehicle for that element which we\ncall chivalry, which the church infused into it to fashion and mould\nthe rude soldiers of feudal times into Christian knights, and, as it\n\"expanded the imagination and incited the minds of men to inquiry\nbeyond the conventional notions of things,\" it materially assisted in\ncreating modern society.\n\nAfter thus tracing the Celtic germs and influence in English\nliterature, it becomes necessary to hark back to the time of the\nTeutonic invasions, since English thought and speech, manners and\ncustoms are all of Teutonic origin. The invaders brought with them an\nalready formed language and literature, both of which were imposed\nupon the people. The only complete extant northern epic of\nDanish-English origin is Beowulf, of which a synopsis follows, and\nwhich was evidently sung by gleemen in the homes of the great chiefs.\nApart from Beowulf, some remains of national epic poetry have come\ndown to us in the fine fragments of Finnsburgh and Waldhere, another\nversion of Walter of Aquitaine.\n\nThere are also the Legends of Havelock the Dane, of King Horn, of\nBeves of Hamdoun, and of Guy of Warwick, all four of which were later\nturned into popular prose romances. Intense patriotic feeling also\ngave birth to the Battle of Maldon, or Bryhtnoth's Death, an ancient\npoem, fortunately printed before it was destroyed by fire. This epic\nrelates how the Viking Anlaf came to England with 93 ships, and, after\nharrying the coast, was defeated and slain in battle.\n\nThe earliest Christian poet in England, Caedmon, instead of singing of\nlove or fighting, paraphrased the Scriptures, and depicted the\ncreation in such eloquent lines that he is said to have inspired some\nof the passages in Milton's Paradise Lost. Chief among the religious\npoems ascribed to Caedmon, are Genesis, Exodus, and Daniel, but,\nalthough in general he strictly conforms with the Bible narrative, he\nprefixed to Genesis an account of the fall of the angels, and thus\nsupplied Milton with the most picturesque feature of his theme.\n\nNext come the epic poems of Cynewulf, Crist, Juliana, Elene, and\nAndreas, also written in alliterative verse. In Elene the poet gives\nus the legend of finding of the cross[20] by the empress Helena,\ndividing his poem into fourteen cantos or fitts.\n\nIt is in Gildas and Nennius' Historia Britonum that we find the first\nmention of the legendary colonization of Britain and Ireland by\nrefugees from Troy, and of the exploits of Arthur and the prophesies\nof Merlin. This work, therefore, contains some of the \"germs of fables\nwhich expanded into Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of Britain, which\nwas written in Latin some time before 1147,\" although this historian\nclaims to derive his information from an ancient British book of which\nno trace can be found.\n\nThere is, besides, a very curious yet important legend cycle, in\nregard to a letter sent from Heaven to teach the proper observation of\nSunday. The text of this letter can be found in old English in\nWulfstan's homilies. Besides sacred legends, others exist of a worldly\nnature, such as the supposed letter from Alexander to Aristotle, the\nWonders of the East, and the Story of Apollonius of Tyre. The first\ntwo, of course, formed part of the great Alexander cycle, while the\nlatter supplied the theme for Pericles of Tyre.\n\nWith the Norman Conquest, French became the literary language of\nEngland, and modern romance was born. Romance cycles on \"the matter of\nFrance\" or Legends of Charlemagne, and on \"the matter of Britain\" or\nLegends of Arthur, became popular, and Geoffrey of Monmouth freely\nmade use of his imagination to fill up the early history of Britain,\nfor his so-called history is in reality a prose romance, whence later\nwriters drew themes for many a tale.\n\nWalter Map, born on the border of Wales in 1137, is credited with the\nno longer extant Latin prose romance of Lancelot du Lac, which\nincluded the Quest of the Holy Grail and the Death of Arthur. Besides\nWace's Brut, we have that of Layamon, and both poets not only explain\nhow Britain's name is derived from Brut,--a member of Priam's family\nand refugee from Troy,--but go on to give the history of other early\nkings of Britain, including Arthur. They often touch the true epic\nnote,--as in the wrestling match between Corineus and the giant,--use\nsimiles drawn from every-day life, and supply us with legends of King\nLear and of Cymbeline.\n\nIt was toward the end of the twelfth century that Arthur reached the\nheight of his renown as romantic hero, the \"matter of Britain\" having\nbecome international property, and having been greatly enriched by\npoets of many climes. By this time Arthur had ceased to be a king of\nBritain, to become king of a fairy-land and chief exponent of\nchivalric ideals and aims.\n\nTo name all the poets who had a share in developing the Arthurian\nLegend would prove an impossible task, but Nennius, Gildas, Geoffrey\nof Monmouth, Wace, Layamon, Benoit de St. Maur, Chrestien de Troyes,\nMarie de France, Hartmann von der Aue, and Wolfram von Eschenbach\nhave, in English, French, and German, helped to develop the \"matter of\nBritain,\" and have managed to connect it with \"the matter of France.\"\n\nDuring the age of metrical romances (1200 to 1500), all the already\nextant cycles were remodelled and extended. Besides, not only were\nGreek and Latin epics translated so as to be within reach of all, but\none country freely borrowed from another. Thus, the French romances of\nHuon de Bordeaux and of the Four Sons of Aymon found many admirers in\nEngland, where the former later supplied Shakespeare with some of the\ncharacters for a Midsummer Night's Dream. It was to offset the very\npopular romance of Alexander, that some patriotic poet evolved the\nromance of Richard Coeur de Lion, explaining how this king earned his\nwell-known nickname by wrenching the heart out of a lion!\n\nSome of these romances, such as Flores and Blancheflour, have \"the\nvoluptuous qualities of the East,\" make great use of magic of all\nkinds, and show the idyllic side of love. The tragedy of love is\ndepicted in the romance of Tristram and Iseult, where a love-potion\nplays a prominent part. But, although knightly love and valor are the\nstock topics, we occasionally come across a theme of Christian\nhumility, like Sir Isumbras, or of democracy, as in the Squire of Low\nDegree and in the Ballads of Robin Hood.\n\nWith the advent of Chaucer a new poet, a new language, and new themes\nappear. Many of his Canterbury tales are miniature epics, borrowed in\ngeneral from other writers, but retold with a charm all his own. The\nKnight's Tale, or story of the rivalry in love of Palamon and Arcite,\nthe tale of Gamelyn, and that of Troilus and Cressida, all contain\nadmirable epic passages.\n\nSpenser, our next epic poet, left us the unfinished Faerie Queene, an\nallegorical epic which shows the influence of Ariosto and other\nItalian poets, and contains exquisitely beautiful passages descriptive\nof nature, etc. His allegorical plot affords every facility for the\ndisplay of his graceful verse, and is outlined in another chapter.\n\nThere are two curious but little-known English epics, William Warner's\nchronicle epic entitled \"Albion's England\" (1586), and Samuel Daniel's\n\"Civil Wars.\" The first, beginning with the flood, carries the reader\nthrough Greek mythology to the Trojan War, and hence by means of Brut\nto the beginnings of English history, which is then continued to the\nexecution of Mary Stuart. The second (1595) is an epic, in eight\nbooks, on the Wars of the Roses. Drayton also wrote, on the theme of\nthe Civil Wars, an epic entitled \"The Barons' Wars,\" and undertook a\ndescriptive and patriotic epic in \"Polyolbion,\" wherein he makes a\ntour of England relating innumerable local legends.\n\nAbraham Cowley composed an epic entitled \"Davideis,\" or the troubles\nof David. He begins this work in four books with a description of two\ncouncils held in Heaven and hell in regard to the life of this worthy.\n\nDryden was not only a translator of the classic epics, but projected\nan epic of his own about Arthur. Almost at the same time Pope was\nplanning to write one on Brut, but he too failed to carry out his\nintentions, and is best known as the translator of the Iliad, although\nsome authorities claim the \"Rape of the Lock\" is a unique sample of\nthe _\u00e9pop\u00e9e galante._\n\nThe poet Keats, whose life was so short, left us a complete\nmythological epic in \"Endymion,\" a fragment of one in \"Hyperion,\" and\na reproduction of one of the old romances in \"Isabella, or a Pot of\nBasil.\"\n\nShelley, Keats' contemporary, wrote poems abounding in epic\npassages,--\"Alastor, or the Spirit of Solitude,\" \"The Revolt of\nIslam,\" \"Adonais,\" and \"Prometheus Unbound\"; while Byron's epical\npoems are \"Manfred,\" \"The Corsair,\" and \"Don Juan\"; and Scott's, \"The\nLay of the Last Minstrel,\" \"Marmion,\" \"The Lady of the Lake,\" and \"The\nBridal of Triermain.\"\n\nThe greatest of Coleridge's poems, \"The Ancient Mariner,\" is sometimes\ncalled a visionary epic, while his \"Christabel\" conforms more closely\nto the old _roman d'adventure._\n\nAs the translator of the epical romances of \"Amadis de Gaule\" and\n\"Palmerin,\" Southey won considerable renown; he also wrote the\noriental epics \"Thalaba\" and \"The Curse of Kehama,\" as well as epical\npoems on \"Madoc,\" \"Joan of Arc,\" and \"Roderick, the Last of the\nGoths.\"\n\nMoore, although preeminently a lyric poet, has left us the eastern\nepic \"Lalla Rookh,\" and Lockhart some \"Spanish Ballads\" which\nparaphrase the Cid.\n\nAmong Macaulay's writings the \"Lays of Ancient Rome\" have epic\nqualities, which are also found in Leigh Hunt's \"Story of Rimini.\"\n\nThe plot of Tristram has been utilized both by Matthew Arnold and by\nSwinburne, while William and Lewis Morris have rewritten some of the\nold classic stories in \"The Earthly Paradise,\" the \"Life and Death of\nJason,\" the \"Defense of Guinevere,\" and the \"Epic of Hades.\"\n\nIt was, however, the Victorian poet-laureate Tennyson who gave the\nArthurian Legend its latest and most artistic touches in \"Idylls of\nthe King.\" Some critics also claim as an example of the domestic epic\nhis \"Enoch Arden.\"\n\nAmong recent writers, sundry novelists have been hailed as authors of\nprose epics. Thomas Westwood has composed in excellent verse the\n\"Quest of the Sangreall,\" Mrs. Trask \"Under King Constantine,\" a\nnotable addition to the Arthurian cycle, and Stephen Philips has sung\nof Ulysses and of King Alfred.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 20: See the author's \"Legends of the Virgin and Christ.\"]\n\n\n\n\nBEOWULF[21]\n\n\n_Introduction._ The only Anglo-Saxon epic which has been preserved\nentire was probably composed in Sweden before the eighth century, and\ntaken thence to England, where this pagan poem was worked over and\nChristianized by some Northumbrian bard. Although some authorities\ndeclare it dates back as far as the fifth century, most affirm it must\nhave been composed in the seventh. The present manuscript, now\npreserved in the British Museum, dates back to the tenth century. It\ncontains some 3182 lines, and is written in alliterative verse (that\nis to say, that all the lines are written in pairs and that each\nperfect pair contains two similar sounds in the first line and one in\nthe second). Although the author of Beowulf is unknown, the poem\naffords priceless hints in regard to the armor, ships, and mode of\nlife of our early Saxon fore-fathers. Many translations of the poem\nhave been made, some in prose and others in verse, and the epic as it\nstands, consisting of an introduction and forty-two \"Fits,\" is the\nmain text for the study of the Anglo-Saxon language.\n\n_The Epic._ Hrothgar, King of Denmark, traces his origin to Skiold,\nson of Odin, who as an infant drifted to Denmark's shores. This child\nlay on a sheaf of ripe wheat, surrounded by priceless weapons, jewels,\nand a wonderful suit of armor, which proved he must be the scion of\nsome princely race. The childless King and Queen of Denmark therefore\ngladly adopted him, and in due time he succeeded them and ruled over\nthe whole country. When he died, his subjects, placing his body in the\nvessel in which he had come, set him adrift.\n\n           Men are not able\n  Soothly to tell us, they in halls who reside,\n  Heroes under heaven, to what haven he hied.[22]\n\nHrothgar, his descendant, constructed a magnificent hall, called\nHeorot, wherein to feast his retainers and entertain them with the\nsongs of the northern skalds.\n\n             It burned in his spirit\n  To urge his folk to found a great building,\n  A mead-hall grander than men of the era\n  Ever had heard of, and in it to share\n  With young and old all of the blessings\n  The Lord had allowed him, save life and retainers.\n\nThe night of the inauguration of this building, the royal body-guard\nlay down in the hall to sleep; and, when the servants entered the\nplace on the morrow, they were horrified to find floor and walls\nspattered with blood, but no other trace of the thirty knights who had\nrested there the night before. Their cry of horror aroused Hrothgar,\nwho, on investigating, discovered gigantic footsteps leading straight\nfrom the hall to the sluggish waters of a mountain tarn, above which a\nphosphorescent light always hovered. These footsteps were those of\nGrendel, a descendant of Cain, who dwelt in the marsh, and who had\nevidently slain and devoured all the king's men.\n\nToo old to wield a sword in person, Hrothgar offered a princely reward\nto whoever would rid his country of this terrible scourge. But,\nalthough many warriors gladly undertook the task, the monster proved\ntoo strong for all, and none save a minstrel--who hid in one corner of\nthe hall--ever succeeded in escaping from his clutches. This minstrel,\nafter seeing Grendel feed upon his companions, was so impressed by\nthe sight, that he composed a song about it, which he sang wherever he\nwent, and once repeated for the entertainment of King Higelac and his\nnephew Beowulf. In answer to their eager questions, the bard averred\nthe monster still existed and invariably invaded the hall when a feast\nwas held there. This was enough to arouse in Beowulf a burning desire\nto visit Denmark and rid the world of this scourge. Knowing his nephew\nwas very brave and having had proof of his endurance (for the young\nman had once in the course of a swimming match, stayed in the water\nfive whole days and nights, killing many sea monsters who came to\nattack him), Higelac gladly allowed him to depart with fourteen chosen\ncompanions. Thus Beowulf set out \"over the Swan-Road\" for Denmark, to\noffer his services to the king.\n\n  The foamy-necked floater fanned by the breeze,\n  Likest a bird, glided the waters,\n  Till twenty and four hours thereafter\n  The twist-stemmed vessel had travelled such distance\n  That the sailing-men saw the sloping embankments,\n  The sea-cliffs gleaming, precipitous mountains,\n  Nesses enormous: they were nearing the limits\n  At the end of the ocean.\n\nOn seeing a vessel with armed men approach their shores, the Danish\ncoast guards challenged the new-comers, who rejoined their intentions\nwere purely friendly, and begged to be led to the king. There Beowulf\nand his attendants--after paying their respects to Hrothgar--offered\ntheir services to rid him of the terrible scourge which had preyed so\nlong upon his people. On hearing this, the king immediately ordered a\nfeast prepared, and at its close allowed Beowulf, at his request, to\nremain alone in the hall with his men. Aware that no weapon could\npierce the armed hide of the uncanny monster, Beowulf--who had the\nstrength of thirty men--laid aside his armor and prepared to grapple\nwith Grendel by main strength when he appeared.\n\n  Then the brave-mooded hero bent to his slumber,\n  The pillow received the cheek of the noble;\n  And many a martial mere-thane attending\n  Sank to his slumber.\n\nJust as the chill of morning invades the hall, Beowulf hears stealthy\nsteps approaching and the great door bursts open, admitting a monster,\nall enveloped in clammy mist, which--pouncing upon one of the\nmen--crunches his bones and greedily drinks his blood. Beowulf,\nintently watching the fiend, seeing him stretch out a horny hand for\nanother victim, suddenly grasps it with such force and determination\nthat the monster, notwithstanding frantic efforts, cannot free\nhimself. A terrible struggle now takes place, in the course of which\nBeowulf and Grendel, wrestling madly, overturn tables and couches,\nshaking the hall to its very foundations. Nevertheless, Beowulf clings\nso fast to the hand and arm he had grasped, that the monster, trying\nto free himself by a mighty jerk, tears his arm out of its socket and\ndisappears, uttering a blood-curdling cry, and leaving this trophy in\nhis foe's grasp. Mortally wounded, Grendel hastens back to his marsh,\nleaving a trail of blood behind him, while Beowulf, exhausted but\ntriumphant, proudly exhibits the huge hand and limb which he has\nwrenched from the monster, declaring it will henceforth serve to adorn\nHeorot.\n\nWhen Hrothgar beholds it on the morrow and hears an account of the\nnight's adventures, he warmly congratulates Beowulf, upon whom he\nbestows rich gifts, and in whose honor he decrees a grand feast shall\nbe held in this hall. While they are drinking there and listening to\nthe music of the skalds (who sing of Sigmund the dragon-slayer and of\na fight at Finnsburgh), Wealtheow, Queen of Denmark, appears in their\nmidst, and bestows upon Beowulf a wonderful necklace and a ring of the\nfinest gold, bidding him wear them in memory of his triumph.\n\nThe feast over, Hrothgar escorts his guest to the palace, where he is\nto rest that night, leaving his own men to guard Heorot, for all feel\nconfident Grendel has been too sorely wounded ever to appear again.\nBut, while the warriors sleep peacefully, the giant's mother--an\nequally hideous monster--comes into the hall, secures her son's gory\narm which hangs there as a trophy, and bears away Aeschere, one of the\nking's friends.\n\nOn learning of this loss on the morrow, Hrothgar is overcome with\ngrief, and Beowulf, hearing his lamentations, suddenly appears to\ninquire what has occurred. On learning the ghastly news, he volunteers\nto complete his work and avenge Aeschere by attacking Grendel's mother\nin her own retreat. But, knowing the perils he is facing, he makes his\narrangements in case he should never return, before following the\nbloody traces left by the monsters. Then he hastens to the pool, where\nhe finds Aeschere's head set aloft as a trophy! Gazing down into the\ndepths, Beowulf now perceives the waters are darkly tinged with the\nmonster's blood, but nevertheless plunges boldly into their depths,\nwhere he swims about a whole day seeking Grendel's retreat. Guided at\nlast by a phosphorescent gleam, our hero finally reaches a cave, after\nslaying on the way a number of monsters sent to check his advance. On\nnearing the giants' den, a strong eddy suddenly sweeps him within\nreach of Grendel's mother, who, clutching him fast, flings him on the\nfloor, and is trying to find a joint in his armor, so as to kill him\nwith her knife, when Beowulf, snatching a sword hanging from a rocky\nprojection, deals her so fierce a blow that he severs her head from\nits trunk.\n\n  Then he saw amid the war-gems a weapon of victory,\n  An ancient giant-sword, of edges a-doughty,\n  Glory of warriors: of weapons 'twas choicest,\n  Only 'twas larger than any man else was\n  Able to bear in the battle-encounter,\n  The good and splendid work of the giants.\n  He grasped then the sword-hilt, knight of Seyldings,\n  Bold and battle-grim, brandished his ring-sword,\n  Hopeless of living hotly he smote her,\n  That the fiend-woman's neck firmly it grappled,\n  Broke through her bone-joints, the bill fully pierced her\n  Fate-curs\u00e8d body, she fell to the ground then:\n  The hand sword was bloody, the hero exulted.\n  The brand was brilliant, brightly it glimmered,\n  Just as from heaven gem-like shineth\n  The torch of the firmament.\n\nThe blood from this monster, pouring out of the cave, mingles with the\nwaters without, which begin to seethe and bubble in so ominous a way\nthat Hrothgar and his men, exclaiming Beowulf is dead, sadly depart.\nThe hero's attendants, however, mindful of orders received, linger at\nthe side of the mere, although they cherish small hope of ever\nbeholding their master again.\n\nHaving disposed of Grendel's mother, Beowulf rushes to the rear of the\ncave, where, finding Grendel dead, he cuts off his head, and with this\ntrophy makes his way up through the tainted waters, which melt his\nsword, so that he has nothing but the hilt left on reaching the shore.\n\n                   The sword-blade began then,\n  The blood having touched it, contracting and shrivelling\n  With battle-icicles; 'twas a wonderful marvel\n  That it melted entirely, likest to ice when\n  The Father unbindeth the bond of the frost and\n  Unwindeth the wave-bands, He who wieldeth dominion\n  Of times and of tides: a truth-firm Creator.\n\nIt is just as his followers are about to depart that Beowulf emerges\nfrom the waters, and, when they behold his trophy and hear his tale,\nthey escort him back in triumph to Heorot, where the grateful Danes\nagain load him with presents.\n\nHis task accomplished, Beowulf returns home, where he bestows the\nnecklace he has won upon the Queen of the Geats, and continues\nfaithfully to serve the royal couple, even placing their infant son\nupon the throne after their death, and defending his rights as long as\nhe lives. Then the people elect Beowulf king, and during a reign of\nfifty years he rules them wisely and well. Old age has robbed Beowulf\nof part of his fabulous strength, when his subjects are suddenly\ndismayed by the ravages of a fire-breathing dragon, which has taken up\nits abode in some neighboring mountains, where he gloats over a hoard\nof glittering gold. A fugitive slave having made his way into the\nmonster's den during one of its absences and abstracted a small\nportion of its treasure, the incensed firedrake, in revenge, flies all\nover the land, vomiting fire and smoke in every direction, and filling\nall hearts with such terror that the people implore Beowulf to deliver\nthem from this monster too.\n\nAlthough Beowulf realizes he no longer enjoys youthful vigor, he,\nnevertheless, sets out bravely with eleven men to attack the monster.\nOn reaching the mountain gorge, he bids his small troop stand still,\nand, advancing alone, challenges the dragon to come forth. A moment\nlater the mountain shakes as a fire-breathing dragon rushes out to\nattack Beowulf, who feels his fiery breath even through shield and\narmor. With deadly fury the dragon attacks the warrior, coiling his\nscaly folds around and around Beowulf, who vainly slashes at him with\nhis sword, for scales made him invulnerable.\n\nSeeing his master about to be crushed to death, Wiglaf--one of\nBeowulf's followers--now springs forward to aid him, thus causing\nsufficient diversion to enable Beowulf to creep beneath the dragon,\nand drive his sword deep into its undefended breast! Although the\nmonster's coils now drop limply away from his body, poor Beowulf has\nbeen so sorely burned by its breath that he feels his end is near.\nTurning to his faithful follower, he thanks, him for his aid, bidding\nhim hasten into the cave and bring forth the treasure he has won for\nhis people, so he can feast his eyes upon it before he dies.\n\n                   \"Fare thou with haste now\n  To behold the hoard 'neath the hoar-grayish stone,\n  Well-lov\u00e8d Wiglaf, now the worm is a-lying,\n  Sore-wounded sleepeth, disseized of his treasure\n  Go thou in haste that treasures of old I\n  Gold-wealth may gaze on, together see lying\n  The ether-bright jewels, be easier able,\n  Having the heap of hoard-gems, to yield my\n  Life and the land-folk whom long I have governed.\"\n\nSure that the monster can no longer molest them, the rest of the\nwarriors press forward in their turn, and receive the farewells of\ntheir dying chief, who, after rehearsing the great deeds he has done,\ndeclares he is about to close honorably an eventful career. When he\nhas breathed his last, his followers push the corpse of the dragon off\na cliff into the sea, and erect on the headland a funeral barrow for\nBeowulf's ashes, placing within it part of the treasure he won, and\nerecting above it a memorial, or bauta stone, on which they carve the\nname and deeds of the great hero who saved them from Grendel and from\nthe fiery dragon.\n\n  So lamented mourning the men of the Geats,\n  Fond-loving vassals the fall of their lord,\n  Said he was kindest of kings under heaven,\n  Gentlest of men, most winning of manner,\n  Friendliest to folk-troops and fondest of honor.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 21: See also the author's \"Legends of the Middle Ages.\"]\n\n[Footnote 22: All the quotations in this chapter are taken from Hall's\ntranslation of \"Beowulf.\"]\n\n\n\n\nTHE ARTHURIAN CYCLE\n\n\nThe Arthurian cycle consists in a number of epics or romances about\nKing Arthur, the knights of his Round Table, or the ladies of his\ncourt. The Anglo-Norman trouv\u00e8res arranged these tales in graduated\ncircles around their nucleus, the legend of the Holy Grail. Next in\nimportance to this sacred theme, and forming the first circle, were\nthe stories of Galahad and Percival who achieved the Holy Grail, of\nLauncelot and Elaine who were favored with partial glimpses of it, and\nof Bors who accompanied Galahad and Percival in their journey to\nSarras. The second circle included the stories of Arthur and\nGuinevere, of Geraint and Enid, of Tristan and Isolde, of Pelleas and\nEttarre, of Gareth and Lynette, of Gawain, and of Bedevere. The third\nand last circle dealt with the epics of Merlin and Vivien, Uther and\nIgerne, Gorlois, and Vortigern.\n\nTo give a complete outline of the adventures which befell all these\nknights and ladies in the course of seventeen epics and romances,--of\nwhich many versions exist, and to which each new poet added some\nepisode,--would require far more space than any one volume would\nafford. A general outline will therefore be given of the two principal\nthemes, the Quest of the Holy Grail and King Arthur and his Round\nTable, mentioning only the main features of the other epics as they\nimpinge upon these two great centres.\n\nSome of the greatest writers of the Arthurian cycle have been Gildas,\nNennius, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace, Robert de Borron, Marie de\nFrance, Layamon, Chrestien de Troyes, Benoit de St. Maur, Gaucher,\nManessier, Gerbert, Knot de Provence, Wolfram von Eschenbach,\nGottfried von Strassburg, Hartmann von der Aue, Malory, Tennyson,\nSwinburne, Howard Pyle, Matthew Arnold, and Wagner. Still, almost\nevery writer of note has had something to say on the subject, and thus\nthe Arthuriana has become almost as voluminous as the Shakespeariana.\nThe legend of Arthur, almost unknown before the twelfth century, so\nrapidly became popular all over Europe, that it was translated into\nevery language and recited with endless variations at countless\nfiresides.\n\nRobert de Borron is said to be mainly responsible for the tale of\nMerlin, the real poet of that name having been a bard at the court,\nfirst of Ambrosius Aurelianus and then of King Arthur. The Merlin of\nthe romances is reported to have owed his birth to the commerce of a\nfiend with an unconscious nun. A priest, convinced of the woman's\npurity of intention, baptized her child as soon as born, thus\ndefeating the plots of Satan, who had hoped the son of a fiend would\nbe able to outwit the plans of the Son of Man for human redemption. In\nearly infancy, already, this Merlin showed his miraculous powers, for\nhe testified in his mother's behalf when she was accused of\nincontinency.\n\nMeantime Constance, King of England, had left three sons, the eldest\nof whom, Constantine, had entered a monastery, while the two others\nwere too young to reign. Drawn from his retirement to wear a crown,\nConstantine proved incapable to maintain order, so his general,\nVortigern, with the aid of the Saxon leaders Hengist and Horsa,\nusurped his throne. Some time after, wishing to construct an\nimpregnable fortress on Salisbury Plain, Vortigern sent for a host of\nmasons, who were dismayed to see the work they had done during the day\ndestroyed every night.\n\nOn consulting an astrologer, Vortigern was directed to anoint the\nstones with the blood of a boy of five who had no human father. The\nonly child corresponding to this description was Merlin, who saved\nhimself from untimely death by telling the king that, if he dug down\nand drained the lake he would find, he would discover broad stones\nbeneath which slept two dragons by day, although they fought so\nfiercely at night that they caused the tremendous earthquakes which\nshattered his walls. These directions were followed, the dragons were\nroused, and fought until the red one was slain and the two-headed\nwhite one disappeared. Asked to explain the meaning of these two\ndragons, Merlin--the uncanny child--declared the white dragon with two\nheads represented the two younger sons of King Constance, who were\ndestined to drive Vortigern away. Having said this, Merlin\ndisappeared, thus escaping the wrath of Vortigern, who wished to slay\nhim.\n\nSoon after, the young princes surprised and burned Vortigern in his\npalace, and thus recovered possession of their father's throne. Then,\none of them dying, the other, assuming both their names, became Uther\nPendragon, king of Britain. Such was his bravery that during his reign\nof seven years he became overlord of all the petty kings who had\nmeantime taken possession of various parts of England. He was aided in\nthis work by his prime-minister, Merlin, whose skill as a clairvoyant,\nmagician, inventor, and artificer of all kinds of things--such as\narmor which nothing could damage, a magic mirror, round table, ring,\nand wonderful buildings--was of infinite service to his master and\nfired the imagination of all the poets.\n\nThere are various accounts of Arthur's birth; according to one, Uther\nfell in love with Gorlois' wife Igerne, who was already mother of\nthree daughters. Thanks to Merlin's magic arts, Uther was able to\nvisit Igerne in the guise of her husband, and thus begot a son, who\nwas entrusted to Merlin's care as soon as born. Another legend\ndeclares that, after Gorlois' death, Uther Pendragon married Igerne,\nand that Arthur was their lawful child. Feeling he was about to die,\nand fearing lest his infant son should be made away with by the lords\nhe had compelled to obedience, Uther Pendragon bade Merlin hide Arthur\nuntil he was old enough to reign over Britain. Merlin therefore\nsecretly bore the babe, as soon as born, to Sir Ector, who brought\nArthur up in the belief he was the younger brother of his only son,\nSir Kay.\n\nArthur had just reached eighteen when the Archbishop of Canterbury\nbesought Merlin to select an overlord who would reduce the other kings\nto obedience, and thus restore peace, law, and order in Britain.\nThereupon Merlin promised him a king would soon appear whose rights\nnone would be able to dispute. Shortly after, on coming out of the\ncathedral one feast-day, the archbishop saw a huge block of stone, in\nwhich was imbedded an anvil, through which was thrust a beautiful\nsword. This weapon, moreover, bore an inscription, stating that he who\npulled it out and thrust it back would be the rightful heir to the\nthrone.\n\nMeantime a tournament had been proclaimed, and Sir Kay, having broken\nhis sword while fighting, bade his brother Arthur get him another\nimmediately. Unable to find any weapon in their tent, Arthur ran to\nthe anvil, pulled out the sword, and gave it to Sir Kay. Seeing it in\nhis son's hand, Sir Ector inquired how it had been obtained, and\ninsisted upon Arthur's thrusting it back and taking it out repeatedly,\nbefore he would recognize him as his king. As none of the other lords\ncould move the sword, and as Arthur repeatedly proved his claim to it\non the great feast-days, he became overlord of all the petty kings. At\nSir Ector's request he appointed Sir Kay as steward of his palace,\nand, thanks to the help of Merlin and of his brave knights, soon\nsubdued the rebels, and became not only master of all England, but, if\nwe are to believe the later romances, a sort of English Alexander,\nwho, after crossing the Alps, became Emperor of the World!\n\nDuring his reign Arthur fought twelve memorable battles, and, not\ncontent with this activity, often rode out like other knights-errant\nin quest of adventure, challenging any one who wanted to fight,\nrescuing captives, and aiding damsels in distress. In these encounters\nArthur wore the peerless armor made by Merlin, and sometimes carried a\nshield so brilliant that it blinded all who gazed upon it. It was,\ntherefore, generally covered with a close-fitting case, which, like\nArthur's helmet, bore as emblem a two-headed dragon. Having lost his\ndivine sword in one encounter, Arthur was advised by Merlin to apply\nfor another to Nimue, or Nymue, the Lady of the Lake. She immediately\npointed out an arm, rising from the middle of the lake, brandishing a\nmagnificent sword. Springing into a skiff near by, Arthur was\nmiraculously ferried to the centre of the lake, where, as soon as he\ntouched the sword, the mystic arm disappeared. Merlin now informed\nArthur that, fighting with Excalibure, his wonderful sword, he could\nnever be conquered, and that as long as its scabbard hung by his side\nhe could not be wounded. Later on in the story, Arthur, having\nincurred the anger of one of his step-sisters, Morgana the Fay, she\nborrowed Excalibure under pretext of admiring it, and had so exact a\ncopy of it made that no one suspected she had kept the magic sword\nuntil Arthur was wounded and defeated. He, however, recovered\npossession of Excalibure--if not of the scabbard--before he fought his\nlast battle.\n\nArthur was not only brave, but very romantic, for, Guinevere having\nbent over him once when he lay half unconscious from a wound, he fell\nso deeply in love with her that he entered her father's service as\ngarden boy. There Guinevere discovered his identity, and, guessing why\nhe had come, teased him unmercifully. Shortly after, a neighboring,\nvery ill-favored king declared Guinevere's old father would be\ndeprived of his kingdom unless she would consent to marry him, and\ndefied in single combat any one who ventured to object to this\narrangement.\n\nArthur, having secretly provided himself with a white horse and armor,\ndefeated this insolent suitor, and, after a few more thrilling\nadventures, arranged for his marriage to Guinevere in the fall. By\nMerlin's advice he also begged his future father-in-law to give him,\nas wedding present, the Round Table Merlin had made for Uther\nPendragon. This was a magic board around which none but virtuous\nknights could sit. When led to a seat, any worthy candidate beheld his\nname suddenly appear on its back, in golden letters, which vanished\nonly at his death, or when he became unworthy to occupy a seat at the\nRound Table. Besides, on one side of Arthur's throne was the Siege\nPerilous, which none could occupy, under penalty of destruction, save\nthe knight destined to achieve the Holy Grail.\n\nWe are informed that Arthur sent his best friend and most accomplished\nknight, Launcelot, to escort Guinevere to Caerleon on Usk, where the\nwedding and first session of the Round Table were to take place on the\nself-same day. It seems that, when this Launcelot was a babe, his\nparents had to flee from a burning home. Overcome by sorrow and\nwounds, the poor father soon sank dying beside the road, and, while\nthe mother was closing his eyes, the Lady of the Lake suddenly rose\nfrom her watery home, seized the babe, and plunged back with him into\nits depths. The widowed and bereft woman therefore entered a convent,\nwhere she was known as the Lady of Sorrows, for little did she suspect\nher son was being trained by Pellias--husband of the Lady of the\nLake--to become the most famous knight of the Round Table. At eighteen\nthe Lady of the Lake decided it was time Launcelot should be knighted.\nSo, on St. John's eve--when mortals can see fairies--King Arthur and\nSir Ector were led, by a mysterious damsel and dwarf, to a place where\nPellias and the Lady of the Lake begged them to knight their prot\u00e9g\u00e9\nand pupil, who was henceforth to be known as Launcelot of the Lake.\nNot only did Arthur gladly bestow the accolade upon the young man,\nbut he took him with him to Camelot.\n\nIt was as supreme honor and mark of confidence that Arthur sent\nLauncelot to get Guinevere. Some legends claim these two already loved\neach other dearly, others that they fell in love during the journey,\nothers still that their guilty passion was due to a love potion, and a\nfew that Guinevere, incensed by the behavior of Arthur,--whom some of\nthe epics do not depict as Tennyson's \"blameless king,\"--proved\nfaithless in revenge later on. All the versions, however, agree that\nLauncelot cherished an incurable, guilty passion for Guinevere, and\nthat she proved untrue to her marriage vows. Time and again we hear of\nstolen meetings, and of Launcelot's deep sorrow at deceiving the noble\nfriend whom he continues to love and admire. This is the only blemish\nin his character, while Guinevere is coquettish, passionate,\nunfeeling, and exacting, and has little to recommend her aside from\ngrace, beauty, and personal magnetism. At court she plays her part of\nqueen and lady of the revels with consummate skill, and we have many\ndescriptions of festivities of all kinds. During a maying party the\nqueen was once kidnapped by a bold admirer and kept for a time in\ndurance vile. Launcelot, posting after her, ruthlessly cut down all\nwho attempted to check him, and, his horse falling at last beneath\nhim, continued his pursuit in a wood-chopper's cart, although none but\ncriminals were seen in such a vehicle in the Middle Ages. The Knight\nof the Cart was, however, only intent upon rescuing the queen, who\nshowed herself very ungrateful, for she often thereafter taunted him\nwith this ride and laughed at the gibes the others lavished upon him.\nTwice Guinevere drove Launcelot mad with these taunts, and frequently\nshe heartlessly sent him off on dangerous errands.\n\nLauncelot, however, so surpassed all the knights in courage and daring\nthat he won all the prizes in the tournaments. A brilliant series of\nthese entertainments was given by the king, who, having found twelve\nlarge diamonds in the crown of a dead king, offered one of them as\nprize on each occasion. Launcelot, having secured all but the last,\ndecided to attend the last tournament in disguise, after carefully\ninforming king and queen he would not take part in the game.\n\nPausing at the Castle of Astolat, he borrowed a blank shield, and left\nhis own in the care of Elaine, daughter of his host, who, although he\nhad not shown her any attention, had fallen deeply in love with him.\nAs further disguise, Launcelot also wore the favor Elaine timidly\noffered, and visited the tournament escorted by her brother. Once more\nLauncelot bore down all rivals, but he was so sorely wounded in the\nlast encounter that he rode off without taking the prize. Elaine's\nbrother, following him, conveyed him to a hermit's, where some poets\nclaim Elaine nursed him back to health. Although there are two Elaines\nin Launcelot's life, i.e., the daughter of Pelles (whom he is tricked\ninto marrying and who bears him Galahad) and the \"lily maid of\nAstolat,\"--some of the later writers fancied there was only the\nlatter. According to some accounts Launcelot lived happily with the\nfirst Elaine in the castle he had conquered,--Joyous Garde,--until\nQueen Guinevere, consumed by jealousy, summoned them both to court.\nThere she kept them apart, and so persecuted poor Elaine that she\ncrept off to a convent, where she died, after bringing Galahad into\nthe world and after predicting he would achieve the Holy Grail.\n\nThe other Elaine,--as Tennyson so beautifully relates, a dying of\nunrequited love, bade her father and brothers send her corpse down the\nriver in charge of a dumb boatman. Everybody knows of the arrival of\nthe funeral barge at court, of the reading of the letter in Elaine's\ndead hand, and of Launcelot's sorrow over the suffering he had\nunwittingly caused.\n\nLauncelot and Guinevere are not the only examples in the Arthurian\nCycle of the love of a queen for her husband's friend, and of his\noverwhelming passion for the wife of his master. Another famous\ncouple, Tristram and Iseult, [23] also claims our attention.\n\nThe legend of Tristram was already known in the sixth century, and\nfrom that time until now has been periodically rewritten and\nembellished. Like most mediaeval legends, it begins with the hero's\nbirth, gives in detail the whole story of his life, and ends only when\nhe is safely dead and buried!\n\nThe bare outline of the main events in Tristram's very adventurous\ncareer are the elopement of his mother, a sister of King Mark of\nCornwall. Then, while mourning for her beloved, this lady dies in\ngiving birth to her son, whom she names Tristram, or the sad one.\n\nBrought up by a faithful servant,--Gouvernail or Kurvenal,--Tristram\nlearns to become a peerless hunter and musician. After describing\nsundry childish and youthful adventures in different lands, the\nvarious legends agree in bringing him to his uncle's court, just as a\ngiant champion arrives from Ireland, claiming tribute in money and men\nunless some one can defeat him in battle. As neither Mark nor any of\nhis subjects dare venture to face the challenger, Morolt, Tristram\nvolunteers his services. The battle takes place on an island, and,\nafter many blows have been given and received and the end has seemed\ndoubtful, Tristram (who has been wounded by his opponent's poisoned\nlance) kills him by a blow of his sword, a splinter of which remains\nembedded in the dead giant's skull. His corpse is then brought back to\nIreland to receive sepulchre at the hands of Queen Iseult, who, in\npreparing the body for the grave finds the fragment of steel, which\nshe treasures, thinking it may some day help her to find her\nchampion's slayer and enable her to avenge his death.\n\nMeanwhile Tristram's wound does not heal, and, realizing Queen Iseult\nalone will be able to cure him, he sails for Ireland, where he\npresents himself as the minstrel Tramtris, and rewards the care of\nthe queen and her daughter--both bearing the name of Iseult--by his\nfine music.\n\nOn his return to Cornwall, Tristram, who has evidently been impressed\nby Princess Iseult's beauty, sings her praises so enthusiastically\nthat King Mark decides to propose for her hand, and--advised by the\njealous courtiers, who deem the expedition perilous in the\nextreme--selects Tristram as his ambassador.\n\nOn landing in Ireland, Tristram notices ill-concealed excitement, and\ndiscovers that a dragon is causing such damage in the neighborhood\nthat the king has promised his daughter's hand to the warrior who\nwould slay the monster.\n\nNothing daunted, Tristram sets out alone, and beards the dragon in his\nden to such good purpose that he kills him and carries off his tongue\nas a trophy. But, wounded in his encounter, Tristram soon sinks by the\nroadside unconscious. The king's butler, who has been spying upon him\nand who deems him dead, now cuts off the dragon's head and lays it at\nthe king's feet, claiming the promised reward.\n\nPrincess Iseult and her mother refuse, however, to believe that this\nman--a notorious coward--has performed any such feat, and hasten out\nto the battle-field. There they find not only the headless dragon, but\nthe unconscious Tristram, and the tongue which proves him the real\nvictor. To nurse him back to health is no great task for these ladies,\nwho, like many of the heroines of the mediaeval epics and romances, are\nskilled leeches and surgeons.\n\nOne day, while guarding their patient's slumbers, the ladies idly\nexamine his weapons, and make the momentous discovery that the bit of\nsteel found in Morolt's head exactly fits a nick in Tristram's sword.\n\nAlthough both had sworn vengeance, they decide the service Tristram\nhas just rendered them and their country more than counterbalances the\nrest, and therefore let him go unscathed.\n\nFully restored to health, Tristram proves the butler had no right to\nIseult's hand, and, instead of enforcing his own claim, makes King\nMark's proposals known. Either because such an alliance flatters their\npride or because they dare not refuse, Iseult's parents accept in\ntheir daughter's name and prepare everything for her speedy\ndeparture. The queen, wishing to save her daughter from the curse of a\nloveless marriage, next brews a love-potion which she bids\nBrengwain--her daughter's maid and companion--administer to King Mark\nand Iseult on their wedding night.\n\nDuring the trip across the Irish Channel, Tristram entertains Princess\nIseult with songs and tales, until he becomes so thirsty that he begs\nfor a drink. By mistake the love-potion is brought, and, as Iseult\ngraciously dips her lips in the cup before handing it to her\nentertainer, it comes to pass both partake of the magic draught, and\nthus become victims of a passion which naught can cure. Still, as\ntheir intentions remain perfectly honorable, they continue the journey\nto Cornwall, and, in spite of all he suffers, Tristram delivers the\nreluctant bride into his uncle's hands.\n\nSome legends claim that Iseult made her maid Brengwain take her place\nby the king's side on their wedding night, and that, although the\nIrish princess dwelt in the palace at Cornwall, she never proved\nuntrue to her lover Tristram. The romances now give us stolen\ninterviews, temporary elopements, and hair-breadth escapes from all\nmanner of dangers. Once, for instance, Iseult is summoned by her\nhusband to appear before the judges and clear herself from all\nsuspicion of infidelity by taking a public oath in their presence. By\nIseult's directions, Tristram, disguised as a mendicant, carries her\nashore from the boat, begging for a kiss as reward. This enables the\nqueen to swear truthfully that she has never been embraced by any man\nsave King Mark and the mendicant who carried her ashore!\n\nTristram--like Launcelot--deeply feels the baseness of his conduct\ntoward his uncle and often tries to tear himself away, but the spell\nof the magic potion is too powerful to break. Once remorse and shame\nactually drive him mad, and he roams around the country performing all\nmanner of crazy deeds.\n\nHe too, when restored to his senses, visits Arthur's court, is\nadmitted to the Round Table, and joins in the Quest for the Holy\nGrail, which, of course, he cannot achieve. Then he does marvels in\nthe matter of hunting and fighting, and, having received another\ndangerous wound, wonders who besides Iseult of Cornwall can cure it?\nIt is then he hears for the first time of Iseult of Brittany (or of\nthe White Hands), whose skill in such matters is proverbial, and,\nseeking her aid, is soon made whole. But meantime the physician has\nfallen in love with her patient, and fancies her love is returned\nbecause every lay he sings is in praise of Iseult!\n\nHer brother, discovering her innocent passion, reveals it to Tristram,\nwho, through gratitude or to drive the remembrance of his guilty\npassion out of his mind, finally marries her. But even marriage cannot\nmake him forget Iseult of Cornwall. The time comes when, wounded\nbeyond the power of his wife's skill to cure, Tristram sends for\nIseult of Cornwall, who, either owing to treachery or to accident,\narrives too late, and dies of grief on her lover's corpse.\n\nSome legends vary greatly in the manner of Tristram's death, for he is\nsometimes slain by King Stark, who is justly angry to find him in his\nwife's company. Most of the versions, however, declare that the lovers\nwere buried side by side, and that creepers growing out of their\nrespective graves twined lovingly around each other.\n\nOther beautiful episodes which are taken from old Welsh versions of\nthe Arthurian legends are the stories of Geraint and Enid, of Pelleas\nand Ettarre, of Gareth and Lynette, which have received their latest\nand most beautiful setting at the hands of the poet-laureate Tennyson,\nand the very tragic and pathetic tale of the twin brothers Balin and\nBalan, who, after baleful happenings galore, failing to recognize each\nother, fight until one deals the \"dolorous stroke\" which kills his\nbrother.\n\nWere any one patient enough to count the characters, duels, and\nhair-breadth escapes in Malory's Morte d'Arthur, the sum might well\nappall a modern reader. Magic, too, plays a prominent part in the\nArthurian cycle, where Merlin, by means of a magic ring given by the\nLady of the Lake to her sister Vivien, becomes so infatuated with the\nlatter lady, that she is able to coax from him all his secrets, and\neven to learn the spell whereby a mortal can be kept alive although\nhidden from all eyes. Having obtained the magic formula by bringing\nall her coquettish wiles to bear upon besotted old Merlin, Vivien is\nsaid to have decoyed the wizard either to an enchanted castle, where\nshe enclosed him in a stone sepulchre, or into the forest of\nBroceliande, in Brittany, where she left him, spellbound in a\nflowering thorn-bush. Another legend, however, claims that, having\ngrown old and forgetful, Merlin absent-mindedly attempted to sit down\nin the Siege Perilous, only to be swallowed up by the yawning chasm\nwhich opened beneath his feet.\n\nIt was at the height of Arthur's prosperity and fame that the knights\nof the Round Table solemnly pledged themselves to undertake the Quest\nof the Holy Grail, as is described in the chapter on that subject.\nTheir absence, the adultery of the queen, and the king's consciousness\nof past sins cast such a gloom over the once brilliant reunions of\nCamelot and Caerleon, as well as over the whole land, that Arthur's\nfoes became bolder, and troubles thickened in an ominous way. Finally,\nmost of the knights returned from the Quest sadder and wiser men,\nLauncelot was banished by the king to Joyous Garde, and was therefore\nnot at hand when the last great fight occurred. Mordred, the Judas of\nthe Arthurian cycle--whom some poets represent as the illegitimate and\nincestuous son of Arthur, while others merely make him a nephew of the\nking--rebels against Arthur, who engages in his last battle, near the\nCastle of Tintagel, where he was born.\n\nIn this encounter all are slain on both sides, and Arthur, having\nfinally killed the traitor Mordred, after receiving from him a\ngrievous wound, finds no one near to help or sustain him save Sir\nBedevere. Knowing his wonderful blade Excalibure must return to its\ndonor ere he departs, Arthur thrice orders his henchman to cast it\ninto the mere. Twice Sir Bedevere hides the sword instead of obeying,\nbut the third time, having exactly carried out the royal orders, he\nreports having seen a hand rise out of the Lake, catch and brandish\nExcalibure, and vanish beneath the waters with it! Arthur is next\ncarried by Sir Bedevere down to the water's edge, where a mysterious\nbarge receives the almost dying king. In this barge are three\nblack-veiled queens,--the king's step-sisters,--and, when Arthur's\nhead has been tenderly laid in the lap of Morgana the Fay, he\nannounces he is about to sail off to the Isle of Avalon \"to be healed\nof his wound.\" Although the Isle of Avalon was evidently a poetical\nmediaeval version of the \"bourne whence no man returns,\" people long\nwatched for Arthur's home-coming, for he was a very real personage to\nreaders of epics and romances in the Middle Ages.\n\nGuinevere--her sin having been discovered by her hitherto fabulously\nblind husband--took refuge in a nunnery at Almesbury, where she\nreceived a farewell visit from Arthur and an assurance of his\nforgiveness, before he rode into his last fight.\n\nAs for Launcelot, he, too, devoted his last days to penance and prayer\nin a monastery. There he remained until warned in a vision that\nGuinevere was dead. Leaving his cell, Launcelot hastened to Almesbury,\nwhere, finding Guinevere had ceased to breathe, he bore her corpse to\nGlastonbury--where according to some versions Arthur had been conveyed\nby the barge and buried--and there laid her to rest at her husband's\nfeet.\n\nThen Launcelot again withdrew to his cell, where he died after six\nmonths' abstinence and prayer. It was his heir, Sir Ector, who\nfeelingly pronounced the eulogy of the knight _par excellence_ of the\nmediaeval legends in the following terms: \"'Ah, Sir Lancelot,' he said,\n'thou were head of all Christian knights; and now I dare say,' said\nSir Ector, 'that, Sir Lancelot, there thou liest, thou were never\nmatched of none earthly knight's hands; and thou were the courtliest\nknight that ever bare shield; and thou were the truest friend to thy\nlover that ever bestrode horse; and thou were the truest lover of a\nsinful man that ever loved woman; and thou were the kindest man that\never struck with sword; and thou were the goodliest person that ever\ncame among press of knights; and thou were the meekest man, and the\ngentlest, that ever ate in hall among ladies; and thou were the\nsternest knight to thy mortal foe that ever put spear in rest.'\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 23: See, the author's \"Stories of the Wagner Operas.\"]\n\n\n\n\nROBIN HOOD\n\n\nAmong the most popular of the prose epics is the story of Robin Hood,\ncompiled from some twoscore old English ballads, some of which date\nback at least to 1400. This material has recently been charmingly\nreworked by Howard Pyle, who has happily illustrated his own book. The\nbare outline of the tale is as follows:\n\nIn the days of Henry II lived in Sherwood Forest the famous outlaw\nRobin Hood, with his band of sevenscore men. At eighteen years of age\nRobin left Locksley to attend a shooting-match in a neighboring town.\nWhile crossing the forest one of the royal game-keepers tauntingly\nchallenged him to prove his skill as a marksman by killing a deer just\ndarting past them. But, when the unsuspecting youth brought down this\nquarry, the forester proposed to arrest him for violating the law.\nRobin, however, deftly escaped, and, when the keeper sent an arrow\nafter him, retaliated by another, which, better aimed, killed one of\nthe king's men!\n\nAlthough unwittingly guilty of murder, Robin, knowing his life was\nforfeit, took to the forest, where he became an outlaw. In vain the\nSheriff of Nottingham tried to secure him: Robin always evaded capture\nat his hands. Still he did not remain in hiding, but frequently\nappeared among his fellow-men, none of whom would betray him, although\nthe sheriff promised a reward of two hundred pounds for his capture.\n\nOnce, while in quest of adventures, Robin met on a narrow bridge a\nstranger who refused to make way for him. Irritated by what he\nconsidered the man's insolence, Robin seized his quarter-staff, only\nto find that his antagonist more than matched him in the skilful use\nof this weapon. Then a misstep suddenly toppled Robin over into the\nstream, where he might have perished had not some of his men leaped\nout of the thicket to his rescue. Vexed at being beaten at\nquarter-staff, Robin now proposed a shooting-match, and, his good\nhumor entirely restored by winning a victory in this contest, he\npromptly enrolled the stranger in his band. His merry companions, on\nlearning the huge new-comer was John Little, ironically termed him\nLittle John, by which name he became very famous.\n\nBaffled in his attempts to secure Robin and unable to find any one\nnear there to serve a warrant upon him, the sheriff hired a Lincoln\ntinker, who, entering an inn, loudly boasted how cleverly he was going\nto accomplish his task. Among his listeners was the outlaw, who\nenticed the tinker to drink, and made him so drunk that he had no\ndifficulty in stealing his warrant.\n\nThe tinker, on awaking, was furious, and, coming face to face with\nRobin soon after, attacked him fiercely. Seeing his opponent was\ngetting the better of him, Robin blew his horn, whereupon six of his\nmen appeared to aid him. Awed by the sudden appearance of these\nmen,--who were all clad in Lincoln green,--the tinker laid down his\ncudgel and humbly begged permission to join the band.\n\nThe baffled sheriff now rode off to London to complain, but, when\nHenry heard one of his officers could not capture an outlaw, he\nindignantly bade him leave the court and not appear there again until\nhe had secured Robin. Dismayed at having incurred royal displeasure,\nthe sheriff concluded to accomplish by stratagem what he had failed to\ncompass by force. He therefore proclaimed a shooting-match, and,\nfeeling sure Robin would be among the competitors for the prize,\nposted a number of men to watch for and arrest him. These sleuths\nrecognized all the contestants present, except a dark man, with a\npatch over one eye, who did not in the least resemble the fair-haired,\nhandsome Robin. Although one-eyed, the stranger easily bore away the\nprize, and, when the sheriff offered to take him into his service,\ncurtly rejoined no man should ever be his master. But that evening, in\na secret glade in Sherwood Forest, Robin gleefully exhibited to his\nfollowers the golden arrow he had won, and, doffing his patch,\nremarked that the walnut stain, which had transformed a fair man into\na dark one, would soon wear off.\n\nStill, not satisfied with outwitting the sheriff, Robin, anxious to\napprise him of the fact, wrote a message on an arrow, which he boldly\nshot into the hall where his enemy was seated at a banquet. Enraged by\nthis impudence, the sheriff sent out three hundred men to scour the\nforest, and Robin and his men were forced to hide.\n\nWeary of inaction, Robin finally bade Will Stutely reconnoiter, report\nwhat the sheriff was doing, and see whether it would be safe for him\nand his men to venture out. Garbed as a monk, Will Stutely sought the\nnearest inn, where he was quietly seated when some of the sheriff's\nmen came in. The outlaw was listening intently to their plans when a\ncat, rubbing against him, pushed aside his frock, and thus allowed the\nconstable a glimpse of Lincoln green beneath its folds. To arrest the\noutlaw was but the matter of a moment, and Will Stutely was led off to\nprison and execution, while a friendly bar-maid hastened off secretly\nto the forest to warn Robin of his friend's peril.\n\nDetermined to save Will from the gallows at any risk, Robin\nimmediately set out with four of his best men and let them mingle\namong the people assembled near the gallows. Although disguised, the\noutlaws were immediately recognized by Will when he arrived with the\nsheriff. Pressing forward as if to obtain a better view of the\nexecution, the outlaws contrived to annoy their neighbors so sorely\nthat a fight ensued, and, in the midst of the confusion, Little John,\nslipping close up to the prisoner, cut his bonds, knocked down the\nsheriff, and escaped with all the band!\n\nLife in the forest sometimes proved too monotonous to suit Robin, who\nonce purchased from a butcher his horse, cart, and meat, and drove off\nboldly to Nottingham Fair. There he lustily cried his wares,\nannouncing churchmen would have to pay double, aldermen cost price,\nhousewives less, and pretty girls nothing save a kiss! The merry\nvender's methods of trading soon attracted so many female customers\nthat the other butchers became angry, but, deeming Robin a mere\nsimpleton, invited him to a banquet, where they determined to take\nadvantage of him.\n\nThe sheriff--who was present--blandly inquired of the butcher whether\nhe had any cattle for sale, and arranged to meet him in the forest and\npay 300 crowns in cash for 500 horned heads. But, when the gullible\nsheriff reached the trysting-spot, he was borne captive to Robin's\ncamp, where the chief, mockingly pointing out the king's deer, bade\nhim take possession of five hundred horned heads! Then he invited the\nsheriff to witness games exhibiting the outlaws' strength and skill,\nand, after relieving him of his money, allowed him to depart unharmed.\n\nMore determined than ever to obtain revenge, the sheriff again\nproclaimed an archery contest, which Robin shunned. Little John,\nhowever, put in an appearance, won all the prizes, and even accepted\nthe sheriff's offer to serve him. But, living on the fat of the land\nin the sheriff's household, Little John grew fat and lazy, quarrelled\nwith the other servants, and finally departed with his master's cook\nand his silver!\n\nRobin, although delighted to acquire a new follower, hotly reviled his\ncompanion for stealing the silver, whereupon Little John declared the\nsheriff had given it to him and volunteered to produce him to confirm\nhis words. He therefore set out, and waylaid his late employer, who,\nthinking himself under the protection of one of his own men,\ninnocently followed him to the outlaws' camp. When brought thus\nsuddenly face to face with Robin, the sheriff expected to be robbed or\nkilled, but, after ascertaining the silver was not a free gift, Robin\ngave it back to him and let him go.\n\nAngry because Robin often twitted him with his stoutness, Little John\nonce wandered off by himself in the forest, and meeting Arthur a\nBland challenged him to fight, little suspecting Robin was watching\nthem from a neighboring thicket. From this hiding-place the chief of\nthe outlaws witnessed Little John's defeat, and, popping out as soon\nas the fight was over, invited Arthur a Bland to join his band. The\nthree men next continued their walk, until they met a \"rose-leaf,\nwhipped-cream youth,\" of whose modish attire and effeminate manners\nthey made unmerciful fun. Boastfully informing his two companions he\nwas going to show them how a quarter-staff should be handled, Robin\nchallenged the stranger, who, suddenly dropping his affected manners,\nsnatched a stake from the hedge and proceeded to outfence Robin. In\nhis turn Little John had a chance to laugh at his leader's\ndiscomfiture, and Robin, on learning his antagonist was his nephew\n(who had taken refuge in the forest because he had accidentally killed\na man), invited him to join his merry men.\n\nSoon after Little John was despatched for food, and the outlaws were\nenjoying a jolly meal \"under the greenwood tree,\" when a miller came\ntrudging along with a heavy bag of flour. Crowding around him the\noutlaws demanded his money, and, when he exhibited an empty purse,\nRobin suggested his money was probably hidden in the meal and sternly\nordered him to produce it without delay. Grumbling about his loss, the\nmiller opened his sack, began to fumble in the meal, and, when all the\noutlaws were bending anxiously over it, flung a double handful of\nflour right into their eyes, thus blinding them temporarily. Had not\nother outlaws now rushed out of the thicket, the miller would\ndoubtless have effected his escape, but the new arrivals held him fast\nuntil Robin, charmed with his ready wit, invited him to become an\noutlaw too.\n\nSome time after this, Robin, Will Scarlet, and Little John discovered\nthe minstrel Allan a Dale weeping in the forest because his\nsweetheart, fair Ellen, was compelled by her father to marry a rich\nold squire. Hearing this tale and sympathizing with the lovers, Robin\nengaged to unite them, provided he could secure a priest to tie the\nknot. When told Friar Tuck would surely oblige him, Robin started out\nin quest of him, and, finding him under a tree, feasting alone and\ntoasting himself, he joined in his merry meal. Then, under the pretext\nof saving his fine clothes from a wetting, Robin persuaded the friar\nto carry him pick-a-back across a stream. While doing so, the friar\nstole Robin's sword, and refused to give it back unless the outlaw\ncarried him back. Following Friar Tuck's example, Robin slyly\npurloined something from him, and exacted a new ride across the river,\nduring which Friar Tuck tumbled him over into the water. Robin, who\nhad hitherto taken his companion's pleasantries good-naturedly, got\nangry and began a fight, but soon, feeling he was about to be worsted,\nhe loudly summoned his men. Friar Tuck in return whistled for his\ndogs, which proved quite formidable enough opponents to induce the\noutlaws to beg for a truce.\n\nRobin now secured Friar Tuck to celebrate Allan's marriage and laid\nclever plans to rescue Ellen from an unwelcome bridegroom. So all\nproceeded secretly or openly to the church where the marriage was to\ntake place. Pretending to be versed in magic, Robin swore to the\necclesiastics present that, if they would only give him the jewels\nthey wore, he would guarantee the bride should love the bridegroom.\nJust as the reluctant Ellen was about to be united to the rich old\nsquire by these churchmen, Robin interfered, and (the angry bridegroom\nhaving flounced out of church), bribed the father to allow Friar Tuck\nto unite Ellen and Allan a Dale. Because the bride undoubtedly loved\nher spouse, Robin claimed the jewels promised him, and bestowed them\nupon the happy couple, who adopted Sherwood Forest for their home.\n\nWeary of the same company, Robin once despatched his men into the\nforest with orders to arrest any one they met and bring him to their\nnightly banquet. Robin himself sallied out too, and soon met a\ndejected knight, who declared he felt too sad to contribute to the\noutlaw's amusement. When Robin questioned him in regard to his\ndejection, Sir Richard of the Lee explained that his son, having\naccidentally wounded his opponent in a tournament, had been obliged to\npay a fine of \u00a3600 in gold and make a pilgrimage to Palestine. To\nraise the money for the fine, the father had mortgaged his estates,\nand was now about to be despoiled of them by the avaricious prior of\nEmmet, who demanded an immediate payment of \u00a3400 or the estate.\n\nRobin, ever ready to help the poor and sorrowful, bade the knight\ncheer up and promised to discover some way to raise the \u00a3400. Meantime\nLittle John and Friar Tuck--who had joined Robin's band--caught the\nBishop of Hereford, travelling through the forest with a train of pack\nhorses, one of which was laden with an iron-bound chest. After\nentertaining these forced guests at dinner, Robin had them witness his\narchers' skill and listen to Allan a Dale's music, ere he set forth\nthe knight's predicament and appealed to the bishop to lend him the\nnecessary money. When the bishop loudly protested he would do so\ngladly had he funds, Robin ordered his baggage examined and divided\ninto three equal shares, one for the owner, one for his men, and one\nfor the poor.\n\nSuch was the value of the third set aside for the poor that Robin\ncould lend Sir Richard \u00a3500. Armed with this money--which he promised\nto repay within a year--Sir Richard presented himself before the prior\nof Emmet, who had hired the sheriff and a lawyer to help him despoil\nthe knight with some show of law and justice. It was therefore before\nan august board of three villains that Sir Richard knelt begging for\ntime wherein to pay his debt. Virtuously protesting he would gladly\nremit a hundred pounds for prompt payment--so great was his need of\nmoney--the prior refused to wait, and his claim was duly upheld by\nlawyer and sheriff. Relinquishing his humble position, Sir Richard\nthen defiantly produced 300 pounds, which he forced the prior to\naccept in full payment! Soon after, the happy knight was able to repay\nRobin's loan, and gratefully bestowed fine bows and arrows on all the\noutlaws. Little John, garbed as a friar, once set out for a\nneighboring fair, and, meeting three pretty girls with baskets of\neggs, gallantly offered to carry their loads. When merrily challenged\nto carry all three, Little John cleverly slung one basket around his\nneck by means of his rosary, and marched merrily along carrying the\ntwo others and singing at the top of his lungs, while one of the girls\nbeat time with his staff.\n\nOn approaching town, Little John restored the baskets to their owners,\nand, assuming a sanctimonious bearing, joined two brothers of\nFountains Abbey, whom he implored to give him a little money. Because\nthey turned a deaf ear to his request, Little John went with them,\nacting so strangely that he annoyed them sorely. Seeing this, he\ndeclared he would leave them if they would only give him two pennies,\nwhereupon they rejoined they had no more than that for their own\nneeds. Crying he would perform a miracle, Little John plumped down\nupon his big knees in the middle of the road and loudly intreated St.\nDunstan to put money in their purses. Then jumping up, he seized their\nbags, vowing that anything above a penny was clearly his, since it was\nobtained through his prayers!\n\nRobin, longing for a little variety, once met a beggar with whom he\nexchanged garments. Soon after, meeting four other mendicants, Robin\njoined them, and having gotten into a quarrel with them had the\nsatisfaction of routing all four. A little later he met an usurer,\nwhom he gradually induced to reveal the fact that he had never lost\nhis money because he always carried his fortune in the thick soles of\nhis shoes. Of course Robin immediately compelled the usurer to remove\nhis foot-gear, and sent him home barefoot, while he rejoined his men\nand amused them with a detailed account of the day's adventures.\n\nQueen Eleanor, having heard endless merry tales about Robin Hood,\nbecame very anxious to meet him, and finally sent one of her pages to\nSherwood Forest to inform Robin the king had wagered his archers would\nwin all the prizes in the royal shooting-match. Because she had\nwagered the contrary, she promised Robin a safe-conduct for himself\nand his men if he would only come to court and display his skill.\n\nChoosing Will Scarlet, Little John, and Allan a Dale as his\ncompanions, Robin attended the tournament and won all the prizes, to\nthe great disgust of the king, the sheriff, and the Bishop of\nHereford, which latter recognized the hated outlaw. On discovering the\nking would not respect the safe-conduct she had given Robin, Eleanor\nsent him word: \"The lion growls; beware of thy head.\" This hint was\nsufficient to make Robin leave immediately, bidding his companions\nre-enter the forest by different roads and reserving the most\ndifficult for himself.\n\nAlthough Robin's men reached the forest safely, he himself was hotly\npursued by the sheriff's and bishop's troops. Once, when they were so\nclose on his heels that it seemed impossible for him to escape, Robin\nexchanged garments with a cobbler, who was promptly arrested in his\nstead and borne off to prison. Such was Robin's exhaustion by this\ntime that he entered an inn, and, creeping into bed, slept so soundly\nthat only on awaking on the morrow did he discover he had shared his\nbed with a monk. Slyly substituting the cobbler's garments for those\nof the sleeping monk, Robin peacefully departed, while the sheriff's\nmen, having discovered their mistake, proceeded to arrest the false\ncobbler! Meantime the Queen succeeded in softening the king's\nresentment, so Robin was allowed to rejoin his companions, and his\nsweetheart, Maid Marian, who could shoot nearly as well as he.\n\nMany years now elapsed, during which King Henry died and King Richard\ncame to the throne. Robin, still pursued by the sheriff, once\ndiscovered in the forest a man clad in horse-skin, who, having been an\noutlaw too, had been promised his pardon if he would slay Robin.\nHearing him boast about what he would do, Robin challenged him first\nto a trial of marksmanship, and then to a bout of sword play, during\nwhich the strange outlaw was slain. Then, donning the fallen man's\nstrange apparel, Robin went off to Nottingham in quest of more\nadventures.\n\nMeantime, Little John had entered a poor hut, where he found a woman\nweeping because her sons had been seized as poachers and sentenced to\nbe hanged. Touched by her grief, Little John promised to rescue them\nif she would only supply him with a disguise. Dressed in a suit which\nhad belonged to the woman's husband, he entered Nottingham just as the\nsheriff was escorting his captives to the gallows. No hangman being\navailable, the sheriff gladly hired the stranger to perform that\noffice. While ostensibly fastening nooses around the three lads'\nnecks, Little John cleverly whispered directions whereby to escape.\nThis part of his duty done, Little John strung his bow, arguing it\nwould be a humane act to shorten their agony by a well-directed shaft.\nBut, as soon as his bow was properly strung, Little John gave the\nagreed signal, and the three youths scampered off, he covering their\nretreat by threatening to kill any one who attempted to pursue them.\n\nThe angry sheriff, on perceiving Robin, who just then appeared,\ndeeming him the man he sent into the forest, demanded some token that\nhe had done his duty. In reply Robin silently exhibited his own sword,\nbugle, and bow, and pointed to his blood-stained clothes. The officers\nhaving meantime captured Little John, the sheriff allowed Robin--as a\nreward--to hang his companion. By means of the same stratagem as\nLittle John employed for the rescue of the youths, Robin saved his\nbeloved mate, and, when the sheriff started to pursue them, blew such\na blast on his horn that the terrified official galloped away, one of\nRobin's arrows sticking in his back.\n\nTwo months after, there was great excitement in Nottingham, because\nKing Richard was to ride through the town. The gay procession of\nknights, pages, and soldiers was viewed with delight by all the\npeople, among whom Robin's outlaws were thickly dotted. Riding beside\nthe king, the Sheriff of Nottingham paled on recognizing in the crowd\nRobin himself, a change of color which did not escape Richard's eagle\neye. When the conversation turned upon the famous outlaw at the\nbanquet that evening, and sheriff and bishop bitterly declared Robin\ncould not be captured, Richard exclaimed he would gladly give a\nhundred pounds for a glimpse of so extraordinary a man! Thereupon one\nof the guests rejoined he could easily obtain it by entering the\nforest in a monk's garb, a suggestion which so charmed the\nLion-hearted monarch that he started out on the morrow with seven\ncowled men. They had not ridden far into the forest before they were\narrested by a man in Lincoln green--Robin himself--who conducted them\nto the outlaw's lair.\n\nAs usual, the chance guests were entertained with a feast of venison\nand athletic games, in the course of which Robin declared he would\ntest the skill of his men, and that all who missed the bull's-eye\nshould be punished by a buffet from Little John's mighty fist. Strange\nto relate, every man failed and was floored by Little John's blow, the\nrest roaring merrily over his discomfiture. All his men having tried\nand failed, Robin was asked to display his own skill for the\nstranger's benefit, and, when he too shot at random, all loudly\nclamored he must be punished too. Hoping to escape so severe a blow as\nLittle John dealt, Robin declared it was not fitting a chief should be\nstruck by his men, and offered to take his punishment at his guest's\nhands. Richard, not sorry to take his revenge, now bared a muscular\narm, and hit poor Robin so heartily that the outlaw measured his full\nlength on the ground and lay there some time wondering what had\noccurred.\n\nJust then Sir Richard's son rushed into the outlaw's camp,\nbreathlessly crying the king had left Nottingham and was scouring the\nforest to arrest them. Throwing back his cowl Richard sternly demanded\nhow one of his nobles dared reveal his plans to his foes, whereupon\nthe young knight, kneeling before his monarch, explained how Robin had\nsaved his father from ruin.\n\nRichard, whose anger was a mere pretence, now informed Robin he should\nno longer be persecuted, and proposed that he, Little John, Will\nScarlet, and Allan a Dale should enter his service. The rest of the\noutlaws were appointed game-keepers in the royal forests, a life which\nsuited them admirably.\n\nAfter spending the night in the camp of the outlaws, Richard rode away\nwith his new followers, and we are told Robin Hood served him to such\ngood purpose that he soon earned the title of Earl of Huntington.\nShortly after Richard's death, Robin, seized with a longing for the\nwild free life of his youth, revisited Sherwood Forest, where the\nfirst blast of his hunting-horn gathered a score of his old followers\nabout him. Falling at his feet and kissing his hands, they so\nfervently besought him never to leave them again that Robin promised\nto remain in the forest, and did so, although King John sent for him\nsundry times and finally ordered the sheriff to arrest him.\n\nBy this time Robin was no longer a young man, so life in the open no\nlonger proved as delightful as of yore. Seized with a fever which he\ncould not shake off, Robin finally dragged himself to the priory of\nKirk Lee, where he besought the prioress to bleed him. Either because\nshe was afraid to defy the king or because she owed Robin a personal\ngrudge, this lady opened an artery instead of a vein, and, locking the\ndoor of his room, left him there to bleed to death. The unsuspecting\nRobin patiently awaited her return, and, when he finally realized his\nplight and tried to summon aid, he was able to blow only the faintest\ncall upon his horn. This proved enough, however, to summon Little\nJohn, who was lurking in the forest near by, for he dashed toward the\npriory, broke open the door, and forced his way into the\nturret-chamber, where he found poor Robin nearly gone.\n\nAt his cries, the prioress hastened to check the bleeding of Robin's\nwound, but too late! Faintly whispering he would never hunt in the\nforest again, Robin begged Little John string his bow, and raise him\nup so he could shoot a last arrow out of the narrow window, adding\nthat he wished to be buried where that arrow fell. Placing the bow in\nRobin's hand, Little John supported his dying master while he sent his\nlast arrow to the foot of a mighty oak, and \"something sped from that\nbody as the winged arrow sped from the bow,\" for it was only a corpse\nLittle John laid down on the bed!\n\nAt dawn on the morrow six outlaws bore their dead leader to a grave\nthey had dug beneath the oak, above which was a stone which bore this\ninscription:\n\n  Here underneath this little stone\n  Lies Robin, Earl of Huntington,\n  None there was as he so good,\n  And people called him Robin Hood.\n  Such outlaws as he and his men\n  Will England never see again.\n\n  Died December 24th, 1247.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FAERIE QUEENE\n\n\nEdmund Spenser, who was born in London in 1552 and lived at Dublin as\nclerk to the court of Chancery, there wrote the Faerie Queene, of\nwhich the first part was published in 1589 and dedicated to Elizabeth.\nIn this poem he purposed to depict the twelve moral virtues in twelve\nsuccessive books, each containing twelve cantos, written in stanzas of\neight short lines and one long one. But he completed only six books of\nhis poem in the course of six years.\n\nThe Faerie Queene is not only an epic but a double allegory, for many\nof the characters represent both abstract virtues and the noted people\nof Spenser's time. For instance, the poem opens with a description of\nthe court of Gloriana,--who impersonates Elizabeth and is the champion\nof Protestantism. As queen of the fairy realm she holds annual\nfestivals, in one of which the young peasant Georgos enters her hall.\nHe kneels before her so humbly yet so courteously that,\nnotwithstanding his rustic garb, she perceives he must be of noble\nbirth. When he, therefore, craves as a boon the next adventure,\nGloriana grants his request, on condition that he will serve her\nafterward for six years. Shortly after, a beautiful lady, garbed in\nwhite but enveloped in a black mantle, rides up to court on a\nsnow-white ass, leading a woolly lamb. She is followed by a dwarf, who\nconducts a war-steed, on which are piled all the arms of a knight. On\napproaching Gloriana, Una--the personification of Truth--explains that\nher royal parents are besieged in their capital by a dragon, which has\nslain all the warriors who have ventured to attack him.\n\nOn hearing Una beg for aid, Georgos eagerly steps forward to claim the\ntask. Ill pleased to be given a peasant instead of the knight she was\nseeking, Una coldly bids Georgos--the personification of Holiness--try\non the armor she has brought, adding that, unless it fits him exactly,\nhe need not expect to triumph. But no sooner has the youth donned the\narmor which the dwarf produces than all recognize with wonder it must\nhave been made for him, and Gloriana publicly dubs him \"Knight of the\nRed Cross,\" because the armor Una brought bears that device.\n\nVaulting on his war-steed, Georgos now rides off with Una and the\ndwarf, and after crossing a wilderness enters a forest, where before\nlong he descries the mouth of a cave, into which he feels impelled to\nenter. No sooner has he done so than he encounters a dragon,--the\npersonification of Heresy and Error,--which attacks him with fury. A\nfrightful battle ensues, in the course of which the Red Cross Knight\nis about to be worsted, when Una's encouragements so stimulate him\nthat he slays the monster.\n\nOn seeing the exhaustion of her companion, Una realizes he will\nrequire rest before undertaking further adventures, and therefore\neagerly accepts an invitation tendered by a venerable old hermit who\nmeets them. He leads them to his cell, where, after entertaining them\nall evening by pious conversation, he dismisses them to seek rest. His\nguests have no sooner vanished than the hermit, Archimago,--a\npersonification of Hypocrisy,--casts aside his disguise, and summons\ntwo demons, one of whom he despatches to Hades to fetch a dream from\nthe cave of Morpheus. This dream is to whisper to the sleeping Red\nCross Knight that Una is not as innocent as she seems, while the\nother demon, transformed into her very semblance, is to delude the\nknight on awakening into believing his companion beneath contempt.\nThis plot is duly carried out, and the Red Cross Knight shocked by the\nbehavior of the sham Una departs immediately, bidding the dwarf follow\nhim. Riding along in a state of extreme disgust and irritation, the\nRed Gross Knight soon encounters Sansfoi,--Faithlessness,--accompanied\nby a lady clad in red, who is Duessa,--a personification of Mary Queen\nof Scots, and also of falsehood and popery. The two knights\nimmediately run against each other, and, when Georgos has slain his\nopponent, the lady beseeches him to spare her life, exclaiming her\nname is Fidessa and that she is only too glad to be saved from the\ncruel Sansfoi. Deluded by her words and looks, the Red Cross Knight\ninvites her to accompany him, promising to defend her from her foes.\n\nThey are riding along together amicably, when the knight plucks a\nblossoming twig to weave a garland for his companion, and is dismayed\nto see blood trickle from the broken stem. Questioning the tree from\nwhence the branch was taken, Georgos learns that a knight and his wife\nhave been transformed into plants by Duessa, who does not wish them to\nescape from her thraldom. During this explanation, Georgos fails to\nnotice that the lady in red trembles for fear her victims may\nrecognize her, nor does he mark her relief when she perceives her\npresent disguise is so effective that no one suspects she worked this\nbaleful transformation.\n\nRiding on once more, the Red Cross Knight and his companion next draw\nnear to a glittering castle, whose stones seem covered with gold.\nFidessa, who is familiar with this place, invites the knight to enter\nthere with her; and Georgos, unaware of the fact that this is the\nstronghold of Pride, not only consents, but pays respectful homage to\nthe mistress of the castle, Queen Lucifera, whose attendants are\nIdleness, Gluttony, Lechery, Envy, Avarice, and Wrath. It is while\nsojourning in this castle that the Red Cross Knight one day sees\nSansjoi (Joyless) snatch from his dwarf the shield won from Sansfoi.\nAngered by this deed of violence, Georgos draws his sword, and he\nwould have decided the question of ownership then and there had not\nLucifera decreed he and his opponent should settle their quarrel in\nthe lists on the morrow. During the ensuing night, Duessa secretly\ninforms Sansjoi that the Red Cross Knight is his brother's slayer and\npromises that, should he defeat his opponent, she will belong to him\nforever. On the morrow, in the midst of much feudal pomp, the\nchivalrous duel takes place, and--although Duessa, fancying Sansjoi is\nabout to win, loudly cheers him--the Red Cross Knight finally\ntriumphs. Planting his foot upon his foe, Georgos would have ended\nSansjoi's life had not Duessa enveloped her prot\u00e9g\u00e9 in a cloud dense\nenough to hide him from his conqueror. After vainly seeking some trace\nof his vanished opponent, the Red Cross Knight is proclaimed victor,\nand goes back to the castle to nurse the wounds he has received.\n\nMeanwhile Duessa steals into the deserted lists, removes the pall of\ncloud which envelops Sansjoi, and tenderly confides him to the Queen\nof Night, who bears him down to Hades, where Aesculapius heals his\nwounds. His victor, the Red Cross Knight, has not entirely recovered\nfrom this duel, when the dwarf rushes into his presence to report that\nwhile prowling around the castle he discovered a frightful dungeon,\nwhere men and women are imprisoned. When he declares they are\nsojourning in a wicked place, the Red Cross Knight springs out of bed\nand, helped by his attendant, hastens away from a spot which now\ninspires him with unspeakable horror.\n\nThey have barely issued from the castle walls before Georgos realizes\nhe has been the victim of some baleful spell, for he now perceives\nthat the building rests on a sand foundation and is tottering to its\nfall, while the pomp which so dazzled him at first is merely outside\nshow and delusion. He is not aware, however, that Fidessa has beguiled\nhim, since he openly regrets she is not present to escape with him,\nand he again bewails the fact that Una was not as pure as his fancy\npainted!\n\nMeanwhile, returning to the castle to rejoin her victim, Duessa finds\nthe Red Cross Knight gone, spurs after him, and on overtaking him\ngently reproaches him for abandoning her in such a place! Then she\nentices him to rest by a fountain, whose bewitched waters deprive the\ndrinker of all strength. She herself offers Georgos a draught from\nthis fountain, and, after he has drunk thereof, the giant Orgolio\nspurs out of the forest and, attacking him with a mighty club, lays\nhim low and bears him off to his dungeon, to torture him the rest of\nhis life. Meantime Duessa humbly follows the giant, promising him her\nlove, while the dwarf, who has watched the encounter from afar,\nsorrowfully collects his master's armor and, piling it hastily on his\nsteed, rides off in quest of help.\n\nMeanwhile the real Una, on awakening in the hermitage to learn that\nthe Red Cross Knight and the dwarf have gone, rides after them as fast\nas her little white ass can trot. Of course her attempt to overtake\nher companions is vain, and after travelling a long distance she\ndismounts in a forest to rest. Suddenly she is almost paralyzed with\nfear, for a roaring lion bursts through the thicket to devour her.\nStill, in fairy-land wild beasts cannot harm kings' daughters,\nprovided they are pure, so the lion--the personification of\nCourage--not only spares Una, but humbly licks her feet, and\naccompanies her as watch-dog when she resumes her journey. They two\nsoon reach the house of Superstition, an old woman, whose daughter,\nStupidity, loves a robber of churches. When this lover attempts to\nvisit her secretly by night, he is slain by the lion; whereupon the\ntwo women angrily banish Una. She is therefore again wandering\naimlessly in the forest when Archimago meets her in the guise of the\nRed Cross Knight, for he wishes her to believe he is her missing\nchampion. On perceiving the lion, however, the magician approaches Una\ncautiously, but the fair maiden, suspecting no fraud, joyfully runs\nto meet him, declaring she has missed him terribly.\n\nThey two have not proceeded far before they encounter\nSansloi,--Lawlessness,--brother of the two knights with whom Georgos\nrecently fought. Anxious to avenge their death, this new-comer boldly\ncharges at the wearer of the Red Cross. Although terrified at the mere\nthought of an encounter, Archimago is forced to lower his lance in\nself-defence, but, as he is no expert, he is overthrown at the first\nblow. Springing down from his steed, Sansloi sets his foot upon his\nfallen foe and tries to remove his helmet so as to deal him a deadly\nblow. But no sooner does he behold the crafty lineaments of Archimago\nin place of those of the Red Cross Knight, than he contemptuously\nabandons his opponent to recover his senses at leisure, and starts off\nin pursuit of Una, whose beauty has charmed his lustful eye.\n\nIn a vain endeavor to protect his mistress, the lion next loses his\nlife, and Sansloi, plucking the shrieking Una from her ass, flings her\nacross his palfrey and rides off into the forest, followed by the\nlittle steed, which is too faithful to forsake its mistress. On\narriving in the depths of the forest, Sansloi dismounts, but Una's\ncries attract a company of fauns and satyrs, whose uncanny faces\ninspire Sansloi with such terror that he flees, leaving his captive in\ntheir power. Notwithstanding their strange appearance, these wild men\nare essentially chivalrous, for they speedily assure Una no harm shall\nbefall her in their company. In return she instructs them in regard to\nvirtue and truth, until Sir Satyrane appears, who generously\nvolunteers to go with her in search of the Red Cross Knight.\n\nThose two have not ridden far together before they encounter a\npilgrim, who reports the Red Cross Knight has just been slain in a\ncombat by a knight who is now quenching his thirst at a neighboring\nfountain. Following this pilgrim's directions, Sir Satyrane soon\novertakes the reported slayer of Georgos, and while they two struggle\ntogether, the terrified Una flees into the forest, closely pursued by\nthe pilgrim, Archimago in a new disguise. Meantime the fight continues\nuntil Sansloi, severely wounded, beats a retreat, leaving Sir Satyrane\ntoo injured to follow Una. She, however, has meantime overtaken her\ndwarf, and learned from him that the Red Cross Knight is a prisoner of\nOrgolio. Thereupon she vows' not to rest until she has rescued her\ncompanion. She and her dwarf are hastening in the direction in which\nthe giant vanished with his victim, when they meet Prince Arthur,--a\npersonification of Leicester and of Chivalry,--who, although he has\nnever yet seen the Fairy Queen, is so deeply in love with her that he\ndoes battle in her name whenever he can. This prince is incased in a\nmagic armor, made by Merlin, and bears a shield fashioned from a\nsingle diamond, whose brightness is so dazzling that it has to be kept\ncovered, so as not to blind all beholders.\n\nAfter courteously greeting Una, the prince, hearing her tale of woe,\nvolunteers to accompany her and free the Red Cross Knight. When they\nreach the castle of Orgolio,--Spiritual Pride,--Arthur and his squire\nboldly summon the owner to come out and fight. No answer is at first\nvouchsafed them, but after a blast from Arthur's magic bugle the gates\nburst open, and out of the stronghold rushes a seven-headed dragon,\nbearing on its back the witch Duessa. This monster is closely followed\nby the giant Orgolio, who engages in fight with Prince Arthur, while\nthe squire, Timias, directs his efforts against the seven-headed\nbeast. Although the prince and his attendant finally overcome these\nterrible foes, their triumph is due to the fact that in the midst of\nthe fray Prince Arthur's shield is accidentally uncovered and its\nbrightness quells both giant and beast. But no sooner are the fallen\npierced with the victors' swords than they shrink to nothing, for they\nare mere wind-bags, or delusions of Archimago's devising.\n\nOn seeing the triumph won by her champions, Una congratulates them,\nand bids the squire pursue Duessa, who is now trying to escape. Thus\nenjoined, Timias seizes the witch, and, in obedience to Una's orders,\nstrips her of her fine clothes and sends her forth in her original\nloathsome shape. Meantime Una and the prince boldly penetrate into the\ncastle, and, passing hurriedly through rooms overflowing with\ntreasures, reach a squalid dungeon, where they discover the Red Cross\nKnight almost starved to death. Full of compassion they bear him to\ncomfortable quarters, where they proceed to nurse him back to health;\nand, when he is once more able to ride, he and Una resume their\njourney. As they proceed, however, Una becoming aware that her\nchampion is not yet strong enough to do battle, conducts him to a\nhouse, where the wise old matron Religion, Doctor Patience, and three\nhand-maidens, Faith, Hope, and Charity, nurse him to such good purpose\nthat Georgos is soon stronger than ever. During his convalescence in\nthis hospitable abode, the Red Cross Knight once wanders to the top of\nthe hill of Contemplation, whence he is vouchsafed a vision of the New\nJerusalem, and where he encounters an old man who prophesies that\nafter fulfilling his present quest he will be known as \"Saint George\nof Merry England.\" Modestly deeming himself unworthy of such\ndistinction, the Red Cross Knight objects that a ploughman's son\nshould not receive such honor, until the aged man informs him he is in\nreality the son of the British king, stolen from his cradle by a\nwicked fairy, who, finding him too heavy to carry, dropped him in a\nfield where a farmer discovered and adopted him. Notwithstanding this\nrustic breeding it was Georgos' noble blood that urged him to seek\nadventures, and sent him to Gloriana's court, whence he sallied forth\non his present quest.\n\nAfter another brief sojourn in the house of Religion, the Red Cross\nKnight and Una again set forth, and passing through another wilderness\nreach a land ravaged and befouled by the dragon which holds Una's\nparents in durance vile. The lady is just pointing out her distant\nhome to the Red Cross Knight, when she hears the dragon coming, and,\nbidding her champion fight him bravely, takes refuge in a cave near\nby. Spurring forward to encounter his opponent, the Red Cross Knight\ncomes face to face with a hideous monster, sheathed in brazen scales\nand lashing a tail that sweeps over acres at a time. This monster is\nfurther provided with redoubtable iron teeth and brazen claws, and\nbreathes forth sulphur and other deadly fumes.\n\nNotwithstanding his opponent's advantages, Georgos boldly attacks him,\nonly to find no weapon can pierce the metal scales. At the end of the\nfirst day's fight, the dragon withdraws, confident he will get the\nbetter of his foe on the morrow. At the close of the second day, the\nmonster's tail whisks Georgos into a pool, whose waters fortunately\nprove so healing that this bath washes away every trace of weakness\nand restores him to health and strength. On the third day's encounter,\nthe Red Cross Knight manages to run his sword into the dragon's mouth,\nand thus inflicts a deadly wound. Seeing her foe writhing at last in\nthe agonies of death, Una joyfully emerges from her hiding-place,\nwhile the watchman on the castle tower loudly proclaims that they are\nfree at last!\n\nThe poet vividly describes the relief of Una's parents on being able\nto emerge from their castle once more, and their joy on embracing the\ndaughter who has effected their rescue. The castle inmates not only\nload Una with praise, but escort her and her champion back to their\nabode, where their marriage takes place amid general rejoicings. But,\nalthough the Red Cross Knight would fain linger by Una, he remembers\nhis promise to serve Gloriana for six years, and sets out immediately\nto redress other wrongs.\n\n\nBOOK II. THE LEGEND OF SIR GUYON, OR OF TEMPERANCE\n\nThe next adventure in the Faerie Queene is that of Sir\nGuyon,--personifying Temperance,--who is escorted everywhere by a\nblack-garbed palmer,--Prudence or Abstinence,--at whose dictation he\nperforms all manner of heroic deeds. Journeying together they soon\nmeet a squire, who reports a lady has just been captured by a wicked\nknight, who is bearing her away. On hearing of this damsel's peril,\nSir Guyon bids her squire lead them in the direction where she\nvanished, declaring he will save her if possible. He soon encounters\na maiden with dishevelled locks and torn garments, who delays him by\ninforming him that she has been illtreated by a knight bearing the\ndevice of a red cross. Although loath to believe Georgos can be guilty\nof an unchivalric deed, Sir Guyon and the palmer promise to call him\nto account as soon as they overtake him. They no sooner do so,\nhowever, than he assures them Archimago in his guise has been ranging\nthrough the forest, and that they must have met Duessa. Turning to\npunish the lying squire who led them astray, Sir Guyon now perceives\nhe has vanished, and humbly begs pardon of the Red Cross Knight.\nShortly after, Sir Guyon is startled by loud shrieks, and, hastening\nin the direction whence they proceed, discovers a wounded lady and a\ndead knight. Close beside the lady is a young babe, whose innocent\nhands are dabbling in his parent's blood. On questioning the woman,\nSir Guyon learns that her husband has been bewitched by Acrasia,--or\nPleasure,--who bore him off to the Bower of Bliss, a place where she\ndetains her captives, feeding them on sweets until their manly courage\nis gone. On learning her husband had fallen into the power of this\nenchantress, the lady had sought the Bower of Bliss and by dint of\nwifely devotion had rescued her spouse. But, even as they left, the\nwitch bestowed upon them a magic cup, in which little suspecting its\nevil powers, the wife offered water to her husband. No sooner had he\ndrunk than blood gushed from his mouth and he died, whereupon, frantic\nat having unwittingly slain the man she loved, the lady had dealt\nherself a mortal wound with his sword.\n\nScarcely had the sufferer finished this account when she sank back\nlifeless, so Sir Guyon and the palmer, after burying the parents,\nvainly tried to remove the blood stains from the infant's hands. Then,\nunable to care properly for him themselves, they entrusted it to some\nladies in a castle near by, bidding them call the babe Ruddy Main, or\nthe Red Handed, and send him to court when he had grown up.\n\nHaving thus provided for the orphan, Sir Guyon, whose horse and spear\nmeanwhile have been purloined by Braggadocchio, decides to recover\npossession of them, and to seek the Bower of Bliss to slay the witch\nAcrasia, who has caused such grievous harm. On this quest Sir Guyon\nand the palmer encounter the madman Furor, and then reach a stream\nwhich is too deep to ford. While they are seeking some conveyance to\nbear them across, they perceive a skiff rowed by a fair lady,\nPhaedria,--or Mirth. At their call she pushes her boat close to them,\nbut no sooner has Sir Guyon sprung aboard than she pushes off, leaving\nthe palmer behind in spite of all entreaties. Although impelled\nneither by oars nor sails, Phaedria's boat drifts rapidly over the\nIdle Sea, and Sir Guyon, on questioning its owner, learns they are\nbound for her magic realm.\n\nThey have scarcely touched the sedgy shores of a charming island, when\na ruffian, Cymochles,--or Deceit,--bursts out of the thicket to claim\nthe lady. Undaunted by the size of his challenger, Sir Guyon attacks\nhim, and the duel might have proved fatal had not Phaedria cast\nherself between the champions, begging them not to quarrel in the land\nof love and delight. Thereupon Sir Guyon hotly informs her he has no\ndesire to slay Deceit or to claim her, and, seeing she cannot make any\nimpression upon him, Phaedria angrily bids him re-enter the boat,\nwhich soon bears him to the place which he wished to reach.\n\nAlthough still mourning the loss of his companion, the palmer, Sir\nGuyon decides to continue his quest for the Bower of Bliss. While\npassing through a dense thicket, his attention is attracted by a clank\nof metal, and peering through the branches he descries an old,\ndirt-encrusted man, surrounded by mounds of precious stones and coins,\nwhich keep dropping through his fingers. This creature is Mammon,--God\nof Wealth,--who is so busy counting his treasures that at first he\npays no heed to Sir Guyon. When questioned, however, he boasts he is\nmore powerful than any potentate in the world, and tries to entice Sir\nGuyon to enter into his service by promising him much gold. For a\nmoment Sir Guyon wavers, but finally decides not to accept the offer\nuntil he has ascertained whether Mammon's riches have been honestly\ngained. To show whence he draws them, the money-god now conveys Sir\nGuyon to the bowels of the earth, and there lets him view his minions\nmining gold, silver, and precious stones, and thus constantly\nincreasing his hoard. But, although sorely tempted, Sir Guyon\nperceives that Mammon's workmen are oppressed by Care and driven by\nForce and Fraud, who keep them constantly at work and never allow\nSleep to approach them. This discovery makes him decide to have\nnothing to do with Mammon's treasures, although he is led into a hall\nwhere hosts of people are paying homage to the money king's daughter,\nwho, he is told, will be his bride if he will only accept her father's\noffers. Coldly rejoining that his troth is already plighted, Sir Guyon\nrefuses, only to emerge from this hall into a garden, through whose\nbranches he catches fleeting glimpses of the underworld. In one of its\nrivers he even beholds Tantalus, undergoing torments from hunger and\nthirst, in punishment for sins committed while on earth.\n\nAfter being subjected for three days to all the temptations of the\nunderworld, Sir Guyon is led back to the light of day, where\nMammon--who bitterly terms him a fool--abandons him.\n\nThe story now returns to the palmer, who, after watching Sir Guyon out\nof sight, wanders along the stream in quest of a vessel to follow his\nmaster. Several days later he manages to cross, only to hear a silvery\nvoice calling for aid. Bursting through the thicket, he discovers Sir\nGuyon, lying on the ground, watched over by a spirit of such\ntranscendent beauty that the palmer realizes it must be an angel even\nbefore he notes its diaphanous wings. This ministering spirit assures\nthe palmer that Sir Guyon will soon recover, adding that although\nunseen he will continue to watch over him, and will help him to escape\nfrom all the dangers along his path. Then the heavenly spirit\nvanishes, and, while the palmer is bending over the fainting Sir\nGuyon, he sees two knights draw near, preceded by a page and followed\nby an old man. These knights are Deceit and his brother, who have\nbeen brought hither by the old man Archimago, to slay Sir Guyon whom\nthey hate.\n\nDrawing near, these ruffians thrust the palmer aside, but, while they\nare stripping the unconscious man of his armor, another knight\nsuddenly draws near and attacks them. One giant, being without a\nsword, seizes that of Sir Guyon, although Archimago warns him that as\nit once belonged to his antagonist, it will never harm him.\n\nPrince Arthur, for it is he, now overcomes the ruffians, to whom he\ngenerously offers life, provided they will obey him hereafter. But,\nwhen they refuse these terms, he ruthlessly slays them, and their\nspirits flee shrieking \"to the land of eternal night.\"\n\nAt this moment Sir Guyon recovers his senses, and is overjoyed to find\nthe palmer beside him and to learn that Prince Arthur, who rescued him\nfrom the ruffians, is not far away.\n\nAfter a brief rest, Prince Arthur and Sir Guyon depart together, the\nformer explaining how anxious he is to do anything in his power for\nQueen Gloriana, whom he devotedly loves although he has never yet seen\nher. Conversing together, the two ride on to a castle, where no heed\nis paid to their request for a night's lodging. They are marvelling at\nsuch a discourtesy, when a head is thrust over the battlement and a\nhoarse voice bids them flee, explaining that the castle has been\nbesieged for seven years past by barbarians lurking in the forest,\nagainst whom no knight has ever been able to prevail.\n\nIt is while the watchman is thus accounting for his inhospitality,\nthat a rout of hungry barbarians bursts out of the forest and attacks\nSir Guyon and Prince Arthur, both of whom fight to such good purpose\nthat they utterly annihilate their assailants. Happy to be delivered\nfrom these foes, the inhabitants of the castle then open wide their\ngates. Our knights spend several days there resting from their labors,\nand perusing sundry books where they learn the history of all the\nBritish kings. Meantime the palmer, who has followed them thither,\nforges chains and a steel net, with which to capture and hold the\nwitch Acrasia when the right time comes. When he has finished\nmanufacturing these objects, he persuades Sir Guyon to start out once\nmore. Reaching the water again, they board a vessel, which bears them\nsafely past the Magnetic Rock, over the Sea of Gluttony, etc., to an\nisland, whose beauty human imagination cannot conceive.\n\nOn landing, the travellers are surprised to encounter strange\nmonsters, and to be enveloped in dense mists, through which they hear\nthe flapping of bat-like wings and catch glimpses of harpy-like\ncreatures. Knowing monsters and mists are mere delusions, Sir Guyon\npays little heed to them, and the palmer soon disperses them by a\ntouch from his magic staff. Still bearing the steel net and iron\nchains, this faithful henchman follows Sir Guyon into the enchanted\nbower of Acrasia, where he explains to his master that the animals he\nsees owe their present forms to the enchantress' power, for she always\ntransforms her visitors into beasts!\n\nThrough an ivory gate,--on which is carved the story of \"The Golden\nFleece,\"--the adventurers enter a hall, where a porter offers them\nwine. But Sir Guyon, knowing a drop of it would have a baleful effect\nupon the drinker, boldly dashes it out of his hand. Then, threading\nhis way through the Bower of Bliss, he reaches its innermost grove,\nalthough Phaedria tries to detain him by offering him sundry\npleasures. Pressing onward, Sir Guyon finally catches a glimpse of\nAcrasia herself, reposing upon a bed of flowers, and holding on her\nlap the head of an innocent youth, who is helpless owing to her spell.\nSilently signalling to the palmer, Sir Guyon spreads out the steel\nnet, which they fling so deftly over witch and victim that neither can\nescape. Then Sir Guyon binds Acrasia fast, threatening to kill her\nunless she removes the spell which she has laid upon her captives. All\nthe beasts on the island are therefore soon restored to their natural\nforms, and all profess gratitude, save one, whom the palmer grimly\nbids continue to be a pig, since such is his choice! Having thus\nhappily achieved this quest, Sir Guyon and the palmer leave the island\nwith Acrasia, who is sent under strong guard to the court of the Fairy\nQueen, where Gloriana is to dispose of her according to her good\npleasure.\n\n\nBOOK III. THE STORY OF BRITOMART,--CHASTITY\n\nBritomart, only child of King Ryenee, had from earliest childhood so\nlonged to be a boy that, instead of devoting her time to womanly\noccupations, she practised manly sports until she became as expert a\nwarrior as any squire in her father's realm.\n\nOne day, while wandering in the palace, she discovered in the\ntreasure-room a magic mirror, fashioned by Merlin for her father,\nwherein one could behold the secrets of the future. Gazing into its\ncrystal depths while wondering whom she should ultimately marry,\nBritomart suddenly saw a handsome knight, who bore a motto proclaiming\nthat he was Sir Artegall, the Champion of Justice and proud possessor\nof Achilles' armor. Scarcely had Britomart perceived this much than\nthe vision faded. But the princess left the room, feeling that\nhenceforth she would know no rest until she had met her destined mate.\nWhen she confided this vision to her nurse Glauce, the worthy woman\nsuggested that they go and consult Merlin, wearing the garb of men.\n\nEarly the next day, therefore, the two visited the magician, who,\npiercing their disguise, declared he knew who they were, and bade them\nride forth as knight and squire to meet the person they sought. Thus\nencouraged, Britomart, wearing an Amazon's armor and bearing a magic\nspear, set out on her quest, and met Prince Arthur and Sir Guyon, just\nafter Acrasia had been dispatched to Gloriana's court and while they\nwere in quest of new adventures.\n\nSeeing a warrior approach, Sir Guyon immediately lowered his lance,\nbut to his surprise was unhorsed by Britomart's invincible spear. She\nwas about to dismount to despatch her fallen foe with her sword, when\nthe palmer loudly bade his master crave mercy, seeing it was useless\nto contend against magic weapons. Hearing this, Sir Guyon surrendered,\nand he and Prince Arthur humbly offered to escort Britomart, whom they\nnaturally took for a powerful knight.\n\nThey had not gone very far when they beheld at a distance a damsel\ndashing madly through the bushes, casting fearful glances behind her,\nfor she was closely pursued by a grizzly forester. All their chivalric\ninstincts aroused, Prince Arthur and his companions spurred hotly\nafter the distressed damsel, while Britomart and her nurse calmly rode\non, until they came to a castle, at whose gates one knight was\ndesperately fighting against six. Seeing this, Britomart boldly rode\nto the rescue of the oppressed knight, and fought beside him to such\ngood purpose that they defeated their assailants. Then, entering the\ncastle, Britomart and her nurse proceeded to care for their companion,\nthe Red Cross Knight, who had received serious wounds.\n\nAlthough he had noticed in the midst of the conflict that a golden\ncurl had escaped from Britomart's helmet and fallen over her breast,\nand had thus discovered her sex, he courteously ignored it until they\nwere about to ride away together, when he respectfully offered to\nserve as the lady's protector and escort. Thereupon Britomart\nexplained who she was, adding that she was in quest of Sir Artegall,\nof whom she spoke rather slightingly, because she did not wish her\ncompanion to know how deeply she had fallen in love with a stranger.\nJudging from her tone that she did not approve of Sir Artegall, the\nRed Cross Knight hotly protested he was the noblest and most courteous\nknight that had ever lived, which, of course, pleased Britomart.\n\nMeantime, Prince Arthur and Sir Guyon, with their respective\nattendants, pursued the distressed damsel, riding through thick and\nthin until they came to cross-roads. Not knowing which path the\nfugitive had chosen, our heroes decided to part and ride along\nseparate ways. Thus, it was Prince Arthur who first caught a glimpse\nof the fugitive, who still kept glancing backward as if afraid; but,\nalthough he spurred on as fast as possible, he was not able to\novertake her, and had to pause at nightfall to rest. On resuming his\nquest on the morrow, he soon encountered a dwarf, who reported he was\nthe servant of Lady Florimell, who had fled from court five days ago\non hearing a rumor that her lover, Marinell, was slain. The poor\ndamsel, while in quest of her lover, had been seen and pursued by an\nill-favored forester, and the dwarf feared some harm might have\nbefallen her. To comfort this faithful henchman, Prince Arthur\npromised to go with him and rescue the unhappy damsel.\n\nMeantime, undaunted by darkness, Florimell had ridden on until her\nweary steed paused before a hut deep in the woods. There she\ndismounted and humbly begged the old witch who lived there to give her\nsome food. Moved by the distress of the stranger, the sorceress bade\nher dry her garments at her fire, and while the lady was sitting there\nthe witch's son, a lazy worthless fellow, suddenly entered. To see\nFlorimell was to love her, so the uncouth rustic immediately began to\ncourt her with fruits and flowers which he sought in the forest.\nFearing lest he should molest her finally, Florimell escaped from the\nhut on her palfrey, which she found in the witch's stable.\n\nOn awakening on the morrow to find their fair visitor gone, the witch\nand her son were in such despair that they let loose a wild beast,\nwhich they owned, bidding him track the missing girl. Before long,\ntherefore, poor Florimell heard this monster crashing through the\nforest. Terrified at the thought of falling into its power, she urged\nher steed toward the sea-shore, in hopes of finding a boat and getting\naway. On reaching the water, she sprang off her steed, and, seeing a\nlittle skiff near by, stepped into it and pushed off, without securing\nthe permission of the fisherman, who was sleeping at the bottom of the\nboat while his nets were drying on the sand.\n\nBarely were they out of reach when the beast rushed down to the\nshore, pounced upon Florimell's horse and devoured it. The monster was\nstill occupied thus when Sir Satyrane came riding along. He rashly\nconcluded the beast had devoured the rider too, a fear confirmed by\nthe sight of Florimell's girdle on the sand. Attacking the monster,\nSir Satyrane overcame and bound him fast with the girdle, but he\nhadn't gone far, leading this reluctant captive, when he spied a\ngiantess bearing off an armed squire. In his haste to overtake her and\nrescue a fellow-man, Sir Satyrane spurred forward so hastily that the\ngirdle slipped off the neck of the beast, which, finding itself free,\nplunged back into the forest. To attack the giantess, free her\ncaptive, and restore him to his senses proved short work for Sir\nSatyrane, who learned that the youth he had delivered was known as the\nSquire of Dames, because he constantly rode through the forest freeing\ndamsels in distress.\n\nTogether with this companion, Sir Satyrane journeyed on until they\nencountered Sir Paridell, who told them he was in quest of Florimell,\nwho was wandering alone in the forest. Thereupon Sir Satyrane informed\nSir Paridell that the maiden must be dead, exhibiting as proof her\ngirdle and relating under what circumstances it had been found. Then\nall present took a solemn oath not to rest until they had avenged the\nlady's death. Riding together these three knights, overtaken by a\nstorm, sought shelter in a neighboring castle, only to be refused\nadmittance. To escape from the downpour, they therefore took refuge\nwith their steeds in a neighboring shed, and were scarcely ensconced\nthere when another stranger rode up seeking shelter too. As there was\nno room left, the first-comers forbade the stranger to enter,\nwhereupon he challenged them to come forth and fight. Hearing this,\nSir Paridell sallied out and began a duel, which was closely watched\nby his two companions. They, however, decided that the combatants were\nso exactly matched that it was useless to continue the fight, and\nsuggested that they four join forces to make their way into the\ncastle.\n\nBefore the determined attack of these knights and of their followers,\nMalbecco, owner of the castle, opened his gates, and the strangers\nproceeded to remove their armor and make themselves at home. While\ndoing so all present were startled to see that one of their number was\na woman, for the last-comer, Britomart, had no sooner removed her\nhelmet than her curls fell down over her shoulders!\n\nThe next day all left the castle save Sir Paridell, who had been so\nsorely wounded by Britomart that he was forced to remain there for a\nwhile. Before long Britomart and her squire parted from Sir Satyrane\nand the Squire of Dames, and rode along until they beheld a shield\nhanging from a branch in the forest. Surprised by such a sight, they\ninvestigated, only to find its owner, Sir Scudamore, weeping beside a\nstream, because his bride, Amoret, had been stolen from him on his\nwedding day by the magician Busirane, who was trying to force her to\nmarry him. Having heard this tale of woe, Britomart informed Sir\nScudamore that instead of shedding vain tears they ought to devise\nmeans to rescue the captive lady. Encouraged by these words, Sir\nScudamore donned his discarded armor and volunteered to guide\nBritomart to the magician's castle, explaining on the way that it was\nsurrounded by a wall of fire through which none had been able to pass.\n\nUndaunted by this information, Britomart pressed onward, and on\nreaching the castle declared her intention to charge through the\nflames. Although Sir Scudamore bravely tried to accompany her, he was\ndriven back by the fierce heat, but Britomart passed through\nscatheless, and, entering the castle, found herself in a large room,\nwhence led a door with the inscription \"Be bold.\" After studying these\nwords for a few moments, Britomart opened this door and passed through\nit into a second chamber, whose walls were lined with silver and gold,\nwhere she saw another door above which the same words were written\ntwice. Opening this door also, Britomart entered into a third\napartment, sparkling with precious stones, in the centre of which she\nsaw an altar surmounted by a statue of Love. Further investigation\nrevealed also the fact that it boasted another door above which was\nthe inscription \"Be bold, but not too bold.\"\n\nPondering on the meaning of this warning, Britomart decided not to\nopen it, but to take up her vigil fully armed beside the altar. As the\nclock struck midnight, the mysterious door flew open, and through its\nportals came a strange procession of beasts and queer mortals, leading\nthe doleful Amoret, who had a dagger thrust into her heart and\nstumbled along in mortal pain. Although Britomart would fain have gone\nto Amoret's rescue, she was rooted to the soil by a spell too powerful\nto break, and, therefore, remained inactive while the procession\ncircled around the altar, and again vanished behind the door, which\nclosed with an ominous clang. Then only the spell lost its power, and\nBritomart, springing toward the door, vainly tried to open it. Not\nbeing able to do so, she decided to continue mounting guard on this\nspot in hopes of catching another glimpse of the suffering lady. But\nonly twenty-four hours later the door reopened and the same procession\nappeared; it was about to vanish a second time when Britomart, by a\nviolent effort, broke the spell and dashed into the next apartment\nbefore the door closed.\n\nThere, finding the magician Brusirane on the point of binding Amoret\nfast to a post, she struck him so powerful a blow that he was obliged\nto recognize he was in her power. Britomart was about to slay him when\nAmoret reminded her he alone could heal her wound and free the other\ninmates of the castle from magic thraldom. At the point of her sword,\ntherefore, Britomart compelled the magician to undo his spells, and,\nwhen he had pronounced the necessary words, Amoret stood before her as\nwhole and as well as on her wedding-morn when snatched away from her\nbridegroom. Seeing this, Britomart bade Amoret follow her out of the\ncastle, assuring her that her husband was waiting without and would be\noverjoyed to see her once more. But, although the rescued lady now\ngladly followed her deliverer, she was sorely dismayed on reaching the\nforest to find that Sir Scudamore and Britomart's nurse and squire\nhad gone away, evidently deeming them both lost. To comfort poor\nAmoret, Britomart suggested that they ride after their companions, a\nproposal which Amoret gladly accepted.\n\n\nBOOK IV. LEGEND OF COMBEL AND TRIAMOND, OR OF FRIENDSHIP\n\nAs Britomart conjectured, Sir Scudamore, deeming it impossible she\nshould survive the heat of the flames which had so sorely scorched\nhim, persuaded the nurse to ride on with him, in hopes of encountering\nknights who would help him rescue his bride.\n\nThey two soon met a couple of warriors, who, on hearing their tale,\nlaughingly assured them they need make no further efforts to rescue\nAmoret, as she had meantime been saved by a handsome young knight,\nwith whom she was gayly riding through the forest. Incensed by this\nstatement, Sir Scudamore offered to fight both informers, who,\nlaughing at him for being jilted, rode contemptuously away. These two\nmockers hadn't gone very far, however, before they encountered a\nbeautiful damsel, whom they mistook for the long-lost Florimell, but\nwho was merely an image of her conjured up by the witch to comfort her\nson when he blubbered over the loss of his fair lady. As many knights\nwere in quest of Florimell, some of them soon encountered the\nscoffers, who declared they were leading the lady back to court. But a\nlittle while later the Squire of Dames found them contending for the\npossession of the false Florimell, and suggested that they settle\ntheir difference at the court of Sir Satyrane, where a tournament had\nbeen proclaimed and where Florimell's girdle was to be bestowed by the\nvictor upon the fairest lady present. Hearing this, both knights,\nanxious to win the girdle, set out for the tournament, where many\nothers had assembled to take part in the knightly games.\n\nHere any number of feats of valor were performed before, on the third\nday, Sir Artegall entered the lists. To his surprise, however, he was\nunhorsed by a stranger knight, Britomart, who, little suspecting her\nopponent was the lover she sought, bore off in triumph the girdle her\nprowess had won. Then, summoning all the maidens present, she picked\nout the false Florimell as the greatest beauty and handed her the\ngirdle. But, to the surprise of all present, the lady could not keep\nthe girdle clasped about her waist, and, incensed at the mocking\nremarks of the bystanders, finally challenged the other ladies present\nto try it on. Thus it was ascertained that none could wear it save\nAmoret, evidently the only perfectly faithful lady present.\n\nHaving thus disposed of her prize, Britomart rode off with her\ncompanion, little suspecting she was turning her back on the very man\nshe was seeking. Meantime Sir Scudamore, encountering Sir Artegall and\nhearing he had been defeated by the knight who had carried off Amoret,\ninvited him to accompany him and seek revenge. They two soon met\nBritomart, now riding alone through the forest, for, while she was\nasleep one day, Amoret had strayed away and gotten lost. Spurring\nforward to attack the stranger, Sir Scudamore was unhorsed at the\nfirst touch of her spear, and, when Sir Artegall rushed forward to\nrescue him, he too was disarmed. But, in the midst of the fight,\nBritomart's helmet fell off, so both knights perceived they had been\ndefeated by a woman. Humbly kneeling before her, they begged her\npardon, Sir Scudamore realizing with joy that, as his wife had been\ntravelling with a woman, his mad jealousy was without cause!\n\nTo justify her mistress, the nurse-squire now explained to both men\nhow Britomart had seen Sir Artegall in the magic mirror, and was in\nquest of him because fate destined him to be her spouse. Happy at\nsecuring such a mate, Sir Artegall expressed deep joy, while Sir\nScudamore clamored to know what had become of his wife, and grieved to\nlearn she was lost. To comfort him, however, Britomart promised to\nhelp him recover his beloved, before she would consent to marry. Then\nall four proceeded to a neighboring castle, where Sir Artegall was\nsolemnly betrothed to Britomart, and where they agreed their marriage\nwould take place as soon as Amoret was found.\n\nMeantime Timias, squire of Prince Arthur, seeking to trace the flying\ndamsel, overtook the grim forester, with whom he had a terrible\nencounter. Sorely wounded in this fight, the poor squire lay in the\nforest until found by the nymph Belphebe, a twin sister of Amoret,\nwho, in pity for his sufferings, bathed his wounds, laid healing herbs\nupon them, and did all she could to save his life. To her\nsatisfaction, the wounded squire soon recovered consciousness, so she\nconveyed him to her bower, where she and her nymphs attended him until\nhis wounds were entirely healed. During this illness Timias fell\ndeeply in love with Belphebe; but, deeming himself of too lowly\ncondition to declare his passion for a lady of high degree, he sorely\npined. Thereupon Belphebe renewed her efforts to cure him, until he\nwas strong enough to accompany her into the forest. They were hunting\nthere one day when Timias beheld a damsel fleeing from a misshapen\nmonster, whom he attacked, but against whom he could not prevail,\nbecause the monster opposed the lady as a shield to every blow which\nTimias tried to deal him. It was only by a feint, therefore, that\nTimias made the monster drop the lady, and he would surely have been\nslain by his opponent, had not his companion rescued him by a timely\narrow. A moment later Belphebe was horrified to see Timias madly\nkissing the lady the monster had dropped. Without waiting to ascertain\nwhy he was doing so, the angry nymph fled, but, had she lingered, she\nwould have discovered that Timias was kissing her own counterpart, for\nhe had rescued her twin sister Amoret, who, after wandering away from\nthe sleeping Britomart, had been seized by the monster from whose cave\nshe had just managed to escape.\n\nBewildered to see Belphebe--whom he thought he was embracing--rush\naway, Timias now dropped Amoret to follow his charmer, but, owing to\nhis lack of familiarity with the forest pathways, he soon lost his\nway. In his grief he built himself a hut and dwelt in the forest,\nvowing not to go back in quest of Amoret, lest he thereby arouse the\njealousy of his beloved. But to beguile his sorrow he carved\nBelphebe's name on every tree, and was kissing these marks when Prince\nArthur, seeing him thus occupied, fancied he had gone mad!\n\nMeantime Timias had also found a dove which had lost its mate, and,\nrealizing that they were both suffering from similar complaints, bound\naround the bird's neck a ruby heart Belphebe had given him. The dove,\nflying back to its mistress, enticed her, by fluttering a few paces\nahead of her, to the place where Timias was kissing her name carved\nupon a tree. Convinced of his fidelity by such a proof of devotion,\nBelphebe reinstated Timias in her favor, and once more ranged the\nforest with him, hunting all kinds of game, until poor Timias was\nwounded by the Blatant Beast,--Slander,--a monster from whose jaws he\nwas fortunately rescued by Prince Arthur.\n\nAfter a partial recovery, Timias rode off with his master, to whom he\nconfided how he had abandoned Amoret in the forest, and from whom he\ninquired whether any further news had been heard about her. To Timias'\nsatisfaction Arthur assured him she had safely rejoined her husband,\nwho, finding her wounded in the forest, had carried her off to a\ncastle and tenderly nursed her back to health. It was only after\nwitnessing the joyful celebration of the long-postponed wedding\nfestivities of this reunited couple, that Sir Arthur had started off\non his recent quest for his squire.\n\nMeantime the real Florimell, cast into the sea by the angry fisherman\nwhose vessel she had entered without permission, was conveyed by\nsea-nymphs to Proteus' hall, where, after witnessing the nuptials of\nthe Thames and Medway, she learned that her lover, Marinell, was\nrecovering from his wound, thanks to the ministrations of his goddess\nmother. He had, however, been pining for her, and recovered perfect\nhealth and happiness only when they were joined in wedlock.\n\n\nBOOK V. THE LEGEND OF SIR ARTEGALL,--JUSTICE\n\nSir Artegall, the noble champion of justice, or lord deputy of\nIreland, sets forth at Gloriana's behest to defend Irena, or Ireland.\nHe is attended by Talus, an iron man, whose flail is supposed to\nthresh out falsehood. They two have not proceeded very far before they\ncome across a knight bending over a headless lady. On inquiring of\nhim, they learn that a passing ruffian not only carried off the\nknight's mate, but left in her stead a dame, whom he beheaded, because\nshe pursued him.\n\nProvided with a description of the armor and accoutrements of the\nruffian, the iron page sets out in pursuit of him, and stuns him.\nThen, having bound him fast, he leads him and his captive back to his\nmaster and to the mourning knight. There the ruffian, Sir Sanglier,\ncoldly asserts he has nothing to do with the headless lady, but that\nthe living one belongs to him. Finding it impossible to decide which\ntells the truth, Sir Artegall decrees that the second lady shall be\nbeheaded also, but, while Sanglier readily agrees to this Solomon-like\njudgment, the true lover vehemently pleads for the lady's life,\ndeclaring he would rather know her safe than be proved right. Fully\nsatisfied now that Sir Sanglier is at fault, Sir Artegall metes out\njustice and continues his quest.\n\nBefore very long he encounters a dwarf who announces that Florimell's\nwedding will take place three days hence, and suggests that, before\nappearing there, Sir Artegall defeat a Saracen who mounts guard over a\nneighboring bridge, despoiling all those who pass, for the benefit of\nhis daughter. Such an undertaking suits Sir Artegall, who not only\nslays both the giant and his daughter, but razes their castle to the\nground. Shortly after, on approaching the sea-shore, Sir Artegall\nperceives a charlatan provided with scales in which he pretends to\nweigh all things anew. Thereupon Sir Artegall, by weighing such\nintangible things as truth and falsehood, right and wrong,\ndemonstrates that the charlatan's scales are false, and, after\nconvicting him of trickery, drowns him in the sea.\n\nThe poet now ably describes the wedding of Florimell and Marinell and\nthe tournament celebrated in their honor, which Sir Artegall attends,\nwearing Braggadocchio's armor as disguise. He helps Marinell win the\nprize which is to be bestowed upon Florimell, but, when the moment\ncomes to award it, Braggadocchio boldly produces a false Florimell, so\nexactly like the true one that they cannot be told apart. Sir\nArtegall, however, ruthlessly exposes the trick, whereupon the false\nFlorimell vanishes, leaving nothing behind her save the wrongfully\nappropriated girdle, which reverts at last to its legitimate owner.\nSeeing this, Braggadocchio is about to sneak away, when Sir Guyon\nsuddenly steps forward demanding the return of his stolen steed.\nAlthough Braggadocchio boldly asserts the steed he rides is his own,\nSir Artegall inquires of each what secret tokens the animal bears, and\nthus enables Sir Guyon to prove ownership.\n\nSir Artegall, not long after leaving the marriage hall, journeys to\nthe sea-shore, where he discovers twin brothers quarrelling for the\npossession of two girls, one of whom is perched upon a huge coffer.\nNot only does Artegall check this fight, but, on inquiring into its\ncause, learns how the twin brothers were awarded neighboring islands,\nand how the storms and the sea have carried off half the land of the\none only to add it to the possessions of the other. Thus, one twin has\nbecome richer than the other, and the heiress, who had promised to\nmarry the poorer brother, has transferred her affections and\npossessions to the richer twin. On her way to join him, however, she\nsuffers shipwreck and arrives at his island penniless. But the chest\ncontaining her treasures is in due time washed back to the smaller\nisland, where, meantime, the discarded fianc\u00e9e of the richer brother\nhas taken refuge. As the wealthy twin declared, when the land was\nmentioned, that \"what the sea brought he had a right to keep,\" Sir\nArtegall decides he shall now abide by his own words, and that, since\nthe sea conveyed the treasure-chest to his brother, he has no further\nclaim upon it. Having thus settled this dispute, Artegall rides on\nuntil he meets a troop of Amazons about to hang an unfortunate man. At\nhis bidding, Talus delivers this victim,--Sir Turpine,--a knight who\ncame hither intending to fight the Amazons. Because the queen of these\nwarrior-women has slain many men, Artegall challenges her to issue\nfrom her stronghold and fight with him.\n\nWe now have a brilliant description of Radigonde's appearance and of\nthe duel, in which, blinding him by her beauty, she manages to get the\nbetter of Artegall. Having done this, she triumphantly bears him off\nto her castle, after ordering the execution of Sir Turpine and Talus,\nwho contrive to escape. But Sir Artegall, being a prisoner, is reduced\nto slavery, forced to assume a woman's garb and to spin beside his\nfellow-captives, for the Amazon queen wishes to starve and humiliate\nher captives into submission to her will.\n\nHaving contrived to escape, Talus informs Britomart that her lover is\na prisoner, whereupon she sets out to rescue him, meeting with sundry\nextraordinary adventures by the way, in which she triumphs, thanks to\nher magic spear.\n\nWhile spending a peaceful night in the Temple of Isis, Britomart is\nfinally favored with a vision, inspired by which she challenges\nRadigonde, who in the midst of the encounter turns to flee. But\nBritomart pursues her into her stronghold, whence she manages to\nrescue Artegall and, after setting him free, bids him continue his\nadventurous quest.\n\nSir Artegall and his faithful squire soon after see a maiden flee\nbefore two knights, but, before they can overtake her, they notice how\na new-comer slays one pursuer while the other turns back. Urged by the\nmaiden, Artegall kills the second persecutor, and only then discovers\nthat the knight who first came to her rescue is Arthur. They two, by\nquestioning the maid, learn she is a servant of Mercilla (another\npersonification of Elizabeth), and that her mistress is sorely beset\nby the Soldan, to whom she has recently gone to carry a message. On\nher return, the poor maid was pursued by two Saracen knights, who\nwere determined to secure her as a prize. Hearing this, Artegall\nproposes to assume the armor of one of the dead knights, and thus\ndisguised to convey the maiden back to the Soldan's court. Arthur is\nto follow under pretence of ransoming the captive, knowing that his\noffer will be refused so insolently that he will have an excuse to\nchallenge the Soldan. All this comes true, and thanks to his magic\nshield Arthur triumphs. The Soldan's wife, learning that her husband\nhas succumbed, now proposes to take her revenge by slaying the captive\nmaid, but Artegall defends her and drives the Soldan's wife into the\nforest, where she is transformed into a tiger!\n\nArthur and Sir Artegall now gallantly offer to escort the maid home,\nalthough she warns them that Guyle lies in wait by the roadside, armed\nwith hooks and a net to catch all travellers who pass his cave. But,\nthanks to the bravery, strength, and agility of Arthur, Artegall, and\nTalus, Guyle's might is broken, and the maid triumphantly leads the\nthree victorious champions to Mercilla's castle. After passing through\nits magnificent halls, they are ushered by Awe and Order into the\npresence of the queen, whose transcendent beauty and surroundings are\ndescribed at length. While the queen is seated on her throne, with the\nEnglish lion at her feet, Duessa (Mary Queen of Scots) is brought\nbefore her and is proved guilty of countless crimes; but, although she\nevidently deserves death, Mercilla, too merciful to condemn her, sets\nher free.\n\nIt is while sojourning at Mercilla's elegant court that Artegall and\nArthur see two youths appear to inform the queen that their mother\nBelge, or Belgium, a widow with seventeen sons, has been deprived of\ntwelve of her offspring by a three-headed monster, Gereones (the\npersonification of Philip the Second of Spain, the ruler of three\nrealms). This monster invariably delivers his captives into the hands\nof the Inquisition, by which they are sorely persecuted. Hearing this\nreport, Arthur steps forward, offering to defend the widow and her\nchildren. Mercilla granting his request without demur, Arthur hurries\naway, only to find that Beige has been driven out of her last\nstronghold by a faithless steward (Alba). But, thanks to Arthur's\nefforts, this steward is summoned forth, defeated in battle, and the\nlady reinstated in her domain.\n\nGereones now dauntlessly attacks Arthur, whom the giant Beige secretly\ninstructs to overthrow ah idol in the neighboring church, as that will\nenable him to triumph without difficulty. While Arthur is thus\nrescuing Beige, Artegall and Talus have again departed to free Irena\nfrom her oppressor Grantorto. On their way to Ireland, they meet a\nknight, who informs them Irena is doomed to perish unless a champion\ndefeats Grantorto in duel. Thereupon Artegall swears to champion\nIrena's cause, but, on the way to keep his promise, pauses to rescue a\ndistressed knight (Henry IV. of France), to whom he restores his lady\nFlourdelis, whom Grantorto is also trying to secure.\n\nArtegall, the champion, reaching the sea-shore, at last finds a ship\nready to sail for Ireland, where he lands, although Grantorto has\nstationed troops along the shore to prevent his doing so. These\nsoldiers are soon scattered by Talus' flail, and Artegall, landing,\nforces Grantorto to bite the dust. Having thus freed Irena, he\nreplaces her on her throne and restores order in her dominions, before\nGloriana summons him back to court.\n\nOn the way thither Sir Artegall is beset by the hags Envy and\nDetraction, who are so angry with him for freeing Irena that they not\nonly attack him themselves, but turn loose upon him the Blatant Beast\n(Slander). Although Talus begs to annihilate this infamous trio with\nhis dreaded flail, Artegall decrees they shall live, and, heedless of\ntheir threats hurries on to report success to his beloved mistress.\n\n\nBOOK VI. LEGEND OF SIR CALIDORE, OR OF COURTESY\n\nSir Calidore, who, in the poem, impersonates Courtesy (or Sir Philip\nSidney), now meets Artegall, declaring the queen has despatched him to\ntrack and slay the Blatant Beast,--an offspring of Cerberus and\nChimera,--whose bite inflicts a deadly wound. When Artegall reports\nhaving recently met that thousand-tongued monster, Calidore spurs off,\nand soon sees a squire bound to a tree. Pausing to free this captive,\nhe learns that this unfortunate has been illtreated by a neighboring\nvillain, who exacts the hair of every woman and beard of every man\npassing his castle, because his lady-love wishes a cloak woven of\nfemale hair and adorned with a fringe of beards. It was because the\ncaptive had vainly tried to rescue a poor lady from this tribute that\nhe had been bound to this tree. On hearing this report, Sir Calidore\ndecides to end such doings forever, and riding up to the castle pounds\non its gates until a servant opens them wide. Forcing his way into the\ncastle, Sir Calidore slays all who oppose him, and thus reaches the\nvillain, with whom he fights until he compels him to surrender and\npromise never to exact such tribute again.\n\nHaving settled this affair entirely to his satisfaction, Sir Calidore\nrides on until he meets a youth on foot, bravely fighting a knight on\nhorseback, while a lady anxiously watches the outcome of the fray.\nJust as Calidore rides up, the youth strikes down his opponent, a deed\nof violence justified by the maiden, who explains how the man on\nhorseback was ill treating her when the youth came to her rescue.\nCharmed by the courage displayed by an unarmed man, Sir Calidore\nproposes to take the youth as his squire, and learns he is Tristram of\nLyonnesse, son of a king, and in quest of adventures.\n\nAccompanied by this squire, who now wears the armor of the slain\nknight, Sir Calidore journeys on, until he sees a knight sorely\nwounded by the very man his new squire slew. They two convey this\nwounded man to a neighboring castle, thereby earning the gratitude of\nhis companion, a lady mourning over his unconscious form.\n\nThe castle-owner, father of the distinguished wounded man, is so\ngrateful to his rescuers that he receives them with kindness. But he\ncannot account for the presence of the lady who explains his son\nloved her and often met her in the forest. After nursing her lover\nuntil he is out of danger, Priscilla expresses a desire to return\nhome, but is at a loss how to account to her parents for her prolonged\nabsence. Sir Calidore, who volunteers to escort her, then suggests\nthat he bear to her father the head of the knight whom Tristram slew,\nstating this villain was carrying her off when he rescued her. This\ntale so completely blinds Priscilla's father that he joyfully welcomes\nhis daughter home, expressing great gratitude to her deliverers ere\nthey pass on.\n\nCalidore and his squire have not journeyed far before they perceive a\nknight and his lady sporting in the shade. So joyful and innocent do\nthey seem that the travellers gladly join them, and, while the men\nconverse together, Lady Serena strays out into a neighboring field to\ngather flowers. While she is thus occupied the Blatant Beast pounces\nupon her, and is about to bear her away when her cries startle her\ncompanions. They immediately dart to her rescue. Calidore, arriving\nfirst, forces the animal to drop poor Serena, then, knowing her\nhusband will attend to her, continues to pursue the fleeing monster.\n\nOn reaching his beloved Serena, Sir Calespine finds her so sorely\nwounded that she requires immediate care. Tenderly placing her on his\nhorse, he supports her fainting form through the forest. During one of\ntheir brief halts, he suddenly sees a bear carrying an infant, so\nrushes after the animal to rescue the child. Only after a prolonged\npursuit does he achieve his purpose, and, not knowing how else to\ndispose of the babe, carries it to a neighboring castle, where the\nlady gladly adopts it, because she and her husband have vainly awaited\nan heir. Sir Calespine now discovers he is unable to retrace his steps\nto his wounded companion, who soon after is found by a gentle savage.\nThis man is trying to take her to some place of safety when overtaken\nby Arthur and Timias, who, seeing Serena in his company, fancy she is\nhis captive. She, however, hastens to assure them the wild man is more\nthan kind and relates what has occurred. As Serena and Timias have\nboth been poisoned by the bites of the Blatant Beast, Arthur takes\nthem to a hermit, who undertakes to cure them, but finds it a hopeless\ntask.\n\nThe learned hermit's healing arts having all proved vain, he finally\nresorts to prayer to cure his guests, who, when healed, decide to set\nout together in quest of Sir Calespine and Arthur. The latter has\nmeantime departed with the wild man, hoping to overtake Sir Turpine,\nwho escaped from Radigonde. They track the villain to his castle and,\nforcing an entrance, fight with him, sparing his life only because the\nlady of the castle pleads in his behalf.\n\nSir Turpine now succeeds in persuading two knights to pursue and\nattack Sir Arthur, but this hero proves too strong to be overcome,\nand, after disarming both assailants, demands why they have attacked\nhim. When they reveal Turpine's treachery, Arthur regrets having\nspared his opponent, and decides that having overcome him once by\nforce he will now resort to strategy. He, therefore, lies down,\npretending to be asleep, while one of the knights rides back to report\nhis death to Turpine. This plan is duly carried out, and Sir Turpine,\ncoming to gloat upon his fallen foe, is seized by Arthur, who hangs\nhim to a neighboring tree.\n\nMeantime Serena and Timias jog along until they meet a lady and a fool\n(Disdain and Scorn), who are compelled by Cupid to wander through the\nworld, rescuing as many people as they have made victims. When the\nfool attempts to seize Timias, Serena, terrified, flees shrieking into\nthe forest.\n\nBefore long Sir Artegall manages to overtake his squire, driven by\nScorn and Disdain, and immediately frees him. Then, hearing what\npenalty Cupid has imposed upon the couple, he decides they are\nsufficiently punished for the wrong they have done and lets them go.\n\nMeanwhile Serena has wandered, until, utterly exhausted, she lies down\nto rest. While sleeping she is surrounded by savages, who propose to\nsacrifice her to their god. They are on the point of slaying Serena\nwhen Sir Calespine comes to her rescue, unaware at the moment that the\nlady he is rescuing from their cruel hands is his beloved wife.\n\nStill pursuing the elusive Blatant Beast, Sir Calidore comes to a\nplace where shepherds are holding a feast in honor of Pastorella, the\nadopted daughter of the farmer Melibee, and beloved of young Coridon,\na neighboring shepherd. Coridon fears Sir Calidore will prove a rival\nfor the affections of Pastorella, but Calidore disarms his jealousy by\nhis perfect courtesy, which in time wins Pastorella's love.\n\nOne day the lonely Sir Calidore, seeking Pastorella, catches a glimpse\nof the Graces dancing in the forest to the piping of Colin Clout (a\npersonification of Spenser). Shortly after, Calidore has the good\nfortune to rescue Pastorella from a tiger, just after Coridon has\ndeserted her through fear.\n\nTo reward the bravery of Calidore, who has saved her from death,\nPastorella lavishes her smiles upon him, until a brigand raid brings\nruin and sorrow into the shepherd village, for the marauders not only\ncarry off the flocks, but drag Pastorella, Coridon, and Melibee off to\ntheir underground retreat.\n\nIn that hopeless and dark abode the captain of the brigands is\nbeginning to cast lustful glances upon Pastorella, when merchants\narrive to purchase their captives as slaves. The captain refuses to\npart with Pastorella although he is anxious to sell Coridon and\nMelibee, but the merchants insist upon having the maid, and seeing\nthey cannot obtain her by fair means resolve to employ force. The\nresult is a battle, in the midst of which Coridon escapes, Melibee and\nthe brigand captain are slain, and Pastorella faints and is deemed\ndead.\n\nSir Calidore, who has been absent for a while, comes back to find the\nshepherd village destroyed and Coridon wandering disconsolate among\nits ruins. From him he learns all that has happened, and, going in\nquest of Pastorella's remains, discovers she is alive. Then he\nmanages by stratagem not only to rescue her, but to slay merchants and\nrobbers and recover the stolen flocks and also much booty. All the\nwealth thus obtained is bestowed upon Coridon to indemnify him for the\nloss of Pastorella, who accompanies her true love Calidore during the\nrest of his journeys.\n\nBeing still in quest of the ever fleeing Blatant Beast, Calidore\nconducts Pastorella to the castle of Belgard, whose master and\nmistress are passing sad because they lost their only child in\ninfancy. Wondering how such a loss could have befallen them, Calidore\nlearns that knight and lady, being secretly married, entrusted their\nchild to a handmaiden, ordering her to provide for its safety in some\nway, as it was impossible they should acknowledge its existence then.\nThe maid, having ascertained that the babe bore on her breast a\ncertain birth-mark, basely abandoned her in the forest, where she was\nfound and adopted by Melibee.\n\nIt is during Pastorella's sojourn in this castle that the lady\ndiscovers on her breast the birth-mark, which proves she is her\nlong-lost daughter. While Pastorella is thus happy in the company of\nher parents, Calidore overtakes the Blatant Beast, and leads it safely\nmuzzled through admiring throngs to Gloriana's feet. But, strange to\nrelate, this able queen does not keep the monster securely chained,\nfor it soon breaks bonds, and the poet closes with the statement that\nit is again ranging through the country, this time tearing poems to\npieces!\n\n\n\n\nPARADISE LOST\n\n\nBook I. After intimating he intends \"no middle flight,\" but proposes\nto \"justify the ways of God to man,\" Milton states the fall was due to\nthe serpent, who, in revenge for being cast out of heaven with his\nhosts, induced the mother of mankind to sin. He adds how, hurled from\nthe ethereal sky to the bottomless pit, Satan lands in a burning lake\nof asphalt. There, oppressed by the sense of lost happiness and\nlasting pain, he casts his eyes about him, and, flames making the\ndarkness visible, beholds those enveloped in his doom suffering the\nsame dire pangs. Full of immortal hate, unconquerable will, and a\ndetermination never to submit or yield, Satan, confident his\ncompanions will not fail him, and enriched by past experiences,\ndetermines to continue disputing the mastery of heaven from the\nAlmighty.\n\nBeside Satan, on the burning marl, lies Beelzebub, his bold compeer,\nwho dreads lest the Almighty comes after them and further punish them.\nBut Satan, rejoining that \"to be weak is miserable, doing or\nsuffering,\" urges that they try and pervert God's aims. Then, gazing\nupward, he perceives God has recalled his avenging hosts, that the\nrain of sulphur has ceased, and that lightning no longer furrows the\nsky. He, therefore, deems this a fitting opportunity to rise from the\nburning lake, reconnoitre their new place of abode, and take measures\nto redeem their losses.\n\n  \"Seest thou yon dreary plain, forlorn and wild,\n  The seat of desolation, void of light,\n  Save what the glimmering of these livid flames\n  Casts pale and dreadful? Thither let us tend\n  From off the tossing of these fiery waves,\n  There rest, if any rest can harbor there,\n  And, reassembling our afflicted powers,\n  Consult how we may henceforth most offend\n  Our enemy; our own loss how repair;\n  How overcome this dire calamity;\n  What reinforcement we may gain from hope;\n  If not, what resolution from despair.\"\n\nStriding through parting flames to a neighboring hill, Satan gazes\naround him, contrasting the mournful gloom of this abode with the\nrefulgent light to which he has been accustomed, and, notwithstanding\nthe bitter contrast, concluding, \"it is better to reign in hell than\nserve in heaven,\" ere he bids Beelzebub call the fallen angels.\n\nHis moon-like shield behind him, Beelzebub summons the legions lying\non the asphalt lake, \"thick as autumn leaves that strew the brooks of\nVallombroso.\" Like guilty sentinels caught sleeping, they hastily\narise, and, numerous as the locusts which ravaged Egypt, flutter\naround the cope of hell before alighting at their master's feet.\nAmong them Milton descries various idols, later to be worshipped in\nPalestine, Egypt, and Greece. Then, contrasting the downcast\nappearance of this host with its brilliancy in heaven, he goes on to\ndescribe how they saluted Satan's banner with \"a shout that tore\nhell's conclave and beyond frighted the reign of Chaos and old Night.\"\nNext, their standards fluttering in the breeze, they perform their\nwonted evolutions, and Satan, seeing so mighty a host still at his\ndisposal, feels his heart distend with pride.\n\nAlthough he realizes these spirits have forfeited heaven to follow\nhim, he experiences merely a passing remorse ere he declares the\nstrife they waged was not inglorious, and that although once defeated\nthey may yet repossess their native seat. He suggests that, as they\nnow know the exact force of their opponent and are satisfied they\ncannot overcome him by force, they damage the new world which the\nAlmighty has recently created, for submission is unthinkable weakness.\n\nTo make their new quarters habitable, the fallen angels, under\nMammon's direction, mine gold from the neighboring hills and mould, it\ninto bricks, wherewith they erect Pandemonium, \"the high capitol of\nSatan and his peers.\" This hall, constructed with speed and ease, is\nbrightly illuminated by means of naphtha, and, after Satan and his\nstaff have entered, the other fallen angels crowd beneath its roof in\nthe shape of pygmies, and \"the great consult\" begins.\n\n_Book II._ On a throne of dazzling splendor sits Satan, surrounded by\nhis peers. Addressing his followers, he declares that, having\nforfeited the highest position, he has lost more than they, and that,\nsince he suffers the greatest pain, none will envy him his\npreeminence. When he bids them suggest what they shall do, Moloch\nvotes in favor of war, stirring up his companions with a belligerent\nspeech. Belial, who is versed in making \"the worse appear the better\nreason,\" urges guile instead of warfare, for they have tested the\npower of the Almighty and know he can easily outwit their plans. In\nhis turn, Mammon favors neither force nor guile, but suggests that,\nsince riches abound in this region, they content themselves with\npiling up treasures.\n\nAll having been heard, the fallen angels decide, since it is\nimpossible again to face Michael's dreaded sword, they will adopt\nBeelzebub's suggestion and try and find out whether they cannot settle\nmore comfortably in the recently created world. This decided, Satan\ninquires who will undertake to reconnoitre, and, as no one volunteers,\ndeclares that the mission of greatest difficulty and danger rightly\nbelongs to him, bidding the fallen angels meanwhile keep watch lest\nfurther ill befall them. This decision is so enthusiastically\napplauded that ever since an overwhelming tumult has been termed\n\"Pandemonium,\" like Satan's hall.\n\nThe \"consult\" ended, the angels resume their wonted size and scatter\nthrough hell, some exploring its recesses, where they discover huge\nrivers, regions of fire and ice, and hideous monsters, while others\nbeguile their time by arguing of \"foreknowledge, will, fate,\" and\ndiscussing questions of philosophy, or join in antiphonal songs.\n\nMeanwhile Satan has set out on his dreadful journey, wending his way\nstraight to the gates of Hades, before which stand two formidable\nshapes, one woman down to the waist and thence scaly dragon, while the\nother, a grim, skeleton-like shape, wears a royal crown and brandishes\na spear. Seeing Satan approach, this monster threatens him, whereupon\na dire fight would have ensued, had not the female stepped between\nthem, declaring she is Sin, Satan's daughter, and that in an\nincestuous union they two produced Death, whom even they cannot\nsubdue. She adds that she dares not unlock the gates, but, when Satan\nurges that if she will only let him pass, she and Death will be\nsupplied with congenial occupations in the new world, she produces a\nkey, and, \"rolling toward the gates on scaly folds,\" flings wide the\nmassive doors which no infernal power can ever close again. Through\nthese gaping portals one now descries Chaos, where hot and cold, moist\nand dry contend for mastery, and where Satan will have to make his\nway through the elements in confusion to reach the place whither he is\nbound.\n\nThe poet now graphically describes how, by means of his wings or on\nfoot, Satan scrambles up high battlements and plunges down deep\nabysses, thus gradually working his way to the place where Chaos and\nNight sit enthroned, contemplating the world \"which hangs from heaven\nby a golden chain.\" Addressing these deities, Satan commiserates them\nfor having lost Tartarus, now the abode of the fallen angels, as well\nas the region of light occupied by the new world. When he proposes to\nrestore to them that part of their realm by frustrating God's plans,\nthey gladly speed him toward earth, whither \"full fraught with\nmischievous revenge accursed in an accursed hour he hies.\"\n\n_Book III._ After a pathetic invocation to light, the offspring of\nheaven, whose rays will never shine through his darkness, Milton\nexpresses a hope that like other blind poets and seers he may describe\nall the more clearly what is ever before his intellectual sight. Then\nhe relates how the Eternal Father, gazing downward, contemplates hell,\nthe newly-created world, and the wide cleft between, where he descries\nSatan \"hovering in the dun air sublime.\" Summoning his hosts, the\nAlmighty addresses his Only Begotten Son,--whose arrival in heaven has\ncaused Satan's rebellion,--and, pointing out the Adversary, declares\nhe is bent on revenge which will redound on his own head. Then God\nadds that, although the angels fell by their own suggestion, and are\nhence excluded from all hope of redemption, man will fall deceived by\nSatan, so that, although he will thus incur death, he will not forever\nbe unforgiven if some one will pay the penalty of his sin. Because\nnone of the angels feel holy enough to make so great a sacrifice,\nthere is \"silence in heaven,\" until the Son of God, \"in whom all\nfulness dwells of love divine,\" seeing man will be lost unless he\ninterferes, declares his willingness to surrender to death all of\nhimself that can die. He entreats, however, that the Father will not\nleave him in the loathsome grave, but will permit his soul to rise\nvictorious, leading to heaven those ransomed from sin, death, and hell\nthrough his devotion. The angels, hearing this proposal, are seized\nwith admiration, and the Father, bending a loving glance upon the Son,\naccepts his sacrifice, proclaiming he shall in due time appear on\nearth in the flesh to take the place of our first father, and that,\njust \"as in Adam all were lost, so in him all shall be saved.\" Then,\nfurther to recompense his Son for his devotion, God promises he shall\nreign his equal for ever and judge mankind, ere he bids the heavenly\nhost worship their new master. Removing their crowns of amaranth and\ngold, the angels kneel before Christ in adoration, and, tuning their\nharps, sing the praises of Father and Son, proclaiming the latter\n\"Saviour of man.\"\n\nWhile the angels are thus occupied, Satan, speeding through Chaos,\npasses through a place peopled by the idolatries, superstitions, and\nvanities of the world, all of which are to be punished here later on.\nThen, past the stairway leading up to heaven, he hurries to a passage\nleading down to earth, toward which he whirls through space like a\ntumbler pigeon, landing at last upon the sun. There, in the guise of a\nstripling cherub, Satan tells the archangel Uriel that, having been\nabsent at the time of creation, he longs to behold the earth so as to\nglorify God. Thereupon Uriel proudly rejoins he witnessed the\nperformance, and describes how at God's voice darkness fled and solids\nconverged into spheres, which began to roll around their appointed\norbits. Then he points out to Satan the newly-created earth, whither\nthe Evil Spirit eagerly speeds.\n\n  Thus said, he turned; and Satan, bowing low,\n  As to superior spirits is wont in heaven,\n  Where honor due and reverence none neglects,\n  Took leave, and toward the coast of earth beneath,\n  Down from the ecliptic, sped with hoped success,\n  Throws his steep flight in many an airy wheel,\n  Nor stayed, till on Niphates' top he lights.\n\n_Book IV._ Wishing his voice were loud enough to warn our first\nparents of coming woe and thus forestall the misfortunes ready to\npounce upon them, the poet describes how Satan, \"with hell raging in\nhis heart,\" gazes from the hill, upon which he has alighted, into\nParadise. The fact that he is outcast both from heaven and earth fills\nSatan with alternate sorrow and fierce wrath, under impulse of which\nemotions his face becomes fearfully distorted. This change and his\nfierce gestures are seen by Uriel, who curiously follows his flight,\nand who now for the first time suspects he may have escaped from hell.\n\nAfter describing the wonders of Eden--which far surpass all fairy\ntales,--Milton relates how Satan, springing lightly over the dividing\nwall, lands within its precincts, and in the guise of a cormorant\nperches upon a tree, whence he beholds two God-like shapes \"in naked\nmajesty clad.\" One of these is Adam, formed for contemplation and\nvalor, the other Eve, formed for softness and grace. They two sit\nbeneath a tree, the beasts of the earth playing peacefully around\nthem, and Satan, watching them, wonders whether they are destined to\noccupy his former place in heaven, and vows he will ruin their present\nhappiness and deliver them up to woe! After arguing he must do so to\nsecure a better abode for himself and his followers, the fiend\ntransforms himself first into one beast and then into another, and,\nhaving approached the pair unnoticed, listens to their conversation.\nIn this way he learns Eve's wonder on first opening her eyes and\ngazing around her on the flowers and trees, her amazement at her own\nreflection in the water, and her following a voice which promised to\nlead her to her counterpart, who would make her mother of the human\nrace. But, the figure she thus found proving less attractive than the\none she had just seen in the waters, she was about to retreat, when\nAdam claimed her as the other half of his being. Since then, they two\nhave dwelt in bliss in this garden, where everything is at their\ndisposal save the fruit of one tree. Thus Satan discovers the\nprohibition laid upon our first parents. He immediately Dedie's to\nbring about their ruin by inciting them to scorn divine commands,\nassuring them that the knowledge of good and evil will make them equal\nto God, and having discovered this method of compassing his purpose,\nsteals away to devise means to reach his ends.\n\nMeantime, near the eastern gate of Paradise, Gabriel, chief of the\nangelic host, watches the joyful evolutions of the guards who at\nnightfall are to patrol the boundaries of Paradise. While thus\nengaged, Uriel comes glancing down through the evening air on a\nsunbeam, to warn him that one of the banished crew has escaped, and\nwas seen at noon near these gates. In return Gabriel assures Uriel no\ncreature of any kind passed through them, and that if an evil spirit\noverleapt the earthly bounds he will be discovered before morning, no\nmatter what shape he has assumed. While Uriel returns to his post in\nthe sun, gray twilight steals over the earth, and Michael, having\nappointed bands of angels to circle Paradise in opposite directions,\ndespatches two of his lieutenants to search for the hidden foe.\n\nOur first parents, after uniting in prayer, are about to retire, when\nEve, who derives all her information from Adam, asks why the stars\nshine at night, when they are asleep and cannot enjoy them? In reply\nAdam states that the stars gem the sky to prevent darkness from\nresuming its sway, and assures his wife that while they sleep angels\nmount guard, for he has often heard their voices at midnight. Then the\npair enter the bower selected for their abode by the sovereign\nplanter, where the loveliest flowers bloom in profusion, and where no\nbird, beast, insect, or worm dares venture.\n\nIn the course of their search, the angels Ithuriel and Zephon reach\nthis place in time to behold a toad crouching by the ear of Eve,\ntrying by devilish arts to reach the organs of her fancy. Touched by\nIthuriel's spear,--which has the power of compelling all substances to\nassume their real form,--this vile creature instantly assumes a demon\nshape. On recognizing a fiend, Ithuriel demands how he escaped and why\nhe is here. Whereupon Satan haughtily rejoins that the time was when\nnone would have dared treat him so unceremoniously, nor have needed to\nask his name, seeing all would instantly have known him. It is only\nthen that Zephon recognizes their former superior, Lucifer, and\ncontemptuously informs him his glory is so dimmed by sin, it is no\nwonder they could not place him. Both angels now escort their captive\nto Gabriel, who, recognizing the prisoner from afar, also comments on\nhis faded splendor. Then, addressing Satan, Gabriel demands why he\nbroke his prescribed bonds? Satan defiantly retorts that prisoners\ninvariably try to escape, that no one courts torture, and that, if God\nmeant to keep the fiends forever in durance vile, he should have\nbarred the gates more securely. But, even by escaping from Tartarus,\nSatan cannot evade his punishment, and Gabriel warns him he has\nprobably increased his penalty sevenfold by his disobedience. Then he\ntauntingly inquires whether pain is less intolerable to the\narchfiend's subordinates than to himself, and whether he has already\ndeserted his followers. Wrathfully Satan boasts that, fiercest in\nbattle, he alone had courage enough to undertake this journey to\nascertain whether it were possible to secure a pleasanter place of\nabode. Because in the course of his reply he contradicts himself, the\nangel terms him a liar and hypocrite, and bids him depart, vowing,\nshould he ever be found lurking near Paradise again, he will be\ndragged back to the infernal pit and chained fast so he cannot escape!\nThis threat arouses Satan's scorn and makes him so insolent, that the\nangels, turning fiery red, close around him, threatening him with\ntheir spears! Glancing upward and perceiving by the position of the\nheavenly scales that the issue of a combat would not be in his favor,\nSatan wrathfully flees with the vanishing shades of night.\n\n_Book V._ Morning having dawned, Adam awakens refreshed, only to\nnotice the flushed cheeks and discomposed tresses of his companion,\nfrom whom, when he awakens her, he learns of a dream wherein a voice\nurged her to go forth and walk in the garden. Eve goes on to describe\nhow, gliding beneath the trees, she came to the one bearing the\nforbidden fruit, and descried among its branches a winged shape, which\nbade her taste of the apples and not despise the boon of knowledge.\nAlthough chilled with horror at the mere suggestion, Eve admits that\nshe yielded, because the voice assured her one taste would enable her\nto flutter through the air like the angels and perchance visit God!\nHer desire to enjoy such a privilege became so intense that when the\nfruit was pressed to her lips she tasted it, and had no sooner done so\nthan she soared upward, only to sink down and awaken at Adam's touch!\n\nComforting his distressed consort, Adam leads her into the garden to\nprune over-luxuriant branches and to train vines from tree to tree.\nWhile they are thus occupied, the Almighty summons Raphael, and, after\ninforming him Satan has escaped from hell and has found his way to\nParadise to disturb the felicity of man, bids the archangel hasten\ndown to earth, and, conversing \"as friend with friend\" with Adam, warn\nhim that he had the power to retain or forfeit his happy state, and\ncaution him against the wiles of the fiend, lest, after wilfully\ntransgressing, man should claim he had not been forewarned.\n\nPast choirs of angels, through the golden gate, and down the mighty\nstairs, Raphael flits, reaching earth in the shape of a six-winged\ncherub, whose iridescent plumes seem to have been dipped in heaven's\nown dyes. On beholding this visitor, Adam bids Eve collect her\nchoicest fruit, and, while she hastens away on \"hospitable thoughts\nintent,\" advances to meet Raphael, knowing he brings some divine\nmessage. After hailing Eve with the salutation later used for Mary,\nthe angel proceeds to Adam's lodge and shares his meal, admitting that\nthe angels in heaven partake of spiritual food only, although they are\nendowed with senses like man.\n\nOn discovering he may question Raphael,--save in regard to matters\nwhich are to be withheld for a while longer,--Adam queries about\nthings which have troubled him. Inferring from the angel's words that\ntheir bliss is not secure, he learns that as long as he proves\nobedient his happiness will continue, but that, having been created as\nfree as the angels, he can choose his lot. When Adam asks in regard to\nheavenly things, Raphael wonders how he can relate, in terms\nintelligible to finite mind, things which, even angels fail to\nconceive in their entirety and which it may not be lawful to reveal.\nStill, knowing he can vouchsafe a brief outline of all that has\nhitherto occurred, Raphael describes how the Almighty, after creating\nthe Son, bade the angels bow down and worship him. He states that,\nduring the night following this event, Lucifer, angry because he was\nno longer second in heaven, withdrew to that quarter of the sky\nentrusted to his keeping, and there suggested to Beelzebub rebellion\nagainst God, who required them to pay servile tribute to his Son!\nArguing that they will be gradually reduced to slavery, Satan induces\none-third of the heavenly hosts to rebel, for only one of his\nfollowers, Abdiel, refuses to believe his specious words. In his\nindignation, Abdiel bursts forth into flame, denounces Lucifer, and\ndeparts to report to the Almighty what he has heard. He alone proves\nfaithful among the faithless, so, as he passes out from among them,\nthe rebel angels, resenting his attitude, overwhelm him with their\nscorn.\n\n  From amidst them forth he passed,\n  Long way through hostile scorn, which he sustained\n  Superior, nor of violence feared aught;\n  And with retorted scorn his back he turned\n  On those proud towers to swift destruction doomed.\n\nThe Almighty, however, does not require Abdiel's warning, for the\nall-seeing eye has already descried what, has occurred, and has\npointed out to the Son how Lucifer, devoured by pride, is about to\nrise up against them.\n\n_Book VI._ In spite of the speed with which he travels, Abdiel\nrequires all night to cross the distance which separates the apostate\nangels from the heavenly throne. The news he bears being already known\nin heaven, the angels welcome him and conduct him to the throne,\nwhence, from a golden cloud, issues a voice proclaiming \"well done.\"\nNext God bids Michael lead forth a host equal in number to the godless\ncrew arraying itself in battle order to dispute from the Almighty the\nsovereignty of heaven. The divine orders are to oppose Lucifer and\nhurl him into the gulf of Tartarus, whose fiery mouth will open wide\nto receive him. A moment later trumpets sound in heaven, and the\nangelic legions sally forth to battle for God and for his Messiah,\nhymning the Eternal Father. The evil angels, whose glory has not yet\nbeen dimmed, meet this host in squadrons, at the head of which rides\nLucifer (or Satan as he is generally called after he becomes an\napostate), in his sun-bright chariot. On beholding him, Abdiel marvels\nbecause he still retains a God-like semblance, and warns him he will\nsoon pay the penalty of his folly. In return Satan terms Abdiel a\ncommon deserter, and overwhelms him with scorn, to which this angel\npays little heed, realizing that by serving a divine master he is\nfreer than independent Satan.\n\nAfter exchanging Homeric taunts, these two begin fighting, and\nAbdiel's first dart causes the archenemy to recoil and almost sink to\nthe ground. But, when the divine host clamor that Satan is overcome,\nhe promptly recovers his footing, and, retreating into the ranks of\nhis army, directs their resistance to the foe. The battle now rages\nwith such fury that the heavens resound. Many deeds of eternal fame\nare wrought, for Satan proves almost equal to Michael, who with his\ntwo-handed sword strikes down whole squadrons at one blow. But wounds\ninflicted on angels, even when fallen, are no sooner made than healed,\nso those who sink down disabled are soon back in the thick of the\nnight as strong as ever. The moment comes, however, when Michael's\nsword inflicts so deep a wound in Satan's side that, for the first\ntime, he experiences pain. Seeing him fall, his adherents bear him\naway from the field of battle, where he is immediately healed, \"for\nspirits, that live throughout vital in every part,... cannot but by\nannihilation die.\" Thus temporarily deprived of his greatest\nopponent, Michael attacks Moloch, while Uriel, Raphael and Abdiel\nvanquish other potent angels who have dared to rebel against God.\n\nAfter describing the battle-field, strewn with shattered armor and\nbroken chariots, the poet pictures the dismay in the ranks of the\nrebel angels, and describes how Satan drew away his troops so they\nmight rest and be ready to renew the fray on the morrow. In the\nsilence of that night, he also consults with his adherents how to\nfight to better advantage on the morrow, insisting that they now know\nthey can never be permanently wounded. The demons feel confident that,\ngranted better arms, they could secure the advantage, so, when one of\ntheir number suggests the manufacture of cannon, all gladly welcome\nthe idea. Under Satan's direction some of the evil angels draw from\nthe ground metal, which, molten and poured into moulds, furnishes the\nengines of destruction they are seeking. Meanwhile others collect\ningredients for ammunition, and, when morning dawns, they have a\nnumber of weapons ready for use, which they cunningly conceal in the\ncentre of their fourfold phalanx as they advance.\n\nIn the midst of the second encounter, Satan's squadrons suddenly draw\naside to let these cannons belch forth the destruction with which they\nare charged, an unexpected broadside which fells the good angels by\nthousands; but, although hosts of them are thus laid low, others\nspring forward to take their place. On seeing the havoc wrought by\ntheir guns, Satan and his host openly rejoice; but the good angels,\nperceiving arms are useless against this artillery, throw them away,\nand, picking up the hills, hurl them at their opponents, whom they\nbury beneath the weight of mountains. In fact, had not the Almighty\nchecked this outburst of righteous anger, the fiends would doubtless\nhave been buried so deep they never would have been able to reappear!\n\nOn the third day the Almighty proclaims that, as both forces are equal\nin strength, the fighting will never end unless he interferes. He\ntherefore summons his only begotten Son to wield the thunder-bolts,\nhis exclusive weapon. Ever ready to do his Father's will, the Son\naccepts, mounts a chariot borne by four cherubs, and sets forth,\nattended by twenty thousand saints, who wish to witness his triumph.\nOn seeing him approach, the good angels exult, while the wicked are\nseized with terror, although they disdain to flee. Bidding the angelic\nhost watch him triumph single-handed over the foe, the Son of God\nchanges his benignant expression into one of wrath, and hurls his\nthunder-bolts to such purpose that the rebels long for the mountains\nto cover them as on the previous day. With these divine weapons Christ\nruthlessly drives Satan and his hosts out of the confines of heaven,\nover the edge of the abyss, and hurls them all down into the\nbottomless pit, sending after them peal after peal of thunder,\ntogether with dazzling flashes of lightning, but mercifully\nwithholding his deadly bolts, as he purposes not to annihilate, but\nmerely to drive the rebels out of heaven. Thus, with a din and clatter\nwhich the poet graphically describes, Satan and his host fall through\nspace and land nine days later in the fiery lake!\n\nAfter pursuing the foe far enough to make sure they will not return,\nthe Messiah re-enters heaven in triumph, greeted by saints and angels\nwith hymns of praise. This account of the war in heaven concluded,\nRaphael informs Adam that Satan, leader of these fallen angels,\nenvying his happy state, is now plotting to seduce him from his\nallegiance to God, and thus compel him to share his eternal misery.\n\n  \"But listen not to his temptations; warn\n  Thy weaker; let it profit thee to have heard\n  By terrible example the reward\n  Of disobedience; firm they might have stood,\n  Yet fell; remember, and fear to transgress.\"\n\n_Book VII._ At Adam's request Raphael next explains how the earth was\ncreated, saying that, as Satan had seduced one-third of heaven's\ninhabitants, God decided to create a new race, whence angels could be\nrecruited to repeople his realm. In terms simple enough to make\nhimself understood, Raphael depicts how the Son of God passing through\nheaven's gates and viewing the immeasurable abyss, decided to evolve\nfrom it a thing of beauty. He adds that the Creator made use of the\ndivine compasses \"prepared in God's eternal store,\" to circumscribe\nthe universe, thus setting its bounds at equal distance from its\ncentre. Then his spirit, brooding over the abyss, permeated Chaos with\nvital warmth, until its various components sought their appointed\nplaces, and earth \"self-balanced on her centre hung.\" Next the light\nevolved from the deep began to travel from east to west, and \"God saw\nthat it was good.\"\n\nOn the second day God created the firmament, on the third separated\nwater from dry land, and on the fourth covered the earth with plants\nand trees, each bearing seed to propagate its kind. Then came the\ncreation of the sun, moon, and stars to rule day and night and divide\nlight from darkness, and on the fifth day the creation of the birds\nand fishes, whom God bade multiply until they filled the earth. Only\non the sixth and last day did God call into life cattle and creeping\nthings, which crawled out of the earth full grown and perfect limbed.\nThen, as there still lacked a creature endowed with reason to rule the\nrest, God created man in his own image, fashioning him from clay by\nbreathing life into his nostrils. After thus creating Adam and his\nconsort Eve, God blessed both, bidding them be fruitful, multiply and\nfill the earth, and hold dominion over every living thing upon it.\nHaving placed creatures so richly endowed in Paradise, God left them\nfree to enjoy all it contained, save the fruit of the tree of\nknowledge of good and evil, in regard to which he warned them \"in the\nday thou eatest thereof, thou diest.\" Then, his work finished, the\nCreator returned to heaven, where he and the angels spent the seventh\nday resting from their work.\n\n_Book VIII._ Not daring to intrude upon the conversation of Adam and\nRaphael, Eve waits at a distance, knowing her husband will tell her\nall she need learn. Meanwhile, further to satisfy his curiosity, Adam\ninquires how the sun and stars move so quietly in their orbit? Raphael\nrejoins that, although the heavens are the book of God, wherein man\ncan read his wondrous works, it is difficult to make any one\nunderstand the distances separating the various orbs. To give Adam a\nslight idea of them, Raphael declares that he--whose motions are not\nslow--set out from heaven at early morn and arrived at Eden only at\nmidday. Then he describes the three rotations to which our earth is\nsubject, names the six planets, and assures Adam God holds them all in\nhis hand and prescribes their paths and speed.\n\nIn his turn, Adam entertains Raphael with a description of his\namazement when he awoke on a flowery hillside, to see the sky, the\nwoods, and the streams; his gradual acquaintance with his own person\nand powers, the naming of the animals, and his awe when the divine\nmaster led him into Paradise and warned him not to touch the central\ntree. After describing his loneliness on discovering that all living\ncreatures went about in pairs, Adam adds that, after he had complained\nto the Creator, a deep sleep fell upon him, during which a rib was\nremoved from his side from which to fashion Eve. Joined by the Creator\nhimself to this \"bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh,\" Adam\ndeclares since then they have enjoyed nuptial bliss, and artlessly\ninquires whether angels marry and are given in marriage too. Whereupon\nRaphael rejoins that in heaven love so refines the thoughts and\nenlarges the heart that none save spiritual communion is necessary to\nsecure perfect bliss. Then, seeing the sun about to set, the angel\ntakes leave of Adam and wends his way back to heaven, while the father\nof mankind rejoins his waiting wife.\n\nBook IX. The poet warns us there will be no more question of talk\nbetween man and angels, as his song must now change to a tragic note,\nbecause vile distrust has entered Paradise. Then he describes how\nSatan, driven away from Eden by Gabriel, circles around the earth\nseven days and nights without rest, and at the end of that time\nre-enters Paradise, by means of an underground river and in the guise\nof a mist. Then, perched as a bird upon the tree of knowledge of good\nand evil, Satan decides to approach our first parents in the guise of\na loathsome serpent and seek his revenge, although fully aware the\nconsequences will recoil upon himself. Next, finding a serpent asleep,\nSatan enters it, and meanders along the paths of Paradise, hoping to\nfind Adam and Eve apart, for he deems it will be easier to work his\nends on one at a time.\n\nMorning having come, Adam and Eve awake, and after their usual song of\npraise set out to attend the garden. But Eve insists that as long as\nthey are together they allow themselves to be distracted from their\nlabors, and proposes that they work independently until the noon hour\nbrings them together to share their simple repast. Although reluctant\nat first to be parted from his beloved, Adam, hearing her exclaim he\ndoes not trust her, yields to her pleading. Thus, the serpent, ranging\nthrough the garden, perceives Eve alone among the roses, and rejoices\nto think he can make his first attempt upon what he rightly deems the\nweaker vessel. Although not without compunction, he wends his way\ntoward her and startles her by addressing her in a human voice. When\nshe inquires how it happens a beast can communicate with her, the\nserpent rejoins that, although at first speechless like other beasts,\nhe no sooner tasted a certain fruit than he was gifted with greater\nknowledge than he had yet enjoyed and endowed with the power of\nspeech. Deeming the fruit of such a tree might have equally beneficial\neffects upon her and make her more nearly equal to her consort, Eve\nlongs to partake of it too, and readily follows her guide to the\ncentre of the garden. But, when the serpent points out the forbidden\ntree, Eve prepares to withdraw, until the tempter assures her God's\nprohibition was not intended to be obeyed. He argues that, although he\nhas tasted the fruit he continues to live and has obtained new\nfaculties, and by this specious reasoning induces Eve to pluck and eat\nthe fruit. As it touches her lips nature gives \"signs of woe,\" and\nthe guilty serpent links back into the thicket, leaving Eve to gorge\nupon the fruit whose taste affords her keener delight than she ever\nexperienced before. In laudatory terms she now promises to care for\nthe tree, and then wonders whether Adam will perceive any difference\nin her, and whether it will be wise to impart to him the happiness she\nhas tasted. Although at first doubtful, Eve, fearing lest death may\nensue and Adam replace her by another partner, determines to induce\nher husband to share this food too, for she loves Adam too dearly to\nlive without him.\n\n  \"Confirmed then I resolve,\n  Adam shall share with me in bliss or woe:\n  So dear I love him, that with him all deaths\n  I could endure, without him live no life.\"\n\nThis decision reached, Eve hastens to Adam, and volubly explains that\nthe tree is not what God depicted, for the serpent, having tasted of\nits fruit, has been endowed with eloquence so persuasive that he has\ninduced her to taste it too. Horror-stricken, Adam wails his wife is\nlost; then he wonders how he will be able to exist without her, and is\namazed to think she should have yielded to the very first onslaught of\ntheir foe. But, after this first outburst of grief, he vows he will\nshare her doom and die with her. Having made a decision so flattering\nto Eve, he accepts the fruit which she tenders, and nature again\nshudders, for Adam, although not deceived, yields to temptation\nbecause of his love for Eve. No sooner have both fed upon the tree\nthan its effects become patent, for it kindles within them the\nnever-before-experienced sense of lust. The couple therefore emerge on\nthe morrow from their bower, their innocence lost, and overwhelmed,\nfor the first time in their lives, by a crushing sense of shame. Good\nand evil being equally well known to him, Adam reproaches his wife,\nwailing that never more shall they behold the face of God and suggests\nthat they weave leaf-garments to hide their nakedness. So the first\ncouple steal into the thicket to fashion fig-leaf girdles, which they\nbind about them, reviling each other for having forfeited their former\nhappy estate.\n\n_Book X._ Meantime, Eve's fall has been duly reported in heaven by the\nangelic guards, whom the Almighty reassures, saying he knew the Evil\nSpirit would succeed and man would fall. Then the same voice decrees\nthat, as man has transgressed, his sentence shall be pronounced, and\nthat the one best fitted for such a task is the Son, man's mediator\nReady to do his Father's will in heaven as upon earth, the Son\ndeparts, promising to temper justice with mercy, so that God's\ngoodness will be made manifest, and adding that the doom of the absent\nSatan shall also be pronounced.\n\nEscorted to the gates of heaven by the angelic host, the Redeemer\ndescends alone to earth, where he arrives in the garden in the cool of\nthe evening. At his summons Adam and Eve emerge from their\nhiding-place, and, when Adam shamefacedly claims they hid because they\nwere naked, his maker demonstrates how his very words convict him of\nguilt, and inquires whether they have eaten of the forbidden fruit.\nUnable to deny his transgression, Adam states he is in a quandary, for\nhe must either accuse himself wrongfully or lay the guilt upon the\nwife whom it is his duty to protect. When he adds that the woman gave\nhim the fruit whereof he did eat, the judge sternly demands whether\nAdam was bound to obey his consort, reminding him that woman was made\nsubject to man and declaring that by yielding to Eve's persuasions he\nincurred equal guilt. Then, turning to the woman, the judge demands\nwhat she had done, and Eve, abashed, confesses the serpent beguiled\nher until she ate. Having thus heard both culprits, the judge\npronounces sentence upon the serpent in veiled terms, for, as yet, man\nis not to understand what is divinely planned. Then, having disposed\nof the archenemy, he predicts Eve will bring forth her children in\nsuffering and will be subject to her husband's will, ere he informs\nAdam that henceforth he will have to earn his bread by the sweat of\nhis brow, for the earth will no longer bear fruit for him without\nlabor. Having thus pronounced his judgment, the judge postpones the\npenalty of death indefinitely, and taking pity upon our first parents,\nclothes them in the skins of beasts, to enable them to bear the\nharsher air to which they are soon to be exposed.\n\nMeantime Sin and Death peer forth through hell's open gateway, hoping\nto each some glimpse of returning Satan. Weary of waiting, Sin finally\nsuggests to Death the folly of remaining idle, since Satan cannot fail\nto succeed, and proposes that they follow him over the abyss, building\nas they go a road to facilitate intercourse hereafter between hell and\nearth. This proposal charms Death, whose keen nostrils already descry\nthe smell of mortal change, and who longs to reach earth and prey upon\nall living creatures. These two terrible shapes, therefore, venture\nout through the waste, and by making \"the hard soft and the soft\nhard,\" they fashion of stone and asphalt a broad highway from the\ngates of hell to the confines of the newly created world.\n\nThey have barely finished this causeway when Satan--still in the\nlikeness of an angel--comes flying toward them, for after seducing Eve\nhe has lurked in the garden until from a safe hiding-place he heard\nthe threefold sentence pronounced by the judge. He too does not grasp\nhis doom, but, realizing that humanity is in his power, is hastening\nback to Hades to make the joyful fact known. On encountering Sin and\nDeath, Satan congratulates them upon their engineering skill and sends\nthem on to work their will in the world, while he speeds along the\npath they have made to tell the fallen angels all that has occurred.\nIn obedience to his orders a number of these are mounting guard, but\nSatan, in the guise of a ministering spirit, passes through their\nmidst unheeded, and only after entering Pandemonium allows his native\nmajesty to shine forth. On becoming aware he is once more present, the\ndemons welcome him with a mighty shout. Then by an impressive gesture\nSatan imposes silence and describes his journey, his success, and the\nease with which they can pass to and fro now that Sin and Death have\npaved their way. To satisfy their curiosity he further depicts by what\nmeans he tempted woman, and, although he admits he was cursed as well\nas the fallen, does not appear dismayed. Raising their voices to\napplaud him, his adherents are now surprised to hear themselves hiss,\nand to discover they have all been transformed into snakes. Then Satan\nhimself, in the form of a dragon, guides them to a grove near by,\nwhere they climb the trees and greedily feed on apples of Sodom, which\noffend their taste, a performance to be renewed yearly on the\nanniversary of the temptation.\n\nMeanwhile, Sin and Death having entered Paradise,--where they are not\nyet allowed to touch human beings,--lay low herbs, fruit, flowers, and\nbeasts, all of which are now their legitimate prey. Pointing out their\nravages, the Almighty explains that, had man not disobeyed, these\ndespoilers would never have preyed upon the newly created world, where\nthey are now to have full sway until the Son hurls them back into\nHades. On hearing these words, the angels praise the ways of the\nAlmighty, which are ever just, and laud his Son as the destined\nrestorer of mankind. While they are thus employed, the Almighty\ndirects some of his attendants to move the sun, so as to subject the\nearth to alternate cold and heat, thus making winter follow summer.\nThe planets, too, are to shed malignant influences upon the earth,\nwhose axle is slightly turned, while violent winds cause devastation,\nand enmity is kindled between creatures which have hitherto lived in\npeace. Adam, on perceiving these changes, becomes conscious they are\nthe effect of his transgression, and is plunged in such grief that\nGod's order to increase and multiply seems horrible. In his grief he\nmurmurs aloud, but, after a while, realizing he was left free to\nchoose between good and evil, he acknowledges his punishment is just.\nThe fact that God does not immediately visit upon him the penalty he\nhas incurred does not, however, comfort him, because he longs for\ndeath to end his sorrows. On seeing her husband's grief, Eve now\nvolunteers to go in quest of their judge, imploring him to visit upon\nher alone the penalty of sin. Her readiness to sacrifice herself\ntouches Adam, who replies that, since they are one, they must share\nwhat awaits them. When Eve intimates that, since they are doomed, it\nwill be well never to bear any children, Adam reminds her it is only\nthrough repentance they can appease their judge, and bids her not\nscorn life or its pleasures.\n\n_Book XI._ Having reached this state of humility and repentance, our\nfirst parents are viewed compassionately by the Redeemer, who,\ngathering up their prayers, presents them to the Father as the\nfirst-fruits which have sprung from his mercy.\n\n  \"See, Father, what first-fruits on earth are sprung\n  From thy implanted grace in man; these sighs\n  And prayers, which in this golden censer, mixed\n  With incense, I thy priest before thee bring,\n  Fruits of more pleasing savor, from thy seed\n  Sown with contrition in his heart, than those\n  Which his own hand, manuring all the trees\n  Of Paradise, could have produced, ere fallen\n  From innocence.\"\n\nIn reply to the touching pleas of this advocate, the heavenly Father\npromises the culprits shall be forgiven, provided their repentance is\nsincere, but insists that meantime they be ejected from Paradise.\nMichael and the cherubs chosen for this office are instructed to mount\nguard day and night, lest the fiend return to Paradise, or the human\npair re-enter and partake of the tree of life and thus escape the\npenalty of death. But, before driving out our first parents, Michael\nis to reveal to Adam all that awaits his race in the future,\nemphasizing the promise that salvation shall come through his seed.\nThese orders received, the archangel wends his way down to earth,\nwhere, dawn having appeared, Adam and Eve once more issue from their\nbower.\n\nNight has brought some comfort, and Adam exclaims that, since the\npenalty of death is to be postponed, they must show their penitence by\nlaboring hard, working henceforth side by side as contentedly as\ntheir fallen state will allow. On the way to the scene of their wonted\nlabors they notice an eagle pursuing another bird and see wild beasts\nhunting one another. Besides these ominous signs Adam, descrying a\nbright light travelling rapidly toward them, informs Eve some message\nis on its way. He is not mistaken, for Michael soon emerges from this\ncloud of light so, while Eve hurries off to prepare for his\nentertainment Adam steps forward to receive him.\n\nClad in celestial panoply, the angel announces he has been sent to\ninform Adam that although the penalty of death is indefinitely\npostponed, he is no longer to inhabit Paradise, but is to go forth\ninto the world and till the ground from whence he sprang.\nHorror-stricken at these tidings, Adam remains mute, and Eve, hearing\nthe decree from a distance, wails aloud at the thought of leaving\nhome. To comfort her, the angel bids her dry her tears and follow her\nhusband, making her home wherever he abides. Then Adam wonders whether\nby incessant prayer and penitence the Almighty could be induced to\nalter his decree and let them remain in Paradise, saying he hoped to\npoint out to his descendants the places where he met and conversed\nwith his Maker. But Michael rejoining he will find God everywhere\ninvites Adam to follow him to the top of a neighboring hill,\nexplaining he has enveloped Eve in slumbers, which will hold her\nentranced while he reveals to Adam the earth's kingdoms and their\nglory.\n\n                    \"Know I am sent\n  To show thee what shall come in future days\n  To thee and to thy offspring; good with bad\n  Expect to hear, supernal grace contending\n  With sinfulness of men; thereby to learn\n  True patience, and to temper joy with fear,\n  And pious sorrow, equally inured\n  By moderation either state to bear,\n  Prosperous or adverse: so shalt thou lead\n  Safest thy life, and best prepared endure\n  Thy mortal passage when it comes. Ascend\n  This hill; let Eve (for I have drenched her eyes)\n  Here sleep below, while thou to foresight wakest.\n  As once thou slept'st, while she to life was formed.\"\n\nFrom a hill in Paradise,--after purging Adam's eyes with three drops\nof water from the well of life,--Michael vouchsafes him a glimpse of\nall that is to take place upon our earth. Thus, Cain and Abel first\npass before their father's eyes, but death is so unintelligible to\nAdam that the angel has to explain what it means. Overwhelmed at the\nthought that so awful a thing has come into the world through his\ntransgression, Adam is further horrified when the angel reveals all\nthe suffering which will visit mankind, explaining that, since much of\nit will be due to evil living, it behooves Adam to observe temperance\nin food and drink. But he warns him that, in spite of all precautions,\nold age will come upon him as a precursor of death. In a panorama Adam\nsees all that is to occur until the Deluge, and, watching Noah\nconstruct the ark, wails because his progeny is to be destroyed by the\nflood. The angel, however, demonstrates that the righteous will be\nsaved and that from them will descend a race more willing to obey\nGod's commands. The dove and the rainbow, therefore, instil comfort\ninto Adam's heart, as does God's promise that day and night, seedtime\nand harvest shall hold their course until new heavens and earth appear\nwherein the just shall dwell.\n\n_Book XII._ Having depicted a world destroyed and foreshadowed a world\nrestored, the angel shows Adam how man will migrate to a plain, where\nby means of bricks and bitumen an attempt will be made to erect a\ntower to reach heaven. When Adam expresses displeasure that one of his\nrace should defy God, Michael assures him he rightly abhors\ndisobedience, and comforts him by revealing how one righteous man, in\nwhose \"seed all nations shall be blest,\" is to be brought out of that\ncountry into the Promised Land.\n\nNot only does the angel name Abraham, but depicts his life, the\ncaptivity in Egypt, the exodus, and the forty years in the desert. He\nalso vouchsafes to Adam a glimpse of Moses on Mount Sinai receiving\nthe tables of the law, and appointing the worship which the Chosen\nPeople are to offer to their Creator. When Adam wonders at the number\nof laws, Michael rejoins that sin has many faces, and that until blood\nmore precious than that of the prescribed sacrifices has been shed, no\nsuitable atonement can be made.\n\nAfter describing how under the Judges and then under the Kings the\npeople of Israel will continue their career the angel designates David\nas the ancestor of the Messiah, whose coming will be heralded by a\nstar which will serve as guide to eastern sages. He adds that this\nMessiah will descend from the Most High by a virgin mother, that his\nreign will extend over all the earth, and that, by bruising the\nserpent's head, he will conquer Sin and Death. This promise fills\nAdam's heart with joy, because it partly explains the mysterious\nprophecy, but, when he inquires how the serpent can wound such a\nvictor's heel, Michael rejoins that, in order to overcome Satan, the\nMessiah will incur the penalty of death, revealing how, after living\nhated and blasphemed, he will prove by his death and resurrection that\nSin and Death have no lasting power over those who believe in his\nname. Full of joy at the promise that the Messiah will lead all\nransomed souls to a happier Paradise than the one he has forfeited,\nAdam declares since such good is to proceed from the evil he has done\nhe doubts whether he should repent.\n\nBetween the death of Christ and his second coming, the angel adds that\nthe Comforter will dwell upon earth with those who love their\nRedeemer, helping them resist the onslaughts of Satan, and that in\nspite of temptation many righteous will ultimately reach heaven, to\ntake the place of the outcast angels.\n\n                    \"Till the day\n  Appear of respiration to the just,\n  And vengeance to the wicked, at return\n  Of him so lately promised to thy aid,\n  The woman's Seed, obscurely then foretold,\n  Now amplier known thy Saviour and thy Lord,\n  Last in the clouds from heaven to be revealed\n  In glory of the Father, to dissolve\n  Satan with his perverted world, then raise\n  From the conflagrant mass, purged and refined,\n  New heavens, new earth, ages of endless date\n  Founded in righteousness and peace and love,\n  To bring forth fruits, joy, and eternal bliss.\"\n\nThese instructions finished, the angel bids Adam not seek to know any\nmore, enjoining upon him to add deeds to knowledge, to cultivate\npatience, temperance, and love, promising, if he obeys, that Paradise\nwill reign in his heart. Then pointing out that the guards placed\naround Eden are waving their flashing swords and that it is time to\nawaken Eve, he bids Adam gradually impart to her all that he has\nlearned through angelic revelations. When they rejoin Eve, she\nexplains how God sent her a dream which has soothed her heart and\nfilled it with hope, making her realize that, although she has sinned\nand is unworthy, through her seed all shall be blessed.\n\nThen the angel takes Adam and Eve by the hand and leads them out by\nthe eastern gate into the world. Gazing backward, our first parents\ncatch their last glimpse of Paradise and behold at the gate the angel\nwith a flaming sword. Thus, hand in hand, dropping natural tears, they\npass out into the world to select their place of rest, having\nProvidence only for their guide.\n\n\n\n\nPARADISE REGAINED\n\n\nHaving sung of Paradise Lost, Milton proposes as theme for a new epic\n\"Paradise Regained.\" In it he purports to sing of \"deeds heroic\nalthough in secret done\" and to describe how Christ was led into the\nwilderness to be tempted by Satan.\n\n_Book I._ While baptizing in the Jordan, John suddenly beheld Christ\napproaching, and, although he at first demurred, yielded at last to\nhis request to baptize him too. While the Baptist was doing this, a\nheavenly voice proclaimed Christ Son of God. This was heard not only\nby John and his disciples, but also by the adversary, who, ever since\nthe fall, had been roaming around the world, and who for years past\nhas been closely watching the promised Redeemer in hopes of defeating\nhis ends.\n\nSuddenly realizing that the conflict between them is about to begin,\nSatan hastens back to Hades to take counsel with his crew. When all\nare assembled, he reminds them how long they have ruled the earth,\nadding that the time has come when their power may be wrested from\nthem and the curse spoken in Eden fulfilled. He fears Jesus is the\npromised Messiah, owing to his miraculous birth, to the testimony of\nthe precursor, and to the heavenly voice when he was baptized. Besides\nhe has recognized in Christ's lineaments the imprint of the Father's\nglory, and avers that, unless they can counteract and defeat the Son's\nends, they will forfeit all they have gained. Realizing, however, that\nthis task is far greater than the one he undertook centuries\nbefore,--when he winged his way through chaos to discover the new\nworld and tempt our first parents,--he volunteers to undertake it in\nperson, and all the evil spirits applaud him. This settled, Satan\ndeparts to carry out the second temptation.\n\nMeantime another assembly has been held in heaven, where, addressing\nthe archangel Gabriel, the Almighty informs him he will soon see the\nfulfilment of the message he bore some thirty years previously to\nMary. He adds that his Son, whom he has publicly recognized, is about\nto be tempted by Satan, who, although he failed in the case of Job, is\nundertaking this new task confident of success. The Almighty also\npredicts that Satan will again be defeated, but declares Christ is as\nfree to yield or resist as Adam when first created, and that before\nsending him out to encounter Sin and Death he means to strengthen him\nby a sojourn in the desert. On hearing that Satan's evil plans will be\nfrustrated, the angels burst into a hymn of triumph with which heaven\nresounds.\n\n  So spake the eternal Father, and all Heaven\n  Admiring stood a space; then into hymns\n  Burst forth, and in celestial measures moved,\n  Circling the throne and singing, while the hand\n  Sung with the voice; and this the argument:\n  \"Victory and triumph to the Son of God\n  Now entering his great duel, not of arms,\n  But to vanquish by wisdom hellish wiles.\n  The Father knows the Son; therefore secure\n  Ventures his filial virtue, though untried,\n  Against whate'er may tempt, whate'er seduce,\n  Allure, or terrify, or undermine.\n  Be frustrate, all ye stratagems of Hell,\n  And devilish machinations come to nought.\"\n\nDuring this time the Son of God, after lingering three days by the\nJordan, is driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, where he\nspends his time meditating upon the great office he had undertaken as\nSaviour of mankind. In a grand soliloquy we hear how since early youth\nhe has been urged onward by divine and philosophical influences, and\nhow, realizing he was born to further truth, he has diligently studied\nthe law of God. Thanks to these studies, our Lord at twelve could\nmeasure his learning with that of the rabbis in the temple. Ever since\nthat time he has longed to rescue his people from the Roman yoke, to\nend brutality, to further all that is good, and to win all hearts to\nGod. He recalls the stories his mother told him in regard to the\nannunciation, to his virgin birth, and to the Star of Bethlehem, and\ncomments upon the fact that the precursor immediately recognized him\nand that a voice from heaven hailed him as the Son of God!\n\nAlthough Christ realizes he has been sent into the wilderness by\ndivine power, and that his future way lies \"through many a hard assay\"\nand may lead even to death, he does not repine. Instead he spends the\nforty days in the wilderness fasting, preparing himself for the great\nwork which he is called upon to accomplish, and paying no heed to the\nwild beasts which prowl around him without doing him any harm.\n\nIt is only when weakness has reached its highest point and when Christ\nbegins to hunger, that Satan approaches him in the guise of an old\npeasant, pathetically describing the difficulty of maintaining life in\nthe wilderness. Then he adds that, having seen Jesus baptized in the\nJordan he begs him to turn the stones around him into food, thereby\nrelieving himself and his wretched fellow-sufferer from the pangs of\nhunger.\n\n  \"But, if thou be the Son of God, command\n  That out of these hard stones be made thee bread;\n  So shalt thou save thyself and us relieve\n  With food, whereof we wretched seldom taste.\"\n\nJesus, however, merely reproaches the tempter, rejoining, \"Man shall\nnot live by bread alone, but from the words which proceed out of the\nmouth of God,\" and explaining that he knows who Satan is and for what\npurpose he has been sent hither. Unable to conceal his identity any\nlonger, the evil spirit admits he has come straight from hell, but\nadds that God gave him power to test Job and to punish Ahab. He argues\nthat the Almighty, who fed the Israelites with manna and supplied\nElijah with miraculous food, does not intend to starve his only Son.\nThen, expressing admiration for Jesus' intellect, Satan explains he is\nnot the foe of man, since through him he has gained everything, and\nwhom he prides himself upon having often helped by oracles and omen.\nIn spite of these arguments, Jesus refuses to listen to him, declares\nhis oracles have lost all power, and adds that he is sent to execute\nhis Father's will.\n\n  \"God hath now sent his living oracle\n  Into the world to teach his final will,\n  And sends his Spirit of truth henceforth to dwell\n  In pious hearts, an inward oracle\n  To all truth requisite for men to know.\"\n\nThus baffled, Satan vanishes into \"thin air diffused,\" and night\nsteals over the desert, where fowls seek their nests while the wild\nbeasts begin to roam in search of food.\n\n_Book II._ John the Baptist and his disciples, made anxious by Jesus'\nlong absence, now begin to seek him as the prophets sought Elijah,\nfearing lest he too may have been caught up into heaven. Hearing Simon\nand Andrew wonder where he has gone and what he is doing, Mary\nrelates the extraordinary circumstances which accompanied her Son's\nbirth, mentioning the flight into Egypt, the return to Nazareth, and\nsundry other occurrences during the youth of our Lord. She declares\nthat, ever since Gabriel's message fell upon her ear, she has been\ntrying to prepare herself for the fulfilment of a promise then made\nher, and has often wondered what Simeon meant when he cried that a\nsword would pierce her very soul! Still, she recalls how at twelve\nyears of age, she grieved over the loss of her Son, until she found\nhim in the temple, when he excused himself by stating he must be about\nhis Father's business. Ever since then Mary has patiently awaited what\nis to come to pass, realizing the child she bore is destined to great\nthings.\n\n  Thus Mary pondering oft, and oft to mind\n  Recalling what remarkably had passed\n  Since first her salutation heard, with thoughts\n  Meekly composed awaited fulfilling.\n\nSatan, having hastened back to the infernal regions, reports the ill\nsuccess of his first venture, and the effect his first temptation had\nupon our Lord. Feeling at a loss, he invites the demons to assist him\nwith their counsel, warning them this task will prove far more\ndifficult than that of leading Adam astray. Belial, the most dissolute\nspirit in hell, then proposes that Satan tempt Jesus with women,\naverring that the female sex possesses so many wiles that even\nSolomon, wisest of kings, succumbed. But Satan scornfully rejects this\nproposal, declaring that He whom they propose thus to tempt is far\nwiser than Solomon and has a much more exalted mind. Although certain\nChrist will prove impervious to the bait of sense, Satan surmises\nthat, owing to a prolonged fast, he may be susceptible to the\ntemptation of hunger, so, taking a select band of spirits, he returns\nto the desert to renew his attempts in a different form.\n\nTransferring us again to the solitude, the poet describes how our\nSaviour passed the night dreaming of Elijah fed by the ravens and of\nDaniel staying his hunger with pulse Awakened at last by the song of\nthe larks, our Lord rises from his couch on the hard ground, and,\nstrolling into fertile valley, encounters Satan, who, superbly\ndressed, expresses surprise he should receive no aid in the wilderness\nwhen Hagar, the Israelites, and Elijah were all fed by divine\nintervention. Then Satan exhibits the wonderful banquet he has\nprepared, inviting Christ to partake of it; but the Son of God\nhaughtily informs him he can obtain food whenever he wishes, and hence\nneed not accept what he knows is offered with evil intent. Seeing our\nLord cannot be assailed on the ground of appetite, Satan causes the\nbanquet to vanish, but remains to tempt Christ with an offer of\nriches, artfully setting forth the power that can be acquired by their\nmeans. He adds, since Christ's mind is set on high designs, he will\nrequire greater wealth than stands at the disposal of the Son of\nJoseph the carpenter. But, although Satan offers to bestow vast\ntreasures upon him, Christ rejects this proffer too, describing what\nnoble deeds have been achieved by poor men such as Gideon, Jephtha,\nand David, as well as by certain Romans. He adds that riches often\nmislead their possessor, and so eloquently describes the drawbacks of\nwealth that Satan realizes it is useless to pursue this attempt.\n\n_Book III._ Again complimenting Christ on his acumen, Satan rehearses\nthe great deeds performed by Philip of Macedon and by Julius Caesar,\nwho began their glorious careers earlier in life than he. Then, hoping\nto kindle in Jesus' heart a passion for worldly glory, Satan artfully\nrelates that Caesar wept because he had lived so long without\ndistinguishing himself; but our Lord quietly demonstrates the futility\nof earthly fame, compared to real glory, which is won only through\nreligious patience and virtuous striving, such as was practiced by Job\nand Socrates. When Christ repeats he is not seeking his own glory but\nthat of the Father who sent him, Satan reminds him God is surrounded\nwith splendor and that it behooves his Son to strive to be like him.\nBut Jesus rejoins that, while glory is the essential attribute of the\nCreator, no one else has a right to aspire to anything of the sort.\n\nUndeterred by these checks, Satan changes his theme, and reminds\nChrist that, as a member of the royal family, he is not only entitled\nto the throne, but expected to free Judea from Roman oppression. He\nstates that the holy temple has been defiled, that injustice has been\ncommitted, and urges that even the Maccabees resorted to arms to free\ntheir country. Although Christ insists no such mission has been\nappointed for him, he adds that, although his reign will never end, it\nwill be only those who can suffer best who will be able to enjoy it.\n\n                        \"Who best\n  Can suffer, best can do; best reign, who first\n  Well hath obeyed; just trial ere I merit\n  My exaltation without change or end.\"\n\nThen, turning upon his interlocutor, Christ inquires why he is so\nanxious to promote the one whose rise will entail his fall? To which\nSatan replies that, having no hope, it little behooves him to obstruct\nthe plans of Christ, from whose benevolence alone he expects some\nmitigation of his punishment, for he fancies that by speaking thus he\ncan best induce Christ to hear him. Then, feigning to believe that\nChrist has refused his offers simply because he has never seen aught\nsave Jerusalem, Satan conveys him in the twinkling of an eye to the\nsummit of a mountain, whence, pointing eastward, he shows him all the\ngreat kingdoms of Asia. Thus, he reveals the glories of Assyria,\nBabylonia, and Persia,--of whose histories he gives a brief\nr\u00e9sum\u00e9,--before pointing out a large Parthian army setting out to war\nagainst the Scythians, for he hopes by this martial display to\nconvince Christ that, in order to obtain a kingdom, he will have to\nresort to military force. Then he adds he can easily enlist the\nservices of this army, with which Christ can drive the Romans out of\nJudea, and triumphantly reign over the land of his ancestors, whence\nhis glory will extend far and wide, until it far surpasses all that\nRome and Caesar achieved. Jesus, however, demonstrates the vanity of\nall military efforts, declaring his time has not yet come, but\nassuring him he will not be found wanting when the moment comes for\nhim to ascend the throne, for he hopes to prove an able ruler.\n\nThen he reminds Satan how he tempted David to take a census against\nGod's wish, and led Israel astray, until the Ten Tribes were taken off\ninto captivity in punishment for their idolatry. He also comments upon\nSatan's extraordinary anxiety to restore the very people whose foe he\nhas always been, as he has proved time and again by leading them into\nidolatry, adding that God may yet restore them to their liberty and to\ntheir native land. These arguments silence even Satan, for such is\never the result when \"with truth falsehood contends.\"\n\n_Book IV._ With all the persistency of his kind, Satan refuses to\nacknowledge himself beaten, and, leading Christ to the western side of\nthe mountain, reveals to him all the splendor of Rome, exhibiting its\nCapitol, Tarpeian Rock, triumphal arches, and the great roads along\nwhich hosts are journeying to the Eternal City. After thus dazzling\nhim, Satan suggests that Christ oust Tiberius (who has no son) from\nthe imperial throne, and make himself master not only of David's\nrealm, but of the whole Roman Empire, establishing law and order where\nvice now reigns.\n\nAlthough Satan eagerly proffers his aid to accomplish all this, our\nLord rejoins such a position has no attraction for him, adding that,\nas long as the Romans were frugal, mild, and temperate, they were\nhappy, but that, when they became avaricious and brutal, they\nforfeited their happiness. He adds that he has not been sent to free\nthe Romans, but that, when his season comes to sit on David's throne,\nhis rule will spread over the whole world and will dwell there without\nend.\n\n  \"Know, therefore, when my season comes to sit\n  On David's throne, it shall be like a tree\n  Spreading and overshadowing all the earth,\n  Or as a stone that shall to pieces dash\n  All monarchies besides throughout the world,\n  And of my kingdom there shall be no end:\n  Means there shall be to this, but what the means\n  Is not for thee to know nor me to tell.\"\n\nPretending that Christ's reluctance is due to the fact that he shrinks\nfrom the exertions necessary to obtain this boon Satan offers to\nbestow it freely upon him, provided he will fall down and worship him.\nHearing this proposal, Christ rebukes the tempter, saying, \"Thou shalt\nworship the Lord thy God and only him shalt serve,\" and reviling him\nfor his ingratitude. To pacify his interlocutor, Satan then proposes\nto make him famous through wisdom, and exhibits Athens,--that\ncelebrated centre of ancient learning--offering to make him master of\nall its schools of philosophy, oratory, and poetry, and thus afford\nhim ample intellectual gratification. But Jesus rejects this offer\nalso, after proving the vanity and insufficiency of heathen philosophy\nand learning, and after demonstrating that many books are a weariness\nto the flesh, and that none compare with those which are the proudest\nboast of God's Chosen People.\n\n                  \"However, many books,\n  Wise men have said, are wearisome: who reads\n  Incessantly, and to his reading brings not\n  A spirit and judgment equal or superior\n  (And what he brings, what needs he elsewhere seek?),\n  Uncertain and unsettled still remains,\n  Beep versed in books and shallow in himself,\n  Crude or intoxicate, collecting toys\n  And trifles for choice matters, worth a sponge;\n  As children gathering pebbles on the shore.\"\n\nIrritated by the failure of all his attempts, Satan next taunts his\nopponent by describing the sufferings and humiliations he will have to\nundergo, until, seeing this too has no effect, he suddenly bears him\nback to the wilderness, where he leaves him for the night, during\nwhich he sends a terrific storm to appall him. Even in sleep Jesus is\nhaunted by dreams and spectres sent by the tempter, but at dawn all\nthese visions disappear, the storm dies down, and a lovely morning\ngreets him when he awakes. Once more Satan appears to warn our Lord\nthat the dreams of the night and the horrors of the tempest were\nforeshadowings of what he will have to undergo. In spite of this,\nChrist assures him he is toiling in vain; whereupon swollen with rage,\nSatan confesses that ever since he heard Gabriel's announcement to the\nshepherds in regard to Christ's birth, he has watched him, hoping to\nget some hold upon him during his infancy, youth, or early manhood. He\nnow inquires whether Christ is really his destined foe and reluctantly\nadmits he has failed in all his endeavors to tempt him. But one last\ntest still remains to be tried, for Satan suddenly conveys Christ to\nthe topmost pinnacle of the Temple of Jerusalem, bidding him\ndemonstrate his divinity by fearlessly casting himself down, since God\nhas \"given his angels charge concerning him.\"\n\nNot only, does our Lord reprove the tempter, but so calmly manifests\nhis divine power by standing erect on this dangerous point, that\nSatan--like all other defeated monsters, such as the Sphinx--falls\nhowling down into the infernal regions. At the same time angels convey\nour Lord to a lovely valley, where they minister unto him with\ncelestial food and celebrate his victory with a triumphal hymn, for\nthe Son of God has successfully resisted the tempter, before whom Adam\nsuccumbed, and has thereby saved man from the penalty of his sin.\n\nHenceforth Satan will never again dare set foot in Paradise, where\nAdam and his chosen descendants are to dwell secure, while the Son of\nMan completes the work he has been sent to do.\n\n  Thus they the Son of God, our Saviour meek,\n  Sung victor, and from heavenly feast refreshed\n  Brought on his way with joy; he unobserved\n  Home to his mother's private house returned.\n\n\n\n\nGERMAN EPICS\n\n\nGerman literature begins after the great migrations (_circa_ 600), and\nits earliest samples are traditional songs of an epic character, like\nthe Hildebrandslied. Owing to diversities of race and speech, there\nare in southern and northern Germany various epic cycles which cluster\naround such heroes as Ermanrich the Goth, Dietrich von Bern, Theodoric\nthe East Goth, Attila the Hun, Gunther the Burgundian, Otfried the\nLangobardian, and Sigfried--perchance a Frisian, or, as some\nauthorities claim, the famous Arminius who triumphed over the Romans.\n\nThe Hildebrandslied relates how Hildebrand, after spending thirty\nyears in Hungary, returns to North Italy, leaving behind him a wife\nand infant son Hadubrand. A false rumor of Hildebrand's death reaches\nHungary when Hadubrand has achieved great renown as a warrior, so,\nwhen in quest for adventure the young man meets his father, he deems\nhim an impostor and fights with him until the poem breaks off, leaving\nus uncertain whether father or son was victorious. But later poets,\nsuch as Kaspar von der Rh\u00f6n, give the story a happy ending, thus\navoiding the tragic note struck in Sorab and Rustem (p. 410).\n\nThere existed so many of these ancient epic songs that Charlemagne\nundertook to collect them, but Louis I, his all too pious son,\ndestroyed this collection on his accession to the throne, because,\nforsooth, these epics glorified the pagan gods his ancestors had\nworshipped!\n\nStill not all the Teutonic epics are of pagan origin, for in the\nsecond period we find such works as Visions of Judgment (Muspilli),\nLives of Saints, and biblical narratives like Heliant (the Saviour),\nJudith, the Exodus, der Krist by Otfried, and monkish-political works\nlike the Ludwigslied, or history of the invasion of the Normans. There\nis also the epic of Walter von Aquitanien, which, although written in\nLatin, shows many traces of German origin.\n\nIn Walther von Aquitanien we have an epic of the Burgundian-Hunnish\ncycle written by Ekkehard of St. Gall before 973. It relates the escape\nof Walther von Aquitanien and his betrothed Hildegund from the court\nof Attila, where the young man was detained as a hostage. After\ndescribing their preparations for flight, their method of travel and\ncamping, the poet relates how they were overtaken in the Vosges\nMountains by a force led by Gunther and Hagen, who wish to secure the\ntreasures they are carrying. Warned in time by Hildegund,--who keeps\nwatch while he sleeps,--Walther dons his armor, and single-handed\ndisposes of many foes. When Gunther Hagen, and Walther alone survive,\nalthough sorely disabled, peace is concluded, and the lovers resume\ntheir journey and reach Aquitania safely, where they reign happily\nthirty years.\n\nIn the third period \"the crusades revived the epic memories of\nCharlemagne and Roland and of the triumphs of Alexander,\" thus giving\nbirth to a Rolandslied and an Alexanderlied, as well as to endless\nchivalrie epics, or romances in verse and prose.\n\nThe Rolandslied--an art epic--gives the marriage and banishment of\nCharlemagne's sister Bertha, the birth of Roland, the manner in which\nhe exacted tribute from his playmates to procure clothes, his first\nappearance in his uncle's palace, his bold seizure of meat and drink\nfrom the royal table to satisfy his mother's needs, Charlemagne's\nforgiveness of his sister for the sake of her spirited boy, the\nepisode regarding the giant warrior in the Ardennes, the fight with\nOliver, the ambush at Roncevaux, and end with Roland's death and the\npunishment of the traitor Ganelon. But later legends claim that\nRoland, recovering from the wounds received at Roncevaux, returned to\nGermany and to his fianc\u00e9e Aude, who, deeming him dead, had meantime\ntaken the veil. We next have Roland's sorrow, the construction of his\nhermitage at Rolandseek, [24] whence he continually overlooks the\nisland of Nonnenw\u00f6rth and the convent where his beloved is wearing her\nlife away in prayers for his soul. This cycle concludes with Roland's\ndeath and burial on this very spot, his face still turned toward the\ngrave where his sweetheart rests.\n\nIn the Langobardian cycle[25] also is the tale of \"Rother,\" supposed\nto be Charlemagne's grandfather, one of the court epics of the Lombard\ncycle. In King Rother we have the abduction by Rother of the emperor's\ndaughter, her recovery by her father, and Rother's pursuit and final\nreconquest of his wife. The next epic in the cycle, \"Otnit,\" related\nthe marriage of this king to a heathen princess, her father's gift of\ndragon's eggs, and the hatching of these monsters, which ultimately\ncause the death of Otnit and infest Teutonic lands with their progeny.\nThen come the legends of Hug-Dietrich and Wolf-Dietrich, which\ncontinue the Lombard cycle and pursue the adventures of Otnit to his\ndeath.\n\nThe legend of Herzog Ernst is still popular, and relates how a duke of\nBavaria once made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and lived through endless\nthrilling adventures on the way.\n\nThe greatest of all the German epics is undoubtedly the\nNibelungenlied,--of which we give a synopsis,--which is often termed\nthe Iliad of Germany, while \"Gudrun\" is considered its Odyssey. This\nfolk epic relates how Hagan, son of a king, was carried off at seven\nyears of age by a griffin. But, before the monster or its young could\ndevour him, the sturdy child effected his escape into the wilderness,\nwhere he grew up with chance-found companions. Rescued finally by a\npassing ship, these young people are threatened with slavery, but\nspared so sad a fate thanks to Hagan's courage. Hagan now returns\nhome, becomes king, and has a child, whose daughter Gudrun is carried\naway from father and lover by a prince of Zealand. On his way home,\nthe kidnapper is overtaken by his pursuers and wages a terrible battle\non the W\u00fclpensand, wherein he proves victorious. But the kidnapper\ncannot induce Gudrun to accept his attentions, although he tries hard\nto win her love. His mother, exasperated by this resistance finally\nundertakes to force Gudrun to submit by dint of hardships, and even\nsends her out barefoot in the snow to do the family washing. While\nthus engaged, Gudrun and her faithful companion are discovered by the\nprincess' brother and lover, who arrange the dramatic rescue of the\ndamsels, whom they marry.[26]\n\nNext in order come the philosophic epics of Wolfram von Eschenbach,\nincluding the immortal Parzifal--which has been used by Tennyson and\nWagner in their poems and opera--and the poetic tales of Gottfried of\nStrassburg, whose Tristan und Isolde, though unfinished, is a fine\npiece of work. Hartmann von der Aue is author of Erek und Enide,--the\nsubject of Tennyson's poem,--of Der arme Heinrich,--which served as\nfoundation for Longfellow's Golden Legend,--and of Iwein or the Knight\nwith the Lion.\n\nAmong the Minnesingers of greatest note are Walther von der\nVogelweide, Wolfram von Eschenbach, and later, when their\nhead-quarters were at N\u00fcremberg, Hans Sachs. Their favorite themes\nwere court epics, dealing especially with the legends of Arthur, of\nthe Holy Grail, and of Charles the Great. Many of these epics are\nembodied in the Heldenbuch, or Book of Heroes, compiled in the\nfifteenth century by Kaspar von der Rh\u00f6n, while the Abenteuerbuch\ncontains many of these legends as well as Der Rosengarten and K\u00f6nig\nLaurin.\n\nIn the second part of the thirteenth century artificiality and\nvulgarity began to preponderate, provoking as counterweights didactic\nworks such as Der Krieg auf der Wartburg. The fourteenth century saw\nthe rise of the free cities, literary guilds, and five universities.\nIt also marks the cultivation of political satire in such works as\nReinecke Fuchs, and of narrative prose chronicles like the L\u00fcneburger,\nAlsatian, and Thuringian Chronicles, which are sometimes termed prose\nepics. The Volksb\u00fccher also date from this time, and have preserved\nfor us many tales which would otherwise have been lost, such as the\nlegends of the Wandering Jew and Dr. Faustus.\n\nThe age of Reformation proved too serious for poets to indulge in any\nepics save new versions of Reinecke Fuchs and Der Froschmeuseler, and\nafter the Thirty Years' War the first poem of this class really worthy\nof mention is Klopstock's Messias, or epic in twenty books on the life\nand mission of Christ and the fulfilment of the task for which he was\nforeordained.\n\nContemporary with Klopstock are many noted writers, who distinguished\nthemselves in what is known as the classic period of German\nliterature. This begins with Goethe's return from Italy, when he, with\nSchiller's aid, formed a classical school of literature in Germany.\n\nWhile Schiller has given us the immortal epic drama \"William Tell,\"\nGoethe produced the idyllic epic \"Hermann und Dorothea,\" the\ndramatical epic \"Faust,\" and an inimitable version of the animal epic\n\"Reinecke Fuchs.\"\n\nWieland also was a prolific writer in many fields; inspired by the\nArabian Nights, Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, and Huon de\nBordeaux, [27] he composed an allegorical epic entitled \"Oberon,\"\nwherein \"picture after picture is unfolded to his readers,\" and which\nhas since served as a theme for musicians and painters.\n\nSince Goethe's day Wagner has made the greatest and most picturesque\nuse of the old German epic material, for the themes of nearly all his\noperas are drawn from this source.[28]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 24: See the author's \"Legends of the Rhine.\"]\n\n[Footnote 25: See the author's \"Legends of the Middle Ages.\"]\n\n[Footnote 26: Detailed accounts of \"Gudrun\" and several other of these\nsubordinate epics can be found in the author's \"Legends of the Middle\nAges.\"]\n\n[Footnote 27: See the author's \"Legends of the Middle Ages.\"]\n\n[Footnote 28: See the author's \"Stories of the Wagner Operas.\"]\n\n\n\n\nTHE NIBELUNGENLIED[29]\n\n\nThe Nibelungenlied, or Song of the Nibelungs, was written about the\nbeginning of the thirteenth century although it relates events dating\nback to the sixth or seventh. Some authorities claim it consists of\ntwenty songs of various dates and origin, others that it is the work\nof a single author. The latter ascribe the poem to Conrad von\nK\u00fcrenberg, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Heinrich von Ofterdingen, or\nWalther von der Vogelweide. The poem is divided into thirty-nine\n\"adventures,\" and contains two thousand four hundred and fifty-nine\nstanzas of four lines each. The action covers a period of about thirty\nyears and is based on materials taken from the Frankish, Burgundian,\nAustro-Gothic, and Hunnish saga cycles.\n\nDietrich von Bern, one of the characters, is supposed to be Theodoric\nof Italy, while Etzel has been identified with Attila the Hun, and the\nGunther with a king of the Burgundians who was destroyed with all his\nfollowers by the Huns in 436.\n\n_1st Adventure._ Three Burgundian princes dwell at Worms on the Rhine,\nwhere, at the time when the poem opens their sister Kriemhild is\nfavored by a vision wherein two eagles pursue a falcon and tear it to\npieces when it seeks refuge on her breast.\n\n  A dream was dreamt by Kriemhild the virtuous and the gay,\n  How a wild young falcon she train'd for many a day,\n  Till two fierce eagles tore it; to her there could not be\n  In all the world such sorrow as this perforce to see.[30]\n\nKnowing her mother expert at interpreting dreams, Kriemhild inquires\nwhat this means, only to learn that her future spouse will be attacked\nby grim foes. This note of tragedy, heard already in the very\nbeginning of the poem, is repeated at intervals until it seems like\nthe reiterated tolling of a funeral bell. _2d Adventure._ The poem\nnow transfers us to Xanten on the Rhine, where King Siegmund and his\nwife hold a tournament for the coming of age of their only son\nSiegfried, who distinguishes himself greatly and in whose behalf his\nmother lavishes rich gifts upon all present.\n\n  The gorgeous feast it lasted till the seventh day was o'er;\n  Siegelind the wealthy did as they did of yore;\n  She won for valiant Siegfried the hearts of young and old\n  When for his sake among them she shower'd the ruddy gold.\n\n_3d Adventure._ Hearing of the beauty of Kriemhild, Siegfried decides\nto go and woo her, taking with him only a troop of eleven men. His\narrival at Worms causes a sensation, and Hagen of Tronje--a cousin of\nKing Gunther--informs his master that this visitor once distinguished\nhimself by slaying a dragon and that he is owner of the vast\nNibelungen hoard. This treasure once belonged to two brothers, who\nimplored Siegfried to divide it between them, a task he undertook in\nexchange for the sword--Balmung--which lay on top of the heap of gold.\nBut no sooner had he made the division than the brothers mortally\nwounded each other and died on their heaps of gold, leaving their\ntreasure to Siegfried, who thus became the richest man in the world.\n\nOn hearing the new-comer announce he has come to challenge Gunther to\na duel, the Burgundians are dismayed, but they soon succeed in\ndisarming their guest, and finally persuade him to remain with them a\nyear, entertaining him with games and tournaments in which Siegfried\ndistinguished himself greatly, to the satisfaction of Kriemhild who\nwitnesses his prowess through a latticed window.\n\n_4th Adventure._ Toward the end of Siegfried's visit, it is reported\nthat the kings of Saxony and Denmark are advancing with four thousand\nmen. The dismay of the Burgundians is such that Siegfried proposes to\ngo forth and overpower the enemy with a force of merely one thousand\nmen. Only too glad to accept this offer, Gunther allows Siegfried to\ndepart, and is overjoyed when the young hero comes back with two\nprisoner monarchs in his train. The messenger who announces\nSiegfried's triumph is, moreover, richly rewarded by Kriemhild, who\nflushes with pleasure on hearing the praise bestowed upon her hero.\n\n_5th Adventure._ After describing the tournament held at Worms in\nhonor of this victory, the poet tells us how Siegfried and Kriemhild\nmet there face to face, and how they fell in love with each other at\nfirst sight.\n\n  Now went she forth, the loveliest, as forth the morning goes\n  From misty clouds out-beaming; then all his weary woes\n  Left him, in heart who bore her, and so, long time, had done.\n  He saw there stately standing the fair, the peerless one.\n\nThe result was of course an immediate proposal, which Gunther was glad\nto accept in his sister's name.\n\n_6th Adventure._ He bargained, however, that before Siegfried claimed\nhis bride he should go with him to Isenland, and help him win the hand\nof Brunhild, the finest woman in the world. Gunther needs Siegfried's\nhelp in his wooing, because Brunhild has vowed to marry only the man\nwho can throw a spear and stone farther than she and surpass her in\njumping. Siegfried, who apparently possesses some knowledge of this\nlady, vainly tries to dissuade Gunther, and, when he decides to\naccompany him in his quest, suggests that Hagen and another knight\nform their train. Kriemhild provides the travellers with suitable\ngarments, made by her own hands, and the four embark on a small\nvessel, in which they sail down the Rhine and out to sea, reaching\nIsenland only twelve days after their start. As they near this land,\nSiegfried strictly charges his companions to tell every one he is\nGunther's vassal, and immediately begins to act as if such were indeed\nhis real station.\n\n_7th Adventure._ Gazing out of her window, Brunhild perceives the\napproaching ship, and, recognizing within it Siegfried,--who visited\nher realm once before,--her heart beats with joy at the thought that\nhe has come to woo her. She is, however, amazed to see him hold\nGunther's stirrup when they land, and to learn it is the king of\nBurgundy who sues for her hand. In her disappointment Brunhild grimly\nwarns the new-comer that, unless he prove successful, he and his men\nmust die.\n\n  \"He must cast the stone beyond me, and after it must leap,\n  Then with me shoot the javelin; too quick a pace you keep;\n  Stop and awhile consider, and reckon well the cost,\"\n  The warrioress made answer, \"ere life and fame be lost.\"\n\nUndeterred by this threat, Gunther volunteers to undergo the test, but\nhe quails when he sees the heavy spear which Brunhild brandishes and\nwhen he perceives that twelve men stagger beneath the weight she\nproposes to throw. He is, however, somewhat reassured when Siegfried\nwhispers he need but go through the motions, while his friend,\nconcealed by the Tarncappe,--the cloak of invisibility which endows\nthe wearer with the strength of twelve men,--will perform the required\nfeats in his behalf.\n\n  Said he, \"Off with the buckler and give it me to bear,\n  Now, what I shall advise thee, mark with thy closest care.\n  Be it thine to make the gestures, and mine the work to do.\"\n  Glad man was then king Gunther, when he his helpmate knew.\n\nIn the first test Brunhild casts a spear with such force that both\nGunther and his invisible companion stagger and nearly fall, but, just\nas she is about to cry victory, Siegfried sends back the spear\nbutt-end foremost and brings her to her knees. Veiling her dismay at\nthis first defeat, Brunhild hurls the stone to a great distance and\nlands beside it with a flying leap. In Gunther's place the invisible\nSiegfried hurls the same stone much farther than Brunhild, and seizing\nGunther by his belt jumps with him to the spot where it alighted.\nHaving thus been outdone in all three feats of strength, Brunhild no\nlonger refuses her hand to Gunther, who appears triumphant, although\nhis prospective bride looks strangely solemn and angry.\n\n_8th Adventure._ Because Brunhild summons to her castle a large number\nof warriors, under pretext of celebrating her nuptials, Siegfried\nsails off unseen to the land of the Nibelungs, where he batters at\nhis castle gate demanding admittance. As the wary dwarf guardian of\nthe Nibelung hoard refuses to admit him, Siegfried fights him and\nafter conquering him compels him to recognize his authority. Then he\nbids a thousand Nibelung warriors accompany him back to Isenland, and\nBrunhild, seeing this force approaching and learning from Gunther it\nis part of his suite, no longer dares to resist.\n\n_9th Adventure._ The fair bride, escorted by all these men, now sails\nacross the sea and up the Rhine. As they near Burgundy, Gunther\ndecides to send word of their arrival, and persuades Siegfried to act\nas his messenger by assuring him he will earn Kriemhild's gratitude.\n\n  Said he, \"Nay, gentle Siegfried, do but this journey take,\n  Not for my sake only, but for my sister's sake.\n  You'll oblige fair Kriemhild in this as well as me.\"\n  When so implor'd was Siegfried, ready at once was he.\n\n_10th Adventure._ Not only does Siegfried receive the fair lady's\nhearty thanks, but he acts as her escort when she hastens down to the\nbank to welcome her brother and his bride. The poem then describes the\nkissing, speeches, and grand tournament held to welcome Brunhild, as\nwell as the banquet where Siegfried publicly reminds Gunther he\npromised him Kriemhild's hand as soon as Brunhild was won. Exclaiming\nthis promise shall immediately be redeemed, Gunther sends for his\nsister, although his new wife openly wonders he should bestow her hand\nupon a mere vassal. Silencing his bride's objections, Gunther confers\nKriemhild's hand upon Siegfried, and thus two bridal couples sit side\nby side at the evening meal.\n\nThe hour having come for retiring, Gunther, attempting to embrace his\nbride, is dismayed to find himself seized, bound fast, and hung up on\na peg, where he dangles all night in spite of piteous entreaties to be\nset free. It is only a moment before the servants enter on the morrow\nthat Brunhild consents to release her spouse, so when the bridegrooms\nappear in public, everybody notices that while Siegfried is radiant,\nGunther's brow is clouded by a heavy frown. In course of the day, the\nKing of Burgundy confides to his new brother-in-law the cause of his\ndispleasure, whereupon Siegfried promises to don his cloud cloak that\nevening and compel Gunther's bride to treat her husband henceforth\nwith due respect. True to this promise, Siegfried, unseen, follows\nGunther and Brunhild into their apartment that night, and, the lights\nhaving been extinguished, wrestles with the bride until she\nacknowledges herself beaten. Although fancying she is yielding to\nGunther, it is Siegfried who snatches her girdle and ring before\nleaving Gunther to reap the benefit of his victory, for Brunhild,\nhaving submitted to a man, loses her former fabulous strength.\nMeanwhile Siegfried returns to Kriemhild, imprudently relates how he\nhas been occupied, and bestows upon her the girdle and ring.\n\n_11th Adventure._ The wedding festivities finished, Siegfried returns\nto Xanten with his bride, who is escorted thither by her faithful\nhenchman Ekkewart, who has vowed to follow her wherever she goes.\nSiegfried's parents not only receive the bride cordially, but\nrelinquish their throne to the young couple, who live together most\nhappily and are overjoyed at the advent of a son.\n\n_12th Adventure._ Twelve whole years elapse ere Brunhild asks Gunther\nhow it happens his vassal Siegfried has never yet come to Worms to do\nhomage? Although Gunther now assures his wife Siegfried is a king in\nhis own right, she nevertheless insists her brother-in-law and his\nwife should be invited to Worms, a suggestion which Gunther is only\ntoo glad to carry out.\n\n_13th Adventure._ Overjoyed at the prospect of revisiting the scene of\ntheir courtship, Siegfried and Kriemhild return to Worms, leaving\ntheir infant son at home, but taking with them Siegfried's father who\nhas recently lost his wife. To honor her sister-in-law, Brunhild\nwelcomes Kriemhild with the same state that heralded her own entrance\nat Worms. Banquets and tournaments also take place, whereat the two\nqueens try to outshine each other. One day, while sitting together\nextolling their husband's virtues, a quarrel arises, during which\nBrunhild curtly informs Kriemhild her husband can scarcely be as great\nas she pretends, seeing he is merely Gunther's vassal!\n\n_14th Adventure._ Of course Kriemhild hotly denies this, and, when\nBrunhild insists, declares she will prove her husband's superiority by\nclaiming precedence at the church door. Instigated by wrath, both\nladies deck themselves magnificently and arrive simultaneously to\nattend mass, escorted by imposing trains. Seeing Kriemhild make a\nmotion as if to enter first, Brunhild bids her pause, and the two\nladies begin an exchange of uncomplimentary remarks. In the heat of\nthe quarrel, Kriemhild insinuates that Brunhild granted Siegfried\nbridal favors, and in proof thereof exhibits Brunhild's girdle and\nring! Brunhild immediately sends for Gunther, who, helpless between\ntwo angry women, summons Siegfried. Bluntly declaring wives should be\nkept in order, Siegfried undertakes to discipline Kriemhild, provided\nGunther will reduce Brunhild to subjection, and publicly swears he\nnever approached the Burgundian queen in any unseemly way. In spite of\nthis public apology, Brunhild refuses to be comforted, and, as her\nhusband utterly refuses to take active measures to avenge her, she\nfinally prevails upon her kinsman Hagen to take up her quarrel. Under\nthe mistaken impression that she has been grievously wronged by\nSiegfried, Hagen urges Gunther to attack his brother-in-law, until the\nweak king yields to the pressure thus brought to bear by his angry\nwife and kinsman.\n\n  None urged the matter further, except that Hagen still\n  Kept ever prompting Gunther the guiltless blood to spill;\n  Saying, that, if Siegfried perish'd, his death to him would bring\n  The sway o'er many a kingdom. Sore mourn'd the wavering king.\n\n_15th Adventure._ A cunning plan is now devised by Hagen whereby\nSiegfried is informed that the monarchs he once conquered have again\nrisen up in rebellion. Of course Siegfried volunteers to subdue them\nonce more, and Kriemhild, hearing he is about to start for war,\nexpresses great anxiety for his safety. Under pretext of sympathy,\nHagen inquires why Kriemhild feels any dread, seeing her husband is\ninvulnerable, and learns the secret that Siegfried can be injured in a\nspot between his shoulders, because a lime-leaf, sticking fast there,\nprevented the dragon's blood from touching that spot.[31]\n\n  \"So now I'll tell the secret, dear friend, alone to thee\n  (For thou, I doubt not, cousin, will keep thy faith with me),\n  Where sword may pierce my darling, and death sit on the thrust,\n  See, in thy truth and honor how full, how firm my trust!\"\n\nUnder pretext of protecting this vulnerable point, Hagen persuades\nKriemhild to embroider a cross on her husband's garment over the fatal\nspot. Then, sure now of triumphing over this dreaded foe, he feigns\nthe kings have sent word they will submit, and proposes that instead\nof fighting they all go hunting in the Odenwald.\n\n_16th Adventure._ Troubled by strange presentiments, Kriemhild tries\nto prevent Siegfried from going to the chase, but, laughing at her\nfears, he departs joyfully, although he is never to see her again.\nAfter describing the game slain in the course of this day's hunt, the\npoet declares Siegfried captured a live bear and playfully let it\nloose in amp, to the horror of his fellow hunters. Then, feeling\nthirsty, Siegfried loudly began to call for drink, and, discovering\nthat owing to a mistake the wine has been conveyed to another part of\nthe forest, proposes that he, Gunther, and Hagen should race to a\nneighboring spring, undertaking to perform the feat in full armor\nwhile his companions run in light undress. Although handicapped,\nSiegfried arrives first, but courteously steps aside to allow Gunther\nto take a drink, pretending he wishes to remove his armor before\nquenching his thirst. But, when he, in his turn, stoops over the\nfountain, Hagen, after slyly removing his weapons out of his reach,\nsteals up behind him and runs a spear into the very spot where the\nembroidered cross shines on his doublet. Mortally wounded, Siegfried\nturns, and, grasping his shield, hurls it at the traitor with such\nforce that he dashes it to pieces.\n\n  E'en to the death though wounded, he hurl'd it with such power\n  That the whirling buckler scatter'd wide a shower\n  Of the most precious jewels, then straight in shivers broke.\n  Full gladly had the warrior ta'en vengeance with that stroke.\n\nSinking to the ground after this effort, Siegfried expends his last\nbreath in beseeching Gunther to watch over his wife. Gazing down at\nthe corpse, Gunther, afraid to acknowledge so dastardly a deed,\nsuggests they spread the report that Siegfried was slain by brigands\nwhile hunting alone in the forest. Hagen, however, proud of his feat\ndoes not intend to subscribe to this project, and plots further\nvillainy while following the body back to Worms.\n\n_17th Adventure._ The funeral train arriving there at midnight, Hagen\ndirects the bearers to lay Siegfried's body at Kriemhild's door, so\nthat she may stumble over it when she comes out at dawn on her way to\nmass. On perceiving that the dead body over which she has fallen is\nthat of her beloved spouse, Kriemhild faints, while her women raise a\nmournful cry.\n\nRoused from his slumbers by the terrible news, old Siegmund joins the\nmourners, and he and the Nibelung knights carry the body to the\nminster, where Kriemhild insists all those who took part in the hunt\nshall file past it, for she hopes thereby to detect her husband's\nmurderer. (Mediaeval tradition averred that a dead man's wounds bled\nwhenever his murderer drew near.) Because Siegfried's wounds drop\nblood at Hagen's touch, Kriemhild publicly denounces him as her\nhusband's slayer.\n\n  It is a mighty marvel, which oft e'en now we spy,\n  That, when the blood-stain'd murderer comes to the murder'd nigh,\n  The wounds break out a bleeding, then too the same befell,\n  And thus could each beholder the guilt of Hagen tell.\n\nBut, instead of showing remorse, Hagen boldly proclaims he merely did\nhis duty when he slew the man who cast a slur upon the honor of his\nqueen.\n\n_18th Adventure._ Having laid his beloved son to rest, old Siegmund\nreturns home, after vainly urging Kriemhild to leave the place where\nSiegfried is buried and return to her son, for, although Kriemhild's\nmother and brothers try to show her every mark of sympathy, Brunhild\nreveals no pity.\n\n  Meanwhile sat misproud Brunhild in haughtiness uncheck'd;\n  Of Kriemhild's tears and sorrows her it nothing reck'd.\n  She pitied not the mourner; she stoop'd not to the low.\n  Soon Kriemhild took full vengeance, and woe repaid with woe.\n\n_19th Adventure._ Three years elapse before Hagen suggests to Gunther\nthat his sister send for the Nibelung hoard which was given her on her\nmarriage. Intending to employ it to buy masses and avengers for\nSiegfried, Kriemhild gladly consents, and we are told twelve wagons\ntravelled four nights and days to convey the store of gold from the\nNibelung castle to the sea, whence it was carried to Kriemhild at\nWorms. With such a treasure at her disposal, the widowed queen\nproceeds to win so many adherents that Hagen, deeming this gold may\nprove dangerous, advises her brothers to take possession of it. No\nsooner have they done so than, fearing lest they may restore it to\nKriemhild, Hagen buries it in the Rhine, telling none but his masters\nin what place it is hidden.\n\n_20th Adventure._ Having lost his first wife, Etzel, king of Hungary,\nnow deems it advisable to marry again and secure an heir to his realm.\nAs no other woman seems so fitted for so exalted a station as\nKriemhild, Etzel sends his chief nobleman, Rudiger, to Worms with his\nproposal. After tarrying a few days on the way with his wife and\ndaughter, this ambassador hurries to Worms, where he is welcomed by\nHagen, who had formerly spent several years as a hostage at Etzel's\ncourt. Rudiger having made his errand known, Gunther beseeches three\ndays' time to ascertain his sister's wishes. Flattered by the prospect\nof such an alliance, Gunther hopes Kriemhild will accept Etzel's\nproposal, but Hagen rejoins that should she secure such powerful\nallies, she might in time punish them for Siegfried's death. At first\nthe widowed Kriemhild refuses to listen to Etzel's offers, but, when\nRudiger swears to her past or future ills, she suddenly announces her\nconsent.\n\n  Then swore to her Sir Rudiger and all his knightly train\n  To serve her ever truly, and all her rights maintain,\n  Nor e'er of her due honors scant her in Etzel's land.\n  Thereto gave the good margrave th' assurance of his hand.\n\n  Then thought the faithful mourner, \"with such a host of friends\n  Now the poor lonely widow may work her secret ends,\n  Nor care for what reflections the world on her may cast.\n  What if my lost beloved I may revenge at last?\"\n\nThen, still escorted by the faithful Ekkewart and carrying off with\nher the small portion of the Nibelungen treasure which she still\nretains, Kriemhild starts out for Hungary.\n\n_21st Adventure._ The three Burgundian princes escort their sister to\nthe Danube and, taking leave of her there, allow her to proceed with\nRudiger to Passau, where her uncle, Bishop Pilgrin, gives her a warm\nwelcome. Thence the travellers proceed to Rudiger's castle, where his\nwife and daughter entertain their future queen, who bestows upon them\ncostly treasures. Resuming her journey, Kriemhild is now met on all\nsides by the ovations of her future subjects.\n\n_22d Adventure._ When Etzel and his chief noblemen finally meet her,\nKriemhild courteously kisses her future spouse, as well as the men\nwhom he points out as worthy of such distinction. Among these is\nDietrich of Bern, one of the heroes of the poem, and it is under his\nescort that the king and queen of Hungary proceed to Vienna, where\ntheir marriage festivities last seventeen days.\n\n_23d Adventure._ Seven years elapse, and, although Kriemhild has a son\nby Etzel, she still grieves for Siegfried and continually broods over\nher wrongs. One day she suddenly suggests that King Etzel invite her\nkinsmen to Hungary, and, when he consents, gives special instructions\nto the bards who bear the message to make sure that Hagen accompanies\nher brothers.\n\n_24th Adventure._ After fourteen days' journey the minstrels reach\nWorms and deliver their message. All are in favor of accepting this\ninvitation save Hagen, who remarks that such friendliness seems\nsuspicious. When his master retorts a guilty conscience harbors fear,\nHagen stoutly avers he is ready to serve as guide, suggesting,\nhowever, that they journey fully armed, with an escort of a thousand\nmen, so as to cope with treachery should such occur.\n\n  \"Turn, while there's time for safety, turn, warriors most and least;\n  For this, and for this only, you're bidden to the feast,\n  That you perforce may perish in Etzel's bloody land.\n  Whoever rideth thither, Death has he close at hand.\"\n\n_25th Adventure._ Dismissed with the old queen's blessing, the\nBurgundians leave Brunhild and her son in charge of a steward, and set\nout. As they are now sole possessors of the great Nibelung hoard, the\npoet terms them Nibelungs in the remainder of his work. Under the\nguidance of Hagen, who alone knows the way, the party reaches the\nbanks of the Danube, where, finding no vessels to ferry them across,\nHagen bids them wait until he provide means of transportation. Walking\ndown the river, he surprises three swan-maidens bathing, and by\ncapturing their garments induces them to predict the future. Although\none promises him all manner of pleasant things to recover her plumes,\nher companions, having secured theirs, warn Hagen that none but the\npriest will return safely to Burgundy, and inform him that he can\nsecure a boat by assuring the ferry-man on the opposite bank that his\nname is Amalung.\n\nThanks to this hint, Hagen induces the ferry-man to cross the river\nand springs into his boat, before the man, discovering the trick,\nattacks him with his oar. Forced to defend himself, Hagen slays the\nferry-man, takes possession of his boat, and then proceeds to convey\nrelays of the Burgundian army across the river. During his last trip,\nperceiving the chaplain on board and wishing to give the lie to the\nswan-maidens' prophecy, Hagen flings the priest into the water; but\nthe long ecclesiastical garments buoy up their wearer and enable him\nto regain the bank which he has just left, whence he makes his way\nback to Burgundy. On perceiving the priest's escape, Hagen realizes\nnone of the rest will return, so grimly destroys the boat as soon as\nhe is through with it. Then he directs his friends to ride onward,\nleaving him to guard their rear, for he knows the boatman's friends\nwill pursue and attack them.\n\n_26th Adventure._ Although Hagen's apprehensions are soon justified,\nthe Burgundians fight so bravely that their assailants are defeated. A\nlittle farther on they find a man sleeping by the roadside, and\ndiscover it is Ekkewart, lying in wait to warn them that Kriemhild\ncherishes evil intentions. But, undeterred by this warning also, the\nBurgundians continue their journey, and visit Bishop Pilgrin and\nRudiger on their way.\n\n_27th Adventure._ While at Rudiger's,--where the ladies welcome all\nsave Hagen with a kiss, and where the host lavishes gifts upon his\nguests,--Hagen suggests that a marriage be arranged between Giseler,\nthe youngest Burgundian prince, and Rudiger's daughter. In compliance\nwith this suggestion, a formal betrothal takes place.\n\n  Then had the bride and bridegroom within a ring to stand,\n  For such was then the custom; a merry stripling band\n  Encircled the fair couple, and gaz'd on them their fill,\n  And thought the while as idly as think young people still.\n\nThis ceremony over, Rudiger prepares to guide the Burgundians to\nEtzel's court, where Kriemhild is rejoicing to think they will soon\nappear.\n\n_28th Adventure._ So patent are Kriemhild's evil intentions, that\nDietrich of Bern and his faithful henchman Hildebrand also caution the\nBurgundians to be on their guard. This second warning impresses the\nvisitors, who at Hagen's suggestion announce they will retain their\nweapons for three days. When they arrive at the palace, Kriemhild\ncordially embraces her youngest brother, but refuses the same welcome\nto the two others, and grimly asks Hagen whether he has brought her\ngold. When he bluntly rejoins her treasures will remain in the Rhine\nuntil Doomsday, she abruptly turns her back upon him, and invites the\nrest to enter the palace, leaving their arms at the door. Thereupon\nHagen announces his masters have vowed to spend the next three days in\narms, a measure which Dietrich openly approves, informing Kriemhild to\nher very face that he is sure she means no good.\n\n_29th Adventure._ Although the three royal brothers accompany\nKriemhild into the palace, Hagen lingers at the door, and, inviting\nthe minstrel Volker to sit on the bench beside him, confides to him\nhis fears, entreating him to stand by him, and promising to do the\nsame in his behalf should the need occur.\n\n  \"Tell me now, friend Volker, will you stand me by,\n  If these men of Kriemhild's would my mettle try?\n  Show me, if you love me, faithful friend and true!\n  And when you need my service I'll do as much for you.\"\n\nOn seeing her foe so close at hand, Kriemhild summons four hundred\nwarriors, and bids them attack Hagen, for at present _he_ is the only\none against whom she has sinister designs. To prove to the men that\nHagen is guilty, she offers to meet and question her foe in their\npresence. On seeing her coming, Volker suggests they rise in token of\nrespect, but Hagen grimly rejoins Kriemhild would merely take such\npoliteness as a proof of weakness. Instead of rising, he therefore\nostentatiously lays Siegfried's sword across his lap. After taunting\nHagen with slaying her husband,--a charge he does not deny,--Kriemhild\norders her men to slay him, but a single glance of his fiery eyes\nsends them back cringing, and the queen cannot prevail upon them to\nrenew the attack. Seeing this, Volker and Hagen boldly join their\nfriends in the banquet-hall, where Etzel--who is depicted as an\ninoffensive, unsuspicious old man--cordially bids them welcome.\n\n_30th Adventure._ On their way to their sleeping quarters that night,\nthe Burgundians are jostled by some Huns, who, instigated by\nKriemhild, are evidently seeking to provoke a quarrel. In spite of\ntheir efforts, however, the Burgundians reach their dormitory in\nsafety, where Hagen and Volker watch all night at the door to guard\nagainst surprise. It is well for them they do so, because at midnight\nKriemhild dispatches a force to attack them, but again the Huns shrink\naway appalled on meeting Hagen's menacing glance.\n\n_31st Adventure._ At dawn the Burgundians, still fully armed, march\noff to church, and after service proceed with the king and queen to\nview a tournament held in their honor. In these games Rudiger and\nDietrich both refuse to take part, lest an accident should occur.\nTheir previsions are justified, for, when Volker inadvertently slays a\nHun, Kriemhild loudly clamors for vengeance, although her husband\nimplores that peace be maintained. Fomented by Kriemhild's secret\nefforts, such bad feelings have arisen among the Huns against their\nguests, that Etzel's own brother finally undertakes to compass their\ndeath. Meantime the old king, having invited the Burgundians to a\nbanquet, is surprised to see the princes arrive fully armed, but tries\nto show his friendship by promising they shall bring up his son.\n\n_32d Adventure._ While the Burgundians are banqueting with the king of\nHungary, their men are resting in the hall where they slept, under the\ncharge of Dankwart, Hagen's brother. There they are suddenly attacked\nby some Huns, and, although they manage to slay most of their first\nassailants, the deaths they deal kindle lasting animosity in the\nbreast of the rest of the Huns. New forces therefore press into the\nhall, until all the Burgundians are slain, save Dankwart, who, cutting\nhis way through the enemy's serried ranks, rushes into the hall where\nhis brother is feasting, and reports what has occurred.\n\n  \"Be stirring, brother Hagen, you're sitting all too long.\n  To you and God in heaven our deadly strait I plain;\n  Yeomen and knights together lie in their quarters slain.\"\n\n_33d Adventure._ No sooner has this cry reached his ear, than Hagen,\nwhipping out his sword, cuts off the head of Etzel's child, which\nbounces into its mother's lap. Then, calling to his brother to prevent\nany escape, Hagen shears off the hand of the minstrel who invited them\nto Hungary, before he begins slashing right and left. Paralyzed by the\nsight of their headless son, Etzel and Kriemhild sit immovable on\ntheir thrones, while Hagen despatches Volker to help Dankwart guard\nthe door, and bids his masters make use of their weapons while they\nmay. Although the Burgundians now slay ruthlessly, mindful of the\nkindness shown by Dietrich and Rudiger they refrain from attacking\nthem or their men. When these noblemen therefore beg permission to\npass out safely with their friends, their request is unquestionably\ngranted. Grasping the king and queen by the hand, Dietrich then leads\nthem out of the hall, closely followed by Rudiger and their respective\nmen, while the Burgundians continue the massacre until not a living\nfoe is left in the hall.\n\n_34th Adventure._ Weary of slaughter, the Burgundians now sit down for\na moment to rest, but, finding the presence of so many corpses\ndistasteful, they fling seven hundred victims down the steps, those\nwho are merely wounded being killed by the fall. The Huns, who come to\npick up their dead, now set up so loud and persistent a cry for\nrevenge, that their monarch is compelled to prepare a force to oust\nthe Burgundians from his banquet-hall. Seeing the aged monarch himself\nadvance at the head of the troops, Hagen, who guards the door, loudly\njeers at him, whereupon Kriemhild offers an immense reward to any one\nwho will bring her his head.\n\n_35th Adventure._ The first to try to earn this guerdon is a Dane, who\nnot only succeeds in entering the hall but in effecting a retreat.\nWhen, emboldened by this first success, he advances a second time with\na new force, he is killed as well as his men.\n\n_36th Adventure._ After a second brief rest, the Burgundians prepare\nto meet a new assault directed by Kriemhild, whose wrath now involves\nall her kinsmen, although at first she meditated the death of Hagen\nalone. The murder of his child has incensed even Etzel, and the Huns\nplan a general massacre to avenge their slain. Although the\nBurgundians offer to meet Etzel's forces in fair fight provided they\ncan return home unmolested if victorious, Kriemhild urges her husband\nto refuse unless Hagen is delivered up to their tender mercies.\nDeeming it dishonorable to forsake a companion, the Burgundians reject\nthese terms, whereupon Kriemhild, whose fury has reached a frantic\npoint, orders the hall set on fire.\n\nAlthough the queen fancies the Burgundians will be roasted alive, the\nhall being built of stone offers them a place of refuge, and, as they\nquench in blood all the sparks that enter, they succeed in maintaining\ntheir position.\n\n  'Twas well for the Burgundians that vaulted was the roof;\n  This was, in all their danger, the more to their behoof.\n  Only about the windows from fire they suffer'd sore.\n  Still, as their spirit impell'd them, themselves they bravely bore.\n\nThe intensity of the heat causes such thirst, however, that Hagen bids\nhis companions quench that too in the blood of the slain. Thus, six\nhundred Burgundians are found alive when a new Hungarian force bursts\ninto the hall.\n\n_37th Adventure._ Having failed in this third attempt, Kriemhild\nreminds Rudiger of his solemn oath, and bids him redeem his promise by\nslaying the Burgundians. Although this nobleman pleads with the queen,\noffering instead to relinquish all he owns and leave her land a\nbeggar, she insists upon his obedience to her commands. Fully armed,\nRudiger, therefore, finally marches toward the hall and, arriving at\nthe foot of the staircase, explains his position to the Burgundians.\nKnowing his generosity, Hagen, whose shield has been cut to pieces,\nbegs for the one Rudiger carries, and, after receiving it, declares he\nwill give a good account of himself before he yields. The signal for\nbattle is then given and Rudiger and his men enter the hall, where,\nafter many have fallen on both sides, Gernot, one of Kriemhild's\nbrothers, and Rudiger slay each other.\n\n_38th Adventure._ A new batch of corpses having been flung down\nstairs, such a lament arises among the Huns that Dietrich of Bern\ninquires what it may mean. On learning that Rudiger has been slain,\nDietrich bids Hildebrand go and claim his corpse, but, instead of\nacting merely as ambassador, this warrior first bandies words with\nVolker and then slays him. Seeing this, Hagen drives him down the\nstairs, and discovers that all the Burgundians have now been slain,\nand that he and Gunther alone remain alive in the hall. Meantime\nHildebrand having reported to Dietrich all that has occurred, this\nchief, hearing most of his men have perished, sallies forth to avenge\nthem.\n\n_39th Adventure._ On approaching the hall, Dietrich summons Hagen and\nGunther to surrender, promising to use his influence to secure their\nsafe return home; but the two Burgundians, feeling sure Kriemhild will\nshow no mercy, refuse to yield. A duel, therefore, takes place between\nDietrich and the exhausted Hagen, in the course of which, by means of\na sudden feint, Dietrich seizes and binds his foe. Then, leading him\nto Kriemhild, he implores her to be merciful to this prisoner, while\nhe returns to secure Gunther also.\n\n  \"Fair and noble Kriemhild,\" thus Sir Dietrich spake,\n  \"Spare this captive warrior who full amends will make\n  For all his past transgressions; him here in bonds you see;\n  Revenge not on the fetter'd th' offences of the free.\"\n\nWhile Dietrich is securing Gunther in the same way, the queen, left\nalone with Hagen, again demands her treasures. Hagen rejoins that,\nhaving promised never to reveal their hiding-place as long as his\nlords live, he cannot reveal the secret to her. Hearing this\nstatement, Kriemhild, whose cruelty now knows no bounds, orders\nGunther--her last brother--slain, and herself carries his head to\nHagen, as proof there is no more reason for guarding the secret.\nProudly informing her, since it now depends upon him alone, it will\nremain secret forever, Hagen so exasperates Kriemhild that, drawing\nfrom its scabbard the sword which once belonged to Siegfried, she hews\noff her prisoner's head with one revengeful stroke! Although neither\nher husband nor Hildebrand have been quick enough to forestall this\ncrime, the latter is so exasperated by Kriemhild's cruelty that he now\nslays her in his turn.\n\n  Hildebrand the aged, fierce on Kriemhild sprung;\n  To the death he smote her as his sword he swung.\n  Sudden and remorseless he his wrath did wreak.\n  What could then avail her her fearful thrilling shriek!\n\nIt is, therefore, in the presence of her corpse that Dietrich and\nEtzel utter the loud lament with which the Nibelungenlied closes.\n\nThere is, however, another poem called the Nibelungenklage, or the\nLament of the Nibelungs, wherein Etzel, Dietrich, Hildebrand, Bishop\nPilgrin, and the rest utter successive laments over the slain. Then\nthe spoil of the Burgundians is sent back to Worms, where these\nlamentations are continued, each mourner reciting the deeds of the man\nwhose fate he bewails. This poem is, however, greatly inferior to the\nreal Nibelungenlied, and was evidently not composed by the same bard.\n\n  \"'Tis more than I can tell you what afterward befell,\n  Save that there was weeping for friends belov'd so well\n  Knights and squires, dames and damsels, were seen lamenting all.\n  So here I end my story. This is the Nibelungers' Fall.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 29: See the author's \"Legends of the Middle Ages.\"]\n\n[Footnote 30: All the quotations in this chapter are from Lettsom's\ntranslation of \"The Nibelungenlied.\"]\n\n[Footnote 31: See the author's \"Legends of the Rhine.\"]\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE HOLY GRAIL\n\n\nThe Anglo-Norman trouv\u00e8res rightly considered the Story of the Holy\nGrail the central point of interest of the Arthurian cycle, or the\ngrand climax in the legend.\n\nSo many versions of the tale have been written by poets of different\nnationalities and different ages--all of whom have added\ncharacteristic touches to the story--that, instead of following the\ntext of any one particular version, a general outline of the two\nprincipal Holy Grail legends will be given here. Although all the\npoets do not mention the origin of the Holy Grail, or sacred vessel, a\nfew trace its history back to the very beginning. They claim that\nwhen Lucifer stood next to the Creator, or Father, in the heavenly\nhierarchy, the other angels presented him with a wonderful crown,\nwhose central jewel was a flawless emerald of unusual size.\n\nThe advent of the Son, relegating Lucifer to the third instead of the\nsecond place, occasioned his apostasy, which, as Milton explains, was\nfollowed by war in heaven and by the expulsion of the rebel angels.\nDuring his fall from the heights of heaven to the depths of hell, the\nemerald, dropping out of Satan's crown, fell upon earth. There it was\nfashioned into the cup or dish which Our Lord used during the Last\nSupper, and in which Joseph of Arimathea caught a few drops of blood\nwhich flowed from His side. After the Crucifixion the Jews walled\nJoseph alive in a prison, where he was sustained in good health and\nspirits by the Holy Grail, which he had taken with him. In this prison\nJoseph lingered until Vespasian, hearing the story of Christ's\npassion, sent messengers to Palestine for relics, hoping they might\ncure his son Titus of leprosy. Restored to health by the sight of St.\nVeronica's handkerchief,--which had wiped away the bloody sweat from\nOur Lord's brow and bore the imprint of his feature,--Titus proceeded\nto Jerusalem, where he summoned the Jews to produce the body of\nChrist. Not being able to comply, they accused Joseph of having stolen\nit. Thereupon Titus, continuing his investigations, found Joseph alive\nand well in the prison where he was supposed to have perished. Free\nonce more, yet dreading further persecution, Joseph embarked, with his\nsister and brother-in-law Brons, in a vessel bound for Marseilles, the\nHoly Grail supplying all their needs during the journey. On landing in\nFrance, Joseph was divinely instructed to construct a table, around\nwhich he and his companions could be seated, and where the Holy Grail\nsupplied each guest with the food he preferred. But one seat at this\ntable, in memory of Judas, was to remain empty until a sinless man\ncame to occupy it. A sinner, once attempting to seat himself in it,\nwas swallowed up by the earth, and Joseph was informed that the\nenchanter Merlin would in time make a similar table, where a\ndescendant of Brons would have the honor of occupying this \"Siege\nPerilous.\" From Marseilles, by gradual stages, and meeting with every\nkind of adventure on the way, Joseph, or his descendants, conveyed the\nHoly Grail to Glastonbury in England, where it remained visible until\npeople became too sinful for it to dwell any more in their midst. It\nwas then borne off to Sarras, an island city,--presumably located in\nthe Mediterranean,--where, according to one legend King Evelake\nmounted guard over the treasure.\n\nAccording to another legend, a pilgrim knight laid a golden cross on\nthe Holy Sepulchre, ardently praying for a son, whom at his birth he\nnamed Titurel and dedicated to the service of the Lord. After this\nTiturel had spent years in warfare against the Saracens and in doing\ngood to the poor, an angel announced to him that he had been chosen to\nguard the Holy Grail, which was about to descend once more to earth,\nand take up its abode on Montsalvatch. This vision sufficed to send\nTiturel off on a quest for the Holy Mountain,--which some authorities\nidentify with the place of the same name on the east coast of\nSpain,--whither he was safely led by a guiding cloud.\n\nAfter ascending the steep mountain, Titurel was favored with a glimpse\nof the Holy Grail, and he and a number of knights--also brought\nthither by miraculous means--erected a marvellous temple, whose\nfoundations were laid by the angels, who labored at the edifice while\nthe volunteer builders were at rest. In a marvellously short time a\ntemple of transcendent beauty was thus finished, and, as soon as it\nwas consecrated, the Holy Grail stole down from heaven on a beam of\ncelestial light, to abide in its midst. Titurel, king and guardian of\nthe Holy Grail, always presided at the table around which his knights\ngathered, and where one and all were miraculously fed. Besides, there\nappeared from time to time on the edge of the sacred vase, in letters\nof fire, instructions bidding a knight go out into the world to defend\nsome innocent person or right some wrong. The Knights of the Holy\nGrail, or Templars, as they were indifferently styled, then\nimmediately sallied forth to fulfil this behest, which according to\ntheir vows had to be accomplished without revealing their name or\norigin. Once the command was that Titurel should marry, whereupon he\nwooed a Spanish maiden, by whom he had a son and daughter. This son,\nmarrying in the same way, had in time two sons and three daughters,\none of whom became the mother of Parzival.\n\nOld and weary of reigning, Titurel finally resigned the care of the\nHoly Grail, first to his son,--who was slain in war,--and then to his\ngrandson Amfortas. But the latter proved restless also, went out into\nthe world, and, instead of serving the Holy Grail, lived a life of\npleasure and adventure. Wounded by a thrust from a poisoned\nlance,--some authors claim it was the one which wounded the Saviour's\nside,--Amfortas sadly returned to Montsalvatch, where the mere thought\nof the veiled Holy Grail increased his pain by intensifying his\nremorse. There, one day, he read on the rim of the cup, that his wound\nwas destined to be healed by a guileless fool, who would accidentally\nclimb the mountain and, moved by sympathy, would inquire the cause of\nhis suffering and thereby make it cease.\n\nWe have already mentioned the fact that Parzival was a great-grandson\nof Titurel; his mother, fearing he would die young, like his father,\nwere he to become a knight, brought him up in seclusion, telling him\nnothing about knights, fighting, or the world. Straying in the forest\none day this youth encountered a couple of knights, whom he mistook\nfor angels, owing to their bright array, and offered to worship. The\nknights, however, refused his homage, and good-naturedly advised him\nto hasten to Arthur's court and learn to become a knight too.\n\nParzival now left his mother,--who died of grief,--went to court\n(meeting sundry adventures on the way), and there asked to be\nknighted. He was told, however, he must first procure a horse and\narmor, whereupon he followed and slew an insolent knight who defied\nKing Arthur. But Parzival did not know how to remove the armor from\nhis dead foe, until a passing knight obligingly showed him how it was\ndone.\n\nParzival now spent a time of apprenticeship at court where he learned\namong other things, that a knight should never be unduly inquisitive,\nthen went to the rescue of a persecuted and virtuous queen, whom he\nwooed and married. He soon left her, however, to visit his mother, of\nwhose death he was not aware. On his way home Parzival came to a lake,\nwhere a richly dressed fisherman informed him he might find a night's\nlodging in the castle on the hill, where he offered to conduct him.\nThus Parzival penetrated into the castle on Montsalvatch and was duly\nled into the banqueting hall. Awed by the splendor of his\nsurroundings, the young candidate for knighthood silently noted that\nhis host seemed to be suffering from a secret wound, and perceived\nthat all the other guests were oppressed by overwhelming sadness. Then\nsuddenly the doors opened wide, and a strange procession entered the\nhall, slowly circled around the table, and again passed out! In this\nprocession marched a servant bearing a bloody lance, at the sight of\nwhich all present groaned, then came maidens carrying the stand for\nthe Holy Grail, which was reverently brought in by Titurel's\ngrand-daughter. The vase was, however, closely veiled, and it was only\nafter repeated entreaties from the knights present that the host\nunveiled it, uttering the while heart-rending groans.\n\nAll present were now served with the food they most desired, which\nthey ate in silence, and then the knights marched out of the hall,\ngazing reproachfully at Parzival, who silently wondered what all this\nmight mean. His hunger sated, Parzival was conducted to luxurious\nsleeping apartments, but, when he was ready to leave on the morrow,\nall the castle seemed deserted, and it was only when he had crossed\nthe drawbridge and it had been raised behind him, that a harsh voice\nwas heard vehemently cursing him. Shortly after, on learning that a\nsympathetic inquiry would have dispelled the gloom in the palace, he\nhad just left, Parzival attempted to return, but the mysterious castle\nwas no longer to be found. Such was our hero's remorse for his sin of\nomission that he continued the quest for years, doing meanwhile all\nmanner of noble and heroic deeds. In reward, he was knighted by Arthur\nhimself, and bidden by Merlin occupy \"the Siege Perilous\" where his\nname suddenly appeared in letters of gold.\n\nOur version of the story explains that, just as he was about to sit\ndown in the Siege Perilous, the witch Kundrie arrived, and hotly\ndenounced him as an unfeeling wretch, a sufficient reminder to make\nParzival immediately renew his quest. Adequate penance having been\ndone at last, and the young knight having stood every test without\nlosing his purity, Parzival was finally allowed to atone for his\nunconscious fault. Once more he arrived at the castle, once more\nentered the banquet hall, and once more beheld the mystic procession.\nStrengthened by silent prayer, Parzival then asked the momentous\nquestion; whereupon Amfortas' wound was instantly healed, the aged\nTiturel released from the pain of living, Kundrie baptized, and\nParzival unanimously hailed as future guardian of the Grail, an office\nhe humbly yet proudly assumed.\n\nAnother legend claims that his son Lohengrin, ordered by the Holy\nGrail to go and defend Elsa of Brabant, received from his father a\nmagic horn, by means of which he was to announce his safe arrival at\nhis destination, and to summon help whenever he wished to return.\nInstead of riding a charger, Lohengrin was conveyed in a swan-drawn\nskiff to Brabant, where he found Elsa praying for a champion to defend\nher against Frederick of Telramund's accusation of having slain her\nlittle brother, who had mysteriously disappeared.\n\nLohengrin, having proved the falsity of the charge by defeating the\naccuser in a judicial duel, married Elsa, warning her she must never\nseek to discover his name or origin, under penalty of seeing him\ndepart as suddenly as he had arrived. The machinations of Frederick of\nTelramund, and of his artful wife, finally drove Elsa to propound the\nfatal question, and, as soon as Lohengrin has sorrowfully answered\nit, the swan appeared and bore him away! But, as Lohengrin departed,\nElsa's brother reappeared to serve as her protector.[32]\n\nThis--mostly German--version of the Grail legend--has been used by\nWolfram von Eschenbach for a long and famous epic, and by Wagner for\nhis operas Parzival and Lohengrin. In the French and particularly in\nthe English versions of the Quest for the Holy Grail, or Sangreal,\nPercival is with the other knights of Arthur's Round Table when they\ntake this vow. He seeks for it, perceives it through a veil, but never\nentirely achieves the quest, since that privilege is reserved for the\npeerless Galahad.\n\nThe versions of the Holy Grail Story of which Galahad is hero run\nabout as follows: Galahad is the son of Launcelot and Elaine, the\nlatter's nurse having, by means of enchantment, made her to appear as\nGuinevere--whom Launcelot loved. Deserted by the accidental father of\nher coming child, this Elaine--daughter of King Pelles--took refuge in\na nunnery, where she gave birth to Galahad, whom when dying she\nentrusted to the nuns. Brought up by those holy women and strengthened\nin early infancy by frequent glimpses of the Holy Grail,--whose light\nwas blinding to all but the perfectly pure,--Galahad reached manhood\nas pure as when he was born. One day Sir Launcelot and Sir Bors were\nsummoned from Camelot to a small church near by, to act as sponsors\nfor a young candidate for knighthood, who was presented to them by\nsome nuns. Launcelot and Bors, having thus heard Galahad take his\nvows, were not surprised to see him brought into their midst on a gala\nday, by Merlin or by the spirit of Joseph, and to hear him warmly\nwelcomed by Arthur. Some versions claim that Galahad, led to the Siege\nPerilous, found his name miraculously inscribed on it in letters of\ngold, and was told he alone should occupy that place at the Round\nTable.\n\nAccording to some accounts, it was while all the knights were thus\nseated around Arthur's board on this occasion, that the Holy Grail\nsuddenly appeared in their midst, its radiance so veiled by its\ncoverings that one and all vowed--when it had disappeared--never to\nrest until they had beheld it unveiled. Arthur, knowing this boon\nwould be granted only to the absolutely pure and that they were all\nbut one sinful men in various degrees, keenly regretted they should\nhave made a vow which would entail a hopeless quest, and would at the\nsame time leave him bereft of the very knights who had hitherto helped\nhim to right the wrong and keep the pagans at bay. The knights\nhastened to church to receive a blessing before they departed, and\nthen went off, singly or in small groups, to seek the Holy Grail.\n\nWhen Galahad arrived at Arthur's court, he was fully armed, save that\nan empty scabbard hung by his side and that he bore no shield. Soon\nafter his arrival, a servant breathlessly announced he had just seen a\nlarge block of stone floating down the river, into which a beautiful\nsword was thrust to the hilt. On hearing this, Arthur and his knights\nhurried down to the landing place, but, although the stone paused\nthere, neither the king nor any of the nobles at his court were able\nto draw out the sword. It became evident it was intended for Galahad\nonly, when he easily drew it out of the stone. It was then, according\nto this version, that the other knights pledged themselves to go in\nquest of the Holy Grail. Riding off alone, Galahad came to an abbey,\nwhere hung a white shield bearing a red cross, which he learned had\nonce belonged to the king of Sarras, who was converted by Joseph's\nson. The red cross was drawn with blood, and was to remain undimmed\nfor its future bearer, Galahad.\n\nThe young champion, thus completely equipped, rode off and next\narrived at the enchanted Castle of the Holy Grail. There he saw\nTiturel, the sleeping king, and Amfortas, the acting king, before whom\nthe Grail passed unseen because he had sinned. Silently Galahad\nwatched the mystic procession of bleeding spear, miraculous dish or\ncup, and Seven-branched Candlesticks. Like Parzival he hesitated to\nask any questions, and failed to achieve the Holy Grail, because,\nalthough possessing all other virtues, he could not entirely forget\nhimself for the sake of others and thus lacked true sympathy or\naltruism. Thrust out of the Castle--like Parzival--he wandered through\na blighted country, where he met the Loathley Damsel, who in\npunishment for her sins was turned loose into the world to work evil\nto men. She hotly reviled Galahad for not having asked the momentous\nquestion, and the youth, learning thus in what way he had been\nwanting, solemnly vowed to return to the castle and atone for his\nomission.\n\nBut meantime the enchanted Castle had vanished, and Galahad, the\nChampion of Purity,--whose red color he always wears,--travelled\nthrough the world, righting the wrong. He arrived thus at the gate of\na castle defended by seven knights,--the Seven Deadly Sins,--with whom\nhe struggled to such good purpose that he defeated them, and was free\nto enter into the Castle of the Maidens, or place where the Active\nVirtues have long been kept in durance vile. But, the door still being\nlocked, Galahad was glad to receive the key proffered by an old monk,\nwho, in the legend, personified Righteousness.\n\nGalahad, the emblem of a pure soul, now penetrated into the castle,\nwhere the maidens blessed him for setting them free, and where he\nmodestly received their thanks. Among these maidens was Lady\nBlanchefleur, Galahad's match in purity, to whom he bade farewell as\nsoon as their nuptials were solemnized, for he realized The Quest\ncould be achieved only by a virgin knight.\n\nOnce more Galahad rides through the world, and this time he again\nfinds and enters into the castle of the Grail, where he once more\nbeholds the Sacred Mysteries. His heart full of sympathy for the\nsuffering Amfortas, he now overlooks the rules of formal politeness in\nhis desire to help, and propounds the decisive question. Immediately a\nrefulgent light shines forth from the veiled Grail in all its\nlife-giving radiance, and King Amfortas, healed of his sin, and hence\nable to see the vessel, dies of joy, just as an angel bears the\npriceless treasure away from the Enchanted Castle, where it is no\nlonger to sojourn.\n\nLonging for the time when he too can see the Grail unveiled, Galahad\nremounts his milk-white steed and rides through the world, where\neverybody thanks him for freeing the world of the pall of darkness and\nsin which has rested upon the land ever since Amfortas, titulary\nguardian of the Holy Grail, sinned so grievously. Riding thus, Galahad\ncomes at last to the sea, where King Solomon's ship awaits him. This\nvessel has been miraculously preserved for this purpose, and sent here\nto convey him safely to Sarras, \"the spiritual place.\" It is the\npresent home of the Holy Grail, which had already sojourned there\nafter the death of Joseph of Arimathea.\n\nThe ship in which Galahad embarks is steered by an angel, one of the\nGuardians of the Holy Grail, and the cup it holds, although closely\nveiled from profane glances, casts beams of refulgent light upon\nGalahad and his companions Sir Percival and Sir Bors. They two,\nhowever, not being perfectly pure, cannot clearly distinguish the\nGrail, whose sight fills the soul of Galahad with ineffable rapture.\nBefore long the ship arrives at Sarras, the fabulous city, where\nGalahad can hang up his sword and shield and take his well-earned\nrest, for the Quest is at last achieved! The travellers are welcomed\nby an old man, and, when the king of Sarras dies, the people\nunanimously elect Galahad their next ruler.\n\nAfter governing them wisely for a year, Galahad--who prayed in King\nSolomon's ship that he might pass out of the world whenever he should\nask it--begged for the death of the body so he might find the eternal\nlife of the soul.\n\nWhen he died, the Holy Grail, which had been piously guarded in\nSarras, returned to heaven, for Galahad's work was finished on earth,\nas is indicated by the frescos of the Boston library, where angels\nguard a Golden Tree of achievement whose branches reach right up into\nheaven.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 32: See the author's \"Stories of the Wagner Operas\" and\n\"Legends of the Rhine.\"]\n\n\n\n\nEPICS OF THE NETHERLANDS\n\n\nIn searching among Dutch masterpieces of literature we find that their\ngreatest epic is \"Joannes Boetgezant,\" or John the Messenger of\nRepentance. This epic in six books, on the life of John the Baptist,\nwas written in 1662 by Vondel, and bears many traits of resemblance to\nMilton's Paradise Lost.\n\nIt has been conjectured that the most famous of all the animal epics\nor beast fables originated in Flanders or Luxembourg, which for a time\nwas included in the Low Countries. This epic, which has been\ntranslated into every European language and has even found its way\ninto the Far East, has been frequently remodelled. The oldest extant\nMS. in Latin dates back to the eleventh or twelfth century. Among\nmodern versions the most clever, finished, and popular is Goethe's\n\"Reinecke Fuchs.\"[33]\n\nIn this poem he describes how the animals assemble at Whitsuntide to\ncomplain to their king, Noble, the Lion, about the dark deeds of\nReynard the Fox. The main grievance is that of Isegrim, the Wolf, who\nclaims Reynard blinded three of his offspring and insulted his wife.\nSpeaking French, the Lapdog Wackerlos next pathetically describes how\nhe was robbed of a sausage, which the Tomcat vehemently declares was\nhis.\n\nHaving heard the depositions of the Wolf, the Dog, the Cat, the\nPanther, and the Hare, Noble is about to sentence the delinquent, when\nGrimbart, the Badger,--uncle of Reynard--rises to defend the accused.\nArtfully he turns the tables and winds up his plausible peroration\nwith the statement that Reynard, repenting of all past sins, has\nturned hermit, and is now spending his time in fasting, alms-giving,\nand prayer!\n\nJust as Noble is about to dismiss the case as non-proven, Henning the\nCock appears, followed by his sons, who bear on a litter the mangled\nremains of a hen, strangled by Reynard, who slipped into the\nchicken-yard in the guise of a monk.\n\nThe king immediately dispatches Brown the Bear to Malepartus to summon\nReynard to appear at court. On arriving at his destination, the Bear,\nalthough still resenting the king's recommendations to be wary, allows\nhimself to be led to a half-split tree-trunk, within which Reynard\nassures him he will find stores of honey to refresh himself. Just as\nsoon as the Bear's nose and forepaws are greedily inserted into the\ncrack, Reynard slyly removes the wedges and decamps, leaving the Bear\na prisoner and howling with pain.\n\nHis roars soon attract the peasant and his son, who beat the captive\nuntil he wrenches himself loose, at the cost of some patches of skin\nand of a few claws. The Bear, returning to court in this plight, is\ntaxed with stupidity and greed, and Hintze the Cat is sent to summon\nReynard to court. The Cat, hungry also, is led to a small opening in a\nbarn which Reynard declares is swarming with mice, but where the poor\nTomcat is caught in a trap, whence he escapes only after having\nreceived a beating and lost one eye.\n\nHis woful report decides the king to send Grimbart the Badger to\nsummon his nephew to court. Reynard receives this emissary most\ncourteously, and, on hearing the king will raze his fortress if he\ndoes not obey, sets out for court. On the way Reynard begs Grimbart to\nact as his confessor, and, having unburdened his conscience, does\npenance and receives absolution. But scarcely has this ceremony been\ncompleted when Reynard, spying some fat hens, begins to chase them,\nand is only with difficulty recalled to a sense of what is fitting.\n\nOn arriving at court, Reynard hypocritically regrets so many people\nhave slandered him to the king, and tries to refute every charge. He\nis, however, sentenced to the gallows, but even on the road thither\ndevises a plan to escape. Pretending regret for his past, he humbly\nbegs the king's permission to address the spectators, and in a lengthy\nspeech describes how he was led astray in his youth by Isegrim the\nWolf. He also declares his only regret is to die before he can reveal\nto the king the hiding-place of a vast treasure which would enable him\nto outwit the plots of some rebels who are even now conspiring to kill\nhim. The king, hearing this, immediately orders a reprieve, and,\nquestioning the Fox in secret, learns that the conspirators are Brown\nthe Bear, Isegrim the Wolf, and others. To reward the Fox for saving\nher husband's life, the queen now obtains his pardon, which Noble\ngrants in exchange for information in regard to the treasure.\n\nHaving given these indications, the Fox sets out on a pilgrimage to\nRome, escorted by the Ram and the Hare, which latter is slain as soon\nas they arrive at Malepartus, where Reynard wishes to bid his family\nfarewell. After feasting upon the flesh of this victim, Reynard puts\nhis bones into a wallet and ties it on the Ram's back, bidding him\nhasten back to court with this present and receive his reward!\nAlthough circumstantial evidence is enough to convict the poor Ram of\nmurder, a few days later new complaints are made against Reynard by a\nRabbit and a Crow. Noble, roused again, prepares to batter down the\nwalls of Malepartus, and Grimbart, perceiving Reynard's peril, hurries\noff to give him warning.\n\nHe finds Reynard contemplating some young doves, upon which he intends\nto dine. On hearing what Grimbart has to say, Reynard declares it\nwould be easy to acquit himself could he only gain the king's ear long\nenough to explain the real state of affairs. Then he again begs\nGrimbart to act as his father confessor, and, resuming his confession\nwhere he left off, makes a clean breast of all his misdeeds. Shortly\nafter this, Reynard meets the Ape, who tells him that should he ever\nbe in a quandary he must call for the aid of this clever ally or of\nhis wife.\n\nAt his second appearance at court, the Fox openly regrets there are so\nmany vile people in the world ready to accuse innocent persons, and\nproceeds to set all his doings in such a plausible light, that the\nking, instead of sentencing him again to death, allows him to settle\nhis case by fighting a judiciary duel with the Wolf. The preparations\nfor the duel are ludicrous because the Fox, advised by the Ape, is\nshaven smooth, greased until too slippery to be held, and duly\nstrengthened by advice and potations. Blinded by the sand continually\nwhisked into his eyes by the Fox's tail, unable to hold his all too\nslippery opponent, the Wolf is beaten and the Fox acquitted by the\nJudgment of God!\n\nAlthough Noble now offers to make Reynard his privy counsellor, the\nFox returns home, where his admiring wife and children welcome him\nrapturously.\n\nIn some versions of the tale Reynard further avenges himself by\nsuggesting, when the king is taken ill, that he can be cured if he\neats the head of a wolf just seven years old, knowing the only wolf of\nthat age is Isegrim, who throughout the epic is fooled by the clever\nFox, the hero of endless adventures which have delighted young and old\nfor centuries.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 33: See the author's \"Legends of the Middle Ages.\"]\n\n\n\n\nSCANDINAVIAN EPICS\n\n\nThe different Scandinavian dialects formed but one language until\nabout 1000 A.D., when they split up into two great groups, the East\nNorthern including the Danish and Swedish; and the West Northern\nincluding the Icelandic, Norwegian, and Faroese. Danish literature\nboasts of some five hundred chivalric ballads (Kjaempeviser), on\npartly historical and partly mythical themes, which were composed\nbetween the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. It was the Danish\ntranslator of the Bible who introduced his countrymen to Charlemagne\nand Ogier, whose legends received their finished forms at his hands.\nIn 1555 Reynard the Fox was translated into Danish from the French, in\n1663 the Heimskringla from the Icelandic, but it was in 1641 that\nArrebo composed the Hexaemeron or first real Danish epic. In the\nnineteenth century Paludan M\u00fcller also wrote epics, which, however,\nare not very popular outside of his country. The runes of Sweden bear\nwitness to the existence of sundry ancient sagas or epics which\nperished when Christianity was introduced into the land. In the Middle\nAges, a gleeman at the court of Queen Euphemia (1303-12) composed the\nEuphemiaviser, or romances of chivalry done into Swedish verse. The\ngreatest epic work of Sweden is, however, Tegner's Frithjof's Saga\n(1846), relating the adventures and courtship of an old Scandinavian\nhero, a work of which a complete synopsis is given in the author's\nLegends of the Middle Ages.\n\nThe \u00e9lite of the Norwegians emigrated to Iceland for political reasons\nduring the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Owing to their\ngeographical isolation and to the long winters, these people were\nthrown entirely on their own resources for amusement. The hours of\ndarkness were beguiled by tales and songs, so young and old naturally\ndelighted in the recitations of the skalds. This gave birth to an oral\nliterature of great value, and, although many of the works of the\nskalds have perished, the Icelanders fortunately recovered in\n1643,--after centuries of oblivion,--the Elder Edda, an\neleventh-century collection of thirty-three poems on mythical and\nheroic subjects by Saemunt the Wise.\n\nThere is also a similar work in prose known as the Younger Edda, by\nSnorro Sturluson, which contains tales of Scandinavian mythology, and\nthis writer also collected many of the old hero tales in his\nHeimskringla.\n\nMany of the old sagas have been preserved in more or less perfect\nforms. They are generally divided into three groups, the first\nincluding sagas on historical themes, such as the Egilssaga, the\nEyrbyggjasaga, the Njalssaga, the Laxdaelasaga, and the already\nmentioned Heimskringla.\n\nThe second, mythical, or heroic group comprises the Grettis saga and\nthe Volsunga, the finest of all the sagas and one of the main sources\nof the Nibelungenlied and of Wagner's Trilogy. This epic has been\nwonderfully rendered in modern English by William Morris.\n\nIn the third and last group are massed together the romantic epics,\ntranslations or imitations of the Latin, French, and German epics and\nromances, relating to Alexander, Charlemagne, Parsival, etc. The\nfinest saga in this group is the Gunnlaugssaga.\n\nNorwegian literature goes back to the skald Bragi (_c._ 800), whose\nprincipal poem, Ragnarsdrapa, relates the marvellous adventures of the\nnational hero Ragnar Lodbrog. This poem was incorporated by Snorro\nSturluson in what is known as the Snorro Edda. Most of the poems in\nthe Elder Edda are also of Norwegian origin, as well as Hvin's\nHaustl\u00f6ng or account of a famous warrior. In the thirteenth century\nprose sagas were plentiful among the Danes, who took special pleasure\nin the Thidrekssaga (1250), or life and adventures of Dietrich von\nBern; in the Karlamagnussaga, or story of Charlemagne; and in the\nBarlaamssaga ok Josaphats, or Hebrew tale of Barlaam and Josaphat.\n\nNorway also possesses a rich fund of folk tales, which have been\ncollected by Asbj\u00f6rnsen, and which, having many of the qualities of\nprose epics, have delighted many generations.\n\n\n\n\nTHE VOLSUNGA SAGA[34]\n\n\nThe Second Part of the Edda contains the famous Volsunga Saga, or Epic\nof the Volsungs, which has not only given rise to the Nibelungenlied\nand to Wagner's famous Trilogy of operas, but also to William Morris'\nSigurd the Volsung. The plot of this, the most characteristic and\nfamous of the Scandinavian sagas, is as follows:\n\nVolsung, a lineal descendant from Odin, built his dwelling around the\ntrunk of a mighty oak, the Branstock, whose branches overshadowed his\nwhole dwelling. When Signy, Volsung's only daughter, was married\nagainst her will to Siggier, king of the Goths, a one-eyed stranger\n(Odin) suddenly appeared among the wedding guests, and thrust a\npriceless sword (Balmung) deep into the bole of the homestead oak.\nBefore departing, as abruptly as he had come, the stranger proclaimed\nthe weapon should belong to the man who pulled it out, and prophesied\nthat it would assure him the victory in every fight.\n\n  \"Now let the man among you whose heart and hand may shift\n  To pluck it from the oak-wood e'en take it for my gift.\n  Then ne'er, but his own heart falter, its point and edge shall fail\n  Until the night's beginning and the ending of the tale.\"[35]\n\nAlthough conscious that Odin had been in their midst, Volsung\ncourteously invited the bridegroom to try his luck first, then himself\nattempted to draw out the divine sword, before he bade his ten sons\nexert their strength in turn. Only the youngest, Sigmund, was at last\nable to perform the required feat, and when Siggier eagerly offered to\npurchase his trophy from him, he firmly refused to part with it. Full\nof anger at this refusal, the Goth departed on the morrow, but\nalthough Signy loyally warned her kinsmen that her husband was\nplotting revenge, the Volsungs accepted his invitation to visit them\nsoon.\n\nWhen Volsung and his ten sons arrived in Gothland, Signy again bade\nthem beware of coming treachery, but all in vain. The brave Volsungs,\ndrawn into an ambush by their wily foe, were seized and bound fast to\na fallen tree in a lonely forest, where every night a wild beast\ndevoured one of these helpless men. Closely watched by her cruel\nhusband, Signy could lend no aid to the prisoners, but when none but\nSigmund, the youngest, was left, she directed a slave to smear his\nface with honey. The wild beast, attracted by the sweet odor, licked\nthe face of the last prisoner, who, thus enabled to catch its tongue\nbetween his teeth, struggled with the beast until his bonds broke and\nhe was free!\n\nWhen Siggier sent to investigate as usual the next morning, his\nmessenger reported no prisoners were left bound to the tree and that\nonly a heap of bones was visible. Sure his foes were all dead, Siggier\nceased to watch his wife, who, stealing out into the forest to bury\nthe remains of her kin, discovered Sigmund in a thicket, and promised\nto aid him to obtain his revenge. To redeem this promise she sent to\nher brother, one after another, two of her sons to be trained as\navengers, but, as both of these children proved deficient in courage,\nshe came to the conclusion none but a pure-blooded Volsung would meet\ntheir requirements. To secure an offspring of this strain, Signy,\ndisguised as a gypsy, secretly visited her brother's hut, and when\ntheir child, Sinfiotli, was older, sent him to Sigmund to foster and\ntrain.\n\nWith a youthful helper whom nothing could daunt, Sigmund, after\nachieving sundry adventures, lay in wait in Siggier's cellar, but,\nwarned by two of his young children that murderers were hiding behind\nhis casks, Siggier had them seized and cast into separate cells. There\nhe decreed they should starve to death. But, before their prison was\nclosed, Signy cast into it a bundle of straw, wherein she had\nconcealed Balmung, the magic sword. Thanks to this weapon, Sigmund and\nSinfiotli not only hewed their way out of their separate prisons, but\nslew all the Goths who attempted to escape from Siggier's dwelling,\nwhich they set aflame. But, although both proposed to save Signy, she\nmerely stepped out of the house long enough to reveal Sinfiotli's\norigin and bade them farewell, ere she plunged back into the flames!\n\n  And then King Siggier's roof-tree upheaved for its utmost fall,\n  And its huge walls clashed together, and its mean and lowly things\n  The fire of death confounded with the tokens of the kings.\n  A sign for many people on the land of the Goths it lay,\n  A lamp of the earth none needed, for the bright sun brought the day.\n\nFeeling he had done his duty by avenging his father's and brothers'\ndeath, Sigmund now returned home, where in his old age he was slain in\nbattle shortly after his marriage to a young wife. Finding him dying\non the battle-field, this wife bore off the fragments of his magic\nsword as sole inheritance for his child, whom she hoped would prove a\nboy who could avenge him. One version of the story relates that to\nescape the pursuit of Sigmund's foes this expectant mother plunged\ninto the woods and sought help and refuge in the smithy of Mimer, a\nmagician as well as a blacksmith. Here she gave birth to Sigurd, who,\nas she died when he was born, was brought up by Mimer, who marvelled\nto find the boy absolutely fearless.\n\nAnother version claims that, discovered by a Viking, mourning over her\ndead spouse, the widow was carried off by him, and consented to become\nhis wife on condition he would prove a good foster-father to Sigmund's\nchild. In this home Sigurd was educated by the wisest of men, Regin,\nwho taught him all a hero need know, and directed him how to select\nhis wonderful steed Grane or Greyfell (a descendant of Odin's\nSleipnir), from a neighboring stud.\n\nSeeing the youth ready for adventure, Regin now told him how the gods\nOdin, Hoenir, and Loki, wandering upon earth in the guise of men, once\nslew an otter, which they carried to a neighboring hut, asking to have\nits meat served for their dinner. Their host, however, exclaiming they\nhad killed his eldest son who often assumed the form of an otter,\nseized and bound them fast, vowing they should not be free until they\ngave as ransom gold enough to cover the huge otter-skin.\n\nThe gods, knowing none but a magic treasure would suffice for that,\nbargained for the release of Loki, who departed in quest of the dwarf\nAndvari, the collector of an immense hoard of gold by magic means. As\nthe wily Andvari could not easily be found, it required all the\nastuteness of the god of evil to discover him in the guise of a fish\nat the source of the Rhine, and to catch him by means of the\nsea-goddess' infallible net.\n\nHaving the dwarf in his power, Loki wrung from him his huge treasure,\nhis Helm of Dread, or cap of invisibility, and even tore from his very\nfinger a magic ring of gold, thus incurring the dwarf's curse.\n\n    \"For men a curse thou bearest: entangled in my gold,\n  Amid my woe abideth another woe untold.\n  Two brethren and a father, eight kings my grief shall slay;\n  And the hearts of queens shall be broken, and their eyes shall\n       loathe the day.\n  Lo, how the wilderness blossoms! Lo, how the lonely lands\n  Are waving with the harvest that fell from my gathering hands!\"\n\nScorning this prediction, Loki hastened to the rescue of his\nfellow-gods; but, as the otter-skin stretched further and further, it\nrequired not only all the treasure, but even the helmet and the\nserpent ring of gold, to cover it and thus complete the required\nransom.\n\nThe new owner of the treasure now gloated over his gold until his very\nnature changed, and he was transformed into a hideous dragon. One of\nhis two remaining sons, Fafnir, entering the hut, slew the dragon\nbefore he realized it was his father, and then, fascinated by treasure\nand ring, bore them off to a lonely heath, where in the guise of a\ndragon he too mounted guard over them. This appropriation of these\ntreasures was keenly resented by his brother Regin, who, unable to\ncope with the robber himself, now begged Sigurd to help him. Like\nMimer in the other version of the tale, Regin was an experienced\nblacksmith, but, notwithstanding all his skill, Sigurd broke every\nblade he forged for this task. Finally the young hero hammered out of\nthe fragments of his dead father's blade a weapon which sheared the\nanvil in two, and could neatly divide a number of fleeces floating\ndown a stream.\n\nProperly mounted and armed, Sigurd was guided by Regin to the\nGlittering Heath, the place where Fafnir guarded his gold. A one-eyed\nferry-man (Odin) conveyed the youth across the river, advising him to\ndig a pit in the track the dragon had worn in his frequent trips to\nthe river to drink. Hidden in this pit--the ferry-man explained--the\nyouth could mortally wound the dragon while he crawled over his head.\n\nThis advice being too pertinent to be scorned, Sigurd faithfully\ncarried out the plan and slew the dragon, whose fiery blood poured\ndown upon him and made every part of his body invulnerable, save a\ntiny spot between his shoulders, where a lime-leaf stuck so closely\nthat the dragon blood did not touch the skin.\n\nWhile Sigurd was still contemplating the fallen monster, Regin joined\nhim, and, fearing lest he might claim part of the gold, plotted to\nslay him. First, he bade Sigurd cut out the heart of the dragon and\nroast it for him, a task which the youth obediently performed, but in\nthe course of which he stuck a burnt finger in his mouth to allay the\nsmart. This taste of Fafnir's heart blood then and there conferred\nupon Sigurd the power to understand the language of some birds near\nby, which exclaimed that Regin was coming behind him to slay him with\nhis own sword! Enraged at such ingratitude and treachery, Sigurd now\nslew Regin, and after piling up most of the treasure in a cave,--where\nit continued to be guarded by the dragon's corpse,--Sigurd rode away,\ntaking with him his sword, the magic helmet, and the ring.\n\nStill guided by the birds, Sigurd next rode up a mountain, crowned by\na baleful light, which he presently discovered emanated from a fire\nforming a barrier of flame around a fortress. Setting spurs to his\ndivine steed, Sigurd rode right through these flames, which then\nflickered and died down, and discovered in the centre of the fortress\na mound, whereon lay an apparently lifeless warrior. Using his sword\nto cut the armor fastenings, Sigurd discovered, beneath this armor,\nthe Valkyr or battle-maiden Brynhild, who, on recovering\nconsciousness, hailed her return to life and light with rapture and\nwarmly thanked her deliverer. Then the two, having fallen in love with\neach other at first sight, explained to each other who they were; and\nSigurd, after relating his own origin and adventures, learned that\nBrynhild, a Valkyr, having defied Odin by saving a man he had doomed\nto death, had been condemned to mate with any mortal who claimed her\nhand. Dreading to become the prey of a coward, Brynhild implored Odin\nto surround her with a barrier of fire which none save a brave man\ncould cross. Although a goddess, she admits she loves her rescuer, and\ngladly accepts the magic ring he tenders and promises to be his wife.\n\n  Then he set the ring on her finger and once, if ne'er again,\n  They kissed and clung together, and their hearts were full and fain.\n\nThe hero, however, doomed to press on in quest of further adventures,\nsoon left Brynhild in the castle where he had found her, still\nprotected by the barrier of flame, and rode off to Burgundy, the land\nof the Niblungs. Here reigned Guiki, whose fair daughter Gudrun once\ndreamt that a falcon, after hovering for some time over her house,\nnestled in her bosom, which she soon beheld dyed red by its\nlife-blood. Disturbed by this ominous dream, Gudrun visited Brynhild\nand besought her interpretation, only to learn she would marry a king\nwho would in time be slain by his foes.\n\nShortly after this occurrence, Sigurd reached the land of the Niblungs\nand challenged Gunnar, brother of Gudrun, to fight. But, rather than\ncross swords with the slayer of a dragon, Gunnar offered the stranger\nhis hand in friendship and sent for his sister to give him the cup of\nwelcome. While sojourning here with the Niblungs, Sigurd distinguished\nhimself by athletic feats and, when war broke out, by conquering\ntheir foes. These proofs of strength and daring captivated the heart\nof Gudrun, who, seeing Sigurd paid no attention to her, finally\nprevailed upon her mother to give her a love potion, which she offered\nto him on his return from one of his adventures.\n\n  \"He laughed and took the cup: but therein with the blood of the earth\n  Earth's hidden might was mingled, and deeds of the cold sea's birth,\n  And things that the high gods turn from, and a tangle of strange love,\n  Deep guile, and strong compelling, that whoso drank thereof\n  Should remember not his longing, should cast his love away,\n  Remembering dead desire but as night remembereth day.\"\n\nNo sooner has this potion been quaffed than our hero, utterly\noblivious of earlier promises to Brynhild, sued for Gudrun's hand, and\nwas promised she should be his bride if he helped Gunnar secure\nBrynhild.\n\nIn behalf of his future brother-in-law--whose form he assumed--Sigurd\nonce more rode through the flames, and, although haunted by vague\nmemories of the past, wrested from Brynhild the magic betrothal ring\nhe had given her, and claimed her as bride. Compelled by fate to wed\nany man who rode through the flames to claim her, Brynhild reluctantly\nobeyed Sigurd--whom she did not recognize--and was duly married to\nGunnar, king of the Niblungs. But, on perceiving Sigurd at his court,\nshe vainly strove to make him remember her and his vows, and was\nfilled with bitter resentment when she perceived his utter devotion to\nGudrun, his present bride.\n\nMeantime, although Gunnar had secured the wife he coveted, he was\nanything but a happy man, for Brynhild would not allow him to approach\nher. Sigurd, to whom he finally confided this unsatisfactory state of\naffairs, finally volunteered to exert his fabulous strength to reduce\nto obedience the rebellious bride, whom he turned over to his\nbrother-in-law in a submissive mood, after depriving her of her girdle\nand ring, which he carried off as trophies and gave to Gudrun.\n\nBrynhild's resentment, however, still smouldered, and when Gudrun,\nher sister-in-law, attempted to claim precedence when they were\nbathing in the river, she openly quarrelled with her. In the course of\nthis dispute, Gudrun exhibited the magic ring, loudly proclaiming her\nhusband had wooed and won Gunnar's bride! Two distinct parties now\ndefined themselves at court, where H\u00f6gni, a kinsman of the Niblungs,\nvehemently espoused Brynhild's cause. By some secret means--for his\nwas a dark and tortuous mind, ever plotting evil--H\u00f6gni discovered the\ntrick of the magic potion, as well as Brynhild's previous wooing by\nSigurd, and proposed to her to avenge by blood the insult she had\nreceived.\n\nAccording to one version of the tale, H\u00f6gni, who discovers in what\nspot Sigurd is vulnerable, attacks him while he is asleep in bed and\nruns his lance through the fatal spot. The dying Sigurd therefore has\nonly time to bid his wife watch over their children ere he expires. By\norder of Gudrun, his corpse is placed on a pyre, where it is to be\nconsumed with his wonderful weapons and horse. Just as the flames are\nrising, Brynhild, who does not wish to survive the man she loves,\neither plunges into the flames and is consumed too, or stabs herself\nand asks that her corpse be burned beside Sigurd's, his naked sword\nlying between them, and the magic ring on her finger.\n\n  \"I pray thee a prayer, the last word in the world I speak,\n  That ye bear me forth to Sigurd and the hand my hand would seek;\n  The bale for the dead is builded, it is wrought full wide on the plain,\n  It is raised for Earth's best Helper, and thereon is room for twain:\n  Ye have hung the shields about it, and the Southland hangings spread,\n  There lay me adown by Sigurd and my head beside his head:\n  But ere ye leave us sleeping, draw his Wrath from out the sheath,\n  And lay that Light of the Branstock and the blade that frighted Death\n  Betwixt my side and Sigurd's, as it lay that while agone,\n  When once in one bed together we twain were laid alone:\n  How then when the flames flare upward may I be left behind?\n  How then may the road he wendeth be hard for my feet to find?\n  How then in the gates of Valhall may the door of the gleaming ring\n  Clash to on the heel of Sigurd, as I follow on my king?\"\n\nAnother version of the tale relates that Sigurd was slain by H\u00f6gni\nwhile hunting in the forest, as the story runs in the Nibelungenlied.\nNext we are informed that the king of the Huns demanded satisfaction\nfrom Gunnar for his sister Brynhild's death, and was promised Gudrun's\nhand in marriage. By means of another magic potion, Sigurd's widow was\ninduced to marry the king of the Huns, to whom she bore two sons. But,\nwhen the effect of the potion wore off, she loathed this second\nmarriage and dreamed only of avenging Sigurd's death and of getting\nrid of her second spouse.\n\nAs in the Nibelungenlied, Atli invited her kin to Hungary, where they\narrived after burying the golden hoard in a secret spot in the Rhine,\na spot they pledged themselves never to reveal. Once more we have a\nride to Hungary, but Gudrun, seeing her husband means treachery,\nfights by her brother's side. Throughout this battle Gunnar sustains\nthe courage of the Niblungs by playing on his harp, but, when only he\nand H\u00f6gni are left, they are overpowered and flung into prison. There\nAtli vainly tries to make them confess the hiding-place of the hoard,\nand, hearing Gunnar will not speak as long as H\u00f6gni lives, finally\norders this warrior slain and his heart brought into Gunnar's\npresence.\n\nConvinced at last that the momentous secret now lies with him alone,\nGunnar flatly refuses to reveal it.\n\n  Then was Gunnar silent a little, and the shout in the hall had died,\n  And he spoke as a man awakening, and turned on Atli's pride.\n  \"Thou all-rich King of the Eastlands, e'en such a man might I be\n  That I might utter a word, and the heart should be glad in thee,\n  And I should live and be sorry: for I, I only am left\n  To tell of the ransom of Odin, and the wealth from the toiler reft.\n  Lo, once it lay in the water, hid deep adown it lay,\n  Till the gods were grieved and lacking, and men saw it and the day:\n  Let it lie in the water once more, let the gods be rich and in peace!\n  But I at least in the world from the words and the babble shall cease.\"\n\nIn his rage Atli orders the bound prisoner cast into a pit full of\nvenomous serpents, where, his harp being flung after him in derision,\nGunnar twangs its strings with his toes until he dies. To celebrate\nthis victory, Atli orders a magnificent banquet, where he is so\novercome by his many potations that Gudrun either stabs him to death\nwith Sigurd's sword, or sets fire to the palace and perishes with the\nHuns, according to different versions of the story.\n\nA third version claims that, either cast into the sea or set adrift in\na vessel in punishment for murdering Atli, Gudrun landed in Denmark,\nwhere she married the king and bore him three sons. These youths, in\nan attempt to avenge the death of their fair step-sister Swanhild,\nwere stoned to death. As for Gudrun, overwhelmed by the calamities\nwhich had visited her in the course of her life, she finally committed\nsuicide by casting herself into the flames of a huge funeral pyre.\n\nThis saga is evidently a sun myth, the blood of the final massacres\nand the flames of the pyre being emblems of the sunset, and the\nslaying of Fafnir representing the defeat of cold and darkness which\nhave carried off the golden hoard of summer.\n\n  Ye have heard of Sigurd aforetime, how the foes of God he slew;\n  How forth from the darksome desert the Gold of the Waters he drew;\n  How he wakened Love on the Mountain, and wakened Brynhild the Bright,\n  And dwelt upon Earth for a season, and shone in all men's sight.\n  Ye have heard of the Cloudy People, and the dimming of the day,\n  And the latter world's confusion, and Sigurd gone away;\n  Now ye know of the Need of the Niblungs and the end of broken troth,\n  All the death of kings and of kindreds and the Sorrow of Odin the Goth.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 34: See the author's \"Myths of Northern Lands.\"]\n\n[Footnote 35: All the quotations in this chapter are from Wm. Morris'\n\"Sigurd the Volsung.\"]\n\n\n\n\nRUSSIAN AND FINNISH EPICS\n\n\nThere is strong evidence that the Finns, or some closely allied race,\nonce spread over the greater part of central Europe. The two or more\nmillion Finns who now occupy Finland, and are subject--much against\ntheir will--to the Czar, are the proud possessors of an epic poem--the\nKalevala--which until last century existed only in the memory of a few\npeasants. Scattered parts of this poem were published in 1822 by\nZacharias Topelius, and Elias L\u00f6nnrot, who patiently travelled about\nto collect the remainder, was the first to arrange the 22,793 verses\ninto 50 runes or cantos. The Kalevala attracted immediate attention\nand has already been translated into most modern languages. Like most\nepics, its source is in the mythology and folk-lore of the people, and\nits style has been closely imitated by Longfellow in his Hiawatha. The\nlatest English adaptation of this great epic is Baldwin's \"Sampo.\"\n\nAlthough Russian literature is rich in folk poetry and epic songs,\nnone of the latter have been written down until lately, with the\nexception of the twelfth-century Song of Igor's Band. The outline of\nthis epic is that Igor, prince of Southern Russia, after being\ndefeated and made prisoner, effected his escape with the help of a\nslave. Among the fine passages in this work we note Nature's grief\nover the prince's capture and the lament of his faithful consort.\n\nIt was only in the nineteenth century, after Zhukovski and Batyushkoff\nhad translated into Russian some of the world's great masterpieces,\nsuch as Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered and Homer's Odyssey, that Pushkin\nwrote (1820) the epic Ruslan and Lyudmila, drawing the materials\ntherefore from Russian antiquity and from popular legends.\n\nThere are in Russia and Siberia any number of epic songs or \"bylinas,\"\ndating from legendary times to the present day, which have recently\nbeen collected by Kireyevski and others, and which already fill some\nten volumes. The heroes of these songs are either personifications of\nthe forces of nature or favorite historical personages. They form\ngreat cycles, one clustering for instance around Vladimir and the\nancient capital of Russia, Kiev, another around the free city of\nNovgorod, and a third belonging to the later Moscow period. The\nprincipal hero of many of the Russian folk tales, and of the epic\nsongs most frequently sung by wandering bards, is Ilya Muromets, who\nnobly protects widows and orphans and often displays his fabulous\nstrength by reducing mighty oaks to kindling wood with a few blows!\n\n\n\n\nTHE KALEVALA, OR THE LAND OF HEROES\n\n\nThe national epic of the Finns was rescued from oblivion by Topelius\nand L\u00f6nnrot, two physicians, who took it down from the mouth of the\npeople and published it in the first half of the nineteenth century.\nIt consists in 22,793 lines, divided into fifty runes, and is\nconsidered by a great German authority--Steinthal--as one of the four\ngreat national epics of the world.\n\nNot only does it relate \"the ever-varying contests between Finns and\nLaplanders,\" but that between Light and Darkness, Good and Evil, for\nin the poem the Finns personify Light and Good, while the Lapps are\nemblems of Darkness and Evil. The Sampo, which is mentioned in this\npoem, and which seems to have been some sort of a magic grist-mill,\nholds the same place in Finn mythology as the Golden Fleece in that of\nthe Greeks. Many of the poems incorporated in this epic date back some\nthree thousand years, and the epic itself is composed in alliterative\nverse, although it also contains rhythm of line and sound, as the\nfollowing introductory lines prove.\n\n  Mastered by desire impulsive,\n  By a mighty inward urging,\n  I am ready now for singing,\n  Ready to begin the chanting\n  Of our nation's ancient folk-song\n  Handed down from by-gone ages,\n  In my mouth the words are melting,\n  From my lips the tones are gliding,\n  From my tongue they wish to hasten;\n  When my willing teeth are parted,\n  When my ready mouth is opened,\n  Songs of ancient wit and wisdom\n  Hasten from me not unwilling.[36]\n\nThe proem then invites all people to listen to legends of by-gone\ntimes and to the teachings of the wizard Wainamoinen, to admire the\nworks of Ilmarinen and the doings of Youkahainen in the pastures of\nthe Northland and in the meads of Kalevala. It adds that these runes\nwere caught from the winds, the waves, and the forest branches, and\nhave been preserved in the Northland ever since.\n\n_Rune I._ In the first rune we are informed that Ilmater, daughter of\nthe air, weary of floating alone in space, finally descended to the\nocean, where she was rocked in the cradle of the deep seven hundred,\nyears. She made use of this time to create, out of the eggs of a wild\nduck, the canopy of the heavens, and the spherical earth, with its\nislands, rocks, and continents. At the end of these seven hundred\nyears, Ilmater gave birth to Wainamoinen, having waited all this time\nto be delivered of him, and having vainly called all living creatures\nto her aid. After coming into the world, this wonderful child floated\nabout on the ocean eight years, and then drew himself up on a barren\npromontory to admire the sun, moon, and starry skies.\n\n_Rune II._ After living alone for some time on this promontory or\nisland, Wainamoinen summoned Pellerwoinen, \"first-born of the plains\nand prairies,\" and bade him scatter broadcast seeds for the trees\nwhich were destined to clothe both vales and hillsides. In a twinkling\nof an eye, every variety of forest growth waved its branches hither\nand thither, and, although Wainamoinen rejoiced to see the forest, he\nsoon discovered that the oak, the \"tree of heaven,\" was lacking in it.\nBecause the oak still slept within an acorn, Wainamoinen wondered how\nto conjure it out of its hiding-place, and, after consulting five\nwater-maidens, called the giant Tursus out of the depths of the ocean.\nAfter burning the hay the water-maidens raked together, this giant\nplanted in the ashes an acorn, which quickly sprouted, and whence\narose a tree of such mighty proportions that its branches hid the rays\nof the sun and blotted out the starlight.\n\nTerrified by what he had done, Wainamoinen wondered how to get rid of\nthe oak, and implored his mother to send some one to help him.\nImmediately there rose from the sea a pygmy, armed in copper, whom\nWainamoinen deemed incapable of coping with so large a tree, until the\ndwarf suddenly transformed himself into a giant of such proportions\nthat four blows from his copper axe felled the oak, scattering its\ntrunk to the east, its top to the west, its leaves to the south, and\nits branches to the north. The chips from the fallen oak were\ncollected by a Northland maiden to make enchanted arrows for a\nmagician, and the soil it overshadowed immediately began to bear\nvegetation of sundry kinds.\n\nGazing at this new growth Wainamoinen discovered every kind of seed\nsprouting there save barley. Soon after he found seven grains of this\ncereal on the sea-shore and consulted the birds how best to plant\nthem. They advised him to fell the forests, burn the branches, and\nplant the barley in the land thus cleared. While obeying these\ndirections in the main, Wainamoinen allowed the birch to stand,\ndeclaring there must be some place where the cuckoo and the eagle\ncould build their nests. These two birds, greatly pleased by this\nattention, watched Wainamoinen as he sowed his seed, and heard him\nchant a prayer to Ukko, Father of Heaven, to send down rain to help it\ngerminate. This prayer was answered to such, good purpose that eight\ndays later Wainamoinen found a crop of barley ready to harvest, and\nheard the cuckoo's notes as it perched in the birch trees.\n\n  \"Therefore I have left the birch-tree,\n  Left the birch-tree only growing,\n  Home for thee for joyful singing.\n  Call thou here, O sweet-voiced cuckoo,\n  Sing thou here from throat of velvet,\n  Sing thou here with voice of silver,\n  Sing the cuckoo's golden flute-notes;\n  Call at morning, call at evening,\n  Call within the hour of noontide,\n  For the better growth of forests,\n  For the ripening of the barley,\n  For the richness of the Northland,\n  For the joy of Kalevala.\"\n\n_Rune III._ In the beautiful Land of the Heroes--Kalevala--Wainamoinen\nsang songs so wonderful that their fame spread northward to the land\nof the Lapps, and prompted Youkahainen to journey southward and\nchallenge the \"ancient minstrel\" to a singing contest. In vain\nYoukahainen's parents strove to dissuade him from this undertaking;\nthe bold youth harnessed his sledge and drove rapidly southward,\ncolliding with Wainamoinen, who was also out in his sledge that day.\nAlthough Wainamoinen was modest, his opponent was boastful and boldly\nproposed they show their skill by singing. Invited to sing first,\nWainamoinen chanted a set of commonplace axioms; but when Youkahainen\nimitated him, the ancient minstrel challenged his guest to sing of\ncreation or philosophy. Although Youkahainen now claimed he and seven\nother primeval heroes saw how the earth was fashioned, how the sky was\narched, and how the silvery moon and golden sun were set in position,\nWainamoinen termed him prince of liars and averred he was not present\nat the creation as he claimed. This contradiction so enraged\nYoukahainen that he offered to fight, but, instead of accepting this\nchallenge, Wainamoinen sang a magic song of such power that it\nresolved Youkahainen's sled and harness to their primitive components,\nand caused him to sink ever deeper into quicksands which finally rose\nto his very lips. Realizing his desperate plight, Youkahainen implored\nWainamoinen to cease his enchantments, offering as a ransom for his\nlife all manner of magic gifts which Wainamoinen scorned. In fact, it\nwas only when the culprit promised him the hand of his sister Aino\nthat the ancient minstrel reversed his spell, and not only released\nYoukahainen, but restored to him all his possessions.\n\nThe defeated bard now returns to Lapland, and on arriving there\nsmashes his sledge in token of anger. His parents wonderingly question\nhim, and, on learning he has promised his sister's hand in marriage to\nthe magician Wainamoinen, they are delighted that she should marry so\ninfluential a man, although the maiden herself mourns because all\npleasures are to be taken from her forever.\n\n_Rune IV._ While out in the forest gathering birch shoots for brooms,\nthis maiden soon after is seen by Wainamoinen, who bids her adorn\nherself for her wedding, whereupon she petulantly casts off the\nornaments she wears and returns home weeping without them. When her\nparents inquire what this means, Aino insists she will not marry the\nold magician, until her mother bribes her by the offer of some\nwonderful treasures, bestowed by the Daughter of the Sun and Moon, and\nwhich until now have been hidden in the depths of the earth.\n\nAlthough decked in these magnificent adornments, the girl wanders\naround the fields, wishing she were dead, for marriage has no\nattractions for her and she is not anxious to become an old man's\nbride. Stealing down to the sea-shore, she finally lays aside her\ngarments and ornaments and swims to a neighboring rock, where she no\nsooner perches than it topples over, and she sinks to the bottom of\nthe sea! There Aino perishes, and the water is formed of her blood,\nthe fish from her flesh, the willows from her ribs, and the sea-grass\nfrom her hair! Then all nature wonders how the news of her drowning\nshall be conveyed to her parents, and when the bear, wolf, and fox\nrefuse to transmit so sad a message, the sea-maidens depute the hare,\nthreatening to roast him unless he does their bidding.\n\nLearning her daughter has perished thus miserably, the mother of Aino\nrecognizes that parents should not compel daughters to marry against\ntheir will.\n\n  \"Listen, all ye mothers, listen,\n  Learn from me a tale of wisdom:\n  Never urge unwilling daughters\n  From the dwellings of their fathers,\n  To the bridegrooms that they love not,\n  Not as I, inhuman mother,\n  Drove away my lovely Aino,\n  Fairest daughter of the Northland.\"\n\nHer sorrow is such that three streams of tears flow from her eyes and,\nincreasing as they flow, form cataracts, between which rise three\npinnacles of rock, whereon grow birches, upon which cuckoos forever\nchant of \"love, suitors, and consolation!\"\n\n_Rune V._ The news of Aino's death travels swiftly southward, and\nWainamoinen, hearing that his bride has perished, is plunged in grief.\nWhen he seeks consolation from the water-maidens they bid him go out\nfishing. After angling for many a day, he finally secures a salmon,\nlarger and more beautiful than any fish ever seen before. He is\nopening his knife to cut the salmon open, when it suddenly springs\nback into the deep, saying it was Aino who had come to join him but\nwho now escapes in punishment for his cruelty. Not discouraged by this\nfirst failure, Wainamoinen fishes on, until the spirit of his mother\nbids him travel northward and seek a suitable wife among the Lapps.\n\n  \"Take for thee a life companion\n  From the honest homes of Suomi,\n  One of Northland's honest daughters;\n  She will charm thee with her sweetness,\n  Make thee happy through her goodness,\n  Form perfection, manners easy,\n  Every step and movement graceful,\n  Full of wit and good behavior,\n  Honor to thy home and kindred.\"\n\n_Rune VI._ Preparing for a journey northward, Wainamoinen bestrides\nhis magic steed, and galloping over the plains of Kalevala crosses the\nBlue Sea as if it were land. The bard Youkahainen, foreseeing his\ncoming, lies in wait for him and prepares arrows to shoot him,\nalthough his mother warns him not to attempt anything of the kind. It\nis the third poisoned arrow from Youkahainen's bow which strikes\nWainamoinen's horse, which immediately sinks to the bottom of the sea,\nleaving its rider to struggle in the water some eight years. Meantime\nYoukahainen exults because his foe is dead, although his mother\ninsists her son has merely brought woe upon the earth.\n\n_Rune VII._ Instead of treading the waves, Wainamoinen swims about\nuntil an eagle--grateful because he left birch-trees for birds to\nperch upon--swoops down, invites him to climb upon its back, and\nswiftly bears him to the dismal northland Sariola. There Wainamoinen\nis discovered by the Maid of Beauty, who sends her mother, toothless\nLouhi, to invite him into the house, where she bountifully feeds him.\nNext Louhi promises to supply Wainamoinen with a steed to return home\nand to give him her daughter in marriage, provided he will forge for\nher the Sampo, or magic grist-mill. Although Wainamoinen cannot do\nthis, he promises that his brother, the blacksmith Ilmarinen, shall\nforge it for her, and thus secures the promise of the hand of the Maid\nof Beauty. This bargain made, Wainamoinen drives away in a sledge\nprovided by his hostess, who cautions him not to look up as he travels\nalong, lest misfortune befall him.\n\n_Rune VIII._ Instead of obeying these injunctions, Wainamoinen gazes\nupward on his way home, and thus discovers the Maid of Beauty, or\nMaiden of the Rainbow, weaving \"a gold and silver air-gown.\" When he\ninvites her to come with him, she pertly rejoins the birds have\ninformed her a married woman's life is unenviable, for wives \"are like\ndogs enchained in kennel.\" When Wainamoinen insists wives are queens,\nand begs her to listen to his wooing, she retorts when he has split a\ngolden hair with an edgeless knife, has snared a bird's egg with an\ninvisible snare, has peeled a sandstone, and made a whipstock from ice\nwithout leaving any shavings, she may consider his proposal.\n\nThese impossible tasks are quickly accomplished by the wizard, but,\nwhile filling the Rainbow Maiden's last order to fashion a ship out\nof her broken spindle--Wainamoinen accidentally cuts his knee so badly\nthat the blood flows so fast no charm can stop it. In vain different\nremedies are tried, in vain Wainamoinen seeks help at sundry houses\nthe blood continues to pour out of his wound until it looks as if he\nwould die.\n\n_Rune IX._ Wainamoinen finally enters a cottage where two girls dip up\nsome of his blood, and where an old man informs him he can be healed\nif he will only \"sing the origin of iron.\" Thereupon Wainamoinen\nchants that Ukko, Creator of Heaven, having cut air and water asunder,\ncreated three lovely maidens, whose milk, scattered over the earth,\nsupplied iron of three different hues. He adds that Fire then caught\nIron, and carried it off to its furnace, where Ilmarinen discovered a\nway to harden it into steel by means of venom brought to him by the\nbird of Hades.\n\nThis song finished, the old man checks the flow of blood, and sends\nhis daughters to collect various herbs, out of which he manufactures a\nmagic balsam which cures the cut immediately.\n\n_Rune X and XI._ Wainamoinen now hastens back to Kalevala and\ninterviews his brother Ilmarinen, who refuses to journey northward or\nto forge the magic Sampo. To induce the smith to do his will,\nWainamoinen persuades him to climb a lofty fir-tree, on whose branches\nhe claims to have hung the moon and the Great Bear. While Ilmarinen is\nup in this tree, the wizard Wainamoinen causes a violent storm to blow\nhis brother off to the Northland, where, welcomed by Louhi, Ilmarinen\nsets up his forge, and after four days' arduous work produces the\nmagic sampo.\n\n  \"I will forge for thee the Sampo,\n  Hammer thee the lid in colors,\n  From the tips of white-swan feathers,\n  From the milk of greatest virtue,\n  From a single grain of barley,\n  From the finest wool of lambkins,\n  Since I forged the arch of heaven,\n  Forged the air a concave cover,\n  Ere the earth had a beginning.\"\n\nThe sorceress is so pleased with the Sampo--by means of which she\ndaily grinds out treasure untold--that, after hiding it away safely in\na mountain, she authorizes Ilmarinen to woo the Maid of Beauty, who\nassures him also she never will marry. Saddened by this refusal,\nIlmarinen longs for home, whither he is wafted in Louhi's magic boat\nof copper.\n\nMeanwhile Wainamoinen has been building a magic boat in which to sail\nnorthward. He is aided in this work by Lemminkainen, who, seeing the\nMaid of Beauty, boldly kidnaps her. But the maiden consents to be his\nspouse only if he will promise never to fight, a pledge he readily\ngives in exchange for hers to forego all village dances. These vows\nduly exchanged, the young couple are united, and all goes well as long\nas both scrupulously keep their promise.\n\n_Rune XII._ The time comes, however, when Lemminkainen goes fishing,\nand during his absence his wife secretly attends a village dance. When\nthe husband returns, his sister informs him his bride has broken her\npromise, whereupon Lemminkainen vows it is time he too should break\nhis, and, harnessing his sleigh, starts off for Lapland to fight. On\narriving there he enters sundry houses, and finally meets in one of\nthem a minstrel, whose song he roughly criticises. Then, seizing the\nman's harp, Lemminkainen chants all sorts of spells, until all present\nare under their influence save a blind shepherd, whom Lemminkainen\nallows to go, and who hastens down to the River of Death, declaring he\nwill there await the singer's arrival.\n\n_Runes XIII and XIV._ Lemminkainen now asks Louhi for her second\ndaughter, whom she refuses to give him, declaring that after deserting\nher first daughter he can obtain her second only by catching the wild\nmoose ranging in the fields of Hisi (Death), by bridling his\nfire-breathing steed, and by killing with his first arrow the great\nswan swimming on the River of Death. The first two tasks, although\nbristling with difficulties, are safely accomplished by Lemminkainen,\nbut when he reaches the River of Death, the blind shepherd--who is\nlying there in wait for him ruthlessly slays him, chops his body into\npieces, and casts them into the stream.\n\n_Rune XV._ After vainly awaiting Lemminkainen's return, his aged\nmother, seeing blood drip from his hair-brush, concludes evil must\nhave befallen her son. She therefore hastens northward, and threatens\nto destroy Louhi's magic Sampo unless the sorceress will reveal what\nhas become of Lemminkainen. Louhi then confesses that she sent him\ndown to Hades to hunt the Death swan, so Lemminkainen's mother hastens\ndown to the River of Death, only to learn her son has perished.\nHastening back to the blacksmith Ilmarinen, the frantic mother\nbeseeches him to make her a rake with a handle five hundred fathoms\nlong, and armed with this implement begins to dredge the river.\nPresently she fishes out one by one the garments and various fragments\nof her son! Thanks to powerful incantations she restores Lemminkainen\nto life, speech, and motion, whereupon the youth thanks her, and\ngraphically relates how he came to his death. But, although he is home\nonce more, Lemminkainen is always thinking of the beautiful maiden he\nwooed, and he still longs to kill the swan swimming on the River of\nDeath!\n\n_Runes XVI and XVII._ Leaving Lemminkainen, the poem now relates how\nWainamoinen built a boat, asking the God of the Forest to supply him\nwith the necessary material for its different parts. When questioned,\nthe trees one after another declare they are unfit for ship-building,\nuntil the oak proffers its strong trunk. Wainamoinen now constructs\nhis vessel, but discovers he lacks three \"master words\" to finish it\nproperly. After vainly seeking these words among birds and animals, he\ncrosses the River of Death in a boat, only to find the magic formula\nis unknown even to the angel of Death! The words are, however, well\nknown to Wipunen, a giant of whom he goes in quest. Prying open the\nmonster's lips to force him to speak, Wainamoinen stumbles and\naccidentally falls into the huge maw and is swallowed alive. But,\nunwilling to remain indefinitely in the dark recesses of the giant's\nbody, Wainamoinen soon sets up a forge in the entrails of the\ncolossus, thus causing him such keen discomfort that the monster\nproposes to eject his guest, who flatly refuses to be dislodged until\nhe learns the magic words. Having thus cleverly secured what he is\nseeking, Wainamoinen returns home and completes a boat, which proves\nself-propelling, and speedily bears him to the Northland to woo the\nMaiden of the Rainbow.\n\n  Thus the ancient Wainamoinen\n  Built the boat with magic only,\n  And with magic launched his vessel,\n  Using not the hand to touch it,\n  Using not the foot to move it,\n  Using not the knee to turn it,\n  Using nothing to propel it.\n  Thus the third task was completed,\n  For the hostess of Pohyola,\n  Dowry for the Maid of Beauty\n  Sitting on the arch of heaven,\n  On the bow of many colors.\n\n_Rune XVIII._ Wainamoinen's departure in the magic vessel is noted by\nIlmarinen's sister, who immediately informs her brother a suitor is\nstarting to woo the girl he covets. Jumping into his sled Ilmarinen\ndrives off, and both suitors approach the maiden's dwelling from\ndifferent points at the self-same time. Seeing them draw near, the\nwitch Louhi bids her daughter accept the older man--because he brings\na boat-load of treasures--and to refuse the empty-handed youth. But\nthe daughter, who prefers a young bridegroom, declares that the smith\nwho fashioned the incomparable Sampo cannot be an undesirable match.\nWhen Wainamoinen therefore lands from his ship and invites her to go\nsailing with him, she refuses his invitation. Heavy-hearted,\nWainamoinen is obliged to return home alone, and, on arriving there,\nissues the wise decree that old men should never woo mere girls or\nattempt to rival young men.\n\n_Rune XIX._ In his turn Ilmarinen now woos the Rainbow Maiden, and is\ntold by Louhi that ere he can claim his bride he must plough the\nserpent-field of Hades, bring back from that place the Tuoni-bear\nsafely muzzled, and catch a monster pike swimming in the River of\nDeath Helped by the Maiden of the Rainbow, Ilmarinen accomplishes\nthese three difficult feats, by first forging the plough, noose, and\nfishing eagle required.\n\n_Runes XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, and XXIV._ Now extensive preparations are\nmade for the marriage of Ilmarinen and the Maiden of the Rainbow. Not\nonly is the mighty ox of Harjala slain and roasted, but beer is brewed\nfor the first time in the Northland, and many verses are devoted to\ndescribe the processes by which this national drink was brought to its\nstate of perfection! When at last Ilmarinen appears to take away his\nbride, the Rainbow Maiden seems unwilling to go, and objects that a\nwife is her husband's slave, and has to spend all her days in pleasing\nhim, his father, and his mother. Although her lament is touching\nindeed, the bride-advisor directs her to please her new relatives,\nadmonishes Ilmarinen to treat her kindly, and watches the two set off,\nthe Rainbow Maiden shedding bitter tears at leaving her beloved home.\n\n_Rune XXV._ The bride and bridegroom are next warmly welcomed by\nIlmarinen's family, old Wainamoinen himself singing at their bridal\nfeast, and again instructing the bride to be all love and submission\nand to expect nothing save bitterness and hardship from marriage.\nHaving concluded his song by praising the father who built the house,\nthe mother who keeps it, and having blessed bridegroom and bride,\nWainamoinen departs for the Land of the Dead, to borrow an auger to\nrepair his sled, which has fallen to pieces while he sang.\n\n_Rune XXVI._ Meanwhile Lemminkainen, angry because he alone has\nreceived no invitation to the wedding banquet, decides, in spite of\nhis mother's advice, to go forth and take his revenge. Although he has\nto overcome a flaming eagle, pass through a pit of fire, slay a wolf\nand a bear, and destroy a wall of snakes mounting guard at the\nentrance of Lapland before he can reach his destination, his spells\nand incantations safely overcome these and other dire perils. _Runes\nXXVII and XXVIII._ Reaching Northland at last, Lemminkainen slays the\nhusband of Louhi, from whom he escapes before she can attack him. His\nmother now warns him his foes will pursue him and advises him to go to\nthe Isle of Refuge, situated in the centre of the Tenth Ocean, and\nabide there for three years, pledging himself not to fight again for\nsixty summers.\n\n_Rune XXIX._ We now have a description of the Isle of Refuge, where\nLemminkainen tarries three whole years with the sea-maidens, who bid\nhim a tender farewell when he sails away again. He has, however,\nproved neglectful toward one of them, a spinster, who curses him,\nvowing he will suffer many things in return for his neglect. True to\nher prediction, he encounters many dangers on the homeward journey,\nand finds his house reduced to ashes and his parents gone! But,\nalthough he mourns for them as dead, he soon discovers them hiding in\nthe forest, to escape the fury of the Lapps.\n\n_Rune XXX._ To punish these foes Lemminkainen now sets out for the\nnorth, taking with him Tiera, hero of the broadsword, who is to help\nhim. Aware of his coming, Louhi bids her son Frost stop them by\nholding their vessel fast in the ice, but Lemminkainen trudges over\nthe ice, hurls the Frost-God into the fire, and, somewhat discouraged,\nreturns home.\n\n_Runes XXXI, XXXII, and XXXIII._ During this time a slave,\nKullerwoinen, the son of Evil, has been sold to Ilmarinen to serve as\nhis shepherd. The Rainbow Maiden therefore sends him forth with her\ncattle, giving him a loaf of bread as sole sustenance. When the son of\nEvil attempts to cut this bread, he breaks his knife, for the\nhousewife has baked a flint-stone in it. In his anger the shepherd\nconjures up wolves and bears, which devour the cattle, and which he\ndrives home in their stead after dark. When the Rainbow Maiden\ntherefore unsuspectingly tries to milk them, she is instantly devoured\nby these wild beasts.\n\n_Runes XXXIV and XXXV._ Having thus effected his revenge, the Spirit\nof Evil hurries away to his tribe-folk, who bid him perform sundry\ntasks, in the course of which he crowns his evil deeds by assaulting a\nsister who was lost in infancy, and whom he therefore fails to\nrecognize. On discovering the identity of her ravisher, the unhappy\ngirl throws herself into the river, where she perishes.\n\n_Rune XXXVI._ Forbidden by his mother to commit suicide in punishment\nfor his crime, Kullerwoinen decides to seek death on the field of\nbattle. Although the various members of his family see him depart\nwithout regret, his mother assures him nothing can destroy her love\nfor her son.\n\n  \"Canst not fathom love maternal,\n  Canst not smother her affection;\n  Bitterly I'll mourn thy downfall,\n  I would weep if thou shouldst perish,\n  Shouldst thou leave my race forever;\n  I would weep in court or cabin,\n  Sprinkle all these fields with tear-drops,\n  Weep great rivers to the ocean,\n  Weep to melt the snows of Northland,\n  Make the hillocks green with weeping,\n  Weep at morning, weep at evening,\n  Weep three years in bitter sorrow\n  O'er the death of Kullerwoinen!\"\n\nKullerwoinen, armed with a magic sword, does great slaughter among his\nfoes, and returns home only to find all his kin have perished. While\nhe mourns their death, his mother's spirit bids him follow his\nwatch-dog--the only living creature left him. During this strange\npromenade, coming to the spot where he assaulted his sister,\nKullerwoinen falls upon his magic sword and dies, an episode which\ninspires Wainamoinen with these words of wisdom:\n\n  \"If the child is not well nurtured,\n  Is not rocked and led uprightly,\n  Though he grow to years of manhood,\n  Bear a strong and shapely body,\n  He will never know discretion,\n  Never eat the bread of honor,\n  Never drink the cup of wisdom.\"\n\n_Rune XXXVII and XXXVIII._ Meantime Ilmarinen, after grieving three\nmonths for the loss of the Rainbow Maiden, proceeds to fashion himself\na wife out of gold and silver, but, as she is lifeless and\nunresponsive, he offers her to Wainamoinen,--who refuses her,--and\ntravels northward once more to woo a sister of his former bride. On\narriving at Louhi's house,--undeterred by many evil omens which have\ncrossed his path,--Ilmarinen sues for a bride. Louhi reproaches him\nfor the treatment her first daughter has undergone, but, although the\nsecond maiden refuses to follow him, he boldly carries her off by\nforce. She is, however, so unhappy with him that the blacksmith\nfinally changes her into a sea-gull.\n\n  \"I have changed the hateful virgin\n  To a sea-gull on the ocean;\n  Now she calls above the waters,\n  Screeches from the ocean-islands,\n  On the rocks she calls and murmurs,\n  Vainly calling for a suitor.\"\n\n_Runes XXXIX, XL, and XLI._ To comfort himself, Ilmarinen concludes he\nwould like to have the Sampo, and persuades Wainamoinen and\nLemminkainen to accompany him northward to get it. This time they sail\nin a magic ship, which is stranded on the shoulders of a huge pike.\nWainamoinen kills this fish, and from its bones and sinews fashions\nthe first harp, an instrument so wonderful that none but he can play\nit, but, whenever he touches its strings, trees dance about him, wild\nanimals crouch at his feet, and the hearts of men are filled with\nrapture.\n\n  All of Northland stopped and listened.\n  Every creature in the forest,\n  All the beasts that haunt the woodlands,\n  On their nimble feet came bounding,\n  Came to listen to his playing,\n  Came to hear his songs of joyance.\n\nThe music which he makes is so touching that it draws tears even from\nthe player's eyes, tears which drop down into the sea, where they are\ntransformed into pearls, which are brought to him by a duck.\n\n  Gathered Wainamoinen's tear-drops\n  From the blue sea's pebbly bottom,\n  From the deep, pellucid waters;\n  Brought them to the great magician,\n  Beautifully formed and colored,\n  Glistening in the silver sunshine,\n  Glimmering in the golden moonlight,\n  Many-colored as the rainbow,\n  Fitting ornaments for heroes,\n  Jewels for the maids of beauty.\n  This the origin of sea-pearls\n  And the blue-duck's beauteous plumage.\n\n_Runes XLII and XLIII._ Having lulled the Spirits of Evil to sleep\nwith magic music, Wainamoinen and Ilmarinen go in quest of the Sampo,\nwhich they find hidden in the bosom of a magic mountain and bear away\nin triumph. The spell they have laid upon all living creatures is\nbroken only when Louhi discovers her loss and sets out in pursuit of\nthe robbers of her treasure.\n\nIn various guises she attacks them, finally transforming herself into\na huge eagle and pouncing down upon the Sampo, which she tries to bear\naway in her talons. But Wainamoinen fights this aggressor to such good\npurpose that it drops the Sampo into the sea, where it is dashed to\npieces! Not only has Wainamoinen lost the Sampo,--whose fragments he\ncollects and buries so that they may bring prosperity to his\npeople,--but his magic harp has also fallen overboard during his fight\nwith Louhi.\n\n_Runes XLIV and XLV._ Wainamoinen therefore proceeds to construct a\nsecond harp from the wood of the birch, while Louhi, who has returned\nnorthward but who still owes him a grudge, sends down from the north\nnine fell diseases,--colic, pleurisy, fever, ulcer, plague,\nconsumption, gout, sterility, and cancer,--all of which Wainamoinen\nrouts by means of the vapor baths which he discovers.\n\n_Rune XLVI._ Hearing that Wainamoinen prospers in spite of all she can\ndo, Louhi is so disappointed that she sends a magic bear to devour him\nand his brother. But, hearing this monster is coming, Wainamoinen\ndirects the blacksmith to make him a wonderful spear, with which he\nslays the bear, whose skin and flesh prove a boon to his people.\n\n_Runes XLVII and XLVIII._ Still angry, Louhi steals from Wainamoinen\nthe sun, moon, and fire, and thus all the homes in Kalevala are cold,\ndark, and cheerless. Gazing downward, Ukko, king of the heaven,\nwonders because he sees no light, and sends down a flash of lightning,\nwhich, after striking the earth, drops into the sea and is swallowed\nby a pike. This fiery mouthful, however, proves so uncomfortable, that\nthe fish swims madly around until swallowed by another. Learning that\nthe fire-ball is now in a pike, Wainamoinen fishes until he secures\nthat greedy denizen of the deep. Opening his quarry, he seizes the\nlightning, which burns his fingers so badly that he drops it, until he\ndecides to convey it to his people in the wood of an elm.\n\n_Rune XLIX._ Although fire is thus restored to mankind, the sun and\nthe moon are still missing. Ilmarinen therefore forges a magnificent\nsilver moon and golden sun, in the vain hope of replacing the orbs\nwhich Louhi has stolen, and which are hidden in the cave where she\nonce treasured the Sampo. Discovering this fact by magic means,\nWainamoinen starts out in quest of sun and moon, and, by changing\nhimself into a pike to cross the river, reaches the land of Louhi,\ndefeats her sons, and finds the orbs he is seeking guarded by a\nmultitude of snakes. Although Wainamoinen slays these keepers, he\ncannot recover the captive sun or moon until Louhi, who has meantime\nassumed the form of an eagle and then of a dove, sends them back to\nKalevala, where their return is hailed with joy.\n\n  \"Greetings to thee, Sun of fortune;\n  Greetings to thee, Moon of good-luck;\n  Welcome sunshine, welcome moonlight;\n  Golden is the dawn of morning!\n  Free art thou, O Sun of silver,\n  Free again, O Moon beloved,\n  As the sacred cuckoo's singing,\n  As the ring-dove's liquid cooing.\n    Rise, thou silver Sun, each morning,\n  Source of light and life hereafter,\n  Bring us daily joyful greetings,\n  Fill our homes with peace and plenty,\n  That our sowing, fishing, hunting,\n  May be prospered by thy coming.\n  Travel on thy daily journey,\n  Let the Moon be ever with thee;\n  Glide along thy way rejoicing,\n  End thy journeyings in slumber;\n  Rest at evening in the ocean,\n  When thy daily cares have ended,\n  To the good of all thy people,\n  To the pleasure of Wainola,\n  To the joy of Kalevala!\"\n\n_Rune L._ Meanwhile there had been dwelling in the Northland a happy\nmaiden named Mariatta, who, wandering on the hillsides, once asked the\ncuckoo how long she would remain unmarried, and heard a magic voice\nbid her gather a certain berry. No sooner had she done so than the\nberry popped into her mouth, and soon after she bore a child, which\nbeing the offspring of a berry was to be called Flower. Because her\nmother indignantly cast her off, she wandered about seeking a place\nwhere she could give birth to her child. She was finally compelled to\ntake refuge in the manger of the fiery steed of Hisi, where her infant\nwas charitably warmed by the firesteed's breath. But once, while the\nmother was slumbering, the child vanished, and the mother vainly\nsought it until the Sun informed her she would find it sleeping among\nthe reeds and rushes in Swamp-land.\n\n  Mariatta, child of beauty,\n  Virgin-mother of the Northland,\n  Straightway seeks her babe in Swamp-land,\n  Finds him in the reeds and rushes;\n  Takes the young child on her bosom\n  To the dwelling of her father.\n\nMariatta soon discovered him there, growing in grace and beauty, but\npriests refused to baptize him because he was considered a wizard.\nWhen Wainamoinen sentenced the mother to death, the infant, although\nonly two weeks old, hotly reproached him, declaring that, although\nguilty of many follies, his people have always forgiven him. Hearing\nthis, Wainamoinen, justly rebuked, baptized the child, who in time\ngrew up to be a hero and became the greatest warrior in the land.\n\nWainamoinen, having grown feeble with passing years, finally built for\nhimself a copper vessel, wherein, after singing a farewell song, he\nsailed \"out into the west,\" and vanished in the midst of the sunset\nclouds, leaving behind him as an inheritance to his people his\nwondrous songs.\n\n    Thus the ancient Wainamoinen,\n  In his copper-banded vessel,\n  Left his tribe in Kalevala,\n  Sailing o'er the rolling billows,\n  Sailing through the azure vapors,\n  Sailing through the dusk of evening,\n  Sailing to the fiery sunset,\n  To the higher-landed regions,\n  To the lower verge of heaven;\n  Quickly gained the far horizon,\n  Gained the purple-colored harbor,\n  There his bark he firmly anchored,\n  Rested in his boat of copper;\n  But he left his harp of magic,\n  Left his songs and wisdom-sayings,\n  To the lasting joy of Suomi.\n\nThe poem concludes with an epilogue, wherein the bard declares it\ncontains many of the folk-tales of his native country, and that as far\nas rhythm is concerned--\n\n  \"Nature was my only teacher,\n  Woods and waters my instructors.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 36: All the quotations in this chapter are from Crawford's\ntranslation of the \"Kalevala.\"]\n\n\n\n\nTHE EPICS OF CENTRAL EUROPE AND OF THE BALKAN PENINSULA\n\n\nGerman being talked in a large part of Switzerland and of Austria,\nthese countries claim a great share in the Teutonic epics, many of\nwhose episodes are located within their borders. Both the Swiss and\nthe Austrian nations are formed, however, of various peoples, so while\nsome of the Swiss boast of German blood and traditions, others are\nmore closely related to the French or to the Italians. To study Swiss\nliterature one must therefore seek its sources in German, French, and\nItalian books. It is, though, considered very remarkable that there\nexists no great Swiss epic on the deeds of William Tell, a national\nhero whose literary fame rests almost exclusively upon folk-tales and\nupon Schiller's great drama.[37]\n\nNo political division boasts of a greater mixture of races and\nlanguages than the Austro-Hungarian empire, whose literature is\ntherefore like a many-faceted jewel. Aside from many Germans, there\nare within the borders of the empire large numbers of Czechs or\nBohemians, who in the thirteenth century delighted in translations of\nthe Alexandreis, of Tristram, and of other epic poems and romances,\nand whose first printed volume in 1468 was a reproduction of the\nTrojan Cycle.\n\nThere are also the Hungarians, whose literary language continued to be\nLatin until after the Reformation, and whose earliest epics treat of\nsuch themes as the \"Life of St. Catherine of Alexandria.\" It was,\ntherefore, only in the seventeenth century that Zrinyi, Gy\u00f6ngy\u00f6si,\nLiszti, and other poets began to compose Magyar epics which roused\ntheir countrymen to rebel against their foes, the Turks. In the\nnineteenth century patriotism was further fostered among this people\nby the stirring epics of Czuczor, Pet\u00f6fi (whose masterpiece is Janes\nVilez), and of V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty, and then, too, were compiled the first\ncollections of genuine Hungarian folk-tales. Among these the\nadventures of the national Samson (Toldi) have served as basis for\nArany's modern national epic in twelve cantos.\n\nPart of Poland being incorporated in the Austro-Hungarian empire, it\ncannot be amiss to mention here the fact that its literature is\nparticularly rich in folk-tales, animal epics, apologues, religious\nlegends, and hero tales, although none of the poetical versions of\nthese works seem to be of sufficient weight or importance to require\ndetailed treatment in this volume.\n\nWith the exception of ancient Greece,--whose epic literature is so\nrich and still exerts such an influence as to demand separate\ntreatment,--there do not seem to be any epics of great literary value\namong the various races now occupying the Balkan Peninsula. Old\nRumanian literature, written in the Slavic tongue, boasts a few rhymed\nchronicles which are sometimes termed epics, while modern Rumanian\nprides itself upon Joan Delaemi's locally famous Epic of the Gypsies.\n\nIn Servia one discovers ancient epic songs celebrating the great feats\nof national heroes and heroines, and relating particularly to the\ncountry's prolonged struggle for independence. After translating the\nmain works of Tasso from the Italian for the benefit of his\ncountrymen, one of their poets--Gundulitch--composed a twenty-canto\nepic entitled Osman, wherein he described the war between the Poles\nand Turks in 1621. The Servian dramatist Palmotitch later composed the\nChristiad, or life of Christ, and in the nineteenth century\nMilutinovitch wrote a Servian epic, while Mazuranie and Bogovitch\npenned similar poems in Croatian. As for the Bulgarians they do not\nseem to have any epic of note.\n\nTurkish literature having been successively under Persian, Arabic, and\nFrench influence, has no characteristic epics, although it possesses\nwonderful cycles of fairy and folk-tales,--material from which\nexcellent epics could be evolved were it handled by a poet of genius.\nThe Asiatic part of Turkey being occupied mainly by Arabians, who\nprofess the Mohammedan religion, it is natural that the sayings and\ndoings of Mohammed should form no small part of their literature. The\nmost important of these collections in regard to the Prophet were made\nby Al-Bukhari, Muslem, and Al-Tirmidhi.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 37: See the author's \"Legends of Switzerland.\"]\n\n\n\n\nHEBREW AND EARLY CHRISTIAN EPICS\n\nJOB\n\n\nThe Book of Job ranks as \"one of that group of five or six world poems\nthat stand as universal expressions of the human spirit.\" For that\nreason it is considered the representative Hebrew epic, and, as it\ndepicts the conflicts of a human soul, it has also been termed the\n\"epic of the inner life.\"\n\nWritten after the exile,--probably in the latter part of the fourth\ncentury B.C.,--it incorporates various older poems, for the theme is\nthought to antedate the Exodus. In the prologue we have a description\nof Job, a model sheik of the land of Uz, whose righteousness wins such\ncomplete approval from God that the Almighty proudly quotes his\nservant before his assembled council as a perfect man. \"The\nAdversary,\" Satan, now dramatically presents himself, and, when\ntaunted by God with Job's virtues, sarcastically retorts it is easy to\nbe good when favored with continual prosperity.\n\nThus challenged, and feeling sure of his subject, God allows Satan to\ndo his worst and thus test the real worth of Job. In quick succession\nwe now behold a once happy and prosperous man deprived of children,\nwealth, and health,--misfortunes so swift and dire that his friends in\nlengthy speeches insist he has offended God, for such trials as his\ncan only be sent in punishment for grievous sins. The exhortations of\nJob's three argumentative friends, as well as of a later-comer, and of\nhis wife, extend over a period of seven days, and cover three whole\ncycles; but, in spite of all they say, Job steadfastly refuses to\ncurse God as they advise.\n\nUnaware of the Heavenly council or of the fact that he is being\ntested, Job, in spite of trials and friends, patiently reiterates \"The\nLord gave and the Lord hath taken away,\" and, when his wife bids him\ncurse God and die, pathetically inquires, \"What! shall we receive good\nat the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?\"\n\nThere are, besides, whole passages in this book where Job gives way to\nhis overwhelming grief, these laments being evidently either fragments\nfrom another, older version of the story, or tokens that even such\nfortitude as his gave way under pressure of disease and of his\nfriends' injudicious attempts at consolation. These laments exceed in\npathos any other Hebrew poem, while Job's descriptions of God's power\nand wisdom attain to a superbly exalted strain.\n\nHaving silenced Zopher, Eliphaz, and Bildad, by assuring them he will\nbe vindicated in heaven,--if not sooner,--Job watches them and his\nlast friend depart, and is finally left alone. Then only, and in an\nepilogue, we are informed that, having thus been tried in the furnace\nof affliction and proved true gold, Job receives from God, as reward,\na double measure of health, wealth, and descendants, so that all men\nmay know he has not sinned and that his unshaken faith found favor in\nthe eyes of God.\n\nSome Jewish writers quote Ecclesiastes as their best sample of\ndidactic epic, and others would fain rank as epics the tales of Naomi\nand Ruth, of Esther and Ahasuerus, and even the idyllic Song of Songs\nby Solomon. Early Christian writers also see in Revelations, or the\nApocalypse, by St. John, the Seer of Patmos, a brilliant example of\nthe mystical or prophetic epic.\n\n\n\n\nARABIAN AND PERSIAN EPICS\n\n\n\"The long caravan marches across the monotonous deserts, when the\ncamel's steady swing bends the rider's body almost double, taught the\nArab to sing rhymes.\" But the poems thus sung by camel-drivers are\ngenerally short and never reach epic might or length. None of those\nolder poems now exist, and it was only when travellers applied the\nSyrian alphabet to the Arabic tongue in the sixth century that written\nrecords began to be kept of favorite compositions. Poets were then\nlooked upon as wise men, or magicians, and called upon, like Balaam,\nin times of danger, to utter spells or incantations against the foe.\n\nThe most ancient pre-Islamic poems were written in golden ink,\nsuspended in the Kaaba at Mecca, and are known in Arabia as the\n\"necklace of pearls.\"\n\nMany of these poems--which replace epics in the East--follow fixed\nrules, the author being bound to \"begin by a reference to the forsaken\ncamping grounds. Next he must lament, and pray his comrades to halt,\nwhile he calls up the memory of the dwellers who had departed in\nsearch of other encampments and fresh water springs. Then he begins to\ntouch on love matters, bewailing the tortures to which his passion\nputs him, and thus attracting interest and attention to himself. He\nrecounts his hard and toilsome journeying in the desert, dwells on the\nlean condition of his steed, which he lauds and describes, and\nfinally, with the object of obtaining those proofs of generosity which\nwere the bard's expected meed and sole support, he winds up with a\npanegyric of the prince or governor in whose presence the poem is\nrecited.\"\n\nThroughout the East, professional story-tellers still spend their\nlives travelling about and entertaining audiences in towns and tents\nwith poems and legends, many of the latter treating of desert feuds\nand battles and forming part of a collection known as the Arab Days.\nWith the founding of Bagdad by the Abbasides, Persian influence\nbegins to make itself felt, not only in politics but in literature\nalso, although Arabic was the sole language of the empire of the\nCaliphs. The greatest literary work in this literature is the famous\n\"Arabian Nights,\" an anonymous collection of tales connected by a\nthread of narrative. Its purport is that an Eastern monarch, \"to\nprotect himself against the craft and infidelity of women resolves\nthat the wife he chooses him every day shall be put to death before\nthe next.\" Two sisters devote their lives to put an end to such\nmassacres. The eldest, who becomes the king's wife, begs that her\nsister may spend the last night of her life in their room. At dawn the\nroyal bride entertains her sister with a story which is cleverly left\nunfinished. Such is the sultan's curiosity to hear the end, that the\nbride of a night is not slain, as usual. But as soon as one tale is\nended another is begun, and for one thousand and one nights the clever\nnarrator keeps her audience of two in suspense. Most of the tales told\nin this collection are obviously of Persian origin, and are contained\nin the Has\u00e2r Afs\u00e2na (The Thousand Tales) which was translated into\nArabic in the tenth century. But some authorities claim that these\nstories originated in India and were brought into Persia before\nAlexander's conquests. These tales are so popular that they have been\ntranslated into every civilized language and are often termed prose\nepics.\n\nArabic also boasts a romance of chivalry entitled \"Romance of\n'Antar,'\" ascribed to Al Asmai (739-831), which contains the chief\nevents in Arab history before the advent of Mahomet and is hence often\ntermed the Arab Iliad.\n\nThe \"Romance of Beni Hil\u00e2l\" and that of \"Abu Zaid,\" which form part of\na cycle of 38 legends, are popular in Egypt to this day.\n\n\n\n\nTHE SHAH-NAMEH, OR EPIC OF KINGS\n\n\nThis Persian epic was composed by the poet Abul Kasin Mansur, who sang\nso sweetly that his master termed him Firdusi, or Singer of Paradise,\nby which name he is best known, although he is also called the \"Homer\nof the East.\" Mahmoud, Shah of Persia, who lived about 920 B.C.,\ndecided to have the chronicles of the land put into rhyme, and engaged\nFirdusi for this piece of work, promising him a thousand gold pieces\nfor every thousand distichs he finished. Firdusi, who had long wished\nto build stone embankments for the river whose overflow devastated his\nnative town, begged the king to withhold payment until the work was\ndone.\n\nAt the end of thirty-three years, when the poem was completed, the\ngrand vizier, after counting its sixty-thousand couplets, concluded\nnot to pay for it in gold, and sent instead sixty thousand small\npieces of silver. On receiving so inadequate a reward, Firdusi became\nso angry that, after distributing the money among the bearers and\nwriting an insulting poem to the king, he fled first to Mazinderan and\nthen to Bagdad, where he lingered until shortly before his death, when\nhe returned to Tous. Tradition claims that the Shah; hearing he had\ncome home,--and having meantime discovered the trickery of his\nminister,--immediately sent Firdusi sixty thousand pieces of gold, but\nthat the money arrived only as his corpse was being lowered into the\ntomb! As the poet's daughter indignantly refused to accept this tardy\natonement, another relative took the money and built the dike which\nFirdusi had longed to see.\n\nWe know that Persian monarchs made sundry attempts to collect the\nannals of their country, but these collections were scattered at the\ntime of the Arabian conquest, so that only a few documents were\nbrought back to Persia later on. Although the poem of Firdusi claims\nto be a complete history of Persia, it contains so many marvels that,\nwere it not for its wonderful diction, it would not have survived,\nalthough he declares he has written,\n\n  \"What no tide\n  Shall ever wash away, what men\n  Unborn shall read o'er ocean wide.\"[38]\n\nThe poem opens with the description of a ruler so prosperous that the\nSpirit of Evil sent a mighty devil (deev) to conquer him. Thanks to\nthe effort of this demon, the king's son was slain, and, as the\nmonarch died of grief, it was his grandson who succeeded him. During a\nforty-centuries reign this king gave fire to his people, taught them\nirrigation and agriculture, and bestowed names on all the beasts.\n\nHis son and successor taught mortals how to spin and weave, and the\ndemons, in hopes of destroying him, imparted to him the arts of\nreading and writing. Next came the famous Persian hero Jemshid, who is\nsaid to have reigned seven hundred years, and to have divided the\nPersian nation into four classes,--priests, warriors, artisans, and\nhusbandmen. During his reign, which is the Age of Gold of Persia, the\nworld was divided into separate parts, and the city of Persepolis\nfounded, where two columns of the ruined royal palace still bear the\nname of the monarch who instituted the national festival of Persia\n(Neurouz).\n\nHaving accomplished all these wonderful things, Jemshid became so\nconceited that he wished to be worshipped, whereupon a neighboring\nvolcano vomited smoke and ashes and innumerable snakes infested the\nland. Then Prince Zohak of Arabia was sent by the Evil Spirit to drive\naway Jemshid and to take possession of his throne. Although at first\nZohak was very virtuous, the Evil Spirit, having gotten him in his\npower, began to serve him in guise of a cook. Once, having succeeded\nin pleasing him, he begged permission as reward to kiss the king\nbetween his shoulders. But no sooner had this demon's lips touched the\nroyal back than two black serpents sprang up there, serpents which\ncould not be destroyed, and which could only be kept quiet by being\nfed with human brains.\n\n  \"If life hath any charm for thee,\n  The brains of men their food must be.\"\n\nZohak, \"the Serpent King,\" as he is now invariably called, was\ntherefore obliged to prey upon his subjects to satisfy the appetite\nof these serpents, and, as two men were required daily for that\npurpose during the next thousand years, the realm was sorely\ndepopulated.\n\n  The serpents still on human brains were fed,\n  And every day two youthful victims bled;\n  The sword, still ready, thirsting still to strike,\n  Warrior and slave were sacrificed alike.\n\nNaturally, all the Persians grew to loathe their monarch, and, when\nthe seventeenth and last child of the blacksmith Kavah was seized to\nfeed the serpents, this man rebelled, and, raising his leathern apron\nas a standard, rallied the Persians around him. He then informed them\nthat, if they would only fight beneath \"the flag of Kavah,\"--which is\nnow the Persian ensign,--he would give them as king Feridoun, a son of\nJemshid, born during his exile. Hearing this, the rebels went in quest\nof Feridoun, \"the glorious,\" in regard to whom Zohak has been favored\nwith sundry visions, although he had been brought up in secret, his\nsole nurse being a faithful cow. When this animal died at last, the\ngrateful Feridoun made a mace of one of its big bones, and armed with\nthat weapon, defeated Zohak, who was chained to a mountain, where he\nwas tortured by visions of his victims for a thousand years. Meantime\nFeridoun occupied so justly the throne of Persia--where he reigned\nsome five hundred years--that his realm became an earthly Paradise.\n\nAt the end of this long reign, Feridoun despatched his three sons to\nArabia in quest of wives, and on their return proceeded to test their\nmettle by meeting them in the shape of a dragon. While the eldest son\nretreated, crying that a wise and prudent man never strives with\ndragons, the second advanced recklessly, without thinking of\nprotecting himself. The third, however, set to work in a business-like\nway, not only to rescue his foolhardy brother, but to slay the dragon.\nOn perceiving this, the father resumed his wonted form, and announced\nhe would divide his realm into three parts, of which the best share,\nIran or Persia, was bestowed upon Trij, the son who had shown both\ncourage and prudence.\n\nNot long after this division, the two elder brothers united to despoil\nthe younger, but, although they succeeded in slaying him, his infant\ndaughter was brought up by the aged Feridoun, and in due time gave\nbirth to a son, Minuchir, destined to avenge his grandfather's death\nby defeating and slaying his great-uncles. Having done this, Minuchir\noccupied the throne, while his favorite vassal was made governor of\none of the newly conquered realms. This swarthy, dark-haired man\nproved perfectly happy in these new estates until he heard his wife\nhad given birth to a son with snow-white hair.\n\n  \"No human being of this earth could give to such a monster birth,\n  He must be of the demon race, though human still in form and face.\n  If not a demon, he at least, appears a parti-colored beast.\"\n\nSuch an offspring seeming nothing short of a curse, the father had\nlittle Zal exposed on Mt. Alborz, where he expected he would perish in\na brief space of time.\n\nOn the top of this mountain the Simurgh, or Bird of God,--a marvellous\ngolden-feathered eagle,--had built a nest of ebony and sandal-wood,\nlined with spices, around which she had piled all manner of precious\nstones, whose glitter pleased her. Hearing the cry of a babe, this\ngreat bird swooped downward, and, fastening her talons in the child's\ndress, bore him safely away to her aerie, where she dropped him in the\nnest beside two eaglets. These little birds proved kind to the young\nprince, although they were able to leave their nest long before he\ncould walk about and play with the precious stones.\n\nIt was only when Zal was about eight years old that his father\nsuddenly realized he had committed a deadly sin, and was\ncorrespondingly relieved to learn in a dream that his child had not\nperished, but had been nursed by the Simurgh. Hastening to the\nmountain, the father besought the Bird of God to give back his son,\nwhereupon the golden-feathered eagle, after taking affectionate leave\nof little Zal (upon whom she bestowed a feather which was to be cast\ninto the fire in time of need), bore him back to his father.\n\n  \"Having watched thee with fondness by day and by night,\n  And supplied all thy wants with a mother's delight,\n  Oh, forget not thy nurse--still be faithful to me,\n  And my heart will be ever devoted to thee.\"\n\nThe father now brought up young Zal, who soon became so remarkable for\nstrength and bravery that he promised to become the greatest warrior\nthe world had ever known. In early manhood this youth journeyed to\nKabul, where he beheld the lovely Rudaveh, who belonged to the race of\nthe Serpent King. The arrival of a young but white-haired warrior\ncaused such a sensation at court that the princess, who had already\nfallen in love with him on hearsay, became anxious to meet him.\n\nOne day, when the maidens were gathering roses near his pavilion, Zal\nshot a bird, which falling in their midst gave them an occasion to\naddress him. He, too, had heard so much about the loveliness of\nRudaveh, that he questioned her attendants and gave them jewels to\ntake to her. Such gifts quickly paved the way for an interview, for\nRudaveh immediately sent for Zal. On appearing beneath her window,\nthis lover began so sweet a serenade that the princess stepped out in\nher balcony, where, loosening her long black braids,--which hung down\nto the ground,--she bade Zal use them to climb up to her. He, however,\ngallantly refused, for fear he should hurt her, and deftly flinging\nhis noose upward caught it fast in a projection, and thus safely\nreached the balcony, where this Persian Romeo acceptably wooed his\nJuliet.\n\nThe royal parents, on discovering these clandestine meetings,\nquestioned the young man, who proved his intelligence by solving six\nriddles, and, after giving satisfactory tokens of his other\nqualifications, was allowed to marry the princess, for the oracles\npredicted that from this union would arise a hero who would honor his\nnative land.\n\nTime now passed happily until the moment came when Rudaveh's life was\nin imminent danger. In his quandary, Zal flung the golden feather into\nthe fire with so trembling a hand that it fell to one side so that\nonly one edge was singed. This proved sufficient, however, to summon\nthe faithful Simurgh, who, after rapturously caressing her nursling,\nwhispered in his ear a magic word, which not only enabled him to save\nthe life of his dying wife, but also assured his becoming the happy\nfather of a stalwart son named Rustem.\n\nThis boy, stronger and handsomer than any child yet born, required no\nless than ten nurses, and after being weaned ate as much as five men!\nSuch being the case, he was able, by the time he was eight years of\nage, to slay a mad white elephant with a single stroke of his fist.\nMany similar feats were performed during the boyhood of this Persian\nHercules, who longed to fight when the realm was finally invaded by\nthe Tartar chief Afrasiab and war began to devastate the land.\n\n  Loud neighed the steeds, and their resounding hoofs\n  Shook the deep caverns of the earth; the dust\n  Rose up in clouds and hid the azure heavens.--\n  Bright beamed the swords, and in that carnage wide,\n  Blood flowed like water.\n\nWhen the Persians, in their distress, implored Zal to meet and defeat\nthis dreaded foe, the hero answered he was far too old to perform such\na task, but that his son Rustem would fight in his stead. Before\nsending him forth, however, Zal bade Rustem select a suitable steed,\nand, from all those paraded before him, the youth picked out a\nrose-colored colt called Rakush (lightning) whom no one had ever been\nable to mount, although he was quite old enough to use. After lassoing\nand taming this wonderful steed,--which obeyed him alone,--Rustem,\narmed with a mace, set out to meet the foe, sent hither as he knew by\nthe evil spirit. Then, to oppose Afrasiab, Rustem placed Kaikobad, a\ndescendant of the old royal family, on the throne, after driving away\nthe foe. The wise Kaikobad, who reigned peacefully one hundred years,\nwas, however, succeeded by a very foolish son, Kaikous, who, ill\nsatisfied with the extent of his realm, undertook to conquer\nMazinderan, which was in the hands of demons, but which he had coveted\never since it had been described by a young bard who sang:\n\n  \"And mark me, that untravelled man\n  Who never saw Mazinderan\n  And all the charms its bowers possess,\n  Has never tasted happiness.\"\n\nOn hearing his master propose such a conquest, Zal vainly\nremonstrated, but the foolish monarch set out, and on arriving in\nMazinderan was defeated by the demons, who blinded him and his army\nand detained them prisoners. No sooner did the news of this calamity\nreach Zal, than he bade Rustem go rescue the foolish monarch, adding\nthat, although it had taken Kaikous six months to reach his\ndestination, Rustem could get there in seven days, provided he were\nwilling to brave great dangers.\n\nOf course the hero selected the shorter route, and on the first day\nslew a wild ass, which he roasted for supper before lying down to\nrest. The odor of roast meat, however, attracted a lion, which would\nhave made a meal of the sleeping Rustem, had not his brave steed\nfought with hoofs and teeth until he succeeded in slaying the beast of\nprey. Awakened only as the fight ended, Rustem reproved his horse for\nrisking his life in this reckless way and bade him henceforth call for\naid.\n\n  \"Oh, Rakush, why so thoughtless grown\n  To fight a lion thus alone?\n  For had it been thy fate to bleed\n  And not thy foe, O gallant steed!\n  How could thy master have conveyed\n  His helm, and battle-axe, and blade,\n  Unaided to Mazinderan?\n  Why didst thou fail to give the alarm,\n  And save thyself from chance of harm,\n  By neighing loudly in my ear?\n  But, though thy bold heart knows no fear,\n  From such unwise exploits refrain\n  Nor try a lion's strength again.\"\n\nDuring the second day's journey, Rustem was saved from perishing of\nthirst by following a stray ram to a mountain stream; and on the third\nnight, having forbidden his horse to attack any foe without warning\nhim, Rustem was twice awakened by the loud neighing of Rakush, who had\nseen an eighty-yard long dragon draw near. Each time he neighed,\nhowever, the dragon disappeared, so Rustem, seeing nought, reproved\nhis horse for breaking his rest. The third time, however, he caught a\nglimpse of the dragon's fiery eyes, so, attacking him, he slew him,\nthanks to the help of his horse. The fourth day was signalized by\nother marvellous adventures, and on the fifth, while journeying\nthrough the land of magic, Rustem was met by a sorceress, who tried to\nwin him by many wiles. Although he accepted the banquet and cup of\nwine she tendered, he no sooner bade her quaff it in the name of God,\nthan she was forced to resume her fiendish form, whereupon he slew\nher.\n\nOn the sixth day, Rustem, forced to ride through a land where the sun\nnever shone, allowed his intelligent steed to guide him, and thus\nsafely reached on the seventh a land of plenty and light, where he lay\ndown to rest. There, while he was sleeping, the people of Mazinderan\ncaptured his wonderful steed. But, following the traces of his\nstruggling horse, Rustem, by dint of great exertions, made them give\nback Rakush, and forced them to guide him to the cave where the White\nDemon was detaining his fellow-countrymen prisoners.\n\nIn front of this cave Rustem found an array of demons, and, after\nconquering them all, forced his way into the Persian hell, whence he\nrescued his companions, whose sight he restored by trickling the blood\nof the White Demon into their sightless eyes.\n\nHaving thus earned the title of \"champion of the world,\" Rustem\nescorted the stupid king home, but this monarch, not satisfied with\nthis blunder, committed one folly after another. We are told that he\neven undertook to fly, his special make of aeroplane being a carpet\nborne by four starving eagles, fastened to the four corners of its\nframe, and frantically striving to reach a piece of meat fixed\ntemptingly above and ahead of them.\n\nTime and again the foolish monarch Kaikous was rescued by the efforts\nof Rustem, who, in the course of his wanderings, finally came to the\ncourt of a king, whose daughter, loving him by hearsay, had his horse\nstolen from him. When Rustem angrily demanded the return of his steed,\nthe monarch assured him he should have Rakush on the morrow. But that\nnight the beautiful princess, Tamineh, stole into Rustem's room, and,\nafter waking him, promised he should have his horse provided he would\nmarry her. Charmed by her beauty and grace, Rustem readily consented,\nand found such attractions in his bride that he lingered by her side\nfor some time.\n\nThe moment came, however, when the foolish monarch required Rustem's\nservices, and, as Tamineh was not able at that time to bear the long\njourney, Rustem bade her a fond farewell, leaving an onyx bracelet\nbearing the image of the Simurgh, with which he bade her deck their\nexpected child. In due time the lovely princess gave birth to a\nbeautiful boy, whom she called Sorab (sunshine), but, fearing lest\nRustem should take him away to train him as a warrior, she sent word\nto him that she had given birth to a daughter. Girls being of minor\nimportance in Persia, Rustem inquired no further about this child, and\nwas kept so busy serving his monarch that he never once visited his\nwife while his son was growing up.\n\nFor a long time Tamineh jealously guarded the secret of Sorab's birth,\nfearing lest her young son would want to go forth and do battle too.\nBut when she could no longer keep him home, she told him the story of\nher wooing:\n\n  \"Listen, my child, and you shall hear\n  Of the wondrous love of a maiden dear\n  For a mighty warrior, the pride of his day\n  Who loved, and married, and rode away,\n  For this is the romance of Rustem.\"\n\nThe lad, who had always cherished a romantic admiration for Rustem,\nwas overjoyed to learn his origin, and departed only after being\nreminded that he must never fight his father, although about to help\nthe Tartars in a war against Persia. Sorab was doing so because\neverybody was tired of the foolish king, who was to be overthrown, so\nthat Rustem could be placed on the throne in his stead. To make sure\nher son should not fail to recognize his father, Tamineh sent with him\ntwo faithful servants who had known Rustem well when he came to woo\nher.\n\nMeantime Afrasiab, chief of the Tartars, delighted to have Sorab's aid\nagainst Persia, cautioned all his warriors not to tell the youth,\nshould his father appear in the opposite army, for he slyly hoped \"the\nyoung lion would kill the old one,\" and felt sure that, were he only\nrid of father and son, he would be able to rule over Persia himself.\n\nIn the course of this war young Sorab met with many adventures,\nfighting once against an Amazon, who by trickery managed to escape\nfrom him. However, Sorab kept hoping the time would come when he and\nhis father would meet face to face, and, whenever a fray was about to\ntake place, he always bade his companions scan the ranks of the foe to\nmake sure that Rustem was not there.[39]\n\nMeantime the foolish king, having gotten the worst in the war, had\nsent for Rustem, who, for reconnoitring purposes, entered the Tartar\ncamp as a spy. There he beheld Sorab, and could not help admiring the\nyoung warrior, of whose many brave exploits he had already heard.\nWhile thus sneaking about the enemy's tent, Rustem was discovered by\nthe two servants whom Tamineh had placed by her son's side, both of\nwhom he killed before they could give the alarm. Thus, when Sorab and\nRustem finally came face to face, there was no one at hand to point\nout the son to the father or inform the son of his close relationship\nto his antagonist. After the war had raged for some time, Sorab\nchallenged the Persians to a single fight, for he was anxious to\ndistinguish himself, knowing that should he win a great triumph his\nfather would hear of it, and inquire the origin of the youth of whom\nsuch tales were told:\n\n  \"Come then, hear now, and grant me what I ask.\n  Let the two armies rest to-day; but I\n  Will challenge forth the bravest Persian lords\n  To meet me, man to man: If I prevail,\n  Rustum will surely hear it; if I fall--\n  Old man, the dead need no one, claim no kin.\n  Dim is the rumor of a common fight,\n  Where host meets host, and many names are sunk;\n  But of a single combat fame speaks clear.\"[40]\n\nSuch was the reputation of Sorab, however, that none of the Persians\ndared encounter him, and urged Rustem to undertake this task himself.\nFearing lest so youthful an opponent should withdraw if he heard the\nname of his antagonist, or that he should pride himself too greatly on\nthe honor done him, Rustem went into battle in disguise.\n\nOn seeing a stalwart old warrior approach, Sorab felt strangely moved,\nand, running to meet him, begged to know his name, for he had a\npremonition that this was Rustem. The father, too, seized by a\npeculiar feeling of tenderness for this youth, commented to himself\nthat had he a male descendant he would fain have had him look like\nSorab, and therefore tried to make him withdraw his challenge.\nNotwithstanding Sorab's eager inquiries, Rustem obstinately refused to\ndivulge his name, and, seeing his opponent would not desist, bade him\nbegin the fight without further ado.\n\n  And then he turned and sternly spake aloud,--\n  \"Rise! wherefore dost thou vainly question thus\n  Of Rustum? I am here whom thou hast called\n  By challenge forth; make good thy vaunt, or yield!\n  Is it with Rustum only thou wouldst fight?\n  Rash boy, men look on Rustum's face, and flee!\n  For well I know, that did great Rustum stand\n  Before thy face this day, and were revealed,\n  There would be then no talk of fighting more.\"\n\nFor three consecutive days the battle raged, father and son proving\nof equal strength and skill. But, although Sorab once overthrew\nRustem, he generously stepped aside and allowed the aged warrior to\nrecover his footing. Several times, also, the young man proposed that\nthey sheathe their swords, for his heart continued to be attracted to\nhis opponent, who, fighting down similar emotions, always taunted his\nantagonist into renewing the fight.\n\n  He spoke; and Sohrab kindled at his taunts,\n  And he too drew his sword; at once they rushed\n  Together, as two eagles on one prey\n  Come rushing down together from the clouds,\n  One from the east, one from the west; their skulls\n  Dashed with a clang together, and a din\n  Rose, such as that the sinewy woodcutters\n  Make often in the forest's heart at morn,\n  Of hewing axes, crashing trees,--such blows\n  Rustum and Sohrab on each other hailed.\n\nIt was only on the fifth day that Rustem, forgetting everything in the\nexcitement of the moment, met his foe with his usual war cry, \"Rustem,\nRustem.\" The mere sound of so beloved a name so paralyzed Sorab, that,\ninstead of meeting this onslaught, he sank beneath his father's blow.\nThen he gasped that, although dying, his adversary could not pride\nhimself upon having fairly won the victory, for nothing short of his\nfather's name could have disarmed him thus!\n\n  \"But that belov\u00e8d name unnerved my arm,--\n  That name, and something, I confess, in thee,\n  Which troubles all my heart, and made my shield\n  Fall; and thy spear transfixed an unarmed foe.\n  And now thou boastest, and insult'st my fate.\n  But hear thou this, fierce man, tremble to hear:\n  The mighty Rustum shall avenge my death!\n  My father, whom I seek through all the world,\n  He shall avenge my death, and punish thee!\"\n\nOn hearing these words, Rustem anxiously demanded explanation, only to\nlearn that the man he had mortally wounded was his own son, as was\nonly too surely proved by the bracelet decorated with the Simurgh\nwhich Sorab exhibited.\n\n  It was that griffin which of old reared Zal,\n  Rustum's great father, whom they left to die,\n  A helpless babe, among the rocks;\n  Him that kind creature found, and reared, and loved;\n  Then Rustum took it for his glorious sign.\n\nNot only did broken-hearted Rustem hang over his dying son in\nspeechless grief, but the steed Rakush wept bitter tears over the\nyouth who had so longed to bestride him.\n\n      And awe fell on both the hosts,\n  When they saw Rustum's grief; and Ruksh, the horse,\n  With his head bowing to the ground, and mane\n  Sweeping the dust, came near, and in mute woe\n  First to the one, then to the other, moved\n  His head, as if inquiring what their grief\n  Might mean; and from his dark compassionate eyes,\n  The big warm tears rolled down and caked the sand.\n\nIn hopes of saving his son, Rustem vainly implored the foolish monarch\nto bestow upon him a drop of some magic ointment he owned. But Sorab\nexpired without this aid in Rustem's arms, and the broken-hearted\nfather burned his remains on a pyre. Then he conveyed to his home\nSorab's ashes, and sent the young hero's riderless steed back to his\npoor mother, who died of grief.\n\nWe are told that the foolish king proved so fortunate as to have a\nnoble and generous son named Siawush, of whom he became so jealous\nthat the youth had to leave home and was brought up by Rustem. The\nstep-mother, who had so poisoned his father's mind against him,\nplotted Siawush's death as soon as he returned to court, by accusing\nhim of making love to her. In anger the father decreed that Siawush\nshould submit to the test of fire, so huge furnaces were lighted,\nthrough which the young man rode unharmed, the Angel of Pity and the\nspirit of his dead mother standing on either side of him to guard him\nfrom injury. Because the step-mother had wrongfully accused Siawush,\nshe too was condemned to pass through the fire, but her step-son,\nknowing she could never stand such an ordeal, pleaded successfully in\nher behalf.\n\nNot daring to remain at his father's court, this young prince\nwithdrew among the Tartars, where he married Afrasiab's daughter. But\nsuch were his qualities and noble deeds, that his wicked father-in-law\nbecame jealous enough of him to slay him. He did not, however, succeed\nin exterminating the race, for a kind-hearted nobleman, Piran-Wisa,\nsecreted Siawush's little son, and entrusted him to a goat-herd to\nbring up. When Afrasiab discovered a few years later that this child\nwas still living, he planned to put him to death, until the nobleman\nassured him the child was an idiot and would, therefore, never work\nhim any harm. Only half convinced, Afrasiab sent for the youth,\nKai-Khosrau, who, duly instructed by his protector, returned such\ncrazy answers to his grandfather's questions, that Afrasiab felt\nsatisfied he was an idiot indeed.\n\nThis young prince, having attained manhood, led a rebellion so\nsuccessfully that he not only dethroned his grandfather, Afrasiab, but\nalso recovered his hereditary throne of Persia. There he reigned for\nmany years, at the end of which he became so anxious to leave this\nworld, that he prayed the good god (Ormudz) to receive him in his\nbosom. In a dream this divinity informed the king that, as soon as his\naffairs were in order and his successor named, his wish would be\ngranted. Kai-Khosrau, therefore, made all his arrangements, and set\nout on the journey to the next world, bidding his friends not try to\naccompany him, for the road would be too hard for them to travel. In\nspite of these injunctions, a few faithful followers went with him,\nuntil they reached a place where the cold was so intense that they all\nfroze to death, and thus left him to continue alone the journey from\nwhence he never returned.\n\n  And not a trace was left behind,\n  And not a dimple on the wave;\n  All sought, but sought in vain, to find\n  The spot which proved Kai-Khosrau's grave.\n\nThe successor which Kai-Khosrau had chosen proved a just ruler until\nhe became jealous of his own son, Isfendiyar, who was also a great\nwarrior, and who, like Rustem, accomplished seven great works. He,\ntoo, overcame demons, wolves, lions, enchanters, dragons, and\nunchained elements, and on one occasion proceeded to rescue two of his\nsisters, who were detained captives in the fortress of Arjasp, a demon\nking. Knowing he could not enter this stronghold by force, Isfendiyar\npenetrated into it in the guise of a merchant, having hidden in his\nchests a number of soldiers, who were to help him when the right\nmoment came. Thanks to their aid and to the fact that he began by\nintoxicating his foe, Isfendiyar triumphed.\n\nThe time came, however, when Isfendiyar was ordered by his father to\nbring Rustem to court in chains. This task proved most distasteful to\nthe prince, who, on approaching Rustem, explained that he was not a\nfree agent. Because the old hero obstinately refused to be manacled,\nthe two warriors began fighting, and at the end of the day Rustem and\nhis steed were so severely wounded that Isfendiyar felt sure they\nwould not be able to renew the fight on the morrow.\n\nIt happened, however, that the aged Zal, on seeing his wounded son,\nremembered his partly burned feather, and promptly cast it into the\nfire. Immediately the Simurgh appeared, and with one touch of her\ngolden wings healed the horse, and used her clever beak to draw the\nlance out of Rustem's side. Having thus healed her nursling's son, the\nSimurgh vanished, leaving Rustem and his steed in such good condition\nthat they were able to renew the battle on the morrow. This time,\nIsfendiyar perished beneath Rustem's blows, exclaiming that the hero\nwas not to blame for his death and that he fell victim to his father's\nhate. In token of forgiveness, he begged Rustem to bring up his son, a\nwish which was piously carried out by the brave warrior as long as he\nlived.\n\nBecause it had been written in the stars that \"he who slew Isfendiyar\nwould die miserably,\" Rustem was somewhat prepared for his tragic\nfate. It seems his young half-brother finally became so jealous of him\nthat he plotted to kill him by digging seven pits lined with swords\nand spears. These were hidden in a road along which Rustem had to\ntravel when he came in the king's name to claim tribute. Falling into\nthe first pit, Rustem set his spurs to Rakush's sides; and the brave\nsteed, although wounded, leaped out of this trap, only to tumble into\na second and third. From pit to pit Rustem and his dauntless horse\nlanded at the bottom of the seventh, fainting from their many wounds.\n\nThe treacherous step-brother now drew cautiously near to ascertain\nwhether Rustem were dead, whereupon our hero begged for his bow and\narrows, declaring he wished to ward off the wild beasts as long as he\nremained alive. The unsuspecting brother, therefore, flung the desired\nweapons down into the pit, but no sooner were they within reach, than\nRustem fitted an arrow to the string, casting such a baleful look at\nhis step-brother that this coward hastened to take refuge behind a\ntree. No obstacle could, however, balk the righteously angry Rustem,\nwho sent his arrow straight through the trunk into his brother's\nheart, thus punishing the murderer for his dastardly trick. Then,\nreturning thanks for having been allowed to avenge his wrongs, Rustem\nbreathed his last beside his faithful steed.\n\nOn hearing his son had perished, Zal sent an army to lay Kabul waste,\nand, having recovered the corpses of Rustem and of his steed, laid\nthem piously to rest in a magnificent tomb in Seistan.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 38: All the quotations in this article taken from the\nShah-Nameh are from Champeon's translation.]\n\n[Footnote 39: It is this part of the story which Matthew Arnold\nrendered so ably in his \"Sohrab and Rustum,\" one of his best-known\npoems.]\n\n[Footnote 40: All the quotations in regard to this episode are from\nMatthew Arnold's \"Sohrab and Rustum.\"]\n\n\n\n\nINDIAN EPICS\n\n\nBesides the two great classical epics (Mah\u00e0kavyas)--the Mahabharata\nand the Ramayana--Indian literature claims eighteen Puranas, each of\nwhich bears a distinctive title. These Puranas treat mainly of\n\"ancient legendary lore,\" and contain many tales of gods and sages, as\nwell as descriptions of the Hindu world, with Mount Meru as its\ncentre, and also of the deluge.\n\nMany of the incidents of the two great epics inspired later poets to\ncompose what are known as kavyas, or court epics. Six of these by\nBahrtruhari are termed Great Court Epics (Mah\u00e0kavyas), and another, by\nthe poet A\u00e7vaghosha, describing the doings of Buddha at length, was\ntranslated, into Chinese between 414 and 421 A.D. The Golden Age for\nthe court epics (which were written from 200 B.C. to 1100 A.D.) was\nduring the sixth century of our era.\n\nIn the fifth century A.D. the poet Kalidasa composed a nineteen-canto\nepic, entitled Raghuvam\u00e7a, wherein he related at length the life of\nRama, as well as of Rama's ancestors and of his twenty-four\nsuccessors. This poem abounds in striking similes, as does also the\nsame poet's Kumarasambhava or Birth and Wooing of the War God Siva.\nThere are, however, sundry cantos in all these poems which are too\nerotic to meet with favor among modern readers. Kalidasa is also the\nauthor of an epic in Prakrit, wherein he sings of the building of the\nbridge between India and Ceylon and of the death of Ravana.\n\nWe are told that the Ramayana inspired the greatest poet of Mediaeval\nIndia, Tulsi Das, to compose the Ram Charit Manas, an epic wherein he\ngives a somewhat shorter and very popular version of Rama's\nadventures. This work still serves as a sort of Bible for a hundred\nmillion of the people of northern India.\n\nThe poet Kaviraja (c. 800 A.D.) composed an epic wherein he combines\nthe Ramayana and Mahabharata into one single poem. This is a Hindu\n_tour de force_, for we are told that \"the composition is so arranged\nthat by the use of ambiguous words and phrases the story of the\nRamayana and the Mahabharata is told at one and the same time. The\nsame words, according to the sense in which they are understood,\nnarrate the events of each epic.\"\n\n\n\n\nTHE RAMAYANA\n\n\nThis Hindu epic, an older poem than the Mahabharata, was composed in\nSanscrit some five hundred years before our era, and is contained in\nseven books, aggregating twenty-four thousand verses. It is often\ntermed \"the Odyssey of the East,\" and relates events which are said to\nhave occurred between two thousand and nine hundred B.C. The poem is\ngenerally attributed to V\u00e1lmik\u00ed, a hermit on the bank of the Ganges,\nwho, seeing one bird of a happy pair slain, made use of a strange\nmetre in relating the occurrence to Brahma. This god immediately bade\nhim employ the same in narrating the adventures of Rama, one of the\nseven incarnations of the god Vishnu.\n\n  \"Praise to V\u00e1lmik\u00ed, bird of charming song,\n  Who mounts on Poesy's sublimest spray,\n  And sweetly sings with accents clear and strong\n  Rama, aye Rama, in his deathless lay.\"[41]\n\nThe poem opens with a description of the ancient city of Ayodhya\n(Oude), beautifully situated on the banks of a river and ruled by a\nchildless rajah.\n\n  In by-gone ages built and planned\n  By sainted Manu's princely hand,\n  Imperial seat! her walls extend\n  Twelve measured leagues from end to end;\n  Three in width, from side to side\n  With square and palace beautified.\n  Her gates at even distance stand,\n  Her ample roads are wisely planned.\n  Right glorious is her royal street,\n  Where streams allay her dust and heat.\n  On level ground in even row\n  Her houses rise in goodly show.\n  Terrace and palace, arch and gate\n  The queenly city decorate.\n  High are her ramparts, strong and vast,\n  By ways at even distance passed,\n  With circling moat both deep and wide,\n  And store of weapons fortified.\n\nThis monarch (Dasaratha), a descendant of the moon, was sixty thousand\nyears old when the story begins. Although his reign had already\nextended over a period of nine thousand years,--during which his\npeople had enjoyed such prosperity that it is known as the Age of\nGold,--the king, still childless in spite of having seven hundred and\nfifty concubines, decided to offer a great horse sacrifice\n(asvatmedha) in hopes of obtaining a son, to celebrate his funeral\nrites and thereby enable him to enter heaven.\n\nIn order to perform the ceremony properly, a horse had to be turned\nout to wander at will for a year, constantly watched by a band of\npriests, who prevented any one laying a hand upon him, for, once\ntouched, the animal was unfit to be offered up to the gods. This horse\nsacrifice having been duly performed, the happy rajah was informed by\nthe gods that four sons would uphold his line, provided he and three\nof his wives quaffed the magic drink they gave him.\n\nHaving thus granted the rajah's prayer, the lesser gods implored their\nchief Indra to rid them of the demons sent by Ravana, the Satan of the\nHindus. This evil spirit, by standing on his head in the midst of five\nfires ten thousand years in succession, had secured from Brahma a\npromise that no god, demon, or genius should slay him. By this\nextraordinary feat he had also obtained nine extra heads with a full\ncomplement of eyes, ears, and noses, hands and arms. Mindful of his\npromise, Brahma was at a loss to grant this request until he\nremembered he had never guaranteed Ravana should not be attacked by\nman or monkey. He, therefore, decided to beg Vishnu to enter the body\nof a man and conquer this terrible foe, while the lesser gods helped\nhim in the guise of monkeys.\n\n  \"One only way I find\n  To slay this fiend of evil mind.\n  He prayed me once his life to guard\n  From demon, god, and heavenly bard,\n  And spirits of the earth and air,\n  And I, consenting, heard his prayer.\n  But the proud giant in his scorn\n  Recked not of man of woman born;\n  None else may take his life away\n  And only man the fiend can slay.\"\n\nAt Brahma's request, Vishnu not only consented to become man, but\nelected to enter the body of the rajah's oldest son--one of the four\nchildren obtained in answer to prayer. Meantime he charged his fellow\ngods diligently to beget helpers for him, so they proceeded to produce\ninnumerable monkeys. The poem next informs us that Rama, son of the\nRajah's favorite wife, being a god,--an incarnation of Vishnu,--came\ninto the world with jewelled crown and brandishing four arms, but\nthat, at his parents' request, he concealed these divine attributes,\nassumed a purely human form, and cried lustily like a babe. Two other\nwives of the rajah, having received lesser portions of the divine\nbeverage, gave birth to three sons (Bharata, Lakshmana, and\nSatrughna), and the news that four heirs had arrived in the palace\ncaused great rejoicings in the realm.\n\nThese four princes grew up in the most promising fashion, Rama in\nparticular developing every virtue, and showing even in childhood\nmarked ability as an archer. Such was his proficiency in athletic\nsports that a hermit besought him, at sixteen, to rid his forest of\nthe demons which were making life miserable for him and his kin. To\nenable Rama to triumph over these foes, the hermit bestowed upon him\ndivine weapons, assuring him they would never fail him.\n\n  \"And armed with these, beyond a doubt,\n  Shall Rama put those fiends to rout.\"\n\nThe hermit also beguiled the weariness of their long journey to the\nforest by relating to Rama the story of the Ganges, the sacred stream\nof India. We are told that a virtuous king, being childless, betook\nhimself to the Himalayas, where, after spending a hundred years in\nausterities, Brahma announced he should have one son by one of his\nwives and sixty thousand by the other, adding that his consorts might\nchoose whether to bear one offspring or many. Given the first choice,\nthe favorite wife elected to be the mother of the son destined to\ncontinue the royal race, while the other brought into the world a\ngourd, wherein a hermit discovered the germs of sixty thousand brave\nsons, all of whom, thanks to his care, grew up to perform wonders in\nbehalf of their father and brother.\n\nOn one occasion, a horse chosen for sacrifice having been stolen, the\nfather despatched these sixty thousand braves in quest of it, and, as\nthey were not able to discover any traces of it on earth, bade them\ndig down to hell. Not only did they obey, but continued their search\nuntil they struck in turn the four elephants on whose backs the Hindus\nclaim our earth peacefully reposes. Here the diggers disturbed the\nmeditations of some god, who, in his anger, burned them up. The poor\nfather, anxious to purify the ashes of his dead sons, learned he would\nnever be able to do so until the Ganges--a river of heaven--was\nbrought down to earth. By dint of penance and prayer, the bereaved\nparent induced Vishnu to permit this stream--which until then had only\nflowed in heaven--to descend to earth, warning the king that the\nriver, in coming down, would destroy the world unless some means were\nfound to stem the force of its current. Our clever rajah obviated this\ndifficulty by persuading the god Siva to receive the cataract on the\ntop of his head, where the sacred waters, after threading their way\nthrough his thick locks, were divided into the seven streams which\nfeed the sacred springs of India. Thus safely brought to earth, the\nGanges penetrated to hell, where it purified the ashes of the sixty\nthousand martyrs, and ever since then its waters have been supposed\nto possess miraculous powers.\n\n  For sin and stain were banished thence,\n  By the sweet river's influence.\n\nThe hermit also told how the gods procured the Water of Life (Amrita)\nby churning the ocean, saying they used Mount Meru as a dasher, and a\nhuge serpent as the rope whereby to twirl it around.\n\nLed by this hermit, Rama not only slew the ravaging monsters, but went\non to take part in a tournament, where King Janak offered his\ndaughter, Sita, in marriage to any archer who would span a bow he had\nobtained from Siva. On arriving at the place where this test was to be\nmade, Rama saw the huge bow brought forth on a chariot drawn by five\nthousand men, and, although no one else had even been able to raise\nit, took it up and bent it until it broke with a crack which terrified\nall present. By this feat young Rama won the hand of Sita, a beautiful\nprincess, whom her father turned up from the soil while ploughing one\nday, and who is hence the Hindu personification of Spring.\n\nThe wedding of Rama and Sita was honored by the presence of both\nkings, and Rama's three brothers were made as happy as he by receiving\nthe hands of three of Sita's sisters, the father telling each\nbridegroom:\n\n  \"A faithful wife, most blest is she,\n  And as thy shade will follow thee.\"\n\nWhen the four bridal couples returned to Oude, Rama's father decided\nto name his eldest son assistant king, and therefore gave orders to\nprepare for the ceremony. The mere rumor that Rama was about to be\ncrowned aroused the jealousy of the king's youngest wife (Kaikeyi),\nwho, instigated by an evil-minded, hunch-backed maid, sent for her\naged spouse and reminded him how once, when he was ill, he had\npromised in return for her care to grant any two boons she asked. The\ninfatuated monarch, seeing her grief, rashly renewed this promise,\nswearing to keep it by Rama's head.\n\n  As some wild elephant who tries\n  To soothe his consort as she lies\n  Struck by the hunter's venomed dart,\n  So the great king, disturbed in heart,\n  Strove with soft hand and fond caress\n  To soothe his darling queen's distress,\n  And in his love addressed with sighs\n  The lady of the lotus eyes.\n\nHearing him confirm his former oath, the favorite wife bade him banish\nhis heir to the forest for fourteen years and appoint her son as\nviceroy in his brother's stead. In vain the old king pleaded; the\nfavorite wife insisted so vehemently that when morning dawned the\nbewildered old rajah sent for Rama to ask his advice. Although this\nprince fully expected to be crowned that day, he was far too virtuous\nnot to perceive that a promise must be kept at any cost, so without a\nmurmur he prepared to go to the forest of Dandaka and dwell there in\nhermit garb fourteen years.\n\n  \"The orders of my sire,\" he cried,\n  \"My will shall ne'er oppose:\n  I follow still, whate'er betide,\n  The path which duty shows.\"\n\nHis first duty, however, was to return to his palace to inform his\nwife that they must part; but, on hearing what had occurred, Sita\npiteously begged to share his fate, although he eloquently described\nthe hardships to which she would be exposed should she venture to\naccompany him. Her wifely devotion was, however, proof against all he\ncould urge, for she declared with tears there was no happiness for her\nsave at his side.\n\n  \"With thee is heaven, where'er the spot;\n  Each place is hell where thou are not.\"\n\nHearing this declaration, Rama finally consented to take her with him,\nand, bidding farewell to father and mother, left the city,\naccompanied by his wife and favorite brother (Lakshman) and escorted\nby his mourning subjects.\n\nHis father, broken-hearted at parting with his favorite son, took to\nhis bed, which he was never to leave again confiding to Rama's mother\nthat he was being sorely punished for a sin of his youth. It seems\nthat, while out hunting one night, hearing a gurgle by a stream, and\nfancying some wild beast was there drinking, he let fly a shaft, which\nonly too surely reached its goal. Startled by a human cry, the rajah\nrushed down to the river, only to discover that he had mortally\nwounded a youth who had come down to draw water for his blind parents.\n\n  \"Then in the dusk I heard the sound of gurgling water;\n  Quickly I took my bow, and, aiming toward the sound, shot off the dart.\n  A cry of mortal agony came from the spot,--a human voice\n  Was heard, and a poor hermit's son fell pierced and bleeding in\n          the stream.\"\n\nBefore dying this lad implored his slayer to hasten back to the\nhermitage with water, as the old people were longing for a drink. On\nhearing footsteps, the blind parents peevishly reproached their son\nfor tarrying, and, when the unfortunate murderer tried to explain what\nhad occurred, cursed him vehemently, declaring he would some day\nexperience the loss of a son. It was, therefore, in fulfilment of this\ncurse that the old rajah died thirteen days after Rama's departure.\n\nMeantime the banished prince, riding in one of his father's chariots,\nhad reached the junction of the Jumna and Ganges, where he spent the\nfirst night of his exile beneath a banyan on the banks of the sacred\nstream. There he built a raft, by means of which he crossed to the\nother side, and from there sadly watched his faithful subjects wending\nhomeward. Then he plunged into the forest, arranging that Sita should\nalways tread its narrow paths between him and his brother, to make\nsure no harm befall her.\n\nThe Indian poet now favors us with a wonderful description of the\ntropical forest, with its huge trees, brilliant flowers, strange birds\nand monkeys, all of which gives the reader a vivid impression of the\ncolor, beauty, perfume, and luxuriance of the tropics.\n\n  On rocky heights beside the way\n  And lofty trees with blossoms gay;\n  And streamlets running fair and fast,\n  The royal youths and Sita passed.\n\nThe exiles, wandering thus in single file, finally arrived at\nCitra-kuta, where they joined a colony of hermits and built a rustic\nbooth, where they dwelt happily for some time. One day the rumor of a\ncoming host roused their curiosity, and Lakshman, descrying a long\nprocession from the top of a high tree, excitedly warned Rama that his\nbrother was probably coming to annihilate them.\n\nRama, who always ascribes good motives to every one, now declares it\nis impossible this should be true, and feels sure his brother is\ncoming for some affectionate purpose. Greeting Bharata kindly,\ntherefore, he soon discovers his previsions are correct, for the young\nprince, after announcing his father's death, implores Rama to return\nand reign over Oude. Not only does he protest he will never supplant\nhis senior, but reviles his mother for having compelled her husband to\ndrive Rama into exile.\n\nAlthough all present unite in his entreaties, Rama, too virtuous to\nbreak a promise, decides to remain in the forest the allotted fourteen\nyears and resume his regal state only at the end of that time. He adds\nthat during his banishment he will live in such a fashion that his\nexile will prove a blessing to his people.\n\n  \"Many a blessing yet will spring\n  From banished Rama's wanderings.\"\n\nThis decided, Rama urges his brother to act meanwhile as vice-regent;\nwhereupon Bharata, taking Rama's golden sandals, proclaims they alone\nshall occupy the throne beneath the royal umbrella, although he\nconsents to rule in his brother's name. This settled, the gorgeous\nprocession slowly wends its way back to Oude, where for fourteen years\nevery one does homage to Rama's golden sandals!\n\nMeantime life in the hermitage continues its peaceful course, the\nroyal ascetics being disturbed only by the demons (Rakshasas) who\nhaunt the forest and try to injure the hermits, simply because they\nare good. Sita is perfectly happy in this humble home because she\nenjoys the constant presence of her husband, who, taking her one day\nto visit an aged female ascetic, implores this woman to bestow a boon\nupon his faithful spouse. The old woman then and there endowed Sita\nwith eternal youth and beauty, declaring that no matter what hardships\nshe encounters, she will always be as dainty and young as at present.\n\nOne of the female demons finally becomes so anxious to win Rama's\nlove, that she disguises herself as a beautiful creature in hopes of\nfascinating him. Angry because all her efforts fail, she next tries to\ninjure Sita, whereupon Rama, by cutting off her nose and ears, forces\nher to resume her usual shape. In her anger this demon bids her\nbrothers avenge her wrongs, whereupon fourteen fiends attack Rama,\nwho, having slain them all, is almost immediately afterward forced to\nface thousands of demons. He defeats them single-handed, while his\nbrother watches over Sita, hidden in a neighboring cave.\n\nSuch a trifle as the massacre of twenty-one thousand of his fiends in\nthree hours' time, naturally enrages Ravana, whose abode is in Ceylon,\nin a golden palace which has such high walls that no one can peep over\nthem. This king of demons, who is also called the \"Courage of the\nThree Worlds,\" has the power of increasing his stature until he can\nreach up to the stars with his score of arms. Owing to his ten heads,\nhis appearance is terrifying, especially as his eyebrows are composed\nof live black snakes which writhe around continually. No sooner does\nhis sister appear before him, reporting she has been mutilated by\nRama, who has besides slain hosts of his subjects, than Ravana swears\nrevenge, adding he will first kidnap Sita, for his sister's\ndescription of her matchless charms has fired his imagination.\n\nIn his golden chariot Ravana, therefore, flies to the forest, where he\nbids his sister change herself into a wonderful deer, and in that\nshape lure Rama away, so he can abduct Sita. The three hermits are,\ntherefore, calmly seated before their hut when a deer darts past,\nexhibiting so unusual a pelt that Sita, fired with the desire to\npossess it, urges Rama to pursue it. To gratify this whim, Rama starts\nout to track this game, calling to his brother to mount guard over his\nwife during his absence. Lured farther and farther away from home,\nRama finally brings down his quarry, which, in falling, calls for help\nin a voice so exactly like his own that his brother, hearing the\ndespairing accent, is torn between the desire to rush to his rescue\nand the necessity of remaining to protect Sita. But the little wife,\nsure her husband is in danger, so vehemently urges her brother-in-law\nto leave her that he finally dashes off. A moment later Sita sees an\nold hermit draw near to ask alms. While she is entertaining this holy\nguest, he frightens her by suddenly announcing that he is Ravana, king\nof the demons. As Sita resists all his advances, Ravana, suddenly\nresuming his wonted shape, snatches her up in his arms and whisks her\noff in his flying chariot. Notwithstanding the rapidity of his course,\nthe king of the vultures, seeing them dart through the air and hoping\nto rescue the frantic Sita, attacks Ravana, only to fall mortally\nwounded to earth. Because Sita--the personification of vegetation--has\nnow been abducted by the demon,--who typifies winter,--the whole earth\nshows signs of mourning, and the two brothers hurry back to the hut,\ntheir hearts filled with nameless apprehensions.\n\n  Like streamlet in the winter frost,\n  The glory of her lilies lost.\n  With leafy tears the sad trees wept\n  As a wild wind their branches swept.\n  Mourned bird and deer; and every flower\n  Drooped fainting round the lovely bower.\n  The sylvan deities had fled\n  The spot where all the light was dead.\n\nReaching their hermitage and finding their worst fears justified, both\nbrothers set out in quest of Sita, and soon come across the dying\nvulture, who reports what he has seen, and bids them, after burning\nhis body, find the monkey king, Sugriva, who will aid them. After\npiously fulfilling the brave vulture's last wishes, Rama and his\nbrother visit the monkey monarch, who reports that, as the demon flew\nover his head, Sita flung down a few of her ornaments, begging that\nthey be taken to Rama. An alliance is now concluded between Rama and\nSugriva, and, as each party pledges himself to help the other, Rama\nbegins by slaying the brother and chief foe of the monkey king, who in\nhis turn undertakes to trace Sita.\n\nTo discover where she may be, Hanuman, the monkey general, sets out,\nand, following Sita's traces, discovers she has been carried to\nCeylon. But, on arriving at the southern point of the Indian peninsula\nand finding some two hundred miles of water between him and this\nisland, Hanuman, son of the god of the winds, transforms himself into\na huge ape, and in that shape takes a flying leap from the top of\nMount Mandara (the fabled centre of the earth) to the top of Mount\nSabula, which overlooks the capital of Ceylon. Then, reconnoitring\nfrom this point, the monkey general perceives that Ravana's palace is\nso closely guarded that he can only steal into it in the guise of a\ncat. Prowling through the royal premises, he searches for Sita until\nhe finally discovers her in a secluded garden, bitterly mourning for\nher spouse.\n\nIn spite of the fact that she has already been some time in the\ndemon's power, Ravana has not yet succeeded in winning her affections,\nand dares not force her lest he incur the wrath of the gods. It is\nevident, however, that his patience is worn nearly threadbare, for\nHanuman overhears him threaten to chop Sita to pieces unless she will\nyield to his wishes and become his wife within the next two months.\n\n  \"My cooks shall mince thy limbs with steel\n  And serve thee for my morning meal.\"\n\nWhen Sita is left alone, Hanuman, in the guise of a tiny monkey,\nclimbs down to her side, exhibits Rama's ring, which he has brought as\na token, and receives from her in return a jewel, after he has assured\nher that she will soon be delivered.\n\nAbout to leave Ceylon to report what he has seen, it occurs to the\nmonkey general to do some damage to the foe. In the guise of an\nimmense baboon, he therefore destroys a grove of mango trees, an act\nof vandalism which so infuriates Ravana that he orders the miscreant\nseized and fire tied to his tail! But no sooner has the fire been set\nthan the monkey general, suddenly transforming himself into a tiny\nape, slips out of his bonds, and scrambling up on the palace roof sets\nit on fire as well as all the houses in Lanka, his flaming tail\nserving as a torch.\n\n  As earth with fervent heat will glow\n  When comes her final overthrow;\n  From gate to gate, from court to spire,\n  Proud Lanka was one blaze of fire,\n  And every headland, rock, and bay\n  Shone bright a hundred leagues away!\n\nThen, satisfied with the damage he has done, Hanuman hastens back to\nthe sea-shore, whence by another prodigious leap he lands in India, to\ninform Rama and Sugriva (the monkey king) of the success of his\nexpedition.\n\nA huge monkey army now sets out under Rama's guidance, but general and\nwarriors are equally dismayed on reaching the sea to find an\nunsurmountable obstacle between them and their goal. In answer to\nRama's fervent prayers, however, the god of the sea, rising from the\nwaves, promises that any materials cast into his waters will be held\nin place, to form a bridge whereby they can cross to Ceylon. All the\nmonkeys now bring stones and tree trunks which they hurl into the sea,\nwhere, thanks to the efforts of the Hindu architect Nala, they are\nwelded together and form a magic bridge. It is by means of this\ncauseway that Rama invades Ceylon, and, when Ravana hears the foe is\napproaching, he musters an army, of which the poem gives a wonderful\ndescription. Then begins the dire combat wherein Rama and his forces\nfinally prove victorious, and wherein our hero, after slaying Ravana's\nson, fights with the demon himself, whose heads he proceeds to cut\noff. He is justly dismayed, however, to see they have the power of\nspringing up again as soon as hewn, until remembering at last his\nmagic bow, he makes such good use of it that he annihilates the demon,\nwhose numerous wives wail as he falls.\n\nAlthough many of Rama's adherents have perished in battle, he now\nproceeds to call them back to life, and graciously receives the praise\nthey bestow upon him for having rid the world of demons.\n\n  Soft from celestial minstrels came\n  The sound of music and acclaim;\n  Soft, fresh and cool, a rising breeze\n  Brought odors from the heavenly trees;\n  And, ravishing the sight and smell,\n  A wondrous rain of blossoms fell;\n  And voices breathed round Reghu's son,\n  \"Champion of gods, well done, well done.\"\n\nIt is only then that Rama consents to see Sita, who, thanks to her\ngift of eternal beauty, is still so lovely that all present are awed.\nBut, instead of embracing her, Rama coldly declares that, although he\ncrossed the seas for her sake and slew her foes, she is no longer\nworthy to dwell in his sight since she has been an inmate of Ravana's\nharem. In vain Sita urges that she has been faithful throughout. Rama\nrefuses to credit her purity; so the poor little wife, preferring\ndeath to disgrace, begs permission to die on a funeral pyre. Even then\nher stern husband shows no signs of relenting, but allows her to\nenter a fierce fire, whence the god of the flames bears her out\nunharmed, and restores her to her husband, declaring that, as her\nchastity has withstood this fiery test, he can receive her without\ncompunction.\n\n  She ceased and, fearless to the last,\n  Within the flames' wild fury passed.\n\nBy this time the prescribed fourteen years of exile are finished, so\nhusband and wife set out for home, crossing the ocean bridge in\nRavana's magic car, and flying all over India, of which the poet gives\na wonderful panoramic description. Rama's return to Oude is joyfully\nwelcomed by his brother, who proudly shows him the golden sandals\nwhich have occupied the throne all this time.\n\nRama's reign proves an Age of Gold for India, but, although all seem\nhappy, some doubt lingers in regard to the propriety of Sita's return.\nWhen a famine finally devastates the land, one of the ministers\nassures Rama this scourge is due to the fact that he has taken back a\nguilty wife. Rama, therefore, banishes the faithful Sita, who returns\nto the forest and to the protection of the hermits, where she gives\nbirth to twin sons, Kusa and Lava, the destined singers of V\u00e1lmik\u00ed's\nwonderful song. These youths are, however, brought up in the forest in\ntotal ignorance of their august descent.\n\nTwenty years have passed since Rama repudiated his wife, when he\ndecides to offer a horse sacrifice. But, the steed he selects having\nbeen captured by two young men, Rama angrily orders them put to death.\nAs the victims resist all efforts to seize them, the king in person\ngoes forth to capture them. On approaching near enough, he haughtily\ndemands their names and origin, whereupon the youths rejoin their\nmother is Sita and their tutor V\u00e1lmik\u00ed, but that they do not know\ntheir father's name. These words reveal to Rama that he is face to\nface with his own sons, but, although he rejoices, he still finds it\ndifficult to believe Sita can have been faithful. He, therefore, avers\nthat before reinstating her she will have to undergo a second trial\nby fire; but Sita, who no longer feels any desire to belong to so\nheartless a spouse, flatly refuses to accompany him, until V\u00e1lmik\u00ed\ninforms her it is a wife's duty to obey.\n\nStill wearing the crown of eternal youth and beauty, Sita now appears\nbefore Rama, in whose presence she implores the earth to open and\nreceive her, thus proving that she has ever been true to her marriage\nvows and saving her from further suffering. A moment later the king\nand his court see the earth heave and open, and behold the goddess of\nthe earth, who, taking Sita by the hand, announces she is about to\nconvey her to realms of eternal bliss. Then Sita and the goddess\ndisappear, the earth closes once more, and the gods chant the praises\nof the faithful wife, showering flowers upon Rama, who grovels on the\nground in his agony. A broken-hearted man, he then returns to his\npalace with his two sons, the first to sing this poem, whose verses\nare so sacred that those who listen to a few of them are forgiven many\nsins, while those who hear the whole epic are sure to achieve\nParadise.\n\n                   He shall be\n  From every sin and blemish free:\n  Whoever reads the saving strain,\n  With all his kin the heavens shall gain.\n\nBecause the poem is so sacred, its author enjoined upon the youths to\nrecite it often, a task they faithfully performed as long as they\nlived, and which other bards have continued until to-day in all parts\nof India.\n\n  Recite ye this heroic song\n  In tranquil shades where sages throng;\n  Recite it where the good resort,\n  In lowly home and royal court.\n\nWe are told besides that--\n\n  As long as mountain ranges stand\n  And rivers flow upon the earth,\n  So long will this Ramayana\n  Survive upon the lips of men.\n\nRama is finally visited by the God of Time, who offers him the choice\nof remaining on earth or returning to heaven. When he wisely choses\nthe latter alternative, Rama is bidden bathe in sacred waters, and\nthence is translated to the better world.\n\nFrom this poem Tulsi Das has composed a play known as the \"Ram Charit\nManas,\" which serves as Bible to a hundred million worshippers in\nnorthern India, and is always played at the yearly festivals in the\npresence of countless admirers.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 41: The quotations in this chapter are taken from Griffeth's\ntranslation and from Romesh Dutt's.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE MAHABHARATA\n\n\nThe longest poem in existence is composed in Sanscrit, and, although\nbegun before the Ramayana, it was completed only about one hundred\nyears after. It consists of some two hundred and twenty thousand\nlines, divided into eighteen sections (parvans), each of which forms a\nlarge volume. Although the whole work has never been translated into\nEnglish verse, many portions of it have been reproduced both in verse\nand prose.\n\nThe Hindus consider this one of their most sacred books, attribute its\nauthorship to Vyasa, and claim that the reading of a small portion of\nit will obliterate sin, while the perusal of the whole will insure\nheavenly bliss. Its name signifies \"the great war,\" and its historical\nkernel,--including one-fifth of the whole work,--consists of an\naccount of an eighteen days' battle (in the thirteenth or fourteenth\ncentury B.C.) between rival tribes. The poem is, besides, a general\nrepository of the mythological, legendary, and philosophical lore of\nthe Hindus, and reached its present state of development only by\ndegrees and at the end of several centuries.\n\nBharata, the real founder of the principal Indian dynasty, is so\nfamous a character, that the Hindus often designate their whole\ncountry as \"the land of Bharata.\" We are told that Rajah Dushyanta, a\ndescendant of the Moon, while hunting one day beheld the beautiful\nSakuntala, daughter of a sage, whom he persuaded to consent to a\nclandestine marriage. But, after a short time, the bridegroom\ndeparted, leaving his bride a ring as a pledge of his troth.\n\nAbsorbed in thoughts of her absent lover, Sakuntala once failed to\nnotice the approach of a sage, who cursed her, saying she should be\nforgotten by the man she loved, but who relenting after a while\ndeclared this curse would be annulled when her husband beheld his\nring.\n\nSome time after this, on the way to rejoin her spouse to inform him\nshe was about to become a mother, Sakuntala, while bathing in a sacred\npool, accidentally dropped this ring. On appearing without it before\nDushyanta, he sternly denied all acquaintance with her and ordered her\ndriven out into the jungle, where she soon gave birth to their son\nBharata.\n\nThe lad was about six years old when a fisherman found in the stomach\nof a fish the lost ring, which he carried to the rajah. On beholding\nthis token, Dushyanta, remembering all, hastened to seek poor\nSakuntala, whom he discovered in the jungle, watching her boy\nfearlessly play with lion cubs. Proud of such a son, the rajah bore\nhis family home; and Bharata, after having a long reign, gave birth to\nHastin, founder of Hastinapur, a city on the bank of the Ganges about\nsixty miles from the modern Delhi.\n\nA grandson of this Hastin married the Goddess of the Ganges,--who was\ndoing penance on earth,--and their children were animated by the souls\nof deities condemned for a time to assume human form. In order to\nenable these fellow-gods to return to heaven as soon as possible,\nGanga undertook to drown each of her babies soon after birth, provided\nthe gods would pledge themselves to endow one of her descendants with\ntheir strength, and would allow him to live, if not to perpetuate his\nspecies.\n\nAfter seeing seven of his children cast into the water without daring\nto object, the rajah, although he knew his goddess-wife would leave\nhim if he found fault with anything she did, protested so vehemently\nagainst the similar disposal of his eighth son that his wife\ndisappeared with the child. But a few years later this son, Bhishma,\nthe terrible, having grown up, was restored to his father.\n\nTo comfort himself for the loss of his first wife, the king now\nmarried the beautiful daughter of a fisherman, solemnly promising her\nson should succeed him, for Bhishma voluntarily relinquished all right\nto the throne and took a vow to remain celibate. The new wife's main\nattraction seems to have been a sweet odor, bestowed by a saint, who\nrestored her virginity after she had borne him a son named Vyasa, the\nauthor of this poem.\n\nBy the Rajah the fishermaid now had two sons, one of whom was slain at\nthe end of a three years' fight, while the other began his reign under\nthe wise regency of Bhishma. When it was time for his royal\nstep-brother to marry, Bhishma sent him to a Bride's Choice\n(Swayamvara), where three lovely princesses were to be awarded to the\nvictor. Without waiting to win them fairly, the young prince kidnapped\nall three, and, when the disappointed suitors pursued him, Bhishma\nheld them at bay by shooting ten thousand arrows at once, and thus\nenabled his step-brother and brides to escape.\n\nAlthough thus provided with three royal wives, our prince was soon\ndeserted by one of them and was never fortunate enough to have\nchildren by the two others. After he had died, custom required that\nhis nearest kinsman should raise issue for him, so,--owing to\nBhishma's vow,--Vyasa, who was fabulously ugly, undertook to visit the\ntwo widows. One of them, catching a glimpse of him, bore him a blind\nson (Dhritarashtra), while the other was so frightened that she bore a\nson of such pale complexion that he was known as Pandu, the White.\n\nNeither of these youths being deemed perfect enough to represent\nproperly the royal race, Vyasa announced he would pay the widows\nanother visit, but this time they hired a slave to take their place,\nso it was she who brought into the world Vidura, God of Justice.\nBecause one prince was blind and the other the offspring of a slave,\nthe third was set upon his throne by his uncle Bhishma, who in due\ntime provided him with two lovely wives.\n\nWith these the monarch withdrew to the Himalayas to spend his\nhoneymoon, and while there proved unfortunate enough to wound a couple\nof deer who were hermits in disguise. In dying they predicted he would\nperish in the arms of one of his wives, whereupon Pandu decided to\nrefrain from all intercourse with them, graciously allowing them\ninstead to bear him five sons by five different gods. These youth,\nknown in the poem as the sons of Pandu, the Pandavs (or the Pandavas),\nare the main heroes of India. As a prediction made by an ascetic was\nbound to come true, the king, momentarily forgetting the baleful\ncurse, died in the embrace of his second wife, who, in token of grief,\nwas burned with his remains, this being the earliest mention of a\nsuttee.\n\nMeantime the blind prince had married a lady to whom a famous ascetic\nhad promised she should be mother to one hundred sons! All these came\ninto the world at one birth, in the shape of a lump of flesh, which\nthe ascetic divided into one hundred and one pieces, each of which was\nenclosed in a pot of rarefied butter, where these germs gradually\ndeveloped into one hundred sons and one daughter.\n\nAs long as Pandu sojourned in the Himalayas, the blind prince reigned\nin his stead, but when he died, his surviving widow brought to the\ncapital (Hastinapur) her five divine sons, the Pandavs. There the\nblind uncle had them brought up with their cousins, the hundred Kurus\n(or Kauravas), with whom, however, they were never able to live in\nperfect peace. Once, as the result of a boyish quarrel, a Kuru flung\nBhima, one of the Pandavs, into the Ganges, where, instead of sinking,\nthis hero was inoculated by serpent-bites with the strength of ten\nthousand elephants before he returned to his wonted place at home.\n\nThe young princes, who had all been trained to fight by their tutor,\nDrona, and who had already given sundry proofs of their proficiency in\narms, were finally invited by the blind monarch to give a public\nexhibition of their skill. The poem gives us a lengthy description of\nthis tournament, expatiating on the flower-decked booths reserved for\nthe principal spectators, and dilating particularly on the fact that\nthe blind monarch, unable to see with, his own eyes, made some one sit\nbeside him to describe all that was going on.\n\nAfter the preliminary sacrifice offered by the tutor, the skill of the\nprinces, as archers, was tested on foot, on horseback, in howdahs, and\nin chariots; then they indulged in mock fights with swords and\nbucklers, closely watched by Drona, who pronounced his favorite\nArjuna, the third Pandav, the finest athlete ever seen.\n\n  Still the princes shook their weapons, drove the deep resounding car,\n  Or on steed or tusker mounted waged the glorious mimic war!\n  Mighty sword and ample buckler, ponderous mace the princes wield,\n  Brightly gleam their lightning rapiers as they range the listed field,\n  Brave and fearless is their action, and their movements quick and light,\n  Skilled and true the thrust and parry of their weapons flaming bright![42]\n\nThereupon, from the ranks of the spectators, emerged Karna, son of a\ncharioteer, who challenged Arjuna to fight with him, but the prince\nrefused on the score that they were not of equal rank. Still a legend\nassures us that Karna was a child of the Sun-god, set afloat by his\nmother on the river Jumna, whence this Hindu Moses, floating down into\nthe Ganges, was rescued and brought up by the charioteer, his reputed\nfather. Meantime the four Pandav brothers were greatly elated by the\neulogy bestowed upon their brother, but their jealous cousins became\nso enraged that, when the time came for the youths to face each other\nin club exercises, the sham battle degenerated into an earnest fight.\n\n  With ponderous mace they waged the daring fight.\n  As for a tender mate two rival elephants\n  Engage in frantic fury, so the youths\n  Encountered, and amidst the rapid sphere\n  Of fire their whirling weapons clashing wove\n  Their persons vanished from the anxious eye.\n  Still more and more incensed their combat grew,\n  And life hung doubtful on the desperate conflict;\n  With awe the crowd beheld the fierce encounter\n  And amidst hope and fear suspended tossed,\n  Like ocean shaken by conflicting winds.\n\nSeeing this, the horrified tutor separated the contestants, whom he\nsoon after sent off separately to war against a neighboring rajah. In\nthis conflict the one hundred Kurus were badly worsted, while the five\nPandavs scored a brilliant triumph. They also subdued sundry other\nkings, thereby so rousing the jealous hatred of their uncle and\ncousins that these finally began to plot their death. The five Pandavs\nand their mother were therefore invited to a feast in a neighboring\ncity (Allahabad), where the Kurus arranged they should be burned alive\nin their booth. But, duly warned by the God of Justice, the Pandavs\nhad an underground passage dug from their hut to the forest, by means\nof which they escaped, little suspecting that a beggar woman and her\nfive children--who had sought refuge in the empty hut--would be burned\nto death there in their stead.\n\nDisguised as Brahmans, the five brothers and their mother now dwelt\nfor a time in the jungle, where they proceeded to slay some demons, to\nmarry others, and to perform sundry astounding feats of strength. We\nare told, for instance, that whenever the mother and brothers were\ntired, the strongest of the Pandavs, Bhima, carried them all with the\nutmost ease.\n\nWhile in the jungle they were visited by their grandfather Vyasa, who\nbade them attend the Bride's Choice of Draupadi, daughter of a\nneighboring king, who--Minerva-like--came into the world full grown.\n\n  Human mother never bore her, human bosom never fed,\n  From the altar sprang the maiden who some prince will wed!\n\nShe was so beautiful that her father decided the suitor she favored\nwould have to prove himself worthy of her by spanning a bow which no\none as yet had been able to bend, and by sending an arrow through a\nrapidly revolving wheel into the eye of a gold fish stationed beyond\nit.\n\nOwing to the extreme loveliness of Draupadi, many rajahs flocked to\nthe tournament to compete for her hand, and the five Pandavs betook\nthemselves thither in Brahman garb. After the preliminary exercises,\nthe beautiful princess--to whom all her suitors had been duly\nnamed--gave the signal for the contest to begin. The mere sight of the\nhuge bow proved enough to decide several of the contestants to\nwithdraw, but a few determined to risk all in hopes of obtaining\nDraupadi's hand. No man, however, proved able to bend the bow until\nArjuna stepped forward, begging permission to try his luck. While the\nrajahs were protesting that no Brahman should compete, this Pandav\nspanned the bow and sent five successive shafts straight to the goal,\namid the loud acclamations of all present.\n\n  He grasped the ponderous weapon in his hand\n  And with one vigorous effort braced the string.\n  Quickly the shafts were aimed and swiftly they flew;\n  The mark fell pierced; a shout of victory\n  Rang through the vast arena; from the sky\n  Garlands of flowers crowned the hero's head,\n  Ten thousand fluttering scarfs waved in the air,\n  And drum and trumpet sounded forth his triumph.\n\nThe beautiful princess, captivated by the goodly appearance of this\nsuitor, immediately hung around his neck the crown of flowers,\nalthough the defeated rajahs muttered a mere Brahman should not aspire\nto the hand of a princess. In fact, had not his four brothers, aided\nby Krishna (a divine suitor), stood beside him, and had not the king\ninsisted there should be no fracas, the young winner might have had a\nhard time. Then, as the princess seemed perfectly willing, the wedding\nwas celebrated, and the five brothers returned to the humble hut where\nthey lived on alms, calling out to their mother that they had won a\nprize! On hearing these tidings, the mother--without knowing what the\nprize was--rejoined, \"Share it among you,\" an injunction which settled\nfor good and all that Draupadi should be common wife to all five. But\nthe legend adds that this came to pass mainly because the maiden had\nprayed five times for a husband, and that the gods were answering each\nof her prayers separately!\n\nShortly after this fivefold marriage,--which assured the Pandavs a\nroyal ally,--Bhishma persuaded the blind rajah--who had meantime\ndiscovered his nephews were not dead--to give them one half of his\nrealm. Taking up their abode there, the Pandavs built the city of\nIndraprastha (Delhi) on the banks of the Jumna, before they decided\nthat the eldest among them (Yudhishthira) should be king, the others\nhumbly serving as his escort wherever he went.\n\nOne day this eldest Pandav went to visit the eldest Kuru, a proficient\ngambler, with whom he played until he had lost realm, brothers, wife,\nand freedom! But, when the victor undertook to take forcible\npossession of the fair Draupadi, and publicly stripped her of her\ngarments, the gods, in pity, supplied her with one layer of vesture\nafter another, so that the brutal Kuru was not able to shame her as he\nwished. Furious to see the treatment their common wife was undergoing\nat the victor's hands, the five Pandavs made grim threats, and raised\nsuch a protest that the blind uncle, interfering, sent them off to the\nforest with their wife for twelve years. He also decreed that, during\nthe thirteenth, all must serve in some menial capacity, with the\nproviso that, if discovered by their cousins, they should never regain\ntheir realm.\n\n  \"'Tis no fault of thine, fair princess! fallen to this servile state,\n  Wife and son rule not their actions, others rule their hapless fate!\n  Thy Yudhishthir sold his birthright, sold thee at the impious play,\n  And the wife falls with the husband, and her duty--to obey!\"\n\nDuring the twelve years which the Pandavs spent in the forest, with\nthe beautiful and faithful Draupadi (who was once carried away by a\ndemon but rescued by one of her spouses), they met with sundry\nadventures. Not only did they clear the jungle, rescue from cannibals\nthe jealous cousins who came to humiliate them, and perform other\nastounding feats, but they were entertained by tales told by Vyasa,\namong which are a quaint account of the Deluge, of the descent of the\nGanges, a recitation of the Ramayana, and the romance of Nala and of\nSavitri, of which brief sketches are given at the end of this article.\nAll this material is contained in the \"Forest Book,\" the third and\nlongest parvan of the Mahabharata, wherein we also find a curious\naccount of Arjuna's voluntary exile because he entered into Draupadi's\npresence when one of his brothers was with her! To atone for this\ncrime, Arjuna underwent a series of austerities on the Himalayas, in\nreward for which his father Indra took him up to heaven, whence he\nbrought back sundry weapons, among which we note Siva's miraculous\nbow.\n\nMeantime his four brothers and Draupadi had undertaken pious\npilgrimages to all the sacred waters of India, and had learned sundry\nuseful trades and arts, before they, too, visited the Himalayas. There\nArjuna joined them in Indra's chariot, and led them to the top of a\nmountain, whence they beheld the glittering palace of Kuvera, God of\nWealth.\n\nAfter the twelve years' sojourn in the jungle were ended, the Pandavs,\nthanks to divine aid, entered the service of a neighboring king as\nteachers of dice and music, as charioteer, cook, cow-herd, and maid.\nThere the five men and their wife remained for a whole year, without\nbeing discovered by their enemies, and, toward the end of their\nsojourn, rendered so signal a service to their master that he offered\nhis daughter in marriage to Arjuna. Although this prince virtuously\nrefused to accept her for himself, he bestowed her upon a son begotten\nduring his exile when he indulged in sundry romantic adventures.\n\nHaving completed their penance, the Pandavs returned home, to demand\nof the Kurus the surrender of their realm. As these greedy cousins\nrefused to relinquish their authority, both parties prepared for war.\nSeeing the Kurus had ten allies, the Pandavs became anxious to secure\nsome too. The most powerful person in the region being the rajah\nKrishna, one of the Kurus hastened to his palace to bespeak his aid,\nand, finding him asleep, seated himself at the head of the bed. A\nmoment later one of the Pandavs arrived, and modestly placed himself\nat the foot of the sleeping monarch's couch. On awakening, Krishna, of\ncourse, saw the Pandav first, but, after listening impartially to both\npetitioners, informed them that one party should have the benefit of\nhis advice and the other the aid of his one hundred million soldiers.\nThe greedy Kuru immediately bespoke the use of the army, while the\nPandav was only too glad to secure the advice of Krishna (an\nembodiment of all the gods), who throughout the war acted as Arjuna's\ncharioteer.\n\nAll preparations finished, the Great War (Mahabharata) began, the two\nfamilies pitted against each other meeting on the plain of Kurukshetra\n(the modern Panipat) where the battle was fought. After many speeches,\nand after erecting fortifications which bristled with defences and\nwere liberally stocked with jars of scorpions, hot oil, and missiles,\nthe two parties drew up rules of battle, which neither was to infringe\nunder penalty of incurring the world's execration.\n\nEven nature now showed by unmistakable signs that a terrible conflict\nwas about to take place, and when the two armies--which the Hindus\nclaim numbered several billion men--came face to face, Krishna delayed\nthe fight long enough to recite with Arjuna a dialogue of eighteen\ncantos called the Bhagavad-gita, or Divine Song, which contains a\ncomplete system of Indian religious philosophy.\n\nThe Pandavs, having besought the aid of the monkeys, were informed\nthey would derive great benefit by bearing a monkey banner, so it was\narmed with this standard that they marched on to victory.\n\n  The sons of Pandu marked the coming storm\n  And swift arrayed their force. The chief divine\n  And Arjuna at the king's request\n  Raised in the van the ape-emblazoned banner,\n  The host's conducting star, the guiding light\n  That cheered the bravest heart, and as it swept\n  The air, it warmed each breast with martial fires.\n\nThroughout the war the Pandav forces were directed by the same\ngeneral, but their opponents had four. A moment after the first\ncollision, the sky was filled with whistling arrows, while the air\nresounded with the neighing of horses and the roaring of elephants;\nthe plain shook, and clouds of dust, dimming the light of the sun,\nformed a heavy pall, beneath which Pandavs and Kurus struggled in\ndeadly fight. This frightful conflict lasted eighteen days, the battle\nalways stopping at sunset, to enable the combatants to recover their\nstrength.\n\n  And ever and anon the thunder roared,\n  And angry lightnings flashed across the gloom,\n  Or blazing meteors fearful shot to earth.\n  Regardless of these awful signs, the chiefs\n  Pressed on to mutual slaughter, and the peal\n  Of shouting hosts commingling shook the world.\n\nThe Kurus' general, Bhishma, fell on the tenth day,--after a terrible\nfight with Arjuna,--riddled with so many arrows that his body could\nnot touch the ground. Although mortally wounded, he lay in this state,\nhis head supported by three arrows, for fifty-eight days, and was thus\nable to bestow good advice on those who came to consult him.\n\n  Darker grew the gloomy midnight, and the princes went their way;\n  On his bed of pointed arrows, Bhishma lone and dying lay.\n\nHe was succeeded as leader of the Kurus by the tutor Drona, who during\nhis five days' generalship proved almost invincible. But, some one\nsuggesting that his courage would evaporate should he hear his son was\ndead, a cry arose in the Pandav ranks that Aswathaman had perished!\nUnable to credit this news, Drona called to the eldest Pandav--who was\nstrictly truthful--to know whether it was so, and heard him rejoin it\nwas true in regard to the elephant by that name, but not of the man.\n\n  Said Yudhishthir: \"Lordly tusker, Aswathaman named, is dead;\"\n  Drona heard but half the accents, feebly dropped his sinking head!\n\nThe poor father, who heard only a small part of the sentence--the\nremainder being drowned by the sound of the trumpets--lost all\ncourage, and allowed himself to be slain without further resistance.\n\nThe whole poem bristles with thrilling hand-to-hand conflicts, the\nthree greatest during the eighteen days' battle being between Karna\nand the eldest Pandav, between the eldest Kuru and Bhima, and between\nKarna and Arjuna. During the first sixteen days of battle, countless\nmen were slain, including Arjuna's son by one of his many wives.\nAlthough the fighting had hitherto invariably ceased at sunset,\ndarkness on the seventeenth day failed to check the fury of the\nfighters, so when the moon refused to afford them light they kindled\ntorches in order to find each other. It was therefore midnight before\nthe exhausted combatants dropped down on the battle-field, pillowing\ntheir heads on their horses and elephants to snatch a brief rest so as\nto be able to renew the war of extermination on the morrow.\n\nOn the eighteenth day--the last of the Great War--the soil showed red\nwith blood and was so thickly strewn with corpses that there was no\nroom to move. Although the Kurus again charged boldly, all but three\nwere slain by the enemies' golden maces. In fact, the fight of the day\nproved so fierce that only eleven men remained alive of the billions\nwhich, according to the poem, took part in the fight. But during that\nnight the three remaining Kurus stole into the Pandav camp, killed the\nfive sons which Draupadi had born to her five husbands, carried off\ntheir heads, and laid them at the feet of the mortally wounded eldest\nKuru, who fancied at first his cousins had been slain. The battle\nending from sheer lack of combatants, the eldest Pandav ordered solemn\nfuneral rites, which are duly described in the poem.\n\n  Pious rites are due to foemen and to friends and kinsmen slain,\n  None shall lack a fitting funeral, none shall perish on the plain.\n\nThen, no one being there to dispute it, he took possession of the\nrealm, always dutifully according precedence to his blind uncle, who\ndeeply mourned his fallen sons.\n\nWishing to govern wisely, the eldest Pandav sought the wounded\ngeneral, Bhishma,--who still lay on his arrowy bed in the\nbattle-field,--and who, having given him rules for wise government,\nbreathed his last in the presence of this Pandav, who saw his spirit\nrise from his divided skull and mount to the skies \"like a bright\nstar.\" The body was then covered with flowers and borne down to the\nGanges, where, after it had been purified by the sacred waters, it was\nduly burned.\n\nThe new king's mind was, however, so continually haunted by the\nhorrors of the great battle-field that, hoping to find relief, he\ndecided to perform a horse sacrifice. Many chapters of the poem are\ntaken up in relating the twelve adventures of this steed, which was\naccompanied everywhere by Arjuna, who had to wage many a fight to\nretain possession of the sacred animal and prevent any hand being laid\nupon him. Then we have a full description of the seventeen ceremonies\npertaining to this strange rite.\n\n  Victor of a hundred battles, Arjun bent his homeward way,\n  Following still the sacred charger free to wander as it may,\n  Strolling minstrels to Yudhishthir spake of the returning steed,\n  Spake of Arjun wending homeward with the victor's crown of meed.\n\nNext we learn that the blind king, still mourning the death of his\nsons, retired to the bank of the Ganges, where he and his wife spent\ntheir last years listening to the monotonous ripple of the sacred\nwaters. Fifteen years after the great battle, the five Pandavs and\nDraupadi came to visit him, and, after sitting for a while on the\nbanks of the sacred stream, bathed in its waters as Vyasa advised\nthem. While doing so they saw the wraiths of all their kinsmen slain\nin the Great Battle rise from the boiling waters, and passed the night\nin conversation with them, although these spirits vanished at dawn\ninto thin air. But the widows of the slain then obtained permission to\ndrown themselves in the Ganges, in order to join their beloved\nhusbands beyond the tomb.\n\n  \"These and other mighty warriors, in the earthly battle slain,\n  By their valor and their virtue walk the bright ethereal plain!\n  They have cast their mortal bodies, crossed the radiant gate of heaven,\n  For to win celestial mansions unto mortals it is given!\n  Let them strive by kindly action, gentle speech, endurance long,\n  Brighter life and holier future unto sons of men belong!\"\n\nThen the Pandav brothers and their wife took leave of the blind king,\nwhom they were destined never to see again, for some two years later a\nterrible jungle fire consumed both cottage and inmates. This death was\nviewed by the Pandavs as a bad omen, as was also the destruction of\nKrishna's capital because his people drank too much wine. Krishna\nhimself was slain by accident, while a hurricane or tidal wave\nsweeping over the \"city of Drunkenness\" wiped it off the face of the\nearth.\n\nHaving found life a tragedy of sorrow, the eldest Pandav, after\nreigning thirty-six years, decided to abdicate in favor of Arjuna's\ngrandson, and to start on a pilgrimage for Mount Meru, or Indra's\nheaven. As the Hindu universe consists of seven concentric rings, each\nof which is separated by a liquid from the next continent, he had to\ncross successive oceans of salt water, sugar-cane juice, wine,\nclarified butter, curdled milk, sweet milk, and fresh water. In the\nvery centre of these alternate rings of land and liquid rises Mount\nMeru to a height of sixty-four thousand miles, crowned by the Hindu\nheaven, toward which the Pandav was to wend his way. But, although all\ntheir subjects would fain have gone with them, the five brothers,\nDraupadi, and a faithful dog set out alone in single file, \"to\naccomplish their union with the infinite.\"\n\n  Then the high-minded sons of Pandu and the noble Draupadi\n  Roamed onward, fasting, with their faces toward the east; their\n       hearts\n  Yearning for union with the Infinite, bent on abandonment\n  Of worldly things.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n  And by degrees they reached the briny sea;\n  They reached the northern region and beheld with heaven-aspiring\n       hearts\n  The mighty mountain Himavat. Beyond its lofty peak they passed\n  Toward a sea of sand, and saw at last the rocky Meru, king\n  Of mountains. As with eager steps they hastened on, their souls\n       intent\n  On union with the Eternal, Draupadi lost hold of her high hope,\n  And faltering fell upon the earth.\n                                          --_Edwin Arnold._\n\nThus during this toilsome journey, one by one fell, never to rise\nagain, until presently only two of the brothers and the dog were left.\nThe eldest Pandav, who had marched on without heeding the rest, now\nexplained to his companion how Draupadi sinned through excessive love\nfor her husbands, and that his fallen brothers were victims of pride,\nvanity, and falsehood. He further predicted that the speaker himself\nwould fall, owing to selfishness, a prediction which was soon\nverified, leaving the eldest Pandav alone with his dog.\n\nOn arriving, Indra bade this hero enter heaven, assuring him the other\nspirits had preceded him thither, but warning him that he alone could\nbe admitted there in bodily form. When the Pandav begged that his dog\nmight enter too, Indra indignantly rejoined that heaven was no place\nfor animals, and inquired why the Pandav made more fuss about a\nfour-legged companion than about his wife and brothers. Thereupon the\nPandav returned he had no power to bring the others back to life, but\nconsidered it cowardly to abandon a faithful living creature. The dog,\nlistening intently to this dialogue, now resumed his proper\nform,--for it seems he was the king's father in a former birth,--and,\nhaving become human once more, he too was allowed to enter Paradise.\n\n  Straight as he spoke, brightly great Indra smiled,\n  Vanished the hound, and in its stead stood there,\n  The lord of death and justice, Dharma's self.\n                                  --_Edwin Arnold._\n\nBeneath a golden canopy, seated on jewelled thrones, the Pandav found\nhis blind uncle and cousins, but failed to discern any trace of his\nbrothers or Draupadi. He, therefore, refusing to remain, begged\nIndra's permission to share their fate in hell; so a radiant messenger\nwas sent to guide him along a road paved with upturned razor edges,\nwhich passed through a dense forest whose leaves were thorns and\nswords. Along this frightful road the Pandav toiled, with cut and\nmangled feet, until he reached the place of burning, where he beheld\nDraupadi and his brothers writhing in the flames. Unable to rescue\nthem, the Rajah determined to share their fate, so bade his heavenly\nguide return to Paradise without him. This, however, proved the last\ntest to which his great heart was to be subjected, for no sooner had\nhe expressed a generous determination to share his kinsmen's lot, than\nhe was told to bathe in the Ganges and all would be well. He had no\nsooner done so than the heavens opened above him, allowing him to\nperceive, amid undying flowers, the fair Draupadi and his four\nbrothers, who, thanks to his unselfishness, had been rescued from\nhell.\n\nThe grandson of Arjuna reigned at Hastinapur until he died of a\nsnake-bite, and his son instituted snake sacrifices, where this epic\nwas recited by a bard who learned it from the mouth of Vyasa. There is\nalso a continuation of the poem in three sections called the\nHarivam\u00e7a, which relates that Krishna is an incarnation of Vishnu, and\ndescribes his exploits and the future doom of the world.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF THE DELUGE\n\n\nThe detached stories in the Mahabharata are a quaint account of the\nDeluge, where we learn that an ascetic stood for ten thousand years on\none leg, before a small fish implored him to save him from the big\nones in the stream. This ascetic placed the petitioner first in an\nearthen vessel of water, then in a tank, then in the Ganges, \"the\nfavorite spouse of the ocean,\" and finally in the sea, for this fish\nrapidly outgrew each receptacle. On reaching the ocean, the fish\ninformed the ascetic, _with a smile_, that the dissolution of the\nearth was near. He also bade him build an ark provided with a long\nrope, told him to enter in it with seven other sages and seeds of\nevery kind, and promised to appear as a horned fish to save him from\ndestruction. When the flood came, the horned fish, seizing the rope,\ndragged the ark to the top of the Himalayas, where it rested securely.\nThere it declared, \"I am Brahma who saved you,\" and directed the\nascetic, aided by his learned companions, to recreate everything by\nmeans of the seeds.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 42: The long line quotations are from the translation of\nRomesh Dutt, those in short lines from Griffeth's.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF NALA AND DAMAYANTI\n\n\nThe romantic story of Nala and Damayanti was told to comfort the\neldest Pandav for losing all he had while dicing. It seems that once,\nwhile hunting, Nala released a golden bird, because it promised to win\nfor him the affections of Princess Damayanti. Pleased with this\nprospect, Nala let the bird go, and watched it fly in the direction of\nDamayanti's palace. There the bird, caught by the princess, praised\nNala so eloquently that Damayanti fell in love with him, and, in order\nto meet him, announced she was about to hold a Bride's Choice. On his\nway to this tournament, Nala met four gods, all anxious to marry the\nbeautiful princess, and they, after obtaining his promise to execute\ntheir wishes, bade him steal unseen into the palace and bid the\nprincess choose one of them as a spouse.\n\nThe broken-hearted Nala, forced to sue for the gods, made known their\nrequest to Damayanti, who declared she didn't intend to marry any one\nbut himself, as she meant to announce publicly at the Bride's Choice\non the morrow.\n\n  \"Yet I see a way of refuge--'tis a blameless way, O king;\n  Whence no sin to thee, O rajah,--may by any chance arise.\n  Thou, O noblest of all mortals--and the gods by Indra led,\n  Come and enter in together--where the Swayembara meets;\n  Then will I, before the presence--of the guardians of the world,\n  Name thee, lord of men! my husband--nor to thee may blame accrue.\"\n\nShe was, however, sorely embarrassed on arriving there, to find five\nNalas before her, for each of the gods had assumed the form of the\nyoung prince after the latter had reported what Damayanti had said.\nUnable to distinguish between the gods and her lover, Damayanti prayed\nso fervently that she was able to discern that four of her suitors\ngazed at her with unwinking eyes, exuded no perspiration, and cast no\nshadow, while the fifth betrayed all these infallible signs of\nmortality. She, therefore, selected the real Nala, upon whom the four\ngods bestowed invaluable gifts, including absolute control over fire\nand water.\n\nThe young couple were perfectly happy for some time, although a wicked\ndemon (Kali)--who had arrived too late at the Bride's Choice--was\ndetermined to trouble their bliss. He therefore watched husband and\nwife in hopes of finding an opportunity to injure them, but it was\nonly in the twelfth year of their marriage that Nala omitted the\nwonted ablutions before saying his prayers. This enabled the demon to\nenter his heart and inspire him with such a passion for gambling that\nhe soon lost all he possessed.\n\nHis wife, seeing her remonstrances vain, finally ordered a charioteer\nto convey her children to her father's, and they had barely gone when\nNala came out of the gambling hall, having nothing left but a garment\napiece for himself and his wife. So the faithful Damayanti followed\nhim out of the city into the forest, the winner having proclaimed that\nno help should be given to the exiled king or queen. Almost starving,\nNala, hoping to catch some birds which alighted near him, flung over\nthem as a net his only garment. These birds, having been sent by the\ndemon to rob him of his last possession, flew away with the cloth,\ncalling out to him that they were winged dice sent by Kali.\n\n  Over them his single garment--spreading light, he wrapped them round:\n  Up that single garment bearing--to the air they sprang away;\n  And the birds above him hovering--thus in human accents spake,\n  Naked as they saw him standing--on the earth, and sad, and lone:\n  \"Lo, we are the dice, to spoil thee--thus descended, foolish king!\n  While thou hadst a single garment--all our joy was incomplete.\"\n\nHusband and wife now wander on, until one night Nala, arising softly,\ncut his wife's sole garment in two, and, wrapping himself in part of\nit, forsook her during her sleep, persuading himself that if left\nalone she would return to her father and enjoy comfort. The poem gives\na touching description of the husband's grief at parting with his\nsleeping wife, of her frenzy on awakening, and of her pathetic appeals\nfor her husband to return.\n\nThen we follow Damayanti in her wanderings through the forest in quest\nof the missing Nala, and see how she joins a company of hermits, who\npredict that her sorrows will not last forever before they vanish, for\nthey are spirits sent to comfort her. Next she joins a merchant\ncaravan, which, while camping, is surprised by wild elephants, which\ntrample the people to death and cause a panic. The merchants fancy\nthis calamity has visited them because they showed compassion to\nDamayanti, whom they now deem a demon and wish to tear to pieces. She,\nhowever, has fled at the approach of the wild elephants, and again\nwanders alone through the forest, until she finally comes to a town,\nwhere, seeing her wan and distracted appearance, the people follow her\nhooting.\n\nThe queen-mother, looking over the battlements of her palace and\nseeing this poor waif, takes compassion upon her, and, after giving\nher refreshments, questions her in regard to her origin. Damayanti\nsimply vouchsafes the information that her husband has lost all\nthrough dicing, and volunteers to serve the rani, provided she is\nnever expected to eat the food left by others or to wait upon men.\n\nBefore she had been there very long, however, her father sends\nBrahmans in every direction to try and find his missing daughter and\nson-in-law, and some of these suspect the rani's maid is the lady they\nare seeking. When they inform the rani of this fact, she declares, if\nDamayanti is her niece, she can easily be recognized, as she was born\nwith a peculiar mole between her eyebrows. She, therefore, bids her\nhandmaid wash off the ashes which defile her in token of grief, and\nthus discovers the birth-mole proving her identity.\n\nDamayanti now returns to her father and to her children, but doesn't\ncease to mourn the absence of her spouse. She, too, sends Brahmans in\nall directions, singing \"Where is the one who, after stealing half of\nhis wife's garment, abandoned her in the jungle?\" Meantime Nala has\nsaved from the fire a serpent, which by biting him has transformed him\ninto a dwarf, bidding him at the same time enter the service of a\nneighboring rajah as charioteer, and promising that after a certain\ntime the serpent poison will drive the demon Kali out of his system.\nObeying these injunctions, Nala becomes the charioteer of a\nneighboring rajah, and while with him hears a Brahman sing the song\nwhich Damayanti taught him. He answers it by another, excusing the\nhusband for having forsaken his wife, and, when the Brahman reports\nthis to Damayanti, she rightly concludes her Nala is at this rajah's\ncourt.\n\nShe, therefore, sends back the Brahman with a message to the effect\nthat she is about to hold a second Bride's Choice, and the rajah,\nanxious to secure her hand, asks his charioteer whether he can convey\nhim to the place in due time? Nala undertakes to drive his master five\nhundred miles in one day, and is so clever a charioteer that he\nactually performs the feat, even though he stops on the way to verify\nhis master's knowledge of figures by counting the leaves and fruit on\nthe branch of a tree. Finding the rajah has accurately guessed them\nat a glance, Nala begs him, in return for his services as charioteer,\nto teach him the science of numbers, so that when he dices again he\ncan be sure to win.\n\nOn arriving at the court of Damayanti's father, Nala is summoned into\nthe presence of his wife, who, although she does not recognize him in\nhis new form, insists he must be her spouse, for no one else can drive\nas he does or has the power which he displays over fire and water. At\nthis moment the sway of the demon ends, and Nala, restored to his\nwonted form, rapturously embraces his wife and children.\n\n  Even as thus the wind was speaking,--flowers fall showering all around:\n  And the gods sweet music sounded--on the zephyr floating light.\n\nThen, thanks to his new skill in dicing, Nala recovers all he has\nlost, and is able to spend the rest of his life in peace and happiness\nwith the faithful Damayanti.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF SAVITRI AND SATYAVAN\n\n\nOnce upon a time a king, mourning because he was childless, spent many\nyears fasting and praying in hopes that offspring would be granted\nhim. One day the goddess of the sun rose out of his sacrificial fire\nto promise him a daughter, more beauteous than any maiden ever seen\nbefore. The king rejoiced, and, when this child was born, every one\ndeclared little Savitri the prettiest maiden ever seen. As she grew up\nshe became more and more beautiful, until all the surrounding kings\nlonged to marry her, but dared not propose. Seeing this, her father\nconferred upon her the right to select her own spouse, and the\nprincess began to travel from court to court inspecting all the\nmarriageable princes. One day, in the course of these wanderings, she\npaused beneath a banyan tree, where a blind old hermit had taken up\nhis abode. He was just telling the princess that he dwelt there with\nhis wife and son, when a young man appeared, bringing wood for the\nsacrifice. This youth was Satyavan, his son, who was duly astonished\nto behold a lovely princess.\n\nOn returning home, Savitri informed her father her choice was made,\nfor she had decided to marry the hermit's son! This news appalled the\nking, because the prime minister assured him Satyavan--although son of\na banished king--was doomed to die at the end of the year.\n\nKnowing the unenviable lot of a Hindu widow, the king implored Savitri\nto choose another mate, but the girl refused, insisting she would\nrather live one year with Satyavan than spend a long life with any one\nelse!\n\n                      But Savitri replied:\n  \"Once falls a heritage; once a maid yields\n  Her maidenhood; once doth a father say,\n  'Choose, I abide thy choice.' These three things done,\n  Are done forever. Be my prince to live\n  A year, or many years; be he so great\n  As Narada hath said, or less than this;\n  Once have I chosen him, and choose not twice:\n  My heart resolved, my mouth hath spoken it,\n  My hand shall execute;--this is my mind!\"\n                              --_Edwin Arnold._\n\nSo the marriage took place, and, because the hermit and his son had\nvowed to remain in the jungle until reinstated in their realm, the\nprincess dwelt in their humble hut, laying aside her princely garments\nand wearing the rough clothes hermits affect.\n\nIn spite of poverty, this little family dwelt happily beneath the huge\nbanyan tree, the princess rigidly keeping the secret that her husband\nhad but a year to live. Time passed all too swiftly, however, and as\nthe year drew toward an end the little wife grew strangely pale and\nstill, fasted constantly, and spent most of her time praying that the\ndoom of death might be averted. When the fatal day drew near, she was\nso weak and faint she could hardly stand; but, when Satyavan announced\nhe was going out into the forest to cut wood, she begged to accompany\nhim, although he objected the way was far too rough and hard for her\ntender feet. By dint of coaxing, however, Savitri obtained his\nconsent; so hand in hand she passed with her husband through the\ntropical woods.\n\nWhile Satyavan was felling a tree, he suddenly reeled and fell at her\nfeet, fainting. In a moment Savitri was bending over him, holding his\nhead in her lap and eagerly trying to recall life in his veins. While\ndoing so, she suddenly became aware of Yama, God of Death, with\nblood-red clothes, cruel eyes, and the long black noose, with which he\nsnares the soul and draws it out of the body. In spite of Savitri's\npleading, he now drew out Satyavan's soul and started off with his\nprize, leaving the youthful body pale and cold on the ground.\n\n  With that the gloomy god fitted his noose,\n  And forced forth from the prince the soul of him--\n  Subtile, a thumb in length--which being reft,\n  Breath stayed, blood stopped, the body's grace was gone,\n  And all life's warmth to stony coldness turned.\n  Then, binding it, the Silent Presence bore\n  Satyavan's soul away toward the South.\n                                --_Edwin Arnold._\n\nBut the little wife, instead of staying with the corpse, followed\nYama, imploring him not to bear off her husband's soul! Turning\naround, Yama sternly bade her go back, as no human mortal could tread\nthe road he was following, and reminding her that it was her duty to\nperform her husband's funeral rites. She, however, insisting that\nwherever Satyavan's soul went she would go too, painfully followed the\nking of death, until in pity he promised to grant her anything she\nwished, save her husband's soul. Thereupon Savitri begged that her\nblind father-in-law might recover sight and kingdom, boons which Yama\nimmediately granted, telling Savitri to go and inform her\nfather-in-law so, for the way he had to tread was long and dark.\n\nWeak and weary as she was, Savitri nevertheless persisted in following\nYama, until he again turned, declaring he would grant any boon, save\nher husband's life, to comfort her. The little wife now begged her\nfather might have princely sons, knowing he had long desired an heir.\nThis favor, too, was granted, before Yama bade her go back to light\nand life; but Savitri still insisted that was impossible, and that as\nlong as she lived she must follow her beloved!\n\nDarkness now settled down on the forest, and although the road was\nrough and thorny Savitri stumbled on and on, following the sound of\nYama's footsteps although she could no longer see him. Finally he\nturned into a gloomy cavern, but she plodded on, until she so excited\nhis compassion that he promised her one more boon, again stipulating\nit should not be the soul he held in his hand. When Savitri begged for\nchildren,--sons of Satyavan,--Yama smiled and granted her prayer,\nthinking he would now surely be rid of her at last. But Savitri\nfollowed him on into the depths of the cavern, although owls and bats\nmade the place hideous with their cries. Hearing her footsteps still\nbehind him, Yama tried to frighten her away, but she, grasping the\nhand which held her husband's soul, laid her tear-wet cheek against\nit, thereby so touching the god's heart that he exclaimed, \"Ask\nanything thou wilt and it shall be thine.\"\n\nNoticing this time that he made no reservation, Savitri joyfully\nexclaimed she wished neither wealth nor power, but only her beloved\nspouse! Conquered by such devotion, Death relinquished into her\nkeeping Satyavan's soul, and promised they should live happy together\nand have many sons.\n\nAfter securing this inestimable boon, Savitri hastened out of the cave\nand back into the woods, where she found the lifeless corpse of her\nhusband just where she had left it, and proceeded to woo it back to\nlife. Before long warmth and consciousness returned to Satyavan, who\nwent home with Savitri, with whom he lived happy ever after, for all\nthe boons Yama had promised were duly granted.\n\n  \"Adieu, great God!\" She took the soul,\n  No bigger than the human thumb,\n  And running swift, soon reached her goal,\n  Where lay the body stark and dumb.\n  She lifted it with eager hands\n  And as before, when he expired,\n  She placed the head upon the bands\n  That bound her breast, which hope new fired,\n  And which alternate rose and fell;\n  Then placed his soul upon his heart,\n  Whence like a bee it found its cell,\n  And lo, he woke with sudden start!\n  His breath came low at first, then deep,\n  With an unquiet look he gazed,\n  As one awakening from a sleep,\n  Wholly bewildered and amazed.\n\n  --_Miss Toru Dutt._\n\n\n\n\nCHINESE AND JAPANESE POETRY\n\nWHITE ASTER\n\n\nEpics as they are understood in Europe do not exist in either China or\nJapan, although orientals claim that name for poems which we would\nterm idyls.\n\nA romantic tale, which passes as an epic in both countries, was\nwritten in Chinese verse by Professor Inouye, and has been rendered in\nclassical Japanese by Naobumi Ochiai. It is entitled \"The Lay of the\nPious Maiden Shirakiku,\" which is The White Aster.\n\nThe first canto opens with an exquisite description of an autumn\nsunset and of the leaves falling from the trees at the foot of Mount\nAso. Then we hear a temple bell ringing in a distant grove, and see a\ntimid maiden steal out weeping from a hut in the extremity of the\nvillage to gaze anxiously in the direction of the volcano, for her\nfather left her three days before to go hunting and has not returned.\nPoor little White Aster fears some harm may have befallen her sire,\nand, although she creeps back into the hut and kindles a fire to make\ntea, her heads turns at every sound in the hope that her father has\ncome back at last. Stealing out once more only to see wild geese fly\npast and the rain-clouds drift across the heavens, White Aster\nshudders and feels impelled to start in quest of the missing man. She,\ntherefore, dons a straw cloak and red bamboo hat, and, although night\nwill soon fall, steals down the village street, across the marsh, and\nbegins to climb the mountain.\n\n  Here the steep path winds with a swift ascent\n  Toward the summit:--the long grass that grew\n  In tufts upon the slopes, shrivelled and dry,\n  Lay dead upon her path;--hushed was the voice\n  Of the blithe chafers.--Only sable night\n  Yawned threatening from the vale.\n\nWhile she is searching, the rain ceases and the clouds part, but no\ntrace of her missing father does she find. Light has gone and darkness\nhas already invaded the solitude, when White Aster descries a faint\nred gleam through the trees and hears the droning voice of a priest\nchanting his prayers. Going in the direction of light and sound, White\nAster soon approaches a ruined temple, standing in the midst of a\ngrove of cypress and camphor trees, amid bleached bones and mouldering\ngraves overhung by weeping-willows.\n\nHer light footfall on the broken steps, falling upon the ear of the\nrecluse, makes him fancy some demon is coming to tempt him, so seizing\na light he thrusts it out of the door, tremblingly bidding the \"fox\nghost\" begone. In the East foxes being spirits of evil and having the\npower to assume any form they wish, the priest naturally takes what\nseems a little maiden for a demon. But, when he catches a glimpse of\nWhite Aster's lovely innocent face and hears her touching explanation,\nhe utterly changes his opinion, muttering that she must belong to some\nnoble family, since her eyebrows are like twin \"half-moons.\"\n\n  \"'Tis clear she comes of noble family:\n  Her eyebrows are as twin half-moons: her hair\n  Lies on her snowy temples, like a cloud:\n  In charm of form she ranks with Sishih's self,\n  That pearl of loveliness, the Chinese Helen.\"\n\nTaking his visitor gently by the hand, he leads her into the\nsanctuary, where he seats her at Buddha's feet, before inquiring who\nshe is and what she is doing at night in the wilderness. White Aster\ntimidly explains that, although born in one of the southern islands\nand cradled in a rich home, the pleasant tenor of her life was\nsuddenly interrupted by the outbreak of war. Her home sacked and\ndestroyed, she and her mother barely escaped with their lives. Taking\nrefuge near a ruined temple, they erected a booth to shelter them,\nwhere the girl who had always been lapped in luxury had to perform all\nkinds of menial tasks. But even under such circumstances her life\nproved pleasant compared to what she suffered when news came that her\nfather had rebelled against the king, and that he and his adherents\nhad been crushed in the war. No poppy-draught could enable the two\npoor women to forget such terrible tidings, and it is no wonder the\npoor mother pined away.\n\n                      As the stream\n  Flows to the sea and nevermore returns,\n  So ebbed and ebbed her life. I cannot tell\n  What in those days I suffered. Nature's self\n  Seemed to be mourning with me, for the breeze\n  Of Autumn breathed its last, and as it died\n  The vesper-bell from yonder village pealed\n  A requiem o'er my mother. Thus she died,\n  But dead yet lives--for, ever, face and form,\n  She stands before my eyes; and in my ears\n  I ever seem to hear her loving voice,\n  Speaking as in the days when, strict and kind,\n  She taught me household lore,--in all a mother.\n\nHaving carefully tended her mother to the end, poor little White Aster\nlived alone, until one day her father suddenly appeared, having found\nat last a way to escape and rejoin them. He was, however,\nbroken-hearted on learning of his wife's death, and, hoping to comfort\nhim, White Aster paid him all manner of filial attentions. She could\nnot, however, restore happiness or peace to the bereaved man, who,\nbesides mourning his wife, keenly regretted the absence of his son\nAkitoshi, whom he had driven from home in anger when the youth proved\nwild and overbearing.\n\nDuring this artless narrative the recluse had exhibited signs of deep\nemotion, and, when White Aster mentioned the name of her brother, he\nclasped his hands over his face as if to conceal its expression. After\nlistening to her tale in silence, he kindly bade White Aster tarry\nthere until sunrise, assuring her it would not be safe for her to\nwander in the mountain by night. Little White Aster, therefore slept\nat Buddha's feet, shivering with cold, for her garments were far too\nthin to protect her from the keen mountain air. As she slept she\ndreamt of her father, whose wraith appeared to her, explaining that a\nfalse step had hurled him down into a ravine, whence he has vainly\nbeen trying to escape for three days past!\n\nThe second canto opens with a description of a beautiful red dawn, and\nof the gradual awakening of the birds, whose songs finally rouse the\nlittle maiden, who again sets off on her quest.\n\n  Now the red dawn had tipped the mountain-tops,\n  And birds, awaking, peered from out their nests,\n  To greet the day with strains of matin joy;\n  The while, the moon's pale sickle, silver white,\n  Fading away, sunk in the western sky.\n  Clear was the air and cloudless, save the mists\n  That rolled in waves upon the mountain-tops.\n  Or crept along the gullies.\n\nSkirting the trunks of mighty trees, stealing beneath whispering\npines, White Aster threads different parts of the solitude, where she\nencounters deer and other timid game, seeking some trace of her\nfather. She is so intent on this quest that she does not mark two dark\nforms which gradually creep nearer to her. These are robbers, who\nfinally pounce upon White Aster and drag her into their rocky den,\nlittle heeding her tears or prayers; and, although the maiden cries\nfor help, echo alone reiterates her desperate calls.\n\nThe brigands' lair is beneath an overhanging cliff, where they have\nerected a miserable booth, whose broken thatch has to be supplemented\nby the dense foliage of the ginkgo tree overshadowing it. In front of\nthis hut runs a brawling stream, while the rocks all around are hung\nwith heavy curtains of ivy, which add to the gloom and dampness of the\nplace.\n\n            Here the sun\n  Ne'er visits with his parting rays at eve,\n  But all is gloom and silence save the cry\n  Of some belated bird that wakes the night.\n\nHaving brought their prisoner safely into this den, the robbers\nproceed to eat and drink, dispensing with chopsticks, so wolfish is\ntheir hunger. Meantime they roughly jeer at their captive, who sits\nhelpless before them, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. Having\nsatisfied their first imperious craving for food and drink, the\nbrigands proceed to taunt their prisoner, until the captain, producing\na koto or harp, bids her with savage threats make music, as they like\nto be merry.\n\n               \"Sit you down,\n  And let us hear your skill; for I do swear\n  That, if you hesitate, then with this sword\n  I'll cut you into bits and give your flesh\n  To yonder noisy crows. Mark well my words.\"\n\nSo proficient is our little maiden on this instrument, that her\nslender fingers draw from the cords such wonderful sounds that all\nliving creatures are spellbound. Even the robbers remain quiet while\nit lasts, and are so entranced that they fail to hear the steps of a\nstranger, stealing near the hut armed with sword and spear. Seeing\nWhite Aster in the brigands' power, this stranger bursts open the door\nand pounces upon the robbers, several of whom he slays after a\ndesperate conflict. One of their number, however, manages to escape,\nand it is only when the fight is over that White Aster--who has\ncovered her face with her hands--discovers that her rescuer is the\nkind-hearted recluse. He now informs her that, deeming it unsafe for\nher to thread the wilderness alone, he had soon followed her,\nintending to tell her he is her long-lost brother! Then he explains\nhow, after being banished from home, he entered the service of a\nlearned man, with whom he began to study, and that, perceiving at last\nthe wickedness of his ways, he made up his mind to reform. But,\nalthough he immediately hastened home to beg his parents' forgiveness,\nhe arrived there only to find his native town in ruins. Unable to\nsecure any information in regard to his kin, he then became a recluse,\nand it was only because shame and emotion prevented his speaking\nthat he had not immediately told White Aster who he was.\n\n  Much then my spirit fought against itself,\n  Wishing to tell my name and welcome you,\n  My long-lost sister: but false shame forbade\n  And kept my mouth tight closed.\n\nHis tale ended, the recluse and his small sister leave the robbers'\nden, and steal hand in hand through the dusk, the forest's silence\nbeing broken only by the shrill cries of bands of monkeys. They are\njust about to emerge from this dark ravine, when the robber who\nmanaged to escape suddenly pounces upon the priest, determined to slay\nhim so as to avenge his dead comrades. Another terrible fight ensues,\nwhich so frightens poor little White Aster that she runs off, losing\nher way in the darkness, and is not able to return to her brother's\nside in spite of all her efforts.\n\nThe third canto tells how, after wandering around all night, White\nAster finally emerges at dawn on the top of a cliff, at whose base\nnestles a tiny village, with one of the wonted shrines. Making her way\ndown to this place, White Aster kneels in prayer, but her attitude is\nso weary that an old peasant, passing by, takes pity upon her and\ninvites her to join his daughter in their little cottage. White Aster\nthus becomes an inmate of this rustic home, where she spends the next\nfew years, her beauty increasing every day, until her fame spreads all\nover the land. Hearing of her unparalleled loveliness, the governor\nfinally decides to marry her, although she is far beneath him in rank,\nand sends a matrimonial agent to bargain for her hand. The old rustic,\nawed by the prospect of so brilliant an alliance, consents without\nconsulting White Aster, and he and the agent pick out in the calendar\na propitious day for the wedding.\n\nWhen the agent has departed, the old man informs his guest how he has\npromised her hand in marriage, adding that she has no choice and must\nconsent. But White Aster exclaims that her mother, on her way to the\ntemple one day, heard a strange sound in the churchyard. There she\ndiscovered, amongst the flowers, a tiny abandoned girl, whom she\nadopted, giving her the name of the blossoms around her.\n\n                   \"Once,\" she said,\n  \"Ere morn had scarce begun to dawn, I went\n  To worship at the temple: as I passed\n  Through the churchyard 'twixt rows of gravestones hoar,\n  And blooming white chrysanthemums, I heard\n  The piteous wailing of a little child.\n  Which following, I found, amidst the flowers,\n  A fair young child with crimson-mouthing lips\n  And fresh soft cheek--a veritable gem.\n  I took it as a gift that Buddha sent\n  As guerdon of my faith, and brought it up\n  As my own child, to be my husband's joy\n  And mine: and, as I found thee couched\n  Amidst white-blooming asters, I named thee\n  White Aster in memorial of the day.\"\n\nThe little maiden adds that her adopted mother made her promise never\nto marry any one save her so-called brother, and declares she is bound\nin honor to respect this maternal wish. The governor, anxious to\nsecure this beautiful bride, meantime sends the agent hurrying back\nwith a chest full of gifts, the acceptance of which will make the\nbargain binding. So the clever agent proceeds to exhibit tokens, which\nso dazzle the old peasant that he greedily accepts them all, while\nadmiring neighbors gape at them in wonder.\n\nPoor little White Aster, perceiving it will be impossible to resist\nthe pressure brought to bear upon her, steals out of the peasant's\nhouse at midnight, and, making her way across damp fields to the\nriver, climbs up on the high bridge, whence she intends to fling\nherself into the rushing waters. She pauses, however, to utter a final\nprayer, and, closing her eyes, is about to spring when a hand grasps\nher and a glad voice exclaims she is safe! Turning around, White\nAster's wondering eyes rest upon the recluse, who ever since he\nescaped from the brigand's clutches has vainly been seeking her\neverywhere. He declares they shall never part again and tenderly\nleads her home, where she is overjoyed to find her father, who still\nmourns her absence.\n\nThankful for the return of his child, the father relates how, having\nfallen into a ravine,--where he found water and berries in plenty,--he\nvainly tried to scale the rocks, to escape from its depths and return\nhome. All his efforts having proved vain, he was almost ready to give\nup in despair, when a band of monkeys appeared at the top of the cliff\nand by grimaces and sounds showed him how to climb out by means of the\nhanging vines. Trusting to these weak supports, the father scaled the\nrocks, but on arriving at the summit was surprised to discover no\ntrace of the monkeys who had taught him how to escape. He remembered,\nhowever, that while hunting one day he had aimed at a mother monkey\nand her babe, but had not injured them because the poor mother had\nmade such distressing sounds of despair. He adds it was probably in\nreward for this act of mercy that the monkeys saved his life.\n\n              \"I spared her life;\n  And she, in turn, seeing my sorry plight,\n  Cried to me from the rocks, and showed the way\n  To flee from certain death.\"\n\nThus, this epic ends with a neat little moral, and with the comforting\nassurance that White Aster, her father, and husband lived happy ever\nafterward.\n\n\n\n\nAMERICAN EPICS\n\n\nWhen Europeans first landed on this continent, they found it occupied\nby various tribes of Indians, speaking--it is estimated--some six\nhundred different languages or dialects. At first no systematic effort\ncould be made to discover the religion or traditions of the native\nAmericans, but little by little we have learned that they boasted a\nrich folk-lore, and that their nature-myths and hero-tales were\nrecited by the fireside from generation to generation. Because there\nwere tribes in different degrees of evolution between savagery and the\nrudimentary stages of civilization, there are more or less rude myths\nand folk-tales in the samples with which we have thus become familiar.\n\nAmong the more advanced tribes, Indian folk-lore bears the imprint of\na weirdly poetical turn of mind, and ideas are often vividly and\npicturesquely expressed by nature similes. Some of this folk-lore is\nembodied in hymns, or what have also been termed nature-epics, which\nare now being carefully preserved for future study by professional\ncollectors of folk-lore. Aside from a few very interesting creation\nmyths and stories of the Indian gods, there is a whole fund of nature\nlegends of which we have a characteristic sample in Bayard Taylor's\nMon-da-min, or Creation of the Maize, and also in the group of legends\nwelded into a harmonious whole by Longfellow in the \"American-Indian\nepic\" Hiawatha.\n\nThe early European settlers found so many material obstacles to\novercome, that they had no leisure for the cultivation of literature.\nAside from letters, diaries, and reports, therefore, no early colonial\nliterature exists. But, with the founding of the first colleges in\nAmerica,--Harvard, Yale, William and Mary, the College of New Jersey,\nand King's College (now Columbia),--and with the introduction of the\nprinting press, the American literary era may be said to begin.\n\nThe Puritans, being utterly devoid of aesthetic taste, considered all\nsave religious poetry sinful in the extreme; so it was not until the\nmiddle of the seventeenth century that Fame could trumpet abroad the\nadvent of \"the Tenth Muse,\" or \"the Morning Star of American Poetry,\"\nin the person of Anne Bradstreet! Among her poems--which no one ever\nreads nowadays--is \"An Exact Epitome of the Three First Monarchies,\nviz., the Assyrian, Persian, and Grecian, and the Beginning of the\nRoman Commonwealth to the End of their Last King,\" a work which some\nauthorities rank as the first American epic (1650). This was soon\n(1662) followed by Michael Wigglesworth's \"Day of Doom,\" or \"Poetical\nDescription of the Great and Last Judgement,\" wherein the author,\ngiving free play to his imagination, crammed so many horrors that it\nafforded ghastly entertainment for hosts of young Puritans while it\npassed through its nine successive editions in this country and two in\nEngland. Although devoid of real poetic merit, this work never failed\nto give perusers \"the creeps,\" as the following sample will\nsufficiently prove:\n\n  Then might you hear them rend and tear\n      The air with their outcries;\n  The hideous noise of their sad voice\n      Ascendant to the skies.\n  They wring their hands, their caitiff hands,\n      And gnash their teeth for terror;\n  They cry, they roar, for anguish sore,\n      And gnaw their tongue for horror.\n  But get away without delay;\n      Christ pities not your cry;\n  Depart to hell, there may you yell\n      And roar eternally.\n\nThe Revolutionary epoch gave birth to sundry epic ballads--such as\nFrancis Hopkinson's Battle of the Kegs and Major Andr\u00e9's Cow\nChase--and \"to three epics, each of them almost as long as the Iliad,\nwhich no one now reads, and in which one vainly seeks a touch of\nnature or a bit of genuine poetry.\" This enormous mass of verse\nincludes Trumbull's burlesque epic, McFingal (1782), a work so\npopular in its day that collectors possess samples of no less than\nthirty pirated editions. Although favorably compared to Butler's\nHudibras, and \"one of the Revolutionary forces,\" this poem--a satire\non the Tories--has left few traces in our language, aside from the\nfamiliar quotation:\n\n  A thief ne'er felt the halter draw\n  With good opinion of the law.\n\nThe second epic of this period is Timothy Dwight's \"Conquest of\nCanaan\" in eleven books, and the third Barlow's \"Columbiad.\" The\nlatter interminable work was based on the poet's pompous Vision of\nColumbus, which roused great admiration when it appear (1807). While\nprofessing to relate the memorable voyage of Columbus in a grandly\nheroic strain, the Columbiad introduces all manner of mythical and\nfantastic personages and events. In spite of its writer's learning and\nimagination, this voluminous epic fell quite flat when published, and\nthere are now very few persons who have accomplished the feat of\nreading it all the way through. Still, it contains passages not\nwithout merit, as the following lines prove:\n\n  Long on the deep the mists of morning lay,\n  Then rose, revealing, as they rolled away,\n  Half-circling hills, whose everlasting woods\n  Sweep with their sable skirts the shadowy floods:\n  And say, when all, to holy transport given,\n  Embraced and wept as at the gates of Heaven,\n  When one and all of us, repentant, ran,\n  And, on our faces, blessed the wondrous man:\n  Say, was I then deceived, or from the skies\n  Burst on my ear seraphic harmonies?\n  \"Glory to God!\" unnumbered voices sung:\n  \"Glory to God!\" the vales and mountains rang.\n  Voices that hailed Creation's primal morn,\n  And to the shepherds sung a Saviour born.\n  Slowly, bare-headed, through the surf we bore\n  The sacred cross, and, kneeling, kissed the shore.\n  'But what a scene was there? Nymphs of romance,\n  Youths graceful as the Fawn, with eager glance,\n  Spring from the glades, and down the alleys peep,\n  Then headlong rush, bounding from steep to steep,\n  And clap their hands, exclaiming as they run,\n  \"Come and behold the Children of the Sun!\"\n\nNot content with an epic apiece, Barlow and Trumbull, with several\nother \"Hartford wits,\" joined forces in composing the Anarchiad, which\nexercised considerable influence on the politics of its time.\n\nIn 1819 appeared Washington Irving's Sketch-Book, which contains the\ntwo classics, Legend of the Sleepy Hollow, and Rip Van Winkle, which\nare sometimes quoted as inimitable samples of local epics in prose.\nCooper's Leather-stocking series of novels, including the Deerslayer,\nThe Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneers, and The\nPrairie, are also often designated as \"prose epics of the Indian as he\nwas in Cooper's imagination,\" while some of his sea-stories, such as\nThe Pirate, have been dubbed \"epics of the sea.\" Bryant, first-born of\nour famous group of nineteenth-century American poets, made use of\nmany of the Indian myths and legends in his verse. But he rendered his\ngreatest service to epic poetry by his translations of the Iliad and\nthe Odyssey, accomplished when already eighty years of age.\n\nThere are sundry famous American heroic odes or poems which contain\nepic lines, such as Halleck's Marco Bozzaris, Dana's Buccaneers,\nLowell's Vision of Sir Launfal, and Biglow Papers, Whittier's Mogg\nMegone, Holmes's Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill Battle, Taylor's\nAmram's Wooing, Emerson's Concord Hymn, etc., etc. Then, too, some\ncritics rank as prose epics Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter, Poe's Fall of\nthe House of Usher, Hale's Man Without a Country, Bret Harte's Luck of\nRoaring Camp, Helen Hunt Jackson's Ramona, etc., etc.\n\nIt is, however, Longfellow, America's most popular poet, who has\nwritten the nearest approach to a real epic, and the poems most likely\nto live, in his Wreck of the Hesperus, Skeleton in Armor, Golden\nLegend, Hiawatha, Tales of a Wayside Inn, Courtship of Miles Standish,\nand Evangeline, besides translating Dante's grand epic The Divine\nComedy.\n\nIn Longfellow's Wreck of the Hesperus we have a miniature nautical\nepic, in the Skeleton in Armor our only epic relating to the Norse\ndiscovery, in the Golden Legend, and in many of the Tales of a Wayside\nInn, happy adaptations of mediaeval epics or romances.\n\nHiawatha, often termed \"the Indian Edda,\" is written in the metre of\nthe old Finnish Kalevala, and contains the essence of many Indian\nlegends, together with charming descriptions of the woods, the waters,\nand their furry, feathered, and finny denizens. Every one has followed\nentranced the career of Hiawatha, from birth to childhood and boyhood,\nwatched with awe his painful initiation to manhood and with tender\nsympathy his idyllic wooing of Minnehaha and their characteristic\nwedding festivities. Innumerable youthful hearts have swelled at his\nanguish during the Famine, and countless tears have silently dropped\nat the death of the sweet little Indian squaw. After connecting this\nIndian legend with the coming of the White Man from the East, the\npoet, knowing the Red man had to withdraw before the new-comer\nskilfully made use of a sun-myth, and allowed us to witness Hiawatha's\ndeparture, full of allegorical significance:\n\n  Thus departed Hiawatha,\n  Hiawatha the Beloved,\n  In the glory of the sunset,\n  In the purple mists of evening,\n  To the regions of the home-wind,\n  Of the Northwest-wind Keewaydin,\n  To the Islands of the Blessed,\n  To the kingdom of Ponemah,\n  To the land of the Hereafter!\n\nThe Courtship of Miles Standish brings us to the time of the Pilgrim's\nsettlement in the New World and has inspired many painters.\n\nThe next poem, which some authorities consider Longfellow's\nmasterpiece, is connected with another historical event, of a later\ndate, the conquest of Acadia by the English. It is a matter of history\nthat in 1755 the peaceful French farmers of Acadia, without adequate\nnotice or proper regard for family ties, were hurried aboard waiting\nBritish vessels and arbitrarily deported to various ports, where they\nwere turned adrift to join the scattered members of their families and\nearn their living as best they could. The outline of the story of\nEvangeline, and of her long, faithful search for her lover Gabriel, is\ntoo well known to need mention. There are besides few who cannot\nvividly recall the reunion of the long-parted lovers just as Gabriel's\nlife is about to end. All through this hopeless search we are\nvouchsafed enchanting descriptions of places and people, and\nfascinating glimpses of scenery in various sections of our country,\nvisiting in imagination the bayous of the South and the primeval\nforests, drifting along the great rivers, and revelling in the\nbeauties of nature so exquisitely delineated for our pleasure. But, as\nis fitting in regard to the theme, an atmosphere of gentle melancholy\nhovers over the whole poem and holds the listener in thrall long as\nits musical verses fall upon the ear.\n\n  Still stands the forest primeval; but under the shade of its branches\n  Dwells another race, with other customs and language.\n  Only along the shore of the mournful and misty Atlantic\n  Linger a few Acadian peasants, whose fathers from exile\n  Wandered back to their native land to die in its bosom.\n\n  In the fisherman's cot the wheel and the loom are still busy;\n  Maidens still wear their Norman caps and their kirtles of homespun,\n  And by the evening fire repeat Evangeline's story,\n  While from its rocky caverns the deep-voiced, neighboring ocean\n  Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX OF NAMES\n\n\n  A\n\n  Abbasides, 398\n  Abdiel, 298, 299\n  Abduction of Persephone, 64\n  Abel, 142, 311\n  Abeniaf, 116, 118\n  Abenteuerbuch, 326\n  Abraham, 311\n  Abstinence, 263\n  Abul Kasin Mansur, 398\n  Abu Zaid, 398\n  Acadia, 468\n  Achan, 170\n  Achates, 64-66\n  Acheron, 141\n  Achilleis, 63, 69\n  Achilles, 17, 19, 21, 22, 25, 27, 28, 30-40, 42, 46, 53, 61, 88, 143, 269\n  Acrasia, 264, 265, 267-269\n  Active Virtues, 354\n  A\u00e7vaghosha, 415\n  Adam, 142, 179, 186, 293-298, 302-313, 317, 322\n  Adamastor, 134, 135\n  Adonais, 221\n  Adone, 139\n  Adonis, 139\n  Adrian V., Pope, 170\n  Adventurous Band, 202, 204\n  Adversary, 292, 395\n  Aegistheus, 43\n  Aeneas, 23, 25-27, 37, 64-74, 76-80, 142, 146\n  Aeneid, 63, 64-80, 83, 108\n  Aeolus, 50, 51, 64\n  Aeschere, 226\n  Aesculapius, 258\n  Aethiopia, 17\n  Aetna, Mt., 70\n  Afrasiab, 404, 408, 412\n  Africa, 64, 65, 116, 120, 126, 194\n  African, 71\n  Agamemnon, 18, 21, 26, 29-33, 36, 42, 53, 178\n  Age of Gold, 400, 417, 429\n  Agias of Troezene, 18\n  Agnani, 170\n  Agnello, 154\n  Ahab, 316\n  Ahasuerus, 394, 396\n  Aino, 377, 378\n  Aix, 87, 99\n  Aix la Chapelle, 99\n  Ajax, 18, 24, 28, 29, 31, 33-35, 53, 61\n  Akitoshi, 458\n  Aladine, 199, 200-202, 206, 213\n  Alamanni, 139\n  Alaric, 84\n  Al Asmai, 398\n  Alastor, 221\n  Alba, 283\n  Alba Longa, 64\n  Alban, 80\n  Albany, Duke of, 193\n  Albion's England, 220\n  Alborz, Mt., 402\n  Al-Bukhari, 394\n  Alcazar, 120\n  Alcinous, 46, 47, 55\n  Alcocer, 115\n  Alda, 89\n  Alethes, 201\n  Alexander, 19, 63, 107, 148, 218, 219, 233, 324, 361, 398\n  Alexanderlied, 324\n  Alexandra, 19\n  Alexandreid, 83\n  Alexandras, 392\n  Alexandria, 20\n  Alfonso, 111-113, 115, 116, 119-124\n  Alfonso V., 133\n  Alfred, King, 222\n  Aliscans, 81\n  Allah, 200\n  Allahabad, 436\n  Allan a Dale, 247-249, 251, 254\n  Allemaine, 100\n  Almesbury, 242\n  Alonzo, 132\n  Alphonso the Brave, 132\n  Alphonsos, 131\n  Alpine fog, 169\n  Alps, 233\n  Alsatian Chronicle, 327\n  Al-Tirmidhi, 394\n  Alvar Fanez, 109, 113, 118, 119, 123\n  Amadis de Gaule, 107, 127, 221\n  Amalung, 339\n  Amata, 79, 80\n  Amazons, 18, 199, 269, 281, 408\n  Ambrosius, Aurelianus, 230\n  America, 464\n  American Epics, 464-467\n  American-Indian Epic, 464\n  Americans, 464\n  Amfortas, 349, 351, 353-355\n  Aminta, 197\n  Amis et Amiles, 82, 83\n  Amoret, 273-278\n  Amram's Wooing, 467\n  Amrita, 420\n  Ananias, 154\n  Anarchiad, 467\n  Anastasius, Pope, 147\n  Anchises, 23, 68, 69, 72, 74\n  Ancient Mariner, 221\n  Andr\u00e9, Major, 465\n  Andreas, 218\n  Andrew, 316\n  Andromache, 27, 28, 38\n  Andvari, 365\n  Aneurin, 216\n  Angel of Absolution, 165\n  Angel of Pity, 411\n  Angelica, 190-194, 196\n  Angels, 177, 187\n  Anglo-Norman, 229, 346\n  Anglo-Saxon, 222\n  Anlaf, 217\n  Anna, 70, 71\n  Anna, St., 188\n  Annales, 63\n  Annunciation, 166\n  Antaeus, 156\n  Antenora, 157\n  Antinous, 44, 57, 59, 60\n  Antioch, 83, 198, 207\n  Apocalypse, 396\n  Apollo, 18, 21, 25, 28, 28, 33, 34, 38, 39, 60, 177\n  Apollonius Rhodius, 20\n  Apollonius of Tyre, 218\n  Apostle of India, 136\n  Aquinas, St. Thomas of, 179, 180\n  Aquitania, 324\n  Arab, 397\n  Arab Days, 397\n  Arabia, 397, 401\n  Arabian and Persian Epics, 397-414\n  Arabian Conquest, 399\n  Arabian Nights, 327, 398\n  Arabians, 394\n  Arabian Tales, 394\n  Arabic, 393, 397, 398\n  Arab Iliad, 398\n  Arab Literature, 394\n  Arachne, 167\n  Aragon, 109, 125, 126\n  Arany, 393\n  Archangels, 177, 178, 187\n  Archimago, 256, 259-261, 264, 267\n  Arctinus of Miletus, 17, 18\n  Arden, 190, 191\n  Ardennes, 324\n  Argalio, 190\n  Argantes, 201, 204-206, 208\n  Argenti, 145\n  Argentina, 108\n  Argonautica, 20, 63, 139\n  Ariolant, 193\n  Ariosto, 85, 138, 189, 192, 197, 220\n  Aristotle, 218\n  Arjasp, 413\n  Arjuna, 435, 437, 439-444, 446\n  Ark, 166\n  Armida, 203, 204, 206, 207, 210-213\n  Arminius, 323\n  Armorica, 216\n  Arno, 168\n  Arnold, Edwin, 452\n  Arnold, Matthew, 221, 230, 408\n  Arrebo, 360\n  Artegall, Sir, 269, 270, 275, 276, 279, 280-284\n  Arthur, 82, 107, 137, 216, 218-220, 229-235, 239, 241, 242, 261, 281-283,\n    285, 286, 326, 349, 351-353\n  Arthur a Bland, 247\n  Arthuriana, 230\n  Arthurian Cycle, 216, 229-243, 346\n  Arthurian Legend, 219, 221, 222, 240\n  Arthurian Romances, 127\n  Asbj\u00f6rnsen, 362\n  Ascanius, 66\n  Asia, 21, 75, 319\n  Asiatic, 394\n  Aso, Mt., 456\n  Assyria, 319\n  Assyrian, 465\n  Astolat, 236\n  Astolfo, 190, 194, 195, 196\n  Asvatmedha, 417\n  Aswathaman, 441, 442\n  Athens, 321\n  Atli, 370, 371\n  Attila, 323, 324, 328\n  Atridae, 18\n  Aucassin, 82,101-106\n  Aucassin et Nicolette, 82, 101-106\n  Aude, 99, 324\n  Augustan Age, 63\n  Augustine, St., 188\n  Augustus, 74\n  Aulis, 21\n  Auracana, 108\n  Aurora, 36, 44, 200\n  Austria, 392\n  Austriada, 108\n  Austrian, 392\n  Austro-Gothic, 328\n  Austro-Hungarian Empire, 392, 393\n  Automedon, 35\n  Avalon, Isle of, 242\n  Avarchide, 189\n  Avarice, 257\n  Ave Maria, 178\n  Awe, 282\n  Ayodhya, 416\n  Azevedo, 108\n\n\n  B\n\n  Babylonia, 319\n  Bacchus, 129, 130, 135\n  Bactrachomyomachia, 20\n  Badajoz, 131\n  Bagdad, 399\n  Balaam, 397\n  Baldwin, 372\n  Balin and Balan, 240\n  Balkan Peninsula, 392, 393\n  Ballads of Robin Hood, 220\n  Balmung, 329, 362, 363\n  Baptist, John The, 213, 316\n  Bards, 214\n  Barlaam, 361\n  Barlaamssaga ok Josaphats, 361\n  Barlow, 466, 467\n  Barons' Wars, The, 220\n  Battle of Frogs and Mice, 20\n  Battle of the Kegs, 465\n  Battle of Maldon, 217\n  Batyushkoff, 372\n  Bavaria, 100, 192, 325\n  Bavieca, 120, 126\n  Beatrice, 133, 140, 147, 164, 168, 173-189\n  Bedevere, 229, 241, 242\n  Beelzebub, 289, 291, 298\n  Belacqua, 163\n  Belgard, 288\n  Beige, 282, 283\n  Belgium, 214, 282\n  Belgrade, 196\n  Belial, 290, 317\n  Belisarius, 138, 179\n  Bellicent, 82\n  Bellona, 26\n  Bellum Punicum, 63\n  Belphebe, 277, 278\n  Benedict, St., 184, 188\n  Benoit de St. Maur, 19, 219, 230\n  Beowulf, 217, 222-229\n  B\u00e9ranger, Raymond, 179, 206\n  Bern (Verona), 323\n  Bernard, St., 188\n  Bernardo del Carpio, 107\n  Berni, 85, 138\n  Bertha, 324\n  Bertrand de Born, 155\n  Besan\u00e7on, 92\n  Bethlehem, 315\n  Beves of Hamdoun, 317\n  Bhagavad-gita, 440\n  Bharata, 418, 423, 431, 432\n  Bhartruhari, 415\n  Bhima, 434, 436, 442\n  Bhishma, 433, 434, 438, 441, 443\n  Biaucaire, Count of, 102, 104-106\n  Bible, 217, 360, 415\n  Biglow Papers, 467\n  Bildad, 396\n  Bira, 101\n  Bird of God, 402\n  Blanchefleur, Lady, 354\n  Blatant Beast, 278, 283-288\n  Blaye, 99\n  Blue Sea, 378\n  Boccaccio, 138\n  Bodleian Library, 84\n  Bogovitch, 393\n  Bohemians, 392\n  Boiardo, 85, 138, 189, 192, 197\n  Boniface, Pope, 152, 170\n  Book of the Dun Cow, 215\n  Book of Heroes, 326\n  Book of Leinster, 215\n  Book of Taliessin, 216\n  Bordeaux, 99\n  Born, Bertrand de, 155\n  Bornier, 85\n  Bors, 229, 355\n  Bors, Sir, 352\n  Bosphorus, 186\n  Boston Library, 355\n  Bower of Bliss, 264, 268\n  Brabant, 351\n  Bradamant, 192, 196\n  Bradstreet, Anne, 465\n  Braggadocchio, 280\n  Bragi, 361\n  Brahma, 416-419, 447\n  Brahfans, 436, 437, 450\n  Bramimonde, 101\n  Branstock, 362, 369\n  Brengwain, 239\n  Breton, 100\n  Breton Cycle, 82\n  Briareus, 167\n  Bridal of Triermain, The, 221\n  Bride's Choice, 436, 447, 448, 450\n  Britain, 84, 216, 218, 219, 231, 232\n  British, 214, 267, 469\n  British Isles, 214\n  British Museum, 222\n  Britomart, 269, 270, 273-276, 279, 281\n  Brittany, 193, 216, 241\n  Broceliande, 241\n  Brons, 347, 348\n  Brown the Bear, 357-359\n  Brunetto, Sir, 149\n  Brunhild, 330-334, 337, 339\n  Brut, 218, 220\n  Brutus, 84, 139\n  Bryant, 467\n  Bryhtnoth's Death, 217\n  Brynhild, 367-371\n  Buccaneers, 467\n  Buddha, 415, 457, 458\n  Bulgarians, 196, 197, 393\n  Buonaventura, St., 180\n  Buovo d'Antona, 137\n  Burgos, 112, 114, 119\n  Burgundian, 127, 323, 328, 329, 334, 338-344\n  Burgundian-Hunnish Cycle, 324\n  Burgundy, 331-333, 339, 340, 367\n  Busirane, 273, 274\n  Butler, 466\n  Bylinas, 372\n  Byron, 221\n  Byrsa, 65\n\n\n  C\n\n  Cabra, 110\n  Cacciaguida, 182.\n  Cacus, 154\n  Caecilius, 171\n  Caedmon, 217\n  Caesar, 65, 318, 320\n  Caiaphas, 154\n  Cain, 223, 311\n  Caina, 157\n  Calahorra, 109\n  Calespine, Sir, 285, 287\n  Calicut, 135\n  Calidore, Sir, 283-285, 287, 288\n  Caliphs, 398\n  Callisthenes, 19\n  Calypso, 40, 44, 45\n  Camelot, 235, 241, 352\n  Camilla, 76, 79, 142\n  Camo\u00ebns, Luis de, 127, 128, 136\n  Campeador, 110, 126\n  Can Grande, 182\n  Canterbury, 232\n  Canterbury Tales, 138, 220\n  Capaneus, 149\n  Cape of Good Hope, 134\n  Cape of Tempests, 134\n  Capitol, 320\n  Care, 266\n  Carlemaine, 85, 100\n  Carleon, 234, 241\n  Carthage, 65, 71, 106\n  Carthaginians, 70-72\n  Cary, 140\n  Casella, 161\n  Cassandra, 67, 68\n  Cassius, 159\n  Castile, 108, 110, 112, 116, 131\n  Castilian, 115\n  Castle of the Maidens, 354\n  Catalogue of Beotian Heroines, 20\n  Cathay, 190, 191\n  Cato, 160, 161\n  Cattle of Cooly, 215\n  Celestine V., Pope, 141\n  Celt, 214\n  Celtic, 214, 215, 217\n  Centenera, 108\n  Central Europe, 392\n  Cerberus, 143, 284\n  Cervantes, 107\n  Ceuta, 133\n  Ceylon, 415, 424, 426-428\n  Champion of Purity, 354\n  Chancery, 265\n  Chanson de geste, 81, 82\n  Chanson de Roland, 81-101\n  Chaos, 290-293, 302\n  Chapelain, 84\n  Charity, 165, 174, 183, 262\n  Charlemagne, 81, 82, 85-90, 92, 94-100, 127, 137, 183, 189, 190, 192,\n    193, 195, 196, 218, 323-325, 360, 361\n  Charles the Great (see Charlemagne), 326\n  Charles Martel, 179\n  Charon, 73, 141\n  Charybdis, 53, 54, 70\n  Chastity, 269\n  Chateaubriand, 84\n  Chaucer, 220\n  Chernubles, 91\n  Cherubim, 177, 184, 187\n  Chimera, 284\n  China, 456\n  Chinese, 415, 456\n  Chiron, 147\n  Chivalry, 261\n  Chosen People, 311, 321\n  Chrestien de Troyes, 82, 219\n  Christ, 81, 142, 145, 147, 154, 169, 178, 179, 181, 183, 184, 186,\n    188, 213, 293, 301, 312-315, 318-322, 327, 347, 393, 465\n  Christabel, 221\n  Christiad, 393\n  Christian Church, 174\n  Christian Epic, 64\n  Christian Era, 179\n  Christianity, 64, 81, 214, 360\n  Christians, 107, 178, 183, 191, 195, 198-200, 203, 205-208, 210-212,\n    217\n  Chrysa, 21\n  Church, 176\n  Ciacco, 144\n  Cid, the, 107, 108-146, 221\n  Cimmerian Shore, 52\n  Circassia, 192\n  Circassian, 205\n  Circe, 18, 51-54, 74\n  Citra-Kuta, 423\n  Civil Wars, 220\n  Claudianus, 64\n  Cleopatra, 143\n  Cloelia, 76\n  Clorinda, 199-202, 204-206, 208, 209\n  Clovis, 84\n  Clytemnestra, 43\n  Cocles, 76\n  Coimbra, 110, 127\n  Colada, 115, 122\n  Coleridge, 221\n  Colin Clout, 287\n  College of New Jersey, 464\n  Cologne, 92\n  Columbia, 464\n  Columbiad, 466\n  Columbus, 210\n  Combat des Trente, 84\n  Combel, 275\n  Comforter, 312\n  Concord Hymn, 467\n  Conington, 65\n  Conquest of Canaan, 466\n  Conrad von K\u00fcrenberg, 328\n  Constance, 230, 231\n  Constantine, 183, 230\n  Contemplation, 262\n  Cooper, 467\n  Cordova, 86\n  Coridon, 287, 288\n  Corineus, 219\n  Corneille, 107\n  Cornwall, 216, 237, 239\n  Corpes Woods, 124\n  Cortes, 123, 124\n  Courage, 259\n  Court Epics, 415\n  Courtesy, 283\n  Courtship of Miles Standish, 467, 468\n  Cow Chase, 465\n  Cowley, Abraham, 220\n  Crassus, 170\n  Crawford, 374\n  Creacion del Munde, 108\n  Creation of the Maize, 464\n  Crete, 69, 73, 149\n  Crist, 217\n  Croatian, 393\n  Cronica rimada, 107\n  Cross, 212\n  Crucifixions, 347\n  Crusade, 198, 199, 208\n  Crusade epics, 83\n  Crusaders, 198, 201-204, 206, 208, 209, 212, 213\n  Cuchulaind, 215\n  Cumae, 73, 146\n  Cumaean Sibyl, 70\n  Cunizza, 180\n  Cupid, 66, 286\n  Curse of Kehama, 221\n  Cycle of Brittany, 82\n  Cycle of France, 81\n  Cyclops, 36, 48-50, 70\n  Cyllenius, 61\n  Cymbeline, 219\n  Cymochles, 265\n  Cynewulf, 217\n  Cypria, 17\n  Cyprian Iliad, 63\n  Czechs, 392\n  Czuczor, 392\n\n\n  D\n\n  Daedalus, 73, 179\n  Dagobert, 85\n  Dalian Frogaell, 215\n  Damascus, 203, 206\n  Damayanti, 447-451\n  Damian, 184\n  Dana, 467\n  Dandaka, 421\n  Danes, 227, 343\n  Danger, 84\n  Daniel, 171, 217, 318\n  Daniel, Samuel, 220\n  Danish, 217, 360\n  Dankwart, 342, 343\n  Dante, 137-189\n  Danube, 338, 339\n  Dasaratha, 417\n  Dauphin, 19\n  David, 166, 183, 220, 312, 318, 320\n  Davideis, 220\n  Day of Doom, 465\n  Dead Sea, 207\n  Death, 34, 291, 307, 308, 312, 314, 381, 382\n  Decameron, 138\n  Deceit, 265, 266\n  Deerslayer, 467\n  Deev, 400\n  Defense of Guinevere, 221\n  Delhi, 432, 438\n  Delos, 69\n  Deluge, 311, 439, 447\n  Demodocus, 46\n  Denmark, 222-225, 329, 371\n  Destiny, 195\n  Detraction, 283\n  Dharma, 446\n  Dhritarashtra, 433\n  Diana, 172\n  Diaz, 134\n  Dido, 65-67, 70-72, 74, 143, 170\n  Dietrich von Bern, 323, 328, 338, 340-343, 345, 346, 361\n  Diomedes, 25, 26, 29-33, 155\n  Dionysius, 148\n  Dis, 72, 145, 146, 159\n  Discord, 31, 75, 76, 193, 194\n  Disdain, 286\n  Divina Commedia, 137, 139-189\n  Divine Comedy, 139-189, 467\n  Divine Essence, 177\n  Divine Majesty, 188\n  Divine Song, 440\n  Doctors of the Church, 174\n  Doctor Patience, 262\n  Dog of Montargis, 83\n  Dolon, 31\n  Dominations, 177, 183, 187\n  Dominic, St., 180\n  Don Garcia, 109, 110\n  Don Gomez, 108\n  Don John, 133\n  Don Juan, 221\n  Don Pedro, 132\n  Don Quixote, 107\n  Don Ramon, 115\n  Don Sancho, 110, 111\n  Doomsday, 341\n  Dragontine, 191\n  Draupadi, 436-439, 442, 443, 445, 446\n  Drayton, 220\n  Drepanum, 70, 72, 74\n  Drona, 434, 435, 441, 442\n  Druidic cult, 214\n  Drunkenness, 444\n  Dryden, 220\n  Dublin, 255\n  Dudon, 202\n  Duessa, 257-259, 261, 264, 282\n  Du Guesclin, 84\n  Dumby, 124\n  Dunstan, St., 250\n  Durendal, 90, 91, 96, 97\n  Durindana, 90, 91\n  Dushyanta, 431, 432\n  Dutch, 356\n  Dwight, Timothy, 466\n\n\n  E\n\n  Eagle, 183\n  Early Christian Epics, 395\n  Earthly Paradise, The, 221\n  Easter Day, 145\n  Ebro, 98\n  Ebuda, 193\n  Ecclesiastes, 396\n  Ector, Sir, 232, 234, 242\n  Edda, 215, 361, 362\n  Eden, 165, 186, 210, 294, 303, 314\n  Edward, 199\n  Egas Moniz, 131\n  Egilssaga, 361\n  Eginhart, 85\n  Egypt, 18, 43, 44, 161, 201, 204, 207, 289, 290, 317, 398\n  Egyptian, 19, 211, 212\n  Ekkehard, 324\n  Ekkewart, 333, 338, 340\n  Elaine, 229, 236, 352\n  Elder Edda, 361\n  Eleanor, Queen, 250, 251\n  Eleanora, 132\n  Elene, 218\n  Eleonora, 197\n  Elijah, 316, 317, 318\n  Eliphaz, 396\n  Elizabeth, 255, 281\n  Eljubarota, 133\n  Ellen, 247, 248\n  Elsa of Brabant, 351, 352\n  Elysian Fields, 44, 72, 741\n  Emerson, 467\n  Emmanuel, 133\n  Emmet, Prior of, 249\n  Empire, 176, 183\n  Empyrean, 176, 187\n  Enchanted Castle, 355\n  Endymion, 221\n  Enfances de Godefroi, 83\n  England, 192, 214, 217-220, 222, 230-232, 348, 465\n  English, 217, 243\n  Enid, 229\n  Ennius, 63\n  Enoch Arden, 222\n  Envy, 283\n  Eoiae, 20\n  Ephialtes, 156\n  Epic of Commerce, 128\n  Epic of the Gypsies, 393\n  Epic of Hades, 221\n  Epic of Kings, 398\n  Epics of the Netherlands, 356-359\n  Epic of Patriotism, 128\n  Epic Poetry, 17\n  Epic of the Volsungs, 362-371\n  Epigoni, 19\n  Epirus, 69\n  Epop\u00e9e galante, 221\n  Erato, 75\n  Erec et Enide, 82\n  Ermanrich the Goth, 323\n  Erminia, 202, 205, 212\n  Ernst, Herzog, 325\n  Error, 256\n  Erse Poetry, 215\n  Erzilla, 108\n  Esau, 179\n  Eschenbach, Wolfram von, 219, 230, 326, 328, 352\n  Esther, 394, 396\n  Eternal City, 320\n  Eternal Rose, 187\n  Etruria, 76, 79\n  Etruscan, 76, 78\n  Ettarre, 229\n  Etzel, 328, 337-344, 346\n  Eugammon of Cyrene, 18\n  Eunoe, 174\n  Euphemia, Queen, 360\n  Euphemiaviser, 360\n  Europe, 127, 133, 137, 194, 198, 230, 372\n  European, 137, 216, 356\n  Europeans, 464\n  Euryalus, 77\n  Eurycleia, 42, 58\n  Eustace, 204\n  Evander, 76\n  Evangeline, 467, 469\n  Evangelists, 174\n  Eve, 188, 294-297, 302-310\n  Evelake, 348\n  Evil Pits, 151\n  Exact Epitome of the three first Monarchies, etc., 465\n  Excalibure, 283, 241, 242\n  Exodus, 217, 323, 395\n  Eyrbyggjasaga, 361\n\n\n  F\n\n  Faerie Queene, 220, 255-288\n  Fafnir, 365, 366, 371\n  Fairy Queen, 261, 269\n  Faith, 165, 174, 183, 185, 262\n  Faithlessness, 257\n  Fame, 465\n  Famine, 468\n  Famine Tower, 157\n  Far East, 356\n  Farinata, 146\n  Faroese, 360\n  Fata Morgana, 194\n  Fate, 75, 77, 78\n  Fates, 170, 195\n  Faust, 327\n  Faustus, Dr., 327\n  Felez Munos, 122\n  F\u00e9nelon, 19, 84\n  Fennian, 215\n  Feridoun, 401, 402\n  Fernando, 132\n  Fernan Gonzales, 107\n  Ferrando, King, 108, 110\n  Ferrara, 192, 197, 211\n  Ferrau, 190, 191, 192\n  Fiance (bishop), 215\n  Fidessa, 257, 258\n  Fingal, 215\n  Finland, 372\n  Finn, 215\n  Finnish, 468\n  Finnish Epics, 372\n  Finns, 372, 373\n  Finnsburgh, 217, 225\n  Firdusi, 398, 399\n  First Crusade, 197\n  Fixed Stars, 176, 184\n  Flamen\u00e7a, 81\n  Flanders, 356\n  Florence, 140, 144, 146, 154, 163, 168, 182, 197\n  Florentine, 144\n  Flores and Blancheflour, 219\n  Florimell, Lady, 271, 272, 275, 276, 278, 280\n  Flourdelis, 283\n  Folco, 180\n  Folengo, 138\n  Force, 266\n  Forese, 171, 172, 177\n  Forest Book, 439\n  Fortiguerra, 139, 197\n  Fortitude, 160\n  Fortunate Isles, 210\n  Fortune, 144\n  Fountain of Youth, 83\n  Fountains Abbey, 250\n  Four sons of Aymon, 219\n  France, 84, 86, 88, 89, 92, 97, 99, 107, 127, 140, 191, 193, 214,\n    219, 283, 347\n  Francesca da Rimini, 143\n  Franciade, 84\n  Francis of Assisi, St., 180, 188\n  Franciscans, 180\n  Francus, 84\n  Frankish, 328\n  Franks, 84, 88, 89, 90, 100\n  Fraud, 266\n  Frederick II., 137, 148\n  Frederick of Telramund, 351\n  French, 85, 87, 89, 90, 170, 392, 393\n  French Classic, 18\n  French Epics, 81-106\n  Frenchmen, 94, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100\n  Friendship, 275\n  Frisian, 323\n  Frithjof Saga, 360\n  Froschmeuseler, Der, 327\n  Frost God, 385\n  Furies, 75\n  Furor, 265\n\n\n  G\n\n  Gabriel, St., 100, 101, 114, 181, 188, 198, 295, 296, 303, 314, 317,\n    322, 469\n  Gaelic Literature, 215\n  Galahad, 229, 236, 352, 353, 354, 355\n  Galland, 394\n  Gallicia, 110, 112\n  Gamelyn, Tale of, 220\n  Gan (Ganelon), 100\n  Ganelon, 81, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 92, 98, 99, 100, 324\n  Ganga, 432\n  Ganges, 133, 416, 419, 422, 432, 434, 435, 439, 443, 444, 446, 447\n  Ganymede, 165\n  Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo, 108\n  Garden of Eden, 174\n  Gareth and Lynette, 229, 240\n  Garin le Lorrain, 81\n  Gascony, 89\n  Gaucher, 230\n  Gawain, 229\n  Geats, 227, 229\n  Gemini, 184\n  Genesis, 217\n  Geoffrey of Monmouth, 216, 218, 219, 230\n  George of Merry England, St., 262\n  Georgos, 255, 260, 262, 264\n  Geraint and Enid, 229, 240\n  G\u00e9rard de Roussillon, 83\n  Gerbert, 230\n  Gereones, 282, 283\n  German, 392\n  German Epics, 323\n  German Literature, 327\n  Germany, 84, 214, 323, 325\n  Gernando, 204\n  Gernot, 344\n  Gerusalemme, 138\n  Gerusalemme, Conquistata, 138\n  Gerusalemme Distrutta, 139\n  Gerusalemme Liberata, 197\n  Geryon, 150, 151\n  Gherardeschi, Count Ugolino de, 157-158\n  Ghibelline, 146, 179\n  Giants, Battle of the, 64\n  Gibraltar, Strait of, 128, 186, 194, 210\n  Gideon, 318\n  Gildas, 218, 219, 230\n  Gil Diaz, 126\n  Gildippe, 199, 213\n  Ginevra, 193\n  Giovanna, 165\n  Girone il Cortese, 139\n  Giseler, 340\n  Glastonbury, 242, 348\n  Glauce, 269\n  Gleemen, 214, 360\n  Glittering Heath, 366\n  Gloriana, 255, 256, 262, 267, 269, 279, 283, 288\n  Gluttony, 257\n  Goa, 128\n  Goddess of Discord, 20\n  Goddess of Fame, 71\n  God of Death, 453\n  God of the Forest, 382\n  God of Sleep, 33\n  God of Time, 431\n  Godfrey of Bouillon, 138, 183, 198, 199, 201-204, 206, 207-213\n  Goethe, 84, 85, 327, 356\n  Golden Age, 107, 108, 415\n  Golden Fleece, 151, 268, 373\n  Golden Legend, 326, 467, 468\n  Golden Tree, 355\n  Gomorrah, 173\n  Good and Evil, 373\n  Gorgon, 146\n  Gorlois, 229, 231, 232\n  Goth, 323, 362, 371\n  Gothland, 363\n  Goths, 138, 362, 363, 364\n  Gottfried von Strassburg, 230\n  Gouvernail, 237\n  Graces, 287\n  Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill Battle, 467\n  Grane, 364\n  Grantorto, 283\n  Great War, 440, 442, 444\n  Grecian, 463\n  Greece, 20, 24, 29, 36, 290, 393\n  Greek Epics, 17-62\n  Greek Literature, 17, 63\n  Greeks, 21, 25, 28-37, 39, 40, 42, 43, 47, 48, 51, 54, 66, 67, 68,\n    70, 73, 196, 214, 373\n  Grendel, 223-227, 229\n  Grettissaga, 361\n  Greyfell, 364\n  Griffeth, 416, 435\n  Grimbart, the Badger, 356-359\n  Guardians of the Holy Grail, 355\n  Gudrun, 325, 326, 367-371\n  Guelf Party, 140\n  Guelfs, 146, 150, 179\n  Guillaumey Charlotte, 216\n  Guido, 146\n  Guild, 367\n  Guillaurae d'Orange, 81\n  Guimaraens, 131\n  Guinevere, 229, 233-236, 242, 352\n  Guinicelli, 137\n  Gundulitch, 393\n  Gunnar, 367-371\n  Gunnlaugssaga, 361\n  Gunther, 323, 324, 328-337, 345\n  Guy of Warwick, 217\n  Guyle, 282\n  Guyon, Sir, 263-270, 280\n  Gy\u00f6ngy\u00f6si, 392\n\n\n  H\n\n  Hades, 53, 61, 72, 73, 141, 144, 145, 147, 149, 160, 161, 256, 258,\n    308, 380, 382, 383\n  Hadubrand, 323\n  Hagan, 325\n  Hagar, 318\n  Hagen, 324, 329-345\n  Hale, 467\n  Hall, 223\n  Halleck, 467\n  Haman, 169\n  Hanuman, 426, 427\n  Hardr\u00e9, 82\n  Harivam\u00e7a, 446\n  Harjala, 384\n  Harpies, 69, 75, 148\n  Harte, Bret, 467\n  Hartford, 467\n  Hartmann von der Aue, 219, 230, 326\n  Harvard, 464\n  Has\u00e2r Afs\u00e2na, 398\n  Hastin, 432\n  Hastinapur, 432, 434\n  Hastings, 85\n  Hauteclaire, 91\n  Havelock the Dane, 217\n  Hawthorne, 467\n  Heavenly Wisdom, 174\n  Hebrew, 361\n  Hebrew Epics, 395\n  Hector, 17, 23, 24, 26-30, 32-35, 37-40, 67, 69, 74, 142\n  Heimskringla, 360, 361\n  Heinrich, Der Arme, 326\n  Heinrich von Ofterdingen, 328\n  Heldenbuch, 326\n  Helen, 17, 20, 21, 24, 25, 27, 29, 43, 44, 56, 78, 143, 457\n  Helena, 218\n  Helenus, 69, 70\n  Heliant, 323\n  Heliodorus, 170\n  Hell, 315\n  Helm of Dread, 365\n  Hemans, Mrs., 131-132\n  Hengist, 231\n  Henning the Cock, 357\n  Henriade, La, 84\n  Henriqueiada, 127\n  Henry, 127\n  Henry II. of England, 155, 243, 244, 251\n  Henry IV., of France, 383\n  Heorot, 223, 225, 227\n  Heracles, 19\n  Hercules, 18, 76, 147, 155, 404\n  Hereford, Bishop of, 249, 251\n  Heresy, 256\n  Hermann und Dorothea, 327\n  Hesiod, 19\n  Hesperia, 68, 69\n  Hexaemeron, 360\n  Hezekiah, 183\n  Hiawatha, 372, 464, 467, 468\n  Hieronymo, _see_ Jerome, 119\n  Higelac, 224\n  Highlands, 215\n  Hildebrand, 323, 340, 345, 346\n  Hildebrandslied, 323\n  Hildegund, 324\n  Himalayas, 419, 434, 439, 447\n  Himavat, 445\n  Hindu, 415, 416, 419, 431, 435, 440, 444, 452\n  Hintze the Cat, 357\n  Hisi, 381, 390\n  Historia Britonum, 218\n  History of Britain, 218\n  Hoenir, 364\n  H\u00f6gni, 369, 370\n  Holiness, 256\n  Holmes, 467\n  Holy City, 201\n  Holy Grail, 127, 216, 229, 230, 234, 236\n  Holy Grail, Story of, 346-355\n  Holy Mountain, 348\n  Holy Sepulchre, 199, 213, 348\n  Homer, 17, 18, 20, 21, 40, 142, 372, 399\n  Homer of the East, 399\n  Homeric, 299\n  Homeric Battle, 26\n  Homeward Voyage, 18\n  Hope, 84, 165, 174, 183, 185, 262\n  Hopkinson, Francis, 465\n  Horace, 142\n  Horn, King, 217\n  Horsa, 231\n  Hostius, 63\n  House of Usher, 467\n  Hrothgar, 222-227\n  Hudibras, 466\n  Hug-Dietrich, 325\n  Hugues Capet, 83, 170\n  Hunnish, 328\n  Hun, 323, 328, 341-345, 370, 371\n  Hungarian, 392, 393\n  Hungary, 179, 323, 337, 338, 342, 343, 370\n  Hunt, Leigh, 221\n  Huntington, Earl of, 254, 255\n  Huon de Bordeaux, 83, 219, 327\n  Hvin Haustl\u00f6ng, 361\n  Hyperion, 221\n  Hypocrisy, 256\n\n\n  I\n\n  Icarus, 151\n  Iceland, 360\n  Icelandic, 360\n  Ida, Mt., 29, 149\n  Idleness, 257\n  Idle Sea, 265\n  Idylls of the King, 222\n  Igerne, 229, 231, 232\n  Igor, 372\n  Ilia, 64\n  Iliad, 17, 19, 20-40, 63, 83, 139, 155, 221, 325, 398, 465, 467\n  Ilion, 40\n  Ilion Persis, 18\n  Ilmarinen, 374, 379, 380-386, 389\n  Ilmater, 374\n  Ilya Muromets, 373\n  Impha, 101\n  India, 127-129, 133, 135, 398, 415, 419, 429, 431, 434, 439\n  Indian, 130, 136, 427, 430, 467\n  Indian Edda, 468\n  Indian Epics, 415-455\n  Indian Literature, 415\n  Indian Myths, 467\n  Indian Peninsula, 426\n  Indians, 464\n  Indra, 439, 444, 445, 446.\n  Indraprastha, 438\n  Indus, 133\n  Inez de Castro, the Fair, 131-132\n  Infantes of Carrion, 120-125\n  Infantes de Lara, 107, 108\n  Infernal Regions, 159\n  Inferno, Dante's, 139-160, 164, 184\n  Inouye, 456\n  Inquisition, 282\n  I Promessi Sposi, 139\n  Iran, 401\n  Ireland, 214, 218, 237, 238, 279, 283\n  Irena, 279, 283\n  Iris, 23, 24, 39, 40\n  Irish, 214, 215\n  Irish Channel, 239\n  Irus, 57, 72\n  Irving, Washington, 467\n  Isabella, 221\n  Isegrim the Wolf, 356-359\n  Isenland, 330, 332\n  Iseult, Queen, and Princess, 237-240\n  Iseult of Brittany, 240\n  Iseult of Cornwall, 240\n  Iseult of the White Hands, 240\n  Isfendiyar, 412, 413\n  Isidro, St., 116\n  Isis, 281\n  Islamic, 397\n  Isle of Avalon, 242\n  Isle of Joy, 136\n  Isle of Refuge, 385\n  Ismarus, 47\n  Ismeno, 199\n  Isolde, 326\n  Israel, 161, 312, 320\n  Israelites, 316, 318\n  Istria, 63\n  Isumbras, Sir, 220\n  Italia Liberate, 138\n  Italian, 80, 137-139, 189, 206, 392, 393\n  Italian Epics, 137-213\n  Italy, 64, 70, 71, 74, 78, 137, 138, 197, 323, 328\n  Ithaca, 40, 41, 45, 50, 62, 155\n  Ithacan, 55, 62\n  Ithuriel, 295\n  Iulus, 66, 68, 71, 75, 76, 78\n  Ivain le Chevalier au Lion, 82\n  Iwein, 326\n\n\n  J\n\n  Jackson, Helen Hunt, 467\n  Jacob, 179\n  James, St., 185\n  Janak, 420\n  Janes Vilez, 393\n  Janus, 76\n  Japan, 456\n  Japanese Poetry, 456\n  Jason, 20, 151\n  Javanese, 129\n  Jemshid, 400, 401\n  Jephthah, 178, 318\n  Jerome, Bishop, 116, 119, 126\n  Jerusalem, 139, 198, 201-203, 205-207, 210-213, 319, 322, 325\n  Jerusalem Delivered, 197, 198, 372\n  Jesus, 214, 316, 317, 318, 320, 321\n  Jewish Heroine, 394\n  Jews, 114, 119, 178, 347\n  Joan of Arc, 221\n  Joan Delaemi, 893\n  Joannes Boetgezant, 356\n  Job, 314, 316, 318, 395, 396\n  John, the Baptist, 171, 188, 213, 316, 356\n  John, King, 254\n  John Little, 244\n  John the Messenger of Repentance, 356\n  John, St., 174, 185, 186, 195, 234\n  John II., 133\n  Jongleurs, 107\n  Jordan, 213, 315, 316\n  Josaphat, 361\n  Joseph, 156, 318, 348, 353\n  Joseph of Arimathea, 347, 355\n  Joshua, 180, 183\n  Jove, 156, 184\n  Joyeuse, 98\n  Joyless, 258\n  Joyous Garde, 236, 241\n  Judas, 157, 159, 347\n  Judea, 319\n  Judecca, 159\n  Judges, 312\n  Judgment, 183\n  Judgment of God, 359\n  Judith, 188, 323\n  Juglares, 107\n  Juliana, 217\n  Juliet, 403\n  Julius Caesar, 63, 318\n  Jumna, 435, 438\n  Juno, 20, 22, 26, 30, 33, 35, 64, 68, 70, 71, 72, 75, 76, 78, 80\n  Jupiter, 17, 20, 22, 25, 26, 29-34, 36, 40, 44, 45, 62, 64, 65, 71,\n    77, 78, 80, 129, 149, 176, 183\n  Jupiter Ammon, 19\n  Justice, 160, 279, 433\n  Justice, Champion of, 269\n  Justinian, 178, 179\n  Juturna, 80\n  Juvencus, 64\n\n\n  K\n\n  Kaaba, 397\n  Kabul, 403, 414\n  Kaikeyi, 420\n  Kaikobad, 404, 405\n  Kaikous, 405, 407\n  Kai-Khosrau, 412\n  Kalevala, 372, 373-391, 468\n  Kali, 448, 449, 450\n  Kalidasa, 415\n  Karl, 87-90, 99, 101\n  Karlamagnussaga, 361\n  Karna, 435, 442\n  Kaspar von der Rh\u00f6n, 323, 326\n  Kauravas, 434\n  Kavah, 401\n  Kaviraja, 415\n  Kavyas, 415\n  Kay, Sir, 232\n  Keats, 221\n  Keewaydin, 468\n  Kiev, 373\n  King's Cottage, 464\n  Kireyevski, 372\n  Kirk Lee, 254\n  Kjaempeviser, 360\n  Klopstock, 327\n  Knight of the Cart, 235\n  Knight of the Red Cross, 256, 258\n  Knight with the Lion, 326\n  Knights of the Holy Grail, 348\n  Knights of the Bound Table, 82\n  Knight's Tale, The, 220\n  Knot de Provence, 230\n  K\u00f6nig Laurin, 326\n  Krieg auf der Wartburg, Der, 326\n  Kriemhild, 328-330, 332-338, 340-346\n  Krishna, 437, 440, 444, 446\n  Krist, 323\n  Kullerwoinen, 385, 386\n  Kumarasambhava, 415\n  Kundrie, 351\n  Kurvenal, 237\n  Kurukshetra, 440\n  Kurus, 434, 436, 438-442\n  Kusa, 429\n  Kuvera, 439\n\n\n  L\n\n  Labyrinth, 73\n  Lady of the Lake, 221, 233, 234, 241\n  Lady of Sorrows, 234\n  Laertes, 41, 56, 61, 62\n  Laestrigonians, 51\n  Laexdaelasaga, 361\n  Laisses, 85\n  Lake Avernus, 72, 73\n  Lakshmana, 418, 422, 423\n  Lalla Rookh, 221\n  Lament of the Nibelungs, 346\n  Lancelot, 242\n  Lancelot du Lac, 218\n  Land of the Dead, 384\n  Land of Heroes, 373-391\n  Lang, Andrew, 101\n  Langobardian, 323, 325\n  Lanka, 427\n  Lapland, 377, 381, 384\n  Laplanders, 373\n  Lapps, 373, 376, 378, 385\n  Laocoon, 18, 67\n  Last Judgment, 465\n  Last of the Mohicans, 467\n  Last Supper, 347\n  Latin Epics, 63-80\n  Latin Literature, 63\n  Latins, 75, 80, 85, 137, 138, 160, 392\n  Latinus, 75, 76, 79\n  Latium, 72, 73, 80, 164\n  Launcelot du Lac, 82, 143, 229, 234-236, 242, 352\n  Laurin, 326\n  Lausus, 76, 78\n  Lava, 429\n  Lavinia, 75, 79, 80, 169\n  Lawlessness, 260\n  Lay of the Pious Maiden Shirakiku, 456\n  Lechery, 257\n  Lawrence, St., 178\n  Layamon, 218, 219, 230\n  Lay of the Last Minstrel, 221\n  Lays of Ancient Rome, 221\n  Lazarus, St., 109\n  Lea, 173\n  Lear, King, 219\n  Leather Stocking Tales, 467\n  Leda, 20\n  L\u00e9gende des Si\u00e8cles, 84\n  Legend of the Sleepy Hollow, 467\n  Leicester, 261\n  Lemminkainen, 381, 382, 384, 385\n  Leon, 110, 112\n  Lethe, 174, 175\n  Lettsom, 328\n  Leucothea, 45\n  Libyan, 66\n  Life and Death of Jason, 221\n  Life of Christ, 64\n  Life of St. Catherine of Alexandria, 392\n  Light and Darkness, 373\n  Lincoln, 244, 245, 253\n  Lisbon, 127-129, 136\n  Liszti, 392\n  Little Iliad, 18\n  Little John, 244-255\n  Lives of Saints, 323\n  Livius Andronicus, 63\n  Llywarch Hen, 216\n  Loathley Damsel, 354\n  Lockhart, 221\n  Locksley, 243\n  Lohengrin, 351, 352\n  Loki, 364, 365\n  Lombards, 189, 325\n  Lombardy, 182\n  London, 244, 255\n  Longfellow, 326, 372, 464, 467, 468\n  L\u00f6nnrot, Elias, 372, 373\n  Lord, The, 108\n  Lotus-eaters, 48\n  Louhi, 379-383, 385, 388, 389\n  Louis, 100\n  Louis I., 323\n  Louis XIV., 19, 394\n  Love, 273\n  Low Countries, 356\n  Lowell, 467\n  Lucan, 63, 142\n  Lucia, St., 140, 165, 166, 188\n  Lucifer, 139, 157, 296, 298, 299, 347\n  Lucifera, Queen, 257\n  Lucius Varius Rufus, 63\n  Luck of Roaring Camp, 467\n  Lucretia, 142\n  Lucretius, 63\n  Ludwigslied, 323\n  Luke, St., 174\n  L\u00fcneburger Chronicle, 327\n  Lusiad, 127-136, 139\n  Lusitanians, 129, 135, 136\n  Luxembourg, 356\n  Lycia, 34\n  Lycophron, 19\n  Lynette, 229\n  Lyonnesse, Tristram of, 284\n\n\n  M\n\n  Mab, Queen, 215\n  Mabinogion, 216\n  Macaire, 83\n  Macao, 128\n  Macaulay, 221\n  Maccabees, 183, 319\n  Macedo, de, 127\n  Macedon, 318\n  Macpherson (James), 215, 218\n  Madagascar, 129\n  Madeira, 134\n  Madoc, 221\n  Magdalen, 180\n  Magnetic Rock, 268\n  Magyar Epic, 392\n  Mahabharata, 415, 416, 431-455\n  Mah\u00e0kavyas, 415\n  Mahmoud, 399\n  Mahomet, 135, 155, 398\n  Maid Marian, 251\n  Maid of Beauty, 379, 381, 383\n  Maiden of the Rainbow, 379, 383-386\n  Malbecco, 273\n  Malebolge, 151, 154, 155\n  Malebouche, 84\n  Malepartus, 358\n  Malgigi, 191\n  Malory, 230, 240\n  Mammon, 265, 268, 290\n  Mandara, Mt., 426\n  Mandricar, 194\n  Manessier, 230\n  Manfred, 162, 221\n  Manlius, 76\n  Manto, 152\n  Mantua, 152, 164\n  Manu, 416\n  Man Without a Country, 467\n  Manzoni, 139\n  Marches of Brittany, 85\n  Marco Bozzaris, 467\n  Marco Polo, 137\n  Mariatta, 390\n  Marie de France, 82, 219, 230\n  Marinell, 271, 278, 280\n  Marinus, 139\n  Mark, King of Cornwall, 237-240\n  Marmion, 221\n  Mars, 25, 26, 65, 77, 129, 130, 176, 182\n  Marseilles, 194, 347, 348\n  Marsile, 85-90, 98, 99\n  Martin Antolinez, 114, 119\n  Martyrs, Les, 84\n  Mary, Queen of Scots, 257, 282\n  Mary Stuart, 220\n  Mary, Virgin, 140, 165, 172, 181, 297, 314, 316, 317\n  Mathilda, Queen, 199\n  Mati\u00e8re de Rome la grand, 83\n  Matilda, Countess, 174, 175\n  Matter of France, 218\n  Maur, Benoit de St., 19, 219, 230\n  Mauritania, 134\n  Mazinderan, 399, 405, 406\n  Mazuranie, 393\n  McFingal, 465\n  Mecca, 397\n  Medea, 151\n  Mediaeval India, 415\n  Medina, 115\n  Mediterranean, 348\n  Medusa, 146\n  Medway, 278\n  Melchisedec, 179\n  Melesigenes, 17\n  Melibee, 287, 288\n  Melinda, 130, 135\n  Menelaus, 18, 20-26, 31, 35, 41, 43, 44, 56\n  Meneses, 127\n  Mentor, 42, 43\n  Mercilla, 281, 282\n  Mercury, 44, 52, 61, 65, 71, 129, 130, 176, 178, 179\n  Merlin, 82, 216, 218, 229-234, 240, 241, 261, 269, 347, 351, 352\n  Merlin and Vivien, 229\n  Meru, Mt., 415, 420, 444, 445\n  Mezentius, 76, 78\n  Messenian Strait, 53\n  Messiah, 299, 301, 312\n  Messias, 327\n  Michael, 144, 193, 206, 291, 295, 299, 300, 309-312\n  Michael's Mount, St., 92\n  Mickle, 130\n  Midas, 170\n  Midsummer Night's Dream, 219, 327\n  Milton, 139, 217, 288, 290, 292, 294, 313, 347, 356\n  Milutinovitch, 393\n  Mimer, 364, 365\n  Minerva, 20, 22, 23, 25-28, 30, 31, 37, 38, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 55-59,\n    61, 62, 68, 436\n  Minnehaha, 468\n  Minnesingers, 326\n  Minos, 74, 142, 156\n  Minotaur, 147\n  Minuchir, 402\n  Mirth, 265\n  Mogg Megone, 467\n  Mohammed, 394\n  Mohammedan, 394\n  Moloch, 290, 300\n  Momba\u00e7a, 130, 135\n  Mon\u00e7aide, 135, 136\n  Mon-da-min, 464\n  Montereggion, 156\n  Montjoie, 90\n  Montsalvatch, 348-350\n  Moon, 176\n  Moore, 221\n  Moors, 94, 95, 107-117, 119, 120, 122, 125, 128, 130, 133, 135\n  Mordred, 82, 241\n  Morgana the Fay, 233, 242\n  Morgante Maggiore, 138\n  Morning Star of American Poetry, 465\n  Moro Exposito, El, 108\n  Morocco, 117\n  Morolt, 237, 238\n  Morpheus, 256\n  Morris, William and Lewis, 221, 361\n  Moscow, 373\n  Moses, 188, 311, 435\n  Morte d'Arthur, 240\n  Mozambic, 135\n  Mucius Scevola, 178\n  Muiredhach, 215\n  M\u00fcller, Paludan, 360\n  Muslem, 394\n  Muspilli, 323\n  Mycenae, 42, 44\n  Myrden, 216\n  Mystic Rose, 188\n\n\n  N\n\n  Naevius, 63\n  Naimes, Duke, 86, 89, 97\n  Nala, 428, 439, 447-451\n  Namus, see Naimes, 192\n  Naobumi Ochiai, 456\n  Naomi, 396\n  Naples, 162, 198\n  Nausicaa, 45, 46\n  Navarre, 112, 125, 126, 153\n  Nazareth, 317\n  Nectanebus, 19\n  Nennius, 218, 219, 230\n  Nepenthe, 43\n  Neptune, 29, 32, 33, 37, 45, 50, 52, 64, 68, 72, 135\n  Nessus, 147\n  Nestor, 22, 23, 26, 29, 30-33, 41-43, 56\n  Netherlands, 356\n  Neurouz, 400\n  New Jerusalem, 262\n  Nibelungen hoard, 329, 332, 338, 339\n  Nibelungenklage, 346\n  Nibelungenlied, 325,328-346, 361, 362,370\n  Nibelungs, 332, 336, 337, 339, 367-369\n  Nicaea, 198, 206\n  Nicholas III., Pope, 152\n  Nicolette, 101-106\n  Night, 290, 292\n  Nimrod, 156, 167\n  Nimue, 233\n  Niobe, 167\n  Niphates, 293\n  Nisus, 77\n  Njalssaga, 361\n  Noah, 142, 311\n  Noble, the Lion, 356-359\n  Noman, 49, 50\n  Nonnenw\u00f6rth, 325\n  Norman, 84, 100, 323\n  Norman Conquest, 218\n  Norse Discovery, 468\n  Northland, 374, 375, 378, 383-385, 390\n  Norway, 204, 361\n  Northumbrian, 222\n  Norwegian, 360, 361\n  Nostroi, 18\n  Nottingham, 243, 245, 252, 253\n  Novgorod, 373\n  N\u00fcremberg, 326\n  Nymue, 233\n\n\n  O\n\n  Oberon, 327\n  Oblivion, 196\n  Odenwald, 335\n  Odin, 222, 362, 364, 366, 367, 370, 371\n  Odyssey, 17, 18, 40-62, 63, 83, 139, 325, 372, 416, 467\n  Oechalia, 19\n  Oedipus, 19\n  Ogier, 360\n  Ogier le Danois, 81\n  Ogygia, 45, 55\n  O'Hagan, John, 85\n  Oisianic Poems, 215\n  Oisin, 215\n  Olifant, 92, 99\n  Olindo, 200, 201\n  Oliver, 86, 89, 90-94, 96, 98, 196, 324\n  Olives, Mt., 208\n  Olympian, 26, 77\n  Olympus, 22, 26, 29, 34, 40, 64, 130\n  Olympus, Mt., 25, 36, 44, 129\n  On the Nature of Things, 63\n  Orestes, 18, 53\n  Orgoglio, 259, 261\n  Oriental Princess, 189\n  O Oriente, 127\n  Ore, 193\n  Order, 282\n  Orlandino, 138\n  Orlando, 138, 183, 190-192, 194-196\n  Orlando Furioso, 138, 189\n  Orlando Innamorato, 138, 189\n  Orlandos, The, 189-197\n  Ormsby, 113\n  Ormudz, 412\n  Os Lusiades, 127-129\n  Osman, 393\n  Ossian, 215\n  Otfried, 323\n  Otnit, 325\n  Oude, 416, 420, 423, 424, 429\n  Ourique, 131\n  Ovid, 142\n\n\n  P\n\n  Padua, 197\n  Palamon and Arcite, 220\n  Palestine, 211, 290, 347\n  Palinurus, 72\n  Palladium, 18\n  Pallas, 26, 41, 45, 76, 78, 79, 80\n  Palmerina D'Inglaterra, 127, 221\n  Palmotitch, 393\n  Pandavas, 434, 445\n  Pandavs, 434-447\n  Pandemonium, 291\n  Pandu, 433, 434\n  Panipat, 440\n  Paolo, 143\n  Papal Chair, 174\n  Paradise, 90, 97, 140, 141, 173, 176-189, 205, 294-296, 302-304,\n    308-311, 313, 322, 401, 430, 446\n  Paradise Lost, 139, 217, 288-313, 356\n  Paradise Regained, 213-222\n  Paridell, Sir, 272, 273\n  Paris, 17, 18, 20-25, 27-29, 33, 38, 143\n  Paris City, 192, 197\n  Parthian, 319\n  Parvans, 431\n  Parzifal, 326, 349-354, 361\n  Pasiphae, 173\n  Passau, 338\n  Pastorella, 287, 288\n  Pathfinder, 467\n  Patrick, St., 214, 215\n  Patroclus, 30, 32-36, 39, 42\n  Paul, St., 174\n  Peccata (P.), 166-172\n  Peirian, 175\n  Peleus, 17, 20, 21, 40\n  Pelleas and Ettarre, 229, 240\n  Pelles, 236, 352\n  Pellerwoinen, 374\n  Pellias, 234\n  Penelope, 18, 40-42, 44, 56, 58, 60-62\n  Pelican, 185\n  Penthesilea, 18\n  Perceval, 82, 229\n  Percival, 352, 355\n  Perfect One, The, 113, 115\n  Pergamus, 26\n  Pericles, 218\n  Pero Mudo, 124\n  Persepolis, 400\n  Persia, 125, 319, 398, 399, 401, 407, 408, 412\n  Persian, 393, 398, 465\n  Persian Consort, 394\n  Persian Epic, 398\n  Persians, 401\n  Peter the Cruel, 132\n  Peter the Hermit, 198, 208\n  Peter, St., 125, 126, 166, 185, 186, 188\n  Peter Damian, St., 184\n  Pet\u00f6fi, 392\n  Petrarch, 138\n  Phaeacia, 45, 55\n  Phaeacian, 45, 47, 53, 55\n  Phaedria, 265, 268\n  Phaeton, 151\n  Pharos, 44\n  Pharsalia, 63\n  Philip II., 282\n  Philip IV. of France, 170\n  Philip of Macedon, 318\n  Philips, Stephen, 222\n  Philoctetes, 18\n  Philosophy, 169\n  Phlegethon, 147\n  Phlegyas, 145\n  Phoebus, 60\n  Piccarda, 172, 177\n  Pilgrim, 468\n  Pilgrin, Bishop, 338, 340, 316\n  Pioneers, 467\n  Piran-Wisa, 412\n  Pirate, 467\n  Pisa, 157\n  Pisistratus, 17\n  Plautus, 171\n  Pleasure, 264\n  Pluto, 61\n  Plutus, 144\n  Poe, 467\n  Poema del Cid, 107-126\n  Pohyola, 383\n  Poland, 393\n  Polar Star, 134\n  Poles, 393\n  Polyolbion, 220\n  Polyphemus, 48-50\n  Pompey, 63\n  Ponemah, 468\n  Pope, 21, 41, 110, 220\n  Portugade, 128\n  Portugal, 112, 127, 129, 131, 133, 135, 136\n  Portuguese, 129, 130, 131, 133, 135, 136\n  Portuguese Epics, 127-136\n  Portuguese Literature, 127\n  Pot of Basil, 221\n  Poverty, 180\n  Powers, 177, 180, 187\n  Prairie, 467\n  Prakrit, 415\n  Pramnian, 51\n  Priam, 18, 23, 24, 29, 37, 39, 40, 68, 84, 218\n  Pride, 257\n  Primum Mobile, 186\n  Prince Arthur, 261, 267, 269, 270, 271, 277, 278\n  Princedoms, 177, 179, 187\n  Priscilla, 285\n  Prometheus Unbound, 221\n  Promised Land, 311\n  Prophet, 394\n  Prose Epic, 243\n  Proteus, 44, 278\n  Proven\u00e7al, 137, 180\n  Provence, 216\n  Providence, 313\n  Prudence, 160, 174, 263\n  Ptolomea, 158\n  Publius Terentius Varro, 63\n  Pucelle, La, 84\n  Pulci, 85, 138, 189\n  Punic War, 63\n  Purana, 415\n  Purgatory, 137, 140, 141, 160-176, 184\n  Purgatory, Mt., 160, 161\n  Puritans, 465\n  Pushkin, 372\n  Pygmalion, 170\n  Pyle, Howard, 230, 243\n  Pylos, 42\n  Pyrenees, 85, 87, 99\n\n\n  Q\n\n  Quatre Fils d'Aymon, Les, 81, 82\n  Queen Mab, 215\n  Queen of Heaven, 185, 188\n  Queen of Night, 258\n  Quest for the Holy Grail, 107, 218, 230, 239, 240, 241, 352, 354, 355\n  Quest of the Sangreall, 222\n  Quiloa, 129, 135\n  Quintus Curtius, 63\n  Quintus Smyrnaeus, 19\n\n\n  R\n\n  Rachel, 173, 188\n  Radigonde, 281, 286\n  Raghuvam\u00e7a, 415\n  Ragnar Lodbrog, 361\n  Ragnarsdrapa, 361\n  Rahab, 180\n  Rakshasas, 424\n  Rakush, 404-407, 411, 414\n  Rama, 415, 416, 418-431\n  Ramayana, 415, 416-431, 439\n  Ram Charit Manas, 415, 431\n  Ramona, 467\n  Raoul de Cambrai, 81\n  Raphael, St., 297, 298, 300-303\n  Rape of the Lock, 221\n  Ravana, 415, 417, 424-429\n  Raymond B\u00e9ranger, 179, 206\n  Rebecca, 188\n  Red Cross Knight, 256-264, 270\n  Redeemer, 213, 214, 306, 309\n  Red Handed, 264\n  Reformation, 327\n  Regin, 364, 365, 366\n  Reinecke Fuchs, 327, 356-359\n  Religion, 262\n  Renaud de Montauban, 190, 199\n  Renaissance, 138\n  Revelations, 174, 396\n  Revolt of Islam, The, 221\n  Revolutionary, 466\n  Reynard the Fox, 137, 356-359, 360\n  Rhapsodist, 17\n  Rhesus, 31\n  Rhine, 214, 328, 329, 330, 332, 337, 341, 365\n  Rhodes, 20\n  Ricciardetto, 139, 197\n  Richard Coeur de Lion, 219\n  Richard, King, 251, 252, 253\n  Richard of the Lee, Sir, 249\n  Righteousness, 354\n  Rinaldo, 138, 190-194, 196, 197, 199, 204, 206, 207, 209-211, 213\n  Rip van Winkle, 467\n  River God, 37\n  River of Death, 381-384\n  Robert de Borron, 230\n  Robert of Naples, 179\n  Robin Hood, 243-255\n  Roderick, the Last of the Goths, 221\n  Rodomont, 192, 194, 195, 197\n  Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar (the Cid), 108, 109, 110, 113, 115, 117\n  Rogero, 192-196\n  Roland, 84-100, 107, 138, 156, 189, 216, 324, 325\n  Roland Insane, 138\n  Rolandseek, 325\n  Rolandslied, 324\n  Romance of Beni Hil\u00e2l, 398\n  Romagna, 155\n  Roman, 63, 131, 315, 319\n  Roman Commonwealth, 465\n  Roman d'Alexandre, 19, 83\n  Roman d'Aventure, 221\n  Roman de la Rose, 84, 137\n  Roman de Rou, 84\n  Roman de Th\u00e8bes, 83\n  Roman de Troie, 19, 83\n  Roman du Renard, 83\n  Roman Empire, 320\n  Roman History, 179\n  Roman Literature, 64\n  Romance of Antar, 398\n  Romans, 64, 214, 320, 323\n  Rome, 63, 65, 74, 76, 80, 140, 149, 168, 169, 174, 197, 198, 320\n  Romeo, 403\n  Romesh Dutt, 416, 435\n  Romulus, 65, 74\n  Roncesvalles, 87\n  Roncevaux, 87, 89, 91, 98, 156, 324\n  Ronsard, 84\n  Rose, 177, 187\n  Rosengarten, Der, 326\n  Rother, 325\n  Round Table, 107, 216, 229, 234, 239, 241\n  Rudaveh, 403, 404\n  Ruddy Main, 264\n  Rudiger, 337, 338, 340, 342-345\n  Rufo, 108\n  Rufus, 63\n  Ruksh, 411\n  Rumanian Literature, 393\n  Ruslan and Lyudmila, 372\n  Russia, 372, 373\n  Russian Epics, 372, 373\n  Rustem, 404-411, 413, 414\n  Rustum, 409, 411\n  Ruth, 188, 396\n  Rutules, 76, 77\n  Ryenee, 269\n\n\n  S\n\n  Saavedra, 108\n  Sabines, 76, 179\n  Sabula, Mt., 426\n  Samson, 393\n  Sachs, Hans, 326\n  Sack of Troy, 18\n  Sacred Mysteries, 354\n  Sacripant, 192\n  Saemunt the Wise, 361\n  St. Gall, 324\n  Sakuntala, 431-432\n  Saladin, 199\n  Salem, 201\n  Salisbury Plain, 231\n  Salve Regina, 164\n  Sampo, 372, 373, 379, 380, 381, 383, 388, 389\n  Sanchos, 131\n  Sanglier, Sir, 279\n  Sangreal, 352\n  Sanhedrim, 154\n  San Pedro de Cardena, 114, 119, 126\n  Sanscrit, 431\n  Sansfoi, 257, 258\n  Sansjoi, 258\n  Sansloi, 260\n  Santarem, 128\n  Sapia, 168\n  Saracens 85-87, 89-91, 94, 96-100, 105, 194-196, 202, 279, 282, 348\n  Saragossa, 85, 87, 89, 96, 98, 99, 115\n  Sarah, 188\n  Sarpedon, 33, 34\n  Sarras, 229, 348, 353, 355\n  Satan, 144, 159, 160, 230, 288-301, 303, 304, 306, 307, 308,\n    312-322, 347, 395, 417\n  Satrughna, 418\n  Saturn, 75, 176, 184\n  Satyavan, 451-454\n  Satyrane, Sir, 260, 261, 272, 273, 275\n  Saul, 167\n  Saviour, 315\n  Savitri, 439, 451-454\n  Saxon, 222, 231\n  Saxony, 329\n  Scandinavian, 360-362\n  Scandinavian Epics, 360-391\n  Scarlet Letter, 467\n  Scarlet, Will, 247, 251, 254\n  Scean Gate, 27, 28, 32\n  Schiller, 85, 327, 392\n  Scorn, 286\n  Scotch, 215\n  Scotland, 192, 214, 215\n  Scots, 214, 257\n  Scott, 221\n  Scriptures, 217\n  Scudamore, Sir, 273-276\n  Scud\u00e9ri, 84\n  Scyldings, 226\n  Scylla, 53, 54, 70\n  Scythian, 319\n  Sea of Gluttony, 265\n  Sebastian, 129\n  Seer of Patmos, 896\n  Seistan, 414\n  Semele, 184\n  Semiramis, 143\n  Seraphim, 177, 186\n  Serena, Lady, 285, 286, 287\n  Serpent King, 400, 403\n  Servia, 393\n  Servian, 393\n  Sette Giornate del Mundo Creato, 138\n  Seven Branched Candlestick, 353\n  Seven Deadly Sins, 354\n  Seven Kings before Th\u00e8bes, 19\n  Severin, St., 99\n  Seville, 118, 133\n  Shah-Nameh, 398-414\n  Shah of Persia, 399\n  Shakespeare, 83, 219, 327\n  Shakespeariana, 230\n  Shelley, 221\n  Sheriff, 243, 245, 246, 249, 252\n  Sherwood Forest, 248, 250, 254\n  Shield of Heracles, 19\n  Siawush, 411, 412\n  Siberia, 372\n  Sibyl, 73, 74, 146\n  Sicily, 70, 137, 162\n  Sidney, Sir Philip, 283\n  Siege Perilous, 234, 241, 348, 351, 352\n  Siegfried, 329-338, 341, 345\n  Siegmund, 329, 337\n  Siennese, 168\n  Sigfried, 323\n  Siggier, 362, 363\n  Sigmund, 225, 362, 363, 364\n  Signy, 362-364\n  Sigurd, 364-371\n  Sigurd the Volsung, 362-371\n  Silence, 193\n  Silius Italicus, 63\n  Simeon, 317\n  Simon, 316\n  Simurgh, 402, 404, 407, 410, 413\n  Sin, 291, 307, 308, 312, 314\n  Sinai, Mt., 311\n  Sinfiotli, 363, 364\n  Singer of Paradise, 398\n  Sinon, 18, 67, 156\n  Sirens, 53, 54, 136, 169\n  Sishih, 457\n  Sita, 420-430\n  Siva, 415, 419, 420, 439\n  Skalds, 361\n  Sketch Book, 467\n  Skeleton in Armor, 467\n  Skiold, 222\n  Slander, 84, 278, 283\n  Sleep, 33, 34, 266\n  Sleipnir, 364\n  Snorro Edda, 361\n  Snorro Sturleson, 361\n  Socrates, 318\n  Sodom, 173, 308\n  Sofonisba, 138\n  Soldan, 281, 282\n  Solomon, 181, 279, 317, 355\n  Solon, 179\n  Solyman, 206, 207, 213\n  Somnus, 38\n  Son of God, 292, 293, 301, 302\n  Song of Igor's Band, 372\n  Song of Songs, 396\n  Song of the Crusade Against the Albigenses, 83\n  Song of the Nibelungs, 328\n  Song of Roland, 84-101, 189\n  Son of Man, 230\n  Sophronia, 200, 201\n  Sorab, 407-411\n  Sorab and Rustem, 323\n  Sordello, 137, 164, 165\n  Sorlin, St., 84\n  Sorrento, 197\n  Southern Cross, 134, 160\n  Southey, 221\n  Spain, 85-89, 96-99, 107, 108, 125, 127, 133, 191, 282, 348\n  Spanish, 349\n  Spanish Ballads, 221\n  Spanish Literature, 107\n  Spanish Epics, 107-126\n  Sparta, 21, 43, 44\n  Spartan, 24\n  Spenser, 139, 220, 255, 287\n  Sphinx, 322\n  Spirit of Evil, 385, 388\n  Spirit of Solitude, 221\n  Spirit of the Cape, 134\n  Spiritual Pride, 261\n  Squire of Dames, 272, 273, 275\n  Squire of Low Degree, 220\n  Star of Bethlehem, 315\n  Stasimus of Cyprus, 17\n  Statius, 63, 170, 171, 172, 174, 176\n  Steinthal, 373\n  Stentor, 26\n  Stephen, 169\n  Story of Apollonius of Tyre, 218\n  Story of Bimini, 221\n  Strage degl' Innocenti, La, 139\n  Stupidity, 259\n  Stately, Will, 245\n  Sugriva, 426, 427\n  Stygian Lake, 77\n  Styx, 145, 146\n  Sun, 52, 54, 176, 180\n  Suomi, 378, 391\n  Superstition, 259\n  Suttee, 434\n  Swamp-land, 390\n  Swanhild, 371\n  Swan Road, 224\n  Swayamvara, 433, 448\n  Sweden, 222, 360\n  Swedish, 360\n  Swinburne, 221, 230\n  Swiss, 392\n  Switzerland, 214, 392\n  Sylvia, 76\n  Syrian, 203, 397\n\n\n  T\n\n  Tagus, 121\n  Taillefer, 85\n  Tales for Children, 216\n  Tales of a Wayside Inn, 467\n  Taliessin, 216\n  Talus, 279, 281-283\n  Tamineh, 407, 408\n  Tancred, 199, 202, 204, 205, 206, 208, 209, 212\n  Tantalus, 266\n  Tarncappe, 331\n  Tarpeian Rock, 320\n  Tartar, 404, 408, 412\n  Tartarus, 29, 53, 74, 291, 296, 299\n  Tasso, 138, 197, 198, 372, 393\n  Taylor, Bayard, 464\n  Tebar, 115\n  Tegner, 360\n  Telegonia, 18\n  Telegonus, 18\n  Telemachia, 18\n  Telemachus, 18, 41-44, 55-60, 84\n  T\u00e9l\u00e9maque, 18, 84\n  Tell, William, 327, 392\n  Temperance, 160, 263\n  Templars, 348\n  Temple, 169, 213, 322\n  Tennyson, 221, 230, 235, 236, 240, 326\n  Tenth Muse, 465\n  Tenth Ocean, 385\n  Ten Tribes, 320\n  Terence, 171\n  Testament, 178\n  Teucer, 30, 34, 74\n  Teutonic, 217, 323, 325, 392\n  Thais, 151\n  Thalaba, 221\n  Thames, 278\n  Thebais, 19, 63, 83\n  Theban Cycle, 19\n  Th\u00e8bes, 63, 149\n  Theodoric, 323, 328\n  Theogony, 19\n  Th\u00e9roulde, 84, 101\n  Thersites, 23\n  Theseus, 147\n  Thesprotia, 18\n  Thessaly, 20\n  The Thousand Tales, 398\n  Thetis, 17, 20, 21, 22, 35, 36\n  Thidrekssaga, 361\n  Thirty Years' War, 327\n  Thomas, St., 136, 180, 181\n  Thomas Aquinas, St., 180\n  Thousand and One Nights, 394\n  Thracian, 69\n  Thrones, 177, 184, 187\n  Thuringian Chronicle, 327\n  Tiber, 73, 75, 76, 77, 78, 168\n  Tiberius, 320\n  Tiera, 385\n  Timias, 261, 277, 278, 285, 286\n  Tintagel, Castle of, 241\n  Tiresias, 52, 53, 61\n  Titan, 135\n  Titurel, 348, 349, 350, 351, 353\n  Titus, 347\n  Tizona, 122\n  Tobosa, 110\n  Toldi, 393\n  Toledo, 111, 112, 116, 123\n  Topelius, Zacharias, 372, 373\n  Topsy-Turvy Land, 105\n  Torelore, 105\n  Tories, 466\n  Toro, 110\n  Torquato Tasso, 138, 197, 198, 372, 393\n  Tortosa, 198\n  Toru Dutt, 455\n  Tous, 399\n  Trajan, 166\n  Tramtris, 237\n  Trask, Mrs., 222\n  Triamond, 275\n  Trij, 402\n  Trinacria, 52, 53, 54\n  Trinity, 177\n  Trissino, 138\n  Tristan, 82, 107, 143\n  Tristan and Isolde, 326\n  Tristram, 238, 239, 240, 284, 285, 392\n  Tristram and Iseult, 220, 221, 237\n  Triune Divinity, 186\n  Troilus and Cressida, 220\n  Trojan, 24, 30, 31, 64-67, 69, 72, 77, 80, 84, 183\n  Trojan Cycle, 17, 392\n  Trojans, 18, 21, 26-30, 32-35, 37, 39, 47, 69, 70, 71, 73, 75-79, 156\n  Trojan War, 74, 220\n  Tronje, 329\n  Troubadours, 81\n  Trouv\u00e8res, 81, 229, 346\n  Troy, 19, 20, 22-24, 27-29, 33, 34, 36, 40-43, 47, 53, 63, 64-66,\n    68, 84, 137, 218, 219\n  Trumbull, 465, 467\n  Truth, 169, 256\n  Tuck, Friar, 248, 249\n  Tudela, 83\n  Tulsi Das, 415, 431\n  Tuoni-bear, 384\n  Turkey, 394\n  Turkish Literature, 393\n  Turks, 392, 393\n  Turnus, 75-80\n  Turoldus, 84\n  Turpin, Archbishop, 90-92, 95, 96, 98\n  Turpine, Sir, 281, 286\n  Tursus, 375\n  Tydides, 31\n  Tyre, 65, 218\n  Tyrian, 65, 71\n\n\n  U\n\n  Ugolino de' Gherardeschi, Count, 157-158\n  Ukko, 375, 380, 389\n  Ulster, 215\n  Ulysses, 18, 23, 24, 30-33, 40-62, 70, 84, 155, 169, 222\n  Una, 256, 257, 259-263\n  Under King Constantine, 222\n  Uriel, 293-295, 300\n  Usk, 234\n  Uther, 229, 232\n  Uther and Igerne, 229, 231\n  Uther Pendragon, 231, 232, 234\n  Uz, 395\n\n\n  V\n\n  Valhall, 369\n  Valence, Count of, 102\n  Valencia, 116-126\n  Valerius Flaccus, 63\n  Valkyr, 367\n  Valley of Roncevaux, 87, 89, 91, 98\n  Vallombroso 194, 289\n  V\u00e1lmik\u00ed, 416, 429, 430\n  Varro, 63, 171\n  Vasco da Gama, 127-136\n  Veillantif, 88\n  Vellido Dolfos, 111\n  Velasco, 108\n  Venice, 137, 152\n  Venus, 20, 23-26, 39, 64, 65, 66, 68, 70, 76, 78, 80, 129, 130, 135,\n    136, 139, 176, 179\n  Veronica, St., 347\n  Vespasian, 347\n  Vestal, 64\n  Victor Hugo, 84\n  Victorian, 221\n  Vidura, 433\n  Vienna, 338\n  Viking, 217, 364\n  Virgil, 63, 64, 140-160\n  Virgin, 185, 188, 199\n  Viriagus, 131\n  Virtues, 177, 182, 187\n  Vishnu, 416, 417, 418, 419, 446\n  Vision of Columbus, 466\n  Vision of Sir Launfal, 467\n  Visions of Judgment, 323\n  Vivien, 101, 229, 241\n  Vladimir, 373\n  Vogelweide, 326, 328\n  Volker, 341, 342, 343, 345\n  Volksb\u00fccher, 327\n  Volscian, 76, 77\n  Volsung, 362, 363, 364\n  Volsunga, 361\n  Volsunga Saga, 362-371\n  Voltaire, 84\n  Vondel, 356\n  V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty, 393\n  Vortigern, 229, 230, 231\n  Vosges Mountains, 324\n  Vulcan, 22, 35, 36, 47, 76\n  Vyasa, 431, 433, 436, 444, 446, 449\n\n\n  W\n\n  Wace, 84, 218, 219\n  Wackerlos the Lapdog, 356\n  Wagner, 230, 327, 352, 362\n  Wagner's Trilogy, 361\n  Wainamoinen, 374-384, 386, 388-391\n  Wainola, 390\n  Waldhere, 217\n  Wales, 214, 216, 218\n  Walter of Aquitaine, 217\n  Walter Map, 218\n  Walther von Aquitanien, 323, 324\n  Walther von der Vogelweide, 326, 328\n  Wandering Jew, 327\n  Warner, William, 220\n  War of the Roses, 220\n  War of Troy, 17\n  Water of Life, 420\n  Wealth, 265, 439\n  Wealtheow, 225\n  Weber, 83\n  Welsh, 216, 240\n  West, 214\n  Western Asia, 392\n  Western Europe, 394\n  Western Sea, 160\n  Westwood, Thomas, 222\n  White Aster, 456-463\n  White Demon, 406\n  White Man, 468\n  Whitsuntide, 356\n  Whittier, 467\n  Wieland, 83, 327\n  Wigglesworth, Michael, 465\n  Wiglaf, 228\n  Wipunen, 382\n  Wissant Bay, 92\n  Wolf-Dietrich, 325\n  Wolfram von Eschenbach, 219, 230, 326, 328, 352\n  Wonders of the East, 218\n  Worms, 328, 329, 330, 333, 336, 337, 339, 346\n  Wrath, 257\n  Wreck of the Hesperus, 467\n  Wulfstan, 218\n  W\u00fclpensand, 326\n\n\n  X\n\n  Xanten, 329, 333\n  Xanthus River, 37\n  Xerxes, 179\n  Ximena, 107, 108, 114, 116, 120, 126\n\n\n  Y\n\n  Yale, 464\n  Yama, 453, 454\n  Youkahainen, 374, 376-379\n  Younger Edda, 361\n  Yudhishthira, 438, 442, 443\n\n\n  Z\n\n  Zal, 402-405, 411, 413, 414\n  Zamorin, 135, 136\n  Zamorra, 110, 111, 112\n  Zealand, 325\n  Zephon, 295, 296\n  Zeus, 22\n  Zhukovski, 372\n  Zohak, 400, 401\n  Zopher, 396\n  Zrinyi, 392","title":"The Book of the Epic: The World's Great Epics Told in Story","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":163922}