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diff --git a/13983-0.txt b/13983-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3ac8101 --- /dev/null +++ b/13983-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19165 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13983 *** + +THE BOOK OF THE EPIC + +The World's Great Epics Told in Story + +by + +H. A. GUERBER + +Author of _Myths of Greece and Rome_, _Myths of Northern Lands_, +_Legends of the Middle Ages_, etc. + +With an Introduction by J. Berg Esenwein, Litt. D. + +With Sixteen Illustrations from the Masters of Painting + +1913 + + + + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +Every now and then in our reading we come suddenly face to face with +_first_ things,--the very elemental sources beyond which no man may +go. There is a distinct satisfaction in dealing with such beginnings, +and, when they are those of literature, the sense of freshness is +nothing short of inspiring. To share the same lofty outlook, to +breathe the same high air with those who first sensed a whole era of +creative thoughts, is the next thing to being the gods' chosen medium +for those primal expressions. + +All this is not to say that the epic is the oldest form of literary +expression, but it is the expression of the oldest literary ideas, +for, even when the epic is not at all primitive in form, it deals +essentially with elemental moods and ideals. Epical poetry is poetic +not because it is metrical and conformative to rhythmical +standards,--though it usually is both,--but it is poetry because of +the high sweep of its emotional outlook, the bigness of its thought, +the untamed passion of its language, and the musical flow of its +utterance. + +Here, then, we have a veritable source book of the oldest ideas of the +race; but not only that--we are also led into the penetralia of the +earliest thought of many separate nations, for when the epic is +national, it is true to the earliest genius of the people whose spirit +it depicts. + +To be sure, much of literature, and particularly the literature of the +epic, is true rather to the tone of a nation than to its literal +history--by which I mean that Achilles was more really a Greek hero +than any Greek who ever lived, because he was the apotheosis of Greek +chivalry, and as such was the expression of the Greeks rather than +merely a Greek. The Iliad and the Odyssey are not merely epics of +Greece--they are Greek. + +This is an age of story-telling. Never before has the world turned so +attentively to the shorter forms of fiction. Not only is this true of +the printed short-story, of which some thousands, more or less new, +are issued every year in English, but oral story-telling is taking its +deserved place in the school, the home, and among clubs specially +organized for its cultivation. Teachers and parents must therefore be +increasingly alert, not only to invent new stories, but--this even +chiefly--to familiarize themselves with the oldest stories in the +world. + +So it is to such sources as these race-narratives that all +story-telling must come for recurrent inspirations. The setting of +each new story may be tinged with what wild or sophisticated life +soever, yet must the narrator find the big, heart-swelling movements +and passions and thraldoms and conquests and sufferings and elations +of mankind stored in the great epics of the world. + +It were a life-labor to become familiar with all of these in their +expressive originals; even in translation it would be a titanic task +to read each one. Therefore how great is our indebtedness to the ripe +scholarship and discreet choice of the author of this "Book of the +Epic" for having brought to us not only the arguments but the very +spirit and flavor of all this noble array. The task has never before +been essayed, and certainly, now that it has been done for the first +time, it is good to know that it has been done surpassingly well. + +To find the original story-expression of a nation's myths, its +legends, and its heroic creations is a high joy--a face-to-face +interview with any great first-thing is a big experience; but to come +upon whole scores of undefiled fountains is like multiplying the +Pierian waters. + +Even as all the epics herein collected in scenario were epoch-making, +so will the gathering of these side by side prove to be. Literary +judgments must be comparative, and now we may place each epic in +direct comparison with any other, with a resultant light, both +diffused and concentrated, for the benefit of both critics and the +general reader. + +The delights of conversation--so nearly, alas, a lost art!--consist +chiefly in the exchange of varied views on single topics. So, when we +note how the few primal story-themes and plot developments of all time +were handled by those who first told the tales in literate form, the +satisfaction is proportionate. + +One final word must be said regarding the interest of epical material. +Heretofore a knowledge of the epics--save only a few of the better +known--has been confined to scholars, or, at most, students; but it +may well be hoped that the wide perusal of this book may serve to show +to the general reader how fascinating a store of fiction may be found +in epics which have up till now been known to him only by name. + +J. Berg Esenwein + + + + +CONTENTS + + Introduction by J. Berg Esenwein + + Foreword + + Greek Epics + + The Iliad + + The Odyssey + + Latin Epics + + The Aeneid + + French Epics + + The Song of Roland + + Aucassin and Nicolette + + Spanish Epics + + The Cid + + Portuguese Epics + + The Lusiad + + Italian Epics + + Divine Comedy + + The Inferno + + Purgatory + + Paradise + + The Orlandos + + Gerusalemme Liberata, or Jerusalem Delivered + + Epics of the British Isles + + Beowulf + + The Arthurian Cycle + + Robin Hood + + The Faerie Queene + + Paradise Lost + + Paradise Regained + + German Epics + + The Nibelungenlied + + Story of the Holy Grail + + Epics of the Netherlands + + Scandinavian Epics + + The Volsunga Saga + + Russian and Finnish Epics + + The Kalevala, or the Land of Heroes + + Epics of Central Europe and of the Balkan Peninsula + + Hebrew and Early Christian Epics + + Arabian and Persian Epics + + The Shah-Nameh, or Epic of Kings + + Indian Epics + + The Ramayana + + The Mahabharata + + Chinese and Japanese Poetry + + American Epics + + Index + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + Odin Bids Farewell to Brunhild before He Surrounds Her by a + Barrier of Fire (Frontispiece) + From the painting by Th. Pixis + + Oedipus Solving the Sphinx's Riddle + From the painting by Ingres + + Achilles Disguised as a Girl Testing the Sword in Ulysses' Pack + From the painting by Battoni + + Circe and Ulysses' Companions Turned into Swine + By L. Chalon + + Venus Meeting Aeneas and Achates Near Carthage + From the painting by Cortona + + Roland at Roncevaux + From the painting by L.F. Guesnet + + The Palace Where Inez de Castro Lived and was Murdered + + Dante Interviewing Hugues Capet + From an illustration by R. Galli + + Hermione Finds Tancred Wounded + From the painting by Nicolas Poussin + + The Body of Elaine on its Way to King Arthur's Palace + By Gustave Dora + + Una and the Red Cross Knight + From the painting by George Frederick Watts + + The Heralds Summon Lucifer's Host to a Council at Pandemonium + By Gustave Dore + + The Dead Sigfried Rome Back to Worms + From the painting by Th. Pixis + + St. John the Evangelist at Patmos Writing the Apocalypse + From the painting by Correggio + + Sita Soothing Rama to Sleep + From a Calcutta print + + The Monk Breaks into the Robbers' House to Rescue White Aster + From a Japanese print + + + + + + "It is in this vast, dim region of myth and legend the + sources of the literature of modern times are hidden; and it + is only by returning to them, by constant remembrance that + they drain a vast region of vital human experience, that the + origin and early direction of that literature can be + recalled."--Hamilton Wright Mabie. + + + + +FOREWORD + + +Derived from the Greek _epos_, a saying or oracle, the term "epic" is +generally given to some form of heroic narrative wherein tragedy, +comedy, lyric, dirge, and idyl are skilfully blended to form an +immortal work. + +"Mythology, which was the interpretation of nature, and legend, which +is the idealization of history," are the main elements of the epic. +Being the "living history of the people," an epic should have "the +breadth and volume of a river." All epics have therefore generally +been "the first-fruits of the earliest experience of nature and life +on the part of imaginative races"; and the real poet has been, as a +rule, the race itself. + +There are almost as many definitions of an epic and rules for its +composition as there are nations and poets. For that reason, instead +of selecting only such works as in the writer's opinion can justly +claim the title of epic, each nation's verdict has been accepted, +without question, in regard to its national work of this class, be it +in verse or prose. + +The following pages therefore contain almost every variety of epic, +from that which treats of the deity in dignified hexameters, strictly +conforms to the rule "one hero, one time, and one action of many +parts," and has "the massiveness and dignity of sculpture," to the +simplest idylls, such as the Japanese "White Aster," or that exquisite +French mediaeval compound of poetry and prose, "Aucassin et Nicolette." +Not only are both Christian and pagan epics impartially admitted in +this volume, but the representative works of each nation in the epic +field are grouped, according to the languages in which they were +composed. + +Many of the ancient epics are so voluminous that even one of them +printed in full would fill twenty-four volumes as large as this. To +give even the barest outline of one or two poems in each language has +therefore required the utmost condensation. So, only the barest +outline figures in these pages, and, although the temptation to quote +many choice passages has been well-nigh irresistible, space has +precluded all save the scantiest quotations. + +The main object of this volume consists in outlining clearly and +briefly, for the use of young students or of the busy general reader, +the principal examples of the time-honored stories which have inspired +our greatest poets and supplied endless material to painters, +sculptors, and musicians ever since art began. + + + + +THE BOOK OF THE EPIC + + + + +GREEK EPICS + + +The greatest of all the world's epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, are +attributed to Homer, or Melesigenes, who is said to have lived some +time between 1050 and 850 B.C. Ever since the second century before +Christ, however, the question whether Homer is the originator of the +poems, or whether, like the Rhapsodists, he merely recited extant +verses, has been hotly disputed. + +The events upon which the Iliad is based took place some time before +1100 B.C., and we are told the poems of Homer were collected and +committed to writing by Pisistratus during the age of Epic Poetry, or +second age of Greek literature, which ends 600 B.C. + +It stands to reason that the Iliad must have been inspired by or at +least based upon previous poems, since such perfection is not achieved +at a single bound. Besides, we are aware of the existence of many +shorter Greek epics, which have either been entirely lost or of which +we now possess only fragments. + +A number of these ancient epics form what is termed the Trojan Cycle, +because all relate in some way to the War of Troy. Among them is the +Cypria, in eleven books, by Stasimus of Cyprus (or by Arctinus of +Miletus), wherein is related Jupiter's frustrated wooing of Thetis, +her marriage with Peleus, the episode of the golden apple, the +judgment of Paris, the kidnapping of Helen, the mustering of the Greek +forces, and the main events of the first nine years of the Trojan War. +The Iliad (of which a synopsis is given) follows this epic, taking up +the story where the wrath of Achilles is aroused and ending it with +the funeral of Hector. + +This, however, does not conclude the story of the Trojan War, which is +resumed in the "Aethiopia," in five books, by Arctinus of Miletus. +After describing the arrival of Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons, to +aid the Trojans, the poet relates her death at the hand of Achilles, +who, in his turn, is slain by Apollo and Paris. This epic concludes +with the famous dispute between Ajax and Ulysses for the possession of +Achilles' armor. + +The Little Iliad, whose authorship is ascribed to sundry poets, +including Homer, next describes the madness and death of Ajax, the +arrival of Philoctetes with the arrows of Hercules, the death of +Paris, the purloining of the Palladium, the stratagem of the wooden +horse, and the death of Priam. + +In the Ilion Persis, or Sack of Troy, by Arctinus, in two books, we +find the Trojans hesitating whether to convey the wooden steed into +their city, and discover the immortal tales of the traitor Sinon and +that of Laocoon. We then behold the taking and sacking of the city, +with the massacre of the men and the carrying off into captivity of +the women. + +In the Nostroi, or Homeward Voyage, by Agias of Troezene, the Atridae +differ in opinion; so, while Agamemnon delays his departure to offer +propitiatory sacrifices, Menelaus sets sail for Egypt, where he is +detained. This poem also contains the narrative of Agamemnon's return, +of his assassination, and of the way in which his death was avenged by +his son Orestes. + +Next in sequence of events comes the Odyssey of Homer (of which a +complete synopsis follows), and then the Telegonia of Eugammon of +Cyrene, in two books. This describes how, after the burial of the +suitors, Ulysses renews his adventures, and visits Thesprotia, where +he marries and leaves a son. We also have his death, a battle between +two of his sons, and the marriage of Telemachus and Circe, as well as +that of the widowed Penelope to Telegonus, one of Ulysses' +descendants. + +Another sequel, or addition to the Odyssey, is found in the +Telemachia, also a Greek poem, as well as in a far more modern work, +the French classic, Télémaque, written by Fénelon for his pupil the +Dauphin, in the age of Louis XIV. + +Another great series of Greek poems is the Theban Cycle, which +comprises the Thebais, by some unknown author, wherein is related in +full the story of Oedipus, that of the Seven Kings before Thèbes, and +the doings of the Epigoni. + +There exist also cyclic poems in regard to the labors of Heracles, +among others one called Oechalia, which has proved a priceless mine +for poets, dramatists, painters, and sculptors.[1] + +In the Alexandra by Lycophron (270 B.C.), and in a similar poem by +Quintus Smyrnaeus, in fourteen books, we find tedious sequels to the +Iliad, wherein Alexander is represented as a descendant of Achilles. +Indeed, the life and death of Alexander the Great are also the source +of innumerable epics, as well as of romances in Greek, Latin, French, +German, and English. The majority of these are based upon the epic of +Callisthenes, 110 A.D., wherein an attempt was made to prove that +Alexander descended directly from the Egyptian god Jupiter Ammon or, +at least, from his priest Nectanebus. + +Besides being told in innumerable Greek versions, the tale of Troy has +frequently been repeated in Latin, and it enjoyed immense popularity +all throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. It was, however, most +beloved in France, where Benoit de St. Maur's interminable "Roman de +Troie," as well as his "Roman d'Alexandre," greatly delighted the +lords and ladies of his time. + +Besides the works based on the story of Troy or on the adventures of +Alexander, we have in Greek the Theogony of Hesiod in some 1022 lines, +a miniature Greek mythology, giving the story of the origin and the +doings of the Greek gods, as well as the Greek theory in regard to the +creation of the world. + +Among later Greek works we must also note the Shield of Heracles and +the Eoiae or Catalogue of the Boetian heroines who gave birth to +demi-gods or heroes. + +In 194 B.C. Apollonius Rhodius at Alexandria wrote the Argonautica, in +four books, wherein he relates the adventures of Jason in quest of the +golden fleece. This epic was received so coldly that the poet, in +disgust, withdrew to Rhodes, where, having remodelled his work, he +obtained immense applause. + +The principal burlesque epic in Greek, the Bactrachomyomachia, or +Battle of Frogs and Mice, is attributed to Homer, but only some 300 +lines of this work remain, showing what it may have been. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 1: A detailed account of Oedipus, Heracles, the Argonauts, +and the "War of Troy" is given in the author's "Myths of Greece and +Rome."] + + + + +THE ILIAD + + +_Introduction._ Jupiter, king of the gods, refrained from an alliance +with Thetis, a sea divinity, because he was told her son would be +greater than his father. To console her, however, he decreed that all +the gods should attend her nuptials with Peleus, King of Thessaly. At +this wedding banquet the Goddess of Discord produced a golden apple, +inscribed "To the fairest," which Juno, Minerva, and Venus claimed. + +Because the gods refused to act as umpires in this quarrel, Paris, son +of the King of Troy, was chosen. As an oracle had predicted before his +birth that he would cause the ruin of his city, Paris was abandoned on +a mountain to perish, but was rescued by kindly shepherds. + +On hearing Juno offer him worldly power, Minerva boundless wisdom, and +Venus the most beautiful wife in the world, Paris bestowed the prize +of beauty upon Venus. She, therefore, bade him return to Troy, where +his family was ready to welcome him, and sail thence to Greece to +kidnap Helen, daughter of Jupiter and Leda and wife of Menelaus, King +of Sparta. So potent were this lady's charms that her step-father had +made all her suitors swear never to carry her away from her husband, +and to aid in her recovery should she ever be kidnapped. + +Shortly after his arrival at Sparta and during a brief absence of +its king, Paris induced Helen to elope with him. On his return the +outraged husband summoned the suitors to redeem their pledge, and +collected a huge force at Aulis, where Agamemnon his brother became +leader of the expedition. Such was the popularity of this war that +even heroes who had taken no oath were anxious to make part of the +punitive expedition, the most famous of these warriors being Achilles, +son of Thetis and Peleus. + +After many adventures the Greeks, landing on the shores of Asia, began +besieging the city, from whose ramparts Helen watched her husband and +his allies measure their strength against the Trojans. Such was the +bravery displayed on both sides that the war raged nine years without +any decisive advantage being obtained. At the end of this period, +during a raid, the Greeks secured two female captives, which were +awarded to Agamemnon and to Achilles in recognition of past services. + +Although the above events are treated in sundry other Greek poems and +epics,--which no longer exist entire, but form part of a cycle,--"The +Iliad," accredited to Homer, takes up the story at this point, and +relates the wrath of Achilles, together with the happenings of some +fifty days in the ninth year. + +_Book I._ After invoking the Muse to aid him sing the wrath of +Achilles, the poet relates how Apollo's priest came in person to the +Greek camp to ransom his captive daughter, only to be treated with +contumely by Agamemnon. In his indignation this priest besought Apollo +to send down a plague to decimate the foe's forces, and the Greeks +soon learned from their oracles that its ravages would not cease until +the maiden was restored to her father. + + Nor will the god's awaken'd fury cease, + But plagues shall spread, and funeral fires increase, + Till the great king, without a ransom paid, + To her own Chrysa send the black-eyed maid.[2] + +In a formal council Agamemnon is therefore asked to relinquish his +captive, but violently declares that he will do so only in case he +receives Achilles' slave. This insolent claim so infuriates the young +hero that he is about to draw his sword, when Minerva, unseen by the +rest, bids him hold his hand, and state that should Agamemnon's threat +be carried out he will withdraw from the war. + +Although the aged Nestor employs all his honeyed eloquence to soothe +this quarrel, both chiefs angrily withdraw, Agamemnon to send his +captive back to her father, and Achilles to sulk in his tent. + +It is while he is thus engaged that Agamemnon's heralds appear and +lead away his captive. Mindful of Minerva's injunctions, Achilles +allows her to depart, but registers a solemn oath that, even were the +Greeks to perish, he will lend them no aid. Then, strolling down to +the shore, he summons his mother from the watery deep, and implores +her to use her influence to avenge his wrongs. Knowing his life will +prove short though glorious, Thetis promises to visit Jupiter on +Olympus in his behalf. There she wins from the Father of the Gods a +promise that the Greeks will suffer defeat as long as her son does not +fight in their ranks,--a promise confirmed by his divine nod. This, +however, arouses the wrath and jealousy of Juno, whom Jupiter is +compelled to chide so severely that peace and harmony are restored in +Olympus only when Vulcan, acting as cup-bearer, rouses the +inextinguishable laughter of the gods by his awkward limp. + +_Book II._ That night, while all are sleeping, Zeus sends a deceptive +dream to Agamemnon to suggest the moment has come to attack Troy. At +dawn, therefore, Agamemnon calls an assembly, and the chiefs decide to +test the mettle of the Greeks by ordering a return home, and, in the +midst of these preparations, summoning the men to fight. + +These signs of imminent departure incense Juno and Minerva, who, ever +since the golden apple was bestowed upon Venus, are sworn foes of +Paris and Troy. In disguise, therefore, Minerva urges Ulysses, +wiliest of the Greeks, to silence the clown Thersites, and admonish +his companions that if they return home empty-handed they will be +disgraced. Only too pleased, Ulysses reminds his countrymen how, just +before they left home, a serpent crawled from beneath the altar and +devoured eight young sparrows and the mother who tried to defend them, +adding that this was an omen that for nine years they would vainly +besiege Troy but would triumph in the tenth. + +His eloquent reminder, reinforced by patriotic speeches from Nestor +and Agamemnon, determines the Greeks to attempt a final attack upon +Troy. So, with the speed and destructive fury of a furious fire, the +Greek army, whose forces and leaders are all named, sweeps on toward +Troy, where Iris has flown to warn the Trojans of their approach. + + As on some mountain, through the lofty grove + The crackling flames ascend and blaze above; + The fires expanding, as the winds arise, + Shoot their long beams and kindle half the skies: + So from the polish'd arms and brazen shields + A gleamy splendor flash'd along the fields. + +It is in the form of one of Priam's sons that this divinity enters the +palace, where, as soon as Hector hears the news, he musters his +warriors, most conspicuous among whom are his brother Paris, and +Aeneas, son of Venus and Anchises. + +_Book III._ Both armies now advance toward each other, the Trojans +uttering shrill cries like migratory cranes, while the Greeks maintain +an impressive silence. When near enough to recognize his wife's +seducer, Menelaus rushes forward to attack Paris, who, terrified, +takes refuge in the ranks of the Trojan host. So cowardly a retreat, +however, causes Hector to express the bitter wish that his brother had +died before bringing disgrace upon Troy. Although conscious of +deserving reproof, Paris, after reminding his brother all men are not +constituted alike, offers to redeem his honor by fighting Menelaus, +provided Helen and her treasures are awarded to the victor. This +proposal proves so welcome, that Hector checks the advance of his men +and proposes this duel to the Greeks, who accept his terms, provided +Priam will swear in person to the treaty. + +Meanwhile Iris, in guise of a princess, has entered the Trojan palace +and bidden Helen hasten to the ramparts to see the two armies--instead +of fighting--offering sacrifices as a preliminary to the duel, of +which she is to be the prize. Donning a veil and summoning her +attendants, Helen seeks the place whence Priam and his ancient +counsellors gaze down upon the plain. On beholding her, even these +aged men admit the two nations are excusable for so savagely disputing +her possession, while Priam, with fatherly tact, ascribes the war to +the gods alone. + + These, when the Spartan queen approach'd the tower, + In secret own'd resistless beauty's power: + They cried, "No wonder such celestial charms + For nine long years have set the world in arms; + What winning grace! what majestic mien! + She moves a goddess and she looks a queen!" + +Then he invites Helen to sit beside him and name the Greeks he points +out, among whom she recognizes, with bitter shame, her brother-in-law +Agamemnon, Ulysses the wily, and Ajax the bulwark of Greece. Then, +while she is vainly seeking the forms of her twin brothers, messengers +summon Priam down-to the plain to swear to the treaty, a task he has +no sooner performed than he drives back to Troy, leaving Hector and +Ulysses to measure out the duelling ground and to settle by lot which +champion shall strike first. + +Fate having favored Paris, he advances in brilliant array, and soon +contrives to shatter Menelaus' sword. Thus deprived of a weapon, +Menelaus boldly grasps his adversary by his plumed helmet and drags +him away, until, seeing her protégé in danger, Venus breaks the +fastenings of his helmet, which alone remains in Menelaus' hands. Then +she spirits Paris back to the Trojan palace, where she leaves him +resting on a couch, and hurries off, in the guise of an old crone, to +twitch Helen's veil, whispering that Paris awaits her at home. +Recognizing the goddess in spite of her disguise, Helen reproaches +her, declaring she has no desire ever to see Paris again, but Venus, +awing Helen into submission, leads her back to the palace. There +Paris, after artfully ascribing Menelaus' triumph to Minerva's aid, +proceeds to woo Helen anew. Meantime Menelaus vainly ranges to and +fro, seeking his foe and hotly accusing the Trojans of screening him, +while Agamemnon clamors for the immediate surrender of Helen, saving +the Greeks have won. + +_Book IV._ The gods on Mount Olympus, who have witnessed all, now +taunt each other with abetting the Trojans or Greeks, as the case may +be. After this quarrel has raged some time, Jupiter bids Minerva go +down, and violate the truce; so, in the guise of a warrior, she +prompts a Trojan archer to aim at Menelaus a dart which produces a +nominal wound. This is enough, however, to excite Agamemnon to avenge +the broken treaty. A moment later the Greek phalanx advances, urged on +by Minerva, while the Trojans, equally inspired by Mars, rush to meet +them with similar fury. Streams of blood now flow, the earth trembles +beneath the crash of falling warriors, and the roll of war chariots is +like thunder. Although it seems for a while as if the Greeks are +gaining the advantage, Apollo spurs the Trojans to new efforts by +reminding them that Achilles, their most dreaded foe, is absent. + +_Book V._ Seeing the battle well under way, Minerva now drags Mars out +of the fray, suggesting that mortals settle their quarrel unaided. +Countless duels now occur, many lives are lost, and sundry miracles +are performed. Diomedes, for instance, being instantly healed of a +grievous wound by Minerva, plunges back into the fray and fights until +Aeneas bids an archer check his destructive career. But this man is +slain before he can obey, and Aeneas himself would have been killed by +Diomedes had not Venus snatched him away from the battle-field. While +she does this, Diomedes wounds her in the hand, causing her to drop +her son, whom Apollo rescues, while she hastens off to obtain from +Mars the loan of his chariot, wherein to drive back to Olympus. There, +on her mother's breast, Venus sobs out the tale of her fright, and, +when healed, is sarcastically advised to leave fighting to the other +gods and busy herself only with the pleasures of love. + + The sire of gods and men superior smiled, + And, calling Venus, thus address'd his child: + "Not these, O daughter, are thy proper cares, + Thee milder arts befit, and softer wars; + Sweet smiles are thine, and kind endearing charms; + To Mars and Pallas leave the deeds of arms." + +Having snatched Aeneas out of danger, Apollo conveys him to Pergamus +to be healed, leaving on the battle-field in his stead a phantom to +represent him. Then Apollo challenges Mars to avenge Venus' wound, and +the fray which ensues becomes so bloody that "Homeric battle" has been +ever since the accepted term for fierce fighting. It is because Mars +and Bellona protect Hector that the Trojans now gain some advantage, +seeing which, Juno and Minerva hasten to the rescue of the Greeks. +Arriving on the battle-field, Juno, assuming the form of Stentor +(whose brazen tones have become proverbial), directs the Greek +onslaught. Meanwhile, instigated by Minerva, Diomedes attacks Mars, +who, receiving a wound, emits such a roar of pain that both armies +shudder. Then he too is miraculously conveyed to Olympus, where, after +exhibiting his wound, he denounces Minerva who caused it. But, +although Jupiter sternly rebukes his son, he takes such prompt +measures to relieve his suffering, that Mars is soon seated at the +Olympian board, where before long he is joined by Juno and Minerva. + +_Book VI._ Meanwhile the battle rages, and in the midst of broken +chariots, flying steeds, and clouds of dust, we descry Menelaus and +Agamemnon doing wonders and hear Nestor cheering on the Greeks. The +Trojans are about to yield before their onslaught, when a warrior +warns Hector, and the just returned Aeneas, of their dire peril. +After conferring hastily with his friends, Hector returns to Troy to +direct the women to implore Minerva's favor, while Aeneas goes to +support their men. At the Scaean Gate, Hector meets the mothers, +wives, and daughters of the combatants, who, at his suggestion, gladly +prepare costly offerings to be borne to Minerva's temple in solemn +procession. + +Then Hector himself rushes to the palace, where, refusing all +refreshment, he goes in quest of Paris, whom he finds in the company +of Helen and her maids, idly polishing his armor. Indignantly Hector +informs his brother the Trojans are perishing without the walls in +defence of the quarrel he kindled, but which he is too cowardly to +uphold! Although admitting he deserves reproaches, Paris declares he +is about to return to the battle-field, for Helen has just rekindled +all his ardor. Seeing Hector does not answer, Helen timidly expresses +her regret at having caused these woes, bitterly wishing fate had +bound her to a man noble enough to feel and resent an insult. With a +curt recommendation to send Paris after him as soon as possible, +Hector hastens off to his own dwelling, for he longs to embrace his +wife and son, perhaps for the last time. + +There he finds none but the servants at home, who inform him that his +wife has gone to the watch-tower, whither he now hastens. The meeting +between Hector and Andromache, her tender reproaches at the risks he +runs, and her passionate reminder that since Achilles deprived her of +her kin he is her sole protector, form the most touching passage in +the Iliad. Gently reminding her he must go where honor calls, and +sadly admitting he is haunted by visions of fallen Troy and of her +plight as a captive, Hector adds that to protect her from such a fate +he must fight. But when he holds out his arms to his child, the little +one, terrified by the plumes on his helmet, refuses to come to him +until he lays it aside. Having embraced his infant son, Hector +fervently prays he may grow up to defend the Trojans, ere he hands +him back to Andromache, from whom he also takes tender leave. + + Thus having spoke, the illustrious chief of Troy + Stretch'd his fond arms to clasp the lovely boy. + The babe clung crying to his nurse's breast, + Seared at the dazzling helm and nodding crest. + With secret pleasure each fond parent smiled + And Hector hasted to relieve his child, + The glittering terrors from his brows unbound, + And placed the beaming helmet on the ground; + Then kiss'd the child, and, lifting high in air, + Thus to the gods preferr'd a father's prayer: + "O thou! whose glory fills the ethereal throne, + And all ye deathless powers! protect my son! + Grant him, like me, to purchase just renown, + To guard the Trojans, to defend the crown, + Against his country's foes the war to wage, + And rise the Hector of the future age! + So when triumphant from successful toils + Of heroes slain he bears the reeking spoils, + Whole hosts may hail him with deserved acclaim, + And say, 'This chief transcends his father's fame:' + While pleased amidst the general shouts of Troy, + His mother's conscious heart o'erflows with joy." + +Then, resuming his helmet, Hector drives out of the Scaean Gate and is +joined by his brother Paris, now full of ambition to fight. + +_Book VII._ Joyfully the Trojans hail the arrival of both brothers, +before whose fierce onslaught the Greeks soon fall back in their turn. +Meanwhile Minerva and Apollo, siding with opposite forces, decide to +inspire the Trojans to challenge the Greeks to a single fight, and, +after doing this, perch upon a tree, in the guise of vultures, to +watch the result. Calling for a suspension of hostilities, Hector +dares any Greek to fight him, stipulating that the arms of the +vanquished shall be the victor's prize, but that his remains shall +receive honorable burial. Conscious that none of their warriors--save +Achilles--match Hector, the Greeks at first hesitate, but, among the +nine who finally volunteer, Ajax is chosen by lot to be the Greek +champion. Overjoyed at this opportunity to distinguish himself, Ajax +advances with boastful confidence to meet Hector, who, undismayed by +his size and truculent speeches, enters into the fight. The duel is, +however, not fought to a finish, for the heralds interrupt it at +nightfall, pronouncing the champions equal in strength and skill and +postponing its issue until the morrow. + +In his elation Ajax offers thanks to Jupiter before attending a +banquet, where Nestor prudently advises his friends to fortify their +camp by erecting earthworks. While the Greeks are feasting, the +Trojans debate whether it would not be wise to apologize for the +broken truce and restore Helen and her treasures to the Greeks. But +this suggestion is so angrily rejected by Paris that Priam suggests +they propose instead an armistice of sufficient length to enable both +parties to bury their dead. + +At dawn, therefore, Trojan heralds visit Agamemnon's tent to propose a +truce, and offer any indemnification save Helen's return. But, +although the Greeks consent to an armistice, they feel so confident of +success that they refuse all offers of indemnity. Both parties now +bury their dead, a sight witnessed by the gods, who, gazing down from +Olympus, become aware of the earthen ramparts .erected during the +night to protect the Greek fleet. This sight prompts Neptune to +express jealous fears lest these may eclipse the walls he built around +Troy, but Jupiter pacifies him by assuring him he can easily bury them +beneath the sand as soon as the war is over. + +_Book VIII._ At daybreak Jupiter summons the gods, forbidding them to +lend aid to either party, under penalty of perpetual imprisonment in +Tartarus. Having decreed this, Jupiter betakes himself to Mount Ida, +whence he proposes to watch all that is going on. It is there, at +noon, that he takes out his golden balances, and places in opposite +scales the fates of Troy and Greece. A moment later a loud clap of +thunder proclaims the day's advantage will remain with the Trojans, +whose leader, Hector, is protected by Jupiter's thunder-bolts each +time that Diomedes attacks him. This manifestation of divine favor +strikes terror in the hearts of the Greeks, but encourages the +Trojans. They, therefore, hotly pursue the Greeks to their ramparts, +which Hector urges them to scale when the foe seeks refuge behind +them. + +Seeing the peril of the Greeks, Juno urges Agamemnon to visit Ulysses' +tent, and there proclaim, in such loud tones that Achilles cannot fail +to overhear him, that their vessels will soon be in flames. Then, +fearing for his companions, Agamemnon prays so fervently for aid that +an eagle flies over the camp and drops a lamb upon the Greek altar. +This omen of good fortune renews the courage of the Greeks, and +stimulates the archer Teucer to cause new havoc in the Trojan ranks +with his unfailing arrows, until Hector hurls a rock, which lays him +low, and rushes into the Greek camp. + +Full of anxiety for their protégés, Juno and Minerva forget Jupiter's +injunctions, and are about to hurry off to their rescue, when the king +of the gods bids them stop, assuring them the Greeks will suffer +defeat, until, Patroclus having fallen, Achilles arises to avenge him. +When the setting sun signals the close of the day's fight, although +the Greeks are still in possession of their tents, the Trojans bivouac +in the plain, just outside the trench, to prevent their escape. + +_Book IX._ Such anxiety reigns in the Greek camp that Agamemnon holds +a council in his tent. There, almost choked by tears, he declares no +alternative remains save flight, but Diomedes so hotly contradicts him +that the Greeks decide to remain. At Nestor's suggestion, Agamemnon +then tries to atone for his insult to Achilles by gifts and apologies, +instructing the bearers to promise the return of the captive and to +offer an alliance with one of his daughters, if Achilles will only +come to their aid. Wending their way through the moonlit camp, these +emissaries find Achilles idly listening to Patroclus' music. After +delivering the message, Ulysses makes an eloquent appeal in behalf of +his countrymen, but Achilles coldly rejoins the Greeks will have to +defend themselves as he is about to depart. Such is his resentment +that he refuses to forgive Agamemnon, although his aged tutor urges +him to be brave enough to conquer himself. Most reluctantly therefore +Ulysses and Ajax return, and, although sleep hovers over Achilles' +tent, dismay reigns within that of Agamemnon, until Diomedes vows they +will yet prove they do not need Achilles' aid. + +_Book X._ Exhausted by the day's efforts, most of the Greeks have +fallen asleep, when Agamemnon, after conversing for a while with +Menelaus, arouses Nestor, Ulysses, and Diomedes to inspect their +posts. It is in the course of these rounds that Nestor suggests one of +their number steal into the Trojan camp to discover their plans. This +suggestion is eagerly seized by Diomedes and Ulysses, who, on their +way to the enemy's camp, encounter Dolon, a Trojan spy, who is coming +to find out what they are planning. Crouching among the corpses, +Diomedes and Ulysses capture this man, from whom they wring all the +information they require, together with exact directions to find the +steeds of Rhesus. To secure this prize, Ulysses and Diomedes steal +into the Trojan camp, where, after slaying a few sleepers, they +capture the steeds and escape in safety, thanks to Minerva's aid. On +seeing his friends emerge from the gloom with so glorious a prize, +Nestor, who has been anxiously watching, expresses great joy, and +invites his companions to refresh themselves after their exertions. + + Old Nestor first perceived the approaching sound, + Bespeaking thus the Grecian peers around: + "Methinks the noise of trampling steeds I hear, + Thickening this way, and gathering on my ear; + Perhaps some horses of the Trojan breed + (So may, ye gods! my pious hopes succeed) + The great Tydides and Ulysses bear, + Return'd triumphant with this prize of war." + +_Book XI._ At daybreak Jupiter sends Discord to waken the Greeks and, +when they appear in battle array, hurls a thunder-bolt as a signal for +the fight to begin. Stimulated by Hector's ardor, the Trojans now +pounce like ravening wolves upon their foes, but, in spite of their +courage, are driven back almost to the Scean Gate. To encourage +Hector, however, Jupiter warns him, that once Agamemnon is wounded the +tide will turn. Soon after, a javelin strikes Agamemnon, and Hector, +seeing him borne to his tent, urges his men on with new vehemence +until he forces back the Greeks in his turn. In the ensuing medley +both Diomedes and Ulysses are wounded, and Achilles, moodily lounging +on the prow of his ship, sees Nestor bring them into camp. Wishing to +ascertain who has been hurt, he sends Patroclus to find out. Thus this +warrior learns how many of the Greeks are wounded, and is persuaded to +try to induce Achilles to assist their countrymen, or at least to +allow his friend to lead his forces to their rescue. + +_Book XII._ Although the Trojans are now fiercely trying to enter the +Greek camp, their efforts are baffled until Hector, dismounting from +his chariot, attacks the mighty wall which the gods are to level as +soon as the war is over. Thanks to his efforts, its gates are battered +in, and the Trojans pour into the Greek camp, where many duels occur, +and where countless warriors are slain on both sides. + +_Book XIII._ Having effected an entrance into the camp, the Trojans +rush forward to set fire to the ships, hoping thus to prevent the +escape of their foes. Perceiving the peril of the Greeks, Neptune, in +the guise of a priest, urges them to stand fast. + + Then with his sceptre, that the deep controls, + He touched the chiefs and steel'd their manly souls: + Strength, not their own, the touch divine imparts, + Prompts their light limbs, and swells their daring hearts. + Then, as a falcon from the rocky height, + Her quarry seen, impetuous at the sight, + Forth-springing instant, darts herself from high, + Shoots on the wing, and skims along the sky: + Such, and so swift, the power of ocean flew; + The wide horizon shut him from their view. + +But the advantage does not remain continuously with the Trojans, for +Hector is soon beaten back, and, seeing his people's peril, again +hotly reviles Paris, whose crime has entailed all this bloodshed. + +_Book XIV._ In the midst of the gloom caused by a new irruption of the +Trojans in the Greek camp, Nestor hastens to the spot where the +wounded Agamemnon, Ulysses, and Diomedes are watching the fight. But, +although Agamemnon renews his former suggestion that they depart, +Diomedes and Ulysses, scorning it, prepare to return to the fray, in +spite of their wounds. This renewal of Greek courage pleases Juno, +who, fearing Jupiter will again interfere in behalf of the Trojans, +proceeds by coquettish wiles and with the aid of the God of Sleep to +lull him into a state of forgetfulness. This feat accomplished, Juno +sends Sleep to urge the Greeks to make the most of this respite, and, +thus stimulated, they fight on, until Ajax hurls a rock which lays +Hector low. But, before he and his companions can secure this victim, +Hector is rescued by his men, who speedily convey him to the river, +where plentiful bathing soon restores his senses. + +_Book XV._ Thus temporarily deprived of a leader, the Trojans fall +back to the place where they left their chariots. They are just +mounting in confusion, in order to flee, when Jupiter, rousing from +his nap, and realizing how he has been tricked, discharges his wrath +upon Juno's head. Hearing her attribute the blame to Neptune, Jupiter +wrathfully orders his brother back to his realm and despatches Apollo +to cure Hector. Then he reiterates that the Greeks shall be worsted +until Patroclus, wearing Achilles' armor, takes part in the fray. He +adds that, after slaying his son Sarpedon, this hero will succumb +beneath Hector's sword, and that, to avenge Patroclus' death, Achilles +will slay Hector and thus insure the fall of Troy. + +Once more the Trojans drive back the Greeks, who would have given up +in despair had not Jupiter encouraged them by a clap of thunder. +Hearing the Trojans again burst into camp, Patroclus rushes out of +Achilles' tent and sees Teucer winging one deadly arrow after another +among the foe. But, in spite of his skill, and although Ajax fights +like a lion at bay, Hector and the Trojans press fiercely forward, +torch in hand, to fire the Greek ships. + +_Book XVI._ Appalled by this sight, Patroclus rushes back to Achilles, +and, after vainly urging him to fight, persuades him to lend him his +armor, chariot, and men. But, even while furthering his friend's +departure, Achilles charges him neither to slay Hector nor take Troy, +as he wishes to reserve that double honor for himself. It is just as +the first vessels are enveloped in flames that Patroclus rushes to the +rescue of his countrymen. At the sight of a warrior whom they mistake +for Achilles, and at this influx of fresh troops, the Trojans beat a +retreat, and the Greeks, fired with new courage, pursue them across +the plain and to the very gates of Troy. Such is Patroclus' ardor +that, forgetting Achilles' injunctions, he is about to attack Hector, +when Sarpedon challenges him to a duel. Knowing this fight will prove +fatal to his beloved son, Jupiter causes a bloody dew to fall upon +earth, and despatches Sleep and Death to take charge of his remains, +which they are to convey first to Olympus to receive a fatherly kiss +and then to Lycia for burial. No sooner is Sarpedon slain than a grim +fight ensues over his spoil and remains, but while the Greeks secure +his armor, his corpse is borne away by Apollo, who, after purifying it +from all battle soil, entrusts it to Sleep and Death. + +Meantime, renewing his pursuit of the Trojans, Patroclus is about to +scale the walls of Troy, when Apollo reminds him the city is not to +fall a prey either to him or to his friend. Then, in the midst of a +duel in which Patroclus engages with Hector, Apollo snatches the +helmet off the Greek hero's head, leaving him thus exposed to his +foe's deadly blows. The dying Patroclus, therefore, declares that had +not the gods betrayed him he would have triumphed, and predicts that +Achilles will avenge his death. Meantime, pleased with having slain so +redoubtable a foe, Hector makes a dash to secure Achilles' chariot and +horses, but fails because the driver (Automedon) speeds away. + +_Book XVII._ On seeing Patroclus fall, Menelaus rushes forward to +defend his remains and rescue Achilles' armor from the foe. Warned of +this move, Hector abandons the vain pursuit of Achilles' chariot, and +returns to claim his spoil. He has barely secured it when Menelaus and +Ajax attack him, and a mad battle takes place over Patroclus' remains, +while Achilles' horses weep for the beloved youth who so often +caressed them. + +_Book XVIII._ No sooner is the death of Patroclus known in Achilles' +tent than the female captives wail, while the hero groans so loudly +that Thetis hears him. Rising from the depths of the sea, she hurries +to his side, regretting his brief life should be marred by so much +sorrow. Then, hearing him swear to avenge his friend, she entreats him +to wait until the morrow, so she can procure him armor from Vulcan. +Having obtained this promise, she hastens off to visit the god and +bespeak his aid in behalf of her son. + +Meanwhile the Greeks, who are trying to bear away Patroclus' remains, +are so hard pressed by the Trojans that Juno sends word Achilles must +interfere. Hampered by a lack of armor and by the promise to his +mother, the hero ventures only as far as the trench, where, however, +he utters so threatening a war-cry that the Trojans flee, and the +Greeks are thus able to bring Patroclus' body safely into camp, just +as the sun sets and the day's fighting ends. + +Having unharnessed their steeds, the Trojans assemble to consider +whether it will not be best to retreat within their walls, for they +know Achilles will appear on the morrow to avenge Patroclus. But +Hector so vehemently insists that they maintain the advantage gained, +that they camp on the plain, where Jupiter predicts his wife's wish +will be granted and her favorite Achilles win great glory. It is in +the course of that night that Thetis visits Vulcan's forge and in the +attitude of a suppliant implores the divine blacksmith to make an +armor for her son. Not only does Vulcan consent, but hurries off to +his anvil, where he and Cyclops labor to such good purpose that a +superb suit of armor is ready by dawn. + +_Book XIX._ Aurora has barely risen from the bosom of the sea, when +Thetis enters her son's tent, bearing these wonderful weapons. Finding +him still weeping over his friend's remains, Thetis urges him to rouse +himself and fight. At the sight of the armor she brings, Achilles' +ardor is so kindled that he proclaims he will avenge his friend. +Pleased to think the Greeks will have the help of this champion, +Agamemnon humbly apologizes for the past, proffering gifts and a +feast, which latter Achilles refuses to attend as long as Patroclus is +unavenged. Before entering into battle, however, our hero implores his +divine steeds to do their best, only to be warned by one of them that, +although they will save him to-day, the time is fast coming when he +too will fall victim to the anger of the gods. Undaunted by this +prophecy, Achilles jumps into his chariot and sets out for the fray, +uttering his blood-curdling war-cry. + + With unabated rage--"So let it be! + Portents and prodigies are lost on me. + I know my fate: to die, to see no more + My much-loved parents and my native shore-- + Enough--when heaven ordains, I sink in night: + Now perish Troy!" He said, and rush'd to fight. + +_Book XX._ The gods, assembled on Mount Olympus, are told by Jupiter +that, whereas he intends merely to witness the fight, they may all +take part in it, provided they remember Achilles is to reap the main +honors of the day. Hearing this, the gods dart off to side with Troy +and Greece, as their inclinations prompt, and thus take an active part +in the battle, for which Jupiter gives the signal by launching a +thunder-bolt. Not only do the gods fight against each other on this +day, but use all their efforts to second their favorites in every way. +Before long, however, it becomes so evident they are merely delaying +the inevitable issue, that they agree to withdraw from the field, +leaving mortals to settle the matter themselves. + +There are vivid descriptions of sundry encounters, including one +between Achilles and Aeneas, wherein both heroes indulge in boastful +speeches before coming to blows. At one time, when Aeneas is about to +get the worst of it, the gods, knowing he is reserved for greater +things, snatch him from the battle-field and convey him to a place of +safety. Thus miraculously deprived of his antagonist, Achilles resumes +his quest for Hector, who has hitherto been avoiding him, but who, +seeing one of his brothers fall beneath the Greek's blows, meets him +bravely. But, as the moment of Hector's death has not yet come, the +gods separate these two fighters, although their hatred is such that, +whenever they catch a glimpse of each other, they rush forward to +renew the fight. + +_Book XXI._ Fleeing before the Greeks, the Trojans reach the Xanthus +River, into which Achilles plunges after them, and where, after +killing hosts of victims, he secures a dozen prisoners to sacrifice on +his friend's tomb. Hearing Achilles refuse mercy to a young Trojan, +and enraged because he has choked his bed with corpses, the River God +suddenly rises to chide him, but Achilles is now in so defiant a mood +that he is ready to fight even the gods themselves. In spite of his +courage he would, however, have been drowned, had not Neptune and +Minerva come to his rescue, fighting the waters with fire, and +assuring him Hector will soon lie lifeless at his feet. + + He ceased; wide conflagration blazing round; + The bubbled waters yield a hissing sound. + As when the flames beneath a cauldron rise, + To melt the fat of some rich sacrifice, + Amid the fierce embrace of circling fires + The waters foam, the heavy smoke aspires: + So boils the imprison'd flood, forbid to flow, + And choked with vapors feels his bottom glow. + +The course of this day's fighting is anxiously watched by old King +Priam from the top of the Trojan ramparts, and, when he sees +Achilles' forces pursuing his fleeing army across the plain, he orders +the gates opened to admit the fugitives, and quickly closed again so +the foe cannot enter too. To facilitate this move, Apollo assumes the +guise of Hector and decoys Achilles away from the gates until the bulk +of the Trojan army is safe. + +_Book XXII._ Meantime the real Hector is stationed beside the gate, +and Achilles, suddenly perceiving he has been pursuing a mere phantom, +darts with a cry of wrath toward his foe. Seeing him coming, Hector's +parents implore him to seek refuge within the walls, but the young man +is too brave to accept such a proposal. Still, when he sees the fire +in Achilles' eyes, he cannot resist an involuntary recoil, and +turning, flees, with Achilles in close pursuit, hurling taunts at him. + +These warriors circle the citadel, until the gods, looking on, knowing +they can no longer defer Hector's death, but wishing it to be +glorious, send Apollo down to urge him to fight. In the guise of one +of Hector's brothers, this god offers to aid him, so, thus supported, +Hector turns to meet Achilles, with whom before fighting he tries to +bargain that the victor shall respect the remains of the vanquished. +But Achilles refuses to listen to terms, and in the course of the +ensuing duel is ably seconded by Minerva, while Hector, who depends +upon his supposed brother to supply him with weapons when his fail, is +basely deserted by Apollo. + +Seeing him disarmed, Achilles finally deals him a deadly blow, and, +although the dying hero tries to abate his resentment, loudly +proclaims he shall be a prey to vultures and wolves. Hearing this, +Hector curses his conqueror and dies, predicting Achilles shall be +slain by Paris. His victim having breathed his last, Achilles ties him +by the heels to his chariot, and then drives off with Hector's noble +head trailing in the dust! + +Meantime Andromache, busy preparing for her husband's return, is so +startled by loud cries that she rushes off to the ramparts to find out +what has occurred. Arriving there just in time to see her husband +dragged away, she faints at the pitiful sight, and, on coming back to +her senses, bewails her sad fate, foresees an unhappy fate for her +infant son, and regrets not being able to bury her beloved husband. + +_Book XXIII._ On reaching his tent with his victim, Achilles drags it +around Patroclus' remains, apostrophizing him and assuring him that +twelve Trojans shall be executed on his pyre, while his slayer's body +shall be a prey to the dogs. Then, having cast Hector's corpse on the +refuse heap, Achilles assembles the Greeks in his tent for a funeral +repast, after which they retire, leaving him to mourn. That night he +is visited by Patroclus' spirit, which warns him he will soon have to +die, and bespeaks funeral rites. This vision convinces Achilles that +the human soul does not perish with the body, and impels him to rouse +his companions at dawn to erect a huge pyre on the shore, where +innumerable victims are to be sacrificed to satisfy his friend's +spirit. Then he renews his promise that Hector's body shall be a prey +to the dogs, little suspecting that Venus has mounted guard over it, +so that no harm may befall it. + +In describing the building and lighting of the pyre, the poet relates +how the flames were fanned by opposite winds, depicts the sacrifices +offered, the funeral games celebrated, and explains how the ashes were +finally placed in an urn, where those of Achilles were in time to +mingle with those of his friend. + +_Book XXIV._ Although most of the Greek warriors are resting after the +strenuous pleasures of the day, Achilles weeps in his tent until +daybreak, when he harnesses his horses to his chariot and again drags +Hector's body around Patroclus' tomb, little suspecting how Venus and +Apollo guard it from all harm. It is only on the twelfth day after +Patroclus' death, that the gods interfere in behalf of the Trojans, by +sending Iris to Priam to guide him to Achilles' tent, where they +assure him his prayers will obtain his son's body. The rainbow goddess +not only serves as guide to the mourning father, but brings him unseen +into Achilles' tent, where, falling at the hero's feet, the aged +Priam sues in such touching terms that the Greek warrior's heart melts +and tears stream down his cheeks. Not only does he grant Priam's +request, but assures him he is far happier than Peleus, since he still +has several sons to cheer him although Hector has been slain. + + These words soft pity in the chief inspire, + Touch'd with the dear remembrance of his sire. + Then with his hand (as prostrate still he lay) + The old man's cheek he gently turn'd away. + Now each by turns indulged the gush of woe; + And now the mingled tides together flow: + This low on earth, that gently bending o'er; + A father one, and one a son deplore: + But great Achilles different passions rend, + And now his sire he mourns, and now his friend. + The infectious softness through the heroes ran + One universal solemn shower began; + They bore as heroes, but they felt as man. + +Still guided by Iris, Priam conveys the body of his son back to Troy, +where his mother, wife, and the other Trojan women utter a touching +lament. Then a funeral pyre is built, and the Iliad of Homer closes +with brave Hector's obsequies. + + All Troy then moves to Priam's court again, + A solemn, silent, melancholy train: + Assembled there, from pious toil they rest, + And sadly shared the last sepulchral feast. + Such honors Ilion to her hero paid, + And peaceful slept the mighty Hector's shade. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 2: All the quotations from the Iliad are taken from Pope's +translation.] + + + + +THE ODYSSEY + + +_Book I._ Homer's second great epic covers a period of forty-two days. +After the opening invocation he proceeds to relate the adventures of +Ulysses. Nearly ten years have elapsed since the taking of Troy, when +the gods looking down from Olympus behold him--sole survivor of his +troop--stranded on the Island of Calypso. After some mention of the +fate of the other Greeks, Jupiter decrees that Ulysses shall return to +Ithaca, where many suitors are besieging his wife Penelope. In +obedience with this decree, Pallas (Minerva) dons golden +sandals--which permit her to flit with equal ease over land and +sea--and visits Ithaca, where Ulysses' son, Telemachus, mournfully +views the squandering of his father's wealth. Here she is hospitably +received, and, after some conversation, urges Telemachus to visit the +courts of Nestor and Menelaus to inquire of these kings whether his +father is dead. + +Telemachus has just promised to carry out this suggestion, when the +suitors' bard begins the recital of the woes which have befallen the +various Greek chiefs on their return from Troy. These sad strains +attract Penelope, who passionately beseeches the bard not to enhance +her sorrows by his songs! + +Assuming a tone of authority for the first time, Telemachus bids his +mother retire and pray, then, addressing the suitors, vows that unless +they depart he will call down upon them the vengeance of the gods. +These words are resented by these men, who continue their revelry +until the night, when Telemachus retires, to dream of his projected +journey. + +_Book II._ With dawn, Telemachus rises and betakes himself to the +market-place, where in public council he complains of the suitors' +depredations, and announces he is about to depart in quest of his +sire. In reply to his denunciations the suitors accuse Penelope of +deluding them, instancing how she promised to choose a husband as soon +as she had finished weaving a winding sheet for her father-in-law +Laertes. But, instead of completing this task as soon as possible, she +ravelled by night the work done during the day, until the suitors +discovered the trick. + + "The work she plied; but, studious of delay, + By night reversed the labors of the day. + While thrice the sun his annual journey made, + The conscious lamp the midnight fraud survey'd; + Unheard, unseen, three years her arts prevail: + The fourth, her maid unfolds the amazing tale. + We saw as unperceived we took our stand, + The backward labors of her faithless hand"[3] + +They now suggest that Telemachus send Penelope back to her father, +but the youth indignantly refuses, and the council closes while he +prays for vengeance. That he has not been unheard is proved by the +appearance of two eagles, which peck out the eyes of some of the +spectators. This is interpreted by an old man as an omen of Ulysses' +speedy return, and he admonishes all present to prove faithful, lest +they incur a master's wrath. + +The assembly having dispersed, Telemachus hastens down to the shore, +where Minerva visits him in the guise of his tutor Mentor, and +instructs him to arrange for secret departure. Telemachus, therefore, +returns to the palace, where the suitors are preparing a new feast. +Refusing to join their revels, he seeks his old nurse Eurycleia, to +whom he entrusts the provisioning of his vessel, bidding her if +possible conceal his departure from Penelope for twelve days. +Meantime, in the guise of Telemachus, Minerva scours the town to +secure skilful oarsmen, and at sunset has a vessel ready to sail. +Then, returning to the palace, she enchains the senses of the suitors +in such deep slumber that Telemachus effects his, departure unseen, +and embarking with Mentor sets sail, his vessel speeding smoothly over +the waves all night. + +_Book III._ At sunrise Telemachus reaches Pylos and finds Nestor and +his friends offering a sacrifice on the shore. Joining the +feasters,--who gather by fifties around tables groaning beneath the +weight of nine oxen apiece,--Telemachus makes known his name and +errand. In return, Nestor mentions the deaths of Patroclus and +Achilles, the taking of Troy, and the Greeks' departure from its +shores. He adds that, the gods having decreed they should not reach +home without sore trials, half the army lingered behind with Agamemnon +to offer propitiatory sacrifices, while the rest sailed on. Among +these were Nestor and Ulysses, but, while the former pressed on and +reached home, the latter, turning back to pacify the gods, was seen no +more! Since his return, Nestor has been saddened by the death of +Agamemnon, slain on his arrival at Mycenae by his faithless wife +Clytemnestra and her lover Aegistheus. His brother, Menelaus, more +fortunate, has recently reached home, having been long delayed in +Egypt by contrary winds. + +While Nestor recounts these tales, day declines, so he invites +Telemachus to his palace for the night, promising to send him on the +morrow to Sparta, where he can question Menelaus himself. Although +Mentor urges Telemachus to accept this invitation, he declares he must +return to the ship, and vanishes in the shape of a bird, thus +revealing to all present his divine origin. A sumptuous meal in the +palace ensues, and the guest, after a good night, participates at +break of day in a solemn sacrifice. + +_Book IV._ Riding in a chariot skilfully guided by one of Nestor's +sons, Telemachus next speeds on to Sparta, where he finds Menelaus +celebrating the marriages of a daughter and son. On learning that +strangers have arrived, Menelaus orders every attention shown them, +and only after they have been refreshed by food and drink, inquires +their errand. He states that he himself reached home only after +wandering seven years, and adds that he often yearns to know what has +become of Ulysses. At this name Telemachus' tears flow, and Helen, who +has just appeared, is struck by his resemblance to his father. When +Telemachus admits his identity, Menelaus and Helen mingle their tears +with his, for the memory of the past overwhelms them with sorrow. Then +to restore a more cheerful atmosphere, Helen casts "nepenthe" into the +wine, thanks to which beneficent drug all soon forget their woes. She +next relates how Ulysses once entered Troy in the guise of a beggar, +and how she alone recognized him in spite of his disguise. This +reminds Menelaus of the time when Ulysses restrained him and the other +Greeks in the wooden horse, and when Helen marched around it mimicking +the voices of their wives! + +Soothed by "nepenthe," all retire to rest, and when morning dawns +Telemachus inquires whether Menelaus knows aught of his father. All +the information Menelaus vouchsafes is that when he surprised +Proteus, counting sea-calves on the island of Pharos, he was told he +would reach home only after making due sacrifices in Egypt to appease +the gods, that his brother had been murdered on arriving at Mycenae, +and that Ulysses--sole survivor of his crew--was detained by Calypso +in an island, whence he had no means of escape. The sea-god had +further promised that Menelaus should never die, stating that, as +husband of Helen and son-in-law of Jupiter, he would enjoy everlasting +bliss in the Elysian Fields. Then, after describing the sacrifices +which insured his return to Sparta, Menelaus invites Telemachus to +tarry with him, although the youth insists he must return home. + +Meantime the suitors in Ulysses' palace entertain themselves with +games, in the midst of which they learn that Telemachus has gone. +Realizing that if he were dead Penelope's fortunate suitor would +become possessor of all Ulysses' wealth, they decide to man a vessel +to guard the port and slay Telemachus on his return. This plot is +overheard by a servant, who hastens to report it to Penelope. On +learning her son has ventured out to sea, she wrings her hands, and +reviles the nurse who abetted his departure until this wise woman +advises her rather to pray for her son's safe return! While Penelope +is offering propitiatory sacrifices, the suitors despatch a vessel in +Antinous' charge to lie in wait for the youth. But, during the sleep +which overcomes Penelope after her prayers, she is favored by a +vision, in which her sister assures her Telemachus will soon be +restored to her arms, although she refuses to give her any information +in regard to Ulysses. + +_Book V._ Aurora has barely announced the return of day to gods and +men, when Jupiter assembles his council on Mount Olympus. There +Minerva rehearses Ulysses' grievances, demanding that he be at last +allowed to return home and his son saved from the suitors' ambush. In +reply Jupiter sends Mercury to bid Calypso provide her unwilling guest +with the means to leave her shores. Donning his golden sandals, the +messenger-god flits to the Island of Ogygia, enters Calypso's +wonderful cave, and delivers his message. Although reluctant to let +Ulysses depart, Calypso--not daring oppose the will of Jupiter--goes +in quest of her guest. Finding him gazing tearfully in the direction +of home, she promises to supply him with the means to build a raft +which, thanks to the gods, will enable him to reach Ithaca. + +After a copious repast and a night's rest, Ulysses fells twenty trees +and constructs a raft, in which, after it has been provisioned by +Calypso, he sets sail. For seventeen days the stars serve as his +guides, and he is nearing the island of Phaeacia, when Neptune becomes +aware that his hated foe is about to escape. One stroke of the +sea-god's mighty trident then stirs up a tempest which dashes the raft +to pieces, and Ulysses is in imminent danger of perishing, when the +sea-nymph Leucothea gives him her life-preserving scarf, bidding him +cast it back into the waves when it has borne him safely to land! +Buoyed up by this scarf, Ulysses finally reaches the shore, where, +after obeying the nymph's injunctions, he buries himself in dead +leaves and sinks into an exhausted sleep. + + Close to the cliff with both his hands he clung, + And stuck adherent, and suspended hung; + Till the huge surge roll'd off; then backward sweep + The refluent tides, and plunge him in the deep. + And when the polypus, from forth his cave + Torn with full force, reluctant beats the wave, + His ragged claws are stuck with stones and sands; + So the rough rock had shagg'd Ulysses' hands. + And now had perish'd, whelm'd beneath the main, + The unhappy man; e'en fate had been in vain; + But all-subduing Pallas lent her power, + And prudence saved him in the needful hour. + +_Book VI._ While Ulysses is thus sleeping, Minerva, in a dream +admonishes Nausicaa, daughter of the Phaeacian king, to wash her +garments in readiness for her wedding. On awakening, the princess, +after bespeaking a chariot with mules to draw the clothes to the +washing place, departs with her maids for the shore. + +The clothes washed and hung out to dry, the princess and her +attendants play ball, until their loud shrieks awaken Ulysses. Veiling +his nakedness behind leafy branches, he timidly approaches the +maidens, and addresses them from afar. Convinced he is, as he +represents, a shipwrecked man in need of aid, the princess provides +him with garments, and directs him to follow her chariot to the +confines of the city. There he is to wait until she has reached home +before presenting himself before her parents, as she does not wish his +presence with her to cause gossip in town. + +_Book VII._ Having left Ulysses behind her, Nausicaa returns home, +where her chariot is unloaded; but shortly after she has retired, +Ulysses, guided by Minerva in disguise, enters the town and palace +unseen. It is only when, obeying Nausicaa's instructions, he seeks her +mother's presence and beseeches her aid, that he becomes visible to +all. King and queen gladly promise their protection to the suppliant, +who, while partaking of food, describes himself as a shipwrecked +mariner and asks to be sent home. After he has refreshed himself, the +queen, who has recognized the clothes he wears, learning how he +obtained them, delights in her daughter's charity and prudence. Then +she and her husband promise the wanderer their protection before +retiring to rest. + +_Book VIII._ At daybreak the king conducts his guest to the public +square, where Minerva has summoned all the inhabitants. To this +assembly Alcinous makes known that a nameless stranger bespeaks their +aid, and proposes that after a banquet, where blind Demodocus will +entertain them with his songs, they load the suppliant with gifts and +send him home. + +The projected festive meal is well under way when the bard begins +singing of a quarrel between Ulysses and Achilles, strains which so +vividly recall happier days that Ulysses, drawing his cloak over his +head, gives way to tears. Noting this emotion, Alcinous checks the +bard and proposes games. After displaying their skill in racing, +wrestling, discus-throwing, etc., the contestants mockingly challenge +Ulysses to give an exhibition of his proficiency in games of strength +and skill. Stung by their covert taunts, the stranger casts the discus +far beyond their best mark, and avers that although out of practice he +is not afraid to match them in feats of strength, admitting, however, +that he cannot compete with them in fleetness of foot or in the dance. +His prowess in one line and frank confession of inferiority in another +disarm further criticism, and the young men dance until the bard +begins singing of Vulcan's stratagem to punish a faithless spouse.[4] + +All the Phaeacians now present gifts to the stranger, who finds +himself rich indeed, but who assures Nausicaa he will never forget she +was the first to lend him aid. Toward the close of the festivities the +blind bard sings of the wooden horse devised by Ulysses and abandoned +on the shore by the retreating Greeks. Then he describes its +triumphant entry into Troy, where for the first time in ten years all +sleep soundly without dread of a surprise. But, while the too +confident Trojans are thus resting peacefully upon their laurels, the +Greeks, emerging from this wooden horse, open the gates to their +comrades, and the sack of Troy begins! Because the stranger guest +again shows great emotion, Alcinous begs him to relate his adventures +and asks whether he has lost some relative in the war of Troy? + + Touch'd at the song, Ulysses straight resign'd + To soft affliction all his manly mind: + Before his eyes the purple vest he drew, + Industrious to conceal the falling dew: + But when the music paused, he ceased to shed + The flowing tear, and raised his drooping head: + And, lifting to the gods a goblet crown'd, + He pour'd a pure libation to the ground. + +_Book IX._ Thus invited to speak, Ulysses, after introducing himself +and describing his island home, relates how, the ruin of Troy +completed, he and his men left the Trojan shores. Driven by winds to +Ismarus, they sacked the town, but, instead of sailing off immediately +with their booty as Ulysses urged, tarried there until surprised by +their foes, from whom they were glad to escape with their lives! +Tossed by a tempest for many days, the Greek ships next neared the +land of the Lotus-Eaters, people who feasted upon the buds and +blossoms of a narcotic lotus. Sending three men ashore to reconnoitre, +Ulysses vainly awaited their return; finally, mistrusting what had +happened, he went in quest of them himself, only to find that having +partaken of the lotus they were dead to the calls of home and +ambition. Seizing these men, Ulysses conveyed them bound to his ship, +and, without allowing the rest to land, sailed hastily away from those +pernicious shores. + +Before long he came to the land of the Cyclops, and disembarked on a +small neighboring island to renew his stock of food and water. Then, +unwilling to depart without having at least visited the Cyclops, he +took twelve of his bravest men, a skin-bottle full of delicious wine, +and set out to find Polyphemus, chief of the Cyclops. On entering the +huge cave where this giant pursued his avocation of dairyman, Ulysses +and his companions built a fire, around which they sat awaiting their +host's return. Before long a huge one-eyed monster drove in his +flocks, and, after closing the opening of his cave with a rock which +no one else could move, proceeded to milk his ewes and make cheese. + +It was only while at supper that he noticed Ulysses and his men, who +humbly approached him as suppliants. After shrewdly questioning them +to ascertain whether they were alone, believing Ulysses' tale that +they were shipwrecked men, he seized and devoured two of them before +he lay down to rest. Although sorely tempted to slay him while he was +thus at their mercy, Ulysses refrained, knowing he and his companions +would never be able to move the rock. + +At dawn the giant again milked his flock, and devoured--as a relish +for his breakfast--two more Greeks. Then he easily rolled aside the +rock, which he replaced when he and his flock had gone out for the +day, thus imprisoning Ulysses and his eight surviving men. During +that long day Ulysses sharpened to a point a young pine, and, after +hardening this weapon in the fire, secured by lot the helpers he +needed to execute his plan. That evening Polyphemus, having finished +his chores and cannibal repast, graciously accepted the wine which +Ulysses offered him. Pleased with its taste, he even promised the +giver a reward if he would only state his name. The wily Ulysses +declaring he was called Noman, the giant facetiously promised to eat +him last, before he fell into a drunken sleep. Then Ulysses and his +four men, heating the pointed pine, bored out the eye of Polyphemus, +who howled with pain: + + "Sudden I stir the embers, and inspire + With animating breath the seeds of fire; + Each drooping spirit with bold words repair, + And urge my train the dreadful deed to dare. + The stake now glow'd beneath the burning bed + (Green as it was) and sparkled fiery red. + Then forth the vengeful instrument I bring; + With beating hearts my fellows form a ring. + Urged by some present god, they swift let fall + The pointed torment on his visual ball. + Myself above them from a rising ground + Guide the sharp stake, and twirl it round and round. + As when a shipwright stands his workmen o'er, + Who ply the wimble, some huge beam to bore; + Urged on all hands it nimbly spins about, + The grain deep-piercing till it scoops it out; + In his broad eye so whirls the fiery wood; + From the pierced pupil spouts the boiling blood; + Singed are his brows; the scorching lids grow black; + The jelly bubbles, and the fibres crack." + +His fellow-Cyclops, awakened by his cries, gathered without his cave, +asking what was the matter. But, hearing him vehemently howl that +Noman was hurting him, they all declared he was evidently being +punished by the gods and left him to his plight! + +When morning came, the groaning Cyclops rolled aside the rock, +standing beside it with arms outstretched to catch his prisoners +should they attempt to escape. Seeing this, Ulysses tied his men under +the sheep, and, clinging to the fleece of the biggest ram, had himself +dragged out of the cave. Passing his hand over the backs of the sheep +to make sure the strangers were not riding on them, Polyphemus +recognized by touch his favorite ram, and feelingly ascribed its slow +pace to sympathy with his woes. + + The master ram at last approach'd the gate, + Charged with his wool and with Ulysses' fate. + Him, while he pass'd, the monster blind bespoke: + "What makes my ram the lag of all the flock? + First thou wert wont to crop the flowery mead, + First to the field and river's bank to lead, + And first with stately step at evening hour + Thy fleecy fellows usher to their bower. + Now far the last, with pensive pace and slow + Thou movest, as conscious of thy master's woe! + Seest thou these lids that now unfold in vain, + (The deed of Noman and his wicked train?) + Oh! didst thou feel for thy afflicted lord, + And would but fate the power of speech afford; + Soon might'st thou tell me where in secret here + The dastard lurks, all trembling with his fear: + Swung round and round and dash'd from rock to rock, + His batter'd brains should on the pavement smoke. + No ease, no pleasure my sad heart receives, + While such a monster as vile Noman lives." + +Once out of the cave, Ulysses cut the bonds of his men, with whose aid +he drove part of Polyphemus' flock on board of his ship, which he had +hidden in a cove. He and his companions were scudding safely past the +headland where blind Polyphemus idly sat, when Ulysses tauntingly +raised his voice to make known his escape and real name. With a cry of +rage, the giant flung huge masses of rock in the direction of his +voice, hotly vowing his father Neptune would yet avenge his wrongs! + +_Book X._ After leaving the island of the Cyclops, Ulysses visited +Aeolus, king of the winds, and was hospitably entertained in his cave. +In token of friendship and to enable Ulysses to reach home quickly, +Aeolus bottled up all the contrary winds, letting loose only those +which would speed him on his way. On leaving Aeolus, Ulysses so +carefully guarded the skin bottle containing the adverse gales that +his men fancied it must contain jewels of great price. For nine days +and nights Ulysses guided the rudder, and only when the shores of +Ithaca came in sight closed his eyes in sleep. This moment was +seized by his crew to open the bottle, whence the captive winds +escaped with a roar, stirring up a hurricane which finally drove them +back to Aeolus' isle. + + "They said: and (oh cursed fate!) the thongs unbound! + The gushing tempest sweeps the ocean round; + Snatch'd in the whirl, the hurried navy flew, + The ocean widen'd and the shores withdrew. + Roused from my fatal sleep, I long debate + If still to live, or desperate plunge to fate; + Thus doubting, prostrate on the deck I lay, + Till all the coward thoughts of death gave way." + +On seeing them return with tattered sails, Aeolus averred they had +incurred the wrath of some god and therefore drove them away from his +realm. Toiling at the oar, they reached, after seven days, the harbor +of the Laestrigonians, cannibal giants, from whose clutches only a few +ships escaped. Sorrowing for their lost friends, the Greeks next +landed in the island of Circe, where Ulysses remained with half his +men by the ships, while the rest set out to renew their supplies. This +party soon discovered the abode of the enchantress Circe, who, aware +of their approach, had prepared a banquet and a magic drug. Enticed by +her sweet voice, all the men save one sat down to her banquet, and ate +so greedily that the enchantress, contemptuously waving her wand over +them, bade them assume the forms of the animals they most resembled! A +moment later a herd of grunting pigs surrounded her, pigs which, +however, retained a distressing consciousness of their former human +estate. + + Milk newly press'd, the sacred flour of wheat, + And honey fresh, and Pramnian wines the treat: + But venom'd was the bread, and mix'd the bowl, + With drugs of force to darken all the soul: + Soon in the luscious feast themselves they lost, + And drank oblivion of their native coast. + Instant her circling wand the goddess waves, + To hogs transforms them, and the sty receives. + No more was seen the human form divine; + Head, face, and members, bristle into swine: + Still cursed with sense, their minds remain alone, + And their own voice affrights them when they groan. + +This dire transformation was viewed with horror by the man lurking +outside, who fled back to the ships, imploring Ulysses to depart. +Unwilling to desert his men, Ulysses on the contrary set out for +Circe's dwelling, meeting on the way thither Mercury in disguise, who +gave him an herb to annul the effect of Circe's drugs and directed him +how to free his companions. + +Following these instructions, Ulysses entered Circe's abode, partook +of the refreshments offered him, and, when she waved her wand over +him, threatened to kill her unless she restored his men to their +wonted forms! The terrified Circe not only complied, but detained +Ulysses and his companions with her a full year. As at the end of that +time the men pleaded to return home, Ulysses told his hostess he must +leave. Then she informed him he must first visit the Cimmerian shore +and consult the shade of the blind seer Tiresias. The prospect of such +a journey greatly alarmed Ulysses, but when Circe had told him just +how to proceed, he bravely set out. + +Wafted by favorable winds, Ulysses' ship soon reached the country of +eternal night. On landing there he dug a trench, and slew the black +victims Circe had given him, and with drawn sword awaited the approach +of a host of shades, among whom he recognized a man killed by accident +on Circe's island, who begged for proper funeral rites. By Circe's +order, Ulysses, after allowing the ghost of Tiresias to partake of the +victim's blood, learned from him that, although pursued by Neptune's +vengeance, he and his men would reach home safely, provided they +respected the cattle of the Sun on the island of Trinacria. The seer +added that all who attacked them would perish, and that, even if he +should escape death and return home, he would have to slay his wife's +insolent suitors before he could rest in peace. + +After this had been accomplished, Ulysses was to resume his wanderings +until he came to a land where the oar he carried would be mistaken for +a winnowing fan. There he was to offer a propitiatory sacrifice to +Neptune, after which he would live to serene old age and die +peacefully among his own people. His conversation with Tiresias +finished, Ulysses interviewed his mother--of whose demise he had not +been aware--and conversed with the shades of sundry women noted for +having borne sons to gods or to famous heroes. + +_Book XI._ This account had been heard with breathless interest by the +Phaeacians, whose king now implored Ulysses to go on. The hero then +described his interview with the ghost of Agamemnon,--slain by his +wife and her paramour on his return from Troy,--who predicted his safe +return home, and begged for tidings of his son Orestes, of whom +Ulysses knew nought. Ulysses next beheld Achilles, who, although ruler +of the dead, bitterly declared he would rather be the meanest laborer +on earth than monarch among shades! + + "Talk not of ruling in this dolorous gloom, + Nor think vain words (he cried) can ease my doom. + Rather I'd choose laboriously to bear + A weight of woes and breathe the vital air, + A slave to some poor hind that toils for bread, + Than reign the sceptered monarch of the dead." + +To comfort him, Ulysses described how bravely his son had fought at +the taking of Troy, where he had been one of the men in the wooden +horse. The only shade which refused to approach Ulysses was that of +Ajax, who still resented his having won the armor of Achilles. Besides +these shades, Ulysses beheld the judges of Hades and the famous +culprits of Tartarus. But, terrified by the "innumerable nation of the +dead" crowding around him, he finally fled in haste to his vessel, and +was soon wafted back to Circe's shore. + +_Book XII._ There Ulysses buried his dead companion and, after +describing his visit to Hades, begged his hostess' permission to +depart. Circe consented, warning him to beware of the Sirens, of the +threatening rocks, of the monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis +on either side of the Messenian Strait, and of the cattle of +Trinacria, giving him minute directions how to escape unharmed from +all these perils. + +Morning having come, Ulysses took leave of Circe, and, on nearing the +reef of the Sirens, directed his men to bind him fast to the mast, +paying no heed to his gestures, after he had stopped their ears with +soft wax. In this way he heard, without perishing, the Sirens' +wonderful song, and it was only when it had died away in the distance +and the spell ceased that his men unbound him from the mast. + + "Thus the sweet charmers warbled o'er the main; + My soul takes wing to meet the heavenly strain; + I give the sign, and struggle to be free: + Swift row my mates, and shoot along the sea; + New chains they add, and rapid urge the way, + Till, dying off, the distant sounds decay: + Then scudding swiftly from the dangerous ground, + The deafen'd ears unlock'd, the chains unbound." + +Not daring describe to his companions the threatened horrors of +Charybdis and Scylla, Ulysses bade his steersman avoid the whirlpool, +and, fully armed, prepared to brave the monster Scylla. But, +notwithstanding his preparations, she snatched from his galley six men +who were seen no more! Although reluctant to land on Trinacria for +fear his sailors would steal the cattle of the Sun, Ulysses was +constrained to do so to allow them to rest. While they were there, +unfavorable winds began to blow, and continued so long that the Greeks +consumed all their provisions, and, in spite of their efforts to +supply their larder by hunting and fishing, began to suffer from +hunger. During one of Ulysses' brief absences the men, breaking their +promises, slew some of the beeves of the Sun, which although slain +moved and lowed as if still alive! Undeterred by such miracles, the +men feasted, but, on embarking six days later, they were overtaken by +a tempest in which all perished save Ulysses. Clinging to the mast of +his wrecked ship, he drifted between Charybdis and Scylla, escaping +from the whirlpool only by clinging to the branches at an overhanging +fig-tree. Then, tossed by the waves for nine days longer, Ulysses was +finally cast on the isle of Ogygia, whence he had come directly to +Phaeacia as already described. + +_Book XIII._ Having finished this account of his ten years' +wanderings, Ulysses, after banqueting with Alcinous, was conveyed with +his gifts to the ship which was to take him home. Then, while he slept +in the prow, the skilful Phaeacian rowers entered a sheltered Ithacan +bay, where they set sleeper and gifts ashore and departed without +awaiting thanks. They were about to re-enter their own port when +Neptune, discovering they had taken his enemy home, struck their +vessel with his trident, thus transforming it into the galley-shaped +rock still seen there to-day. + +Meantime Ulysses, awakening, hid his treasures away in a cave. Then, +accosted by Minerva in disguise, he gave a fantastic account of +himself, to which she lent an amused ear, before assuring him of her +identity and of his wife's fidelity. She then reported the insolence +of the suitors lying in wait to murder Telemachus at his return, and +suggested that Ulysses, in the guise of an aged beggar, should visit +his faithful swineherd until time to make his presence known. + +_Book XIV._ Transformed by Minerva into a sordid mendicant, Ulysses +next visits the swineherd, who sets before him the best he has, +complaining that the greedy suitors deplete his herds. This old +servant is comforted when the beggar assures him his master will soon +return and reports having seen him lately. Ulysses' fictitious account +of himself serves as entertainment until the hour for rest, when the +charitable swineherd covers his guest with his best cloak. + +_Book XV._ Meantime Minerva, hastening to Sparta, awakens in the heart +of the sleeping Telemachus a keen desire to return home, warns him of +the suitors' ambush, instructs him how to avoid it, and cautions him +on his return to trust none save the women on whose fidelity he can +depend. At dawn, therefore, Telemachus, after offering a sacrifice +and receiving Menelaus' and Helen's parting gifts, sets out, cheered +by favorable omens. Without pausing to visit Nestor,--whose son is to +convey his thanks,--Telemachus embarks, and, following Minerva's +instructions, lands near the swineherd's hut. + +_Book XVI._ The swineherd is preparing breakfast, when Ulysses warns +him a friend is coming, for his dogs fawn upon the stranger and do not +bark. A moment later Telemachus enters the hut, and is warmly welcomed +by his servant, who wishes him to occupy the place of honor at his +table. But Telemachus modestly declines it in favor of the aged +stranger, to whom he promises clothes and protection as soon as he is +master in his own house. Then he bids the swineherd notify his mother +of his safe arrival, directing her to send word to Laertes of his +return. This man has no sooner gone than Minerva restores Ulysses to +more than his wonted vigor and good looks, bidding him make himself +known to his son and concert with him how to dispose of the suitors. +Amazed to see the beggar transformed into an imposing warrior, +Telemachus is overjoyed to learn who he really is. The first +transports of joy over, Ulysses advises his son to return home, lull +the suitors' suspicions by specious words, and, after removing all +weapons from the banquet hall, await the arrival of his father who +will appear in mendicant's guise. + +While father and son are thus laying their plans, Telemachus' vessel +reaches port, where the suitors mourn the escape of their victim. They +dare not, however, attack Telemachus openly, for fear of forfeiting +Penelope's regard, and assure her they intend to befriend him. +Meantime, having delivered his message to his mistress, the swineherd +returns to his hut, where he spends the evening with Telemachus and +the beggar, little suspecting the latter is his master. + +_Book XVII._ At daybreak Telemachus hastens back to the palace, +whither the swineherd is to guide the stranger later in the day, and +is rapturously embraced by his mother. After a brief interview, +Telemachus sends her back to her apartment to efface the trace of her +tears, adding that he is on his way to the market-place to meet a +travelling companion whom he wishes to entertain. After welcoming this +man with due hospitality, Telemachus gives his mother an account of +his trip. While he is thus occupied, Ulysses is wending his way to the +palace, where he arrives just as the suitors' wonted revels reach +their height. But as he enters the court-yard, his favorite hunting +dog expires for joy on recognizing him. + + He knew his lord;--he knew, and strove to meet; + In vain he strove to crawl and kiss his feet; + Yet (all he could) his tail, his ears, his eyes, + Salute his master and confess his joys. + Soft pity touch'd the mighty master's soul: + Adown his cheek a tear unbidden stole; + Stole unperceived: he turn'd his head, and dried + The drop humane. + +Humbly making the rounds of the tables like the beggar he seems, +Ulysses is treated kindly by Telemachus, but grossly insulted by the +suitors, one of whom, Antinous, actually flings a stool at him. Such a +violation of the rights of hospitality causes some commotion in the +palace, and so rouses the indignation of Penelope that she expresses a +wish to converse with the beggar, who may have heard of her absent +spouse. + +_Book XVIII._ Meantime Ulysses has also come into conflict with the +town-beggar (Irus), a lusty youth, who challenges him to fight. To his +dismay, Ulysses displays such a set of muscles on laying aside his +robe that the insolent challenger wishes to withdraw. He is, however, +compelled by the suitors to fight, and is thoroughly beaten by +Ulysses, whose strength arouses the suitors' admiration. Then, in +reply to their questions, Ulysses favors them with another of those +tales which do far more honor to his imagination than to his veracity. + +Meantime Penelope indulges in a nap, during which Minerva restores all +her youthful charms. Then she descends into the hall, to chide +Telemachus for allowing a stranger to be insulted beneath his father's +roof. She next remarks that she foresees she will soon have to choose +a husband among the suitors present, as it is only too evident Ulysses +is dead, and, under pretext of testing their generosity, induces them +all to bestow upon her gifts, which she thriftily adds to her stores. +Beside themselves with joy at the prospect that their long wooing will +soon be over, the suitors sing and dance, until Telemachus advises +them to return home. + +_Book XIX._ The suitors having gone, Ulysses helps Telemachus remove +all the weapons, while the faithful nurse mounts guard over the palace +women. Secretly helped by Minerva, father and son accomplish their +task, and are sitting before the fire when Penelope comes to ask the +beggar to relate when and how he met Ulysses. This time the stranger +gives so accurate a description of Ulysses, that Penelope, wishing to +show him some kindness, summons the old nurse to bathe his feet. +Because she herself dozes while this homely task is being performed, +she is not aware that the old nurse recognizes her master by a scar on +his leg, and is cautioned by him not to make his presence known. + + Deep o'er his knee inseam'd, remain'd the scar: + Which noted token of the woodland war + When Euryclea found, the ablution ceased; + Down dropp'd the leg, from her slack hand released: + The mingled fluids from the base redound; + The vase reclining floats the floor around! + Smiles dew'd with tears the pleasing strife express'd + Of grief, and joy, alternate in her breast. + Her fluttering words in melting murmurs died; + At length abrupt--"My son!--my king!" she cried. + +Her nap ended, Penelope resumes her conversation with the beggar, +telling him she has been favored by a dream portending the death of +the suitors. Still, she realizes there are two kinds of dreams,--those +that come true issuing from Somnus' palace by the gate of horn, while +deceptive dreams pass through an ivory gate. After providing for the +beggar's comfort, Penelope retires, and as usual spends most of the +night mourning for her absent partner. + +_Book XX._ Sleeping beneath the portico on the skins of the animals +slain to feast the horde of suitors, Ulysses sees the maids slip out of +the palace to join the suitors, who have wooed them surreptitiously. +Then he falls asleep and is visited by Minerva, who infuses new +strength and courage in his veins. At dawn Ulysses is awakened by +Telemachus, and soon after the house is once more invaded by the +suitors, who with their own hands slay the animals provided for their +food. Once more they display their malevolence by ill treating the +beggar, and taunt Telemachus, who apparently pays no heed to their +words. + +_Book XXI._ Meantime Minerva has prompted Penelope to propose to the +suitors to string Ulysses' bow and shoot an arrow through twelve +rings. Armed with this weapon, and followed by handmaids bearing bow, +string, and arrows, Penelope appears in the banquet-hall, where the +suitors eagerly accept her challenge. But, after Antinous has vainly +striven to bend the bow, the others warily try sundry devices to +ensure its pliancy. + +Meantime, noticing that the swineherd and one of his companions--upon +whose fidelity he counts--have left the hall, Ulysses follows them, +makes himself known by means of his scar, and directs them what to do. +Then, returning into the hall, he silently watches the suitors' +efforts to bend the bow, and, when the last has tried and failed, +volunteers to make the attempt, thereby rousing general ridicule. All +gibes are silenced, however, when the beggar not only spans the bow, +but sends his first arrow through the twelve rings. At the same time +the faithful servants secure the doors of the apartment, and +Telemachus, darting to his father's side, announces he is ready to +take part in the fray. + +_Book XXII._ + + Then fierce the hero o'er the threshold strode; + Stript of his rags, he blazed out like a god. + Full in their face the lifted bow he bore, + And quiver'd deaths, a formidable store; + Before his feet the rattling shower he threw, + And thus, terrific, to the suitor-crew: + "One venturous game this hand hath won to-day; + Another, princes! yet remains to play: + Another mark our arrow must attain. + Phoebus, assist! nor be the labor vain." + Swift as the word the parting arrow sings; + And bears thy fate, Antinous, on its wings. + Wretch that he was, of unprophetic soul! + High in his hands he rear'd the golden bowl: + E'en then to drain it lengthen'd out his breath; + Changed to the deep, the bitter draught of death! + For fate who fear'd amidst a feastful band? + And fate to numbers, by a single hand? + Full through his throat Ulysses' weapon pass'd, + And pierced his neck. He falls, and breathes his last. + +Grimly announcing his second arrow will reach a different goal by +Apollo's aid, Ulysses shoots the insolent Antinous through the heart +and then begins to taunt and threaten the other suitors. Gazing wildly +around them for weapons or means of escape, these men discover how +cleverly they have been trapped. One after another now falls beneath +the arrows of Ulysses, who bids his son hasten to the storeroom and +procure arms for them both as there are not arrows enough to dispose +of his foes. Through Telemachus' heedlessness in leaving the doors +open, the suitors contrive to secure weapons too, and the fight in the +hall rages until they all have been slain. Then the doors are thrown +open, and the faithless maids are compelled to remove the corpses and +purify the room, before they are hanged! + +_Book XXIII._ The old nurse has meantime had the privilege of +announcing Ulysses' safe return to his faithful retainers, and last of +all to the sleeping Penelope. Unable to credit such tidings,--although +the nurse assures her she has seen his scar,--Penelope imagines the +suitors must have been slain by some god who has come to her rescue. +She decides, therefore, to go down and congratulate her son upon being +rid of those who preyed upon his wealth. Seeing she does not +immediately fall upon his father's neck, Telemachus hotly reproaches +her, but she rejoins she must have some proof of the stranger's +identity and is evidently repelled by his unprepossessing appearance. +Hearing this, Ulysses suggests that all present purify themselves, +don fresh garments, and partake of a feast, enlivened by the songs of +their bard. While he is attended by the old nurse, Minerva sheds upon +him such grace that, when he reappears, looking like a god, he dares +reproach Penelope for not recognizing him. Then, hearing her order +that his bed be removed to the portico, he hotly demands who cut down +the tree which formed one of its posts? Because this fact is known +only to Penelope and to the builder of the bed, she now falls upon +Ulysses' neck, begging his pardon. Their joy at being united is marred +only by Ulysses' determination soon to resume his travels, and pursue +them until Tiresias' prediction has been fulfilled. That night is +spent in mutual confidences in regard to all that has occurred during +their twenty years' separation, and when morning dawns Ulysses and his +son go to visit Laertes. + +_Book XXIV._ Mindful of his office as conductor of souls to Hades, +Mercury has meanwhile entered the palace of Ulysses, and, waving his +wand, has summoned the spirits of the suitors, who, uttering plaintive +cries, follow him down to the infernal regions. + + Cyllenius now to Pluto's dreary reign + Conveys the dead, a lamentable train! + The golden wand, that causes sleep to fly, + Or in soft slumber seals the wakeful eye, + That drives the ghosts to realms of night or day, + Points out the long uncomfortable way. + Trembling the spectres glide, and plaintive vent + Thin hollow screams, along the deep descent. + As in the cavern of some rifty den, + Where flock nocturnal bats and birds obscene, + Cluster'd they hang, till at some sudden shock, + They move, and murmurs run through all the rock: + So cowering fled the sable heaps of ghosts; + And such a scream fill'd all the dismal coasts. + +There they overhear Ajax giving Achilles a minute account of his +funeral,--the grandest ever seen,--and when questioned describe +Penelope's stratagem in regard to the Web and to Ulysses' bow. + +Meanwhile Ulysses has arrived at his father's farm, where the old man +is busy among his trees. To prepare Laertes for his return, Ulysses +relates one of his fairy tales ere he makes himself known. Like +Penelope, Laertes proves incredulous, until Ulysses points out the +trees given him when a child and exhibits his scar. + + Smit with the signs which all his doubts explain, + His heart within him melts; his knees sustain + Their feeble weight no more; his arms alone + Support him, round the loved Ulysses thrown: + He faints, he sinks, with mighty joys oppress'd: + Ulysses clasps him to his eager breast. + +To celebrate their reunion, a banquet is held, which permits the +Ithacans to show their joy at their master's return. Meanwhile the +friends of the suitors, having heard of the massacre, determine to +avenge them by slaying father and son. But, aided by Minerva and +Jupiter, these two heroes present so formidable an appearance, that +the attacking party concludes a treaty, which restores peace to Ithaca +and ends the Odyssey. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 3: The quotations of the Odyssey are taken from Pope's +translation.] + +[Footnote 4: See chapter on Venus in the author's "Myths of Greece and +Rome."] + + + + +LATIN EPICS + + +Latin literature took its source in the Greek, to which it owes much +of its poetic beauty, for many of its masterpieces are either +translations or imitations of the best Greek writings. There have +been, for instance, numerous translations of the Iliad and Odyssey, +the first famous one being by the "father of Roman dramatic and epic +poetry," Livius Andronicus, who lived in the third century B.C. He +also attempted to narrate Roman history in the same strain, by +composing an epic of some thirty-five books, which are lost. + +Another poet, Naevius, a century later composed the Cyprian Iliad, as +well as a heroic poem on the first Punic war (Bellum Punicum), of +which only fragments have come down to us. Then, in the second century +before our era, Ennius made a patriotic attempt to sing the origin of +Rome in the Annales in eighteen books, of which only parts remain, +while Hostius wrote an epic entitled Istria, which has also perished. +Lucretius' epic "On the Nature of Things" is considered an example of +the astronomical or physical epic. + +The Augustan age proved rich in epic poets, such as Publius Terentius +Varro, translator of the Argonautica and author of a poem on Julius +Caesar; Lucius Varius Rufus, whose poems are lost; and, greatest of +all, Virgil, of whose latest and greatest work, the Aeneid, a complete +synopsis follows. Next to this greatest Latin poem ranks Lucan's +Pharsalia, wherein he relates in ten books the rivalry between Caesar +and Pompey, while his contemporary Statius, in his Thebais and +unfinished Achilleis, works over the time-honored cycles of Thèbes and +Troy. During the same period Silius Italicus supplied a lengthy poem +on the second Punic war, and Valerius Flaccus a new translation or +adaptation of the Argonautica. + +In the second century of our own era Quintius Curtius composed an epic +on Alexander, and in the third century Juvencus penned the first +Christian epic, using the Life of Christ as his theme. In the fifth +century Claudianus harked back to the old Greek myths of the battle of +the Giants and of the Abduction of Persephone, although by that time +Christianity was well established in Italy. From that epoch Roman +literature practically ceased to exist, for although various attempts +at Latin epics were made by mediaeval poets, none of them proved of +sufficient merit to claim attention here. + + + + +THE AENEID + + +_Book I._ After stating he is about to sing the deeds of the heroic +ancestor of the Romans, Virgil describes how, seven years after +escaping from burning Troy, Aeneas' fleet was overtaken by a terrible +storm off the coast of Africa. This tempest, raised by the turbulent +children of Aeolus at Juno's request, threatened before long to +destroy the Trojan fleet. But, disturbed by the commotion overhead and +by Aeneas' frantic prayers for help, Neptune suddenly arose from the +bottom of the sea, angrily ordered the winds back to their cave, and +summoned sea-nymphs and tritons to the Trojans' aid. Soon, therefore, +seven of the vessels came to anchor in a sheltered bay, where Aeneas +landed with his friend Achates. While reconnoitring, they managed to +kill seven stags with which to satisfy the hunger of the men, whom +Aeneas further cheered by the assurance that they were the destined +ancestors of a mighty people. + +Meantime Venus, beholding the plight of her son Aeneas, had hastened +off to Olympus to remind Jupiter of his promise to protect the remnant +of the Trojan race. Bestowing a kiss, the King of the Gods assured her +that after sundry vicissitudes Aeneas would reach Italy, where in due +time his son would found Alba Longa. Jupiter added a brief sketch of +what would befall this hero's race, until, some three hundred years +after his death, one of his descendants, the Vestal Ilia, would bear +twin sons to Mars, god of War. One of these, Romulus, would found +the city of Rome, where the Trojan race would continue its heroic +career and where Caesar would appear to fill the world with his fame. + + "From Troy's fair stock shall Caesar rise, + The limits of whose victories + Are ocean, of his fame the skies."[5] + +Having thus quieted Venus' apprehensions in regard to her son, Jupiter +directed Mercury to hasten off to Carthage so as to warn Dido she is +to receive hospitably the Trojan guests. + +After a sleepless night Aeneas again set out with Achates to explore, +and encountered in the forest his goddess mother in the guise of a +Tyrian huntress. In respectful terms--for he suspected she was some +divinity in disguise--Aeneas begged for information and learned he has +landed in the realm of Dido. Warned in a vision that her brother had +secretly slain her husband and was plotting against her life, this +Tyrian queen had fled from Tyre with friends and wealth, and, on +reaching this part of Africa, had, thanks to the clever device of a +bull's hide, obtained land enough to found the city of Byrsa or +Carthage. In return Aeneas gave the strange huntress his name, +relating how the storm had scattered all his vessels save the seven +anchored close by. To allay his anxiety in regard to his friends, +Venus assured him that twelve swans flying overhead were omens of the +safety of his ships, and it was only when she turned to leave him that +Aeneas recognized his mother, who, notwithstanding his desire to +embrace her, promptly disappeared. + +The two Trojans now walked on in the direction she indicated until +dazzled by the beauty of the new city of Carthage, which was rising +rapidly, thanks to the activity of Dido's subjects. In its centre +stood a wonderful temple, whose brazen gates were decorated with +scenes from the War of Troy. Hidden from all eyes by a divine mist, +Aeneas and Achates tearfully gazed upon these reminders of the glories +past and mingled with the throng until Queen Dido appeared. + +She was no sooner seated upon her throne than she summoned into her +presence some prisoners just secured, in whom Aeneas recognized with +joy the various captains of his missing ships. Then he overheard them +bewail the storm which robbed them of their leader, and was pleased +because Dido promised them entertainment and ordered a search made for +their chief. + +The right moment having come, the cloud enveloping Aeneas and Achates +parted, and Dido thus suddenly became aware of the presence of other +strangers in their midst. Endowed by Venus with special attractions so +as to secure the favor of the Libyan queen, Aeneas stepped gracefully +forward, made himself known, and, after paying due respect to the +queen, joyfully greeted his comrades. Happy to harbor so famous a +warrior, Dido invited Aeneas to a banquet in her palace, an invitation +he gladly accepted, charging Achates to hasten back to the ships to +announce their companions' safety and to summon Iulus or Ascanius to +join his father. To make quite sure Aeneas should captivate Dido's +heart, Venus now substituted Cupid for Iulus, whom she meantime +conveyed to one of her favorite resorts. It was therefore in the guise +of the Trojan prince that Cupid, during the banquet, caressingly +nestled in Dido's arms and stealthily effaced from her heart all +traces of her former husband's face, filling it instead with a +resistless passion for Aeneas, which soon impelled her to invite him +to relate his escape from Troy. + +_Book II._ With the eyes of all present upon him, Aeneas related how +the Greeks finally devised a colossal wooden horse, wherein their +bravest chiefs remained concealed while the remainder of their forces +pretended to sail home, although they anchored behind a neighboring +island to await the signal to return and sack Troy. Overjoyed by the +departure of the foe, the Trojans hastened down to the shore, where, +on discovering the huge wooden horse, they joyfully proposed to drag +it into their city as a trophy. In vain their priest, Laocoon, +implored them to desist, hurling his spear at the horse to prove it +was hollow and hence might conceal some foe. This daring and apparent +sacrilege horrified the Trojans, who, having secured a Greek fugitive +in a swamp near by, besought him to disclose what purpose the horse +was to serve. Pretending to have suffered great injustice at the +Greeks' hands, the slave (Sinon) replied that if they removed the +wooden horse into their walls the Trojans would greatly endanger the +safety of their foes, who had left it on the shore to propitiate +Neptune. Enticed by this prospect, the Trojans proved more eager than +ever to drag the horse into their city, even though it necessitated +pulling down part of their walls. Meantime part of the crowd gathered +about Laocoon who was to offer public thanks on the sea-shore, but, +even while he was standing at the altar, attended by his sons, two +huge serpents arose out of the sea and, coiling fiercely around priest +and both acolytes, throttled them in spite of their efforts. + + He strains his strength their knots to tear, + While gore and slime his fillets smear, + And to the unregardful skies + Sends up his agonizing cries. + +On seeing this, the horror-struck Trojans immediately concluded +Laocoon was being punished for having attacked the wooden horse, which +they joyfully dragged into Troy, although the prophet-princess, +Cassandra, besought them to desist, foretelling all manner of woe. + +Night now fell upon the city, where, for the first time in ten years, +all slept peacefully without fear of surprise. At midnight Sinon +released the captive Greeks from the wooden steed, and, joined by +their companions, who had noiselessly returned, they swarmed all over +the undefended city. Aeneas graphically described for Dido's benefit +his peaceful sleep, when the phantom of the slaughtered Hector bade +him arise and flee with his family, because the Greeks had already +taken possession of Troy! At this moment loud clamors awakened him, +confirming what he had just heard in dream. Aeneas immediately rushed +to the palace to defend his king, he and his men stripping the armor +from fallen Greeks to enable them to get there unmolested. Still, they +arrived only in time to see Achilles' son rush into the throne-room +and cruelly murder the aged Priam after killing his youngest son. They +also beheld the shrieking women ruthlessly dragged off into captivity, +Cassandra wildly predicting the woes which would befall the Greek +chiefs on their way home. + + Ah see! the Priameian fair, + Cassandra, by her streaming hair + Is dragged from Pallas' shrine, + Her wild eyes raised to Heaven in vain-- + Her eyes, alas! for cord and chain + Her tender hands confine. + +The fall of aged Priam and the plight of the women reminding Aeneas of +the danger of his own father, wife, and son, he turned to rush home. +On his way thither he met his mother, who for a moment removed the +mortal veil from his eyes, to let him see Neptune, Minerva, and Juno +zealously helping to ruin Troy. Because Venus passionately urged her +son to escape while there was yet time, Aeneas, on reaching home, +besought his father Anchises to depart, but it was only when the old +man saw a bright flame hover over the head of his grandson, Iulus, +that he realized heaven intended to favor his race and consented to +leave. Seeing him too weak to walk, his son bade him hold the +household goods, and carried him off on his back, leading his boy by +the hand and calling to his wife and servants to follow. Thus +burdened, Aeneas reached a ruined fane by the shore, only to discover +his beloved wife was missing. Anxiously retracing his footsteps, he +encountered her shade, which bade him cease seeking for her among the +living and hasten to Hesperia, where a new wife and home awaited him. + + "Then, while I dewed with tears my cheek + And strove a thousand things to speak, + She melted into night: + Thrice I essayed her neck to clasp: + Thrice the vain semblance mocked my grasp, + As wind or slumber light." + +Thus enlightened in regard to his consort's fate and wishes, Aeneas +hastened back to his waiting companions, and with them prepared to +leave the Trojan shores. + +_Book III._ Before long Aeneas' fleet landed on the Thracian coast, +where, while preparing a sacrifice, our hero was horrified to see +blood flow from the trees he cut down. This phenomenon was, however, +explained by an underground voice, relating how a Trojan was robbed +and slain by the inhabitants of this land, and how trees had sprung +from the javelins stuck in his breast. + +Unwilling to linger in such a neighborhood, Aeneas sailed to Delos, +where an oracle informed him he would be able to settle only in the +land whence his ancestors had come. Although Anchises interpreted this +to mean they were to go to Crete, the household gods informed Aeneas, +during the journey thither, that Hesperia was their destined goal. +After braving a three-days tempest, Aeneas landed on the island of the +Harpies, horrible monsters who defiled the travellers' food each time +a meal was spread. They not only annoyed Aeneas in this way, but +predicted, when attacked, that he should find a home only when driven +by hunger to eat boards. + + "But ere your town with walls ye fence, + Fierce famine, retribution dread + For this your murderous violence, + Shall make you eat your boards for bread." + +Sailing off again, the Trojans next reached Epirus, which they found +governed by Helenus, a Trojan, for Achilles' son had already been +slain. Although Hector's widow was now queen of the realm where she +had been brought a captive, she still mourned for her noble husband, +and gladly welcomed the fugitives for his sake. It was during the +parting sacrifice that Helenus predicted that, after long wanderings, +his guests would settle in Italy, in a spot where they would find a +white sow suckling thirty young. He also cautioned Aeneas about the +hidden dangers of Charybdis and Scylla, and bade him visit the Cumaean +Sibyl, so as to induce her, if possible, to lend him her aid. + +Restored and refreshed by this brief sojourn among kinsmen, Aeneas and +his followers resumed their journey, steering by the stars and +avoiding all landing in eastern or southern Italy which was settled by +Greeks. After passing Charybdis and Scylla unharmed, and after gazing +in awe at the plume of smoke crowning Mt. Aetna, the Trojans rescued +one of the Greeks who had escaped with Ulysses from the Cyclops' cave +but who had not contrived to sail away. + +To rest his weary men, Aeneas finally landed at Drepanum, in Sicily, +where his old father died and was buried with all due pomp. It was +shortly after leaving this place, that Aeneas' fleet had been +overtaken by the terrible tempest which had driven his vessels to +Dido's shore. + + So King Aeneas told his tale + While all beside were still, + Rehearsed the fortunes of his sail + And fate's mysterious will: + Then to its close his legend brought + And gladly took the rest he sought. + +_Book IV._ While Aeneas rested peacefully, Dido's newborn passion kept +her awake, causing her at dawn to rouse her sister Anna, so as to +impart to her the agitated state of her feelings. Not only did Anna +encourage her sister to marry again, but united with her in a prayer +to which Venus graciously listened, although Juno reminded her that +Trojans and Carthaginians were destined to be foes. Still, as Goddess +of Marriage, Juno finally consented that Aeneas and Dido be brought +together in the course of that day's hunt. + +We now have a description of the sunrise, of the preparations for the +chase, of the queen's dazzling appearance, and of the daring +huntsmanship of the false Iulus. But the brilliant hunting expedition +is somewhat marred in the middle of the day by a sudden thunderstorm, +during which Aeneas and Dido accidentally seek refuge in the same +cave, where we are given to understand their union takes place. So +momentous a step, proclaimed by the hundred-mouthed Goddess of Fame, +rouses the ire of the native chiefs, one of whom fervently hopes +Carthage may rue having spared these Trojan refugees. This prayer is +duly registered by Jupiter, who further bids Mercury remind Aeneas his +new realm is to be founded in Italy and not on the African coast! + +Thus divinely ordered to leave, Aeneas dares not disobey, but, +dreading Dido's reproaches and tears, he prepares to depart secretly. +His plans are, however, detected by Dido, who vehemently demands, how +he dares forsake her now? By Jupiter's orders, Aeneas remains unmoved +by her reproaches, and sternly reminds her that he always declared he +was bound for Italy. So, leaving Dido to brood over her wrongs, Aeneas +hastens down to the shore to hasten his preparations for departure. +Seeing this, Dido implores her sister to detain her lover, and, as +this proves vain, orders a pyre erected, on which she places all the +objects Aeneas has used. + +That night the gods arouse Aeneas from slumber to bid him sail without +taking leave of the Tyrian queen. In obedience to this command, our +hero cuts with his sword the rope which moors his vessel to the +Carthaginian shore, and sails away, closely followed by the rest of +his fleet. From the watch-tower at early dawn, Dido discovers his +vanishing sails, and is so overcome by grief that, after rending "her +golden length of hair" and calling down vengeance upon Aeneas, she +stabs herself and breathes her last in the midst of the burning pyre. +The Carthaginians, little expecting so tragical a denouement, witness +the agony of their beloved queen in speechless horror, while Anna +wails aloud. Gazing down from heaven upon this sad scene, Juno +directs Iris to hasten down and cut off a lock of Dido's hair, for it +is only when this mystic ceremony has been performed that the soul can +leave the body. Iris therefore speedily obeys, saying: + + "This lock to Dis I bear away + And free you from your load of clay:" + So shears the lock: the vital heats + Disperse, and breath in air retreats. + +_Book V._ Sailing on, Aeneas, already dismayed by the smoke rising +from the Carthaginian shore, is further troubled by rapidly gathering +clouds. His weather-wise pilot, Palinurus, suggests that, since "the +west is darkening into wrath," they run into the Drepanum harbor, +which they enter just one year after Anchises' death. There they show +due respect to the dead by a sacrifice, of which a serpent takes his +tithe, and proceed to celebrate funeral games. We now have a detailed +account of the winning of prizes for the naval, foot, horse and +chariot races, and the boxing and archery matches. + +While all the men are thus congenially occupied, the Trojan women, +instigated by Juno in disguise, set fire to the ships, so they need no +longer wander over seas they have learned to loathe. One of the +warriors, seeing the smoke, raises the alarm, and a moment later his +companions dash down to the shore to save their ships. Seeing his +fleet in flames, Aeneas wrings his hands, and prays with such fervor +that a cloudburst drenches his burning vessels. Four, however, are +beyond repair; so Aeneas, seeing he no longer has ship-room for all +his force, allows the Trojans most anxious to rest to settle in +Drepanum, taking with him only those who are willing to share his +fortunes. + +Before he leaves, his father's ghost appears to him, bidding him, +before settling in Latium, descend into Hades by way of Lake Avernus, +and visit him in the Elysian Fields to hear what is to befall his +race. + +When Aeneas leaves Drepanum on the next day, his mother pleads so +successfully in his behalf that Neptune promises to exact only one +life as toll. + + "One life alone shall glut the wave; + One head shall fall the rest to save." + +_Book VI._ Steering to Cumae, where the Sibyl dwells, Aeneas seeks her +cave, whose entrance is barred by bronzen gates, on which is +represented the story of Daedalus,--the first bird man,--who, escaping +from the Labyrinth at Crete, gratefully laid his wings on this altar. +We are further informed that the Sibyl generally wrote her oracles on +separate oak leaves, which were set in due order in her cave, but +which the wind, as soon as the doors opened, scattered or jumbled +together, so that most of her predictions proved unintelligible to +those who visited her shrine. After a solemn invocation, Aeneas +besought her not to baffle him by writing on oak leaves, and was +favored by her apparition and the announcement that, after escaping +sundry perils by land and sea and reddening the Tiber with blood, he +would, thanks to Greek aid, triumph over his foes and settle in Latium +with a new bride. Undaunted by the prospect of these trials, Aeneas +besought the Sibyl to guide him down to Hades, to enable him to visit +his father, a journey she flatly refused to undertake, unless he +procured the golden bough which served as a key to that region, and +unless he showed due respect to the corpse of his friend. Although +both conditions sounded mysterious when uttered, Aeneas discovered, on +rejoining his crew, that one of his Trojans had been slain. After +celebrating his funeral, our hero wandered off into a neighboring +forest, where some doves--his mother's birds--guided him to the place +where grew the golden bough he coveted. + +Armed with this talisman and escorted by the Sibyl, Aeneas, by way of +Lake Avernus, entered the gloomy cave which formed the entrance to +Hades. Following the flying footsteps of his mystic guide, he there +plunged into the realm of night, soon reaching the precinct of +departed souls, where he saw innumerable shades. Although he +immediately crossed the river in Charon's leaky punt, many spirits +were obliged to wait a hundred years, simply because they could not +pay for their passage. Among these unfortunates Aeneas recognized his +recently drowned pilot, who related how he had come to his death and +by what means he was going to secure funeral honors. + +In spite of the three-headed dog and sundry other grewsome sights, +Aeneas and his guide reached the place where Minos holds judgment over +arriving souls, and viewed the region where those who died for love +were herded together. Among these ghosts was Dido, but, although +Aeneas pityingly addressed her, she sullenly refused to answer a word. +Farther on Aeneas came to the place of dead heroes, and there beheld +brave Hector and clever Teucer, together with many other warriors who +took part in the Trojan War. + +After allowing him to converse a brief while with these friends, the +Sibyl vouchsafed Aeneas a passing glimpse of Tartarus and of its great +criminals, then she hurried him on to the Elysian Fields, the home of +"the illustrious dead, who fighting for their country bled," to +inquire for Anchises. The visitors were immediately directed to a +quiet valley, where they found the aged Trojan, pleasantly occupied +contemplating the unborn souls destined to pass gradually into the +upper world and animate the bodies of his progeny. On beholding his +son, who, as at Drepanum, vainly tried to embrace him, Anchises +revealed all he had learned in regard to life, death, and immortality, +and gave a synopsis of the history of Rome for the next thousand +years, naming its great worthies, from Romulus, founder of Rome, down +to Augustus, first emperor and ruler of the main part of the world. + +This account of the glories and vicissitudes of his race takes +considerable time, and when it is finished the Sibyl guides Aeneas +back to earth by one of the two gates which lead out of this dismal +region. Pleased with having accomplished his errand so successfully +and duly encouraged by all he has learned, Aeneas returns to his fleet +and sets sail for the home he is so anxious to reach. + +_Book VII._ We now skirt with Aeneas the west coast of Italy, sail +past Circe's island, and see his ships driven up the winding Tiber by +favorable winds. On his first landing the Muse Erato rehearses for our +benefit the history of the Latins, whose royal race, represented at +present by Latinus, claims to descend from Saturn. Although Latinus +has already betrothed his daughter Lavinia to Turnus, a neighboring +prince, he is favored by an omen at the moment when the Trojans land. +On seeking an interpretation of this sign, he learns he is not to +bestow his daughter upon Turnus, but is to reserve her hand for a +stranger, whose descendants will be powerful indeed. + +Meantime the Trojans feast upon meat which is served to each man on a +wheaten cake. Young Iulus, greedily devouring his, exclaims playfully +that he is so hungry he has actually eaten the board on which his meal +was spread! Hearing these significant words, his happy father exclaims +they have reached their destined goal, since the Harpies' terrifying +prophecy has been fulfilled. + + "Hail, auspicious land!" he cries, + "So long from Fate my due! + All hail, ye Trojan deities, + To Trojan fortunes true! + At length we rest, no more to roam. + Here is our country, here our home." + +Then the Trojans begin to explore, and, discovering Latinus' capital, +send thither an embassy of a hundred men, who are hospitably +entertained. After hearing all they have to say, Latinus assures them +that men of his race once migrated from Asia, and that the gods have +just enjoined upon him to bestow his daughter upon a foreign +bridegroom. When he proposes to unite Lavinia to Aeneas, Juno, unable +to prevent a marriage decreed by Fate, tries to postpone it by +infuriating Amata, mother of the bride, and causing her to flee into +the woods with her daughter. + +Not satisfied with one manifestation of power, Juno despatches Discord +to ask Turnus if he will tamely allow his promised bride to be given +to another man? Such a taunt is sufficient to determine hot-headed +Turnus to make war, but, as a pretext is lacking, one of the Furies +prompts Iulus to pursue and wound the pet stag of a young shepherdess +called Sylvia. The distress of this rustic maid so excites her +shepherd brothers that they fall upon the Trojans, who, of course, +defend themselves, and thus the conflict begins. Having successfully +broken the peace, Discord hastens back to Juno, who, seeing Latinus +would fain remain neutral, compels him to take part in the war by +opening with her own hand the gates of the temple of Janus. Here the +poet recites the names of the various heroes about to distinguish +themselves on either side, specially mentioning in the Rutules' force +Mezentius, his son Lausus, and the Volscian maid Camilla, who prefers +the stirring life of a camp to the peaceful avocations of her sex. + +_Book VIII._ Because Turnus is reinforced by many allies, Aeneas is +anxious to secure some too, and soon sets out to seek the aid of +Evander, king of Etruria, formerly a Greek. On his way to this realm, +Aeneas perceives on the banks of the Tiber a white sow with thirty +young, which he sacrifices to the gods in gratitude for having pointed +out to him the spot where his future capital will rise. On reaching +the Etruscan's stronghold, Aeneas readily secures the promise of a +large contingent of warriors, who prepare to join him under the +command of Pallas, son of the king. He then assists at a great +Etruscan banquet in honor of one of Hercules' triumphs, and while he +is sleeping there his mother, Venus, induces her blacksmith husband, +Vulcan, to make him a suit of armor. + +Dawn having appeared, Evander entertains his guests with tales, while +his son completes his preparations. Aeneas' departure, however, is +hastened by Venus, who warns her son that his camp is in danger when +she delivers to him the armor she has procured. This is adorned by +many scenes in the coming history of Rome, among which special mention +is made of the twins suckled by the traditional wolf, of the +kidnapping of the Sabines, and of the heroic deeds of Cocles, Cloelia, +and Manlius, as well as battles and festivals galore.[6] + +_Book IX._ Meantime, obedient to Turnus' orders, the Rutules have +surrounded the Trojan camp and set fire to Aeneas' ships. But, as Fate +has decreed these vessels shall be immortal, they sink beneath the +waves as soon as the flames touch them, only to reappear a moment +later as ocean-nymphs and swim down the Tiber to warn Aeneas of the +danger of his friends. This miracle awes the foe, until Turnus boldly +interprets it in his favor, whereupon the Rutules attack the +foreigners' camp so furiously that the Trojans gladly accept the +proposal made by Nisus and Euryalus to slip out and summon Aeneas to +return. + +Stealing out of the Trojan camp by night, these two heroes bravely +thread their way through their sleeping foes, killing sundry famous +warriors as they go, and appropriating choice bits of their spoil. +Leaving death in their wake, the two Trojans pass through the enemy's +ranks and finally enter a forest, where they are pursued by a troop of +the Volscians, who surround and slay Euryalus. But, although Nisus +first manages to escape from their hands, he returns to defend his +comrade and is slain too. The Volscians therefore bear two bloody +heads to the Rutules camp to serve as their war standards on the next +day. It is thus that Euryalus' mother becomes aware of the death of +her son, whom she mourns in touching terms. + + "Was it this, ah me, + I followed over land and sea? + O slay me, Rutules! if ye know + A mother's love, on me bestow + The tempest of your spears! + Or thou, great Thunderer, pity take, + And whelm me 'neath the Stygian lake, + Since otherwise I may not break + This life of bitter tears!" + +To recount all the deeds of valor performed on this day would require +much space, but, although Mars inspires the party of Aeneas with great +courage, it is evidently on the verge of defeat when Jupiter orders +Turnus to withdraw. + +_Book X._ Having convoked his Olympian council, Jupiter forbids the +gods to interfere on either side, and decrees that the present quarrel +shall be settled without divine aid. Hearing this, Venus vehemently +protests that, having promised her son should found a new realm in +Italy, he is bound to protect him, while Juno argues with equal force +that the Trojans should be further punished for kidnapping Helen. +Silencing both goddesses, Jupiter reiterates his orders and dissolves +the assembly. + +The scene now changes back to earth, where the Trojans, closely hemmed +in by foes, long for Aeneas' return. He, on his way back, encounters +the sea-nymphs, who explain they were once his ships and bid him +hasten and rescue his son. Thus admonished, Aeneas hurries back, to +take part in a battle where many heroic deeds are performed, and where +Turnus, Mezentius, and Lausus prove bravest on the enemy's side, +although they find their match in Aeneas, Pallas, and Iulus. Among the +brilliant duels fought, mention must be made of one between Pallas and +Turnus, where notwithstanding his courage the Trojan prince succumbs. +After stripping his companion of his armor, Turnus abandons his corpse +to his friends, who mourn to think that he lost his life while helping +them. Vowing to avenge him, Aeneas next attacks his foe with such fury +that it seems as if Turnus' last day has come, but Juno pleads so +eloquently in his behalf, that, although Fate has decreed he shall +perish, she grants him brief respite. + +To preserve Turnus from the deadly blows of the real Aeneas, Juno +causes him to pursue a phantom foe on board a ship, whose moorings she +loosens, thus setting him adrift upon the Tiber. Perceiving only then +how he has been tricked, Turnus threatens to slay himself, but is +restrained by Juno, who after awhile allows him to land and return to +the battle. Thus deprived of his principal foe, Aeneas ranges over the +battle-field, where he wounds Mezentius and kills Lausus. Seeing his +beloved son is gone, Mezentius is so anxious to die that he now offers +an unresisting throat to Aeneas, who slays him on the spot. + + "One boon (if vanquished foe may crave + The victor's grace) I ask--a grave. + My wrathful subjects round me wait: + Protect me from their savage hate, + And let me in the tomb enjoy + The presence of my slaughtered boy." + +_Book XI._ Having made a trophy of the enemies' spoil, Aeneas, even +before proceeding to bury his own comrades, adorns the body of Pallas +and sends it back to Etruria. Then he bargains with Turnus' +ambassadors for a twelve-days truce, during which both parties +celebrate pompous funerals, the finest of all being that of Pallas. + +Hoping to check further bloodshed, Latinus now proposes a peace, whose +terms Aeneas is willing to accept, but which Turnus angrily rejects +since they deprive him of his promised bride. The conflict is +therefore resumed, and the next interesting episode refers to Camilla, +the warrior maid, whose father when she was only a babe tied her to +the shaft of his spear and flung her across a torrent he was unable to +stem with her in his arms. Having thus saved her from the enemy's +clutches, this father taught Camilla to fight so bravely, that she +causes dire havoc among the Trojans before she dies, using her last +breath to implore Turnus to hasten to the rescue. + + "Go: my last charge to Turnus tell, + To haste with succor, and repel + The Trojans from the town--farewell." + She spoke, and speaking, dropped her rein, + Perforce descending to the plain. + Then by degrees she slips away + From all that heavy load of clay: + Her languid neck, her drowsy head + She droops to earth, of vigor sped: + She lets her martial weapons go: + The indignant soul flies down below. + +_Book XII._ Unappeased by Latinus' reiterated assertions that he is +bestowing Lavinia upon a stranger merely to obey the gods, or by the +entreaties in which Amata now joins, Turnus still refuses peace. More +fighting therefore ensues, during which Aeneas is wounded in the +thigh. While his leech is vainly trying to stanch his blood, Venus +drops a magic herb into the water used for bathing his wounds and thus +miraculously cures him. Plunging back into the fray, which becomes so +horrible that Amata brings Lavinia home and commits suicide, Turnus +and Aeneas finally meet in duel, but, although Juno would fain +interfere once more in behalf of her protégé, Jupiter refuses to allow +it. But he grants instead his wife's petition that the Trojan name and +language shall forever be merged into that of the Latin race. + + "Let Latium prosper as she will, + Their thrones let Alban monarchs fill; + Let Rome be glorious on the earth, + The centre of Italian worth; + But fallen Troy be fallen still, + The nation and the name." + +Toward the end of this momentous encounter, during which both heroes +indulged in sundry boastful speeches, a bird warns Turnus that his end +is near, and his sister Juturna basely deserts him. Driven to bay and +deprived of all other weapons, Turnus finally hurls a rock at Aeneas, +who, dodging this missile, deals him a deadly wound. Turnus now +pitifully begs for mercy, but the sight of Pallas' belt, which his foe +proudly wears, so angers Aeneas that, after wrathfully snatching it +from him, he deals his foe the deadly blow which ends this epic. + + "What! in my friend's dear spoils arrayed + To me for mercy sue? + 'Tis Pallas, Pallas guides the blade: + From your cursed blood his injured shade + Thus takes atonement due." + Thus as he spoke, his sword he drave + With fierce and fiery blow + Through the broad breast before him spread: + The stalwart limbs grow cold and dead: + One groan the indignant spirit gave, + Then sought the shades below. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 5: All the quotations in this article are from Virgil's +Aeneid, Conington's translation.] + +[Footnote 6: See the author's "Story of the Romans."] + + + + +FRENCH EPICS + + +The national epic in France bears the characteristic name of Chanson +de Geste, or song of deed, because the trouvères in the north and the +troubadours in the south wandered from castle to castle singing the +prowesses of the lords and of their ancestors, whose reputations they +thus made or ruined at will. + +In their earliest form these Chansons de Geste were invariably in +verse, but in time the most popular were turned into lengthy prose +romances. Many of the hundred or more Chansons de Geste still +preserved were composed in the northern dialect, or langue d'oil, and, +although similar epics did exist in the langue d'oc, they have the +"great defect of being lost," and only fragments of Flamença, etc., +now exist. + +There are three great groups or cycles of French epics: first the +Cycle of France, dealing specially with Charlemagne,--the champion of +Christianity,--who, representing Christ, is depicted surrounded by +twelve peers instead of twelve disciples. Among these, to carry out +the scriptural analogy, lurks a traitor, Ganelon; so, in the course of +the poems, we are favored with biblical miracles, such as the sun +pausing in its course until pagans can be punished, and angels +appearing to comfort dying knights. The finest sample of this cycle is +without doubt the famous Chanson de Roland, of which a complete +synopsis follows. Other remarkable examples of this cycle are +Aliscans, Raoul de Cambrai, Garin le Lorrain, Guillaume d'Orange, Les +Quatre Fils d'Aymon, Ogier le Danois, etc. + +Even the character of the hero varies from age to age, for whereas +Charlemagne in the Chanson de Roland--which dates perhaps as far back +as the tenth century--is a heroic figure, he becomes during later +periods, when vassals rise up against their overlords,--an object of +contempt and ridicule. A marked example of this latter style of +treatment is furnished by Les Quatre Fils d'Aymon.[7] + +The second group, or cycle of Brittany, animated by a chivalrous +spirit, and hence termed court epic, finds its greatest exponent in +the poet Chrestien de Troyes, whose hero Arthur, King of Brittany, +gathers twelve knights around his table, one of whom, Mordred, is to +prove traitor. The principal poems of this cycle are Launcelot du Lac, +Ivain le Chevalier au Lion, Erec and Enide, Merlin, Tristan, and +Perceval. These poems all treat of chivalry and love, and introduce +the old pagan passion-breeding philtre, as well as a whole world of +magic and fairies. These epics will be noticed at greater length when +we treat of the English versions of Arthur and the Knights of the +Round Table, because many of the poems have been reworked in modern +English and are hence most popular in that language. + +Besides the Chansons de Geste pertaining to various phases of this +theme, the Breton cycle includes many shorter works termed lais, which +also treat of love, and were composed by Marie de France or her +successors. The best known of all these "cante-fables" is the idyllic +Aucassin et Nicolette, of which a full account is embodied in this +volume. + +One of the best samples of the domestic epic in this cycle is the +twelfth century Amis and Amiles, in which two knights, born and +baptized on the same day, prove so alike as to become interchangeable. +Still, brought up in separate provinces, Amis and Amiles meet and +become friends only when knighted by Charlemagne, whose graciousness +toward them rouses the jealousy of the felon knight Hardré. When +Charlemagne finally offers his niece to Amiles (who, through modesty, +passes her on to Amis), the felon accuses the former of treacherously +loving the king's daughter Bellicent, and thereupon challenges him to +fight. Conscious of not being a traitor, although guilty of loving the +princess, Amiles dares not accept this challenge, and changes places +with Amis, who personates him in the lists. Because Amis thus commits +perjury to rescue his friend from a dilemma, he is in due time +stricken with leprosy, deserted by his wife, and sorely ill treated by +his vassals. After much suffering, he discovers his sole hope of cure +consists in bathing in the blood of the children which in the +meanwhile have been born to Amiles and to his princess-wife. When the +leper Amis reluctantly reveals this fact to his friend Amiles, the +latter, although broken-hearted, unhesitatingly slays his children. +Amis is immediately cured, and both knights hasten to church together +to return thanks and inform the mother of the death of her little +ones. The princess rushes to their chamber to mourn over their +corpses, only to discover that meantime they have been miraculously +restored to life! This story is very touchingly told in the old +Chanson, which contains many vivid and interesting descriptions of the +manners of the time. + +In this cycle are also included Gérard de Roussillon, Hugues Capet, +Macaire (wherein occurs the famous episode of the Dog of Montargis), +and Huon de Bordeaux, which latter supplied Shakespeare, Wieland, and +Weber with some of the dramatis personae of their well-known comedy, +poem, and opera. We must also mention what are often termed the +Crusade epics, of which the stock topics are quarrels, challenges, +fights, banquets, and tournaments, and among which we note les +Enfances de Godefroi, Antioche, and Tudela's Song of the Crusade +against the Albigenses. + +The third great cycle is known as Matière de Rome la grand, or as the +antique cycle. It embodies Christianized versions of the doings of the +heroes of the Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, Thebais, Alexandreid, etc. In +their prose forms the Roman de Thèbes, Roman de Troie, and Roman +d'Alexandre contain, besides, innumerable mediaeval embellishments, +among others the first mention in French of the quest for the Fountain +of Youth. + +Later on in French literature we come across the animal epic, or Roman +du Renard, a style of composition which found its latest and most +finished expression in Germany at the hands of Goethe, and the +allegorical epic, Le Roman de la Rose, wherein abstract ideas were +personified, such as Hope, Slander (Malebouche), Danger, etc. + +There are also epic poems based on Le Combat des Trente and on the +doings of Du Guesclin. Ronsard, in his Franciade, claims the Franks as +lineal descendants from Francus, a son of Priam, and thus connects +French history with the war of Troy, just as Wace, in the Norman Roman +de Rou, traces a similar analogy between the Trojan Brutus and +Britain. Later French poets have attempted epics, more or less popular +in their time, among which are Alaric by Scudéri, Clovis by St. +Sorlin, and two poems on La Pucelle, one by Chapelain, and the other +by Voltaire. + +Next comes la Henriade, also by Voltaire, a half bombastic, half +satirical account of Henry IV's wars to gain the crown of France. This +poem also contains some very fine and justly famous passages, but is +too long and too artificial, as a whole, to please modern readers. + +The most popular of all the French prose epics is, without dispute, +Fénelon's Télémaque, or account of Telemachus' journeys to find some +trace of his long-absent father Ulysses. + +Les Martyrs by Chateaubriand, and La Légende des Siècles by Victor +Hugo, complete the tale of important French epics to date. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 7: See the author's "Legends of the Middle Ages."] + + + + +THE SONG OF ROLAND[8] + + +_Introduction._ The earliest and greatest of the French epics, or +chansons de geste, is the song of Roland, of which the oldest copy now +extant is preserved in the Bodleian Library and dates back to the +twelfth century. Whether the Turoldus (Théroulde) mentioned at the end +of the poem is poet, copyist, or mere reciter remains a matter of +conjecture. + +The poem is evidently based on popular songs which no longer exist. It +consists of 4002 verses, written in langue d'oil, grouped in stanzas +or "laisses" of irregular length, in the heroic pentameter, having the +same assonant rhyme, and each ending with "aoi," a word no one has +succeeded in translating satisfactorily. It was so popular that it was +translated into Latin and German (1173-1177), and our version may be +the very song sung by Taillefer at the battle of Hastings in 1066. + +It has inspired many poets, and Roland's death has been sung again by +Goethe, Schiller, Pulci, Boiardo, Ariosto, Berni, Bornier, etc. +History claims that French armies, once in the reign of Dagobert and +once in that of Charlemagne, were attacked and slaughtered in the +Pyrenees, but not by the Saracens. Besides, Charlemagne's secretary, +Eginhart, briefly mentions in his chronicles that in 778, Roland, +prefect of the Marches of Brittany, was slain there.[9] Although the +remainder of the story has no historical basis, the song of Roland is +a poetical asset we would not willingly relinquish. + +PART I. A COUNCIL HELD BY KING MARSILE AT SARAGOSSA.--The Song of +Roland opens with the statement that, after spending seven years in +Spain, Charlemagne is master of all save the city of Saragossa. + + The king, our Emperor Carlemaine, + Hath been for seven full years in Spain. + From highland to sea hath he won the land; + City was none might his arm withstand; + Keep and castle alike went down-- + Save Saragossa the mountain town.[10] + +It is in Saragossa that King Marsile, holding an open-air council, +informs his followers he no longer has men to oppose to the French. +When he inquires what he shall do, the wisest of his advisers suggests +that, when might fails, craft can gain the day. Therefore, he moots +sending gifts to Charlemagne, with a promise to follow him to France +to do homage and receive baptism. Even should Charlemagne exact +hostages, this councillor volunteers to give his own son, arguing it +is better a few should fall than Spain be lost forever. This advice is +adopted by Marsile, who then despatches bearers of olive branches and +gifts to Charlemagne. + +_Council held by Charlemagne at Cordova._ The Saracen emissaries find +the French emperor seated on a golden throne in an orchard, his peers +around him, watching the martial games of fifty thousand warriors. +After receiving Marsile's message, Charlemagne dismisses the +ambassadors for the night, promising answer on the morrow. When he +bids his courtiers state their opinions, Roland impetuously declares +that, as Marsile has tricked them once, it would not become them to +believe him now. His step-father, Ganelon, thereupon terms him a +hot-headed young fool, and avers he prizes his own glory more than his +fellow-men's lives. The wisest among Charlemagne's advisers, however, +Duke Naimes, argues that the Saracen's offers of submission should be +met half-way, and, as the remainder of the French agree with him, +Charlemagne calls for a messenger to bear his acceptance to Marsile. +Although Roland, Oliver, and Naimes eagerly sue for this honor, +Charlemagne, unwilling to spare his peers, bids them appoint a baron. +When Roland suggests his step-father, Ganelon--who deems the +expedition hazardous--becomes so angry that he reviles his step-son in +the emperor's presence, vowing the youth is maliciously sending him to +his death, and muttering he will have revenge. These violent threats +elicit Roland's laughter, but Charlemagne checks the resulting quarrel +by delivering message and emblems of office to Ganelon. To the dismay +of all present, he, however, drops the glove his master hands him, an +accident viewed as an omen of ill luck. Then, making speedy +preparations and pathetically committing wife and son to the care of +his countrymen, Ganelon starts out, fully expecting never to return. + +_The Embassy and the Crime of Ganelon._ On his way to Saragossa, +Ganelon converses with the Saracens, who express surprise that +Charlemagne--whom they deem two hundred years old--should still long +for conquest. In return Ganelon assures them his master will never +cease fighting as long as Roland is one of his peers, for this knight +is determined to conquer the world. The Saracens, noticing his bitter +tone, now propose to rid Ganelon of his step-son, provided he will +arrange that Roland command the rear-guard of the French army. Thus +riding along, they devise the plot whereby this young hero is to be +led into an ambush in the Valley of Roncevaux (Roncesvalles), where, +by slaying him, they will deprive Charlemagne of his main strength. + + "For whoso Roland to death shall bring, + From Karl his good right arm will wring, + The marvellous host will melt away, + No more shall he muster a like array." + +Arriving in the presence of the Saracen king, Ganelon reports +Charlemagne ready to accept his offers, provided he do homage for one +half of Spain and abandon the other to Roland. Because Ganelon adds +the threat that, should this offer be refused, Charlemagne proposes to +seize Saragossa and bear Marsile a prisoner to Aix, the Saracen king +angrily orders the execution of the insolent messenger. But the +Frenchmen's truculent attitude forbids the guards' approach, and thus +gives the ambassadors a chance to inform Marsile that Ganelon has +promised to help them to outwit Charlemagne by depriving him of his +most efficient general. Hearing this, Marsile's anger is disarmed; and +he not only agrees to their plan to surprise Roland while crossing the +Pyrenees, but sends Ganelon back laden with gifts. + +On rejoining his master at the foot of the mountains, Ganelon delivers +the keys of Saragossa, and reports that the caliph has sailed for the +East, with one hundred thousand men, none of whom care to dwell in a +Christian land. Hearing this, Charlemagne, imagining his task +finished, returns thanks to God, and prepares to wend his way back to +France, where he expects Marsile to follow him and do homage for +Spain. + + Karl the Great hath wasted Spain, + Her cities sacked, her castles ta'en; + But now "My wars are done," he cried, + "And home to gentle France we ride." + +_The Rear-guard and Roland Condemned to Death._ On the eve of his +return to "sweet France," Charlemagne's rest is disturbed by horrible +dreams, in one of which Ganelon breaks his lance, while in the other +wild animals are about to attack him. On awaking from this nightmare, +Charlemagne divides his army so as to thread his way safely through +the narrow passes of the mountains, arranging that a force shall +remain twenty miles in his rear to make sure he shall not be surprised +by the foe. When he inquires to whom this important command shall be +entrusted, Ganelon eagerly suggests that, as Roland is the most +valiant of the peers, the task be allotted to him. Anxious to keep his +nephew by him, Charlemagne resents this suggestion, but, when he +prepares to award the post to some one else, Roland eagerly claims it, +promising France shall lose nothing through him. + + "God be my judge," was the count's reply, + "If ever I thus my race belie. + But twenty thousand with me shall rest, + Bravest of all your Franks and best; + The mountain passes in safety tread, + While I breathe in life you have nought to dread." + +Because it is patent to all that his step-father proposed his name +through spite, Roland meaningly remarks that he at least will not drop +the insignia of his rank, and in proof thereof proudly clutches the +bow Charlemagne hands him, and boastfully declares twelve peers and +twenty thousand men will prove equal to any emergency. + +Fully armed and mounted on his steed (Veillantif), Roland, from an +eminence, watches the vanguard of the French army disappear in the +mountain gorges, calling out to the last men that he and his troop +will follow them soon! This vanguard is led by Charlemagne and +Ganelon, and, as it passes on, the heavy tramp of the mailed steeds +causes the ground to shake, while the clash of the soldiers' arms is +heard for miles around. They have already travelled thirty miles and +are just nearing France, whose sunny fields the soldiers greet with +cries of joy, when Duke Naimes perceives tears flowing down the +emperor's cheeks, and learns that they are caused by apprehension for +Roland. + + High were the peaks, and the valleys deep, + The mountains wondrous dark and steep; + Sadly the Franks through the passes wound, + Fully fifteen leagues did their tread resound. + To their own great land they are drawing nigh, + And they look on the fields of Gascony. + They think of their homes and their manors there, + Their gentle spouses and damsels fair. + Is none but for pity the tear lets fall; + But the anguish of Karl is beyond them all. + His sister's son at the gates of Spain + Smites on his heart, and he weeps amain. + +The evident anxiety of Charlemagne fills the hearts of all Frenchmen +with nameless fear, and some of them whisper that Ganelon returned +from Saragossa with suspiciously rich gifts. Meantime Roland, who has +merely been waiting for the vanguard to gain some advance, sets out to +cross the mountains too; where, true to his agreement with Ganelon, +Marsile has concealed a force of one hundred thousand men, led by +twelve Saracen generals, who are considered fully equal to the French +peers, and who have vowed to slay Roland in the passes of Roncevaux. + +PART II. PRELUDE TO THE GREAT BATTLE. It is only when the Saracen army +is beginning to close in upon the French, that the peers become aware +of their danger. Oliver, Roland's bosom friend, the first to descry +the enemy, calls out that this ambush is the result of Ganelon's +treachery, only to be silenced by Roland, who avers none shall accuse +his step-father without proof. Then, hearing of the large force +approaching, Roland exclaims, "Cursed be he who flees," and admonishes +all present to show their mettle and die fighting bravely. + +_The Pride of Roland._ Because the enemies' force so greatly +outnumbers theirs, Oliver suggests that Roland sound his horn to +summon Charlemagne to his aid; but, unwilling to lose any glory, this +hero refuses, declaring he will strike one hundred thousand such +doughty blows with his mighty sword (Durendal), that all the pagans +will be laid low. + + "Roland, Roland, yet wind one blast! + Karl will hear ere the gorge be passed, + And the Franks return on their path full fast." + "I will not sound on mine ivory horn: + It shall never be spoken of me in scorn, + That for heathen felons one blast I blew; + I may not dishonor my lineage true. + But I will strike, ere this fight be o'er, + A thousand strokes and seven hundred more, + And my Durindana shall drip with gore. + Our Franks will bear them like vassals brave. + The Saracens flock but to find a grave." + +In spite of the fact that Oliver thrice implores him to summon aid, +Roland thrice refuses; so his friend, perceiving he will not yield, +finally declares they must do their best, and adds that, should they +not get the better of the foe, they will at least die fighting nobly. +Then Archbishop Turpin--one of the peers--assures the soldiers that, +since they are about to die as martyrs, they will earn Paradise, and +pronounces the absolution, thus inspiring the French with such courage +that, on rising from their knees, they rush forward to earn a heavenly +crown. + +Riding at their head, Roland now admits to Oliver that Ganelon must +have betrayed them, grimly adding that the Saracens will have cause to +rue their treachery before long. Then he leads his army down the +valley to a more open space, where, as soon as the signal is given, +both friends plunge into the fray, shouting their war-cry +("Montjoie"). + +_The Medley._ In the first ranks of the Saracens is a nephew of +Marsile, who loudly boasts Charlemagne is about to lose his right arm; +but, before he can repeat this taunt, Roland, spurring forward, runs +his lance through his body and hurls it to the ground with a turn of +his wrist. Then, calling out to his men that they have scored the +first triumph, Roland proceeds to do tremendous execution among the +foe. The poem describes many of the duels which take place,--for each +of the twelve peers specially distinguishes himself,--while the +Saracens, conscious of vastly superior numbers, return again and again +to the attack. Even the archbishop fights bravely, and Roland, after +dealing fifteen deadly strokes with his lance, resorts to his sword, +thus meeting the Saracens at such close quarters that every stroke of +his blade hews through armor, rider, and steed. + + At the last it brake; then he grasped in hand + His Durindana, his naked brand. + He smote Chernubles' helm upon, + Where, in the centre, carbuncles shone: + Down through his coif and his fell of hair, + Betwixt his eyes came the falchion bare, + Down through his plated harness fine, + Down through the Saracen's chest and chine, + Down through the saddle with gold inlaid, + Till sank in the living horse the blade, + Severed the spine where no joint was found, + And horse and rider lay dead on ground. + +In spite of Roland's doughty blows, his good sword suffers no harm, +nor does that of Oliver (Hauteclaire), with which he does such good +work that Roland assures him he will henceforth consider him a +brother. Although the French slay the pagans by thousands, so many of +their own warriors fall, that, by the time they have repulsed the +first Saracen division, only sixty of Roland's men remain alive. + +All nature seems to feel the terrible battle raging in the valley of +Roncevaux, for a terrible storm breaks forth, in France, where, +hearing the roll of the thunder, seeing the flash of the lightning, +and feeling the earth shake beneath their feet, the French fear the +end of the world has come. These poor warriors are little aware that +all this commotion is due to "nature's grief for the death of Roland." + + Now a wondrous storm o'er France hath passed, + With thunder-stroke and whirlwind's blast; + Rain unmeasured, and hail, there came, + Sharp and sudden the lightning's flame; + And an earthquake ran--the sooth I say, + From Besançon city to Wissant Bay; + From Saint Michael's Mount to thy shrine, Cologne, + House unrifted was there none. + And a darkness spread in the noontide high-- + No light, save gleams from the cloven sky. + On all who saw came a mighty fear. + They said, "The end of the world is near." + Alas, they spake but with idle breath,-- + 'Tis the great lament for Roland's death. + +_The Horn._ During the brief respite allowed them, Roland informs +Oliver that he wishes to notify Charlemagne that France has been +widowed of many men. In reply, Oliver rejoins that no Frenchman will +leave this spot to bear such a message, seeing all prefer death and +honor to safety! Such being the case, Roland proposes to sound his +horn, whereupon Oliver bitterly rejoins, had his friend only done so +at first, they would have been reinforced by now, and that the emperor +can no longer reach them in time. He can, however, avenge them and +give them an honorable burial, Roland argues, and he and his friend +continue bickering until the archbishop silences them, bidding Roland +blow his horn. Placing Olifant to his lips, the hero, after drawing a +powerful breath, blows so mighty a blast that it re-echoes thirty +miles away. + +This sound, striking Charlemagne's ear, warns him that his army is in +danger, although Ganelon insists Roland is hunting. While blowing a +second blast, Roland makes so mighty an effort that he actually bursts +the blood-vessels in his temples, and the Frenchmen, hearing that +call, aver with awe that he would never call that way unless in dire +peril. Ganelon, however, again insists that his step-son is in no +danger and is merely coursing a hare. + + With deadly travail, in stress and pain, + Count Roland sounded the mighty strain. + Forth from his mouth the bright blood sprang, + And his temples burst for the very pang. + + On and onward was borne the blast, + Till Karl hath heard as the gorge he passed, + And Naimes and all his men of war. + "It is Roland's horn," said the Emperor, + "And, save in battle, he had not blown." + +With blood pouring from mouth and ears, Roland sounds his horn a third +and last time, producing so long and despairing a note, that Naimes +vows the French must be at the last extremity, and that unless they +hurry they will not find any alive! Bidding all his horns sound as a +signal that he is coming, Charlemagne--after ordering Ganelon bound +and left in charge of the baggage train--leads his men back to Spain +to Roland's rescue. + +As the day is already far advanced, helmets and armors glitter beneath +the rays of the setting sun as the Frenchmen spur along, tears +coursing down their cheeks, for they apprehend what must have befallen +Roland, who was evidently suffering when he blew that third blast! + +_The Rout._ Meanwhile, casting his eyes over the battle-field, now +strewn with corpses, Roland mourns his fallen companions, praying God +to let their souls rest in Paradise on beds of flowers. Then, turning +to Oliver, he proposes that they fight on as long as breath remains in +their bodies, before he plunges back into the fray, still uttering his +war-cry. + +By this time the French are facing a second onslaught of the pagans, +and Roland has felled twenty-four of their bravest fighters before +Marsile challenges him to a duel. Although weak and weary, Roland +accepts, and with his first stroke hews off the Saracen's right hand; +but, before he can follow this up with a more decisive blow, Marsile +is borne away by his followers. Seeing their master gallop off towards +Spain, the remainder of the Saracens, crying that Charlemagne's nephew +has triumphed, cease fighting and flee. Thus, fifty thousand men soon +vanish in the distance, leaving Roland temporary master of the +battle-field, which he knows the emperor will reach only after he has +breathed his last. + +_The Death of Oliver._ Although the Saracens have fled, some Moors +remain to charge the Frenchmen, whom they wish to annihilate before +Charlemagne can arrive. Once more, therefore, Roland urges his +followers to do their best, cursing those who dream of yielding. Not +daring approach the small handful of doughty Frenchmen, the pagans +attack them from a distance with lance, arrow, and spear, tauntingly +crying Charlemagne will have no cause to pride himself upon having +appointed them to guard his rear! Mortally wounded by one of these +spears, Oliver, blindly cutting down the foes nearest him, bids Roland +hasten to his rescue, as it won't be long before they part. Seeing the +stream of blood which flows from his friend's wounds and catching a +glimpse of his livid face, Roland so keenly realizes Oliver's end is +near that he swoons in his saddle. The wounded man, no longer able to +see, meanwhile ranges wildly around the battle-field, striking madly +right and left. In doing so he runs against Roland, and, failing to +recognize him, deals him so powerful a blow that he almost kills him. +Gently inquiring why his friend thus attacks one he loves, Roland +hears Oliver gasp, "I hear you, friend, but do not see you. Forgive me +for having struck you,"--a more than ample apology,--ere he dies. + + See Roland there on his charger swooned, + Olivier smitten with his death wound. + His eyes from bleeding are dimmed and dark, + Nor mortal, near or far, can mark; + And when his comrade beside him pressed, + Fiercely he smote on his golden crest; + Down to the nasal the helm he shred, + But passed no further, nor pierced his head. + Roland marvelled at such a blow, + And thus bespake him soft and low: + "Hast thou done it, my comrade, wittingly? + Roland who loves thee so dear, am I, + Thou hast no quarrel with me to seek." + Olivier answered, "I hear thee speak, + But I see thee not. God seeth thee. + Have I struck thee, brother? Forgive it me." + "I am not hurt, O Olivier; + And in sight of God, I forgive thee here." + Then each to other his head has laid, + And in love like this was their parting made. + +On seeing that his friend has passed away, the heart-broken Roland +again swoons in his saddle, but his intelligent steed stands still +until his master recovers his senses. Gazing around him, Roland now +ascertains that only two other Frenchmen are still alive, and, seeing +one of them severely wounded, he binds up his cuts before plunging +back into the fray, where he accounts for twenty-five pagans, while +the archbishop and the wounded soldier dispose of eleven more. + +_Charlemagne Approaches._ The last Frenchmen are fighting madly +against a thousand Moors on foot and four thousand on horseback, when +the spears flung from a distance lay low the wounded man and deal a +mortal wound to the archbishop. But, even while dying, Turpin joins +Roland in declaring they must continue to fight, so that when the +emperor finds their bodies he can see they have piled hundreds of +corpses around them. This resolve is carried out, however, only at the +cost of dire suffering, for the archbishop is dying and Roland's burst +temples cause him intense pain. Nevertheless, he once more puts his +horn to his lips, and draws from it this time so pitiful a blast that, +when it reaches the ears of Charlemagne, he woefully exclaims: "All is +going ill; my nephew Roland will die to-day, for the sound of his horn +is very weak!" + +Again bidding his sixty thousand trumpets sound, the emperor urges his +troops to even greater speed, until the noise of his horns and the +tramp of his steeds reaches the pagans' ears and admonishes them to +flee. Realizing that, should Roland survive, the war will continue, a +few Moors make a final frantic attempt to slay him before fleeing. +Seeing them advance for a last onslaught, Roland--who has dismounted +for a moment--again bestrides his steed and, accompanied by the +staggering archbishop, bravely faces them. They, however, only fling +missiles from a distance, until Roland's shield drops useless from his +hand and his steed sinks lifeless beneath him! Then, springing to his +feet, Roland defies these cowardly foes, who, not daring to linger any +longer, turn and flee, crying that Roland has won and Spain is lost +unless the emir comes to their rescue! + +_The Last Blessing of the Archbishop._ While the pagans are spurring +towards Saragossa, Roland remains on the battle-field, for, having +lost his steed and being mortally wounded, he cannot attempt to pursue +them. After tenderly removing the archbishop's armor, binding up his +wounds, and placing him comfortably on the ground, Roland brings him +the twelve peers, so he can bless them for the last time. Although +Archbishop Turpin admonishes him to hasten, Roland is so weak, that he +slowly and painfully collects the corpses from mountain and valley, +laying them one by one at the feet of the archbishop, who, with right +hand raised, bestows his blessing. While laying Oliver at Turpin's +feet, Roland faints from grief, so the prelate painfully raises +himself, and, seizing the hero's horn, tries to get down to the brook +to bring him some water. Such is his weakness, however, that he +stumbles and falls dead, face to the ground, before he can fulfil his +kindly intention. + +On recovering consciousness and seeing nothing save corpses around +him, Roland exults to think that Charlemagne will find forty dead +Saracens for every slain Frenchman! Then, feeling his brain slowly +ooze out through his ears, Roland--after reciting a prayer for his +dead companions--grasps his sword in one hand and his horn in the +other, and begins to climb a neighboring hill. He tries to reach its +summit because he has always boasted he would die face toward the +enemy, and he longs to look defiance toward Spain until the end. + +Painfully reaching the top of this eminence, Roland stumbles and falls +across a Saracen, who has been feigning death to escape capture. +Seeing the dreaded warrior unconscious, this coward seizes his sword, +loudly proclaiming he has triumphed; but, at his first touch, +Roland--recovering his senses--deals him so mighty a blow with his +horn, that the Saracen falls with crushed helmet and skull. Having +thus recovered his beloved Durendal, Roland, to prevent its again +falling into the enemy's hands, vainly tries to break it by hewing at +the rocks around him, but, although he uses all the strength he has +left to deal blows that cut through the stone, the good sword remains +undinted. Full of admiration, Roland then recalls the feats Durendal +has enabled him to perform, and, lying down on the grass, places +beneath him sword and horn, so as to defend them dead as well as +alive! Then, having confessed his sins and recited a last prayer, +Roland holds out his glove toward heaven, in token that he surrenders +his soul to God, and begs that an angel be sent to receive it from his +hand. Thus, lying beneath a pine, his face toward Spain, his last +thoughts for France and for God, Roland dies in the presence of the +angels, who bear his soul off to Paradise. + + Roland feeleth his hour at hand; + On a knoll he lies towards the Spanish land. + With one hand beats he upon his breast: + "In thy sight, O God, be my sins confessed. + From my hour of birth, both the great and small, + Down to this day, I repent of all." + As his glove he raises to God on high, + Angels of heaven descend him nigh. + +PART III. REPRISALS. Roland has barely breathed his last when +Charlemagne arrives on the battle-field and, gazing around him, +perceives nothing but corpses. Receiving no answer to his repeated +call for the twelve peers, Charlemagne groans it was not without cause +he felt anxious and mourns that he was not there to take part in the +fray. He and his men weep aloud for their fallen companions, and +twenty thousand soldiers swoon from grief at the sight of the havoc +which has been made! + +Still, only a few moments can be devoted to sorrow, for Duke Naimes, +descrying a cloud of dust in the distance, eagerly suggests that if +they ride on they can yet overtake and punish the foe! Detailing a +small detachment to guard the dead, Charlemagne orders the pursuit of +the Saracens, and, seeing the sun about to set, prays so fervently +that daylight may last, that an angel promises he shall have light as +long as he needs it. Thanks to this miracle, Charlemagne overtakes +the Saracens just as they are about to cross the Ebro, and, after +killing many, drives the rest into the river, where they are drowned. + +It is only when the last of the foe has been disposed of that the sun +sets, and, perceiving it is too late to return to Roncevaux that +night, Charlemagne gives orders to camp on the plain. While his weary +men sleep peacefully, the emperor himself spends the night mourning +for Roland and for the brave Frenchmen who died to defend his cause, +so it is only toward morning that he enjoys a brief nap, during which +visions foreshadow the punishment to be inflicted upon Ganelon and all +who uphold him. + + In the mead the Emperor made his bed, + With his mighty spear beside his head, + Nor will he doff his arms to-night, + But lies in his broidered hauberk white. + Laced is his helm, with gold inlaid. + Girt on Joyeuse, the peerless blade, + Which changes thirty times a day + The brightness of its varying ray. + +Meanwhile the wounded Marsile has returned to Saragossa, where, while +binding up his wounds, his wife comments it is strange no one has been +able to get the better of such an old man as Charlemagne, and exclaims +the last hope of the Saracens now rests in the emir, who has just +landed in Spain. + +At dawn the emperor returns to Roncevaux, and there begins his sad +search for the bodies of the peers. Sure Roland will be found facing +the foe, he seeks for his corpse in the direction of Spain, and, +discovering him at last on the little hill, swoons from grief. Then, +recovering his senses, Charlemagne prays God to receive his nephew's +soul, and, after pointing out to his men how bravely the peers fought, +gives orders for the burial of the dead, reserving only the bodies of +Roland, Oliver, and the archbishop, for burial in France. + +The last respects have barely been paid to the fallen, when a Saracen +herald summons Charlemagne to meet the emir. So the French mount to +engage in a new battle. + +Such is the stimulus of Charlemagne's word's and of his example, that +all his men do wonders. The aged emperor himself finally engages in a +duel with the emir, in the midst of which he is about to succumb, when +an angel bids him strike one more blow, promising he shall triumph. +Thus stimulated, Charlemagne slays the emir, and the Saracens, seeing +their leader slain, flee, closely pursued by the Frenchmen, who enter +Saragossa in their wake. There, after killing all the men, they +pillage the town. + +On discovering that Marsile has meantime died of his wound, +Charlemagne orders his widow to France, where he proposes to convert +her through the power of love. The remainder of the pagans are +compelled to receive baptism, and, when Charlemagne again wends his +way through the Pyrenees, all Spain bows beneath his sceptre. + +At Bordeaux, Charlemagne deposits upon the altar of St. Severin, +Roland's Olifant, filled with gold pieces, before personally escorting +the three august corpses to Blaye, where he sees them interred, ere he +hurries on to Aix-la-Chapelle to judge Ganelon. + +_The Chastisement of Ganelon._ On arriving in his palace, Charlemagne +is confronted by Alda or Aude, a sister of Oliver, who frantically +questions: "Where is Roland who has sworn to take me to wife?" Weeping +bitterly, Charlemagne informs her his nephew is no more, adding that +she can marry his son, but Aude rejoins that, since her beloved is +gone, she no longer wishes to live. These words uttered, she falls +lifeless at the emperor's feet.[11] + + From Spain the emperor made retreat, + To Aix in France, his kingly seat; + And thither, to his halls, there came, + Alda, the fair-and gentle dame. + "Where is my Roland, sire," she cried, + "Who vowed to take me for his bride?" + O'er Karl the flood of sorrow swept; + He tore his beard, and loudly wept. + "Dear sister, gentle friend," he said, + "Thou seekest one who lieth dead: + I plight to thee my son instead,-- + Louis, who lord of my realm shall be." + "Strange," she said, "seems this to me. + God and His angels forbid that I + Should live on earth if Roland die." + Pale grew her cheek--she sank amain, + Down at the feet of Carlemaine. + So died she. God receive her soul! + The Franks bewail her in grief and dole. + +The time having come for the trial, Ganelon appears before his judges, +laden with chains and tied to a stake as if he were a wild beast. When +accused of depriving Charlemagne of twenty thousand Frenchmen, Ganelon +retorts he did so merely to avenge his wrongs, and hotly denies having +acted as a traitor. Thirty of his kinsmen sustain him in this +assertion, one of them even volunteering to meet the emperor's +champion in a judicial duel. As the imperial champion wins, Ganelon +and his relatives are adjudged guilty, but, whereas the latter thirty +are merely hanged, the traitor himself is bound to wild horses until +torn asunder. + +Having thus done justice, Charlemagne informs his courtiers they are +to attend the baptism of a Saracen lady of high degree, who is about +to be received into the bosom of the church. + + The men of Bavaria and Allemaine, + Norman and Breton return again, + And with all the Franks aloud they cry, + That Gan a traitor's death shall die. + They bade be brought four stallions fleet; + Bound to them Ganelon, hands and feet: + Wild and swift was each savage steed, + And a mare was standing within the mead; + Four grooms impelled the coursers on,-- + A fearful ending for Ganelon. + His every nerve was stretched and torn, + And the limbs of his body apart were borne; + The bright blood, springing from every vein, + Left on the herbage green its stain. + He dies a felon and recreant: + Never shall traitor his treason vaunt. + +_End of the Song._ Having thus punished the traitor and converted the +heathen, Charlemagne, lying in his chamber one night, receives a visit +from the angel Gabriel, who bids him go forth and do further battle +against the pagans. Weary of warfare and longing for rest, the aged +emperor moans, "God, how painful is my life!" for he knows he must +obey. + + When the emperor's justice was satisfied, + His mighty wrath did awhile subside. + Queen Bramimonde was a Christian made. + The day passed on into night's dark shade; + As the king in his vaulted chamber lay, + Saint Gabriel came from God to say, + "Karl, thou shalt summon thine empire's host, + And march in haste to Bira's coast; + Unto Impha city relief to bring, + And succor Vivian, the Christian king. + The heathens in siege have the town essayed, + And the shattered Christians invoke thine aid." + Fain would Karl such task decline. + "God! what a life of toil is mine!" + He wept; his hoary beard he wrung. + +Here ends the Song of Théroulde. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 8: Another version of this story can be found in the +author's "Legends of the Middle Ages."] + +[Footnote 9: See the author's "Story of Old France."] + +[Footnote 10: All the quotations in this chapter are from John +O'Hagen's translation of the "Song of Roland."] + +[Footnote 11: See the author's "Legends of the Rhine."] + + + + +AUCASSIN AND NICOLETTE + + + Who would list to the good lay + Gladness of the captive grey? + 'Tis how two young lovers met, + Aucassin and Nicolette, + Of the pains the lover bore + And the sorrow he outwore, + For the goodness and the grace, + Of his love, so fair of face. + + Sweet the song, the story sweet, + There is no man hearkens it, + No man living 'neath the sun, + So outwearied, so foredone, + Sick and woful, worn and sad, + But is healèd, but is glad. + 'Tis so sweet. + So say they, speak they, tell they the tale.[12] + +This popular mediaeval ballad is in alternate fragments of verse and +prose, and relates how the Count of Valence made desperate war +against the Count of Biaucaire, a very old and frail man, who saw that +his castle was in imminent danger of being taken and sacked. In his +distress, this old lord besought his son Aucassin, who so far had +taken no interest in the war, to go forth and fight. The youth, +however, refused to do so, saying his heart was wrapped up in love for +Nicolette, a fair slave belonging to a captain in town. This man, +seeing the delicacy of his slave and realizing she must belong to some +good family, had her baptized and treated her as if she were an +adopted daughter. + +On account of Nicolette's lowly condition, Aucassin's father refuses +to listen when the young man proposes to marry her, and sternly bids +him think of a wife better suited, to his rank. The young lover, +however, vehemently insists that Nicolette is fit to be an empress, +and vows he will not fight until he has won her for his own. On seeing +how intractable this youth is, the father beseeches the owner of the +slave to clap her in prison, so that Aucassin will not be able to get +at her in any way. + +Heart-broken to think that his lady-love is undergoing captivity in +his behalf, Aucassin spends his time moping. To induce him to fight, +his father finally promises that if he will go forth and drive away +the foe he will be allowed to see Nicolette and kiss her. The prospect +of such a reward so fires the young hero, that he sallies forth, routs +the besiegers, and, seizing the Count of Valence, brings him back a +prisoner. On entering the castle, he immediately begins to clamor for +Nicolette, but his father now declares he would rather see the maiden +burned as a witch than to let his son have anything more to do with +her. Hearing this, Aucassin indignantly declares such being the case +he will free his prisoner, an act of generosity which infuriates his +father, who hopes to be enriched by the count's ransom. To punish +Aucassin, the Count of Biaucaire now thrusts him into prison, but, +although the lovers are sharing the same fate, they languish apart, +and, therefore, spend all their time lamenting. + +One night, when the moon is shining bright, Nicolette, who has heard +she is likely to be brought to trial and burned, decides to effect her +escape. As the old woman who mounts guard over her is fast asleep, she +softly ties together her sheets and towels, and, fastening them to a +pillar, lets herself down by the window into the garden, from whence +she timidly steals out into the night. + +The poem now artlessly describes Nicolette's beauty as she trips over +the dewy grass, her tremors as she slips through the postern gate, and +her lingering at the foot of the tower where her lover is imprisoned. +While pausing there, Nicolette overhears his voice lamenting, and, +thrusting her head into an aperture in the wall, tells him that she is +about to escape and that as soon as she is gone they will set him +free. To convince her lover that it is she who is talking, Nicolette +cuts off a golden curl, which she drops down into his dungeon, +repeating that she must flee. But Aucassin beseeches her not to go, +knowing a young maid is exposed to countless dangers out in the world, +and vehemently declares he would die were any one to lay a finger upon +her. He adds that she alone shall be his wife, and that the mere +thought of her belonging to any one else is unendurable. This +declaration of love cheers poor Nicolette, who is so entranced by her +lover's words that she fails to notice the approach of a patrol. A +young sentinel, however, peering down from the walls, touched by +Nicolette's beauty and by the plight of these young lovers, warns them +of their danger. But not daring to speak openly to Nicolette, he +chants a musical warning, which comes just in time to enable her to +hide behind a pillar. There she cowers until the guards pass by, then, +slipping down into dry moat,--although it is a perilous +undertaking,--she painfully climbs up its other side and seeks refuge +in a neighboring forest, where, although the poem informs us there are +"beasts serpentine," she feels safer than in town. + +It is while wandering in this wilderness that Nicolette runs across +some shepherds, whom she bribes to go and tell Aucassin a wild beast +is ranging through the forest, and that he should come and slay it as +soon as possible. Having thus devised means to entice her lover out of +Biaucaire, Nicolette wanders on until she reaches a lovely spot, where +she erects a rustic lodge, decking it with the brightest flowers she +can find, in hopes that her lover, when weary of hunting, will rest +beneath its flowery roof, and guess that it was erected by her fair +hands. + +Meantime the Count of Biaucaire, hearing Nicolette has vanished, sets +his son free, and, seeing him sunk in melancholy, urges him to go out +and hunt, thinking the exercise may make him forget the loss of his +beloved. Still, it is only when shepherds come and report that a wild +beast is ranging through the forest, that the youth mounts his steed +and sallies forth, his father little suspecting that instead of +tracking game, he is bent on seeking traces of his beloved. + +Ere long Aucassin encounters an old charcoal-burner, to whom he +confides his loss, and who assures him such a sorrow is nothing +compared to his own. On discovering that the poor man's tears can be +stayed with money, Aucassin bestows upon him the small sum he needs, +receiving in return the information that a lovely maiden has been seen +in the forest. Continuing his quest, Aucassin comes in due time to the +flowery bower, and, finding it empty, sings his love and sorrow in +tones that reach Nicolette's ear. Then, dismounting from his horse to +rest here for the night, Aucassin manages to sprain his shoulder. +Thereupon Nicolette steals into the bower and takes immediate measures +to mitigate the pain. + +The mere fact that Nicolette is beside him helps Aucassin to forget +everything else, and it is only after the first raptures are over, +that they decide not to linger in the forest, where the Count of +Biaucaire will soon find and separate them. To prevent such a +calamity, they decide to depart together, and, as there is no extra +steed for Nicolette to ride, her lover lifts her up on his horse +before him, clasping her tight and kissing her repeatedly as they +gallop along. + + Aucassin the Franc, the fair, + Aucassin of yellow hair, + Gentle knight, and true lover, + From the forest doth he fare, + Holds his love before him there, + Kissing cheek, and chin, and eyes; + But she spake in sober wise, + "Aucassin, true love and fair, + To what land do we repair?" + "Sweet my love, I take no care, + Thou art with me everywhere!" + So they pass the woods and downs, + Pass the villages and towns, + Hills and dales and open land, + Came at dawn to the sea sand, + Lighted down upon the strand, + Beside the sea. + +Thus the lovers travel all night, reach the sea-shore at dawn, and +wander along it, arms twined around each other, while their weary +steed follows them with drooped head. + +At sunrise a vessel nears the shore, upon which they embark to get out +of reach of the wrath of the Count of Biaucaire. The vessel, however, +is soon overtaken by a terrible tempest, which, after tossing it about +for seven days, drives it into the harbor of Torelore. This is the +mediaeval "topsy-turvy land," for on entering the castle Aucassin +learns that the king is lying abed, because a son has been born to +him, while the queen is at the head of the army fighting! This state +of affairs so incenses Aucassin, that armed with a big stick he enters +the king's room, gives him a good beating, and wrings from him a +promise that no man in his country will ever lie abed again when a +child is born, or send his wife out to do hard work. Having effected +this reform in the land of Torelore, Aucassin and Nicolette dwell +there peacefully, for three years, at the end of which time the castle +is taken by some Saracens. They immediately proceed to sack it, +carrying off its inmates to sell them as slaves. Bound fast, Aucassin +and Nicolette are thrust into separate ships, but, although these are +going to the same port, a sudden tempest drives the vessel in which +Aucassin lies to the shore of Biaucaire. There the people capture it, +and finding their young master, set him free, and invite him to take +possession of his castle, for, his father having died during his +absence, he is now master of all he surveys. + +Meantime Nicolette, landing at Carthage, discovers that this is her +native town, and recognizes in her captors--her father and brothers. +They are so overjoyed at recovering this long-lost sister that they +propose to keep her with them, but Nicolette assures them she will +never be happy until she rejoins Aucassin. Meantime she learns to play +on the viol, and, when she has attained proficiency on this +instrument, sets out in the guise of a wandering minstrel to seek her +beloved. Conveyed by her brothers to the land of Biaucaire, Nicolette, +soon after landing, hears that Aucassin, who has recently returned, +is sorely bewailing the loss of his beloved. Presenting herself before +Aucassin,--who does not recognize her owing to the disguise,--Nicolette +plays so charmingly that she draws tears from his eyes. Then she begs +to know his sorrows, and, on hearing he has lost his lady-love, +suggests he woo the king of Carthage's daughter. Loudly averring he +will never woo any one save Nicolette, Aucassin turns sadly away, +whereupon the strolling minstrel assures him he shall see his beloved +before long. Although it seems impossible to Aucassin that this +prediction should be verified, Nicolette has little difficulty in +fulfilling her promise, for, hastening back to her old home, she +obtains some of her own clothes, and, thus restored to her wonted +appearance, presents herself before the delighted Aucassin, who, +overjoyed to see her once more, clasps her rapturously to his heart. + +The ballad adds that the two lovers, united for good and all, lived +happy ever after, and were an example to all faithful lovers in the +beautiful land of Biaucaire. + + Many years abode they there, + Many years in shade or sun, + In great gladness and delight. + Ne'er had Aucassin regret, + Nor his lady Nicolette. + Now my story all is done-- + Said and sung! + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 12: All the quotations in this chapter are from Andrew +Lang's version of "Aucassin and Nicolette."] + + + + +SPANISH EPICS + + +Literature was born in Spain only when the Christians began to +reconquer their country from the Moors. The first literary efforts +therefore naturally reflected a warlike spirit, and thus assumed the +epic form. Very few of these poems still exist in their original shape +save the Poema del Cid, the great epic treasure of Spain, as well as +the oldest monument of Spanish literature. Besides this poem, there +exist fragments of epics on the Infantes of Lara and on Fernan +Gonzales, and hints of others of which no traces now remain. These +poems were popularized in Spain by the juglares, who invented Bernardo +del Carpio so as to have a hero worthy to offset to the Roland of the +jongleurs,--their French neighbors. But the poems about this hero have +all perished, and his fame is preserved only in the prose chronicles. +In the Cronica rimada of the thirteenth century, we discover an +account of the Cid's youth, together with the episode where he slays +Ximena's father, which supplied Corneille with the main theme of his +tragedy. + +The Spaniards also boast of a thirteenth century poem of some +twenty-five hundred stanzas on the life of Alexander, a fourteenth +century romance about Tristan, and the chivalric romance of Amadis de +Gaule, which set the fashion for hosts of similar works, whose +popularity had already begun to wane when Cervantes scotched all +further attempts of this sort by turning the chivalric romance into +ridicule in his Don Quixote. + +The Spaniards also cultivated the epic ballad, or romanceros, previous +to the Golden Age of their literature (1550-1700), drawing their +subjects from the history or legends of France and Spain, and treating +mainly of questions of chivalry and love. Arthur, the Round Table, and +the Quest for the Holy Grail, were their stock subjects, previous to +the appearance of Amadis de Gaule, a work of original fiction +remodelled and extended in the fifteenth century by Garcia Ordonez de +Montalvo. During the Golden Age, Spain boasts more than two hundred +artificial epics, treating of religious, political, and historical +matters. Among these the Auracana of Erzilla, the Argentina of +Centenera, and the Austriada of Rufo can be mentioned. Then Velasco +revived the Aeneid for his countrymen's benefit, and religious themes +such as Azevedo's Creacion del Munde became popular. + +The latest of the Spanish epics is that of Saavedra, who, in his El +Moro Exposito, has cleverly revived the old Spanish legend of the +Infantes of Lara. It is, however, the Cid which is always quoted as +Spain's representative epic. + + + + +THE CID + + +This poem, of some three thousand seven hundred lines, is divided into +two cantos-and was written about 1200. It is a compilation from extant +ballads in regard to the great Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, +born between 1030 and 1040, whose heroic deeds were performed at the +time when the Christian kings were making special efforts to eject the +Moors, who had invaded Spain three hundred years before. + +The first feat mentioned relates that Rodrigo's father, having been +insulted by Don Gomez, pined at the thought of leaving this affront +unavenged, until his son, who had never fought before, volunteered to +defend him. Not only did Rodrigo challenge and slay Don Gomez, but +cutting off his head bore it to his father as a proof that his enemy +was dead, a feat which so pleased the old gentleman that he declared +Rodrigo should henceforth be head of the family. + +After thus signalizing himself, Rodrigo was suddenly called upon to +face five Moorish kings who had been making sallies into Castile. Not +only did he defeat them, but took them prisoners, thereby winning from +them the title by which he is commonly known, of "The Cid" or "The +Lord." + +Shortly after this Donna Ximena, daughter of Don Gomez, appeared +before King Ferrando demanding satisfaction for her father's death, +and consenting to forego revenge only on condition that Rodrigo would +marry her. The young hero having assented, the couple were united in +the presence of the king, after which Rodrigo took his beautiful bride +to his mother, with whom he left her until he had earned the right to +claim her by distinguishing himself in some way. + +It seems that Ferrando of Castile was then disputing from the king of +Aragon the possession of Calahorra, a frontier town. Both monarchs +decided to settle their difference by a duel, stipulating that the +town should belong to the party whose champion triumphed. + +Ferrando having selected Rodrigo as his champion, our hero set out to +meet his opponent, delaying on the way long enough to rescue a leper +from a bog. Then, placing this unfortunate on his horse before him, +Rodrigo bore him to an inn, where, in spite of the remonstrances of +his followers, he allowed the leper to share his bed and board. That +night, while lying beside his loathsome bed-fellow, Rodrigo suddenly +felt a cold breath pass through him, and, on investigating, discovered +that his companion was gone. He beheld in his stead St. Lazarus, who +proclaimed that, since Rodrigo had been so charitable, he would meet +with prosperity, and might know whenever he felt a cold shiver run +down his spine that it was an omen of success. Thus encouraged, +Rodrigo rode on to take part in the duel, but he had been so delayed +that the battle call had already sounded, and Alvar Fanez, his cousin, +was preparing to fight in his stead. Bidding his cousin step aside, +Rodrigo entered the lists, and soon won Calahorra for Ferrando. + +Pleased with what Rodrigo had done, the king now showered honors upon +him, which so aroused the jealousy of the courtiers that they began to +conspire with the Moors to ruin him. It happened, however, that they +addressed their first proposals to the very kings whom Rodrigo had +conquered, and who proved loyal enough to send him word of the plot. +On discovering the treachery of the courtiers, the king banished them, +but the wife of Don Garcia pleaded so eloquently with the Cid, that +he furnished the banished man with letters of introduction to one of +the Moorish kings, who, to please his conqueror, bestowed the city of +Cabra upon him. + +Although treated with such generosity, Don Garcia proved ungrateful, +and even tried to cheat the Moors. Hearing this, the Cid, siding with +his former enemies, came into their country to take away from Don +Garcia the city which had been allotted for his use. + +During one of Ferrando's absences from home, the Moors invaded one of +his provinces, whereupon Rodrigo, in retaliation, besieged the city of +Coimbra. While he was thus engaged his army suffered so much from lack +of provisions that it finally seemed as if he would have to give up +his undertaking. But the monks, who had advised the Cid to besiege the +city, now came to his rescue, and by feeding his army from their own +stores enabled Rodrigo to recover another town from the pagans. + +Delighted with this new accession of territory, Ferrando knighted +Rodrigo, who meantime had added to his title of the Cid that of +Campeador, "the champion," and hereafter was often mentioned as "the +one born in a fortunate hour." In addition, the king bestowed upon +Rodrigo the governorship of the cities of Coimbra and Zamorra, which +were to be reoccupied by Christians. + +Shortly after this, the Pope demanded that Ferrando do homage to the +empire, but the king rejoined that Spain was independent and therefore +refused to obey. Hearing that large forces were marching against him +to compel him to submit, Ferrando placed the Cid at the head of an +army, and our hero not only defeated the enemy at Tobosa, but won so +brilliant a victory that the Pope never ventured to renew his demands. + +Feeling death draw near, Ferrando divided his realm between his sons, +who became kings of Castile, Leon, and Gallicia, and bestowed upon his +daughters the cities of Zamorra and Toro. Although disappointed not to +inherit the whole realm, the eldest prince, Don Sancho, dared not +oppose his father's will, until one of his brothers proceeded to +dispossess one of their sisters. Under the plea that the promise made +to their father had already been broken, Don Sancho now set out to +conquer the whole realm, but proved so unfortunate in his first battle +as to fall into his brother's hands. There he would have remained for +the rest of his life, had not the Cid delivered him, taken his captor, +and confiscated his realm in Sancho's behalf. Hearing this, the third +king, Alfonso, clamored for his share of his brother's spoil, and, as +none was allotted him, declared war in his turn. In this campaign +Sancho proved victorious only when the Cid fought in his behalf, and +the struggle resulted in the imprisonment of Alfonso, who would have +been slain had not his sister asked that he be allowed to enter a +monastery. From there Alfonso soon effected his escape, and hastened +to seek refuge among the Moors at Toledo. + +Don Sancho, having meantime assumed all three crowns, became anxious +to dispossess his sister of Zamorra. But the Cid refused to take part +in so unchivalrous a deed, and thereby so angered the king that he +vowed he would exile him. When the Cid promptly rejoined that in that +case he would hasten to Toledo and offer his services to Alfonso to +help him recover all he had lost, Sancho repented and apologized. He +did not, however, relinquish his project of despoiling his sister of +Zamorra, but merely dispensed the Cid from accompanying him. + +Because Zamorra was well defended by Vellido Dolfos,--the princess' +captain,--King Sancho was not able to take it. He so sorely beset the +inhabitants, however, that Vellido Dolfos resolved to get the better +of him by strategy. Feigning to be driven out of the city, he secretly +joined Don Sancho, and offered to deliver the city into his hands if +the king would only accompany him to a side gate. Notwithstanding +adverse omens, the credulous Sancho, believing him, rode off, only to +meet his death at the postern gate, inside of which his murderer +immediately took refuge. + +On learning that his master has been slain, the Cid hastened to +avenge him, and, as Sancho had left no heir, proclaimed Alfonso his +successor. We are told that this young prince had already heard of his +brother's death through a message from his sister, and, fearing the +Moors would not allow him to depart for good, had merely asked +permission to visit his kin. The wary Moorish king consented, but only +on condition Alfonso would promise never to attack him or his sons, +should he become king. + +When Alfonso arrived at Zamorra, all the Spaniards readily did homage +to him save the Cid, who refused to have anything to do with him until +he had solemnly sworn he had no share in his brother's death. To +satisfy the Cid, therefore, Alfonso and twelve of his men took a +threefold oath in the church of Burgos; but it is said Alfonso never +forgave the humiliation which the Cid thus inflicted upon him. + +The new monarch proved to be a wise ruler for the kingdoms of Leon, +Castile, Gallicia, and Portugal. He was not without his troubles, +however, for shortly after his succession the Cid quarrelled with one +of his nobles. Next the Moorish kings became disunited and Alfonso's +former host summoned him to his aid. Not only did Alfonso assist this +king of Toledo, but invited him into his camp, where he forced him to +release him from the promise made on leaving his city. Not daring to +refuse while in the power of the Christians, the Moorish king +reluctantly consented, and was surprised and delighted to hear Alfonso +immediately renew the oath, for, while not willing to be friends with +the Moors under compulsion, he had no objection to enter into an +alliance with them of his own free will. + +Not long after this the king of Navarre sent forth his champion to +challenge one of Alfonso's, the stake this time being three castles +which the Cid won. But the Moors, taking advantage of the Cid's +illness which followed this battle, rose up against Alfonso, who was +compelled to wage war against them. In this campaign he would have +fallen into the enemy's hands had not the Cid risen from his sick-bed +to extricate him from peril! By this time the renown of the Cid was +so great, that people in speaking of him invariably termed him "the +Perfect One," thereby arousing such jealousy among the courtiers, that +they persuaded Alfonso his subject was trying to outshine him! In +anger the king decreed Rodrigo's immediate banishment, and, instead of +allowing him the customary thirty days to prepare for departure, +threatened to put him to death were he found within the land nine days +later! As soon as the Cid informed his friends he was banished, one +and all promised to follow wherever he went, as did his devoted cousin +Alvar Fanez. + +It is at this point that the present poem of the Cid begins, for the +ballads covering the foregoing part of the Cid's life exist only in a +fragmentary state. We are told that the decree of banishment proved a +signal for the courtiers to plunder the hero's house, and that the Cid +gazing sadly upon its ruins exclaimed, "My enemies have done this!" +Then, seeing a poor woman stand by, he bade her secure her share, +adding that for his part he would henceforth live by pillaging the +Moors, but that the day would come when he would return home laden +with honors. + +On his way to Burgos the Cid was somewhat cheered by good omens, and +was joined by so many knights in quest of adventure that no less than +sixty banners fluttered behind him. A royal messenger had, however, +preceded him to this city, to forbid the people to show him +hospitality and to close his own house against him. The only person +who dared inform the Cid of this fact was a little maid, who +tremblingly reported that he was to be debarred from all assistance. + + "O thou that in a happy hour didst gird thee with the sword, + It is the order of the king; we dare not, O my lord! + Sealed with his royal seal hath come his letter to forbid + The Burgos folk to open door, or shelter thee, my Cid. + Our goods, our homes, our very eyes, in this are all at stake; + And small the gain to thee, though we meet ruin for thy sake. + Go, and God prosper thee in all that thou dost undertake."[13] + +Pausing at the church only long enough to say a prayer, the Cid rode +out of the gates of Burgos and camped on a neighboring hill, where his +nephew Martin Antolinez brought him bread and wine, declaring he would +henceforth share the Cid's fortunes in defiance of the king. It was to +this relative that the Cid confided the fact that he was without funds +and must raise enough money to defray present expenses. Putting their +heads together, these two then decided to fill two huge chests with +sand, and offer them to a couple of Jews in Burgos for six hundred +marks, stating the chests contained treasures too heavy and valuable +to be taken into exile, and assuring them that, if they solemnly +pledged themselves not to open the chests for a year, they could then +claim them, provided the Cid had not redeemed them in the meanwhile. +Trusting to the Cid's word and hoping to enrich themselves by this +transaction, the Jews gladly lent the six hundred marks and bore away +the heavy chests. + +Having thus secured the required supplies, the Cid proceeded to San +Pedro de Cardena, where he entrusted his wife Ximena and two daughters +to the care of the prior, leaving behind him funds enough to defray +all their expenses. Then, although parting with his family was as hard +as "when a finger-nail is torn from the flesh," the Cid rode away, +crossing the frontier just as the nine days ended. He was there +greatly cheered by a vision of the angel Gabriel, who assured him all +would be well with him. + + The prayer was said, the mass was sung, they mounted to depart; + My Cid a moment stayed to press Ximena to his heart: + Ximena kissed his hand, as one distraught with grief was she: + He looked upon his daughters: "These to God I leave," said he; + "Unto our lady and to God, Father of all below; + He knows if we shall meet again:--and now, sirs, let us go." + + As when the finger-nail from out the flesh is torn away, + Even so sharp to him and them the parting pang that day. + Then to his saddle sprang my Cid, and forth his vassals led; + But ever as he rode, to those behind he turned his head. + +Entering the land of the Moors with a force of three hundred men, the +Cid immediately proceeded to take a castle and to besiege the city of +Alcocer. But this town resisted so bravely, that after fifteen weeks +the Cid decided to effect by strategy the entrance denied by force. +Feigning discouragement, he, therefore, left his camp, whereupon the +inhabitants immediately poured out of the city to visit it, leaving +the gates wide open behind them. The Cid, who was merely hiding near +by, now cleverly cut off their retreat and thus entered Alcocer +through wide-open gates. + +No sooner did the Moors learn that the Cid had conquered this +important place, than they hastened to besiege it, cutting off the +water supply, to compel the Christians to come out. To prevent his men +from perishing of thirst, the Cid made so vigorous a sortie that he +not only drove the enemy away, but captured their baggage, thus +winning so much booty that he was able to send thirty caparisoned +steeds to Alfonso, as well as rich gifts in money to his wife. In +return, the bearer of these welcome tokens was informed by King +Alfonso that Rodrigo would shortly be pardoned and recalled. + +Meanwhile the Cid, leaving Alcocer, had taken up his abode on the hill +near Medina, which still bears his name. Thence he proceeded to the +forest of Tebar, where he again fought so successfully against the +Moors that he compelled the city of Saragossa to pay tribute to him. +Rumors of these triumphs enticed hundreds of Castilian knights to join +him, and with their aid he outwitted all the attempts the Moors made +to regain their lost possessions. We are also told that in one of +these battles the Cid took prisoner Don Ramon, who refused to eat +until free. Seeing this, the Cid took his sword, Colada, and promised +to set him and his kinsmen free if they would only eat enough to have +strength to depart. Although doubtful whether this promise would be +kept, Don Ramon and his follows partook of food and rode away, +constantly turning their heads to make sure that they were not +pursued. + + He spurred his steed, but, as he rode, a backward glance he bent, + Still fearing to the last my Cid his promise would repent: + A thing, the world itself to win, my Cid would not have done: + No perfidy was ever found in him, the Perfect One. + +As some of his subjects were sorely persecuted by the Moors, Alfonso +now sent word to the Cid to punish them, a task the hero promised to +perform, provided the king would pledge himself never again to banish +a man without giving him thirty days' notice, and to make sundry other +wise reforms in his laws. Having thus secured inestimable boons for +his fellow-countrymen, the Cid proceeded to besiege sundry Moorish +castles, all of which he took, winning thereby much booty. Having thus +served his monarch, the Cid was recalled in triumph to Castile, where +he was told to keep all he had won from the Moors. In return the Cid +helped Alfonso to secure Toledo, seeing the king with whom this king +had sworn alliance was now dead. It was while the siege of this city +was taking place that Bishop Jerome was favored by a vision of St. +Isidro, who predicted they would take the city, a promise verified in +1085, when the Cid's was the first Christian banner to float above its +walls. Our hero now became governor of this town, but, although he +continued to wage war against the Moors, his successes had made the +courtiers so jealous that they induced the king to imprison Ximena and +her daughters. + +Perceiving he was no longer in favor at court, the Cid haughtily +withdrew, and, when Alfonso came down into Valencia, demanding that +the cities which had hitherto paid tribute to his subject should now +do so to him, the Cid retaliated by invading Alfonso's realm. None of +the courtiers daring to oppose him, Alfonso had cause bitterly to +repent of what he had done, and humbly assured his powerful subject he +would never molest him again. Ever ready to forgive an ungrateful +master, the Cid withdrew, and for a time king and subject lived in +peace. + +Although the Cid had permitted the Moors to remain in the cities he +had conquered, they proved rather restive under the Christian yoke, +and guided by Abeniaf finally told the Moors in Northern Africa that +if they would only cross the sea they would deliver Valencia into +their hands. But this conspiracy soon became known to the Moors who +favored the Cid, and they immediately notified him, holding their +town which was in dire peril for twelve days. + +To keep his promise, Abeniaf finally hauled some of the Moors up over +the walls by means of ropes, and the presence of these foes in their +midst compelled the Moors who favored the Cid to leave the city in +disguise, thus allowing Abeniaf and his allies to plunder right and +left and even to murder the Moorish king. This done, Abeniaf himself +assumed the regal authority, and began to govern the city in such an +arbitrary way that he soon managed to offend even his own friends. + +Meantime the Moors who had fled rejoined the Cid, and, when they +reported what had occurred, Rodrigo wrote to Abeniaf, reproaching him +for his treachery and demanding the surrender of the property he had +left in town. Because Abeniaf replied that his allies had taken +possession of it, the Cid termed him a traitor and swore he would +secure revenge. Thereupon our hero set out with an army, and, finding +himself unable to take the city by assault, began to besiege it, +pulling down the houses in the suburbs to secure necessary materials +to construct his camp. Then he began a systematic attack on the city, +mastering one of its defences after another, and carrying on the siege +with such vigor that he thereby won additional glory. All the Moorish +captives taken were sent out through his lines into the open country, +where they were invited to pursue their agricultural avocations, and +assured protection, provided they would pay tribute of one-tenth of +the produce of their lands. + +Meantime the people in the besieged city suffered so sorely from +hunger, that they finally sent word they would treat with the Cid if +he would allow Abeniaf and his followers to leave the country +unharmed. The Cid having consented to this proposal, the invading +Moors withdrew to Morocco, whence, however, they soon returned in +increased numbers to recapture Valencia and take their revenge upon +Abeniaf, who had proved treacherous to them too. To check the advance +of this foe, the Cid flooded the country by opening the sluices in +the irrigation canals, and the invaders, fancying themselves in danger +of drowning, beat a hasty retreat. Because Abeniaf took advantage of +these circumstances to turn traitor again, the Cid besieged him in +Valencia for nine months, during which the famine became so intense +that the inhabitants resorted to all manner of expedients to satisfy +their hunger. + +Throughout this campaign the Cid ate his meals in public, sitting by +himself at a high table and assigning the one next him to the warriors +who won the most distinction in battle. This table was headed by Alvar +Fanez, surrounded by the most famous knights. A notorious coward, +pretending to have done great deeds, advanced one day to claim a seat +among the heroes. Perceiving his intention, the Cid called him to come +and sit with him, whereupon the knight became so elated that when he +again found himself on the field of battle he actually did wonders! +Seeing his efforts, the Cid generously encouraged him and, after he +had shown himself brave indeed, publicly bade him sit with the +distinguished knights. + +The city of Valencia having finally opened its gates, the Cid marched +in with a train of provision-wagons, for he longed to relieve the +starving. Then, sending for the principal magistrates, he expressed +commiseration for their sufferings, adding that he would treat the +people fairly, provided they proved loyal in their turn. But, instead +of occupying the city itself, he and the Christians returned to the +suburbs, enjoining upon the Moorish governor to maintain order among +his people, and slay none but Abeniaf, who had proved traitor to all. + +Soon after, seeing that the Moors and Christians would never be able +to live in peace within the same enclosure, the Cid appointed another +place of abode for the Moors. Then he and his followers marched into +Valencia, which they proceeded to hold, in spite of sundry attempts on +the part of the Moors to recover possession of so important a +stronghold. + +When the Moorish king of Seville ventured to attack the Cid, he and +his thirty thousand men experienced defeat and many of his force were +drowned in the river while trying to escape. Such was the amount of +spoil obtained in this and other battles, that the Cid was able to +make his soldiers rich beyond their dreams, although by this time he +had a very large force, for new recruits constantly joined him during +his wars with the Moors. + +As the Cid had vowed on leaving home never to cut his beard until +recalled, he was now a most venerable-looking man, with a beard of +such length that it had to be bound out of his way by silken cords +whenever he wanted to fight. Among those who now fought in the Cid's +ranks was Hieronymo (Jerome), who became bishop of Valencia, and who, +in his anxiety to restore the whole land to Christian rule, fought by +the Cid's side, and invariably advised him to transform all captured +mosques into Christian churches. + + But lo! all armed from head to heel the Bishop Jerome shows; + He ever brings good fortune to my Cid where'er he goes. + "Mass have I said, and now I come to join you in the fray; + To strike a blow against the Moor in battle if I may, + And in the field win honor for my order and my hand. + It is for this that I am here, far from my native land. + Unto Valencia did I come to cast my lot with you, + All for the longing that I had to slay a Moor or two. + And so, in warlike guise I come, with blazoned shield, and lance, + That I may flesh my blade to-day, if God but give the chance. + Then send me to the front to do the bidding of my heart: + Grant me this favor that I ask, or else, my Cid, we part!" + +Now that he had a fixed abiding place, the Cid bade Alvar Fanez and +Martin Antolinez carry a rich present to Don Alfonso, and obtain his +permission to bring his wife and daughters to Valencia. The same +messengers were also laden with a reward for the Abbot of St. Pedro, +under whose protection the Cid's family had taken refuge, and with +funds to redeem the chests of sand from the Jews at Burgos, begging +their pardon for the deception practised upon them and allowing them +higher interest than they could ever have claimed. Not only did the +messengers gallantly acquit themselves of this embassy, but boasted +everywhere of the five pitched battles the Cid had won and of the +eight towns now under his sway. + +On learning that the Cid had conquered Valencia, Alfonso expressed +keen delight, although his jealous courtiers did not hesitate to +murmur they could have done as well! The monarch also granted +permission to Donna Ximena and her daughters to join the Cid, and the +three ladies set out with their escorts for Valencia. Nine miles +outside this city, the Cid met them, mounted on his steed Bavieca, +which he had won from the Moors, and, joyfully embracing wife and +daughters, welcomed them to Valencia, where from the top of the +Alcazar he bade them view the fertile country which paid tribute to +him. + +But, three months after the ladies' arrival, fifty thousand Moors +crossed over from Africa to recover their lost territory. Hearing +this, the Cid immediately laid in a stock of provisions, renewed his +supplies of ammunition, and inspected the walls and engines of his +towns to make sure they could resist. These preparations concluded, he +told his wife and daughters they should now see with their own eyes +how well he could fight! Soon after the Moors began besieging the city +(1102), the Cid arranged that some of his troops should slip out and +attack them from behind while he faced them. By this stratagem the +Moors were caught between opposing forces, and overestimating their +numbers fled in terror, allowing the Cid to triumph once more, +although he had only four thousand men to oppose to their fifty +thousand! Thanks to this panic of the Moors the Cid collected such +huge quantities of booty, that he was able to send a hundred fully +equipped horses to King Alfonso, as well as the tent which he had +captured from the Moorish monarch. These gifts not only pleased +Alfonso, but awed and silenced the courtiers, among whom were the +Infantes of Carrion, who deemed it might be well to sue for the Cid's +daughters, since the father was able to bestow such rich gifts. Having +reached this decision, these scheming youths approached the king, who, +counting upon his vassals' implicit obedience to his commands, +promised they should marry as they wished. + +When the bearers of the Cid's present, therefore, returned to +Valencia, they bore a letter wherein Alfonso bade the Cid give his +daughters in marriage to the Infantes of Carrion. Although this +marriage suited neither the old hero nor his wife, both were far too +loyal to oppose the king's wishes, and humbly sent word they would +obey. + +Then the Cid graciously went to meet his future sons-in-law. They were +escorted to the banks of the Tagus by Alfonso himself, who there +expressed surprise at the length of the Cid's beard, and seemed awed +by the pomp with which he was surrounded, for at the banquet all the +chief men ate out of dishes of gold and no one was asked to use +anything less precious than silver. Not only did the Cid assure his +future sons-in-law that his daughters should have rich dowries, but, +the banquet ended, escorted them back to Valencia, where he +entertained them royally. + +The wedding festivities lasted fifteen days, but even after they were +over the Infantes of Carrion tarried in Valencia, thus giving the Cid +more than one opportunity to regret having bestowed his daughters' +hands upon youths who possessed neither courage nor nobility of +character. While the young men were still lingering in Valencia, it +happened one afternoon--while the Cid lay sleeping in the hall--that a +huge lion, kept in the court-yard for his amusement, escaped from its +keepers. While those present immediately rushed forward to protect the +sleeper, the Cid's sons-in-law, terrified at the sight of the monster, +crept one beneath the hero's couch and the other over a wine-press, +thus soiling his garments so he was not fit to be seen. At the lion's +roar the Cid awoke. Seeing at a glance what had occurred, he sprang +forward, then, laying a powerful hand on the animal's mane, compelled +him to follow him out of the hall, and thrust him ignominiously back +into his cage. + +Because the Infantes had so plainly revealed their cowardice, people +made fun of them, until they roused their resentment to such an extent +that, when the Moors again threatened Valencia, they offered to go +forth and defend the Cid. This show of courage simply delighted the +old hero, who sallied forth accompanied by both sons-in-law and by the +bishop, who was a mighty fighter. Although most of the warriors +present did wonders on this occasion, the Infantes of Carrion were +careful not to run any risk, although one of them purchased a horse +which a soldier had won from the Moors, and shamelessly passed it off +as his own trophy. Pleased to think this son-in-law had so +distinguished himself, the Cid complimented him after the battle, +where he himself had slain so many Moors and won so much booty that he +was able to send another princely present to Alfonso. Perceiving they +were still objects of mockery among the followers of the Cid, the +Infantes now begged permission to take their wives home, although +their real intention was to make these helpless girls pay for the +insults they had received. Although the Cid little suspected this +fact, he regretfully allowed his daughters to depart, and tried to +please his sons-in-law by bestowing upon them the choice swords, +Tizona and Colada, won in the course of his battles against the Moors. + +Two days' journey from Valencia the Infantes prepared to carry out the +revenge they had planned, but while conferring in regard to its +details were overheard by a Moor, who, vowing he would have nothing to +do with such cowards, left them unceremoniously. Sending on their main +troops with a cousin of the girls, Felez Munoz, who served as their +escort, the Infantes led their wives into a neighboring forest, where, +after stripping them, they beat them cruelly, kicked them with their +spurs, and abandoned them grievously wounded and trembling for their +lives. When the Infantes rejoined their suite minus their wives, Felez +Munoz, suspecting something was wrong, rode back hastily, and found +his cousins in such a pitiful plight that they were too weak to speak. +Casting his own cloak about the nearly naked women, he tenderly bore +them into a thicket, where they could lie in safety while he watched +over them all night, for he did not dare leave them to go in quest of +aid. At dawn he hurried off to a neighboring village and secured +help. There, in the house of a kind man, the poor ladies were cared +for, while their cousin hastened on to apprise the Cid of what had +occurred. + +Meantime the Infantes had met Alvar Fanez conveying to the king +another present, and, on being asked where were their wives, +carelessly rejoined they had left them behind. Ill pleased with such a +report, Alvar Fanez and his troops hurried back in quest of the +ladies, but found nothing save traces of blood, which made them +suspect foul play. On discovering what had really happened to the +Cid's daughters, Alvar Fanez hurried on to deliver the present to the +king, and indignantly reported what treatment the Cid's daughters had +undergone at the hands of the bridegrooms the king had chosen for +them, informing him that since he had made the marriage it behooved +him to see justice done. Horrified on hearing what had occurred, +Alfonso summoned the Cortes, sending word to the Cid and to the +Infantes to appear before it at Toledo three months hence. + +Meantime the Cid, learning what had befallen his poor girls, hastened +to them, took them home, and, hearing that the king himself would +judge his case, decided to abide by the decision of the Cortes. At the +end of the third month, therefore, the Cid's followers--who had +preceded him--erected in the royal hall at Toledo the ivory seat he +had won at Valencia, and Alfonso himself openly declared the Cid quite +worthy to occupy a throne by his side, seeing no one had ever served +him as well as the man whom the courtiers were always trying to +belittle. The day for the solemn session having dawned, the Cid +entered the hall, followed by a hundred knights, while the Infantes of +Carrion appeared there with equal numbers, being afraid of an attack. +When summoned to state his wrongs, the Cid quietly rose from his ivory +throne, declaring that, having bestowed upon the Infantes two swords +of great price, he demanded their return, since, as they refused to +have anything more to do with his daughters, he could no longer +consider them his sons. All present were amazed at the mildness of the +Cid's speech and at his demanding merely the return of his swords, and +the Infantes, glad to be let off so easily, promptly resigned both +weapons into the Cid's hand. With his precious swords lying across his +lap, the Cid now declared that having also given the Infantes large +sums of money he wished those returned also, and, although the young +men objected, the court sentenced them to pay the sum the Cid claimed. +Both of these demands having been granted, the Cid next required +satisfaction for the treatment the Infantes had inflicted upon his +daughters, eloquently describing to the Cortes the cruelty and +treachery used. + + "So please your Grace! once more upon your clemency I call; + A grievance yet remains untold, the greatest grief of all. + And let the court give ear, and weigh the wrong that hath been done. + I hold myself dishonored by the lords of Carrion. + Redress my combat they must yield; none other will I take. + How now, Infantes! what excuse, what answer do ye make? + Why have ye laid my heartstrings bare? In jest or earnest say, + Have I offended you? and I will make amends to-day. + + "My daughters in your hands I placed the day that forth ye went, + And rich in wealth and honors from Valencia were ye sent. + Why did ye carry with you brides ye loved not, treacherous curs? + Why tear their flesh in Corpes wood with saddle-girths and spurs, + And leave them to the beasts of prey? Villains throughout were ye! + What answer ye can make to this 'tis for the court to see." + +When the Cid added that Alfonso was responsible for these unfortunate +marriages, the monarch admitted the fact, and asked what the Infantes +of Carrion could say in their own defence. Insolently they declared +the Cid's daughters not worthy to mate with them, stating they had, on +the whole, treated them better than they deserved by honoring them for +a time with their attentions. + +Had not the Cid forbidden his followers to speak until he granted +permission, these words would have been avenged almost as soon as +uttered. But, forgetting his previous orders, the aged Cid now +demanded of Pero Mudo (Dumby) why he did not speak, whereupon this +hero boldly struck one of the Infantes' party and challenged them all +to fight. + +Thus compelled to settle the difficulty by a judicial duel, the king +bade the Infantes and their uncle be ready to meet the Cid's champions +in the lists on the morrow. The poem describes the encounter thus: + + The marshals leave them face to face and from the lists are gone; + Here stand the champions of my Cid, there those of Carrion; + Each with his gaze intent and fixed upon his chosen foe, + Their bucklers braced before their breasts, their lances pointing low, + Their heads bent down, as each man leans above his saddle-bow. + Then with one impulse every spur is in the charger's side, + And earth itself is felt to shake beneath their furious stride; + Till, midway meeting, three with three, in struggle fierce they lock, + While all account them dead who hear the echo of the shock. + +The cowardly Infantes, having been defeated, publicly confessed +themselves in the wrong, and were ever after abhorred, while the Cid +returned to Valencia with the spoils wrung from his adversaries, and +proudly presented to his wife and daughters the three champions who +had upheld their cause. + + He who a noble lady wrongs and casts aside--may he + Meet like requital for his deeds, or worse, if worse there be. + But let us leave them where they lie--their meed is all men's scorn. + Turn we to speak of him that in a happy hour was born. + Valencia the Great was glad, rejoiced at heart to see + The honoured champions of her lord return in victory. + +Shortly after this the Cid's pride was further salved by proposals of +marriage from the princes of Aragon and Navarre, and thus his +descendants in due time sat upon the thrones of these realms. + + And he that in a good hour was born, behold how he hath sped! + His daughters now to higher rank and greater honor wed: + Sought by Navarre and Aragon for queens his daughters twain; + And monarchs of his blood to-day upon the thrones of Spain. + +Five years now elapsed during which the Cid lived happy, honored by +all and visited by embassies even from distant Persia. But the Cid was +now old and felt his end near, for St. Peter visited him one night and +warned him that, although he would die in thirty days, he would +triumph over the Moors even after life had departed. + +This assurance was most comforting, for hosts of Moors had suddenly +crossed the seas and were about to besiege Valencia. Trusting in St. +Peter's warning, the Cid made all his preparations for death, and, +knowing his followers would never be able to hold the city after he +was gone, bade them keep his demise secret, embalm his body, bind it +firmly on his steed Bavieca, and boldly cut their way out of the city +with him in their van. + +Just as had been predicted, the Cid died on the thirtieth day after +his vision, and, his corpse having been embalmed as he directed, his +followers prepared to leave Valencia. To the amazement of the Moors, +the gates of the city they were besieging were suddenly flung open +wide, and out sallied the Christians with the Cid in their midst. The +mere sight of this heroic leader caused such a panic, that the little +troop of six hundred Christian knights safely conveyed their dead +chief and his family through the enemy's serried ranks to Castile. +Other detachments led by the bishop and Gil Diaz then drove these +Moors back to Africa after securing immense spoil. + +Seeing Valencia abandoned, the Moors whom the Cid had established +without the city returned to take possession of their former houses, +on one of which they discovered an inscription stating that the Cid +Campeador was dead and would no longer dispute possession of the city. + +Meantime the funeral procession had gone on to the Monastery of St. +Pedro de Cardena, where the Cid was buried, as he requested, and where +his marvellously preserved body sat in his ivory throne ten years, +before it was placed in its present tomb. + +For two years and a half the steed Bavieca was reverently tended by +the Cid's followers, none of whom, however, ever presumed to bestride +him. As for Ximena, having mounted guard over her husband's remains +four years, she finally died, leaving grandchildren to rule over +Navarre and Aragon. + + And so his honor in the land grows greater day by day. + Upon the feast of Pentecost from life he passed away. + For him and all of us the Grace of Christ let us implore. + And here ye have the story of my Cid Campeador. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 13: All the quotations in this chapter are taken from +translation, of "The Cid" by Ormsby.] + + + + +PORTUGUESE EPICS + + +Portuguese literature, owing to its late birth, shows little +originality. Besides, its earliest poems are of a purely lyrical and +not of an epical type. Then, too, its reigning family being of +Burgundian extraction, it borrowed its main ideas and literary +material from France. In that way Charlemagne, the Arthurian romances, +and the story of the Holy Grail became popular in Portugal, where it +is even claimed that Amadis de Gaule originated, although it received +its finished form in Spain. + +The national epic of Portugal is the work of Luis de Camoëns, who, +inspired by patriotic fervor, sang in Os Lusiades of the discovery of +the eagerly sought maritime road to India. Of course, Vasco da Gama is +the hero of this epic, which is described _in extenso_ further on. + +In imitation of Camoëns, sundry other Portuguese poets attempted epics +on historical themes, but none of their works possess sufficient +merits to keep their memory green. + +During the sixteenth century, many versions of the prose epics or +romances of chivalry were rife, Amadis de Gaule and its sequel, +Palmerina d'Inglaterra, being the most popular of all. + +Later on Meneses composed, according to strict classic rules, a +tedious epic entitled Henriqueida, in praise of the monarch Henry, and +de Macedo left O Oriente, an epical composition which: enjoyed a +passing popularity. + + + + +THE LUSIAD + + +_Introduction._ The author of the Portuguese epic, Luis de Camoëns, +was born at Lisbon in 1524. Although his father, commander of a +warship, was lost at sea during his infancy, his mother contrived to +give him a good education, and even sent him to the University at +Coimbra, where he began to write poetry. After graduating Camoëns +served at court, and there incurred royal displeasure by falling in +love with a lady his majesty chose to honor with his attentions. +During a period of banishment at Santarem, Camoëns began the Lusiad, +Os Lusiades, an epic poem celebrating Vasco da Gama's journey to India +in 1497[14] and rehearsing with patriotic enthusiasm the glories of +Portuguese history. Owing to its theme, this epic, which a great +authority claims should be termed "the Portugade," is also known as +the Epic of Commerce or the Epic of Patriotism. + +After his banishment Camoëns obtained permission to join the forces +directed against the Moors, and shortly after lost an eye in an +engagement in the Strait of Gibraltar. Although he distinguished +himself as a warrior, Camoëns did not even then neglect the muse, for +he reports he wielded the pen with one hand and the sword with the +other. + +After this campaign Camoëns returned to court, but, incensed by the +treatment he received at the hands of jealous courtiers, he soon vowed +his ungrateful country should not even possess his bones, and sailed +for India, in 1553, in a fleet of four vessels, only one of which was +to arrive at its destination, Goa. + +While in India Camoëns sided with one of the native kings, whose wrath +he excited by imprudently revealing his political tendencies. He was, +therefore, exiled to Macao, where for five years he served as +"administrator of the effects of deceased persons," and managed to +amass a considerable fortune while continuing his epic. It was on his +way back to Goa that Camoëns suffered shipwreck, and lost all he +possessed, except his poem, with which he swam ashore. + +Sixteen years after his departure from Lisbon, Camoëns returned to his +native city, bringing nothing save his completed epic, which, owing to +the pestilence then raging in Europe, could be published only in 1572. +Even then the Lusiad attracted little attention, and won for him only +a small royal pension, which, however, the next king rescinded. Thus, +poor Camoëns, being sixty-two years old, died in an almshouse, having +been partly supported since his return by a Javanese servant, who +begged for his master in the streets of Lisbon. + +Camoëns' poem Os Lusiades, or the Lusitanians (i.e., Portuguese), +comprises ten books, containing 1102 stanzas in heroic iambics, and is +replete with mythological allusions. Its outline is as follows: + +_Book I._ After invoking the muses and making a ceremonious address to +King Sebastian, the poet describes how Jupiter, having assembled the +gods on Mount Olympus, directs their glances upon Vasco da Gama's +ships plying the waves of an unknown sea, and announces to them that +the Portuguese, who have already made such notable maritime +discoveries, are about to achieve the conquest of India. + +Bacchus, who has long been master of this land, thereupon wrathfully +vows Portugal shall not rob him of his domain, while Venus and Mars +implore Jupiter to favor the Lusitanians, whom they consider +descendants of the Romans. The king of the gods is so ready to grant +this prayer, that he immediately despatches Mercury to guide the +voyagers safely to Madagascar. Here the Portuguese, mistaken for Moors +on account of their swarthy complexions, are at first made welcome. +But when the islanders discover the strangers are Christians, they +determine to annihilate them if possible. So, instigated by one of +their priests,--Bacchus in disguise,--the islanders attack the +Portuguese when they next land to get water. Seeing his men in danger, +Da Gama discharges his artillery, and the terrified natives fall upon +their knees and not only beg for mercy, but offer to provide him with +a pilot capable of guiding him safely to India. + +This offer is accepted by Da Gama, who does not suspect this pilot has +instructions to take him to Quiloa, where all Christians are slain. To +delude the unsuspecting Portuguese navigator into that port, the pilot +avers the Quiloans are Christians; but all his evil plans miscarry, +thanks to the interference of Mars and Venus, who by contrary winds +hinder the vessels from entering this port. + +_Book II._ The traitor pilot now steers toward Mombaça, where +meanwhile Bacchus has been plotting to secure the death of the +Portuguese. But here Venus and her nymphs block the entrance of the +harbor with huge rocks, and the pilot, realizing the Christians are +receiving supernatural aid, jumps overboard and is drowned! + +Venus, having thus twice rescued her protégés from imminent death, now +visits Olympus, and by the exercise of all her conquettish wiles +obtains from Jupiter a promise to favor the Portuguese. In accordance +with this pledge, Mercury himself is despatched to guide the fleet +safely to Melinda, whose harbor the Portuguese finally enter, decked +with flags and accompanied by triumphant music. + + Now Gama's bands the quiv'ring trumpet blow, + Thick o'er the wave the crowding barges row, + The Moorish flags the curling waters sweep, + The Lusian mortars thunder o'er the deep; + Again the fiery roar heaven's concave tears, + The Moors astonished stop their wounded ears; + Again loud thunders rattle o'er the bay, + And clouds of smoke wide-rolling blot the day; + The captain's barge the gen'rous king ascends, + His arms the chief enfold, the captain bends + (A rev'rence to the scepter'd grandeur due): + In silent awe the monarch's wond'ring view + Is fix'd on Vasco's noble mien; the while + His thoughts with wonder weigh the hero's toil. + Esteem and friendship with his wonder rise, + And free to Gama all his kingdom lies.[15] + +_Book III._ As Vasco da Gama has solemnly vowed not to leave his ship +until he can set foot upon Indian soil, he refuses to land at Melinda +although cordially invited to do so by the native king. Seeing the +foreign commander will not come ashore, the king visits the Portuguese +vessel, where he is sumptuously entertained and hears from Da Gama's +own lips an enthusiastic outline of the history of Portugal. After +touching upon events which occurred there in mythological ages, Vasco +relates how Portugal, under Viriagus, resisted the Roman conquerors, +and what a long conflict his country later sustained against the +Moors. He also explains by what means Portugal became an independent +kingdom, and enthusiastically describes the patriotism of his +countryman Egas Moniz, who, when his king was captured at the battle +of Guimaraens, advised this prince to purchase his liberty by pledging +himself to do homage to Castile. But, his master once free, Egas Moniz +bade him retract this promise, saying that, since he and his family +were pledged for its execution, they would rather lose their lives +than see Portugal subjected to Castile. + + "And now, O king," the kneeling Egas cries, + "Behold my perjured honor's sacrifice: + If such mean victims can atone thine ire, + Here let my wife, my babes, myself expire. + If gen'rous bosoms such revenge can take, + Here let them perish for the father's sake: + The guilty tongue, the guilty hands are these, + Nor let a common death thy wrath appease; + For us let all the rage of torture burn, + But to my prince, thy son, in friendship turn." + +Touched by the patriotism and devotion of Moniz, the foe not only +spared his life, but showered favors upon him and even allowed him to +go home. + +The king, thus saved from vassalage by the devotion of Moniz, is +considered the first independent ruler of Portugal. Shortly after this +occurrence, he defeated five Moorish rulers in the battle of Ourique, +where the Portuguese claim he was favored with the appearance of a +cross in the sky. Because of this miracle, the Portuguese monarch +incorporated a cross on his shield, surrounding it with five coins, +said to represent the five kings he defeated. Later on, being made a +prisoner at Badajoz, he abdicated in favor of his son. + +After proudly enumerating the heroic deeds of various Alphonsos and +Sanchos of Portugal, Da Gama related the touching tale of Fair Inez de +Castro (retold by Mrs. Hemans), to whom Don Pedro, although she was +below him in station, was united by a secret marriage. For several +years their happiness was unbroken and several children had been born +to them before the king, Don Pedro's father, discovered this alliance. +Taking advantage of a temporary absence of his son, Alphonso the Brave +sent for Inez and her children and sentenced them all to death, +although his daughter-in-law fell at his feet and implored him to have +mercy upon her little ones, even if he would not spare her. The king, +however, would not relent, and signalled to the courtiers to stab Inez +and her children. + + In tears she utter'd--as the frozen snow + Touch'd by the spring's mild ray, begins to flow, + So just began to melt his stubborn soul, + As mild-ray'd Pity o'er the tyrant stole; + But destiny forbade: with eager zeal + (Again pretended for the public weal), + Her fierce accusers urg'd her speedy doom; + Again dark rage diffus'd its horrid gloom + O'er stern Alonzo's brow: swift at the sign, + Their swords, unsheath'd, around her brandish'd shine. + O foul disgrace, of knighthood lasting stain, + By men of arms a helpless lady slain! + +On returning home and discovering what his father had done, Don Pedro +was ready to rebel, but was restrained from doing so by the +intervention of the queen. But, on ascending the throne when his +father died, Don Pedro had the body of his murdered wife lifted out of +the grave, decked in regal apparel, seated on the throne beside him, +and he compelled all the courtiers to do homage to her and kiss her +dead hand, vowing as much honor should be shown her as if she had +lived to be queen. This ceremony ended, the lady's corpse was laid in +a tomb, over which her mourning husband erected a beautiful monument. +Then, hearing his wife's slayers had taken refuge with Peter the +Cruel, Don Pedro waged war fierce against this monarch until he +surrendered the culprits, who, after being tortured, were put to +death. + +Vasco da Gama also related how another king, Fernando, stole fair +Eleanora from her husband, and vainly tried to force the Portuguese +to accept their illegitimate daughter Beatrice as his successor. + +_Book IV._ Rather than accept as queen a lady who had married a +Spanish prince,--who would probably unite their country with +Spain,--the Portuguese fought the battle of Eljubarota in favor of Don +John, and succeeded in dictating terms of peace to the Spanish at +Seville. Some time after this the king of Portugal and his brother +were captured by the Moors, and told they could recover their freedom +only by surrendering Ceuta. Pretending acquiescence, the king returned +to Portugal, where, as he had settled with his brother, who remained +as hostage with the Moors, he refused to surrender the city. + +After describing the victories of Alfonso V., Vasco da Gama related +how John II., thirteenth king of Portugal, first began to seek a +maritime road to India, and how his successor, Emmanuel, was invited +in a vision, by the gods of the Indus and Ganges, to come and conquer +their country. + + Here as the monarch fix'd his wond'ring eyes, + Two hoary fathers from the streams arise; + Their aspect rustic, yet, a reverend grace + Appear'd majestic on their wrinkled face: + Their tawny beards uncomb'd, and sweepy long, + Adown their knees in shaggy ringlets hung; + From every lock the crystal drops distil, + And bathe their limbs, as in a trickling rill; + Gay wreaths of flowers, of fruitage and of boughs, + (Nameless in Europe), crown'd their furrow'd brows. + +_Book V._ Such was the enthusiasm caused by this vision that many +mariners dedicated their lives to the discovery of this road to India. +Among these Gama modestly claims his rank, declaring that, when he +called for volunteers to accompany him, more men than he could take +were ready to follow him. [History reports, however, that, such was +the terror inspired by a voyage in unknown seas, Vasco da Gama had to +empty the prisons to secure a crew!] Then the narrator added he +had--as was customary--taken ten prisoners with him, whose death +sentence was to be commuted provided they faithfully carried out any +difficult task he appointed. + +After describing his parting with his father, Vasco da Gama relates +how they sailed past Mauritania and Madeira, crossed the line, and +losing sight of the polar star took the southern cross as their guide. + + "O'er the wild waves, as southward thus we stray, + Our port unknown, unknown the wat'ry way, + Each night we see, impress'd with solemn awe, + Our guiding stars and native skies withdraw, + In the wide void we lose their cheering beams, + Lower and lower still the pole-star gleams. + + * * * * * + + "Another pole-star rises o'er the wave: + Full to the south a shining cross appears, + Our heaving breasts the blissful omen cheers: + Seven radiant stars compose the hallow'd sign + That rose still higher o'er the wavy brine." + +A journey of five months, diversified by tempests, electrical +phenomena, and occasional landings, brought them to Cape of Tempests, +which since Diaz had rounded it was called the Cape of Good Hope. +While battling with the tempestuous seas of this region, Vasco da Gama +beheld, in the midst of sudden darkness, Adamastor, the Spirit of the +Cape, who foretold all manner of dangers from which it would be +difficult for them to escape. + + "We saw a hideous phantom glare; + High and enormous o'er the flood he tower'd, + And 'thwart our way with sullen aspect lower'd: + An earthy paleness o'er his cheeks was spread, + Erect uprose his hairs of wither'd red; + Writhing to speak, his sable lips disclose, + Sharp and disjoin'd, his gnashing teeth's blue rows; + His haggard beard flow'd quiv'ring on the wind, + Revenge and horror in his mien combin'd; + His clouded front, by with'ring lightnings scar'd, + The inward anguish of his soul declar'd. + His red eyes, glowing from their dusky caves, + Shot livid fires: far echoing o'er the waves + His voice resounded, as the cavern'd shore + With hollow groan repeats the tempest's roar." + +The King of Melinda here interrupts Vasco da Gama's tale to explain +he has often heard of that Adamastor, a Titan transformed into a rock +but still possessing supernatural powers. + +Resuming his narrative, Da Gama next describes their landing to clean +their foul ships, their sufferings from scurvy, their treacherous +welcome at Mozambic, their narrow escape at Quiloa and Mombaça, and +ends his account with his joy at arriving at last at Melinda. + +_Book VI._ In return for the hospitality enjoyed on board of the +Portuguese ships, the king of Melinda supplies Da Gama with an able +pilot, who, steering straight for India, brings the Portuguese safely +to their goal, in spite of the fact that Bacchus induces Neptune to +stir up sundry tempests to check them. But, the prayers of the +Christian crew and the aid of Venus counteract Bacchus' spells, so Da +Gama's fleet enters Calicut, in 1497, and the Lusitanians thus achieve +the glory of discovering a maritime road to India! + +_Book VII._ We now hear how a Moor, Monçaide, detained a prisoner in +Calicut, serves as interpreter for Da Gama, explaining to him how this +port is governed by the Zamorin, or monarch, and by his prime +minister. The interpreter, at Da Gama's request, then procures an +audience from the Zamorin for his new master. + +_Book VIII._ The poet describes how on the way to the palace Da Gama +passes a heathen temple, where he and his companions are shocked to +behold countless idols, but where they can but admire the wonderful +carvings adorning the walls on three sides. In reply to their query +why the fourth wall is bare, they learn it has been predicted India +shall be conquered by strangers, whose doings are to be depicted on +the fourth side of their temple. + +After hearing Da Gama boast about his country, the Zamorin dismisses +him, promising to consider a trade treaty with Portugal. But, during +the next night, Bacchus, disguised as Mahomet, appears to the Moors in +Calicut, and bids them inform the Zamorin that Da Gama is a pirate, +whose rich goods he can secure if he will only follow their advice. + +This suggestion, duly carried out, results in Da Gama's detention as a +prisoner when he lands with his goods on the next day. But, although +the prime minister fancies the Portuguese fleet will soon be in his +power, Da Gama has prudently given orders that, should any hostile +demonstration occur before his return, his men are to man the guns and +threaten to bombard the town. When the Indian vessels therefore +approach the Portuguese fleet, they are riddled with shot. + +_Book IX._ Because the Portuguese next threaten to attack the town, +the Zamorin promptly sends Da Gama back with a cargo of spices and +gems and promises of fair treatment hereafter. The Portuguese +thereupon sail home, taking with them the faithful Monçaide, who is +converted on the way and baptized as soon as they land at Lisbon. + +Book X. On the homeward journey Venus, wishing to reward the brave +Lusitanians for all their pains and indemnify them for their past +hardships, leads them to her "Isle of Joy." Here she and her nymphs +entertain them in the most acceptable mythological style, and a siren +foretells in song all that will befall their native country between +Vasco da Gama's journey and Camoëns' time. Venus herself guides the +navigator to the top of a hill, whence she vouchsafes him a panoramic +view of all the kingdoms of the earth and of the spheres which compose +the universe. + +In this canto we also have a synopsis of the life of St. Thomas, the +Apostle of India, and see the Portuguese sail happily off with the +beauteous brides they have won in Venus' Isle of Joy. The return home +is safely effected, and our bold sailors are welcomed in Lisbon with +delirious joy, for their journey has crowned Portugal with glory. The +poem concludes, as it began, with an apostrophe from the poet to the +king. + +The Lusiad is so smoothly written, so harmonious, and so full of +similes that ever since Camoëns' day it has served as a model for +Portuguese poetry and is even yet an accepted and highly prized +classic in Portuguese Literature. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 14: See the author's "Story of the Thirteen Colonies."] + +[Footnote 15: All the quotations in this chapter are from Mickle's +translation of the "Lusiad."] + + + + +ITALIAN EPICS + + +The fact that Latin remained so long the chief literary language of +Europe prevented an early development of literature in the Italian +language. Not only were all the popular European epics and romances +current in Italy in Latin, but many of them were also known in +Provençal in the northern part of the peninsula. It was, therefore, +chiefly imitations of the Provençal bards' work which first appeared +in Italian, in the thirteenth century, one of the best poets of that +time being the Sordello with whom Dante converses in Purgatory. + +Stories relating to the Charlemagne cycle found particular favor in +Northern Italy, and especially at Venice. In consequence there were +many Italian versions of these old epics, as well as of the +allegorical Roman de la Rose. + +It was at the court of Frederick II, in Sicily, that the first real +school of Italian poetry developed, and from there the custom of +composing exclusively in the vernacular spread over the remainder of +the country. These early poets chose love as their main topic, and +closely imitated the Provençal style. Then the "dolce stil nuovo," or +sweet new style, was introduced by Guinicelli, who is rightly +considered the first true Italian poet of any note. The earliest +Italian epic, the "Buovo d'Antona," and an adaptation of Reynard the +Fox, were current in the first half of the thirteenth century at +Venice and elsewhere. In the second half appeared prose romances, such +as tales about Arthur and his knights, the journey of Marco Polo, and +new renderings of the old story of Troy. + +Professional story-tellers now began to wander from place to place in +Northern and Central Italy, entertaining auditors of all classes and +ages with stories derived from every attainable source. But the first +great epic poet in Italy was Dante (1265-1321), whose Divina Commedia, +begun in 1300, is treated separately in this volume. Although +Petrarch was prouder of his Latin than of his Italian verses, he too +greatly perfected Italian poetry, thus enabling his personal friend +Boccaccio to handle the language with lasting success in the tales +which compose his Decameron. These are the Italian equivalents of the +Canterbury Tales, and in several cases both writers have used the same +themes. + +By the fifteenth century, and almost simultaneously with the +introduction of printing, came the Renaissance, when a number of old +epics were reworked. Roland--or, as he is known in Italy, Orlando--is +the stock-hero of this new school of poets, several of whom undertook +to relate his love adventures. Hence we have "Orlando Innamorato," by +Boiardo and Berni, as well as "Morgante Maggiore" by Pulci, where +Roland also figures. In style and tone these works are charming, but +the length of the poems and the involved adventures of their numerous +characters prove very wearisome to modern readers. Next to Dante, as a +poet, the Italians rank Ariosto, whose "Orlando Furioso," or Roland +Insane, is a continuation of Boiardo's "Orlando Innamorato." Drawing +much of his material from the French romances of the Middle Ages, +Ariosto breathes new life into the old subject and graces his tale +with a most charming style. His subject was parodied by Folengo in his +"Orlandino" when Roland began to pall upon the Italian public. + +The next epic of note in Italian literature is Torquato Tasso's +"Gerusalemme Liberata," composed in the second half of the sixteenth +century, and still immensely popular owing to its exquisite style. +Besides this poem, of which Godfrey of Bouillon is the hero and which +is _par excellence_ the epic of the crusades, Tasso composed epics on +"Rinaldo," on "Gerusalemme Conquistata," and "Sette Giornate del Mundo +Creato." + +Some of Ariosto's contemporaries also attempted the epic style, +including Trissino, who in his "Italia Liberata" relates the victories +of Belisarius over the Goths in blank verse. His fame, however, rests +on "Sofonisba," the first Italian tragedy, in fact "the first regular +tragedy in all modern literature." + +Although no epics of great note were written thereafter, Alamanni +composed "Girone il Cortese" and the "Avarchide," which are +intolerably long and wearisome. + +"The poet who set the fashion of fantastic ingenuity" was Marinus, +whose epic "Adone," in twenty cantos, dilates on the tale of Venus and +Adonis. He also wrote "Gerusalemme Distrutta" and "La Strage degl' +Innocenti," and his poetry is said to have much of the charm of +Spenser's. + +The last Italian poet to produce a long epic poem was Fortiguerra, +whose "Ricciardetto" has many merits, although we are told the poet +wagered to complete it in as many days as it has cantos, and won his +bet. + +The greatest of the Italian prose epics is Manzoni's novel "I Promessi +Sposi," which appeared in 1830. Since then Italian poets have not +written in the epic vein, save to give their contemporaries excellent +metrical translations of Milton's Paradise Lost, of the Iliad, the +Odyssey, the Argonautica, the Lusiad, etc. + + + + +DIVINE COMEDY + +THE INFERNO + + +_Introduction._ In the Middle Ages it was popularly believed that +Lucifer, falling from heaven, punched a deep hole in the earth, +stopping only when he reached its centre. This funnel-shaped hole, +directly under Jerusalem, is divided by Dante into nine independent +circular ledges, communicating only by means of occasional rocky +stairways or bridges. In each of these nine circles are punished +sinners of a certain kind. + +_Canto I._ In 1300, when thirty-five years of age, Dante claims to +have strayed from the straight path in the "journey of life," only to +encounter experiences bitter as death, which he relates in allegorical +form to serve as warning to other sinners. Rousing from a stupor not +unlike sleep, the poet finds himself in a strange forest at the foot +of a sun-kissed mountain. On trying to climb it, he is turned aside +by a spotted panther, an emblem of luxury or pleasure (Florence), a +fierce lion, personifying ambition or anger (France), and a ravening +wolf, the emblem of avarice (Rome). Fleeing in terror from these +monsters, Dante beseeches aid from the only fellow-creature he sees, +only to learn he is Virgil, the poet and master from whom he learned +"that style which for its beauty into fame exalts me." + +Then Virgil reveals he has been sent to save Dante from the ravening +wolf (which also personifies the papal or Guelf party), only to guide +him through the horrors of the Inferno, and the sufferings of +Purgatory, up to Paradise, where a "worthier" spirit will attend him. + +_Canto II._ The length of the journey proposed daunts Dante, until +Virgil reminds him that cowardice has often made men relinquish +honorable enterprises, and encourages him by stating that Beatrice, +moved by love, forsook her place in heaven to bid him serve as Dante's +guide. He adds that when he wondered how she could leave, even for a +moment, the heavenly abode, she explained that the Virgin Mary sent +Lucia, to bid her rescue the man who had loved her ever since she was +a child. Like a flower revived after a chilly night by the warmth of +the sun, Dante, invigorated by these words, intimates his readiness to +follow Virgil. + +_Canto III._ The two travellers, passing through a wood, reach a gate, +above which Dante perceives this inscription: + + "Through me you pass into the city of woe: + Through me you pass into eternal pain: + Through me among the people lost for aye. + Justice the founder of my fabric moved: + To rear me was the task of power divine, + Supremest wisdom, and primeval love. + Before me things create were none, save things + Eternal, and eternal I endure. + All hope abandon, ye who enter here."[16] + +Unable to grasp its meaning, Dante begs Virgil to interpret, and +learns they are about to descend into Hades. Having visited this place +before, Virgil boldly leads Dante through this portal into an +ante-hell region, where sighs, lamentations, and groans pulse through +the starless air. Shuddering with horror, Dante inquires what it all +means, only to be told that the souls "who lived without praise or +blame," as well as the angels who remained neutral during the war in +heaven, are confined in this place, since Paradise, Purgatory, and +Inferno equally refuse to harbor them and death never visits them. + +While he is speaking, a long train of these unfortunate spirits, stung +by gadflies, sweeps past them, and in their ranks Dante recognizes the +shade of Pope Celestine V, who, "through cowardice made the grand +renunciation,"--i.e., abdicated his office at the end of five months, +simply because he lacked courage to face the task intrusted to him. + +Passing through these spirits with downcast eyes, Dante reaches +Acheron,--the river of death,--where he sees, steering toward them, +the ferry-man Charon, whose eyes are like fiery wheels and who marvels +at beholding a living man among the shades. When Charon grimly orders +Dante back to earth, Virgil silences him with the brief statement: "so +'tis will'd where will and power are one." So, without further +objection, Charon allows them to enter his skiff and hurries the rest +of his freight aboard, beating the laggards with the flat of his oar. +Because Dante wonders at such ill-treatment, Virgil explains that good +souls are never forced to cross this stream, and that the present +passengers have richly deserved their punishment. Just then an +earthquake shakes the whole region, and Dante swoons in terror. + +_Canto IV._ When he recovers his senses, Dante finds himself no longer +in Charon's bark, but on the brink of a huge circular pit, whence arise, +like emanations, moans and wails, but wherein, owing to the dense gloom, +he can descry nothing. Warning him they are about to descend into the +"blind world," and that his sorrowful expression--which Dante ascribes +to fear--is caused by pity, Virgil conducts his disciple into the first +circle of hell. Instead of lamentations, only sighs are heard, while +Virgil explains that this semi-dark limbo is reserved for unbaptized +children, and for those who, having lived before Christ, must "live +desiring without hope." Full of compassion for these sufferers, Dante +inquires whether no one from above ever visited them, and is told that +One, bearing trophies of victory, once arrived there to ransom the +patriarchs Adam, Abel, Noah, and others, but that until then none had +ever been saved. + +Talking busily, the two wend their way through a forest of sighing +spirits, until they approach a fire, around which dignified shades +have gathered. Informing Dante these are men of honored reputations, +Virgil points out among them four mighty figures coming to meet them, +and whispers they are Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan. After conversing +for a while with Virgil, these bards graciously welcome Dante as sixth +in their poetic galaxy. Talking of things which cannot be mentioned +save in such exalted company, Dante walks on with them until he nears +a castle girdled with sevenfold ramparts and moat. Through seven +consecutive portals the six poets pass on to a meadow, where Dante +beholds all the creations of their brains, and meets Hector, Aeneas, +Camilla, and Lucretia, as well as the philosophers, historians, and +mathematicians who from time to time have appeared upon our globe. +Although Dante would fain have lingered here, his guide leads him on, +and, as their four companions vanish, they two enter a place "where no +light shines." + +_Canto V._ Stepping down from this circle to a lower one, Dante and +Virgil reach the second circle of the Inferno, where all who lived +unchaste lives are duly punished. Smaller in circumference than the +preceding circle,--for Dante's hell is shaped like a graduated +funnel,--this place is guarded by the judge Minos, who examines all +newly arrived souls, and consigns them to their appointed circles by +an equal number of convolutions in his tail. + + For when before him comes the ill-fated soul, + It all confesses; and that judge severe + Of sins, considering what place in hell + Suits the transgression, with his tail so oft + Himself encircles, as degrees beneath + He dooms it to descend. + +On beholding Dante, Minos speaks threateningly, but, when Virgil again +explains they have been sent hither by a higher power, Minos too +allows them to pass. Increasing sounds of woe now strike Dante's ear, +until presently they attain the intensity of a deafening roar. Next he +perceives that the whirlwind, sweeping violently round this abyss, +holds in its grasp innumerable spirits which are allowed no rest. Like +birds in a tempest they swirl past Dante, to whom Virgil hastily +points out Semiramis, Dido, Cleopatra, Helen, Achilles, Paris, and +Tristan, together with many others. + +Obtaining permission to address two shades floating toward him, Dante +learns that the man is the Paolo who fell in love with his +sister-in-law, Francesca da Rimini. Asked how she happened to fall, +the female spirit, moaning there is no greater woe than to recall +happy times in the midst of misery, adds that while she and Paolo read +together the tale of Launcelot they suddenly realized they loved in +the same way, and thus fell into the very sin described in this work, +for "book and writer both were love's purveyors." Scarcely has she +confessed this when the wind, seizing Francesca and Paolo, again +sweeps them on, and Dante, hearing their pitiful moans, swoons from +compassion. + +_Canto VI._ Recovering his senses, Dante finds Virgil has meantime +transferred him to the third circle, a region where chill rains ever +fall, accompanied by hail, sleet, and snow. Here all guilty of +gluttony are rent and torn by Cerberus, main ruler of this circle. +Flinging a huge fistful of dirt into the dog's gaping jaws to prevent +his snapping at them, Virgil leads Dante quickly past this +three-headed monster, to a place where they tread on the shades which +pave the muddy ground. One of these, sitting up, suddenly inquires of +Dante whether he does not recognize him, adding that he is the +notorious Florentine glutton Ciacco. Fancying this shade may possess +some insight into the future, Dante inquires what is to become of his +native city, and learns that one political party will drive out the +other, only to fall in its turn three years later. The glutton adds +that only two just men are left in Florence, and, when Dante asks what +has become of his friends, tells him he will doubtless meet them in +the various circles of Hades, should he continue his downward course. + +Then the spirit begs that, on returning to the "pleasant world," Dante +will recall him to his friends' memory, and, closing his eyes, sinks +back among the other victims, all of whom are more or less blind. +Vouchsafing the information that this sinner will not rise again "ere +the last angel trumpet blow," Virgil leads Dante over the foul mixture +of shades and mud, explaining that, although the accursed can never +hope to attain perfection, they are not entirely debarred from +improvement. + +_Canto VII._ Talking thus, the two travellers descend to the fourth +circle, ruled by Plutus, god of wealth, who allows them to proceed, +only after Virgil has informed him their journey is ordained, and is +to be pursued to the very spot where Michael confined Satan. The mere +mention of his master, the ex-archangel, causes Plutus to grovel; and +Dante and Virgil, proceeding on their journey, discover that the +fourth circle is occupied by all whom avarice mastered, as well as by +prodigals, who are here condemned to roll heavy rocks, because their +lives on earth were spent scuffling for money or because they failed +to make good use of their gold. Dante descries among the victims +tonsured polls, proving that monks themselves are not exempt from +these sins. Meanwhile Virgil expounds how the Creator decreed nations +should wield the mastery in turn, adding that these people are victims +of Fortune, whose proverbial fickleness he ably describes. + +After passing a well, whose boiling waters overflow and form a stream, +they follow the latter's downward course to the marsh called Styx, +where hundreds of naked creatures wallow in the mire, madly clutching +and striking each other. Virgil explains that these are those "whom +anger overcame," and adds that the sullen are buried beneath the slimy +waters, where their presence is betrayed by bubbles caused by their +breath which continually rise to the surface. Edging around this +loathsome pool, the two poets finally arrive at the door of a tall +tower. + +_Canto VIII._ From the lofty turret flash flaming signals, evidently +designed to summon some bark or ferry, since a vessel soon appears. +Once more Virgil has to silence a snarling boatman (Phlegyas) ere he +can enter his skiff, where he invites Dante to follow him. Then they +row across the mire, whence heads keep emerging from time to time. One +of the sufferers confined here suddenly asks Dante, "Who art thou that +earnest ere thine hour?" only to be hastily assured the poet does not +intend to stay. Just as Dante expresses the wish to know whom he is +addressing, he recognizes this sinner (Argenti) and turns from him in +loathing, an act which wins Virgil's approval. When Dante further +mutters he wishes this monster were stifled in the mud, Virgil +suddenly points to a squad of avenging spirits who, sweeping downward, +are about to fulfil this cruel wish, when the culprit rends himself to +pieces with his own teeth and plunges back into the Styx. + +Sailing along, Virgil tries to prepare Dante for their arrival at the +city of Dis, whose minarets, colored by a fiery glow from within, now +shine in the distance. Steered into the moat surrounding this city, +the travellers slowly circle its iron walls, from which hosts of lost +souls lean clamoring, "Who is this that without death first felt goes +through the region of the dead?" When Virgil signals he will explain, +the demons disappear as if to admit them; but, when the travellers +reach the gates, they find them still tightly closed. Virgil then +explains that these very demons tried to oppose even Christ's entrance +to Hades, and adds that their power was broken on the first Easter +Day. + +_Canto IX._ Quailing with terror, Dante hears Virgil admit that few +have undertaken to tread these paths, although they are familiar to +him, seeing that, guided by a witch (the Sibyl of Cumaea), he came +here with Aeneas. While Virgil is talking, the three Furies appear on +top of the tower, and, noting the intruders, clamor for Medusa to come +and turn them into stone! Bidding Dante avoid the Gorgon's petrifying +glance, Virgil further assures the safety of his charge by holding his +hands over Dante's eyes. While thus blinded, the author of the poem +hears waves splash against the shore, and, when Virgil's hands are +removed, perceives an angel walking dry-shod over the Styx. At a touch +from his hand, the gates of Dis open wide, and, without paying heed to +the poets, who have instinctively assumed the humblest attitude, their +divine rescuer recrosses the bog, leaving them free to enter into the +iron fortress. There they find countless sinners cased in red-hot +coffins sunk in burning marl. On questioning his guide, Dante learns +each open sepulchre contains an arch-heretic, or leader of some +religious sect, and that each tomb is heated to a degree corresponding +to the extent of the harm done by its occupant's teachings. + +_Canto X._ Gingerly treading between burning tombs and fortress wall, +Virgil conducts Dante to an open sepulchre, where lies the Ghibelline +leader Farinata. Partly rising out of his glowing tomb, this warrior +informs Dante that the Guelfs--twice driven out of Florence--have +returned thither. At that moment another victim, peering over the edge +of his coffin, anxiously begs for news of his son Guido, thus proving +that, while these unfortunates know both past and future, the present +remains a mystery to them. Too amazed at first to speak, Dante +mentions Guido in the past tense, whereupon the unhappy father, rashly +inferring his son is dead, plunges back into his sepulchre with a +desperate cry. Not being able to correct his involuntary mistake and +thus comfort this sufferer, Dante begs Farinata to inform his +neighbor, as soon as possible, that his son is still alive. Then, +perplexed by all he has seen and heard, Dante passes thoughtfully on, +noting the victims punished in this place, until, seeing his dismay, +Virgil comforts him with the assurance that Beatrice will explain all +he wishes to know at the end of his journey. + +_Canto XI._ The poets now approach a depression, whence arises a +stench so nauseating that they are compelled to take refuge behind a +stone tomb to avoid choking. While they pause there, Dante perceives +this sepulchre bears the name of Pope Anastasius, who has been led +astray. Tarrying there to become acclimated to the smell, Virgil +informs his companion they are about to pass through three gradations +of the seventh circle, where are punished the violent, or those who by +force worked injury to God, to themselves, or to their fellow-men. + +_Canto XII._ His charge sufficiently prepared for what awaits him, +Virgil leads the way down a steep path to the next rim, where they are +confronted by the Minotaur, before whom Dante quails, but whom Virgil +defies by mentioning Theseus. Taking advantage of the moment when the +furious, bull-like monster charges at him with lowered head, Virgil +runs with Dante down a declivity, where the stones, unaccustomed to +the weight of mortal feet, slip and roll in ominous fashion. This +passage, Virgil declares, was less dangerous when he last descended +into Hades, for it has since been riven by the earthquake which shook +this region when Christ descended into hell. + +Pointing to a boiling river of blood (Phlegethon) beneath them, Virgil +shows Dante sinners immersed in it at different depths, because while +on earth they offered violence to their neighbors. Although anxious to +escape from these bloody waters, the wicked are kept within their +appointed bounds by troops of centaurs, who, armed with bows and +arrows, continually patrol the banks. When these guards threateningly +challenge Virgil, he calmly rejoins he wishes to see their leader, +Chiron, and, while awaiting the arrival of this worthy, shows Dante +the monster who tried to kidnap Hercules' wife. + +On drawing near them, Chiron is amazed to perceive one of the +intruders is alive, as is proved by the fact that he casts a shadow +and that stones roll beneath his tread! Noticing his amazement, Virgil +explains he has been sent here to guide his mortal companion through +the Inferno, and beseeches Chiron to detail a centaur to carry Dante +across the river of blood, since he cannot, spirit-like, tread air. +Selecting Nessus for this duty, Chiron bids him convey the poet safely +across the bloody stream, and, while performing this office, the +centaur explains that the victims more or less deeply immersed in +blood are tyrants who delighted in bloodshed, such as Alexander, +Dionysius, and others. Borne by Nessus and escorted by Virgil, Dante +reaches the other shore, and, taking leave of them, the centaur "alone +repass'd the ford." + +_Canto XIII._ The travellers now enter a wild forest, which occupies +the second division of the seventh circle, where Virgil declares each +barren thorn-tree is inhabited by the soul of a suicide. In the gnarly +branches perch the Harpies, whose uncouth lamentations echo through +the air, and who greedily devour every leaf that sprouts. Appalled by +the sighs and wailings around him, Dante questions Virgil, who directs +him to break off a twig. No sooner has he done so than he sees blood +trickle from the break and hears a voice reproach him for his cruelty. +Thus Dante learns that the inmate of this tree was once private +secretary to Frederick II, and that, having fallen into unmerited +disgrace, he basely took refuge in suicide. This victim's words have +barely died away when the blast of a horn is heard, and two naked +forms are seen fleeing madly before a huntsman and a pack of mastiffs. +The latter, pouncing upon one victim, tears him to pieces, while Dante +shudders at this sight. Meantime Virgil explains that the culprit was +a young spendthrift, and that huntsman and hounds represent the +creditors whose pursuit he tried to escape by killing himself. + +_Canto XIV._ Leaving this ghastly forest, Dante is led to the third +division of this circle, a region of burning sands, where hosts of +naked souls lie on the ground, blistered and scathed by the rain of +fire and vainly trying to lessen their pain by thrashing themselves +with their hands. One figure, the mightiest among them, alone seems +indifferent to the burning rain, and, when Dante inquires who this may +be, Virgil returns it is Capaneus (one of the seven kings who besieged +Thèbes[17]), who, in his indomitable pride, taunted Jupiter and was +slain by his thunder-bolt. + +Treading warily to avoid the burning sands, Virgil and his disciple +cross a ruddy brook which flows straight down from Mount Ida in Crete, +where it rises at the foot of a statue whose face is turned toward +Rome. Virgil explains that the waters of this stream are formed by the +tears of the unhappy, which are plentiful enough to feed the four +mighty rivers of Hades! While following the banks of this torrent, +Dante questions why they have not yet encountered the other two rivers +which fall into the pit; and discovers that, although they have been +travelling in a circle, they have not by far completed one whole round +of the gigantic funnel, but have stepped down from one ledge to the +other after walking only a short distance around each circumference. + +_Canto XV._ The high banks of the stream of tears protect our +travellers from the burning sands and the rain of fire, until they +encounter a procession of souls, each one of which stares fixedly at +them. One of these recognizes Dante, who in his turn is amazed to find +there his old school-master Ser Brunetto, whom he accompanies on his +way, after he learns he and his fellow-sufferers are not allowed to +stop, under penalty of lying a hundred years without fanning +themselves beneath the rain of fire. Walking by his former pupil's +side, Brunetto in his turn questions Dante and learns how and why he +has come down here, ere he predicts that in spite of persecutions the +poet will ultimately attain great fame. + +_Canto XVI._ Reaching a spot where the stream they are following +suddenly thunders down into the eighth circle, Dante beholds three +spirits running toward him, whirling round one another "in one +restless wheel," while loudly exclaiming his garb denotes he is their +fellow countryman! Gazing into their fire-scarred faces, Dante learns +these are three powerful Guelfs; and when they crave tidings of their +native city, he tells them all that has recently occurred there. +Before vanishing these spirits piteously implore him to speak of them +to mortals on his return to earth, and leave Dante and Virgil to +follow the stream to the verge of the abyss. There Virgil loosens the +rope knotted around Dante's waist, and, casting one end of it down +into the abyss, intimates that what he is awaiting will soon appear. A +moment later a monster rises from the depths, climbing hand over hand +up the rope. + +_Canto XVII._ This monster is Geryon, the personification of fraud, +and therefore a mixture of man, beast, and serpent. When he reaches +the upper ledge, Virgil bargains with him to carry them down, while +Dante converses with neighboring sorrowful souls, who are perched on +the top of the cliff and hide their faces in their hands. All these +spirits wear purses around their necks, because as usurers while on +earth they lived on ill-gotten gains. Not daring to keep his guide +waiting, Dante leaves these sinners, and hurries back just as Virgil +is taking his seat on the monster's back. Grasping the hand stretched +out to him, Dante then timorously mounts beside his guide. + + "As one, who hath an ague fit so near, + His nails already are turn'd blue, and he + Quivers all o'er, if he but eye the shade; + Such was my cheer at hearing of his words. + But shame soon interposed her threat, who makes + The servant bold in presence of his lord. + I settled me upon those shoulders huge, + And would have said, but that the words to aid + My purpose came not, 'Look thou clasp me firm.'" + +Then, bidding Dante hold fast so as not to fall, Virgil gives the +signal for departure. Wheeling slowly, Geryon flies downward, +moderating his speed so as not to unseat his passengers. Comparing +his sensations to those of Phaeton falling from the sun-chariot, or to +Icarus' horror when he dropped into the sea, Dante describes how, as +they circled down on the beast's back, he caught fleeting glimpses of +fiery pools and was almost deafened by the rising chorus of wails. +With a falcon-like swoop Geryon finally alights on the next level, +and, having deposited his passengers at the foot of a splintered rock, +darts away like an arrow from a taut bow-string. + +_Canto XVIII._ The eighth circle, called Malebolge (Evil Pits), is +divided into ten gulfs, between which rocky arches form bridge-like +passages. This whole region is of stone and ice, and from the pit in +the centre continually rise horrid exhalations. Among the unfortunates +incessantly lashed by horned demons in the first gulf, Dante perceives +one who was a notorious pander on earth and who is justly suffering +the penalty of his crimes. Later on, watching a train of culprits +driven by other demons, Dante recognizes among them Jason, who secured +the Golden Fleece, thanks to Medea, but proved faithless toward her in +the end. + +Crossing to the second division, Dante beholds sinners buried in dung, +in punishment for having led astray their fellow-creatures by +flattery. One of them,--whom the poet recognizes,--emerging from his +filthy bath, sadly confesses, "Me thus low down my flatteries have +sunk, wherewith I ne'er enough could glut my tongue." In this place +Dante also notes the harlot Thais, expiating her sins, with other +notorious seducers and flatterers. + +_Canto XIX._ By means of another rocky bridge the travellers reach the +third gulf, where are punished all who have been guilty of simony. +These are sunk, head first, in a series of burning pits, whence emerge +only the red-hot soles of their convulsively agitated feet. Seeing a +ruddier flame hover over one pair of soles, Dante timidly inquires to +whom they belong, whereupon Virgil, carrying him down to this spot, +bids him seek his answer from the culprit himself. Peering down into +the stone-pit, Dante then timidly proffers his request, only to be +hotly reviled by Pope Nicholas III, who first mistakes his +interlocutor for Pope Boniface, and confesses he was brought to this +state by nepotism. But, when he predicts a worse pope will ultimately +follow him down into this region, Dante sternly rebukes him. + +_Canto XX._ Virgil is so pleased with Dante's speech to Pope Nicholas +that, seizing him in his arms, he carries him swiftly over the bridge +which leads to the fourth division. Here Dante beholds a procession of +chanting criminals whose heads are turned to face their backs. This +sight proves so awful that Dante weeps, until Virgil bids him note the +different culprits. Among them is the witch Manto, to whom Mantua, his +native city, owes its name, and Dante soon learns that all these +culprits are the famous soothsayers, diviners, magicians, and witches +of the world, who thus are punished for having presumed to predict the +future. + +_Canto XXI._ From the top of the next bridge they gaze into a dark +pit, where public peculators are plunged into boiling pitch, as Dante +discovers by the odor, which keenly reminds him of the shipyards at +Venice. Virgil there directs Dante's attention toward a demon, who +hurls a sinner headlong into the boiling tar, and, without watching to +see what becomes of him, departs in quest of some other victim. The +poet also perceives that, whenever a sinner's head emerges from the +pitchy waves, demons thrust him down again by means of long forks. To +prevent his charge falling a prey to these active evil spirits, Virgil +directs Dante to hide behind a pillar of the bridge and from thence +watch all that is going on. + +While Dante lurks there, a demon, descrying him, is about to attack +him, but Virgil so vehemently proclaims they are here by Heaven's will +that the evil spirit drops his fork and becomes powerless to harm +them. Perceiving the effect he has produced, Virgil then summons Dante +from his hiding-place, and sternly orders the demon to guide them +safely through the ranks of his grimacing fellows, all of whom make +obscene gestures as they pass. + +_Canto XXII._ Dante, having taken part in battles, is familiar with +military manoeuvres, but he declares he never behold such ably +marshalled troops as the demon hosts through which they pass. From +time to time he sees a devil emerge from the ranks to plunge sinners +back into the lake of pitch, or to spear one with his fork and, after +letting him squirm aloft for a while, hurl him back into the asphalt +lake. One of these victims, questioned by Virgil, acknowledges he once +held office in Navarre, but, rather than suffer at the hands of the +demon tormentors, this peculator voluntarily plunges back into the +pitch. Seeing this, the baffled demons fight each other, until two +actually fall into the lake, whence they are fished in sorry plight by +fellow-fiends. + +_Canto XXIII._ By a passage-way so narrow they are obliged to proceed +single file, Dante and Virgil reach the next division, the author of +this poem continually gazing behind him for fear lest the demons +pursue him. His fears are only too justified, and Virgil, seeing his +peril, catches him up in his arms and runs with him to the next gulf, +knowing demons never pass beyond their beat. + + "Never ran water with such hurrying pace + Adown the tube to turn a land-mill's wheel, + When nearest it approaches to the spokes, + As then along that edge my master ran, + Carrying me in his bosom, as a child, + Not a companion." + +In the sixth division where they now arrive, they behold a procession +of victims, weighed down by gilded leaden cowls, creeping along so +slowly that Dante and Virgil pass all along their line although they +are not walking fast. Hearing one of these bowed figures address him, +Dante learns that, because he and his companions were hypocrites on +earth, they are doomed to travel constantly around this circle of the +Inferno, fainting beneath heavy loads. + +A moment later Dante notices that the narrow path ahead of them is +blocked by a writhing figure pinned to the ground by three stakes. +This is Caiaphas, who insisted it was fitting that one man suffer for +the people and who, having thus sentenced Christ to the cross, has to +endure the whole procession to tramp over his prostrate form. The +cowled figure with whom Dante is conversing informs him, besides, that +in other parts of the circle are Ananias and the other members of the +Sanhedrim who condemned Christ. Deeming Dante has now seen enough of +this region, Virgil inquires where they can find an exit from this +gulf, and is shown by a spirit a steep ascent. + +_Canto XXIV._ So precipitous is this passage that Virgil half carries +his charge, and, panting hard, both scramble to a ledge overhanging +the seventh gulf of Malebolge, where innumerable serpents prey upon +naked robbers, whose hands are bound behind them by writhing snakes. +Beneath the constant bites of these reptiles, the robber-victims turn +to ashes, only to rise phoenix-like a moment later and undergo renewed +torments. Dante converses with one of these spirits, who, after +describing his own misdeeds, prophesies in regard to the future of +Florence. + +_Canto XXV._ The blasphemous speeches and gestures of this speaker are +silenced by an onslaught of snakes, before whose attack he attempts to +flee, only to be overtaken and tortured by a serpent-ridden centaur, +whom Virgil designates as Cacus. Further on, the travellers behold +three culprits who are alternately men and writhing snakes, always, +however, revealing more of the reptile than of the human nature and +form. + + "The other two + Look'd on, exclaiming, 'Ah! How dost thou change, + Agnello! See! thou art nor double now + Nor only one.' The two heads now became + One, and two figures blended in one form + Appear'd, where both were lost. Of the four lengths + Two arms were made: the belly and the chest, + The thighs and legs, into such members changed + As never eye hath seen." + +_Canto XXVI._ From another bridge Dante gazes down into the eighth +gulf, where, in the midst of the flames, are those who gave evil +advice to their fellow-creatures. Here Dante recognizes Diomedes, +Ulysses, and sundry other heroes of the Iliad,--with whom his guide +speaks,--and learns that Ulysses, after his return to Ithaca, resumed +his explorations, ventured beyond the pillars of Hercules, and, while +sailing in the track of the sun, was drowned in sight of a high +mountain. + +_Canto XXVII._ In the midst of another bed of flames, Dante next +discovers another culprit, to whom he gives the history of the +Romagna, and whose life-story he hears before following his leader +down to the ninth gulf of Malebolge. + +_Canto XXVIII._ In this place Dante discovers the sowers of scandal, +schism, and heresy, who exhibit more wounds than all the Italian wars +occasioned. Watching them, Dante perceives that each victim is ripped +open by a demon's sword, but that his wounds heal so rapidly that +every time the spirit passes a demon again his torture is renewed. +Among these victims Dante recognizes Mahomet, who, wondering that a +living man should visit hell, points out Dante to his fellow-shades. +Passing by the travellers, sundry victims mention their names, and +Dante thus discovers among them the leaders of strife between sundry +Italian states, and shudders when Bertrand de Born, a fellow minstrel, +appears bearing his own head instead of a lantern, in punishment for +persuading the son of Henry II, of England, to rebel. + +_Canto XXIX._ Gazing in a dazed way at the awful sights of this +circle, Dante learns it is twenty-one miles in circumference, ere he +passes on to the next bridge, where lamentations such as assail one's +ears in a hospital constantly arise. In the depths of the tenth pit, +into which he now peers, Dante distinguishes victims of all manners of +diseases, and learns these are the alchemists and forgers undergoing +the penalty of their sins. Among them Dante perceives a man who was +buried alive on earth for offering to teach mortals to fly! So +preposterous did such a claim appear to Minos--judge of the dead--that +he ruthlessly condemned its originator to undergo the punishment +awarded to magicians, alchemists, and other pretenders. + +_Canto XXX._ Virgil now points out to Dante sundry impostors, +perpetrators of fraud, and false-coiners, among whom we note the woman +who falsely accused Joseph, and Sinon, who persuaded the Trojans to +convey the wooden horse into their city. Not content with the tortures +inflicted upon them, these criminals further increase each others' +sufferings by cruel taunts, and Dante, fascinated by what he sees, +lingers beside this pit, until Virgil cuttingly intimates "to hear +such wrangling is a joy for vulgar minds." + +_Canto XXXI._ Touched by the remorseful shame which Dante now shows, +Virgil draws him on until they are almost deafened by a louder blast +than was uttered by Roland's horn at Roncevaux. Peering in the +direction of the sound, Dante descries what he takes for lofty towers, +until Virgil informs him that when they draw nearer still he will +discover they are giants standing in the lowest pit but looming far +above it in the mist. Ere long Dante stares in wonder at chained +giants seventy feet tall, whom Virgil designates as Nimrod, Ephialtes, +and Antaeus. + + As with circling round + Of turrets, Montereggion crowns his walls; + E'en thus the shore, encompassing the abyss, + Was turreted with giants, half their length + Uprearing, horrible, whom Jove from heaven + Yet threatens, when his muttering thunder rolls. + +Antaeus being unchained, Virgil persuades him to lift them both down +in the hollow of his hands to the next level, "where guilt is at its +depth." Although Dante's terror in the giant's grip is almost +overwhelming, he is relieved when his feet touch the ground once more, +and he watches with awe as the giant straightens up again like the +mast of a huge ship. + + "Yet in the abyss, + That Lucifer with Judas low ingulfs, + Lightly he placed us; nor, there leaning, stay'd; + But rose, as in a barque the stately mast." + +_Canto XXXII._ Confessing that it is no easy task to describe the +bottom of the universe which he has now reached, Dante relates how +perpendicular rocks reached up on all sides as far as he could see. He +is gazing upward in silent wonder, when Virgil suddenly cautions him +to beware lest he tread upon some unfortunate. Gazing down at his +feet, Dante then becomes aware that he is standing on a frozen lake, +wherein stick fast innumerable sinners, whose heads alone emerge, +eased in ice owing to the tears constantly flowing down their cheeks. + +Seeing two so close together that their very hair seems to mingle, +Dante, on inquiring, learns they are two brothers who slew each other +in an inheritance quarrel, for this is Caina, the region where the +worst murderers are punished, and, like every other part of the +Inferno, it is crowded with figures. + + "A thousand visages + Then mark'd, I, which the keen and eager cold + Had shaped into a doggish grin; whence creeps + A shivering horror o'er me, at the thought + Of those frore shallows." + +It happens that, while following his guide over the ice, Dante's foot +strikes a projecting head. Permission being granted him to question +its owner, Dante, because he at first refuses to speak, threatens to +pull every hair out of his head, and actually gives him a few hard +tugs. Then the man admits he is a traitor and that there are many +others of his ilk in Antenora, the second division of the lowest +circle. + +_Canto XXXIII._ Beholding another culprit greedily gnawing the head of +a companion, Dante learns that while on earth this culprit was Count +Ugolino de'Gherardeschi, whom his political opponents, headed by the +Archbishop Ruggiero, seized by treachery and locked up in the +Famine-tower at Pisa, with two sons and two grandsons. Ugolino +feelingly describes his horror when one morning he heard them nail up +the door of the prison, and realized he and his were doomed to starve! +Not a word did the prisoners exchange regarding their fate, although +all were aware of the suffering awaiting them. At the end of +twenty-four hours, beholding traces of hunger in the beloved faces of +his children, Ugolino gnawed his fists in pain. One of his grandsons, +interpreting this as a sign of unbearable hunger, then suggested that +he eat one of them, whereupon he realized how needful it was to +exercise self-control if he did not wish to increase the sufferings of +the rest. Ugolino then describes how they daily grew weaker, until his +grandsons died at the end of the fourth day, vainly begging him to +help them. Then his sons passed away, and, groping blindly among the +dead, he lingered on, until, famine becoming more potent than anything +else, he yielded to its demands. Having finished this grewsome tale, +Ugolino continued his feast upon the head of his foe! + + "Thus having spoke, + Once more upon the wretched skull his teeth + He fasten'd like a mastiff's 'gainst the bone, + Firm and unyielding." + +Dante, passing on, discovers many other victims encased in the ice, +and is so chilled by a glacial breeze that his face muscles stiffen. +He is about to ask Virgil whence this wind proceeds, when one of the +ice-encrusted victims implores him to remove its hard mask from his +face. Promising to do so in return for the man's story, Dante learns +he is a friar who, in order to rid himself of inconvenient kinsmen, +invited them all to dinner, where he suddenly uttered the fatal words +which served as a signal for hidden assassins to despatch them. When +Dante indignantly exclaims the perpetrator of this heinous deed is on +earth, the criminal admits that, although his shadow still lingers +above ground, his soul is down here in Ptolomea, undergoing the +penalty for his sins. Hearing this, Dante refuses to clear away the +ice, and excuses himself to his readers by stating "ill manners were +best courtesy to him." _Canto XXXIV._ Virgil now directs Dante's +glance ahead, until our poet dimly descries what looks like an immense +windmill. Placing Dante behind him to shield him a little from the +cruel blast, Virgil leads him past countless culprits, declaring they +have reached Judecca, a place where it behooves him to arm his heart +with strength. So stiff with cold that he is hovering between life and +death, Dante now beholds Dis or Satan,--Emperor of the Infernal +Regions,--sunk in ice down to his waist, and discovers that the wind +is caused by the constant flutter of his bat-like wings. He also +perceives that Satan is as much larger than the giants just seen, as +they surpass mankind, and states that, were the father of evil as fair +as he is foul, one might understand his daring to defy God. + + "If he were beautiful + As he is hideous now, and yet did dare + To scowl upon his Maker, well from him + May all our misery flow." + +Then Dante describes Satan's three heads, one red, one yellow and +white, and one green, declaring that the arch-fiend munches in each +mouth the sinners Judas, Cassius, and Brutus. After allowing Dante to +gaze a while at this appalling sight, Virgil informs his charge that, +having seen all, it behooves them to depart. With a brief order to +Dante to cling tightly around his neck, Virgil, seizing a moment when +Satan's wings are raised, darts beneath them, and clutching the +demon's shaggy sides painfully descends toward the centre of the +earth. Down, down they go until they reach the evil spirit's thighs, +where, the centre of earth's gravity being reached, Virgil suddenly +turns around and begins an upward climb with his burden. Although +Dante fully expects soon to behold Satan's head once more, he is +amazed to discover they are climbing up his leg. Then, through a +chimney-like ascent, where the climbing demands all their strength, +Dante and Virgil ascend toward the upper air. + +Explaining they are about to emerge at the antipodes of the spot +where they entered Hades, where they will behold the great Western +Sea, Virgil adds they will find in its centre the Mount of Purgatory, +constructed of the earth displaced by Satan's fall. Thus, Dante and +his leader return to the bright world, and, issuing from the dark +passage in which they have been travelling, once more behold the +stars! + + "By that hidden way + My guide and I did enter, to return + To the fair world: and heedless of repose + We climb'd, he first, I following his steps, + Till on our view the beautiful lights of heaven + Dawn'd through a circular opening in the cave: + Thence issuing we again beheld the stars." + + + + +PURGATORY + + +_Canto I._ About to sing of a region where human spirits are purged of +their sins and prepared to enter heaven, Dante invokes the aid of the +muses. Then, gazing about him, he discovers he is in an atmosphere of +sapphire hue, all the more lovely because of the contrast with the +infernal gloom whence he has just emerged. It is just before dawn, and +he beholds with awe four bright stars,--the Southern Cross,--which +symbolize the four cardinal virtues (Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and +Temperance). + +After contemplating these stars awhile, Dante, turning to the north to +get his bearings, perceives Virgil has been joined in this +ante-purgatorial region by Cato, who wonderingly inquires how they +escaped "the eternal prison-house." + +Virgil's gesture and example have meantime forced Dante to his knees, +so it is in this position that the Latin poet explains how a lady in +heaven bade him rescue Dante--before it was too late--by guiding him +through hell and showing him how sinners are cleansed in Purgatory. +The latter part of Virgil's task can, however, be accomplished only if +Cato will allow them to enter the realm which he guards. Moved by so +eloquent a plea, Cato directs Virgil to wash all traces of tears and +of infernal mirk from Dante's face, girdle him with a reed in token +of humility, and then ascend the Mount of Purgatory,--formed of the +earthy core ejected from Hades,--which he points out in the middle of +a lake with reedy shores. + +Leading his charge in the early dawn across a meadow, Virgil draws his +hands first through the dewy grass and then over Dante's face, and, +having thus removed all visible traces of the passage through Hades, +takes him down to the shore to girdle him with a pliant reed, the +emblem of humility. + +_Canto II._ Against the whitening east they now behold a ghostly +vessel advancing toward them, and when it approaches near enough they +descry an angel standing at its prow, his outspread wings serving as +sails. While Dante again sinks upon his knees, he hears, faintly at +first, the passengers in the boat singing the psalm "When Israel went +out of Egypt." + +Making a sign of the cross upon each passenger's brow, the angel +allows his charges to land, and vanishes at sunrise, just as the +new-comers, turning to Virgil, humbly inquire the way to the mountain. +Virgil rejoins that he too is a recent arrival, although he and his +companion travelled a far harder road than theirs. His words making +them aware of the fact that Dante is a living man, the spirits crowd +around him, eager to touch him. Among them he recognizes the musician +Casella, his friend. Unable to embrace a spirit,--although he tries to +do so,--Dante, after explaining his own presence here, begs Casella to +comfort all present by singing of love. Just as this strain ends, Cato +reappears, urging them to hasten to the mountain and there cast aside +the scales which conceal God from their eyes. At these words all the +souls present scatter like a covey of pigeons, and begin ascending the +mountain, whither Virgil and Dante slowly follow them. + + "As a wild flock of pigeons, to their food + Collected, blade or tares, without their pride + Accustom'd, and in still and quiet sort, + If aught alarm them, suddenly desert + Their meal, assail'd by more important care; + So I that new-come troop beheld, the song + Deserting, hasten to the mountain's side, + As one who goes, yet, where he tends, knows not." + +_Canto III._ While painfully ascending the steep slope, Dante, seeing +only his own shadow lengthening out before him, fears his guide has +abandoned him, and is relieved to see Virgil close behind him and to +hear him explain that disembodied spirits cast no shadow. While they +are talking, they reach the foot of the mountain and are daunted by +its steep and rocky sides. They are vainly searching for some crevice +whereby they may hope to ascend, when they behold a slowly advancing +procession of white-robed figures, from whom Virgil humbly inquires +the way. + + "As sheep, that step from forth their fold, by one, + Or pairs, or three at once; meanwhile the rest + Stand fearfully, bending the eye and nose + To ground, and what the foremost does, that do + The others, gathering round her if she stops, + Simple and quiet, nor the cause discern; + So saw I moving to advance the first, + Who of the fortunate crew were at the head, + Of modest mien, and graceful in their gait. + When they before me had beheld the light + From my right side fall broken on the ground, + So that the shadow reach'd the cave; they stopp'd, + And somewhat back retired: the same did all + Who follow'd, though unwitting of the cause." + +These spirits too are startled at the sight of a living being, but, +when Virgil assures them Dante is not here without warrant, they +obligingly point out "the straight and narrow way" which serves as +entrance to Purgatory. This done, one spirit, detaching itself from +the rest, inquires whether Dante does not remember Manfred, King of +Naples and Sicily, and whether he will not, on his return to earth, +inform the princess that her father repented of his sins at the moment +of death and now bespeaks her prayers to shorten his time of +probation. + +_Canto IV._ Dazed by what he has just seen and heard, Dante becomes +conscious of his surroundings once more, only when the sun stands +considerably higher, and when he has arrived at the foot of a rocky +pathway, up which he painfully follows Virgil, helping himself with +his hands as well as his feet. Arrived at its top, both gaze +wonderingly around them, and perceive by the position of the sun that +they must be at the antipodes of Florence, where their journey began. +Panting with the exertions he has just made, Dante expresses some fear +lest his strength may fail him, whereupon Virgil kindly assures him +the way, so arduous at first, will become easier and easier the higher +they ascend. + +Just then a voice, addressing them, advises them to rest, and Dante, +turning, perceives, among other spirits, a sitting figure, in whom he +recognizes a friend noted for his laziness. On questioning this +spirit, Dante learns that this friend, Belacqua, instead of exerting +himself to climb the mount of Purgatory, is idly waiting in hopes of +being wafted upward by the prayers of some "heart which lives in +grace." Such slothfulness irritates Virgil, who hurries Dante on, +warning him the sun has already reached its meridian and night will +all too soon overtake them. + +_Canto V._ Heedless of the whispered comments behind him because he is +opaque and not transparent like the other spirits, Dante follows +Virgil, until they overtake a band of spirits chanting the Miserere. +These too seem surprised at Dante's density, and, when assured he is +alive, eagerly inquire whether he can give them any tidings of friends +and families left on earth. Although all present are sinners who died +violent deaths, as they repented at the last minute they are not +wholly excluded from hope of bliss. Unable to recognize any of these, +Dante nevertheless listens to their descriptions of their violent +ends, and promises to enlighten their friends and kinsmen in regard to +their fate. + +_Canto VI._ Because Virgil moves on, Dante feels constrained to +follow, although the spirits continue to pluck at his mantle, +imploring him to hear what they have to say. Touched by the sorrows of +men of his own time or famous in history, Dante wistfully asks his +guide whether prayers can ever change Heaven's decrees, and learns +that true love can work miracles, as he will perceive when he beholds +Beatrice. The hope of meeting his beloved face to face causes Dante to +urge his guide to greater speed and almost gives wings to his feet. +Presently Virgil directs his companion's attention to a spirit +standing apart, in whom Dante recognizes the poet Sordello, who mourns +because Mantua--his native city as well as Virgil's--drifts in these +political upheavals like a pilotless vessel in the midst of a storm. + +_Canto VII._ Virgil now informs Sordello that he, Virgil, is debarred +from all hope of heaven through lack of faith. Thereupon Sordello +reverently approaches him, calling him "Glory of Latium," and +inquiring whence he comes. Virgil explains how, led by heavenly +influence, he left the dim limbo of ante-hell, passed through all the +stages of the Inferno, and is now seeking the place "Where Purgatory +its true beginning takes." Sordello rejoins that, while he will gladly +serve as guide, the day is already so far gone that they had better +spend the night in a neighboring dell. He then leads Virgil and Dante +to a hollow, where, resting upon fragrant flowers, they prepare to +spend the night, with a company of spirits who chant "Salve Regina." +Among these the new-comers recognize with surprise sundry renowned +monarchs, whose doings are briefly described. + +_Canto VIII._ Meantime the hour of rest has come, the hour described +by the poet as-- + + Now was the hour that wakens fond desire + In men at sea, and melts their thoughtful heart + Who in the morn have bid sweet friends farewell, + And pilgrim newly on his road with love + Thrills, if he hear the vesper bell from far + That seems to mourn for the expiring day. + +Dante and Virgil then witness the evening devotions of these spirits, +which conclude with a hymn so soft, so devout, that their senses are +lost in ravishment. When it has ended, the spirits all gaze +expectantly upward, and soon behold two green-clad angels, with +flaming swords, who alight on eminences at either end of the glade. +These heavenly warriors are sent by Mary to mount guard during the +hours of darkness so as to prevent the serpent from gliding unseen +into their miniature Eden. Still led by Sordello, the poets withdraw +to a leafy recess, where Dante discovers a friend whom he had cause to +believe detained in hell. This spirit explains he is not indeed +languishing there simply because of the prayers of his daughter +Giovanna, who has not forgotten him although his wife has married +again. + +Dante is just gazing with admiration at three stars (symbols of Faith, +Hope, and Charity), when Sordello suddenly points out the serpent, who +is no sooner descried by the angels than they swoop down and put him +to flight. + + "I saw not, nor can tell, + How those celestial falcons from their seat + Moved, but in motion each one well descried. + Hearing the air cut by their verdant plumes, + The serpent fled; and, to their stations, back + The angels up return'd with equal flight." + +_Canto IX._ Dante falls asleep in this valley, but, just as the first +gleams of light appear, he is favored by a vision, wherein--like +Ganymede--he is borne by a golden-feathered eagle into a glowing fire +where both are consumed. Wakening with a start from this disquieting +dream, Dante finds himself in a different spot, with no companion save +Virgil, and notes the sun is at least two hours high. + +Virgil now assures him that, thanks to Santa Lucia (type of God's +grace), he has in sleep been conveyed to the very entrance of +Purgatory. Gazing at the high cliffs which encircle the mountain, +Dante now perceives a deep cleft, through which he and Virgil arrive +at a vast portal (the gate of penitence), to which three huge steps of +varying color and size afford access. At the top of these steps, on a +diamond threshold, sits the Angel of Absolution with his flashing +sword. Challenged by this warder, Virgil explains that they have been +guided hither by Santa Lucia, at whose name the angel bids them draw +near. Up a polished step of white marble (which typifies sincerity), a +dark step of cracked stone (symbol of contrition), and one of red +porphyry (emblem of self-sacrifice), Dante arrives at the angel's feet +and humbly begs him to unbar the door. In reply the angel inscribes +upon the poet's brow, by means of his sword, seven _P's_, to represent +the seven deadly sins (in Italian _peccata_), of which mortals must be +purged ere they can enter Paradise. + +After bidding Dante have these signs properly effaced, the angel draws +from beneath his ash-hued mantle the golden key of authority and the +silver key of discernment, stating that when St. Peter entrusted them +to his keeping he bade him err "rather in opening than in keeping +fast." Then, the gate open, the angel bids them enter, adding the +solemn warning "he forth again departs who looks behind." + +_Canto X._ Mindful of this caution, Dante does not turn, although the +gates close with a clash behind him, but follows his guide along a +steep pathway. It is only after painful exertions they reach the first +terrace of Purgatory, or place where the sin of pride is punished. +They now pass along a white marble cornice,--some eighteen feet +wide,--whose walls are decorated with sculptures which would not have +shamed the best masters of Greek art. Here are represented such +subjects as the Annunciation, David dancing before the Ark, and Trajan +granting the petition of the unfortunate widow. Proceeding along this +path, they soon see a procession of spirits approaching, all bent +almost double beneath huge burdens. As they creep along, one or +another gasps from time to time, "I can endure no more." + +_Canto XI._ The oppressed spirits fervently pray for aid and +forgiveness, while continuing their weary tramp around this cornice, +where they do penance for undue pride. Praying they may soon be +delivered, Virgil inquires of them where he can find means to +ascend to the next circle, and is told to accompany the procession +which will soon pass the place. The speaker, although unable to raise +his head, confesses his arrogance while on earth so incensed his +fellow-creatures that they finally rose up against him and murdered +him. Stooping so as to catch a glimpse of the bent face, Dante +realizes he is talking to a miniature painter who claimed to be +without equal, and therefore has to do penance. + + The noise + Of worldly fame is but a blast of wind, + That blows from diverse points, and shifts its name, + Shifting the point it blows from. + +_Canto XII._ Journeying beside the bowed painter (who names some of +his fellow-sufferers), Dante's attention is directed by Virgil to the +pavement beneath his feet, where he sees carved Briareus, Nimrod, +Niobe, Arachne, Saul, etc.,--in short, all those who dared measure +themselves with the gods or who cherished overweening opinions of +their attainments. So absorbed is Dante in contemplation of these +subjects that he starts when told an angel is coming to meet them, +who, if entreated with sufficient humility, will doubtless help them +reach the next level. + +The radiant-faced angel, robed in dazzling white, instead of waiting +to be implored to help the travellers, graciously points out steps +where the rocks are sundered by a cleft, and, when Dante obediently +climbs past him, a soft touch from his wings brushes away the P. which +stands for pride, and thus frees our poet of all trace of this heinous +sin. But it is only on reaching the top of the stairway that Dante +becomes aware of this fact. + +_Canto XIII._ The second ledge of purgatory, which they have now +reached, is faced with plain gray stone, and Virgil leads his +companion a full mile along it ere they become aware of a flight of +invisible spirits, some of whom chant "They have no wine!" while the +others respond "Love ye those who have wrong'd you." These are those +who, having sinned through envy, can be freed only by the exercise of +charity. Then, bidding Dante gaze fixedly, Virgil points out this +shadowy host, clothed in sackcloth, sitting back against the rocks, +and Dante takes particular note of two figures supporting each other. +He next discovers that one and all of these victims have their eyelids +sewn so tightly together with wire that passage is left only for +streams of penitential tears. + +When allowed to address them, Dante, hoping to comfort them, offers to +bear back to earth any message they wish to send. It is then that one +of these spirits informs Dante that on earth she was Sapia, a learned +Siennese, who, having rejoiced when her country was defeated, is +obliged to do penance for heartlessness. Marvelling that any one +should wander among them with eyes unclosed, she inquires by what +means Dante has come here, bespeaks his prayers, and implores him to +warn her countrymen not to cherish vain hopes of greatness or to sin +through envy. + +_Canto XIV._ The two spirits leaning close together, in their turn +question who Virgil and Dante may be? When they hear mention of Rome +and Florence, they hotly inveigh against the degeneracy of dwellers on +the banks of the Tiber and Arno. + +Shortly after leaving this place with his guide, Dante hears the wail: +"Whosoever finds will slay me," a cry followed by a deafening crash. + +_Canto XV._ Circling round the mountain, always in the same direction, +Dante notes the sun is about to set, when another dazzling angel +invites them up to the next level,--where anger is punished,--by means +of a stairway less steep than any of the preceding. As they climb, the +angel softly chants "Blessed the merciful" and "Happy thou that +conquer'st," while he brushes aside the second _P ._, and thus +cleanses Dante from envy. But, when Dante craves an explanation of +what he has heard and seen, Virgil assures him that only when the five +remaining "scars" have vanished from his brow, Beatrice herself can +satisfy his curiosity. + +On reaching the third level, they find themselves enveloped in a dense +fog, through which Dante dimly beholds the twelve-year-old Christ in +the Temple and overhears his mother chiding him. Next he sees a woman +weeping, and lastly Stephen stoned to death. + +_Canto XVI._ Urged by his guide to hasten through this bitter blinding +fog--a symbol of anger which is punished here--Dante stumbles along, +mindful of Virgil's caution, "Look that from me thou part not." +Meanwhile voices on all sides invoke "the Lamb of God that taketh away +the sins of the world." Then, all at once, a voice addresses Dante, +who, prompted by Virgil, inquires where the next stairway may be? His +interlocutor, after bespeaking Dante's prayers, holds forth against +Rome, which, boasting of two suns,--the pope and the emperor,--has +seen the one quench the other. But the arrival of an angel, sent to +guide our travellers to the next level, soon ends this conversation. + +_Canto XVII._ Out of the vapors of anger--as dense as any Alpine +fog--Dante, who has caught glimpses of famous victims of anger, such +as Haman and Lavinia, emerges with Virgil, only to be dazzled by the +glorious light of the sun. Then, climbing the ladder the angel points +out, Dante feels him brush away the third obnoxious P., while +chanting, "Blessed are the peacemakers." They now reach the fourth +ledge, where the sin of indifference or sloth is punished, and, as +they trudge along it, Virgil explains that all indifference is due to +a lack of love, a virtue on which he eloquently discourses. + +_Canto XVIII._ A multitude of spirits now interrupt Virgil, and, when +he questions them, two, who lead the rest, volubly quote examples of +fervent affection and zealous haste. They are closely followed by +other spirits, the backsliders, who, not having had the strength or +patience to endure, preferred inglorious ease to adventurous life and +are now consumed with regret. + +_Canto XIX._ In the midst of a trance which overtakes him, Dante next +has a vision of the Siren which beguiled Ulysses and of Philosophy or +Truth. Then, morning having dawned, Virgil leads him to the next +stairway, up which an angel wafts them, chanting "Blessed are they +that mourn, for they shall be comforted," while he brushes away +another sin scar from our poet's forehead. + +In this fifth circle those guilty of avarice undergo punishment by +being chained fast to the earth to which they clung, and which they +bedew with penitent tears. One of these, questioned by Dante, reveals +he was Pope Adrian V., who, dying a month after his elevation to the +papal chair, repented in time of his grasping past. When Dante kneels +compassionately beside this august sufferer, he is implored to warn +the pope's kinswoman to eschew the besetting sin of their house. + +_Canto XX._ A little further on, among the grovelling figures which +closely pave this fifth cornice, Dante beholds Hugues Capet, founder +of the third dynasty of French kings, and stigmatized as "root of that +ill plant," because this poem was composed only a few years after +Philip IV's criminal attempt against Pope Boniface at Agnani. The +poets also recognize there Pygmalion (brother of Dido), Midas, Achan, +Heliodorus, and Crassus, [18] ere they are startled by feeling the +whole mountain tremble beneath them and by hearing the spirits +exultantly cry "Glory to God!" + +_Canto XXI._ Clinging to Virgil in speechless terror, Dante hears his +guide assure the spirit which suddenly appears before them that the +Fates have not yet finished spinning the thread of his companion's +life. When questioned by the travellers in regard to the noise and +earthquake, this spirit informs them that the mountain quivers with +joy whenever a sinner is released, and that, after undergoing a +punishment of five hundred years, he--Statius--is now free to go in +quest of his master Virgil, whom he has always longed to meet. Dante's +smile at these words, together with his meaning glance at Virgil, +suddenly reveal to the spirit that his dearest wish is granted, and +Statius reverently does obeisance to the poet from whose fount he +drew his inspiration. + +_Canto XXII._ The three bards are next led by an angel up another +staircase, to the sixth cornice (Dante losing another _P._ on the +way), where the sins of gluttony and drunkenness are punished. As they +circle around this ledge, Dante questions how Statius became guilty of +the sin of covetousness, for which he was doomed to tramp around the +fifth circle. In reply Statius rejoins that it was not because of +covetousness, but of its counterpart, over-lavishness, that he +suffered so long, and principally because he was not brave enough to +own himself a Christian. Then he inquires of Virgil what have become +of their fellow-countrymen Terence, Caecilius, Plautus, and Varro, +only to learn that they too linger in the dark regions of ante-hell, +where they hold sweet converse with other pagan poets. + +Reverently listening to the conversation of his companions, Dante +drinks in "mysterious lessons of sweet poesy" and silently follows +them until they draw near a tree laden with fruit and growing beside a +crystal stream. Issuing from this tree a voice warns them against the +sin of gluttony--which is punished in this circle--and quotes such +marked examples of abstinence as Daniel feeding on pulse and John the +Baptist living on locusts and wild honey. + +_Canto XXIII._ Dante is still dumbly staring at the mysterious tree +when Virgil bids him follow, for they still have far to go. They next +meet weeping, hollow-eyed spirits, so emaciated that their bones start +through their skin. One of these recognizes Dante, who is aghast that +his friend Forese should be in such a state and escorted by two +skeleton spirits. Forese replies that he and his companions are +consumed by endless hunger and thirst, although they eat and drink +without ever being satisfied. When Dante expresses surprise because a +man only five years dead should already be so high up the mount of +Purgatory, Forese explains that his wife's constant prayers have +successively freed him from detention in the other circles. In return +Dante states why he is here and names his companions. + +_Canto XXIV._ Escorting the three travellers on their way, Forese +inquires what has become of his sister, Piccarda, ere he points out +sundry spirits, with whom Dante converses, and who predict the coming +downfall of his political foes. But these spirits suddenly leave Dante +to dart toward trees, which tantalizingly withold their fruit from +their eager hands, while hidden voices loudly extol temperance. + +_Canto XXV._ In single file the three poets continue their tramp, +commenting on what they have seen, and Statius expounds his theories +of life. Then they ascend to the seventh ledge, where glowing fires +purge mortals of all sensuality. Even as they toil toward this level, +an angel voice extols chastity, and Dante once more feels the light +touch which he now associates with the removal of one of the scars +made by the angel at the entrance of Purgatory. Arrived above, the +poets have to tread a narrow path between the roaring fires and the +abyss. So narrow is the way, that Virgil bids Dante beware or he will +be lost! + + "Behoved us, one by one, along the side, + That border'd on the void, to pass; and I + Fear'd on one hand the fire, on the other fear'd + Headlong to fall: when thus the instructor warn'd: + 'Strict rein must in this place direct the eyes. + A little swerving and the way is lost.'" + +As all three warily proceed, Dante hears voices in the fiery furnace +alternately imploring the mercy of God and quoting examples of +chastity, such as Mary and Diana, and couples who proved chaste though +married. + +_Canto XXVI._ As the poets move along the rim, Dante's shadow, cast +upon the roaring flames, causes such wonder to the victims undergoing +purification that one of them inquires who he may be. Just as Dante is +about to answer, his attention is attracted by hosts of shadows, who, +after exchanging hasty kisses, dash on, mentioning such famous +examples of dissoluteness as Pasiphae, and the men who caused the +destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Turning to his interlocutor, Dante +then explains how he came hither and expresses a hope he may soon be +received in bliss. The grateful spirit then gives his name, admits he +sang too freely of carnal love, and adds that Dante would surely +recognize many of his fellow-sufferers were he to point them out. +Then, bespeaking Dante's prayers, he plunges back into the fiery +element which is to make him fit for Paradise. + +_Canto XXVII._ Just as the sun is about to set, an angel approaches +them, chanting "Blessed are the pure in heart," and bids them +fearlessly pass through the wall of fire which alone stands between +them and Paradise. Seeing Dante hang back timorously, Virgil reminds +him he will find Beatrice on the other side, whereupon our poet +plunges recklessly into the glowing furnace, where both his companions +precede him, and whence all three issue on an upward path. There they +make their couch on separate steps, and Dante gazes up at the stars +until he falls asleep and dreams of a lovely lady, culling flowers in +a meadow, singing she is Lea (the mediaeval type of active life), and +stating that her sister Rachel (the emblem of contemplative life) +spends the day gazing at herself in a mirror. + +At dawn the pilgrims awake, and Virgil assures Dante before this day +ends his hunger for a sight of Beatrice will be appeased. This +prospect so lightens Dante's heart that he almost soars to the top of +the stairway. There Virgil, who has led him through temporal and +eternal fires, bids him follow his pleasure, until he meets the fair +lady who bade him undertake this journey. + + "Till those bright eyes + With gladness come, which, weeping, made me haste + To succor thee, thou mayst or seat thee down + Or wander where thou wilt. Expect no more + Sanction of warning voice or sign from me, + Free of thine own arbitrament to choose. + Discreet, judicious. To distrust thy sense + Were henceforth error. I invest thee then + With crown and mitre, sovereign o'er thyself." + +_Canto XXVIII._ Through the Garden of Eden Dante now strolls with +Statius and Virgil, until he beholds, on the other side of a pellucid +stream (whose waters have the "power to take away remembrance of +offence"), a beautiful lady (the countess Matilda), who smiles upon +him. Then she informs Dante she has come to "answer every doubt" he +cherishes, and, as they wander along on opposite sides of the stream, +she expounds for his benefit the creation of man, the fall and its +consequences, and informs him how all the plants that grow on earth +originate here. The water at his feet issues from an unquenchable +fountain, and divides into two streams, the first of which, Lethe, +"chases from the mind the memory of sin," while the waters of the +second, Eunoe, have the power to recall "good deeds to one's mind." + +_Canto XXIX._ Suddenly the lady bids Dante pause, look, and hearken. +Then he sees a great light on the opposite shore, hears a wonderful +music, and soon beholds a procession of spirits, so bright that they +leave behind them a trail of rainbow-colored light. First among them +march the four and twenty elders of the Book of Revelations; they are +followed by four beasts (the Evangelists), and a gryphon, drawing a +chariot (the Christian Church or Papal chair), far grander than any +that ever graced imperial triumph at Rome. Personifications of the +three evangelical virtues (Charity, Faith, and Hope) and of the four +moral virtues (Prudence, etc.), together with St. Luke and St. Paul, +the four great Doctors of the Church, and the apostle St. John, serve +as body-guard for this chariot, which comes to a stop opposite Dante +with a noise like thunder. + +_Canto XXX._ The wonderful light, our poet now perceives, emanates +from a seven-branched candlestick, and illuminates all the heavens +like an aurora borealis. Then, amid the chanting, and while angels +shower flowers down upon her, he beholds in the chariot a lady veiled +in white, in whom, although transfigured, he instinctively recognizes +Beatrice (a personification of Heavenly Wisdom). In his surprise +Dante impulsively turns toward Virgil, only to discover that he has +vanished! + +Beatrice comforts him, however, by promising to be his guide +hereafter, and gently reproaches him for the past until he casts +shamefaced glances at his feet. There, in the stream (which serves as +nature's mirror), he catches a reflection of his utter loathsomeness, +and becomes so penitent, that Beatrice explains she purposely brought +him hither by the awful road he has travelled to induce him to lead a +changed life hereafter. + +_Canto XXXI._ Beatrice then accuses him of yielding to the world's +deceitful pleasures after she left him, and explains how he should, on +the contrary, have striven to be virtuous so as to rejoin her. When +she finally forgives him and bids him gaze into her face once more, he +sees she surpasses her former self in loveliness as greatly as on +earth she outshone all other women. Dante is so overcome by a sense of +his utter unworthiness that he falls down unconscious, and on +recovering his senses finds himself in the stream, upheld by the hand +of a nymph (Matilda), who sweeps him along, "swift as a shuttle +bounding o'er the wave," while angels chant "Thou shalt wash me" and +"I shall be whiter than snow." + +Freed from all haunting memories of past sins by Lethe's waters, Dante +finally lands on the "blessed shore." There Beatrice's hand-maidens +welcome him, and beseech her to complete her work by revealing her +inner beauty to this mortal, so he can portray it for mankind. But, +although Dante gazes at her in breathless admiration, words fail him +to render what he sees. + + "O splendor! + O sacred light eternal! who is he, + So pale with musing in Pierian shades, + Or with that fount so lavishly imbued, + Whose spirit should not fail him in the essay + To represent thee such as thou didst seem, + When under cope of the still-chiming heaven + Thou gavest to open air thy charms reveal'd?" + +_Canto XXXII._ Dante is still quenching a "ten-years thirst" by +staring at his beloved, when her attendants admonish him to desist. +But, although he obediently turns aside his eyes, like a man who has +gazed too long at the sun, he sees her image stamped on all he looks +at. He and Statius now humbly follow the glorious procession, which +enters a forest and circles gravely round a barren tree-trunk, to +which the chariot is tethered. Immediately the dry branches burst into +bud and leaf, and, soothed by angelic music, Dante falls asleep, only +to be favored by a vision so startling, that on awakening he eagerly +looks around for Beatrice. The nymph who bore him safely through the +waters then points her out, resting beneath the mystic tree, and +Beatrice, rousing too, bids Dante note the fate of her chariot. The +poet then sees an eagle (the Empire), swoop down from heaven, tear the +tree asunder, and attack the Chariot (the Church), into which a fox +(heresy) has sprung as if in quest of prey. Although the fox is soon +routed by Beatrice, the eagle makes its nest in the chariot, beneath +which arises a seven-headed monster (the seven capital sins), bearing +on its back a giant, who alternately caresses and chastises a whore. + +_Canto XXXIII._ The seven Virtues having chanted a hymn, Beatrice +motions to Statius and Dante to follow her, asking the latter why he +is so mute? Rejoining she best knows what he needs, Dante receives +from her lips an explanation of what he has just seen, which he is +bidden reveal to mankind. Conversing thus, they reach the second +stream, of whose waters Beatrice bids her friend drink, and after that +renovating draught Dante realizes he has now been made pure and "apt +for mounting to the stars." + + + + +PARADISE + + +_Introduction._ The Paradise of Dante consists of nine crystalline +spheres of different sizes, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, +Jupiter, Saturn, the Fixed Stars, and the Empyrean, enclosed one +within the other, and revolved by the Angels, Archangels, Princedoms, +Powers, Virtues, Dominations, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. Beyond +these orbs, whose whirling motions cause "the music of the spheres," +lies a tenth circle, the real heaven (a Rose), where "peace divine +inhabits," and of which the Divine Essence or Trinity forms the very +core. + +_Canto I._ Paradise opens with Dante's statement that in heaven he was +"witness of things, which to relate again, surpasseth the power of him +who comes from thence." He therefore invokes the help of Apollo to +describe that part of the universe upon which is lavished the greatest +share of light. Then, while gazing up into Beatrice's eyes, Dante, +freed from earth's trammels, suddenly feels himself soar upward, and +is transferred with indescribable swiftness into a totally different +medium. + +_Canto II._ Perceiving his bewilderment, Beatrice reassures him in a +motherly strain, and, gazing around him, Dante realizes they have +entered the translucent circle of the moon (revolved by angels). After +warning his fellow-men "the way I pass ne'er yet was run," Dante goes +on to relate what Beatrice teaches him in regard to the heavenly +spheres and spiritual evolution, and how she promises to reveal to him +"the truth thou lovest." + +_Canto III._ In the pearl-hued atmosphere of the moon, Dante beholds, +"as through a glass, darkly," shadowy, nun-like forms, and is told by +Beatrice to communicate with them. Addressing the form nearest him, +Dante learns she is Piccarda (sister of Forese), who was kidnapped by +her husband after she had taken the veil. Although she would fain have +kept her religious vows, Piccarda proved a faithful wife, and declares +she and her fellow-spirits are content to remain in their appointed +sphere until called higher by the Almighty. + + "She with those other spirits gently smiled; + Then answer'd with such gladness, that she seem'd + With love's first flame to glow: 'Brother! our will + Is, in composure, settled by the power + Of charity, who makes us will alone + What we possess, and nought beyond desire.'" + +All her companions also wished to be brides of Christ, but patiently +did their duty, and, knowing that "in His will is our tranquillity," +they now spend all their time singing "Ave Maria." When these nun-like +forms vanish, Dante gazes at Beatrice in hopes of learning more. + +_Canto IV._ In reply to Dante's inquiring glance, Beatrice explains +that those compelled to sin against their desire are ever held +blameless in Heaven. Then, stating: + + "Not seldom, brother, it hath, chanced for men + To do what they had gladly left undone;" + +she adds that "the will that wills not, still survives unquenched," +and that by will power only St. Lawrence and Mucius Scevola were +enabled to brave fire. Then she makes him see how truth alone can +satisfy a mind athirst for knowledge. + +_Canto V._ Beatrice asserts that the most precious gift bestowed upon +mankind was freedom of will, and that "knowledge comes of learning +well retain'd." She concludes that when man makes a vow he offers his +will in sacrifice to God, and that for that reason no vow should be +thoughtlessly made, but all should be rigidly kept. Still, she admits +it is better to break a promise than, like Jephthah and Agamemnon, to +subscribe to a heinous crime, and states that either Testament can +serve as guide for Jews or Christians. Again drawing Dante upward by +the very intensity of her gaze, she conveys him to the second circle, +the heaven of Mercury (revolved by Archangels). Here, in an atmosphere +as pellucid as water, Dante perceives thousands of angels, coming +toward him, singing "Lo! one arrived to multiply our loves!" These +spirits assure Dante he was born in a happy hour, since he is allowed, +ere the "close of fleshly warfare," to view the glories of +heaven,--and express a desire to share their lights with him. So Dante +questions the spirit nearest him, which immediately glows with loving +eagerness to serve him, until it becomes a dazzling point of light. + +_Canto VI._ This spirit announces he is Justinian, chosen to clear +"from vain excess the encumbered laws," five hundred years after the +Christian era began, and that it was in order to devote all his time +to this task that he consigned the military power to Belisarius. He +proceeds to give Dante a _résumé_ of Roman history, from the +kidnapping of the Sabines to his own day, laying stress on the +triumphs won by great generals. He also specially mentions the hour +"When Heaven was minded that o'er all the world his own deep calm +should brood," the troublous days of the empire, and the feud of the +Guelfs and Ghibellines, the two principal political factions of +Dante's time. Next he explains that Mercury is inhabited by "good +spirits whose mortal lives were busied to that end that honor and +renown might wait on them," and quotes in particular Raymond Bérenger, +whose four daughters became queens. + +_Canto VII._ After this speech Justinian vanishes with his angelic +companions, and Dante, duly encouraged, inquires of Beatrice how "just +revenge could be with justice punished!" She informs him that, as in +Adam all die through the power of sin, all can by faith live again +through Christ, thanks to God's goodness. + +_Canto VIII._ Although unaware of the fact, Dante, whose eyes have +been fixed on Beatrice, has during her exposition been wafted up to +the third heaven, that of Venus (revolved by Princedoms). In the +planet of love--where Beatrice glows with increased beauty--are +innumerable souls "imperfect through excess of love," which are +grouped in constantly revolving circles. All at once one of these +luminous spirits approaches Dante, and, after expressing great +readiness to serve him, introduces himself as Charles Martel, King of +Hungary, brother of Robert of Naples. Thirsting for information, Dante +inquires of him "how bitter can spring when sweet is sown?" In a +lengthy disquisition in reply, this spirit mentions how children often +differ from their parents, quotes Esau and Jacob as marked examples +thereof, and adds that nature, guided by Providence, produces at will +a Solon, Xerxes, Melchisedec, or Daedalus. _Canto IX._ The next +spirit with whom Beatrice converses is the fair Cunizza, who like the +Magdalen "loved much," and therefor obtained pardon for her sins. +Before vanishing, she foretells coming political events, and +introduces the Provençal bard Folco, whose poems on love were to be +republished after five hundred years of oblivion. After relating his +life, this poet informs Dante the harlot Rahab was admitted to this +heaven in reward for saving Joshua's spies. This spirit concludes his +interview by censuring the present papal policy, declaring it far too +worldly, avaricious, and time-serving to find favor in heaven. + +_Canto X._ Drawn upward this time by the attraction of the sun, Dante +finds himself in a dazzling sphere (revolved by Powers), where he and +Beatrice behold consecutive moving wreaths, each composed of twelve +blessed spirits who while on earth were noted as teachers of divinity +and philosophy. One of these singing, revolving wreaths encompasses +our travellers, until one of its members, St. Thomas Aquinas, ceases +his ineffable song long enough to present his companions and explain +their titles to immortal glory. + +_Canto XI._ St. Thomas Aquinas, in his conversation with Dante, +relates the life of St. Francis of Assisi, dwelling particularly upon +his noble character, and describing how, after becoming wedded to +Poverty, he founded the order of the Franciscans, received the +stigmata, and died in odor of sanctity, leaving worthy disciples and +emulators, such as St. Dominic, to continue and further the good work +he had begun. He adds that many of the saint's followers are +represented in the innumerable glowing wreaths which people the heaven +of the Sun. + +_Canto XII._ Still encompassed by one rainbow circle after another, +Dante is told by St. Buonaventura of Dominic's inestimable services to +mankind, and hears about his fervent zeal and deep faith. + +_Canto XIII._ While Dante and Beatrice gaze with awe and admiration +upon the circles of light which revolve through all the signs of the +zodiac, St. Thomas Aquinas solves sundry of Dante's doubts, and +cautions him never to accede to any proposition without having duly +weighed it. + + "Let not the people be too swift to judge; + As one who reckons on the blades in field, + Or e'er the crop be ripe. For I have seen + The thorn frown rudely all the winter long, + And after bear the rose upon its top; + And bark, that all her way across the sea + Ran straight and speedy, perish at the last + E'en in the haven's mouth." + +_Canto XIV._ Proceeding from circle to circle, Dante and Beatrice +reach the innermost ring, where the latter bids Solomon solve Dante's +doubts by describing the appearance of the blest after the +resurrection of the body. In words almost as eloquent as those +wherewith St. Gabriel transmitted his message to Mary, Solomon +complies. + + "Long as the joy of Paradise shall last, + Our love shall shine around that raiment, bright + As fervent; fervent as, in vision, blest; + And that as far, in blessedness, exceeding, + As it hath grace, beyond its virtue, great. + Our shape, regarmented with glorious weeds + Of saintly flesh, must, being thus entire, + Show yet more gracious. Therefore shall increase + Whate'er, of light, gratuitous imparts + The Supreme Good; light, ministering aid, + The better to disclose his glory: whence, + The vision needs increasing, must increase + The fervor, which it kindles; and that too + The ray, that comes from it." + +As he concludes his explanation, a chorus of spiritual voices chant +"Amen," and Solomon, directing Dante's glance upward, shows him how +the bright spirits of this sphere group themselves in the form of a +cross,--glowing with light and pulsing with music,--whereon "Christ +beamed," a sight none can hope to see save those who "take up their +cross and follow him." + +_Cantos XV, XVI._ In the midst of the rapture caused by these sights +and sounds, Dante is amazed to recognize, in one of the angels which +continually shift places in the glowing cross, his ancestor +Cacciaguida, who assures him Florence proved happy as long as its +inhabitants led simple and virtuous lives, but rapidly degenerated and +became corrupt when covetousness, luxury, and pleasure took up their +abode within its walls. + +_Canto XVII._ Encouraged by Beatrice, who stands at a short distance +to leave him more freedom, Dante begs his great ancestor to reveal +what is about to befall him, so that, forewarned, he may most wisely +meet his fate. In reply Cacciaguida tells him he will be exiled from +Florence, and compelled to associate with people who will turn against +him, only to rue this fact with shame later on. He adds Dante will +learn how bitter is the savor of other's bread and how hard to climb +another's stairs. + + "Thou shalt leave each thing + Beloved most dearly: this is the first shaft + Shot from the bow of exile. Thou shalt prove + How salt the savor is of other's bread; + How hard the passage, to descend and climb + By other's stairs." + +Then Cacciaguida goes on to state that Dante shall finally find refuge +in Lombardy, with Can Grande, and while there will compose the poems +depicting his memorable journey down through sin to the lowest pit and +upward through repentance to the realm of bliss. + + "For this, there only have been shown to thee, + Throughout these orbs, the mountain, and the deep, + Spirit, whom fame hath note of. For the mind + Of him, who hears, is loath to acquiesce + And fix its faith, unless the instance brought + Be palpable, and proof apparent urge." + +Seeing Dante's dismay at this prediction, Beatrice comforts him by a +smile, and, seeing he is again wrapped in contemplation of her, warns +him that "these eyes are not thy only Paradise." + +_Canto XVIII._ Then Beatrice leads her charge into the fifth heaven, +that of Mars, revolved by Virtues and inhabited by transfigured +martyrs, confessors, and holy warriors, such as Joshua, the Maccabees, +Charlemagne, Orlando, Godfrey of Bouillon, and other men of note. +These worthies form a part of the mystic cross, and each glows with +transcendent light as Beatrice points them out one after another. Then +Beatrice wafts her change into the sixth heaven, that of Jupiter +(revolved by Dominations). Here the spirits of rulers famous for +justice, moving with kaleidoscopic tints and rapidity, alternately +form mystic letters spelling "Love righteousness ye that be judges of +the earth," or settle silently into the shape of a gigantic eagle. +This sight proves so impressive that Dante sinks to his knees, +fervently praying justice may indeed reign on earth as in heaven. + +Canto XIX. To his intense surprise Dante now hears the mystic eagle +proclaim in trumpet tones that justice and pity shall be exacted, and +that no man shall be saved without them. He adds that eternal judgment +is incomprehensible to mortal ken, that mere professions are vain, and +that many so-called Christian potentates (some of whom he names) will +present a sorry figure on Judgment Day. + +Canto XX. After a period of silence, the same Eagle (an emblem of the +Empire) proceeds to exalt certain rulers, especially those glorified +spirits which form the pupil of his eye (David), and his eyelids +(Trajan, Hezekiah, Constantine). As he mentions their names they glow +like priceless rubies, and he explains that, although some of them +lived before Christ was made flesh, all have been redeemed because +Faith, Hope, and Charity are their sponsors. + + "The three nymphs, + Whom at the right wheel thou beheld'st advancing, + Were sponsors for him, more than thousand years + Before baptizing. O how far removed, + Predestination! is thy root from such + As see not the First Cause entire: and ye, + O mortal men! be wary how ye judge: + For we, who see our Maker, know not yet + The number of the chosen; and esteem + Such scantiness of knowledge our delight: + For all our good is, in that primal good, + Concentrate; and God's will and ours are one." + +_Canto XXI._ Meantime Beatrice, who has grown more and more beautiful +as they rise, explains, when Dante again gazes upon her, that she no +longer dares smile, lest he be consumed like Semele when she beheld +Jove. The magnetic power of her glance suffices again, however, to +transfer him to the seventh heaven, that of Saturn (revolved by +Thrones). This sphere is the abiding place of contemplative and +abstinent hermits and monks. There our poet beholds a ladder, up whose +steps silently ascend those whose lives were spent in retirement and +holy contemplation. Amazed by all he sees, and conscious he no longer +hears the music of the spheres, Dante wonders until informed by one of +the spirits, coming down the steps to meet him, that at this stage the +heavenly music is too loud and intense for human ears. Seeing his +interlocutor suddenly become a whirling wheel of light, Dante inquires +what this may mean, only to be told spirits obscured on earth by +fleshly garments shine brightly in heaven. The spirit then gives his +name (St. Peter Damian), vividly describes the place where he built +his hermitage, and declares many modern prelates have sinned so +grievously through lechery or avarice that they are now detained in +Inferno or Purgatory. As he speaks, spirit after spirit flits down the +stairs, each bound on some errand of charity to the spheres below. + +_Canto XXII._ Startled by a loud cry, Dante is reassured by St. +Damian's statement that no harm can befall him in heaven. Next +Beatrice directs his attention to some descending spirits, the most +radiant of which is St. Benedict, who explains how blissful spirits +often leave the heavenly abode "to execute the counsel of the +Highest." He adds that Dante has been selected to warn mortals, none +of whom will ever be allowed to venture hither again. Then St. +Benedict describes his life on earth and inveighs against the +corruption of the monks of Dante's time. + +His speech ended, St. Benedict vanishes, and Beatrice wafts Dante up +the mystic stairs, through the constellation of the Gemini, to the +eighth heaven, that of the Fixed Stars (revolved by the Cherubim). +Declaring he is so near "the last salvation" that his eyes should be +unclouded, Beatrice removes the last veil from his sight, and bids him +gaze down at the spheres through which they have passed, and "see how +vast a world thou hast already put beneath thy feet." Smiling at the +smallness of the earth left behind him, Dante, undazzled by the mild +light of the moon or the glow of the sun, gazes at the seven revolving +spheres until all the scheme of creation is "made apparent to him." + +_Canto XXIII._ Beatrice, who is still standing beside him, finally +tears him away from his contemplation of what is beneath him, and +directs his glance aloft, where he catches his first glimpse of +Christ, escorted by his Mother and by the Church triumphant. Too +dazzled and awed at first to grasp what he sees, Dante feels heart and +mind expand, as he listens enraptured to sweeter music than was ever +made by the nine muses. Meantime the spirits escorting Christ crown +the Virgin with lilies, and all sing the praises of the Queen of +Heaven.[19] + +_Canto XXIV._ Beatrice and Dante are now joined by the spirit of St. +Peter, who examines Dante on faith, receiving the famous reply: "Faith +is the substance of the thing we hope for, and evidence of those that +are not seen." Not only does St. Peter approve Dante's definition, but +he discusses theological questions with him, leading him meanwhile +further into this sphere. + +_Canto XXV._ Presently a spirit approaches them which is designated by +Beatrice as St. James. After greeting St. Peter and smiling upon +Beatrice, St. James reveals he has been sent hither by Christ to +examine Dante upon hope, whereupon our poet, lifting his eyes "to the +hills," gains courage enough to answer thus: "Hope is the certain +expectation of future glory, which is the effect of grace divine and +merit precedent." St. James is so pleased with this answer that he +glows even more brightly, as St. John, "who lay upon the breast of +him, our Pelican," appeared, shining so brightly that Dante, turning +to ask Beatrice who he is, discovers he can no longer see her +although she is close beside him. + + "I turn'd, but ah! how trembled in my thought, + When, looking at my side again to see + Beatrice, I descried her not; although, + Not distant, on the happy coast she stood." + +_Canto XXVI._ Dante now ascertains he has merely been temporarily +blinded by the excess of light which emanates from St. John, who +proceeds to examine him in regard to Charity. His answers are greeted +by the heavenly chorus with the chant "Holy, holy, holy," in which +Beatrice joins, ere she clears the last mote away from Dante's eyes +and thus enables him to see more plainly than ever. Our poet now +perceives a fourth spirit, in whom he recognizes Adam, father of +mankind, who retells the story of Eden, adding that, 4232 years after +creation, Christ delivered him from hell, and enabled him to view the +changes which had taken place in the fortunes of his descendants +during that long space of time. + +_Canto XXVII._ After listening enraptured to the melody of the +heavenly choir chanting "Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to +the Holy Ghost," Dante gazes upon the four worthies near him, who glow +and shine like torches, while "silence reigns in heaven." Then St. +Peter, changing color, holds forth against covetousness, and expounds +the doctrine of apostolic succession. Because the early popes died as +martyrs, he considers it a disgrace that their successors should be +guilty of misgovernment. He adds that the keys bestowed upon him +should never figure on banners used in waging unrighteous wars, and +that his effigy on the papal seal should never appear on worldly +documents. + +Then Beatrice affords Dante a glimpse of the earth from the Straits of +Gibraltar to the Bosphorus, and, when this vision ends, wafts him up +into the ninth heaven, the Primum Mobile, or spot whence all motion +starts, although itself remains immovable. + + Here is the goal, whence motion on his race + Starts: motionless the centre, and the rest + All moved around. + +_Canto XXVIII._ From this point Dante watches the universe spin around +him, until "she who doth emparadise my soul" draws aside the veil of +mortality, and allows him to perceive nine concentric spheres of +multitudinous angels constantly revolving around a dazzling point +while singing "Hosanna!" These are the heavenly host, the hierarchy of +angels, Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Virtues, Powers, +Princedoms, Archangels, and Angels, in charge of the various circles +which compose Dante's Paradise. + +_Canto XXIX._ Able to read Dante's thoughts, Beatrice explains some of +the things he would fain know, and disperses his doubts, cautioning +him, if he would be blessed, to rid himself of every atom of pride, +since that caused even angels to fall! + +_Canto XXX._ Once more Dante's eyes are fixed upon Beatrice, whose +beauty far transcends his powers of description, and is by her +conveyed into the next circle, the Empyrean, or heaven of pure light, +into which he is told to plunge as into a river. Eagerly quaffing its +ethereal waters to satisfy his ardent thirst for knowledge, Dante +beholds the court of Heaven, and descries its myriads of thrones, all +occupied by redeemed spirits. These thrones are grouped around a +brilliant centre (God) so as to form a dazzling jewelled rose. + +_Canto XXXI._ Robed in snowy white, the redeemed--who form the petals +of the Eternal Rose--are visited from time to time by ruby sparks, +which are the angels hovering above them, who plunge like bees into +the heart of this flower, their glowing faces, golden wings, and white +robes adding charms to the scene. After gazing for some time at this +sight in speechless wonder, Dante, turning to question Beatrice, +discovers she is no longer beside him! At the same time a being robed +in glory near him bids him look up at the third row of thrones from +the centre, and there behold her in her appointed seat. Eagerly +glancing in the direction indicated, Dante perceives Beatrice, who, +when he invokes her, smiles radiantly down upon him, ere she again +turns her face to the eternal fountain of light. + + "So I my suit preferr'd: + And she, so distant, as appear'd, look'd down, + And smiled; then towards the eternal fountain turn'd." + +Meanwhile the spirit informs Dante he has been sent by Beatrice to +help him end his journey safely, for he is St. Bernard, who so longed +to behold the Virgin's countenance that that boon was vouchsafed him. +Knowing Dante would fain see her too, he bids him find, among the most +brilliant lights in the Mystic Rose, the Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven. + +_Canto XXXII._ Because the dazzled Dante cannot immediately locate +her, St. Bernard points her out, with Eve, Rachel, Beatrice, Sarah, +Judith, Rebecca, and Ruth sitting at her feet, and John the Baptist, +St. Augustine, St. Francis, and St. Benedict standing close behind +her. He also explains that those who believed in "Christ who was to +come" are in one part of the rose, while those who "looked to Christ +already come" are in another, but that all here are spirits duly +assoiled, and adds that, although occupying different ranks, these +spirits are perfectly satisfied with the places awarded to them. Told +now to look up at the face most closely resembling Christ's Dante +discovers it is that of St. Gabriel, angel of the annunciation, and he +descries further on St. Peter, Moses, and St. Anna, as well as Santa +Lucia who induced Beatrice to send for him. + +_Canto XXXIII._ This done, St. Bernard fervently prays the Virgin, who +not only "gives succor to him who asketh it, but oftentimes +forerunneth of its own accord the asking," to allow Dante one glimpse +of Divine Majesty. Seeing this prayer is graciously received, St. +Bernard bids Dante look up. Thanks to his recently purified vision, +our poet has a glimpse of the Triune Divinity,--compounded of +love,--which so transcends all human expression that he declares +"what he saw was not for words to speak." + +He concludes his grand poem, however, by assuring us that, although +dazed by what he had seen, his + + "will roll'd onward, like a wheel + In even motion, by the love impell'd, + That moves the sun in heaven and all the stars." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 16: All the quotations in Divine Comedy are taken from +Cary's translation.] + +[Footnote 17: See the author's "Story of the Greeks."] + +[Footnote 18: See the author's "Story of the Chosen People," and +"Story of the Romans."] + +[Footnote 19: See the author's "Legends of the Virgin and Christ."] + + + + +THE ORLANDOS + + +Roland, nephew of Charlemagne, hero of the Song of Roland and of an +endless succession of metrical romances, was as popular a character in +Italian literature as in the French. The Italians felt a proprietary +interest in Charlemagne because he had been crowned emperor of the +West in Rome in the year 800, and also because he had taken the part +of the pope against the Lombards. Even the names of his twelve great +peers were household words in Italy, so tales about Roland--who is +known there as Orlando--were sure to find ready hearers. + +The adventures of Roland, therefore, naturally became the theme of +Italian epics, some of which are of considerable length and of great +importance, owing principally to their exquisite versification and +diction. Pulci and Boiardo both undertook to depict Roland as a prey +to the tender passion in epics entitled Orlando Innamorato, while +Ariosto, the most accomplished and musical poet of the three, spent +more than ten years of his life composing Orlando Furioso (1516), +wherein he depicts this famous hero driven insane by his passion for +an Oriental princess. + +Assuming that his auditors are familiar with the characters of +Boiardo's unfinished epic, Ariosto, picking up the thread of the +narrative at the point where his predecessor dropped it, continues the +story in the same vein. It therefore becomes imperative to know the +main trend of Boiardo's epic. + +It opens with a lengthy description of a tournament at the court of +Charlemagne, whither knights from all parts of the globe hasten to +distinguish themselves in the lists. Chief among these foreign guests +are Argalio and Angelica, son and daughter of the king of Cathay, with +their escort of four huge giants. The prince is, moreover, fortunate +possessor of a magic lance, one touch of which suffices to unhorse any +opponent, while the princess, by means of an enchanted ring, can +detect and frustrate any spell, or become invisible by putting it in +her mouth. On arriving at Charlemagne's court, Argalio stipulates that +all the knights he defeats shall belong to his sister, whom in return +he offers as prize to any knight able to unhorse him. + +Such is the transcendent beauty of Angelica that Argalio is instantly +challenged by Astolfo, who is defeated, and then by Ferrau, who, +although defeated in the first onset, proves victor in the second, +simply because he accidentally seizes the magic lance and directs it +against its owner! Since the laws of the tournament award him the +prize, Angelica, seeing she cannot otherwise escape, rides hastily +away and conceals herself in the forest of Arden. She is, however, +pursued thither by many knights who have been captivated by her +beauty, among whom are Rinaldo (Renaud de Montauban) and Orlando, who +were proposing to challenge her brother next. In the precincts of the +forest where Angelica takes refuge are two magic fountains, one whose +waters instantly transform love into hate, while the other induces any +partaker to love the next person seen. + +Prowling around this forest, Rinaldo unsuspectingly quaffs the water +which turns love to hate, so he immediately ceases his quest and falls +asleep. Meantime Angelica, drinking from the other fountain and coming +upon the sleeper, falls madly in love with him and watches for his +awakening. But, still under the influence of the magic waters he has +imbibed, Rinaldo rides away without heeding her timid wooing, and +leaves her to mourn until she too falls asleep. + +Orlando, coming up by chance, is gazing in admiration upon this +sleeping princess, when Ferrau rides up to claim her as his prize. +These knights are fighting for her possession when the clash of their +weapons awakens Angelica. Terrified she retreats into the thicket, +and, thrusting her ring into her mouth, becomes invisible! Meantime +the knights continue their duel until a messenger summons Ferrau to +hasten to Spain, where war has broken out. + +Angelica, unable to forget Rinaldo since she has partaken of the +waters of love, now induces the magician Malgigi to entice her beloved +to an island over which she reigns, where she vainly tries to win his +affections and to detain him by her side. Still under the influence of +the waters of hate, Rinaldo escapes, only to land in a gloomy country, +where he is plunged into a loathsome den. There a monster is about to +devour him, when Angelica comes to his rescue. But, even though she +saves his life, he ungratefully refuses to return her affection, and +abruptly leaves her to encounter other untoward adventures. Meantime +Orlando, still searching for Angelica, encounters a sorceress who +gives him a magic draught which causes him to forget the past, and +detains him a captive in the island of Dragontine. + +Meanwhile the many knights enamoured with Angelica have gone to +besiege her father's capital, but while they are thus employed she +escapes from the city--thanks to her magic ring--and goes to deliver +Orlando. In return, he pledges himself to drive the besiegers away and +save her father's capital, and on the way thither encounters Rinaldo, +with whom, not knowing who he is, he fights two days, so equally are +they matched in strength and skill. The moment comes, however, when +Orlando is on the point of slaying Rinaldo, and refrains only because +Angelica opportunely reveals his opponent's name. + +Still urged by Angelica, Orlando next hastens off to destroy the magic +island and free its captives, who hurry back to France while their +rescuer journeys to Cathay. There Angelica pretends she has fallen in +love with him, and accompanies him when he returns to France under +pretext of becoming a Christian. Their way again lies through the +forest of Arden, where this time Angelica drinks from the fountain of +hatred. All her former love for Rinaldo therefore vanishes, and, as +the latter has at the same time partaken of the water of love, their +parts are reversed, for it is he who now pursues Angelica whom he +previously loathed. His attentions so incense Orlando that he begins a +fight, which Charlemagne checks, declaring that Angelica--who is +placed in charge of Duke Namus--shall be awarded to the warrior who +distinguishes himself most in the coming war. + +In the course of this campaign these two knights meet with many +adventures, and are accompanied by Bradamant--Rinaldo's sister--who +manfully fights by their side. Among their opponents the most +formidable are Rogero and the pagan Rodomont, whose boastful language +has given rise to the term rodomontade. During one of their +encounters, Rogero discovers that his antagonist is Bradamant--a +woman--and falls desperately in love with her. + +It is at this point that Boiardo's poem ends; and Ariosto, adopting +his characters, immediately begins weaving three principal strands of +narrative,--one relating to the wars of Charlemagne, another to +Orlando's madness, and the third to the love of Rogero and +Bradamant,--Rogero, an ancestor of the Ferrara family (Ariosto's +patrons), being the real hero of his poem. + +Not satisfied at being placed under the care of Duke Namus of Bavaria, +Angelica escapes from his guardianship, only to be pursued by the +unwelcome attentions of Rinaldo and Ferrau. While these two fight for +her possession, the lady, who spends her time fleeing from unwelcome +suitors, escapes, only to fall into the hands of Sacripant, King of +Circassia, another admirer, who bears her off in triumph. They meet a +knight in white armor (Bradamant in quest of Rogero), ere they are +overtaken by Rinaldo. A new duel now ensues, this time between Rinaldo +and Sacripant, during which Angelica runs away and seeks refuge with a +hermit-magician, who then informs the combatants Angelica has been +carried off to Paris by Orlando. Hearing this, the rivals cease +fighting and join forces to rescue the lady, but, when they arrive in +Paris, Charlemagne despatches Rinaldo to England and Scotland, where, +among other marvellous adventures, is told the lengthy and fantastic +yet beautiful story of Ginevra. + +It seems that, although loved by the Duke of Albany, this lady prefers +the knight Ariolant. She thereby so enrages her noble suitor that he +finally bribes her maid to personate her and admit him by night to her +chamber by means of a rope ladder. With fiendish cunning he has +advised Ariolant to watch Ginevra, so this true lover, witnessing what +he considers irrefutable proof of his lady-love's unchastity, departs +in despair to commit suicide. His brother, deeming him already dead, +denounces Ginevra, who, brought before the judges, is sentenced to die +unless some champion will vindicate her honor. Having meantime +discovered the truth, Rinaldo clears the lady by winning a brilliant +victory, and leaves only after she is safely married to the man she +loves, who after all has not taken his life. + +The poet now picks up another thread and shows us Bradamant seeking +Rogero, and discovering, by means of Angelica's magic ring, that he is +captive of a magician. After a narrow escape, and a vision of the +feats her descendants will perform, Bradamant helps Rogero to escape. +Soon after, this reckless man vaults upon a hippogriff which lands him +on an island, where an enchantress changes her visitors into beasts, +stones, trees, etc. Instead of becoming one of her permanent victims, +Rogero, warned by the myrtle to which he ties his steed, prevails upon +her to release her captives, and after many adventures is borne by the +same hippogriff to the island of Ebuda, where a maiden is daily +sacrificed to a cannibal Orc. When Rogero discovers that the present +victim is Angelica, he promptly delivers her and conveys her to +Brittany. + +Meantime Orlando, mad with love, is vainly seeking Angelica. He too +visits Ebuda--but too late to meet her there--and delivers another +maiden. Then he returns to France to find Charlemagne so sorely +pressed by foes, that he has implored St. Michael to interfere in his +behalf. This archangel, cleverly enlisting the services of Silence and +Discord, brings back Rinaldo and other knights, who drive away the +disintegrating pagan force after sundry bloody encounters. After one +of these, Angelica finds a wounded man, whom she nurses back to +health, and marries after a romantic courtship in the course of which +they carve their names on many a tree. + +Still seeking Angelica, Orlando in due time discovers these names, and +on learning Angelica is married becomes violently insane. Discarding +his armor,--which another knight piously collects and hangs on a tree +with an inscription warning no one to venture to touch it,--Orlando +roams hither and thither, performing countless feats of valor, and +even swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar to seek adventures in +Africa since he cannot get enough in Europe. In the course of his +wanderings, Orlando (as well as sundry other characters in the poem) +is favored by an apparition of Fata Morgana, the water-fairy, who +vainly tries to lure him away from his allegiance to his lady-love by +offering him untold treasures. + +Every once in a while the poem harks back to Rogero, who, having again +fallen into a magician's hands, prowls through the labyrinthine rooms +of his castle, seeking Bradamant, whom he imagines calling to him for +help. Meantime the lady whom he is thus seeking is safe at Marseilles, +but, hearing at last of her lover's plight, she too visits the magic +castle, and would have been decoyed into its dungeons had not Astolfo +appeared with a magic horn, whose first blast makes the castle vanish +into thin air! Thus freed, the magician's prisoners gaze around them +in wonder, and Rogero and Bradamant embrace with rapture, planning to +marry as soon as Rogero has been baptized. + +But, on their way to Vallombroso where this sacrament is to take +place, the lovers meet with other adventures and are again separated. +Under escort of Astolfo, Bradamant sadly returns home, where her +mother decrees she shall remain until Rogero can come and get her. +Meantime Rogero has again joined the Saracens, just as Discord has +succeeded in kindling a quarrel between Rodomont and Mandricar, who +both admire the same lady. They are about to fight for her favor, when +the umpire of the lists pertinently suggests the lady be allowed to +express her preference! She frankly does so, and Rodomont, rejected, +departs in high dudgeon. In this unhappy frame of mind he attacks +everybody he meets, and after many victories is defeated in a battle +with the Christians. During this last encounter Rogero is too +grievously wounded to be able to join Bradamant, who, hearing a fair +lady is nursing her lover, is consumed by jealousy. She +therefore--notwithstanding her mother's decree--sets out in the garb +of a knight to challenge her recreant lover and defeat him by means of +her magic lance. + +After unhorsing on the way all those who venture to tilt with her, +Bradamant meets Rogero, who, recognizing her in the midst of their +duel, flatly refuses to continue the fight, and implores her to +accompany him into a neighboring forest, where he promises to explain +all to her satisfaction. They are, however, followed thither by the +maiden who has nursed Rogero, who, jealous in her turn, now attacks +Bradamant. Rogero, infuriated by Bradamant's imminent peril, is about +to slay his nurse remorselessly, when an enchanter's voice proclaims +she is his sister, stolen in infancy! All excuse for mutual jealousy +being thus removed, the two women agree to join forces and fight in +behalf of Charlemagne until Rogero can discharge his obligations to +the Saracens, receive baptism, and join the Christian ranks. + +Meantime Astolfo has ridden off on the hippogriff to the earthly +paradise, where he has interviews with sundry saints and apostles, and +whence St. John conveys him up to the moon. In that appropriate region +the apostle explains that Orlando's insanity is due to the fact he +loves an infidel! He further points out where the hero's stray wits +are stored, and directs Astolfo how to catch them in a vial and +restore them to their rightful owner. Then, before conveying Astolfo +back to earth, St. John vouchsafes him a glimpse of the Fates, wearing +the web of Destiny, which they cast into the stream of Oblivion, +whence only a few shreds are rescued by poets! + +On returning from this eventful trip to the moon, Astolfo joins the +Saracens. When they finally capture the mad Orlando, he produces his +vial, and, making his friend inhale its contents, restores him to his +senses. His mad passion for Angelica being now a thing of the past, +Orlando concentrates all his efforts to conquer the Saracens and +triumphs in many a fight. + +Meantime Rogero, on his way to join Bradamant, has been shipwrecked on +an island, where a hermit converts him to the Christian faith. While +he is here, Orlando and Rinaldo arrive with their sorely wounded +friend, Oliver, whom they entrust to the hermit's care. Not only is +Orlando sane once more, but Rinaldo, having drunk the waters of the +contrary fountain, no longer loves Angelica, and willingly promises +the hand of his sister Bradamant to the new convert. But, when brother +and prospective bridegroom reach court, they learn Charlemagne has +promised Bradamant to a Greek prince, to whom the lady has signified +that ere he wins her he must fight a duel with her. On hearing that +the Greek prince is at present besieging Belgrade, Rogero hastens +thither, and performs wonders before he falls into the enemy's hands. +But the Greek prince has been so impressed by Rogero's prowess that he +promises him freedom if he will only personate him in the dreaded duel +with Bradamant. Rogero immediately consents to fight in the prince's +armor, and defeats Bradamant, whom Charlemagne thereupon awards to the +Greek prince. + +In despair at having forfeited his beloved, Rogero rides off to die of +grief, but the Greek prince, riding after him to thank him, not only +discovers the cause of Rogero's sorrow, but generously relinquishes +all claim to Bradamant and volunteers to witness her marriage to +Rogero. The courage shown by the bridegroom while at Belgrade has +meantime so impressed the Bulgarians, that an embassy arrives to beg +him to mount their throne. But before Rogero can assume the Bulgarian +crown he is forced to conquer and slay the boastful Rodomont, who +envies his exalted position. + +Many other characters appear in this poem, complicating the plot until +it seems hopelessly involved to most modern readers, but, owing to the +many romantic situations, to the picturesque verse, and to the +unflagging liveliness of style, this epic is still popular in Italy. +It has besides given rise to endless imitations, not only in Italian +but in many other languages. It forms part of the great Charlemagne +Cycle, of which the last epic is Ricciardetto, by Fortiguerra, a +priest who wagered he too could compose a string of adventures like +those invented by Ariosto. He won his wager by adopting the characters +already made famous by Boiardo and Ariosto, and selected as his hero a +younger brother of Rinaldo mentioned by his predecessors. + + + + +GERUSALEMME LIBERATA, OR JERUSALEM DELIVERED + + +Torquato Tasso, one of the three great Italian poets, was born at +Sorrento in 1544, and, after receiving his education in various +Italian cities, conceived, while at the University of Padua, the idea +of writing an epic poem, using an episode in the First Crusade as his +theme. In 1572 Tasso became attached to the court of Ferrara, where +the duke and his two sisters delighted in his verses, admired his +pastoral Aminta, and urged him to finish his projected epic. + +During his sojourn at this court Tasso fell in love with Eleonora, +sister of the duke, to whom he read the various parts of his epic as +he completed them, and for whose sake he lingered at Ferrara, refusing +offers of preferment at Paris and at Florence. Although he completed +his epic in 1575, he did not immediately publish it, but sent copies +to Rome and Padua for criticism. The learned men to whom he submitted +his poem criticised it so freely that the poet's sensitive nature was +greatly injured thereby. Almost at the same time the duke discovered +the poet's passion for his sister. Furious to think Tasso should have +raised his eyes to a princess, yet afraid he should carry his talents +elsewhere, the duke, pretending to deem him insane, placed him under +close surveillance. While Tasso was thus a prisoner, sundry false +accusations were brought against him and his poem was published +without his consent. + +Although Tasso contrived several times to escape from Ferrara, he +invariably came back there, hoping to be reconciled to the duke. It +was only in 1586 that he left this place for good and betook himself +to Rome and Naples, where he was forced to live on charity. Just as he +was about to be publicly crowned in Rome for his epic, he died there, +at the age of fifty-two (1595). + +The epic "Jerusalem Delivered" contains an account of the Crusade of +1099 and extends over a period of forty days. It is divided into +twenty cantos, written in ottava rima, or eight-rhymed stanzas, and, +owing to its rhythmic perfection, is still sung by Italian bards to +popular audiences. + +_Canto I._ After stating exactly what task he proposes to perform in +his poem, the poet describes how the Eternal Father, sitting on His +heavenly throne, gazes down upon the plain of Tortosa, where the +Crusaders are assembled. Six years have elapsed since they set out +from Europe, during which time they have succeeded in taking Nicaea +and Antioch, cities now left in charge of influential Crusaders. But +Godfrey of Bouillon is pushing on with the bulk of the army, because +he is anxious to wrest Jerusalem from the hands of the infidels and +restore it to the worship of the true God. While he is camping on this +plain, God sends Gabriel to visit him in sleep and inspire him with a +desire to assemble a council, where, by a ringing speech, he will +rouse the Christians to immediate action. + +On awakening from this vision, Godfrey loses no time in convening such +an assembly, and there eloquently urges the Christians to fight, +declaring their efforts have failed hitherto mainly because they have +lacked purpose and unity. Hearing this, Peter the Hermit suggests the +Crusaders should select one chief, whose orders they will obey, and +thereupon the warriors present unanimously elect Godfrey of Bouillon +as leader. Having secured this exalted post, Godfrey reviews his +force, thus giving the poet an occasion to enumerate the leaders of +the different corps, or armies, and explain from what countries they +come. Amongst other resounding names, the poet specially mentions +Edward and his fair bride Gildippe, who, unwilling to be parted from +her spouse, has donned a man's armor and followed him to the Crusade. +Among the bravest fighters there, he also quotes Tancred, who, +however, seems listless, and has accomplished no deed of valor since +he beheld near a fountain and fell in love with Clorinda, a fair +Amazon. + + To the same warbling of fresh waters drew, + Arm'd, but unmhelm'd and unforeseen, a maid; + She was a pagan, and came thither too + To quench her thirst beneath the pleasant shade; + Her beautiful fair aspect, thus display'd, + He sees; admires; and, touch'd to transport, glows + With passion rushing to its fountain head, + The heart; 'tis strange how quick the feeling grows; + Scarce born, its power in him no cool calm medium knows. + +Another hero is Rinaldo (the same as the French Renaud de Montauban), +who, although but a boy, escaped from his foster mother, Queen +Mathilda, to go and fight for the deliverance of the Holy Sepulchre. +His review completed, Godfrey of Bouillon orders his force to march on +toward Jerusalem, whence he wishes to oust the Sultan Aladine +(Saladin), who at present is sorely taxing the Christians to obtain +funds enough to make war against the advancing Crusaders. + +_Canto II._ Advised by the sorcerer Ismeno, Aladine steals the image +of the Virgin from the Christian temple, and sets it up in his mosque, +where he resorts to all manner of spells and incantations to destroy +her power. During the night, however, the Virgin's image disappears +from the mosque and cannot be found, although Aladine offers great +rewards for its restoration. Finally, he decrees that, unless the +perpetrator of the theft denounces himself, he will slay all the +Christians in the town. He is about to execute this cruel threat when +Sophronia, a Christian maid, suddenly decides to sacrifice herself to +save her co-religionists. She therefore appears before Aladine, +declaring she stole the image from the temple, whereupon the sultan in +anger orders her bound to the stake and burned alive. + + Doom'd in tormenting fire to die, they lay + Hands on the maid; her arms with rough cords twining, + Rudely her mantle chaste they tear away, + And the white veil that o'er her droop'd declining: + This she endured in silence unrepining, + Yet her firm breast some virgin tremors shook; + And her warm cheek, Aurora's late outshining, + Waned into whiteness, and a color took, + Like that of the pale rose or lily of the brook. + +Scarcely has Sophronia been fastened there, and while she is praying +for God's aid to endure martyrdom without flinching, Olindo, a young +Christian, deeming it impossible to allow a girl to sacrifice her +life, rushes forward, declaring he alone committed the crime, but that +the maiden, out of love for him, has assumed his guilt to save his +life. Only then does he discover that the maiden tied to the stake is +the very one he loves, but who hitherto has received his advances +coldly! On hearing the youth accuse himself of having stolen the +image, Aladine questions the maiden, who denies it, insisting she +alone is to blame. Thereupon the sultan decrees both shall perish in +the flames, and orders them tied to the stake back to back. It is in +this position, and while in imminent peril of death, that the young +man deplores the fact he is to die beside the one he hoped to marry +and with whom he expected to spend a long and happy life. The +executioners are about to set fire to the pyre where these generous +young lovers are to end their days, when a young knight steps forward +loudly proclaiming none of the Christians are to blame for the +disappearance of the image, since Allah himself removed it from the +temple because he considered it desecration to have such an image +within its walls. This young knight turns out to be the warrior maid +Clorinda, who not only convinces Aladine that the young people are +guiltless, but bribes him to release them, in exchange for her +services in the coming war. Touched by each other's devotion, the +young couple marry as soon as released, and, instead of dying, live +together as husband and wife. + + Restored to life and liberty, how blest, + How truly blest was young Olindo's fate! + For sweet Sophronia's blushes might attest, + That Love at length has touch'd her delicate + And generous bosom; from the stake in state + They to the altar pass; severely tried, + In doom and love already made his mate, + She now objects not to become his bride, + And grateful live with him who would for her have died. + +Meanwhile two ambassadors have come from Egypt to visit Godfrey in his +camp, and try first by persuasions and then by threats to dissuade him +from his projected attack upon Jerusalem. In spite of all Alethes and +Argantes can say, Godfrey insists upon carrying out his purpose, and, +after dismissing these ambassadors with a haughty speech, marches on +with his host. + + "Know, then, that we have borne all this distress + By land and sea,--war, want, reverses--all! + To the sole end that we might gain access + To sacred Salem's venerable wall; + That we might free the Faithful from their thrall, + And win from God His blessing and reward: + From this no threats our spirit can appal, + For this no terms will be esteem'd too hard-- + Life, honors, kingdoms lost, or dignity debarr'd." + +_Canto III._ When they come within sight of Jerusalem, the Crusaders, +overjoyed, hail the Holy City with cries of rapture, and, falling on +their knees, swear to deliver it from the hands of the infidels. +Seeing them advance, the pagans make hasty preparations to oppose +them, and Clorinda, at the head of a small force, volunteers to make a +sortie and boldly attacks the vanguard of the Crusaders. + +From the topmost tier of Jerusalem's ramparts, the Sultan Aladine +watches their sortie, having beside him Erminia, daughter of the late +king of Antioch, whom the Crusaders have sent on to Jerusalem, because +they do not care to detain her a prisoner. During her sojourn in her +father's town, Erminia has learned to know by sight all the Crusaders, +and during her brief captivity she has fallen in love with Tancred, +who was detailed to guard her. She can therefore give the Sultan +Aladine all the information he wishes, and acts as cicerone while the +battle is going on. From this point of vantage the sultan and princess +watch Clorinda and Tancred meet, and behold how, after a lively +encounter, Tancred strikes off the helmet of his opponent, whose sex +is revealed by the streaming of her long golden hair. At sight of the +wonderful maiden with whom he has fallen in love, Tancred refuses to +continue the fight, although Clorinda urges him to strike. Undaunted +by the fact that she is his foe, Tancred not only refuses to strike, +but immediately begins to sue the beautiful maiden, who refuses to +listen to him, and is soon swept away by Saracen forces, which +intervene between her and Tancred. + +A battle now rages, in the course of which various knights perform +great deeds, but, although Godfrey proves victor on this occasion, he +loses Dudon, chief of his Adventurous Band and one of the bravest +warriors in his army. While giving her explanations to Aladine in +regard to the fight waged beneath their eyes, Erminia carefully +explains she feels deadly hatred for Tancred, although the truth is +she loves him dearly and is greatly relieved to see him escape from +the fray uninjured. + +Many people having died in the course of this action, a truce is +agreed upon so that both sides may bury their dead, and so, many +funerals are celebrated with all due pomp and ceremony. Next the +crusading force decides that siege-engines and towers will be +necessary to enable them to scale the high walls of Jerusalem. They +therefore send out a force of woodsmen to hew the trees which are to +serve for the construction of the required towers. + + The duke, when thus his piety had paid + The fun'ral rites, and shed his duteous tears, + Sent all his skill'd mechanics to invade + The forest, guarded by a thousand spears; + Veil'd by low hills it stood, the growth of years,-- + A Syrian shepherd pointed out the vale, + And thither brought the camp-artificers + To fabricate the engines doom'd to scale + The City's sacred towers and turn her people pale. + +_Canto IV._ The scene now changes to the infernal regions, where Satan +deems it time to frustrate the Christians' aims, because it would +ill-suit diabolical ends to have them recover possession of Jerusalem. +Not only does Satan stimulate his hosts by reminding them of their +forfeited bliss, but he encourages them to thwart the Christians by +reminding them of the great deeds they have already done. His +eloquence is not expended in vain, for the fiends all approve of his +suggestions, and, when the council is over, flit forth, intent upon +fomenting dissension among the leaders of the Crusade, and hindering +their attempts in every other way possible. + +One demon in particular is to determine a wizard to send his niece +Armida to ensnare the Christians. This enchantress, decked out with +all the charms beauty and toilet can bestow, soon appears in the +Christian camp, where, falling at Godfrey's feet, she proceeds to +relate a tale of fictitious wrongs, claiming to be heiress of the city +of Damascus, whence she has been ejected, and vowing if she could only +secure the aid of a few knights she would soon recover her realm. In +return for such aid as she implores from the Christians, she promises +to do homage to them for her realm, and even pledges herself to +receive baptism. Her artful speeches, the flattery which she lavishes +upon Godfrey, and her languishing glances are all calculated to +persuade him to grant her request; but the Crusader is so bent upon +the capture of Jerusalem that nothing can turn him aside from his +purpose. + +But, although Godfrey himself is proof against all Armida's +blandishments, his knights are not, and among those who succumb to +the lady's charms is his own brother Eustace, who begs his permission +to take ten knights and accompany the damsel to Damascus. Although +Armida professes great gratitude for this help, she entices many other +Crusaders to desert the camp, by casting languishing glances at them +and making each man whom she looks upon believe she loves him only. + + All arts th' enchantress practised to beguile + Some new admirer in her well-spread snare; + Nor used with all, nor always the same wile, + But shaped to every taste her grace and air: + Here cloister'd is her eye's dark pupil, there + In full voluptuous languishment is roll'd; + Now these her kindness, those her anger bear, + Spurr'd on or check'd by bearing frank or cold, + As she perceived her slave was scrupulous or bold. + +_Canto V._ Not content with beguiling many knights, Armida further +foments a quarrel between Rinaldo and Gernando, Prince of Norway, in +regard to the command of the Adventurous Band, which is now without a +leader. In the course of this quarrel, Rinaldo is so sorely taunted by +his opponent that, although the Crusaders are pledged not to fight +each other, he challenges and slays Gernando. Then, afraid to be +called to trial and sentenced to death for breaking the rules of the +camp, Rinaldo flees to Egypt. + +On perceiving how greatly his army is weakened by the desertion of so +many brave men, Godfrey is dismayed--all the more so because he hears +the Egyptian army is coming to attack him, and because the supplies +which he expected have been cut off. + +_Canto VI._ The Egyptian army boasts of no braver warrior than +Argantes, who sallies forth to challenge the Christians, bidding +Clorinda follow him at a short distance, and come to his rescue should +it be necessary. Although Argantes has summoned Godfrey to come forth +and fight him, it is Tancred who is chosen as champion for the +Christians, but as he draws near his opponent a glimpse of the fair +Clorinda's face makes him forget everything but her. + + He noted not where the Circassian rear'd + His frightful face to the affronted skies, + But to the hill-top where his Love appear'd, + Turn'd, slack'ning his quick pace, his am'rous eyes, + Till he stood steadfast as a rock, all ice + Without, all glowing heat within;--the sight + To him was as the gates of Paradise; + And from his mind the mem'ry of the fight + Pass'd like a summer cloud, or dream at morning light. + +One of the knights in his train, seeing he is not going to fight, +spurs forward and meets Argantes, by whom he is defeated. On seeing +this knight fall, Tancred, suddenly brought to his senses, starts +forward to avenge him, and combats with such fury that Argantes' armor +fairly rings with the blows which rain down upon him. Argantes, +however, is nearly as brave as Tancred, so the battle rages until +nightfall, when the heroes are separated by the heralds, although both +vow they will renew the struggle on the morrow. But, when they have +ceased fighting and both discover they have serious wounds, their +respective armies decree a six-days' truce and pledge themselves to +await the result of the duel. + +The wounded Argantes has returned to Jerusalem, where Erminia uses her +magic balsams to heal his wounds, secretly wishing meanwhile that she +might lavish her care upon Tancred, whom she still loves. So ardent is +her desire to behold him, that she finally appropriates Clorinda's +armor and rides off to the Christian camp, sending a messenger ahead +to announce a lady is coming to heal Tancred if he will give her a +safe-conduct to his tent. Tancred immediately sends word the lady will +be welcome, but meanwhile the Christians, catching a glimpse of the +waiting Erminia, and mistaking her for Clorinda owing to her armor, +endeavor to capture her. + +_Canto VII._ To escape from her pursuers, Erminia flees into a +trackless forest, where, after wandering some time, she meets a +shepherd, who gives her an asylum in his hut. There she turns +shepherdess, but does not forget Tancred, whose name she carves in +many a tree. Meantime the news spreads through the camp that Clorinda +has been seen and is even now closely pursued by a troop of +Christians. Hearing this Tancred, disregarding his wounds, sets out to +find her. While wandering thus in the forest, weakened by loss of +blood, he is captured by Armida, the enchantress, who detains him in a +dungeon, where he eats his heart out for shame because he will not be +able to respond when the trumpets sound for the renewal of his duel +with Argantes. + +The moment having come for this battle and the Crusaders' champion +being absent, old Count Raymond volunteers to meet Argantes, and is +about to get the better of him, when an archer from the wall suddenly +discharges a shaft at him. Such treachery exasperates the Christians, +who, exclaiming the truce has been broken, precipitate themselves upon +their foes, and in the general battle which ensues many deeds of valor +are performed. + +_Canto VIII._ During this battle a great storm arises, and the +Christians, who, notwithstanding their courage, have been worsted, +beat a retreat, finding on their return to camp that one of their +companions, defeated and mortally wounded, has despatched a messenger +to carry his sword to Rinaldo. The Italian force thereupon accuses +Godfrey of having done away with Rinaldo, but he not only succeeds in +refuting such an accusation, but sentences his chief detractor to +death. + +_Canto IX._ Sultan Solyman of Nicae, who has joined Sultan Aladine of +Jerusalem, now comes to attack the Christians by night, assisted by +many fiends, but the archangel Michael warns the crusaders of what is +coming and enables them to get the better of their foes by bringing +back the troops which followed Armida to Damascus. In this encounter a +Christian knight slays a page of the sultan, who, seeing this child +dead, experiences such grief that, after avenging his death, he wishes +to withdraw temporarily from the battle. + + "Let Godfrey view once more, and smile to view + My second exile;--soon shall he again + See me in arms return'd, to vex anew + His haunted peace and never stable reign: + Yield I do not; eternal my disdain + Shall be as are my wrongs; though fires consume + My dust, immortal shall my hate remain; + And aye my naked ghost fresh wrath assume, + Through life a foe most fierce, but fiercer from the tomb!" + +_Canto X._ The sultan, after journeying part way back to Egypt, pauses +to rest, and is visited by a wizard, who spirits him over the +battle-field and back to Jerusalem in a magic chariot. This pauses at +a hidden cave, the entrance to an underground passage, by which they +secretly enter the sultan's council chamber. + + Ismeno shot the lock; and to the right + They climb'd a staircase, long untrod, to which + A feeble, glimm'ring, and malignant light + Stream'd from the ceiling through a window'd niche; + At length by corridors of loftier pitch + They sallied into day, and access had + To an illumined hall, large, round, and rich; + Where, sceptred, crown'd, and in dark purple clad, + Sad sat the pensive king amid his nobles sad. + +Solyman, overhearing as he enters some of the nobles propose a +disgraceful peace and the surrender of Jerusalem, hotly opposes such a +measure, and thus infuses new courage into their breasts. + +_Canto XI._ Meantime Godfrey of Bouillon, having buried his dead, +questions the knights who were lured away by Armida, and they relate +that, on arriving near the Dead Sea, they were entertained at a +sumptuous banquet, where they were given a magic draught, which +transformed them for a time into sportive fishes. Armida, having thus +demonstrated her power over them, threatened to use it to keep them +prisoners forever unless they would promise to abjure their faith. One +alone yielded, but the rest, delivered as prisoners to an emissary +from Egypt, were met and freed from their bonds by the brave Rinaldo, +who, instead of accompanying them back to camp, rode off toward +Antioch. + +The Christians now prepare for their final assault, and, advised by +Peter the Hermit, walk in solemn procession to the Mount of Olives, +where, after singing hymns, all devoutly receive Communion. Thus +prepared for anything that may betide, they set out on the morrow to +scale the city walls, rolling ahead of them their mighty engines of +war, by means of which they hope to seize the city. + +Most of the Crusaders have laid aside their heavy armor and assumed +the light gear of foot-soldiers the better to scale the walls, upon +which Clorinda is posted, and whence she shoots arrow after arrow at +the assailants. Wounded by one of the missiles flung from the wall, +Godfrey seeks his tent, where, the physician failing to extract the +barb, an angel brings a remedy from heaven which instantly cures the +wound. + +Canto XII. After awhile, seeing she does not do as much execution as +she would like, Clorinda proposes to Argantes that they steal out of +the city by night, and by chemical means set fire to the engines with +which the Christians are threatening to capture the city. Willingly +Argantes promises to accompany her in this perilous venture, but her +slave, hoping to dissuade her, now reveals to her for the first time, +the story of her birth, and informs her she is the daughter of a +Christian. He adds her dying mother besought him to have her child +baptized, a duty he had failed to perform, although repeatedly warned +by visions to repair his neglect. But, although similar visions have +frequently haunted the dreams of Clorinda herself, she persists in her +undertaking to set fire to the war machines. + +She has no sooner done so, however, than the Christians, aroused, set +out in pursuit of her and of her companions. Bravely covering their +retreat so they can re-enter the city safely, Clorinda delays her own +until the gates closed. But with great presence of mind, the +warrior-maid, who is wearing black armor, mingles in the darkness with +the Crusaders. None of these suspects she does not belong to their +ranks, save Tancred, who follows her to a remote place beneath the +walls, where he challenges her to a deadly fight, little divining who +she is. The battle proves fierce, and both combatants strike until +Tancred runs his sword through his opponent. Dying, Clorinda reveals +her name and faintly begs Tancred to baptize her before life leaves +her body. + + "Friend! thou hast won; I pardon thee, and O + Forgive thou me! I fear not for this clay, + But my dark soul--pray for it, and bestow + The sacred rite that laves all stains away:" + Like dying hymns heard far at close of day, + Sounding I know not what in the sooth'd ear + Of sweetest sadness, the faint words make way + To his fierce heart, and, touch'd with grief sincere, + Streams from his pitying eye th' involuntary tear. + +Such a request cannot be disregarded, so, although Tancred is frantic +with grief at the thought of having slain his beloved, he hurries to a +neighboring stream, draws water in his helmet, and, after baptizing +his dying sweetheart, swoons over her body. His companions, finding +him there, convey him and Clorinda's body to his tent, where they +vainly try to rouse him, but he is so overcome with melancholy that he +thinks of nothing but joining Clorinda in her tomb. + +_Canto XIII._ Meantime the foe, having heard of Clorinda's death, vow +to avenge her, while the Crusaders seek materials to reconstruct their +towers. Hastening to a forest near by, they discover a wizard has cast +such a spell upon it that all who try to enter are frightened away. +Finally Tancred enters this place, and, although he is met by +earthquakes and other portents, he disregards them all, and starts to +cut down a tree. But, when blood gushes from its stem, and when +Clorinda's voice informs him he has wounded her again, he flees +without having accomplished his purpose. Heat and drought now cause +further desertions and discourage the Crusaders, until Godfrey, full +of faith in the justice of their cause, prays so fervently that rain +is vouchsafed them. + +_Canto XIV._ In a dream Godfrey is now admonished to proceed, and +told, if he can only persuade Rinaldo to return, Jerusalem will soon +fall into the hands of the Christians. Because no one knows where +Rinaldo has gone, Godfrey despatches two knights in quest of him. +After some difficulty they interview a wizard, who, after exhibiting +to them his magic palace, tells them Armida, to punish Rinaldo for +rescuing his companions from her clutches, has captured him by magic +means and borne him off to her wonderful garden in the Fortunate +Isles. The hermit then bestows upon them a golden wand which will +defeat all enchantments, and bids them hasten to the Fortunate Isles. + +_Canto XV._ Hastening off to the sea-shore armed with this golden +wand, these two knights find a magic vessel, wherein they sail with +fabulous speed over the sea, and through the Strait of Gibraltar, out +into the western ocean, the nymph at the helm meanwhile informing them +that this is the road Columbus is destined to travel. Sailing thus +they reach the Fortunate Isles, where, notwithstanding many +enchantments and temptations brought to bear to check their advance, +they, thanks to the golden wand, force their way into Armida's +wonderful garden. + +_Canto XVI._ + + These windings pass'd, the garden-gates unfold, + And the fair Eden meets their glad survey,-- + Still waters, moving crystals, sands of gold, + Herbs, thousand flowers, rare shrubs, and mosses gray; + Sunshiny hillocks, shady vales; woods gay, + And grottoes gloomy, in one view combined, + Presented were; and what increased their play + Of pleasure at the prospect, was, to find + Nowhere the happy Art that had the whole design'd. + + So natural seem'd each ornament and site, + So well was neatness mingled with neglect, + As though boon Nature for her own delight + Her mocker mock'd, till fancy's self was check'd; + The air, if nothing else there, is th' effect + Of magic, to the sound of whose soft flute + The blooms are born with which the trees are deck'd; + By flowers eternal lives th' eternal fruit, + This running richly ripe, while those but greenly shoot. + +Then, peeping cautiously through the trees, they behold Rinaldo +reclining amid the flowers, his head resting in the enchantress' lap. +Biding their time they watch Armida leave the enamoured knight, then +step forward and bid him gaze into the magic mirror they have brought. +On beholding in its surface a reflection of himself as he really is, +Rinaldo, horrified, is brought to such a sense of his depraved +idleness, that he springs to his feet and proposes to leave +immediately with his companions. They are about to depart without +bidding farewell to the fair enchantress, when she pursues them, and, +after vainly pleading with Rinaldo to stay with her, proposes to join +him in any quality. When he abruptly rejects her advances and sails +away, Armida, disappointed and infuriated because she has been +scorned, hastens off to the Egyptian camp. + +_Canto XVII._ There she joins the Christians' enemies, declaring she +dreams of naught save slaying Rinaldo, and takes an important part in +the review which the poet describes minutely. To compass her ends the +artful Armida, whose charms have so lavishly been displayed that they +have fired every breast, promises to belong to the warrior who will +bring her Rinaldo's head. Meanwhile this hero has returned to +Palestine, and is met by the wizard, who, after reproving him for his +dalliance, gives him wonderful armor, and exhibits on the shield the +great deeds of ancestors of the Duke of Ferrara. + +_Canto XVIII._ Newly armed, Rinaldo now returns to the crusaders' +camp, apologizes to Godfrey for breaking the rules of the crusade, +relates his adventures, and, after humbly confessing his sins, starts +forth to brave the spells of the magic forest. Not only does he +penetrate within its precincts, but, undeterred by all Armida's +enchantments, cuts down a tree, although, in hopes of staying his +hand, her voice accuses him of cruelly wounding her! No sooner has +this tree fallen than the spell is broken; so other trees are cut down +without difficulty, engines built, and all is prepared for a new +assault on Jerusalem. + +Godfrey is particularly eager to make this new attempt immediately, +because a carrier-pigeon has been caught bearing a message from the +Egyptians to the Sultan of Jerusalem, apprising him that within five +days they will come to his aid. During this assault of Jerusalem, a +sorcerer on the walls, working against the Christians, is slain by a +rock. + +Soon after, thanks to the efforts of the Crusaders, the banner with +the Cross floats over the walls of Jerusalem! + + Then raised the Christians all their long loud shout + Of Victory, joyful, resonant, and high; + Their words the towers and temples lengthen out; + To the glad sound the mountains make reply: + + * * * * * + + Then the whole host pours in, not o'er the walls + Alone, but through the gates, which soon unclose, + Batter'd or burnt; and in wide ruin falls + Each strong defence that might their march oppose. + Rages the sword; and Death, the slaught'rer, goes + 'Twixt Wo and Horror with gigantic tread, + From street to street; the blood in torrents flows, + And settles in lagoons, on all sides fed, + And swell'd with heaps on heaps of dying and of dead. + +_Canto XIX._ Tancred, scaling a fortress, meets and slays Argantes, +receiving at the same time so grievous a wound that he swoons on the +battle-field. Meantime Godfrey has sent a spy to the Egyptian camp to +find out whether the army is really coming on to Jerusalem. This spy, +meeting Erminia there, induces her not only to reveal all the +Egyptians' plans (including a plot to slay Godfrey), but to go back +with him. While they journey along together to rejoin the Christian +forces, Erminia relates her adventures, saying that while she was +playing shepherdess, some freebooters seized her and carried her to +the Egyptian camp, where she was placed under Armida's protection. Her +story is just finished when they perceive what appears to be a +lifeless warrior. By the red cross on his armor the spy recognizes a +Christian, and further investigation enables him to identify Tancred. +Erminia--who has owned she loves him--now takes possession of him, +binds up his wounds with her hair (!), and vows she will nurse him +back to health. + +_Canto XX._ Warned by his spy that the Egyptians mean to send sundry +of their number to mix, during the battle, with his body-guard and +kill him, Godfrey changes the ensigns of his men, and thus discovers +the conspirators, who are promptly put to death. Seeing the Egyptian +army advance, Godfrey, in a stirring speech, urges his men to do their +best for the Holy Sepulchre, and thereby stimulates them to fight so +bravely that many of them lose their lives. Among the slain are +Gildippe and her husband, who, having fought together side by side +throughout the campaign, die together and are buried in the same tomb. +The other party, however, is far more unfortunate, for the Saracens +lose the sultans Aladine and Solyman, the former slain by Godfrey and +the latter by Rinaldo. + +Meantime Armida, wavering between love and hate, tries to shoot +Rinaldo, then flees, but, a little later, seeing him slay Solyman, she +tries to kill herself. It is at this moment that Rinaldo approaches +her, and offers to marry her provided she will be converted. Not only +does she now promise conversion and marriage, but accompanies Rinaldo +back to the camp. + +The Crusaders having completely defeated their foes and secured +possession of Jerusalem, march, with solemn hymns of praise to the +Holy Sepulchre, where all kneel, thanking God for permitting them to +deliver it from the hands of the heathen. It is with these thanks that +the poem ends. + + Thus conquer'd Godfrey; and as yet there glow'd + A flush of glory in the fulgent West, + To the freed City, the once loved abode + Of Christ, the pious chief and armies press'd: + Arm'd as he was, and in his sanguine vest, + With all his knights in solemn cavalcade, + He reach'd the Temple; there, supremely bless'd, + Hung up his arms, his banner'd spoils display'd, + And at the sacred Tomb his vow'd devotions paid. + + + + +EPICS OF THE BRITISH ISLES + + +Although the name Celt was given by the early Greeks to all the people +living West of their country, the Romans included under that name only +the tribes occupying the countries now known as France, Western +Switzerland, Germany west of the Rhine, Belgium, and the British +Isles. Blocked together under a generic name, the Celtic nation was, +however, composed of many tribes, with separate dialects and customs. +It has been surmised that two of these tribes, the British and Irish, +early took possession of England and Ireland, where they flourished +and subdivided until disturbed by invasions of various kinds. + +The Celts all practised what is termed the Druidic cult, their priests +being poets, bards, or gleemen, who could compose or recite in verse, +ritual, laws, and heroic ballads. During the four hundred years of +Roman occupation, the Celts in England became somewhat Romanized, but +the Irish, and their near relatives the Scots, were less influenced by +Latin civilization. It is therefore in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales +that the oldest traces of Celtic literature are found, for the bards +there retained their authority and acted as judges after Christianity +had been introduced, and as late as the sixth century. Although St. +Patrick is reported to have forbidden these Irish bards to continue +their pagan incantations, they continued to exert some authority, and +it is said Irish priests adopted the tonsure which was their +distinctive badge. The bards, who could recite and compose poems and +stories, accompanying themselves on a rudimentary harp, were +considered of much higher rank than those who merely recited +incantations. They transmitted poems, incantations, and laws, orally +only, and no proof exists that the pagan Irish, for instance, +committed any works to writing previous to the introduction of +Christianity in their midst. + +The heroic tales of Ireland from a large and well-marked epic cycle, +the central tale of the series being the anonymous "Cattle of Cooly," +wherein is related the war waged by the Irish Queen Mab against her +husband for the possession of a mystic brown bull. In the course of +this war the chief hero, Cuchulaind, makes himself famous by defending +the country of Ulster single-handed! The still extant tales of this +epic cycle number about thirty, and give in detail the lives of hero +and heroine from birth to death, besides introducing many legends from +Celtic mythology. The oldest MS. version of these tales, in mingled +prose and verse, dates back to the twelfth century, and is hence about +as venerable as the Edda. + +The Fennian or Oisianic poems and tales form another famous Irish +cycle, Finn, or Fingal, their hero, having acted as commander for a +body of mercenaries in the third century. His poet son, Oisin (the +Ossian of later Romance), is said to have composed at least one of the +poems in the famous Book of Leinster. Between the twelfth century and +the middle of the fifteenth, this Fennian epos took on new life, and +it continued to grow until the eighteenth century, when a new tale was +added to the cycle. + +The names of a few of the early Irish poets have been preserved in +Irish annals, where we note, for instance, Bishop Fiance, author of a +still extant metrical life of St. Patrick, and Dallan Frogaell, one of +whose poems is in the "Book of the Dun Cow," compiled before 1106. Up +to the thirteenth century most of the poets and harpers used to +include Scotland in their circuit, and one of them, Muiredhach, is +said to have received the surname of "the Scotchman," because he +tarried so long in that country. + +When, after the fifteenth century, Irish literature began to decline, +Irish poems were recast in the native Scotch dialect, thus giving rise +to what is known as Gaelic literature, which continued to flourish +until the Reformation. Samples of this old Gaelic or Erse poetry were +discovered by James Macpherson in the Highlands, taken down from +recitation, and used for the English compilation known as the Poems of +Ossian. Lacking sufficient talent and learning to remodel these +fragments so as to produce a real masterpiece, Macpherson--who +erroneously termed his work a translation--not only incurred the +sharpest criticism, but was branded as a plagiarist. + +The Welsh, a poetic race too, boast of four great poets,--Taliessin, +Aneurin, Llywarch Hen, and Myrden (Merlin). These composed poems +possessing epic qualities, wherein mention is made of some of the +characters of the Arthurian Cycle. One of the five Welsh MSS., which +seem of sufficient antiquity and importance to deserve attention, is +the Book of Taliessin, written probably during the fourteenth century. +The Welsh also possess tales in verse, either historical or romantic, +which probably antedated the extant prose versions of the same tales. +Eleven of these were translated by Lady Charlotte Guest, and entitled +Mabinogion (Tales for Children), although only four out of the eleven +deserve that name. But some of these tales are connected with the +great Arthurian cycle, as Arthur is the hero _par excellence_ of +Southern Wales, where many places are identified with him or his +court. + +Although almost as little is known of the historical Arthur as of the +historical Roland, both are heroes of important epic cycles. Leader +probably of a small band of warriors, Arthur gradually became, in the +epics, first general-in-chief, then king, and finally emperor of all +Britain. It is conjectured that the Arthurian legends must have passed +from South Wales into Cornwall, and thence into Armorica, "where it is +probable the Round Table was invented." Enriched by new accretions +from time to time, the Arthurian cycle finally included the legend of +the Holy Grail, which must have originated in Provence and have been +carried into Brittany by jongleurs or travelling minstrels. + +It has been ascertained that the legend of Arthur was familiar among +the Normans before Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his books, and it +certainly had an incalculable formative influence on European +literature, much of which can be "traced back directly or indirectly +to these legends." It was also a vehicle for that element which we +call chivalry, which the church infused into it to fashion and mould +the rude soldiers of feudal times into Christian knights, and, as it +"expanded the imagination and incited the minds of men to inquiry +beyond the conventional notions of things," it materially assisted in +creating modern society. + +After thus tracing the Celtic germs and influence in English +literature, it becomes necessary to hark back to the time of the +Teutonic invasions, since English thought and speech, manners and +customs are all of Teutonic origin. The invaders brought with them an +already formed language and literature, both of which were imposed +upon the people. The only complete extant northern epic of +Danish-English origin is Beowulf, of which a synopsis follows, and +which was evidently sung by gleemen in the homes of the great chiefs. +Apart from Beowulf, some remains of national epic poetry have come +down to us in the fine fragments of Finnsburgh and Waldhere, another +version of Walter of Aquitaine. + +There are also the Legends of Havelock the Dane, of King Horn, of +Beves of Hamdoun, and of Guy of Warwick, all four of which were later +turned into popular prose romances. Intense patriotic feeling also +gave birth to the Battle of Maldon, or Bryhtnoth's Death, an ancient +poem, fortunately printed before it was destroyed by fire. This epic +relates how the Viking Anlaf came to England with 93 ships, and, after +harrying the coast, was defeated and slain in battle. + +The earliest Christian poet in England, Caedmon, instead of singing of +love or fighting, paraphrased the Scriptures, and depicted the +creation in such eloquent lines that he is said to have inspired some +of the passages in Milton's Paradise Lost. Chief among the religious +poems ascribed to Caedmon, are Genesis, Exodus, and Daniel, but, +although in general he strictly conforms with the Bible narrative, he +prefixed to Genesis an account of the fall of the angels, and thus +supplied Milton with the most picturesque feature of his theme. + +Next come the epic poems of Cynewulf, Crist, Juliana, Elene, and +Andreas, also written in alliterative verse. In Elene the poet gives +us the legend of finding of the cross[20] by the empress Helena, +dividing his poem into fourteen cantos or fitts. + +It is in Gildas and Nennius' Historia Britonum that we find the first +mention of the legendary colonization of Britain and Ireland by +refugees from Troy, and of the exploits of Arthur and the prophesies +of Merlin. This work, therefore, contains some of the "germs of fables +which expanded into Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of Britain, which +was written in Latin some time before 1147," although this historian +claims to derive his information from an ancient British book of which +no trace can be found. + +There is, besides, a very curious yet important legend cycle, in +regard to a letter sent from Heaven to teach the proper observation of +Sunday. The text of this letter can be found in old English in +Wulfstan's homilies. Besides sacred legends, others exist of a worldly +nature, such as the supposed letter from Alexander to Aristotle, the +Wonders of the East, and the Story of Apollonius of Tyre. The first +two, of course, formed part of the great Alexander cycle, while the +latter supplied the theme for Pericles of Tyre. + +With the Norman Conquest, French became the literary language of +England, and modern romance was born. Romance cycles on "the matter of +France" or Legends of Charlemagne, and on "the matter of Britain" or +Legends of Arthur, became popular, and Geoffrey of Monmouth freely +made use of his imagination to fill up the early history of Britain, +for his so-called history is in reality a prose romance, whence later +writers drew themes for many a tale. + +Walter Map, born on the border of Wales in 1137, is credited with the +no longer extant Latin prose romance of Lancelot du Lac, which +included the Quest of the Holy Grail and the Death of Arthur. Besides +Wace's Brut, we have that of Layamon, and both poets not only explain +how Britain's name is derived from Brut,--a member of Priam's family +and refugee from Troy,--but go on to give the history of other early +kings of Britain, including Arthur. They often touch the true epic +note,--as in the wrestling match between Corineus and the giant,--use +similes drawn from every-day life, and supply us with legends of King +Lear and of Cymbeline. + +It was toward the end of the twelfth century that Arthur reached the +height of his renown as romantic hero, the "matter of Britain" having +become international property, and having been greatly enriched by +poets of many climes. By this time Arthur had ceased to be a king of +Britain, to become king of a fairy-land and chief exponent of +chivalric ideals and aims. + +To name all the poets who had a share in developing the Arthurian +Legend would prove an impossible task, but Nennius, Gildas, Geoffrey +of Monmouth, Wace, Layamon, Benoit de St. Maur, Chrestien de Troyes, +Marie de France, Hartmann von der Aue, and Wolfram von Eschenbach +have, in English, French, and German, helped to develop the "matter of +Britain," and have managed to connect it with "the matter of France." + +During the age of metrical romances (1200 to 1500), all the already +extant cycles were remodelled and extended. Besides, not only were +Greek and Latin epics translated so as to be within reach of all, but +one country freely borrowed from another. Thus, the French romances of +Huon de Bordeaux and of the Four Sons of Aymon found many admirers in +England, where the former later supplied Shakespeare with some of the +characters for a Midsummer Night's Dream. It was to offset the very +popular romance of Alexander, that some patriotic poet evolved the +romance of Richard Coeur de Lion, explaining how this king earned his +well-known nickname by wrenching the heart out of a lion! + +Some of these romances, such as Flores and Blancheflour, have "the +voluptuous qualities of the East," make great use of magic of all +kinds, and show the idyllic side of love. The tragedy of love is +depicted in the romance of Tristram and Iseult, where a love-potion +plays a prominent part. But, although knightly love and valor are the +stock topics, we occasionally come across a theme of Christian +humility, like Sir Isumbras, or of democracy, as in the Squire of Low +Degree and in the Ballads of Robin Hood. + +With the advent of Chaucer a new poet, a new language, and new themes +appear. Many of his Canterbury tales are miniature epics, borrowed in +general from other writers, but retold with a charm all his own. The +Knight's Tale, or story of the rivalry in love of Palamon and Arcite, +the tale of Gamelyn, and that of Troilus and Cressida, all contain +admirable epic passages. + +Spenser, our next epic poet, left us the unfinished Faerie Queene, an +allegorical epic which shows the influence of Ariosto and other +Italian poets, and contains exquisitely beautiful passages descriptive +of nature, etc. His allegorical plot affords every facility for the +display of his graceful verse, and is outlined in another chapter. + +There are two curious but little-known English epics, William Warner's +chronicle epic entitled "Albion's England" (1586), and Samuel Daniel's +"Civil Wars." The first, beginning with the flood, carries the reader +through Greek mythology to the Trojan War, and hence by means of Brut +to the beginnings of English history, which is then continued to the +execution of Mary Stuart. The second (1595) is an epic, in eight +books, on the Wars of the Roses. Drayton also wrote, on the theme of +the Civil Wars, an epic entitled "The Barons' Wars," and undertook a +descriptive and patriotic epic in "Polyolbion," wherein he makes a +tour of England relating innumerable local legends. + +Abraham Cowley composed an epic entitled "Davideis," or the troubles +of David. He begins this work in four books with a description of two +councils held in Heaven and hell in regard to the life of this worthy. + +Dryden was not only a translator of the classic epics, but projected +an epic of his own about Arthur. Almost at the same time Pope was +planning to write one on Brut, but he too failed to carry out his +intentions, and is best known as the translator of the Iliad, although +some authorities claim the "Rape of the Lock" is a unique sample of +the _épopée galante._ + +The poet Keats, whose life was so short, left us a complete +mythological epic in "Endymion," a fragment of one in "Hyperion," and +a reproduction of one of the old romances in "Isabella, or a Pot of +Basil." + +Shelley, Keats' contemporary, wrote poems abounding in epic +passages,--"Alastor, or the Spirit of Solitude," "The Revolt of +Islam," "Adonais," and "Prometheus Unbound"; while Byron's epical +poems are "Manfred," "The Corsair," and "Don Juan"; and Scott's, "The +Lay of the Last Minstrel," "Marmion," "The Lady of the Lake," and "The +Bridal of Triermain." + +The greatest of Coleridge's poems, "The Ancient Mariner," is sometimes +called a visionary epic, while his "Christabel" conforms more closely +to the old _roman d'adventure._ + +As the translator of the epical romances of "Amadis de Gaule" and +"Palmerin," Southey won considerable renown; he also wrote the +oriental epics "Thalaba" and "The Curse of Kehama," as well as epical +poems on "Madoc," "Joan of Arc," and "Roderick, the Last of the +Goths." + +Moore, although preeminently a lyric poet, has left us the eastern +epic "Lalla Rookh," and Lockhart some "Spanish Ballads" which +paraphrase the Cid. + +Among Macaulay's writings the "Lays of Ancient Rome" have epic +qualities, which are also found in Leigh Hunt's "Story of Rimini." + +The plot of Tristram has been utilized both by Matthew Arnold and by +Swinburne, while William and Lewis Morris have rewritten some of the +old classic stories in "The Earthly Paradise," the "Life and Death of +Jason," the "Defense of Guinevere," and the "Epic of Hades." + +It was, however, the Victorian poet-laureate Tennyson who gave the +Arthurian Legend its latest and most artistic touches in "Idylls of +the King." Some critics also claim as an example of the domestic epic +his "Enoch Arden." + +Among recent writers, sundry novelists have been hailed as authors of +prose epics. Thomas Westwood has composed in excellent verse the +"Quest of the Sangreall," Mrs. Trask "Under King Constantine," a +notable addition to the Arthurian cycle, and Stephen Philips has sung +of Ulysses and of King Alfred. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 20: See the author's "Legends of the Virgin and Christ."] + + + + +BEOWULF[21] + + +_Introduction._ The only Anglo-Saxon epic which has been preserved +entire was probably composed in Sweden before the eighth century, and +taken thence to England, where this pagan poem was worked over and +Christianized by some Northumbrian bard. Although some authorities +declare it dates back as far as the fifth century, most affirm it must +have been composed in the seventh. The present manuscript, now +preserved in the British Museum, dates back to the tenth century. It +contains some 3182 lines, and is written in alliterative verse (that +is to say, that all the lines are written in pairs and that each +perfect pair contains two similar sounds in the first line and one in +the second). Although the author of Beowulf is unknown, the poem +affords priceless hints in regard to the armor, ships, and mode of +life of our early Saxon fore-fathers. Many translations of the poem +have been made, some in prose and others in verse, and the epic as it +stands, consisting of an introduction and forty-two "Fits," is the +main text for the study of the Anglo-Saxon language. + +_The Epic._ Hrothgar, King of Denmark, traces his origin to Skiold, +son of Odin, who as an infant drifted to Denmark's shores. This child +lay on a sheaf of ripe wheat, surrounded by priceless weapons, jewels, +and a wonderful suit of armor, which proved he must be the scion of +some princely race. The childless King and Queen of Denmark therefore +gladly adopted him, and in due time he succeeded them and ruled over +the whole country. When he died, his subjects, placing his body in the +vessel in which he had come, set him adrift. + + Men are not able + Soothly to tell us, they in halls who reside, + Heroes under heaven, to what haven he hied.[22] + +Hrothgar, his descendant, constructed a magnificent hall, called +Heorot, wherein to feast his retainers and entertain them with the +songs of the northern skalds. + + It burned in his spirit + To urge his folk to found a great building, + A mead-hall grander than men of the era + Ever had heard of, and in it to share + With young and old all of the blessings + The Lord had allowed him, save life and retainers. + +The night of the inauguration of this building, the royal body-guard +lay down in the hall to sleep; and, when the servants entered the +place on the morrow, they were horrified to find floor and walls +spattered with blood, but no other trace of the thirty knights who had +rested there the night before. Their cry of horror aroused Hrothgar, +who, on investigating, discovered gigantic footsteps leading straight +from the hall to the sluggish waters of a mountain tarn, above which a +phosphorescent light always hovered. These footsteps were those of +Grendel, a descendant of Cain, who dwelt in the marsh, and who had +evidently slain and devoured all the king's men. + +Too old to wield a sword in person, Hrothgar offered a princely reward +to whoever would rid his country of this terrible scourge. But, +although many warriors gladly undertook the task, the monster proved +too strong for all, and none save a minstrel--who hid in one corner of +the hall--ever succeeded in escaping from his clutches. This minstrel, +after seeing Grendel feed upon his companions, was so impressed by +the sight, that he composed a song about it, which he sang wherever he +went, and once repeated for the entertainment of King Higelac and his +nephew Beowulf. In answer to their eager questions, the bard averred +the monster still existed and invariably invaded the hall when a feast +was held there. This was enough to arouse in Beowulf a burning desire +to visit Denmark and rid the world of this scourge. Knowing his nephew +was very brave and having had proof of his endurance (for the young +man had once in the course of a swimming match, stayed in the water +five whole days and nights, killing many sea monsters who came to +attack him), Higelac gladly allowed him to depart with fourteen chosen +companions. Thus Beowulf set out "over the Swan-Road" for Denmark, to +offer his services to the king. + + The foamy-necked floater fanned by the breeze, + Likest a bird, glided the waters, + Till twenty and four hours thereafter + The twist-stemmed vessel had travelled such distance + That the sailing-men saw the sloping embankments, + The sea-cliffs gleaming, precipitous mountains, + Nesses enormous: they were nearing the limits + At the end of the ocean. + +On seeing a vessel with armed men approach their shores, the Danish +coast guards challenged the new-comers, who rejoined their intentions +were purely friendly, and begged to be led to the king. There Beowulf +and his attendants--after paying their respects to Hrothgar--offered +their services to rid him of the terrible scourge which had preyed so +long upon his people. On hearing this, the king immediately ordered a +feast prepared, and at its close allowed Beowulf, at his request, to +remain alone in the hall with his men. Aware that no weapon could +pierce the armed hide of the uncanny monster, Beowulf--who had the +strength of thirty men--laid aside his armor and prepared to grapple +with Grendel by main strength when he appeared. + + Then the brave-mooded hero bent to his slumber, + The pillow received the cheek of the noble; + And many a martial mere-thane attending + Sank to his slumber. + +Just as the chill of morning invades the hall, Beowulf hears stealthy +steps approaching and the great door bursts open, admitting a monster, +all enveloped in clammy mist, which--pouncing upon one of the +men--crunches his bones and greedily drinks his blood. Beowulf, +intently watching the fiend, seeing him stretch out a horny hand for +another victim, suddenly grasps it with such force and determination +that the monster, notwithstanding frantic efforts, cannot free +himself. A terrible struggle now takes place, in the course of which +Beowulf and Grendel, wrestling madly, overturn tables and couches, +shaking the hall to its very foundations. Nevertheless, Beowulf clings +so fast to the hand and arm he had grasped, that the monster, trying +to free himself by a mighty jerk, tears his arm out of its socket and +disappears, uttering a blood-curdling cry, and leaving this trophy in +his foe's grasp. Mortally wounded, Grendel hastens back to his marsh, +leaving a trail of blood behind him, while Beowulf, exhausted but +triumphant, proudly exhibits the huge hand and limb which he has +wrenched from the monster, declaring it will henceforth serve to adorn +Heorot. + +When Hrothgar beholds it on the morrow and hears an account of the +night's adventures, he warmly congratulates Beowulf, upon whom he +bestows rich gifts, and in whose honor he decrees a grand feast shall +be held in this hall. While they are drinking there and listening to +the music of the skalds (who sing of Sigmund the dragon-slayer and of +a fight at Finnsburgh), Wealtheow, Queen of Denmark, appears in their +midst, and bestows upon Beowulf a wonderful necklace and a ring of the +finest gold, bidding him wear them in memory of his triumph. + +The feast over, Hrothgar escorts his guest to the palace, where he is +to rest that night, leaving his own men to guard Heorot, for all feel +confident Grendel has been too sorely wounded ever to appear again. +But, while the warriors sleep peacefully, the giant's mother--an +equally hideous monster--comes into the hall, secures her son's gory +arm which hangs there as a trophy, and bears away Aeschere, one of the +king's friends. + +On learning of this loss on the morrow, Hrothgar is overcome with +grief, and Beowulf, hearing his lamentations, suddenly appears to +inquire what has occurred. On learning the ghastly news, he volunteers +to complete his work and avenge Aeschere by attacking Grendel's mother +in her own retreat. But, knowing the perils he is facing, he makes his +arrangements in case he should never return, before following the +bloody traces left by the monsters. Then he hastens to the pool, where +he finds Aeschere's head set aloft as a trophy! Gazing down into the +depths, Beowulf now perceives the waters are darkly tinged with the +monster's blood, but nevertheless plunges boldly into their depths, +where he swims about a whole day seeking Grendel's retreat. Guided at +last by a phosphorescent gleam, our hero finally reaches a cave, after +slaying on the way a number of monsters sent to check his advance. On +nearing the giants' den, a strong eddy suddenly sweeps him within +reach of Grendel's mother, who, clutching him fast, flings him on the +floor, and is trying to find a joint in his armor, so as to kill him +with her knife, when Beowulf, snatching a sword hanging from a rocky +projection, deals her so fierce a blow that he severs her head from +its trunk. + + Then he saw amid the war-gems a weapon of victory, + An ancient giant-sword, of edges a-doughty, + Glory of warriors: of weapons 'twas choicest, + Only 'twas larger than any man else was + Able to bear in the battle-encounter, + The good and splendid work of the giants. + He grasped then the sword-hilt, knight of Seyldings, + Bold and battle-grim, brandished his ring-sword, + Hopeless of living hotly he smote her, + That the fiend-woman's neck firmly it grappled, + Broke through her bone-joints, the bill fully pierced her + Fate-cursèd body, she fell to the ground then: + The hand sword was bloody, the hero exulted. + The brand was brilliant, brightly it glimmered, + Just as from heaven gem-like shineth + The torch of the firmament. + +The blood from this monster, pouring out of the cave, mingles with the +waters without, which begin to seethe and bubble in so ominous a way +that Hrothgar and his men, exclaiming Beowulf is dead, sadly depart. +The hero's attendants, however, mindful of orders received, linger at +the side of the mere, although they cherish small hope of ever +beholding their master again. + +Having disposed of Grendel's mother, Beowulf rushes to the rear of the +cave, where, finding Grendel dead, he cuts off his head, and with this +trophy makes his way up through the tainted waters, which melt his +sword, so that he has nothing but the hilt left on reaching the shore. + + The sword-blade began then, + The blood having touched it, contracting and shrivelling + With battle-icicles; 'twas a wonderful marvel + That it melted entirely, likest to ice when + The Father unbindeth the bond of the frost and + Unwindeth the wave-bands, He who wieldeth dominion + Of times and of tides: a truth-firm Creator. + +It is just as his followers are about to depart that Beowulf emerges +from the waters, and, when they behold his trophy and hear his tale, +they escort him back in triumph to Heorot, where the grateful Danes +again load him with presents. + +His task accomplished, Beowulf returns home, where he bestows the +necklace he has won upon the Queen of the Geats, and continues +faithfully to serve the royal couple, even placing their infant son +upon the throne after their death, and defending his rights as long as +he lives. Then the people elect Beowulf king, and during a reign of +fifty years he rules them wisely and well. Old age has robbed Beowulf +of part of his fabulous strength, when his subjects are suddenly +dismayed by the ravages of a fire-breathing dragon, which has taken up +its abode in some neighboring mountains, where he gloats over a hoard +of glittering gold. A fugitive slave having made his way into the +monster's den during one of its absences and abstracted a small +portion of its treasure, the incensed firedrake, in revenge, flies all +over the land, vomiting fire and smoke in every direction, and filling +all hearts with such terror that the people implore Beowulf to deliver +them from this monster too. + +Although Beowulf realizes he no longer enjoys youthful vigor, he, +nevertheless, sets out bravely with eleven men to attack the monster. +On reaching the mountain gorge, he bids his small troop stand still, +and, advancing alone, challenges the dragon to come forth. A moment +later the mountain shakes as a fire-breathing dragon rushes out to +attack Beowulf, who feels his fiery breath even through shield and +armor. With deadly fury the dragon attacks the warrior, coiling his +scaly folds around and around Beowulf, who vainly slashes at him with +his sword, for scales made him invulnerable. + +Seeing his master about to be crushed to death, Wiglaf--one of +Beowulf's followers--now springs forward to aid him, thus causing +sufficient diversion to enable Beowulf to creep beneath the dragon, +and drive his sword deep into its undefended breast! Although the +monster's coils now drop limply away from his body, poor Beowulf has +been so sorely burned by its breath that he feels his end is near. +Turning to his faithful follower, he thanks, him for his aid, bidding +him hasten into the cave and bring forth the treasure he has won for +his people, so he can feast his eyes upon it before he dies. + + "Fare thou with haste now + To behold the hoard 'neath the hoar-grayish stone, + Well-lovèd Wiglaf, now the worm is a-lying, + Sore-wounded sleepeth, disseized of his treasure + Go thou in haste that treasures of old I + Gold-wealth may gaze on, together see lying + The ether-bright jewels, be easier able, + Having the heap of hoard-gems, to yield my + Life and the land-folk whom long I have governed." + +Sure that the monster can no longer molest them, the rest of the +warriors press forward in their turn, and receive the farewells of +their dying chief, who, after rehearsing the great deeds he has done, +declares he is about to close honorably an eventful career. When he +has breathed his last, his followers push the corpse of the dragon off +a cliff into the sea, and erect on the headland a funeral barrow for +Beowulf's ashes, placing within it part of the treasure he won, and +erecting above it a memorial, or bauta stone, on which they carve the +name and deeds of the great hero who saved them from Grendel and from +the fiery dragon. + + So lamented mourning the men of the Geats, + Fond-loving vassals the fall of their lord, + Said he was kindest of kings under heaven, + Gentlest of men, most winning of manner, + Friendliest to folk-troops and fondest of honor. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 21: See also the author's "Legends of the Middle Ages."] + +[Footnote 22: All the quotations in this chapter are taken from Hall's +translation of "Beowulf."] + + + + +THE ARTHURIAN CYCLE + + +The Arthurian cycle consists in a number of epics or romances about +King Arthur, the knights of his Round Table, or the ladies of his +court. The Anglo-Norman trouvères arranged these tales in graduated +circles around their nucleus, the legend of the Holy Grail. Next in +importance to this sacred theme, and forming the first circle, were +the stories of Galahad and Percival who achieved the Holy Grail, of +Launcelot and Elaine who were favored with partial glimpses of it, and +of Bors who accompanied Galahad and Percival in their journey to +Sarras. The second circle included the stories of Arthur and +Guinevere, of Geraint and Enid, of Tristan and Isolde, of Pelleas and +Ettarre, of Gareth and Lynette, of Gawain, and of Bedevere. The third +and last circle dealt with the epics of Merlin and Vivien, Uther and +Igerne, Gorlois, and Vortigern. + +To give a complete outline of the adventures which befell all these +knights and ladies in the course of seventeen epics and romances,--of +which many versions exist, and to which each new poet added some +episode,--would require far more space than any one volume would +afford. A general outline will therefore be given of the two principal +themes, the Quest of the Holy Grail and King Arthur and his Round +Table, mentioning only the main features of the other epics as they +impinge upon these two great centres. + +Some of the greatest writers of the Arthurian cycle have been Gildas, +Nennius, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace, Robert de Borron, Marie de +France, Layamon, Chrestien de Troyes, Benoit de St. Maur, Gaucher, +Manessier, Gerbert, Knot de Provence, Wolfram von Eschenbach, +Gottfried von Strassburg, Hartmann von der Aue, Malory, Tennyson, +Swinburne, Howard Pyle, Matthew Arnold, and Wagner. Still, almost +every writer of note has had something to say on the subject, and thus +the Arthuriana has become almost as voluminous as the Shakespeariana. +The legend of Arthur, almost unknown before the twelfth century, so +rapidly became popular all over Europe, that it was translated into +every language and recited with endless variations at countless +firesides. + +Robert de Borron is said to be mainly responsible for the tale of +Merlin, the real poet of that name having been a bard at the court, +first of Ambrosius Aurelianus and then of King Arthur. The Merlin of +the romances is reported to have owed his birth to the commerce of a +fiend with an unconscious nun. A priest, convinced of the woman's +purity of intention, baptized her child as soon as born, thus +defeating the plots of Satan, who had hoped the son of a fiend would +be able to outwit the plans of the Son of Man for human redemption. In +early infancy, already, this Merlin showed his miraculous powers, for +he testified in his mother's behalf when she was accused of +incontinency. + +Meantime Constance, King of England, had left three sons, the eldest +of whom, Constantine, had entered a monastery, while the two others +were too young to reign. Drawn from his retirement to wear a crown, +Constantine proved incapable to maintain order, so his general, +Vortigern, with the aid of the Saxon leaders Hengist and Horsa, +usurped his throne. Some time after, wishing to construct an +impregnable fortress on Salisbury Plain, Vortigern sent for a host of +masons, who were dismayed to see the work they had done during the day +destroyed every night. + +On consulting an astrologer, Vortigern was directed to anoint the +stones with the blood of a boy of five who had no human father. The +only child corresponding to this description was Merlin, who saved +himself from untimely death by telling the king that, if he dug down +and drained the lake he would find, he would discover broad stones +beneath which slept two dragons by day, although they fought so +fiercely at night that they caused the tremendous earthquakes which +shattered his walls. These directions were followed, the dragons were +roused, and fought until the red one was slain and the two-headed +white one disappeared. Asked to explain the meaning of these two +dragons, Merlin--the uncanny child--declared the white dragon with two +heads represented the two younger sons of King Constance, who were +destined to drive Vortigern away. Having said this, Merlin +disappeared, thus escaping the wrath of Vortigern, who wished to slay +him. + +Soon after, the young princes surprised and burned Vortigern in his +palace, and thus recovered possession of their father's throne. Then, +one of them dying, the other, assuming both their names, became Uther +Pendragon, king of Britain. Such was his bravery that during his reign +of seven years he became overlord of all the petty kings who had +meantime taken possession of various parts of England. He was aided in +this work by his prime-minister, Merlin, whose skill as a clairvoyant, +magician, inventor, and artificer of all kinds of things--such as +armor which nothing could damage, a magic mirror, round table, ring, +and wonderful buildings--was of infinite service to his master and +fired the imagination of all the poets. + +There are various accounts of Arthur's birth; according to one, Uther +fell in love with Gorlois' wife Igerne, who was already mother of +three daughters. Thanks to Merlin's magic arts, Uther was able to +visit Igerne in the guise of her husband, and thus begot a son, who +was entrusted to Merlin's care as soon as born. Another legend +declares that, after Gorlois' death, Uther Pendragon married Igerne, +and that Arthur was their lawful child. Feeling he was about to die, +and fearing lest his infant son should be made away with by the lords +he had compelled to obedience, Uther Pendragon bade Merlin hide Arthur +until he was old enough to reign over Britain. Merlin therefore +secretly bore the babe, as soon as born, to Sir Ector, who brought +Arthur up in the belief he was the younger brother of his only son, +Sir Kay. + +Arthur had just reached eighteen when the Archbishop of Canterbury +besought Merlin to select an overlord who would reduce the other kings +to obedience, and thus restore peace, law, and order in Britain. +Thereupon Merlin promised him a king would soon appear whose rights +none would be able to dispute. Shortly after, on coming out of the +cathedral one feast-day, the archbishop saw a huge block of stone, in +which was imbedded an anvil, through which was thrust a beautiful +sword. This weapon, moreover, bore an inscription, stating that he who +pulled it out and thrust it back would be the rightful heir to the +throne. + +Meantime a tournament had been proclaimed, and Sir Kay, having broken +his sword while fighting, bade his brother Arthur get him another +immediately. Unable to find any weapon in their tent, Arthur ran to +the anvil, pulled out the sword, and gave it to Sir Kay. Seeing it in +his son's hand, Sir Ector inquired how it had been obtained, and +insisted upon Arthur's thrusting it back and taking it out repeatedly, +before he would recognize him as his king. As none of the other lords +could move the sword, and as Arthur repeatedly proved his claim to it +on the great feast-days, he became overlord of all the petty kings. At +Sir Ector's request he appointed Sir Kay as steward of his palace, +and, thanks to the help of Merlin and of his brave knights, soon +subdued the rebels, and became not only master of all England, but, if +we are to believe the later romances, a sort of English Alexander, +who, after crossing the Alps, became Emperor of the World! + +During his reign Arthur fought twelve memorable battles, and, not +content with this activity, often rode out like other knights-errant +in quest of adventure, challenging any one who wanted to fight, +rescuing captives, and aiding damsels in distress. In these encounters +Arthur wore the peerless armor made by Merlin, and sometimes carried a +shield so brilliant that it blinded all who gazed upon it. It was, +therefore, generally covered with a close-fitting case, which, like +Arthur's helmet, bore as emblem a two-headed dragon. Having lost his +divine sword in one encounter, Arthur was advised by Merlin to apply +for another to Nimue, or Nymue, the Lady of the Lake. She immediately +pointed out an arm, rising from the middle of the lake, brandishing a +magnificent sword. Springing into a skiff near by, Arthur was +miraculously ferried to the centre of the lake, where, as soon as he +touched the sword, the mystic arm disappeared. Merlin now informed +Arthur that, fighting with Excalibure, his wonderful sword, he could +never be conquered, and that as long as its scabbard hung by his side +he could not be wounded. Later on in the story, Arthur, having +incurred the anger of one of his step-sisters, Morgana the Fay, she +borrowed Excalibure under pretext of admiring it, and had so exact a +copy of it made that no one suspected she had kept the magic sword +until Arthur was wounded and defeated. He, however, recovered +possession of Excalibure--if not of the scabbard--before he fought his +last battle. + +Arthur was not only brave, but very romantic, for, Guinevere having +bent over him once when he lay half unconscious from a wound, he fell +so deeply in love with her that he entered her father's service as +garden boy. There Guinevere discovered his identity, and, guessing why +he had come, teased him unmercifully. Shortly after, a neighboring, +very ill-favored king declared Guinevere's old father would be +deprived of his kingdom unless she would consent to marry him, and +defied in single combat any one who ventured to object to this +arrangement. + +Arthur, having secretly provided himself with a white horse and armor, +defeated this insolent suitor, and, after a few more thrilling +adventures, arranged for his marriage to Guinevere in the fall. By +Merlin's advice he also begged his future father-in-law to give him, +as wedding present, the Round Table Merlin had made for Uther +Pendragon. This was a magic board around which none but virtuous +knights could sit. When led to a seat, any worthy candidate beheld his +name suddenly appear on its back, in golden letters, which vanished +only at his death, or when he became unworthy to occupy a seat at the +Round Table. Besides, on one side of Arthur's throne was the Siege +Perilous, which none could occupy, under penalty of destruction, save +the knight destined to achieve the Holy Grail. + +We are informed that Arthur sent his best friend and most accomplished +knight, Launcelot, to escort Guinevere to Caerleon on Usk, where the +wedding and first session of the Round Table were to take place on the +self-same day. It seems that, when this Launcelot was a babe, his +parents had to flee from a burning home. Overcome by sorrow and +wounds, the poor father soon sank dying beside the road, and, while +the mother was closing his eyes, the Lady of the Lake suddenly rose +from her watery home, seized the babe, and plunged back with him into +its depths. The widowed and bereft woman therefore entered a convent, +where she was known as the Lady of Sorrows, for little did she suspect +her son was being trained by Pellias--husband of the Lady of the +Lake--to become the most famous knight of the Round Table. At eighteen +the Lady of the Lake decided it was time Launcelot should be knighted. +So, on St. John's eve--when mortals can see fairies--King Arthur and +Sir Ector were led, by a mysterious damsel and dwarf, to a place where +Pellias and the Lady of the Lake begged them to knight their protégé +and pupil, who was henceforth to be known as Launcelot of the Lake. +Not only did Arthur gladly bestow the accolade upon the young man, +but he took him with him to Camelot. + +It was as supreme honor and mark of confidence that Arthur sent +Launcelot to get Guinevere. Some legends claim these two already loved +each other dearly, others that they fell in love during the journey, +others still that their guilty passion was due to a love potion, and a +few that Guinevere, incensed by the behavior of Arthur,--whom some of +the epics do not depict as Tennyson's "blameless king,"--proved +faithless in revenge later on. All the versions, however, agree that +Launcelot cherished an incurable, guilty passion for Guinevere, and +that she proved untrue to her marriage vows. Time and again we hear of +stolen meetings, and of Launcelot's deep sorrow at deceiving the noble +friend whom he continues to love and admire. This is the only blemish +in his character, while Guinevere is coquettish, passionate, +unfeeling, and exacting, and has little to recommend her aside from +grace, beauty, and personal magnetism. At court she plays her part of +queen and lady of the revels with consummate skill, and we have many +descriptions of festivities of all kinds. During a maying party the +queen was once kidnapped by a bold admirer and kept for a time in +durance vile. Launcelot, posting after her, ruthlessly cut down all +who attempted to check him, and, his horse falling at last beneath +him, continued his pursuit in a wood-chopper's cart, although none but +criminals were seen in such a vehicle in the Middle Ages. The Knight +of the Cart was, however, only intent upon rescuing the queen, who +showed herself very ungrateful, for she often thereafter taunted him +with this ride and laughed at the gibes the others lavished upon him. +Twice Guinevere drove Launcelot mad with these taunts, and frequently +she heartlessly sent him off on dangerous errands. + +Launcelot, however, so surpassed all the knights in courage and daring +that he won all the prizes in the tournaments. A brilliant series of +these entertainments was given by the king, who, having found twelve +large diamonds in the crown of a dead king, offered one of them as +prize on each occasion. Launcelot, having secured all but the last, +decided to attend the last tournament in disguise, after carefully +informing king and queen he would not take part in the game. + +Pausing at the Castle of Astolat, he borrowed a blank shield, and left +his own in the care of Elaine, daughter of his host, who, although he +had not shown her any attention, had fallen deeply in love with him. +As further disguise, Launcelot also wore the favor Elaine timidly +offered, and visited the tournament escorted by her brother. Once more +Launcelot bore down all rivals, but he was so sorely wounded in the +last encounter that he rode off without taking the prize. Elaine's +brother, following him, conveyed him to a hermit's, where some poets +claim Elaine nursed him back to health. Although there are two Elaines +in Launcelot's life, i.e., the daughter of Pelles (whom he is tricked +into marrying and who bears him Galahad) and the "lily maid of +Astolat,"--some of the later writers fancied there was only the +latter. According to some accounts Launcelot lived happily with the +first Elaine in the castle he had conquered,--Joyous Garde,--until +Queen Guinevere, consumed by jealousy, summoned them both to court. +There she kept them apart, and so persecuted poor Elaine that she +crept off to a convent, where she died, after bringing Galahad into +the world and after predicting he would achieve the Holy Grail. + +The other Elaine,--as Tennyson so beautifully relates, a dying of +unrequited love, bade her father and brothers send her corpse down the +river in charge of a dumb boatman. Everybody knows of the arrival of +the funeral barge at court, of the reading of the letter in Elaine's +dead hand, and of Launcelot's sorrow over the suffering he had +unwittingly caused. + +Launcelot and Guinevere are not the only examples in the Arthurian +Cycle of the love of a queen for her husband's friend, and of his +overwhelming passion for the wife of his master. Another famous +couple, Tristram and Iseult, [23] also claims our attention. + +The legend of Tristram was already known in the sixth century, and +from that time until now has been periodically rewritten and +embellished. Like most mediaeval legends, it begins with the hero's +birth, gives in detail the whole story of his life, and ends only when +he is safely dead and buried! + +The bare outline of the main events in Tristram's very adventurous +career are the elopement of his mother, a sister of King Mark of +Cornwall. Then, while mourning for her beloved, this lady dies in +giving birth to her son, whom she names Tristram, or the sad one. + +Brought up by a faithful servant,--Gouvernail or Kurvenal,--Tristram +learns to become a peerless hunter and musician. After describing +sundry childish and youthful adventures in different lands, the +various legends agree in bringing him to his uncle's court, just as a +giant champion arrives from Ireland, claiming tribute in money and men +unless some one can defeat him in battle. As neither Mark nor any of +his subjects dare venture to face the challenger, Morolt, Tristram +volunteers his services. The battle takes place on an island, and, +after many blows have been given and received and the end has seemed +doubtful, Tristram (who has been wounded by his opponent's poisoned +lance) kills him by a blow of his sword, a splinter of which remains +embedded in the dead giant's skull. His corpse is then brought back to +Ireland to receive sepulchre at the hands of Queen Iseult, who, in +preparing the body for the grave finds the fragment of steel, which +she treasures, thinking it may some day help her to find her +champion's slayer and enable her to avenge his death. + +Meanwhile Tristram's wound does not heal, and, realizing Queen Iseult +alone will be able to cure him, he sails for Ireland, where he +presents himself as the minstrel Tramtris, and rewards the care of +the queen and her daughter--both bearing the name of Iseult--by his +fine music. + +On his return to Cornwall, Tristram, who has evidently been impressed +by Princess Iseult's beauty, sings her praises so enthusiastically +that King Mark decides to propose for her hand, and--advised by the +jealous courtiers, who deem the expedition perilous in the +extreme--selects Tristram as his ambassador. + +On landing in Ireland, Tristram notices ill-concealed excitement, and +discovers that a dragon is causing such damage in the neighborhood +that the king has promised his daughter's hand to the warrior who +would slay the monster. + +Nothing daunted, Tristram sets out alone, and beards the dragon in his +den to such good purpose that he kills him and carries off his tongue +as a trophy. But, wounded in his encounter, Tristram soon sinks by the +roadside unconscious. The king's butler, who has been spying upon him +and who deems him dead, now cuts off the dragon's head and lays it at +the king's feet, claiming the promised reward. + +Princess Iseult and her mother refuse, however, to believe that this +man--a notorious coward--has performed any such feat, and hasten out +to the battle-field. There they find not only the headless dragon, but +the unconscious Tristram, and the tongue which proves him the real +victor. To nurse him back to health is no great task for these ladies, +who, like many of the heroines of the mediaeval epics and romances, are +skilled leeches and surgeons. + +One day, while guarding their patient's slumbers, the ladies idly +examine his weapons, and make the momentous discovery that the bit of +steel found in Morolt's head exactly fits a nick in Tristram's sword. + +Although both had sworn vengeance, they decide the service Tristram +has just rendered them and their country more than counterbalances the +rest, and therefore let him go unscathed. + +Fully restored to health, Tristram proves the butler had no right to +Iseult's hand, and, instead of enforcing his own claim, makes King +Mark's proposals known. Either because such an alliance flatters their +pride or because they dare not refuse, Iseult's parents accept in +their daughter's name and prepare everything for her speedy +departure. The queen, wishing to save her daughter from the curse of a +loveless marriage, next brews a love-potion which she bids +Brengwain--her daughter's maid and companion--administer to King Mark +and Iseult on their wedding night. + +During the trip across the Irish Channel, Tristram entertains Princess +Iseult with songs and tales, until he becomes so thirsty that he begs +for a drink. By mistake the love-potion is brought, and, as Iseult +graciously dips her lips in the cup before handing it to her +entertainer, it comes to pass both partake of the magic draught, and +thus become victims of a passion which naught can cure. Still, as +their intentions remain perfectly honorable, they continue the journey +to Cornwall, and, in spite of all he suffers, Tristram delivers the +reluctant bride into his uncle's hands. + +Some legends claim that Iseult made her maid Brengwain take her place +by the king's side on their wedding night, and that, although the +Irish princess dwelt in the palace at Cornwall, she never proved +untrue to her lover Tristram. The romances now give us stolen +interviews, temporary elopements, and hair-breadth escapes from all +manner of dangers. Once, for instance, Iseult is summoned by her +husband to appear before the judges and clear herself from all +suspicion of infidelity by taking a public oath in their presence. By +Iseult's directions, Tristram, disguised as a mendicant, carries her +ashore from the boat, begging for a kiss as reward. This enables the +queen to swear truthfully that she has never been embraced by any man +save King Mark and the mendicant who carried her ashore! + +Tristram--like Launcelot--deeply feels the baseness of his conduct +toward his uncle and often tries to tear himself away, but the spell +of the magic potion is too powerful to break. Once remorse and shame +actually drive him mad, and he roams around the country performing all +manner of crazy deeds. + +He too, when restored to his senses, visits Arthur's court, is +admitted to the Round Table, and joins in the Quest for the Holy +Grail, which, of course, he cannot achieve. Then he does marvels in +the matter of hunting and fighting, and, having received another +dangerous wound, wonders who besides Iseult of Cornwall can cure it? +It is then he hears for the first time of Iseult of Brittany (or of +the White Hands), whose skill in such matters is proverbial, and, +seeking her aid, is soon made whole. But meantime the physician has +fallen in love with her patient, and fancies her love is returned +because every lay he sings is in praise of Iseult! + +Her brother, discovering her innocent passion, reveals it to Tristram, +who, through gratitude or to drive the remembrance of his guilty +passion out of his mind, finally marries her. But even marriage cannot +make him forget Iseult of Cornwall. The time comes when, wounded +beyond the power of his wife's skill to cure, Tristram sends for +Iseult of Cornwall, who, either owing to treachery or to accident, +arrives too late, and dies of grief on her lover's corpse. + +Some legends vary greatly in the manner of Tristram's death, for he is +sometimes slain by King Stark, who is justly angry to find him in his +wife's company. Most of the versions, however, declare that the lovers +were buried side by side, and that creepers growing out of their +respective graves twined lovingly around each other. + +Other beautiful episodes which are taken from old Welsh versions of +the Arthurian legends are the stories of Geraint and Enid, of Pelleas +and Ettarre, of Gareth and Lynette, which have received their latest +and most beautiful setting at the hands of the poet-laureate Tennyson, +and the very tragic and pathetic tale of the twin brothers Balin and +Balan, who, after baleful happenings galore, failing to recognize each +other, fight until one deals the "dolorous stroke" which kills his +brother. + +Were any one patient enough to count the characters, duels, and +hair-breadth escapes in Malory's Morte d'Arthur, the sum might well +appall a modern reader. Magic, too, plays a prominent part in the +Arthurian cycle, where Merlin, by means of a magic ring given by the +Lady of the Lake to her sister Vivien, becomes so infatuated with the +latter lady, that she is able to coax from him all his secrets, and +even to learn the spell whereby a mortal can be kept alive although +hidden from all eyes. Having obtained the magic formula by bringing +all her coquettish wiles to bear upon besotted old Merlin, Vivien is +said to have decoyed the wizard either to an enchanted castle, where +she enclosed him in a stone sepulchre, or into the forest of +Broceliande, in Brittany, where she left him, spellbound in a +flowering thorn-bush. Another legend, however, claims that, having +grown old and forgetful, Merlin absent-mindedly attempted to sit down +in the Siege Perilous, only to be swallowed up by the yawning chasm +which opened beneath his feet. + +It was at the height of Arthur's prosperity and fame that the knights +of the Round Table solemnly pledged themselves to undertake the Quest +of the Holy Grail, as is described in the chapter on that subject. +Their absence, the adultery of the queen, and the king's consciousness +of past sins cast such a gloom over the once brilliant reunions of +Camelot and Caerleon, as well as over the whole land, that Arthur's +foes became bolder, and troubles thickened in an ominous way. Finally, +most of the knights returned from the Quest sadder and wiser men, +Launcelot was banished by the king to Joyous Garde, and was therefore +not at hand when the last great fight occurred. Mordred, the Judas of +the Arthurian cycle--whom some poets represent as the illegitimate and +incestuous son of Arthur, while others merely make him a nephew of the +king--rebels against Arthur, who engages in his last battle, near the +Castle of Tintagel, where he was born. + +In this encounter all are slain on both sides, and Arthur, having +finally killed the traitor Mordred, after receiving from him a +grievous wound, finds no one near to help or sustain him save Sir +Bedevere. Knowing his wonderful blade Excalibure must return to its +donor ere he departs, Arthur thrice orders his henchman to cast it +into the mere. Twice Sir Bedevere hides the sword instead of obeying, +but the third time, having exactly carried out the royal orders, he +reports having seen a hand rise out of the Lake, catch and brandish +Excalibure, and vanish beneath the waters with it! Arthur is next +carried by Sir Bedevere down to the water's edge, where a mysterious +barge receives the almost dying king. In this barge are three +black-veiled queens,--the king's step-sisters,--and, when Arthur's +head has been tenderly laid in the lap of Morgana the Fay, he +announces he is about to sail off to the Isle of Avalon "to be healed +of his wound." Although the Isle of Avalon was evidently a poetical +mediaeval version of the "bourne whence no man returns," people long +watched for Arthur's home-coming, for he was a very real personage to +readers of epics and romances in the Middle Ages. + +Guinevere--her sin having been discovered by her hitherto fabulously +blind husband--took refuge in a nunnery at Almesbury, where she +received a farewell visit from Arthur and an assurance of his +forgiveness, before he rode into his last fight. + +As for Launcelot, he, too, devoted his last days to penance and prayer +in a monastery. There he remained until warned in a vision that +Guinevere was dead. Leaving his cell, Launcelot hastened to Almesbury, +where, finding Guinevere had ceased to breathe, he bore her corpse to +Glastonbury--where according to some versions Arthur had been conveyed +by the barge and buried--and there laid her to rest at her husband's +feet. + +Then Launcelot again withdrew to his cell, where he died after six +months' abstinence and prayer. It was his heir, Sir Ector, who +feelingly pronounced the eulogy of the knight _par excellence_ of the +mediaeval legends in the following terms: "'Ah, Sir Lancelot,' he said, +'thou were head of all Christian knights; and now I dare say,' said +Sir Ector, 'that, Sir Lancelot, there thou liest, thou were never +matched of none earthly knight's hands; and thou were the courtliest +knight that ever bare shield; and thou were the truest friend to thy +lover that ever bestrode horse; and thou were the truest lover of a +sinful man that ever loved woman; and thou were the kindest man that +ever struck with sword; and thou were the goodliest person that ever +came among press of knights; and thou were the meekest man, and the +gentlest, that ever ate in hall among ladies; and thou were the +sternest knight to thy mortal foe that ever put spear in rest.'" + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 23: See, the author's "Stories of the Wagner Operas."] + + + + +ROBIN HOOD + + +Among the most popular of the prose epics is the story of Robin Hood, +compiled from some twoscore old English ballads, some of which date +back at least to 1400. This material has recently been charmingly +reworked by Howard Pyle, who has happily illustrated his own book. The +bare outline of the tale is as follows: + +In the days of Henry II lived in Sherwood Forest the famous outlaw +Robin Hood, with his band of sevenscore men. At eighteen years of age +Robin left Locksley to attend a shooting-match in a neighboring town. +While crossing the forest one of the royal game-keepers tauntingly +challenged him to prove his skill as a marksman by killing a deer just +darting past them. But, when the unsuspecting youth brought down this +quarry, the forester proposed to arrest him for violating the law. +Robin, however, deftly escaped, and, when the keeper sent an arrow +after him, retaliated by another, which, better aimed, killed one of +the king's men! + +Although unwittingly guilty of murder, Robin, knowing his life was +forfeit, took to the forest, where he became an outlaw. In vain the +Sheriff of Nottingham tried to secure him: Robin always evaded capture +at his hands. Still he did not remain in hiding, but frequently +appeared among his fellow-men, none of whom would betray him, although +the sheriff promised a reward of two hundred pounds for his capture. + +Once, while in quest of adventures, Robin met on a narrow bridge a +stranger who refused to make way for him. Irritated by what he +considered the man's insolence, Robin seized his quarter-staff, only +to find that his antagonist more than matched him in the skilful use +of this weapon. Then a misstep suddenly toppled Robin over into the +stream, where he might have perished had not some of his men leaped +out of the thicket to his rescue. Vexed at being beaten at +quarter-staff, Robin now proposed a shooting-match, and, his good +humor entirely restored by winning a victory in this contest, he +promptly enrolled the stranger in his band. His merry companions, on +learning the huge new-comer was John Little, ironically termed him +Little John, by which name he became very famous. + +Baffled in his attempts to secure Robin and unable to find any one +near there to serve a warrant upon him, the sheriff hired a Lincoln +tinker, who, entering an inn, loudly boasted how cleverly he was going +to accomplish his task. Among his listeners was the outlaw, who +enticed the tinker to drink, and made him so drunk that he had no +difficulty in stealing his warrant. + +The tinker, on awaking, was furious, and, coming face to face with +Robin soon after, attacked him fiercely. Seeing his opponent was +getting the better of him, Robin blew his horn, whereupon six of his +men appeared to aid him. Awed by the sudden appearance of these +men,--who were all clad in Lincoln green,--the tinker laid down his +cudgel and humbly begged permission to join the band. + +The baffled sheriff now rode off to London to complain, but, when +Henry heard one of his officers could not capture an outlaw, he +indignantly bade him leave the court and not appear there again until +he had secured Robin. Dismayed at having incurred royal displeasure, +the sheriff concluded to accomplish by stratagem what he had failed to +compass by force. He therefore proclaimed a shooting-match, and, +feeling sure Robin would be among the competitors for the prize, +posted a number of men to watch for and arrest him. These sleuths +recognized all the contestants present, except a dark man, with a +patch over one eye, who did not in the least resemble the fair-haired, +handsome Robin. Although one-eyed, the stranger easily bore away the +prize, and, when the sheriff offered to take him into his service, +curtly rejoined no man should ever be his master. But that evening, in +a secret glade in Sherwood Forest, Robin gleefully exhibited to his +followers the golden arrow he had won, and, doffing his patch, +remarked that the walnut stain, which had transformed a fair man into +a dark one, would soon wear off. + +Still, not satisfied with outwitting the sheriff, Robin, anxious to +apprise him of the fact, wrote a message on an arrow, which he boldly +shot into the hall where his enemy was seated at a banquet. Enraged by +this impudence, the sheriff sent out three hundred men to scour the +forest, and Robin and his men were forced to hide. + +Weary of inaction, Robin finally bade Will Stutely reconnoiter, report +what the sheriff was doing, and see whether it would be safe for him +and his men to venture out. Garbed as a monk, Will Stutely sought the +nearest inn, where he was quietly seated when some of the sheriff's +men came in. The outlaw was listening intently to their plans when a +cat, rubbing against him, pushed aside his frock, and thus allowed the +constable a glimpse of Lincoln green beneath its folds. To arrest the +outlaw was but the matter of a moment, and Will Stutely was led off to +prison and execution, while a friendly bar-maid hastened off secretly +to the forest to warn Robin of his friend's peril. + +Determined to save Will from the gallows at any risk, Robin +immediately set out with four of his best men and let them mingle +among the people assembled near the gallows. Although disguised, the +outlaws were immediately recognized by Will when he arrived with the +sheriff. Pressing forward as if to obtain a better view of the +execution, the outlaws contrived to annoy their neighbors so sorely +that a fight ensued, and, in the midst of the confusion, Little John, +slipping close up to the prisoner, cut his bonds, knocked down the +sheriff, and escaped with all the band! + +Life in the forest sometimes proved too monotonous to suit Robin, who +once purchased from a butcher his horse, cart, and meat, and drove off +boldly to Nottingham Fair. There he lustily cried his wares, +announcing churchmen would have to pay double, aldermen cost price, +housewives less, and pretty girls nothing save a kiss! The merry +vender's methods of trading soon attracted so many female customers +that the other butchers became angry, but, deeming Robin a mere +simpleton, invited him to a banquet, where they determined to take +advantage of him. + +The sheriff--who was present--blandly inquired of the butcher whether +he had any cattle for sale, and arranged to meet him in the forest and +pay 300 crowns in cash for 500 horned heads. But, when the gullible +sheriff reached the trysting-spot, he was borne captive to Robin's +camp, where the chief, mockingly pointing out the king's deer, bade +him take possession of five hundred horned heads! Then he invited the +sheriff to witness games exhibiting the outlaws' strength and skill, +and, after relieving him of his money, allowed him to depart unharmed. + +More determined than ever to obtain revenge, the sheriff again +proclaimed an archery contest, which Robin shunned. Little John, +however, put in an appearance, won all the prizes, and even accepted +the sheriff's offer to serve him. But, living on the fat of the land +in the sheriff's household, Little John grew fat and lazy, quarrelled +with the other servants, and finally departed with his master's cook +and his silver! + +Robin, although delighted to acquire a new follower, hotly reviled his +companion for stealing the silver, whereupon Little John declared the +sheriff had given it to him and volunteered to produce him to confirm +his words. He therefore set out, and waylaid his late employer, who, +thinking himself under the protection of one of his own men, +innocently followed him to the outlaws' camp. When brought thus +suddenly face to face with Robin, the sheriff expected to be robbed or +killed, but, after ascertaining the silver was not a free gift, Robin +gave it back to him and let him go. + +Angry because Robin often twitted him with his stoutness, Little John +once wandered off by himself in the forest, and meeting Arthur a +Bland challenged him to fight, little suspecting Robin was watching +them from a neighboring thicket. From this hiding-place the chief of +the outlaws witnessed Little John's defeat, and, popping out as soon +as the fight was over, invited Arthur a Bland to join his band. The +three men next continued their walk, until they met a "rose-leaf, +whipped-cream youth," of whose modish attire and effeminate manners +they made unmerciful fun. Boastfully informing his two companions he +was going to show them how a quarter-staff should be handled, Robin +challenged the stranger, who, suddenly dropping his affected manners, +snatched a stake from the hedge and proceeded to outfence Robin. In +his turn Little John had a chance to laugh at his leader's +discomfiture, and Robin, on learning his antagonist was his nephew +(who had taken refuge in the forest because he had accidentally killed +a man), invited him to join his merry men. + +Soon after Little John was despatched for food, and the outlaws were +enjoying a jolly meal "under the greenwood tree," when a miller came +trudging along with a heavy bag of flour. Crowding around him the +outlaws demanded his money, and, when he exhibited an empty purse, +Robin suggested his money was probably hidden in the meal and sternly +ordered him to produce it without delay. Grumbling about his loss, the +miller opened his sack, began to fumble in the meal, and, when all the +outlaws were bending anxiously over it, flung a double handful of +flour right into their eyes, thus blinding them temporarily. Had not +other outlaws now rushed out of the thicket, the miller would +doubtless have effected his escape, but the new arrivals held him fast +until Robin, charmed with his ready wit, invited him to become an +outlaw too. + +Some time after this, Robin, Will Scarlet, and Little John discovered +the minstrel Allan a Dale weeping in the forest because his +sweetheart, fair Ellen, was compelled by her father to marry a rich +old squire. Hearing this tale and sympathizing with the lovers, Robin +engaged to unite them, provided he could secure a priest to tie the +knot. When told Friar Tuck would surely oblige him, Robin started out +in quest of him, and, finding him under a tree, feasting alone and +toasting himself, he joined in his merry meal. Then, under the pretext +of saving his fine clothes from a wetting, Robin persuaded the friar +to carry him pick-a-back across a stream. While doing so, the friar +stole Robin's sword, and refused to give it back unless the outlaw +carried him back. Following Friar Tuck's example, Robin slyly +purloined something from him, and exacted a new ride across the river, +during which Friar Tuck tumbled him over into the water. Robin, who +had hitherto taken his companion's pleasantries good-naturedly, got +angry and began a fight, but soon, feeling he was about to be worsted, +he loudly summoned his men. Friar Tuck in return whistled for his +dogs, which proved quite formidable enough opponents to induce the +outlaws to beg for a truce. + +Robin now secured Friar Tuck to celebrate Allan's marriage and laid +clever plans to rescue Ellen from an unwelcome bridegroom. So all +proceeded secretly or openly to the church where the marriage was to +take place. Pretending to be versed in magic, Robin swore to the +ecclesiastics present that, if they would only give him the jewels +they wore, he would guarantee the bride should love the bridegroom. +Just as the reluctant Ellen was about to be united to the rich old +squire by these churchmen, Robin interfered, and (the angry bridegroom +having flounced out of church), bribed the father to allow Friar Tuck +to unite Ellen and Allan a Dale. Because the bride undoubtedly loved +her spouse, Robin claimed the jewels promised him, and bestowed them +upon the happy couple, who adopted Sherwood Forest for their home. + +Weary of the same company, Robin once despatched his men into the +forest with orders to arrest any one they met and bring him to their +nightly banquet. Robin himself sallied out too, and soon met a +dejected knight, who declared he felt too sad to contribute to the +outlaw's amusement. When Robin questioned him in regard to his +dejection, Sir Richard of the Lee explained that his son, having +accidentally wounded his opponent in a tournament, had been obliged to +pay a fine of £600 in gold and make a pilgrimage to Palestine. To +raise the money for the fine, the father had mortgaged his estates, +and was now about to be despoiled of them by the avaricious prior of +Emmet, who demanded an immediate payment of £400 or the estate. + +Robin, ever ready to help the poor and sorrowful, bade the knight +cheer up and promised to discover some way to raise the £400. Meantime +Little John and Friar Tuck--who had joined Robin's band--caught the +Bishop of Hereford, travelling through the forest with a train of pack +horses, one of which was laden with an iron-bound chest. After +entertaining these forced guests at dinner, Robin had them witness his +archers' skill and listen to Allan a Dale's music, ere he set forth +the knight's predicament and appealed to the bishop to lend him the +necessary money. When the bishop loudly protested he would do so +gladly had he funds, Robin ordered his baggage examined and divided +into three equal shares, one for the owner, one for his men, and one +for the poor. + +Such was the value of the third set aside for the poor that Robin +could lend Sir Richard £500. Armed with this money--which he promised +to repay within a year--Sir Richard presented himself before the prior +of Emmet, who had hired the sheriff and a lawyer to help him despoil +the knight with some show of law and justice. It was therefore before +an august board of three villains that Sir Richard knelt begging for +time wherein to pay his debt. Virtuously protesting he would gladly +remit a hundred pounds for prompt payment--so great was his need of +money--the prior refused to wait, and his claim was duly upheld by +lawyer and sheriff. Relinquishing his humble position, Sir Richard +then defiantly produced 300 pounds, which he forced the prior to +accept in full payment! Soon after, the happy knight was able to repay +Robin's loan, and gratefully bestowed fine bows and arrows on all the +outlaws. Little John, garbed as a friar, once set out for a +neighboring fair, and, meeting three pretty girls with baskets of +eggs, gallantly offered to carry their loads. When merrily challenged +to carry all three, Little John cleverly slung one basket around his +neck by means of his rosary, and marched merrily along carrying the +two others and singing at the top of his lungs, while one of the girls +beat time with his staff. + +On approaching town, Little John restored the baskets to their owners, +and, assuming a sanctimonious bearing, joined two brothers of +Fountains Abbey, whom he implored to give him a little money. Because +they turned a deaf ear to his request, Little John went with them, +acting so strangely that he annoyed them sorely. Seeing this, he +declared he would leave them if they would only give him two pennies, +whereupon they rejoined they had no more than that for their own +needs. Crying he would perform a miracle, Little John plumped down +upon his big knees in the middle of the road and loudly intreated St. +Dunstan to put money in their purses. Then jumping up, he seized their +bags, vowing that anything above a penny was clearly his, since it was +obtained through his prayers! + +Robin, longing for a little variety, once met a beggar with whom he +exchanged garments. Soon after, meeting four other mendicants, Robin +joined them, and having gotten into a quarrel with them had the +satisfaction of routing all four. A little later he met an usurer, +whom he gradually induced to reveal the fact that he had never lost +his money because he always carried his fortune in the thick soles of +his shoes. Of course Robin immediately compelled the usurer to remove +his foot-gear, and sent him home barefoot, while he rejoined his men +and amused them with a detailed account of the day's adventures. + +Queen Eleanor, having heard endless merry tales about Robin Hood, +became very anxious to meet him, and finally sent one of her pages to +Sherwood Forest to inform Robin the king had wagered his archers would +win all the prizes in the royal shooting-match. Because she had +wagered the contrary, she promised Robin a safe-conduct for himself +and his men if he would only come to court and display his skill. + +Choosing Will Scarlet, Little John, and Allan a Dale as his +companions, Robin attended the tournament and won all the prizes, to +the great disgust of the king, the sheriff, and the Bishop of +Hereford, which latter recognized the hated outlaw. On discovering the +king would not respect the safe-conduct she had given Robin, Eleanor +sent him word: "The lion growls; beware of thy head." This hint was +sufficient to make Robin leave immediately, bidding his companions +re-enter the forest by different roads and reserving the most +difficult for himself. + +Although Robin's men reached the forest safely, he himself was hotly +pursued by the sheriff's and bishop's troops. Once, when they were so +close on his heels that it seemed impossible for him to escape, Robin +exchanged garments with a cobbler, who was promptly arrested in his +stead and borne off to prison. Such was Robin's exhaustion by this +time that he entered an inn, and, creeping into bed, slept so soundly +that only on awaking on the morrow did he discover he had shared his +bed with a monk. Slyly substituting the cobbler's garments for those +of the sleeping monk, Robin peacefully departed, while the sheriff's +men, having discovered their mistake, proceeded to arrest the false +cobbler! Meantime the Queen succeeded in softening the king's +resentment, so Robin was allowed to rejoin his companions, and his +sweetheart, Maid Marian, who could shoot nearly as well as he. + +Many years now elapsed, during which King Henry died and King Richard +came to the throne. Robin, still pursued by the sheriff, once +discovered in the forest a man clad in horse-skin, who, having been an +outlaw too, had been promised his pardon if he would slay Robin. +Hearing him boast about what he would do, Robin challenged him first +to a trial of marksmanship, and then to a bout of sword play, during +which the strange outlaw was slain. Then, donning the fallen man's +strange apparel, Robin went off to Nottingham in quest of more +adventures. + +Meantime, Little John had entered a poor hut, where he found a woman +weeping because her sons had been seized as poachers and sentenced to +be hanged. Touched by her grief, Little John promised to rescue them +if she would only supply him with a disguise. Dressed in a suit which +had belonged to the woman's husband, he entered Nottingham just as the +sheriff was escorting his captives to the gallows. No hangman being +available, the sheriff gladly hired the stranger to perform that +office. While ostensibly fastening nooses around the three lads' +necks, Little John cleverly whispered directions whereby to escape. +This part of his duty done, Little John strung his bow, arguing it +would be a humane act to shorten their agony by a well-directed shaft. +But, as soon as his bow was properly strung, Little John gave the +agreed signal, and the three youths scampered off, he covering their +retreat by threatening to kill any one who attempted to pursue them. + +The angry sheriff, on perceiving Robin, who just then appeared, +deeming him the man he sent into the forest, demanded some token that +he had done his duty. In reply Robin silently exhibited his own sword, +bugle, and bow, and pointed to his blood-stained clothes. The officers +having meantime captured Little John, the sheriff allowed Robin--as a +reward--to hang his companion. By means of the same stratagem as +Little John employed for the rescue of the youths, Robin saved his +beloved mate, and, when the sheriff started to pursue them, blew such +a blast on his horn that the terrified official galloped away, one of +Robin's arrows sticking in his back. + +Two months after, there was great excitement in Nottingham, because +King Richard was to ride through the town. The gay procession of +knights, pages, and soldiers was viewed with delight by all the +people, among whom Robin's outlaws were thickly dotted. Riding beside +the king, the Sheriff of Nottingham paled on recognizing in the crowd +Robin himself, a change of color which did not escape Richard's eagle +eye. When the conversation turned upon the famous outlaw at the +banquet that evening, and sheriff and bishop bitterly declared Robin +could not be captured, Richard exclaimed he would gladly give a +hundred pounds for a glimpse of so extraordinary a man! Thereupon one +of the guests rejoined he could easily obtain it by entering the +forest in a monk's garb, a suggestion which so charmed the +Lion-hearted monarch that he started out on the morrow with seven +cowled men. They had not ridden far into the forest before they were +arrested by a man in Lincoln green--Robin himself--who conducted them +to the outlaw's lair. + +As usual, the chance guests were entertained with a feast of venison +and athletic games, in the course of which Robin declared he would +test the skill of his men, and that all who missed the bull's-eye +should be punished by a buffet from Little John's mighty fist. Strange +to relate, every man failed and was floored by Little John's blow, the +rest roaring merrily over his discomfiture. All his men having tried +and failed, Robin was asked to display his own skill for the +stranger's benefit, and, when he too shot at random, all loudly +clamored he must be punished too. Hoping to escape so severe a blow as +Little John dealt, Robin declared it was not fitting a chief should be +struck by his men, and offered to take his punishment at his guest's +hands. Richard, not sorry to take his revenge, now bared a muscular +arm, and hit poor Robin so heartily that the outlaw measured his full +length on the ground and lay there some time wondering what had +occurred. + +Just then Sir Richard's son rushed into the outlaw's camp, +breathlessly crying the king had left Nottingham and was scouring the +forest to arrest them. Throwing back his cowl Richard sternly demanded +how one of his nobles dared reveal his plans to his foes, whereupon +the young knight, kneeling before his monarch, explained how Robin had +saved his father from ruin. + +Richard, whose anger was a mere pretence, now informed Robin he should +no longer be persecuted, and proposed that he, Little John, Will +Scarlet, and Allan a Dale should enter his service. The rest of the +outlaws were appointed game-keepers in the royal forests, a life which +suited them admirably. + +After spending the night in the camp of the outlaws, Richard rode away +with his new followers, and we are told Robin Hood served him to such +good purpose that he soon earned the title of Earl of Huntington. +Shortly after Richard's death, Robin, seized with a longing for the +wild free life of his youth, revisited Sherwood Forest, where the +first blast of his hunting-horn gathered a score of his old followers +about him. Falling at his feet and kissing his hands, they so +fervently besought him never to leave them again that Robin promised +to remain in the forest, and did so, although King John sent for him +sundry times and finally ordered the sheriff to arrest him. + +By this time Robin was no longer a young man, so life in the open no +longer proved as delightful as of yore. Seized with a fever which he +could not shake off, Robin finally dragged himself to the priory of +Kirk Lee, where he besought the prioress to bleed him. Either because +she was afraid to defy the king or because she owed Robin a personal +grudge, this lady opened an artery instead of a vein, and, locking the +door of his room, left him there to bleed to death. The unsuspecting +Robin patiently awaited her return, and, when he finally realized his +plight and tried to summon aid, he was able to blow only the faintest +call upon his horn. This proved enough, however, to summon Little +John, who was lurking in the forest near by, for he dashed toward the +priory, broke open the door, and forced his way into the +turret-chamber, where he found poor Robin nearly gone. + +At his cries, the prioress hastened to check the bleeding of Robin's +wound, but too late! Faintly whispering he would never hunt in the +forest again, Robin begged Little John string his bow, and raise him +up so he could shoot a last arrow out of the narrow window, adding +that he wished to be buried where that arrow fell. Placing the bow in +Robin's hand, Little John supported his dying master while he sent his +last arrow to the foot of a mighty oak, and "something sped from that +body as the winged arrow sped from the bow," for it was only a corpse +Little John laid down on the bed! + +At dawn on the morrow six outlaws bore their dead leader to a grave +they had dug beneath the oak, above which was a stone which bore this +inscription: + + Here underneath this little stone + Lies Robin, Earl of Huntington, + None there was as he so good, + And people called him Robin Hood. + Such outlaws as he and his men + Will England never see again. + + Died December 24th, 1247. + + + + +THE FAERIE QUEENE + + +Edmund Spenser, who was born in London in 1552 and lived at Dublin as +clerk to the court of Chancery, there wrote the Faerie Queene, of +which the first part was published in 1589 and dedicated to Elizabeth. +In this poem he purposed to depict the twelve moral virtues in twelve +successive books, each containing twelve cantos, written in stanzas of +eight short lines and one long one. But he completed only six books of +his poem in the course of six years. + +The Faerie Queene is not only an epic but a double allegory, for many +of the characters represent both abstract virtues and the noted people +of Spenser's time. For instance, the poem opens with a description of +the court of Gloriana,--who impersonates Elizabeth and is the champion +of Protestantism. As queen of the fairy realm she holds annual +festivals, in one of which the young peasant Georgos enters her hall. +He kneels before her so humbly yet so courteously that, +notwithstanding his rustic garb, she perceives he must be of noble +birth. When he, therefore, craves as a boon the next adventure, +Gloriana grants his request, on condition that he will serve her +afterward for six years. Shortly after, a beautiful lady, garbed in +white but enveloped in a black mantle, rides up to court on a +snow-white ass, leading a woolly lamb. She is followed by a dwarf, who +conducts a war-steed, on which are piled all the arms of a knight. On +approaching Gloriana, Una--the personification of Truth--explains that +her royal parents are besieged in their capital by a dragon, which has +slain all the warriors who have ventured to attack him. + +On hearing Una beg for aid, Georgos eagerly steps forward to claim the +task. Ill pleased to be given a peasant instead of the knight she was +seeking, Una coldly bids Georgos--the personification of Holiness--try +on the armor she has brought, adding that, unless it fits him exactly, +he need not expect to triumph. But no sooner has the youth donned the +armor which the dwarf produces than all recognize with wonder it must +have been made for him, and Gloriana publicly dubs him "Knight of the +Red Cross," because the armor Una brought bears that device. + +Vaulting on his war-steed, Georgos now rides off with Una and the +dwarf, and after crossing a wilderness enters a forest, where before +long he descries the mouth of a cave, into which he feels impelled to +enter. No sooner has he done so than he encounters a dragon,--the +personification of Heresy and Error,--which attacks him with fury. A +frightful battle ensues, in the course of which the Red Cross Knight +is about to be worsted, when Una's encouragements so stimulate him +that he slays the monster. + +On seeing the exhaustion of her companion, Una realizes he will +require rest before undertaking further adventures, and therefore +eagerly accepts an invitation tendered by a venerable old hermit who +meets them. He leads them to his cell, where, after entertaining them +all evening by pious conversation, he dismisses them to seek rest. His +guests have no sooner vanished than the hermit, Archimago,--a +personification of Hypocrisy,--casts aside his disguise, and summons +two demons, one of whom he despatches to Hades to fetch a dream from +the cave of Morpheus. This dream is to whisper to the sleeping Red +Cross Knight that Una is not as innocent as she seems, while the +other demon, transformed into her very semblance, is to delude the +knight on awakening into believing his companion beneath contempt. +This plot is duly carried out, and the Red Cross Knight shocked by the +behavior of the sham Una departs immediately, bidding the dwarf follow +him. Riding along in a state of extreme disgust and irritation, the +Red Gross Knight soon encounters Sansfoi,--Faithlessness,--accompanied +by a lady clad in red, who is Duessa,--a personification of Mary Queen +of Scots, and also of falsehood and popery. The two knights +immediately run against each other, and, when Georgos has slain his +opponent, the lady beseeches him to spare her life, exclaiming her +name is Fidessa and that she is only too glad to be saved from the +cruel Sansfoi. Deluded by her words and looks, the Red Cross Knight +invites her to accompany him, promising to defend her from her foes. + +They are riding along together amicably, when the knight plucks a +blossoming twig to weave a garland for his companion, and is dismayed +to see blood trickle from the broken stem. Questioning the tree from +whence the branch was taken, Georgos learns that a knight and his wife +have been transformed into plants by Duessa, who does not wish them to +escape from her thraldom. During this explanation, Georgos fails to +notice that the lady in red trembles for fear her victims may +recognize her, nor does he mark her relief when she perceives her +present disguise is so effective that no one suspects she worked this +baleful transformation. + +Riding on once more, the Red Cross Knight and his companion next draw +near to a glittering castle, whose stones seem covered with gold. +Fidessa, who is familiar with this place, invites the knight to enter +there with her; and Georgos, unaware of the fact that this is the +stronghold of Pride, not only consents, but pays respectful homage to +the mistress of the castle, Queen Lucifera, whose attendants are +Idleness, Gluttony, Lechery, Envy, Avarice, and Wrath. It is while +sojourning in this castle that the Red Cross Knight one day sees +Sansjoi (Joyless) snatch from his dwarf the shield won from Sansfoi. +Angered by this deed of violence, Georgos draws his sword, and he +would have decided the question of ownership then and there had not +Lucifera decreed he and his opponent should settle their quarrel in +the lists on the morrow. During the ensuing night, Duessa secretly +informs Sansjoi that the Red Cross Knight is his brother's slayer and +promises that, should he defeat his opponent, she will belong to him +forever. On the morrow, in the midst of much feudal pomp, the +chivalrous duel takes place, and--although Duessa, fancying Sansjoi is +about to win, loudly cheers him--the Red Cross Knight finally +triumphs. Planting his foot upon his foe, Georgos would have ended +Sansjoi's life had not Duessa enveloped her protégé in a cloud dense +enough to hide him from his conqueror. After vainly seeking some trace +of his vanished opponent, the Red Cross Knight is proclaimed victor, +and goes back to the castle to nurse the wounds he has received. + +Meanwhile Duessa steals into the deserted lists, removes the pall of +cloud which envelops Sansjoi, and tenderly confides him to the Queen +of Night, who bears him down to Hades, where Aesculapius heals his +wounds. His victor, the Red Cross Knight, has not entirely recovered +from this duel, when the dwarf rushes into his presence to report that +while prowling around the castle he discovered a frightful dungeon, +where men and women are imprisoned. When he declares they are +sojourning in a wicked place, the Red Cross Knight springs out of bed +and, helped by his attendant, hastens away from a spot which now +inspires him with unspeakable horror. + +They have barely issued from the castle walls before Georgos realizes +he has been the victim of some baleful spell, for he now perceives +that the building rests on a sand foundation and is tottering to its +fall, while the pomp which so dazzled him at first is merely outside +show and delusion. He is not aware, however, that Fidessa has beguiled +him, since he openly regrets she is not present to escape with him, +and he again bewails the fact that Una was not as pure as his fancy +painted! + +Meanwhile, returning to the castle to rejoin her victim, Duessa finds +the Red Cross Knight gone, spurs after him, and on overtaking him +gently reproaches him for abandoning her in such a place! Then she +entices him to rest by a fountain, whose bewitched waters deprive the +drinker of all strength. She herself offers Georgos a draught from +this fountain, and, after he has drunk thereof, the giant Orgolio +spurs out of the forest and, attacking him with a mighty club, lays +him low and bears him off to his dungeon, to torture him the rest of +his life. Meantime Duessa humbly follows the giant, promising him her +love, while the dwarf, who has watched the encounter from afar, +sorrowfully collects his master's armor and, piling it hastily on his +steed, rides off in quest of help. + +Meanwhile the real Una, on awakening in the hermitage to learn that +the Red Cross Knight and the dwarf have gone, rides after them as fast +as her little white ass can trot. Of course her attempt to overtake +her companions is vain, and after travelling a long distance she +dismounts in a forest to rest. Suddenly she is almost paralyzed with +fear, for a roaring lion bursts through the thicket to devour her. +Still, in fairy-land wild beasts cannot harm kings' daughters, +provided they are pure, so the lion--the personification of +Courage--not only spares Una, but humbly licks her feet, and +accompanies her as watch-dog when she resumes her journey. They two +soon reach the house of Superstition, an old woman, whose daughter, +Stupidity, loves a robber of churches. When this lover attempts to +visit her secretly by night, he is slain by the lion; whereupon the +two women angrily banish Una. She is therefore again wandering +aimlessly in the forest when Archimago meets her in the guise of the +Red Cross Knight, for he wishes her to believe he is her missing +champion. On perceiving the lion, however, the magician approaches Una +cautiously, but the fair maiden, suspecting no fraud, joyfully runs +to meet him, declaring she has missed him terribly. + +They two have not proceeded far before they encounter +Sansloi,--Lawlessness,--brother of the two knights with whom Georgos +recently fought. Anxious to avenge their death, this new-comer boldly +charges at the wearer of the Red Cross. Although terrified at the mere +thought of an encounter, Archimago is forced to lower his lance in +self-defence, but, as he is no expert, he is overthrown at the first +blow. Springing down from his steed, Sansloi sets his foot upon his +fallen foe and tries to remove his helmet so as to deal him a deadly +blow. But no sooner does he behold the crafty lineaments of Archimago +in place of those of the Red Cross Knight, than he contemptuously +abandons his opponent to recover his senses at leisure, and starts off +in pursuit of Una, whose beauty has charmed his lustful eye. + +In a vain endeavor to protect his mistress, the lion next loses his +life, and Sansloi, plucking the shrieking Una from her ass, flings her +across his palfrey and rides off into the forest, followed by the +little steed, which is too faithful to forsake its mistress. On +arriving in the depths of the forest, Sansloi dismounts, but Una's +cries attract a company of fauns and satyrs, whose uncanny faces +inspire Sansloi with such terror that he flees, leaving his captive in +their power. Notwithstanding their strange appearance, these wild men +are essentially chivalrous, for they speedily assure Una no harm shall +befall her in their company. In return she instructs them in regard to +virtue and truth, until Sir Satyrane appears, who generously +volunteers to go with her in search of the Red Cross Knight. + +Those two have not ridden far together before they encounter a +pilgrim, who reports the Red Cross Knight has just been slain in a +combat by a knight who is now quenching his thirst at a neighboring +fountain. Following this pilgrim's directions, Sir Satyrane soon +overtakes the reported slayer of Georgos, and while they two struggle +together, the terrified Una flees into the forest, closely pursued by +the pilgrim, Archimago in a new disguise. Meantime the fight continues +until Sansloi, severely wounded, beats a retreat, leaving Sir Satyrane +too injured to follow Una. She, however, has meantime overtaken her +dwarf, and learned from him that the Red Cross Knight is a prisoner of +Orgolio. Thereupon she vows' not to rest until she has rescued her +companion. She and her dwarf are hastening in the direction in which +the giant vanished with his victim, when they meet Prince Arthur,--a +personification of Leicester and of Chivalry,--who, although he has +never yet seen the Fairy Queen, is so deeply in love with her that he +does battle in her name whenever he can. This prince is incased in a +magic armor, made by Merlin, and bears a shield fashioned from a +single diamond, whose brightness is so dazzling that it has to be kept +covered, so as not to blind all beholders. + +After courteously greeting Una, the prince, hearing her tale of woe, +volunteers to accompany her and free the Red Cross Knight. When they +reach the castle of Orgolio,--Spiritual Pride,--Arthur and his squire +boldly summon the owner to come out and fight. No answer is at first +vouchsafed them, but after a blast from Arthur's magic bugle the gates +burst open, and out of the stronghold rushes a seven-headed dragon, +bearing on its back the witch Duessa. This monster is closely followed +by the giant Orgolio, who engages in fight with Prince Arthur, while +the squire, Timias, directs his efforts against the seven-headed +beast. Although the prince and his attendant finally overcome these +terrible foes, their triumph is due to the fact that in the midst of +the fray Prince Arthur's shield is accidentally uncovered and its +brightness quells both giant and beast. But no sooner are the fallen +pierced with the victors' swords than they shrink to nothing, for they +are mere wind-bags, or delusions of Archimago's devising. + +On seeing the triumph won by her champions, Una congratulates them, +and bids the squire pursue Duessa, who is now trying to escape. Thus +enjoined, Timias seizes the witch, and, in obedience to Una's orders, +strips her of her fine clothes and sends her forth in her original +loathsome shape. Meantime Una and the prince boldly penetrate into the +castle, and, passing hurriedly through rooms overflowing with +treasures, reach a squalid dungeon, where they discover the Red Cross +Knight almost starved to death. Full of compassion they bear him to +comfortable quarters, where they proceed to nurse him back to health; +and, when he is once more able to ride, he and Una resume their +journey. As they proceed, however, Una becoming aware that her +champion is not yet strong enough to do battle, conducts him to a +house, where the wise old matron Religion, Doctor Patience, and three +hand-maidens, Faith, Hope, and Charity, nurse him to such good purpose +that Georgos is soon stronger than ever. During his convalescence in +this hospitable abode, the Red Cross Knight once wanders to the top of +the hill of Contemplation, whence he is vouchsafed a vision of the New +Jerusalem, and where he encounters an old man who prophesies that +after fulfilling his present quest he will be known as "Saint George +of Merry England." Modestly deeming himself unworthy of such +distinction, the Red Cross Knight objects that a ploughman's son +should not receive such honor, until the aged man informs him he is in +reality the son of the British king, stolen from his cradle by a +wicked fairy, who, finding him too heavy to carry, dropped him in a +field where a farmer discovered and adopted him. Notwithstanding this +rustic breeding it was Georgos' noble blood that urged him to seek +adventures, and sent him to Gloriana's court, whence he sallied forth +on his present quest. + +After another brief sojourn in the house of Religion, the Red Cross +Knight and Una again set forth, and passing through another wilderness +reach a land ravaged and befouled by the dragon which holds Una's +parents in durance vile. The lady is just pointing out her distant +home to the Red Cross Knight, when she hears the dragon coming, and, +bidding her champion fight him bravely, takes refuge in a cave near +by. Spurring forward to encounter his opponent, the Red Cross Knight +comes face to face with a hideous monster, sheathed in brazen scales +and lashing a tail that sweeps over acres at a time. This monster is +further provided with redoubtable iron teeth and brazen claws, and +breathes forth sulphur and other deadly fumes. + +Notwithstanding his opponent's advantages, Georgos boldly attacks him, +only to find no weapon can pierce the metal scales. At the end of the +first day's fight, the dragon withdraws, confident he will get the +better of his foe on the morrow. At the close of the second day, the +monster's tail whisks Georgos into a pool, whose waters fortunately +prove so healing that this bath washes away every trace of weakness +and restores him to health and strength. On the third day's encounter, +the Red Cross Knight manages to run his sword into the dragon's mouth, +and thus inflicts a deadly wound. Seeing her foe writhing at last in +the agonies of death, Una joyfully emerges from her hiding-place, +while the watchman on the castle tower loudly proclaims that they are +free at last! + +The poet vividly describes the relief of Una's parents on being able +to emerge from their castle once more, and their joy on embracing the +daughter who has effected their rescue. The castle inmates not only +load Una with praise, but escort her and her champion back to their +abode, where their marriage takes place amid general rejoicings. But, +although the Red Cross Knight would fain linger by Una, he remembers +his promise to serve Gloriana for six years, and sets out immediately +to redress other wrongs. + + +BOOK II. THE LEGEND OF SIR GUYON, OR OF TEMPERANCE + +The next adventure in the Faerie Queene is that of Sir +Guyon,--personifying Temperance,--who is escorted everywhere by a +black-garbed palmer,--Prudence or Abstinence,--at whose dictation he +performs all manner of heroic deeds. Journeying together they soon +meet a squire, who reports a lady has just been captured by a wicked +knight, who is bearing her away. On hearing of this damsel's peril, +Sir Guyon bids her squire lead them in the direction where she +vanished, declaring he will save her if possible. He soon encounters +a maiden with dishevelled locks and torn garments, who delays him by +informing him that she has been illtreated by a knight bearing the +device of a red cross. Although loath to believe Georgos can be guilty +of an unchivalric deed, Sir Guyon and the palmer promise to call him +to account as soon as they overtake him. They no sooner do so, +however, than he assures them Archimago in his guise has been ranging +through the forest, and that they must have met Duessa. Turning to +punish the lying squire who led them astray, Sir Guyon now perceives +he has vanished, and humbly begs pardon of the Red Cross Knight. +Shortly after, Sir Guyon is startled by loud shrieks, and, hastening +in the direction whence they proceed, discovers a wounded lady and a +dead knight. Close beside the lady is a young babe, whose innocent +hands are dabbling in his parent's blood. On questioning the woman, +Sir Guyon learns that her husband has been bewitched by Acrasia,--or +Pleasure,--who bore him off to the Bower of Bliss, a place where she +detains her captives, feeding them on sweets until their manly courage +is gone. On learning her husband had fallen into the power of this +enchantress, the lady had sought the Bower of Bliss and by dint of +wifely devotion had rescued her spouse. But, even as they left, the +witch bestowed upon them a magic cup, in which little suspecting its +evil powers, the wife offered water to her husband. No sooner had he +drunk than blood gushed from his mouth and he died, whereupon, frantic +at having unwittingly slain the man she loved, the lady had dealt +herself a mortal wound with his sword. + +Scarcely had the sufferer finished this account when she sank back +lifeless, so Sir Guyon and the palmer, after burying the parents, +vainly tried to remove the blood stains from the infant's hands. Then, +unable to care properly for him themselves, they entrusted it to some +ladies in a castle near by, bidding them call the babe Ruddy Main, or +the Red Handed, and send him to court when he had grown up. + +Having thus provided for the orphan, Sir Guyon, whose horse and spear +meanwhile have been purloined by Braggadocchio, decides to recover +possession of them, and to seek the Bower of Bliss to slay the witch +Acrasia, who has caused such grievous harm. On this quest Sir Guyon +and the palmer encounter the madman Furor, and then reach a stream +which is too deep to ford. While they are seeking some conveyance to +bear them across, they perceive a skiff rowed by a fair lady, +Phaedria,--or Mirth. At their call she pushes her boat close to them, +but no sooner has Sir Guyon sprung aboard than she pushes off, leaving +the palmer behind in spite of all entreaties. Although impelled +neither by oars nor sails, Phaedria's boat drifts rapidly over the +Idle Sea, and Sir Guyon, on questioning its owner, learns they are +bound for her magic realm. + +They have scarcely touched the sedgy shores of a charming island, when +a ruffian, Cymochles,--or Deceit,--bursts out of the thicket to claim +the lady. Undaunted by the size of his challenger, Sir Guyon attacks +him, and the duel might have proved fatal had not Phaedria cast +herself between the champions, begging them not to quarrel in the land +of love and delight. Thereupon Sir Guyon hotly informs her he has no +desire to slay Deceit or to claim her, and, seeing she cannot make any +impression upon him, Phaedria angrily bids him re-enter the boat, +which soon bears him to the place which he wished to reach. + +Although still mourning the loss of his companion, the palmer, Sir +Guyon decides to continue his quest for the Bower of Bliss. While +passing through a dense thicket, his attention is attracted by a clank +of metal, and peering through the branches he descries an old, +dirt-encrusted man, surrounded by mounds of precious stones and coins, +which keep dropping through his fingers. This creature is Mammon,--God +of Wealth,--who is so busy counting his treasures that at first he +pays no heed to Sir Guyon. When questioned, however, he boasts he is +more powerful than any potentate in the world, and tries to entice Sir +Guyon to enter into his service by promising him much gold. For a +moment Sir Guyon wavers, but finally decides not to accept the offer +until he has ascertained whether Mammon's riches have been honestly +gained. To show whence he draws them, the money-god now conveys Sir +Guyon to the bowels of the earth, and there lets him view his minions +mining gold, silver, and precious stones, and thus constantly +increasing his hoard. But, although sorely tempted, Sir Guyon +perceives that Mammon's workmen are oppressed by Care and driven by +Force and Fraud, who keep them constantly at work and never allow +Sleep to approach them. This discovery makes him decide to have +nothing to do with Mammon's treasures, although he is led into a hall +where hosts of people are paying homage to the money king's daughter, +who, he is told, will be his bride if he will only accept her father's +offers. Coldly rejoining that his troth is already plighted, Sir Guyon +refuses, only to emerge from this hall into a garden, through whose +branches he catches fleeting glimpses of the underworld. In one of its +rivers he even beholds Tantalus, undergoing torments from hunger and +thirst, in punishment for sins committed while on earth. + +After being subjected for three days to all the temptations of the +underworld, Sir Guyon is led back to the light of day, where +Mammon--who bitterly terms him a fool--abandons him. + +The story now returns to the palmer, who, after watching Sir Guyon out +of sight, wanders along the stream in quest of a vessel to follow his +master. Several days later he manages to cross, only to hear a silvery +voice calling for aid. Bursting through the thicket, he discovers Sir +Guyon, lying on the ground, watched over by a spirit of such +transcendent beauty that the palmer realizes it must be an angel even +before he notes its diaphanous wings. This ministering spirit assures +the palmer that Sir Guyon will soon recover, adding that although +unseen he will continue to watch over him, and will help him to escape +from all the dangers along his path. Then the heavenly spirit +vanishes, and, while the palmer is bending over the fainting Sir +Guyon, he sees two knights draw near, preceded by a page and followed +by an old man. These knights are Deceit and his brother, who have +been brought hither by the old man Archimago, to slay Sir Guyon whom +they hate. + +Drawing near, these ruffians thrust the palmer aside, but, while they +are stripping the unconscious man of his armor, another knight +suddenly draws near and attacks them. One giant, being without a +sword, seizes that of Sir Guyon, although Archimago warns him that as +it once belonged to his antagonist, it will never harm him. + +Prince Arthur, for it is he, now overcomes the ruffians, to whom he +generously offers life, provided they will obey him hereafter. But, +when they refuse these terms, he ruthlessly slays them, and their +spirits flee shrieking "to the land of eternal night." + +At this moment Sir Guyon recovers his senses, and is overjoyed to find +the palmer beside him and to learn that Prince Arthur, who rescued him +from the ruffians, is not far away. + +After a brief rest, Prince Arthur and Sir Guyon depart together, the +former explaining how anxious he is to do anything in his power for +Queen Gloriana, whom he devotedly loves although he has never yet seen +her. Conversing together, the two ride on to a castle, where no heed +is paid to their request for a night's lodging. They are marvelling at +such a discourtesy, when a head is thrust over the battlement and a +hoarse voice bids them flee, explaining that the castle has been +besieged for seven years past by barbarians lurking in the forest, +against whom no knight has ever been able to prevail. + +It is while the watchman is thus accounting for his inhospitality, +that a rout of hungry barbarians bursts out of the forest and attacks +Sir Guyon and Prince Arthur, both of whom fight to such good purpose +that they utterly annihilate their assailants. Happy to be delivered +from these foes, the inhabitants of the castle then open wide their +gates. Our knights spend several days there resting from their labors, +and perusing sundry books where they learn the history of all the +British kings. Meantime the palmer, who has followed them thither, +forges chains and a steel net, with which to capture and hold the +witch Acrasia when the right time comes. When he has finished +manufacturing these objects, he persuades Sir Guyon to start out once +more. Reaching the water again, they board a vessel, which bears them +safely past the Magnetic Rock, over the Sea of Gluttony, etc., to an +island, whose beauty human imagination cannot conceive. + +On landing, the travellers are surprised to encounter strange +monsters, and to be enveloped in dense mists, through which they hear +the flapping of bat-like wings and catch glimpses of harpy-like +creatures. Knowing monsters and mists are mere delusions, Sir Guyon +pays little heed to them, and the palmer soon disperses them by a +touch from his magic staff. Still bearing the steel net and iron +chains, this faithful henchman follows Sir Guyon into the enchanted +bower of Acrasia, where he explains to his master that the animals he +sees owe their present forms to the enchantress' power, for she always +transforms her visitors into beasts! + +Through an ivory gate,--on which is carved the story of "The Golden +Fleece,"--the adventurers enter a hall, where a porter offers them +wine. But Sir Guyon, knowing a drop of it would have a baleful effect +upon the drinker, boldly dashes it out of his hand. Then, threading +his way through the Bower of Bliss, he reaches its innermost grove, +although Phaedria tries to detain him by offering him sundry +pleasures. Pressing onward, Sir Guyon finally catches a glimpse of +Acrasia herself, reposing upon a bed of flowers, and holding on her +lap the head of an innocent youth, who is helpless owing to her spell. +Silently signalling to the palmer, Sir Guyon spreads out the steel +net, which they fling so deftly over witch and victim that neither can +escape. Then Sir Guyon binds Acrasia fast, threatening to kill her +unless she removes the spell which she has laid upon her captives. All +the beasts on the island are therefore soon restored to their natural +forms, and all profess gratitude, save one, whom the palmer grimly +bids continue to be a pig, since such is his choice! Having thus +happily achieved this quest, Sir Guyon and the palmer leave the island +with Acrasia, who is sent under strong guard to the court of the Fairy +Queen, where Gloriana is to dispose of her according to her good +pleasure. + + +BOOK III. THE STORY OF BRITOMART,--CHASTITY + +Britomart, only child of King Ryenee, had from earliest childhood so +longed to be a boy that, instead of devoting her time to womanly +occupations, she practised manly sports until she became as expert a +warrior as any squire in her father's realm. + +One day, while wandering in the palace, she discovered in the +treasure-room a magic mirror, fashioned by Merlin for her father, +wherein one could behold the secrets of the future. Gazing into its +crystal depths while wondering whom she should ultimately marry, +Britomart suddenly saw a handsome knight, who bore a motto proclaiming +that he was Sir Artegall, the Champion of Justice and proud possessor +of Achilles' armor. Scarcely had Britomart perceived this much than +the vision faded. But the princess left the room, feeling that +henceforth she would know no rest until she had met her destined mate. +When she confided this vision to her nurse Glauce, the worthy woman +suggested that they go and consult Merlin, wearing the garb of men. + +Early the next day, therefore, the two visited the magician, who, +piercing their disguise, declared he knew who they were, and bade them +ride forth as knight and squire to meet the person they sought. Thus +encouraged, Britomart, wearing an Amazon's armor and bearing a magic +spear, set out on her quest, and met Prince Arthur and Sir Guyon, just +after Acrasia had been dispatched to Gloriana's court and while they +were in quest of new adventures. + +Seeing a warrior approach, Sir Guyon immediately lowered his lance, +but to his surprise was unhorsed by Britomart's invincible spear. She +was about to dismount to despatch her fallen foe with her sword, when +the palmer loudly bade his master crave mercy, seeing it was useless +to contend against magic weapons. Hearing this, Sir Guyon surrendered, +and he and Prince Arthur humbly offered to escort Britomart, whom they +naturally took for a powerful knight. + +They had not gone very far when they beheld at a distance a damsel +dashing madly through the bushes, casting fearful glances behind her, +for she was closely pursued by a grizzly forester. All their chivalric +instincts aroused, Prince Arthur and his companions spurred hotly +after the distressed damsel, while Britomart and her nurse calmly rode +on, until they came to a castle, at whose gates one knight was +desperately fighting against six. Seeing this, Britomart boldly rode +to the rescue of the oppressed knight, and fought beside him to such +good purpose that they defeated their assailants. Then, entering the +castle, Britomart and her nurse proceeded to care for their companion, +the Red Cross Knight, who had received serious wounds. + +Although he had noticed in the midst of the conflict that a golden +curl had escaped from Britomart's helmet and fallen over her breast, +and had thus discovered her sex, he courteously ignored it until they +were about to ride away together, when he respectfully offered to +serve as the lady's protector and escort. Thereupon Britomart +explained who she was, adding that she was in quest of Sir Artegall, +of whom she spoke rather slightingly, because she did not wish her +companion to know how deeply she had fallen in love with a stranger. +Judging from her tone that she did not approve of Sir Artegall, the +Red Cross Knight hotly protested he was the noblest and most courteous +knight that had ever lived, which, of course, pleased Britomart. + +Meantime, Prince Arthur and Sir Guyon, with their respective +attendants, pursued the distressed damsel, riding through thick and +thin until they came to cross-roads. Not knowing which path the +fugitive had chosen, our heroes decided to part and ride along +separate ways. Thus, it was Prince Arthur who first caught a glimpse +of the fugitive, who still kept glancing backward as if afraid; but, +although he spurred on as fast as possible, he was not able to +overtake her, and had to pause at nightfall to rest. On resuming his +quest on the morrow, he soon encountered a dwarf, who reported he was +the servant of Lady Florimell, who had fled from court five days ago +on hearing a rumor that her lover, Marinell, was slain. The poor +damsel, while in quest of her lover, had been seen and pursued by an +ill-favored forester, and the dwarf feared some harm might have +befallen her. To comfort this faithful henchman, Prince Arthur +promised to go with him and rescue the unhappy damsel. + +Meantime, undaunted by darkness, Florimell had ridden on until her +weary steed paused before a hut deep in the woods. There she +dismounted and humbly begged the old witch who lived there to give her +some food. Moved by the distress of the stranger, the sorceress bade +her dry her garments at her fire, and while the lady was sitting there +the witch's son, a lazy worthless fellow, suddenly entered. To see +Florimell was to love her, so the uncouth rustic immediately began to +court her with fruits and flowers which he sought in the forest. +Fearing lest he should molest her finally, Florimell escaped from the +hut on her palfrey, which she found in the witch's stable. + +On awakening on the morrow to find their fair visitor gone, the witch +and her son were in such despair that they let loose a wild beast, +which they owned, bidding him track the missing girl. Before long, +therefore, poor Florimell heard this monster crashing through the +forest. Terrified at the thought of falling into its power, she urged +her steed toward the sea-shore, in hopes of finding a boat and getting +away. On reaching the water, she sprang off her steed, and, seeing a +little skiff near by, stepped into it and pushed off, without securing +the permission of the fisherman, who was sleeping at the bottom of the +boat while his nets were drying on the sand. + +Barely were they out of reach when the beast rushed down to the +shore, pounced upon Florimell's horse and devoured it. The monster was +still occupied thus when Sir Satyrane came riding along. He rashly +concluded the beast had devoured the rider too, a fear confirmed by +the sight of Florimell's girdle on the sand. Attacking the monster, +Sir Satyrane overcame and bound him fast with the girdle, but he +hadn't gone far, leading this reluctant captive, when he spied a +giantess bearing off an armed squire. In his haste to overtake her and +rescue a fellow-man, Sir Satyrane spurred forward so hastily that the +girdle slipped off the neck of the beast, which, finding itself free, +plunged back into the forest. To attack the giantess, free her +captive, and restore him to his senses proved short work for Sir +Satyrane, who learned that the youth he had delivered was known as the +Squire of Dames, because he constantly rode through the forest freeing +damsels in distress. + +Together with this companion, Sir Satyrane journeyed on until they +encountered Sir Paridell, who told them he was in quest of Florimell, +who was wandering alone in the forest. Thereupon Sir Satyrane informed +Sir Paridell that the maiden must be dead, exhibiting as proof her +girdle and relating under what circumstances it had been found. Then +all present took a solemn oath not to rest until they had avenged the +lady's death. Riding together these three knights, overtaken by a +storm, sought shelter in a neighboring castle, only to be refused +admittance. To escape from the downpour, they therefore took refuge +with their steeds in a neighboring shed, and were scarcely ensconced +there when another stranger rode up seeking shelter too. As there was +no room left, the first-comers forbade the stranger to enter, +whereupon he challenged them to come forth and fight. Hearing this, +Sir Paridell sallied out and began a duel, which was closely watched +by his two companions. They, however, decided that the combatants were +so exactly matched that it was useless to continue the fight, and +suggested that they four join forces to make their way into the +castle. + +Before the determined attack of these knights and of their followers, +Malbecco, owner of the castle, opened his gates, and the strangers +proceeded to remove their armor and make themselves at home. While +doing so all present were startled to see that one of their number was +a woman, for the last-comer, Britomart, had no sooner removed her +helmet than her curls fell down over her shoulders! + +The next day all left the castle save Sir Paridell, who had been so +sorely wounded by Britomart that he was forced to remain there for a +while. Before long Britomart and her squire parted from Sir Satyrane +and the Squire of Dames, and rode along until they beheld a shield +hanging from a branch in the forest. Surprised by such a sight, they +investigated, only to find its owner, Sir Scudamore, weeping beside a +stream, because his bride, Amoret, had been stolen from him on his +wedding day by the magician Busirane, who was trying to force her to +marry him. Having heard this tale of woe, Britomart informed Sir +Scudamore that instead of shedding vain tears they ought to devise +means to rescue the captive lady. Encouraged by these words, Sir +Scudamore donned his discarded armor and volunteered to guide +Britomart to the magician's castle, explaining on the way that it was +surrounded by a wall of fire through which none had been able to pass. + +Undaunted by this information, Britomart pressed onward, and on +reaching the castle declared her intention to charge through the +flames. Although Sir Scudamore bravely tried to accompany her, he was +driven back by the fierce heat, but Britomart passed through +scatheless, and, entering the castle, found herself in a large room, +whence led a door with the inscription "Be bold." After studying these +words for a few moments, Britomart opened this door and passed through +it into a second chamber, whose walls were lined with silver and gold, +where she saw another door above which the same words were written +twice. Opening this door also, Britomart entered into a third +apartment, sparkling with precious stones, in the centre of which she +saw an altar surmounted by a statue of Love. Further investigation +revealed also the fact that it boasted another door above which was +the inscription "Be bold, but not too bold." + +Pondering on the meaning of this warning, Britomart decided not to +open it, but to take up her vigil fully armed beside the altar. As the +clock struck midnight, the mysterious door flew open, and through its +portals came a strange procession of beasts and queer mortals, leading +the doleful Amoret, who had a dagger thrust into her heart and +stumbled along in mortal pain. Although Britomart would fain have gone +to Amoret's rescue, she was rooted to the soil by a spell too powerful +to break, and, therefore, remained inactive while the procession +circled around the altar, and again vanished behind the door, which +closed with an ominous clang. Then only the spell lost its power, and +Britomart, springing toward the door, vainly tried to open it. Not +being able to do so, she decided to continue mounting guard on this +spot in hopes of catching another glimpse of the suffering lady. But +only twenty-four hours later the door reopened and the same procession +appeared; it was about to vanish a second time when Britomart, by a +violent effort, broke the spell and dashed into the next apartment +before the door closed. + +There, finding the magician Brusirane on the point of binding Amoret +fast to a post, she struck him so powerful a blow that he was obliged +to recognize he was in her power. Britomart was about to slay him when +Amoret reminded her he alone could heal her wound and free the other +inmates of the castle from magic thraldom. At the point of her sword, +therefore, Britomart compelled the magician to undo his spells, and, +when he had pronounced the necessary words, Amoret stood before her as +whole and as well as on her wedding-morn when snatched away from her +bridegroom. Seeing this, Britomart bade Amoret follow her out of the +castle, assuring her that her husband was waiting without and would be +overjoyed to see her once more. But, although the rescued lady now +gladly followed her deliverer, she was sorely dismayed on reaching the +forest to find that Sir Scudamore and Britomart's nurse and squire +had gone away, evidently deeming them both lost. To comfort poor +Amoret, Britomart suggested that they ride after their companions, a +proposal which Amoret gladly accepted. + + +BOOK IV. LEGEND OF COMBEL AND TRIAMOND, OR OF FRIENDSHIP + +As Britomart conjectured, Sir Scudamore, deeming it impossible she +should survive the heat of the flames which had so sorely scorched +him, persuaded the nurse to ride on with him, in hopes of encountering +knights who would help him rescue his bride. + +They two soon met a couple of warriors, who, on hearing their tale, +laughingly assured them they need make no further efforts to rescue +Amoret, as she had meantime been saved by a handsome young knight, +with whom she was gayly riding through the forest. Incensed by this +statement, Sir Scudamore offered to fight both informers, who, +laughing at him for being jilted, rode contemptuously away. These two +mockers hadn't gone very far, however, before they encountered a +beautiful damsel, whom they mistook for the long-lost Florimell, but +who was merely an image of her conjured up by the witch to comfort her +son when he blubbered over the loss of his fair lady. As many knights +were in quest of Florimell, some of them soon encountered the +scoffers, who declared they were leading the lady back to court. But a +little while later the Squire of Dames found them contending for the +possession of the false Florimell, and suggested that they settle +their difference at the court of Sir Satyrane, where a tournament had +been proclaimed and where Florimell's girdle was to be bestowed by the +victor upon the fairest lady present. Hearing this, both knights, +anxious to win the girdle, set out for the tournament, where many +others had assembled to take part in the knightly games. + +Here any number of feats of valor were performed before, on the third +day, Sir Artegall entered the lists. To his surprise, however, he was +unhorsed by a stranger knight, Britomart, who, little suspecting her +opponent was the lover she sought, bore off in triumph the girdle her +prowess had won. Then, summoning all the maidens present, she picked +out the false Florimell as the greatest beauty and handed her the +girdle. But, to the surprise of all present, the lady could not keep +the girdle clasped about her waist, and, incensed at the mocking +remarks of the bystanders, finally challenged the other ladies present +to try it on. Thus it was ascertained that none could wear it save +Amoret, evidently the only perfectly faithful lady present. + +Having thus disposed of her prize, Britomart rode off with her +companion, little suspecting she was turning her back on the very man +she was seeking. Meantime Sir Scudamore, encountering Sir Artegall and +hearing he had been defeated by the knight who had carried off Amoret, +invited him to accompany him and seek revenge. They two soon met +Britomart, now riding alone through the forest, for, while she was +asleep one day, Amoret had strayed away and gotten lost. Spurring +forward to attack the stranger, Sir Scudamore was unhorsed at the +first touch of her spear, and, when Sir Artegall rushed forward to +rescue him, he too was disarmed. But, in the midst of the fight, +Britomart's helmet fell off, so both knights perceived they had been +defeated by a woman. Humbly kneeling before her, they begged her +pardon, Sir Scudamore realizing with joy that, as his wife had been +travelling with a woman, his mad jealousy was without cause! + +To justify her mistress, the nurse-squire now explained to both men +how Britomart had seen Sir Artegall in the magic mirror, and was in +quest of him because fate destined him to be her spouse. Happy at +securing such a mate, Sir Artegall expressed deep joy, while Sir +Scudamore clamored to know what had become of his wife, and grieved to +learn she was lost. To comfort him, however, Britomart promised to +help him recover his beloved, before she would consent to marry. Then +all four proceeded to a neighboring castle, where Sir Artegall was +solemnly betrothed to Britomart, and where they agreed their marriage +would take place as soon as Amoret was found. + +Meantime Timias, squire of Prince Arthur, seeking to trace the flying +damsel, overtook the grim forester, with whom he had a terrible +encounter. Sorely wounded in this fight, the poor squire lay in the +forest until found by the nymph Belphebe, a twin sister of Amoret, +who, in pity for his sufferings, bathed his wounds, laid healing herbs +upon them, and did all she could to save his life. To her +satisfaction, the wounded squire soon recovered consciousness, so she +conveyed him to her bower, where she and her nymphs attended him until +his wounds were entirely healed. During this illness Timias fell +deeply in love with Belphebe; but, deeming himself of too lowly +condition to declare his passion for a lady of high degree, he sorely +pined. Thereupon Belphebe renewed her efforts to cure him, until he +was strong enough to accompany her into the forest. They were hunting +there one day when Timias beheld a damsel fleeing from a misshapen +monster, whom he attacked, but against whom he could not prevail, +because the monster opposed the lady as a shield to every blow which +Timias tried to deal him. It was only by a feint, therefore, that +Timias made the monster drop the lady, and he would surely have been +slain by his opponent, had not his companion rescued him by a timely +arrow. A moment later Belphebe was horrified to see Timias madly +kissing the lady the monster had dropped. Without waiting to ascertain +why he was doing so, the angry nymph fled, but, had she lingered, she +would have discovered that Timias was kissing her own counterpart, for +he had rescued her twin sister Amoret, who, after wandering away from +the sleeping Britomart, had been seized by the monster from whose cave +she had just managed to escape. + +Bewildered to see Belphebe--whom he thought he was embracing--rush +away, Timias now dropped Amoret to follow his charmer, but, owing to +his lack of familiarity with the forest pathways, he soon lost his +way. In his grief he built himself a hut and dwelt in the forest, +vowing not to go back in quest of Amoret, lest he thereby arouse the +jealousy of his beloved. But to beguile his sorrow he carved +Belphebe's name on every tree, and was kissing these marks when Prince +Arthur, seeing him thus occupied, fancied he had gone mad! + +Meantime Timias had also found a dove which had lost its mate, and, +realizing that they were both suffering from similar complaints, bound +around the bird's neck a ruby heart Belphebe had given him. The dove, +flying back to its mistress, enticed her, by fluttering a few paces +ahead of her, to the place where Timias was kissing her name carved +upon a tree. Convinced of his fidelity by such a proof of devotion, +Belphebe reinstated Timias in her favor, and once more ranged the +forest with him, hunting all kinds of game, until poor Timias was +wounded by the Blatant Beast,--Slander,--a monster from whose jaws he +was fortunately rescued by Prince Arthur. + +After a partial recovery, Timias rode off with his master, to whom he +confided how he had abandoned Amoret in the forest, and from whom he +inquired whether any further news had been heard about her. To Timias' +satisfaction Arthur assured him she had safely rejoined her husband, +who, finding her wounded in the forest, had carried her off to a +castle and tenderly nursed her back to health. It was only after +witnessing the joyful celebration of the long-postponed wedding +festivities of this reunited couple, that Sir Arthur had started off +on his recent quest for his squire. + +Meantime the real Florimell, cast into the sea by the angry fisherman +whose vessel she had entered without permission, was conveyed by +sea-nymphs to Proteus' hall, where, after witnessing the nuptials of +the Thames and Medway, she learned that her lover, Marinell, was +recovering from his wound, thanks to the ministrations of his goddess +mother. He had, however, been pining for her, and recovered perfect +health and happiness only when they were joined in wedlock. + + +BOOK V. THE LEGEND OF SIR ARTEGALL,--JUSTICE + +Sir Artegall, the noble champion of justice, or lord deputy of +Ireland, sets forth at Gloriana's behest to defend Irena, or Ireland. +He is attended by Talus, an iron man, whose flail is supposed to +thresh out falsehood. They two have not proceeded very far before they +come across a knight bending over a headless lady. On inquiring of +him, they learn that a passing ruffian not only carried off the +knight's mate, but left in her stead a dame, whom he beheaded, because +she pursued him. + +Provided with a description of the armor and accoutrements of the +ruffian, the iron page sets out in pursuit of him, and stuns him. +Then, having bound him fast, he leads him and his captive back to his +master and to the mourning knight. There the ruffian, Sir Sanglier, +coldly asserts he has nothing to do with the headless lady, but that +the living one belongs to him. Finding it impossible to decide which +tells the truth, Sir Artegall decrees that the second lady shall be +beheaded also, but, while Sanglier readily agrees to this Solomon-like +judgment, the true lover vehemently pleads for the lady's life, +declaring he would rather know her safe than be proved right. Fully +satisfied now that Sir Sanglier is at fault, Sir Artegall metes out +justice and continues his quest. + +Before very long he encounters a dwarf who announces that Florimell's +wedding will take place three days hence, and suggests that, before +appearing there, Sir Artegall defeat a Saracen who mounts guard over a +neighboring bridge, despoiling all those who pass, for the benefit of +his daughter. Such an undertaking suits Sir Artegall, who not only +slays both the giant and his daughter, but razes their castle to the +ground. Shortly after, on approaching the sea-shore, Sir Artegall +perceives a charlatan provided with scales in which he pretends to +weigh all things anew. Thereupon Sir Artegall, by weighing such +intangible things as truth and falsehood, right and wrong, +demonstrates that the charlatan's scales are false, and, after +convicting him of trickery, drowns him in the sea. + +The poet now ably describes the wedding of Florimell and Marinell and +the tournament celebrated in their honor, which Sir Artegall attends, +wearing Braggadocchio's armor as disguise. He helps Marinell win the +prize which is to be bestowed upon Florimell, but, when the moment +comes to award it, Braggadocchio boldly produces a false Florimell, so +exactly like the true one that they cannot be told apart. Sir +Artegall, however, ruthlessly exposes the trick, whereupon the false +Florimell vanishes, leaving nothing behind her save the wrongfully +appropriated girdle, which reverts at last to its legitimate owner. +Seeing this, Braggadocchio is about to sneak away, when Sir Guyon +suddenly steps forward demanding the return of his stolen steed. +Although Braggadocchio boldly asserts the steed he rides is his own, +Sir Artegall inquires of each what secret tokens the animal bears, and +thus enables Sir Guyon to prove ownership. + +Sir Artegall, not long after leaving the marriage hall, journeys to +the sea-shore, where he discovers twin brothers quarrelling for the +possession of two girls, one of whom is perched upon a huge coffer. +Not only does Artegall check this fight, but, on inquiring into its +cause, learns how the twin brothers were awarded neighboring islands, +and how the storms and the sea have carried off half the land of the +one only to add it to the possessions of the other. Thus, one twin has +become richer than the other, and the heiress, who had promised to +marry the poorer brother, has transferred her affections and +possessions to the richer twin. On her way to join him, however, she +suffers shipwreck and arrives at his island penniless. But the chest +containing her treasures is in due time washed back to the smaller +island, where, meantime, the discarded fiancée of the richer brother +has taken refuge. As the wealthy twin declared, when the land was +mentioned, that "what the sea brought he had a right to keep," Sir +Artegall decides he shall now abide by his own words, and that, since +the sea conveyed the treasure-chest to his brother, he has no further +claim upon it. Having thus settled this dispute, Artegall rides on +until he meets a troop of Amazons about to hang an unfortunate man. At +his bidding, Talus delivers this victim,--Sir Turpine,--a knight who +came hither intending to fight the Amazons. Because the queen of these +warrior-women has slain many men, Artegall challenges her to issue +from her stronghold and fight with him. + +We now have a brilliant description of Radigonde's appearance and of +the duel, in which, blinding him by her beauty, she manages to get the +better of Artegall. Having done this, she triumphantly bears him off +to her castle, after ordering the execution of Sir Turpine and Talus, +who contrive to escape. But Sir Artegall, being a prisoner, is reduced +to slavery, forced to assume a woman's garb and to spin beside his +fellow-captives, for the Amazon queen wishes to starve and humiliate +her captives into submission to her will. + +Having contrived to escape, Talus informs Britomart that her lover is +a prisoner, whereupon she sets out to rescue him, meeting with sundry +extraordinary adventures by the way, in which she triumphs, thanks to +her magic spear. + +While spending a peaceful night in the Temple of Isis, Britomart is +finally favored with a vision, inspired by which she challenges +Radigonde, who in the midst of the encounter turns to flee. But +Britomart pursues her into her stronghold, whence she manages to +rescue Artegall and, after setting him free, bids him continue his +adventurous quest. + +Sir Artegall and his faithful squire soon after see a maiden flee +before two knights, but, before they can overtake her, they notice how +a new-comer slays one pursuer while the other turns back. Urged by the +maiden, Artegall kills the second persecutor, and only then discovers +that the knight who first came to her rescue is Arthur. They two, by +questioning the maid, learn she is a servant of Mercilla (another +personification of Elizabeth), and that her mistress is sorely beset +by the Soldan, to whom she has recently gone to carry a message. On +her return, the poor maid was pursued by two Saracen knights, who +were determined to secure her as a prize. Hearing this, Artegall +proposes to assume the armor of one of the dead knights, and thus +disguised to convey the maiden back to the Soldan's court. Arthur is +to follow under pretence of ransoming the captive, knowing that his +offer will be refused so insolently that he will have an excuse to +challenge the Soldan. All this comes true, and thanks to his magic +shield Arthur triumphs. The Soldan's wife, learning that her husband +has succumbed, now proposes to take her revenge by slaying the captive +maid, but Artegall defends her and drives the Soldan's wife into the +forest, where she is transformed into a tiger! + +Arthur and Sir Artegall now gallantly offer to escort the maid home, +although she warns them that Guyle lies in wait by the roadside, armed +with hooks and a net to catch all travellers who pass his cave. But, +thanks to the bravery, strength, and agility of Arthur, Artegall, and +Talus, Guyle's might is broken, and the maid triumphantly leads the +three victorious champions to Mercilla's castle. After passing through +its magnificent halls, they are ushered by Awe and Order into the +presence of the queen, whose transcendent beauty and surroundings are +described at length. While the queen is seated on her throne, with the +English lion at her feet, Duessa (Mary Queen of Scots) is brought +before her and is proved guilty of countless crimes; but, although she +evidently deserves death, Mercilla, too merciful to condemn her, sets +her free. + +It is while sojourning at Mercilla's elegant court that Artegall and +Arthur see two youths appear to inform the queen that their mother +Belge, or Belgium, a widow with seventeen sons, has been deprived of +twelve of her offspring by a three-headed monster, Gereones (the +personification of Philip the Second of Spain, the ruler of three +realms). This monster invariably delivers his captives into the hands +of the Inquisition, by which they are sorely persecuted. Hearing this +report, Arthur steps forward, offering to defend the widow and her +children. Mercilla granting his request without demur, Arthur hurries +away, only to find that Beige has been driven out of her last +stronghold by a faithless steward (Alba). But, thanks to Arthur's +efforts, this steward is summoned forth, defeated in battle, and the +lady reinstated in her domain. + +Gereones now dauntlessly attacks Arthur, whom the giant Beige secretly +instructs to overthrow ah idol in the neighboring church, as that will +enable him to triumph without difficulty. While Arthur is thus +rescuing Beige, Artegall and Talus have again departed to free Irena +from her oppressor Grantorto. On their way to Ireland, they meet a +knight, who informs them Irena is doomed to perish unless a champion +defeats Grantorto in duel. Thereupon Artegall swears to champion +Irena's cause, but, on the way to keep his promise, pauses to rescue a +distressed knight (Henry IV. of France), to whom he restores his lady +Flourdelis, whom Grantorto is also trying to secure. + +Artegall, the champion, reaching the sea-shore, at last finds a ship +ready to sail for Ireland, where he lands, although Grantorto has +stationed troops along the shore to prevent his doing so. These +soldiers are soon scattered by Talus' flail, and Artegall, landing, +forces Grantorto to bite the dust. Having thus freed Irena, he +replaces her on her throne and restores order in her dominions, before +Gloriana summons him back to court. + +On the way thither Sir Artegall is beset by the hags Envy and +Detraction, who are so angry with him for freeing Irena that they not +only attack him themselves, but turn loose upon him the Blatant Beast +(Slander). Although Talus begs to annihilate this infamous trio with +his dreaded flail, Artegall decrees they shall live, and, heedless of +their threats hurries on to report success to his beloved mistress. + + +BOOK VI. LEGEND OF SIR CALIDORE, OR OF COURTESY + +Sir Calidore, who, in the poem, impersonates Courtesy (or Sir Philip +Sidney), now meets Artegall, declaring the queen has despatched him to +track and slay the Blatant Beast,--an offspring of Cerberus and +Chimera,--whose bite inflicts a deadly wound. When Artegall reports +having recently met that thousand-tongued monster, Calidore spurs off, +and soon sees a squire bound to a tree. Pausing to free this captive, +he learns that this unfortunate has been illtreated by a neighboring +villain, who exacts the hair of every woman and beard of every man +passing his castle, because his lady-love wishes a cloak woven of +female hair and adorned with a fringe of beards. It was because the +captive had vainly tried to rescue a poor lady from this tribute that +he had been bound to this tree. On hearing this report, Sir Calidore +decides to end such doings forever, and riding up to the castle pounds +on its gates until a servant opens them wide. Forcing his way into the +castle, Sir Calidore slays all who oppose him, and thus reaches the +villain, with whom he fights until he compels him to surrender and +promise never to exact such tribute again. + +Having settled this affair entirely to his satisfaction, Sir Calidore +rides on until he meets a youth on foot, bravely fighting a knight on +horseback, while a lady anxiously watches the outcome of the fray. +Just as Calidore rides up, the youth strikes down his opponent, a deed +of violence justified by the maiden, who explains how the man on +horseback was ill treating her when the youth came to her rescue. +Charmed by the courage displayed by an unarmed man, Sir Calidore +proposes to take the youth as his squire, and learns he is Tristram of +Lyonnesse, son of a king, and in quest of adventures. + +Accompanied by this squire, who now wears the armor of the slain +knight, Sir Calidore journeys on, until he sees a knight sorely +wounded by the very man his new squire slew. They two convey this +wounded man to a neighboring castle, thereby earning the gratitude of +his companion, a lady mourning over his unconscious form. + +The castle-owner, father of the distinguished wounded man, is so +grateful to his rescuers that he receives them with kindness. But he +cannot account for the presence of the lady who explains his son +loved her and often met her in the forest. After nursing her lover +until he is out of danger, Priscilla expresses a desire to return +home, but is at a loss how to account to her parents for her prolonged +absence. Sir Calidore, who volunteers to escort her, then suggests +that he bear to her father the head of the knight whom Tristram slew, +stating this villain was carrying her off when he rescued her. This +tale so completely blinds Priscilla's father that he joyfully welcomes +his daughter home, expressing great gratitude to her deliverers ere +they pass on. + +Calidore and his squire have not journeyed far before they perceive a +knight and his lady sporting in the shade. So joyful and innocent do +they seem that the travellers gladly join them, and, while the men +converse together, Lady Serena strays out into a neighboring field to +gather flowers. While she is thus occupied the Blatant Beast pounces +upon her, and is about to bear her away when her cries startle her +companions. They immediately dart to her rescue. Calidore, arriving +first, forces the animal to drop poor Serena, then, knowing her +husband will attend to her, continues to pursue the fleeing monster. + +On reaching his beloved Serena, Sir Calespine finds her so sorely +wounded that she requires immediate care. Tenderly placing her on his +horse, he supports her fainting form through the forest. During one of +their brief halts, he suddenly sees a bear carrying an infant, so +rushes after the animal to rescue the child. Only after a prolonged +pursuit does he achieve his purpose, and, not knowing how else to +dispose of the babe, carries it to a neighboring castle, where the +lady gladly adopts it, because she and her husband have vainly awaited +an heir. Sir Calespine now discovers he is unable to retrace his steps +to his wounded companion, who soon after is found by a gentle savage. +This man is trying to take her to some place of safety when overtaken +by Arthur and Timias, who, seeing Serena in his company, fancy she is +his captive. She, however, hastens to assure them the wild man is more +than kind and relates what has occurred. As Serena and Timias have +both been poisoned by the bites of the Blatant Beast, Arthur takes +them to a hermit, who undertakes to cure them, but finds it a hopeless +task. + +The learned hermit's healing arts having all proved vain, he finally +resorts to prayer to cure his guests, who, when healed, decide to set +out together in quest of Sir Calespine and Arthur. The latter has +meantime departed with the wild man, hoping to overtake Sir Turpine, +who escaped from Radigonde. They track the villain to his castle and, +forcing an entrance, fight with him, sparing his life only because the +lady of the castle pleads in his behalf. + +Sir Turpine now succeeds in persuading two knights to pursue and +attack Sir Arthur, but this hero proves too strong to be overcome, +and, after disarming both assailants, demands why they have attacked +him. When they reveal Turpine's treachery, Arthur regrets having +spared his opponent, and decides that having overcome him once by +force he will now resort to strategy. He, therefore, lies down, +pretending to be asleep, while one of the knights rides back to report +his death to Turpine. This plan is duly carried out, and Sir Turpine, +coming to gloat upon his fallen foe, is seized by Arthur, who hangs +him to a neighboring tree. + +Meantime Serena and Timias jog along until they meet a lady and a fool +(Disdain and Scorn), who are compelled by Cupid to wander through the +world, rescuing as many people as they have made victims. When the +fool attempts to seize Timias, Serena, terrified, flees shrieking into +the forest. + +Before long Sir Artegall manages to overtake his squire, driven by +Scorn and Disdain, and immediately frees him. Then, hearing what +penalty Cupid has imposed upon the couple, he decides they are +sufficiently punished for the wrong they have done and lets them go. + +Meanwhile Serena has wandered, until, utterly exhausted, she lies down +to rest. While sleeping she is surrounded by savages, who propose to +sacrifice her to their god. They are on the point of slaying Serena +when Sir Calespine comes to her rescue, unaware at the moment that the +lady he is rescuing from their cruel hands is his beloved wife. + +Still pursuing the elusive Blatant Beast, Sir Calidore comes to a +place where shepherds are holding a feast in honor of Pastorella, the +adopted daughter of the farmer Melibee, and beloved of young Coridon, +a neighboring shepherd. Coridon fears Sir Calidore will prove a rival +for the affections of Pastorella, but Calidore disarms his jealousy by +his perfect courtesy, which in time wins Pastorella's love. + +One day the lonely Sir Calidore, seeking Pastorella, catches a glimpse +of the Graces dancing in the forest to the piping of Colin Clout (a +personification of Spenser). Shortly after, Calidore has the good +fortune to rescue Pastorella from a tiger, just after Coridon has +deserted her through fear. + +To reward the bravery of Calidore, who has saved her from death, +Pastorella lavishes her smiles upon him, until a brigand raid brings +ruin and sorrow into the shepherd village, for the marauders not only +carry off the flocks, but drag Pastorella, Coridon, and Melibee off to +their underground retreat. + +In that hopeless and dark abode the captain of the brigands is +beginning to cast lustful glances upon Pastorella, when merchants +arrive to purchase their captives as slaves. The captain refuses to +part with Pastorella although he is anxious to sell Coridon and +Melibee, but the merchants insist upon having the maid, and seeing +they cannot obtain her by fair means resolve to employ force. The +result is a battle, in the midst of which Coridon escapes, Melibee and +the brigand captain are slain, and Pastorella faints and is deemed +dead. + +Sir Calidore, who has been absent for a while, comes back to find the +shepherd village destroyed and Coridon wandering disconsolate among +its ruins. From him he learns all that has happened, and, going in +quest of Pastorella's remains, discovers she is alive. Then he +manages by stratagem not only to rescue her, but to slay merchants and +robbers and recover the stolen flocks and also much booty. All the +wealth thus obtained is bestowed upon Coridon to indemnify him for the +loss of Pastorella, who accompanies her true love Calidore during the +rest of his journeys. + +Being still in quest of the ever fleeing Blatant Beast, Calidore +conducts Pastorella to the castle of Belgard, whose master and +mistress are passing sad because they lost their only child in +infancy. Wondering how such a loss could have befallen them, Calidore +learns that knight and lady, being secretly married, entrusted their +child to a handmaiden, ordering her to provide for its safety in some +way, as it was impossible they should acknowledge its existence then. +The maid, having ascertained that the babe bore on her breast a +certain birth-mark, basely abandoned her in the forest, where she was +found and adopted by Melibee. + +It is during Pastorella's sojourn in this castle that the lady +discovers on her breast the birth-mark, which proves she is her +long-lost daughter. While Pastorella is thus happy in the company of +her parents, Calidore overtakes the Blatant Beast, and leads it safely +muzzled through admiring throngs to Gloriana's feet. But, strange to +relate, this able queen does not keep the monster securely chained, +for it soon breaks bonds, and the poet closes with the statement that +it is again ranging through the country, this time tearing poems to +pieces! + + + + +PARADISE LOST + + +Book I. After intimating he intends "no middle flight," but proposes +to "justify the ways of God to man," Milton states the fall was due to +the serpent, who, in revenge for being cast out of heaven with his +hosts, induced the mother of mankind to sin. He adds how, hurled from +the ethereal sky to the bottomless pit, Satan lands in a burning lake +of asphalt. There, oppressed by the sense of lost happiness and +lasting pain, he casts his eyes about him, and, flames making the +darkness visible, beholds those enveloped in his doom suffering the +same dire pangs. Full of immortal hate, unconquerable will, and a +determination never to submit or yield, Satan, confident his +companions will not fail him, and enriched by past experiences, +determines to continue disputing the mastery of heaven from the +Almighty. + +Beside Satan, on the burning marl, lies Beelzebub, his bold compeer, +who dreads lest the Almighty comes after them and further punish them. +But Satan, rejoining that "to be weak is miserable, doing or +suffering," urges that they try and pervert God's aims. Then, gazing +upward, he perceives God has recalled his avenging hosts, that the +rain of sulphur has ceased, and that lightning no longer furrows the +sky. He, therefore, deems this a fitting opportunity to rise from the +burning lake, reconnoitre their new place of abode, and take measures +to redeem their losses. + + "Seest thou yon dreary plain, forlorn and wild, + The seat of desolation, void of light, + Save what the glimmering of these livid flames + Casts pale and dreadful? Thither let us tend + From off the tossing of these fiery waves, + There rest, if any rest can harbor there, + And, reassembling our afflicted powers, + Consult how we may henceforth most offend + Our enemy; our own loss how repair; + How overcome this dire calamity; + What reinforcement we may gain from hope; + If not, what resolution from despair." + +Striding through parting flames to a neighboring hill, Satan gazes +around him, contrasting the mournful gloom of this abode with the +refulgent light to which he has been accustomed, and, notwithstanding +the bitter contrast, concluding, "it is better to reign in hell than +serve in heaven," ere he bids Beelzebub call the fallen angels. + +His moon-like shield behind him, Beelzebub summons the legions lying +on the asphalt lake, "thick as autumn leaves that strew the brooks of +Vallombroso." Like guilty sentinels caught sleeping, they hastily +arise, and, numerous as the locusts which ravaged Egypt, flutter +around the cope of hell before alighting at their master's feet. +Among them Milton descries various idols, later to be worshipped in +Palestine, Egypt, and Greece. Then, contrasting the downcast +appearance of this host with its brilliancy in heaven, he goes on to +describe how they saluted Satan's banner with "a shout that tore +hell's conclave and beyond frighted the reign of Chaos and old Night." +Next, their standards fluttering in the breeze, they perform their +wonted evolutions, and Satan, seeing so mighty a host still at his +disposal, feels his heart distend with pride. + +Although he realizes these spirits have forfeited heaven to follow +him, he experiences merely a passing remorse ere he declares the +strife they waged was not inglorious, and that although once defeated +they may yet repossess their native seat. He suggests that, as they +now know the exact force of their opponent and are satisfied they +cannot overcome him by force, they damage the new world which the +Almighty has recently created, for submission is unthinkable weakness. + +To make their new quarters habitable, the fallen angels, under +Mammon's direction, mine gold from the neighboring hills and mould, it +into bricks, wherewith they erect Pandemonium, "the high capitol of +Satan and his peers." This hall, constructed with speed and ease, is +brightly illuminated by means of naphtha, and, after Satan and his +staff have entered, the other fallen angels crowd beneath its roof in +the shape of pygmies, and "the great consult" begins. + +_Book II._ On a throne of dazzling splendor sits Satan, surrounded by +his peers. Addressing his followers, he declares that, having +forfeited the highest position, he has lost more than they, and that, +since he suffers the greatest pain, none will envy him his +preeminence. When he bids them suggest what they shall do, Moloch +votes in favor of war, stirring up his companions with a belligerent +speech. Belial, who is versed in making "the worse appear the better +reason," urges guile instead of warfare, for they have tested the +power of the Almighty and know he can easily outwit their plans. In +his turn, Mammon favors neither force nor guile, but suggests that, +since riches abound in this region, they content themselves with +piling up treasures. + +All having been heard, the fallen angels decide, since it is +impossible again to face Michael's dreaded sword, they will adopt +Beelzebub's suggestion and try and find out whether they cannot settle +more comfortably in the recently created world. This decided, Satan +inquires who will undertake to reconnoitre, and, as no one volunteers, +declares that the mission of greatest difficulty and danger rightly +belongs to him, bidding the fallen angels meanwhile keep watch lest +further ill befall them. This decision is so enthusiastically +applauded that ever since an overwhelming tumult has been termed +"Pandemonium," like Satan's hall. + +The "consult" ended, the angels resume their wonted size and scatter +through hell, some exploring its recesses, where they discover huge +rivers, regions of fire and ice, and hideous monsters, while others +beguile their time by arguing of "foreknowledge, will, fate," and +discussing questions of philosophy, or join in antiphonal songs. + +Meanwhile Satan has set out on his dreadful journey, wending his way +straight to the gates of Hades, before which stand two formidable +shapes, one woman down to the waist and thence scaly dragon, while the +other, a grim, skeleton-like shape, wears a royal crown and brandishes +a spear. Seeing Satan approach, this monster threatens him, whereupon +a dire fight would have ensued, had not the female stepped between +them, declaring she is Sin, Satan's daughter, and that in an +incestuous union they two produced Death, whom even they cannot +subdue. She adds that she dares not unlock the gates, but, when Satan +urges that if she will only let him pass, she and Death will be +supplied with congenial occupations in the new world, she produces a +key, and, "rolling toward the gates on scaly folds," flings wide the +massive doors which no infernal power can ever close again. Through +these gaping portals one now descries Chaos, where hot and cold, moist +and dry contend for mastery, and where Satan will have to make his +way through the elements in confusion to reach the place whither he is +bound. + +The poet now graphically describes how, by means of his wings or on +foot, Satan scrambles up high battlements and plunges down deep +abysses, thus gradually working his way to the place where Chaos and +Night sit enthroned, contemplating the world "which hangs from heaven +by a golden chain." Addressing these deities, Satan commiserates them +for having lost Tartarus, now the abode of the fallen angels, as well +as the region of light occupied by the new world. When he proposes to +restore to them that part of their realm by frustrating God's plans, +they gladly speed him toward earth, whither "full fraught with +mischievous revenge accursed in an accursed hour he hies." + +_Book III._ After a pathetic invocation to light, the offspring of +heaven, whose rays will never shine through his darkness, Milton +expresses a hope that like other blind poets and seers he may describe +all the more clearly what is ever before his intellectual sight. Then +he relates how the Eternal Father, gazing downward, contemplates hell, +the newly-created world, and the wide cleft between, where he descries +Satan "hovering in the dun air sublime." Summoning his hosts, the +Almighty addresses his Only Begotten Son,--whose arrival in heaven has +caused Satan's rebellion,--and, pointing out the Adversary, declares +he is bent on revenge which will redound on his own head. Then God +adds that, although the angels fell by their own suggestion, and are +hence excluded from all hope of redemption, man will fall deceived by +Satan, so that, although he will thus incur death, he will not forever +be unforgiven if some one will pay the penalty of his sin. Because +none of the angels feel holy enough to make so great a sacrifice, +there is "silence in heaven," until the Son of God, "in whom all +fulness dwells of love divine," seeing man will be lost unless he +interferes, declares his willingness to surrender to death all of +himself that can die. He entreats, however, that the Father will not +leave him in the loathsome grave, but will permit his soul to rise +victorious, leading to heaven those ransomed from sin, death, and hell +through his devotion. The angels, hearing this proposal, are seized +with admiration, and the Father, bending a loving glance upon the Son, +accepts his sacrifice, proclaiming he shall in due time appear on +earth in the flesh to take the place of our first father, and that, +just "as in Adam all were lost, so in him all shall be saved." Then, +further to recompense his Son for his devotion, God promises he shall +reign his equal for ever and judge mankind, ere he bids the heavenly +host worship their new master. Removing their crowns of amaranth and +gold, the angels kneel before Christ in adoration, and, tuning their +harps, sing the praises of Father and Son, proclaiming the latter +"Saviour of man." + +While the angels are thus occupied, Satan, speeding through Chaos, +passes through a place peopled by the idolatries, superstitions, and +vanities of the world, all of which are to be punished here later on. +Then, past the stairway leading up to heaven, he hurries to a passage +leading down to earth, toward which he whirls through space like a +tumbler pigeon, landing at last upon the sun. There, in the guise of a +stripling cherub, Satan tells the archangel Uriel that, having been +absent at the time of creation, he longs to behold the earth so as to +glorify God. Thereupon Uriel proudly rejoins he witnessed the +performance, and describes how at God's voice darkness fled and solids +converged into spheres, which began to roll around their appointed +orbits. Then he points out to Satan the newly-created earth, whither +the Evil Spirit eagerly speeds. + + Thus said, he turned; and Satan, bowing low, + As to superior spirits is wont in heaven, + Where honor due and reverence none neglects, + Took leave, and toward the coast of earth beneath, + Down from the ecliptic, sped with hoped success, + Throws his steep flight in many an airy wheel, + Nor stayed, till on Niphates' top he lights. + +_Book IV._ Wishing his voice were loud enough to warn our first +parents of coming woe and thus forestall the misfortunes ready to +pounce upon them, the poet describes how Satan, "with hell raging in +his heart," gazes from the hill, upon which he has alighted, into +Paradise. The fact that he is outcast both from heaven and earth fills +Satan with alternate sorrow and fierce wrath, under impulse of which +emotions his face becomes fearfully distorted. This change and his +fierce gestures are seen by Uriel, who curiously follows his flight, +and who now for the first time suspects he may have escaped from hell. + +After describing the wonders of Eden--which far surpass all fairy +tales,--Milton relates how Satan, springing lightly over the dividing +wall, lands within its precincts, and in the guise of a cormorant +perches upon a tree, whence he beholds two God-like shapes "in naked +majesty clad." One of these is Adam, formed for contemplation and +valor, the other Eve, formed for softness and grace. They two sit +beneath a tree, the beasts of the earth playing peacefully around +them, and Satan, watching them, wonders whether they are destined to +occupy his former place in heaven, and vows he will ruin their present +happiness and deliver them up to woe! After arguing he must do so to +secure a better abode for himself and his followers, the fiend +transforms himself first into one beast and then into another, and, +having approached the pair unnoticed, listens to their conversation. +In this way he learns Eve's wonder on first opening her eyes and +gazing around her on the flowers and trees, her amazement at her own +reflection in the water, and her following a voice which promised to +lead her to her counterpart, who would make her mother of the human +race. But, the figure she thus found proving less attractive than the +one she had just seen in the waters, she was about to retreat, when +Adam claimed her as the other half of his being. Since then, they two +have dwelt in bliss in this garden, where everything is at their +disposal save the fruit of one tree. Thus Satan discovers the +prohibition laid upon our first parents. He immediately Dedie's to +bring about their ruin by inciting them to scorn divine commands, +assuring them that the knowledge of good and evil will make them equal +to God, and having discovered this method of compassing his purpose, +steals away to devise means to reach his ends. + +Meantime, near the eastern gate of Paradise, Gabriel, chief of the +angelic host, watches the joyful evolutions of the guards who at +nightfall are to patrol the boundaries of Paradise. While thus +engaged, Uriel comes glancing down through the evening air on a +sunbeam, to warn him that one of the banished crew has escaped, and +was seen at noon near these gates. In return Gabriel assures Uriel no +creature of any kind passed through them, and that if an evil spirit +overleapt the earthly bounds he will be discovered before morning, no +matter what shape he has assumed. While Uriel returns to his post in +the sun, gray twilight steals over the earth, and Michael, having +appointed bands of angels to circle Paradise in opposite directions, +despatches two of his lieutenants to search for the hidden foe. + +Our first parents, after uniting in prayer, are about to retire, when +Eve, who derives all her information from Adam, asks why the stars +shine at night, when they are asleep and cannot enjoy them? In reply +Adam states that the stars gem the sky to prevent darkness from +resuming its sway, and assures his wife that while they sleep angels +mount guard, for he has often heard their voices at midnight. Then the +pair enter the bower selected for their abode by the sovereign +planter, where the loveliest flowers bloom in profusion, and where no +bird, beast, insect, or worm dares venture. + +In the course of their search, the angels Ithuriel and Zephon reach +this place in time to behold a toad crouching by the ear of Eve, +trying by devilish arts to reach the organs of her fancy. Touched by +Ithuriel's spear,--which has the power of compelling all substances to +assume their real form,--this vile creature instantly assumes a demon +shape. On recognizing a fiend, Ithuriel demands how he escaped and why +he is here. Whereupon Satan haughtily rejoins that the time was when +none would have dared treat him so unceremoniously, nor have needed to +ask his name, seeing all would instantly have known him. It is only +then that Zephon recognizes their former superior, Lucifer, and +contemptuously informs him his glory is so dimmed by sin, it is no +wonder they could not place him. Both angels now escort their captive +to Gabriel, who, recognizing the prisoner from afar, also comments on +his faded splendor. Then, addressing Satan, Gabriel demands why he +broke his prescribed bonds? Satan defiantly retorts that prisoners +invariably try to escape, that no one courts torture, and that, if God +meant to keep the fiends forever in durance vile, he should have +barred the gates more securely. But, even by escaping from Tartarus, +Satan cannot evade his punishment, and Gabriel warns him he has +probably increased his penalty sevenfold by his disobedience. Then he +tauntingly inquires whether pain is less intolerable to the +archfiend's subordinates than to himself, and whether he has already +deserted his followers. Wrathfully Satan boasts that, fiercest in +battle, he alone had courage enough to undertake this journey to +ascertain whether it were possible to secure a pleasanter place of +abode. Because in the course of his reply he contradicts himself, the +angel terms him a liar and hypocrite, and bids him depart, vowing, +should he ever be found lurking near Paradise again, he will be +dragged back to the infernal pit and chained fast so he cannot escape! +This threat arouses Satan's scorn and makes him so insolent, that the +angels, turning fiery red, close around him, threatening him with +their spears! Glancing upward and perceiving by the position of the +heavenly scales that the issue of a combat would not be in his favor, +Satan wrathfully flees with the vanishing shades of night. + +_Book V._ Morning having dawned, Adam awakens refreshed, only to +notice the flushed cheeks and discomposed tresses of his companion, +from whom, when he awakens her, he learns of a dream wherein a voice +urged her to go forth and walk in the garden. Eve goes on to describe +how, gliding beneath the trees, she came to the one bearing the +forbidden fruit, and descried among its branches a winged shape, which +bade her taste of the apples and not despise the boon of knowledge. +Although chilled with horror at the mere suggestion, Eve admits that +she yielded, because the voice assured her one taste would enable her +to flutter through the air like the angels and perchance visit God! +Her desire to enjoy such a privilege became so intense that when the +fruit was pressed to her lips she tasted it, and had no sooner done so +than she soared upward, only to sink down and awaken at Adam's touch! + +Comforting his distressed consort, Adam leads her into the garden to +prune over-luxuriant branches and to train vines from tree to tree. +While they are thus occupied, the Almighty summons Raphael, and, after +informing him Satan has escaped from hell and has found his way to +Paradise to disturb the felicity of man, bids the archangel hasten +down to earth, and, conversing "as friend with friend" with Adam, warn +him that he had the power to retain or forfeit his happy state, and +caution him against the wiles of the fiend, lest, after wilfully +transgressing, man should claim he had not been forewarned. + +Past choirs of angels, through the golden gate, and down the mighty +stairs, Raphael flits, reaching earth in the shape of a six-winged +cherub, whose iridescent plumes seem to have been dipped in heaven's +own dyes. On beholding this visitor, Adam bids Eve collect her +choicest fruit, and, while she hastens away on "hospitable thoughts +intent," advances to meet Raphael, knowing he brings some divine +message. After hailing Eve with the salutation later used for Mary, +the angel proceeds to Adam's lodge and shares his meal, admitting that +the angels in heaven partake of spiritual food only, although they are +endowed with senses like man. + +On discovering he may question Raphael,--save in regard to matters +which are to be withheld for a while longer,--Adam queries about +things which have troubled him. Inferring from the angel's words that +their bliss is not secure, he learns that as long as he proves +obedient his happiness will continue, but that, having been created as +free as the angels, he can choose his lot. When Adam asks in regard to +heavenly things, Raphael wonders how he can relate, in terms +intelligible to finite mind, things which, even angels fail to +conceive in their entirety and which it may not be lawful to reveal. +Still, knowing he can vouchsafe a brief outline of all that has +hitherto occurred, Raphael describes how the Almighty, after creating +the Son, bade the angels bow down and worship him. He states that, +during the night following this event, Lucifer, angry because he was +no longer second in heaven, withdrew to that quarter of the sky +entrusted to his keeping, and there suggested to Beelzebub rebellion +against God, who required them to pay servile tribute to his Son! +Arguing that they will be gradually reduced to slavery, Satan induces +one-third of the heavenly hosts to rebel, for only one of his +followers, Abdiel, refuses to believe his specious words. In his +indignation, Abdiel bursts forth into flame, denounces Lucifer, and +departs to report to the Almighty what he has heard. He alone proves +faithful among the faithless, so, as he passes out from among them, +the rebel angels, resenting his attitude, overwhelm him with their +scorn. + + From amidst them forth he passed, + Long way through hostile scorn, which he sustained + Superior, nor of violence feared aught; + And with retorted scorn his back he turned + On those proud towers to swift destruction doomed. + +The Almighty, however, does not require Abdiel's warning, for the +all-seeing eye has already descried what, has occurred, and has +pointed out to the Son how Lucifer, devoured by pride, is about to +rise up against them. + +_Book VI._ In spite of the speed with which he travels, Abdiel +requires all night to cross the distance which separates the apostate +angels from the heavenly throne. The news he bears being already known +in heaven, the angels welcome him and conduct him to the throne, +whence, from a golden cloud, issues a voice proclaiming "well done." +Next God bids Michael lead forth a host equal in number to the godless +crew arraying itself in battle order to dispute from the Almighty the +sovereignty of heaven. The divine orders are to oppose Lucifer and +hurl him into the gulf of Tartarus, whose fiery mouth will open wide +to receive him. A moment later trumpets sound in heaven, and the +angelic legions sally forth to battle for God and for his Messiah, +hymning the Eternal Father. The evil angels, whose glory has not yet +been dimmed, meet this host in squadrons, at the head of which rides +Lucifer (or Satan as he is generally called after he becomes an +apostate), in his sun-bright chariot. On beholding him, Abdiel marvels +because he still retains a God-like semblance, and warns him he will +soon pay the penalty of his folly. In return Satan terms Abdiel a +common deserter, and overwhelms him with scorn, to which this angel +pays little heed, realizing that by serving a divine master he is +freer than independent Satan. + +After exchanging Homeric taunts, these two begin fighting, and +Abdiel's first dart causes the archenemy to recoil and almost sink to +the ground. But, when the divine host clamor that Satan is overcome, +he promptly recovers his footing, and, retreating into the ranks of +his army, directs their resistance to the foe. The battle now rages +with such fury that the heavens resound. Many deeds of eternal fame +are wrought, for Satan proves almost equal to Michael, who with his +two-handed sword strikes down whole squadrons at one blow. But wounds +inflicted on angels, even when fallen, are no sooner made than healed, +so those who sink down disabled are soon back in the thick of the +night as strong as ever. The moment comes, however, when Michael's +sword inflicts so deep a wound in Satan's side that, for the first +time, he experiences pain. Seeing him fall, his adherents bear him +away from the field of battle, where he is immediately healed, "for +spirits, that live throughout vital in every part,... cannot but by +annihilation die." Thus temporarily deprived of his greatest +opponent, Michael attacks Moloch, while Uriel, Raphael and Abdiel +vanquish other potent angels who have dared to rebel against God. + +After describing the battle-field, strewn with shattered armor and +broken chariots, the poet pictures the dismay in the ranks of the +rebel angels, and describes how Satan drew away his troops so they +might rest and be ready to renew the fray on the morrow. In the +silence of that night, he also consults with his adherents how to +fight to better advantage on the morrow, insisting that they now know +they can never be permanently wounded. The demons feel confident that, +granted better arms, they could secure the advantage, so, when one of +their number suggests the manufacture of cannon, all gladly welcome +the idea. Under Satan's direction some of the evil angels draw from +the ground metal, which, molten and poured into moulds, furnishes the +engines of destruction they are seeking. Meanwhile others collect +ingredients for ammunition, and, when morning dawns, they have a +number of weapons ready for use, which they cunningly conceal in the +centre of their fourfold phalanx as they advance. + +In the midst of the second encounter, Satan's squadrons suddenly draw +aside to let these cannons belch forth the destruction with which they +are charged, an unexpected broadside which fells the good angels by +thousands; but, although hosts of them are thus laid low, others +spring forward to take their place. On seeing the havoc wrought by +their guns, Satan and his host openly rejoice; but the good angels, +perceiving arms are useless against this artillery, throw them away, +and, picking up the hills, hurl them at their opponents, whom they +bury beneath the weight of mountains. In fact, had not the Almighty +checked this outburst of righteous anger, the fiends would doubtless +have been buried so deep they never would have been able to reappear! + +On the third day the Almighty proclaims that, as both forces are equal +in strength, the fighting will never end unless he interferes. He +therefore summons his only begotten Son to wield the thunder-bolts, +his exclusive weapon. Ever ready to do his Father's will, the Son +accepts, mounts a chariot borne by four cherubs, and sets forth, +attended by twenty thousand saints, who wish to witness his triumph. +On seeing him approach, the good angels exult, while the wicked are +seized with terror, although they disdain to flee. Bidding the angelic +host watch him triumph single-handed over the foe, the Son of God +changes his benignant expression into one of wrath, and hurls his +thunder-bolts to such purpose that the rebels long for the mountains +to cover them as on the previous day. With these divine weapons Christ +ruthlessly drives Satan and his hosts out of the confines of heaven, +over the edge of the abyss, and hurls them all down into the +bottomless pit, sending after them peal after peal of thunder, +together with dazzling flashes of lightning, but mercifully +withholding his deadly bolts, as he purposes not to annihilate, but +merely to drive the rebels out of heaven. Thus, with a din and clatter +which the poet graphically describes, Satan and his host fall through +space and land nine days later in the fiery lake! + +After pursuing the foe far enough to make sure they will not return, +the Messiah re-enters heaven in triumph, greeted by saints and angels +with hymns of praise. This account of the war in heaven concluded, +Raphael informs Adam that Satan, leader of these fallen angels, +envying his happy state, is now plotting to seduce him from his +allegiance to God, and thus compel him to share his eternal misery. + + "But listen not to his temptations; warn + Thy weaker; let it profit thee to have heard + By terrible example the reward + Of disobedience; firm they might have stood, + Yet fell; remember, and fear to transgress." + +_Book VII._ At Adam's request Raphael next explains how the earth was +created, saying that, as Satan had seduced one-third of heaven's +inhabitants, God decided to create a new race, whence angels could be +recruited to repeople his realm. In terms simple enough to make +himself understood, Raphael depicts how the Son of God passing through +heaven's gates and viewing the immeasurable abyss, decided to evolve +from it a thing of beauty. He adds that the Creator made use of the +divine compasses "prepared in God's eternal store," to circumscribe +the universe, thus setting its bounds at equal distance from its +centre. Then his spirit, brooding over the abyss, permeated Chaos with +vital warmth, until its various components sought their appointed +places, and earth "self-balanced on her centre hung." Next the light +evolved from the deep began to travel from east to west, and "God saw +that it was good." + +On the second day God created the firmament, on the third separated +water from dry land, and on the fourth covered the earth with plants +and trees, each bearing seed to propagate its kind. Then came the +creation of the sun, moon, and stars to rule day and night and divide +light from darkness, and on the fifth day the creation of the birds +and fishes, whom God bade multiply until they filled the earth. Only +on the sixth and last day did God call into life cattle and creeping +things, which crawled out of the earth full grown and perfect limbed. +Then, as there still lacked a creature endowed with reason to rule the +rest, God created man in his own image, fashioning him from clay by +breathing life into his nostrils. After thus creating Adam and his +consort Eve, God blessed both, bidding them be fruitful, multiply and +fill the earth, and hold dominion over every living thing upon it. +Having placed creatures so richly endowed in Paradise, God left them +free to enjoy all it contained, save the fruit of the tree of +knowledge of good and evil, in regard to which he warned them "in the +day thou eatest thereof, thou diest." Then, his work finished, the +Creator returned to heaven, where he and the angels spent the seventh +day resting from their work. + +_Book VIII._ Not daring to intrude upon the conversation of Adam and +Raphael, Eve waits at a distance, knowing her husband will tell her +all she need learn. Meanwhile, further to satisfy his curiosity, Adam +inquires how the sun and stars move so quietly in their orbit? Raphael +rejoins that, although the heavens are the book of God, wherein man +can read his wondrous works, it is difficult to make any one +understand the distances separating the various orbs. To give Adam a +slight idea of them, Raphael declares that he--whose motions are not +slow--set out from heaven at early morn and arrived at Eden only at +midday. Then he describes the three rotations to which our earth is +subject, names the six planets, and assures Adam God holds them all in +his hand and prescribes their paths and speed. + +In his turn, Adam entertains Raphael with a description of his +amazement when he awoke on a flowery hillside, to see the sky, the +woods, and the streams; his gradual acquaintance with his own person +and powers, the naming of the animals, and his awe when the divine +master led him into Paradise and warned him not to touch the central +tree. After describing his loneliness on discovering that all living +creatures went about in pairs, Adam adds that, after he had complained +to the Creator, a deep sleep fell upon him, during which a rib was +removed from his side from which to fashion Eve. Joined by the Creator +himself to this "bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh," Adam +declares since then they have enjoyed nuptial bliss, and artlessly +inquires whether angels marry and are given in marriage too. Whereupon +Raphael rejoins that in heaven love so refines the thoughts and +enlarges the heart that none save spiritual communion is necessary to +secure perfect bliss. Then, seeing the sun about to set, the angel +takes leave of Adam and wends his way back to heaven, while the father +of mankind rejoins his waiting wife. + +Book IX. The poet warns us there will be no more question of talk +between man and angels, as his song must now change to a tragic note, +because vile distrust has entered Paradise. Then he describes how +Satan, driven away from Eden by Gabriel, circles around the earth +seven days and nights without rest, and at the end of that time +re-enters Paradise, by means of an underground river and in the guise +of a mist. Then, perched as a bird upon the tree of knowledge of good +and evil, Satan decides to approach our first parents in the guise of +a loathsome serpent and seek his revenge, although fully aware the +consequences will recoil upon himself. Next, finding a serpent asleep, +Satan enters it, and meanders along the paths of Paradise, hoping to +find Adam and Eve apart, for he deems it will be easier to work his +ends on one at a time. + +Morning having come, Adam and Eve awake, and after their usual song of +praise set out to attend the garden. But Eve insists that as long as +they are together they allow themselves to be distracted from their +labors, and proposes that they work independently until the noon hour +brings them together to share their simple repast. Although reluctant +at first to be parted from his beloved, Adam, hearing her exclaim he +does not trust her, yields to her pleading. Thus, the serpent, ranging +through the garden, perceives Eve alone among the roses, and rejoices +to think he can make his first attempt upon what he rightly deems the +weaker vessel. Although not without compunction, he wends his way +toward her and startles her by addressing her in a human voice. When +she inquires how it happens a beast can communicate with her, the +serpent rejoins that, although at first speechless like other beasts, +he no sooner tasted a certain fruit than he was gifted with greater +knowledge than he had yet enjoyed and endowed with the power of +speech. Deeming the fruit of such a tree might have equally beneficial +effects upon her and make her more nearly equal to her consort, Eve +longs to partake of it too, and readily follows her guide to the +centre of the garden. But, when the serpent points out the forbidden +tree, Eve prepares to withdraw, until the tempter assures her God's +prohibition was not intended to be obeyed. He argues that, although he +has tasted the fruit he continues to live and has obtained new +faculties, and by this specious reasoning induces Eve to pluck and eat +the fruit. As it touches her lips nature gives "signs of woe," and +the guilty serpent links back into the thicket, leaving Eve to gorge +upon the fruit whose taste affords her keener delight than she ever +experienced before. In laudatory terms she now promises to care for +the tree, and then wonders whether Adam will perceive any difference +in her, and whether it will be wise to impart to him the happiness she +has tasted. Although at first doubtful, Eve, fearing lest death may +ensue and Adam replace her by another partner, determines to induce +her husband to share this food too, for she loves Adam too dearly to +live without him. + + "Confirmed then I resolve, + Adam shall share with me in bliss or woe: + So dear I love him, that with him all deaths + I could endure, without him live no life." + +This decision reached, Eve hastens to Adam, and volubly explains that +the tree is not what God depicted, for the serpent, having tasted of +its fruit, has been endowed with eloquence so persuasive that he has +induced her to taste it too. Horror-stricken, Adam wails his wife is +lost; then he wonders how he will be able to exist without her, and is +amazed to think she should have yielded to the very first onslaught of +their foe. But, after this first outburst of grief, he vows he will +share her doom and die with her. Having made a decision so flattering +to Eve, he accepts the fruit which she tenders, and nature again +shudders, for Adam, although not deceived, yields to temptation +because of his love for Eve. No sooner have both fed upon the tree +than its effects become patent, for it kindles within them the +never-before-experienced sense of lust. The couple therefore emerge on +the morrow from their bower, their innocence lost, and overwhelmed, +for the first time in their lives, by a crushing sense of shame. Good +and evil being equally well known to him, Adam reproaches his wife, +wailing that never more shall they behold the face of God and suggests +that they weave leaf-garments to hide their nakedness. So the first +couple steal into the thicket to fashion fig-leaf girdles, which they +bind about them, reviling each other for having forfeited their former +happy estate. + +_Book X._ Meantime, Eve's fall has been duly reported in heaven by the +angelic guards, whom the Almighty reassures, saying he knew the Evil +Spirit would succeed and man would fall. Then the same voice decrees +that, as man has transgressed, his sentence shall be pronounced, and +that the one best fitted for such a task is the Son, man's mediator +Ready to do his Father's will in heaven as upon earth, the Son +departs, promising to temper justice with mercy, so that God's +goodness will be made manifest, and adding that the doom of the absent +Satan shall also be pronounced. + +Escorted to the gates of heaven by the angelic host, the Redeemer +descends alone to earth, where he arrives in the garden in the cool of +the evening. At his summons Adam and Eve emerge from their +hiding-place, and, when Adam shamefacedly claims they hid because they +were naked, his maker demonstrates how his very words convict him of +guilt, and inquires whether they have eaten of the forbidden fruit. +Unable to deny his transgression, Adam states he is in a quandary, for +he must either accuse himself wrongfully or lay the guilt upon the +wife whom it is his duty to protect. When he adds that the woman gave +him the fruit whereof he did eat, the judge sternly demands whether +Adam was bound to obey his consort, reminding him that woman was made +subject to man and declaring that by yielding to Eve's persuasions he +incurred equal guilt. Then, turning to the woman, the judge demands +what she had done, and Eve, abashed, confesses the serpent beguiled +her until she ate. Having thus heard both culprits, the judge +pronounces sentence upon the serpent in veiled terms, for, as yet, man +is not to understand what is divinely planned. Then, having disposed +of the archenemy, he predicts Eve will bring forth her children in +suffering and will be subject to her husband's will, ere he informs +Adam that henceforth he will have to earn his bread by the sweat of +his brow, for the earth will no longer bear fruit for him without +labor. Having thus pronounced his judgment, the judge postpones the +penalty of death indefinitely, and taking pity upon our first parents, +clothes them in the skins of beasts, to enable them to bear the +harsher air to which they are soon to be exposed. + +Meantime Sin and Death peer forth through hell's open gateway, hoping +to each some glimpse of returning Satan. Weary of waiting, Sin finally +suggests to Death the folly of remaining idle, since Satan cannot fail +to succeed, and proposes that they follow him over the abyss, building +as they go a road to facilitate intercourse hereafter between hell and +earth. This proposal charms Death, whose keen nostrils already descry +the smell of mortal change, and who longs to reach earth and prey upon +all living creatures. These two terrible shapes, therefore, venture +out through the waste, and by making "the hard soft and the soft +hard," they fashion of stone and asphalt a broad highway from the +gates of hell to the confines of the newly created world. + +They have barely finished this causeway when Satan--still in the +likeness of an angel--comes flying toward them, for after seducing Eve +he has lurked in the garden until from a safe hiding-place he heard +the threefold sentence pronounced by the judge. He too does not grasp +his doom, but, realizing that humanity is in his power, is hastening +back to Hades to make the joyful fact known. On encountering Sin and +Death, Satan congratulates them upon their engineering skill and sends +them on to work their will in the world, while he speeds along the +path they have made to tell the fallen angels all that has occurred. +In obedience to his orders a number of these are mounting guard, but +Satan, in the guise of a ministering spirit, passes through their +midst unheeded, and only after entering Pandemonium allows his native +majesty to shine forth. On becoming aware he is once more present, the +demons welcome him with a mighty shout. Then by an impressive gesture +Satan imposes silence and describes his journey, his success, and the +ease with which they can pass to and fro now that Sin and Death have +paved their way. To satisfy their curiosity he further depicts by what +means he tempted woman, and, although he admits he was cursed as well +as the fallen, does not appear dismayed. Raising their voices to +applaud him, his adherents are now surprised to hear themselves hiss, +and to discover they have all been transformed into snakes. Then Satan +himself, in the form of a dragon, guides them to a grove near by, +where they climb the trees and greedily feed on apples of Sodom, which +offend their taste, a performance to be renewed yearly on the +anniversary of the temptation. + +Meanwhile, Sin and Death having entered Paradise,--where they are not +yet allowed to touch human beings,--lay low herbs, fruit, flowers, and +beasts, all of which are now their legitimate prey. Pointing out their +ravages, the Almighty explains that, had man not disobeyed, these +despoilers would never have preyed upon the newly created world, where +they are now to have full sway until the Son hurls them back into +Hades. On hearing these words, the angels praise the ways of the +Almighty, which are ever just, and laud his Son as the destined +restorer of mankind. While they are thus employed, the Almighty +directs some of his attendants to move the sun, so as to subject the +earth to alternate cold and heat, thus making winter follow summer. +The planets, too, are to shed malignant influences upon the earth, +whose axle is slightly turned, while violent winds cause devastation, +and enmity is kindled between creatures which have hitherto lived in +peace. Adam, on perceiving these changes, becomes conscious they are +the effect of his transgression, and is plunged in such grief that +God's order to increase and multiply seems horrible. In his grief he +murmurs aloud, but, after a while, realizing he was left free to +choose between good and evil, he acknowledges his punishment is just. +The fact that God does not immediately visit upon him the penalty he +has incurred does not, however, comfort him, because he longs for +death to end his sorrows. On seeing her husband's grief, Eve now +volunteers to go in quest of their judge, imploring him to visit upon +her alone the penalty of sin. Her readiness to sacrifice herself +touches Adam, who replies that, since they are one, they must share +what awaits them. When Eve intimates that, since they are doomed, it +will be well never to bear any children, Adam reminds her it is only +through repentance they can appease their judge, and bids her not +scorn life or its pleasures. + +_Book XI._ Having reached this state of humility and repentance, our +first parents are viewed compassionately by the Redeemer, who, +gathering up their prayers, presents them to the Father as the +first-fruits which have sprung from his mercy. + + "See, Father, what first-fruits on earth are sprung + From thy implanted grace in man; these sighs + And prayers, which in this golden censer, mixed + With incense, I thy priest before thee bring, + Fruits of more pleasing savor, from thy seed + Sown with contrition in his heart, than those + Which his own hand, manuring all the trees + Of Paradise, could have produced, ere fallen + From innocence." + +In reply to the touching pleas of this advocate, the heavenly Father +promises the culprits shall be forgiven, provided their repentance is +sincere, but insists that meantime they be ejected from Paradise. +Michael and the cherubs chosen for this office are instructed to mount +guard day and night, lest the fiend return to Paradise, or the human +pair re-enter and partake of the tree of life and thus escape the +penalty of death. But, before driving out our first parents, Michael +is to reveal to Adam all that awaits his race in the future, +emphasizing the promise that salvation shall come through his seed. +These orders received, the archangel wends his way down to earth, +where, dawn having appeared, Adam and Eve once more issue from their +bower. + +Night has brought some comfort, and Adam exclaims that, since the +penalty of death is to be postponed, they must show their penitence by +laboring hard, working henceforth side by side as contentedly as +their fallen state will allow. On the way to the scene of their wonted +labors they notice an eagle pursuing another bird and see wild beasts +hunting one another. Besides these ominous signs Adam, descrying a +bright light travelling rapidly toward them, informs Eve some message +is on its way. He is not mistaken, for Michael soon emerges from this +cloud of light so, while Eve hurries off to prepare for his +entertainment Adam steps forward to receive him. + +Clad in celestial panoply, the angel announces he has been sent to +inform Adam that although the penalty of death is indefinitely +postponed, he is no longer to inhabit Paradise, but is to go forth +into the world and till the ground from whence he sprang. +Horror-stricken at these tidings, Adam remains mute, and Eve, hearing +the decree from a distance, wails aloud at the thought of leaving +home. To comfort her, the angel bids her dry her tears and follow her +husband, making her home wherever he abides. Then Adam wonders whether +by incessant prayer and penitence the Almighty could be induced to +alter his decree and let them remain in Paradise, saying he hoped to +point out to his descendants the places where he met and conversed +with his Maker. But Michael rejoining he will find God everywhere +invites Adam to follow him to the top of a neighboring hill, +explaining he has enveloped Eve in slumbers, which will hold her +entranced while he reveals to Adam the earth's kingdoms and their +glory. + + "Know I am sent + To show thee what shall come in future days + To thee and to thy offspring; good with bad + Expect to hear, supernal grace contending + With sinfulness of men; thereby to learn + True patience, and to temper joy with fear, + And pious sorrow, equally inured + By moderation either state to bear, + Prosperous or adverse: so shalt thou lead + Safest thy life, and best prepared endure + Thy mortal passage when it comes. Ascend + This hill; let Eve (for I have drenched her eyes) + Here sleep below, while thou to foresight wakest. + As once thou slept'st, while she to life was formed." + +From a hill in Paradise,--after purging Adam's eyes with three drops +of water from the well of life,--Michael vouchsafes him a glimpse of +all that is to take place upon our earth. Thus, Cain and Abel first +pass before their father's eyes, but death is so unintelligible to +Adam that the angel has to explain what it means. Overwhelmed at the +thought that so awful a thing has come into the world through his +transgression, Adam is further horrified when the angel reveals all +the suffering which will visit mankind, explaining that, since much of +it will be due to evil living, it behooves Adam to observe temperance +in food and drink. But he warns him that, in spite of all precautions, +old age will come upon him as a precursor of death. In a panorama Adam +sees all that is to occur until the Deluge, and, watching Noah +construct the ark, wails because his progeny is to be destroyed by the +flood. The angel, however, demonstrates that the righteous will be +saved and that from them will descend a race more willing to obey +God's commands. The dove and the rainbow, therefore, instil comfort +into Adam's heart, as does God's promise that day and night, seedtime +and harvest shall hold their course until new heavens and earth appear +wherein the just shall dwell. + +_Book XII._ Having depicted a world destroyed and foreshadowed a world +restored, the angel shows Adam how man will migrate to a plain, where +by means of bricks and bitumen an attempt will be made to erect a +tower to reach heaven. When Adam expresses displeasure that one of his +race should defy God, Michael assures him he rightly abhors +disobedience, and comforts him by revealing how one righteous man, in +whose "seed all nations shall be blest," is to be brought out of that +country into the Promised Land. + +Not only does the angel name Abraham, but depicts his life, the +captivity in Egypt, the exodus, and the forty years in the desert. He +also vouchsafes to Adam a glimpse of Moses on Mount Sinai receiving +the tables of the law, and appointing the worship which the Chosen +People are to offer to their Creator. When Adam wonders at the number +of laws, Michael rejoins that sin has many faces, and that until blood +more precious than that of the prescribed sacrifices has been shed, no +suitable atonement can be made. + +After describing how under the Judges and then under the Kings the +people of Israel will continue their career the angel designates David +as the ancestor of the Messiah, whose coming will be heralded by a +star which will serve as guide to eastern sages. He adds that this +Messiah will descend from the Most High by a virgin mother, that his +reign will extend over all the earth, and that, by bruising the +serpent's head, he will conquer Sin and Death. This promise fills +Adam's heart with joy, because it partly explains the mysterious +prophecy, but, when he inquires how the serpent can wound such a +victor's heel, Michael rejoins that, in order to overcome Satan, the +Messiah will incur the penalty of death, revealing how, after living +hated and blasphemed, he will prove by his death and resurrection that +Sin and Death have no lasting power over those who believe in his +name. Full of joy at the promise that the Messiah will lead all +ransomed souls to a happier Paradise than the one he has forfeited, +Adam declares since such good is to proceed from the evil he has done +he doubts whether he should repent. + +Between the death of Christ and his second coming, the angel adds that +the Comforter will dwell upon earth with those who love their +Redeemer, helping them resist the onslaughts of Satan, and that in +spite of temptation many righteous will ultimately reach heaven, to +take the place of the outcast angels. + + "Till the day + Appear of respiration to the just, + And vengeance to the wicked, at return + Of him so lately promised to thy aid, + The woman's Seed, obscurely then foretold, + Now amplier known thy Saviour and thy Lord, + Last in the clouds from heaven to be revealed + In glory of the Father, to dissolve + Satan with his perverted world, then raise + From the conflagrant mass, purged and refined, + New heavens, new earth, ages of endless date + Founded in righteousness and peace and love, + To bring forth fruits, joy, and eternal bliss." + +These instructions finished, the angel bids Adam not seek to know any +more, enjoining upon him to add deeds to knowledge, to cultivate +patience, temperance, and love, promising, if he obeys, that Paradise +will reign in his heart. Then pointing out that the guards placed +around Eden are waving their flashing swords and that it is time to +awaken Eve, he bids Adam gradually impart to her all that he has +learned through angelic revelations. When they rejoin Eve, she +explains how God sent her a dream which has soothed her heart and +filled it with hope, making her realize that, although she has sinned +and is unworthy, through her seed all shall be blessed. + +Then the angel takes Adam and Eve by the hand and leads them out by +the eastern gate into the world. Gazing backward, our first parents +catch their last glimpse of Paradise and behold at the gate the angel +with a flaming sword. Thus, hand in hand, dropping natural tears, they +pass out into the world to select their place of rest, having +Providence only for their guide. + + + + +PARADISE REGAINED + + +Having sung of Paradise Lost, Milton proposes as theme for a new epic +"Paradise Regained." In it he purports to sing of "deeds heroic +although in secret done" and to describe how Christ was led into the +wilderness to be tempted by Satan. + +_Book I._ While baptizing in the Jordan, John suddenly beheld Christ +approaching, and, although he at first demurred, yielded at last to +his request to baptize him too. While the Baptist was doing this, a +heavenly voice proclaimed Christ Son of God. This was heard not only +by John and his disciples, but also by the adversary, who, ever since +the fall, had been roaming around the world, and who for years past +has been closely watching the promised Redeemer in hopes of defeating +his ends. + +Suddenly realizing that the conflict between them is about to begin, +Satan hastens back to Hades to take counsel with his crew. When all +are assembled, he reminds them how long they have ruled the earth, +adding that the time has come when their power may be wrested from +them and the curse spoken in Eden fulfilled. He fears Jesus is the +promised Messiah, owing to his miraculous birth, to the testimony of +the precursor, and to the heavenly voice when he was baptized. Besides +he has recognized in Christ's lineaments the imprint of the Father's +glory, and avers that, unless they can counteract and defeat the Son's +ends, they will forfeit all they have gained. Realizing, however, that +this task is far greater than the one he undertook centuries +before,--when he winged his way through chaos to discover the new +world and tempt our first parents,--he volunteers to undertake it in +person, and all the evil spirits applaud him. This settled, Satan +departs to carry out the second temptation. + +Meantime another assembly has been held in heaven, where, addressing +the archangel Gabriel, the Almighty informs him he will soon see the +fulfilment of the message he bore some thirty years previously to +Mary. He adds that his Son, whom he has publicly recognized, is about +to be tempted by Satan, who, although he failed in the case of Job, is +undertaking this new task confident of success. The Almighty also +predicts that Satan will again be defeated, but declares Christ is as +free to yield or resist as Adam when first created, and that before +sending him out to encounter Sin and Death he means to strengthen him +by a sojourn in the desert. On hearing that Satan's evil plans will be +frustrated, the angels burst into a hymn of triumph with which heaven +resounds. + + So spake the eternal Father, and all Heaven + Admiring stood a space; then into hymns + Burst forth, and in celestial measures moved, + Circling the throne and singing, while the hand + Sung with the voice; and this the argument: + "Victory and triumph to the Son of God + Now entering his great duel, not of arms, + But to vanquish by wisdom hellish wiles. + The Father knows the Son; therefore secure + Ventures his filial virtue, though untried, + Against whate'er may tempt, whate'er seduce, + Allure, or terrify, or undermine. + Be frustrate, all ye stratagems of Hell, + And devilish machinations come to nought." + +During this time the Son of God, after lingering three days by the +Jordan, is driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, where he +spends his time meditating upon the great office he had undertaken as +Saviour of mankind. In a grand soliloquy we hear how since early youth +he has been urged onward by divine and philosophical influences, and +how, realizing he was born to further truth, he has diligently studied +the law of God. Thanks to these studies, our Lord at twelve could +measure his learning with that of the rabbis in the temple. Ever since +that time he has longed to rescue his people from the Roman yoke, to +end brutality, to further all that is good, and to win all hearts to +God. He recalls the stories his mother told him in regard to the +annunciation, to his virgin birth, and to the Star of Bethlehem, and +comments upon the fact that the precursor immediately recognized him +and that a voice from heaven hailed him as the Son of God! + +Although Christ realizes he has been sent into the wilderness by +divine power, and that his future way lies "through many a hard assay" +and may lead even to death, he does not repine. Instead he spends the +forty days in the wilderness fasting, preparing himself for the great +work which he is called upon to accomplish, and paying no heed to the +wild beasts which prowl around him without doing him any harm. + +It is only when weakness has reached its highest point and when Christ +begins to hunger, that Satan approaches him in the guise of an old +peasant, pathetically describing the difficulty of maintaining life in +the wilderness. Then he adds that, having seen Jesus baptized in the +Jordan he begs him to turn the stones around him into food, thereby +relieving himself and his wretched fellow-sufferer from the pangs of +hunger. + + "But, if thou be the Son of God, command + That out of these hard stones be made thee bread; + So shalt thou save thyself and us relieve + With food, whereof we wretched seldom taste." + +Jesus, however, merely reproaches the tempter, rejoining, "Man shall +not live by bread alone, but from the words which proceed out of the +mouth of God," and explaining that he knows who Satan is and for what +purpose he has been sent hither. Unable to conceal his identity any +longer, the evil spirit admits he has come straight from hell, but +adds that God gave him power to test Job and to punish Ahab. He argues +that the Almighty, who fed the Israelites with manna and supplied +Elijah with miraculous food, does not intend to starve his only Son. +Then, expressing admiration for Jesus' intellect, Satan explains he is +not the foe of man, since through him he has gained everything, and +whom he prides himself upon having often helped by oracles and omen. +In spite of these arguments, Jesus refuses to listen to him, declares +his oracles have lost all power, and adds that he is sent to execute +his Father's will. + + "God hath now sent his living oracle + Into the world to teach his final will, + And sends his Spirit of truth henceforth to dwell + In pious hearts, an inward oracle + To all truth requisite for men to know." + +Thus baffled, Satan vanishes into "thin air diffused," and night +steals over the desert, where fowls seek their nests while the wild +beasts begin to roam in search of food. + +_Book II._ John the Baptist and his disciples, made anxious by Jesus' +long absence, now begin to seek him as the prophets sought Elijah, +fearing lest he too may have been caught up into heaven. Hearing Simon +and Andrew wonder where he has gone and what he is doing, Mary +relates the extraordinary circumstances which accompanied her Son's +birth, mentioning the flight into Egypt, the return to Nazareth, and +sundry other occurrences during the youth of our Lord. She declares +that, ever since Gabriel's message fell upon her ear, she has been +trying to prepare herself for the fulfilment of a promise then made +her, and has often wondered what Simeon meant when he cried that a +sword would pierce her very soul! Still, she recalls how at twelve +years of age, she grieved over the loss of her Son, until she found +him in the temple, when he excused himself by stating he must be about +his Father's business. Ever since then Mary has patiently awaited what +is to come to pass, realizing the child she bore is destined to great +things. + + Thus Mary pondering oft, and oft to mind + Recalling what remarkably had passed + Since first her salutation heard, with thoughts + Meekly composed awaited fulfilling. + +Satan, having hastened back to the infernal regions, reports the ill +success of his first venture, and the effect his first temptation had +upon our Lord. Feeling at a loss, he invites the demons to assist him +with their counsel, warning them this task will prove far more +difficult than that of leading Adam astray. Belial, the most dissolute +spirit in hell, then proposes that Satan tempt Jesus with women, +averring that the female sex possesses so many wiles that even +Solomon, wisest of kings, succumbed. But Satan scornfully rejects this +proposal, declaring that He whom they propose thus to tempt is far +wiser than Solomon and has a much more exalted mind. Although certain +Christ will prove impervious to the bait of sense, Satan surmises +that, owing to a prolonged fast, he may be susceptible to the +temptation of hunger, so, taking a select band of spirits, he returns +to the desert to renew his attempts in a different form. + +Transferring us again to the solitude, the poet describes how our +Saviour passed the night dreaming of Elijah fed by the ravens and of +Daniel staying his hunger with pulse Awakened at last by the song of +the larks, our Lord rises from his couch on the hard ground, and, +strolling into fertile valley, encounters Satan, who, superbly +dressed, expresses surprise he should receive no aid in the wilderness +when Hagar, the Israelites, and Elijah were all fed by divine +intervention. Then Satan exhibits the wonderful banquet he has +prepared, inviting Christ to partake of it; but the Son of God +haughtily informs him he can obtain food whenever he wishes, and hence +need not accept what he knows is offered with evil intent. Seeing our +Lord cannot be assailed on the ground of appetite, Satan causes the +banquet to vanish, but remains to tempt Christ with an offer of +riches, artfully setting forth the power that can be acquired by their +means. He adds, since Christ's mind is set on high designs, he will +require greater wealth than stands at the disposal of the Son of +Joseph the carpenter. But, although Satan offers to bestow vast +treasures upon him, Christ rejects this proffer too, describing what +noble deeds have been achieved by poor men such as Gideon, Jephtha, +and David, as well as by certain Romans. He adds that riches often +mislead their possessor, and so eloquently describes the drawbacks of +wealth that Satan realizes it is useless to pursue this attempt. + +_Book III._ Again complimenting Christ on his acumen, Satan rehearses +the great deeds performed by Philip of Macedon and by Julius Caesar, +who began their glorious careers earlier in life than he. Then, hoping +to kindle in Jesus' heart a passion for worldly glory, Satan artfully +relates that Caesar wept because he had lived so long without +distinguishing himself; but our Lord quietly demonstrates the futility +of earthly fame, compared to real glory, which is won only through +religious patience and virtuous striving, such as was practiced by Job +and Socrates. When Christ repeats he is not seeking his own glory but +that of the Father who sent him, Satan reminds him God is surrounded +with splendor and that it behooves his Son to strive to be like him. +But Jesus rejoins that, while glory is the essential attribute of the +Creator, no one else has a right to aspire to anything of the sort. + +Undeterred by these checks, Satan changes his theme, and reminds +Christ that, as a member of the royal family, he is not only entitled +to the throne, but expected to free Judea from Roman oppression. He +states that the holy temple has been defiled, that injustice has been +committed, and urges that even the Maccabees resorted to arms to free +their country. Although Christ insists no such mission has been +appointed for him, he adds that, although his reign will never end, it +will be only those who can suffer best who will be able to enjoy it. + + "Who best + Can suffer, best can do; best reign, who first + Well hath obeyed; just trial ere I merit + My exaltation without change or end." + +Then, turning upon his interlocutor, Christ inquires why he is so +anxious to promote the one whose rise will entail his fall? To which +Satan replies that, having no hope, it little behooves him to obstruct +the plans of Christ, from whose benevolence alone he expects some +mitigation of his punishment, for he fancies that by speaking thus he +can best induce Christ to hear him. Then, feigning to believe that +Christ has refused his offers simply because he has never seen aught +save Jerusalem, Satan conveys him in the twinkling of an eye to the +summit of a mountain, whence, pointing eastward, he shows him all the +great kingdoms of Asia. Thus, he reveals the glories of Assyria, +Babylonia, and Persia,--of whose histories he gives a brief +résumé,--before pointing out a large Parthian army setting out to war +against the Scythians, for he hopes by this martial display to +convince Christ that, in order to obtain a kingdom, he will have to +resort to military force. Then he adds he can easily enlist the +services of this army, with which Christ can drive the Romans out of +Judea, and triumphantly reign over the land of his ancestors, whence +his glory will extend far and wide, until it far surpasses all that +Rome and Caesar achieved. Jesus, however, demonstrates the vanity of +all military efforts, declaring his time has not yet come, but +assuring him he will not be found wanting when the moment comes for +him to ascend the throne, for he hopes to prove an able ruler. + +Then he reminds Satan how he tempted David to take a census against +God's wish, and led Israel astray, until the Ten Tribes were taken off +into captivity in punishment for their idolatry. He also comments upon +Satan's extraordinary anxiety to restore the very people whose foe he +has always been, as he has proved time and again by leading them into +idolatry, adding that God may yet restore them to their liberty and to +their native land. These arguments silence even Satan, for such is +ever the result when "with truth falsehood contends." + +_Book IV._ With all the persistency of his kind, Satan refuses to +acknowledge himself beaten, and, leading Christ to the western side of +the mountain, reveals to him all the splendor of Rome, exhibiting its +Capitol, Tarpeian Rock, triumphal arches, and the great roads along +which hosts are journeying to the Eternal City. After thus dazzling +him, Satan suggests that Christ oust Tiberius (who has no son) from +the imperial throne, and make himself master not only of David's +realm, but of the whole Roman Empire, establishing law and order where +vice now reigns. + +Although Satan eagerly proffers his aid to accomplish all this, our +Lord rejoins such a position has no attraction for him, adding that, +as long as the Romans were frugal, mild, and temperate, they were +happy, but that, when they became avaricious and brutal, they +forfeited their happiness. He adds that he has not been sent to free +the Romans, but that, when his season comes to sit on David's throne, +his rule will spread over the whole world and will dwell there without +end. + + "Know, therefore, when my season comes to sit + On David's throne, it shall be like a tree + Spreading and overshadowing all the earth, + Or as a stone that shall to pieces dash + All monarchies besides throughout the world, + And of my kingdom there shall be no end: + Means there shall be to this, but what the means + Is not for thee to know nor me to tell." + +Pretending that Christ's reluctance is due to the fact that he shrinks +from the exertions necessary to obtain this boon Satan offers to +bestow it freely upon him, provided he will fall down and worship him. +Hearing this proposal, Christ rebukes the tempter, saying, "Thou shalt +worship the Lord thy God and only him shalt serve," and reviling him +for his ingratitude. To pacify his interlocutor, Satan then proposes +to make him famous through wisdom, and exhibits Athens,--that +celebrated centre of ancient learning--offering to make him master of +all its schools of philosophy, oratory, and poetry, and thus afford +him ample intellectual gratification. But Jesus rejects this offer +also, after proving the vanity and insufficiency of heathen philosophy +and learning, and after demonstrating that many books are a weariness +to the flesh, and that none compare with those which are the proudest +boast of God's Chosen People. + + "However, many books, + Wise men have said, are wearisome: who reads + Incessantly, and to his reading brings not + A spirit and judgment equal or superior + (And what he brings, what needs he elsewhere seek?), + Uncertain and unsettled still remains, + Beep versed in books and shallow in himself, + Crude or intoxicate, collecting toys + And trifles for choice matters, worth a sponge; + As children gathering pebbles on the shore." + +Irritated by the failure of all his attempts, Satan next taunts his +opponent by describing the sufferings and humiliations he will have to +undergo, until, seeing this too has no effect, he suddenly bears him +back to the wilderness, where he leaves him for the night, during +which he sends a terrific storm to appall him. Even in sleep Jesus is +haunted by dreams and spectres sent by the tempter, but at dawn all +these visions disappear, the storm dies down, and a lovely morning +greets him when he awakes. Once more Satan appears to warn our Lord +that the dreams of the night and the horrors of the tempest were +foreshadowings of what he will have to undergo. In spite of this, +Christ assures him he is toiling in vain; whereupon swollen with rage, +Satan confesses that ever since he heard Gabriel's announcement to the +shepherds in regard to Christ's birth, he has watched him, hoping to +get some hold upon him during his infancy, youth, or early manhood. He +now inquires whether Christ is really his destined foe and reluctantly +admits he has failed in all his endeavors to tempt him. But one last +test still remains to be tried, for Satan suddenly conveys Christ to +the topmost pinnacle of the Temple of Jerusalem, bidding him +demonstrate his divinity by fearlessly casting himself down, since God +has "given his angels charge concerning him." + +Not only, does our Lord reprove the tempter, but so calmly manifests +his divine power by standing erect on this dangerous point, that +Satan--like all other defeated monsters, such as the Sphinx--falls +howling down into the infernal regions. At the same time angels convey +our Lord to a lovely valley, where they minister unto him with +celestial food and celebrate his victory with a triumphal hymn, for +the Son of God has successfully resisted the tempter, before whom Adam +succumbed, and has thereby saved man from the penalty of his sin. + +Henceforth Satan will never again dare set foot in Paradise, where +Adam and his chosen descendants are to dwell secure, while the Son of +Man completes the work he has been sent to do. + + Thus they the Son of God, our Saviour meek, + Sung victor, and from heavenly feast refreshed + Brought on his way with joy; he unobserved + Home to his mother's private house returned. + + + + +GERMAN EPICS + + +German literature begins after the great migrations (_circa_ 600), and +its earliest samples are traditional songs of an epic character, like +the Hildebrandslied. Owing to diversities of race and speech, there +are in southern and northern Germany various epic cycles which cluster +around such heroes as Ermanrich the Goth, Dietrich von Bern, Theodoric +the East Goth, Attila the Hun, Gunther the Burgundian, Otfried the +Langobardian, and Sigfried--perchance a Frisian, or, as some +authorities claim, the famous Arminius who triumphed over the Romans. + +The Hildebrandslied relates how Hildebrand, after spending thirty +years in Hungary, returns to North Italy, leaving behind him a wife +and infant son Hadubrand. A false rumor of Hildebrand's death reaches +Hungary when Hadubrand has achieved great renown as a warrior, so, +when in quest for adventure the young man meets his father, he deems +him an impostor and fights with him until the poem breaks off, leaving +us uncertain whether father or son was victorious. But later poets, +such as Kaspar von der Rhön, give the story a happy ending, thus +avoiding the tragic note struck in Sorab and Rustem (p. 410). + +There existed so many of these ancient epic songs that Charlemagne +undertook to collect them, but Louis I, his all too pious son, +destroyed this collection on his accession to the throne, because, +forsooth, these epics glorified the pagan gods his ancestors had +worshipped! + +Still not all the Teutonic epics are of pagan origin, for in the +second period we find such works as Visions of Judgment (Muspilli), +Lives of Saints, and biblical narratives like Heliant (the Saviour), +Judith, the Exodus, der Krist by Otfried, and monkish-political works +like the Ludwigslied, or history of the invasion of the Normans. There +is also the epic of Walter von Aquitanien, which, although written in +Latin, shows many traces of German origin. + +In Walther von Aquitanien we have an epic of the Burgundian-Hunnish +cycle written by Ekkehard of St. Gall before 973. It relates the escape +of Walther von Aquitanien and his betrothed Hildegund from the court +of Attila, where the young man was detained as a hostage. After +describing their preparations for flight, their method of travel and +camping, the poet relates how they were overtaken in the Vosges +Mountains by a force led by Gunther and Hagen, who wish to secure the +treasures they are carrying. Warned in time by Hildegund,--who keeps +watch while he sleeps,--Walther dons his armor, and single-handed +disposes of many foes. When Gunther Hagen, and Walther alone survive, +although sorely disabled, peace is concluded, and the lovers resume +their journey and reach Aquitania safely, where they reign happily +thirty years. + +In the third period "the crusades revived the epic memories of +Charlemagne and Roland and of the triumphs of Alexander," thus giving +birth to a Rolandslied and an Alexanderlied, as well as to endless +chivalrie epics, or romances in verse and prose. + +The Rolandslied--an art epic--gives the marriage and banishment of +Charlemagne's sister Bertha, the birth of Roland, the manner in which +he exacted tribute from his playmates to procure clothes, his first +appearance in his uncle's palace, his bold seizure of meat and drink +from the royal table to satisfy his mother's needs, Charlemagne's +forgiveness of his sister for the sake of her spirited boy, the +episode regarding the giant warrior in the Ardennes, the fight with +Oliver, the ambush at Roncevaux, and end with Roland's death and the +punishment of the traitor Ganelon. But later legends claim that +Roland, recovering from the wounds received at Roncevaux, returned to +Germany and to his fiancée Aude, who, deeming him dead, had meantime +taken the veil. We next have Roland's sorrow, the construction of his +hermitage at Rolandseek, [24] whence he continually overlooks the +island of Nonnenwörth and the convent where his beloved is wearing her +life away in prayers for his soul. This cycle concludes with Roland's +death and burial on this very spot, his face still turned toward the +grave where his sweetheart rests. + +In the Langobardian cycle[25] also is the tale of "Rother," supposed +to be Charlemagne's grandfather, one of the court epics of the Lombard +cycle. In King Rother we have the abduction by Rother of the emperor's +daughter, her recovery by her father, and Rother's pursuit and final +reconquest of his wife. The next epic in the cycle, "Otnit," related +the marriage of this king to a heathen princess, her father's gift of +dragon's eggs, and the hatching of these monsters, which ultimately +cause the death of Otnit and infest Teutonic lands with their progeny. +Then come the legends of Hug-Dietrich and Wolf-Dietrich, which +continue the Lombard cycle and pursue the adventures of Otnit to his +death. + +The legend of Herzog Ernst is still popular, and relates how a duke of +Bavaria once made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and lived through endless +thrilling adventures on the way. + +The greatest of all the German epics is undoubtedly the +Nibelungenlied,--of which we give a synopsis,--which is often termed +the Iliad of Germany, while "Gudrun" is considered its Odyssey. This +folk epic relates how Hagan, son of a king, was carried off at seven +years of age by a griffin. But, before the monster or its young could +devour him, the sturdy child effected his escape into the wilderness, +where he grew up with chance-found companions. Rescued finally by a +passing ship, these young people are threatened with slavery, but +spared so sad a fate thanks to Hagan's courage. Hagan now returns +home, becomes king, and has a child, whose daughter Gudrun is carried +away from father and lover by a prince of Zealand. On his way home, +the kidnapper is overtaken by his pursuers and wages a terrible battle +on the Wülpensand, wherein he proves victorious. But the kidnapper +cannot induce Gudrun to accept his attentions, although he tries hard +to win her love. His mother, exasperated by this resistance finally +undertakes to force Gudrun to submit by dint of hardships, and even +sends her out barefoot in the snow to do the family washing. While +thus engaged, Gudrun and her faithful companion are discovered by the +princess' brother and lover, who arrange the dramatic rescue of the +damsels, whom they marry.[26] + +Next in order come the philosophic epics of Wolfram von Eschenbach, +including the immortal Parzifal--which has been used by Tennyson and +Wagner in their poems and opera--and the poetic tales of Gottfried of +Strassburg, whose Tristan und Isolde, though unfinished, is a fine +piece of work. Hartmann von der Aue is author of Erek und Enide,--the +subject of Tennyson's poem,--of Der arme Heinrich,--which served as +foundation for Longfellow's Golden Legend,--and of Iwein or the Knight +with the Lion. + +Among the Minnesingers of greatest note are Walther von der +Vogelweide, Wolfram von Eschenbach, and later, when their +head-quarters were at Nüremberg, Hans Sachs. Their favorite themes +were court epics, dealing especially with the legends of Arthur, of +the Holy Grail, and of Charles the Great. Many of these epics are +embodied in the Heldenbuch, or Book of Heroes, compiled in the +fifteenth century by Kaspar von der Rhön, while the Abenteuerbuch +contains many of these legends as well as Der Rosengarten and König +Laurin. + +In the second part of the thirteenth century artificiality and +vulgarity began to preponderate, provoking as counterweights didactic +works such as Der Krieg auf der Wartburg. The fourteenth century saw +the rise of the free cities, literary guilds, and five universities. +It also marks the cultivation of political satire in such works as +Reinecke Fuchs, and of narrative prose chronicles like the Lüneburger, +Alsatian, and Thuringian Chronicles, which are sometimes termed prose +epics. The Volksbücher also date from this time, and have preserved +for us many tales which would otherwise have been lost, such as the +legends of the Wandering Jew and Dr. Faustus. + +The age of Reformation proved too serious for poets to indulge in any +epics save new versions of Reinecke Fuchs and Der Froschmeuseler, and +after the Thirty Years' War the first poem of this class really worthy +of mention is Klopstock's Messias, or epic in twenty books on the life +and mission of Christ and the fulfilment of the task for which he was +foreordained. + +Contemporary with Klopstock are many noted writers, who distinguished +themselves in what is known as the classic period of German +literature. This begins with Goethe's return from Italy, when he, with +Schiller's aid, formed a classical school of literature in Germany. + +While Schiller has given us the immortal epic drama "William Tell," +Goethe produced the idyllic epic "Hermann und Dorothea," the +dramatical epic "Faust," and an inimitable version of the animal epic +"Reinecke Fuchs." + +Wieland also was a prolific writer in many fields; inspired by the +Arabian Nights, Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, and Huon de +Bordeaux, [27] he composed an allegorical epic entitled "Oberon," +wherein "picture after picture is unfolded to his readers," and which +has since served as a theme for musicians and painters. + +Since Goethe's day Wagner has made the greatest and most picturesque +use of the old German epic material, for the themes of nearly all his +operas are drawn from this source.[28] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 24: See the author's "Legends of the Rhine."] + +[Footnote 25: See the author's "Legends of the Middle Ages."] + +[Footnote 26: Detailed accounts of "Gudrun" and several other of these +subordinate epics can be found in the author's "Legends of the Middle +Ages."] + +[Footnote 27: See the author's "Legends of the Middle Ages."] + +[Footnote 28: See the author's "Stories of the Wagner Operas."] + + + + +THE NIBELUNGENLIED[29] + + +The Nibelungenlied, or Song of the Nibelungs, was written about the +beginning of the thirteenth century although it relates events dating +back to the sixth or seventh. Some authorities claim it consists of +twenty songs of various dates and origin, others that it is the work +of a single author. The latter ascribe the poem to Conrad von +Kürenberg, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Heinrich von Ofterdingen, or +Walther von der Vogelweide. The poem is divided into thirty-nine +"adventures," and contains two thousand four hundred and fifty-nine +stanzas of four lines each. The action covers a period of about thirty +years and is based on materials taken from the Frankish, Burgundian, +Austro-Gothic, and Hunnish saga cycles. + +Dietrich von Bern, one of the characters, is supposed to be Theodoric +of Italy, while Etzel has been identified with Attila the Hun, and the +Gunther with a king of the Burgundians who was destroyed with all his +followers by the Huns in 436. + +_1st Adventure._ Three Burgundian princes dwell at Worms on the Rhine, +where, at the time when the poem opens their sister Kriemhild is +favored by a vision wherein two eagles pursue a falcon and tear it to +pieces when it seeks refuge on her breast. + + A dream was dreamt by Kriemhild the virtuous and the gay, + How a wild young falcon she train'd for many a day, + Till two fierce eagles tore it; to her there could not be + In all the world such sorrow as this perforce to see.[30] + +Knowing her mother expert at interpreting dreams, Kriemhild inquires +what this means, only to learn that her future spouse will be attacked +by grim foes. This note of tragedy, heard already in the very +beginning of the poem, is repeated at intervals until it seems like +the reiterated tolling of a funeral bell. _2d Adventure._ The poem +now transfers us to Xanten on the Rhine, where King Siegmund and his +wife hold a tournament for the coming of age of their only son +Siegfried, who distinguishes himself greatly and in whose behalf his +mother lavishes rich gifts upon all present. + + The gorgeous feast it lasted till the seventh day was o'er; + Siegelind the wealthy did as they did of yore; + She won for valiant Siegfried the hearts of young and old + When for his sake among them she shower'd the ruddy gold. + +_3d Adventure._ Hearing of the beauty of Kriemhild, Siegfried decides +to go and woo her, taking with him only a troop of eleven men. His +arrival at Worms causes a sensation, and Hagen of Tronje--a cousin of +King Gunther--informs his master that this visitor once distinguished +himself by slaying a dragon and that he is owner of the vast +Nibelungen hoard. This treasure once belonged to two brothers, who +implored Siegfried to divide it between them, a task he undertook in +exchange for the sword--Balmung--which lay on top of the heap of gold. +But no sooner had he made the division than the brothers mortally +wounded each other and died on their heaps of gold, leaving their +treasure to Siegfried, who thus became the richest man in the world. + +On hearing the new-comer announce he has come to challenge Gunther to +a duel, the Burgundians are dismayed, but they soon succeed in +disarming their guest, and finally persuade him to remain with them a +year, entertaining him with games and tournaments in which Siegfried +distinguished himself greatly, to the satisfaction of Kriemhild who +witnesses his prowess through a latticed window. + +_4th Adventure._ Toward the end of Siegfried's visit, it is reported +that the kings of Saxony and Denmark are advancing with four thousand +men. The dismay of the Burgundians is such that Siegfried proposes to +go forth and overpower the enemy with a force of merely one thousand +men. Only too glad to accept this offer, Gunther allows Siegfried to +depart, and is overjoyed when the young hero comes back with two +prisoner monarchs in his train. The messenger who announces +Siegfried's triumph is, moreover, richly rewarded by Kriemhild, who +flushes with pleasure on hearing the praise bestowed upon her hero. + +_5th Adventure._ After describing the tournament held at Worms in +honor of this victory, the poet tells us how Siegfried and Kriemhild +met there face to face, and how they fell in love with each other at +first sight. + + Now went she forth, the loveliest, as forth the morning goes + From misty clouds out-beaming; then all his weary woes + Left him, in heart who bore her, and so, long time, had done. + He saw there stately standing the fair, the peerless one. + +The result was of course an immediate proposal, which Gunther was glad +to accept in his sister's name. + +_6th Adventure._ He bargained, however, that before Siegfried claimed +his bride he should go with him to Isenland, and help him win the hand +of Brunhild, the finest woman in the world. Gunther needs Siegfried's +help in his wooing, because Brunhild has vowed to marry only the man +who can throw a spear and stone farther than she and surpass her in +jumping. Siegfried, who apparently possesses some knowledge of this +lady, vainly tries to dissuade Gunther, and, when he decides to +accompany him in his quest, suggests that Hagen and another knight +form their train. Kriemhild provides the travellers with suitable +garments, made by her own hands, and the four embark on a small +vessel, in which they sail down the Rhine and out to sea, reaching +Isenland only twelve days after their start. As they near this land, +Siegfried strictly charges his companions to tell every one he is +Gunther's vassal, and immediately begins to act as if such were indeed +his real station. + +_7th Adventure._ Gazing out of her window, Brunhild perceives the +approaching ship, and, recognizing within it Siegfried,--who visited +her realm once before,--her heart beats with joy at the thought that +he has come to woo her. She is, however, amazed to see him hold +Gunther's stirrup when they land, and to learn it is the king of +Burgundy who sues for her hand. In her disappointment Brunhild grimly +warns the new-comer that, unless he prove successful, he and his men +must die. + + "He must cast the stone beyond me, and after it must leap, + Then with me shoot the javelin; too quick a pace you keep; + Stop and awhile consider, and reckon well the cost," + The warrioress made answer, "ere life and fame be lost." + +Undeterred by this threat, Gunther volunteers to undergo the test, but +he quails when he sees the heavy spear which Brunhild brandishes and +when he perceives that twelve men stagger beneath the weight she +proposes to throw. He is, however, somewhat reassured when Siegfried +whispers he need but go through the motions, while his friend, +concealed by the Tarncappe,--the cloak of invisibility which endows +the wearer with the strength of twelve men,--will perform the required +feats in his behalf. + + Said he, "Off with the buckler and give it me to bear, + Now, what I shall advise thee, mark with thy closest care. + Be it thine to make the gestures, and mine the work to do." + Glad man was then king Gunther, when he his helpmate knew. + +In the first test Brunhild casts a spear with such force that both +Gunther and his invisible companion stagger and nearly fall, but, just +as she is about to cry victory, Siegfried sends back the spear +butt-end foremost and brings her to her knees. Veiling her dismay at +this first defeat, Brunhild hurls the stone to a great distance and +lands beside it with a flying leap. In Gunther's place the invisible +Siegfried hurls the same stone much farther than Brunhild, and seizing +Gunther by his belt jumps with him to the spot where it alighted. +Having thus been outdone in all three feats of strength, Brunhild no +longer refuses her hand to Gunther, who appears triumphant, although +his prospective bride looks strangely solemn and angry. + +_8th Adventure._ Because Brunhild summons to her castle a large number +of warriors, under pretext of celebrating her nuptials, Siegfried +sails off unseen to the land of the Nibelungs, where he batters at +his castle gate demanding admittance. As the wary dwarf guardian of +the Nibelung hoard refuses to admit him, Siegfried fights him and +after conquering him compels him to recognize his authority. Then he +bids a thousand Nibelung warriors accompany him back to Isenland, and +Brunhild, seeing this force approaching and learning from Gunther it +is part of his suite, no longer dares to resist. + +_9th Adventure._ The fair bride, escorted by all these men, now sails +across the sea and up the Rhine. As they near Burgundy, Gunther +decides to send word of their arrival, and persuades Siegfried to act +as his messenger by assuring him he will earn Kriemhild's gratitude. + + Said he, "Nay, gentle Siegfried, do but this journey take, + Not for my sake only, but for my sister's sake. + You'll oblige fair Kriemhild in this as well as me." + When so implor'd was Siegfried, ready at once was he. + +_10th Adventure._ Not only does Siegfried receive the fair lady's +hearty thanks, but he acts as her escort when she hastens down to the +bank to welcome her brother and his bride. The poem then describes the +kissing, speeches, and grand tournament held to welcome Brunhild, as +well as the banquet where Siegfried publicly reminds Gunther he +promised him Kriemhild's hand as soon as Brunhild was won. Exclaiming +this promise shall immediately be redeemed, Gunther sends for his +sister, although his new wife openly wonders he should bestow her hand +upon a mere vassal. Silencing his bride's objections, Gunther confers +Kriemhild's hand upon Siegfried, and thus two bridal couples sit side +by side at the evening meal. + +The hour having come for retiring, Gunther, attempting to embrace his +bride, is dismayed to find himself seized, bound fast, and hung up on +a peg, where he dangles all night in spite of piteous entreaties to be +set free. It is only a moment before the servants enter on the morrow +that Brunhild consents to release her spouse, so when the bridegrooms +appear in public, everybody notices that while Siegfried is radiant, +Gunther's brow is clouded by a heavy frown. In course of the day, the +King of Burgundy confides to his new brother-in-law the cause of his +displeasure, whereupon Siegfried promises to don his cloud cloak that +evening and compel Gunther's bride to treat her husband henceforth +with due respect. True to this promise, Siegfried, unseen, follows +Gunther and Brunhild into their apartment that night, and, the lights +having been extinguished, wrestles with the bride until she +acknowledges herself beaten. Although fancying she is yielding to +Gunther, it is Siegfried who snatches her girdle and ring before +leaving Gunther to reap the benefit of his victory, for Brunhild, +having submitted to a man, loses her former fabulous strength. +Meanwhile Siegfried returns to Kriemhild, imprudently relates how he +has been occupied, and bestows upon her the girdle and ring. + +_11th Adventure._ The wedding festivities finished, Siegfried returns +to Xanten with his bride, who is escorted thither by her faithful +henchman Ekkewart, who has vowed to follow her wherever she goes. +Siegfried's parents not only receive the bride cordially, but +relinquish their throne to the young couple, who live together most +happily and are overjoyed at the advent of a son. + +_12th Adventure._ Twelve whole years elapse ere Brunhild asks Gunther +how it happens his vassal Siegfried has never yet come to Worms to do +homage? Although Gunther now assures his wife Siegfried is a king in +his own right, she nevertheless insists her brother-in-law and his +wife should be invited to Worms, a suggestion which Gunther is only +too glad to carry out. + +_13th Adventure._ Overjoyed at the prospect of revisiting the scene of +their courtship, Siegfried and Kriemhild return to Worms, leaving +their infant son at home, but taking with them Siegfried's father who +has recently lost his wife. To honor her sister-in-law, Brunhild +welcomes Kriemhild with the same state that heralded her own entrance +at Worms. Banquets and tournaments also take place, whereat the two +queens try to outshine each other. One day, while sitting together +extolling their husband's virtues, a quarrel arises, during which +Brunhild curtly informs Kriemhild her husband can scarcely be as great +as she pretends, seeing he is merely Gunther's vassal! + +_14th Adventure._ Of course Kriemhild hotly denies this, and, when +Brunhild insists, declares she will prove her husband's superiority by +claiming precedence at the church door. Instigated by wrath, both +ladies deck themselves magnificently and arrive simultaneously to +attend mass, escorted by imposing trains. Seeing Kriemhild make a +motion as if to enter first, Brunhild bids her pause, and the two +ladies begin an exchange of uncomplimentary remarks. In the heat of +the quarrel, Kriemhild insinuates that Brunhild granted Siegfried +bridal favors, and in proof thereof exhibits Brunhild's girdle and +ring! Brunhild immediately sends for Gunther, who, helpless between +two angry women, summons Siegfried. Bluntly declaring wives should be +kept in order, Siegfried undertakes to discipline Kriemhild, provided +Gunther will reduce Brunhild to subjection, and publicly swears he +never approached the Burgundian queen in any unseemly way. In spite of +this public apology, Brunhild refuses to be comforted, and, as her +husband utterly refuses to take active measures to avenge her, she +finally prevails upon her kinsman Hagen to take up her quarrel. Under +the mistaken impression that she has been grievously wronged by +Siegfried, Hagen urges Gunther to attack his brother-in-law, until the +weak king yields to the pressure thus brought to bear by his angry +wife and kinsman. + + None urged the matter further, except that Hagen still + Kept ever prompting Gunther the guiltless blood to spill; + Saying, that, if Siegfried perish'd, his death to him would bring + The sway o'er many a kingdom. Sore mourn'd the wavering king. + +_15th Adventure._ A cunning plan is now devised by Hagen whereby +Siegfried is informed that the monarchs he once conquered have again +risen up in rebellion. Of course Siegfried volunteers to subdue them +once more, and Kriemhild, hearing he is about to start for war, +expresses great anxiety for his safety. Under pretext of sympathy, +Hagen inquires why Kriemhild feels any dread, seeing her husband is +invulnerable, and learns the secret that Siegfried can be injured in a +spot between his shoulders, because a lime-leaf, sticking fast there, +prevented the dragon's blood from touching that spot.[31] + + "So now I'll tell the secret, dear friend, alone to thee + (For thou, I doubt not, cousin, will keep thy faith with me), + Where sword may pierce my darling, and death sit on the thrust, + See, in thy truth and honor how full, how firm my trust!" + +Under pretext of protecting this vulnerable point, Hagen persuades +Kriemhild to embroider a cross on her husband's garment over the fatal +spot. Then, sure now of triumphing over this dreaded foe, he feigns +the kings have sent word they will submit, and proposes that instead +of fighting they all go hunting in the Odenwald. + +_16th Adventure._ Troubled by strange presentiments, Kriemhild tries +to prevent Siegfried from going to the chase, but, laughing at her +fears, he departs joyfully, although he is never to see her again. +After describing the game slain in the course of this day's hunt, the +poet declares Siegfried captured a live bear and playfully let it +loose in amp, to the horror of his fellow hunters. Then, feeling +thirsty, Siegfried loudly began to call for drink, and, discovering +that owing to a mistake the wine has been conveyed to another part of +the forest, proposes that he, Gunther, and Hagen should race to a +neighboring spring, undertaking to perform the feat in full armor +while his companions run in light undress. Although handicapped, +Siegfried arrives first, but courteously steps aside to allow Gunther +to take a drink, pretending he wishes to remove his armor before +quenching his thirst. But, when he, in his turn, stoops over the +fountain, Hagen, after slyly removing his weapons out of his reach, +steals up behind him and runs a spear into the very spot where the +embroidered cross shines on his doublet. Mortally wounded, Siegfried +turns, and, grasping his shield, hurls it at the traitor with such +force that he dashes it to pieces. + + E'en to the death though wounded, he hurl'd it with such power + That the whirling buckler scatter'd wide a shower + Of the most precious jewels, then straight in shivers broke. + Full gladly had the warrior ta'en vengeance with that stroke. + +Sinking to the ground after this effort, Siegfried expends his last +breath in beseeching Gunther to watch over his wife. Gazing down at +the corpse, Gunther, afraid to acknowledge so dastardly a deed, +suggests they spread the report that Siegfried was slain by brigands +while hunting alone in the forest. Hagen, however, proud of his feat +does not intend to subscribe to this project, and plots further +villainy while following the body back to Worms. + +_17th Adventure._ The funeral train arriving there at midnight, Hagen +directs the bearers to lay Siegfried's body at Kriemhild's door, so +that she may stumble over it when she comes out at dawn on her way to +mass. On perceiving that the dead body over which she has fallen is +that of her beloved spouse, Kriemhild faints, while her women raise a +mournful cry. + +Roused from his slumbers by the terrible news, old Siegmund joins the +mourners, and he and the Nibelung knights carry the body to the +minster, where Kriemhild insists all those who took part in the hunt +shall file past it, for she hopes thereby to detect her husband's +murderer. (Mediaeval tradition averred that a dead man's wounds bled +whenever his murderer drew near.) Because Siegfried's wounds drop +blood at Hagen's touch, Kriemhild publicly denounces him as her +husband's slayer. + + It is a mighty marvel, which oft e'en now we spy, + That, when the blood-stain'd murderer comes to the murder'd nigh, + The wounds break out a bleeding, then too the same befell, + And thus could each beholder the guilt of Hagen tell. + +But, instead of showing remorse, Hagen boldly proclaims he merely did +his duty when he slew the man who cast a slur upon the honor of his +queen. + +_18th Adventure._ Having laid his beloved son to rest, old Siegmund +returns home, after vainly urging Kriemhild to leave the place where +Siegfried is buried and return to her son, for, although Kriemhild's +mother and brothers try to show her every mark of sympathy, Brunhild +reveals no pity. + + Meanwhile sat misproud Brunhild in haughtiness uncheck'd; + Of Kriemhild's tears and sorrows her it nothing reck'd. + She pitied not the mourner; she stoop'd not to the low. + Soon Kriemhild took full vengeance, and woe repaid with woe. + +_19th Adventure._ Three years elapse before Hagen suggests to Gunther +that his sister send for the Nibelung hoard which was given her on her +marriage. Intending to employ it to buy masses and avengers for +Siegfried, Kriemhild gladly consents, and we are told twelve wagons +travelled four nights and days to convey the store of gold from the +Nibelung castle to the sea, whence it was carried to Kriemhild at +Worms. With such a treasure at her disposal, the widowed queen +proceeds to win so many adherents that Hagen, deeming this gold may +prove dangerous, advises her brothers to take possession of it. No +sooner have they done so than, fearing lest they may restore it to +Kriemhild, Hagen buries it in the Rhine, telling none but his masters +in what place it is hidden. + +_20th Adventure._ Having lost his first wife, Etzel, king of Hungary, +now deems it advisable to marry again and secure an heir to his realm. +As no other woman seems so fitted for so exalted a station as +Kriemhild, Etzel sends his chief nobleman, Rudiger, to Worms with his +proposal. After tarrying a few days on the way with his wife and +daughter, this ambassador hurries to Worms, where he is welcomed by +Hagen, who had formerly spent several years as a hostage at Etzel's +court. Rudiger having made his errand known, Gunther beseeches three +days' time to ascertain his sister's wishes. Flattered by the prospect +of such an alliance, Gunther hopes Kriemhild will accept Etzel's +proposal, but Hagen rejoins that should she secure such powerful +allies, she might in time punish them for Siegfried's death. At first +the widowed Kriemhild refuses to listen to Etzel's offers, but, when +Rudiger swears to her past or future ills, she suddenly announces her +consent. + + Then swore to her Sir Rudiger and all his knightly train + To serve her ever truly, and all her rights maintain, + Nor e'er of her due honors scant her in Etzel's land. + Thereto gave the good margrave th' assurance of his hand. + + Then thought the faithful mourner, "with such a host of friends + Now the poor lonely widow may work her secret ends, + Nor care for what reflections the world on her may cast. + What if my lost beloved I may revenge at last?" + +Then, still escorted by the faithful Ekkewart and carrying off with +her the small portion of the Nibelungen treasure which she still +retains, Kriemhild starts out for Hungary. + +_21st Adventure._ The three Burgundian princes escort their sister to +the Danube and, taking leave of her there, allow her to proceed with +Rudiger to Passau, where her uncle, Bishop Pilgrin, gives her a warm +welcome. Thence the travellers proceed to Rudiger's castle, where his +wife and daughter entertain their future queen, who bestows upon them +costly treasures. Resuming her journey, Kriemhild is now met on all +sides by the ovations of her future subjects. + +_22d Adventure._ When Etzel and his chief noblemen finally meet her, +Kriemhild courteously kisses her future spouse, as well as the men +whom he points out as worthy of such distinction. Among these is +Dietrich of Bern, one of the heroes of the poem, and it is under his +escort that the king and queen of Hungary proceed to Vienna, where +their marriage festivities last seventeen days. + +_23d Adventure._ Seven years elapse, and, although Kriemhild has a son +by Etzel, she still grieves for Siegfried and continually broods over +her wrongs. One day she suddenly suggests that King Etzel invite her +kinsmen to Hungary, and, when he consents, gives special instructions +to the bards who bear the message to make sure that Hagen accompanies +her brothers. + +_24th Adventure._ After fourteen days' journey the minstrels reach +Worms and deliver their message. All are in favor of accepting this +invitation save Hagen, who remarks that such friendliness seems +suspicious. When his master retorts a guilty conscience harbors fear, +Hagen stoutly avers he is ready to serve as guide, suggesting, +however, that they journey fully armed, with an escort of a thousand +men, so as to cope with treachery should such occur. + + "Turn, while there's time for safety, turn, warriors most and least; + For this, and for this only, you're bidden to the feast, + That you perforce may perish in Etzel's bloody land. + Whoever rideth thither, Death has he close at hand." + +_25th Adventure._ Dismissed with the old queen's blessing, the +Burgundians leave Brunhild and her son in charge of a steward, and set +out. As they are now sole possessors of the great Nibelung hoard, the +poet terms them Nibelungs in the remainder of his work. Under the +guidance of Hagen, who alone knows the way, the party reaches the +banks of the Danube, where, finding no vessels to ferry them across, +Hagen bids them wait until he provide means of transportation. Walking +down the river, he surprises three swan-maidens bathing, and by +capturing their garments induces them to predict the future. Although +one promises him all manner of pleasant things to recover her plumes, +her companions, having secured theirs, warn Hagen that none but the +priest will return safely to Burgundy, and inform him that he can +secure a boat by assuring the ferry-man on the opposite bank that his +name is Amalung. + +Thanks to this hint, Hagen induces the ferry-man to cross the river +and springs into his boat, before the man, discovering the trick, +attacks him with his oar. Forced to defend himself, Hagen slays the +ferry-man, takes possession of his boat, and then proceeds to convey +relays of the Burgundian army across the river. During his last trip, +perceiving the chaplain on board and wishing to give the lie to the +swan-maidens' prophecy, Hagen flings the priest into the water; but +the long ecclesiastical garments buoy up their wearer and enable him +to regain the bank which he has just left, whence he makes his way +back to Burgundy. On perceiving the priest's escape, Hagen realizes +none of the rest will return, so grimly destroys the boat as soon as +he is through with it. Then he directs his friends to ride onward, +leaving him to guard their rear, for he knows the boatman's friends +will pursue and attack them. + +_26th Adventure._ Although Hagen's apprehensions are soon justified, +the Burgundians fight so bravely that their assailants are defeated. A +little farther on they find a man sleeping by the roadside, and +discover it is Ekkewart, lying in wait to warn them that Kriemhild +cherishes evil intentions. But, undeterred by this warning also, the +Burgundians continue their journey, and visit Bishop Pilgrin and +Rudiger on their way. + +_27th Adventure._ While at Rudiger's,--where the ladies welcome all +save Hagen with a kiss, and where the host lavishes gifts upon his +guests,--Hagen suggests that a marriage be arranged between Giseler, +the youngest Burgundian prince, and Rudiger's daughter. In compliance +with this suggestion, a formal betrothal takes place. + + Then had the bride and bridegroom within a ring to stand, + For such was then the custom; a merry stripling band + Encircled the fair couple, and gaz'd on them their fill, + And thought the while as idly as think young people still. + +This ceremony over, Rudiger prepares to guide the Burgundians to +Etzel's court, where Kriemhild is rejoicing to think they will soon +appear. + +_28th Adventure._ So patent are Kriemhild's evil intentions, that +Dietrich of Bern and his faithful henchman Hildebrand also caution the +Burgundians to be on their guard. This second warning impresses the +visitors, who at Hagen's suggestion announce they will retain their +weapons for three days. When they arrive at the palace, Kriemhild +cordially embraces her youngest brother, but refuses the same welcome +to the two others, and grimly asks Hagen whether he has brought her +gold. When he bluntly rejoins her treasures will remain in the Rhine +until Doomsday, she abruptly turns her back upon him, and invites the +rest to enter the palace, leaving their arms at the door. Thereupon +Hagen announces his masters have vowed to spend the next three days in +arms, a measure which Dietrich openly approves, informing Kriemhild to +her very face that he is sure she means no good. + +_29th Adventure._ Although the three royal brothers accompany +Kriemhild into the palace, Hagen lingers at the door, and, inviting +the minstrel Volker to sit on the bench beside him, confides to him +his fears, entreating him to stand by him, and promising to do the +same in his behalf should the need occur. + + "Tell me now, friend Volker, will you stand me by, + If these men of Kriemhild's would my mettle try? + Show me, if you love me, faithful friend and true! + And when you need my service I'll do as much for you." + +On seeing her foe so close at hand, Kriemhild summons four hundred +warriors, and bids them attack Hagen, for at present _he_ is the only +one against whom she has sinister designs. To prove to the men that +Hagen is guilty, she offers to meet and question her foe in their +presence. On seeing her coming, Volker suggests they rise in token of +respect, but Hagen grimly rejoins Kriemhild would merely take such +politeness as a proof of weakness. Instead of rising, he therefore +ostentatiously lays Siegfried's sword across his lap. After taunting +Hagen with slaying her husband,--a charge he does not deny,--Kriemhild +orders her men to slay him, but a single glance of his fiery eyes +sends them back cringing, and the queen cannot prevail upon them to +renew the attack. Seeing this, Volker and Hagen boldly join their +friends in the banquet-hall, where Etzel--who is depicted as an +inoffensive, unsuspicious old man--cordially bids them welcome. + +_30th Adventure._ On their way to their sleeping quarters that night, +the Burgundians are jostled by some Huns, who, instigated by +Kriemhild, are evidently seeking to provoke a quarrel. In spite of +their efforts, however, the Burgundians reach their dormitory in +safety, where Hagen and Volker watch all night at the door to guard +against surprise. It is well for them they do so, because at midnight +Kriemhild dispatches a force to attack them, but again the Huns shrink +away appalled on meeting Hagen's menacing glance. + +_31st Adventure._ At dawn the Burgundians, still fully armed, march +off to church, and after service proceed with the king and queen to +view a tournament held in their honor. In these games Rudiger and +Dietrich both refuse to take part, lest an accident should occur. +Their previsions are justified, for, when Volker inadvertently slays a +Hun, Kriemhild loudly clamors for vengeance, although her husband +implores that peace be maintained. Fomented by Kriemhild's secret +efforts, such bad feelings have arisen among the Huns against their +guests, that Etzel's own brother finally undertakes to compass their +death. Meantime the old king, having invited the Burgundians to a +banquet, is surprised to see the princes arrive fully armed, but tries +to show his friendship by promising they shall bring up his son. + +_32d Adventure._ While the Burgundians are banqueting with the king of +Hungary, their men are resting in the hall where they slept, under the +charge of Dankwart, Hagen's brother. There they are suddenly attacked +by some Huns, and, although they manage to slay most of their first +assailants, the deaths they deal kindle lasting animosity in the +breast of the rest of the Huns. New forces therefore press into the +hall, until all the Burgundians are slain, save Dankwart, who, cutting +his way through the enemy's serried ranks, rushes into the hall where +his brother is feasting, and reports what has occurred. + + "Be stirring, brother Hagen, you're sitting all too long. + To you and God in heaven our deadly strait I plain; + Yeomen and knights together lie in their quarters slain." + +_33d Adventure._ No sooner has this cry reached his ear, than Hagen, +whipping out his sword, cuts off the head of Etzel's child, which +bounces into its mother's lap. Then, calling to his brother to prevent +any escape, Hagen shears off the hand of the minstrel who invited them +to Hungary, before he begins slashing right and left. Paralyzed by the +sight of their headless son, Etzel and Kriemhild sit immovable on +their thrones, while Hagen despatches Volker to help Dankwart guard +the door, and bids his masters make use of their weapons while they +may. Although the Burgundians now slay ruthlessly, mindful of the +kindness shown by Dietrich and Rudiger they refrain from attacking +them or their men. When these noblemen therefore beg permission to +pass out safely with their friends, their request is unquestionably +granted. Grasping the king and queen by the hand, Dietrich then leads +them out of the hall, closely followed by Rudiger and their respective +men, while the Burgundians continue the massacre until not a living +foe is left in the hall. + +_34th Adventure._ Weary of slaughter, the Burgundians now sit down for +a moment to rest, but, finding the presence of so many corpses +distasteful, they fling seven hundred victims down the steps, those +who are merely wounded being killed by the fall. The Huns, who come to +pick up their dead, now set up so loud and persistent a cry for +revenge, that their monarch is compelled to prepare a force to oust +the Burgundians from his banquet-hall. Seeing the aged monarch himself +advance at the head of the troops, Hagen, who guards the door, loudly +jeers at him, whereupon Kriemhild offers an immense reward to any one +who will bring her his head. + +_35th Adventure._ The first to try to earn this guerdon is a Dane, who +not only succeeds in entering the hall but in effecting a retreat. +When, emboldened by this first success, he advances a second time with +a new force, he is killed as well as his men. + +_36th Adventure._ After a second brief rest, the Burgundians prepare +to meet a new assault directed by Kriemhild, whose wrath now involves +all her kinsmen, although at first she meditated the death of Hagen +alone. The murder of his child has incensed even Etzel, and the Huns +plan a general massacre to avenge their slain. Although the +Burgundians offer to meet Etzel's forces in fair fight provided they +can return home unmolested if victorious, Kriemhild urges her husband +to refuse unless Hagen is delivered up to their tender mercies. +Deeming it dishonorable to forsake a companion, the Burgundians reject +these terms, whereupon Kriemhild, whose fury has reached a frantic +point, orders the hall set on fire. + +Although the queen fancies the Burgundians will be roasted alive, the +hall being built of stone offers them a place of refuge, and, as they +quench in blood all the sparks that enter, they succeed in maintaining +their position. + + 'Twas well for the Burgundians that vaulted was the roof; + This was, in all their danger, the more to their behoof. + Only about the windows from fire they suffer'd sore. + Still, as their spirit impell'd them, themselves they bravely bore. + +The intensity of the heat causes such thirst, however, that Hagen bids +his companions quench that too in the blood of the slain. Thus, six +hundred Burgundians are found alive when a new Hungarian force bursts +into the hall. + +_37th Adventure._ Having failed in this third attempt, Kriemhild +reminds Rudiger of his solemn oath, and bids him redeem his promise by +slaying the Burgundians. Although this nobleman pleads with the queen, +offering instead to relinquish all he owns and leave her land a +beggar, she insists upon his obedience to her commands. Fully armed, +Rudiger, therefore, finally marches toward the hall and, arriving at +the foot of the staircase, explains his position to the Burgundians. +Knowing his generosity, Hagen, whose shield has been cut to pieces, +begs for the one Rudiger carries, and, after receiving it, declares he +will give a good account of himself before he yields. The signal for +battle is then given and Rudiger and his men enter the hall, where, +after many have fallen on both sides, Gernot, one of Kriemhild's +brothers, and Rudiger slay each other. + +_38th Adventure._ A new batch of corpses having been flung down +stairs, such a lament arises among the Huns that Dietrich of Bern +inquires what it may mean. On learning that Rudiger has been slain, +Dietrich bids Hildebrand go and claim his corpse, but, instead of +acting merely as ambassador, this warrior first bandies words with +Volker and then slays him. Seeing this, Hagen drives him down the +stairs, and discovers that all the Burgundians have now been slain, +and that he and Gunther alone remain alive in the hall. Meantime +Hildebrand having reported to Dietrich all that has occurred, this +chief, hearing most of his men have perished, sallies forth to avenge +them. + +_39th Adventure._ On approaching the hall, Dietrich summons Hagen and +Gunther to surrender, promising to use his influence to secure their +safe return home; but the two Burgundians, feeling sure Kriemhild will +show no mercy, refuse to yield. A duel, therefore, takes place between +Dietrich and the exhausted Hagen, in the course of which, by means of +a sudden feint, Dietrich seizes and binds his foe. Then, leading him +to Kriemhild, he implores her to be merciful to this prisoner, while +he returns to secure Gunther also. + + "Fair and noble Kriemhild," thus Sir Dietrich spake, + "Spare this captive warrior who full amends will make + For all his past transgressions; him here in bonds you see; + Revenge not on the fetter'd th' offences of the free." + +While Dietrich is securing Gunther in the same way, the queen, left +alone with Hagen, again demands her treasures. Hagen rejoins that, +having promised never to reveal their hiding-place as long as his +lords live, he cannot reveal the secret to her. Hearing this +statement, Kriemhild, whose cruelty now knows no bounds, orders +Gunther--her last brother--slain, and herself carries his head to +Hagen, as proof there is no more reason for guarding the secret. +Proudly informing her, since it now depends upon him alone, it will +remain secret forever, Hagen so exasperates Kriemhild that, drawing +from its scabbard the sword which once belonged to Siegfried, she hews +off her prisoner's head with one revengeful stroke! Although neither +her husband nor Hildebrand have been quick enough to forestall this +crime, the latter is so exasperated by Kriemhild's cruelty that he now +slays her in his turn. + + Hildebrand the aged, fierce on Kriemhild sprung; + To the death he smote her as his sword he swung. + Sudden and remorseless he his wrath did wreak. + What could then avail her her fearful thrilling shriek! + +It is, therefore, in the presence of her corpse that Dietrich and +Etzel utter the loud lament with which the Nibelungenlied closes. + +There is, however, another poem called the Nibelungenklage, or the +Lament of the Nibelungs, wherein Etzel, Dietrich, Hildebrand, Bishop +Pilgrin, and the rest utter successive laments over the slain. Then +the spoil of the Burgundians is sent back to Worms, where these +lamentations are continued, each mourner reciting the deeds of the man +whose fate he bewails. This poem is, however, greatly inferior to the +real Nibelungenlied, and was evidently not composed by the same bard. + + "'Tis more than I can tell you what afterward befell, + Save that there was weeping for friends belov'd so well + Knights and squires, dames and damsels, were seen lamenting all. + So here I end my story. This is the Nibelungers' Fall." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 29: See the author's "Legends of the Middle Ages."] + +[Footnote 30: All the quotations in this chapter are from Lettsom's +translation of "The Nibelungenlied."] + +[Footnote 31: See the author's "Legends of the Rhine."] + + + + +STORY OF THE HOLY GRAIL + + +The Anglo-Norman trouvères rightly considered the Story of the Holy +Grail the central point of interest of the Arthurian cycle, or the +grand climax in the legend. + +So many versions of the tale have been written by poets of different +nationalities and different ages--all of whom have added +characteristic touches to the story--that, instead of following the +text of any one particular version, a general outline of the two +principal Holy Grail legends will be given here. Although all the +poets do not mention the origin of the Holy Grail, or sacred vessel, a +few trace its history back to the very beginning. They claim that +when Lucifer stood next to the Creator, or Father, in the heavenly +hierarchy, the other angels presented him with a wonderful crown, +whose central jewel was a flawless emerald of unusual size. + +The advent of the Son, relegating Lucifer to the third instead of the +second place, occasioned his apostasy, which, as Milton explains, was +followed by war in heaven and by the expulsion of the rebel angels. +During his fall from the heights of heaven to the depths of hell, the +emerald, dropping out of Satan's crown, fell upon earth. There it was +fashioned into the cup or dish which Our Lord used during the Last +Supper, and in which Joseph of Arimathea caught a few drops of blood +which flowed from His side. After the Crucifixion the Jews walled +Joseph alive in a prison, where he was sustained in good health and +spirits by the Holy Grail, which he had taken with him. In this prison +Joseph lingered until Vespasian, hearing the story of Christ's +passion, sent messengers to Palestine for relics, hoping they might +cure his son Titus of leprosy. Restored to health by the sight of St. +Veronica's handkerchief,--which had wiped away the bloody sweat from +Our Lord's brow and bore the imprint of his feature,--Titus proceeded +to Jerusalem, where he summoned the Jews to produce the body of +Christ. Not being able to comply, they accused Joseph of having stolen +it. Thereupon Titus, continuing his investigations, found Joseph alive +and well in the prison where he was supposed to have perished. Free +once more, yet dreading further persecution, Joseph embarked, with his +sister and brother-in-law Brons, in a vessel bound for Marseilles, the +Holy Grail supplying all their needs during the journey. On landing in +France, Joseph was divinely instructed to construct a table, around +which he and his companions could be seated, and where the Holy Grail +supplied each guest with the food he preferred. But one seat at this +table, in memory of Judas, was to remain empty until a sinless man +came to occupy it. A sinner, once attempting to seat himself in it, +was swallowed up by the earth, and Joseph was informed that the +enchanter Merlin would in time make a similar table, where a +descendant of Brons would have the honor of occupying this "Siege +Perilous." From Marseilles, by gradual stages, and meeting with every +kind of adventure on the way, Joseph, or his descendants, conveyed the +Holy Grail to Glastonbury in England, where it remained visible until +people became too sinful for it to dwell any more in their midst. It +was then borne off to Sarras, an island city,--presumably located in +the Mediterranean,--where, according to one legend King Evelake +mounted guard over the treasure. + +According to another legend, a pilgrim knight laid a golden cross on +the Holy Sepulchre, ardently praying for a son, whom at his birth he +named Titurel and dedicated to the service of the Lord. After this +Titurel had spent years in warfare against the Saracens and in doing +good to the poor, an angel announced to him that he had been chosen to +guard the Holy Grail, which was about to descend once more to earth, +and take up its abode on Montsalvatch. This vision sufficed to send +Titurel off on a quest for the Holy Mountain,--which some authorities +identify with the place of the same name on the east coast of +Spain,--whither he was safely led by a guiding cloud. + +After ascending the steep mountain, Titurel was favored with a glimpse +of the Holy Grail, and he and a number of knights--also brought +thither by miraculous means--erected a marvellous temple, whose +foundations were laid by the angels, who labored at the edifice while +the volunteer builders were at rest. In a marvellously short time a +temple of transcendent beauty was thus finished, and, as soon as it +was consecrated, the Holy Grail stole down from heaven on a beam of +celestial light, to abide in its midst. Titurel, king and guardian of +the Holy Grail, always presided at the table around which his knights +gathered, and where one and all were miraculously fed. Besides, there +appeared from time to time on the edge of the sacred vase, in letters +of fire, instructions bidding a knight go out into the world to defend +some innocent person or right some wrong. The Knights of the Holy +Grail, or Templars, as they were indifferently styled, then +immediately sallied forth to fulfil this behest, which according to +their vows had to be accomplished without revealing their name or +origin. Once the command was that Titurel should marry, whereupon he +wooed a Spanish maiden, by whom he had a son and daughter. This son, +marrying in the same way, had in time two sons and three daughters, +one of whom became the mother of Parzival. + +Old and weary of reigning, Titurel finally resigned the care of the +Holy Grail, first to his son,--who was slain in war,--and then to his +grandson Amfortas. But the latter proved restless also, went out into +the world, and, instead of serving the Holy Grail, lived a life of +pleasure and adventure. Wounded by a thrust from a poisoned +lance,--some authors claim it was the one which wounded the Saviour's +side,--Amfortas sadly returned to Montsalvatch, where the mere thought +of the veiled Holy Grail increased his pain by intensifying his +remorse. There, one day, he read on the rim of the cup, that his wound +was destined to be healed by a guileless fool, who would accidentally +climb the mountain and, moved by sympathy, would inquire the cause of +his suffering and thereby make it cease. + +We have already mentioned the fact that Parzival was a great-grandson +of Titurel; his mother, fearing he would die young, like his father, +were he to become a knight, brought him up in seclusion, telling him +nothing about knights, fighting, or the world. Straying in the forest +one day this youth encountered a couple of knights, whom he mistook +for angels, owing to their bright array, and offered to worship. The +knights, however, refused his homage, and good-naturedly advised him +to hasten to Arthur's court and learn to become a knight too. + +Parzival now left his mother,--who died of grief,--went to court +(meeting sundry adventures on the way), and there asked to be +knighted. He was told, however, he must first procure a horse and +armor, whereupon he followed and slew an insolent knight who defied +King Arthur. But Parzival did not know how to remove the armor from +his dead foe, until a passing knight obligingly showed him how it was +done. + +Parzival now spent a time of apprenticeship at court where he learned +among other things, that a knight should never be unduly inquisitive, +then went to the rescue of a persecuted and virtuous queen, whom he +wooed and married. He soon left her, however, to visit his mother, of +whose death he was not aware. On his way home Parzival came to a lake, +where a richly dressed fisherman informed him he might find a night's +lodging in the castle on the hill, where he offered to conduct him. +Thus Parzival penetrated into the castle on Montsalvatch and was duly +led into the banqueting hall. Awed by the splendor of his +surroundings, the young candidate for knighthood silently noted that +his host seemed to be suffering from a secret wound, and perceived +that all the other guests were oppressed by overwhelming sadness. Then +suddenly the doors opened wide, and a strange procession entered the +hall, slowly circled around the table, and again passed out! In this +procession marched a servant bearing a bloody lance, at the sight of +which all present groaned, then came maidens carrying the stand for +the Holy Grail, which was reverently brought in by Titurel's +grand-daughter. The vase was, however, closely veiled, and it was only +after repeated entreaties from the knights present that the host +unveiled it, uttering the while heart-rending groans. + +All present were now served with the food they most desired, which +they ate in silence, and then the knights marched out of the hall, +gazing reproachfully at Parzival, who silently wondered what all this +might mean. His hunger sated, Parzival was conducted to luxurious +sleeping apartments, but, when he was ready to leave on the morrow, +all the castle seemed deserted, and it was only when he had crossed +the drawbridge and it had been raised behind him, that a harsh voice +was heard vehemently cursing him. Shortly after, on learning that a +sympathetic inquiry would have dispelled the gloom in the palace, he +had just left, Parzival attempted to return, but the mysterious castle +was no longer to be found. Such was our hero's remorse for his sin of +omission that he continued the quest for years, doing meanwhile all +manner of noble and heroic deeds. In reward, he was knighted by Arthur +himself, and bidden by Merlin occupy "the Siege Perilous" where his +name suddenly appeared in letters of gold. + +Our version of the story explains that, just as he was about to sit +down in the Siege Perilous, the witch Kundrie arrived, and hotly +denounced him as an unfeeling wretch, a sufficient reminder to make +Parzival immediately renew his quest. Adequate penance having been +done at last, and the young knight having stood every test without +losing his purity, Parzival was finally allowed to atone for his +unconscious fault. Once more he arrived at the castle, once more +entered the banquet hall, and once more beheld the mystic procession. +Strengthened by silent prayer, Parzival then asked the momentous +question; whereupon Amfortas' wound was instantly healed, the aged +Titurel released from the pain of living, Kundrie baptized, and +Parzival unanimously hailed as future guardian of the Grail, an office +he humbly yet proudly assumed. + +Another legend claims that his son Lohengrin, ordered by the Holy +Grail to go and defend Elsa of Brabant, received from his father a +magic horn, by means of which he was to announce his safe arrival at +his destination, and to summon help whenever he wished to return. +Instead of riding a charger, Lohengrin was conveyed in a swan-drawn +skiff to Brabant, where he found Elsa praying for a champion to defend +her against Frederick of Telramund's accusation of having slain her +little brother, who had mysteriously disappeared. + +Lohengrin, having proved the falsity of the charge by defeating the +accuser in a judicial duel, married Elsa, warning her she must never +seek to discover his name or origin, under penalty of seeing him +depart as suddenly as he had arrived. The machinations of Frederick of +Telramund, and of his artful wife, finally drove Elsa to propound the +fatal question, and, as soon as Lohengrin has sorrowfully answered +it, the swan appeared and bore him away! But, as Lohengrin departed, +Elsa's brother reappeared to serve as her protector.[32] + +This--mostly German--version of the Grail legend--has been used by +Wolfram von Eschenbach for a long and famous epic, and by Wagner for +his operas Parzival and Lohengrin. In the French and particularly in +the English versions of the Quest for the Holy Grail, or Sangreal, +Percival is with the other knights of Arthur's Round Table when they +take this vow. He seeks for it, perceives it through a veil, but never +entirely achieves the quest, since that privilege is reserved for the +peerless Galahad. + +The versions of the Holy Grail Story of which Galahad is hero run +about as follows: Galahad is the son of Launcelot and Elaine, the +latter's nurse having, by means of enchantment, made her to appear as +Guinevere--whom Launcelot loved. Deserted by the accidental father of +her coming child, this Elaine--daughter of King Pelles--took refuge in +a nunnery, where she gave birth to Galahad, whom when dying she +entrusted to the nuns. Brought up by those holy women and strengthened +in early infancy by frequent glimpses of the Holy Grail,--whose light +was blinding to all but the perfectly pure,--Galahad reached manhood +as pure as when he was born. One day Sir Launcelot and Sir Bors were +summoned from Camelot to a small church near by, to act as sponsors +for a young candidate for knighthood, who was presented to them by +some nuns. Launcelot and Bors, having thus heard Galahad take his +vows, were not surprised to see him brought into their midst on a gala +day, by Merlin or by the spirit of Joseph, and to hear him warmly +welcomed by Arthur. Some versions claim that Galahad, led to the Siege +Perilous, found his name miraculously inscribed on it in letters of +gold, and was told he alone should occupy that place at the Round +Table. + +According to some accounts, it was while all the knights were thus +seated around Arthur's board on this occasion, that the Holy Grail +suddenly appeared in their midst, its radiance so veiled by its +coverings that one and all vowed--when it had disappeared--never to +rest until they had beheld it unveiled. Arthur, knowing this boon +would be granted only to the absolutely pure and that they were all +but one sinful men in various degrees, keenly regretted they should +have made a vow which would entail a hopeless quest, and would at the +same time leave him bereft of the very knights who had hitherto helped +him to right the wrong and keep the pagans at bay. The knights +hastened to church to receive a blessing before they departed, and +then went off, singly or in small groups, to seek the Holy Grail. + +When Galahad arrived at Arthur's court, he was fully armed, save that +an empty scabbard hung by his side and that he bore no shield. Soon +after his arrival, a servant breathlessly announced he had just seen a +large block of stone floating down the river, into which a beautiful +sword was thrust to the hilt. On hearing this, Arthur and his knights +hurried down to the landing place, but, although the stone paused +there, neither the king nor any of the nobles at his court were able +to draw out the sword. It became evident it was intended for Galahad +only, when he easily drew it out of the stone. It was then, according +to this version, that the other knights pledged themselves to go in +quest of the Holy Grail. Riding off alone, Galahad came to an abbey, +where hung a white shield bearing a red cross, which he learned had +once belonged to the king of Sarras, who was converted by Joseph's +son. The red cross was drawn with blood, and was to remain undimmed +for its future bearer, Galahad. + +The young champion, thus completely equipped, rode off and next +arrived at the enchanted Castle of the Holy Grail. There he saw +Titurel, the sleeping king, and Amfortas, the acting king, before whom +the Grail passed unseen because he had sinned. Silently Galahad +watched the mystic procession of bleeding spear, miraculous dish or +cup, and Seven-branched Candlesticks. Like Parzival he hesitated to +ask any questions, and failed to achieve the Holy Grail, because, +although possessing all other virtues, he could not entirely forget +himself for the sake of others and thus lacked true sympathy or +altruism. Thrust out of the Castle--like Parzival--he wandered through +a blighted country, where he met the Loathley Damsel, who in +punishment for her sins was turned loose into the world to work evil +to men. She hotly reviled Galahad for not having asked the momentous +question, and the youth, learning thus in what way he had been +wanting, solemnly vowed to return to the castle and atone for his +omission. + +But meantime the enchanted Castle had vanished, and Galahad, the +Champion of Purity,--whose red color he always wears,--travelled +through the world, righting the wrong. He arrived thus at the gate of +a castle defended by seven knights,--the Seven Deadly Sins,--with whom +he struggled to such good purpose that he defeated them, and was free +to enter into the Castle of the Maidens, or place where the Active +Virtues have long been kept in durance vile. But, the door still being +locked, Galahad was glad to receive the key proffered by an old monk, +who, in the legend, personified Righteousness. + +Galahad, the emblem of a pure soul, now penetrated into the castle, +where the maidens blessed him for setting them free, and where he +modestly received their thanks. Among these maidens was Lady +Blanchefleur, Galahad's match in purity, to whom he bade farewell as +soon as their nuptials were solemnized, for he realized The Quest +could be achieved only by a virgin knight. + +Once more Galahad rides through the world, and this time he again +finds and enters into the castle of the Grail, where he once more +beholds the Sacred Mysteries. His heart full of sympathy for the +suffering Amfortas, he now overlooks the rules of formal politeness in +his desire to help, and propounds the decisive question. Immediately a +refulgent light shines forth from the veiled Grail in all its +life-giving radiance, and King Amfortas, healed of his sin, and hence +able to see the vessel, dies of joy, just as an angel bears the +priceless treasure away from the Enchanted Castle, where it is no +longer to sojourn. + +Longing for the time when he too can see the Grail unveiled, Galahad +remounts his milk-white steed and rides through the world, where +everybody thanks him for freeing the world of the pall of darkness and +sin which has rested upon the land ever since Amfortas, titulary +guardian of the Holy Grail, sinned so grievously. Riding thus, Galahad +comes at last to the sea, where King Solomon's ship awaits him. This +vessel has been miraculously preserved for this purpose, and sent here +to convey him safely to Sarras, "the spiritual place." It is the +present home of the Holy Grail, which had already sojourned there +after the death of Joseph of Arimathea. + +The ship in which Galahad embarks is steered by an angel, one of the +Guardians of the Holy Grail, and the cup it holds, although closely +veiled from profane glances, casts beams of refulgent light upon +Galahad and his companions Sir Percival and Sir Bors. They two, +however, not being perfectly pure, cannot clearly distinguish the +Grail, whose sight fills the soul of Galahad with ineffable rapture. +Before long the ship arrives at Sarras, the fabulous city, where +Galahad can hang up his sword and shield and take his well-earned +rest, for the Quest is at last achieved! The travellers are welcomed +by an old man, and, when the king of Sarras dies, the people +unanimously elect Galahad their next ruler. + +After governing them wisely for a year, Galahad--who prayed in King +Solomon's ship that he might pass out of the world whenever he should +ask it--begged for the death of the body so he might find the eternal +life of the soul. + +When he died, the Holy Grail, which had been piously guarded in +Sarras, returned to heaven, for Galahad's work was finished on earth, +as is indicated by the frescos of the Boston library, where angels +guard a Golden Tree of achievement whose branches reach right up into +heaven. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 32: See the author's "Stories of the Wagner Operas" and +"Legends of the Rhine."] + + + + +EPICS OF THE NETHERLANDS + + +In searching among Dutch masterpieces of literature we find that their +greatest epic is "Joannes Boetgezant," or John the Messenger of +Repentance. This epic in six books, on the life of John the Baptist, +was written in 1662 by Vondel, and bears many traits of resemblance to +Milton's Paradise Lost. + +It has been conjectured that the most famous of all the animal epics +or beast fables originated in Flanders or Luxembourg, which for a time +was included in the Low Countries. This epic, which has been +translated into every European language and has even found its way +into the Far East, has been frequently remodelled. The oldest extant +MS. in Latin dates back to the eleventh or twelfth century. Among +modern versions the most clever, finished, and popular is Goethe's +"Reinecke Fuchs."[33] + +In this poem he describes how the animals assemble at Whitsuntide to +complain to their king, Noble, the Lion, about the dark deeds of +Reynard the Fox. The main grievance is that of Isegrim, the Wolf, who +claims Reynard blinded three of his offspring and insulted his wife. +Speaking French, the Lapdog Wackerlos next pathetically describes how +he was robbed of a sausage, which the Tomcat vehemently declares was +his. + +Having heard the depositions of the Wolf, the Dog, the Cat, the +Panther, and the Hare, Noble is about to sentence the delinquent, when +Grimbart, the Badger,--uncle of Reynard--rises to defend the accused. +Artfully he turns the tables and winds up his plausible peroration +with the statement that Reynard, repenting of all past sins, has +turned hermit, and is now spending his time in fasting, alms-giving, +and prayer! + +Just as Noble is about to dismiss the case as non-proven, Henning the +Cock appears, followed by his sons, who bear on a litter the mangled +remains of a hen, strangled by Reynard, who slipped into the +chicken-yard in the guise of a monk. + +The king immediately dispatches Brown the Bear to Malepartus to summon +Reynard to appear at court. On arriving at his destination, the Bear, +although still resenting the king's recommendations to be wary, allows +himself to be led to a half-split tree-trunk, within which Reynard +assures him he will find stores of honey to refresh himself. Just as +soon as the Bear's nose and forepaws are greedily inserted into the +crack, Reynard slyly removes the wedges and decamps, leaving the Bear +a prisoner and howling with pain. + +His roars soon attract the peasant and his son, who beat the captive +until he wrenches himself loose, at the cost of some patches of skin +and of a few claws. The Bear, returning to court in this plight, is +taxed with stupidity and greed, and Hintze the Cat is sent to summon +Reynard to court. The Cat, hungry also, is led to a small opening in a +barn which Reynard declares is swarming with mice, but where the poor +Tomcat is caught in a trap, whence he escapes only after having +received a beating and lost one eye. + +His woful report decides the king to send Grimbart the Badger to +summon his nephew to court. Reynard receives this emissary most +courteously, and, on hearing the king will raze his fortress if he +does not obey, sets out for court. On the way Reynard begs Grimbart to +act as his confessor, and, having unburdened his conscience, does +penance and receives absolution. But scarcely has this ceremony been +completed when Reynard, spying some fat hens, begins to chase them, +and is only with difficulty recalled to a sense of what is fitting. + +On arriving at court, Reynard hypocritically regrets so many people +have slandered him to the king, and tries to refute every charge. He +is, however, sentenced to the gallows, but even on the road thither +devises a plan to escape. Pretending regret for his past, he humbly +begs the king's permission to address the spectators, and in a lengthy +speech describes how he was led astray in his youth by Isegrim the +Wolf. He also declares his only regret is to die before he can reveal +to the king the hiding-place of a vast treasure which would enable him +to outwit the plots of some rebels who are even now conspiring to kill +him. The king, hearing this, immediately orders a reprieve, and, +questioning the Fox in secret, learns that the conspirators are Brown +the Bear, Isegrim the Wolf, and others. To reward the Fox for saving +her husband's life, the queen now obtains his pardon, which Noble +grants in exchange for information in regard to the treasure. + +Having given these indications, the Fox sets out on a pilgrimage to +Rome, escorted by the Ram and the Hare, which latter is slain as soon +as they arrive at Malepartus, where Reynard wishes to bid his family +farewell. After feasting upon the flesh of this victim, Reynard puts +his bones into a wallet and ties it on the Ram's back, bidding him +hasten back to court with this present and receive his reward! +Although circumstantial evidence is enough to convict the poor Ram of +murder, a few days later new complaints are made against Reynard by a +Rabbit and a Crow. Noble, roused again, prepares to batter down the +walls of Malepartus, and Grimbart, perceiving Reynard's peril, hurries +off to give him warning. + +He finds Reynard contemplating some young doves, upon which he intends +to dine. On hearing what Grimbart has to say, Reynard declares it +would be easy to acquit himself could he only gain the king's ear long +enough to explain the real state of affairs. Then he again begs +Grimbart to act as his father confessor, and, resuming his confession +where he left off, makes a clean breast of all his misdeeds. Shortly +after this, Reynard meets the Ape, who tells him that should he ever +be in a quandary he must call for the aid of this clever ally or of +his wife. + +At his second appearance at court, the Fox openly regrets there are so +many vile people in the world ready to accuse innocent persons, and +proceeds to set all his doings in such a plausible light, that the +king, instead of sentencing him again to death, allows him to settle +his case by fighting a judiciary duel with the Wolf. The preparations +for the duel are ludicrous because the Fox, advised by the Ape, is +shaven smooth, greased until too slippery to be held, and duly +strengthened by advice and potations. Blinded by the sand continually +whisked into his eyes by the Fox's tail, unable to hold his all too +slippery opponent, the Wolf is beaten and the Fox acquitted by the +Judgment of God! + +Although Noble now offers to make Reynard his privy counsellor, the +Fox returns home, where his admiring wife and children welcome him +rapturously. + +In some versions of the tale Reynard further avenges himself by +suggesting, when the king is taken ill, that he can be cured if he +eats the head of a wolf just seven years old, knowing the only wolf of +that age is Isegrim, who throughout the epic is fooled by the clever +Fox, the hero of endless adventures which have delighted young and old +for centuries. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 33: See the author's "Legends of the Middle Ages."] + + + + +SCANDINAVIAN EPICS + + +The different Scandinavian dialects formed but one language until +about 1000 A.D., when they split up into two great groups, the East +Northern including the Danish and Swedish; and the West Northern +including the Icelandic, Norwegian, and Faroese. Danish literature +boasts of some five hundred chivalric ballads (Kjaempeviser), on +partly historical and partly mythical themes, which were composed +between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. It was the Danish +translator of the Bible who introduced his countrymen to Charlemagne +and Ogier, whose legends received their finished forms at his hands. +In 1555 Reynard the Fox was translated into Danish from the French, in +1663 the Heimskringla from the Icelandic, but it was in 1641 that +Arrebo composed the Hexaemeron or first real Danish epic. In the +nineteenth century Paludan Müller also wrote epics, which, however, +are not very popular outside of his country. The runes of Sweden bear +witness to the existence of sundry ancient sagas or epics which +perished when Christianity was introduced into the land. In the Middle +Ages, a gleeman at the court of Queen Euphemia (1303-12) composed the +Euphemiaviser, or romances of chivalry done into Swedish verse. The +greatest epic work of Sweden is, however, Tegner's Frithjof's Saga +(1846), relating the adventures and courtship of an old Scandinavian +hero, a work of which a complete synopsis is given in the author's +Legends of the Middle Ages. + +The élite of the Norwegians emigrated to Iceland for political reasons +during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Owing to their +geographical isolation and to the long winters, these people were +thrown entirely on their own resources for amusement. The hours of +darkness were beguiled by tales and songs, so young and old naturally +delighted in the recitations of the skalds. This gave birth to an oral +literature of great value, and, although many of the works of the +skalds have perished, the Icelanders fortunately recovered in +1643,--after centuries of oblivion,--the Elder Edda, an +eleventh-century collection of thirty-three poems on mythical and +heroic subjects by Saemunt the Wise. + +There is also a similar work in prose known as the Younger Edda, by +Snorro Sturluson, which contains tales of Scandinavian mythology, and +this writer also collected many of the old hero tales in his +Heimskringla. + +Many of the old sagas have been preserved in more or less perfect +forms. They are generally divided into three groups, the first +including sagas on historical themes, such as the Egilssaga, the +Eyrbyggjasaga, the Njalssaga, the Laxdaelasaga, and the already +mentioned Heimskringla. + +The second, mythical, or heroic group comprises the Grettis saga and +the Volsunga, the finest of all the sagas and one of the main sources +of the Nibelungenlied and of Wagner's Trilogy. This epic has been +wonderfully rendered in modern English by William Morris. + +In the third and last group are massed together the romantic epics, +translations or imitations of the Latin, French, and German epics and +romances, relating to Alexander, Charlemagne, Parsival, etc. The +finest saga in this group is the Gunnlaugssaga. + +Norwegian literature goes back to the skald Bragi (_c._ 800), whose +principal poem, Ragnarsdrapa, relates the marvellous adventures of the +national hero Ragnar Lodbrog. This poem was incorporated by Snorro +Sturluson in what is known as the Snorro Edda. Most of the poems in +the Elder Edda are also of Norwegian origin, as well as Hvin's +Haustlöng or account of a famous warrior. In the thirteenth century +prose sagas were plentiful among the Danes, who took special pleasure +in the Thidrekssaga (1250), or life and adventures of Dietrich von +Bern; in the Karlamagnussaga, or story of Charlemagne; and in the +Barlaamssaga ok Josaphats, or Hebrew tale of Barlaam and Josaphat. + +Norway also possesses a rich fund of folk tales, which have been +collected by Asbjörnsen, and which, having many of the qualities of +prose epics, have delighted many generations. + + + + +THE VOLSUNGA SAGA[34] + + +The Second Part of the Edda contains the famous Volsunga Saga, or Epic +of the Volsungs, which has not only given rise to the Nibelungenlied +and to Wagner's famous Trilogy of operas, but also to William Morris' +Sigurd the Volsung. The plot of this, the most characteristic and +famous of the Scandinavian sagas, is as follows: + +Volsung, a lineal descendant from Odin, built his dwelling around the +trunk of a mighty oak, the Branstock, whose branches overshadowed his +whole dwelling. When Signy, Volsung's only daughter, was married +against her will to Siggier, king of the Goths, a one-eyed stranger +(Odin) suddenly appeared among the wedding guests, and thrust a +priceless sword (Balmung) deep into the bole of the homestead oak. +Before departing, as abruptly as he had come, the stranger proclaimed +the weapon should belong to the man who pulled it out, and prophesied +that it would assure him the victory in every fight. + + "Now let the man among you whose heart and hand may shift + To pluck it from the oak-wood e'en take it for my gift. + Then ne'er, but his own heart falter, its point and edge shall fail + Until the night's beginning and the ending of the tale."[35] + +Although conscious that Odin had been in their midst, Volsung +courteously invited the bridegroom to try his luck first, then himself +attempted to draw out the divine sword, before he bade his ten sons +exert their strength in turn. Only the youngest, Sigmund, was at last +able to perform the required feat, and when Siggier eagerly offered to +purchase his trophy from him, he firmly refused to part with it. Full +of anger at this refusal, the Goth departed on the morrow, but +although Signy loyally warned her kinsmen that her husband was +plotting revenge, the Volsungs accepted his invitation to visit them +soon. + +When Volsung and his ten sons arrived in Gothland, Signy again bade +them beware of coming treachery, but all in vain. The brave Volsungs, +drawn into an ambush by their wily foe, were seized and bound fast to +a fallen tree in a lonely forest, where every night a wild beast +devoured one of these helpless men. Closely watched by her cruel +husband, Signy could lend no aid to the prisoners, but when none but +Sigmund, the youngest, was left, she directed a slave to smear his +face with honey. The wild beast, attracted by the sweet odor, licked +the face of the last prisoner, who, thus enabled to catch its tongue +between his teeth, struggled with the beast until his bonds broke and +he was free! + +When Siggier sent to investigate as usual the next morning, his +messenger reported no prisoners were left bound to the tree and that +only a heap of bones was visible. Sure his foes were all dead, Siggier +ceased to watch his wife, who, stealing out into the forest to bury +the remains of her kin, discovered Sigmund in a thicket, and promised +to aid him to obtain his revenge. To redeem this promise she sent to +her brother, one after another, two of her sons to be trained as +avengers, but, as both of these children proved deficient in courage, +she came to the conclusion none but a pure-blooded Volsung would meet +their requirements. To secure an offspring of this strain, Signy, +disguised as a gypsy, secretly visited her brother's hut, and when +their child, Sinfiotli, was older, sent him to Sigmund to foster and +train. + +With a youthful helper whom nothing could daunt, Sigmund, after +achieving sundry adventures, lay in wait in Siggier's cellar, but, +warned by two of his young children that murderers were hiding behind +his casks, Siggier had them seized and cast into separate cells. There +he decreed they should starve to death. But, before their prison was +closed, Signy cast into it a bundle of straw, wherein she had +concealed Balmung, the magic sword. Thanks to this weapon, Sigmund and +Sinfiotli not only hewed their way out of their separate prisons, but +slew all the Goths who attempted to escape from Siggier's dwelling, +which they set aflame. But, although both proposed to save Signy, she +merely stepped out of the house long enough to reveal Sinfiotli's +origin and bade them farewell, ere she plunged back into the flames! + + And then King Siggier's roof-tree upheaved for its utmost fall, + And its huge walls clashed together, and its mean and lowly things + The fire of death confounded with the tokens of the kings. + A sign for many people on the land of the Goths it lay, + A lamp of the earth none needed, for the bright sun brought the day. + +Feeling he had done his duty by avenging his father's and brothers' +death, Sigmund now returned home, where in his old age he was slain in +battle shortly after his marriage to a young wife. Finding him dying +on the battle-field, this wife bore off the fragments of his magic +sword as sole inheritance for his child, whom she hoped would prove a +boy who could avenge him. One version of the story relates that to +escape the pursuit of Sigmund's foes this expectant mother plunged +into the woods and sought help and refuge in the smithy of Mimer, a +magician as well as a blacksmith. Here she gave birth to Sigurd, who, +as she died when he was born, was brought up by Mimer, who marvelled +to find the boy absolutely fearless. + +Another version claims that, discovered by a Viking, mourning over her +dead spouse, the widow was carried off by him, and consented to become +his wife on condition he would prove a good foster-father to Sigmund's +child. In this home Sigurd was educated by the wisest of men, Regin, +who taught him all a hero need know, and directed him how to select +his wonderful steed Grane or Greyfell (a descendant of Odin's +Sleipnir), from a neighboring stud. + +Seeing the youth ready for adventure, Regin now told him how the gods +Odin, Hoenir, and Loki, wandering upon earth in the guise of men, once +slew an otter, which they carried to a neighboring hut, asking to have +its meat served for their dinner. Their host, however, exclaiming they +had killed his eldest son who often assumed the form of an otter, +seized and bound them fast, vowing they should not be free until they +gave as ransom gold enough to cover the huge otter-skin. + +The gods, knowing none but a magic treasure would suffice for that, +bargained for the release of Loki, who departed in quest of the dwarf +Andvari, the collector of an immense hoard of gold by magic means. As +the wily Andvari could not easily be found, it required all the +astuteness of the god of evil to discover him in the guise of a fish +at the source of the Rhine, and to catch him by means of the +sea-goddess' infallible net. + +Having the dwarf in his power, Loki wrung from him his huge treasure, +his Helm of Dread, or cap of invisibility, and even tore from his very +finger a magic ring of gold, thus incurring the dwarf's curse. + + "For men a curse thou bearest: entangled in my gold, + Amid my woe abideth another woe untold. + Two brethren and a father, eight kings my grief shall slay; + And the hearts of queens shall be broken, and their eyes shall + loathe the day. + Lo, how the wilderness blossoms! Lo, how the lonely lands + Are waving with the harvest that fell from my gathering hands!" + +Scorning this prediction, Loki hastened to the rescue of his +fellow-gods; but, as the otter-skin stretched further and further, it +required not only all the treasure, but even the helmet and the +serpent ring of gold, to cover it and thus complete the required +ransom. + +The new owner of the treasure now gloated over his gold until his very +nature changed, and he was transformed into a hideous dragon. One of +his two remaining sons, Fafnir, entering the hut, slew the dragon +before he realized it was his father, and then, fascinated by treasure +and ring, bore them off to a lonely heath, where in the guise of a +dragon he too mounted guard over them. This appropriation of these +treasures was keenly resented by his brother Regin, who, unable to +cope with the robber himself, now begged Sigurd to help him. Like +Mimer in the other version of the tale, Regin was an experienced +blacksmith, but, notwithstanding all his skill, Sigurd broke every +blade he forged for this task. Finally the young hero hammered out of +the fragments of his dead father's blade a weapon which sheared the +anvil in two, and could neatly divide a number of fleeces floating +down a stream. + +Properly mounted and armed, Sigurd was guided by Regin to the +Glittering Heath, the place where Fafnir guarded his gold. A one-eyed +ferry-man (Odin) conveyed the youth across the river, advising him to +dig a pit in the track the dragon had worn in his frequent trips to +the river to drink. Hidden in this pit--the ferry-man explained--the +youth could mortally wound the dragon while he crawled over his head. + +This advice being too pertinent to be scorned, Sigurd faithfully +carried out the plan and slew the dragon, whose fiery blood poured +down upon him and made every part of his body invulnerable, save a +tiny spot between his shoulders, where a lime-leaf stuck so closely +that the dragon blood did not touch the skin. + +While Sigurd was still contemplating the fallen monster, Regin joined +him, and, fearing lest he might claim part of the gold, plotted to +slay him. First, he bade Sigurd cut out the heart of the dragon and +roast it for him, a task which the youth obediently performed, but in +the course of which he stuck a burnt finger in his mouth to allay the +smart. This taste of Fafnir's heart blood then and there conferred +upon Sigurd the power to understand the language of some birds near +by, which exclaimed that Regin was coming behind him to slay him with +his own sword! Enraged at such ingratitude and treachery, Sigurd now +slew Regin, and after piling up most of the treasure in a cave,--where +it continued to be guarded by the dragon's corpse,--Sigurd rode away, +taking with him his sword, the magic helmet, and the ring. + +Still guided by the birds, Sigurd next rode up a mountain, crowned by +a baleful light, which he presently discovered emanated from a fire +forming a barrier of flame around a fortress. Setting spurs to his +divine steed, Sigurd rode right through these flames, which then +flickered and died down, and discovered in the centre of the fortress +a mound, whereon lay an apparently lifeless warrior. Using his sword +to cut the armor fastenings, Sigurd discovered, beneath this armor, +the Valkyr or battle-maiden Brynhild, who, on recovering +consciousness, hailed her return to life and light with rapture and +warmly thanked her deliverer. Then the two, having fallen in love with +each other at first sight, explained to each other who they were; and +Sigurd, after relating his own origin and adventures, learned that +Brynhild, a Valkyr, having defied Odin by saving a man he had doomed +to death, had been condemned to mate with any mortal who claimed her +hand. Dreading to become the prey of a coward, Brynhild implored Odin +to surround her with a barrier of fire which none save a brave man +could cross. Although a goddess, she admits she loves her rescuer, and +gladly accepts the magic ring he tenders and promises to be his wife. + + Then he set the ring on her finger and once, if ne'er again, + They kissed and clung together, and their hearts were full and fain. + +The hero, however, doomed to press on in quest of further adventures, +soon left Brynhild in the castle where he had found her, still +protected by the barrier of flame, and rode off to Burgundy, the land +of the Niblungs. Here reigned Guiki, whose fair daughter Gudrun once +dreamt that a falcon, after hovering for some time over her house, +nestled in her bosom, which she soon beheld dyed red by its +life-blood. Disturbed by this ominous dream, Gudrun visited Brynhild +and besought her interpretation, only to learn she would marry a king +who would in time be slain by his foes. + +Shortly after this occurrence, Sigurd reached the land of the Niblungs +and challenged Gunnar, brother of Gudrun, to fight. But, rather than +cross swords with the slayer of a dragon, Gunnar offered the stranger +his hand in friendship and sent for his sister to give him the cup of +welcome. While sojourning here with the Niblungs, Sigurd distinguished +himself by athletic feats and, when war broke out, by conquering +their foes. These proofs of strength and daring captivated the heart +of Gudrun, who, seeing Sigurd paid no attention to her, finally +prevailed upon her mother to give her a love potion, which she offered +to him on his return from one of his adventures. + + "He laughed and took the cup: but therein with the blood of the earth + Earth's hidden might was mingled, and deeds of the cold sea's birth, + And things that the high gods turn from, and a tangle of strange love, + Deep guile, and strong compelling, that whoso drank thereof + Should remember not his longing, should cast his love away, + Remembering dead desire but as night remembereth day." + +No sooner has this potion been quaffed than our hero, utterly +oblivious of earlier promises to Brynhild, sued for Gudrun's hand, and +was promised she should be his bride if he helped Gunnar secure +Brynhild. + +In behalf of his future brother-in-law--whose form he assumed--Sigurd +once more rode through the flames, and, although haunted by vague +memories of the past, wrested from Brynhild the magic betrothal ring +he had given her, and claimed her as bride. Compelled by fate to wed +any man who rode through the flames to claim her, Brynhild reluctantly +obeyed Sigurd--whom she did not recognize--and was duly married to +Gunnar, king of the Niblungs. But, on perceiving Sigurd at his court, +she vainly strove to make him remember her and his vows, and was +filled with bitter resentment when she perceived his utter devotion to +Gudrun, his present bride. + +Meantime, although Gunnar had secured the wife he coveted, he was +anything but a happy man, for Brynhild would not allow him to approach +her. Sigurd, to whom he finally confided this unsatisfactory state of +affairs, finally volunteered to exert his fabulous strength to reduce +to obedience the rebellious bride, whom he turned over to his +brother-in-law in a submissive mood, after depriving her of her girdle +and ring, which he carried off as trophies and gave to Gudrun. + +Brynhild's resentment, however, still smouldered, and when Gudrun, +her sister-in-law, attempted to claim precedence when they were +bathing in the river, she openly quarrelled with her. In the course of +this dispute, Gudrun exhibited the magic ring, loudly proclaiming her +husband had wooed and won Gunnar's bride! Two distinct parties now +defined themselves at court, where Högni, a kinsman of the Niblungs, +vehemently espoused Brynhild's cause. By some secret means--for his +was a dark and tortuous mind, ever plotting evil--Högni discovered the +trick of the magic potion, as well as Brynhild's previous wooing by +Sigurd, and proposed to her to avenge by blood the insult she had +received. + +According to one version of the tale, Högni, who discovers in what +spot Sigurd is vulnerable, attacks him while he is asleep in bed and +runs his lance through the fatal spot. The dying Sigurd therefore has +only time to bid his wife watch over their children ere he expires. By +order of Gudrun, his corpse is placed on a pyre, where it is to be +consumed with his wonderful weapons and horse. Just as the flames are +rising, Brynhild, who does not wish to survive the man she loves, +either plunges into the flames and is consumed too, or stabs herself +and asks that her corpse be burned beside Sigurd's, his naked sword +lying between them, and the magic ring on her finger. + + "I pray thee a prayer, the last word in the world I speak, + That ye bear me forth to Sigurd and the hand my hand would seek; + The bale for the dead is builded, it is wrought full wide on the plain, + It is raised for Earth's best Helper, and thereon is room for twain: + Ye have hung the shields about it, and the Southland hangings spread, + There lay me adown by Sigurd and my head beside his head: + But ere ye leave us sleeping, draw his Wrath from out the sheath, + And lay that Light of the Branstock and the blade that frighted Death + Betwixt my side and Sigurd's, as it lay that while agone, + When once in one bed together we twain were laid alone: + How then when the flames flare upward may I be left behind? + How then may the road he wendeth be hard for my feet to find? + How then in the gates of Valhall may the door of the gleaming ring + Clash to on the heel of Sigurd, as I follow on my king?" + +Another version of the tale relates that Sigurd was slain by Högni +while hunting in the forest, as the story runs in the Nibelungenlied. +Next we are informed that the king of the Huns demanded satisfaction +from Gunnar for his sister Brynhild's death, and was promised Gudrun's +hand in marriage. By means of another magic potion, Sigurd's widow was +induced to marry the king of the Huns, to whom she bore two sons. But, +when the effect of the potion wore off, she loathed this second +marriage and dreamed only of avenging Sigurd's death and of getting +rid of her second spouse. + +As in the Nibelungenlied, Atli invited her kin to Hungary, where they +arrived after burying the golden hoard in a secret spot in the Rhine, +a spot they pledged themselves never to reveal. Once more we have a +ride to Hungary, but Gudrun, seeing her husband means treachery, +fights by her brother's side. Throughout this battle Gunnar sustains +the courage of the Niblungs by playing on his harp, but, when only he +and Högni are left, they are overpowered and flung into prison. There +Atli vainly tries to make them confess the hiding-place of the hoard, +and, hearing Gunnar will not speak as long as Högni lives, finally +orders this warrior slain and his heart brought into Gunnar's +presence. + +Convinced at last that the momentous secret now lies with him alone, +Gunnar flatly refuses to reveal it. + + Then was Gunnar silent a little, and the shout in the hall had died, + And he spoke as a man awakening, and turned on Atli's pride. + "Thou all-rich King of the Eastlands, e'en such a man might I be + That I might utter a word, and the heart should be glad in thee, + And I should live and be sorry: for I, I only am left + To tell of the ransom of Odin, and the wealth from the toiler reft. + Lo, once it lay in the water, hid deep adown it lay, + Till the gods were grieved and lacking, and men saw it and the day: + Let it lie in the water once more, let the gods be rich and in peace! + But I at least in the world from the words and the babble shall cease." + +In his rage Atli orders the bound prisoner cast into a pit full of +venomous serpents, where, his harp being flung after him in derision, +Gunnar twangs its strings with his toes until he dies. To celebrate +this victory, Atli orders a magnificent banquet, where he is so +overcome by his many potations that Gudrun either stabs him to death +with Sigurd's sword, or sets fire to the palace and perishes with the +Huns, according to different versions of the story. + +A third version claims that, either cast into the sea or set adrift in +a vessel in punishment for murdering Atli, Gudrun landed in Denmark, +where she married the king and bore him three sons. These youths, in +an attempt to avenge the death of their fair step-sister Swanhild, +were stoned to death. As for Gudrun, overwhelmed by the calamities +which had visited her in the course of her life, she finally committed +suicide by casting herself into the flames of a huge funeral pyre. + +This saga is evidently a sun myth, the blood of the final massacres +and the flames of the pyre being emblems of the sunset, and the +slaying of Fafnir representing the defeat of cold and darkness which +have carried off the golden hoard of summer. + + Ye have heard of Sigurd aforetime, how the foes of God he slew; + How forth from the darksome desert the Gold of the Waters he drew; + How he wakened Love on the Mountain, and wakened Brynhild the Bright, + And dwelt upon Earth for a season, and shone in all men's sight. + Ye have heard of the Cloudy People, and the dimming of the day, + And the latter world's confusion, and Sigurd gone away; + Now ye know of the Need of the Niblungs and the end of broken troth, + All the death of kings and of kindreds and the Sorrow of Odin the Goth. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 34: See the author's "Myths of Northern Lands."] + +[Footnote 35: All the quotations in this chapter are from Wm. Morris' +"Sigurd the Volsung."] + + + + +RUSSIAN AND FINNISH EPICS + + +There is strong evidence that the Finns, or some closely allied race, +once spread over the greater part of central Europe. The two or more +million Finns who now occupy Finland, and are subject--much against +their will--to the Czar, are the proud possessors of an epic poem--the +Kalevala--which until last century existed only in the memory of a few +peasants. Scattered parts of this poem were published in 1822 by +Zacharias Topelius, and Elias Lönnrot, who patiently travelled about +to collect the remainder, was the first to arrange the 22,793 verses +into 50 runes or cantos. The Kalevala attracted immediate attention +and has already been translated into most modern languages. Like most +epics, its source is in the mythology and folk-lore of the people, and +its style has been closely imitated by Longfellow in his Hiawatha. The +latest English adaptation of this great epic is Baldwin's "Sampo." + +Although Russian literature is rich in folk poetry and epic songs, +none of the latter have been written down until lately, with the +exception of the twelfth-century Song of Igor's Band. The outline of +this epic is that Igor, prince of Southern Russia, after being +defeated and made prisoner, effected his escape with the help of a +slave. Among the fine passages in this work we note Nature's grief +over the prince's capture and the lament of his faithful consort. + +It was only in the nineteenth century, after Zhukovski and Batyushkoff +had translated into Russian some of the world's great masterpieces, +such as Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered and Homer's Odyssey, that Pushkin +wrote (1820) the epic Ruslan and Lyudmila, drawing the materials +therefore from Russian antiquity and from popular legends. + +There are in Russia and Siberia any number of epic songs or "bylinas," +dating from legendary times to the present day, which have recently +been collected by Kireyevski and others, and which already fill some +ten volumes. The heroes of these songs are either personifications of +the forces of nature or favorite historical personages. They form +great cycles, one clustering for instance around Vladimir and the +ancient capital of Russia, Kiev, another around the free city of +Novgorod, and a third belonging to the later Moscow period. The +principal hero of many of the Russian folk tales, and of the epic +songs most frequently sung by wandering bards, is Ilya Muromets, who +nobly protects widows and orphans and often displays his fabulous +strength by reducing mighty oaks to kindling wood with a few blows! + + + + +THE KALEVALA, OR THE LAND OF HEROES + + +The national epic of the Finns was rescued from oblivion by Topelius +and Lönnrot, two physicians, who took it down from the mouth of the +people and published it in the first half of the nineteenth century. +It consists in 22,793 lines, divided into fifty runes, and is +considered by a great German authority--Steinthal--as one of the four +great national epics of the world. + +Not only does it relate "the ever-varying contests between Finns and +Laplanders," but that between Light and Darkness, Good and Evil, for +in the poem the Finns personify Light and Good, while the Lapps are +emblems of Darkness and Evil. The Sampo, which is mentioned in this +poem, and which seems to have been some sort of a magic grist-mill, +holds the same place in Finn mythology as the Golden Fleece in that of +the Greeks. Many of the poems incorporated in this epic date back some +three thousand years, and the epic itself is composed in alliterative +verse, although it also contains rhythm of line and sound, as the +following introductory lines prove. + + Mastered by desire impulsive, + By a mighty inward urging, + I am ready now for singing, + Ready to begin the chanting + Of our nation's ancient folk-song + Handed down from by-gone ages, + In my mouth the words are melting, + From my lips the tones are gliding, + From my tongue they wish to hasten; + When my willing teeth are parted, + When my ready mouth is opened, + Songs of ancient wit and wisdom + Hasten from me not unwilling.[36] + +The proem then invites all people to listen to legends of by-gone +times and to the teachings of the wizard Wainamoinen, to admire the +works of Ilmarinen and the doings of Youkahainen in the pastures of +the Northland and in the meads of Kalevala. It adds that these runes +were caught from the winds, the waves, and the forest branches, and +have been preserved in the Northland ever since. + +_Rune I._ In the first rune we are informed that Ilmater, daughter of +the air, weary of floating alone in space, finally descended to the +ocean, where she was rocked in the cradle of the deep seven hundred, +years. She made use of this time to create, out of the eggs of a wild +duck, the canopy of the heavens, and the spherical earth, with its +islands, rocks, and continents. At the end of these seven hundred +years, Ilmater gave birth to Wainamoinen, having waited all this time +to be delivered of him, and having vainly called all living creatures +to her aid. After coming into the world, this wonderful child floated +about on the ocean eight years, and then drew himself up on a barren +promontory to admire the sun, moon, and starry skies. + +_Rune II._ After living alone for some time on this promontory or +island, Wainamoinen summoned Pellerwoinen, "first-born of the plains +and prairies," and bade him scatter broadcast seeds for the trees +which were destined to clothe both vales and hillsides. In a twinkling +of an eye, every variety of forest growth waved its branches hither +and thither, and, although Wainamoinen rejoiced to see the forest, he +soon discovered that the oak, the "tree of heaven," was lacking in it. +Because the oak still slept within an acorn, Wainamoinen wondered how +to conjure it out of its hiding-place, and, after consulting five +water-maidens, called the giant Tursus out of the depths of the ocean. +After burning the hay the water-maidens raked together, this giant +planted in the ashes an acorn, which quickly sprouted, and whence +arose a tree of such mighty proportions that its branches hid the rays +of the sun and blotted out the starlight. + +Terrified by what he had done, Wainamoinen wondered how to get rid of +the oak, and implored his mother to send some one to help him. +Immediately there rose from the sea a pygmy, armed in copper, whom +Wainamoinen deemed incapable of coping with so large a tree, until the +dwarf suddenly transformed himself into a giant of such proportions +that four blows from his copper axe felled the oak, scattering its +trunk to the east, its top to the west, its leaves to the south, and +its branches to the north. The chips from the fallen oak were +collected by a Northland maiden to make enchanted arrows for a +magician, and the soil it overshadowed immediately began to bear +vegetation of sundry kinds. + +Gazing at this new growth Wainamoinen discovered every kind of seed +sprouting there save barley. Soon after he found seven grains of this +cereal on the sea-shore and consulted the birds how best to plant +them. They advised him to fell the forests, burn the branches, and +plant the barley in the land thus cleared. While obeying these +directions in the main, Wainamoinen allowed the birch to stand, +declaring there must be some place where the cuckoo and the eagle +could build their nests. These two birds, greatly pleased by this +attention, watched Wainamoinen as he sowed his seed, and heard him +chant a prayer to Ukko, Father of Heaven, to send down rain to help it +germinate. This prayer was answered to such, good purpose that eight +days later Wainamoinen found a crop of barley ready to harvest, and +heard the cuckoo's notes as it perched in the birch trees. + + "Therefore I have left the birch-tree, + Left the birch-tree only growing, + Home for thee for joyful singing. + Call thou here, O sweet-voiced cuckoo, + Sing thou here from throat of velvet, + Sing thou here with voice of silver, + Sing the cuckoo's golden flute-notes; + Call at morning, call at evening, + Call within the hour of noontide, + For the better growth of forests, + For the ripening of the barley, + For the richness of the Northland, + For the joy of Kalevala." + +_Rune III._ In the beautiful Land of the Heroes--Kalevala--Wainamoinen +sang songs so wonderful that their fame spread northward to the land +of the Lapps, and prompted Youkahainen to journey southward and +challenge the "ancient minstrel" to a singing contest. In vain +Youkahainen's parents strove to dissuade him from this undertaking; +the bold youth harnessed his sledge and drove rapidly southward, +colliding with Wainamoinen, who was also out in his sledge that day. +Although Wainamoinen was modest, his opponent was boastful and boldly +proposed they show their skill by singing. Invited to sing first, +Wainamoinen chanted a set of commonplace axioms; but when Youkahainen +imitated him, the ancient minstrel challenged his guest to sing of +creation or philosophy. Although Youkahainen now claimed he and seven +other primeval heroes saw how the earth was fashioned, how the sky was +arched, and how the silvery moon and golden sun were set in position, +Wainamoinen termed him prince of liars and averred he was not present +at the creation as he claimed. This contradiction so enraged +Youkahainen that he offered to fight, but, instead of accepting this +challenge, Wainamoinen sang a magic song of such power that it +resolved Youkahainen's sled and harness to their primitive components, +and caused him to sink ever deeper into quicksands which finally rose +to his very lips. Realizing his desperate plight, Youkahainen implored +Wainamoinen to cease his enchantments, offering as a ransom for his +life all manner of magic gifts which Wainamoinen scorned. In fact, it +was only when the culprit promised him the hand of his sister Aino +that the ancient minstrel reversed his spell, and not only released +Youkahainen, but restored to him all his possessions. + +The defeated bard now returns to Lapland, and on arriving there +smashes his sledge in token of anger. His parents wonderingly question +him, and, on learning he has promised his sister's hand in marriage to +the magician Wainamoinen, they are delighted that she should marry so +influential a man, although the maiden herself mourns because all +pleasures are to be taken from her forever. + +_Rune IV._ While out in the forest gathering birch shoots for brooms, +this maiden soon after is seen by Wainamoinen, who bids her adorn +herself for her wedding, whereupon she petulantly casts off the +ornaments she wears and returns home weeping without them. When her +parents inquire what this means, Aino insists she will not marry the +old magician, until her mother bribes her by the offer of some +wonderful treasures, bestowed by the Daughter of the Sun and Moon, and +which until now have been hidden in the depths of the earth. + +Although decked in these magnificent adornments, the girl wanders +around the fields, wishing she were dead, for marriage has no +attractions for her and she is not anxious to become an old man's +bride. Stealing down to the sea-shore, she finally lays aside her +garments and ornaments and swims to a neighboring rock, where she no +sooner perches than it topples over, and she sinks to the bottom of +the sea! There Aino perishes, and the water is formed of her blood, +the fish from her flesh, the willows from her ribs, and the sea-grass +from her hair! Then all nature wonders how the news of her drowning +shall be conveyed to her parents, and when the bear, wolf, and fox +refuse to transmit so sad a message, the sea-maidens depute the hare, +threatening to roast him unless he does their bidding. + +Learning her daughter has perished thus miserably, the mother of Aino +recognizes that parents should not compel daughters to marry against +their will. + + "Listen, all ye mothers, listen, + Learn from me a tale of wisdom: + Never urge unwilling daughters + From the dwellings of their fathers, + To the bridegrooms that they love not, + Not as I, inhuman mother, + Drove away my lovely Aino, + Fairest daughter of the Northland." + +Her sorrow is such that three streams of tears flow from her eyes and, +increasing as they flow, form cataracts, between which rise three +pinnacles of rock, whereon grow birches, upon which cuckoos forever +chant of "love, suitors, and consolation!" + +_Rune V._ The news of Aino's death travels swiftly southward, and +Wainamoinen, hearing that his bride has perished, is plunged in grief. +When he seeks consolation from the water-maidens they bid him go out +fishing. After angling for many a day, he finally secures a salmon, +larger and more beautiful than any fish ever seen before. He is +opening his knife to cut the salmon open, when it suddenly springs +back into the deep, saying it was Aino who had come to join him but +who now escapes in punishment for his cruelty. Not discouraged by this +first failure, Wainamoinen fishes on, until the spirit of his mother +bids him travel northward and seek a suitable wife among the Lapps. + + "Take for thee a life companion + From the honest homes of Suomi, + One of Northland's honest daughters; + She will charm thee with her sweetness, + Make thee happy through her goodness, + Form perfection, manners easy, + Every step and movement graceful, + Full of wit and good behavior, + Honor to thy home and kindred." + +_Rune VI._ Preparing for a journey northward, Wainamoinen bestrides +his magic steed, and galloping over the plains of Kalevala crosses the +Blue Sea as if it were land. The bard Youkahainen, foreseeing his +coming, lies in wait for him and prepares arrows to shoot him, +although his mother warns him not to attempt anything of the kind. It +is the third poisoned arrow from Youkahainen's bow which strikes +Wainamoinen's horse, which immediately sinks to the bottom of the sea, +leaving its rider to struggle in the water some eight years. Meantime +Youkahainen exults because his foe is dead, although his mother +insists her son has merely brought woe upon the earth. + +_Rune VII._ Instead of treading the waves, Wainamoinen swims about +until an eagle--grateful because he left birch-trees for birds to +perch upon--swoops down, invites him to climb upon its back, and +swiftly bears him to the dismal northland Sariola. There Wainamoinen +is discovered by the Maid of Beauty, who sends her mother, toothless +Louhi, to invite him into the house, where she bountifully feeds him. +Next Louhi promises to supply Wainamoinen with a steed to return home +and to give him her daughter in marriage, provided he will forge for +her the Sampo, or magic grist-mill. Although Wainamoinen cannot do +this, he promises that his brother, the blacksmith Ilmarinen, shall +forge it for her, and thus secures the promise of the hand of the Maid +of Beauty. This bargain made, Wainamoinen drives away in a sledge +provided by his hostess, who cautions him not to look up as he travels +along, lest misfortune befall him. + +_Rune VIII._ Instead of obeying these injunctions, Wainamoinen gazes +upward on his way home, and thus discovers the Maid of Beauty, or +Maiden of the Rainbow, weaving "a gold and silver air-gown." When he +invites her to come with him, she pertly rejoins the birds have +informed her a married woman's life is unenviable, for wives "are like +dogs enchained in kennel." When Wainamoinen insists wives are queens, +and begs her to listen to his wooing, she retorts when he has split a +golden hair with an edgeless knife, has snared a bird's egg with an +invisible snare, has peeled a sandstone, and made a whipstock from ice +without leaving any shavings, she may consider his proposal. + +These impossible tasks are quickly accomplished by the wizard, but, +while filling the Rainbow Maiden's last order to fashion a ship out +of her broken spindle--Wainamoinen accidentally cuts his knee so badly +that the blood flows so fast no charm can stop it. In vain different +remedies are tried, in vain Wainamoinen seeks help at sundry houses +the blood continues to pour out of his wound until it looks as if he +would die. + +_Rune IX._ Wainamoinen finally enters a cottage where two girls dip up +some of his blood, and where an old man informs him he can be healed +if he will only "sing the origin of iron." Thereupon Wainamoinen +chants that Ukko, Creator of Heaven, having cut air and water asunder, +created three lovely maidens, whose milk, scattered over the earth, +supplied iron of three different hues. He adds that Fire then caught +Iron, and carried it off to its furnace, where Ilmarinen discovered a +way to harden it into steel by means of venom brought to him by the +bird of Hades. + +This song finished, the old man checks the flow of blood, and sends +his daughters to collect various herbs, out of which he manufactures a +magic balsam which cures the cut immediately. + +_Rune X and XI._ Wainamoinen now hastens back to Kalevala and +interviews his brother Ilmarinen, who refuses to journey northward or +to forge the magic Sampo. To induce the smith to do his will, +Wainamoinen persuades him to climb a lofty fir-tree, on whose branches +he claims to have hung the moon and the Great Bear. While Ilmarinen is +up in this tree, the wizard Wainamoinen causes a violent storm to blow +his brother off to the Northland, where, welcomed by Louhi, Ilmarinen +sets up his forge, and after four days' arduous work produces the +magic sampo. + + "I will forge for thee the Sampo, + Hammer thee the lid in colors, + From the tips of white-swan feathers, + From the milk of greatest virtue, + From a single grain of barley, + From the finest wool of lambkins, + Since I forged the arch of heaven, + Forged the air a concave cover, + Ere the earth had a beginning." + +The sorceress is so pleased with the Sampo--by means of which she +daily grinds out treasure untold--that, after hiding it away safely in +a mountain, she authorizes Ilmarinen to woo the Maid of Beauty, who +assures him also she never will marry. Saddened by this refusal, +Ilmarinen longs for home, whither he is wafted in Louhi's magic boat +of copper. + +Meanwhile Wainamoinen has been building a magic boat in which to sail +northward. He is aided in this work by Lemminkainen, who, seeing the +Maid of Beauty, boldly kidnaps her. But the maiden consents to be his +spouse only if he will promise never to fight, a pledge he readily +gives in exchange for hers to forego all village dances. These vows +duly exchanged, the young couple are united, and all goes well as long +as both scrupulously keep their promise. + +_Rune XII._ The time comes, however, when Lemminkainen goes fishing, +and during his absence his wife secretly attends a village dance. When +the husband returns, his sister informs him his bride has broken her +promise, whereupon Lemminkainen vows it is time he too should break +his, and, harnessing his sleigh, starts off for Lapland to fight. On +arriving there he enters sundry houses, and finally meets in one of +them a minstrel, whose song he roughly criticises. Then, seizing the +man's harp, Lemminkainen chants all sorts of spells, until all present +are under their influence save a blind shepherd, whom Lemminkainen +allows to go, and who hastens down to the River of Death, declaring he +will there await the singer's arrival. + +_Runes XIII and XIV._ Lemminkainen now asks Louhi for her second +daughter, whom she refuses to give him, declaring that after deserting +her first daughter he can obtain her second only by catching the wild +moose ranging in the fields of Hisi (Death), by bridling his +fire-breathing steed, and by killing with his first arrow the great +swan swimming on the River of Death. The first two tasks, although +bristling with difficulties, are safely accomplished by Lemminkainen, +but when he reaches the River of Death, the blind shepherd--who is +lying there in wait for him ruthlessly slays him, chops his body into +pieces, and casts them into the stream. + +_Rune XV._ After vainly awaiting Lemminkainen's return, his aged +mother, seeing blood drip from his hair-brush, concludes evil must +have befallen her son. She therefore hastens northward, and threatens +to destroy Louhi's magic Sampo unless the sorceress will reveal what +has become of Lemminkainen. Louhi then confesses that she sent him +down to Hades to hunt the Death swan, so Lemminkainen's mother hastens +down to the River of Death, only to learn her son has perished. +Hastening back to the blacksmith Ilmarinen, the frantic mother +beseeches him to make her a rake with a handle five hundred fathoms +long, and armed with this implement begins to dredge the river. +Presently she fishes out one by one the garments and various fragments +of her son! Thanks to powerful incantations she restores Lemminkainen +to life, speech, and motion, whereupon the youth thanks her, and +graphically relates how he came to his death. But, although he is home +once more, Lemminkainen is always thinking of the beautiful maiden he +wooed, and he still longs to kill the swan swimming on the River of +Death! + +_Runes XVI and XVII._ Leaving Lemminkainen, the poem now relates how +Wainamoinen built a boat, asking the God of the Forest to supply him +with the necessary material for its different parts. When questioned, +the trees one after another declare they are unfit for ship-building, +until the oak proffers its strong trunk. Wainamoinen now constructs +his vessel, but discovers he lacks three "master words" to finish it +properly. After vainly seeking these words among birds and animals, he +crosses the River of Death in a boat, only to find the magic formula +is unknown even to the angel of Death! The words are, however, well +known to Wipunen, a giant of whom he goes in quest. Prying open the +monster's lips to force him to speak, Wainamoinen stumbles and +accidentally falls into the huge maw and is swallowed alive. But, +unwilling to remain indefinitely in the dark recesses of the giant's +body, Wainamoinen soon sets up a forge in the entrails of the +colossus, thus causing him such keen discomfort that the monster +proposes to eject his guest, who flatly refuses to be dislodged until +he learns the magic words. Having thus cleverly secured what he is +seeking, Wainamoinen returns home and completes a boat, which proves +self-propelling, and speedily bears him to the Northland to woo the +Maiden of the Rainbow. + + Thus the ancient Wainamoinen + Built the boat with magic only, + And with magic launched his vessel, + Using not the hand to touch it, + Using not the foot to move it, + Using not the knee to turn it, + Using nothing to propel it. + Thus the third task was completed, + For the hostess of Pohyola, + Dowry for the Maid of Beauty + Sitting on the arch of heaven, + On the bow of many colors. + +_Rune XVIII._ Wainamoinen's departure in the magic vessel is noted by +Ilmarinen's sister, who immediately informs her brother a suitor is +starting to woo the girl he covets. Jumping into his sled Ilmarinen +drives off, and both suitors approach the maiden's dwelling from +different points at the self-same time. Seeing them draw near, the +witch Louhi bids her daughter accept the older man--because he brings +a boat-load of treasures--and to refuse the empty-handed youth. But +the daughter, who prefers a young bridegroom, declares that the smith +who fashioned the incomparable Sampo cannot be an undesirable match. +When Wainamoinen therefore lands from his ship and invites her to go +sailing with him, she refuses his invitation. Heavy-hearted, +Wainamoinen is obliged to return home alone, and, on arriving there, +issues the wise decree that old men should never woo mere girls or +attempt to rival young men. + +_Rune XIX._ In his turn Ilmarinen now woos the Rainbow Maiden, and is +told by Louhi that ere he can claim his bride he must plough the +serpent-field of Hades, bring back from that place the Tuoni-bear +safely muzzled, and catch a monster pike swimming in the River of +Death Helped by the Maiden of the Rainbow, Ilmarinen accomplishes +these three difficult feats, by first forging the plough, noose, and +fishing eagle required. + +_Runes XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, and XXIV._ Now extensive preparations are +made for the marriage of Ilmarinen and the Maiden of the Rainbow. Not +only is the mighty ox of Harjala slain and roasted, but beer is brewed +for the first time in the Northland, and many verses are devoted to +describe the processes by which this national drink was brought to its +state of perfection! When at last Ilmarinen appears to take away his +bride, the Rainbow Maiden seems unwilling to go, and objects that a +wife is her husband's slave, and has to spend all her days in pleasing +him, his father, and his mother. Although her lament is touching +indeed, the bride-advisor directs her to please her new relatives, +admonishes Ilmarinen to treat her kindly, and watches the two set off, +the Rainbow Maiden shedding bitter tears at leaving her beloved home. + +_Rune XXV._ The bride and bridegroom are next warmly welcomed by +Ilmarinen's family, old Wainamoinen himself singing at their bridal +feast, and again instructing the bride to be all love and submission +and to expect nothing save bitterness and hardship from marriage. +Having concluded his song by praising the father who built the house, +the mother who keeps it, and having blessed bridegroom and bride, +Wainamoinen departs for the Land of the Dead, to borrow an auger to +repair his sled, which has fallen to pieces while he sang. + +_Rune XXVI._ Meanwhile Lemminkainen, angry because he alone has +received no invitation to the wedding banquet, decides, in spite of +his mother's advice, to go forth and take his revenge. Although he has +to overcome a flaming eagle, pass through a pit of fire, slay a wolf +and a bear, and destroy a wall of snakes mounting guard at the +entrance of Lapland before he can reach his destination, his spells +and incantations safely overcome these and other dire perils. _Runes +XXVII and XXVIII._ Reaching Northland at last, Lemminkainen slays the +husband of Louhi, from whom he escapes before she can attack him. His +mother now warns him his foes will pursue him and advises him to go to +the Isle of Refuge, situated in the centre of the Tenth Ocean, and +abide there for three years, pledging himself not to fight again for +sixty summers. + +_Rune XXIX._ We now have a description of the Isle of Refuge, where +Lemminkainen tarries three whole years with the sea-maidens, who bid +him a tender farewell when he sails away again. He has, however, +proved neglectful toward one of them, a spinster, who curses him, +vowing he will suffer many things in return for his neglect. True to +her prediction, he encounters many dangers on the homeward journey, +and finds his house reduced to ashes and his parents gone! But, +although he mourns for them as dead, he soon discovers them hiding in +the forest, to escape the fury of the Lapps. + +_Rune XXX._ To punish these foes Lemminkainen now sets out for the +north, taking with him Tiera, hero of the broadsword, who is to help +him. Aware of his coming, Louhi bids her son Frost stop them by +holding their vessel fast in the ice, but Lemminkainen trudges over +the ice, hurls the Frost-God into the fire, and, somewhat discouraged, +returns home. + +_Runes XXXI, XXXII, and XXXIII._ During this time a slave, +Kullerwoinen, the son of Evil, has been sold to Ilmarinen to serve as +his shepherd. The Rainbow Maiden therefore sends him forth with her +cattle, giving him a loaf of bread as sole sustenance. When the son of +Evil attempts to cut this bread, he breaks his knife, for the +housewife has baked a flint-stone in it. In his anger the shepherd +conjures up wolves and bears, which devour the cattle, and which he +drives home in their stead after dark. When the Rainbow Maiden +therefore unsuspectingly tries to milk them, she is instantly devoured +by these wild beasts. + +_Runes XXXIV and XXXV._ Having thus effected his revenge, the Spirit +of Evil hurries away to his tribe-folk, who bid him perform sundry +tasks, in the course of which he crowns his evil deeds by assaulting a +sister who was lost in infancy, and whom he therefore fails to +recognize. On discovering the identity of her ravisher, the unhappy +girl throws herself into the river, where she perishes. + +_Rune XXXVI._ Forbidden by his mother to commit suicide in punishment +for his crime, Kullerwoinen decides to seek death on the field of +battle. Although the various members of his family see him depart +without regret, his mother assures him nothing can destroy her love +for her son. + + "Canst not fathom love maternal, + Canst not smother her affection; + Bitterly I'll mourn thy downfall, + I would weep if thou shouldst perish, + Shouldst thou leave my race forever; + I would weep in court or cabin, + Sprinkle all these fields with tear-drops, + Weep great rivers to the ocean, + Weep to melt the snows of Northland, + Make the hillocks green with weeping, + Weep at morning, weep at evening, + Weep three years in bitter sorrow + O'er the death of Kullerwoinen!" + +Kullerwoinen, armed with a magic sword, does great slaughter among his +foes, and returns home only to find all his kin have perished. While +he mourns their death, his mother's spirit bids him follow his +watch-dog--the only living creature left him. During this strange +promenade, coming to the spot where he assaulted his sister, +Kullerwoinen falls upon his magic sword and dies, an episode which +inspires Wainamoinen with these words of wisdom: + + "If the child is not well nurtured, + Is not rocked and led uprightly, + Though he grow to years of manhood, + Bear a strong and shapely body, + He will never know discretion, + Never eat the bread of honor, + Never drink the cup of wisdom." + +_Rune XXXVII and XXXVIII._ Meantime Ilmarinen, after grieving three +months for the loss of the Rainbow Maiden, proceeds to fashion himself +a wife out of gold and silver, but, as she is lifeless and +unresponsive, he offers her to Wainamoinen,--who refuses her,--and +travels northward once more to woo a sister of his former bride. On +arriving at Louhi's house,--undeterred by many evil omens which have +crossed his path,--Ilmarinen sues for a bride. Louhi reproaches him +for the treatment her first daughter has undergone, but, although the +second maiden refuses to follow him, he boldly carries her off by +force. She is, however, so unhappy with him that the blacksmith +finally changes her into a sea-gull. + + "I have changed the hateful virgin + To a sea-gull on the ocean; + Now she calls above the waters, + Screeches from the ocean-islands, + On the rocks she calls and murmurs, + Vainly calling for a suitor." + +_Runes XXXIX, XL, and XLI._ To comfort himself, Ilmarinen concludes he +would like to have the Sampo, and persuades Wainamoinen and +Lemminkainen to accompany him northward to get it. This time they sail +in a magic ship, which is stranded on the shoulders of a huge pike. +Wainamoinen kills this fish, and from its bones and sinews fashions +the first harp, an instrument so wonderful that none but he can play +it, but, whenever he touches its strings, trees dance about him, wild +animals crouch at his feet, and the hearts of men are filled with +rapture. + + All of Northland stopped and listened. + Every creature in the forest, + All the beasts that haunt the woodlands, + On their nimble feet came bounding, + Came to listen to his playing, + Came to hear his songs of joyance. + +The music which he makes is so touching that it draws tears even from +the player's eyes, tears which drop down into the sea, where they are +transformed into pearls, which are brought to him by a duck. + + Gathered Wainamoinen's tear-drops + From the blue sea's pebbly bottom, + From the deep, pellucid waters; + Brought them to the great magician, + Beautifully formed and colored, + Glistening in the silver sunshine, + Glimmering in the golden moonlight, + Many-colored as the rainbow, + Fitting ornaments for heroes, + Jewels for the maids of beauty. + This the origin of sea-pearls + And the blue-duck's beauteous plumage. + +_Runes XLII and XLIII._ Having lulled the Spirits of Evil to sleep +with magic music, Wainamoinen and Ilmarinen go in quest of the Sampo, +which they find hidden in the bosom of a magic mountain and bear away +in triumph. The spell they have laid upon all living creatures is +broken only when Louhi discovers her loss and sets out in pursuit of +the robbers of her treasure. + +In various guises she attacks them, finally transforming herself into +a huge eagle and pouncing down upon the Sampo, which she tries to bear +away in her talons. But Wainamoinen fights this aggressor to such good +purpose that it drops the Sampo into the sea, where it is dashed to +pieces! Not only has Wainamoinen lost the Sampo,--whose fragments he +collects and buries so that they may bring prosperity to his +people,--but his magic harp has also fallen overboard during his fight +with Louhi. + +_Runes XLIV and XLV._ Wainamoinen therefore proceeds to construct a +second harp from the wood of the birch, while Louhi, who has returned +northward but who still owes him a grudge, sends down from the north +nine fell diseases,--colic, pleurisy, fever, ulcer, plague, +consumption, gout, sterility, and cancer,--all of which Wainamoinen +routs by means of the vapor baths which he discovers. + +_Rune XLVI._ Hearing that Wainamoinen prospers in spite of all she can +do, Louhi is so disappointed that she sends a magic bear to devour him +and his brother. But, hearing this monster is coming, Wainamoinen +directs the blacksmith to make him a wonderful spear, with which he +slays the bear, whose skin and flesh prove a boon to his people. + +_Runes XLVII and XLVIII._ Still angry, Louhi steals from Wainamoinen +the sun, moon, and fire, and thus all the homes in Kalevala are cold, +dark, and cheerless. Gazing downward, Ukko, king of the heaven, +wonders because he sees no light, and sends down a flash of lightning, +which, after striking the earth, drops into the sea and is swallowed +by a pike. This fiery mouthful, however, proves so uncomfortable, that +the fish swims madly around until swallowed by another. Learning that +the fire-ball is now in a pike, Wainamoinen fishes until he secures +that greedy denizen of the deep. Opening his quarry, he seizes the +lightning, which burns his fingers so badly that he drops it, until he +decides to convey it to his people in the wood of an elm. + +_Rune XLIX._ Although fire is thus restored to mankind, the sun and +the moon are still missing. Ilmarinen therefore forges a magnificent +silver moon and golden sun, in the vain hope of replacing the orbs +which Louhi has stolen, and which are hidden in the cave where she +once treasured the Sampo. Discovering this fact by magic means, +Wainamoinen starts out in quest of sun and moon, and, by changing +himself into a pike to cross the river, reaches the land of Louhi, +defeats her sons, and finds the orbs he is seeking guarded by a +multitude of snakes. Although Wainamoinen slays these keepers, he +cannot recover the captive sun or moon until Louhi, who has meantime +assumed the form of an eagle and then of a dove, sends them back to +Kalevala, where their return is hailed with joy. + + "Greetings to thee, Sun of fortune; + Greetings to thee, Moon of good-luck; + Welcome sunshine, welcome moonlight; + Golden is the dawn of morning! + Free art thou, O Sun of silver, + Free again, O Moon beloved, + As the sacred cuckoo's singing, + As the ring-dove's liquid cooing. + Rise, thou silver Sun, each morning, + Source of light and life hereafter, + Bring us daily joyful greetings, + Fill our homes with peace and plenty, + That our sowing, fishing, hunting, + May be prospered by thy coming. + Travel on thy daily journey, + Let the Moon be ever with thee; + Glide along thy way rejoicing, + End thy journeyings in slumber; + Rest at evening in the ocean, + When thy daily cares have ended, + To the good of all thy people, + To the pleasure of Wainola, + To the joy of Kalevala!" + +_Rune L._ Meanwhile there had been dwelling in the Northland a happy +maiden named Mariatta, who, wandering on the hillsides, once asked the +cuckoo how long she would remain unmarried, and heard a magic voice +bid her gather a certain berry. No sooner had she done so than the +berry popped into her mouth, and soon after she bore a child, which +being the offspring of a berry was to be called Flower. Because her +mother indignantly cast her off, she wandered about seeking a place +where she could give birth to her child. She was finally compelled to +take refuge in the manger of the fiery steed of Hisi, where her infant +was charitably warmed by the firesteed's breath. But once, while the +mother was slumbering, the child vanished, and the mother vainly +sought it until the Sun informed her she would find it sleeping among +the reeds and rushes in Swamp-land. + + Mariatta, child of beauty, + Virgin-mother of the Northland, + Straightway seeks her babe in Swamp-land, + Finds him in the reeds and rushes; + Takes the young child on her bosom + To the dwelling of her father. + +Mariatta soon discovered him there, growing in grace and beauty, but +priests refused to baptize him because he was considered a wizard. +When Wainamoinen sentenced the mother to death, the infant, although +only two weeks old, hotly reproached him, declaring that, although +guilty of many follies, his people have always forgiven him. Hearing +this, Wainamoinen, justly rebuked, baptized the child, who in time +grew up to be a hero and became the greatest warrior in the land. + +Wainamoinen, having grown feeble with passing years, finally built for +himself a copper vessel, wherein, after singing a farewell song, he +sailed "out into the west," and vanished in the midst of the sunset +clouds, leaving behind him as an inheritance to his people his +wondrous songs. + + Thus the ancient Wainamoinen, + In his copper-banded vessel, + Left his tribe in Kalevala, + Sailing o'er the rolling billows, + Sailing through the azure vapors, + Sailing through the dusk of evening, + Sailing to the fiery sunset, + To the higher-landed regions, + To the lower verge of heaven; + Quickly gained the far horizon, + Gained the purple-colored harbor, + There his bark he firmly anchored, + Rested in his boat of copper; + But he left his harp of magic, + Left his songs and wisdom-sayings, + To the lasting joy of Suomi. + +The poem concludes with an epilogue, wherein the bard declares it +contains many of the folk-tales of his native country, and that as far +as rhythm is concerned-- + + "Nature was my only teacher, + Woods and waters my instructors." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 36: All the quotations in this chapter are from Crawford's +translation of the "Kalevala."] + + + + +THE EPICS OF CENTRAL EUROPE AND OF THE BALKAN PENINSULA + + +German being talked in a large part of Switzerland and of Austria, +these countries claim a great share in the Teutonic epics, many of +whose episodes are located within their borders. Both the Swiss and +the Austrian nations are formed, however, of various peoples, so while +some of the Swiss boast of German blood and traditions, others are +more closely related to the French or to the Italians. To study Swiss +literature one must therefore seek its sources in German, French, and +Italian books. It is, though, considered very remarkable that there +exists no great Swiss epic on the deeds of William Tell, a national +hero whose literary fame rests almost exclusively upon folk-tales and +upon Schiller's great drama.[37] + +No political division boasts of a greater mixture of races and +languages than the Austro-Hungarian empire, whose literature is +therefore like a many-faceted jewel. Aside from many Germans, there +are within the borders of the empire large numbers of Czechs or +Bohemians, who in the thirteenth century delighted in translations of +the Alexandreis, of Tristram, and of other epic poems and romances, +and whose first printed volume in 1468 was a reproduction of the +Trojan Cycle. + +There are also the Hungarians, whose literary language continued to be +Latin until after the Reformation, and whose earliest epics treat of +such themes as the "Life of St. Catherine of Alexandria." It was, +therefore, only in the seventeenth century that Zrinyi, Gyöngyösi, +Liszti, and other poets began to compose Magyar epics which roused +their countrymen to rebel against their foes, the Turks. In the +nineteenth century patriotism was further fostered among this people +by the stirring epics of Czuczor, Petöfi (whose masterpiece is Janes +Vilez), and of Vörösmarty, and then, too, were compiled the first +collections of genuine Hungarian folk-tales. Among these the +adventures of the national Samson (Toldi) have served as basis for +Arany's modern national epic in twelve cantos. + +Part of Poland being incorporated in the Austro-Hungarian empire, it +cannot be amiss to mention here the fact that its literature is +particularly rich in folk-tales, animal epics, apologues, religious +legends, and hero tales, although none of the poetical versions of +these works seem to be of sufficient weight or importance to require +detailed treatment in this volume. + +With the exception of ancient Greece,--whose epic literature is so +rich and still exerts such an influence as to demand separate +treatment,--there do not seem to be any epics of great literary value +among the various races now occupying the Balkan Peninsula. Old +Rumanian literature, written in the Slavic tongue, boasts a few rhymed +chronicles which are sometimes termed epics, while modern Rumanian +prides itself upon Joan Delaemi's locally famous Epic of the Gypsies. + +In Servia one discovers ancient epic songs celebrating the great feats +of national heroes and heroines, and relating particularly to the +country's prolonged struggle for independence. After translating the +main works of Tasso from the Italian for the benefit of his +countrymen, one of their poets--Gundulitch--composed a twenty-canto +epic entitled Osman, wherein he described the war between the Poles +and Turks in 1621. The Servian dramatist Palmotitch later composed the +Christiad, or life of Christ, and in the nineteenth century +Milutinovitch wrote a Servian epic, while Mazuranie and Bogovitch +penned similar poems in Croatian. As for the Bulgarians they do not +seem to have any epic of note. + +Turkish literature having been successively under Persian, Arabic, and +French influence, has no characteristic epics, although it possesses +wonderful cycles of fairy and folk-tales,--material from which +excellent epics could be evolved were it handled by a poet of genius. +The Asiatic part of Turkey being occupied mainly by Arabians, who +profess the Mohammedan religion, it is natural that the sayings and +doings of Mohammed should form no small part of their literature. The +most important of these collections in regard to the Prophet were made +by Al-Bukhari, Muslem, and Al-Tirmidhi. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 37: See the author's "Legends of Switzerland."] + + + + +HEBREW AND EARLY CHRISTIAN EPICS + +JOB + + +The Book of Job ranks as "one of that group of five or six world poems +that stand as universal expressions of the human spirit." For that +reason it is considered the representative Hebrew epic, and, as it +depicts the conflicts of a human soul, it has also been termed the +"epic of the inner life." + +Written after the exile,--probably in the latter part of the fourth +century B.C.,--it incorporates various older poems, for the theme is +thought to antedate the Exodus. In the prologue we have a description +of Job, a model sheik of the land of Uz, whose righteousness wins such +complete approval from God that the Almighty proudly quotes his +servant before his assembled council as a perfect man. "The +Adversary," Satan, now dramatically presents himself, and, when +taunted by God with Job's virtues, sarcastically retorts it is easy to +be good when favored with continual prosperity. + +Thus challenged, and feeling sure of his subject, God allows Satan to +do his worst and thus test the real worth of Job. In quick succession +we now behold a once happy and prosperous man deprived of children, +wealth, and health,--misfortunes so swift and dire that his friends in +lengthy speeches insist he has offended God, for such trials as his +can only be sent in punishment for grievous sins. The exhortations of +Job's three argumentative friends, as well as of a later-comer, and of +his wife, extend over a period of seven days, and cover three whole +cycles; but, in spite of all they say, Job steadfastly refuses to +curse God as they advise. + +Unaware of the Heavenly council or of the fact that he is being +tested, Job, in spite of trials and friends, patiently reiterates "The +Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away," and, when his wife bids him +curse God and die, pathetically inquires, "What! shall we receive good +at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" + +There are, besides, whole passages in this book where Job gives way to +his overwhelming grief, these laments being evidently either fragments +from another, older version of the story, or tokens that even such +fortitude as his gave way under pressure of disease and of his +friends' injudicious attempts at consolation. These laments exceed in +pathos any other Hebrew poem, while Job's descriptions of God's power +and wisdom attain to a superbly exalted strain. + +Having silenced Zopher, Eliphaz, and Bildad, by assuring them he will +be vindicated in heaven,--if not sooner,--Job watches them and his +last friend depart, and is finally left alone. Then only, and in an +epilogue, we are informed that, having thus been tried in the furnace +of affliction and proved true gold, Job receives from God, as reward, +a double measure of health, wealth, and descendants, so that all men +may know he has not sinned and that his unshaken faith found favor in +the eyes of God. + +Some Jewish writers quote Ecclesiastes as their best sample of +didactic epic, and others would fain rank as epics the tales of Naomi +and Ruth, of Esther and Ahasuerus, and even the idyllic Song of Songs +by Solomon. Early Christian writers also see in Revelations, or the +Apocalypse, by St. John, the Seer of Patmos, a brilliant example of +the mystical or prophetic epic. + + + + +ARABIAN AND PERSIAN EPICS + + +"The long caravan marches across the monotonous deserts, when the +camel's steady swing bends the rider's body almost double, taught the +Arab to sing rhymes." But the poems thus sung by camel-drivers are +generally short and never reach epic might or length. None of those +older poems now exist, and it was only when travellers applied the +Syrian alphabet to the Arabic tongue in the sixth century that written +records began to be kept of favorite compositions. Poets were then +looked upon as wise men, or magicians, and called upon, like Balaam, +in times of danger, to utter spells or incantations against the foe. + +The most ancient pre-Islamic poems were written in golden ink, +suspended in the Kaaba at Mecca, and are known in Arabia as the +"necklace of pearls." + +Many of these poems--which replace epics in the East--follow fixed +rules, the author being bound to "begin by a reference to the forsaken +camping grounds. Next he must lament, and pray his comrades to halt, +while he calls up the memory of the dwellers who had departed in +search of other encampments and fresh water springs. Then he begins to +touch on love matters, bewailing the tortures to which his passion +puts him, and thus attracting interest and attention to himself. He +recounts his hard and toilsome journeying in the desert, dwells on the +lean condition of his steed, which he lauds and describes, and +finally, with the object of obtaining those proofs of generosity which +were the bard's expected meed and sole support, he winds up with a +panegyric of the prince or governor in whose presence the poem is +recited." + +Throughout the East, professional story-tellers still spend their +lives travelling about and entertaining audiences in towns and tents +with poems and legends, many of the latter treating of desert feuds +and battles and forming part of a collection known as the Arab Days. +With the founding of Bagdad by the Abbasides, Persian influence +begins to make itself felt, not only in politics but in literature +also, although Arabic was the sole language of the empire of the +Caliphs. The greatest literary work in this literature is the famous +"Arabian Nights," an anonymous collection of tales connected by a +thread of narrative. Its purport is that an Eastern monarch, "to +protect himself against the craft and infidelity of women resolves +that the wife he chooses him every day shall be put to death before +the next." Two sisters devote their lives to put an end to such +massacres. The eldest, who becomes the king's wife, begs that her +sister may spend the last night of her life in their room. At dawn the +royal bride entertains her sister with a story which is cleverly left +unfinished. Such is the sultan's curiosity to hear the end, that the +bride of a night is not slain, as usual. But as soon as one tale is +ended another is begun, and for one thousand and one nights the clever +narrator keeps her audience of two in suspense. Most of the tales told +in this collection are obviously of Persian origin, and are contained +in the Hasâr Afsâna (The Thousand Tales) which was translated into +Arabic in the tenth century. But some authorities claim that these +stories originated in India and were brought into Persia before +Alexander's conquests. These tales are so popular that they have been +translated into every civilized language and are often termed prose +epics. + +Arabic also boasts a romance of chivalry entitled "Romance of +'Antar,'" ascribed to Al Asmai (739-831), which contains the chief +events in Arab history before the advent of Mahomet and is hence often +termed the Arab Iliad. + +The "Romance of Beni Hilâl" and that of "Abu Zaid," which form part of +a cycle of 38 legends, are popular in Egypt to this day. + + + + +THE SHAH-NAMEH, OR EPIC OF KINGS + + +This Persian epic was composed by the poet Abul Kasin Mansur, who sang +so sweetly that his master termed him Firdusi, or Singer of Paradise, +by which name he is best known, although he is also called the "Homer +of the East." Mahmoud, Shah of Persia, who lived about 920 B.C., +decided to have the chronicles of the land put into rhyme, and engaged +Firdusi for this piece of work, promising him a thousand gold pieces +for every thousand distichs he finished. Firdusi, who had long wished +to build stone embankments for the river whose overflow devastated his +native town, begged the king to withhold payment until the work was +done. + +At the end of thirty-three years, when the poem was completed, the +grand vizier, after counting its sixty-thousand couplets, concluded +not to pay for it in gold, and sent instead sixty thousand small +pieces of silver. On receiving so inadequate a reward, Firdusi became +so angry that, after distributing the money among the bearers and +writing an insulting poem to the king, he fled first to Mazinderan and +then to Bagdad, where he lingered until shortly before his death, when +he returned to Tous. Tradition claims that the Shah; hearing he had +come home,--and having meantime discovered the trickery of his +minister,--immediately sent Firdusi sixty thousand pieces of gold, but +that the money arrived only as his corpse was being lowered into the +tomb! As the poet's daughter indignantly refused to accept this tardy +atonement, another relative took the money and built the dike which +Firdusi had longed to see. + +We know that Persian monarchs made sundry attempts to collect the +annals of their country, but these collections were scattered at the +time of the Arabian conquest, so that only a few documents were +brought back to Persia later on. Although the poem of Firdusi claims +to be a complete history of Persia, it contains so many marvels that, +were it not for its wonderful diction, it would not have survived, +although he declares he has written, + + "What no tide + Shall ever wash away, what men + Unborn shall read o'er ocean wide."[38] + +The poem opens with the description of a ruler so prosperous that the +Spirit of Evil sent a mighty devil (deev) to conquer him. Thanks to +the effort of this demon, the king's son was slain, and, as the +monarch died of grief, it was his grandson who succeeded him. During a +forty-centuries reign this king gave fire to his people, taught them +irrigation and agriculture, and bestowed names on all the beasts. + +His son and successor taught mortals how to spin and weave, and the +demons, in hopes of destroying him, imparted to him the arts of +reading and writing. Next came the famous Persian hero Jemshid, who is +said to have reigned seven hundred years, and to have divided the +Persian nation into four classes,--priests, warriors, artisans, and +husbandmen. During his reign, which is the Age of Gold of Persia, the +world was divided into separate parts, and the city of Persepolis +founded, where two columns of the ruined royal palace still bear the +name of the monarch who instituted the national festival of Persia +(Neurouz). + +Having accomplished all these wonderful things, Jemshid became so +conceited that he wished to be worshipped, whereupon a neighboring +volcano vomited smoke and ashes and innumerable snakes infested the +land. Then Prince Zohak of Arabia was sent by the Evil Spirit to drive +away Jemshid and to take possession of his throne. Although at first +Zohak was very virtuous, the Evil Spirit, having gotten him in his +power, began to serve him in guise of a cook. Once, having succeeded +in pleasing him, he begged permission as reward to kiss the king +between his shoulders. But no sooner had this demon's lips touched the +royal back than two black serpents sprang up there, serpents which +could not be destroyed, and which could only be kept quiet by being +fed with human brains. + + "If life hath any charm for thee, + The brains of men their food must be." + +Zohak, "the Serpent King," as he is now invariably called, was +therefore obliged to prey upon his subjects to satisfy the appetite +of these serpents, and, as two men were required daily for that +purpose during the next thousand years, the realm was sorely +depopulated. + + The serpents still on human brains were fed, + And every day two youthful victims bled; + The sword, still ready, thirsting still to strike, + Warrior and slave were sacrificed alike. + +Naturally, all the Persians grew to loathe their monarch, and, when +the seventeenth and last child of the blacksmith Kavah was seized to +feed the serpents, this man rebelled, and, raising his leathern apron +as a standard, rallied the Persians around him. He then informed them +that, if they would only fight beneath "the flag of Kavah,"--which is +now the Persian ensign,--he would give them as king Feridoun, a son of +Jemshid, born during his exile. Hearing this, the rebels went in quest +of Feridoun, "the glorious," in regard to whom Zohak has been favored +with sundry visions, although he had been brought up in secret, his +sole nurse being a faithful cow. When this animal died at last, the +grateful Feridoun made a mace of one of its big bones, and armed with +that weapon, defeated Zohak, who was chained to a mountain, where he +was tortured by visions of his victims for a thousand years. Meantime +Feridoun occupied so justly the throne of Persia--where he reigned +some five hundred years--that his realm became an earthly Paradise. + +At the end of this long reign, Feridoun despatched his three sons to +Arabia in quest of wives, and on their return proceeded to test their +mettle by meeting them in the shape of a dragon. While the eldest son +retreated, crying that a wise and prudent man never strives with +dragons, the second advanced recklessly, without thinking of +protecting himself. The third, however, set to work in a business-like +way, not only to rescue his foolhardy brother, but to slay the dragon. +On perceiving this, the father resumed his wonted form, and announced +he would divide his realm into three parts, of which the best share, +Iran or Persia, was bestowed upon Trij, the son who had shown both +courage and prudence. + +Not long after this division, the two elder brothers united to despoil +the younger, but, although they succeeded in slaying him, his infant +daughter was brought up by the aged Feridoun, and in due time gave +birth to a son, Minuchir, destined to avenge his grandfather's death +by defeating and slaying his great-uncles. Having done this, Minuchir +occupied the throne, while his favorite vassal was made governor of +one of the newly conquered realms. This swarthy, dark-haired man +proved perfectly happy in these new estates until he heard his wife +had given birth to a son with snow-white hair. + + "No human being of this earth could give to such a monster birth, + He must be of the demon race, though human still in form and face. + If not a demon, he at least, appears a parti-colored beast." + +Such an offspring seeming nothing short of a curse, the father had +little Zal exposed on Mt. Alborz, where he expected he would perish in +a brief space of time. + +On the top of this mountain the Simurgh, or Bird of God,--a marvellous +golden-feathered eagle,--had built a nest of ebony and sandal-wood, +lined with spices, around which she had piled all manner of precious +stones, whose glitter pleased her. Hearing the cry of a babe, this +great bird swooped downward, and, fastening her talons in the child's +dress, bore him safely away to her aerie, where she dropped him in the +nest beside two eaglets. These little birds proved kind to the young +prince, although they were able to leave their nest long before he +could walk about and play with the precious stones. + +It was only when Zal was about eight years old that his father +suddenly realized he had committed a deadly sin, and was +correspondingly relieved to learn in a dream that his child had not +perished, but had been nursed by the Simurgh. Hastening to the +mountain, the father besought the Bird of God to give back his son, +whereupon the golden-feathered eagle, after taking affectionate leave +of little Zal (upon whom she bestowed a feather which was to be cast +into the fire in time of need), bore him back to his father. + + "Having watched thee with fondness by day and by night, + And supplied all thy wants with a mother's delight, + Oh, forget not thy nurse--still be faithful to me, + And my heart will be ever devoted to thee." + +The father now brought up young Zal, who soon became so remarkable for +strength and bravery that he promised to become the greatest warrior +the world had ever known. In early manhood this youth journeyed to +Kabul, where he beheld the lovely Rudaveh, who belonged to the race of +the Serpent King. The arrival of a young but white-haired warrior +caused such a sensation at court that the princess, who had already +fallen in love with him on hearsay, became anxious to meet him. + +One day, when the maidens were gathering roses near his pavilion, Zal +shot a bird, which falling in their midst gave them an occasion to +address him. He, too, had heard so much about the loveliness of +Rudaveh, that he questioned her attendants and gave them jewels to +take to her. Such gifts quickly paved the way for an interview, for +Rudaveh immediately sent for Zal. On appearing beneath her window, +this lover began so sweet a serenade that the princess stepped out in +her balcony, where, loosening her long black braids,--which hung down +to the ground,--she bade Zal use them to climb up to her. He, however, +gallantly refused, for fear he should hurt her, and deftly flinging +his noose upward caught it fast in a projection, and thus safely +reached the balcony, where this Persian Romeo acceptably wooed his +Juliet. + +The royal parents, on discovering these clandestine meetings, +questioned the young man, who proved his intelligence by solving six +riddles, and, after giving satisfactory tokens of his other +qualifications, was allowed to marry the princess, for the oracles +predicted that from this union would arise a hero who would honor his +native land. + +Time now passed happily until the moment came when Rudaveh's life was +in imminent danger. In his quandary, Zal flung the golden feather into +the fire with so trembling a hand that it fell to one side so that +only one edge was singed. This proved sufficient, however, to summon +the faithful Simurgh, who, after rapturously caressing her nursling, +whispered in his ear a magic word, which not only enabled him to save +the life of his dying wife, but also assured his becoming the happy +father of a stalwart son named Rustem. + +This boy, stronger and handsomer than any child yet born, required no +less than ten nurses, and after being weaned ate as much as five men! +Such being the case, he was able, by the time he was eight years of +age, to slay a mad white elephant with a single stroke of his fist. +Many similar feats were performed during the boyhood of this Persian +Hercules, who longed to fight when the realm was finally invaded by +the Tartar chief Afrasiab and war began to devastate the land. + + Loud neighed the steeds, and their resounding hoofs + Shook the deep caverns of the earth; the dust + Rose up in clouds and hid the azure heavens.-- + Bright beamed the swords, and in that carnage wide, + Blood flowed like water. + +When the Persians, in their distress, implored Zal to meet and defeat +this dreaded foe, the hero answered he was far too old to perform such +a task, but that his son Rustem would fight in his stead. Before +sending him forth, however, Zal bade Rustem select a suitable steed, +and, from all those paraded before him, the youth picked out a +rose-colored colt called Rakush (lightning) whom no one had ever been +able to mount, although he was quite old enough to use. After lassoing +and taming this wonderful steed,--which obeyed him alone,--Rustem, +armed with a mace, set out to meet the foe, sent hither as he knew by +the evil spirit. Then, to oppose Afrasiab, Rustem placed Kaikobad, a +descendant of the old royal family, on the throne, after driving away +the foe. The wise Kaikobad, who reigned peacefully one hundred years, +was, however, succeeded by a very foolish son, Kaikous, who, ill +satisfied with the extent of his realm, undertook to conquer +Mazinderan, which was in the hands of demons, but which he had coveted +ever since it had been described by a young bard who sang: + + "And mark me, that untravelled man + Who never saw Mazinderan + And all the charms its bowers possess, + Has never tasted happiness." + +On hearing his master propose such a conquest, Zal vainly +remonstrated, but the foolish monarch set out, and on arriving in +Mazinderan was defeated by the demons, who blinded him and his army +and detained them prisoners. No sooner did the news of this calamity +reach Zal, than he bade Rustem go rescue the foolish monarch, adding +that, although it had taken Kaikous six months to reach his +destination, Rustem could get there in seven days, provided he were +willing to brave great dangers. + +Of course the hero selected the shorter route, and on the first day +slew a wild ass, which he roasted for supper before lying down to +rest. The odor of roast meat, however, attracted a lion, which would +have made a meal of the sleeping Rustem, had not his brave steed +fought with hoofs and teeth until he succeeded in slaying the beast of +prey. Awakened only as the fight ended, Rustem reproved his horse for +risking his life in this reckless way and bade him henceforth call for +aid. + + "Oh, Rakush, why so thoughtless grown + To fight a lion thus alone? + For had it been thy fate to bleed + And not thy foe, O gallant steed! + How could thy master have conveyed + His helm, and battle-axe, and blade, + Unaided to Mazinderan? + Why didst thou fail to give the alarm, + And save thyself from chance of harm, + By neighing loudly in my ear? + But, though thy bold heart knows no fear, + From such unwise exploits refrain + Nor try a lion's strength again." + +During the second day's journey, Rustem was saved from perishing of +thirst by following a stray ram to a mountain stream; and on the third +night, having forbidden his horse to attack any foe without warning +him, Rustem was twice awakened by the loud neighing of Rakush, who had +seen an eighty-yard long dragon draw near. Each time he neighed, +however, the dragon disappeared, so Rustem, seeing nought, reproved +his horse for breaking his rest. The third time, however, he caught a +glimpse of the dragon's fiery eyes, so, attacking him, he slew him, +thanks to the help of his horse. The fourth day was signalized by +other marvellous adventures, and on the fifth, while journeying +through the land of magic, Rustem was met by a sorceress, who tried to +win him by many wiles. Although he accepted the banquet and cup of +wine she tendered, he no sooner bade her quaff it in the name of God, +than she was forced to resume her fiendish form, whereupon he slew +her. + +On the sixth day, Rustem, forced to ride through a land where the sun +never shone, allowed his intelligent steed to guide him, and thus +safely reached on the seventh a land of plenty and light, where he lay +down to rest. There, while he was sleeping, the people of Mazinderan +captured his wonderful steed. But, following the traces of his +struggling horse, Rustem, by dint of great exertions, made them give +back Rakush, and forced them to guide him to the cave where the White +Demon was detaining his fellow-countrymen prisoners. + +In front of this cave Rustem found an array of demons, and, after +conquering them all, forced his way into the Persian hell, whence he +rescued his companions, whose sight he restored by trickling the blood +of the White Demon into their sightless eyes. + +Having thus earned the title of "champion of the world," Rustem +escorted the stupid king home, but this monarch, not satisfied with +this blunder, committed one folly after another. We are told that he +even undertook to fly, his special make of aeroplane being a carpet +borne by four starving eagles, fastened to the four corners of its +frame, and frantically striving to reach a piece of meat fixed +temptingly above and ahead of them. + +Time and again the foolish monarch Kaikous was rescued by the efforts +of Rustem, who, in the course of his wanderings, finally came to the +court of a king, whose daughter, loving him by hearsay, had his horse +stolen from him. When Rustem angrily demanded the return of his steed, +the monarch assured him he should have Rakush on the morrow. But that +night the beautiful princess, Tamineh, stole into Rustem's room, and, +after waking him, promised he should have his horse provided he would +marry her. Charmed by her beauty and grace, Rustem readily consented, +and found such attractions in his bride that he lingered by her side +for some time. + +The moment came, however, when the foolish monarch required Rustem's +services, and, as Tamineh was not able at that time to bear the long +journey, Rustem bade her a fond farewell, leaving an onyx bracelet +bearing the image of the Simurgh, with which he bade her deck their +expected child. In due time the lovely princess gave birth to a +beautiful boy, whom she called Sorab (sunshine), but, fearing lest +Rustem should take him away to train him as a warrior, she sent word +to him that she had given birth to a daughter. Girls being of minor +importance in Persia, Rustem inquired no further about this child, and +was kept so busy serving his monarch that he never once visited his +wife while his son was growing up. + +For a long time Tamineh jealously guarded the secret of Sorab's birth, +fearing lest her young son would want to go forth and do battle too. +But when she could no longer keep him home, she told him the story of +her wooing: + + "Listen, my child, and you shall hear + Of the wondrous love of a maiden dear + For a mighty warrior, the pride of his day + Who loved, and married, and rode away, + For this is the romance of Rustem." + +The lad, who had always cherished a romantic admiration for Rustem, +was overjoyed to learn his origin, and departed only after being +reminded that he must never fight his father, although about to help +the Tartars in a war against Persia. Sorab was doing so because +everybody was tired of the foolish king, who was to be overthrown, so +that Rustem could be placed on the throne in his stead. To make sure +her son should not fail to recognize his father, Tamineh sent with him +two faithful servants who had known Rustem well when he came to woo +her. + +Meantime Afrasiab, chief of the Tartars, delighted to have Sorab's aid +against Persia, cautioned all his warriors not to tell the youth, +should his father appear in the opposite army, for he slyly hoped "the +young lion would kill the old one," and felt sure that, were he only +rid of father and son, he would be able to rule over Persia himself. + +In the course of this war young Sorab met with many adventures, +fighting once against an Amazon, who by trickery managed to escape +from him. However, Sorab kept hoping the time would come when he and +his father would meet face to face, and, whenever a fray was about to +take place, he always bade his companions scan the ranks of the foe to +make sure that Rustem was not there.[39] + +Meantime the foolish king, having gotten the worst in the war, had +sent for Rustem, who, for reconnoitring purposes, entered the Tartar +camp as a spy. There he beheld Sorab, and could not help admiring the +young warrior, of whose many brave exploits he had already heard. +While thus sneaking about the enemy's tent, Rustem was discovered by +the two servants whom Tamineh had placed by her son's side, both of +whom he killed before they could give the alarm. Thus, when Sorab and +Rustem finally came face to face, there was no one at hand to point +out the son to the father or inform the son of his close relationship +to his antagonist. After the war had raged for some time, Sorab +challenged the Persians to a single fight, for he was anxious to +distinguish himself, knowing that should he win a great triumph his +father would hear of it, and inquire the origin of the youth of whom +such tales were told: + + "Come then, hear now, and grant me what I ask. + Let the two armies rest to-day; but I + Will challenge forth the bravest Persian lords + To meet me, man to man: If I prevail, + Rustum will surely hear it; if I fall-- + Old man, the dead need no one, claim no kin. + Dim is the rumor of a common fight, + Where host meets host, and many names are sunk; + But of a single combat fame speaks clear."[40] + +Such was the reputation of Sorab, however, that none of the Persians +dared encounter him, and urged Rustem to undertake this task himself. +Fearing lest so youthful an opponent should withdraw if he heard the +name of his antagonist, or that he should pride himself too greatly on +the honor done him, Rustem went into battle in disguise. + +On seeing a stalwart old warrior approach, Sorab felt strangely moved, +and, running to meet him, begged to know his name, for he had a +premonition that this was Rustem. The father, too, seized by a +peculiar feeling of tenderness for this youth, commented to himself +that had he a male descendant he would fain have had him look like +Sorab, and therefore tried to make him withdraw his challenge. +Notwithstanding Sorab's eager inquiries, Rustem obstinately refused to +divulge his name, and, seeing his opponent would not desist, bade him +begin the fight without further ado. + + And then he turned and sternly spake aloud,-- + "Rise! wherefore dost thou vainly question thus + Of Rustum? I am here whom thou hast called + By challenge forth; make good thy vaunt, or yield! + Is it with Rustum only thou wouldst fight? + Rash boy, men look on Rustum's face, and flee! + For well I know, that did great Rustum stand + Before thy face this day, and were revealed, + There would be then no talk of fighting more." + +For three consecutive days the battle raged, father and son proving +of equal strength and skill. But, although Sorab once overthrew +Rustem, he generously stepped aside and allowed the aged warrior to +recover his footing. Several times, also, the young man proposed that +they sheathe their swords, for his heart continued to be attracted to +his opponent, who, fighting down similar emotions, always taunted his +antagonist into renewing the fight. + + He spoke; and Sohrab kindled at his taunts, + And he too drew his sword; at once they rushed + Together, as two eagles on one prey + Come rushing down together from the clouds, + One from the east, one from the west; their skulls + Dashed with a clang together, and a din + Rose, such as that the sinewy woodcutters + Make often in the forest's heart at morn, + Of hewing axes, crashing trees,--such blows + Rustum and Sohrab on each other hailed. + +It was only on the fifth day that Rustem, forgetting everything in the +excitement of the moment, met his foe with his usual war cry, "Rustem, +Rustem." The mere sound of so beloved a name so paralyzed Sorab, that, +instead of meeting this onslaught, he sank beneath his father's blow. +Then he gasped that, although dying, his adversary could not pride +himself upon having fairly won the victory, for nothing short of his +father's name could have disarmed him thus! + + "But that belovèd name unnerved my arm,-- + That name, and something, I confess, in thee, + Which troubles all my heart, and made my shield + Fall; and thy spear transfixed an unarmed foe. + And now thou boastest, and insult'st my fate. + But hear thou this, fierce man, tremble to hear: + The mighty Rustum shall avenge my death! + My father, whom I seek through all the world, + He shall avenge my death, and punish thee!" + +On hearing these words, Rustem anxiously demanded explanation, only to +learn that the man he had mortally wounded was his own son, as was +only too surely proved by the bracelet decorated with the Simurgh +which Sorab exhibited. + + It was that griffin which of old reared Zal, + Rustum's great father, whom they left to die, + A helpless babe, among the rocks; + Him that kind creature found, and reared, and loved; + Then Rustum took it for his glorious sign. + +Not only did broken-hearted Rustem hang over his dying son in +speechless grief, but the steed Rakush wept bitter tears over the +youth who had so longed to bestride him. + + And awe fell on both the hosts, + When they saw Rustum's grief; and Ruksh, the horse, + With his head bowing to the ground, and mane + Sweeping the dust, came near, and in mute woe + First to the one, then to the other, moved + His head, as if inquiring what their grief + Might mean; and from his dark compassionate eyes, + The big warm tears rolled down and caked the sand. + +In hopes of saving his son, Rustem vainly implored the foolish monarch +to bestow upon him a drop of some magic ointment he owned. But Sorab +expired without this aid in Rustem's arms, and the broken-hearted +father burned his remains on a pyre. Then he conveyed to his home +Sorab's ashes, and sent the young hero's riderless steed back to his +poor mother, who died of grief. + +We are told that the foolish king proved so fortunate as to have a +noble and generous son named Siawush, of whom he became so jealous +that the youth had to leave home and was brought up by Rustem. The +step-mother, who had so poisoned his father's mind against him, +plotted Siawush's death as soon as he returned to court, by accusing +him of making love to her. In anger the father decreed that Siawush +should submit to the test of fire, so huge furnaces were lighted, +through which the young man rode unharmed, the Angel of Pity and the +spirit of his dead mother standing on either side of him to guard him +from injury. Because the step-mother had wrongfully accused Siawush, +she too was condemned to pass through the fire, but her step-son, +knowing she could never stand such an ordeal, pleaded successfully in +her behalf. + +Not daring to remain at his father's court, this young prince +withdrew among the Tartars, where he married Afrasiab's daughter. But +such were his qualities and noble deeds, that his wicked father-in-law +became jealous enough of him to slay him. He did not, however, succeed +in exterminating the race, for a kind-hearted nobleman, Piran-Wisa, +secreted Siawush's little son, and entrusted him to a goat-herd to +bring up. When Afrasiab discovered a few years later that this child +was still living, he planned to put him to death, until the nobleman +assured him the child was an idiot and would, therefore, never work +him any harm. Only half convinced, Afrasiab sent for the youth, +Kai-Khosrau, who, duly instructed by his protector, returned such +crazy answers to his grandfather's questions, that Afrasiab felt +satisfied he was an idiot indeed. + +This young prince, having attained manhood, led a rebellion so +successfully that he not only dethroned his grandfather, Afrasiab, but +also recovered his hereditary throne of Persia. There he reigned for +many years, at the end of which he became so anxious to leave this +world, that he prayed the good god (Ormudz) to receive him in his +bosom. In a dream this divinity informed the king that, as soon as his +affairs were in order and his successor named, his wish would be +granted. Kai-Khosrau, therefore, made all his arrangements, and set +out on the journey to the next world, bidding his friends not try to +accompany him, for the road would be too hard for them to travel. In +spite of these injunctions, a few faithful followers went with him, +until they reached a place where the cold was so intense that they all +froze to death, and thus left him to continue alone the journey from +whence he never returned. + + And not a trace was left behind, + And not a dimple on the wave; + All sought, but sought in vain, to find + The spot which proved Kai-Khosrau's grave. + +The successor which Kai-Khosrau had chosen proved a just ruler until +he became jealous of his own son, Isfendiyar, who was also a great +warrior, and who, like Rustem, accomplished seven great works. He, +too, overcame demons, wolves, lions, enchanters, dragons, and +unchained elements, and on one occasion proceeded to rescue two of his +sisters, who were detained captives in the fortress of Arjasp, a demon +king. Knowing he could not enter this stronghold by force, Isfendiyar +penetrated into it in the guise of a merchant, having hidden in his +chests a number of soldiers, who were to help him when the right +moment came. Thanks to their aid and to the fact that he began by +intoxicating his foe, Isfendiyar triumphed. + +The time came, however, when Isfendiyar was ordered by his father to +bring Rustem to court in chains. This task proved most distasteful to +the prince, who, on approaching Rustem, explained that he was not a +free agent. Because the old hero obstinately refused to be manacled, +the two warriors began fighting, and at the end of the day Rustem and +his steed were so severely wounded that Isfendiyar felt sure they +would not be able to renew the fight on the morrow. + +It happened, however, that the aged Zal, on seeing his wounded son, +remembered his partly burned feather, and promptly cast it into the +fire. Immediately the Simurgh appeared, and with one touch of her +golden wings healed the horse, and used her clever beak to draw the +lance out of Rustem's side. Having thus healed her nursling's son, the +Simurgh vanished, leaving Rustem and his steed in such good condition +that they were able to renew the battle on the morrow. This time, +Isfendiyar perished beneath Rustem's blows, exclaiming that the hero +was not to blame for his death and that he fell victim to his father's +hate. In token of forgiveness, he begged Rustem to bring up his son, a +wish which was piously carried out by the brave warrior as long as he +lived. + +Because it had been written in the stars that "he who slew Isfendiyar +would die miserably," Rustem was somewhat prepared for his tragic +fate. It seems his young half-brother finally became so jealous of him +that he plotted to kill him by digging seven pits lined with swords +and spears. These were hidden in a road along which Rustem had to +travel when he came in the king's name to claim tribute. Falling into +the first pit, Rustem set his spurs to Rakush's sides; and the brave +steed, although wounded, leaped out of this trap, only to tumble into +a second and third. From pit to pit Rustem and his dauntless horse +landed at the bottom of the seventh, fainting from their many wounds. + +The treacherous step-brother now drew cautiously near to ascertain +whether Rustem were dead, whereupon our hero begged for his bow and +arrows, declaring he wished to ward off the wild beasts as long as he +remained alive. The unsuspecting brother, therefore, flung the desired +weapons down into the pit, but no sooner were they within reach, than +Rustem fitted an arrow to the string, casting such a baleful look at +his step-brother that this coward hastened to take refuge behind a +tree. No obstacle could, however, balk the righteously angry Rustem, +who sent his arrow straight through the trunk into his brother's +heart, thus punishing the murderer for his dastardly trick. Then, +returning thanks for having been allowed to avenge his wrongs, Rustem +breathed his last beside his faithful steed. + +On hearing his son had perished, Zal sent an army to lay Kabul waste, +and, having recovered the corpses of Rustem and of his steed, laid +them piously to rest in a magnificent tomb in Seistan. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 38: All the quotations in this article taken from the +Shah-Nameh are from Champeon's translation.] + +[Footnote 39: It is this part of the story which Matthew Arnold +rendered so ably in his "Sohrab and Rustum," one of his best-known +poems.] + +[Footnote 40: All the quotations in regard to this episode are from +Matthew Arnold's "Sohrab and Rustum."] + + + + +INDIAN EPICS + + +Besides the two great classical epics (Mahàkavyas)--the Mahabharata +and the Ramayana--Indian literature claims eighteen Puranas, each of +which bears a distinctive title. These Puranas treat mainly of +"ancient legendary lore," and contain many tales of gods and sages, as +well as descriptions of the Hindu world, with Mount Meru as its +centre, and also of the deluge. + +Many of the incidents of the two great epics inspired later poets to +compose what are known as kavyas, or court epics. Six of these by +Bahrtruhari are termed Great Court Epics (Mahàkavyas), and another, by +the poet Açvaghosha, describing the doings of Buddha at length, was +translated, into Chinese between 414 and 421 A.D. The Golden Age for +the court epics (which were written from 200 B.C. to 1100 A.D.) was +during the sixth century of our era. + +In the fifth century A.D. the poet Kalidasa composed a nineteen-canto +epic, entitled Raghuvamça, wherein he related at length the life of +Rama, as well as of Rama's ancestors and of his twenty-four +successors. This poem abounds in striking similes, as does also the +same poet's Kumarasambhava or Birth and Wooing of the War God Siva. +There are, however, sundry cantos in all these poems which are too +erotic to meet with favor among modern readers. Kalidasa is also the +author of an epic in Prakrit, wherein he sings of the building of the +bridge between India and Ceylon and of the death of Ravana. + +We are told that the Ramayana inspired the greatest poet of Mediaeval +India, Tulsi Das, to compose the Ram Charit Manas, an epic wherein he +gives a somewhat shorter and very popular version of Rama's +adventures. This work still serves as a sort of Bible for a hundred +million of the people of northern India. + +The poet Kaviraja (c. 800 A.D.) composed an epic wherein he combines +the Ramayana and Mahabharata into one single poem. This is a Hindu +_tour de force_, for we are told that "the composition is so arranged +that by the use of ambiguous words and phrases the story of the +Ramayana and the Mahabharata is told at one and the same time. The +same words, according to the sense in which they are understood, +narrate the events of each epic." + + + + +THE RAMAYANA + + +This Hindu epic, an older poem than the Mahabharata, was composed in +Sanscrit some five hundred years before our era, and is contained in +seven books, aggregating twenty-four thousand verses. It is often +termed "the Odyssey of the East," and relates events which are said to +have occurred between two thousand and nine hundred B.C. The poem is +generally attributed to Válmikí, a hermit on the bank of the Ganges, +who, seeing one bird of a happy pair slain, made use of a strange +metre in relating the occurrence to Brahma. This god immediately bade +him employ the same in narrating the adventures of Rama, one of the +seven incarnations of the god Vishnu. + + "Praise to Válmikí, bird of charming song, + Who mounts on Poesy's sublimest spray, + And sweetly sings with accents clear and strong + Rama, aye Rama, in his deathless lay."[41] + +The poem opens with a description of the ancient city of Ayodhya +(Oude), beautifully situated on the banks of a river and ruled by a +childless rajah. + + In by-gone ages built and planned + By sainted Manu's princely hand, + Imperial seat! her walls extend + Twelve measured leagues from end to end; + Three in width, from side to side + With square and palace beautified. + Her gates at even distance stand, + Her ample roads are wisely planned. + Right glorious is her royal street, + Where streams allay her dust and heat. + On level ground in even row + Her houses rise in goodly show. + Terrace and palace, arch and gate + The queenly city decorate. + High are her ramparts, strong and vast, + By ways at even distance passed, + With circling moat both deep and wide, + And store of weapons fortified. + +This monarch (Dasaratha), a descendant of the moon, was sixty thousand +years old when the story begins. Although his reign had already +extended over a period of nine thousand years,--during which his +people had enjoyed such prosperity that it is known as the Age of +Gold,--the king, still childless in spite of having seven hundred and +fifty concubines, decided to offer a great horse sacrifice +(asvatmedha) in hopes of obtaining a son, to celebrate his funeral +rites and thereby enable him to enter heaven. + +In order to perform the ceremony properly, a horse had to be turned +out to wander at will for a year, constantly watched by a band of +priests, who prevented any one laying a hand upon him, for, once +touched, the animal was unfit to be offered up to the gods. This horse +sacrifice having been duly performed, the happy rajah was informed by +the gods that four sons would uphold his line, provided he and three +of his wives quaffed the magic drink they gave him. + +Having thus granted the rajah's prayer, the lesser gods implored their +chief Indra to rid them of the demons sent by Ravana, the Satan of the +Hindus. This evil spirit, by standing on his head in the midst of five +fires ten thousand years in succession, had secured from Brahma a +promise that no god, demon, or genius should slay him. By this +extraordinary feat he had also obtained nine extra heads with a full +complement of eyes, ears, and noses, hands and arms. Mindful of his +promise, Brahma was at a loss to grant this request until he +remembered he had never guaranteed Ravana should not be attacked by +man or monkey. He, therefore, decided to beg Vishnu to enter the body +of a man and conquer this terrible foe, while the lesser gods helped +him in the guise of monkeys. + + "One only way I find + To slay this fiend of evil mind. + He prayed me once his life to guard + From demon, god, and heavenly bard, + And spirits of the earth and air, + And I, consenting, heard his prayer. + But the proud giant in his scorn + Recked not of man of woman born; + None else may take his life away + And only man the fiend can slay." + +At Brahma's request, Vishnu not only consented to become man, but +elected to enter the body of the rajah's oldest son--one of the four +children obtained in answer to prayer. Meantime he charged his fellow +gods diligently to beget helpers for him, so they proceeded to produce +innumerable monkeys. The poem next informs us that Rama, son of the +Rajah's favorite wife, being a god,--an incarnation of Vishnu,--came +into the world with jewelled crown and brandishing four arms, but +that, at his parents' request, he concealed these divine attributes, +assumed a purely human form, and cried lustily like a babe. Two other +wives of the rajah, having received lesser portions of the divine +beverage, gave birth to three sons (Bharata, Lakshmana, and +Satrughna), and the news that four heirs had arrived in the palace +caused great rejoicings in the realm. + +These four princes grew up in the most promising fashion, Rama in +particular developing every virtue, and showing even in childhood +marked ability as an archer. Such was his proficiency in athletic +sports that a hermit besought him, at sixteen, to rid his forest of +the demons which were making life miserable for him and his kin. To +enable Rama to triumph over these foes, the hermit bestowed upon him +divine weapons, assuring him they would never fail him. + + "And armed with these, beyond a doubt, + Shall Rama put those fiends to rout." + +The hermit also beguiled the weariness of their long journey to the +forest by relating to Rama the story of the Ganges, the sacred stream +of India. We are told that a virtuous king, being childless, betook +himself to the Himalayas, where, after spending a hundred years in +austerities, Brahma announced he should have one son by one of his +wives and sixty thousand by the other, adding that his consorts might +choose whether to bear one offspring or many. Given the first choice, +the favorite wife elected to be the mother of the son destined to +continue the royal race, while the other brought into the world a +gourd, wherein a hermit discovered the germs of sixty thousand brave +sons, all of whom, thanks to his care, grew up to perform wonders in +behalf of their father and brother. + +On one occasion, a horse chosen for sacrifice having been stolen, the +father despatched these sixty thousand braves in quest of it, and, as +they were not able to discover any traces of it on earth, bade them +dig down to hell. Not only did they obey, but continued their search +until they struck in turn the four elephants on whose backs the Hindus +claim our earth peacefully reposes. Here the diggers disturbed the +meditations of some god, who, in his anger, burned them up. The poor +father, anxious to purify the ashes of his dead sons, learned he would +never be able to do so until the Ganges--a river of heaven--was +brought down to earth. By dint of penance and prayer, the bereaved +parent induced Vishnu to permit this stream--which until then had only +flowed in heaven--to descend to earth, warning the king that the +river, in coming down, would destroy the world unless some means were +found to stem the force of its current. Our clever rajah obviated this +difficulty by persuading the god Siva to receive the cataract on the +top of his head, where the sacred waters, after threading their way +through his thick locks, were divided into the seven streams which +feed the sacred springs of India. Thus safely brought to earth, the +Ganges penetrated to hell, where it purified the ashes of the sixty +thousand martyrs, and ever since then its waters have been supposed +to possess miraculous powers. + + For sin and stain were banished thence, + By the sweet river's influence. + +The hermit also told how the gods procured the Water of Life (Amrita) +by churning the ocean, saying they used Mount Meru as a dasher, and a +huge serpent as the rope whereby to twirl it around. + +Led by this hermit, Rama not only slew the ravaging monsters, but went +on to take part in a tournament, where King Janak offered his +daughter, Sita, in marriage to any archer who would span a bow he had +obtained from Siva. On arriving at the place where this test was to be +made, Rama saw the huge bow brought forth on a chariot drawn by five +thousand men, and, although no one else had even been able to raise +it, took it up and bent it until it broke with a crack which terrified +all present. By this feat young Rama won the hand of Sita, a beautiful +princess, whom her father turned up from the soil while ploughing one +day, and who is hence the Hindu personification of Spring. + +The wedding of Rama and Sita was honored by the presence of both +kings, and Rama's three brothers were made as happy as he by receiving +the hands of three of Sita's sisters, the father telling each +bridegroom: + + "A faithful wife, most blest is she, + And as thy shade will follow thee." + +When the four bridal couples returned to Oude, Rama's father decided +to name his eldest son assistant king, and therefore gave orders to +prepare for the ceremony. The mere rumor that Rama was about to be +crowned aroused the jealousy of the king's youngest wife (Kaikeyi), +who, instigated by an evil-minded, hunch-backed maid, sent for her +aged spouse and reminded him how once, when he was ill, he had +promised in return for her care to grant any two boons she asked. The +infatuated monarch, seeing her grief, rashly renewed this promise, +swearing to keep it by Rama's head. + + As some wild elephant who tries + To soothe his consort as she lies + Struck by the hunter's venomed dart, + So the great king, disturbed in heart, + Strove with soft hand and fond caress + To soothe his darling queen's distress, + And in his love addressed with sighs + The lady of the lotus eyes. + +Hearing him confirm his former oath, the favorite wife bade him banish +his heir to the forest for fourteen years and appoint her son as +viceroy in his brother's stead. In vain the old king pleaded; the +favorite wife insisted so vehemently that when morning dawned the +bewildered old rajah sent for Rama to ask his advice. Although this +prince fully expected to be crowned that day, he was far too virtuous +not to perceive that a promise must be kept at any cost, so without a +murmur he prepared to go to the forest of Dandaka and dwell there in +hermit garb fourteen years. + + "The orders of my sire," he cried, + "My will shall ne'er oppose: + I follow still, whate'er betide, + The path which duty shows." + +His first duty, however, was to return to his palace to inform his +wife that they must part; but, on hearing what had occurred, Sita +piteously begged to share his fate, although he eloquently described +the hardships to which she would be exposed should she venture to +accompany him. Her wifely devotion was, however, proof against all he +could urge, for she declared with tears there was no happiness for her +save at his side. + + "With thee is heaven, where'er the spot; + Each place is hell where thou are not." + +Hearing this declaration, Rama finally consented to take her with him, +and, bidding farewell to father and mother, left the city, +accompanied by his wife and favorite brother (Lakshman) and escorted +by his mourning subjects. + +His father, broken-hearted at parting with his favorite son, took to +his bed, which he was never to leave again confiding to Rama's mother +that he was being sorely punished for a sin of his youth. It seems +that, while out hunting one night, hearing a gurgle by a stream, and +fancying some wild beast was there drinking, he let fly a shaft, which +only too surely reached its goal. Startled by a human cry, the rajah +rushed down to the river, only to discover that he had mortally +wounded a youth who had come down to draw water for his blind parents. + + "Then in the dusk I heard the sound of gurgling water; + Quickly I took my bow, and, aiming toward the sound, shot off the dart. + A cry of mortal agony came from the spot,--a human voice + Was heard, and a poor hermit's son fell pierced and bleeding in + the stream." + +Before dying this lad implored his slayer to hasten back to the +hermitage with water, as the old people were longing for a drink. On +hearing footsteps, the blind parents peevishly reproached their son +for tarrying, and, when the unfortunate murderer tried to explain what +had occurred, cursed him vehemently, declaring he would some day +experience the loss of a son. It was, therefore, in fulfilment of this +curse that the old rajah died thirteen days after Rama's departure. + +Meantime the banished prince, riding in one of his father's chariots, +had reached the junction of the Jumna and Ganges, where he spent the +first night of his exile beneath a banyan on the banks of the sacred +stream. There he built a raft, by means of which he crossed to the +other side, and from there sadly watched his faithful subjects wending +homeward. Then he plunged into the forest, arranging that Sita should +always tread its narrow paths between him and his brother, to make +sure no harm befall her. + +The Indian poet now favors us with a wonderful description of the +tropical forest, with its huge trees, brilliant flowers, strange birds +and monkeys, all of which gives the reader a vivid impression of the +color, beauty, perfume, and luxuriance of the tropics. + + On rocky heights beside the way + And lofty trees with blossoms gay; + And streamlets running fair and fast, + The royal youths and Sita passed. + +The exiles, wandering thus in single file, finally arrived at +Citra-kuta, where they joined a colony of hermits and built a rustic +booth, where they dwelt happily for some time. One day the rumor of a +coming host roused their curiosity, and Lakshman, descrying a long +procession from the top of a high tree, excitedly warned Rama that his +brother was probably coming to annihilate them. + +Rama, who always ascribes good motives to every one, now declares it +is impossible this should be true, and feels sure his brother is +coming for some affectionate purpose. Greeting Bharata kindly, +therefore, he soon discovers his previsions are correct, for the young +prince, after announcing his father's death, implores Rama to return +and reign over Oude. Not only does he protest he will never supplant +his senior, but reviles his mother for having compelled her husband to +drive Rama into exile. + +Although all present unite in his entreaties, Rama, too virtuous to +break a promise, decides to remain in the forest the allotted fourteen +years and resume his regal state only at the end of that time. He adds +that during his banishment he will live in such a fashion that his +exile will prove a blessing to his people. + + "Many a blessing yet will spring + From banished Rama's wanderings." + +This decided, Rama urges his brother to act meanwhile as vice-regent; +whereupon Bharata, taking Rama's golden sandals, proclaims they alone +shall occupy the throne beneath the royal umbrella, although he +consents to rule in his brother's name. This settled, the gorgeous +procession slowly wends its way back to Oude, where for fourteen years +every one does homage to Rama's golden sandals! + +Meantime life in the hermitage continues its peaceful course, the +royal ascetics being disturbed only by the demons (Rakshasas) who +haunt the forest and try to injure the hermits, simply because they +are good. Sita is perfectly happy in this humble home because she +enjoys the constant presence of her husband, who, taking her one day +to visit an aged female ascetic, implores this woman to bestow a boon +upon his faithful spouse. The old woman then and there endowed Sita +with eternal youth and beauty, declaring that no matter what hardships +she encounters, she will always be as dainty and young as at present. + +One of the female demons finally becomes so anxious to win Rama's +love, that she disguises herself as a beautiful creature in hopes of +fascinating him. Angry because all her efforts fail, she next tries to +injure Sita, whereupon Rama, by cutting off her nose and ears, forces +her to resume her usual shape. In her anger this demon bids her +brothers avenge her wrongs, whereupon fourteen fiends attack Rama, +who, having slain them all, is almost immediately afterward forced to +face thousands of demons. He defeats them single-handed, while his +brother watches over Sita, hidden in a neighboring cave. + +Such a trifle as the massacre of twenty-one thousand of his fiends in +three hours' time, naturally enrages Ravana, whose abode is in Ceylon, +in a golden palace which has such high walls that no one can peep over +them. This king of demons, who is also called the "Courage of the +Three Worlds," has the power of increasing his stature until he can +reach up to the stars with his score of arms. Owing to his ten heads, +his appearance is terrifying, especially as his eyebrows are composed +of live black snakes which writhe around continually. No sooner does +his sister appear before him, reporting she has been mutilated by +Rama, who has besides slain hosts of his subjects, than Ravana swears +revenge, adding he will first kidnap Sita, for his sister's +description of her matchless charms has fired his imagination. + +In his golden chariot Ravana, therefore, flies to the forest, where he +bids his sister change herself into a wonderful deer, and in that +shape lure Rama away, so he can abduct Sita. The three hermits are, +therefore, calmly seated before their hut when a deer darts past, +exhibiting so unusual a pelt that Sita, fired with the desire to +possess it, urges Rama to pursue it. To gratify this whim, Rama starts +out to track this game, calling to his brother to mount guard over his +wife during his absence. Lured farther and farther away from home, +Rama finally brings down his quarry, which, in falling, calls for help +in a voice so exactly like his own that his brother, hearing the +despairing accent, is torn between the desire to rush to his rescue +and the necessity of remaining to protect Sita. But the little wife, +sure her husband is in danger, so vehemently urges her brother-in-law +to leave her that he finally dashes off. A moment later Sita sees an +old hermit draw near to ask alms. While she is entertaining this holy +guest, he frightens her by suddenly announcing that he is Ravana, king +of the demons. As Sita resists all his advances, Ravana, suddenly +resuming his wonted shape, snatches her up in his arms and whisks her +off in his flying chariot. Notwithstanding the rapidity of his course, +the king of the vultures, seeing them dart through the air and hoping +to rescue the frantic Sita, attacks Ravana, only to fall mortally +wounded to earth. Because Sita--the personification of vegetation--has +now been abducted by the demon,--who typifies winter,--the whole earth +shows signs of mourning, and the two brothers hurry back to the hut, +their hearts filled with nameless apprehensions. + + Like streamlet in the winter frost, + The glory of her lilies lost. + With leafy tears the sad trees wept + As a wild wind their branches swept. + Mourned bird and deer; and every flower + Drooped fainting round the lovely bower. + The sylvan deities had fled + The spot where all the light was dead. + +Reaching their hermitage and finding their worst fears justified, both +brothers set out in quest of Sita, and soon come across the dying +vulture, who reports what he has seen, and bids them, after burning +his body, find the monkey king, Sugriva, who will aid them. After +piously fulfilling the brave vulture's last wishes, Rama and his +brother visit the monkey monarch, who reports that, as the demon flew +over his head, Sita flung down a few of her ornaments, begging that +they be taken to Rama. An alliance is now concluded between Rama and +Sugriva, and, as each party pledges himself to help the other, Rama +begins by slaying the brother and chief foe of the monkey king, who in +his turn undertakes to trace Sita. + +To discover where she may be, Hanuman, the monkey general, sets out, +and, following Sita's traces, discovers she has been carried to +Ceylon. But, on arriving at the southern point of the Indian peninsula +and finding some two hundred miles of water between him and this +island, Hanuman, son of the god of the winds, transforms himself into +a huge ape, and in that shape takes a flying leap from the top of +Mount Mandara (the fabled centre of the earth) to the top of Mount +Sabula, which overlooks the capital of Ceylon. Then, reconnoitring +from this point, the monkey general perceives that Ravana's palace is +so closely guarded that he can only steal into it in the guise of a +cat. Prowling through the royal premises, he searches for Sita until +he finally discovers her in a secluded garden, bitterly mourning for +her spouse. + +In spite of the fact that she has already been some time in the +demon's power, Ravana has not yet succeeded in winning her affections, +and dares not force her lest he incur the wrath of the gods. It is +evident, however, that his patience is worn nearly threadbare, for +Hanuman overhears him threaten to chop Sita to pieces unless she will +yield to his wishes and become his wife within the next two months. + + "My cooks shall mince thy limbs with steel + And serve thee for my morning meal." + +When Sita is left alone, Hanuman, in the guise of a tiny monkey, +climbs down to her side, exhibits Rama's ring, which he has brought as +a token, and receives from her in return a jewel, after he has assured +her that she will soon be delivered. + +About to leave Ceylon to report what he has seen, it occurs to the +monkey general to do some damage to the foe. In the guise of an +immense baboon, he therefore destroys a grove of mango trees, an act +of vandalism which so infuriates Ravana that he orders the miscreant +seized and fire tied to his tail! But no sooner has the fire been set +than the monkey general, suddenly transforming himself into a tiny +ape, slips out of his bonds, and scrambling up on the palace roof sets +it on fire as well as all the houses in Lanka, his flaming tail +serving as a torch. + + As earth with fervent heat will glow + When comes her final overthrow; + From gate to gate, from court to spire, + Proud Lanka was one blaze of fire, + And every headland, rock, and bay + Shone bright a hundred leagues away! + +Then, satisfied with the damage he has done, Hanuman hastens back to +the sea-shore, whence by another prodigious leap he lands in India, to +inform Rama and Sugriva (the monkey king) of the success of his +expedition. + +A huge monkey army now sets out under Rama's guidance, but general and +warriors are equally dismayed on reaching the sea to find an +unsurmountable obstacle between them and their goal. In answer to +Rama's fervent prayers, however, the god of the sea, rising from the +waves, promises that any materials cast into his waters will be held +in place, to form a bridge whereby they can cross to Ceylon. All the +monkeys now bring stones and tree trunks which they hurl into the sea, +where, thanks to the efforts of the Hindu architect Nala, they are +welded together and form a magic bridge. It is by means of this +causeway that Rama invades Ceylon, and, when Ravana hears the foe is +approaching, he musters an army, of which the poem gives a wonderful +description. Then begins the dire combat wherein Rama and his forces +finally prove victorious, and wherein our hero, after slaying Ravana's +son, fights with the demon himself, whose heads he proceeds to cut +off. He is justly dismayed, however, to see they have the power of +springing up again as soon as hewn, until remembering at last his +magic bow, he makes such good use of it that he annihilates the demon, +whose numerous wives wail as he falls. + +Although many of Rama's adherents have perished in battle, he now +proceeds to call them back to life, and graciously receives the praise +they bestow upon him for having rid the world of demons. + + Soft from celestial minstrels came + The sound of music and acclaim; + Soft, fresh and cool, a rising breeze + Brought odors from the heavenly trees; + And, ravishing the sight and smell, + A wondrous rain of blossoms fell; + And voices breathed round Reghu's son, + "Champion of gods, well done, well done." + +It is only then that Rama consents to see Sita, who, thanks to her +gift of eternal beauty, is still so lovely that all present are awed. +But, instead of embracing her, Rama coldly declares that, although he +crossed the seas for her sake and slew her foes, she is no longer +worthy to dwell in his sight since she has been an inmate of Ravana's +harem. In vain Sita urges that she has been faithful throughout. Rama +refuses to credit her purity; so the poor little wife, preferring +death to disgrace, begs permission to die on a funeral pyre. Even then +her stern husband shows no signs of relenting, but allows her to +enter a fierce fire, whence the god of the flames bears her out +unharmed, and restores her to her husband, declaring that, as her +chastity has withstood this fiery test, he can receive her without +compunction. + + She ceased and, fearless to the last, + Within the flames' wild fury passed. + +By this time the prescribed fourteen years of exile are finished, so +husband and wife set out for home, crossing the ocean bridge in +Ravana's magic car, and flying all over India, of which the poet gives +a wonderful panoramic description. Rama's return to Oude is joyfully +welcomed by his brother, who proudly shows him the golden sandals +which have occupied the throne all this time. + +Rama's reign proves an Age of Gold for India, but, although all seem +happy, some doubt lingers in regard to the propriety of Sita's return. +When a famine finally devastates the land, one of the ministers +assures Rama this scourge is due to the fact that he has taken back a +guilty wife. Rama, therefore, banishes the faithful Sita, who returns +to the forest and to the protection of the hermits, where she gives +birth to twin sons, Kusa and Lava, the destined singers of Válmikí's +wonderful song. These youths are, however, brought up in the forest in +total ignorance of their august descent. + +Twenty years have passed since Rama repudiated his wife, when he +decides to offer a horse sacrifice. But, the steed he selects having +been captured by two young men, Rama angrily orders them put to death. +As the victims resist all efforts to seize them, the king in person +goes forth to capture them. On approaching near enough, he haughtily +demands their names and origin, whereupon the youths rejoin their +mother is Sita and their tutor Válmikí, but that they do not know +their father's name. These words reveal to Rama that he is face to +face with his own sons, but, although he rejoices, he still finds it +difficult to believe Sita can have been faithful. He, therefore, avers +that before reinstating her she will have to undergo a second trial +by fire; but Sita, who no longer feels any desire to belong to so +heartless a spouse, flatly refuses to accompany him, until Válmikí +informs her it is a wife's duty to obey. + +Still wearing the crown of eternal youth and beauty, Sita now appears +before Rama, in whose presence she implores the earth to open and +receive her, thus proving that she has ever been true to her marriage +vows and saving her from further suffering. A moment later the king +and his court see the earth heave and open, and behold the goddess of +the earth, who, taking Sita by the hand, announces she is about to +convey her to realms of eternal bliss. Then Sita and the goddess +disappear, the earth closes once more, and the gods chant the praises +of the faithful wife, showering flowers upon Rama, who grovels on the +ground in his agony. A broken-hearted man, he then returns to his +palace with his two sons, the first to sing this poem, whose verses +are so sacred that those who listen to a few of them are forgiven many +sins, while those who hear the whole epic are sure to achieve +Paradise. + + He shall be + From every sin and blemish free: + Whoever reads the saving strain, + With all his kin the heavens shall gain. + +Because the poem is so sacred, its author enjoined upon the youths to +recite it often, a task they faithfully performed as long as they +lived, and which other bards have continued until to-day in all parts +of India. + + Recite ye this heroic song + In tranquil shades where sages throng; + Recite it where the good resort, + In lowly home and royal court. + +We are told besides that-- + + As long as mountain ranges stand + And rivers flow upon the earth, + So long will this Ramayana + Survive upon the lips of men. + +Rama is finally visited by the God of Time, who offers him the choice +of remaining on earth or returning to heaven. When he wisely choses +the latter alternative, Rama is bidden bathe in sacred waters, and +thence is translated to the better world. + +From this poem Tulsi Das has composed a play known as the "Ram Charit +Manas," which serves as Bible to a hundred million worshippers in +northern India, and is always played at the yearly festivals in the +presence of countless admirers. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 41: The quotations in this chapter are taken from Griffeth's +translation and from Romesh Dutt's.] + + + + +THE MAHABHARATA + + +The longest poem in existence is composed in Sanscrit, and, although +begun before the Ramayana, it was completed only about one hundred +years after. It consists of some two hundred and twenty thousand +lines, divided into eighteen sections (parvans), each of which forms a +large volume. Although the whole work has never been translated into +English verse, many portions of it have been reproduced both in verse +and prose. + +The Hindus consider this one of their most sacred books, attribute its +authorship to Vyasa, and claim that the reading of a small portion of +it will obliterate sin, while the perusal of the whole will insure +heavenly bliss. Its name signifies "the great war," and its historical +kernel,--including one-fifth of the whole work,--consists of an +account of an eighteen days' battle (in the thirteenth or fourteenth +century B.C.) between rival tribes. The poem is, besides, a general +repository of the mythological, legendary, and philosophical lore of +the Hindus, and reached its present state of development only by +degrees and at the end of several centuries. + +Bharata, the real founder of the principal Indian dynasty, is so +famous a character, that the Hindus often designate their whole +country as "the land of Bharata." We are told that Rajah Dushyanta, a +descendant of the Moon, while hunting one day beheld the beautiful +Sakuntala, daughter of a sage, whom he persuaded to consent to a +clandestine marriage. But, after a short time, the bridegroom +departed, leaving his bride a ring as a pledge of his troth. + +Absorbed in thoughts of her absent lover, Sakuntala once failed to +notice the approach of a sage, who cursed her, saying she should be +forgotten by the man she loved, but who relenting after a while +declared this curse would be annulled when her husband beheld his +ring. + +Some time after this, on the way to rejoin her spouse to inform him +she was about to become a mother, Sakuntala, while bathing in a sacred +pool, accidentally dropped this ring. On appearing without it before +Dushyanta, he sternly denied all acquaintance with her and ordered her +driven out into the jungle, where she soon gave birth to their son +Bharata. + +The lad was about six years old when a fisherman found in the stomach +of a fish the lost ring, which he carried to the rajah. On beholding +this token, Dushyanta, remembering all, hastened to seek poor +Sakuntala, whom he discovered in the jungle, watching her boy +fearlessly play with lion cubs. Proud of such a son, the rajah bore +his family home; and Bharata, after having a long reign, gave birth to +Hastin, founder of Hastinapur, a city on the bank of the Ganges about +sixty miles from the modern Delhi. + +A grandson of this Hastin married the Goddess of the Ganges,--who was +doing penance on earth,--and their children were animated by the souls +of deities condemned for a time to assume human form. In order to +enable these fellow-gods to return to heaven as soon as possible, +Ganga undertook to drown each of her babies soon after birth, provided +the gods would pledge themselves to endow one of her descendants with +their strength, and would allow him to live, if not to perpetuate his +species. + +After seeing seven of his children cast into the water without daring +to object, the rajah, although he knew his goddess-wife would leave +him if he found fault with anything she did, protested so vehemently +against the similar disposal of his eighth son that his wife +disappeared with the child. But a few years later this son, Bhishma, +the terrible, having grown up, was restored to his father. + +To comfort himself for the loss of his first wife, the king now +married the beautiful daughter of a fisherman, solemnly promising her +son should succeed him, for Bhishma voluntarily relinquished all right +to the throne and took a vow to remain celibate. The new wife's main +attraction seems to have been a sweet odor, bestowed by a saint, who +restored her virginity after she had borne him a son named Vyasa, the +author of this poem. + +By the Rajah the fishermaid now had two sons, one of whom was slain at +the end of a three years' fight, while the other began his reign under +the wise regency of Bhishma. When it was time for his royal +step-brother to marry, Bhishma sent him to a Bride's Choice +(Swayamvara), where three lovely princesses were to be awarded to the +victor. Without waiting to win them fairly, the young prince kidnapped +all three, and, when the disappointed suitors pursued him, Bhishma +held them at bay by shooting ten thousand arrows at once, and thus +enabled his step-brother and brides to escape. + +Although thus provided with three royal wives, our prince was soon +deserted by one of them and was never fortunate enough to have +children by the two others. After he had died, custom required that +his nearest kinsman should raise issue for him, so,--owing to +Bhishma's vow,--Vyasa, who was fabulously ugly, undertook to visit the +two widows. One of them, catching a glimpse of him, bore him a blind +son (Dhritarashtra), while the other was so frightened that she bore a +son of such pale complexion that he was known as Pandu, the White. + +Neither of these youths being deemed perfect enough to represent +properly the royal race, Vyasa announced he would pay the widows +another visit, but this time they hired a slave to take their place, +so it was she who brought into the world Vidura, God of Justice. +Because one prince was blind and the other the offspring of a slave, +the third was set upon his throne by his uncle Bhishma, who in due +time provided him with two lovely wives. + +With these the monarch withdrew to the Himalayas to spend his +honeymoon, and while there proved unfortunate enough to wound a couple +of deer who were hermits in disguise. In dying they predicted he would +perish in the arms of one of his wives, whereupon Pandu decided to +refrain from all intercourse with them, graciously allowing them +instead to bear him five sons by five different gods. These youth, +known in the poem as the sons of Pandu, the Pandavs (or the Pandavas), +are the main heroes of India. As a prediction made by an ascetic was +bound to come true, the king, momentarily forgetting the baleful +curse, died in the embrace of his second wife, who, in token of grief, +was burned with his remains, this being the earliest mention of a +suttee. + +Meantime the blind prince had married a lady to whom a famous ascetic +had promised she should be mother to one hundred sons! All these came +into the world at one birth, in the shape of a lump of flesh, which +the ascetic divided into one hundred and one pieces, each of which was +enclosed in a pot of rarefied butter, where these germs gradually +developed into one hundred sons and one daughter. + +As long as Pandu sojourned in the Himalayas, the blind prince reigned +in his stead, but when he died, his surviving widow brought to the +capital (Hastinapur) her five divine sons, the Pandavs. There the +blind uncle had them brought up with their cousins, the hundred Kurus +(or Kauravas), with whom, however, they were never able to live in +perfect peace. Once, as the result of a boyish quarrel, a Kuru flung +Bhima, one of the Pandavs, into the Ganges, where, instead of sinking, +this hero was inoculated by serpent-bites with the strength of ten +thousand elephants before he returned to his wonted place at home. + +The young princes, who had all been trained to fight by their tutor, +Drona, and who had already given sundry proofs of their proficiency in +arms, were finally invited by the blind monarch to give a public +exhibition of their skill. The poem gives us a lengthy description of +this tournament, expatiating on the flower-decked booths reserved for +the principal spectators, and dilating particularly on the fact that +the blind monarch, unable to see with, his own eyes, made some one sit +beside him to describe all that was going on. + +After the preliminary sacrifice offered by the tutor, the skill of the +princes, as archers, was tested on foot, on horseback, in howdahs, and +in chariots; then they indulged in mock fights with swords and +bucklers, closely watched by Drona, who pronounced his favorite +Arjuna, the third Pandav, the finest athlete ever seen. + + Still the princes shook their weapons, drove the deep resounding car, + Or on steed or tusker mounted waged the glorious mimic war! + Mighty sword and ample buckler, ponderous mace the princes wield, + Brightly gleam their lightning rapiers as they range the listed field, + Brave and fearless is their action, and their movements quick and light, + Skilled and true the thrust and parry of their weapons flaming bright![42] + +Thereupon, from the ranks of the spectators, emerged Karna, son of a +charioteer, who challenged Arjuna to fight with him, but the prince +refused on the score that they were not of equal rank. Still a legend +assures us that Karna was a child of the Sun-god, set afloat by his +mother on the river Jumna, whence this Hindu Moses, floating down into +the Ganges, was rescued and brought up by the charioteer, his reputed +father. Meantime the four Pandav brothers were greatly elated by the +eulogy bestowed upon their brother, but their jealous cousins became +so enraged that, when the time came for the youths to face each other +in club exercises, the sham battle degenerated into an earnest fight. + + With ponderous mace they waged the daring fight. + As for a tender mate two rival elephants + Engage in frantic fury, so the youths + Encountered, and amidst the rapid sphere + Of fire their whirling weapons clashing wove + Their persons vanished from the anxious eye. + Still more and more incensed their combat grew, + And life hung doubtful on the desperate conflict; + With awe the crowd beheld the fierce encounter + And amidst hope and fear suspended tossed, + Like ocean shaken by conflicting winds. + +Seeing this, the horrified tutor separated the contestants, whom he +soon after sent off separately to war against a neighboring rajah. In +this conflict the one hundred Kurus were badly worsted, while the five +Pandavs scored a brilliant triumph. They also subdued sundry other +kings, thereby so rousing the jealous hatred of their uncle and +cousins that these finally began to plot their death. The five Pandavs +and their mother were therefore invited to a feast in a neighboring +city (Allahabad), where the Kurus arranged they should be burned alive +in their booth. But, duly warned by the God of Justice, the Pandavs +had an underground passage dug from their hut to the forest, by means +of which they escaped, little suspecting that a beggar woman and her +five children--who had sought refuge in the empty hut--would be burned +to death there in their stead. + +Disguised as Brahmans, the five brothers and their mother now dwelt +for a time in the jungle, where they proceeded to slay some demons, to +marry others, and to perform sundry astounding feats of strength. We +are told, for instance, that whenever the mother and brothers were +tired, the strongest of the Pandavs, Bhima, carried them all with the +utmost ease. + +While in the jungle they were visited by their grandfather Vyasa, who +bade them attend the Bride's Choice of Draupadi, daughter of a +neighboring king, who--Minerva-like--came into the world full grown. + + Human mother never bore her, human bosom never fed, + From the altar sprang the maiden who some prince will wed! + +She was so beautiful that her father decided the suitor she favored +would have to prove himself worthy of her by spanning a bow which no +one as yet had been able to bend, and by sending an arrow through a +rapidly revolving wheel into the eye of a gold fish stationed beyond +it. + +Owing to the extreme loveliness of Draupadi, many rajahs flocked to +the tournament to compete for her hand, and the five Pandavs betook +themselves thither in Brahman garb. After the preliminary exercises, +the beautiful princess--to whom all her suitors had been duly +named--gave the signal for the contest to begin. The mere sight of the +huge bow proved enough to decide several of the contestants to +withdraw, but a few determined to risk all in hopes of obtaining +Draupadi's hand. No man, however, proved able to bend the bow until +Arjuna stepped forward, begging permission to try his luck. While the +rajahs were protesting that no Brahman should compete, this Pandav +spanned the bow and sent five successive shafts straight to the goal, +amid the loud acclamations of all present. + + He grasped the ponderous weapon in his hand + And with one vigorous effort braced the string. + Quickly the shafts were aimed and swiftly they flew; + The mark fell pierced; a shout of victory + Rang through the vast arena; from the sky + Garlands of flowers crowned the hero's head, + Ten thousand fluttering scarfs waved in the air, + And drum and trumpet sounded forth his triumph. + +The beautiful princess, captivated by the goodly appearance of this +suitor, immediately hung around his neck the crown of flowers, +although the defeated rajahs muttered a mere Brahman should not aspire +to the hand of a princess. In fact, had not his four brothers, aided +by Krishna (a divine suitor), stood beside him, and had not the king +insisted there should be no fracas, the young winner might have had a +hard time. Then, as the princess seemed perfectly willing, the wedding +was celebrated, and the five brothers returned to the humble hut where +they lived on alms, calling out to their mother that they had won a +prize! On hearing these tidings, the mother--without knowing what the +prize was--rejoined, "Share it among you," an injunction which settled +for good and all that Draupadi should be common wife to all five. But +the legend adds that this came to pass mainly because the maiden had +prayed five times for a husband, and that the gods were answering each +of her prayers separately! + +Shortly after this fivefold marriage,--which assured the Pandavs a +royal ally,--Bhishma persuaded the blind rajah--who had meantime +discovered his nephews were not dead--to give them one half of his +realm. Taking up their abode there, the Pandavs built the city of +Indraprastha (Delhi) on the banks of the Jumna, before they decided +that the eldest among them (Yudhishthira) should be king, the others +humbly serving as his escort wherever he went. + +One day this eldest Pandav went to visit the eldest Kuru, a proficient +gambler, with whom he played until he had lost realm, brothers, wife, +and freedom! But, when the victor undertook to take forcible +possession of the fair Draupadi, and publicly stripped her of her +garments, the gods, in pity, supplied her with one layer of vesture +after another, so that the brutal Kuru was not able to shame her as he +wished. Furious to see the treatment their common wife was undergoing +at the victor's hands, the five Pandavs made grim threats, and raised +such a protest that the blind uncle, interfering, sent them off to the +forest with their wife for twelve years. He also decreed that, during +the thirteenth, all must serve in some menial capacity, with the +proviso that, if discovered by their cousins, they should never regain +their realm. + + "'Tis no fault of thine, fair princess! fallen to this servile state, + Wife and son rule not their actions, others rule their hapless fate! + Thy Yudhishthir sold his birthright, sold thee at the impious play, + And the wife falls with the husband, and her duty--to obey!" + +During the twelve years which the Pandavs spent in the forest, with +the beautiful and faithful Draupadi (who was once carried away by a +demon but rescued by one of her spouses), they met with sundry +adventures. Not only did they clear the jungle, rescue from cannibals +the jealous cousins who came to humiliate them, and perform other +astounding feats, but they were entertained by tales told by Vyasa, +among which are a quaint account of the Deluge, of the descent of the +Ganges, a recitation of the Ramayana, and the romance of Nala and of +Savitri, of which brief sketches are given at the end of this article. +All this material is contained in the "Forest Book," the third and +longest parvan of the Mahabharata, wherein we also find a curious +account of Arjuna's voluntary exile because he entered into Draupadi's +presence when one of his brothers was with her! To atone for this +crime, Arjuna underwent a series of austerities on the Himalayas, in +reward for which his father Indra took him up to heaven, whence he +brought back sundry weapons, among which we note Siva's miraculous +bow. + +Meantime his four brothers and Draupadi had undertaken pious +pilgrimages to all the sacred waters of India, and had learned sundry +useful trades and arts, before they, too, visited the Himalayas. There +Arjuna joined them in Indra's chariot, and led them to the top of a +mountain, whence they beheld the glittering palace of Kuvera, God of +Wealth. + +After the twelve years' sojourn in the jungle were ended, the Pandavs, +thanks to divine aid, entered the service of a neighboring king as +teachers of dice and music, as charioteer, cook, cow-herd, and maid. +There the five men and their wife remained for a whole year, without +being discovered by their enemies, and, toward the end of their +sojourn, rendered so signal a service to their master that he offered +his daughter in marriage to Arjuna. Although this prince virtuously +refused to accept her for himself, he bestowed her upon a son begotten +during his exile when he indulged in sundry romantic adventures. + +Having completed their penance, the Pandavs returned home, to demand +of the Kurus the surrender of their realm. As these greedy cousins +refused to relinquish their authority, both parties prepared for war. +Seeing the Kurus had ten allies, the Pandavs became anxious to secure +some too. The most powerful person in the region being the rajah +Krishna, one of the Kurus hastened to his palace to bespeak his aid, +and, finding him asleep, seated himself at the head of the bed. A +moment later one of the Pandavs arrived, and modestly placed himself +at the foot of the sleeping monarch's couch. On awakening, Krishna, of +course, saw the Pandav first, but, after listening impartially to both +petitioners, informed them that one party should have the benefit of +his advice and the other the aid of his one hundred million soldiers. +The greedy Kuru immediately bespoke the use of the army, while the +Pandav was only too glad to secure the advice of Krishna (an +embodiment of all the gods), who throughout the war acted as Arjuna's +charioteer. + +All preparations finished, the Great War (Mahabharata) began, the two +families pitted against each other meeting on the plain of Kurukshetra +(the modern Panipat) where the battle was fought. After many speeches, +and after erecting fortifications which bristled with defences and +were liberally stocked with jars of scorpions, hot oil, and missiles, +the two parties drew up rules of battle, which neither was to infringe +under penalty of incurring the world's execration. + +Even nature now showed by unmistakable signs that a terrible conflict +was about to take place, and when the two armies--which the Hindus +claim numbered several billion men--came face to face, Krishna delayed +the fight long enough to recite with Arjuna a dialogue of eighteen +cantos called the Bhagavad-gita, or Divine Song, which contains a +complete system of Indian religious philosophy. + +The Pandavs, having besought the aid of the monkeys, were informed +they would derive great benefit by bearing a monkey banner, so it was +armed with this standard that they marched on to victory. + + The sons of Pandu marked the coming storm + And swift arrayed their force. The chief divine + And Arjuna at the king's request + Raised in the van the ape-emblazoned banner, + The host's conducting star, the guiding light + That cheered the bravest heart, and as it swept + The air, it warmed each breast with martial fires. + +Throughout the war the Pandav forces were directed by the same +general, but their opponents had four. A moment after the first +collision, the sky was filled with whistling arrows, while the air +resounded with the neighing of horses and the roaring of elephants; +the plain shook, and clouds of dust, dimming the light of the sun, +formed a heavy pall, beneath which Pandavs and Kurus struggled in +deadly fight. This frightful conflict lasted eighteen days, the battle +always stopping at sunset, to enable the combatants to recover their +strength. + + And ever and anon the thunder roared, + And angry lightnings flashed across the gloom, + Or blazing meteors fearful shot to earth. + Regardless of these awful signs, the chiefs + Pressed on to mutual slaughter, and the peal + Of shouting hosts commingling shook the world. + +The Kurus' general, Bhishma, fell on the tenth day,--after a terrible +fight with Arjuna,--riddled with so many arrows that his body could +not touch the ground. Although mortally wounded, he lay in this state, +his head supported by three arrows, for fifty-eight days, and was thus +able to bestow good advice on those who came to consult him. + + Darker grew the gloomy midnight, and the princes went their way; + On his bed of pointed arrows, Bhishma lone and dying lay. + +He was succeeded as leader of the Kurus by the tutor Drona, who during +his five days' generalship proved almost invincible. But, some one +suggesting that his courage would evaporate should he hear his son was +dead, a cry arose in the Pandav ranks that Aswathaman had perished! +Unable to credit this news, Drona called to the eldest Pandav--who was +strictly truthful--to know whether it was so, and heard him rejoin it +was true in regard to the elephant by that name, but not of the man. + + Said Yudhishthir: "Lordly tusker, Aswathaman named, is dead;" + Drona heard but half the accents, feebly dropped his sinking head! + +The poor father, who heard only a small part of the sentence--the +remainder being drowned by the sound of the trumpets--lost all +courage, and allowed himself to be slain without further resistance. + +The whole poem bristles with thrilling hand-to-hand conflicts, the +three greatest during the eighteen days' battle being between Karna +and the eldest Pandav, between the eldest Kuru and Bhima, and between +Karna and Arjuna. During the first sixteen days of battle, countless +men were slain, including Arjuna's son by one of his many wives. +Although the fighting had hitherto invariably ceased at sunset, +darkness on the seventeenth day failed to check the fury of the +fighters, so when the moon refused to afford them light they kindled +torches in order to find each other. It was therefore midnight before +the exhausted combatants dropped down on the battle-field, pillowing +their heads on their horses and elephants to snatch a brief rest so as +to be able to renew the war of extermination on the morrow. + +On the eighteenth day--the last of the Great War--the soil showed red +with blood and was so thickly strewn with corpses that there was no +room to move. Although the Kurus again charged boldly, all but three +were slain by the enemies' golden maces. In fact, the fight of the day +proved so fierce that only eleven men remained alive of the billions +which, according to the poem, took part in the fight. But during that +night the three remaining Kurus stole into the Pandav camp, killed the +five sons which Draupadi had born to her five husbands, carried off +their heads, and laid them at the feet of the mortally wounded eldest +Kuru, who fancied at first his cousins had been slain. The battle +ending from sheer lack of combatants, the eldest Pandav ordered solemn +funeral rites, which are duly described in the poem. + + Pious rites are due to foemen and to friends and kinsmen slain, + None shall lack a fitting funeral, none shall perish on the plain. + +Then, no one being there to dispute it, he took possession of the +realm, always dutifully according precedence to his blind uncle, who +deeply mourned his fallen sons. + +Wishing to govern wisely, the eldest Pandav sought the wounded +general, Bhishma,--who still lay on his arrowy bed in the +battle-field,--and who, having given him rules for wise government, +breathed his last in the presence of this Pandav, who saw his spirit +rise from his divided skull and mount to the skies "like a bright +star." The body was then covered with flowers and borne down to the +Ganges, where, after it had been purified by the sacred waters, it was +duly burned. + +The new king's mind was, however, so continually haunted by the +horrors of the great battle-field that, hoping to find relief, he +decided to perform a horse sacrifice. Many chapters of the poem are +taken up in relating the twelve adventures of this steed, which was +accompanied everywhere by Arjuna, who had to wage many a fight to +retain possession of the sacred animal and prevent any hand being laid +upon him. Then we have a full description of the seventeen ceremonies +pertaining to this strange rite. + + Victor of a hundred battles, Arjun bent his homeward way, + Following still the sacred charger free to wander as it may, + Strolling minstrels to Yudhishthir spake of the returning steed, + Spake of Arjun wending homeward with the victor's crown of meed. + +Next we learn that the blind king, still mourning the death of his +sons, retired to the bank of the Ganges, where he and his wife spent +their last years listening to the monotonous ripple of the sacred +waters. Fifteen years after the great battle, the five Pandavs and +Draupadi came to visit him, and, after sitting for a while on the +banks of the sacred stream, bathed in its waters as Vyasa advised +them. While doing so they saw the wraiths of all their kinsmen slain +in the Great Battle rise from the boiling waters, and passed the night +in conversation with them, although these spirits vanished at dawn +into thin air. But the widows of the slain then obtained permission to +drown themselves in the Ganges, in order to join their beloved +husbands beyond the tomb. + + "These and other mighty warriors, in the earthly battle slain, + By their valor and their virtue walk the bright ethereal plain! + They have cast their mortal bodies, crossed the radiant gate of heaven, + For to win celestial mansions unto mortals it is given! + Let them strive by kindly action, gentle speech, endurance long, + Brighter life and holier future unto sons of men belong!" + +Then the Pandav brothers and their wife took leave of the blind king, +whom they were destined never to see again, for some two years later a +terrible jungle fire consumed both cottage and inmates. This death was +viewed by the Pandavs as a bad omen, as was also the destruction of +Krishna's capital because his people drank too much wine. Krishna +himself was slain by accident, while a hurricane or tidal wave +sweeping over the "city of Drunkenness" wiped it off the face of the +earth. + +Having found life a tragedy of sorrow, the eldest Pandav, after +reigning thirty-six years, decided to abdicate in favor of Arjuna's +grandson, and to start on a pilgrimage for Mount Meru, or Indra's +heaven. As the Hindu universe consists of seven concentric rings, each +of which is separated by a liquid from the next continent, he had to +cross successive oceans of salt water, sugar-cane juice, wine, +clarified butter, curdled milk, sweet milk, and fresh water. In the +very centre of these alternate rings of land and liquid rises Mount +Meru to a height of sixty-four thousand miles, crowned by the Hindu +heaven, toward which the Pandav was to wend his way. But, although all +their subjects would fain have gone with them, the five brothers, +Draupadi, and a faithful dog set out alone in single file, "to +accomplish their union with the infinite." + + Then the high-minded sons of Pandu and the noble Draupadi + Roamed onward, fasting, with their faces toward the east; their + hearts + Yearning for union with the Infinite, bent on abandonment + Of worldly things. + + * * * * * + + And by degrees they reached the briny sea; + They reached the northern region and beheld with heaven-aspiring + hearts + The mighty mountain Himavat. Beyond its lofty peak they passed + Toward a sea of sand, and saw at last the rocky Meru, king + Of mountains. As with eager steps they hastened on, their souls + intent + On union with the Eternal, Draupadi lost hold of her high hope, + And faltering fell upon the earth. + --_Edwin Arnold._ + +Thus during this toilsome journey, one by one fell, never to rise +again, until presently only two of the brothers and the dog were left. +The eldest Pandav, who had marched on without heeding the rest, now +explained to his companion how Draupadi sinned through excessive love +for her husbands, and that his fallen brothers were victims of pride, +vanity, and falsehood. He further predicted that the speaker himself +would fall, owing to selfishness, a prediction which was soon +verified, leaving the eldest Pandav alone with his dog. + +On arriving, Indra bade this hero enter heaven, assuring him the other +spirits had preceded him thither, but warning him that he alone could +be admitted there in bodily form. When the Pandav begged that his dog +might enter too, Indra indignantly rejoined that heaven was no place +for animals, and inquired why the Pandav made more fuss about a +four-legged companion than about his wife and brothers. Thereupon the +Pandav returned he had no power to bring the others back to life, but +considered it cowardly to abandon a faithful living creature. The dog, +listening intently to this dialogue, now resumed his proper +form,--for it seems he was the king's father in a former birth,--and, +having become human once more, he too was allowed to enter Paradise. + + Straight as he spoke, brightly great Indra smiled, + Vanished the hound, and in its stead stood there, + The lord of death and justice, Dharma's self. + --_Edwin Arnold._ + +Beneath a golden canopy, seated on jewelled thrones, the Pandav found +his blind uncle and cousins, but failed to discern any trace of his +brothers or Draupadi. He, therefore, refusing to remain, begged +Indra's permission to share their fate in hell; so a radiant messenger +was sent to guide him along a road paved with upturned razor edges, +which passed through a dense forest whose leaves were thorns and +swords. Along this frightful road the Pandav toiled, with cut and +mangled feet, until he reached the place of burning, where he beheld +Draupadi and his brothers writhing in the flames. Unable to rescue +them, the Rajah determined to share their fate, so bade his heavenly +guide return to Paradise without him. This, however, proved the last +test to which his great heart was to be subjected, for no sooner had +he expressed a generous determination to share his kinsmen's lot, than +he was told to bathe in the Ganges and all would be well. He had no +sooner done so than the heavens opened above him, allowing him to +perceive, amid undying flowers, the fair Draupadi and his four +brothers, who, thanks to his unselfishness, had been rescued from +hell. + +The grandson of Arjuna reigned at Hastinapur until he died of a +snake-bite, and his son instituted snake sacrifices, where this epic +was recited by a bard who learned it from the mouth of Vyasa. There is +also a continuation of the poem in three sections called the +Harivamça, which relates that Krishna is an incarnation of Vishnu, and +describes his exploits and the future doom of the world. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE DELUGE + + +The detached stories in the Mahabharata are a quaint account of the +Deluge, where we learn that an ascetic stood for ten thousand years on +one leg, before a small fish implored him to save him from the big +ones in the stream. This ascetic placed the petitioner first in an +earthen vessel of water, then in a tank, then in the Ganges, "the +favorite spouse of the ocean," and finally in the sea, for this fish +rapidly outgrew each receptacle. On reaching the ocean, the fish +informed the ascetic, _with a smile_, that the dissolution of the +earth was near. He also bade him build an ark provided with a long +rope, told him to enter in it with seven other sages and seeds of +every kind, and promised to appear as a horned fish to save him from +destruction. When the flood came, the horned fish, seizing the rope, +dragged the ark to the top of the Himalayas, where it rested securely. +There it declared, "I am Brahma who saved you," and directed the +ascetic, aided by his learned companions, to recreate everything by +means of the seeds. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 42: The long line quotations are from the translation of +Romesh Dutt, those in short lines from Griffeth's.] + + + + +THE STORY OF NALA AND DAMAYANTI + + +The romantic story of Nala and Damayanti was told to comfort the +eldest Pandav for losing all he had while dicing. It seems that once, +while hunting, Nala released a golden bird, because it promised to win +for him the affections of Princess Damayanti. Pleased with this +prospect, Nala let the bird go, and watched it fly in the direction of +Damayanti's palace. There the bird, caught by the princess, praised +Nala so eloquently that Damayanti fell in love with him, and, in order +to meet him, announced she was about to hold a Bride's Choice. On his +way to this tournament, Nala met four gods, all anxious to marry the +beautiful princess, and they, after obtaining his promise to execute +their wishes, bade him steal unseen into the palace and bid the +princess choose one of them as a spouse. + +The broken-hearted Nala, forced to sue for the gods, made known their +request to Damayanti, who declared she didn't intend to marry any one +but himself, as she meant to announce publicly at the Bride's Choice +on the morrow. + + "Yet I see a way of refuge--'tis a blameless way, O king; + Whence no sin to thee, O rajah,--may by any chance arise. + Thou, O noblest of all mortals--and the gods by Indra led, + Come and enter in together--where the Swayembara meets; + Then will I, before the presence--of the guardians of the world, + Name thee, lord of men! my husband--nor to thee may blame accrue." + +She was, however, sorely embarrassed on arriving there, to find five +Nalas before her, for each of the gods had assumed the form of the +young prince after the latter had reported what Damayanti had said. +Unable to distinguish between the gods and her lover, Damayanti prayed +so fervently that she was able to discern that four of her suitors +gazed at her with unwinking eyes, exuded no perspiration, and cast no +shadow, while the fifth betrayed all these infallible signs of +mortality. She, therefore, selected the real Nala, upon whom the four +gods bestowed invaluable gifts, including absolute control over fire +and water. + +The young couple were perfectly happy for some time, although a wicked +demon (Kali)--who had arrived too late at the Bride's Choice--was +determined to trouble their bliss. He therefore watched husband and +wife in hopes of finding an opportunity to injure them, but it was +only in the twelfth year of their marriage that Nala omitted the +wonted ablutions before saying his prayers. This enabled the demon to +enter his heart and inspire him with such a passion for gambling that +he soon lost all he possessed. + +His wife, seeing her remonstrances vain, finally ordered a charioteer +to convey her children to her father's, and they had barely gone when +Nala came out of the gambling hall, having nothing left but a garment +apiece for himself and his wife. So the faithful Damayanti followed +him out of the city into the forest, the winner having proclaimed that +no help should be given to the exiled king or queen. Almost starving, +Nala, hoping to catch some birds which alighted near him, flung over +them as a net his only garment. These birds, having been sent by the +demon to rob him of his last possession, flew away with the cloth, +calling out to him that they were winged dice sent by Kali. + + Over them his single garment--spreading light, he wrapped them round: + Up that single garment bearing--to the air they sprang away; + And the birds above him hovering--thus in human accents spake, + Naked as they saw him standing--on the earth, and sad, and lone: + "Lo, we are the dice, to spoil thee--thus descended, foolish king! + While thou hadst a single garment--all our joy was incomplete." + +Husband and wife now wander on, until one night Nala, arising softly, +cut his wife's sole garment in two, and, wrapping himself in part of +it, forsook her during her sleep, persuading himself that if left +alone she would return to her father and enjoy comfort. The poem gives +a touching description of the husband's grief at parting with his +sleeping wife, of her frenzy on awakening, and of her pathetic appeals +for her husband to return. + +Then we follow Damayanti in her wanderings through the forest in quest +of the missing Nala, and see how she joins a company of hermits, who +predict that her sorrows will not last forever before they vanish, for +they are spirits sent to comfort her. Next she joins a merchant +caravan, which, while camping, is surprised by wild elephants, which +trample the people to death and cause a panic. The merchants fancy +this calamity has visited them because they showed compassion to +Damayanti, whom they now deem a demon and wish to tear to pieces. She, +however, has fled at the approach of the wild elephants, and again +wanders alone through the forest, until she finally comes to a town, +where, seeing her wan and distracted appearance, the people follow her +hooting. + +The queen-mother, looking over the battlements of her palace and +seeing this poor waif, takes compassion upon her, and, after giving +her refreshments, questions her in regard to her origin. Damayanti +simply vouchsafes the information that her husband has lost all +through dicing, and volunteers to serve the rani, provided she is +never expected to eat the food left by others or to wait upon men. + +Before she had been there very long, however, her father sends +Brahmans in every direction to try and find his missing daughter and +son-in-law, and some of these suspect the rani's maid is the lady they +are seeking. When they inform the rani of this fact, she declares, if +Damayanti is her niece, she can easily be recognized, as she was born +with a peculiar mole between her eyebrows. She, therefore, bids her +handmaid wash off the ashes which defile her in token of grief, and +thus discovers the birth-mole proving her identity. + +Damayanti now returns to her father and to her children, but doesn't +cease to mourn the absence of her spouse. She, too, sends Brahmans in +all directions, singing "Where is the one who, after stealing half of +his wife's garment, abandoned her in the jungle?" Meantime Nala has +saved from the fire a serpent, which by biting him has transformed him +into a dwarf, bidding him at the same time enter the service of a +neighboring rajah as charioteer, and promising that after a certain +time the serpent poison will drive the demon Kali out of his system. +Obeying these injunctions, Nala becomes the charioteer of a +neighboring rajah, and while with him hears a Brahman sing the song +which Damayanti taught him. He answers it by another, excusing the +husband for having forsaken his wife, and, when the Brahman reports +this to Damayanti, she rightly concludes her Nala is at this rajah's +court. + +She, therefore, sends back the Brahman with a message to the effect +that she is about to hold a second Bride's Choice, and the rajah, +anxious to secure her hand, asks his charioteer whether he can convey +him to the place in due time? Nala undertakes to drive his master five +hundred miles in one day, and is so clever a charioteer that he +actually performs the feat, even though he stops on the way to verify +his master's knowledge of figures by counting the leaves and fruit on +the branch of a tree. Finding the rajah has accurately guessed them +at a glance, Nala begs him, in return for his services as charioteer, +to teach him the science of numbers, so that when he dices again he +can be sure to win. + +On arriving at the court of Damayanti's father, Nala is summoned into +the presence of his wife, who, although she does not recognize him in +his new form, insists he must be her spouse, for no one else can drive +as he does or has the power which he displays over fire and water. At +this moment the sway of the demon ends, and Nala, restored to his +wonted form, rapturously embraces his wife and children. + + Even as thus the wind was speaking,--flowers fall showering all around: + And the gods sweet music sounded--on the zephyr floating light. + +Then, thanks to his new skill in dicing, Nala recovers all he has +lost, and is able to spend the rest of his life in peace and happiness +with the faithful Damayanti. + + + + +THE STORY OF SAVITRI AND SATYAVAN + + +Once upon a time a king, mourning because he was childless, spent many +years fasting and praying in hopes that offspring would be granted +him. One day the goddess of the sun rose out of his sacrificial fire +to promise him a daughter, more beauteous than any maiden ever seen +before. The king rejoiced, and, when this child was born, every one +declared little Savitri the prettiest maiden ever seen. As she grew up +she became more and more beautiful, until all the surrounding kings +longed to marry her, but dared not propose. Seeing this, her father +conferred upon her the right to select her own spouse, and the +princess began to travel from court to court inspecting all the +marriageable princes. One day, in the course of these wanderings, she +paused beneath a banyan tree, where a blind old hermit had taken up +his abode. He was just telling the princess that he dwelt there with +his wife and son, when a young man appeared, bringing wood for the +sacrifice. This youth was Satyavan, his son, who was duly astonished +to behold a lovely princess. + +On returning home, Savitri informed her father her choice was made, +for she had decided to marry the hermit's son! This news appalled the +king, because the prime minister assured him Satyavan--although son of +a banished king--was doomed to die at the end of the year. + +Knowing the unenviable lot of a Hindu widow, the king implored Savitri +to choose another mate, but the girl refused, insisting she would +rather live one year with Satyavan than spend a long life with any one +else! + + But Savitri replied: + "Once falls a heritage; once a maid yields + Her maidenhood; once doth a father say, + 'Choose, I abide thy choice.' These three things done, + Are done forever. Be my prince to live + A year, or many years; be he so great + As Narada hath said, or less than this; + Once have I chosen him, and choose not twice: + My heart resolved, my mouth hath spoken it, + My hand shall execute;--this is my mind!" + --_Edwin Arnold._ + +So the marriage took place, and, because the hermit and his son had +vowed to remain in the jungle until reinstated in their realm, the +princess dwelt in their humble hut, laying aside her princely garments +and wearing the rough clothes hermits affect. + +In spite of poverty, this little family dwelt happily beneath the huge +banyan tree, the princess rigidly keeping the secret that her husband +had but a year to live. Time passed all too swiftly, however, and as +the year drew toward an end the little wife grew strangely pale and +still, fasted constantly, and spent most of her time praying that the +doom of death might be averted. When the fatal day drew near, she was +so weak and faint she could hardly stand; but, when Satyavan announced +he was going out into the forest to cut wood, she begged to accompany +him, although he objected the way was far too rough and hard for her +tender feet. By dint of coaxing, however, Savitri obtained his +consent; so hand in hand she passed with her husband through the +tropical woods. + +While Satyavan was felling a tree, he suddenly reeled and fell at her +feet, fainting. In a moment Savitri was bending over him, holding his +head in her lap and eagerly trying to recall life in his veins. While +doing so, she suddenly became aware of Yama, God of Death, with +blood-red clothes, cruel eyes, and the long black noose, with which he +snares the soul and draws it out of the body. In spite of Savitri's +pleading, he now drew out Satyavan's soul and started off with his +prize, leaving the youthful body pale and cold on the ground. + + With that the gloomy god fitted his noose, + And forced forth from the prince the soul of him-- + Subtile, a thumb in length--which being reft, + Breath stayed, blood stopped, the body's grace was gone, + And all life's warmth to stony coldness turned. + Then, binding it, the Silent Presence bore + Satyavan's soul away toward the South. + --_Edwin Arnold._ + +But the little wife, instead of staying with the corpse, followed +Yama, imploring him not to bear off her husband's soul! Turning +around, Yama sternly bade her go back, as no human mortal could tread +the road he was following, and reminding her that it was her duty to +perform her husband's funeral rites. She, however, insisting that +wherever Satyavan's soul went she would go too, painfully followed the +king of death, until in pity he promised to grant her anything she +wished, save her husband's soul. Thereupon Savitri begged that her +blind father-in-law might recover sight and kingdom, boons which Yama +immediately granted, telling Savitri to go and inform her +father-in-law so, for the way he had to tread was long and dark. + +Weak and weary as she was, Savitri nevertheless persisted in following +Yama, until he again turned, declaring he would grant any boon, save +her husband's life, to comfort her. The little wife now begged her +father might have princely sons, knowing he had long desired an heir. +This favor, too, was granted, before Yama bade her go back to light +and life; but Savitri still insisted that was impossible, and that as +long as she lived she must follow her beloved! + +Darkness now settled down on the forest, and although the road was +rough and thorny Savitri stumbled on and on, following the sound of +Yama's footsteps although she could no longer see him. Finally he +turned into a gloomy cavern, but she plodded on, until she so excited +his compassion that he promised her one more boon, again stipulating +it should not be the soul he held in his hand. When Savitri begged for +children,--sons of Satyavan,--Yama smiled and granted her prayer, +thinking he would now surely be rid of her at last. But Savitri +followed him on into the depths of the cavern, although owls and bats +made the place hideous with their cries. Hearing her footsteps still +behind him, Yama tried to frighten her away, but she, grasping the +hand which held her husband's soul, laid her tear-wet cheek against +it, thereby so touching the god's heart that he exclaimed, "Ask +anything thou wilt and it shall be thine." + +Noticing this time that he made no reservation, Savitri joyfully +exclaimed she wished neither wealth nor power, but only her beloved +spouse! Conquered by such devotion, Death relinquished into her +keeping Satyavan's soul, and promised they should live happy together +and have many sons. + +After securing this inestimable boon, Savitri hastened out of the cave +and back into the woods, where she found the lifeless corpse of her +husband just where she had left it, and proceeded to woo it back to +life. Before long warmth and consciousness returned to Satyavan, who +went home with Savitri, with whom he lived happy ever after, for all +the boons Yama had promised were duly granted. + + "Adieu, great God!" She took the soul, + No bigger than the human thumb, + And running swift, soon reached her goal, + Where lay the body stark and dumb. + She lifted it with eager hands + And as before, when he expired, + She placed the head upon the bands + That bound her breast, which hope new fired, + And which alternate rose and fell; + Then placed his soul upon his heart, + Whence like a bee it found its cell, + And lo, he woke with sudden start! + His breath came low at first, then deep, + With an unquiet look he gazed, + As one awakening from a sleep, + Wholly bewildered and amazed. + + --_Miss Toru Dutt._ + + + + +CHINESE AND JAPANESE POETRY + +WHITE ASTER + + +Epics as they are understood in Europe do not exist in either China or +Japan, although orientals claim that name for poems which we would +term idyls. + +A romantic tale, which passes as an epic in both countries, was +written in Chinese verse by Professor Inouye, and has been rendered in +classical Japanese by Naobumi Ochiai. It is entitled "The Lay of the +Pious Maiden Shirakiku," which is The White Aster. + +The first canto opens with an exquisite description of an autumn +sunset and of the leaves falling from the trees at the foot of Mount +Aso. Then we hear a temple bell ringing in a distant grove, and see a +timid maiden steal out weeping from a hut in the extremity of the +village to gaze anxiously in the direction of the volcano, for her +father left her three days before to go hunting and has not returned. +Poor little White Aster fears some harm may have befallen her sire, +and, although she creeps back into the hut and kindles a fire to make +tea, her heads turns at every sound in the hope that her father has +come back at last. Stealing out once more only to see wild geese fly +past and the rain-clouds drift across the heavens, White Aster +shudders and feels impelled to start in quest of the missing man. She, +therefore, dons a straw cloak and red bamboo hat, and, although night +will soon fall, steals down the village street, across the marsh, and +begins to climb the mountain. + + Here the steep path winds with a swift ascent + Toward the summit:--the long grass that grew + In tufts upon the slopes, shrivelled and dry, + Lay dead upon her path;--hushed was the voice + Of the blithe chafers.--Only sable night + Yawned threatening from the vale. + +While she is searching, the rain ceases and the clouds part, but no +trace of her missing father does she find. Light has gone and darkness +has already invaded the solitude, when White Aster descries a faint +red gleam through the trees and hears the droning voice of a priest +chanting his prayers. Going in the direction of light and sound, White +Aster soon approaches a ruined temple, standing in the midst of a +grove of cypress and camphor trees, amid bleached bones and mouldering +graves overhung by weeping-willows. + +Her light footfall on the broken steps, falling upon the ear of the +recluse, makes him fancy some demon is coming to tempt him, so seizing +a light he thrusts it out of the door, tremblingly bidding the "fox +ghost" begone. In the East foxes being spirits of evil and having the +power to assume any form they wish, the priest naturally takes what +seems a little maiden for a demon. But, when he catches a glimpse of +White Aster's lovely innocent face and hears her touching explanation, +he utterly changes his opinion, muttering that she must belong to some +noble family, since her eyebrows are like twin "half-moons." + + "'Tis clear she comes of noble family: + Her eyebrows are as twin half-moons: her hair + Lies on her snowy temples, like a cloud: + In charm of form she ranks with Sishih's self, + That pearl of loveliness, the Chinese Helen." + +Taking his visitor gently by the hand, he leads her into the +sanctuary, where he seats her at Buddha's feet, before inquiring who +she is and what she is doing at night in the wilderness. White Aster +timidly explains that, although born in one of the southern islands +and cradled in a rich home, the pleasant tenor of her life was +suddenly interrupted by the outbreak of war. Her home sacked and +destroyed, she and her mother barely escaped with their lives. Taking +refuge near a ruined temple, they erected a booth to shelter them, +where the girl who had always been lapped in luxury had to perform all +kinds of menial tasks. But even under such circumstances her life +proved pleasant compared to what she suffered when news came that her +father had rebelled against the king, and that he and his adherents +had been crushed in the war. No poppy-draught could enable the two +poor women to forget such terrible tidings, and it is no wonder the +poor mother pined away. + + As the stream + Flows to the sea and nevermore returns, + So ebbed and ebbed her life. I cannot tell + What in those days I suffered. Nature's self + Seemed to be mourning with me, for the breeze + Of Autumn breathed its last, and as it died + The vesper-bell from yonder village pealed + A requiem o'er my mother. Thus she died, + But dead yet lives--for, ever, face and form, + She stands before my eyes; and in my ears + I ever seem to hear her loving voice, + Speaking as in the days when, strict and kind, + She taught me household lore,--in all a mother. + +Having carefully tended her mother to the end, poor little White Aster +lived alone, until one day her father suddenly appeared, having found +at last a way to escape and rejoin them. He was, however, +broken-hearted on learning of his wife's death, and, hoping to comfort +him, White Aster paid him all manner of filial attentions. She could +not, however, restore happiness or peace to the bereaved man, who, +besides mourning his wife, keenly regretted the absence of his son +Akitoshi, whom he had driven from home in anger when the youth proved +wild and overbearing. + +During this artless narrative the recluse had exhibited signs of deep +emotion, and, when White Aster mentioned the name of her brother, he +clasped his hands over his face as if to conceal its expression. After +listening to her tale in silence, he kindly bade White Aster tarry +there until sunrise, assuring her it would not be safe for her to +wander in the mountain by night. Little White Aster, therefore slept +at Buddha's feet, shivering with cold, for her garments were far too +thin to protect her from the keen mountain air. As she slept she +dreamt of her father, whose wraith appeared to her, explaining that a +false step had hurled him down into a ravine, whence he has vainly +been trying to escape for three days past! + +The second canto opens with a description of a beautiful red dawn, and +of the gradual awakening of the birds, whose songs finally rouse the +little maiden, who again sets off on her quest. + + Now the red dawn had tipped the mountain-tops, + And birds, awaking, peered from out their nests, + To greet the day with strains of matin joy; + The while, the moon's pale sickle, silver white, + Fading away, sunk in the western sky. + Clear was the air and cloudless, save the mists + That rolled in waves upon the mountain-tops. + Or crept along the gullies. + +Skirting the trunks of mighty trees, stealing beneath whispering +pines, White Aster threads different parts of the solitude, where she +encounters deer and other timid game, seeking some trace of her +father. She is so intent on this quest that she does not mark two dark +forms which gradually creep nearer to her. These are robbers, who +finally pounce upon White Aster and drag her into their rocky den, +little heeding her tears or prayers; and, although the maiden cries +for help, echo alone reiterates her desperate calls. + +The brigands' lair is beneath an overhanging cliff, where they have +erected a miserable booth, whose broken thatch has to be supplemented +by the dense foliage of the ginkgo tree overshadowing it. In front of +this hut runs a brawling stream, while the rocks all around are hung +with heavy curtains of ivy, which add to the gloom and dampness of the +place. + + Here the sun + Ne'er visits with his parting rays at eve, + But all is gloom and silence save the cry + Of some belated bird that wakes the night. + +Having brought their prisoner safely into this den, the robbers +proceed to eat and drink, dispensing with chopsticks, so wolfish is +their hunger. Meantime they roughly jeer at their captive, who sits +helpless before them, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. Having +satisfied their first imperious craving for food and drink, the +brigands proceed to taunt their prisoner, until the captain, producing +a koto or harp, bids her with savage threats make music, as they like +to be merry. + + "Sit you down, + And let us hear your skill; for I do swear + That, if you hesitate, then with this sword + I'll cut you into bits and give your flesh + To yonder noisy crows. Mark well my words." + +So proficient is our little maiden on this instrument, that her +slender fingers draw from the cords such wonderful sounds that all +living creatures are spellbound. Even the robbers remain quiet while +it lasts, and are so entranced that they fail to hear the steps of a +stranger, stealing near the hut armed with sword and spear. Seeing +White Aster in the brigands' power, this stranger bursts open the door +and pounces upon the robbers, several of whom he slays after a +desperate conflict. One of their number, however, manages to escape, +and it is only when the fight is over that White Aster--who has +covered her face with her hands--discovers that her rescuer is the +kind-hearted recluse. He now informs her that, deeming it unsafe for +her to thread the wilderness alone, he had soon followed her, +intending to tell her he is her long-lost brother! Then he explains +how, after being banished from home, he entered the service of a +learned man, with whom he began to study, and that, perceiving at last +the wickedness of his ways, he made up his mind to reform. But, +although he immediately hastened home to beg his parents' forgiveness, +he arrived there only to find his native town in ruins. Unable to +secure any information in regard to his kin, he then became a recluse, +and it was only because shame and emotion prevented his speaking +that he had not immediately told White Aster who he was. + + Much then my spirit fought against itself, + Wishing to tell my name and welcome you, + My long-lost sister: but false shame forbade + And kept my mouth tight closed. + +His tale ended, the recluse and his small sister leave the robbers' +den, and steal hand in hand through the dusk, the forest's silence +being broken only by the shrill cries of bands of monkeys. They are +just about to emerge from this dark ravine, when the robber who +managed to escape suddenly pounces upon the priest, determined to slay +him so as to avenge his dead comrades. Another terrible fight ensues, +which so frightens poor little White Aster that she runs off, losing +her way in the darkness, and is not able to return to her brother's +side in spite of all her efforts. + +The third canto tells how, after wandering around all night, White +Aster finally emerges at dawn on the top of a cliff, at whose base +nestles a tiny village, with one of the wonted shrines. Making her way +down to this place, White Aster kneels in prayer, but her attitude is +so weary that an old peasant, passing by, takes pity upon her and +invites her to join his daughter in their little cottage. White Aster +thus becomes an inmate of this rustic home, where she spends the next +few years, her beauty increasing every day, until her fame spreads all +over the land. Hearing of her unparalleled loveliness, the governor +finally decides to marry her, although she is far beneath him in rank, +and sends a matrimonial agent to bargain for her hand. The old rustic, +awed by the prospect of so brilliant an alliance, consents without +consulting White Aster, and he and the agent pick out in the calendar +a propitious day for the wedding. + +When the agent has departed, the old man informs his guest how he has +promised her hand in marriage, adding that she has no choice and must +consent. But White Aster exclaims that her mother, on her way to the +temple one day, heard a strange sound in the churchyard. There she +discovered, amongst the flowers, a tiny abandoned girl, whom she +adopted, giving her the name of the blossoms around her. + + "Once," she said, + "Ere morn had scarce begun to dawn, I went + To worship at the temple: as I passed + Through the churchyard 'twixt rows of gravestones hoar, + And blooming white chrysanthemums, I heard + The piteous wailing of a little child. + Which following, I found, amidst the flowers, + A fair young child with crimson-mouthing lips + And fresh soft cheek--a veritable gem. + I took it as a gift that Buddha sent + As guerdon of my faith, and brought it up + As my own child, to be my husband's joy + And mine: and, as I found thee couched + Amidst white-blooming asters, I named thee + White Aster in memorial of the day." + +The little maiden adds that her adopted mother made her promise never +to marry any one save her so-called brother, and declares she is bound +in honor to respect this maternal wish. The governor, anxious to +secure this beautiful bride, meantime sends the agent hurrying back +with a chest full of gifts, the acceptance of which will make the +bargain binding. So the clever agent proceeds to exhibit tokens, which +so dazzle the old peasant that he greedily accepts them all, while +admiring neighbors gape at them in wonder. + +Poor little White Aster, perceiving it will be impossible to resist +the pressure brought to bear upon her, steals out of the peasant's +house at midnight, and, making her way across damp fields to the +river, climbs up on the high bridge, whence she intends to fling +herself into the rushing waters. She pauses, however, to utter a final +prayer, and, closing her eyes, is about to spring when a hand grasps +her and a glad voice exclaims she is safe! Turning around, White +Aster's wondering eyes rest upon the recluse, who ever since he +escaped from the brigand's clutches has vainly been seeking her +everywhere. He declares they shall never part again and tenderly +leads her home, where she is overjoyed to find her father, who still +mourns her absence. + +Thankful for the return of his child, the father relates how, having +fallen into a ravine,--where he found water and berries in plenty,--he +vainly tried to scale the rocks, to escape from its depths and return +home. All his efforts having proved vain, he was almost ready to give +up in despair, when a band of monkeys appeared at the top of the cliff +and by grimaces and sounds showed him how to climb out by means of the +hanging vines. Trusting to these weak supports, the father scaled the +rocks, but on arriving at the summit was surprised to discover no +trace of the monkeys who had taught him how to escape. He remembered, +however, that while hunting one day he had aimed at a mother monkey +and her babe, but had not injured them because the poor mother had +made such distressing sounds of despair. He adds it was probably in +reward for this act of mercy that the monkeys saved his life. + + "I spared her life; + And she, in turn, seeing my sorry plight, + Cried to me from the rocks, and showed the way + To flee from certain death." + +Thus, this epic ends with a neat little moral, and with the comforting +assurance that White Aster, her father, and husband lived happy ever +afterward. + + + + +AMERICAN EPICS + + +When Europeans first landed on this continent, they found it occupied +by various tribes of Indians, speaking--it is estimated--some six +hundred different languages or dialects. At first no systematic effort +could be made to discover the religion or traditions of the native +Americans, but little by little we have learned that they boasted a +rich folk-lore, and that their nature-myths and hero-tales were +recited by the fireside from generation to generation. Because there +were tribes in different degrees of evolution between savagery and the +rudimentary stages of civilization, there are more or less rude myths +and folk-tales in the samples with which we have thus become familiar. + +Among the more advanced tribes, Indian folk-lore bears the imprint of +a weirdly poetical turn of mind, and ideas are often vividly and +picturesquely expressed by nature similes. Some of this folk-lore is +embodied in hymns, or what have also been termed nature-epics, which +are now being carefully preserved for future study by professional +collectors of folk-lore. Aside from a few very interesting creation +myths and stories of the Indian gods, there is a whole fund of nature +legends of which we have a characteristic sample in Bayard Taylor's +Mon-da-min, or Creation of the Maize, and also in the group of legends +welded into a harmonious whole by Longfellow in the "American-Indian +epic" Hiawatha. + +The early European settlers found so many material obstacles to +overcome, that they had no leisure for the cultivation of literature. +Aside from letters, diaries, and reports, therefore, no early colonial +literature exists. But, with the founding of the first colleges in +America,--Harvard, Yale, William and Mary, the College of New Jersey, +and King's College (now Columbia),--and with the introduction of the +printing press, the American literary era may be said to begin. + +The Puritans, being utterly devoid of aesthetic taste, considered all +save religious poetry sinful in the extreme; so it was not until the +middle of the seventeenth century that Fame could trumpet abroad the +advent of "the Tenth Muse," or "the Morning Star of American Poetry," +in the person of Anne Bradstreet! Among her poems--which no one ever +reads nowadays--is "An Exact Epitome of the Three First Monarchies, +viz., the Assyrian, Persian, and Grecian, and the Beginning of the +Roman Commonwealth to the End of their Last King," a work which some +authorities rank as the first American epic (1650). This was soon +(1662) followed by Michael Wigglesworth's "Day of Doom," or "Poetical +Description of the Great and Last Judgement," wherein the author, +giving free play to his imagination, crammed so many horrors that it +afforded ghastly entertainment for hosts of young Puritans while it +passed through its nine successive editions in this country and two in +England. Although devoid of real poetic merit, this work never failed +to give perusers "the creeps," as the following sample will +sufficiently prove: + + Then might you hear them rend and tear + The air with their outcries; + The hideous noise of their sad voice + Ascendant to the skies. + They wring their hands, their caitiff hands, + And gnash their teeth for terror; + They cry, they roar, for anguish sore, + And gnaw their tongue for horror. + But get away without delay; + Christ pities not your cry; + Depart to hell, there may you yell + And roar eternally. + +The Revolutionary epoch gave birth to sundry epic ballads--such as +Francis Hopkinson's Battle of the Kegs and Major André's Cow +Chase--and "to three epics, each of them almost as long as the Iliad, +which no one now reads, and in which one vainly seeks a touch of +nature or a bit of genuine poetry." This enormous mass of verse +includes Trumbull's burlesque epic, McFingal (1782), a work so +popular in its day that collectors possess samples of no less than +thirty pirated editions. Although favorably compared to Butler's +Hudibras, and "one of the Revolutionary forces," this poem--a satire +on the Tories--has left few traces in our language, aside from the +familiar quotation: + + A thief ne'er felt the halter draw + With good opinion of the law. + +The second epic of this period is Timothy Dwight's "Conquest of +Canaan" in eleven books, and the third Barlow's "Columbiad." The +latter interminable work was based on the poet's pompous Vision of +Columbus, which roused great admiration when it appear (1807). While +professing to relate the memorable voyage of Columbus in a grandly +heroic strain, the Columbiad introduces all manner of mythical and +fantastic personages and events. In spite of its writer's learning and +imagination, this voluminous epic fell quite flat when published, and +there are now very few persons who have accomplished the feat of +reading it all the way through. Still, it contains passages not +without merit, as the following lines prove: + + Long on the deep the mists of morning lay, + Then rose, revealing, as they rolled away, + Half-circling hills, whose everlasting woods + Sweep with their sable skirts the shadowy floods: + And say, when all, to holy transport given, + Embraced and wept as at the gates of Heaven, + When one and all of us, repentant, ran, + And, on our faces, blessed the wondrous man: + Say, was I then deceived, or from the skies + Burst on my ear seraphic harmonies? + "Glory to God!" unnumbered voices sung: + "Glory to God!" the vales and mountains rang. + Voices that hailed Creation's primal morn, + And to the shepherds sung a Saviour born. + Slowly, bare-headed, through the surf we bore + The sacred cross, and, kneeling, kissed the shore. + 'But what a scene was there? Nymphs of romance, + Youths graceful as the Fawn, with eager glance, + Spring from the glades, and down the alleys peep, + Then headlong rush, bounding from steep to steep, + And clap their hands, exclaiming as they run, + "Come and behold the Children of the Sun!" + +Not content with an epic apiece, Barlow and Trumbull, with several +other "Hartford wits," joined forces in composing the Anarchiad, which +exercised considerable influence on the politics of its time. + +In 1819 appeared Washington Irving's Sketch-Book, which contains the +two classics, Legend of the Sleepy Hollow, and Rip Van Winkle, which +are sometimes quoted as inimitable samples of local epics in prose. +Cooper's Leather-stocking series of novels, including the Deerslayer, +The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneers, and The +Prairie, are also often designated as "prose epics of the Indian as he +was in Cooper's imagination," while some of his sea-stories, such as +The Pirate, have been dubbed "epics of the sea." Bryant, first-born of +our famous group of nineteenth-century American poets, made use of +many of the Indian myths and legends in his verse. But he rendered his +greatest service to epic poetry by his translations of the Iliad and +the Odyssey, accomplished when already eighty years of age. + +There are sundry famous American heroic odes or poems which contain +epic lines, such as Halleck's Marco Bozzaris, Dana's Buccaneers, +Lowell's Vision of Sir Launfal, and Biglow Papers, Whittier's Mogg +Megone, Holmes's Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill Battle, Taylor's +Amram's Wooing, Emerson's Concord Hymn, etc., etc. Then, too, some +critics rank as prose epics Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter, Poe's Fall of +the House of Usher, Hale's Man Without a Country, Bret Harte's Luck of +Roaring Camp, Helen Hunt Jackson's Ramona, etc., etc. + +It is, however, Longfellow, America's most popular poet, who has +written the nearest approach to a real epic, and the poems most likely +to live, in his Wreck of the Hesperus, Skeleton in Armor, Golden +Legend, Hiawatha, Tales of a Wayside Inn, Courtship of Miles Standish, +and Evangeline, besides translating Dante's grand epic The Divine +Comedy. + +In Longfellow's Wreck of the Hesperus we have a miniature nautical +epic, in the Skeleton in Armor our only epic relating to the Norse +discovery, in the Golden Legend, and in many of the Tales of a Wayside +Inn, happy adaptations of mediaeval epics or romances. + +Hiawatha, often termed "the Indian Edda," is written in the metre of +the old Finnish Kalevala, and contains the essence of many Indian +legends, together with charming descriptions of the woods, the waters, +and their furry, feathered, and finny denizens. Every one has followed +entranced the career of Hiawatha, from birth to childhood and boyhood, +watched with awe his painful initiation to manhood and with tender +sympathy his idyllic wooing of Minnehaha and their characteristic +wedding festivities. Innumerable youthful hearts have swelled at his +anguish during the Famine, and countless tears have silently dropped +at the death of the sweet little Indian squaw. After connecting this +Indian legend with the coming of the White Man from the East, the +poet, knowing the Red man had to withdraw before the new-comer +skilfully made use of a sun-myth, and allowed us to witness Hiawatha's +departure, full of allegorical significance: + + Thus departed Hiawatha, + Hiawatha the Beloved, + In the glory of the sunset, + In the purple mists of evening, + To the regions of the home-wind, + Of the Northwest-wind Keewaydin, + To the Islands of the Blessed, + To the kingdom of Ponemah, + To the land of the Hereafter! + +The Courtship of Miles Standish brings us to the time of the Pilgrim's +settlement in the New World and has inspired many painters. + +The next poem, which some authorities consider Longfellow's +masterpiece, is connected with another historical event, of a later +date, the conquest of Acadia by the English. It is a matter of history +that in 1755 the peaceful French farmers of Acadia, without adequate +notice or proper regard for family ties, were hurried aboard waiting +British vessels and arbitrarily deported to various ports, where they +were turned adrift to join the scattered members of their families and +earn their living as best they could. The outline of the story of +Evangeline, and of her long, faithful search for her lover Gabriel, is +too well known to need mention. There are besides few who cannot +vividly recall the reunion of the long-parted lovers just as Gabriel's +life is about to end. All through this hopeless search we are +vouchsafed enchanting descriptions of places and people, and +fascinating glimpses of scenery in various sections of our country, +visiting in imagination the bayous of the South and the primeval +forests, drifting along the great rivers, and revelling in the +beauties of nature so exquisitely delineated for our pleasure. But, as +is fitting in regard to the theme, an atmosphere of gentle melancholy +hovers over the whole poem and holds the listener in thrall long as +its musical verses fall upon the ear. + + Still stands the forest primeval; but under the shade of its branches + Dwells another race, with other customs and language. + Only along the shore of the mournful and misty Atlantic + Linger a few Acadian peasants, whose fathers from exile + Wandered back to their native land to die in its bosom. + + In the fisherman's cot the wheel and the loom are still busy; + Maidens still wear their Norman caps and their kirtles of homespun, + And by the evening fire repeat Evangeline's story, + While from its rocky caverns the deep-voiced, neighboring ocean + Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest. + + + + +INDEX OF NAMES + + + A + + Abbasides, 398 + Abdiel, 298, 299 + Abduction of Persephone, 64 + Abel, 142, 311 + Abeniaf, 116, 118 + Abenteuerbuch, 326 + Abraham, 311 + Abstinence, 263 + Abul Kasin Mansur, 398 + Abu Zaid, 398 + Acadia, 468 + Achan, 170 + Achates, 64-66 + Acheron, 141 + Achilleis, 63, 69 + Achilles, 17, 19, 21, 22, 25, 27, 28, 30-40, 42, 46, 53, 61, 88, 143, 269 + Acrasia, 264, 265, 267-269 + Active Virtues, 354 + Açvaghosha, 415 + Adam, 142, 179, 186, 293-298, 302-313, 317, 322 + Adamastor, 134, 135 + Adonais, 221 + Adone, 139 + Adonis, 139 + Adrian V., Pope, 170 + Adventurous Band, 202, 204 + Adversary, 292, 395 + Aegistheus, 43 + Aeneas, 23, 25-27, 37, 64-74, 76-80, 142, 146 + Aeneid, 63, 64-80, 83, 108 + Aeolus, 50, 51, 64 + Aeschere, 226 + Aesculapius, 258 + Aethiopia, 17 + Aetna, Mt., 70 + Afrasiab, 404, 408, 412 + Africa, 64, 65, 116, 120, 126, 194 + African, 71 + Agamemnon, 18, 21, 26, 29-33, 36, 42, 53, 178 + Age of Gold, 400, 417, 429 + Agias of Troezene, 18 + Agnani, 170 + Agnello, 154 + Ahab, 316 + Ahasuerus, 394, 396 + Aino, 377, 378 + Aix, 87, 99 + Aix la Chapelle, 99 + Ajax, 18, 24, 28, 29, 31, 33-35, 53, 61 + Akitoshi, 458 + Aladine, 199, 200-202, 206, 213 + Alamanni, 139 + Alaric, 84 + Al Asmai, 398 + Alastor, 221 + Alba, 283 + Alba Longa, 64 + Alban, 80 + Albany, Duke of, 193 + Albion's England, 220 + Alborz, Mt., 402 + Al-Bukhari, 394 + Alcazar, 120 + Alcinous, 46, 47, 55 + Alcocer, 115 + Alda, 89 + Alethes, 201 + Alexander, 19, 63, 107, 148, 218, 219, 233, 324, 361, 398 + Alexanderlied, 324 + Alexandra, 19 + Alexandreid, 83 + Alexandras, 392 + Alexandria, 20 + Alfonso, 111-113, 115, 116, 119-124 + Alfonso V., 133 + Alfred, King, 222 + Aliscans, 81 + Allah, 200 + Allahabad, 436 + Allan a Dale, 247-249, 251, 254 + Allemaine, 100 + Almesbury, 242 + Alonzo, 132 + Alphonso the Brave, 132 + Alphonsos, 131 + Alpine fog, 169 + Alps, 233 + Alsatian Chronicle, 327 + Al-Tirmidhi, 394 + Alvar Fanez, 109, 113, 118, 119, 123 + Amadis de Gaule, 107, 127, 221 + Amalung, 339 + Amata, 79, 80 + Amazons, 18, 199, 269, 281, 408 + Ambrosius, Aurelianus, 230 + America, 464 + American Epics, 464-467 + American-Indian Epic, 464 + Americans, 464 + Amfortas, 349, 351, 353-355 + Aminta, 197 + Amis et Amiles, 82, 83 + Amoret, 273-278 + Amram's Wooing, 467 + Amrita, 420 + Ananias, 154 + Anarchiad, 467 + Anastasius, Pope, 147 + Anchises, 23, 68, 69, 72, 74 + Ancient Mariner, 221 + André, Major, 465 + Andreas, 218 + Andrew, 316 + Andromache, 27, 28, 38 + Andvari, 365 + Aneurin, 216 + Angel of Absolution, 165 + Angel of Pity, 411 + Angelica, 190-194, 196 + Angels, 177, 187 + Anglo-Norman, 229, 346 + Anglo-Saxon, 222 + Anlaf, 217 + Anna, 70, 71 + Anna, St., 188 + Annales, 63 + Annunciation, 166 + Antaeus, 156 + Antenora, 157 + Antinous, 44, 57, 59, 60 + Antioch, 83, 198, 207 + Apocalypse, 396 + Apollo, 18, 21, 25, 28, 28, 33, 34, 38, 39, 60, 177 + Apollonius Rhodius, 20 + Apollonius of Tyre, 218 + Apostle of India, 136 + Aquinas, St. Thomas of, 179, 180 + Aquitania, 324 + Arab, 397 + Arab Days, 397 + Arabia, 397, 401 + Arabian and Persian Epics, 397-414 + Arabian Conquest, 399 + Arabian Nights, 327, 398 + Arabians, 394 + Arabian Tales, 394 + Arabic, 393, 397, 398 + Arab Iliad, 398 + Arab Literature, 394 + Arachne, 167 + Aragon, 109, 125, 126 + Arany, 393 + Archangels, 177, 178, 187 + Archimago, 256, 259-261, 264, 267 + Arctinus of Miletus, 17, 18 + Arden, 190, 191 + Ardennes, 324 + Argalio, 190 + Argantes, 201, 204-206, 208 + Argenti, 145 + Argentina, 108 + Argonautica, 20, 63, 139 + Ariolant, 193 + Ariosto, 85, 138, 189, 192, 197, 220 + Aristotle, 218 + Arjasp, 413 + Arjuna, 435, 437, 439-444, 446 + Ark, 166 + Armida, 203, 204, 206, 207, 210-213 + Arminius, 323 + Armorica, 216 + Arno, 168 + Arnold, Edwin, 452 + Arnold, Matthew, 221, 230, 408 + Arrebo, 360 + Artegall, Sir, 269, 270, 275, 276, 279, 280-284 + Arthur, 82, 107, 137, 216, 218-220, 229-235, 239, 241, 242, 261, 281-283, + 285, 286, 326, 349, 351-353 + Arthur a Bland, 247 + Arthuriana, 230 + Arthurian Cycle, 216, 229-243, 346 + Arthurian Legend, 219, 221, 222, 240 + Arthurian Romances, 127 + Asbjörnsen, 362 + Ascanius, 66 + Asia, 21, 75, 319 + Asiatic, 394 + Aso, Mt., 456 + Assyria, 319 + Assyrian, 465 + Astolat, 236 + Astolfo, 190, 194, 195, 196 + Asvatmedha, 417 + Aswathaman, 441, 442 + Athens, 321 + Atli, 370, 371 + Attila, 323, 324, 328 + Atridae, 18 + Aucassin, 82,101-106 + Aucassin et Nicolette, 82, 101-106 + Aude, 99, 324 + Augustan Age, 63 + Augustine, St., 188 + Augustus, 74 + Aulis, 21 + Auracana, 108 + Aurora, 36, 44, 200 + Austria, 392 + Austriada, 108 + Austrian, 392 + Austro-Gothic, 328 + Austro-Hungarian Empire, 392, 393 + Automedon, 35 + Avalon, Isle of, 242 + Avarchide, 189 + Avarice, 257 + Ave Maria, 178 + Awe, 282 + Ayodhya, 416 + Azevedo, 108 + + + B + + Babylonia, 319 + Bacchus, 129, 130, 135 + Bactrachomyomachia, 20 + Badajoz, 131 + Bagdad, 399 + Balaam, 397 + Baldwin, 372 + Balin and Balan, 240 + Balkan Peninsula, 392, 393 + Ballads of Robin Hood, 220 + Balmung, 329, 362, 363 + Baptist, John The, 213, 316 + Bards, 214 + Barlaam, 361 + Barlaamssaga ok Josaphats, 361 + Barlow, 466, 467 + Barons' Wars, The, 220 + Battle of Frogs and Mice, 20 + Battle of the Kegs, 465 + Battle of Maldon, 217 + Batyushkoff, 372 + Bavaria, 100, 192, 325 + Bavieca, 120, 126 + Beatrice, 133, 140, 147, 164, 168, 173-189 + Bedevere, 229, 241, 242 + Beelzebub, 289, 291, 298 + Belacqua, 163 + Belgard, 288 + Beige, 282, 283 + Belgium, 214, 282 + Belgrade, 196 + Belial, 290, 317 + Belisarius, 138, 179 + Bellicent, 82 + Bellona, 26 + Bellum Punicum, 63 + Belphebe, 277, 278 + Benedict, St., 184, 188 + Benoit de St. Maur, 19, 219, 230 + Beowulf, 217, 222-229 + Béranger, Raymond, 179, 206 + Bern (Verona), 323 + Bernard, St., 188 + Bernardo del Carpio, 107 + Berni, 85, 138 + Bertha, 324 + Bertrand de Born, 155 + Besançon, 92 + Bethlehem, 315 + Beves of Hamdoun, 317 + Bhagavad-gita, 440 + Bharata, 418, 423, 431, 432 + Bhartruhari, 415 + Bhima, 434, 436, 442 + Bhishma, 433, 434, 438, 441, 443 + Biaucaire, Count of, 102, 104-106 + Bible, 217, 360, 415 + Biglow Papers, 467 + Bildad, 396 + Bira, 101 + Bird of God, 402 + Blanchefleur, Lady, 354 + Blatant Beast, 278, 283-288 + Blaye, 99 + Blue Sea, 378 + Boccaccio, 138 + Bodleian Library, 84 + Bogovitch, 393 + Bohemians, 392 + Boiardo, 85, 138, 189, 192, 197 + Boniface, Pope, 152, 170 + Book of the Dun Cow, 215 + Book of Heroes, 326 + Book of Leinster, 215 + Book of Taliessin, 216 + Bordeaux, 99 + Born, Bertrand de, 155 + Bornier, 85 + Bors, 229, 355 + Bors, Sir, 352 + Bosphorus, 186 + Boston Library, 355 + Bower of Bliss, 264, 268 + Brabant, 351 + Bradamant, 192, 196 + Bradstreet, Anne, 465 + Braggadocchio, 280 + Bragi, 361 + Brahma, 416-419, 447 + Brahfans, 436, 437, 450 + Bramimonde, 101 + Branstock, 362, 369 + Brengwain, 239 + Breton, 100 + Breton Cycle, 82 + Briareus, 167 + Bridal of Triermain, The, 221 + Bride's Choice, 436, 447, 448, 450 + Britain, 84, 216, 218, 219, 231, 232 + British, 214, 267, 469 + British Isles, 214 + British Museum, 222 + Britomart, 269, 270, 273-276, 279, 281 + Brittany, 193, 216, 241 + Broceliande, 241 + Brons, 347, 348 + Brown the Bear, 357-359 + Brunetto, Sir, 149 + Brunhild, 330-334, 337, 339 + Brut, 218, 220 + Brutus, 84, 139 + Bryant, 467 + Bryhtnoth's Death, 217 + Brynhild, 367-371 + Buccaneers, 467 + Buddha, 415, 457, 458 + Bulgarians, 196, 197, 393 + Buonaventura, St., 180 + Buovo d'Antona, 137 + Burgos, 112, 114, 119 + Burgundian, 127, 323, 328, 329, 334, 338-344 + Burgundian-Hunnish Cycle, 324 + Burgundy, 331-333, 339, 340, 367 + Busirane, 273, 274 + Butler, 466 + Bylinas, 372 + Byron, 221 + Byrsa, 65 + + + C + + Cabra, 110 + Cacciaguida, 182. + Cacus, 154 + Caecilius, 171 + Caedmon, 217 + Caesar, 65, 318, 320 + Caiaphas, 154 + Cain, 223, 311 + Caina, 157 + Calahorra, 109 + Calespine, Sir, 285, 287 + Calicut, 135 + Calidore, Sir, 283-285, 287, 288 + Caliphs, 398 + Callisthenes, 19 + Calypso, 40, 44, 45 + Camelot, 235, 241, 352 + Camilla, 76, 79, 142 + Camoëns, Luis de, 127, 128, 136 + Campeador, 110, 126 + Can Grande, 182 + Canterbury, 232 + Canterbury Tales, 138, 220 + Capaneus, 149 + Cape of Good Hope, 134 + Cape of Tempests, 134 + Capitol, 320 + Care, 266 + Carlemaine, 85, 100 + Carleon, 234, 241 + Carthage, 65, 71, 106 + Carthaginians, 70-72 + Cary, 140 + Casella, 161 + Cassandra, 67, 68 + Cassius, 159 + Castile, 108, 110, 112, 116, 131 + Castilian, 115 + Castle of the Maidens, 354 + Catalogue of Beotian Heroines, 20 + Cathay, 190, 191 + Cato, 160, 161 + Cattle of Cooly, 215 + Celestine V., Pope, 141 + Celt, 214 + Celtic, 214, 215, 217 + Centenera, 108 + Central Europe, 392 + Cerberus, 143, 284 + Cervantes, 107 + Ceuta, 133 + Ceylon, 415, 424, 426-428 + Champion of Purity, 354 + Chancery, 265 + Chanson de geste, 81, 82 + Chanson de Roland, 81-101 + Chaos, 290-293, 302 + Chapelain, 84 + Charity, 165, 174, 183, 262 + Charlemagne, 81, 82, 85-90, 92, 94-100, 127, 137, 183, 189, 190, 192, + 193, 195, 196, 218, 323-325, 360, 361 + Charles the Great (see Charlemagne), 326 + Charles Martel, 179 + Charon, 73, 141 + Charybdis, 53, 54, 70 + Chastity, 269 + Chateaubriand, 84 + Chaucer, 220 + Chernubles, 91 + Cherubim, 177, 184, 187 + Chimera, 284 + China, 456 + Chinese, 415, 456 + Chiron, 147 + Chivalry, 261 + Chosen People, 311, 321 + Chrestien de Troyes, 82, 219 + Christ, 81, 142, 145, 147, 154, 169, 178, 179, 181, 183, 184, 186, + 188, 213, 293, 301, 312-315, 318-322, 327, 347, 393, 465 + Christabel, 221 + Christiad, 393 + Christian Church, 174 + Christian Epic, 64 + Christian Era, 179 + Christianity, 64, 81, 214, 360 + Christians, 107, 178, 183, 191, 195, 198-200, 203, 205-208, 210-212, + 217 + Chrysa, 21 + Church, 176 + Ciacco, 144 + Cid, the, 107, 108-146, 221 + Cimmerian Shore, 52 + Circassia, 192 + Circassian, 205 + Circe, 18, 51-54, 74 + Citra-Kuta, 423 + Civil Wars, 220 + Claudianus, 64 + Cleopatra, 143 + Cloelia, 76 + Clorinda, 199-202, 204-206, 208, 209 + Clovis, 84 + Clytemnestra, 43 + Cocles, 76 + Coimbra, 110, 127 + Colada, 115, 122 + Coleridge, 221 + Colin Clout, 287 + College of New Jersey, 464 + Cologne, 92 + Columbia, 464 + Columbiad, 466 + Columbus, 210 + Combat des Trente, 84 + Combel, 275 + Comforter, 312 + Concord Hymn, 467 + Conington, 65 + Conquest of Canaan, 466 + Conrad von Kürenberg, 328 + Constance, 230, 231 + Constantine, 183, 230 + Contemplation, 262 + Cooper, 467 + Cordova, 86 + Coridon, 287, 288 + Corineus, 219 + Corneille, 107 + Cornwall, 216, 237, 239 + Corpes Woods, 124 + Cortes, 123, 124 + Courage, 259 + Court Epics, 415 + Courtesy, 283 + Courtship of Miles Standish, 467, 468 + Cow Chase, 465 + Cowley, Abraham, 220 + Crassus, 170 + Crawford, 374 + Creacion del Munde, 108 + Creation of the Maize, 464 + Crete, 69, 73, 149 + Crist, 217 + Croatian, 393 + Cronica rimada, 107 + Cross, 212 + Crucifixions, 347 + Crusade, 198, 199, 208 + Crusade epics, 83 + Crusaders, 198, 201-204, 206, 208, 209, 212, 213 + Cuchulaind, 215 + Cumae, 73, 146 + Cumaean Sibyl, 70 + Cunizza, 180 + Cupid, 66, 286 + Curse of Kehama, 221 + Cycle of Brittany, 82 + Cycle of France, 81 + Cyclops, 36, 48-50, 70 + Cyllenius, 61 + Cymbeline, 219 + Cymochles, 265 + Cynewulf, 217 + Cypria, 17 + Cyprian Iliad, 63 + Czechs, 392 + Czuczor, 392 + + + D + + Daedalus, 73, 179 + Dagobert, 85 + Dalian Frogaell, 215 + Damascus, 203, 206 + Damayanti, 447-451 + Damian, 184 + Dana, 467 + Dandaka, 421 + Danes, 227, 343 + Danger, 84 + Daniel, 171, 217, 318 + Daniel, Samuel, 220 + Danish, 217, 360 + Dankwart, 342, 343 + Dante, 137-189 + Danube, 338, 339 + Dasaratha, 417 + Dauphin, 19 + David, 166, 183, 220, 312, 318, 320 + Davideis, 220 + Day of Doom, 465 + Dead Sea, 207 + Death, 34, 291, 307, 308, 312, 314, 381, 382 + Decameron, 138 + Deceit, 265, 266 + Deerslayer, 467 + Deev, 400 + Defense of Guinevere, 221 + Delhi, 432, 438 + Delos, 69 + Deluge, 311, 439, 447 + Demodocus, 46 + Denmark, 222-225, 329, 371 + Destiny, 195 + Detraction, 283 + Dharma, 446 + Dhritarashtra, 433 + Diana, 172 + Diaz, 134 + Dido, 65-67, 70-72, 74, 143, 170 + Dietrich von Bern, 323, 328, 338, 340-343, 345, 346, 361 + Diomedes, 25, 26, 29-33, 155 + Dionysius, 148 + Dis, 72, 145, 146, 159 + Discord, 31, 75, 76, 193, 194 + Disdain, 286 + Divina Commedia, 137, 139-189 + Divine Comedy, 139-189, 467 + Divine Essence, 177 + Divine Majesty, 188 + Divine Song, 440 + Doctors of the Church, 174 + Doctor Patience, 262 + Dog of Montargis, 83 + Dolon, 31 + Dominations, 177, 183, 187 + Dominic, St., 180 + Don Garcia, 109, 110 + Don Gomez, 108 + Don John, 133 + Don Juan, 221 + Don Pedro, 132 + Don Quixote, 107 + Don Ramon, 115 + Don Sancho, 110, 111 + Doomsday, 341 + Dragontine, 191 + Draupadi, 436-439, 442, 443, 445, 446 + Drayton, 220 + Drepanum, 70, 72, 74 + Drona, 434, 435, 441, 442 + Druidic cult, 214 + Drunkenness, 444 + Dryden, 220 + Dublin, 255 + Dudon, 202 + Duessa, 257-259, 261, 264, 282 + Du Guesclin, 84 + Dumby, 124 + Dunstan, St., 250 + Durendal, 90, 91, 96, 97 + Durindana, 90, 91 + Dushyanta, 431, 432 + Dutch, 356 + Dwight, Timothy, 466 + + + E + + Eagle, 183 + Early Christian Epics, 395 + Earthly Paradise, The, 221 + Easter Day, 145 + Ebro, 98 + Ebuda, 193 + Ecclesiastes, 396 + Ector, Sir, 232, 234, 242 + Edda, 215, 361, 362 + Eden, 165, 186, 210, 294, 303, 314 + Edward, 199 + Egas Moniz, 131 + Egilssaga, 361 + Eginhart, 85 + Egypt, 18, 43, 44, 161, 201, 204, 207, 289, 290, 317, 398 + Egyptian, 19, 211, 212 + Ekkehard, 324 + Ekkewart, 333, 338, 340 + Elaine, 229, 236, 352 + Elder Edda, 361 + Eleanor, Queen, 250, 251 + Eleanora, 132 + Elene, 218 + Eleonora, 197 + Elijah, 316, 317, 318 + Eliphaz, 396 + Elizabeth, 255, 281 + Eljubarota, 133 + Ellen, 247, 248 + Elsa of Brabant, 351, 352 + Elysian Fields, 44, 72, 741 + Emerson, 467 + Emmanuel, 133 + Emmet, Prior of, 249 + Empire, 176, 183 + Empyrean, 176, 187 + Enchanted Castle, 355 + Endymion, 221 + Enfances de Godefroi, 83 + England, 192, 214, 217-220, 222, 230-232, 348, 465 + English, 217, 243 + Enid, 229 + Ennius, 63 + Enoch Arden, 222 + Envy, 283 + Eoiae, 20 + Ephialtes, 156 + Epic of Commerce, 128 + Epic of the Gypsies, 393 + Epic of Hades, 221 + Epic of Kings, 398 + Epics of the Netherlands, 356-359 + Epic of Patriotism, 128 + Epic Poetry, 17 + Epic of the Volsungs, 362-371 + Epigoni, 19 + Epirus, 69 + Epopée galante, 221 + Erato, 75 + Erec et Enide, 82 + Ermanrich the Goth, 323 + Erminia, 202, 205, 212 + Ernst, Herzog, 325 + Error, 256 + Erse Poetry, 215 + Erzilla, 108 + Esau, 179 + Eschenbach, Wolfram von, 219, 230, 326, 328, 352 + Esther, 394, 396 + Eternal City, 320 + Eternal Rose, 187 + Etruria, 76, 79 + Etruscan, 76, 78 + Ettarre, 229 + Etzel, 328, 337-344, 346 + Eugammon of Cyrene, 18 + Eunoe, 174 + Euphemia, Queen, 360 + Euphemiaviser, 360 + Europe, 127, 133, 137, 194, 198, 230, 372 + European, 137, 216, 356 + Europeans, 464 + Euryalus, 77 + Eurycleia, 42, 58 + Eustace, 204 + Evander, 76 + Evangeline, 467, 469 + Evangelists, 174 + Eve, 188, 294-297, 302-310 + Evelake, 348 + Evil Pits, 151 + Exact Epitome of the three first Monarchies, etc., 465 + Excalibure, 283, 241, 242 + Exodus, 217, 323, 395 + Eyrbyggjasaga, 361 + + + F + + Faerie Queene, 220, 255-288 + Fafnir, 365, 366, 371 + Fairy Queen, 261, 269 + Faith, 165, 174, 183, 185, 262 + Faithlessness, 257 + Fame, 465 + Famine, 468 + Famine Tower, 157 + Far East, 356 + Farinata, 146 + Faroese, 360 + Fata Morgana, 194 + Fate, 75, 77, 78 + Fates, 170, 195 + Faust, 327 + Faustus, Dr., 327 + Felez Munos, 122 + Fénelon, 19, 84 + Fennian, 215 + Feridoun, 401, 402 + Fernando, 132 + Fernan Gonzales, 107 + Ferrando, King, 108, 110 + Ferrara, 192, 197, 211 + Ferrau, 190, 191, 192 + Fiance (bishop), 215 + Fidessa, 257, 258 + Fingal, 215 + Finland, 372 + Finn, 215 + Finnish, 468 + Finnish Epics, 372 + Finns, 372, 373 + Finnsburgh, 217, 225 + Firdusi, 398, 399 + First Crusade, 197 + Fixed Stars, 176, 184 + Flamença, 81 + Flanders, 356 + Florence, 140, 144, 146, 154, 163, 168, 182, 197 + Florentine, 144 + Flores and Blancheflour, 219 + Florimell, Lady, 271, 272, 275, 276, 278, 280 + Flourdelis, 283 + Folco, 180 + Folengo, 138 + Force, 266 + Forese, 171, 172, 177 + Forest Book, 439 + Fortiguerra, 139, 197 + Fortitude, 160 + Fortunate Isles, 210 + Fortune, 144 + Fountain of Youth, 83 + Fountains Abbey, 250 + Four sons of Aymon, 219 + France, 84, 86, 88, 89, 92, 97, 99, 107, 127, 140, 191, 193, 214, + 219, 283, 347 + Francesca da Rimini, 143 + Franciade, 84 + Francis of Assisi, St., 180, 188 + Franciscans, 180 + Francus, 84 + Frankish, 328 + Franks, 84, 88, 89, 90, 100 + Fraud, 266 + Frederick II., 137, 148 + Frederick of Telramund, 351 + French, 85, 87, 89, 90, 170, 392, 393 + French Classic, 18 + French Epics, 81-106 + Frenchmen, 94, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100 + Friendship, 275 + Frisian, 323 + Frithjof Saga, 360 + Froschmeuseler, Der, 327 + Frost God, 385 + Furies, 75 + Furor, 265 + + + G + + Gabriel, St., 100, 101, 114, 181, 188, 198, 295, 296, 303, 314, 317, + 322, 469 + Gaelic Literature, 215 + Galahad, 229, 236, 352, 353, 354, 355 + Galland, 394 + Gallicia, 110, 112 + Gamelyn, Tale of, 220 + Gan (Ganelon), 100 + Ganelon, 81, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 92, 98, 99, 100, 324 + Ganga, 432 + Ganges, 133, 416, 419, 422, 432, 434, 435, 439, 443, 444, 446, 447 + Ganymede, 165 + Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo, 108 + Garden of Eden, 174 + Gareth and Lynette, 229, 240 + Garin le Lorrain, 81 + Gascony, 89 + Gaucher, 230 + Gawain, 229 + Geats, 227, 229 + Gemini, 184 + Genesis, 217 + Geoffrey of Monmouth, 216, 218, 219, 230 + George of Merry England, St., 262 + Georgos, 255, 260, 262, 264 + Geraint and Enid, 229, 240 + Gérard de Roussillon, 83 + Gerbert, 230 + Gereones, 282, 283 + German, 392 + German Epics, 323 + German Literature, 327 + Germany, 84, 214, 323, 325 + Gernando, 204 + Gernot, 344 + Gerusalemme, 138 + Gerusalemme, Conquistata, 138 + Gerusalemme Distrutta, 139 + Gerusalemme Liberata, 197 + Geryon, 150, 151 + Gherardeschi, Count Ugolino de, 157-158 + Ghibelline, 146, 179 + Giants, Battle of the, 64 + Gibraltar, Strait of, 128, 186, 194, 210 + Gideon, 318 + Gildas, 218, 219, 230 + Gil Diaz, 126 + Gildippe, 199, 213 + Ginevra, 193 + Giovanna, 165 + Girone il Cortese, 139 + Giseler, 340 + Glastonbury, 242, 348 + Glauce, 269 + Gleemen, 214, 360 + Glittering Heath, 366 + Gloriana, 255, 256, 262, 267, 269, 279, 283, 288 + Gluttony, 257 + Goa, 128 + Goddess of Discord, 20 + Goddess of Fame, 71 + God of Death, 453 + God of the Forest, 382 + God of Sleep, 33 + God of Time, 431 + Godfrey of Bouillon, 138, 183, 198, 199, 201-204, 206, 207-213 + Goethe, 84, 85, 327, 356 + Golden Age, 107, 108, 415 + Golden Fleece, 151, 268, 373 + Golden Legend, 326, 467, 468 + Golden Tree, 355 + Gomorrah, 173 + Good and Evil, 373 + Gorgon, 146 + Gorlois, 229, 231, 232 + Goth, 323, 362, 371 + Gothland, 363 + Goths, 138, 362, 363, 364 + Gottfried von Strassburg, 230 + Gouvernail, 237 + Graces, 287 + Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill Battle, 467 + Grane, 364 + Grantorto, 283 + Great War, 440, 442, 444 + Grecian, 463 + Greece, 20, 24, 29, 36, 290, 393 + Greek Epics, 17-62 + Greek Literature, 17, 63 + Greeks, 21, 25, 28-37, 39, 40, 42, 43, 47, 48, 51, 54, 66, 67, 68, + 70, 73, 196, 214, 373 + Grendel, 223-227, 229 + Grettissaga, 361 + Greyfell, 364 + Griffeth, 416, 435 + Grimbart, the Badger, 356-359 + Guardians of the Holy Grail, 355 + Gudrun, 325, 326, 367-371 + Guelf Party, 140 + Guelfs, 146, 150, 179 + Guillaumey Charlotte, 216 + Guido, 146 + Guild, 367 + Guillaurae d'Orange, 81 + Guimaraens, 131 + Guinevere, 229, 233-236, 242, 352 + Guinicelli, 137 + Gundulitch, 393 + Gunnar, 367-371 + Gunnlaugssaga, 361 + Gunther, 323, 324, 328-337, 345 + Guy of Warwick, 217 + Guyle, 282 + Guyon, Sir, 263-270, 280 + Gyöngyösi, 392 + + + H + + Hades, 53, 61, 72, 73, 141, 144, 145, 147, 149, 160, 161, 256, 258, + 308, 380, 382, 383 + Hadubrand, 323 + Hagan, 325 + Hagar, 318 + Hagen, 324, 329-345 + Hale, 467 + Hall, 223 + Halleck, 467 + Haman, 169 + Hanuman, 426, 427 + Hardré, 82 + Harivamça, 446 + Harjala, 384 + Harpies, 69, 75, 148 + Harte, Bret, 467 + Hartford, 467 + Hartmann von der Aue, 219, 230, 326 + Harvard, 464 + Hasâr Afsâna, 398 + Hastin, 432 + Hastinapur, 432, 434 + Hastings, 85 + Hauteclaire, 91 + Havelock the Dane, 217 + Hawthorne, 467 + Heavenly Wisdom, 174 + Hebrew, 361 + Hebrew Epics, 395 + Hector, 17, 23, 24, 26-30, 32-35, 37-40, 67, 69, 74, 142 + Heimskringla, 360, 361 + Heinrich, Der Arme, 326 + Heinrich von Ofterdingen, 328 + Heldenbuch, 326 + Helen, 17, 20, 21, 24, 25, 27, 29, 43, 44, 56, 78, 143, 457 + Helena, 218 + Helenus, 69, 70 + Heliant, 323 + Heliodorus, 170 + Hell, 315 + Helm of Dread, 365 + Hemans, Mrs., 131-132 + Hengist, 231 + Henning the Cock, 357 + Henriade, La, 84 + Henriqueiada, 127 + Henry, 127 + Henry II. of England, 155, 243, 244, 251 + Henry IV., of France, 383 + Heorot, 223, 225, 227 + Heracles, 19 + Hercules, 18, 76, 147, 155, 404 + Hereford, Bishop of, 249, 251 + Heresy, 256 + Hermann und Dorothea, 327 + Hesiod, 19 + Hesperia, 68, 69 + Hexaemeron, 360 + Hezekiah, 183 + Hiawatha, 372, 464, 467, 468 + Hieronymo, _see_ Jerome, 119 + Higelac, 224 + Highlands, 215 + Hildebrand, 323, 340, 345, 346 + Hildebrandslied, 323 + Hildegund, 324 + Himalayas, 419, 434, 439, 447 + Himavat, 445 + Hindu, 415, 416, 419, 431, 435, 440, 444, 452 + Hintze the Cat, 357 + Hisi, 381, 390 + Historia Britonum, 218 + History of Britain, 218 + Hoenir, 364 + Högni, 369, 370 + Holiness, 256 + Holmes, 467 + Holy City, 201 + Holy Grail, 127, 216, 229, 230, 234, 236 + Holy Grail, Story of, 346-355 + Holy Mountain, 348 + Holy Sepulchre, 199, 213, 348 + Homer, 17, 18, 20, 21, 40, 142, 372, 399 + Homer of the East, 399 + Homeric, 299 + Homeric Battle, 26 + Homeward Voyage, 18 + Hope, 84, 165, 174, 183, 185, 262 + Hopkinson, Francis, 465 + Horace, 142 + Horn, King, 217 + Horsa, 231 + Hostius, 63 + House of Usher, 467 + Hrothgar, 222-227 + Hudibras, 466 + Hug-Dietrich, 325 + Hugues Capet, 83, 170 + Hunnish, 328 + Hun, 323, 328, 341-345, 370, 371 + Hungarian, 392, 393 + Hungary, 179, 323, 337, 338, 342, 343, 370 + Hunt, Leigh, 221 + Huntington, Earl of, 254, 255 + Huon de Bordeaux, 83, 219, 327 + Hvin Haustlöng, 361 + Hyperion, 221 + Hypocrisy, 256 + + + I + + Icarus, 151 + Iceland, 360 + Icelandic, 360 + Ida, Mt., 29, 149 + Idleness, 257 + Idle Sea, 265 + Idylls of the King, 222 + Igerne, 229, 231, 232 + Igor, 372 + Ilia, 64 + Iliad, 17, 19, 20-40, 63, 83, 139, 155, 221, 325, 398, 465, 467 + Ilion, 40 + Ilion Persis, 18 + Ilmarinen, 374, 379, 380-386, 389 + Ilmater, 374 + Ilya Muromets, 373 + Impha, 101 + India, 127-129, 133, 135, 398, 415, 419, 429, 431, 434, 439 + Indian, 130, 136, 427, 430, 467 + Indian Edda, 468 + Indian Epics, 415-455 + Indian Literature, 415 + Indian Myths, 467 + Indian Peninsula, 426 + Indians, 464 + Indra, 439, 444, 445, 446. + Indraprastha, 438 + Indus, 133 + Inez de Castro, the Fair, 131-132 + Infantes of Carrion, 120-125 + Infantes de Lara, 107, 108 + Infernal Regions, 159 + Inferno, Dante's, 139-160, 164, 184 + Inouye, 456 + Inquisition, 282 + I Promessi Sposi, 139 + Iran, 401 + Ireland, 214, 218, 237, 238, 279, 283 + Irena, 279, 283 + Iris, 23, 24, 39, 40 + Irish, 214, 215 + Irish Channel, 239 + Irus, 57, 72 + Irving, Washington, 467 + Isabella, 221 + Isegrim the Wolf, 356-359 + Isenland, 330, 332 + Iseult, Queen, and Princess, 237-240 + Iseult of Brittany, 240 + Iseult of Cornwall, 240 + Iseult of the White Hands, 240 + Isfendiyar, 412, 413 + Isidro, St., 116 + Isis, 281 + Islamic, 397 + Isle of Avalon, 242 + Isle of Joy, 136 + Isle of Refuge, 385 + Ismarus, 47 + Ismeno, 199 + Isolde, 326 + Israel, 161, 312, 320 + Israelites, 316, 318 + Istria, 63 + Isumbras, Sir, 220 + Italia Liberate, 138 + Italian, 80, 137-139, 189, 206, 392, 393 + Italian Epics, 137-213 + Italy, 64, 70, 71, 74, 78, 137, 138, 197, 323, 328 + Ithaca, 40, 41, 45, 50, 62, 155 + Ithacan, 55, 62 + Ithuriel, 295 + Iulus, 66, 68, 71, 75, 76, 78 + Ivain le Chevalier au Lion, 82 + Iwein, 326 + + + J + + Jackson, Helen Hunt, 467 + Jacob, 179 + James, St., 185 + Janak, 420 + Janes Vilez, 393 + Janus, 76 + Japan, 456 + Japanese Poetry, 456 + Jason, 20, 151 + Javanese, 129 + Jemshid, 400, 401 + Jephthah, 178, 318 + Jerome, Bishop, 116, 119, 126 + Jerusalem, 139, 198, 201-203, 205-207, 210-213, 319, 322, 325 + Jerusalem Delivered, 197, 198, 372 + Jesus, 214, 316, 317, 318, 320, 321 + Jewish Heroine, 394 + Jews, 114, 119, 178, 347 + Joan of Arc, 221 + Joan Delaemi, 893 + Joannes Boetgezant, 356 + Job, 314, 316, 318, 395, 396 + John, the Baptist, 171, 188, 213, 316, 356 + John, King, 254 + John Little, 244 + John the Messenger of Repentance, 356 + John, St., 174, 185, 186, 195, 234 + John II., 133 + Jongleurs, 107 + Jordan, 213, 315, 316 + Josaphat, 361 + Joseph, 156, 318, 348, 353 + Joseph of Arimathea, 347, 355 + Joshua, 180, 183 + Jove, 156, 184 + Joyeuse, 98 + Joyless, 258 + Joyous Garde, 236, 241 + Judas, 157, 159, 347 + Judea, 319 + Judecca, 159 + Judges, 312 + Judgment, 183 + Judgment of God, 359 + Judith, 188, 323 + Juglares, 107 + Juliana, 217 + Juliet, 403 + Julius Caesar, 63, 318 + Jumna, 435, 438 + Juno, 20, 22, 26, 30, 33, 35, 64, 68, 70, 71, 72, 75, 76, 78, 80 + Jupiter, 17, 20, 22, 25, 26, 29-34, 36, 40, 44, 45, 62, 64, 65, 71, + 77, 78, 80, 129, 149, 176, 183 + Jupiter Ammon, 19 + Justice, 160, 279, 433 + Justice, Champion of, 269 + Justinian, 178, 179 + Juturna, 80 + Juvencus, 64 + + + K + + Kaaba, 397 + Kabul, 403, 414 + Kaikeyi, 420 + Kaikobad, 404, 405 + Kaikous, 405, 407 + Kai-Khosrau, 412 + Kalevala, 372, 373-391, 468 + Kali, 448, 449, 450 + Kalidasa, 415 + Karl, 87-90, 99, 101 + Karlamagnussaga, 361 + Karna, 435, 442 + Kaspar von der Rhön, 323, 326 + Kauravas, 434 + Kavah, 401 + Kaviraja, 415 + Kavyas, 415 + Kay, Sir, 232 + Keats, 221 + Keewaydin, 468 + Kiev, 373 + King's Cottage, 464 + Kireyevski, 372 + Kirk Lee, 254 + Kjaempeviser, 360 + Klopstock, 327 + Knight of the Cart, 235 + Knight of the Red Cross, 256, 258 + Knight with the Lion, 326 + Knights of the Holy Grail, 348 + Knights of the Bound Table, 82 + Knight's Tale, The, 220 + Knot de Provence, 230 + König Laurin, 326 + Krieg auf der Wartburg, Der, 326 + Kriemhild, 328-330, 332-338, 340-346 + Krishna, 437, 440, 444, 446 + Krist, 323 + Kullerwoinen, 385, 386 + Kumarasambhava, 415 + Kundrie, 351 + Kurvenal, 237 + Kurukshetra, 440 + Kurus, 434, 436, 438-442 + Kusa, 429 + Kuvera, 439 + + + L + + Labyrinth, 73 + Lady of the Lake, 221, 233, 234, 241 + Lady of Sorrows, 234 + Laertes, 41, 56, 61, 62 + Laestrigonians, 51 + Laexdaelasaga, 361 + Laisses, 85 + Lake Avernus, 72, 73 + Lakshmana, 418, 422, 423 + Lalla Rookh, 221 + Lament of the Nibelungs, 346 + Lancelot, 242 + Lancelot du Lac, 218 + Land of the Dead, 384 + Land of Heroes, 373-391 + Lang, Andrew, 101 + Langobardian, 323, 325 + Lanka, 427 + Lapland, 377, 381, 384 + Laplanders, 373 + Lapps, 373, 376, 378, 385 + Laocoon, 18, 67 + Last Judgment, 465 + Last of the Mohicans, 467 + Last Supper, 347 + Latin Epics, 63-80 + Latin Literature, 63 + Latins, 75, 80, 85, 137, 138, 160, 392 + Latinus, 75, 76, 79 + Latium, 72, 73, 80, 164 + Launcelot du Lac, 82, 143, 229, 234-236, 242, 352 + Laurin, 326 + Lausus, 76, 78 + Lava, 429 + Lavinia, 75, 79, 80, 169 + Lawlessness, 260 + Lay of the Pious Maiden Shirakiku, 456 + Lechery, 257 + Lawrence, St., 178 + Layamon, 218, 219, 230 + Lay of the Last Minstrel, 221 + Lays of Ancient Rome, 221 + Lazarus, St., 109 + Lea, 173 + Lear, King, 219 + Leather Stocking Tales, 467 + Leda, 20 + Légende des Siècles, 84 + Legend of the Sleepy Hollow, 467 + Leicester, 261 + Lemminkainen, 381, 382, 384, 385 + Leon, 110, 112 + Lethe, 174, 175 + Lettsom, 328 + Leucothea, 45 + Libyan, 66 + Life and Death of Jason, 221 + Life of Christ, 64 + Life of St. Catherine of Alexandria, 392 + Light and Darkness, 373 + Lincoln, 244, 245, 253 + Lisbon, 127-129, 136 + Liszti, 392 + Little Iliad, 18 + Little John, 244-255 + Lives of Saints, 323 + Livius Andronicus, 63 + Llywarch Hen, 216 + Loathley Damsel, 354 + Lockhart, 221 + Locksley, 243 + Lohengrin, 351, 352 + Loki, 364, 365 + Lombards, 189, 325 + Lombardy, 182 + London, 244, 255 + Longfellow, 326, 372, 464, 467, 468 + Lönnrot, Elias, 372, 373 + Lord, The, 108 + Lotus-eaters, 48 + Louhi, 379-383, 385, 388, 389 + Louis, 100 + Louis I., 323 + Louis XIV., 19, 394 + Love, 273 + Low Countries, 356 + Lowell, 467 + Lucan, 63, 142 + Lucia, St., 140, 165, 166, 188 + Lucifer, 139, 157, 296, 298, 299, 347 + Lucifera, Queen, 257 + Lucius Varius Rufus, 63 + Luck of Roaring Camp, 467 + Lucretia, 142 + Lucretius, 63 + Ludwigslied, 323 + Luke, St., 174 + Lüneburger Chronicle, 327 + Lusiad, 127-136, 139 + Lusitanians, 129, 135, 136 + Luxembourg, 356 + Lycia, 34 + Lycophron, 19 + Lynette, 229 + Lyonnesse, Tristram of, 284 + + + M + + Mab, Queen, 215 + Mabinogion, 216 + Macaire, 83 + Macao, 128 + Macaulay, 221 + Maccabees, 183, 319 + Macedo, de, 127 + Macedon, 318 + Macpherson (James), 215, 218 + Madagascar, 129 + Madeira, 134 + Madoc, 221 + Magdalen, 180 + Magnetic Rock, 268 + Magyar Epic, 392 + Mahabharata, 415, 416, 431-455 + Mahàkavyas, 415 + Mahmoud, 399 + Mahomet, 135, 155, 398 + Maid Marian, 251 + Maid of Beauty, 379, 381, 383 + Maiden of the Rainbow, 379, 383-386 + Malbecco, 273 + Malebolge, 151, 154, 155 + Malebouche, 84 + Malepartus, 358 + Malgigi, 191 + Malory, 230, 240 + Mammon, 265, 268, 290 + Mandara, Mt., 426 + Mandricar, 194 + Manessier, 230 + Manfred, 162, 221 + Manlius, 76 + Manto, 152 + Mantua, 152, 164 + Manu, 416 + Man Without a Country, 467 + Manzoni, 139 + Marches of Brittany, 85 + Marco Bozzaris, 467 + Marco Polo, 137 + Mariatta, 390 + Marie de France, 82, 219, 230 + Marinell, 271, 278, 280 + Marinus, 139 + Mark, King of Cornwall, 237-240 + Marmion, 221 + Mars, 25, 26, 65, 77, 129, 130, 176, 182 + Marseilles, 194, 347, 348 + Marsile, 85-90, 98, 99 + Martin Antolinez, 114, 119 + Martyrs, Les, 84 + Mary, Queen of Scots, 257, 282 + Mary Stuart, 220 + Mary, Virgin, 140, 165, 172, 181, 297, 314, 316, 317 + Mathilda, Queen, 199 + Matière de Rome la grand, 83 + Matilda, Countess, 174, 175 + Matter of France, 218 + Maur, Benoit de St., 19, 219, 230 + Mauritania, 134 + Mazinderan, 399, 405, 406 + Mazuranie, 393 + McFingal, 465 + Mecca, 397 + Medea, 151 + Mediaeval India, 415 + Medina, 115 + Mediterranean, 348 + Medusa, 146 + Medway, 278 + Melchisedec, 179 + Melesigenes, 17 + Melibee, 287, 288 + Melinda, 130, 135 + Menelaus, 18, 20-26, 31, 35, 41, 43, 44, 56 + Meneses, 127 + Mentor, 42, 43 + Mercilla, 281, 282 + Mercury, 44, 52, 61, 65, 71, 129, 130, 176, 178, 179 + Merlin, 82, 216, 218, 229-234, 240, 241, 261, 269, 347, 351, 352 + Merlin and Vivien, 229 + Meru, Mt., 415, 420, 444, 445 + Mezentius, 76, 78 + Messenian Strait, 53 + Messiah, 299, 301, 312 + Messias, 327 + Michael, 144, 193, 206, 291, 295, 299, 300, 309-312 + Michael's Mount, St., 92 + Mickle, 130 + Midas, 170 + Midsummer Night's Dream, 219, 327 + Milton, 139, 217, 288, 290, 292, 294, 313, 347, 356 + Milutinovitch, 393 + Mimer, 364, 365 + Minerva, 20, 22, 23, 25-28, 30, 31, 37, 38, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 55-59, + 61, 62, 68, 436 + Minnehaha, 468 + Minnesingers, 326 + Minos, 74, 142, 156 + Minotaur, 147 + Minuchir, 402 + Mirth, 265 + Mogg Megone, 467 + Mohammed, 394 + Mohammedan, 394 + Moloch, 290, 300 + Mombaça, 130, 135 + Monçaide, 135, 136 + Mon-da-min, 464 + Montereggion, 156 + Montjoie, 90 + Montsalvatch, 348-350 + Moon, 176 + Moore, 221 + Moors, 94, 95, 107-117, 119, 120, 122, 125, 128, 130, 133, 135 + Mordred, 82, 241 + Morgana the Fay, 233, 242 + Morgante Maggiore, 138 + Morning Star of American Poetry, 465 + Moro Exposito, El, 108 + Morocco, 117 + Morolt, 237, 238 + Morpheus, 256 + Morris, William and Lewis, 221, 361 + Moscow, 373 + Moses, 188, 311, 435 + Morte d'Arthur, 240 + Mozambic, 135 + Mucius Scevola, 178 + Muiredhach, 215 + Müller, Paludan, 360 + Muslem, 394 + Muspilli, 323 + Mycenae, 42, 44 + Myrden, 216 + Mystic Rose, 188 + + + N + + Naevius, 63 + Naimes, Duke, 86, 89, 97 + Nala, 428, 439, 447-451 + Namus, see Naimes, 192 + Naobumi Ochiai, 456 + Naomi, 396 + Naples, 162, 198 + Nausicaa, 45, 46 + Navarre, 112, 125, 126, 153 + Nazareth, 317 + Nectanebus, 19 + Nennius, 218, 219, 230 + Nepenthe, 43 + Neptune, 29, 32, 33, 37, 45, 50, 52, 64, 68, 72, 135 + Nessus, 147 + Nestor, 22, 23, 26, 29, 30-33, 41-43, 56 + Netherlands, 356 + Neurouz, 400 + New Jerusalem, 262 + Nibelungen hoard, 329, 332, 338, 339 + Nibelungenklage, 346 + Nibelungenlied, 325,328-346, 361, 362,370 + Nibelungs, 332, 336, 337, 339, 367-369 + Nicaea, 198, 206 + Nicholas III., Pope, 152 + Nicolette, 101-106 + Night, 290, 292 + Nimrod, 156, 167 + Nimue, 233 + Niobe, 167 + Niphates, 293 + Nisus, 77 + Njalssaga, 361 + Noah, 142, 311 + Noble, the Lion, 356-359 + Noman, 49, 50 + Nonnenwörth, 325 + Norman, 84, 100, 323 + Norman Conquest, 218 + Norse Discovery, 468 + Northland, 374, 375, 378, 383-385, 390 + Norway, 204, 361 + Northumbrian, 222 + Norwegian, 360, 361 + Nostroi, 18 + Nottingham, 243, 245, 252, 253 + Novgorod, 373 + Nüremberg, 326 + Nymue, 233 + + + O + + Oberon, 327 + Oblivion, 196 + Odenwald, 335 + Odin, 222, 362, 364, 366, 367, 370, 371 + Odyssey, 17, 18, 40-62, 63, 83, 139, 325, 372, 416, 467 + Oechalia, 19 + Oedipus, 19 + Ogier, 360 + Ogier le Danois, 81 + Ogygia, 45, 55 + O'Hagan, John, 85 + Oisianic Poems, 215 + Oisin, 215 + Olifant, 92, 99 + Olindo, 200, 201 + Oliver, 86, 89, 90-94, 96, 98, 196, 324 + Olives, Mt., 208 + Olympian, 26, 77 + Olympus, 22, 26, 29, 34, 40, 64, 130 + Olympus, Mt., 25, 36, 44, 129 + On the Nature of Things, 63 + Orestes, 18, 53 + Orgoglio, 259, 261 + Oriental Princess, 189 + O Oriente, 127 + Ore, 193 + Order, 282 + Orlandino, 138 + Orlando, 138, 183, 190-192, 194-196 + Orlando Furioso, 138, 189 + Orlando Innamorato, 138, 189 + Orlandos, The, 189-197 + Ormsby, 113 + Ormudz, 412 + Os Lusiades, 127-129 + Osman, 393 + Ossian, 215 + Otfried, 323 + Otnit, 325 + Oude, 416, 420, 423, 424, 429 + Ourique, 131 + Ovid, 142 + + + P + + Padua, 197 + Palamon and Arcite, 220 + Palestine, 211, 290, 347 + Palinurus, 72 + Palladium, 18 + Pallas, 26, 41, 45, 76, 78, 79, 80 + Palmerina D'Inglaterra, 127, 221 + Palmotitch, 393 + Pandavas, 434, 445 + Pandavs, 434-447 + Pandemonium, 291 + Pandu, 433, 434 + Panipat, 440 + Paolo, 143 + Papal Chair, 174 + Paradise, 90, 97, 140, 141, 173, 176-189, 205, 294-296, 302-304, + 308-311, 313, 322, 401, 430, 446 + Paradise Lost, 139, 217, 288-313, 356 + Paradise Regained, 213-222 + Paridell, Sir, 272, 273 + Paris, 17, 18, 20-25, 27-29, 33, 38, 143 + Paris City, 192, 197 + Parthian, 319 + Parvans, 431 + Parzifal, 326, 349-354, 361 + Pasiphae, 173 + Passau, 338 + Pastorella, 287, 288 + Pathfinder, 467 + Patrick, St., 214, 215 + Patroclus, 30, 32-36, 39, 42 + Paul, St., 174 + Peccata (P.), 166-172 + Peirian, 175 + Peleus, 17, 20, 21, 40 + Pelleas and Ettarre, 229, 240 + Pelles, 236, 352 + Pellerwoinen, 374 + Pellias, 234 + Penelope, 18, 40-42, 44, 56, 58, 60-62 + Pelican, 185 + Penthesilea, 18 + Perceval, 82, 229 + Percival, 352, 355 + Perfect One, The, 113, 115 + Pergamus, 26 + Pericles, 218 + Pero Mudo, 124 + Persepolis, 400 + Persia, 125, 319, 398, 399, 401, 407, 408, 412 + Persian, 393, 398, 465 + Persian Consort, 394 + Persian Epic, 398 + Persians, 401 + Peter the Cruel, 132 + Peter the Hermit, 198, 208 + Peter, St., 125, 126, 166, 185, 186, 188 + Peter Damian, St., 184 + Petöfi, 392 + Petrarch, 138 + Phaeacia, 45, 55 + Phaeacian, 45, 47, 53, 55 + Phaedria, 265, 268 + Phaeton, 151 + Pharos, 44 + Pharsalia, 63 + Philip II., 282 + Philip IV. of France, 170 + Philip of Macedon, 318 + Philips, Stephen, 222 + Philoctetes, 18 + Philosophy, 169 + Phlegethon, 147 + Phlegyas, 145 + Phoebus, 60 + Piccarda, 172, 177 + Pilgrim, 468 + Pilgrin, Bishop, 338, 340, 316 + Pioneers, 467 + Piran-Wisa, 412 + Pirate, 467 + Pisa, 157 + Pisistratus, 17 + Plautus, 171 + Pleasure, 264 + Pluto, 61 + Plutus, 144 + Poe, 467 + Poema del Cid, 107-126 + Pohyola, 383 + Poland, 393 + Polar Star, 134 + Poles, 393 + Polyolbion, 220 + Polyphemus, 48-50 + Pompey, 63 + Ponemah, 468 + Pope, 21, 41, 110, 220 + Portugade, 128 + Portugal, 112, 127, 129, 131, 133, 135, 136 + Portuguese, 129, 130, 131, 133, 135, 136 + Portuguese Epics, 127-136 + Portuguese Literature, 127 + Pot of Basil, 221 + Poverty, 180 + Powers, 177, 180, 187 + Prairie, 467 + Prakrit, 415 + Pramnian, 51 + Priam, 18, 23, 24, 29, 37, 39, 40, 68, 84, 218 + Pride, 257 + Primum Mobile, 186 + Prince Arthur, 261, 267, 269, 270, 271, 277, 278 + Princedoms, 177, 179, 187 + Priscilla, 285 + Prometheus Unbound, 221 + Promised Land, 311 + Prophet, 394 + Prose Epic, 243 + Proteus, 44, 278 + Provençal, 137, 180 + Provence, 216 + Providence, 313 + Prudence, 160, 174, 263 + Ptolomea, 158 + Publius Terentius Varro, 63 + Pucelle, La, 84 + Pulci, 85, 138, 189 + Punic War, 63 + Purana, 415 + Purgatory, 137, 140, 141, 160-176, 184 + Purgatory, Mt., 160, 161 + Puritans, 465 + Pushkin, 372 + Pygmalion, 170 + Pyle, Howard, 230, 243 + Pylos, 42 + Pyrenees, 85, 87, 99 + + + Q + + Quatre Fils d'Aymon, Les, 81, 82 + Queen Mab, 215 + Queen of Heaven, 185, 188 + Queen of Night, 258 + Quest for the Holy Grail, 107, 218, 230, 239, 240, 241, 352, 354, 355 + Quest of the Sangreall, 222 + Quiloa, 129, 135 + Quintus Curtius, 63 + Quintus Smyrnaeus, 19 + + + R + + Rachel, 173, 188 + Radigonde, 281, 286 + Raghuvamça, 415 + Ragnar Lodbrog, 361 + Ragnarsdrapa, 361 + Rahab, 180 + Rakshasas, 424 + Rakush, 404-407, 411, 414 + Rama, 415, 416, 418-431 + Ramayana, 415, 416-431, 439 + Ram Charit Manas, 415, 431 + Ramona, 467 + Raoul de Cambrai, 81 + Raphael, St., 297, 298, 300-303 + Rape of the Lock, 221 + Ravana, 415, 417, 424-429 + Raymond Béranger, 179, 206 + Rebecca, 188 + Red Cross Knight, 256-264, 270 + Redeemer, 213, 214, 306, 309 + Red Handed, 264 + Reformation, 327 + Regin, 364, 365, 366 + Reinecke Fuchs, 327, 356-359 + Religion, 262 + Renaud de Montauban, 190, 199 + Renaissance, 138 + Revelations, 174, 396 + Revolt of Islam, The, 221 + Revolutionary, 466 + Reynard the Fox, 137, 356-359, 360 + Rhapsodist, 17 + Rhesus, 31 + Rhine, 214, 328, 329, 330, 332, 337, 341, 365 + Rhodes, 20 + Ricciardetto, 139, 197 + Richard Coeur de Lion, 219 + Richard, King, 251, 252, 253 + Richard of the Lee, Sir, 249 + Righteousness, 354 + Rinaldo, 138, 190-194, 196, 197, 199, 204, 206, 207, 209-211, 213 + Rip van Winkle, 467 + River God, 37 + River of Death, 381-384 + Robert de Borron, 230 + Robert of Naples, 179 + Robin Hood, 243-255 + Roderick, the Last of the Goths, 221 + Rodomont, 192, 194, 195, 197 + Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar (the Cid), 108, 109, 110, 113, 115, 117 + Rogero, 192-196 + Roland, 84-100, 107, 138, 156, 189, 216, 324, 325 + Roland Insane, 138 + Rolandseek, 325 + Rolandslied, 324 + Romance of Beni Hilâl, 398 + Romagna, 155 + Roman, 63, 131, 315, 319 + Roman Commonwealth, 465 + Roman d'Alexandre, 19, 83 + Roman d'Aventure, 221 + Roman de la Rose, 84, 137 + Roman de Rou, 84 + Roman de Thèbes, 83 + Roman de Troie, 19, 83 + Roman du Renard, 83 + Roman Empire, 320 + Roman History, 179 + Roman Literature, 64 + Romance of Antar, 398 + Romans, 64, 214, 320, 323 + Rome, 63, 65, 74, 76, 80, 140, 149, 168, 169, 174, 197, 198, 320 + Romeo, 403 + Romesh Dutt, 416, 435 + Romulus, 65, 74 + Roncesvalles, 87 + Roncevaux, 87, 89, 91, 98, 156, 324 + Ronsard, 84 + Rose, 177, 187 + Rosengarten, Der, 326 + Rother, 325 + Round Table, 107, 216, 229, 234, 239, 241 + Rudaveh, 403, 404 + Ruddy Main, 264 + Rudiger, 337, 338, 340, 342-345 + Rufo, 108 + Rufus, 63 + Ruksh, 411 + Rumanian Literature, 393 + Ruslan and Lyudmila, 372 + Russia, 372, 373 + Russian Epics, 372, 373 + Rustem, 404-411, 413, 414 + Rustum, 409, 411 + Ruth, 188, 396 + Rutules, 76, 77 + Ryenee, 269 + + + S + + Saavedra, 108 + Sabines, 76, 179 + Sabula, Mt., 426 + Samson, 393 + Sachs, Hans, 326 + Sack of Troy, 18 + Sacred Mysteries, 354 + Sacripant, 192 + Saemunt the Wise, 361 + St. Gall, 324 + Sakuntala, 431-432 + Saladin, 199 + Salem, 201 + Salisbury Plain, 231 + Salve Regina, 164 + Sampo, 372, 373, 379, 380, 381, 383, 388, 389 + Sanchos, 131 + Sanglier, Sir, 279 + Sangreal, 352 + Sanhedrim, 154 + San Pedro de Cardena, 114, 119, 126 + Sanscrit, 431 + Sansfoi, 257, 258 + Sansjoi, 258 + Sansloi, 260 + Santarem, 128 + Sapia, 168 + Saracens 85-87, 89-91, 94, 96-100, 105, 194-196, 202, 279, 282, 348 + Saragossa, 85, 87, 89, 96, 98, 99, 115 + Sarah, 188 + Sarpedon, 33, 34 + Sarras, 229, 348, 353, 355 + Satan, 144, 159, 160, 230, 288-301, 303, 304, 306, 307, 308, + 312-322, 347, 395, 417 + Satrughna, 418 + Saturn, 75, 176, 184 + Satyavan, 451-454 + Satyrane, Sir, 260, 261, 272, 273, 275 + Saul, 167 + Saviour, 315 + Savitri, 439, 451-454 + Saxon, 222, 231 + Saxony, 329 + Scandinavian, 360-362 + Scandinavian Epics, 360-391 + Scarlet Letter, 467 + Scarlet, Will, 247, 251, 254 + Scean Gate, 27, 28, 32 + Schiller, 85, 327, 392 + Scorn, 286 + Scotch, 215 + Scotland, 192, 214, 215 + Scots, 214, 257 + Scott, 221 + Scriptures, 217 + Scudamore, Sir, 273-276 + Scudéri, 84 + Scyldings, 226 + Scylla, 53, 54, 70 + Scythian, 319 + Sea of Gluttony, 265 + Sebastian, 129 + Seer of Patmos, 896 + Seistan, 414 + Semele, 184 + Semiramis, 143 + Seraphim, 177, 186 + Serena, Lady, 285, 286, 287 + Serpent King, 400, 403 + Servia, 393 + Servian, 393 + Sette Giornate del Mundo Creato, 138 + Seven Branched Candlestick, 353 + Seven Deadly Sins, 354 + Seven Kings before Thèbes, 19 + Severin, St., 99 + Seville, 118, 133 + Shah-Nameh, 398-414 + Shah of Persia, 399 + Shakespeare, 83, 219, 327 + Shakespeariana, 230 + Shelley, 221 + Sheriff, 243, 245, 246, 249, 252 + Sherwood Forest, 248, 250, 254 + Shield of Heracles, 19 + Siawush, 411, 412 + Siberia, 372 + Sibyl, 73, 74, 146 + Sicily, 70, 137, 162 + Sidney, Sir Philip, 283 + Siege Perilous, 234, 241, 348, 351, 352 + Siegfried, 329-338, 341, 345 + Siegmund, 329, 337 + Siennese, 168 + Sigfried, 323 + Siggier, 362, 363 + Sigmund, 225, 362, 363, 364 + Signy, 362-364 + Sigurd, 364-371 + Sigurd the Volsung, 362-371 + Silence, 193 + Silius Italicus, 63 + Simeon, 317 + Simon, 316 + Simurgh, 402, 404, 407, 410, 413 + Sin, 291, 307, 308, 312, 314 + Sinai, Mt., 311 + Sinfiotli, 363, 364 + Singer of Paradise, 398 + Sinon, 18, 67, 156 + Sirens, 53, 54, 136, 169 + Sishih, 457 + Sita, 420-430 + Siva, 415, 419, 420, 439 + Skalds, 361 + Sketch Book, 467 + Skeleton in Armor, 467 + Skiold, 222 + Slander, 84, 278, 283 + Sleep, 33, 34, 266 + Sleipnir, 364 + Snorro Edda, 361 + Snorro Sturleson, 361 + Socrates, 318 + Sodom, 173, 308 + Sofonisba, 138 + Soldan, 281, 282 + Solomon, 181, 279, 317, 355 + Solon, 179 + Solyman, 206, 207, 213 + Somnus, 38 + Son of God, 292, 293, 301, 302 + Song of Igor's Band, 372 + Song of Songs, 396 + Song of the Crusade Against the Albigenses, 83 + Song of the Nibelungs, 328 + Song of Roland, 84-101, 189 + Son of Man, 230 + Sophronia, 200, 201 + Sorab, 407-411 + Sorab and Rustem, 323 + Sordello, 137, 164, 165 + Sorlin, St., 84 + Sorrento, 197 + Southern Cross, 134, 160 + Southey, 221 + Spain, 85-89, 96-99, 107, 108, 125, 127, 133, 191, 282, 348 + Spanish, 349 + Spanish Ballads, 221 + Spanish Literature, 107 + Spanish Epics, 107-126 + Sparta, 21, 43, 44 + Spartan, 24 + Spenser, 139, 220, 255, 287 + Sphinx, 322 + Spirit of Evil, 385, 388 + Spirit of Solitude, 221 + Spirit of the Cape, 134 + Spiritual Pride, 261 + Squire of Dames, 272, 273, 275 + Squire of Low Degree, 220 + Star of Bethlehem, 315 + Stasimus of Cyprus, 17 + Statius, 63, 170, 171, 172, 174, 176 + Steinthal, 373 + Stentor, 26 + Stephen, 169 + Story of Apollonius of Tyre, 218 + Story of Bimini, 221 + Strage degl' Innocenti, La, 139 + Stupidity, 259 + Stately, Will, 245 + Sugriva, 426, 427 + Stygian Lake, 77 + Styx, 145, 146 + Sun, 52, 54, 176, 180 + Suomi, 378, 391 + Superstition, 259 + Suttee, 434 + Swamp-land, 390 + Swanhild, 371 + Swan Road, 224 + Swayamvara, 433, 448 + Sweden, 222, 360 + Swedish, 360 + Swinburne, 221, 230 + Swiss, 392 + Switzerland, 214, 392 + Sylvia, 76 + Syrian, 203, 397 + + + T + + Tagus, 121 + Taillefer, 85 + Tales for Children, 216 + Tales of a Wayside Inn, 467 + Taliessin, 216 + Talus, 279, 281-283 + Tamineh, 407, 408 + Tancred, 199, 202, 204, 205, 206, 208, 209, 212 + Tantalus, 266 + Tarncappe, 331 + Tarpeian Rock, 320 + Tartar, 404, 408, 412 + Tartarus, 29, 53, 74, 291, 296, 299 + Tasso, 138, 197, 198, 372, 393 + Taylor, Bayard, 464 + Tebar, 115 + Tegner, 360 + Telegonia, 18 + Telegonus, 18 + Telemachia, 18 + Telemachus, 18, 41-44, 55-60, 84 + Télémaque, 18, 84 + Tell, William, 327, 392 + Temperance, 160, 263 + Templars, 348 + Temple, 169, 213, 322 + Tennyson, 221, 230, 235, 236, 240, 326 + Tenth Muse, 465 + Tenth Ocean, 385 + Ten Tribes, 320 + Terence, 171 + Testament, 178 + Teucer, 30, 34, 74 + Teutonic, 217, 323, 325, 392 + Thais, 151 + Thalaba, 221 + Thames, 278 + Thebais, 19, 63, 83 + Theban Cycle, 19 + Thèbes, 63, 149 + Theodoric, 323, 328 + Theogony, 19 + Théroulde, 84, 101 + Thersites, 23 + Theseus, 147 + Thesprotia, 18 + Thessaly, 20 + The Thousand Tales, 398 + Thetis, 17, 20, 21, 22, 35, 36 + Thidrekssaga, 361 + Thirty Years' War, 327 + Thomas, St., 136, 180, 181 + Thomas Aquinas, St., 180 + Thousand and One Nights, 394 + Thracian, 69 + Thrones, 177, 184, 187 + Thuringian Chronicle, 327 + Tiber, 73, 75, 76, 77, 78, 168 + Tiberius, 320 + Tiera, 385 + Timias, 261, 277, 278, 285, 286 + Tintagel, Castle of, 241 + Tiresias, 52, 53, 61 + Titan, 135 + Titurel, 348, 349, 350, 351, 353 + Titus, 347 + Tizona, 122 + Tobosa, 110 + Toldi, 393 + Toledo, 111, 112, 116, 123 + Topelius, Zacharias, 372, 373 + Topsy-Turvy Land, 105 + Torelore, 105 + Tories, 466 + Toro, 110 + Torquato Tasso, 138, 197, 198, 372, 393 + Tortosa, 198 + Toru Dutt, 455 + Tous, 399 + Trajan, 166 + Tramtris, 237 + Trask, Mrs., 222 + Triamond, 275 + Trij, 402 + Trinacria, 52, 53, 54 + Trinity, 177 + Trissino, 138 + Tristan, 82, 107, 143 + Tristan and Isolde, 326 + Tristram, 238, 239, 240, 284, 285, 392 + Tristram and Iseult, 220, 221, 237 + Triune Divinity, 186 + Troilus and Cressida, 220 + Trojan, 24, 30, 31, 64-67, 69, 72, 77, 80, 84, 183 + Trojan Cycle, 17, 392 + Trojans, 18, 21, 26-30, 32-35, 37, 39, 47, 69, 70, 71, 73, 75-79, 156 + Trojan War, 74, 220 + Tronje, 329 + Troubadours, 81 + Trouvères, 81, 229, 346 + Troy, 19, 20, 22-24, 27-29, 33, 34, 36, 40-43, 47, 53, 63, 64-66, + 68, 84, 137, 218, 219 + Trumbull, 465, 467 + Truth, 169, 256 + Tuck, Friar, 248, 249 + Tudela, 83 + Tulsi Das, 415, 431 + Tuoni-bear, 384 + Turkey, 394 + Turkish Literature, 393 + Turks, 392, 393 + Turnus, 75-80 + Turoldus, 84 + Turpin, Archbishop, 90-92, 95, 96, 98 + Turpine, Sir, 281, 286 + Tursus, 375 + Tydides, 31 + Tyre, 65, 218 + Tyrian, 65, 71 + + + U + + Ugolino de' Gherardeschi, Count, 157-158 + Ukko, 375, 380, 389 + Ulster, 215 + Ulysses, 18, 23, 24, 30-33, 40-62, 70, 84, 155, 169, 222 + Una, 256, 257, 259-263 + Under King Constantine, 222 + Uriel, 293-295, 300 + Usk, 234 + Uther, 229, 232 + Uther and Igerne, 229, 231 + Uther Pendragon, 231, 232, 234 + Uz, 395 + + + V + + Valhall, 369 + Valence, Count of, 102 + Valencia, 116-126 + Valerius Flaccus, 63 + Valkyr, 367 + Valley of Roncevaux, 87, 89, 91, 98 + Vallombroso 194, 289 + Válmikí, 416, 429, 430 + Varro, 63, 171 + Vasco da Gama, 127-136 + Veillantif, 88 + Vellido Dolfos, 111 + Velasco, 108 + Venice, 137, 152 + Venus, 20, 23-26, 39, 64, 65, 66, 68, 70, 76, 78, 80, 129, 130, 135, + 136, 139, 176, 179 + Veronica, St., 347 + Vespasian, 347 + Vestal, 64 + Victor Hugo, 84 + Victorian, 221 + Vidura, 433 + Vienna, 338 + Viking, 217, 364 + Virgil, 63, 64, 140-160 + Virgin, 185, 188, 199 + Viriagus, 131 + Virtues, 177, 182, 187 + Vishnu, 416, 417, 418, 419, 446 + Vision of Columbus, 466 + Vision of Sir Launfal, 467 + Visions of Judgment, 323 + Vivien, 101, 229, 241 + Vladimir, 373 + Vogelweide, 326, 328 + Volker, 341, 342, 343, 345 + Volksbücher, 327 + Volscian, 76, 77 + Volsung, 362, 363, 364 + Volsunga, 361 + Volsunga Saga, 362-371 + Voltaire, 84 + Vondel, 356 + Vörösmarty, 393 + Vortigern, 229, 230, 231 + Vosges Mountains, 324 + Vulcan, 22, 35, 36, 47, 76 + Vyasa, 431, 433, 436, 444, 446, 449 + + + W + + Wace, 84, 218, 219 + Wackerlos the Lapdog, 356 + Wagner, 230, 327, 352, 362 + Wagner's Trilogy, 361 + Wainamoinen, 374-384, 386, 388-391 + Wainola, 390 + Waldhere, 217 + Wales, 214, 216, 218 + Walter of Aquitaine, 217 + Walter Map, 218 + Walther von Aquitanien, 323, 324 + Walther von der Vogelweide, 326, 328 + Wandering Jew, 327 + Warner, William, 220 + War of the Roses, 220 + War of Troy, 17 + Water of Life, 420 + Wealth, 265, 439 + Wealtheow, 225 + Weber, 83 + Welsh, 216, 240 + West, 214 + Western Asia, 392 + Western Europe, 394 + Western Sea, 160 + Westwood, Thomas, 222 + White Aster, 456-463 + White Demon, 406 + White Man, 468 + Whitsuntide, 356 + Whittier, 467 + Wieland, 83, 327 + Wigglesworth, Michael, 465 + Wiglaf, 228 + Wipunen, 382 + Wissant Bay, 92 + Wolf-Dietrich, 325 + Wolfram von Eschenbach, 219, 230, 326, 328, 352 + Wonders of the East, 218 + Worms, 328, 329, 330, 333, 336, 337, 339, 346 + Wrath, 257 + Wreck of the Hesperus, 467 + Wulfstan, 218 + Wülpensand, 326 + + + X + + Xanten, 329, 333 + Xanthus River, 37 + Xerxes, 179 + Ximena, 107, 108, 114, 116, 120, 126 + + + Y + + Yale, 464 + Yama, 453, 454 + Youkahainen, 374, 376-379 + Younger Edda, 361 + Yudhishthira, 438, 442, 443 + + + Z + + Zal, 402-405, 411, 413, 414 + Zamorin, 135, 136 + Zamorra, 110, 111, 112 + Zealand, 325 + Zephon, 295, 296 + Zeus, 22 + Zhukovski, 372 + Zohak, 400, 401 + Zopher, 396 + Zrinyi, 392 + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13983 *** |