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