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