wound, a disease, a ferocious beast, or a venomous serpent, he achieves
his purpose by chanting the origin of the inimical force. The thought
underlying this idea evidently is that all evil could be obviated had
we but the knowledge of whence and how it came.

The numerous myths of the poem are likewise full of significance and
beauty, and the Kalevala should be read between the lines, in order
that the fall meaning of this great epic may be comprehended. Even
such a hideous impersonation as that of Kullerwoinen, is rich with
pointed meaning, showing as it does, the incorrigibility of ingrained
evil. This legend, like all others of the poem, has its deep-running
stream of esoteric interpretation. The Kalevala, perhaps, more than
any other, uses its lines on the surface in symbolism to point the
human mind to the brighter gems of truth beneath.

The three main personages, Wainamoinen, the ancient singer, Ilmarinen,
the eternal forgeman, and Lemminkainen, the reckless wizard, as
mentioned above, are conceived as being of divine origin. In fact, the
acting characters of the Kalevala are mostly superhuman, magic beings.
Even the female actors are powerful sorceresses, and the hostess of
Pohyola, especially, braves the might of all the enchanters of Wainola
combined. The power of magic is a striking feature of the poem. Here,
as in the legends of no other people, do the heroes and demi-gods
accomplish nearly everything by magic. The songs of Wainamoinen disarm
his opponents; they quiet the angry sea; they give warmth to the new
sun and the new moon which his brother, Ilmarinen, forges from the
magic metals; they give life to the spouse of Ilmarinen, which the
"eternal metal-artist" forges from gold, silver, and copper. In fact
we are among a people that endows everything with life, and with human
and divine attributes. Birds, and beasts, and fishes, and serpents, as