Prof. John A. Porter's Selections from the Kalevala; to the writings of
the two Grimms; to Latham's Native Races of the Russian Empire; to the
translations of the Kalevala by Alex. Castren, Anton Schieffier, L.
LeDuc and Ferdinand Barna; and especially to the excellent treatises on
the Kalevala, and on the Mythology of the Finns, by Mace Da Charda and
Alex. Castren; to Prof. Helena Klingner, of Cincinnati, a linguist of
high rank, and who has compared very conscientiously the manuscript of
the following pages with the German translation of the Kalevala by
Anton Schiefner; to Dr. Emil Reich, a native Hungarian, a close student
of the Ugrian tongues, who, in a most thorough manner, has compared
this translation with the Hungarian by Ferdinand Barna, and who,
familiar with the habits, customs, and religious notions of the Finns,
has furnished much valuable material used in the preparation of this
preface; and, finally, to Prof. Thomas C. Porter, D.D., LL.D., of
Lafayette College, who has become an authority on the Kalevala through
his own researches for many years, aided by a long and intimate
acquaintance with Prof. A. F. Soldan, a Finn by birth, an enthusiastic
lover of his country, a scholar of great attainments, acquainted with
many languages, and once at the head of the Imperial Mint at
Helsingfors, the capital of Finland. Prof. Porter has very kindly
placed in the hands of the author of these pages, all the literature on
this subject at his command, including his own writings; he has watched
the growth of this translation with unusual interest; and, with the eye
of a gifted poet and scholar, he has made two careful and critical
examinations of the entire manuscript, making annotations, emendations,
and corrections, by which this work has been greatly improved.

With this prolonged introduction, this, the first English translation
of the Kalevala, with its many imperfections, is hesitatingly given to
the public.