NATIONAL EPICS

BY

KATE MILNER RABB

1896







TO MY MOTHER.




PREFACE.


This volume is intended for an introduction to the study of the epics.
While the simplicity and directness of the epic style seem to make such a
book unnecessary, the fact that to many persons of literary tastes some of
these great poems are inaccessible, and that to many more the pleasure of
exploring for themselves "the realms of gold" is rendered impossible by
the cares of business, has seemed sufficient excuse for its being. Though
the beauty of the original is of necessity lost in a condensation of this
kind, an endeavor has been made to preserve the characteristic epithets,