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after a year's work, I find that half my material for copy is altogether new, and that the remainder differs in many important respects from the book upon which it was based. Consequently, while the obligation to the Age of Fable is acknowledged in full, a new title has been selected for this volume. For, neither my publishers, nor I, would desire to have the scholarship or the taste of Mr. Bulfinch held accountable for liberties that have been taken with his work.

In the Classic Myths in English Literature, Chaps. XXV.-XXX., containing paraphrases of the Iliad, the Odyssey, and of certain Norse lays, are a revision of corresponding chapters in the Age of Fable. Chaps. IX.-XXIII., comprising Attributes of Roman Divinities, Myths of the Greater Divinities of Heaven, Earth, the Underworld, and the Waters, Myths of the Lesser Divinities of the same regions, Myths of the Older Heroes, and Myths of the Younger Heroes, represent a careful rearrangement and recomposition of the original material, section by section, and frequently paragraph by paragraph, — such portions of the Age of Fable as have been retained being abridged or rewritten, and, in places too frequent to enumerate, supplemented by new and necessary sentences, paragraphs, and sections. The Introduction, the first eight chapters (on the origin, elements, distribution, and preservation of myth, the Greek myths of the creation, and the attributes of Greek divinities), Chaps. XXIV. and XXXI. (on the Houses concerned in the Trojan War, and the old Norse and German heroes), choice of illustrations, the footnotes referring to sources, and the Commentary are wholly, or essentially, my own.

Although in the Index of Mythological Subjects the more common myths of some other nations are briefly stated, no myths save those known to the Greeks, Romans, Norsemen, or Germans have been included in the body of the text. The scope of selection has been thus confined for three reasons: first, the regard for necessary limits; second, the desirability of emphasizing only such myths as have actually acclimated themselves in English-speaking lands, and have influenced the spirit, form, and habit of English imaginative

thought; third, the necessity of excluding all but the unquestionably classic. The term Classic, however, is, of course, not restricted to the products of Greece and Rome; nor is it employed as synonymous with Classical or as antithetical to Romantic. From the extreme Classical to the extreme Romantic is a far cry; but as human life knows no divorce of necessity from freedom, so human art knows neither an unrelieved Classical nor an unrestrained Romantic. Classical and Romantic are relative terms. The Classical and the Romantic of one generation may merit equally to be the Classics of the next. Therefore certain Hellenic myths of romantic spirit or construction have been included in this work; and certain Norse and German myths have not been excluded. Whatever is admitted, is admitted as first-class first-class, because simple, spontaneous, and beautiful; because fulfilling the requirements of perennial freshness, of æsthetic potency, and of ideal worth.

In the matter of illustrative English and American poems the principle of selection has been that the verses shall translate a myth from the classic original, or exemplify the genuine poetic idealization and embellishment of the subject, or suggest the spirit and mien of ancient art. But in each case regard has been had to the æsthetic value of the poem or the citation.

In the search

for suitable examples I have derived valuable assistance from Mr. E. C. Guild's Bibliography of Greek Mythology in English Poetry of the Nineteenth Century (Bowdoin College, Library Bulletin, No. 1).

In the Commentary four things have been attempted: first, an explanation, under each section, of ordinary textual difficulties; second, an unpretentious exposition of the myth or a brief statement of the more evident interpretations advanced by philologists or ethnologists; third, an indication of certain additional poems or verses that illustrate the myth; fourth, special mention of a few masterpieces of ancient and modern sculpture and painting that may serve to introduce the student or the general reader to a field of æsthetic profit neglected by the great mass of our people.

Since this book is intended for students of English poetry, and since in English poetry Latin names of mythological characters are much more frequently employed than Greek, the Latin designations, or Latinized forms of Greek names, have been, so far as possible retained. In the chapters, however, on the attributes of the Greek gods, names exclusively Greek have been placed in parentheses after the usual Roman equivalents, Latin appellations, or designations common to both Greek and Roman usage. In the transliteration of Greek names I have followed, also, the prevalent practice of our poets, which is, generally speaking, the practice of the Romans. The diphthong a, for instance, is transliterated according to the accepted English pronunciation, which in individual words perpetuates the preference of the Latins for the, or the, respectively. So 'Arpeídns becomes Atrīdes; Пloσadov, Posidon; Ipuédeia, Iphimedia. But, on the other hand, Κυθέρεια becomes Cytherea ; Πηνειός, Peneus; and Μήδεια, Medea. On the same principle, such a name as Padias would be anglicized not Pheidias, nor even Phidias, but - Phidias. A few names of islands, towns, persons, etc., that even in Latin retain their Greek forms, such as Delos, Naxos, Argos, Aglauros, Pandrosos, have been transferred without modification. In short, the practice aimed at has been not that of scientific uniformity, but of acknowledged poetic usage.

For the benefit of readers who have failed to acquire the fundamental rules for the pronunciation of Greek and Latin proper names in English, a brief statement of rules is prefixed to the Index; and in the Index of Mythological Subjects and their Sources names are not only accented, but, when there is possibility of error, syllabicated.

In the preparation of the Text and Commentary more or less use has been made of: Roscher's Ausführliches Lexicon der Griechischen und Römischen Mythologie (Lieferungen 1-21, Teubner, Leipzig); Preller's Griechische Mythologie (2 Bde., Berlin: 1861); Max Müller's Chips from a German Workshop, Science of Religion (Lond. 1873), Science of Language (7th ed. 2 v., Lond. 1873),

Oxford Essays (1856); Sir G. W. Cox's Mythology of the Aryan Nations (2 v., Lond. 1878); Welcker's Griechische Götterlehre ; Baumeister's Denkmäler des Klassischen Alterthums; Murray's Manual of Mythology (N. Y.: 1880); Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology; Duruy's Histories of Rome and Greece; Keightley's Greek and Roman Mythology; Kelsey's Outline of Greek and Roman Mythology (Boston: 1889); Horn's Geschichte der Literatur des Skandinavischen Nordens (Leipzig: 1880); Cleasby and Vigfusson's Icelandic Dictionary; Lüning's Die Edda (Zürich : 1859); Vigfusson and Powell's Corpus Poeticum Boreale (2 v., Oxford: 1883); Paul's Grundriss der Germanischen Philologie, 1 Bd., 5 Lfg. (article Mythologie, by E. Mogk); Grimm's Teutonic Mythology (translated by Stallybrass, 3 v.); Werner Hahn's Das Nibelungenlied; Lang's Myth, Ritual, and Religion (2 v., Lond. 1887), and Mythology (Encyc. Brit., vol. 9); Tylor's Anthropology (N. Y.: 1881) and Primitive Culture (2 v.); J. W. Powell's Annual Reports of the Bureau of Ethnology (7 v., beginning 1879-80, Washington, D.C.); Keary's Outlines of Primitive Belief; Fiske's Myths and Mythmakers (Boston); Whitney's Oriental and Linguistic Studies; The Origin of Myth, an exquisite and sympathetic lecture too little known to the public, by Professor, now President, William Preston Johnston of Tulane University (published by Morton & Co., Louisville: 1872); and of other works to which due reference is made in the footnotes and Commentary. The student is also referred to F. B. Jevons' edition of Plutarch's Romane Questions (transl. by Philemon Holland, Lond. 1892) (introduction on Roman Mythology); and to C. G. Leland's Etruscan-Roman Remains in Popular Tradition (Lond.: 1892).

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For the illustrative cuts in the Text, I am indebted in some cases directly to Baumeister and Roscher, in other cases to the selection made by Messrs. Allen and Greenough, in their admirable school editions of Vergil and Ovid, from Baumeister, Roscher, the Archäologische Zeitung (Berlin), Herculaneum and Pompei (by H. Roux Ainé), Millin's Galerie Mythologique (Paris: 1811),

Müller's Denkmäler der Alten Kunst (Göttingen: 1832), and other collections, to which reference is made in the List of Illustrations prefixed to the Text. The Maps, furnished by Messrs. Ginn & Co. from other of their publications, have, with the kind consent of the authors of those works, in some instances been adapted by me to suit the present purpose.

I take this opportunity of returning especial thanks to Messrs. W. B. Everett and W. S. Soule of the Soule Photograph Co. (338 Washington St., Boston), for the liberal collection of photographs, from works of art illustrating mythological subjects, that they have placed at my disposal, and of callir.g attention to the edition of this work (interleaved for illustration by photographs) to be published by that company. I also acknowledge the kindness of Mr. W. K. Vickery (Publisher and Art Dealer, 224 Post St., San Francisco), who has lent me many photographs and engravings of works of art that, otherwise, might have escaped my notice.

In conclusion, I would acknowledge gratefully my obligation to my esteemed colleague, Professor Isaac Flagg, for untiring assistance in the reading of proof, and for critical suggestions not a few of which have been adopted.

Berkeley, California,

May 27th, 1893.

FOURTH EDITION.

To this and the preceding edition have been added a number of full-page illustrations of which the list is given on p. xxviii. I wish to express my gratitude to Professor Walter Miller of Stanford, to Professor I. N. Demmon of Michigan, and to Professor Harold N. Fowler of Western Reserve, for suggestions which have been of assistance in the revision of the text and commentary.

Berkeley,

Nov. 12th, 1895.

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