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<p id="id00013" style="margin-top: 4em">Robert Rowe, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.</p>
<h3 id="id00014" style="margin-top: 3em">BULFINCH'S MYTHOLOGY</h3>
<h5 id="id00015">THE AGE OF FABLE</h5>
<h5 id="id00016">THE AGE OF CHIVALRY</h5>
<h5 id="id00017">LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE</h5>
<h5 id="id00018">BY THOMAS BULFINCH</h5>
<h5 id="id00019">COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME</h5>
<p id="id00020" style="margin-top: 2em">[Editor's Note: The etext contains only THE AGE OF FABLE]</p>
<h2 id="id00021" style="margin-top: 4em">PUBLISHERS' PREFACE</h2>
<p id="id00022" style="margin-top: 2em">No new edition of Bulfinch's classic work can be considered
complete without some notice of the American scholar to whose wide
erudition and painstaking care it stands as a perpetual monument.
"The Age of Fable" has come to be ranked with older books like
"Pilgrim's Progress," "Gulliver's Travels," "The Arabian Nights,"
"Robinson Crusoe," and five or six other productions of world-wide
renown as a work with which every one must claim some acquaintance
before his education can be called really complete. Many readers
of the present edition will probably recall coming in contact with
the work as children, and, it may be added, will no doubt discover
from a fresh perusal the source of numerous bits of knowledge that
have remained stored in their minds since those early years. Yet
to the majority of this great circle of readers and students the
name Bulfinch in itself has no significance.</p>
<p id="id00023">Thomas Bulfinch was a native of Boston, Mass., where he was born
in 1796. His boyhood was spent in that city, and he prepared for
college in the Boston schools. He finished his scholastic training
at Harvard College, and after taking his degree was for a period a
teacher in his home city. For a long time later in life he was
employed as an accountant in the Boston Merchants' Bank. His
leisure time he used for further pursuit of the classical studies
which he had begun at Harvard, and his chief pleasure in life lay
in writing out the results of his reading, in simple, condensed
form for young or busy readers. The plan he followed in this work,
to give it the greatest possible usefulness, is set forth in the
Author's Preface.</p>
<p id="id00024">"Age of Fable," First Edition, 1855; "The Age of Chivalry," 1858;<br/>
"The Boy Inventor," 1860; "Legends of Charlemagne, or Romance of<br/>
the Middle Ages," 1863; "Poetry of the Age of Fable," 1863;<br/>
"Oregon and Eldorado, or Romance of the Rivers,"1860.<br/></p>
<p id="id00025">In this complete edition of his mythological and legendary lore
"The Age of Fable," "The Age of Chivalry," and "Legends of
Charlemagne" are included. Scrupulous care has been taken to
follow the original text of Bulfinch, but attention should be
called to some additional sections which have been inserted to add
to the rounded completeness of the work, and which the publishers
believe would meet with the sanction of the author himself, as in
no way intruding upon his original plan but simply carrying it out
in more complete detail. The section on Northern Mythology has
been enlarged by a retelling of the epic of the "Nibelungen Lied,"
together with a summary of Wagner's version of the legend in his
series of music-dramas. Under the head of "Hero Myths of the
British Race" have been included outlines of the stories of
Beowulf, Cuchulain, Hereward the Wake, and Robin Hood. Of the
verse extracts which occur throughout the text, thirty or more
have been added from literature which has appeared since
Bulfinch's time, extracts that he would have been likely to quote
had he personally supervised the new edition.</p>
<p id="id00026">Finally, the index has been thoroughly overhauled and, indeed,
remade. All the proper names in the work have been entered, with
references to the pages where they occur, and a concise
explanation or definition of each has been given. Thus what was a
mere list of names in the original has been enlarged into a small
classical and mythological dictionary, which it is hoped will
prove valuable for reference purposes not necessarily connected
with "The Age of Fable."</p>
<p id="id00027">Acknowledgments are due the writings of Dr. Oliver Huckel for
information on the point of Wagner's rendering of the Nibelungen
legend, and M. I. Ebbutt's authoritative volume on "Hero Myths and
Legends of the British Race," from which much of the information
concerning the British heroes has been obtained</p>
<h1 id="id00028" style="margin-top: 5em">AUTHOR'S PREFACE</h1>
<p id="id00029" style="margin-top: 2em">If no other knowledge deserves to be called useful but that which
helps to enlarge our possessions or to raise our station in
society, then Mythology has no claim to the appellation. But if
that which tends to make us happier and better can be called
useful, then we claim that epithet for our subject. For Mythology
is the handmaid of literature; and literature is one of the best
allies of virtue and promoters of happiness.</p>
<p id="id00030">Without a knowledge of mythology much of the elegant literature of
our own language cannot be understood and appreciated. When Byron
calls Rome "the Niobe of nations," or says of Venice, "She looks a
Sea-Cybele fresh from ocean," he calls up to the mind of one
familiar with our subject, illustrations more vivid and striking
than the pencil could furnish, but which are lost to the reader
ignorant of mythology. Milton abounds in similar allusions. The
short poem "Comus" contains more than thirty such, and the ode "On
the Morning of the Nativity" half as many. Through "Paradise Lost"
they are scattered profusely. This is one reason why we often hear
persons by no means illiterate say that they cannot enjoy Milton.
But were these persons to add to their more solid acquirements the
easy learning of this little volume, much of the poetry of Milton
which has appeared to them "harsh and crabbed" would be found
"musical as is Apollo's lute." Our citations, taken from more than
twenty-five poets, from Spenser to Longfellow, will show how
general has been the practice of borrowing illustrations from
mythology.</p>
<p id="id00031">The prose writers also avail themselves of the same source of
elegant and suggestive illustration. One can hardly take up a
number of the "Edinburgh" or "Quarterly Review" without meeting
with instances. In Macaulay's article on Milton there are twenty
such.</p>
<p id="id00032">But how is mythology to be taught to one who does not learn it
through the medium of the languages of Greece and Rome? To devote
study to a species of learning which relates wholly to false
marvels and obsolete faiths is not to be expected of the general
reader in a practical age like this. The time even of the young is
claimed by so many sciences of facts and things that little can be
spared for set treatises on a science of mere fancy.</p>
<p id="id00033">But may not the requisite knowledge of the subject be acquired by
reading the ancient poets in translations? We reply, the field is
too extensive for a preparatory course; and these very
translations require some previous knowledge of the subject to
make them intelligible. Let any one who doubts it read the first
page of the "Aeneid," and see what he can make of "the hatred of
Juno," the "decree of the Parcae," the "judgment of Paris," and
the "honors of Ganymede," without this knowledge.</p>
<p id="id00034">Shall we be told that answers to such queries may be found in
notes, or by a reference to the Classical Dictionary? We reply,
the interruption of one's reading by either process is so annoying
that most readers prefer to let an allusion pass unapprehended
rather than submit to it. Moreover, such sources give us only the
dry facts without any of the charm of the original narrative; and
what is a poetical myth when stripped of its poetry? The story of
Ceyx and Halcyone, which fills a chapter in our book, occupies but
eight lines in the best (Smith's) Classical Dictionary; and so of
others.</p>
<p id="id00035">Our work is an attempt to solve this problem, by telling the
stories of mythology in such a manner as to make them a source of
amusement. We have endeavored to tell them correctly, according to
the ancient authorities, so that when the reader finds them
referred to he may not be at a loss to recognize the reference.
Thus we hope to teach mythology not as a study, but as a
relaxation from study; to give our work the charm of a story-book,
yet by means of it to impart a knowledge of an important branch of
education. The index at the end will adapt it to the purposes of
reference, and make it a Classical Dictionary for the parlor.</p>
<p id="id00036">Most of the classical legends in "Stories of Gods and Heroes" are
derived from Ovid and Virgil. They are not literally translated,
for, in the author's opinion, poetry translated into literal prose
is very unattractive reading. Neither are they in verse, as well
for other reasons as from a conviction that to translate
faithfully under all the embarrassments of rhyme and measure is
impossible. The attempt has been made to tell the stories in
prose, preserving so much of the poetry as resides in the thoughts
and is separable from the language itself, and omitting those
amplifications which are not suited to the altered form.</p>
<p id="id00037">The Northern mythological stories are copied with some abridgment
from Mallet's "Northern Antiquities." These chapters, with those
on Oriental and Egyptian mythology, seemed necessary to complete
the subject, though it is believed these topics have not usually
been presented in the same volume with the classical fables.</p>
<p id="id00038">The poetical citations so freely introduced are expected to answer
several valuable purposes. They will tend to fix in memory the
leading fact of each story, they will help to the attainment of a
correct pronunciation of the proper names, and they will enrich
the memory with many gems of poetry, some of them such as are most
frequently quoted or alluded to in reading and conversation.</p>
<p id="id00039">Having chosen mythology as connected with literature for our
province, we have endeavored to omit nothing which the reader of
elegant literature is likely to find occasion for. Such stories
and parts of stories as are offensive to pure taste and good
morals are not given. But such stories are not often referred to,
and if they occasionally should be, the English reader need feel
no mortification in confessing his ignorance of them.</p>
<p id="id00040">Our work is not for the learned, nor for the theologian, nor for
the philosopher, but for the reader of English literature, of
either sex, who wishes to comprehend the allusions so frequently
made by public speakers, lecturers, essayists, and poets, and
those which occur in polite conversation.</p>
<p id="id00041">In the "Stories of Gods and Heroes" the compiler has endeavored to
impart the pleasures of classical learning to the English reader,
by presenting the stories of Pagan mythology in a form adapted to
modern taste. In "King Arthur and His Knights" and "The
Mabinogeon" the attempt has been made to treat in the same way the
stories of the second "age of fable," the age which witnessed the
dawn of the several states of Modern Europe.</p>
<p id="id00042">It is believed that this presentation of a literature which held
unrivalled sway over the imaginations of our ancestors, for many
centuries, will not be without benefit to the reader, in addition
to the amusement it may afford. The tales, though not to be
trusted for their facts, are worthy of all credit as pictures of
manners; and it is beginning to be held that the manners and modes
of thinking of an age are a more important part of its history
than the conflicts of its peoples, generally leading to no result.
Besides this, the literature of romance is a treasure-house of
poetical material, to which modern poets frequently resort. The
Italian poets, Dante and Ariosto, the English, Spenser, Scott, and
Tennyson, and our own Longfellow and Lowell, are examples of this.</p>
<p id="id00043">These legends are so connected with each other, so consistently
adapted to a group of characters strongly individualized in
Arthur, Launcelot, and their compeers, and so lighted up by the
fires of imagination and invention, that they seem as well adapted
to the poet's purpose as the legends of the Greek and Roman
mythology. And if every well-educated young person is expected to
know the story of the Golden Fleece, why is the quest of the
Sangreal less worthy of his acquaintance? Or if an allusion to the
shield of Achilles ought not to pass unapprehended, why should one
to Excalibar, the famous sword of Arthur?—</p>
<p id="id00044"> "Of Arthur, who, to upper light restored,<br/>
With that terrific sword,<br/>
Which yet he brandishes for future war,<br/>
Shall lift his country's fame above the polar star."<br/></p>
<p id="id00045">[Footnote: Wordsworth]</p>
<p id="id00046">It is an additional recommendation of our subject, that it tends
to cherish in our minds the idea of the source from which we
sprung. We are entitled to our full share in the glories and
recollections of the land of our forefathers, down to the time of
colonization thence. The associations which spring from this
source must be fruitful of good influences; among which not the
least valuable is the increased enjoyment which such associations
afford to the American traveller when he visits England, and sets
his foot upon any of her renowned localities.</p>
<p id="id00047">The legends of Charlemagne and his peers are necessary to complete
the subject.</p>
<p id="id00048">In an age when intellectual darkness enveloped Western Europe, a
constellation of brilliant writers arose in Italy. Of these, Pulci
(born in 1432), Boiardo (1434), and Ariosto (1474) took for their
subjects the romantic fables which had for many ages been
transmitted in the lays of bards and the legends of monkish
chroniclers. These fables they arranged in order, adorned with the
embellishments of fancy, amplified from their own invention, and
stamped with immortality. It may safely be asserted that as long
as civilization shall endure these productions will retain their
place among the most cherished creations of human genius.</p>
<p id="id00049">In "Stories of Gods and Heroes," "King Arthur and His Knights" and
"The Mabinogeon" the aim has been to supply to the modern reader
such knowledge of the fables of classical and mediaeval literature
as is needed to render intelligible the allusions which occur in
reading and conversation. The "Legends of Charlemagne" is intended
to carry out the same design. Like the earlier portions of the
work, it aspires to a higher character than that of a piece of
mere amusement. It claims to be useful, in acquainting its readers
with the subjects of the productions of the great poets of Italy.
Some knowledge of these is expected of every well-educated young
person.</p>
<p id="id00050">In reading these romances, we cannot fail to observe how the
primitive inventions have been used, again and again, by
successive generations of fabulists. The Siren of Ulysses is the
prototype of the Siren of Orlando, and the character of Circe
reappears in Alcina. The fountains of Love and Hatred may be
traced to the story of Cupid and Psyche; and similar effects
produced by a magic draught appear in the tale of Tristram and
Isoude, and, substituting a flower for the draught, in
Shakspeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream." There are many other
instances of the same kind which the reader will recognize without
our assistance.</p>
<p id="id00051">The sources whence we derive these stories are, first, the Italian
poets named above; next, the "Romans de Chevalerie" of the Comte
de Tressan; lastly, certain German collections of popular tales.
Some chapters have been borrowed from Leigh Hunt's Translations
from the Italian Poets. It seemed unnecessary to do over again
what he had already done so well; yet, on the other hand, those
stories could not be omitted from the series without leaving it
incomplete.</p>
<h5 id="id00052">THOMAS BULFINCH.</h5>
<h1 id="id00053" style="margin-top: 5em">CONTENTS</h1>
<h4 id="id00054" style="margin-top: 2em">STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES</h4>
<p id="id00055"> I. Introduction<br/>
II. Prometheus and Pandora<br/>
III. Apollo and Daphne—Pyramus and Thisbe—Cephalus and Procris<br/>
IV. Juno and her Rivals, Io and Callisto—Diana and Actaeon<br/>
—Latona and the Rustics<br/>
V. Phaeton<br/>
VI. Midas—Baucis and Philemon<br/>
VII. Proserpine—Glaucus and Scylla<br/>
VIII. Pygmalion—Dryope—Venus and Adonis—Apollo and Hyacinthus<br/>
IX. Ceyx and Halcyone<br/>
X. Vertumnus and Pomona—Iphis and Anaxarete<br/>
XI. Cupid and Psyche<br/>
XII. Cadmus—The Myrmidons<br/>
XIII. Nisus and Scylla—Echo and Narcissus—Clytie—Hero and Leander<br/>
XIV. Minerva and Arachne—Niobe<br/>
XV. The Graeae and Gorgons—Perseus and Medusa—Atlas—Andromeda<br/>
XVI. Monsters: Giants—Sphinx—Pegasus and Chimaera—Centaurs<br/>
—Griffin—Pygmies<br/>
XVII. The Golden Fleece—Medea<br/>
XVIII. Meleager and Atalanta<br/>
XIX. Hercules—Hebe and Ganymede<br/>
XX. Theseus and Daedalus—Castor and Pollux—Festivals and Games<br/>
XXI. Bacchus and Ariadne<br/>
XXII. The Rural Deities—The Dryads and Erisichthon<br/>
—Rhoecus—Water Deities—Camenae—Winds<br/>
XXIII. Achelous and Hercules—Admetus and Alcestis—Antigone—Penelope<br/>
XXIV. Orpheus and Eurydice—Aristaeus—Amphion—Linus<br/>
—Thamyris—Marsyas—Melampus—Musaeus<br/>
XXV. Arion—Ibycus—Simonides—Sappho<br/>
XXVI. Endymion—Orion—Aurora and Tithonus—Acis and Galatea<br/>
XXVII. The Trojan War<br/>
XXVIII. The Fall of Troy—Return of the Greeks—Orestes and Electra<br/>
XXIX. Adventures of Ulysses—The Lotus-eaters—The Cyclopes<br/>
—Circe—Sirens—Scylla and Charybdis—Calypso<br/>
XXX. The Phaeacians—Fate of the Suitors<br/>
XXXI. Adventures of Aeneas—The Harpies—Dido—Palinurus<br/>
XXXII. The Infernal Regions—The Sibyl<br/>
XXXIII. Aeneas in Italy—Camilla—Evander—Nisus and Euryalus<br/>
—Mezentius—Turnus<br/>
XXXIV. Pythagoras—Egyptian Deities—Oracles<br/>
XXXV. Origin of Mythology—Statues of Gods and Goddesses<br/>
—Poets of Mythology<br/>
XXXVI. Monsters (modern)—The Phoenix—Basilisk—Unicorn—Salamander<br/>
XXXVII. Eastern Mythology—Zoroaster—Hindu Mythology—Castes—Buddha<br/>
—The Grand Lama—Prester John<br/>
XXXVIII. Northern Mythology—Valhalla—The Valkyrior<br/>
XXXIX. Thor's Visit to Jotunheim<br/>
XL. The Death of Baldur—The Elves—Runic Letters—Skalds—Iceland<br/>
—Teutonic Mythology—The Nibelungen Lied<br/>
—Wagner's Nibelungen Ring<br/>
XLI. The Druids—Iona<br/></p>
<h5 id="id00056">GLOSSARY</h5>
<h1 id="id00057" style="margin-top: 5em">STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES</h1>
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