There Is Only One Thing Which Can

Epic Poetry Exhibits Life In Some Great Symbolic Attitude. It Cannot Strictly Be Said To Symbolize Life Itself, But Always Some Manner Of Life.

The Balance Of Private Good And General Welfare Is At The Bottom Of Civilized Morals But The Morals Of The Heroic Age Are Founded On Individuality, And On Nothing Else.

The World Knows Of A Vast Stock Of Epic Material Scattered Up And Down The Nations; Sometimes Its Artistic Value Is As Extraordinary As Its Archaeological Interest, But Not Always.

The Reason Can Only Be This: Heroic Poetry Depends On An Heroic Age, And An Age Is Heroic Because Of What It Is, Not Because Of What It Does.

Traditional Matter Must Be Glorified, Since It Would Be Easier To Listen To The Re-creation Of Familiar Stories Than To Quite New And Unexpected Things; The Listeners, We Must Remember, Needed Poetry Chiefly As The Re-creation Of Tired Hours.