No Poet Will Ever Take The Written

That Is To Say, Epic Poetry Has Been Invented Many Times And Independently; But, As The Needs Which Prompted The Invention Have Been Broadly Similar, So The Invention Itself Has Been.

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.

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.

With Several Different Kinds Of Poetry To Choose From, A Man Would Decide That He Would Like Best To Be An Epic Poet, And He Would Set Out, In Conscious Determination, On An Epic Poem.