- —Theoktony—The Norse yields the prize to the Greek—Depth
of Norse and Christian thought—Naastrand—Out-*ward
nature influences the mythology—Visit Norseland—Norse
scenery—Simple and martial religion—Sincerity and
grace—Norse and Greek mythology, 51
CHAPTER IV.
ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
Oxford and Cambridge—The Romans were robbers—We must
not throw Latin wholly overboard—We must study English
and Anglo-Saxon—English more terse than Latin—Greek
preferable to Hebrew or Latin—Shakespeare—He who is
not a son of Thor, 71
CHAPTER V.
INTERPRETATION OF NORSE MYTHOLOGY.
Aberration from the true religion—Historical interpretation—Ethical
interpretation—Physical interpretation—Odin,
Thor, Argos, Io—Our ancestors not prosaic—The Romans
again—Physical interpretation insufficient—Natural science—Historical
prophecy—A complete mythology, 80
CHAPTER VI.
THE NORSE MYTHOLOGY FURNISHES ABUNDANT AND EXCELLENT
MATERIAL FOR THE USE OF POETS, SCULPTORS AND PAINTERS.
How to educate the child—Ole Bull—Men frequently act like
ants—Oelenschlæger—Thor's fishing—The dwarfs—Ten
stanzas in Danish—The brush and the chisel—Nude art—The
germ of the faith—We Goths are a chaste race—Dr.
John Bascom—We are growing too prosaic and ungodly, 94
CHAPTER VII.
THE SOURCES OF NORSE MYTHOLOGY AND INFLUENCE OF THE
ASA-FAITH.
The Elder Edda—Icelandic poetry—Beowulf's Drapa and
Niebelungen-Lied—Influence of the Norse mythology—Influence
of the Asa-faith—Samuel Laing—Odinic rules of
life—Hávamál—The lay of Sigdrifa—Rudolph Keyser—The
days of the week, 116
