The First Epics Were Intended For Recitation;

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 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.

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

If Epic Poetry Is A Definite Species, The Sagas Do Not Fall Within It.

The First Epics Were Intended For Recitation; The Literary Epic Is Meant To Be Read.