THE

CLASSIC MYTHS IN ENGLISH

LITERATURE

BASED CHIEFLY ON BULFINCH'S "AGE OF FABLE"

(1855)

ACCOMPANIED BY AN INTERPRETATIVE AND

ILLUSTRATIVE COMMENTARY

BY

CHARLES MILLS GAYLEY, LITT.D., LL.D

PROFESSOR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND Literature
IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

TO THE MUSES.

WHETHER on Ida's shady brow,
Or in the chambers of the East,
The chambers of the sun, that now
From ancient melody have ceas'd;

Whether in Heav'n ye wander fair,

Or the green corners of the earth, Or the blue regions of the air,

Where the melodious winds have birth;

Whether on crystal rocks ye rove,
Beneath the bosom of the sea,
Wandering in many a coral grove,
Fair Nine, forsaking Poetry;

How have you left the ancient love
That bards of old enjoyed in you!

The languid strings do scarcely move,
The sound is forc'd, the notes are few!

William Blake.

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