The Heroes(英雄们)

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The Heroes

PREFACE

MY DEAR CHILDREN,

Some of you have heard already of the old Greeks; and all of you, as

you grow up, will hear more and more of them. Those of you who are

boys will, perhaps, spend a great deal of time in reading Greek books;

and the girls, though they may not learn Greek, will be sure to come

across a great many stories taken from Greek history, and to see, I may

say every day, things which we should not have had if it had not been for

these old Greeks. You can hardly find a well-written book which has

not in it Greek names, and words, and proverbs; you cannot walk

through a great town without passing Greek buildings; you cannot go

into a well-furnished room without seeing Greek statues and ornaments,

even Greek patterns of furniture and paper; so strangely have these old

Greeks left their mark behind them upon this modern world in which we

now live. And as you grow up, and read more and more, you will

find that we owe to these old Greeks the beginners of all our

mathematics and geometry - that is, the science and knowledge of

numbers, and of the shapes of things, and of the forces which make

things move and stand at rest; and the beginnings of our geography and

astronomy; and of our laws, and freedom, and politics - that is, the

science of how to rule a country, and make it peaceful and strong. And

we owe to them, too, the beginning of our logic - that is, the study of

words and of reasoning; and of our metaphysics - that is, the study of

our own thoughts and souls. And last of all, they made their language

so beautiful that foreigners used to take to it instead of their own; and at

last Greek became the common language of educated people all over the

old world, from Persia and Egypt even to Spain and Britain. And

therefore it was that the New Testament was written in Greek, that it

might be read and understood by all the nations of the Roman empire; so

that, next to the Jews, and the Bible which the Jews handed down to us,

we owe more to these old Greeks than to any people upon earth.

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Now you must remember one thing - that 'Greeks' was not their real

name. They called themselves always 'Hellens,' but the Romans

miscalled them Greeks; and we have taken that wrong name from the

Romans - it would take a long time to tell you why. They were made

up of many tribes and many small separate states; and when you hear in

this book of Minuai, and Athenians, and other such names, you must

remember that they were all different tribes and peoples of the one great

Hellen race, who lived in what we now call Greece, in the islands of the

Archipelago, and along the coast of Asia Minor (Ionia, as they call it),

from the Hellespont to Rhodes, and had afterwards colonies and cities in

Sicily, and South Italy (which was called Great Greece), and along the

shores of the Black Sea at Sinope, and Kertch, and at Sevastopol. And

after that, again, they spread under Alexander the Great, and conquered

Egypt, and Syria, and Persia, and the whole East. But that was many

hundred years after my stories; for then there were no Greeks on the

Black Sea shores, nor in Sicily, or Italy, or anywhere but in Greece and

in Ionia. And if you are puzzled by the names of places in this book,

you must take the maps and find them out. It will be a pleasanter way

of learning geography than out of a dull lesson-book.

Now, I love these old Hellens heartily; and I should be very

ungrateful to them if I did not, considering all that they have taught me;

and they seem to me like brothers, though they have all been dead and

gone many hundred years ago. So as you must learn about them,

whether you choose or not, I wish to be the first to introduce you to them,

and to say, 'Come hither, children, at this blessed Christmas time, when

all God's creatures should rejoice together, and bless Him who redeemed

them all. Come and see old friends of mine, whom I knew long ere you

were born. They are come to visit us at Christmas, out of the world

where all live to God; and to tell you some of their old fairy tales, which

they loved when they were young like you.'

For nations begin at first by being children like you, though they are

made up of grown men. They are children at first like you - men and

women with children's hearts; frank, and affectionate, and full of trust,

and teachable, and loving to see and learn all the wonders round them;

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and greedy also, too often, and passionate and silly, as children are.

Thus these old Greeks were teachable, and learnt from all the nations

round. From the Phoenicians they learnt shipbuilding, and some say

letters beside; and from the Assyrians they learnt painting, and carving,

and building in wood and stone; and from the Egyptians they learnt

astronomy, and many things which you would not understand. In this

they were like our own forefathers the Northmen, of whom you love to

hear, who, though they were wild and rough themselves, were humble,

and glad to learn from every one. Therefore God rewarded these

Greeks, as He rewarded our forefathers, and made them wiser than the

people who taught them in everything they learnt; for He loves to see

men and children open- hearted, and willing to be taught; and to him who

uses what he has got, He gives more and more day by day. So these

Greeks grew wise and powerful, and wrote poems which will live till the

world's end, which you must read for yourselves some day, in English at

least, if not in Greek. And they learnt to carve statues, and build

temples, which are still among the wonders of the world; and many

another wondrous thing God taught them, for which we are the wiser

this day.

For you must not fancy, children, that because these old Greeks were

heathens, therefore God did not care for them, and taught them nothing.

The Bible tells us that it was not so, but that God's mercy is over all

His works, and that He understands the hearts of all people, and fashions

all their works. And St. Paul told these old Greeks in after times, when

they had grown wicked and fallen low, that they ought to have known

better, because they were God's offspring, as their own poets had said;

and that the good God had put them where they were, to seek the Lord,

and feel after Him, and find Him, though He was not far from any one of

them. And Clement of Alexandria, a great Father of the Church, who

was as wise as he was good, said that God had sent down Philosophy to

the Greeks from heaven, as He sent down the Gospel to the Jews.

For Jesus Christ, remember, is the Light who lights every man who

comes into the world. And no one can think a right thought, or feel a

right feeling, or understand the real truth of anything in earth and heaven,

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unless the good Lord Jesus teaches him by His Spirit, which gives man

understanding.

But these Greeks, as St. Paul told them, forgot what God had taught

them, and, though they were God's offspring, worshipped idols of wood

and stone, and fell at last into sin and shame, and then, of course, into

cowardice and slavery, till they perished out of that beautiful land which

God had given them for so many years.

For, like all nations who have left anything behind them, beside mere

mounds of earth, they believed at first in the One True God who made

all heaven and earth. But after a while, like all other nations, they began

to worship other gods, or rather angels and spirits, who (so they fancied)

lived about their land. Zeus, the Father of gods and men (who was

some dim remembrance of the blessed true God), and Hera his wife, and

Phoebus Apollo the Sun-god, and Pallas Athene who taught men wisdom

and useful arts, and Aphrodite the Queen of Beauty, and Poseidon the

Ruler of the Sea, and Hephaistos the King of the Fire, who taught men to

work in metals. And they honoured the Gods of the Rivers, and the

Nymph-maids, who they fancied lived in the caves, and the fountains,

and the glens of the forest, and all beautiful wild places. And they

honoured the Erinnues, the dreadful sisters, who, they thought, haunted

guilty men until their sins were purged away. And many other dreams

they had, which parted the One God into many; and they said, too, that

these gods did things which would be a shame and sin for any man to

do. And when their philosophers arose, and told them that God was

One, they would not listen, but loved their idols, and their wicked idol

feasts, till they all came to ruin. But we will talk of such sad things no

more.

But, at the time of which this little book speaks, they had not fallen

as low as that. They worshipped no idols, as far as I can find; and they

still believed in the last six of the ten commandments, and knew well

what was right and what was wrong. And they believed (and that was

what gave them courage) that the gods loved men, and taught them, and

that without the gods men were sure to come to ruin. And in that they

were right enough, as we know - more right even than they thought; for

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without God we can do nothing, and all wisdom comes from Him.

Now, you must not think of them in this book as learned men, living

in great cities, such as they were afterwards, when they wrought all their

beautiful works, but as country people, living in farms and walled

villages, in a simple, hard-working way; so that the greatest kings and

heroes cooked their own meals, and thought it no shame, and made

their own ships and weapons, and fed and harnessed their own horses;

and the queens worked with their maid-servants, and did all the business

of the house, and spun, and wove, and embroidered, and made their

husbands' clothes and their own. So that a man was honoured among

them, not because he happened to be rich, but according to his skill, and

his strength, and courage, and the number of things which he could do.

For they were but grown-up children, though they were right noble

children too; and it was with them as it is now at school - the strongest

and cleverest boy, though he be poor, leads all the rest.

Now, while they were young and simple they loved fairy tales, as

you do now. All nations do so when they are young: our old

forefathers did, and called their stories 'Sagas.' I will read you some of

them some day - some of the Eddas, and the Volusp*, and Beowulf, and

the noble old Romances. The old Arabs, again, had their tales, which

we now call the 'Arabian Nights.' The old Romans had theirs, and they

called them 'Fabulae,' from which our word 'fable' comes; but the old

Hellens called theirs 'Muthoi,' from which our new word 'myth' is taken.

But next to those old Romances, which were written in the Christian

middle age, there are no fairy tales like these old Greek ones, for beauty,

and wisdom, and truth, and for making children love noble deeds, and

trust in God to help them through.

Now, why have I called this book 'The Heroes'? Because that was

the name which the Hellens gave to men who were brave and skilful,

and dare do more than other men. At first, I think, that was all it meant:

but after a time it came to mean something more; it came to mean men

who helped their country; men in those old times, when the country was

half-wild, who killed fierce beasts and evil men, and drained swamps,

and founded towns, and therefore after they were dead, were honoured,

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because they had left their country better than they found it. And we

call such a man a hero in English to this day, and call it a 'heroic' thing to

suffer pain and grief, that we may do good to our fellow-men. We may

all do that, my children, boys and girls alike; and we ought to do it, for

it is easier now than ever, and safer, and the path more clear. But you

shall hear how the Hellens said their heroes worked, three thousand

years ago. The stories are not all true, of course, nor half of them; you

are not simple enough to fancy that; but the meaning of them is true, and

true for ever, and that is - Do right, and God will help you.'

FARLEY COURT,

ADVENT, 1855.

The Heroes

STORY I. - PERSEUS

PART I - HOW PERSEUS AND HIS MOTHER

CAME TO SERIPHOS

ONCE upon a time there were two princes who were twins. Their

names were Acrisius and Proetus, and they lived in the pleasant vale of

Argos, far away in Hellas. They had fruitful meadows and vineyards,

sheep and oxen, great herds of horses feeding down in Lerna Fen, and all

that men could need to make them blest: and yet they were wretched,

because they were jealous of each other. From the moment they were

born they began to quarrel; and when they grew up each tried to take

away the other's share of the kingdom, and keep all for himself. So

first Acrisius drove out Proetus; and he went across the seas, and brought

home a foreign princess for his wife, and foreign warriors to help him,

who were called Cyclopes; and drove out Acrisius in his turn; and then

they fought a long while up and down the land, till the quarrel was

settled, and Acrisius took Argos and one half the land, and Proetus took

Tiryns and the other half. And Proetus and his Cyclopes built around

Tiryns great walls of unhewn stone, which are standing to this day.

But there came a prophet to that hard-hearted Acrisius and

prophesied against him, and said, 'Because you have risen up against

your own blood, your own blood shall rise up against you; because you

have sinned against your kindred, by your kindred you shall be punished.

Your daughter Danae shall bear a son, and by that son's hands you shall

die. So the Gods have ordained, and it will surely come to pass.'

And at that Acrisius was very much afraid; but he did not mend his

ways. He had been cruel to his own family, and, instead of repenting

and being kind to them, he went on to be more cruel than ever: for he

shut up his fair daughter Danae in a cavern underground, lined with

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brass, that no one might come near her. So he fancied himself more

cunning than the Gods: but you will see presently whether he was able

to escape them.

Now it came to pass that in time Danae bore a son; so beautiful a

babe that any but King Acrisius would have had pity on it. But he had

no pity; for he took Danae and her babe down to the seashore, and put

them into a great chest and thrust them out to sea, for the winds and the

waves to carry them whithersoever they would.

The north-west wind blew freshly out of the blue mountains, and

down the pleasant vale of Argos, and away and out to sea. And away

and out to sea before it floated the mother and her babe, while all who

watched them wept, save that cruel father, King Acrisius.

So they floated on and on, and the chest danced up and down upon

the billows, and the baby slept upon its mother's breast: but the poor

mother could not sleep, but watched and wept, and she sang to her baby

as they floated; and the song which she sang you shall learn yourselves

some day.

And now they are past the last blue headland, and in the open sea;

and there is nothing round them but the waves, and the sky, and the wind.

But the waves are gentle, and the sky is clear, and the breeze is tender

and low; for these are the days when Halcyone and Ceyx build their

nests, and no storms ever ruffle the pleasant summer sea.

And who were Halcyone and Ceyx? You shall hear while the chest

floats on. Halcyone was a fairy maiden, the daughter of the beach and

of the wind. And she loved a sailor-boy, and married him; and none on

earth were so happy as they. But at last Ceyx was wrecked; and before

he could swim to the shore the billows swallowed him up. And

Halcyone saw him drowning, and leapt into the sea to him; but in vain.

Then the Immortals took pity on them both, and changed them into

two fair sea-birds; and now they build a floating nest every year, and sail

up and down happily for ever upon the pleasant seas of Greece.

So a night passed, and a day, and a long day it was for Danae; and

another night and day beside, till Danae was faint with hunger and

weeping, and yet no land appeared. And all the while the babe slept

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quietly; and at last poor Danae drooped her head and fell asleep likewise

with her cheek against the babe's.

After a while she was awakened suddenly; for the chest was jarring

and grinding, and the air was full of sound. She looked up, and over

her head were mighty cliffs, all red in the setting sun, and around her

rocks and breakers, and flying flakes of foam. She clasped her hands

together, and shrieked aloud for help. And when she cried, help met

her: for now there came over the rocks a tall and stately man, and

looked down wondering upon poor Danae tossing about in the chest

among the waves.

He wore a rough cloak of frieze, and on his head a broad hat to shade

his face; in his hand he carried a trident for spearing fish, and over his

shoulder was a casting-net; but Danae could see that he was no common

man by his stature, and his walk, and his flowing golden hair and beard;

and by the two servants who came behind him, carrying baskets for his

fish. But she had hardly time to look at him, before he had laid aside

his trident and leapt down the rocks, and thrown his casting-net so surely

over Danae and the chest, that he drew it, and her, and the baby, safe

upon a ledge of rock.

Then the fisherman took Danae by the hand, and lifted her out of the

chest, and said -

'O beautiful damsel, what strange chance has brought you to this

island in so flail a ship? Who are you, and whence? Surely you are

some king's daughter; and this boy has somewhat more than mortal.'

And as he spoke he pointed to the babe; for its face shone like the

morning star.

But Danae only held down her head, and sobbed out -

'Tell me to what land I have come, unhappy that I am; and among

what men I have fallen!'

And he said, 'This isle is called Seriphos, and I am a Hellen, and

dwell in it. I am the brother of Polydectes the king; and men call me

Dictys the netter, because I catch the fish of the shore.'

Then Danae fell down at his feet, and embraced his knees, and cried

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TheHeroes1TheHeroesTheHeroes2PREFACEMYDEARCHILDREN,SomeofyouhaveheardalreadyoftheoldGreeks;andallofyou,asyougrowup,willhearmoreandmoreofthem.Thoseofyouwhoareboyswill,perhaps,spendagreatdealoftimeinreadingGreekbooks;andthegirls,thoughtheymaynotlearnGreek,willbesuretocomeacrossagreatmanystoriestakenfr...

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