Herder’s collections are from national bodies of people. We ought to find among these groups of songs common factors which would not be found as such in that body of poetry which Herder excludes as not being _Volk_ songs. Further, we should be able to reduce these common factors to lowest terms which would embody some interpretation of Herder’s conception of _Volk_: “Das sind einmal alte Nationalstücke die das Volk singt, und sang, woraus man also die Denkart des Volks, ihre Sprache der Empfindung kennen lernet.” VOLK SONGS COLLECTED BY HERDER DANISH—FOUR PIECES Content—themes: love, marriage, fairy tales. Form—rhythm and rhyme marked; often irregular. Method of appeal—concrete. GERMAN—SIXTY-TWO PIECES Content—themes: love, war, religion, dance, court life, rural life, fairy tales, domestic life. Form—rhythm and rhyme marked; often irregular. Method of appeal—concrete pictures; abstract thinking. ENGLISH AND SCOTCH—THREE PIECES Content—themes: love, war, religion, domestic life, idyllic scenes, court life, vengeance, ghost and fairy tales. Form—marked rhyme and rhythm; blank verse, irregular rhyme and rhythm. Method of appeal—concrete pictures; abstract thinking; deep reflecting; dramatic presentations. ESTHONIAN—FIVE PIECES Content—themes: love, war, marriage, tyranny. Form—marked rhythm and rhyme. Method of appeal—somewhat concrete. FRENCH—THIRTEEN PIECES Content—themes: love, idyllic scenes, court life, domestic life, phenomena of nature, classic mythology. Form—marked rhyme and rhythm. Method of appeal—concrete pictures, abstract thinking. GALLIC (OSSIAN)—SIX PIECES Content—themes: love, war, religion, death, personified nature. Form—little rhyme, rhythm often marked but irregular. Method of appeal—concrete, vivid visual and auditory pictures, dramatic presentations. GREEK—SEVEN PIECES Content—themes: friendship, freedom, marriage, love. Form—rhyme and rhythm, sometimes irregular. Method of appeal—direct and concrete. GREENLAND—ONE PIECE Content—theme: death. Form—parallelism. Methods of appeal—concrete. ITALIAN—FIVE PIECES Content—theme: hope, care, springtime, love. Form—rhythm regular. Method of appeal—concrete and abstract. LAPLAND—TWO PIECES Content—theme: love for animals, love. Form—rhythm regular. Method of appeal—concrete. LATIN—SIX PIECES Content—theme: temptation, marriage, religion. Form—rhythm, rhyme, sometimes irregular. Method of appeal—concrete, abstract. LETTIC—FIVE PIECES Content—theme: love, marriage, springtime, lordship. Form—rhythm and rhyme. Method of appeal—concrete. LITHUANIAN—NINE PIECES Content—love, marriage, war, idyllic scenes, fairy tales. Form—rhythm, rhyme, often irregular. Method of appeal—concrete pictures, abstract thinking. SKALDIC—TEN PIECES