My garments in a field I gave away To two wooden men: Heroes they seemed to be When they got cloaks:[1] Exposed to insult is a naked man. . . . . . Something great Is not always to be given, Praise is often for a trifle bought. With half a loaf And a tilted vessel I got myself a comrade. Little are the sand grains, Little the wits, Little the minds of men; For all men Are not wise alike: Men are everywhere by halves. Moderately wise Should each one be, But never over-wise; For a wise man's heart Is seldom glad, If he is all-wise who owns it. . . . . Much too early I came to many places, But too late to others; The beer was drunk, or not ready: The disliked seldom hits the moment. . . . . Cattle die, Kindred die, We ourselves also die; But the fair fame Never dies of him who has earned it. Cattle die, Kindred die, We ourselves also die; But I know one thing That never dies, Judgment on each one dead. [1] The tailor makes the man. --Tr. by Thorpe. VAFTHRUDNISMAL. THE SONG OF VAFTHRUDNER. From the third poem in the Elder Edda came the following lines, describing the day and the night: Delling called is he Who the Day's father is, But Night was of Norve born; The new and waning moons The beneficent powers created To count years for men. Skinfaxe[1] he is named That the bright day draws Forth over human kind; Of coursers he is best accounted Among faring men; Ever sheds light that horse's mane. Hrimfaxe[2] he is called That each night draws forth Over the beneficent powers; He from his bit lets fall Drops every morn Whence in the dells comes dew. --Tr. by Thorpe [1] Skinfaxe (shining mane), the horse of Day. [2] Hrimfaxe (Rime mane), the horse of Night. CHAPTER IV. GERMAN LITERATURE. There are three classical periods in German literature.[1] [1] See Scherer's "History of German Literature." Vol. I., page 16. 1. The Old High German Period, culminating about 600 A. D. The chief development of this period is the epic legend and poetry. As this literature remained largely unwritten, it is all lost except one fragment, The Song of Hildebrand. 2. The Middle High German Period, culminating about 1200 A. D. This was in Germany, as elsewhere in Europe, a time of abundant literary activity. It is the period of the renaissance of the heroic legends of the first period, and their remaking into developed epic poetry; of the writing of romances of chivalry and of antiquity; of the development of the lyric poetry of the Minnesingers; of the growth of popular fables and tales and of the drama. In short, all the forms of literary production known to the Middle Ages flourished in Germany in this period. 3. The Modern Classical Period, culminating about 1800 in the work of Goethe, Schiller, and the many poets and scholars surrounding them. THE NATIONAL EPIC.