The Library of Scandinavian Literature THE KING’S MIRROR ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE KING’S MIRROR (SPECULUM REGALE—KONUNGS SKUGGSJÁ) TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD NORSE WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY LAURENCE MARCELLUS LARSON [Illustration] TWAYNE PUBLISHERS, INC., NEW YORK & THE AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN FOUNDATION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Library of Scandinavian Literature Erik J. Friis, General Editor Volume 15 The King’s Mirror Copyright © 1917 by The American-Scandinavian Foundation Library of Congress catalog card number: 72-1542 MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TO MY FATHER AND TO THE MEMORY OF MY MOTHER ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FOREWORD Among the many arguments that have recently been advanced in support of imperialistic ambitions and statesmanship, there is one that justifies and demands aggression in the interest of human culture. According to this rather plausible political philosophy, it is the destiny of the smaller states to be absorbed into the larger and stronger. The application is not to be limited to the so-called “backward races”; it is also extended to the lesser peoples of Europe. These have, it is held, no real right to an independent existence; only the great, the powerful, and the mighty can claim this privilege, for they alone are able to render the higher forms of service to civilization.