All that concerns humanity
concerns me. If by my song or my speech I can contribute ever so little
toward the amelioration of the lot of the millions of my poorer
fellow-creatures, I shall be prouder of that than of the combined
laurels of Shakespeare, Milton, and Goethe."
This is the conception of a poet which was prevalent in Norway in the
olden time. The scalds of the sagas were warriors as well as singers.
They fought with sword and battle-axe, and their song rang the more
boldly because they knew how to strike up another tune--the fierce song
of the sword. In modern times Wergeland and Welhaven have demonstrated
not only the pugnacity, but also the noble courage of their ancestry by
espousing the cause of opposing parties during the struggle for national
independence.
Those who demand that literature shall be untinged by any tendency or
strong conviction will do well to eschew all the subsequent works of
Bjoernson. They might perhaps put up with the brief novel "Magnhild,"
which is tolerably neutral in tone, though it is the least enjoyable of
all Bjoernson's works.
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