Much of the national spirit of every people, even in its most civilized epochs, is to be traced to the influence of that age which may be called the heroic.

The wild adventurers of the early Greece tended to humanize even in their excesses.

It is true that there are many instances of their sternness, ferocity, and revenge;--they were insolent from the consciousness of surpassing strength;--often cruel from that contempt of life common to the warlike.

But the darker side of their character is far less commonly presented to us than the brighter--they seem to have been alive to generous emotions more readily than any other race so warlike in an age so rude--their affections were fervid as their hatreds--their friendships more remarkable than their feuds.

Even their ferocity was not, as with the Scandinavian heroes, a virtue and a boast--their public opinion honoured the compassionate and the clement.