travagant fancies. History was fabulous; poetry mendacious and
philosophy erroneous. Theology abounded in pious frauds. Monks and
minstrels vied with each other in the invention of lying legends to
adorn the lives of heroes and saints. All classes of the community
shared in the general delusion, and the supernatural seemed more
credible than the natural. In tracing the progress of learning, in
England, I propose, during the remainder of the present paper to discuss
one inconsiderable yet _important_ element of modern civilization,
which is often entirely overlooked. I refer to "Lyric Poetry."

The lyre is one of the oldest of musical instruments. Its invention is
ascribed to a god. Its Saxon name is harp. It was the favorite
instrument of the ancient Hebrews, as well as of the Greeks. The Saxons,
Britons and Danes regarded it with veneration, and protected by legal
enactments those who played upon it. Their persons were esteemed
inviolable and secured from injuries by heavy penalities. By the laws of
Wales, slaves were forbidden to practice upon it; and no creditor could
seize the harp of his debtor. That minstrels were a privileged class is
manifested from king Alfred's penetrating the Danish camp (878)
disguised as a harper. Sixty years after a Danish king visited King
Athelstan's camp in the same disguise. It was also said of Aldhelm, one
of the leading scholars of the eighth century: "He was an excellent
harper, a most eloquent Saxon and Latin poet, a most expert chanter, or
a singer, a doctor egregius, and admirably versed in scriptures and
liberal sciences." The minstrel was a regular and stated officer of the
Anglo-Saxon kings. Poetry is always the earliest form of literature;
song the earliest form of poetry. The Muse adapts her lessons to the
nation's infancy and adds the charm of melody to verse. No nation is
destitute of lyric poetry. Even the North American Indians have their
war songs, though their individual worship of their gods has prevented
the creation of any national poetry for associated worship. The
Scandinavians have but one term for the poet and the singer. The
Northern _scald_ invented and recited his own songs and epics. In
other countries the poet and minstrel performed separate duties. "The
Minstrels," says Bishop Percy, "were an order of men in the Middle Ages
who subsisted by the arts of poetry and music, and sang to the harp
verses composed by themselves and others. They appear to have
acco