gave the prophets their strong hold upon the Jewish mind, and the same thing constitutes much of their importance to us at the present day. They foretold many things which were presently fulfilled, and thus their authority and their inspiration were at once established. They foretold many other things also, the time for which was more distant; and thus, age after age, as these successively came to pass, the same authentication of their word came to be renewed and accumulated to successive generations. Above all, they from first to last looked forward to the one central fact of all history,-the redemption of the world; and thus, when this was accomplished, were not only themselves authenticated, but gave proof, such as nothing else could give, of the authority of Him who accepted not testimony from man. But their visions look out beyond that time to the full completion of the Redeemer's work, when the last of the worldwide empires of human ambition shall have run its course, and all shall have withered away before the stone "cut out without hands," and "the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed." To us, as the ages roll by and the end of prophecy draws nearer, as we are able to see more of what has been fulfilled and to understand better, in its main features, that which yet remains to be, these visions are of ever-increasing interest and importance.

The apologetic value of the Old Testament prophecies has always been appreciated by writers on the evidences, and notwithstanding the attacks of rationalistic critics it must always remain, for it is appealed to in the Scripture itself. Nevertheless, these rationalistic attacks are often conducted with both ability and learning, and have brought to grief many a fabric of argument built upon an ignorant interpretation of prophecy. The real argument is a powerful one; but in dealing with it, as in most cases in the natural world, where men have to do with weapons of power, we must deal wisely and intelligently. This can only be done by thorough study. Doubtless this weapon will continue to be used, as in times past, by some unskilful hands; so much the greater is the necessity that they who can should master its use and do what in them lies to counteract the mischief thus inflicted upon religion. One of the strong proofs of Christianity must always be in its connection with the preceding dispensations; in its being the consummation of what had been all along contemplated, and more or less dimly expressed in them, the working out of the Divine purpose, made known from the foundation of the world; and containing in itself the fulfilment of the long line of prophecies that had gone before.

Finally, it is a striking fact that the adversaries of our religion

have, in all ages, appreciated the vital importance of the Old Testament. From the days of Porphyry down to the poor arithmetician of Natal attacks upon Christianity have characteristically made their approaches through the ancient Scriptures. They have recognized the fact that whoever would assail the Gospel must first assail the law and the prophets of which it is the fulfilment. These attacks have been sometimes marked by malignancy and perversity, but sometimes also by every indication of misguided honesty. They have been conducted sometimes with the shallowest arrogance, but sometimes, too, with profound ability and research. It cannot be denied that such attacks increase in virulence and force, and are likely more and more to increase as a larger part of mankind become interested in the matter, and as the struggle between good and evil waxes ever more and more in intensity. He that would successfully defend the Christian faith must first so thoroughly understand the older Scriptures, of which it is the consummation, that he may be their honest and intelligent defender also. He is otherwise at the mercy of assailants who will not fail in disposition, and who cannot fail in logic, to push their advantage.

In view of these things, there need be no surprise that in the very moment of the promulgation of the Gospel its champions insisted so earnestly upon the study of the Old Testament. Some at least of the Gospels, and much the larger part of the Epistles, must have been already committed to writing, and for some time in circulation among Christians, when St. Paul gave his parting charge to the first Bishop of Ephesus. Yet he still dwells in the strongest terms on the study of the Old Testament. The inspired exhortation, given under these circumstances, must belong to all subsequent ages: "Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

Cimbrian of

little, but which, nevertheless, at one time, in its irruptions southward, seemed on the point of overwhelming Rome. Originally dwelling on the plains of Asia, the progenitors of the Northmen passed over into Germany and the peninsula of Denmark, spreading from thence into Sweden and Norway, besides furnishing at a later period large additions to the population of England.

It is impossible to give any dates in connection with the original migrations of this people from the south, and yet we know the precise time when the Northmen first reached the shores of Iceland. It was in the year 860 that the existence of this remote isle first became definitely known to the people of Scandinavia. At this time a voyage was made thither by Jardar, the Dane; while, four years later, the Pirate Nododd saw the island, and named it "Snowland." It is clear, however, that the place had been known by the Irish long before, and possibly, also, by the Britons. Dicuil (De Mensura Orbis, c. vii.) says that the British monks penetrated to Thule, which, in his days, clearly meant Iceland. Ari Frode, in the Landnama Book, distinctly testifies that when his countrymen entered Iceland, they found Irish monks already residing there. It is also stated that they soon left, and gave the Northmen full sway.

The first Scandinavian who settled in Iceland was Ingolf, who, three years after his advent, laid the foundation of Reikiavik, the present capital. In the course of twenty years a numerous body of settlers arrived, and thereafter immigration continued without interruption until about the tenth century, at which time it is estimated that the population amounted to more than sixty thousand souls. A large portion of the colonists came from Norway, where they had found the tyranny of Harold the Fairhaired intolerable. Many also were from Denmark, while others sailed to Iceland from the British isles. All, however, spoke the same Old Northern tongue, which is still the vernacular of Iceland.

The settlers of Iceland, as a matter of course, included a certain proportion of vicious men, but the larger part was drawn from the best families, who possessed considerable property, more than the average degree of intelligence, and a desire that was perfectly unconquerable to live independent and free. And the freedom which they sought they gained. In that lone, ice-bound isle they established an aristocratic republic, devised a just and comprehensive body of law, and raised up an imperishable literature. It will therefore be the object of this article to trace the rise and progress of ancient Icelandic literature, and to speak of its extent and its characteristics.

The language spoken by the Northmen was the Dönsk tunga, known as the Icelandic or Old Northern. The use of this tongue is now restricted to Iceland, though it once prevailed universally in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, and was also largely used in the neighboring territories and the British isles.

The first written form of the Old Northern was the runic, an example of which was not long since found on a sword referred to the third century. No manuscript in the Old Northern rune now exists, and our knowledge of this character is drawn from the multitude of runic stones scattered throughout the countries once held by the Northmen. It can hardly be said that either history or literature gained anything of much value from the runic letter, which was used only for brief inscriptions, mottoes, and charms. Yet, during the period when the rune was used, the people of the north were not without intellectual stimulus. Before the introduction of the art of writing, or at least before it had become common, it had been the custom for families to preserve their history in oral traditions, which were handed down from generation to generation by men who made this department a kind of profession. They had also their scalds or poets, who were accustomed to compose and recite songs. These they sometimes extemporized on public occasions. The saga-man, or story-teller,

gathered up the history of the country, especially as illustrated by the lives of the public men. In this department they attained great proficiency and exactness, since they found a powerful reason for adhering strictly to the truth, in the fact that they were continually watching and criticising one another, while every listener was likewise ready to fault the recital. Of one of the scalds, Old Blind Stuff, it is told that he could recite nearly three hundred poems; while such was the appreciation which rewarded these achievements, that when Eyvind Skaldespilder sang his song in praise of Iceland, every peasant contributed something to buy a silver clasp of fifty marks' weight for his mantle.

With the formal introduction of Christianity into Iceland (A.D. 1000) the intellect of the people received a fresh infusion of vigorous life, and the arts of reading and writing soon came to be practised by the principal men, who made their first literary attempts in connection with ecclesiastical themes; gradually, however, attention was directed to the preservation of the oral literature, a work that was cultivated to such an extent that the saga-man found his occupation gone.

It is impossible to give any exact dates in connection with the progress of culture, and we can only say that it was in the beginning of the twelfth century that the written page so generally superseded the office of memory.

Among the earliest writers was Ari Frode, who began the compilation of the Landnama, or Doomsday Book. Scarcely less useful was Sæmund the Wise, who collected the poetical literature, to which he added one or more pieces of his own. Thus was inaugurated an era of great literary activity; and the work thereafter went on until Iceland possessed a body of prose literature superior in quantity and value to that of any modern nation of its time.

This statement may excite something like a feeling of surprise, which will not be diminished by the additional remark that Icelandic prose is also probably the oldest of any modern spoken tongue. Translations of Latin into the Anglo-Saxon, like those made by King Alfred, are of course not taken into the account, for the reason that we are here speaking of an original vernacular literature.

It is indeed unfortunate that the popular notions concerning this subject are so low, and that many a scholar, even in his neglect of antiquity, is accustomed to think of the inhabitants of Iceland as an inferior race, more closely allied to the Esquimaux than to himself. We have seen Iceland represented as peopled in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries by hordes of illiterate adventurers,