“If no other knowledge deserves to be called useful but that which helps to enlarge our possessions or to raise our station in society, then Mythology has no claim to the appellation. But if that which tends to make us happier and better can be called useful, then we claim that epithet for our subject. For Mythology is the handmaid of literature; and literature is one of the best allies of virtue and promoters of happiness.”
“Thus we hope to teach mythology not as a study, but as a relaxation from study; to give our work the charm of a story-book, yet by means of it to impart a knowledge of an important branch of education...”
Thomas Bulfinch
“Our work is not for the learned, nor for the theologian, nor for the philosopher, but for the reader of English literature, of either sex, who wishes to comprehend the allusions so frequently made by ...”
Thomas Bulfinch
“The Greeks believed the earth to be flat and circular, their own country occupying the middle of it, the central point being either Mount Olympus, the abode of the gods, or Delphi, so famous for its o...”
Thomas Bulfinch
“He saw her eyes bright as stars; he saw her lips, and was not satisfied with only seeing them.”
Thomas Bulfinch
“The first writer who disclaimed a belief in the existence of the Phoenix, was Sir Thomas Browne, in his “Vulgar Errors”, published in 1646. He was replied to a few years later by Alexander Ross, who s...”
Thomas Bulfinch