The Icelandic Canadian - 01.09.1964, Blaðsíða 16

14
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Autumn 1964
It is for that reason that a study of the Icelandic language
means much more than the mere ability to understand and con-
verse in a language which fewer than 200,000 people use in their
daily contacts.
It would be unrealistic to imagine that large numbers of
people will either have the opportunity or even the desire to learn
Icelandic merely for the purpose of acquiring a better understand-
ing of the essence, the construction, and the evolution of the Eng-
lish language. But men of learning who seek to acquire that
understanding, and be in a position to impart that understanding
to others, are bound to benefit greatly from a study of Icelandic.
A grasp of Icelandic learning is more than a mere language
study; it leads to a literature which is an exceptional product of
an ancient culture, and is no less a contribution to western civil-
ization than the three other culural heritages—the Greek, the
Roman, and the Hebrew. We who speak with knowledge, recog-
nize that some of the Icelandic Sagas, and the “Heimskringla”
(story of the Norse Kings) compare favourably with the finest
literature which was produced at or about that time anywhere in
the world. Some acquaintance with the best in that literature
should be equally a part of the general store of knowledge as
choice selections from the Greeks, the Romans and the Hebrews.
This applies particularly to “Havamal”, the Sayings of the Wise
One, Voluspa”, The Sybil’s Prophecy, and also some of the old
Icelandic laws.
In that ancient literature one will find examples of that
calm of mind and self control which distinguish the Anglo-Saxons
from others; also a guide to the democratic process which they,
more successfully than any other people, have developed in their
forms of government.
It is regrettable that interest in this phase of western civil-
ization appears to be less at present than at other times. That, no
doubt, is partly the result of the disrepute of Nazi-German propo-
ganda which presumptuously appropriated that literature to it-
self and gave it a wholly misleading interpretation. For that
reason it is the more important that we take pains that the Norse
contribution be not forgotten.
In that field you, Vestur-Islendingar (Western-Icelanders)
have special opportunities and indeed special duties in relation to
your Icelandic origin. By maintaining a loyalty to your heritage
you not only enrich your own lives but you provide color and vari-
ety to the cultural life of jour Canadian nation—a nation which
has already become and will increasingly continue to be one of
the leading nations of the free world.