So of the Aryan folk; not the Vedas, not the Avestas, not the Iliad, or the Nibelungenlied, or Beowulf, but the marvelous tale of what the Aryan man has lived—how he has subdued the wild and waste lands—how he has made the desert to blossom as the rose—how he has built up empire with ax and plow, and has sailed the unknown paths of the seas—these are his true race epic.