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Page 6
Ingeborg like Fritiof is idealized by the poet although here the
departure from the original is not as wide. That delicacy of sentiment
which is inseparable from Ingeborg and guides her right in the great
crisis is not, he maintains, a trait merely of the woman of ancient
Scandinavia but is inherent in each noble female, no matter when or where
she lives. And Tegn�r, who surely was no realist after the fashion of
Strindberg, chooses to picture woman as she appears in her loveliest
forms.
The brooding and melancholy spirit that Tegn�r had infused into the soul
of Fritiof had in a large measure come from his own life. The depression
of mind that had cast its shadows over him in the years that saw the
creation of Fritiofs Saga grew steadily worse. The period that followed
immediately upon the completion of this work was filled with doubt and
despair. The explanation for this must be found partly in the insidious
progress of a physical disease, partly to a change of place and
environment. Certain hereditary tendencies, which caused him to fear that
the light of reason would desert him, also played a part in this.
In 1824 he gave up the Greek professorship at Lund to become bishop of
the diocese of V�xi� in the province of Sm�land, but the duties of the
new position were not congenial to him. The spiritual and intellectual
life of the diocese was on a low plane and Tegn�r threw himself with
tremendous earnestness into the work of reform, but the prejudice and
inertia of clergy and people stood constantly in the way. In his efforts
to purge the church of some unworthy ecclesiastics he encountered bitter
opposition and suffered some humiliations. He took a special interest in
the schools of his diocese and his many pedagogical addresses are models
in point of clearness and practical good sense.
The many and varied duties imposed on him by the episcopal office,
particularly official inspection trips, attendance upon the sessions of
the Riksdag, and serving on numerous important committees made it
impossible for Tegn�r to continue his literary activities in the manner
of his university days, but occasionally he would give to his countrymen
a literary masterpiece that showed that the brilliant mind had not been
dimmed.
His mental and physical ailments grew steadily worse and after 1840 there
came periods of insanity which expressed itself in the most chimerical
plans for travel, literary activities, and great national enterprises.
Light came to his reason again, but his strength had been permanently
broken. He died on November 2, 1846, and his body was laid to rest in the
cemetery at V�xi�, where a simple monument of marble and Swedish granite
marks his final resting place.
FRITIOFS SAGA
I.
FRITIOF OCH INGEBORG.
D�r v�xte uti Hildings g�rd 1
tv� plantor under fostrarns v�rd.
Ej Norden f�rr sett tv� s� sk�na,
de v�xte h�rligt i det gr�na.
Den ena som en ek sk�t fram, 2
och som en lans �r hennes stam;
men kronan, som i vinden sk�lver,
liksom en hj�lm sin rundel v�lver.
Den andra v�xte som en ros, 3
n�r vintern nyss har flytt sin kos;
men v�ren, som den rosen g�mmer,
i knoppen ligger �n och dr�mmer.
Men stormen skall kring jorden g�, 4
med honom brottas eken d�,
och v�rsol skall p� himmeln gl�da,
d� �ppnar rosen l�ppar r�da.
S� v�xte de i fr�jd och lek, 5
och Fritiof var den unga ek;
men rosen uti dalar gr�na
hon hette Ingeborg den sk�na.
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