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bundles of chips, which they set fire to the instant that Loki had flown over them; and as Thjassi could not stop his flight, the fire caught his plumage, and he thus fell into the power of the Æsir, who slew him within the portals of the celestial residence. When these tidings came to Thjassi's daughter, Skadi, she put on her armour and went to Asgard, fully determined to avenge her father's death; but the Æsir having declared their willingness to atone for the deed, an amicable arrangement was entered into. Skadi was to choose a husband in Asgard, and the Æsir were to make her laugh, a feat which she flattered herself it would be impossible for any one to accomplish. Her choice of a husband was to be determined by a mere inspection of the feet of the gods, it being stipulated that the feet should be the only part of their persons visible until she had made known her determination. In inspecting the row of feet placed before her, Skadi took a fancy to a pair which she flattered herself, from their fine proportions, must be those of Baldur. They were however Njörd's, and Njörd was accordingly given her for a husband, and as Loki managed to make her laugh, by playing some diverting antics with a goat, the atonement was fully effected. It is even said that Odin did more than had been stipulated, by taking out Thjassi's eyes, and placing them to shine as stars in the firmament."t

THE ORIGIN OF POETRY.

3. Ægir having expressed a wish to know how poetry origi nated, Bragi informed him that the Esir and Vanir having met to put an end to the war which had long been carried on between them, a treaty of peace was agreed to and ratified by each party spitting into a jar. As a lasting sign of the amity which was thenceforward to subsist between the contending parties, the gods formed out of this spittle a being to whom they gave the name of Kvásir, and whom they endowed with

See Part I. chapter 23.

+Finn Magnusen's explanation of this myth is, that Iduna-the ever-renovating Spring-being in the possession of Thjassi-the desolating Winter-all nature languishes until she is delivered from her captivity. On this being effected, her presence again diffuses joy and gladness, and all things revive; while her pursuer, Winter, with his icy breath, dissolves in the solar rays indicated by the fires lighted on the walls of Asgard.

such a high degree of intelligence that no one could ask him a question that he was unable to answer. Kvásir then traversed the whole world to teach men wisdom, but was at length treacherously murdered by the dwarfs, Fjalar and Galar, who, by mixing up his blood with honey, composed a liquor of such surpassing excellence that whoever drinks of it acquires the gift of song. When the Æsir inquired what had become of Kvásir, the dwarfs told them that he had been suffocated with his own wisdom, not being able to find any one who by proposing to him a sufficient number of learned questions might relieve him of its superabundance. Not long after this event, Fjalar and Galar managed to drown the giant Gilling and murder his wife, deeds which were avenged by their son Suttung taking the dwarfs out to sea, and placing them on a shoal which was flooded at high water. In this critical position they implored Suttung to spare their lives, and accept the verse-inspiring beverage which they possessed as an atonement for their having killed his parents. Suttung having agreed to these conditions, released the dwarfs, and carrying the mead home with him, committed it to the care of his daughter Gunnlauth. Hence poetry is indifferently called Kvasir's blood, Suttung's mead, the dwarf's ransom, &c.,

4. Ægir then asked how the gods obtained possession of so valuable a beverage, on which Bragi informed him that Odin being fully determined to acquire it, set out for Jötunheim, and after journeying for some time, came to a meadow in which nine thralls were mowing. Entering into conversation with them, Odin offered to whet their scythes, an offer which they gladly accepted, and finding that the whetstone he made use of had given the scythes an extraordinary sharpness, asked him whether he was willing to dispose of it. Odin, however, threw the whetstone in the air, and in attempting to catch it as it fell, each thrall brought his scythe to bear on the neck of one of his comrades, so that they were all killed in the scramble. Odin took up his night's lodging at the house of Suttung's brother, Baugi, who told him that he was sadly at a loss for labourers, his nine thralls having slain each other. Odin, who went under the name of Baulverk, said that for a draught of Suttung's mead he would do the work of nine men for him. The terms being agreed on, Odin worked for Baugi the whole summer, but Suttung

was deaf to his brother's entreaties, and would not part with a drop of the precious liquor, which was carefully preserved in a cavern under his daughter's custody. Into this cavern Odin was resolved to penetrate. He therefore persuaded Baugi to bore a hole through the rock, which he had no sooner done than Odin, transforming himself into a worm, crept through the crevice, and resuming his natural shape, won the heart of Gunnlauth. After having passed three nights with the fair maiden, he had no great difficulty in inducing her to let him take a draught out of each of the three jars, called Odhrærir, Bodn, and Són, in which the mead was kept. But wishing to make the most of his advantage, he pulled so deep that not a drop was left in the vessels. Transforming himself into an eagle, he then flew off as fast as his wings could carry him, but Suttung becoming aware of the stratagem, also took upon himself an eagle's guise, and flew after him. The Æsir. on seeing him approach Asgard, set out in the yard all the jars they could lay their hands on, which Odin filled by discharging through his beak the wonder-working liquor he had drunken. He was, however, so near being caught by Suttung, that some of the liquor escaped him by an impurer vent, and as no care was taken of this it fell to the share of poetasters. But the liquor discharged in the jars was kept for the gods, and for those men who have sufficient wit to make a right use of it. Hence poetry is also called Odin's booty, Odin's gift, the beverage of the gods, &c., &c.

464

A CRITICAL EXAMINATION

OF THE

LEADING DOCTRINES

OF THE

SCANDINAVIAN SYSTEM OF MYTHOLOGY. BY THE EDITOR.

It was our intention to have written a kind of commentary on the Prose Edda, in which we should have attempted to explain the myths contained in that work, and in the ancient poems of the Elder Edda, but having already exceeded our prescribed limits, we shall be obliged to conclude our editorial task by offering a few observations on a subject which, were it fully treated in all its details, would require a volume *.

We will not enter into the question whether the so-called primitive religion of mankind was monotheism or polytheism, such questions merely giving rise to idle speculations that cannot possibly lead to any satisfactory result. How, in fact, can we ascertain the primitive worship of mankind without knowing how mankind originated? And how are we to know this? Ask the Brahmin, and he will refer you to the Vedas, which he will assure you are the revelations of the Supreme Essence, and prove at least that his myth has priority of date in its favour. Ask the early Persian, and he will refer you to the Zendavesta. Ask the Israelite, and he will tell you that Jehovah revealed the work of creation to Moses. Inquire of modern science, and all that you will be able to learn is, that after the lapse of countless ages, in comparison to which the six thousand years of tradition and history are but as an infinitesimal fraction, the crust of this planet acquired its present form and consistency, and became a fitting abode for man.

Finn Magnusen's Eddalæren fills, in fact, 4 volumes 12mo, containing altogether 1680 pages of letter-press, and his Lexicon Mythologicum, closely printed in double columns, takes up 850 quarto pages of the third volume of the Edda.

Guided by this science, you will also be able to perceive the first faint glimmerings of intelligence that accompany the rudimentary nervous system of the radiata, and to trace its gradual development, along with this system, through the collateral branches of molluscous and articulated animals to the vertebrata, until it attains its full maturity in the highest class of beings that has hitherto appeared on the earth: and analogical reasoning will warrant you in drawing the conclusion that this intelligence is still in a state of development, and may, even on this planet, in ages far too remote for human calculation, give rise to beings infinitely superior to any that at present exist on its ever-changing surface. Vain indeed must be the person who can imagine that Almighty power has breathed into such an imperfect being as man all the spiritual essence that mortality is capable of supporting!

M. Mallet, in his inquiries respecting the religion of the ancient Teutonic tribes, assumes that they originally worshipped a sole, unique deity, and, as usual, gives extracts from Tacitus in corroboration of his opinions. If our space allowed us, we think we could show that the converse of all that he says on this subject in the commencement of the fifth chapter of this work would be much nearer the truth. If we follow the Teutonic tribes to the plains of Asia, and thus remount far beyond the bounds of authentic history and the times of Tacitus, we may, in fact, with much greater reason supposefor in such inquiries anything that can be said will be little better than mere conjecture-that their religion was essentially grounded on polytheism, for, like every other primitive people, they were, no doubt, chiefly occupied in hunting and in tending their flocks and herds. Now, when men are in this rudimentary state of social existence, they will be forcibly impressed by the varied phenomena of nature which they are utterly unable to comprehend. They hear the thunder pealing from the lurid clouds that veil the beneficent orb which experience has taught them regulates the seasons. They behold the forked lightning darting athwart the jarring rack winged with destruction. Trembling with fear, they naturally

It may not be irrelevant to observe, that in a note to the second edition of a pamphlet published in 1836, and entitled "A few Remarks on our Foreign Policy," we had occasion to make use of a similar argument.

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