THE SECOND FABLE Of the burning World, and of Surtur. T HEN Thridi opened his mouth and said, Yet, before all things, there existed what we call Muspelsheim (A). It is a world luminous, glowing, not to be dwelt in by strangers, and situate at the extremity of the earth. Surtur, (the Black) holds his empire there. In his hands there shines a flaming sword. He shall come at the end of the world; he shall vanquish all the Gods, and give up the universe a prey to flames. Hear what the VOLUSPA says of him. " Surtur, filled " with deceitful stratagems, cometh from "the South. A rolling Sun beams from "his sword. The Gods are troubled; men tread in crouds the paths of death; "the Heaven is split asunder." But, says Gangler, What was the state of the world, before there were families of men upon the earth, and before the nations were formed? Har Har answered him. The rivers, called Elivages, flowed so far from their fources, that the venom which they rolled along › became hard, like the scoria of a furnace when it grows cold. Hence was formed the ice; which stopped and flowed no more. Then all the venom that was beginning to cover it, also became frozen: And thus many strata of congealed vapours were formed, one above another, in the vast abyss. Jafnhar added; By this means that part of the abyss which lies towards the north, was filled with a mass of gelid vapours and ice; whilst the interior parts of it were replete with whirlwinds and tempests. Directly opposite to it, rose the fouth part of the abyss, formed of the lightnings and sparks which flow from the world of fire. Then Thridi proceeded, and faid; By this means a dreadful freezing wind came from the quarter of Niflheim, whilst whatever lay opposite to the burning world was heated and enlightened. And as to that part of the abyss which lay between these two extremes; it was light and ferene like the air in a calm. A breath of heat then spreading itself over the gelid vapours, they melted into drops; and of these drops were formed a man, by the power of him who governed (B). This man was named YMIR; the Giants call him Aurgelmer. From him are descended all the families of the Giants; according to that of the Voluspa; " The prophetef" ses are all come of Vittolfe, the spectres "of Vilmode, and the Giants of YMIR." And in another place; "The rivers Eli vages have run drops of poison; and "there blew a wind, whence a Giant was "formed: From him came all the fami" lies of the Giants." Then spake Gangler, and faid, How did this family of YMIR spread itself? Or do ye believe that he was a God? Jafnhar replied, we are far from believing him to have been a God; for he was wicked, as were all his pofterity. Whilft he slept, he fell into a sweat, and from the pit of his left arm were born a male and female. One of his feet begot upon the other a fon, from whom is descended the race of the Giants, called from their original, the Giants of the Froft (c). 1 REMARKS ON THE SECOND FABLE. (A) Muspels-heim signifies, the abode or refidence of MUSPEL*. But who is this Muspel? Of this we are intirely ignorant. The ancient sages of the north were defirous to explain how the world had been framed, and to advance something pro bable for its being fo cold * Literally, Muspel's Home. т. matter matter of which the Sun was made. This Ether, or Fire, so placed at one extremity of the world, enabled them also to affign a probable reafon for its final confiagration; for they were absolutely perfuaded, that it would at the last day be confumed by fire. And as to the north, it was continually cold there, because oppofite to that quarter lay immense mountains of ice. But whence came that ice? Nothing could be more eafily accounted for; for Hell, which had been prepared from the beginning of ages, was watered by those great rivers mentioned in the preceding fable; and those great rivers themselves, in flowing at so vast distance from the fouth, whilst the course of their streams carried them still farther from it, froze at last in their currents, and swelled into huge heaps of ice, which communicated a chilliness to the northern winds. Between that world of fire and this of ice, there lay a grand abyss, which contained nothing but air; and here which some way or other relate to the subject of the text. It hath been a gene was placed, in process of time, the earth.. which we inhabit. If we read the fragment of Sanchoníathon, preserved by Eufebius, De Prep. 1. 2. C.IO. we shall find there a hiftory of the formation of the world, very much resembling this. (B) " By the power " of him who govern"ed."] Here we have the pleasure to observe, that our philosophers faw the necessity of having recourse to the intervention of a Deity in forming the world. The vivifying breath here mentioned, seems to carry in it a strong affinity to the "Breath of Life" which God breathed into the nostrils of the first man; according to the phrafe of Scripture, Gen. chap. ii. ver. 7.-One cannot doubt that the Celtic and Gothic nations, as well as the Persians, and moft of the Orientals, derived many of their traditions from Scripture. (c) "Giants of the "Froft."] There would be no end of amassing all the ancient traditions ral opinion in the east, that God began with creating Genii, both good and bad, of very immense powers: who for a long time before we existed, inhabited a world prior to this of ours. One may. fee in Herbelot, what the Perfians relate concerning the Dives, Nere, Peris, and their king are Eblis. - YMIR having been formed, as we fee, out of the congealed drops, all the Giants descended from him called, upon that account, THE GIANTS OF THE FROST. It must be observed, that these Giants are a species intirely diftinct from the men of our race, the Edda having not yet given any account of THEIR formation. 4 VOL. II. C THE |