THE THIRD FABLE. Of the Cow OEdumla. where the Giant Ymir dwelt, and in what manner he was fed. Har answered, Immediately after this breath from the fouth had melted the gelid vapours, and refolved them into drops, there was formed out of them a Cow named OEdumla. Four rivers of milk flowed from her teats, and thus she nourished Ymir. The cow, in her turn, supported herself by licking the rocks that were covered with salt and hoar-froft. The first day that the licked these rocks, there sprung from her, towards evening, the hairs of a man; the second day, a head; on the third, an intire man, who was endowed with beauty, agility, and power. He was called Bure, and was the father of Bore, who married Beyzla, the daughter of the Giant Baldorn. Of that marriage were born three fons, Odin, Vile, and Ve; and 'tis our belief, that that this ODIN, with his brothers, ruleth both heaven and earth, that ODIN is his true name, and that he is the most powerful of all the Gods (A). REMARKS ON THE THIRD FABLE In all likelihood this fable is only an allegory; but whatever right my privilege of commentator may give me to explain it, I shall decline the attempt. ant was formed. This meant to inculcate that the fupreme, eternal, invisible, and incorruptible God, whom they durft not name out of fear and reverence, had appointed inferior divinities for the government of the world: and that it was those divinities who, at the last day, were to yield to the efforts of powerful ene There is, however, a very important remark to be made here. A powerful Being had with his breath animated the drops out of which the first Gi-mies, and be involved in the ruins of the universe: and that then the fupreme God, ever existing, and placed above the reach of all revolution and change, would arise from his repose, to make a new world out of the ruins of the old, and begin a new period, which should in its turn give place to another; and fo on through all eternity. The same was the system of the Sto Being, whom the EDDA affects not to name, was intirely distinct from Odin, who had his birth long after the formation of Ymir. One may conjecture, therefore, (fince we know that the Druids never revealed their mysteries, but by degrees, and with great precaution) that the hidden philosophy of the Celts*, * It is sufficient just to hint to the reader, that our ingenious author goes here upon the hypothesis of M. Pelloutier, that the Goths and Celts were the same people, and that the doctrine of the Druids was also that of the Scandinavian Scalds: an hypothesis which I take to be extremely erroneous, C2 т. ics ics; who, as well as the philosophers of the north*, supposed that the world, after it had been confumed by flames, should be renewed; and that the inferior Deities should be destroyed at the same time. What confirms all this, is, that this God, fuperior to Odin himself, and of whom the vulgar among this people had scarce any idea, is reprefented in the Icelandic poems as making a fecond appearance, after the death of all the Gods, in order to distribute juftice, and establish a new order of things. See the Icelandic odes, cited in the antiquities of Bartholin, 1. 2. c. 14. (A) "The most pow" erful of all the Gods.") 'Tis not undeferving of notice, that all the ancient nations of Europe + de scribe their origin with the fame circumstances. Tacitus says, that the Germans, in their verses, celebrated a God born of the earth, named Tuiston (that is, the fon of Tis, or Tuis, the fupreme God.) This *Fr. Les Celtes. re Tuiston had a son named Mannus, whose three fons were the original anceftors of the three principal nations of Germany. The Scythians, according to Herodotus, lib. 4. c. 6. & 10. faid that Targytaus (i. e. the GoodTaus) the founder of their nation, had three fons, Leipoxain, Anpoxain and Kolaxain. A tradition ceived by the Romans, imported (according to Appian, Illyr. Lib.) that the Cyclop POLYPHEME had by Galatea three fons, named Celtus, Illyrius, and Gallus. SATURN, the father of Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, might very well come from the same source; as well as the three fons whom Hefiod makes to spring from the marriage of HEAVEN and EARTH, Coltus, Briareus, and Gyges. A tradition so ancient and so general, must have certainly had its foundation in some real fact, though I pretend not to decide with Cluverius, that this fact is what the Scripture tells us of NOAH and his fons; yet one cannot deny, that there is some † Fr. Tous les Peuples Celtes. other evil, whom love at ... * The common versions of the passage referred to by our author, run as follows: " The fons of God "saw the daughters of men, that they were fair; and " they took them wives of all which they chose. "There were GIANTS in the earth in those days; " namely, after that the fons of God came in unto "the daughters of Men, and they bare children to " them: the same became mighty men; which were " of old men of renown, &c." Gen. vi. 2, 4.It is however but justice to the facred writer, to observe, that it is only from a misinterpretation of the original words, that the wild traditions mentioned by our author could have any countenance from the above passage: For, by "the fons of God," the best commentators understand the virtuous race of Seth; and by "the daughters of men," the vicious offspring of Cain: and the fruits of this marriage were Nephilim, (not GIANTS, but) Men of Violence, from נפלruit, irruit, &c. т. . 1 THE FOURTH FABLE. How the fons of Bore made heaven and earth. W AS there, proceeded Gangler, any kind of equality, or any degree of good understanding between those two different races? Har answers him; Far from it: the fons of Bore (A) flew the Giant Ymir, and there ran so much blood from his wounds, that all the families of the Giants of the Frost were drowned in it, except one single Giant, who saved himfelf, with all his household. He is called Bergelmer. He escaped by happening to be aboard his bark; and by him was preserved the race of the Giants of the Froft. This is confirmed by the following verses. 66 Many winters before the earth was fashioned, was Bergelmer born; and well I "know that this fage Giant was faved and " preferved on board his bark (в)." Gangler demands, What then became of the fons of Bore, whom you look upon as Gods? |