that this ODIN, with his brothers, ruleth both heaven and earth, that OIN is his true name, and that he is the ful of all the Gods (a). power 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 fhall decline the attempt. 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 firft Giant was formed. This Being, whom the EDDA affects not to name, was intirely diftinct 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 myfteries, but by degrees, and with great precaution) that the hidden philofophy of the Celts*, meant to inculcate that the fupreme, eternal, invifible 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 thofe divinities who, at the last day, were to yield to the efforts of powerful enemies, and be involved in the ruins of the universe : and that then the fupreme God, ever exifting, and placed above the reach of all revolution and change, would arife from his repose, to make a new world out of the ruins of the old, and begin a new period, which fhould in its turn give place to another; and fo on through all eternity. The fame was the fyftem of the Sto *It is fufficient 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 fame people, and that the doctrine of the Druids was also that of the Scandinavian Scalds : an hypothefis which I take to be extremely erroneous, T. ics; who, as well as the philofophers of the north*, supposed that the world, after it had been confumed by flames, fhould be renewed; and that the inferior Deities fhould be deftroyed at the fame time. What confirms all this, is, that this God, fupe- rior to Odin himself, and of whom the vulgar among this people had fcarce any idea, is reprefented in the Icelandic poems as making a fecond appearance, after the death of all the Gods, in order to diftribute juftice, and establish a new order of things. See the Icelandic odes, cited in the antiquities of Bartholin, 1. 2. c. 14. Tuifton had a fon named Mannus, whose three fons were the original ancestors 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 received by the Romans, imported imported (according to Appian, Illyr. Lib.) that the Cyclop POLYPHEME had by Galatea three fons, named Celtus, Illyrius, and Gallus. SATURN, the father of fupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, might very well come from the fame fource; as well as the three fons whom Hefiod makes to fpring from the marriage of HEAVEN and EARTH, Coltus, Briareus, and Gygés. A tradition fo ancient and fo general, must have certainly had its foundation in fome 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 fome Fr. Tous les Peuples Celtes. thing very probable in this; unless the reader is inclined to give the preference to the fons of GOMER, Afkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. Gen. x. 3. If I were not already too prolix, I might find here the traces of another tradition, not lefs ancient, very far spread over the eaft, and in fome degree confirmed by the 6th chapter of Genefis *. I mean those two different races, the one good, the other evil, whom love at laft united. But I leave the pleasure of making this refearch, to thofe who are fond of difquifitions of this kind. Let me only invite them to read, upon this fubject, the pretended prophesy of Enoch, cited in Syncellus, p. 11, & feq. and Lactantius's Origin of Errors. They will find there many furprizing conformities with the above doctrines of the EDDA. * The common verfions of the paffage referred to by our author, run as follows: "The fans of God "faw 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 fame became mighty men; which were "of old men of renown, &c." Gen. vi. 2, 4. It is however but juftice to the facred writer, to obferve, 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 paffage: 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 '59) Nephilim, (not GIANTS, but) Men of Violence, from , ruit, irruit, &c. T. THE FOURTH FABLE. How the fons of Bore made heaven and earth. W kind of equality, or any degree of AS there, proceeded Gangler, any good understanding between those two different races? Har anfwers him; Far from it: the fons of Bore (A) flew the Giant. Ymir, and there ran fo much blood from his wounds, that all the families of the Giants of the Froft were drowned in it, except one fingle Giant, who faved himfelf, with all his houfehold. He is called Bergelmer. He efcaped by happening to be aboard his bark; and by him was preferved the race of the Giants of the Froft. This is confirmed by the following verfes. "Many winters before the earth was fafh"ioned, was Bergelmer born; and well I "know that this fage Giant was faved and "preferved on board his bark (B)." Gangler demands, What then became of the fons of Eore, whom you look upon as Gods? These Gods? Har replied: To relate this is no trivial matter. They dragged the body of Ymir into the middle of the abyfs, and of it formed the earth. The water and the fea were compofed of his blood; the mountains of his bones; the rocks of his teeth; and of his hollow bones, mingled with the blood that ran from his wounds, they made the vaft ocean; in the midst of which they infixed the earth (c). Then having formed the heavens of his fcull, they made them reft on all fides upon the earth: they divided them into four quarters, and placed a dwarf at each corner to fuftain it. dwarfs are called EAST, WEST, SOUTH, and NORTH. After this they went and feized upon fires in Mufpelfheim, (that flaming world in the fouth,) and placed them in the abyfs, in the upper and lower parts of the fky, to enlighten the earth. Every fire had its affigned refidence. Hence the days were distinguished, and the years reduced to calculation. For this reason it is faid in the poem of VOLUSPA, "For"merly the fun knew not its palace, the "moon was ignorant of its powers, and "the ftars knew not the ftations they were " to occupy (D)." Thefe, cried out Gangler, were grand performances indeed! moft ftupendous undertakings! Har goes on, and fays, The earth is round, and about C A |
