**in ambush against thee." He afterwards beheld three thrones, raised one above an other, and on each throne fat a man (D). Upon his asking which of these was their king, his guide anfwered, "He who fits on the lowest throne is the king, his name is HAR, or the lofty one: The fecond is JAFNHAR, i. e. equal to the lofty one: But he who fits on the higheft throne is called THRIDI, or the third (E)." Har perceiving Gangler, defired to know what bufinefs had brought him to Afgard: Adding, that he fhould be welcome to eat and drink without cost, along with the other guests of his court. Gan gler faid, He defired first to know whether there was any perfon present who was famous for his wisdom and knowledge. Har anfwered, If thou art the more knowing, I fear thou wilt hardly return fafe: But go, stand below, and propofe thy queftions; here fits one will be able to answer thee. REMARK S. In the edition of the EDDA, published by Refenius, there is a Chapter before this: But I have not tranflated it, because it has little or no relation to the reft, and contains nothing remarkable: It is alfo not found in the MS. at Upfal. That chapter seems to have been only prefixed by way of preamble, by SNORRO STURLESON, the compiler of B 2 the the PDDA. As for GYLFE, Snorro informs us in the beginning of his larger Chronicle, that this prince, who governed Sweden before the arrival of Odin and his Afiatics, was obliged to yield to the fupernatural power, which thofe intruders employed against him, and to refign his kingdom up to them. This gave rife to the fuppofition that Gylfe was willing to make trial himfelf of the fkill and fagacity of these new-comers, -by propofing to them a variety of captious queftions. In the hiftory of ancient Scandinavia, as well as that of all the eastern countries, we often fee thefe contefts or trials of fkill between kings and princes, in which the victory is always affigned to him who could give an anfwer to every queftion, and affign a caufe (true or falfe) for every phoeno menon. This was called Science or Wisdom; words originally fynonimous in all languages, but at prefent fo eafily diftinguished. It will be neceffary here, to refer the reader to the account of Odin's arrival in the north, given in the former volume, (chap. II, III, &c.) for his more readily understanding this and the following chap ters. (A)" He refolved to go to Afgard."] Odin and his companions came from ASGARD: A word which fignifies the "a"bode of Lords or Gods." Some words are difficult to be understood, because we cannot discover any meaning in them. Here on the contrary, the difficulty lies in the variety or multiplicity of fignifications. The word As, in the ancient languages of Europe *,' generally fignified Lord or God, but in the EDDA, and other Icelandic writings, it fignifies alfo Afiatics; and we know not in which of thefe fenfes the name is given to Odin and his companions. Eccard, in his treatise De Origine Germanorum, pag. 41. pretends that this word was never used in the laft fenfe, and that the arrival of Odin from Afia was a meer fiction, founded on the refemblance of founds; * Fr. Dans toutes les Branches de la langue Celiique. 3 or that he certainly came from Vandalia, at prefent Pomerania. I refer the reader to the work itself, for the reafons on which this conjecture is founded; which would deferve the preference for its fimplicity, if a uniform and ancient tradition did not place the original country of the Scandinavians in the neighbourhood of the Tanais. See Vol. I. c. IV, &c. (B) By their inchant"ments." It fhould be remembered that the author of the EDDA was a Chriftian: On this account he is unwilling to allow Odin the honour of having performed real miracles. It was believed, indeed, in our author's time, that it was impoffi-, ble to do fupernatural things, but that yet there was an art of perfuading others that they faw them done. The fame opinion ftill prevails among many of our contemporaries. [This note is only in the first edit. of the orig.] (c) Diodolfe thus "defcribes it."] Diodolfe, or Thiodolfe, was a celebrated ancient SCALD who compofed a long poem, containing the hi ftory of more than thirty princes of Norway. We fee in the text SNORRO'S care to quote almost always his authorities for whatever he relates: This will appear throughout his work. He has perfued the fame method in his great Chronicle, where we find every fact confirmed by a fragment of fome old historical poem.' This fhows, at the fame time, both the great erudition of this hiftorian, and the amazing quantity of fuch kind of verfes that fubfifted in his time. In like manner among the Gauls, their ancient poems were fo numerous, that the young people found fufficient employment for feveral years in committing them to memory, them. They have crowns on their heads; and Gan gler is drawn in a fuppliant pofture before them. These figures bear fo great a refemblance to the Roman Catholic pictures of the Trinity, that we are not to wonder if fome have imagined them to be an allufion to that doctrine; < particularly fuch as fuppofe it was already already known to Plato, and fome other of the ancient Pagans.' T. (E)" "He who fits on "the higheft throne."] Is it Odin, or fome one of his court that fills this throne? This it is not eafy to decide. It appears to me, however, that throughout this whole preamble, the ODIN here fpoke of, is only the prince, the conqueror of the north, and not ODIN the father and ruler of the Gods S. Gangler had Gangler had betaken himself to Odin's court, while that prince was fubduing Sweden. He found therefore at Af gard, only his vicegerents, that ruled in his abfence. The names that are given them, perhaps allude to their rank and employments. Upon this fuppofition, there will be nothing in the relation but what is natural and easy. But I must here repeat it, that we must expect to fee, throughout this Mythology, ODIN the conqueror of the north, every where confounded with ÓDIN the fupreme Deity: Whofe name was ufurped by the other, at the fame time that he came to eftablish his worship in Scandinavia. JUPITER, the king of Crete, and the fovereign lord of Heaven and Earth; ZOROASTER, the founder of the worship of the Magi, and the God to whom that worship was addreffed; ZAMOLXIS, the high-prieft of the Thracians, and the fupreme God of that people, have not been more conftantly confounded, than these two ODINS. T. The reader may find it engraven on a copper-plate in Bartholini Caufæ contemptæ à Danis mortis, c. pag. 473. 4to. The reader will remember the diftinction made in pag. 60, 88, 89, &c. of the preceding volume. T. THE THE FIRST FABLE. GA Questions of Gangler. ANGLER thus began his discourse. Who is the fupreme or firft of the Gods? Har anfwers: We call him here ALFADER, or the univerfal father; but in the ancient Afgard, he hath twelve names (A), Gangler afks; Who is this God? What is his power? and what hath he done to display his glory (B)? Har replies; He lives for ever; he governs all his kingdom; and directs the great things as well as the fmall. Jafnhar adds: He hath formed the heaven, the earth, and the air. Thridi proceeds, He hath done more; he hath made man, and given him a spirit of foul, which fhall live, even after the body fhall have mouldered away. And then all the juft fhall dwell with him in a place *Goranfon tranflates this, Ubi eft hic deus? HUAR ES SA GUD? Where is this God? Which is doubtless the true meaning. T. B 4 named |