Encyclopaedia Americana. A popular dictionary of arts, sciences, literature, history, politics and biography. A new ed. Volume 9 ; including a ... basis of the 7th ed of the German Conversa - Books Group, 7th Edition, Paperback

• Release Date   5/19/2012
• ISBN-13   9781236243195 | 978-1-236-24319-5
• ISBN   1236243196 | 1-236-24319-6
• Format   Paperback
• Author(s)   Books Group
• This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1849 Excerpt: ...the nature of the country where it originated. The following are its most important features: There were originally no heavens above nor earth below. but only a bottomless cosmogony is plainly a northern view of nature: we here see nature passing from the death of w inter into life, ami the beginning of the world connected with the appearance of spring. It was natural that, to the early Scandinavians, ice should have appeared as the primeval matter, und that it should be represented as evil, because it destroys the life of nature. The whole cosmogony is therefore a physical allegory, not inferior to those of other mythologies. The creation of day and night, the sun and moon, is thus related: The giant Darkness (ATuitci, JVar/i) had n daughter of the name of JVight (Ao«), dark and sombre like her race. She was thrice married, and bore to Nagelfari (Air, Ether) a son, Andur (Matter). lo Anar (the forming principle) Jord (the Earth). to Dellingar (Twilight) Dagur (Day), who was light, like his paternal race. Alfudur now took Nott and Dagur (Night and Day) to the heavens, and gave them each a horse and car, to drive round the earth daily. Night rode first on her horse, Hrimfaxi (Blackmanc), which every morning bedews the earth with the foam from his mouth. The horse of Dagur, Skinfaxi (Shiningmane), illumines, with his mane, the air and earth. Mundilfari (Mover of the Axis) had two beautiful children, Sool and Maan (Sun and Moon). Proud of the beauty of his daughter, he married her to Glemur, the god of joy. The gods, offended at his presumption, took away his children, and transported them to the heavens. Sool was employed in driving the horses of the car of the sun, and Maan those of the car of the moon, and to watch over her increase and decrease. So fa...