Ten Great Religions: An Essay in Comparative TheologyClarke, James Freeman
Islamic
Ten Great Religions: An Essay in Comparative Theology
Clarke, James Freeman
Christianity and other religions; Religions
The adventures of Thor are very numerous. The pleasantest, perhaps, is the
account of his journey to Jotunheim, to visit his enemies, the giants of
Cold and Darkness. On his way, being obliged to pass the night in the
forest, he came to a spacious hall, with an open door, reaching from one
side to the other. In this he went to sleep, but being aroused by an awful
earthquake, Thor and his companions crept into a chamber which opened out
of the hall. When day came they found, sleeping near them, an enormous
giant, so large, that, as it appeared, they had passed the night in the
thumb of his glove. They travelled with him all day; and the next night
Thor considered himself justified in killing this giant, who was one of
their enemies. Three times he launched his mallet with fearful force at
the giant's head, and three times the giant awoke to inquire whether it
was a leaf or an acorn which had fallen on his face. After taking leave of
their enormous and invulnerable companion, they arrived at the abodes of
Jotunheim, and the city of Utgard, and entered the city of the king,
Utgard Loki. This king inquired what great feat Thor and his companions
could do. One professed to be a great eater; on which the king of giants
called one of his servants named Logi, and placed between them a trough
filled with meat. Thor's companion ate his share, but Logi ate meat and
bone too, and the trough into the bargain, and was considered to have
conquered. Thor's other companion was a great runner, and was set to run
with a young man named Hugi, who so outstripped him that he reached the
goal before the other had gone half-way. Then Thor was asked what he could
do himself. He said he would engage in a drinking-match, and was presented
with a large horn, and was requested to empty it at a single draught,
which he expected easily to do, but on looking in the liquor seemed
scarcely diminished. The second time he tried, and lowered it slightly. A
third, and it was still only sunk half an inch. Whereupon he was laughed
at, and called for some new feat. "We have a trifling game here,"
answered the king, "in which we exercise none but children. It is merely
to lift my cat from the ground." Thor put forth his whole might, but could
only lift up one foot, and was laughed at again. Angry at this, he called
for some one to wrestle with him. "My men," said King Utgard, "would think
it beneath them to wrestle with thee, but let some one call my old nurse
Eld, and let Thor wrestle with her." A toothless old woman entered the
hall, and after a violent struggle Thor began to lose his footing, and
went home excessively mortified. But it turned out afterward that all this
was illusion. The three blows of the mallet, instead of striking the
giant's head, had fallen on a mountain, which he had dexterously put
between, and made three deep ravines in it, which remain to this day. The
triumphant eater was Fire itself, disguised as a man. The successful
runner was Thought.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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