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
"'Loki,' continued Har, 'has likewise had three children by Angurbodi,
a giantess of Jötunheim. The first is the wolf Fenrir; the second
Jormungand, the Midgard serpent; the third Hela (Death). The gods were
not long ignorant that these monsters continued to be bred up in
Jötunheim, and, having had recourse to divination, became aware of all
the evils they would have to suffer from them; their being sprung from
such a mother was a bad presage, and from such a sire, one still worse.
All-father therefore deemed it advisable to send one of the gods to
bring them to him. When they came he threw the serpent into that deep
ocean by which the earth is engirdled. But the monster has grown to
such an enormous size that, holding his tail in his mouth, he encircles
the whole earth. Hela he cast into Niflheim, and gave her power over
nine worlds (regions), into which she distributes those who are sent to
her, that is to say, all who die through sickness or old age. Here she
possesses a habitation protected by exceedingly high walls and strongly
barred gates. Her hall is called Elvidnir; Hunger is her table;
Starvation, her knife; Delay, her man; Slowness, her maid; Precipice,
her threshold; Care, her bed; and Burning Anguish forms the hangings of
her apartments. The one half of her body is livid, the other half the
color of human flesh. She may therefore easily be recognized; the more
so, as she has a dreadfully stern and grim countenance.
"'The wolf Fenrir was bred up among the gods; but Tyr alone had the
daring to go and feed him. Nevertheless, when the gods perceived that
he every day increased prodigiously in size, and that the oracles
warned them that he would one day become fatal to them, they determined
to make a very strong iron fetter for him, which they called Læding.
Taking this fetter to the wolf, they bade him try his strength on it.
Fenrir, perceiving that the enterprise would not be very difficult for
him, let them do what they pleased, and then, by great muscular
exertion, burst the chain, and set himself at liberty. The gods, having
seen this, made another fetter, half as strong again as the former,
which they called Drómi, and prevailed on the wolf to put it on,
assuring him that, by breaking this, he would give an undeniable proof
of his vigor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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