Icelandic Poetry/Song of Hymer
SONG
OF
HYMER.
I.
Gods pursue the sylvan fight—
Gods that in fierce war delight.
The chace is o’er, and weary they,
Awhile the banquet's joy delay,
Till the teeming entrails tell,
Truth divin’d by mistic spell.
Their awful wands they now erect;
Now the sacred blood inspect.
Soon by omens sure, ’twas known,
Ager[1] did no cauldron own.
Gods pursue the sylvan fight—
Gods that in fierce war delight.
The chace is o’er, and weary they,
Awhile the banquet's joy delay,
Till the teeming entrails tell,
Truth divin’d by mistic spell.
Their awful wands they now erect;
Now the sacred blood inspect.
Soon by omens sure, ’twas known,
Ager[1] did no cauldron own.
II.
The Gods command—and thro’ the skies,
With eagle speed bold Veorr[2] flies.
In youthful vigor Ager shone,
Sitting on a rocky throne:
Giant terrors deck’d his brow:
Odin's son addresses now—
’Tis your’s for Asi sons with speed,
To spread the banquet late decreed.
The Gods command—and thro’ the skies,
With eagle speed bold Veorr[2] flies.
In youthful vigor Ager shone,
Sitting on a rocky throne:
Giant terrors deck’d his brow:
Odin's son addresses now—
’Tis your’s for Asi sons with speed,
To spread the banquet late decreed.
III.
Never more ungrateful word,
The one-eyed, sordid monster heard.
Now his angry eye-balls roll;
Dark deceit[3] absorbs his soul.
Veorr quickly, hither bear,
A cauldron thro’ the fields of air:
Ale, with speed, I then will brew,
Worthy chiefs like them and you.
Never more ungrateful word,
The one-eyed, sordid monster heard.
Now his angry eye-balls roll;
Dark deceit[3] absorbs his soul.
Veorr quickly, hither bear,
A cauldron thro’ the fields of air:
Ale, with speed, I then will brew,
Worthy chiefs like them and you.
IV.
That exploit,[4] the immortals grieve,
Their powers unequal to atchieve;
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And there, his oar, in silence ply'd.
That exploit,[4] the immortals grieve,
Their powers unequal to atchieve;
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XX.
Farther into ocean now,
Let us launch our daring prow,—
The valiant son of Odin cry'd:
But Hymer his assent deny'd.
Farther into ocean now,
Let us launch our daring prow,—
The valiant son of Odin cry'd:
But Hymer his assent deny'd.
XXI.
First success was Hymer's fate;
A whale's wide swallow took the bait:
Mightily his line he drew,
And in the boat the monster threw.
Soon crafty Thor th’ expedient took,
Beneath the boat to fix his hook.
First success was Hymer's fate;
A whale's wide swallow took the bait:
Mightily his line he drew,
And in the boat the monster threw.
Soon crafty Thor th’ expedient took,
Beneath the boat to fix his hook.
XXII.
The destin'd victor of the snake,
Now began his rod to take,
A firm-spun cable-line he took,
And fix'd the bull's head to the hook.
The zone-like monster seiz'd the bait,
That Gods indignant justly hate.
The destin'd victor of the snake,
Now began his rod to take,
A firm-spun cable-line he took,
And fix'd the bull's head to the hook.
The zone-like monster seiz'd the bait,
That Gods indignant justly hate.
XXIII.
Veorr fiercely drew the line,
The slimy spires began to shine
Voluminous the reptile wreath’d,
As first the untry'd air he breath’d:
Then guided o’er the vessel's side,
Lay spreading many a furlong wide.
Veorr[5] to his mallet fled,
And smote the wolf-like serpent's head.
Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/184 Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/185 But sought the wide boat's farthest side,Veorr fiercely drew the line,
The slimy spires began to shine
Voluminous the reptile wreath’d,
As first the untry'd air he breath’d:
Then guided o’er the vessel's side,
Lay spreading many a furlong wide.
Veorr[5] to his mallet fled,
And smote the wolf-like serpent's head.
And there, his oar, in silence ply'd.
XXVI.
Wilt thou Veorr! Hymer cries,
Assist in bearing home our prize;
And lend me too a willing hand,
To haul the vessel on the strand.
Wilt thou Veorr! Hymer cries,
Assist in bearing home our prize;
And lend me too a willing hand,
To haul the vessel on the strand.
XXVII.
Elorrid delay'd no more,
But high in air the vessel bore—
Whales, pumps, oars, benches, ropes and all,
And plac'd them in the mountain hall.
Elorrid delay'd no more,
But high in air the vessel bore—
Whales, pumps, oars, benches, ropes and all,
And plac'd them in the mountain hall.
XXVIII.
Th’ exploit was great—yet Hymer's pride,
Still superior strength deny'd:
Best prov'd he said if by one stroke,
Yon firm compacted bowl he broke.
Th’ exploit was great—yet Hymer's pride,
Still superior strength deny'd:
Best prov'd he said if by one stroke,
Yon firm compacted bowl he broke.
XXIX.
Elorrid at his folly laught;—
Then broke in two the column's shaft:
Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/187 In vain the banquet I bewail :—
Too freely Veorr drinks my ale.
Elorrid at his folly laught;—
Then broke in two the column's shaft:
Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/187 In vain the banquet I bewail :—
Too freely Veorr drinks my ale.
XXXIII.
Other sports will I supply:
Lift yon massy cauldron high.
Mighty Tyr his strength twice prov’d—
Twice the cauldron stood unmov’d.
Other sports will I supply:
Lift yon massy cauldron high.
Mighty Tyr his strength twice prov’d—
Twice the cauldron stood unmov’d.
XXXIV.
Up rose Veorr from his seat,
(Earth shook beneath his pond'rous feet,)
Then high in air the cauldron swung:
The hooks were broke whereon it hung.
Up rose Veorr from his seat,
(Earth shook beneath his pond'rous feet,)
Then high in air the cauldron swung:
The hooks were broke whereon it hung.
XXXV.
He fled, and many regions past,
Veorr turn'd his eyes at last:
When bent on swift pursuit he saw,
Hymer forth his legions draw:
In haste they leave each lone recess,
And swift to western climates press.
Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/189 Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/190
He fled, and many regions past,
Veorr turn'd his eyes at last:
When bent on swift pursuit he saw,
Hymer forth his legions draw:
In haste they leave each lone recess,
And swift to western climates press.
- ↑ Ager.”—A great Magician, and Lord of Helseyia: coming from Asgard was received by the Asi at a splendid banquet. When he departed, he invited Odin and all the Asi to come to his mansion at a time he then appointed. The Asi were afraid there was no sincerity in his invitation, because there was little dependence to be placed upon the friendship of the Giants. To find if their suspicions were well founded, they made a sacrifice, and examined the entrails of the victim. They found that Ager had no cauldron, and concluded that his invitation was all falacious. Asi, therefore, sent Veorr to insist upon an immediate banquet, which they knew he could not possibly give. By this means they hoped to find a pretence for quarreling with Ager and spoiling him of his riches.
- ↑ Veorr.—One of the names of Thor.
- ↑ “Dark deceit.”—Ager began to find out the drift of the Asi, and thought to avoid the necessity of giving a banquet, by throwing some difficulty in the way.
- ↑ “That exploit.”—Thor is now supposed to have returned to the Asi, and to have related to them the success of his mission: but this the poet has left to the judgment of the reader to find out. There are many such quick transitions in this poem, which it is necessary particularly to attend to.
- ↑ Veorr, &c.—The story of Thor's engagement
with the Great Serpent, is told differently in the
Edda of Snorro, which was written, or collated
rather, 180 years after the Edda of Sæmund, As
it may not be unentertaining to compare the two
together, it shall here be related:
Thor resolved to attack the serpent if an opportunity offered: with this view he set out from Asgard under the form of a young boy, in order to go to the giant Hymer. When he got there, he besought the giant to permit him to go on board his bark with him when he went a fishing. The giant answered, that a little puny stripling like him, could be of no use to him, but would be ready to die of cold when they should reach the high seas, whither he usually went. Thor answered him, that he feared nothing; and asked him what bait he intended to fish with. Hymer bade him
This work was published before January 1, 1930, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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