There were no intelligent
men on earth--
"Until there came three
mighty and benevolent
Aesir to the world
from their assembly
nearly powerless,
Ash and Embla (Ash and Elm),
void of destiny.
"Spirit they possessed not,
sense they had not,
blood nor motive powers,
nor goodly color.
Spirit gave Odin,
sense gave Hoenir,
blood gave Lodur,
and good color."
[Footnote: _The Edda of Saemund_, translated by Benjamin Thorpe.
London: Trubner & Co. 1866. Voluspa, v. 17, 18.]
It is certain, however, that the _ash_ was the typic tree of all
life, since the next verse of the Voluspa is devoted to Yggdrasil, the
tree of existence, or of the world itself. It may be observed that in
the Finnish poem of Kalevala it is by the destruction of the great oak
that Wainamoien, aided by the hero of the sea, causes all things to
grow. The early clearing away of trees, as a first step towards
culture, may be symbolized in the shooting of arrows at the ash.
The wolf, as a beast for the deity to ride, is strongly Eddaic.
"Magic songs they sung,
rode on wolves,
the god (Odin) and gods."
[Footnote: _Rognnir og regin._ Odin and the Powers. Note by B.
Thorpe to the _Hrafnagalar Odins_, in Edda, p.30.]
We have here within a few lines, accordingly, the elm as the parent of
mankind, and wolves as the beasts of transport for the supreme deity,
both in the Indian legend and in the Edda.
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