Odin. Yet awhile my call obey; What virgins 2 these, in speechless woe, And snowy veils, that float in air. Prophetess. Ha! no traveller art thou, Mightiest of a mighty line Odin. No boding maid of skill divine Art thou, nor prophetess of good, But mother of the giant-brood! Prophetess. Hie thee hence, and boast at home, That never shall inquirer come To break iron-sleep again ; Till Lok 3 has burst his tenfold chain; Never, till substanial 4 Night Has reassumed her ancient right; 1 The Norse attached much deferential reverence to the office of prophetess so-called. The dress of one of these functionaries, as described in Eirik's Randa Sogn, is striking and peculiar. "She had on a large blue vest, spangled all over with stones, a necklace of glass beads, and a cap made of the skin of a black lamb, lined with white cat-skin. She leaned on a staff adorned with brass, with a round head set with stones; and was girt with a Hunlandish belt, at which hung her pouch of magical instruments. Her buskins were of rough calfskin, bound on with thongs, studded with knobs of brass, and her gloves of white cat-skin, the fur turned inwards." 2 Probably the Nornir (or Parcæ), the dispensers of good destinies, named Urda, Verdandi, and Skulda. As their names signify time past, present, and future, it is probable that they were always invisible to mortals. Odin, then, by asking this question, betrays his godship to ⚫the prophetess. Hence her reply. 3 The evil being, who continues in chains till the twilight of the gods approaches, when he shall break his bonds; the human race, the stars, and sun shall disappear, the earth sink into the seas, and fire consume the skies; even Odin himself and his kindred deities shall perish. 4 Consonant with the ancient theory that all things originated from Night, and would return to it again. Till, wrapped in flame, in ruin hurled, THE DEATH OF HOEL. AN ODE SELECTED FROM THE "GODODIN." [MASON remarks upon these odes :-"Whoever compares Mr Gray's poetical versions with the literal translations shall be convinced that nothing of this kind was ever executed with more fire, and, at the same time, more judgment. He keeps up through them all the wild romantic spirit of the originals; elevates them by some well-chosen epithet or image when they flag, yet in such a manner as is perfectly congruous with the general idea of the poems; and if he either varies or omits any of the thoughts, they are only of that kind which, according to our modern sentiments, would appear vulgar or ludicrous." The "Gododin," from which this ode is extracted, is a Welsh epic poem of nearly one hundred stanzas. The subject is the battle of Cattraeth, and the warlike renown of ninety Cymric chiefs. The "Gododin" is by Aneurin, a Welsh bard, who flourished in the sixth century. Gray executed the translation about 1768.] HAD I but the torrent's might, With headlong rage and wild affright To rush, and sweep them from the world! Too, too secure in youthful pride, To Cattraeth's vale in glittering row 1 One of the two divisions of the ancient kingdom of Northumbria, the other being Bernicia. 2 One of the Cymric heroes of Cattraeth. Every warrior's manly neck Flushed with mirth and hope they burn; THE PROGRESS OF POESY. A PINDARIC ODE. On its appear [THIS ode was begun in 1754, and printed in 1757. φωνᾶντα συνετοῖσὶν ἐς δὲ τὸ πὰν ἑρμηνέων And give to rapture all thy trembling strings. 1 The torque or collar of gold was a badge of distinction among the Celtic tribes. "When Malachi wore the collar of gold, Which he won from the proud invader."-Moore. 2 Pindar calls his own poetry Αἰολίδες χόρδαι. It is to this Gray refers, not to the Eolian harp. From Helicon's 1 harmonious springs A thousand rills their mazy progress take : Now the rich stream of music winds along, Headlong, impetuous, see it pour : The rocks and nodding groves rebellow to the roar. I. II. Oh! sovereign of the willing soul, And frantic Passions hear 3 thy soft control. And dropt his thirsty lance at thy command. Of Jove, thy magic lulls the feathered king, The terror of his beak, and lightnings of his eye. 1 Famous in Greek and Latin song as the abode of the Muses. It is a mountain in Boeotia, in Greece. The harmonious springs of the poet are the two fountains, Hippocrene and Aganippe, the former on the eastern slope of Helicon, the latter on the western. They are called fountains of harmony, from the fact of their bestowing upon those who quaffed their waters poetic inspiration. 2 The first lyre was made from the shell of a tortoise. Compare Horace, Odes, iii, 2. "Tuque testudo resonare septem Dic modos." 3 And consequently obey. 4 The "Apns of the Greeks, and generally identified with the Mars of the Roman mythology. I. III. Thee the voice, the dance obey,1 The rosy-crowned Loves are seen With antic Sport, and blue-eyed Pleasures, Now pursuing, now retreating, Now in circling troops they meet; To brisk notes in cadence beating Glance their many-twinkling 5 feet. Slow melting strains their queen's approach declare : With arms sublime, 7 that float upon the air, O'er her warm cheek and rising bosom move II. I. Man's feeble race what ills await! Labour, and Penury, the racks of Pain, And Death, sad refuge from the storms of Fate! 1 Power of harmony to produce all the graces of motion in the body. 2 Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. The name Idalia owes its origin to Idalium in Cyprus. "Est Paphos Idaliumque tibi, sunt alta Cythera."—Virgil. 3 Also refers to Venus. She is so called from Cythera. (See note 7.) 4 Derived from the Latin antiquus, and applied primarily to anything old, and therefore likely enough to be strange. From meaning strange, It passed to extravagant and ridiculous. 5 An imitation of Homer's μαρμαρυγή. 6 The Graces or Charities were three in number-Aglaïa, Euphrosyne, Thalia. 7 Held above their heads. |