The Sun.
London, England, 1824-10-27 00:00:00

FOR THE SUN.

EDDA.

FA111.2 Tilt Cow WHICH ern Yuen.
Mu. Enrrott—Gungler next inquired in what
place dwelt the giant liner, and what was the
nature of his food. liar answered :—As soon as
this wind from the south had melted down the
frozen vapours, and reduced them into drops,
there was also formed a cow from them. Four
rivers of milk issued from her udder, and she
' fed Ymer. As for the cew, she lived upon the
salt and the white frost which she licked from
off the stones.
On the evening of the first day when she licked
these stones, human hair issued from them ; on
the second day a head made its appearance, and
on the third .there came forth a man, endowed
with beauty, strenth and power. He was named
Bare, and was the father of Bore, who married
Beyzla, daughter of the giant Buldorn. The
children of this marriage were three sons, Odin,
Vile, and Ye; and it is our belief that this Odin
governs the heavens and the earth, in conjunc-
tion with his brothers ; that Odin is his real
name, and that he is the most powerful among
the gods.
This fable of the Edda, Mr. Editor, naturally
leads to some important reflections, which I beg
leave to subjoin to it.
From the context of this, and of the preceding
fable, it is evident that some power and super-
eminent being had breathed life into the frozen
drops from which the first giant was formed. This
Being, which the Edda affects never to name,
was evidently not Odin, in this fable called the
most powerful of the gods, since Odin was born
long after Ymer, who issued from the frozen
drops. If he cousidered that the Druids were
particularly cautious to conceal the hidden mys-
teries of these doctrines, and -revealed them only
gradually, and to some chosen few, we may con-
clude, from what has been observed above, that
the secret philosophy of the Celts taught that the
supreme, eternal, invisible, and incorruptible
Being, whose name, through dread and respect,
they did not venture to mention, had established ,

inferior deities to govern tin.• universe ; anti that
it was these deities that were, on the last day, to
be crushed by the evil powerk, and buried be-
neath the ruins of the world. That at this period
the Supreme God, that God ever existing, and
inaccessible to change, would awake from his re-
pose to create a new world out of the wrecks of
that which had perished, and thus begin a new
era, which, itself, would be followed by another,
and so on in endless succession. This notion
bears a strong and a striking resemblance with the
doctrine of the Stoics, who taught, likewise, that
after the world had been consumed by lire, it would
arise out of its ashes, and that at this same
epoch the inferior deities would be destroyed.
In confirmation of this opinion, it is remarked,
that in the ancient Icelandic poem, this god is
greater than Odin himself, and of which the peo-
ple in general had no great knowledge, is made
to appear, when all the gods are no more, for the
purpose of rendering justice, and opening new
destinies to a new race of beings.

The mention of the existence of giants is also
worthy of notice. That there once existed a race
of men of a gigantic size, seems to have been he-
lieved by all the 111100111 of antiquity, by which
they are mentioned either under the name of
giants, of Tita►:, or of Cyclops, Nor IS this idea
' confined to the writings of Pagans, since even the
Old Testament informs us in the book of Genesis)
that at the time when the children of God were
seduced by the beauty of the daughters of men,
there were giants that dwelt upon the earth.
Surely, a tradition at once so ancient, and so
universal, for we find giants mentioned also in
the tales of the East, must rest upon some solid
foundation ? If to this we add the works dis-
covered in many countries, bearing evident marks
of the highest antiquity, and at the same time
truly gigantic in their nature, as well as the
bones sometimes found ou various parts of the
globe, we can scarcely avoid believing that
there did once exist upon the face of the
earth a race of men very superior in strength
and in size to those by which it is now inhabited.
Whether or not this was really the case, must
probably ever remain a matter of conjecture.--
The reasons which induce me to incline to the
affirmative are those that I have just stated : nor
do I consider them as absurd or improbable in
themselves, however much they may be at va-
riance with the most generally received opinions.
The truth of any event that has occurred long
ago, depends chiefly upon the general concur-
rence of testimonies from various parts, all agree-
ing as to the main fact. This sort of confirma-
tion is not wanting in regard to the existence of
giants, since we find it believed by different na-
tions, and asserted at once by our own sacred
books, as well as by the most ancient records of
the most ancient nations that have dwelt upon
the face of the earth.

A. r.

Granoif speaking of the excellences of the
reign of Neushirvan, or Cbosrops, observes, " and
the rare and inestima`ble treasure of fresh water
was parsimoniously managed and skilfully dis.
persed over the
arid territory of Persia. In
"ersia, the Prince of the Waters is an officer of
The number of wells and subterraneous
channels Is much diminished, and with it the fer.
tility of the ;
400 wells have been recently
lost near Taurus, and 42,000 wells were once
reckoned in the province of Khorasan." The
Practice of sinking, or rather boring for wells in
England, by private individuals, is much increas.
ed and improved.
There is at present repairing at the shop of
Mr. MARSHALL, cutler,
High-street, the sword
used by Sir CHRISTOPHER. SETON at the battle of
Me thven, on the 19th of.rune, 1306. The sword,
which is two•edged and of very extraordinary
dimensions and workmanship—the blade being
no less than five feet in length— is the property
of GEORGE Swrox, Esq. A similar weapon is
preserved at Kinfauns Castle, which the fl
records mention having been the favourite sword
of Sir THOMAS DE LONGUEVILLE, the companion
in arms of WALLACE, and founder of the family
of MAUL of Kinfauns.—(PerthCourier.)

state.