New-York tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1841-1842, 1841-04-17
THE NORTHMEN'S MYTHOLOGY.
BY CARLYLE.


Heroes and Hero.worship is the title of new work
from the vigorous pen of Carlyle, consisting OF SIX Lectures
by hin, on the philosophy of Heroism and iero-WorshP
illustrated BY the character and history of the several chief
Heroes by whom the world mas been electrified His first
Lecture treats Of Odn and the Scandinavian Philosophy and
from it we extract the following
The urinary characteristic Of this old Northland My
hoocv find TO be lmpersonaon OF the visible workings
Of Nature Earnest simple recognition Of the workings OF
Physical Nature as thing wholly miraculous, stuPendous
and divine What We now lecture OF as Science, they
wondered al, and fell down IN awe oetoIe' aS heSion
The dark hostile Powers of Nature they figure to them
selves y5ins Giants as huge shaggy beings o demoniac
character Frost Fire, Sea-empes; these are Jotuas
The friendly Powers as SuTnIner-nca inc sum- are
Gods The empire OF this Universe Is divided between
these two they dwell apart IN perennial nernecnc ieud
The Gods dwell above in Asgard The Garden OF the Asen
or Divntes Jonhelm distant, dark chao.c land Is the
Home OF the Jotuns. 80
Curious all this and not idle nane, il we will look
al the foundation of The power OF FsTc, or Flame tor
instance which we designate by trivial chemical
name thereby hiding from ourselves the essential character
Of wonder that dwells in II IN all things Is win hcse
old Northmen Loke, most swift subtle Demon oil Inc
brood of the Jouns The OF the Ladrones Islands
too say some Spanish voyagers thought FIRE. which they
had before was devil or god that OH you
sharply when YOU touched it, and lived there upon dry
wood From It's too Chemistry, II II had not stupidity
to help IT, would hide that Flame is a wonder. What IS
Flame Frost the old Morse Seer discerns TO be mon
srous foay Jotun, the Giant Iyn, Hrym or Rinre the
old word nearly obsolete here. but still used IN scot
land signify hoarirost itine was mol tnen As no"
dead chemical thing, bu, living Jotun or Devil; the
monsrous Jon drove home his Horses at nght sat
combing their names, which Horses were Haul Clouds,
or fleet FIoss,r,lds His Cows-No not his, but kns
mans, hs Giant Hymlr's Cows are Ice6eTgs this lynn
looks at the rocks with his devl-eye and they sp IN
the glance OF II.
Gus; il the God Bonner (Thunde) or Ihor-CTod also
of benefcen Summerheat The thunder was his wrath;
the gathering OF the black clouds Is the drawing down OF
Thors angry brows the rebot bursting out OF Heaven
the attending Hammer flung from the hand OF ihor ne
urges his loud chariot III. mouniantops-hat Is the
peal wrathul he " blows in his red beard that Is the
rusng storbasl before the thunder begin BadeT agan
the White God the beautiful the JUST and benIgnant (whom
the early Christian Missionaries found 10 resemble ChIs)
Is The Sunbeautiulrst OF visible hlngs wondrous too
and divine sil all ASTRONOMERS and Almanacs
But perhaps the uodbest god hear tell OF OF
whom Grimm the German Eiyinoloss finds trace the
God u 1rsch or Wish The God Ui,h; who could gre
rs all that We ,cisltd Is this the slnccest and yet
uaest voice of the spirit man The rndest ideal that
man ever formed; which still shews Itself IN The latest
forms of our spiritual culture. Higher considerations
have TO teach Us that God ish Is MOTT the true God
OF the other Gods Jotuns will mention only Tor ETY.
mologvS sake that Sea-empcs the Jotun degir very
dangerous Joun and this very day, our rlver
Trent learn, the Nottingham bargemen, when The n
certain flooded state, "a kind OF backwa er or
eddyng swirl has, very dangerous 10 hel) call EGsT
they cry out Have care, there Is the Eager coming
Curious-tha, word surviving Ike III peak Of submerged
world The oldest Nottingham barg-men had believed IN
the god Aegir. Indeed English blood TOO, III good
part is Danish Morse; rather, bottom, Danish and
Morse and Saxon have distinction, except superficial
one-as OF Hcathen and Christian or the like But al over
our Island We are mingled largely with Danes propero!n
the inces-ani there ana ;a 81 course IL
greater proportion along the east coast and greatest OF
all as find 10 The North Country From the Humber up
ward all Scotland the speech OF the common people
Is s IN singular degree lceiandc lis GermanlsIn has
~iil peculiar Morse iings They are e" Normans,"
Northul-n-ii tha, be any great beauty =
OF the chief god. Odn, shall speak b. and by Mark
at present so muchwhai the of Scandinavian, and
indeed Of all Pagansm, recognition OF the forces o:
Nature as sodlke stupendous, personal agence-a Gods
and Demons Not nconcevable TO 1t Is the infant
Thought Of man uprning itself, with and wonder on
this eyesupendous Universe To me there IN the Morse
System something very genuine very great end manke
broad simplicity ruscy, very different from the light
grac~ulness OF the old Greek Pagan1, distinguishes this
scandinavian System His Thought-he genuine Thought
OF deep. rude minds fairly open 10 the things about
heni-a acetoface and hearttohear Inspection oil The
hIngs-he first characteristic of all good Thought IN all
times Not graceful lightness hat-spo in the Greek
PAean- certain honey u,hulness and rustic strength,
great rude sincerity dlscoses itself kere 1t strange
after beautiful Apollo statues and clear smiling my thu