Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1884-06-03
Dor ths pssocnAf
THE TEN GREAT RELIGIONS.
No.

lhf I'm uhfAi htLlhiONo'
NO
The Noremen we're ~srlike race,
occupying the northern parts Of EarOPe
several centuries before the christian era.
They ~srs Of the same people . the
Vandals. bu, better knovn /. Go;hs,
who marched in hOrdes down to Italy,
and finally over,hrs- the Roman I'm.
pire.
Tradition inform. us their ancestors
came from Asia. the supposed birthplace
Of man. and we're led by ehieftain
called odsn. -ho became the principal
God. The Scandinavian mythOlosy ieaehe.
ths, the krs, being created WAS formed
out Of frozen vApor and was q giant.
bearing the name Of yemsr, Who fsll
asleep snl Ou, Of bis lefs arm waved =
man and woman. from whom descended
the ~hols race Of frO., Gi.n,s 50 re.
no-ned in Morse Mythology.
Their God. we're born. having no ex.
i.,encs anterior 10 the creation Of the
giants. from whom they descended. in
the following mythical manner. A COW
vas also made Of frOzen vsPOr and lick
al some stones tha, were salt, 0a, Of
which came = man Who besai son by
the name Of Bor. lie took = wife. the
daughter Of the gi.a, Bol,ham. and they
had three .on.. Oien. Vile and We.
odsn. the principal God. Is the mag
mary author Of their sacred books. the
Eddas. They were composed probably
in Denmark. Sweden OF Nor-sy and
we're preserved BY the smigran,' TO Ice
land and compiled sbOu, the ll,h cen
ury. The older Edds consists Of abou;
80 poems. The later Eids l. sabse-
qusn, compilation Of the myth. Of the
GOd.. treating Of ,he ssAndiaavisn eo.-
posomy from the creation TO the dss,rue.
ton Of the universe. 0den ~iih bis
two brothers, Vile and We. sle~ the gan,
lsmer and the blood from his wounds
created . food which destroyed the whole
race Of frost giant. excepting one, Who
saved bis household in . boat, from
whom sprAng q new race Of giants The
Gods dragged bis body to the center Of
The universe and from bis blood made
the seas. Of bis body the earth. Of his
teeth and Jaw. they made the stones. Of
bis hair they made the trees, Of his
skull they made the heavens then scat
tered his brains in the air and made the
clouds. After the earth vas formed. the
Gods created = man and woman, from
whom ,prang the whole human family.
One day s Oden. Hoensr and l,oder.
we're walking along the sea beach they
found two trees from which they made
the frs, human pair. The Morse my
,hOlOsy recognized twelve gods, twenty
sir goddesse., and also Lobe, an evil
being which corresponds with Pluto Of
the Greeks, Ahinman Of the Persians,
silva Of the Hindoos and the Devil Of the
Bible. I, i. probable the religion Of the
Nor.men was onee the faith Of the
Oriental people and transferred to the
snow capped mountains Of Sweden and
Norway. The aneien, NOnemen believ-
ed in . day Of re,ributiOn. when the ma
terial world would be destroyed. and at
the day Of jOdgmen, there would be q
separation Of the JUS, and unjust. the
former respins an eternal reward for q
vir,uous life. the latter doomed 10
wre,chedne.s and woe. Dwarfs and
giants are no, punished for they &C,
ollnliy ena uefc No NV VIII wv Wv
wicked Of mankind 20 toa place Of pun
ishmsn, "where their bodies are torn BY
the dragon Of the usmos, darkness"
Thor. the son Of oden. vi. the mos,
powerful Of all the Gods. Ne rode upon
the storms. hurled his thundereolts. and
With his ponderoas hammer slew the
whole race Of mountain giants. Lobe,
the evil God. often cast illusions In the
mind Of the mighty Thor. presenting
him q horn filed with water, defying
him TO drink the contents Thor failed
to eshsas, the horn. foe the vily deceiver
had connected one end 10 ell the waters
Of the earth. These are but few Of the
myths sboundins in the Eddas. They
we're highly snisms,iesl and scarcely cd.
NIT Of an intelligent solution.
The scandinavian mythology has pass
Cd away before the tide Of christianity.
and ct the present day. the Lutheran