Poetic Edda - Cottle Trans.
HARBARD.
Brutal strength I own is thine;
But faint thy mental virtues shine.
I saw thee once with all thy pride,
Low in a sweaty (8) Gauntlet hide.
No thundering accents then were heard;
For fear had stifled every word.
Great Thor was then (9) afraid to sneeze,
And trembled at each passing breeze.
(10) Fiolarr sought, but sought in vain:
What mortal can his scorn contain?
THOR.
Peace, rude sland'rer! stop thy throat;
Were I stationed near thy boat,
Thee to Hela I would send.
'Tis well my arm will not extend. ---
HARBARD.
Why my words thy rage provoke?
More harmlessly I never spoke.
Whither meanwhile went great Thor?
THOR.
I in eastern climes waged war;
There Suarangi sons withstood,
Pressing thro' the frontier flood.
Long they hurl'd the splinter'd rocks;
But boldly I withstood their shocks:
Till weary with the strife they cease,
And sue at last to me for peace.
To Harbard meanwhile what ensued?
HARBARD.
(11) In the East a maid I woo'd:
Fair as the stately teil tree, she
Oft held me in sweet colloquy.
Beneath her radiance when she smil'd,
Gentle Loves my cares beguil'd;
Her bright effulgence dim'd the day;
Pleasant was our amorous play!
THOR.
Thou wert blest with many a maid.
HARBARD.
Then, O Thor! I miss'd thy aid.
One there was like orient morn,
And graceful as of Goddess born.
THOR.
Surely she had been thy bride;
But fate my presence there deny'd.
HARBARD.
They who once their friends deceive,
Friends seldom afterwards believe.
THOR.
Think'st thou I'm like those mortal shoes,
(12) Made indurate by vernal dews?
HARBARD.
While I enjoy'd the maiden's smile,
What did mighty Thor the while?
THOR.
In Helfeyia's lands I flew,
(13) The partners of a giant crew.
Just, my vengeance on them fell ---
Deep skill'd in every magic spell.
HARBARD.
Bravely done, I own, great Thor!
On feeble women to make war.
THOR.
(14) Wolves they were, all mortals swore;
And only form of women bore.
They dash'd my vessel on the sands,
That bore me oft to distant lands:
An iron scourge they twisted then,
And drove me back to Thialfen.
What meanwhile can Harbard boast?
HARBARD.
I amid a warlike host,
Sublime the floating banners bore,
And dipp'd my javelin in gore.
THOR.
Thou, offspring of the sordid earth,
To me of high celestial birth,
Offered'st thy bare conditions then,
And sought for peace 'twixt Gods and men.
HARBARD.
The contest of the ring I know,
Made thee once my bitter foe:
Yet still the judges thought it fair,
Tho' scrutiniz'd with greatest care.
THOR.
Whence dost thou those gibes relate,
Pointed with malignant hate?
For never smote upon mine ear,
A speech so saucy and severe.
HARBARD.
I took them from the daily speech,
That old men to their children teach:
And ev'ry one the same can tell,
That in the groves immortal dwell.
THOR.
Truly those groves of little fame,
Receive too honourable name.
HARBARD.
Such is the name that mortals give,
Who love beneath their shade to live.
THOR.
Amply shall thy wit be paid,
If I begin the ford to wade:
Howling like a wolf you'd reel,
If once my mallet doom'd to feel.
HARBARD.
Better Sivia's house go find,
Fill'd with damsels fair and kind.
Wisely there thy prowess show,
But dread to meet a braver foe.
THOR.
Thou shoot'st with most pernicious spite,
But seldom aim'st thy shafts aright.
Infernal caitiff, wretch absurd!
Thou liest at thy every word.
HARBARD.
This, however, must be true,
Slowly you your way pursue:
Better progress had you made,
If in some other form array'd.
THOR.
Harbard does my right deny,
More than wrongs can justify.
HARBARD.
Did Thor's vile shepherd ne'er prevent,
Aseus when on journeying bent?
THOR.
A truce, good Harbard! take thy oar,
Launch thy bark and leave the shore:
Cease each petulent reproach,
And Magni's sire with speed approach.
HARBARD.
Truce vile Thor! forsake the shore,
The fates forbid to bear thee o'er.
THOR.
Tho' a passage thou deny,
Tell how the road's long windings lie.
HARBARD.
What's the road I soon can say;
But long and toilsome is the way.
Thro' a marsh you first must go ---
Then lofty rocks their summits show;
Thence pursue the left hand road,
To distant Verland's fair abode.
There anxious Fiörgin shall see,
Her long expected progeny:
She the winding ways will teach,
E'er to Odin's land you reach.
THOR.
Can I reach there while 'tis day?
HARBARD.
Long and tedious is the way:
But e'er the west'ring trav'ller set,
To Odin's dwelling you may get.
THOR.
Then here enquiry shall subside,
For thou art all ill will and pride:
But for the boon deny'd this day,
Some future time will I repay.
HARBARD.
Let perils round thy path be spread,
And furies howl about thy head!
Notes:
8. "Gauntlet." --- The story of Thor's sleeping in a gauntlet, is thus told in the Edda of Snorro: One day the God Thor set out with Lok, in his own chariot, drawn by two he-goats; and when night came on, put up at a peasant's cottage. Thor slew his two he-goats and dressed them for supper. The peasant and his children were invited to the repast. He had a son whose name was Thialfe and a daughter called Raska. Thor ordered them to throw all the bones into the skins of the goats: but Thialfe looking for the marrow broke one of the shank bones. Thor the next morning, waved his mallet and the two goats reassumed their wonted form; but one of them was found to be lame. Thor suspecting that this mischief had been done by some one of the family, grew enraged and seized furiously his mallet. The peasant implored forgiveness and Thor was appeased; but carried away with him Thialfe and Raska. Leaving his goats, he went with his companions to the land of the giants. Overtaken on their journey by night, they went as they thought into the house of a certain Giant to sleep. Here they passed the night: but in the middle of it, an earthquake shook their abode. Thor was terrified and seized his mallet to defend himself. Meanwhile they heard a rumbling noise --- It was a Giant who had alarmed them by his snoring. Thor immediately binds on his girdle of courage and enquires his name. "My name is Skrymner," says he, "and thy name is Thor: tell me have you not picked up my gauntlet?" Thor then perceived that he had been sleeping in the Giant's gauntlet; and the chamber was only one of its fingers. The Giant joined his company, and travelling all day, lay down at night under an oak to sleep; telling Thor to go to his wallet if he wanted any thing to eat. Thor tried to open it, but was unable to loosen a single knot. Vexed at this, he seized his mallet and threw it at the Giant's head. The giant awoke, and enquired if some leaf had fallen upon him. Thor remained quiet under another oak; and when the giant began to snore again, drove his mallet into the binder part of his head. The giant awaking enquired of Thor if some small grain of sand had not fallen upon that part, and why he did not go to sleep. Thor however resolving to have a third blow, watched his opportunity, and drove the mallet up to its handle into the giant's cheek. Skrymner awoke, and enquired if some bird's feather had not fallen upon him. They then rise, and quietly pursue their journey. [Back]
9. "Afraid to sneeze." Nec sustinebas ibi Præ formidine tua Pedere neque sternuere. [Back]
10. "Fiolarr," another name for Scrymner. [Back]
11. "In the East," &c. Harbard purposely suppresses the name of the virgin, lest Thor should discover who he was. [Back]
12. "Made indurate." --- This is a northern proverb to denote a false friend; because a shoe that has become stiff, hurts the foot of the wearer which it was meant to defend. [Back]
13. "The partners." --- These were the wives of the Berserki; who were giants remarkably fierce, and skilled in magic. [Back]
14. "Wolves, &c." --- The whole of Thor's answer is spoken ironically. [Back]
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