Page:A history of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, volume 3.djvu/420

 404 SORCERY AND OCCULT ARTS. Norse magic was roughly classified into that which was legiti- mate, or galder, and that which was wicked, or seid. To the for- mer belonged the infinite powers of runes, whether sung as incan- tations or carved as talismans and amulets. Their invention was attributed to the ancient Hrimthursar or Jotuns, and it was his profound knowledge of this magic lore which enabled Odin to achieve his supremacy. Runes it was that kept the sun upon his course and maintained the order of nature. All runes were min- gled together in the sacred drink of the iEsir, whence were de- rived their supernatural attributes, and some have been allowed Shook along their deep foundations, Flinty rocks flew straight asunder, Falling cliffs afar were scattered, All the solid earth resounded, And the ocean billows answered. And, alas ! for Toukahainen, Lo ! his sledge so fairly fashioned, Floats, a waif upon the ocean. Lo ! his pearl-enamelled birch-rod Lies, a weed upon the margin. Lo ! his steed of shining forehead Stands, a statue in the torrent, And his name is but a fir-bough And his collar naught but corn-straw. Still the minstrel sings unceasing, And, alas! for Youkahainen, Sings his sword from out his scabbard, Hangs it in the sky before him As it were a gleam of lightning; Sings his bow, so gayly blazoned, Into driftwood on the ocean ; Sings his finely feathered arrows Into swift and screaming eagles; Sings his dog, with crooked muzzle, Into stone-dog squatting near him; Into sea-flowers sings his gauntlets, And his vizor into vapor, And himself, the sorry fellow, Ever deeper in his torture, In the quicksand to the shoulder, To his hip in mud and water." — Porter s Selections from the Kalevala, pp. G-i-5.