Page:Norse mythology or, the religion of our forefathers, containing all the myths of the Eddas, systematized and interpreted with an introduction, vocabulary and index.djvu/301



soon as the long northern days set in with all their luminous and long-drawn hours? As Runeberg epigrammatically has it:

The bird of passage is of noble birth; He bears a motto, and his motto is, Lux mea dux, Light is my leader.

Nay all living things, even the shells in the sea, every leaf of the oak and every blade of grass seeks light, and the blind poet sings:

Hail, holy light! offspring of heaven first born! He that hath light within his own clear breast May sit in the center and enjoy bright day; But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts Benighted walks under the midday sun.

And another bard:

Light down from heaven descends, Ether pure in flowing bowls; Light up to heaven ascends, A mediator for our souls.

Ay, it would be resting satisfied with the shell to interpret Balder as the mere impersonation of the natural light of heaven. He represents and symbolizes in the profoundest sense the heavenly light of the soul and of the mind, purity, innocence, piety. There can be no doubt that our ancestors combined the ethical with the physical in this myth. All light comes from heaven. The natural light shines into and illuminates the eye, the spiritual shines into and illuminates the heart. Innocence cannot be wounded. Arrogance and jealousy throw their pointed arrows of slander at it, but they fall harmless to the ground. But there is one inclination, one unguarded spot among our other strong guarded passions. The mischief-maker knows how to find this and innocence is pierced. When Balder dies, a dark veil