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744 DAY AND NIGHT.
similar, suggests rather the king of beasts, who to us is the bear. 1
Ali Jelebi in his Humayun-nameh (Diez p. 153) describes the
beginning of day in language bombastic it may be, yet doubtless
a faithful reflex of ancient imagery: f When the falcon of the
nest of the firmament had scattered the nightbirds of the flicker
ing stars from the meadow of heaven, and at sight of the claws
of tlie lion of day the roe of musk- scented night had fled from
the field of being into the desert of non-existence/ The night,
a timid roe, retires before the mighty beast of day : a beautiful
image, and full of life. Wolfram again in another song makes
day press forward with resistless force (see Suppl.).
But the dawn is also pictured in human guise, that of a beautiful
youth, sent like Wuotan s raven as harbinger of day : dasg by$
Dryhtnes sond* says the Lay of Runes. And in this connexion
we ought to consider the formation of such names as Rsdldceg,
Swipdceg, etc., for gods and heroes. This messenger of the gods
stations himself on the mountain s top, and that on tiptoe, like the
beast on his claws, that he may the sooner get a glimpse of the
land : jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops/
Eom. and J. 3, 5; a popular image, I have little doubt, and one
that Hebel also uses about Sunday morning :
( und Lisli uf de
zeche gold und heiter uf de berge stoht de sunntig/ He climbs
and pushes on : swiftly, irrepressibly der tac stigende wart, Trist.
8942. der tac begund herdringen, Wolfd. 124. In AS. wass
)>a
morgen leoht scofen and scynded (praecipitatus et festinatus,
shoved and shindied), Beow. 1828. Hence our poets call him
der riclie, the mighty, as they do God (p. 20) : riche also der tac,
MS. 1, 163 a . riclie muotes alsam der tac, Wigal. 5222. der tac
wil gericlien (prevail, prosper), MS. 1, 27 b . 2, 23b ; he is not to be
checked, he chases night away. Put impersonally : tho iz zi dage
want (turned), Otfr. iii. 8, 21 ; but also : der tac wil niht erwinden
(turn aside, give it up), MS. 1, 147 b . morge fruo,
als der tac
erstarliet (gathers strength), Eracl. 587.
vertreip,
do die naht der tac
Frauend. 47. 58. He hurls her from her throne, and
occupies it himself : ez taget, diu naht muoz ab ir trone. den sie
ze Kriechen hielt mit ganzer vrone, der tac wil in besitzen, MS.
1, 2b
;
215.
conf. f3acri\eveiv said of the sun (see Suppl. ).
1 The Arabs call the first glimmer of dawn the wolfs tail, Kiickert s Hariri 1 ,