Untitled - Centrostudirpinia.it

WOELD. 795
its planetary revolution. Manaseps,fairhvus } and weralt point to
spaces and periods filled 1
by men.
So far as world contains the notion of seculum and life, it is
significantly called, even by the OS. poet, a dream : liudio drom,
Hel. 17,17. 104,7. 109,20. manno drom 23, 7. 103,4. AS.
gumdream, Beow. 4933 ; la vida es sueno/ Its perishableness
and painf ulness have suggested yet other designations : diz
ellende wiwftal (weep-dale)/ Tod. gehugde 983, as we say (
this
vale of tears, house of sorrow (see Suppl.).
From its enormous superficial extent is borrowed the phrase
f
thius brede werold, Hel. 50, 1. 131,21; MHG. diu breite
werlt/ Mar. 161; our weite breite welt. Also: thiz lant breitd,
0. ii. 2, 18. daz breite gevilde, Mar. 34. Wigal. 2269. diu breite
erde, Eoth. 4857. Wh. 60, 29. Geo. 4770, evpela %0cov. This
reminds one of the name of Balder s dwelling spoken of on
p. 222-3, breiffa blik, which seems to include the two notions
of breadth and brightness. An expression used by miners is
remarkable in this connexion : blickgold,
blicksilber is said of
the clear molten metal gleaming on the fining-hearth, and der
breite Hick when there is a plentiful yield of it. 2 The beautiful
bright world is, as it were, a wide glance.
When world or heimr is merely used in the general sense
of dwelling place, we can think of several worlds. The Yoluspa,
Ssern. l a
, supposes nine worlds and nine firmaments (ivrSir), conf.
Ssem. 36 b . 49 a
, just
as Sn. 222 b
speaks of nine heavens (see
Suppl.). 3
Of these worlds, not abodes of the living human race, those
that demand a close investigation are : the Flame-world, the
Dead- world, and Paradise;
but all are connected more or less
1 As we often use world and earth indifferently, so did the MHO. poets.
The beginning of time is expressed at option either thus : von anegenges zit, daz
sich diuwerlt erhuop (up-hove), und muoter ir kint getruoc (bore), Eol. 285, 12.
sit (since) diu werlt erste wart, Ulr. Trist. 3699 ; or thus : sit dhiu erde geleget
wart, Rol. 187, 7. sit diu erde alrerst begunde bern (to bear), Karl 70 b .
2 In Matthesius s Sermons 84 a : Now this Cyrus hath a silver kingdom,
wherein the word of God, as silver refined in the fire, is preached zu breitem
hath sent his apostles into all the world, that they may preach the
plick. 91 b : He
gospel zu breitem plick, as ye mining folk say. 101 a : Elsewhere lead appeareth
in blocks, as at Goslar, where the Eamelsberg is zu breitem plick almost all
16<1(1.
3 Nine choirs of angels, Fundgr. 1, 101. Pass. 339. 341. niu fylkingar engla,
Fornald. sog. 3, 663 ; conf. the nine punishments of hell, Wackernagel s Basel
MSS. 24 b [Buddhist books describe 18 hells, some hot, some cold].