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INTEODtrcnON. 47
persuades Thor to dress up in Treyja's clothes and
go for it himself. The stratagem succeeds. Thor
regains possession of his hammer, and with it kills
the Giant Thrym and his followers.
9. Harbar8s-lj66
Harbarh''s Lgjy : a dialogue
between Thor and the ferryman Harbard, who re-
fuses to carry him over a stream. This furnishes
an occasion for each of them to recount his exploits.
Harbar5 is Odin, and it appears to be the object of
the poem to show the points of contrast between
Thor and Odin, and thereby express more definitely
the peculiar attributes of each. The innate differ-
ence between them is implied by the river that
separates them, but is directly expressed in the con-
trasted deeds and occupations of the two ; for while
Thor incessantly fights against the Jotuns, HarbarS
(Odin) excites Kings and Eulers to battle, strikes
down warriors and kisses the maidens.
10. Alvis-mal
Speech of Alvis (the All-"Wise).
Alvis, a Dwarf, has come for Thor's daughter as his
bride. Thor cunningly detains him all night by
asking him questions concerning the various worlds
he has visited. Alvis answers and teaches him the
names by which the most important things in Na-
ture are called in the respective languages of dif-
ferent worlds, of men, of the ^sir, Yanir, Jotuns,
Elves, Dwarves, and finally, of the realms of the
dead and of the Supreme Gods. The dwarf, being
one of those mythic creations wjiich cannot endure
the light of day, had to leave without accomplishing
his object.
. These four lays relating to the myths of Thor, are