Northern mythology

142 NORTHERN MYTHOLOGY.
also to consider, think, with many derivatives.
Borr^ Burr,
or Bors, is tJie brought forth, born, Sansk. b'aras^ Goth,
baurs^ Lat. por, puer.
It also forms an adjective bor-inn^
born, from bera_, to bear, bring forth, from the past tense
of which^ bar^ is derived barn^ a child^ A. S. beam, Scot,
bairn : burr also (A. S. byre) is used by the skalds for
son. By Bolthorn (from trouble, evil, bale, and )?orn,
thorn) is expressed the bad quality of matter, as opposed
to the gods. Of Bestla, or Belsta, the etymon is uncertain,
as is also the signification of the myth. The names
Odin, Vili, and Ve will be noticed hereafter. The general
denomination of these gods is As, pi. ^sir; Goth, ans,
A. S. OS, pi. es (analogously with Ger. Gans, A. S. gos,
ges, goose, geese). Jornandes calls them Anses. The root
is the Sansk. as, to be, exist, and is the same as the Latin
termination ens^ The boat in which Bergelmir escaped
is called lu^r, signifying a lute, drum, also a sort of sack
or case used in the ancient mills ; its meaning here cannot,
however, be doubtful, as it evidently corresponds to
Noah's ark : its radical signification may lie in its hollowed-out
form.
With the creation of the gods this world begins.
There
was a state before it, and a state will follow it. In the
state before it the raw elements existed, but it was a rough,
unformed life : mind was yet lacking in the giant^s body.
With Odin and the iEsir the intellectual life began to
operate on the raw masses, and the world in its present
state came into existence.
Day and night were opposed to each other ; light came
1
The ^Esir are the creators, sustainers and regulators of the world, the
spirits of thought and life that pervade and animate all dead nature, and
seek to subject it to the spiritual will. They assemble daily to hold council
on the woi-ld's destinies. The human form and manner of being are
ascribed to them, but in a higher and nobler manner; they hear and see
more acutely, they go from place to place with inconceivable speed. Peter-
Een, Nor. Myth. p. 116.