Esaias Tegnér

“ Balder was a son of the all-powerful Odin and the fair Earth-goddess Frigga, beautiful as the day and so bright that a shining splendor surrounded him as he traversed the dome of heaven on his white steed, swifter than thought. All evil, hatred, and strife were abhorrent to him. Eloquent, wise, mild, and just, he ever sought to promote peace, to avert misfortune, and to ease pain and sorrow. Sometimes, assuming human shape, he would mingle in the combat, but never, even in the heat of battle, did he lift his sword against a mortal. ”

“ Honor comes not nameless to the banquet, Frithiof! Ever open-faced she meets men’s glances, clear as sunlight is her shield. The fame of Frithiof’s deeds has reached us,—a terror both of gods and men; careless alike of cloven shield or burning temple; the mightiest warrior known in all the land. And this bold hero, this fierce viking, creeps, a beggar, to our hall! Nay, cast not down thy eyes before me. I, too, have once been young and felt as thou. Youth, well I know, hath fiery passions. ”

“ Then to Frithiof his son, he said: “The years have whispered many a counsel in my ear for thee, my son. As Odin’s birds hover about the burial mound, so do the teachings of experience linger on the lips of age. This above all else lay thou to heart: honor the gods. From them alone spring all blessing and prosperity, even as it is they who send the storm-wind and the life-giving sun-rays. They gaze into the heart’s most secret depths, whither no man’s eye can penetrate. Avoid evil: long years must oft do penance for one hour’s sin. ”

“ What the sun is to the earth, was Balder to Valhalla. His pure soul was the gem that fastened the wreath divine. When, slain by evil Loke, he descended to pale Hel’s realm, Odin’s wisdom straight began to languish, and the strength of mighty Thor to dwindle; the prisoned forces of evil, once mastered by the gods, stirred in their abysses; the dragon Nidhögg gnawed at the roots of the Tree of Life, and its leafy crown fast withered. Again the war broke out ’twixt good and evil—the strife that through all creation still endures. ”

“ Frithiof’s Temptation
Spring is come once more; birds warble in the treetops; freed from their icy bonds, the streams leap gaily downward to the vales below; the roses part their delicate sheaths and blossom red as Frigga’s cheeks. King Ring will now go hunting, and forthwith a joyous stir pervades the court. Bows twang, quivers rattle, fiery coursers paw the ground, the hooded falcon screams for its victim, and scarce can the huntsmen keep in leash the eager hounds. Fair as Frigga, dazzling as the battle-maiden Rota, sits the Queen upon her milk-white steed like a star on a summer cloud. ”

“ This life, too, hath its atonement—dim type of that still higher yet to come. Earth is but Heaven’s shadow; human life the outer court of Balder’s heavenly temple. Decked with purple is the proud steed led to sacrifice—a symbol, rightly read, that blood is the red dawn of every day of grace. Yet by the sacrifice of no other may thine own guilt be redeemed. The wrongs that man commits he must himself atone for. The sacrifice All-Father demands from thee, more sweet to him than blood and reek of victim, is thy fierce hate and burning vengeance offered on the altar of thy heart. ”

“ The gods, O Helge, do indeed dwell in temples, but not in them alone. So far as voice can reach, so far as the sun’s golden beams can penetrate, or the thoughts of man can fly, so wide are the halls of their boundless sanctuaries. The blood of sacrificial victims oft deceives; runes, howsoever deeply graven, sometimes prove false; but upon a just and upright heart, O Helge, Odin hath inscribed runes which god and man may trust. As flowers adorn the brazen shield, so doth gentleness become strength. ”

“ Thou art called the mightiest hero in all the Northland; let that content thy pride, and aspire not to the hand of a maiden whose forefathers sprung from Odin himself. My kingdom needs not thy service; that shall be our own care. But if thou wouldst have a place at court among my hired warriors, that I will not deny thee.”
Frithiof laughed grimly. “I be thy vassal? Nay—I am a man for myself, even as was my father. Out, Angurvadel, from thy sheath!”
Bright flashed the blade in the sunlight, the runes glowing fiery red. ”

“ It is not Winter, but balmy Spring, that opens the bud of life. Make to yourself true friends! A friendless chief, be he ever so mighty, is like a tree whose bark has been stripped away by storms; but he who is blessed with true friendship is like the forest giant, shielded from tempests by the companions that surround it. Boast not of thy ancestors’ deeds and honors. What avails the heritage of a mighty bow which thou hast neither the strength nor the skill to bend? The fame of thy sires rests with them in the grave: in its own waves the rushing stream flows onward to the sea! ”

“ Then in full circle of the warriors, ’mid glittering steel will I demand thee from thy brother as my wife. Till then farewell, and keep me ever in thy thoughts. In memory of our childhood’s love take thou this arm-ring, a treasured heirloom of my father’s house: all the wonders of the heavens are carved upon it—but the world’s best wonder is a faithful heart. See! how it gleams on thy white arm like a glow-worm upon a lily’s stem!”
Thus they parted, and “Ellida” bore the hero swiftly away, while Ingeborg, sad and hopeless, betook her to her bower. ”

“ Thou too, O Halfdan, hear my words and treasure them in thy heart. A pleasant wit is the adornment of the wise; but idle chatter befits none, least of all a prince’s son. Honey is sweet; but without hops no mead can be brewed. Put steel into thy sword, Halfdan, and earnestness into thy play! Never yet lived there man who knew too much, however famed for wisdom; but countless is the number of those who know too little. ”

“ Of no royal race am I, ’tis true, but the fame of my sires is ofttimes sung in royal halls, as well ye know. Easily might I win for myself a kingdom and wear the golden circlet on my brow; but ’tis my choice rather to dwell in the land of my birth, my sword ever ready to defend the throne or the hut of the poor. On King Bele’s mound we stand; in the depths below he heareth and speaketh for me—‘Join ye the hands of Frithiof and Ingeborg!’”
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Frowning darkly, Helge rose and scornfully replied: “Not for a peasant’s son is our sister destined; none but a prince may hope to win her. ”

“ Once more the Spring awoke with smiles; the blue sea was flecked with swelling sails of ships, and still his gloom remained unbroken. His thoughts ever dwelt on the happy days at Hilding’s abode, when the King’s child was his beloved companion.
At last Björn went to him and said: “Why does Frithiof sit like a wounded eagle in its eyrie? What is amiss with thee, my friend? Surely thou hast no lack of lands or goods; song and harp sound for thee by night and day; the mead horn passes from hand to hand. But vainly thy good steed stamps in his stall; vainly the hooded falcon screams for prey. ”

“ Evil is ever born blind, like the bear-cub; in darkness it enwraps itself, while good goes clad in shining robes of light. Loke still creepeth busily about to guide the hand of murder; with Balder dies the strength of heart and spirit, and anew the struggle in man’s breast begins. Virtue sits hopeless mid the shadows, as the fair god in the darkness of the underworld. ”

“ Ingeborg retired to her chamber, while Frithiof and Hilding seated themselves on cushions before a table upon which burned a taper.
Suddenly Frithiof spoke: “Terrible indeed must be the abode of the goddess Hel; yet gladly would I die and descend thither could I but know that Ingeborg would mourn for me as Nanna mourned for Balder!”
Hilding was amazed at this speech.
“Alas! my son,” he said, “can it be that thou art cherishing a love for Ingeborg? Never can it bring thee happiness. Bethink thee! King Bele’s ancestors are descended from the gods, while thou art but the son of a yeoman. ”

“ One handle only hath the sword; he who grasps it elsewhere wounds his hand. Strength is a gift of the gods; but without judgment, force is of small avail. The bear has the strength of twelve men, yet he is slain by one. Against the sword-thrust hold the shield; against violence, the law. Guard thy heart from pride; few are moved to fear thereby, but all to hate. The more arrogant thou growest, the nearer is thy fall. Many have I seen soar high, who now must go on crutches. Praise not the day before its end, the mead before ’tis drunk, nor the counsel before ’tis proved. ”

“ Hold fast together as one man, ye three, and never shall the Northland see your overmatch; for strength bound to kingly rank and power is like the steel rim that encircles the shield of gold. Fail not to greet for me my fair rose Ingeborg, who in peace and quiet hath bloomed as becomes a royal maiden. Shield her well with brotherly love and loyalty, that no rude tempest bear away my tender flower. Be thou a father to her, Helge ”

“ Then shall those golden runic tablets, lost in Time’s far dawning and graven with the wisdom of the gods, again be found amid the springing grass.
“Struggle and death are but the fiery proof of virtue; atonement another birth to higher life. The best, the happiest part of our existence, lies beyond the grave-mound; low and deep-stained with guilt and error is all we find ’neath heaven’s starlit dome. ”

“ One day the King sat with his warriors in the royal hall. Long was the feast, and many a horn of foaming mead was drained; but at last he pushed back his gold chair from the board, while all the chiefs arose to do honor to the words of their lord. Sighing deeply, he began:
“My noble Queen was taken, as ye know, from out these mists of earth, and now in Frigga’s heavenly bower sits enthroned in purple robes. Naught remains to me but the flower-decked grave-mound where she lies. She was the treasure of my life. But my babes suffer for a mother’s care; the country lacks a queen. ”

“ From the sons of princes will Bele choose a son-in-law, nor mayst thou ever hope to wed his child.”
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Frithiof laughed and his eyes flashed as he answered, “The gods take no heed of rank. With them valor is all. They will spurn him who fails in courage, even though he be of their own blood; but him who strives with all his soul to imitate them in godlike deeds they will hold in honor. The fame I have already won for myself by slaying the beasts of the forest shall count as much for me as if my ancestral line stretched up to Odin’s halls!” ”

“ Upon my head the gods have poured their wrath. Even the gentle Balder, lover of all mankind, spurns my prayers. ’Twas I who burned his temple. ‘Wolf in the Sanctuary,’ am I called. All joy ceases when my name is spoken. The child clings trembling to its father’s knees. Once more will I seek the broad, free ocean, whither earth and man have banished me. Out, out, my dragon! Too long in idleness thou hast lain. Again to the storm wind shalt thou spread thy pinions, and bathe thy black breast in the dashing spray! All—all on earth is lost to me forever ”

“ King Ring
There reigned at this time in the far North a King named Ring, no longer young, but gentle and kindly as Balder himself, and sage as Mimir, who guards the fount of Wisdom. His realm was peaceful as a grove of the gods. The greenwood never echoed to the clash of arms, nor were the cornfields trampled by the hoofs of battle steeds. Justice held sway upon the Seat of Judgment about which the people gathered to hold their Ting, or general assembly, where each man had a voice in the affairs of the kingdom. ”

“ But vain were my words, vain the shouts of the warriors, vain the intercession of Hilding and Halfdan! As little might the Spring sun coax a blade of grass from out the naked rock as our united prayers awake one kindly thought in Helge’s breast. Unchanged his lowering glance as scornfully he spoke:
“‘The peasant’s son might claim, perchance, our sister: but never shall the defiler of a temple win her hand. Speak, Frithiof! Hast thou not broken Balder’s peace? Hast thou not forced thy way into his holy temple, despite the law which so forbids? ”

“ Free dost thou roll, O mighty ocean! No tyrant’s will can ever do thee wrong; the only King thou callest master is he who looks upon thee calmly when thy white breast heaves in wildest fury, and thunder peals are swallowed in thy voice. No grave-mound e’er shall rise above me; thy tossing waves shall cover deep my bones.”
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Here Björn approached and touched his shoulder, saying, “Look! yonder King Helge makes his way amid the rocks. Methinks he hath yet a word to speak with thee.” Ten dragon ships were seen approaching. Frithiof sprang to his feet and bade his men prepare for battle. ”

“ Let our weary bodies be laid to rest beneath two grave-mounds, on either side of the stream, that its rushing waters may chant for us eternal praises of the heroes. Oft at the midnight hour, when the pale moon sheds her silvery splendors and the cooling dews descend upon our mounds, shall thou and I, my Thorsten, discourse of olden days across the flood, and our voices will mingle with the murmuring of the waves. ”

“ Disregarded at the feast sits the fool who holds the seat of honor by right of birth alone; ’tis to the wise man the guests lend ear, however lowly be his seat. Choose not every man to be thy blood-brother: an empty house stands open to all who pass; the rich man’s door is barred. Entrust thy confidence to but one; what is known to three is known to all the world.”
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The old King ceased, and Thorsten arose. “To permit thee, King Bele, to wander alone through Odin’s halls, befits not one who hath ever been thy comrade upon earth. ”

“ Despise us not whose eager gaze hath ceaselessly sought the radiant light of Heaven! Scorn not those to whom the divine ray was still wrapped in veiling shadows! The All-Father hath many envoys—He Himself is One! ”