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Had for their origin his bones:
The skies expanded from his brains,
And ocean issu’d from his veins.
sea and rivers from his blood; mountains from his bones; rocks and stones from his broken bones and teeth; herbs from his hair; heaven from his skull; the habitable earth from his eye-brows; and at last the clouds from his brains. In this account, confused and allegorical as it may seem, is contained the history of the creation; not so, however, but that many other things are interspersed which relate to after times. Thus the story of Bergelmer relates to the Deluge. What things were believed by the northern nations to have existed before the coming of Odin, may be summed up in a few articles.
1. Matter did not exist from eternity.
2. But because it once existed, it was necessary there should be some first cause. That was esteemed the most perfect of beings and creator of all things.
3. This wise Being first created Nifleim, the place of storms, or Chaos: whence originated matter.
4. This place being formed, he divided it into regions. The immense void contained within the
