Mimir:
"...admitted [the US tax code] made the ultimate Eddic question - 'What did Odin whisper in the ear of Baldr when Baldr lay on his pyre?' - look easy." (p. 359)
In accordance with Neil Gaiman's advice, I will retell the story of the ultimate question insofar as I remember it, but mostly in my own words.
The Wanderer and a jotun king tested each other's knowledge of the Eddic universe. After many comprehensive questions and answers, the Wanderer asked, "What word did Odin whisper in Baldr's ear on his funeral pyre long ago?" The king recognized the Wanderer and said, "No one can know what word you whispered in your son's ear on his funeral pyre long ago. I have set myself against Odin. You will always be wiser and wisest."
Odin himself did not understand his word to Baldr until a spaewife had told him about the Ragnarok and its aftermath: "Rebirth."
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
If Odin was the wisest of all beings for pagan Scandinavians, King Solomon held an analogous position among the Jews. With his judging of the case of the women who disputed which of them was the true mother of the living infant of two babies.
Ad astra! Sean
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