"Yggdrasil, the All-Tree, whose fall shall bring the doom of the gods and the end of time...."
-The Fleet Of Stars, 4, p. 49.
"...the tree lives, for it is life, and it shall abide when the world goes under."
-see Yggdrasil.
That second quotation is from Poul Anderson's War Of The Gods. Myths are told in different forms and sometimes changed when retold. I think that "...it shall abide..." is closer to the Eddaic sources.
When intelligent beings travel between stars in sf, we have to be told how this is possible whereas, when gods travel between worlds in fantasy, we do not have to be told how it is possible. It is sufficient to ride Odin's horse or to traverse the rainbow.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
That line you quoted, "...the tree lives, for it is life, and it shall abide when the world goes under," vaguely reminds me of somewhat similar things I may have read in the Book of Ecclesiastes, which I've read more than once. I'm probably wrong, tho!
One writer, in an article I read long, long, long ago in THE CATHOLIC DIGEST, described the author of Ecclesiastes as sad but wise.
Ad astra! Sean
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