One day Wotan, the king of the gods, came to the fountain for a draught of the Water of Wisdom. He drank, and left one of his eyes in payment. He tore a limb from the World-Ash and made it into a spear; and the spear, having strange figures upon it representing Law and Knowledge, was typical of the wisdom and power of the gods, and so long as that wisdom and that power endured no sword could break the spear nor could remain whole at its touch.
But the World-Ash, robbed of its branches, withered away and died, and the Fountain of Wisdom became dry.
And these things were the beginning of the end of the Golden Age. But wise people say that the Golden Age did not end until men began to value gold for its own sake and the love of gain, and to do wrong things to possess it. And now I will tell you how it all happened.
Motif of the Primal Element, out of which come the Erda, Norn, and Rhine Motifs
Song of the Rhine Maidens
Weia waga, wavering waters,
weaving and whirling! Walala weia!