(2) In the course of ages it splits into a male and female principle which again split in two.
(3) From the co-operation of these four elements springs a being whose body is broken up into the constituents of a universe, and the worms from its decomposing corpse become men.
SCANDINAVIAN
(1) There exists a yawning abyss, bordered on one side by a realm of mist and cold, on the other by a region of fire.
(2) A giant is brought into being through the melting of the congealing vapour in the place of cold by a spark of fire from the region of Muspelheim.
(3) This being becomes the progenitor of a race of giants.
(4) He has a cow which, by licking a brine-covered rock, produces the father of the gods.
(5) These gods slay the giant and all his progeny save two, and manufacture the earth from his corpse.
(6) Alternatively the gods lift the earth out of the primeval waters.