Note 21 — Chapter XI · Folklore Philosophy

I am not sure, however, of the meaning; for, among other things, diheit, which I am inclined to interpret as ‘hard to reach’ or ‘not easy to effect,’ has been rendered otherwise by others21. In any case, the other instance seems to imply that at one time the heroes of Ỻew’s world were not necessarily expected to die at all; and when they happened to do so, it was probably regarded, as among savages at the present day, as a result brought about by magic. Any reader who may feel astonished at such a crudeness of belief, will find something to contrast and compare in the familiar doctrine, that but for the fall of Adam and Eve we should have never heard of death, whether of man or of beast. But if he proceeds to ask questions about the economy of our world in case nobody died, he must be satisfied to be told that to ask any such question is here not only useless but also irrelevant.