The Vastness of the Universe (Alheimsvíðáttan)

Title page of Jónas's translation of Ursin.

Title page of Jónas Hallgrímsson's Astronomy: An Easy Introduction for the General Public (Stjörnufræði, létt og handa alþýðu). This is an Icelandic translation of the Danish astronomer G. F. Ursin's Popular Introduction to Astronomy (Populært Foredrag over Astronomien).

Stjörnufræði title page, larger version.

Stjörnufræði title page, small version.

The solar system.

The solar system. Table I of Ursin's Popular Introduction to Astronomy. Figure 1 depicts sunspots (sóldeplar). "If we look at the sun though darkened glass," Jónas writes, "we can often see with the naked eye — and see still better with a telescope — remarkable spots in the sun. They are sometimes so big that their diameter is five or six times that of the earth, so it is evident that whatever these spots may be — whether elevations or depressions — they are many times larger than our planet. They are usually very dark, surrounded by a brighter rim of shadow. An image of several such sunspots can be seen in [Figure 1, as observed by the] astronomer Pastorff on 2 October 1825." (3E321)

Figure 7b depicts the planet Mars as observed by Sir William Herschel on 16 August 1830.

Figure 8b depicts Jupiter as observed by Herschel on 23 September 1832. "The bands across its surface have been interpreted as the shadows of mountain ranges. It is likelier, however, that there are brisk tradewinds on Jupiter, even stronger and steadier than those on earth, which roil the atmosphere around the middle of the planet, enabling us to glimpse the dark surface of the ground beneath." (3E342)

Figure 9b is Saturn as depicted by Herschel. "Dark stripes, like those on Jupiter, can be seen around its middle. But it is especially the engirdling ring that makes Saturn unique and remarkable." (ibid.)

Source: Jónas Hallgrímsson, Stjörnufræði, létt og handa alþýðu, 1842, Table I.

Ursin's figure of solar system, larger version.

Ursin's figure of solar system, small version.

A star cluster.

A star cluster. Table III, Figure 25 of Ursin's Popular Introduction to Astronomy. "William Herschel divides stellar nebulae [stjörnuþokur] into categories and calls the first category 'star clusters' [stjörnuþyrpingar]." One of these star clusters is found "between the stars eta and zeta in the constellation Hercules and can be seen with the naked eye. Through a telescope of relatively low power it looks like a round patch of mist, similar to a comet. But when Herschel examined it through a telescope twenty feet in length, it had the appearance shown in Figure 25." (3E422)

Source: G.F. Ursin, Populært Foredrag over Astronomien, Table III, Figure 25 [digitally edited].

Ursin's drawing of star cluster, larger version.

Ursin's drawing of star cluster, small version.

The Andromeda nebula.

The Andromeda nebula. Table IV, Figure 26 of Ursin's Popular Introduction to Astronomy. "[Herschel] assigns the nebular star [þokustjarna] located in the belt of Andromeda, near the star nu, to still another category. It can be seen with the naked eye and is shown in Figure 26. It is thicker in the middle than at the edges and is everywhere of a hazy appearance There are many such nebular stars in the heavens, some round, others elongated like the one depicted here." (3E423)

Source: G.F. Ursin, Populært Foredrag over Astronomien, Table IV, Figure 26 [digitally edited].

Ursin's drawing of Andromeda, larger version.

Ursin's drawing of Andromeda, small version.

The Vastness of the Universe

(The idea is from Schiller)

I am the speeding spark of light flung by God from the forge of Chaos. I soar on wings swifter than wind above the paths of the pulsing stars. Faster! faster! to find the place where cosmic waves crash ashore: to cast anchor off that empty coast, that far frontier and final reach of created things: — the edge of heaven. I watched the stars in the womb of youth rise from the still streams of heaven, eager to make their million year race through the thin ethereal blue. Later they flickered faintly behind me as I rushed on to the rim of worlds. I peered with anxious eyes about me: now I was steering through starless voids. Faster! faster! to find the place where Nothingness reigns and inane Chaos, wending my way on wings of light, steering toward port with steady courage. As I dart on through dim greyness, I encounter clouds of cosmic dust. Behind me I hear, hushed in distance, dark cataracts of dying suns. Suddenly, something comes swiftly toward me through empty night — an image that speaks: "Stay, oh traveller tired with flight! Tell me, wanderer — what are you seeking?" "My way leads on to the worlds you come from! My flight is destined to those distant shores, that far frontier and final reach of created things: — the edge of heaven." "Cease your search, sojourner! end your futile wandering through wastes of ether! Know that ahead of you lie nothing but infinite tracts of endlessness." "Cease your search, sojourner! end your futile wandering through wastes of ether! Behind me, too, lie torrents of stars and infinite, empty endlessness." Oh eagle-mounting imagination! Cease your soaring, descend to earth! Oh swift voyager, venturesome poet: tired of creating, cast your anchor here! Alheimsvíðáttan

(Hugmyndin er eftir Schiller)

Eg er sá geisli, er guðs hönd skapanda fyrr úr ginnunga gapi stökkti; flýg eg á vinda vængjum yfir háar leiðir himinljósa. Flýta vil eg ferðum, fara vil eg þangað, öldur sem alheims á eiði brotna, akkeri varpa fyrir auðri strönd að hinum mikla merkisteini skapaðra hluta við skaut alhimins. Sá eg í ungum æskublóma stjörnur úr himin- straumum rísa, þúsund alda að þreyta skeið heiðfagran gegnum himinbláma. Sá eg þær blika á baki mér, er eg til heima hafnar þreytti; ókyrrt auga sást allt um kring; stóð eg þá í geimi stjörnulausum. Flýta vil eg ferðum, fara vil eg þangað, Ekkert sem ríkir og Óskapnaður; leið vil eg þreyta ljóss vængjum á, hraustum huga til hafnar stýra. Gránar í geimi, geysa ég um himin þokuþungaðan þjótandi fram; dunar mér á baki dökknaðra sóla flugniður allra, sem fossa deyjandi. Kemur þá óðfluga um auðan veg mér í móti mynd farandi: "bíddu flugmóður ferðamaður! heyrðu! hermdu mér, hvurt á að leita?" ""Vegur minn liggur til veralda þinna; flug vil eg þreyta á fjarlæga strönd, að hinum mikla merkisteini skapaðra hluta við skaut alhimins."" "Hættu, Hættu! um himingeima ónýtisferð þú áfram heldur; vittu að fyrir framan þig er Ómælisundur og endaleysa." ""Hættu, Hættu! þú sem hér kemur, ónýtisferð þú áfram heldur; belja mér á baki bláir straumar, eilífðar ógrynni og endaleysa."" Arnfleygur hugur! hættu nú sveimi; sárþreytta vængi síga láttu niður; skáldhraður skipstjóri, sköpunarmagn! fleini farmóður flýttu hér úr stafni. Summer (July/August?) 1837 (see KJH309). Eleven fornyrðislag strophes (the second of which is expanded). In the original, "a kind of assonance is noticeable at the end of the lines; whether this artistic device is conscious or unconscious is open to question." (SW36) ÍB 13 fol., a draft of the last five strophes (facsimile KJH71-2

"Alheimsvíðáttan", from Kvæði Jónasar Hallgrímssonar í eiginhandarriti, pp. 71-2. This is p. 71 (used with permission from Stofnun Árna Magnússonar á Íslandi).

Greyscale image of manuscript page.

"Alheimsvíðáttan", from Kvæði Jónasar Hallgrímssonar í eiginhandarriti, pp. 71-2. This is p. 72 (used with permission from Stofnun Árna Magnússonar á Íslandi).

Greyscale image of manuscript page.
). 1843 (6F35-7

First published version of "Alheimsvíðáttan", from Fjölnir 6 (1843), pp. 35-7.. This is p. 35.

Greyscale image of journal page.

First published version of "Alheimsvíðáttan", from Fjölnir 6 (1843), pp. 35-7.. This is p. 36.

Greyscale image of journal page.

First published version of "Alheimsvíðáttan", from Fjölnir 6 (1843), pp. 35-7.. This is p. 37.

Greyscale image of journal page.
) where it has the title "Alheimsvíðáttan".

The poem is based on "Die Größe der Welt", a youthful work (1778?) by the German poet Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805), though Jónas insists in his subtitle that it is only the "idea" (hugmynd) of Schiller's poem that he has borrowed. Schiller's original reads as follows:

For commentary on the sources, meter, and philosophico-religious background of Schiller's poem, see 2SWNIIA94-6.

Die der schaffende Geist einst aus dem Chaos schlug, Durch die schwebende Welt flieg ich des Windes Flug, Bis am Strande Ihrer Wogen ich lande. Anker werf', wo kein Hauch mehr weht Und der Markstein der Schöpfung steht. Sterne sah ich bereits jugendlich auferstehn, Tausendjährigen Gangs durchs Firmament zu gehn, Sah sie spielen Nach den lokenden Zielen, Irrend suchte mein Blik umher, Sah die Räume schon — sternenleer. Anzufeuren den Flug weiter zum Reich des Nichts, Steur' ich muthiger fort, nehme den Flug des Lichts Neblicht trüber Himmel an mir vorüber Weltsysteme, Fluten im Bach Strudeln dem Sonnenwandrer nach. Sieh, den einsamen Pfad wandelt ein Pilger mir Rasch entgegen — "Halt an! Waller, was suchst du hier?" ""Zum Gestade Seiner Welt meine Pfade! Seegle hin wo kein Hauch mehr weht, Und der Markstein der Schöpfung steht!"" "Steh! du seegelst umsonst — vor dir Unendlichkeit!" ""Steh! du seegelst umsonst — Pilger auch hinter mir! — Senke nieder Adlergedank dein Gefieder, Kühne Seeglerin, Fantasie, Wirf ein muthloses Anker hie."" (1SWN102)

Jónas was no doubt attracted to Schiller's ode in the first place because of its religio-philosophical awe at the vastness and limitlessness of the universe and because it gave poetic expression to fields of study (astronomy and cosmology) that were of intense personal and professional interest to him. "For my own part," he would write in 1842, "I take joy in contemplating the heavens, for the sake of knowledge, and delight, and consolation." A brief account of the origin of the universe — in terms of the nebular hypothesis of Kant and Laplace — formed an important part of his 1835 Fjölnir essay "On the Nature and Origin of the Earth"; in the same number of Fjölnir appears a brief article about Halley's comet that he wrote in collaboration with Konráð Gíslason (1F175-6); and in the years 1840-2 he would go to a great deal of trouble making and publishing a painstaking Icelandic translation of A Popular Introduction to Astronomy (Populært Foredrag over Astronomien) by the Copenhagen mathematician and astronomer Georg Frederik Krüger Ursin (1797-1849).

Ursin's book — a very fine nontechnical introduction to its subject, as Jónas was quick to recognize — was a reworking, for a wider audience, of a series of popular lectures Ursin had delivered in Copenhagen and other Danish towns.

Indeed, it is possible that Jónas's decision, in the summer of 1837, to translate Schiller's "Die Größe der Welt," was stimulated by the publication (or forthcoming publication) of Ursin's book, which appeared that same year (1837, dated 1838). The fruits of Jónas's study of astronomy are clearly evident in "The Vastness of the Universe", which conveys an impression of astronomical and cosmological knowledge far in advance of Schiller's.

And which — in its dignity of expression — is light years away from the astronomical passages in Njóla, the long philosophical poem by Björn Gunnlaugsson, Jónas's mathematics teacher at Bessastaðir. Björn's fifty-seventh stanza may be taken as a particularly salient example: Just as crowds of cod and plaice caper in the ocean, God has filled the gulf of space with galaxies in motion. Sem þá mest er síldum af í söltum þorska lautum, alt eins morar uppheims haf ótal vetrarbrautum. "Oh how Icelandic!" Konráð Gíslason might have said.

When Jónas read "The Vastness of the Universe" to the Fjölnir Society on 4 February 1843, he said it was longer than its German original and therefore could not be classified as a "translation" (32Eim270). Indeed, Schiller's poem has been very considerably expanded; Jónas's adaptation contains almost half again as many words as Schiller's original.

A partial list of Jónas's expansions and alterations is given by Kjartan Rúnar Gíslason (SW36). Some of Jónas's changes serve to make the astronomical statements in the poem more precise and/or accurate. For example, whereas Schiller's stars go their "thousand-year way" through the firmament, Jónas's "run a race of a thousand ages."

Schiller never makes explicit the identity of the pilgrim "whom the creating spirit once flung out from Chaos". But since this pilgrim goes with the "flight of light", it is tempting to identify him with light itself and to see the Biblical account of the creation (Genesis 1) as underlying Schiller's account. Jónas certainly thought this was the case and has made everything much more explicit: his speaker is "the spark of light [geisli] whom God's creating hand once flung out from chaos." To this extent Kjartan is correct in claiming that Jónas's poem (unlike Schiller's) "bears strongly marked Christian features." But his theory that the "travelling image" in strophe 7 is Christ seems very strange indeed (see RGL120-1).

Moreover its form has been radically altered: with one exception, Jónas has recast each of Schiller's five stanzas (asclepiadean strophes with added rhyme) into two strophes of fornyrðislag (Schiller's fifth stanza has been expanded into three strophes).

Jónas could hardly have written this poem, or his friends have read it, without the eddic Þrymskviða playing about the fringes of their consciousness (see RGL119-20).