Prose Edda — Old Norse facing a living language
Gangleri mælti: "Hversu skipaðist, áðr en ættirnar yrði eða aukaðist mannfólkit?" Þá mælti Hárr: "Ár þær, er kallaðar eru Élivágar, þá er þær váru svá langt komnar frá uppsprettum, at eitrkvika sú, er þar fylgði, harðnaði svá sem sindr þat, er renn ór eldinum, þá varð þat íss.
Gangleri asked: "How did things stand before the generations came, or the race of men grew?" High said: "The rivers called the Elivagar had traveled so far from their springs that the venom-slag carried in them hardened like the dross that runs from a forge fire, and turned to ice.
Ok þá er sá íss gaf staðar ok rann eigi, þá hélði yfir þannig, en úr þat, er af stóð eitrinu, fraus at hrími, ok jók hrímit hvert yfir annat allt í Ginnungagap." Þá mælti Jafnhárr: "Ginnungagap, þat er vissi til norðrættar, fylltist með þunga ok höfugleik íss ok hríms ok inn í frá úr ok gustr, en inn syðri hlutr Ginnungagaps léttist mót gneistum ok síum þeim, er flugu ór Múspellsheimi."
And once that ice came to rest and stopped flowing, the vapor rising from the venom froze over it as rime, and the rime built up, layer on layer, all through Ginnungagap." Then Just-as-High said: "The part of Ginnungagap facing north filled with the weight and heaviness of ice and rime, with drizzle and gusts blowing in from it; but the southern part of Ginnungagap grew light from the sparks and glowing embers flying out of Muspell."
Þá mælti Þriði: "Svá sem kalt stóð af Niflheimi ok allir hlutir grimmir, svá var allt þat, er vissi námunda Múspelli, heitt ok ljóst, en Ginnungagap var svá hlætt sem loft vindlaust.
Then Third said: "Just as everything facing Niflheim was cold and grim, everything facing Muspell was hot and bright, while Ginnungagap itself lay as mild as windless air.
Ok þá er mættist hrímin ok blær hitans, svá at bráðnaði ok draup, ok af þeim kvikudropum kviknaði með krafti þess, er til sendi hitann, ok varð manns líkandi, ok var sá nefndr Ymir, en hrímþursar kalla hann Aurgelmi, ok eru þaðan komnar ættir hrímþursa, svá sem segir í Völuspá inni skömmu: 7.
And where the rime and the heat's breath met and thawed and dripped, life quickened in those dripping drops, by the force of the one who sent the heat, and it took the shape of a man. He was named Ymir, though the rime-giants call him Aurgelmir, and from him come the races of the rime-giants, as the short Voluspa says: All wise-women come from Vidolf, / all warlocks from Vilmeid, / and all sorcerers from Svarthofdi; / every giant descends from Ymir.
Eru völur allar frá Viðolfi, vitkar allir frá Vilmeiði, en seiðberendr frá Svarthöfða, jötnar allir frá Ymi komnir. En hér segir svá Vafþrúðnir jötunn: 8. Ór Élivágum stukku eitrdropar ok óx, unz ór varð jötunn; þar órar ættir kómu allar saman; því er þat æ allt til atalt."
And here the giant Vafthrudnir says: Out of the Elivagar, / drops of venom sprang; / they grew, until they became a giant. / That's where all our kind comes from, / every line together — / and that's why we're fierce to this day."
Þá mælti Gangleri: "Hvernig óxu ættir þaðan eða skapaðist svá, at fleiri menn urðu, eða trúir þú þann guð, er nú sagðir þú frá?" Þá svarar Hárr: "Fyr engan mun játum vér hann guð. Hann er illr ok allir hans ættmenn. Þá köllum vér hrímþursa. En svá er sagt, at þá er hann svaf, fekk hann sveita.
Then Gangleri asked: "How did the generations grow from there, so that more men came to be — or do you hold him a god, the one you've just told me of?" High answered: "By no means do we grant that he is a god. He was evil, and so was all his kin — we call them rime-giants.
Þá óx undir vinstri hendi honum maðr ok kona, ok annarr fótr hans gat son við öðrum, en þaðan af kómu ættir. Þat eru hrímþursar. Inn gamli hrímþurs, hann köllum vér Ymi."
It is said that while he slept, he broke into a sweat, and under his left arm a man and a woman grew, and one of his legs got a son on the other, and from these came more of his kind — the rime-giants. That old rime-giant, we call him Ymir."