The Creation.--Worship.--Vocal Song.--Gwyddoniaid

The Barddas of Iolo Morganwg, Vol. I., ed. by J. Williams Ab Ithel, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

THE CREATION.--WORSHIP.--VOCAL SONG.--GWYDDONIAID.

Disciple. From what did God make the world and living beings?

Master. From the particles, which He collected out of the infinite expanse in the circle of Ceugant, and collocated

p. 258 p. 259

in order and just arrangement in the circle of Gwynvyd, as worlds, and lives, and natures, without number, weight, or measure, which any mind or intellect, but Himself, could possibly foresee or devise, even if it possessed the endless ages of the circle of Ceugant.

D. By what instrumentality or agency did God make these things?

M. By the voice of His mighty energy, that is, by its melodious sweetness, which was scarcely heard, when, lo! the dead gleamed into life, and the nonentity, which had neither place or existence, flashed like lightning into elementation, and rejoiced into life, and the congealed, motionless shiver warmed into living existence;--the destitute nothing rejoiced into being a thousand times more quickly than the lightning reaches its home.

D. Did any living being hear that melodious voice?

M. Yes; and co-instantaneously with the voice were seen all sciences and all things cognitive, in the imperishable and endless stability of their existence and life. For the first that existed, and the first that lived, the first that obtained knowledge, and the first that knew it, was the first that practised it. And the first sage was Huon, the son of Nudd, ¹ who is called Gwynn, the son of Nudd, and Enniged the Giant; it was he who first made demonstration visible and inceptive to the inferences of men.

D. Who was the first that instituted the worship and adoration of God?

M. Seth, the son of Adam; that is, he first made a retreat for worship in the woods of the Vale of Hebron, having first searched and investigated the trees, until he found a large oak, being the king of trees, branching, wide-spreading, thick-topped, and shady, under which he formed a choir and a place of worship. This was called Gorsedd, and hence originated the name Gorsedd, which was given to

p. 260

p. 261

every place of worship; and it was in that choir that Enos, the son of Seth, composed vocal song to God.

D. Who was the first that made a vocal song?

M. Enos, ¹ the son of Seth, the son of Adam, was the first that made a vocal song, and praised God first in just poetry, and it was in his father's Gorsedd that he first obtained Awen, which was Awen from God; hence has arisen the usage of holding the Gorsedd ² of Vocal Song in the re-sort and Gorsedd of worship.

D. For what honourable purposes did Enos, the son of Seth, invent vocal song?

M. In the first place, for the purpose of praising God and all goodness; secondly, to commemorate good qualities, incidents, and knowledge; thirdly, to convey instruction relative to praiseworthy sciences in respect of God and man, that is, in such a way as would be easiest to learn, and re-member, and most pleasant to listen to.

D. What was the name that the wise men first had, whose employment was vocal song and laudable sciences?

M. One was called Gwyddon, and many Gwyddoniaid; and they were so called, because they followed their art in woods, and under trees, in retired and inaccessible places, for the sake of quietness, and the meditation of Awenic learning and sciences from God, and for the sake of quietness to teach the sciences to such as sought them, and desired wisdom by means of reason and Awen from God.

Footnotes

259:1 p. 258 In the document printed at p. 11, Huon is said to be the son of Alser. Gwyn ab Nudd is celebrated in Welsh Romance as the King of the Fairies, p. 259 Brenin y Tylwyth Teg, in which capacity many interesting particulars respect ing him have been collected in the Notes to Guest's Mabinogion, ii, p. 323.

261:1 p. 260 See Note, p. 54.

261:2 Al. "chair."