- [Footnote: garden." A striking representation of the phallic plough is found on
a vase in the archeological museum in Florence. It portrays a row of six naked ithyphallic men who carry a plough represented phallically (Dieterich: "Mutter Erde," p. 107). The "carrus navalis" of our spring festival (carnival) was at times during the Middle Ages a plough (Hahn: "Demeter und Baubo," quoted by Dieterich: Ibid., p. 109). Dr. Abegg of Zurich called my attention to the clever work of R. Meringer ("Wörter und Sachen. Indogermanische Forschungen," 16, 179/84, 1904). We are made acquainted there with a very far-reaching amalgamation of the libido symbols with the external materials and external activities, which support our previous considerations to an extraordinary degree. Meringer's assumption proceeds from the two Indo-Germanic roots, [u]en and [u]eneti. Indo-Germanic *uen Holz, ai. ist. van, vana. Agni is garbhas vanām, "fruit of the womb of the woods."
Indo-Germanic *[u]eneti signifies "he ploughs": by that is meant the penetration of the ground by means of a sharpened piece of wood and the throwing up of the earth resulting from it. This verb itself is not verified because this very primitive working of the ground was given up at an early time. When a better treatment of the fields was learned, the primitive designation for the ploughed field was given to the pasture, therefore Gothic vinja, [Greek: yomê], Old Icelandic vin, pasture, meadow. Perhaps also the Icelandic Vanen, as Gods of agriculture, came from that.
From ackern (to plough) sprang coïre (the connection might have been the other way); also Indo-Germanic *[u]enos (enjoyment of love), Latin venus. Compare with this the root [u]en = wood. Coïre = passionately to strive; compare Old High German vinnan, to rave or to storm; also the Gothic vēns; [Greek: e)lpis] = hope; Old High German wân = expectation, hope; Sanscrit van, to desire or need; further, Wonne (delight, ecstasy); Old Icelandic vinr (beloved, friend). From the meaning ackern (to plough) arises wohnen (to live). This transition has been completed only in the German. From wohnen — gewöhnen, gewohnt sein (to be accustomed), Old Icelandic vanr = gewohnt (to be accustomed); from ackern further — sich mühen, plagen (to take much trouble, wearing work), Old Icelandic vinna, to work: Old High German winnan (to toil hard, to overwork); Gothic vinnan, [Greek: pa/schein]; vunns, [Greek: pa/thêma]. From ackern comes, on the other hand, gewinnen erlangen (to win, to attain), Old High German giwinnan, but also verletzen (to injure): Gothic vunds (wund), wound. Wund in the beginning, the most primal sense, was therefore the ground torn up by the wooden implement. From verletzen (to injure) come schlagen (to strike), besiegen (to conquer): Old High German winna (strife); Old Saxon winnan (to battle).]]*
