I. The Guest's Wisdom
1.
The man who stands
at a strange threshold,
Should be cautious before he cross it,
Glance this way and that:
He can never tell
what foes may sit
Awaiting him in the hall.2.
Greetings to the host,
The guest has arrived,
In which seat shall he sit?
Rash is he who at unknown doors
Relies on his good luck.3.
Fire is needed
by the newcomer
Whose knees are frozen numb;
Meat and clean linen
a man needs
Who has fared across the fells.4.
Water, too,
that he may wash before eating,
Handcloth's and a hearty welcome,
Courteous words,
then courteous silence
That he may tell his tale.5.
Who travels widely
needs his wits about him,
The stupid should stay at home:
The ignorant man
is often laughed at
When he sits at meat with the sage.6.
Of his knowledge
a man should never boast,
Rather be sparing of speech
When to his house
a wiser comes:
Seldom do those who are silent
Make mistakes;
mother wit
Is ever a faithful friend.7.
A guest should be courteous
When he comes to the table
And sit in wary silence,
His ears attentive,
his eyes alert:
So he protects himself.8.
Fortunate is he
who is favoured in his lifetime
With praise and words of wisdom:
for it is difficult
to win over
the hearts of others.9.
Blessed is he
who in his own lifetime
Is awarded praise and wit,
For ill counsel is often given
By mortal men
to each other.10.
Better gear
than good sense
A traveller cannot carry,
Better than riches
for a wretched man,
Far from his own home.11.
Better gear
than good sense
A traveller cannot carry,
A more tedious burden
than too much drink
A traveller cannot carry.12.
Less good
than belief would have it
Is mead for the sons of men:
A man knows less
the more he drinks,
Becomes a befuddled fool.13.
I-forget is the name
men give the heron
Who hovers over the feast:
Fettered I was
in his feathers that night,
When a guest in Gunnlod's court14.
Drunk I got, dead drunk,
When Fjalar the wise
was with me:
Best is the banquet
one looks back on after,
And remembers all that happened,15.
Silence becomes
the Son of a prince,
To be silent but brave in battle:
It befits a man
to be merry and glad
Until the day of his death.16.
The coward believes
he will live forever
If he holds back in the battle,
But in old age
he shall have no peace
Though spears have spared his limbs.17.
When he meets friends,
the fool gapes,
Is shy and sheepish at first,
Then he sips his mead
and immediately
All know what an oaf he is.18.
He who has seen
and suffered much,
And knows the ways of the world,
Who has travelled,
can tell what spirit
Governs the men he meets.19.
Drink your mead,
but in moderation,
Talk sense or be silent:
No man is called discourteous
who goes to bed
at an early hour.20.
A gluttonous man
who guzzles away
Brings sorrow on himself:
At the table of the wise
he is taunted often,
Mocked for his bloated belly.21.
The herd knows
its homing time,
And leaves the grazing ground.
But the glutton
never knows how much
His belly is able to hold.22.
An ill tempered,
unhappy man
Ridicules all he hears,
Makes fun of others,
refusing always
To see the faults in himself23.
Foolish is he
who frets at night,
And lies awake to worry
A weary man
when morning comes,
He finds all as bad as before,24.
The fool thinks
that those who laugh
At him are all his friends,
Unaware when he sits
with wiser men
How ill they speak of him.25.
The fool thinks
that those who laugh
At him are all his friends:
When he comes to the Thing
and calls for support,
Few spokesmen he finds26.
The fool who fancies
he is full of wisdom
While he sits by his hearth at home.
Quickly finds
when questioned by others .
That he knows nothing at all.27.
The ignorant booby
had best be silent
When he moves among other men,
No one will know
what a nit-wit he is
Until he begins to talk;
No one knows less
what a nit-wit he is
Than the man who talks too much.28.
To ask well,
to answer rightly,
Are the marks of a wise man:
Men must speak
of men's deeds,
What happens may not be hidden.29.
Wise is he not
who is never silent,
Mouthing meaningless words:
A glib tongue
that goes on chattering
Sings to its own harm.30.
A man among friends
should not mock another:
Many believe the man
Who is not questioned
to know much
And so he escapes their scorn.31.
A guest that mocks
a fellow guest
is pleased when he drives the other away.
But he that bandies words
over a meal
knows not his baying will bring his foes.32.
The fastest friends
may fall out
When they sit at the banquet-board:
It is, and shall be,
a shameful thing
When guest quarrels with guest,33.
An early meal
a man should take
Before he visits friends,
Lest, when he gets there,
he go hungry,
Afraid to ask for food.34.
To a false friend
the footpath winds
Though his house be on the highway.
To a sure friend
there is a short cut,
Though he live a long way off.35.
The tactful guest
will take his leave early,
not linger long:
He starts to stink
who outstays his welcome
In a hall that is not his own.36.
A small hut
of one' s own is better,
A man is his master at home:
A couple of goats
and a corded roof
Still are better than begging.37.
A small hut
of one's own is better,
A man is his master at home:
His heart bleeds
in the beggar who must
Ask at each meal for meat.38.
A wayfarer
should not walk unarmed,
But have his weapons to hand:
He knows not
when he may need a spear,
Or what menace meet on the road.39.
No man is so generous
he will jib at accepting
A gift in return for a gift,
No man so rich
that it really gives him
Pain to be repaid.40.
Once he has won
wealth enough,
A man should not crave for more:
What he saves for friends,
foes may take;
Hopes are often liars.41.
With presents friends
should please each other,
With a shield or a costly coat:
Mutual giving
makes for friendship,
So long as life goes well,42.
A man should be loyal
through life to friends,
To them and to friends of theirs,
But never shall
a man make offer
Of friendship to his foes.43.
A man should be loyal
through life to friends,
And return gift for gift,
Laugh when they laugh,
but with lies repay
A false foe who lies.44.
If you find a friend
you fully trust
And wish for his good-will,
exchange thoughts,
exchange gifts,
Go often to his house.45.
If you deal with another
you don't trust
But wish for his good-will,
Be fair in speech
but false in thought
And give him lie for lie.46.
Even with one
you ill-trust
And doubt what he means to do,
False words with fair smiles
May get you
the gift you desire.47.
Young and alone
on a long road,
Once I lost my way:
Rich I felt
when I found another;
Man rejoices in man.48.
The generous and bold
have the best lives,
Are seldom beset by cares,
But the base man
sees bogies everywhere
And the miser pines for presents.49.
Two wooden stakes
stood on the plain,
On them I hung my clothes:
Draped in linen,
they looked well born,
But, naked, I was a nobody.50.
The young fir
that falls and rots
Having neither needles nor bark,
So is the fate
of the friendless man:
Why should he live long?51.
Hotter than fire
among false hearts burns
Friendship for five days,
But suddenly slackens
when the sixth dawns:
Feeble their friendship then.52.
A kind word need not cost much,
The price of praise can be cheap:
With half a loaf and an empty cup
I found myself a friend.53.
Little a sand-grain,
little a dew drop,
Little the minds of men:
All men are not equal
in wisdom,
The half-wise are everywhere54.
It is best for man
to be middle-wise,
Not over cunning and clever:
The fairest life
is led by those
Who are deft at all they do.55.
It is best for man
to be middle-wise,
Not over cunning and clever:
The learned man
whose lore is deep
Is seldom happy at heart.56.
It is best for man
to be middle-wise,
Not over cunning and clever:
No man is able
to know his future,
So let him sleep in peace.57.
Brand kindles brand
till they burn out,
Flame is quickened by flame:
One man from another
is known by his speech
The simpleton by his silence.58.
Early shall he rise
who has designs
On anothers land or life:
His prey escapes
the prone wolf,
The sleeper is seldom victorious.59.
Early shall he rise
who rules few servants,
And set to work at once:
Much is lost
by the late sleeper,
Wealth is won by the swift.60.
A man should know how many logs
And strips of bark from the birch
To stock in autumn, that he may have enough
Wood for his winter fires.61.
Washed and fed,
one may fare to the Thing:
Though one's clothes
be the worse for wear,
None need be ashamed of his shoes or hose,
Nor of the horse he owns,
Although no thoroughbred.62.
As the eagle who comes to the ocean shore,
Sniffs and hangs her head,
Dumfounded is he who finds at the Thing
No supporters to plead his case.63.
To ask and speak
A wise man should learn
who wishes to be called well-bred.
Tell one
but not another your secret.
A third, and everyone else will know.64.
Moderate at council should a man be,
Not brutal and over bearing:
Among the bold the bully will find
Others as bold as he.65.
[...]
Often words
uttered to another
Have reaped an ill harvest.66.
Too early to many homes I came,
Too late, it seemed, to some:
The ale was finished or else un-brewed,
The unpopular cannot please.67.
Some would invite me to visit their homes,
But none thought I needed a meal,
As though I had eaten a whole joint,
Just before with a friend who had two.68.
These things are thought the best:
Fire,
the sight of the sun,
Good health
with the gift to keep it,
And a life that avoids vice.69.
Not all sick men
are utterly wretched:
Some are blessed with sons,
Some with friends,
some with riches,
Some with worthy works.70.
It is always better
to be alive,
The living can keep a cow.
Fire, I saw,
burning a wealthy man,
He a cold corpse at his own door.71.
The halt can manage a horse,
the handless a flock,
The deaf be a doughty fighter,
To be blind is better
than to burn on a pyre:
There is nothing the dead can do.72.
A son is a blessing,
though born late
To a father no longer alive:
Stones would seldom
stand by the highway
If sons did not set them there.73.
Two beat one,
the tongue is head's bane,
Pockets of fur
hide fists.74.
He welcomes the night
who has enough provisions
Short are the sails of a ship,
Dangerous the dark in autumn,
The wind may veer
within five days,
And many times in a month.75.
The half wit
does not know that gold
Makes apes of many men:
One is rich,
another is poor
There is no blame in that.76.
Cattle die,
kindred die,
Every man is mortal:
But the good name
never dies
Of one who has done well77.
Cattle die,
kindred die,
Every man is mortal:
But I know one thing
that never dies,
The glory of the great dead78.
Fields and flocks
had Fitjung's sons,
Who now carry begging bowls:
Wealth may vanish
in the wink of an eye,
Gold is the falsest of friends.79.
In the fool who acquires
cattle and lands,
Or wins a woman's love,
His wisdom wanes
with his waxing pride,
He sinks from sense to conceit.80.
Now is answered
what you ask of the runes,
Graven by the gods,
Made by the All Father,
Sent by the powerful sage:
lt. is best for man to remain silent.81.
For these things give thanks at nightfall:
The day gone,
a guttered torch,
A sword tested,
the troth of a maid,
Ice crossed, ale drunk.82.
Hew wood in wind-time,
in fine weather sail,
Tell in the night-time tales to house-girls,
For too many eyes are open by day:
From a ship expect speed,
from a shield, cover,
Keenness from a sword,
but a kiss from a girl.83.
Drink ale by the hearth,
over ice glide,
Buy a stained sword,
buy a starving mare
To fatten at home:
and fatten the watch-dog.
II. Maid-song
84.
No man should trust
a maiden's words,
Nor what a woman speaks:
Spun on a wheel
were women's hearts,
In their breasts was implanted caprice,85.
A snapping bow,
a burning flame,
A grinning wolf,
a grunting boar,
A raucous crow,
a rootless tree,
A breaking wave,
a boiling kettle,86.
A flying arrow,
an ebbing tide,
the ice of a night,
A coiled adder,
A bride's bed talk,
a broad sword,
A bear's play,
a prince' s children,87.
A witch' s welcome,
the wit of a slave,
A sick calf,
a corpse still fresh,88.
Trust not an acre early sown,
Nor praise a son too soon:
Weather rules the acre, wit the son,
Both are exposed to peril.89.
A brother's killer
encountered upon
The highway
a house half-burned,
A racing stallion
who has wrenched a leg,
Are never safe:
let no man trust them.90.
To love a woman whose ways are false
Is like sledding over slippery ice
With unshod horses out of control,
Badly trained two-year-olds,
Or drifting rudderless
on a rough sea,
Or catching a reindeer
with a crippled hand
On a thawing hillside:
think not to do it.91.
Naked I may speak now
for I know both:
Men are treacherous too
Fairest we speak
when falsest we think:
many a maid is deceived.92.
Gallantly shall he speak
and gifts bring
Who wishes for woman's love:
praise the features
of the fair girl,
Who courts well will conquer.93.
Never reproach
another for his love:
It happens often enough
That beauty ensnares
with desire the wise
While the foolish remain unmoved.94.
Never reproach
the plight of another,
For it happens to many men:
Strong desire
may stupefy heroes,
Dull the wits of the wise95.
The mind alone knows
what is near the heart,
Each is his own judge:
The worst sickness
for a wise man
Is to crave what he cannot enjoy.96.
So I learned
when I sat in the reeds,
Hoping to have my desire:
Lovely was the flesh
of that fair girl,
But nothing I hoped for happened.97.
I saw on a bed
Billing's daughter,
Sun white, asleep:
No greater delight
I longed for then
Than to lie in her lovely arms.98.
"Come, Odhinn,
after nightfall
If you wish for a meeting with me:
All would be lost
if anyone saw us
And learned that we were lovers."99.
Afire with longing
I left her then,
Deceived by her soft words:
I thought my wooing
had won the maid,
That I would have my way.100.
After nightfall
I hurried back,
But the warriors were all awake,
Lights were burning,
blazing torches:
So false proved the path101.
Towards daybreak
back I came
The guards were sound asleep:
I found then
that the fair woman
Had tied a bitch to her bed.102.
Many a girl
when one gets to know her
Proves to be fickle and false:
That treacherous maiden
taught me a lesson,
The crafty woman
covered me with shame
That was all
I got from her.103.
Let a man with his guests
be glad and merry,
Modest a man should be
But talk well
if he intends to be wise
And expects praise from men:
Fimbul fambi
is the fool called
Unable to open his mouth.104.
In the hall of the aged giant,
Fruitless my errand,
had I been silent
With spirited words
I spoke to my profit
When I came to Suttung's courts.105.
Gunnlod sat me
in the golden seat,
Poured me precious mead:
Ill reward
she had from me for that,
For her proud and passionate heart,
Her brooding foreboding spirit.106.
Rati had gnawed
a narrow passage,
Chewed a channel through stone,
A path around
the roads of giants:
I was like to lose my head107.
What I won from her
I have well used:
I have waxed in wisdom
since I came back,
bringing to Asgard Odrerir,
the sacred draught.108.
Hardly would I
have come home alive
From the garth of the grim troll,
Had Gunnlod not helped me,
the good woman,
Who wrapped her arms around me.109.
The following day
the Frost Giants came,
Walked into Har's hall
To ask for Har's advice:
Had Bolverk they asked,
come back to his friends,
Or had he been slain by Suttung?110.
Odhinn, they said,
swore an oath on his ring:
Who from now on will trust him?
By fraud at the feast
he befuddled Suttung
And brought grief to Gunnlod.
III. Wisdom
111.
It is time to sing
in the seat of the wise,
Of what at Urd's Well
I saw in silence,
saw and thought on.
Long I listened to men
Runes heard spoken,
counsels revealed,
At Har's hall,
In Har's hall:
There I heard this.112.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
Never rise at night
unless you need to spy
Or to ease yourself in the outhouse.113.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
Shun a woman, wise in magic,
Her bed and her embraces:
do not let her benumb your limbs.114.
If she cast a spell,
you will care no longer
To meet and speak with men,
Desire no food,
desire no pleasure,
In sorrow fall asleep.115.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
Never seduce
anothers wife,
Never make her your mistress.116.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
If you must journey
to mountains and firths,
Take food and fodder with you.117.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
Never open your heart
to an evil man
When fortune does not favour you:
From an evil man,
if you make him your friend,
You will get evil for good.118.
I saw a warrior
wounded fatally
By the words of an evil woman
Her cunning tongue
caused his death,
Though what she alleged was a lie.119.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
If you know a friend
you can fully trust,
Go often to his house
Grass and brambles
grow quickly
Upon the untrodden track.120.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
With a good man
it is good to talk; make him your fast friend
and learn spells of good favor while you live.121.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
Cherish those near you,
never be the first
to break with a friend:
Care eats him
who can no longer
Open his heart to another.122.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
Waste no words
on a witless oaf,
Nor sit with a senseless ape.123.
An evil man,
if you make him your friend,
Will give you evil for good:
A good man,
if you make him your friend
Will praise you in every place.124.
Affection is mutual
when men can open
All their heart to each other:
[...] all the way is better
He whose words are always fair
Is untrue and not to be trusted.125.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
Bandy no speech
with a bad man:
Often the better is beaten
In a sword fight by the worse.126.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
Be not a cobbler
nor a carver of shafts,
Except it be for yourself:
If a shoe fit ill
or a shaft be crooked
The maker gets curses and kicks.127.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
If aware that another is wicked,
speak thou of the evil then:
Make no truce or treaty with foes.128.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
Never share
in the shamefully gotten,
But allow yourself what is lawful.129.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
Never lift your eyes
and look up in battle,
Lest the heroes enchant you,
who can change warriors
Suddenly into hogs.130.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
With a good woman,
if you wish to enjoy
Her words and her good will,
Pledge her fairly
and be faithful to it:
Enjoy the good you are given,131.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
Be not over wary,
but wary enough,
First, of the foaming ale,
and with another's woman,
and after that, thirdly,
of the tricks of thieves.132.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
Mock not the traveller met on the road,
Nor maliciously laugh at the guest.134.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
Never laugh at the old
when they offer counsel,
Often their words are wise:
From shrivelled skin,
from scraggy things
That hand among the hides
And move amid the guts,
Clear words often come.135.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
Scoff not at guests
nor to the gate chase them,
But relieve the lonely and wretched,136.
Heavy the beam
above the door;
Hang a horse-shoe on it
Against ill-luck,
lest it should suddenly
Crash and crush your guests.137.
I counsel you Loddfafnir,
listen to my advice:
You will fare well if you follow it,
It will help you much if you heed it:
Wherever you drink ale,
take the strength of the earth,
for earth acts against drunkenness,
fire against sickness,
Oak against costiveness,
corn against sorcery,
Spurred rye against rupture,
- call on the moon against curses -
heather against worms,
runes against bales
Earth makes harmless the floods.
IV. The ordeal of the runes
138.
Wounded I hung
on a wind-swept gallows
For nine long nights,
Pierced by a spear,
pledged to Odhinn,
Offered, myself to myself
The wisest know not
from whence spring
The roots of that ancient rood139.
They gave me no bread,
They gave me no mead,
I looked down;
with a loud cry
I took up runes;
from that tree I fell.140.
Nine lays of power
I learned from the famous
Bolthor, Bestla' s father:
He poured me a draught
of precious mead,
Mixed with magic Odrerir.141.
Then did I fruitful
and wise become
and waxed and throve well;
Word from word
gave words to me,
Deed from deed
gave deeds to me,142.
Runes you will find,
and readable staves,
Very strong staves,
Very stout staves,
Staves that Bolthor stained,
Made by mighty powers,
Graven by the prophetic god,143.
For the gods by Odhinn,
for the elves by Dain,
By Dvalin, too, for the dwarves,
By Asvid for the hateful giants,
And some I carved myself:144.
Know how to cut them?
Know how to read them?
Know how to stain them?
Know how to prove them?
Know how to evoke them?
Know how to score them?
Know how to send them?
Know how to send them?145.
Better not to ask
than to over-pledge
As a gift
that demands a gift
Better not to send
than to slay too many.
Thund, before man was made,
scratched them,
Who rose first,
fell thereafter
V. Charms
146.
The first charm I know
is unknown to rulers
Or any of human kind;
Help it is named,
for help it can give
In hours of sorrow
and anguish.147.
I know a second
that the sons of men
Must learn who wish to be leeches.148.
I know a third:
in the thick of battle,
If my need be great enough,
It will blunt the edges of enemy swords,
Their weapons will make no wounds.149.
I know a fourth:
it will free me quickly
If foes should bind me fast
With strong chains,
a chant that makes
Fetters spring from the feet,
Bonds burst from the hands.150.
I know a fifth:
no flying arrow,
Aimed to bring harm to men,
Flies too fast
for my fingers to catch it
And hold it in mid-air.151.
I know a sixth:
it will save me if a man
Cut runes on a sapling's Roots
With intent to harm;
it turns the spell;
The hater is harmed, not me.152.
If I see the hall
Ablaze around
my bench mates,
Though hot the flames,
they shall feel nothing,
If I choose to chant the spell.153.
I know an eighth:
that all are glad of,
Most useful to men:
If hate fester
in the heart of a warrior,
It will soon calm and cure him.154.
I know a ninth:
when need I have
To shelter my ship on the flood,
The wind it calms,
the waves it smoothes
And puts the sea to sleep,156.
I know a tenth:
if troublesome ghosts
Ride the rafters aloft,
I can work it
so they wander astray,
Unable to find their forms,
Unable to find their homes.157.
I know an eleventh:
when I lead to battle
Old comrades in-arms,
I have only to chant it
behind my shield,
And unwounded they go to war,
Unwounded they come from war,
Unscathed wherever they are.158.
I know a twelfth:
If a tree bear
A man hanged in a halter,
I can carve
and stain strong runes
That will cause the corpse to speak,
Reply to whatever I ask.159.
I know a thirteenth
if I throw a cup
Of water over a warrior,
He shall not fall
in the fiercest battle,
Nor sink beneath the sword,160.
I know a fourteenth,
that few know:
If I tell a troop of warriors
About the high ones,
elves and gods,
I can name them one by one.161.
I know a fifteenth,
that first Thjodrerir
Sang before Delling's doors,
Giving power to gods,
prowess to elves,
Fore-sight to Hroptatyr Odhinn,162.
I know a sixteenth:
if I see a girl
With whom it would please me to play,
I can turn her thoughts,
can touch the heart
Of any white armed woman.163.
I know a seventeenth:
if I sing it,
the young Girl
will be slow to forsake me.
To learn to sing them, Loddfafnir,
Will take you a long time.164.
Though helpful they are
if you understand them,
Useful if you use them,
Needful if you need them.165.
I know an eighteenth
that I never tell
To maiden or wife of man,
A secret I hide from all
Except the love
who lies in my arms,
Or else my own sister.
VI. Lay's End
166.
The Wise One has spoken
words in the hall,
Needful for men to know,
Unneedful for trolls to know:
Hail to the speaker,
Hail to the knower,
Joy to him who has understood,
Delight to those who have listened.
Original English translation by W H Auden & P B Taylor; that translation is in the public domain. This edition has been extensively edited and corrected and is Copyright © 2001 JJB, used with permission.