Amongst this page contains words of ancient wisdom concealed within the depths of Sagas, Poetry, Eddas, Spells, and Rituals. For the most powerful Gods vainly kept their secrets locked in darkness....
DIE EDDA
Ghvr heisch ich
heilger sippen,
hoher und niedrer
Heimdaus svhne:
du willst, walvater,
dass wohl ich k\nde,
was alter mdren
der Menschen ich weiss.
Valans spedom
(pieces in Norsk)1. Hvren mig alla
heliga sldkten,
stvrre och smdrre
svner av Heimdall;
du vill ju, Valfader,
att vdl jag tdljer
forntida sdgner,
de fvrsta, jag minnes.
2. Jdttar, i urtid
alstrade, minns jag,
som mig fordom
fostrat hava;
nio vdrldar jag minns,
och vad som var i de nio,
mettgivande trddet
under mullen djupt.
3. I eldrarnas morgon,
de Ymer levde,
var ej sand, ej sjv,
ej svala vegor;
jorden fanns icke,
ej upptill himlen;
ett gapande svalg fanns
men grds fanns ingenstddes.
4. Innan Burs svner lyfte
landen i hvjden,
de som mengbervmd
Midgerd skapade.
Solen strelade
fren svder pe stenar,
och grvna vrter
grodde i marken.
5. Solen kom fren svder
i sdllskap med menen
pe hvger hand
vver himlaranden.
Solen ej visste,
var salar hon hade,
menen ej visste,
vad makt han hade,
stjdrnorna ej visste,
var de skimra skulle.
6. De drogo alla makter
till sina domaresdten,
hvgheliga gudar,
och hvllo redslag;
et natt och nedan
namn de gevo,
uppkallade morgon
och middag ockse,
eftermiddag och afton,
fvr att med eratal rdkna.
7. Asarne mvttes
pe Idavallen,
timrade hvga
tempel och altar,
smedjor byggde,
smycken gjorde,
skaffade sig tdnger
och skapade verktyg.
8. Pe gerden med brddspel
de glada lekte,
armod pe guld
fanns ingalunda,
tills tursamvar
trenne kommo,
mycket mdktiga,
mvr, fren jdttevdrlden.
9. De drogo alla makter
till sina domaresdten,
hvgheliga gudar,
och hvllo redslag,
vem dvdrgars skara
skapa skulle
av blodig brdnning
och Blains ben.
10. Ddr var Modsogner vorden
den mest fvrndmlige
av dvdrgar alla
och Durin den andre;
de gjorde menga
mdnniskobilder,
dessa dvdrgar, av jord,
som Durin sade.
11. Nye och Nide,
Nordre och Sudre,
Austre och Vdstre,
Alltjov, Dvalin,
Bivor, Bavor,
Bombur, Nore,
An och Anar,
Ae, Mjodvitner.
12. Veig och Gandalv,
Vindalv, Train,
Tdck och Torin,
Tro, Vitr och Lit,
Na och Nyrad.
Nu har jag dvdrgarna
- Regin och Radsvid -
rdtt omtalat.
Havamal
(in English)-The Sayings of Har-
1
The man who stands at a strange threshold,
Should be cautious before he cross it,
Glance this way and that:
Who knows beforehand 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 favored in his lifetime
With praise and words of wisdom:
Evil counsel is often given
By those of evil heart,
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 traveler cannot carry,
Better than riches for a wretched man,
Far from his own home,
11
Better gear than good sense
A traveler cannot carry,
A more tedious burden than too much drink
A traveler cannot carry,
12,
Less good than belief would have it
Is mead for the sons of men:,br> 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 court
14
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 traveled', 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 himself
23
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 finds
26
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
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
The wise guest has his way of dealing
With those who taunt him at table:
He smiles through the meal,
not seeming to hear
The twaddle talked by his foes
32
The fastest friends may fall out
When they sit at the banquet-board:< br> It is, and shall be, a shameful thing
When guest quarrels with guest,
33
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.
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.
42
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.
43
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.
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
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.
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 everywhere
54
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.
55
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.
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 Till they broun 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.
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
It is safe to tell a secret to one,
Risky to tell it to two,
To tell it to three is thoughtless folly,
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.
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
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
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
Cattle die, kindred die,
Every man is mortal:
But the good name never dies
Of one who has done well
77
Cattle die, kindred die,
Every man is mortal:
But I know one thing that never dies,
The glory of the great dead
78
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.
(Translations of Hollander)
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