3 translations are aligned to this passage.
I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,—Profit thou hast if thou hearest,Great thy gain if thou learnest:Scorn not ever the gray-haired singer,Oft do the old speak good;(Oft from shrivelled skin come skillful counsels,Though it hang with the hides,And flap with the pelts,And is blown with the bellies.)At a hoary speakerlaugh thou never;often is good that which the aged utter,oft from a shriveled hidediscreet words issue;from those whose skin is pendentand decked with scars,and who go tottering among the vile.Ráþumk þér, Loddfáfnir! en þú ráþ nemir,njóta mundu, ef nemr,þér munu góþ, ef getr:at hárum þul hlǽpu aldrigi,opt’s gott þats gamlir kveþa;opt ór skörpum belg skilin orþ komaþeims hangir meþ hámok skollir meþ skrámok váfir meþ vilmögum.I counsel thee, Stray-Singer, accept my counsels,they will be thy boon if thou obey’st them,they will work thy weal if thou win’st them:hold never in scorn the hoary singer;oft the counsel of the old is good;come words of wisdom from the withered lipsof him left to hang among hides,to rock with the rennetsand swing with the skins.Hávamál, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, in The Poetic Edda (1923). Public-domain transcription sourced from Project Gutenberg ebook 73533.
A man shall not boast of his keenness of mind, But keep it close in his breast; To the silent and wise does ill come seldom When he goes as…
Read passage →Happy the one who wins for himself Favor and praises fair; Less safe by far is the wisdom found That is hid in another’s heart.
Read passage →The son of a king shall be silent and wise, And bold in battle as well; Bravely and gladly a man shall go, Till the day of his death is com…
Read passage →A brand from a brand is kindled and burned, And fire from fire begotten; And man by his speech is known to men, And the stupid by their sti…
Read passage →Only you can see these notes.
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