Hávamál
Verses
42-46 of the Gnomic poem,
“Friendship
verses”
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42. **************
ON Text and its word-for-word pseudo
English translation
Vin sínum Friend to him [Of his friend]
skal maðr vinr vera shall the human friend be
ok gjalda
gjöf við gjöf; and repay gift with gift;
hlátr við hlátri
laughter with laughter
skyli hölðar
taka will the ‘land-inheritors’ take
en lausung við lygi. but falsehood with
lie.
[last 3 lines: the
‘land-inheritors’ will take laughter with laughter but falsehood with falsehood.]
Bellows’ translation
42. To his friend a man | a friend shall prove,
And gifts with gifts requite;
But men shall mocking | with mockery answer,
And fraud with falsehood meet.
Commentaries about the vocabulary
The word hlátr exactly mean ‘laughter’. It is
often used with the meaning of ‘not so kind laughter’.
A höldr is a law term. It names
someone who owns his land by inheritance from his forefathers.
The verb taka obviously means ‘to take’. It has however a quickness connotation
as in ‘to seize’ or ‘to grasp’.
Both lausung and lygi mean falsehood. The second one may
also mean ‘a lie’.
Commentaries about the meaning
The overall
meaning, as an exception, is obvious.
Several
other verses have been warning us about false friendship that may easily
deceive the ‘non wise’ one. The “repaying” as in the third line is a simple way
to show true friendship. It thus says: if someone you believe to be a friend is
reluctant to “repay a gift,” acknowledge that you have been a fool to believe
him/her a friend.
The second
half goes from friendship to enmity. Laughing together is a mark of good
friendship and friendly competition in outwitting each other is a delight of
the spirit. However, some hostility can show in laughter. Hostile or ironical
laughter is repaid by trying to outwit your opponent irony. When you meet
declared hostility (falsehood), do not hesitate to ‘outlie’
your enemy.
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43. **************
ON Text and its word-for-word pseudo
English translation
43.
Vin sínum To friend his
skal maðr vinr vera, shall
a human friend be,
þeim ok þess vin; to this one and of this friend.
[A human should be a friend for his
friend, and (be the friend) of his friend. (In
other words, the third line says that: friendship must go from the one to
the other, and from the other to the one.)]
en óvinar
síns but of the non-friend his [his ennemy]
skyli engi maðr should not the human
vinar vinr vera. of the friend the friend be.
[But a human should not be a friend of the friend of
his ennemy.]
Bellows’ translation
43. To his friend a man | a friend shall prove,
To him and the friend of his friend;
But never a man | shall friendship make
With one of his foeman's friends.
Commentary
The stylistic performance somewhat hides the
simple message that friendship is cannot be one-sided, is has be a reciprocal
feeling. Next verse will refine on this statement.
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44. **************
ON Text and its word-for-word pseudo
English translation
44.
Veiztu, ef þú vin átt,
You know, if you a friend own,
þann er þú vel trúir,
this one you well trust,
ok vilt
þú af hánum
gótt geta, and will you from him well obtain,
geði skaltu
við þann blanda spirit [dative
case] shall you
with him [accusative] blend [you shall blend him in spirit]
ok gjöfum
skipta, and with gifts exchange,
fara at finna oft. travel to meet often.
Bellows’ translation
44. If a friend thou hast | whom thou fully wilt trust,
And good from him wouldst get,
Thy thoughts with his mingle, | and gifts shalt
thou make,
And fare to find him oft.
Commentary
The every
day meaning of this poem is quite obvious. Note however that “spirit blending”
is not really ordinary in our society. It is however said to be necessary for
friendship to “obtain good.”
In a
shamanic, non ordinary reality, context this “soul blending” becomes much more
expected. Remember that Ódhinn is a master of seidhr and his casual looking
words may be also be a teaching in this shamanic
technique.
************** 45. **************
ON Text and its word-for-word pseudo
English translation
45.
Ef þú átt annan, If you (have to) deal with another
þanns þú illa trúir, this one you hardly trust,
vildu af hánum þó gótt
geta, would you of him though good
obtain
fagrt skaltu
við þann mæla beautifully [‘fairly’ but with no moral meaning] shall you with him speak
en flátt
hyggja but ‘in a gaping way’ (shall you) think [a thinking full of pitfalls]
ok gjalda lausung við lygi and yield (pay, deliver) falsehood with a lie.
Bellows’ translation
45. If another thou hast | whom thou hardly
wilt trust,
Yet good from him wouldst get,
Thou shalt speak him fair, | but falsely
think,
And fraud with falsehood requite.
Commentary
We now deal with false friends. What is
strikingly common in the attitude Ódhinn recommends for both true and false
friends is that we have to give back, to re-attribute, what we have been given
by them. True friends receive their reward, false ones their penalty, the
measure of sincerity / falsity is the measure of rewards / penalties.
The adjective flár (here as a neutral flátt) means gaping. The context makes it clear that these
gaps are no lack of thinking, but they are pits into which the ‘other one’ is
expected to fall.
All considered the text says that, when facing
non friends, we have give a shapely appearance to our
way of speech, while its content can be a nest of vipers. Roughly speaking, this is a true feature
of the political discourse.
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46. **************
ON Text and its word-for-word pseudo
English translation
46.
Það er enn of þann Thence is yet of him
er þú illa trúir who you hardly trust,
ok þér
er grunr at hans geði: and (at) you is suspicion at his mind
hlæja skaltu
við þeim laugh shall you with them
ok um hug mæla; and about mind talk;
glík skulu gjöld gjöfum. imitate shall repaying by gifts [repaying shall be
like the gifts (you received)]
Bellows’ translation
46. So is it with him | whom thou hardly wilt trust,
And whose mind thou mayst not know;
Laugh with him mayst thou, | but speak not thy
mind,
Like gifts to his shalt thou give.
Commentary
Bellows translates lines 5 and 6 by “but speak not thy mind, Like gifts
to his shalt thou give.” As you see above, line 5
says exactly the opposite: even in front of a false friend, you can speak your
mind. In line 6, the word gjöld does mean a gift but a refunding. This last
line says approximately the same as the last line of 45.
It is quiet striking
that Ódhinn would commend some kind
hypocritical attitude towards these you do not trust. You laugh and frelly
speak with them, as long as you are able to ‘refund’ their bad faith.
Verse 44 says that you have to share your ideas
with your true friends, and that you may display your thought to a false one.