Loddfafnismol

It is time to chant from the chanter's stool; By the wells of Urth I was, I saw and was silent, I saw and thought, And heard the speech of Hor. (Of runes heard I words, nor were counsels wanting, At the hall of Hor, In the hall of Hor; Such was the speech I heard.) [111. With this stanza begins the Loddfafnismol (stanzas 111-138). Loddfafnir is apparently a wandering singer, who, from his "chanter's stool," recites the verses which he claims to have received from Othin. Wells of Urth: cf. Voluspo, 19 and note. Urth ("the Past") is one of the three Norns. This stanza is apparently in corrupt form, and editors have tried many experiments with it, both in rejecting lines as spurious and in rear ranging the words and punctuation. It looks rather as though the first four lines formed a complete stanza, and the last four had crept in later. The phrase translated "the speech file:///C|/WINDOWS/Desktop/sacred-texts/neu/poe/poe04.htm (16 of 26) [4/8/2002 10:06:48 PM] Hovamol of Hor" is "Hova mol," later used as the title for the entire poem.]

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,--- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: Rise not at night, save if news thou seekest, Or fain to the outhouse wouldst fare.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,-- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: Beware of sleep on a witch's bosom, Nor let her limbs ensnare thee.

Such is her might that thou hast no mind For the council or meeting of men; Meat thou hatest, joy thou hast not, And sadly to slumber thou farest.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,-- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: [112. Lines 1-3 are the formula, repeated (abbreviated in the manuscript) in most of the stanzas, with which Othin prefaces his counsels to Loddfafnir, and throughout this section, except in stanzas 111 and 138, Loddfafnir represents himself as simply quoting Othin's words. The material is closely analogous to that contained in the first eighty stanzas of the poem. In some cases (e. g., stanzas 117, 119, 121, 126 and 130) the formula precedes a full four-line stanza instead of two (or three) lines.]

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,-- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: If o'er mountains or gulfs thou fain wouldst go, Look well to thy food for the way.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,-- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: An evil man thou must not let Bring aught of ill to thee; For an evil man will never make Reward for a worthy thought.

I saw a man who was wounded sore file:///C|/WINDOWS/Desktop/sacred-texts/neu/poe/poe04.htm (17 of 26) [4/8/2002 10:06:48 PM] Hovamol By an evil woman's word; A lying tongue his death-blow launched, And no word of truth there was.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,-- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: If a friend thou hast whom thou fully wilt trust, Then fare to find him oft; For brambles grow and waving grass On the rarely trodden road.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,-- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: A good man find to hold in friendship, And give heed to his healing charms.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: Be never the first to break with thy friend The bond that holds you both; Care eats the heart if thou canst not speak To another all thy thought.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,-- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: Exchange of words with a witless ape Thou must not ever make.

For never thou mayst from an evil man A good requital get; But a good man oft the greatest love Through words of praise will win thee.

Mingled is love when a man can speak To another all his thought;

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,-- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, file:///C|/WINDOWS/Desktop/sacred-texts/neu/poe/poe04.htm (18 of 26) [4/8/2002 10:06:48 PM] Hovamol Great thy gain if thou learnest: With a worse man speak not three words in dispute, Ill fares the better oft When the worse man wields a sword.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: A shoemaker be, or a maker of shafts, For only thy single self; If the shoe is ill made, or the shaft prove false, Then evil of thee men think.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,-- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: If evil thou knowest, as evil proclaim it, And make no friendship with foes.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,-- Profit thou hast if thou hearest,

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,-- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: Look not up when the battle is on,-- (Like madmen the sons of men become,--) Lest men bewitch thy wits.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: If thou fain wouldst win a woman's love, And gladness get from her, Fair be thy promise and well fulfilled; None loathes what good he gets.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: I bid thee be wary, but be not fearful; (Beware most with ale or another's wife, And third beware lest a thief outwit thee.) file:///C|/WINDOWS/Desktop/sacred-texts/neu/poe/poe04.htm (19 of 26) [4/8/2002 10:06:48 PM] Hovamol [129. Line 5 is apparently interpolated.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: Scorn or mocking ne'er shalt thou make Of a guest or a journey-goer.

Oft scarcely he knows who sits in the house What kind is the man who comes; None so good is found that faults he has not, Nor so wicked that nought he is worth.

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.) [133. Many editors reject the last two lines of this stanza as spurious, putting the first two lines at the end of the preceding stanza. Others, attaching lines 3 and 4 to stanza 132, insert as the first two lines of stanza 133 two lines from a late paper manuscript, running: "Evil and good do men's sons ever "Mingled bear in their breasts."

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,-- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: Curse not thy guest, nor show him thy gate, Deal well with a man in want.

Strong is the beam that raised must be To give an entrance to all; Give it a ring, or grim will be The wish it would work on thee.

I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my rede,-- file:///C|/WINDOWS/Desktop/sacred-texts/neu/poe/poe04.htm (20 of 26) [4/8/2002 10:06:48 PM] Hovamol Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: When ale thou drinkest) seek might of earth, (For earth cures drink, and fire cures ills, The oak cures tightness, the ear cures magic, Rye cures rupture, the moon cures rage, Grass cures the scab, and runes the sword-cut;) The field absorbs the flood. [136. This stanza suggests the dangers of too much hospitality. The beam (bolt) which is ever being raised to admit guests be comes weak thereby. It needs a ring to help it in keeping the door closed, and without the ability at times to ward off guests a man becomes the victim of his own generosity.