Hávamál
Danger, and ill tidings
When you are in danger, admit it, and never give your enemies peace. Do not rejoice at bad news, but be glad in what is good.
Reference: stanzas 126–127 (Bray’s numbering) (The Elder or Poetic Edda, Commonly Known as Sæmund’s Edda, part I: The Mythological Poems)
The text, stanzas 126–127
126.
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:
when in peril thou seest thee, confess thee in peril,
nor ever give peace to thy foes.
127.
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:
rejoice not ever at tidings of ill,
but glad let thy soul be in good.
- Olive Bray (editor and translator), The Elder or Poetic Edda, Commonly Known as Sæmund’s Edda, part I: The Mythological Poems (opens in a new tab) (1908), stanzas 126–127 (Bray’s numbering) Rights: Public domain. Published in 1908, so in the public domain in the United States. Text as edited online by D. L. Ashliman, Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts, University of Pittsburgh.
In plain English
When you see yourself in peril, confess that you are in peril, and never give peace to your foes.
Never rejoice at tidings of ill; let your soul be glad in what is good.
- Olive Bray (editor and translator), The Elder or Poetic Edda, Commonly Known as Sæmund’s Edda, part I: The Mythological Poems (opens in a new tab) (1908), stanzas 126–127 (Bray’s numbering) Rights: Public domain. Published in 1908, so in the public domain in the United States. Text as edited online by D. L. Ashliman, Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts, University of Pittsburgh.
Modern interpretation
Read today, the two stanzas are about facing danger honestly and not taking pleasure in other people’s misfortune. That is a modern reading.
Questions to sit with
- What danger are you not admitting to yourself? What good news could you be glad of instead?