Hávamál
Friendship that burns out, and half a loaf
Among false friends, affection burns fast and dies on the sixth day. Real friends are often made with small things: half a loaf and a tilted bowl.
Reference: stanzas 51–52 (Bray’s numbering) (The Elder or Poetic Edda, Commonly Known as Sæmund’s Edda, part I: The Mythological Poems)
The text, stanzas 51–52
51.
Fiercer than fire among ill friends
for five days love will burn;
but anon 'tis quenched, when the sixth day comes,
and all friendship soon is spoiled.
52.
Not great things alone must one give to another,
praise oft is earned for nought;
with half a loaf and a tilted bowl
I have found me many a friend.
- 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 51–52 (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
Among bad friends, love burns fiercer than fire for five days; on the sixth day it goes out, and all the friendship is spoiled.
It is not only great things that must be given. Praise is often earned for nothing, and with half a loaf and a tilted bowl the speaker says he has made himself many a friend.
- 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 51–52 (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
One modern reading is about quick intense friendships that fade, and about small, ordinary kindness doing more than grand gestures. That is a modern reading.
Questions to sit with
- What small, ordinary kindness has built your friendships more than any grand gesture?