Hávamál
Telling an evil man your troubles
Do not tell an evil man about your misfortunes, or expect anything back from a bad friend for your trust. The speaker has seen a man killed by the lying words of an evil woman.
Reference: stanzas 116–117 (Bray’s numbering) (The Elder or Poetic Edda, Commonly Known as Sæmund’s Edda, part I: The Mythological Poems)
The text, stanzas 116–117
116.
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:
tell not ever an evil man
if misfortunes thee befall,
from such ill friend thou needst never seek
return for thy trustful mind.
117.
Wounded to death, have I seen a man
by the words of an evil woman;
a lying tongue had bereft him of life,
and all without reason of right.
- 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 116–117 (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
Never tell an evil man if misfortunes befall you. From such an ill friend you need not look for a return for your trusting mind.
The speaker has seen a man wounded to death by the words of an evil woman. A lying tongue robbed him of life, and all without any right reason.
- 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 116–117 (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, these two stanzas are about whom to confide in, and how much damage a false account can do. That is a modern reading.
Questions to sit with
- Who have you told your troubles to who used them against you? What do you share differently now?