Hávamál
What the ale cup shows
A shy fool is silent until the ale cup is passed, and then his mind is shown. Drink your measure, say what is needed, and go to your rest.
Reference: stanzas 17–19 (Bray’s numbering) (The Elder or Poetic Edda, Commonly Known as Sæmund’s Edda, part I: The Mythological Poems)
The text, stanzas 17–19
17.
A fool will gape when he goes to a friend,
and mumble only, or mope;
but pass him the ale cup and all in a moment
the mind of that man is shown.
18.
He knows alone who has wandered wide,
and far has fared on the way,
what manner of mind a man doth own
who is wise of head and heart.
19.
Keep not the mead cup but drink thy measure;
speak needful words or none:
none shall upbraid thee for lack of breeding
if soon thou seek'st thy rest.
- 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 17–19 (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
A fool who goes to a friend’s house stares and mumbles or sulks; but hand him the ale cup and in a moment his mind is shown.
Only the man who has travelled far knows what sort of mind a man has who is wise in head and heart.
Do not hold on to the mead cup; drink your measure. Say what is needed, or nothing. No one will blame you for bad manners if you go to your rest early.
- 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 17–19 (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
This is sometimes read as a point about what a social evening shows of a person’s character. That is a modern reading.
Questions to sit with
- What does your behaviour at the end of a long evening say about you? Is it what you would want a host to see?