Hávamál
Words wasted on a fool
Do not waste a single word on a foolish knave; he will give no good will in return. A righteous man’s praise makes you firm in favour and love.
Reference: stanzas 121–122 (Bray’s numbering) (The Elder or Poetic Edda, Commonly Known as Sæmund’s Edda, part I: The Mythological Poems)
The text, stanzas 121–122
121.
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:
never in speech with a foolish knave
shouldst thou waste a single word.
122.
From the lips of such thou needst not look
for reward of thine own good will;
but a righteous man by praise will render thee
firm in favour and love.
- 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 121–122 (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 waste a single word in speech with a foolish knave. From the lips of such a man you need not look for a reward for your good will, but a righteous man’s praise will make you firm in favour and love.
- 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 121–122 (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, this is advice to choose who you spend your words on. The poem’s scorn for the “foolish knave” is its own. That is a modern reading.
Questions to sit with
- Where are you spending words that nobody is listening to? Where would they be heard?