Step 5 of 9 · Knowledge, Judgment and Uncertainty
Wise in measure
Why this step
The Hávamál then turns against the whole project. Stanzas 54 to 56 repeat that one should be wise in measure and not too wise, and say that the man who knows much of many things is never the happiest. That qualifies the steps before it: more knowledge is not always better. The stanzas give no rule for how much is enough.
The text, stanzas 53–56
53.
Little the sand if little the seas,
little are minds of men,
for ne'er in the world were all equally wise,
'tis shared by the fools and the sage.
54.
Wise in measure let each man be;
but let him not wax too wise;
for never the happiest of men is he
who knows much of many things.
55.
Wise in measure should each man be;
but let him not wax too wise;
seldom a heart will sing with joy
if the owner be all too wise.
56.
Wise in measure should each man be,
but ne'er let him wax too wise:
who looks not forward to learn his fate
unburdened heart will bear.
- 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 53–56 (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.
From the Lorebook
Minds are small as the grains of sand if the sea is small, and nobody is wise in every way. Be wise, but not too wise.