Step 1 of 11 · Light in the Dark
What is dear to the living
Why this step
The Hávamál names light first. In stanzas 68 and 69 the dearest thing to people is fire, and the sweetest the sight of the sun; then come health and a life without shame, and for the sick, blessings in children, kin, wealth or work done well. The entry reads it today as a list of small goods to count when things go badly. The trail starts with the first two: the fire nearby and the sun overhead.
The text, stanzas 68–69
68.
Most dear is fire to the sons of men,
most sweet the sight of the sun;
good is health if one can but keep it,
and to live a life without shame.
69.
Not reft of all is he who is ill,
for some are blest in their bairns,
some in their kin and some in their wealth,
and some in working well.
- 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 68–69 (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
Fire, sunshine, health and a life without shame are dearest. Even the sick are not stripped of everything: some are blessed in children, kin, wealth or work.