The Poetic Edda

Men brave and generous live the best lives, seldom will they sorrow; then there are fools, afraid of everything, who grumble instead of giving.

It is like a man | whom no one loves,-- Why should his life be long?

Exchange of words | with a witless ape Thou must not ever make.

Obłęd i szał, rozczarowanie i żal, Siądź tu, a opowiem tobie o męce tęsknoty I zdwojonym bólu.

And I said to him that I had made a vow in my turn, that I would never marry a man who knew the meaning of fear.

I bid thee be wary, | but be not fearful; (Beware most with ale or another's wife,

A brand from a brand | is kindled and burned, And fire from fire begotten; And man by his speech | is known to men, And the stupid by their stillness.

What hast thou to ask? | why comest thou hither? Othin, I know | where thine eye is hidden.

40. The giantess old | in Ironwood sat, In the east, and bore | the brood of Fenrir; Among these one | in monster's guise Was soon to steal | the sun from the sky.

That is the true mingling of kinship when a man can tell someone all his thoughts; anything is better than to be fickle; he is no true friend who only says pleasant things.

37. “That counsel I tenth, that thou trust never oath of an outlaw’s son;

It’s a long and crooked walk to a bad friend, even if he lives nearby. But it’s an easy road to a good friend, no matter how long the journey.

When a real battle starts, you’ll always find that there is no bravest man.

Tell your secret to one person, never to two— everyone knows, if three people know.

But she awoke to the cold death of her hopes,

Men become friends when they can share their minds with one another. Anything is better than being lied to: a real friend will disagree with you openly.

Fire is best for mortals, and sunshine— and also good health, if you have it, and living beyond reproach.

The giantess old in Ironwood sat, In the east, and bore the brood of Fenrir; Among these one in monster's guise Was soon to steal the sun from the sky.

A fool stays awake all night worrying about everything. He’s fatigued when the morning comes

The Lokasenna (Loki's taunts): Njorth, you were sent from the west as a hostage for the gods. The daughters of Hymir used your mouth as a urinal, and you’ve tasted plenty of piss. ... Freyja, you are a witch, and have dealt out many curses. I hear the gods found you lying with your brother, and that you farted then. ... “Tyr, or don’t you know your own wife had a son by me? You poor fool, I’ll never pay you a penny in compensation for that. ... “Sif, I alone know how you were unfaithful to your husband Thor— and I was the one you slept with. ... And you, Odin, you always judge battles unfairly for humans. You have often given defeat to the better side, when you shouldn’t have. And Odin said: “Even if I did judge unfairly, and made the better side lose, I know that you, for eight years, lived on the earth down below as a cow in milk, and as a woman, and you’ve given birth to children— I call that a pervert’s way of living!

It is probable, as Anthony Faulkes suggests, that the pagan religion was never systematically understood by those who practiced it. Different areas of Scandinavia worshipped different gods at different times in the pre-Christian era; the localized nature of cults and rituals produced neither dogma nor sacred texts, as far as we know. Rather pre-Christian religion was 'a disorganized body of conflicting traditions that was probably never reduced in heathen times to a consistent orthodoxy such as Snorri attempts to present'.

Kostir ro betri heldr en at klökkva sé, hveim er fúss er fara; einu dægri mér var aldr of skapaðr of allt líf of lagit.

You should never exchange words with someone who won’t see reason.

They came to the treasure chest, they asked for the keys. They realized Volund’s skill when they peered inside. The boys saw many ornaments, all of them made of gold and gems. Volund said, “Come back alone, just you two, the day after tomorrow. I will give all this gold to you if you do. Don’t tell the ladies, don’t tell the men— don’t tell anyone at all that you’re meeting with me. Early on the appointed day, one boy said to the other: “Let’s go see the rings.” So the two boys came and asked for the keys. They realized Volund’s skill when they peered inside. He cut off the heads of those young boys, he hid their bodies under his bellows. But he took their skulls and scalped them, set them with silver, and sent them as cups to Nithuth. And from the eyes of those young boys he made jewels for their mother.

Loki hid in the Falls of Frananger in the shape of a salmon, but the gods caught him. He was tied up with the intestines of his son Nari... Skathi took a poisonous snake and tied it up over Loki; poison dripped on his face from its mouth... this hurt him so badly that he trembled, and all the world with him. This is what is called an earthquake.

Don’t praise the day until it’s night, don’t praise your wife until she’s buried, don’t praise the sword till after the fight, nor your daughter till she’s married, don’t praise the ice until it’s crossed, nor the ale until you’re sloshed.

[53] Where the beaches are small, it’s a small sea that washes them— and so it is with little minds. Not everyone is equally wise, but the average is moderately wise. [54] You should be only a little wise, never too wise. The happiest people throughout their lives are the moderately wise. {27} [55] You should be only a little wise, never too wise. A wise man’s heart is seldom glad if he’s truly wise. [56] You should be only a little wise, never too wise. It’s best not to know your fate beforehand; you’ll live happier if you don’t. [57] A torch is lit by another and burns till it’s burned out; a fire is kindled by another fire. A man becomes wise by speaking with other men, but foolish by keeping to himself. [58] Rise early, if you want to take another man’s property, or his life. A sleeping wolf seldom wins a sheep, or a sleeping warrior a victory.

An unwise man lies awake all night, brooding on everything; he’s quite worn out, when morning comes, and it’s all just as bad as before.

I expect a wolf when I see his ears.