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The
discussion and analysis presented after these
translated stanzas is our
opinion. Read the translations for yourself and our analysis, but also seek
out varied sources and come to your own conclusions.
STANZA 5 OF THE
HAVAMAL
Auden and Taylor:
Who travels widely needs his wits about him,
The stupid should stay at home: The ignorant man is often
laughed at When he sits at meat with the sage,
Bellows:
Wits must he have | who wanders wide, But
all is easy at home; At the witless man | the wise shall
wink When among such men he sits.
Bray:
He hath need of his wits who wanders wide,
aught simple will serve at home; but a gazing-stock is the
fool who sits mid the wise, and nothing knows.
Chisholm:
Wits are needful to he who travels
far. The dull should stay home. He will be mocked, who
cannot sit with sages.
Hollander:
Of his wit hath need who widely
fareth-- a dull wit will do at home; a laughingstock he who
lacketh words amongst smart wits when he sits.
Terry:
It takes sharp wits to travel in the world
-- they're not so hard on you at home; in the flicker of an
eye the fool is found who wanders among the wise.
Thorpe:
Wit is needful to him who travels
far: at home all is easy. A laughing-stock is he who
nothing knows, and with the instructed sits.
Original Old Norse:
Vits er žörf žeim er vķša ratar.
Dęlt er heima hvaš. Aš augabragši veršur sį er ekki kann
og meš snotrum situr.
DISCUSSION AND
ANALYSIS OF STANZA 5
The
first two lines are humorous, but no less true for being a little
bit funny. Basically, to you have to be pretty smart or pretty
wise to travel the world, and stupid folks should stay home...or it
can be said that they are easier on stupid folks at home.
Beyond this, these two lines could also suggest the value of
traveling away from home in order to learn and be tested by those
you encounter. If they are easy on you at home, then traveling
might provide some tough but necessary
lessons.
Lines 3 and 4 basically state that the fool or
stupid person is easily spotted when he sits down with wise
people...or alternatively that fools and stupid people are quickly
laughed at when among the
wise.
Some have suggested that you could take from
the stanza, that one should learn the customs and ways of places to
which you are traveling. In the time of our ancestors, I don't
think this stanza had anything to do with learning customs...as
much as being clever, foreseeing potential dangers, and knowing how
to read and deal with people. But in a modern sense, learning
customs, pre-learning a bit of the language, and being culturally
sensitive to the people and customs of nations to which you travel
seems wise advice.
I
think it is funny that Bellows went with "At the witless man | the
wise shall wink." Bellows is trying to preserve the original
meaning, while also preserving the alliteration of the orginal old
Norse poetry. So, witless...wise...and wink all do the job,
and get across a similar
meaning.
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