Here's another selection from Old Norse

This is a selection of four stanzas from Hávamal (Sayings of the High One) that I think is full of very good advise:

23. Ósnotr maðr vakir um allar mætr
oc hyggr at hvívetna;
þá er móðr, er at morni kømr,
alr er vil, sem var.

24. Ósnotr maðr hyggr sér alla vera
viðhlæiendr vini;
hitki hann fiðr þótt þeir um hann fár lesi,
ef hann með snotrom stir.

25. Ósnotr máðr hyggr sér alla vera
viðhlæiendr vini
þá þat finnr, er at þingi kømr,
at hann á formælendr fá.

77. Deyr fé, deyia frændr,
deyr siálfr it sama;
ec veit einn, at aldri deyr:
dómr um dauðan hvern.

Here's what it means in idiomatic english:

23. The foolish man wakes all night
and thinks at everything;
then is weary, when it comes to morning,
all trouble is, as it was.

24. The foolish man thinks all are friends to him
who laugh with him;
that he does not notice, even if they speak hostile words about him,
when he sits among the wise

25. The foolish man thinks all are friends to him
who laugh with him
then he finds that, when he comes to the assembly
that he has few advocates.

77. Cattle die, kinsmen die,
the self must also die:
I know one (thing) that never dies:
the reputation of each dead man.

One of my favorite passages from Old Norse Literature

This is one of my favorite passages from Old Norse. This passage comes from the Edda of Snorri Sturluson Loki and Svaðilfari.

Here is some background on the passage. The Norse gods made a deal with a smith who happened to be a Giant. The deal that they made was that if he could build a fortress for the gods in the span of three seasons (á þrim misserum) he would receive as a reward the goddess Freyja as well as the sun and the moon. When the gods realized that this task was very close to being completed they told Loki to fix this mess, since he was the one who convinced them to make this deal with the Smith in the first place. Loki, one night, disguised as a mare went down to the Smith and his horse, causing the Smith's horse to run away and copulate with (the mare) Loki; siring Odin's horse Sleipnir. The Smith realized he was tricked and angrily turned his attention towards the Gods. This is where we pick up. My favorite part of this section is highlighted in bold.

Loki and Svaðilfari lines 43-50.

En er Æsir sá þat til víss, at þar var bergrisi kominn, þá varð eigi þyrmt eiðunum, ok kǫlluðu þeir á Þór, ok jafnskjótt kom hann, ok því næst fór á lopt hamarrinn Mjǫllnir. Galt hann þá smíðarkaupit, ok eigi sól eða tungl; heldr synjaði hann honum at byggva í Jǫtunheimum ok laust þat it fyrsta hǫgg, er haussinn brotnaði í smán mola, ok sendi hann niðr undir Niflheim.


Here is what it means:

And when the Æsir saw that for certain, that there was a hill giant coming, then was no respect shown for the oaths, and they called to Thor, and he came at once, and there upon the hammer Mjǫllnir went aloft. He paid then the reward of the smith, and not the sun and the moon, rather he denied to him to dwell in the land of the giants and struck the first blow, so that the skull broke into little pieces, and (he) sent him (the Giant) down into Hell.

Tusen takk og ha det bra