MY ENGLISH INTERPRETATION AND BRIEF SUMMARY OF STANZAS 65-80
Stanza 65 - “If you speak kind words of others, you will find that others will speak kind words of you. Their future actions towards you will reflect this kindness.”
You’ve probably gathered by this point that the concepts of hospitality and reciprocity were very important to the Old Norse people. Stanza 65 is another example of this concept, this time in the context of kind words, and the reflection that your kind words of others will have on yourself.
The message is simple - Speak kind words of others, and in turn, they will speak kind words of you. Such reciprocal acts fortify the social standing of both parties, alongside their connection, provided of course that such kind words come from a place of sincerity.
On top of this, their actions towards you will reflect the kindness that you have shown them. While it isn’t outright said in the stanza, you can of course assume that the opposite is also true. If you speak bad words of others, why would then then speak of you in kind?
The overarching advice here is to be genuine and sincere in your words to those around you. Speak highly of and to your friends, and in turn you will have a strengthened bond with those around you, resulting in a more fulfilling and enriching social life overall.
Stanza 66 - “You should arrive to your events on time, never too late, never too early. You should never show up before the drinks are even poured, nor when they are all finished.”
Stanza 66 and 67 cover the topic of hospitality. Stanza 66 offers some intuitive advice on punctuality and timing in a social context. It’s a simple message of arriving to your social events with good timing. If you arrive too late, the drinks, food, and entertainment may have passed, yet arriving too early could put an awkward level of pressure on the hosts to hurry.
Of course, this can be expanded to include the obligations that we have in our modern lives, that the Old Norse may not have had and thus taken into consideration. Let’s take an interview as an example. Proper timing and punctuality could be the difference between making a good first impression and standing out.
I find the social context of this stanza more interesting to talk about though, both for the hosts of an event and the guests. I think as a host, it’s important to be well prepared for your guests, ensuring that your timing is good in terms of gathering the food and drinks and having your house in order.
As a guest, it’s wise to reciprocate their efforts and bring something of your own, drinks and food are the most obvious and logical. By doing so, you alleviate some of the financial pressure from your hosts, especially if you tell them beforehand.
Stanza 67 - “The inhospitable host is one who will invite a friend, expecting that they should have no need for a meal, and will leave their stores larger than before they arrived.”
Following on from the topic of punctuality and timing discussed in Stanza 66, 67 offers some very important advice for those looking to host any sort of social event. This applies to smaller gatherings, like inviting one or two friends/family members to your hours, and larger gatherings.
As a host, we’re informed that’s improper conduct to invite guests to your home with the expectation that they will be the providers. It would be improper to invite someone to come and see you and then not expect to provide them with easy access to the simple necessities: food, water, and a place to clean themselves.
To stand out as a great host, it would serve you well to buy your guests' favourite drinks, and prepare some food that you know they enjoy. This makes your guest feel truly appreciated and welcome. It’s these actions that reinforce the idea discussed in stanza 34. The journey to a friend who truly cares and appreciates your time is effortless, and it’s these small acts that create this feeling.
Ideally, such a situation would see a reciprocal transaction of the host providing such necessities, and the guest providing some form of gift. The best kind of gift, at least in my opinion, is something that can be enjoyed during your time together. Food, drinks, and whatever ‘entertainment’ you both enjoy are the best gifts to bring.
Stanza 68 - “For all mortals, fire, sunshine and good health is best, as is living a life with an honest and ethical code. Dignity and virtue are key to one's character.”
Stanza 68 moves from hospitality to the topic of living life in good health and with good morals. The idea of sunshine being vital to our health is something I wholeheartedly agree with. I personally find that I feel absolutely fantastic when I’m out in the sun. I feel more energetic and motivated. Something I absolutely love to do during the summer is take occasional breaks from my desk to just take my shirt off and stand in the sun for a little while.
Many of us in modern times work behind a desk, in a room shielded from the sun, for upwards of 8 hours a day. I think this is still something unnatural to our biology as something to do all year round. Vitamin D is vital to our health, and we take around 10% of our daily requirement from our diet, with the other 90% being absorbed into our skin through the sun.
Trust me on this. The next it’s warm outside, go outside, expose as much of your skin as you’re comfortable with, and just bask in the sun's rays for a while. Take a moment to just be present and notice how good you feel.
Regarding the second part of this stanza, living your life with honesty and a good moral/ethical code is the core and fundamental aspect of your character. I’m not saying that we all need to be wholly ethical in every aspect, because we’re humans, we’re very flawed. That being said, having a moral code and standing by your principles is not only being true to yourself, but it’s also a sincere and authentic way to travel through life.
Stanza 69 - “No man is entirely poor, even if he is in bad health. Some find joy in their families, and some find it with their kin. Money is enough to make some happy, and for others, it’s the satisfaction of a job well done.”
Stanza 69 and 70 paint a very clear message - It’s better to be alive than dead. I’m kind of on the fence with this one, I agree to an extent, but in certain contexts, I don’t. Let’s get into it. Stanza 69 starts this with the truth that nobody is truly and wholly poor, followed by a list of the things at least someone will enjoy; family and loved ones, social enrichment, money, or work-related purpose and satisfaction.
Whenever I read or write about this stanza, I can't help but ask myself this dark yet necessary question: Is it worth being alive, if your life is filled with nothing but extreme suffering?
I think that context and nuance are highly important when talking about ethical suicide. I think there is a huge difference between euthanasia/assisted suicide in those at the end of their lives, and those with their whole lives ahead of them considering ending ending it.
I 100% believe that if you’re young or middle-aged, you are far better off being alive than dead. There is SOMETHING out there in the world that will give you purpose and fulfillment. The stress or trauma that you may have suffered is not worth ending your life over, and that’s a view I stand by.
On the other hand, I think if someone is in a state of incurable or insolvable extreme suffering, either through severe illness or old age, who are we to deny them death?
My partner and I have talked on multiple occasions about wanting to leave this world on our own terms when we become so old that we can no longer take care of ourselves. I’m sure many feel the same sentiment that it would be better to end in a peaceful way after a whole life than to live with the pain and shame of being a burden unto someone else.
Stanza 70 - “It’s better to be alive than to be dead, no matter how bad you may have it. The dead enjoy nothing. For a wealthy man, I saw a fire burn, while he lay cold and dead outside the door.”
Stanza 70 continues this idea that it is unequivocally better to be alive than dead. We’re told by Odin that the dead enjoy nothing, and he tells of how he saw a fire burning for a wealthy man, while he lay cold and dead outside.
It’s a difficult one to analyse without knowing the full picture. Did he die walking home? The way I interpreted this stanza is that the fire is being burned in honour of the dead man. This gives me the assumption that this fire is being burned in his honour, at his funeral.
This makes the most sense to me, as this can imply that this funeral could be accompanied by a feast, drinks and celebrations in his honour. As sad and depressing as a funeral can be, there is a bittersweet silver lining in that the whole family are gathered alongside loved ones, and can enjoy each other's support and company.
A funeral is one of those few contexts where a large group of people gather, in good faith, with a single shared purpose: to celebrate the life of and say goodbye to a loved one. Yet in all of the sadness and happiness of such a situation, the dead can enjoy none of it.
To return to my analysis of the last stanza, while I’ve never experienced a funeral for a young person, I can only assume how much more devastating it would be for the family and loved ones, having to say goodbye early. So I’d like to reiterate my point. If you’re young and you have your whole life ahead of you, suicide is not the answer. Talk to your loved ones, don’t put them through that suffering. There is something out there in life that will give you fulfilment and purpose.
Stanza 71 - “Without a hand, a man can herd. With a limp, a man can ride a horse. Without his hearing, a man can fight. Even blind, a man can find his way. The living will always be more blessed than the dead.”
Stanza 71 ends this three-stanza-message on the idea that being alive is being better than being dead. We’re told outright that the living will always be blessed than the dead. This, of course, is rooted in the Norse idea of life not ending after your death.
The funeral rite of placing a body on a boat and burning it stems from this idea, where the dead depart with gifts under the idea that they are travelling to somewhere outside of there realm of the living.
Wherever you may end up, this particular stanza seems to imply that you’re better off alive. This seems fairly contradictory as this is supposedly coming from Odin, who would know a great deal about the afterlife. Often Valhalla is depicted as this cheerful place of feating and fighting, a place that soldiers would happily die in battle to see.
This certainly isn’t the first or the last contradiction in the Norse Myths, but certainly one that I have to take into consideration when making an analysis like this. The truth is that the question ‘is it better to be alive than dead,’ is one that has to be answered with a lot of nuance. My personal belief on the topic is that I would rather end my life on my own terms, but I hold this view solitarily in the context of old age and dependance, or extreme and unsolvable suffering.
Stanza 72 - “It’s better to have children than to not, no matter how late you may choose to have them. Rare is the grave or memorial stone raised for the man with no sons.”
Stanza 72 moves on to the topic of children, with the outright statement that it is better to have children than to not, no matter how late you choose to have them. This is reinforced by the idea that without a family, who will carry on your teachings and legacy?
I agree with this statement as I do want children in my life, but I don’t necessarily agree with it as a piece of advice for all. I think despite the challenges that come with raising a child, of which there are many, the fulfillment and reward that comes from raising your own offspring is like no other.
While I believe that is most likely better to have children in your life, the phrase ‘live and let live,’ is my advice for this stanza. Don’t judge others for not having children just because having some of your own changed your life for the better. At the same time if you don’t have children, don’t make it a point to brag about how great your life is without them. Just enjoy your life.
Stanza 73 - “Two men are a stronger force than one, and against them, your tongue can endanger your head. Be wary of hidden hands, as I expect they conceal a weapon.”
Stanza 73 is a simple truth. Two men are stronger than one, and in any outnumbered confrontation, you’re likely to lose. While it’s nice to watch action movies and assume that we can fight off multiple attackers, the hard truth is that most of us are average in our skill, and would likely be easily bested by multiple opponents in a physical confrontation.
The message of this stanza is to carefully watch your tongue when in a potentially dangerous situation where you stand against multiple assailants. Antagonising the situation is likely to end very badly for you, so it’s wise to hold your tongue, swallow your pride, and leave with your safety.
The latter part of the stanza wisely advises us to be perceptive and on high alert in such situations. The phrase ‘be wary of hidden hands, as they may conceal a weapon,’ to me speaks of watching out for a sucker punch or sneaky attack.
Here in England, most confrontations will end in some form of unarmed fist-to-fist scuffle. That being said, you never know what someone is carrying or what their intentions are. A simple scuffle can easily get out of hand, resulting in someone being stabbed. In the US you guys have guns, with the potential for any form of confrontation to turn deadly in a split second.
In conclusion, be perceptive and cautious in uncomfortable situations. If you’re outnumbered, choose your words carefully, and if you have to, run.
Stanza 74 - “The seafarer looks forward to the short journey home, ready for a comforting meal. The autumn night however is unpredictable, and much can happen in a short amount of time.”
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Stanza 75 - “The fool is ignorant to just how little he knows, and festers his foolishness by listening to the words of other fools. Some men are rich, and some are poor, but neither should blame the other for their troubles.”
Stanza 75 is one that I’ve been looking forward to writing about, with a simple truth that is as true today as it was for the Old Norse people. If you live your life in an echo chamber, you’ll never gain the wisdom and insight that comes from healthy discussion.
An echo chamber is described as ‘an environment where a person only encounters information or opinions that reflect and reinforce their own.’ Modern politics is the largest example of echo chambers having a profoundly negative impact on our intelligence and wisdom. Healthy discussion is being phased out in favour of insults and treating your ideological opposites as enemies to be combatted and slain, as opposed to people to be reasoned with.
This is true for those on the left and the right alike. I think that the idea that someone who disagrees with you is evil and can’t be reasoned with is just wrong. Even the most deplorable person with the most horrible views could probably teach you something if you had a discussion with them. Simply having someone challenge your ideas from a different perspective forces you to think and reflect, usually 3 hours later in the shower.
Universal skills are learned in debates and disagreements. Learning how to better articulate your argument for next time is probably the most crucial. If you exchange your thoughts and ideas amongst ONLY those who agree with and reinforce your views, you’re less likely to encounter the challenges that will actually help you grow as a person.
Stanza 76 - “Cattle die, your kinsmen will die, and you yourself will also die. I know of one thing that will never die, the good reputation of a man who has earned it.”
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Stanza 77 - “Cattle die, your kinsmen will die, and you yourself will also die. I know of one thing that will never die, the reputation of those who have died.”
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Stanza 78 - “I saw the sons of a wealthy man, who once owned huge herds of cattle. Now they own nothing but a beggar’s staff. No friend is more faithless than wealth, which for the fool can disappear in the blink of an eye.”
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Stanza 79 - “When an unwise man stumbles upon the gift of wealth or the love of a good woman, his pride will grow, while his wisdom does not. Such a man will be misguided by his own sense of worth.”
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Stanza 80 - “It will surely come true, that which you ask of the runes. Those divine runes, created by the gods and painted by Óðinn, have much to teach. Their wisdom is best attained with a closed mouth and an open mind.”
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