The Havamal: A Heathen Path of Living (Part 10)

19.

Drink your mead, but in moderation,

Talk sense or be silent:

No man is called discourteous who goes

To bed at an early hour.

20.

A gluttonous man who guzzles away

Brings sorrow on himself:

At the table of the wise he is taunted often,

Mocked for his bloated belly.

21.

The herd knows when it is time to go home,

And leaves the grazing ground:

But the glutton never knows how much

His belly is able to hold.

The first stanza is quite direct: don’t drink too much, speak wisely or not all, and go to bed early. This stanza builds on some of the previous stanzas that warn against the problems with too much alcohol. Also, the Norse did not like people who talk just for the sake of talking. Being quiet and listening was valued more than someone who chattered away about nothing. The last couple of lines even speak to the notion of hospitality.

Ever had people over to your place and they stay too late? Perhaps you are ready to go to bed or the food and drinks are running low, but the people are still hanging around talking and making noise. Can you just leave and go to bed without seeming like a rude host? After a while, your guests start to become a burden and maybe have gone into the realm of rudeness instead of hospitality. I’m sure this was a problem the Old Norse had to face and why The Wanderer is letting us know that a good host appreciates a good guest who knows when its time to go home.

The following stanzas build on this notion of moderation. The first two lines of stanza 20 bring up something that I have noticed in my private practice working with people who abuse drugs or alcohol. For some people, there is a lack of sympathy for people who suffer from drug or alcohol addiction because of the belief that those who suffer are just doing it to themselves, they are “bringing sorrow on himself”. There does need to be a balance when working with these people. First, the person with the problem does need to admit that they have a problem and they have put themselves in that situation. I have worked with clients who were forced to use drugs against their will. They were not drug addicts and did not continue to use once they were out of that situation. So, one has to choose to use those drugs or alcohol and continue to use despite all of the negative consequences that go with it in order to truly have a problem. But, once the person has really decided that they wish to quit, then I think we have a duty to help that person. But, that’s for a later discussion.

The next couple of lines and stanza 21 also surprised me when I first read them. I never would have imagined that the culture that gave us the Vikings would have admonished people for being too fat. Apparently, body image problems are not new to the modern world after all. But, in these stanzas The Wanderer tells us that people do mock us if we cannot control our own behavior to prevent from becoming obese. The Wanderer even goes so far as to say that cows are better because at least they know when to stop eating and go home. I have met some people who hold up their bad behavior as a point of pride, as if they are doing something great by smoking cigarettes, eating unhealthy food, or not exercising. They seem to feel that they are worthy of respect because they have become obese from eating too much. I don’t mock them because ultimately what they are doing is hurting themselves. They are the ones that will have to deal with cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. But, they certainly won’t get my respect or my sympathy.  I don't consider people who have binge eating disorder in this same boat, however.  People with eating disorders are more like people with an addiction to drugs or alcohol.