The Havamal: A Heathen Path of Living (Part 14)

28.

To ask well and to answer rightly,

Are the marks of a wise man:

Men will speak of other men's deeds,

What happens may not be hidden.

29.

He is not wise who is never silent,

Mouthing meaningless words:

A glib tongue that goes on chattering

Sings to its own harm.

30.

A man among friends should not mock another

Who comes among your kin;

Many feel wise

On their own mountain.

The first stanza seems to combine two different ideas. The first idea is how a wise person should speak. The Wanderer has explained multiple times how a fool speaks (usually too much and about things he knows nothing about), but this is the first time that we are told how a wise person should speak. “To ask well and to answer rightly,” first implies that a wise person knows what questions to ask, what is important, and what really gets to the heart of the matter. Oftentimes, we get caught up in the distracting details and minutiae of a problem that we never really look at the root cause of what is going on. I often have clients come to me for therapy to deal with their anger and irritability. But, as I talk to them, I realize that they are not really angry, they are depressed. This tends to come up with men more than women. These clients are really depressed about some issue in their life, they feel stuck, and this comes out as frustration and irritability. Looking past the distractions, I can see what really lies underneath.

The second part of stanza 28 warns us that what we do will be noticed and will be talked about. This was important to the ancient Norse. They knew the importance of reputation. They understood that people will discuss each other and their actions. A good illustration is Bernard P. Hopkins who is buried in Morton Cemetary in Richmond, Texas just outside of Houston. There are two markers. The first gives his name, date of birth, and date of death. The marker below it reads “LEGACY OF BPH: LIAR – THIEF – CHEAT – SELFISH – UNSHARING – UNLOVING – UNKIND – DISLOYAL – DISHONORABLE – UNFAITHFUL”. Now, I don’t know what he did or who he pissed off, but their hatred for him has been etched in stone for everyone to see. So, even after death, people will speak of your deeds. Make sure they are good ones.

Stanza 29 continues the theme of fools speaking too much. But, the line “mouth meaningless words” stands out to me. I think of people who do not really understand what they are talking about but use words and phrases that they have heard other people say. I am reminded of the episode of Family Guy in which Peter, the idiot father, thinks he is a genius so he starts to watch political shows. While watching he hears the commentators use words like “pedantic”. Peter has no idea what the word means, but it sounds intelligent so he begins to use the word in situations and conversations where it does not apply. The scene is funny because Peter, trying to demonstrate how smart he is, just shows how much of an idiot he really is. So, I guess the moral of the story is, “Don’t be a Peter.”

Stanza 30 is the first warning against being a bully. This is also related to stanza 26 in that it is easy for a man to feel smart “by his hearth at home” and wise “on their own mountain”. Similarly to stanza 26, it is easy to become complacent when you are in your own comfort zone and in familiar territory. But, this stanza goes even farther to say that you should not mock those who are in outside their own comfort zones. First, this does not win you friends. You do not appear to be smarter or more powerful by simply putting down someone who is already at a disadvantage. And, what better way to make a friend and an ally than to help out someone who may be feeling anxious, confused, or lost. Plus, at one time, we have all be the new guy on the team, the new kid at school, or last person to hear about some news. We have all be on “someone else’s mountain”. This is a good time to remember the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have done unto you.”