The Havamal: A Heathen Path of Living (Part 16)

33.

An early meal a man should take

Before he visits friends,

Lest, when he gets there, he go hungry,

Afraid to ask for food.

This stanza deals with one of the ways in which to be a good guest. By eating before you visit someone, you prevent being a burden on your host. Remember from stanzas 3 and 4 that for a host to show good hospitality the host should provide food and water to his guest. In those stanzas, The Wanderer was describing caring for someone who is traveling far and may not have eaten or had a chance to eat. In a sense, The Wanderer is describing an emergency situation. But, when you know you will be visiting someone, then this is not an emergency. Expecting that someone will feed you even when you do not need it is a form of freeloading. The rules of hospitality regard hosts and their guests. Freeloaders need not apply.