Page:Poeticedda00belluoft.djvu/68

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

Poetic Edda

When among the wise  he marks it not Though hatred of him they speak.
25.[1] The foolish man  for friends all those Who laugh at him will hold;But the truth when he comes  to the council he learns, That few in his favor will speak.
26. An ignorant man  thinks that all he knows, When he sits by himself in a corner;But never what answer  to make he knows, When others with questions come.
27.[2] A witless man,  when he meets with men, Had best in silence abide;For no one shall find  that nothing he knows, If his mouth is not open too much.(But a man knows not,  if nothing he knows, When his mouth has been open too much.)
28. Wise shall he seem  who well can question, And also answer well;Nought is concealed  that men may say Among the sons of men.
29. Often he speaks  who never is still With words that win no faith;
  1. ↑ The first two lines are abbreviated in the manuscript, but are doubtless identical with the first two lines of the stanza 24.
  2. ↑ The last two lines were probably added as a commentary on lines 3 and 4.

[34]

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.