As many poems on the Edda will hereafter occupy our attention, we shall only observe that the Alvis-mâl, or song concerning the dwarf Alvis; the Hyndlu-liod, or song concerning Hyndla; and the Fiolsvinns-mâl, or story about Fiolsvinr, are of the same class, and equally conversant with mythological subjects. The second of these also mentions the names of some Norwegian jarls who traced their origin to a divine source. The Hava-mâl, or sublime discourse of Odin, concludes this class of poems. It consists partly of moral precepts, some of which are very good; while others are dictated by a mind more cunning than wise; and partly of the wonderful powers attached to certain runes. For the latter we have no taste; of the former, half a dozen specimens may be given.
“Remain not long a guest in the house of another; for he who does so becomes a burden to his host.”
“A secret can be kept by one person only,—by him whom it concerns. If two know it, there is danger; if three know it, it is no longer a secret.”
“Be thou the friend of thy friend’s friend, and in no wise the friend of thine enemy’s friend.”
“If thou hast a true friend, and keepest nothing from him, join thy heart with his, exchange gifts with him, and visit him often. The path untrodden is soon overgrown.”
“If thou hast a friend whom thou canst not trust, but yet wouldst obtain a benefit from him, speak fairly to him, but keep thine own secret: return him falsehood for falsehood.”
“Trust not to a woman’s word: her heart is moveable as the wheel at which she spins, and deceit is cherished in her breast.”
“The child of one’s old age is the most precious.”
“Flocks and herds perish; so do friends and kindred; such will be our own lot. But one thing there is that will never perish,—the good man’s fame.”
3. The poems purely mythological are of a more interesting class. The Hymis-guida, or song concerning Hymir, describes an entertainment given by Ægir, the sea-god, to the deities of the Scandinavian Olympus. Ægir, to his great dismay, has no cauldron large enough to brew mead in for such thirsty guests; and Thor goes to borrow or steal one from the great Hymir. This entertainment gave rise to another poem, the Loka-glespa, or quarrelling of Loka with the assembled guests. It is curious as showing the estimation in which the gods were held by one of their own number. A more imaginative production is the Hamars-heimt, or recovery of Thor’s mallet, which the guests had stolen, and which Thrym, one of the number, had buried eight miles below the surface of the ground. The Rafna-galdur-Odins, or raven song of Odin, describes the lamentations of the gods at their approaching annihilation. The Skirnirs-for, or journey of Skirnir to the region of the giants, in search of a wife for Freyr, one of the gods, is graphic, and strikingly illustrative of northern mythology. The Vegtams-guida, or Song of the Traveller, contains the descent of Odin to consult the charmed prophetess Vala concerning the fate of Baldur. This piece we have already translated.[[17]]