Edda Quotes

Men brave and generous live the best lives, seldom will they sorrow; then there are fools, afraid of everything, who grumble instead of giving.

When a real battle starts, you’ll always find that there is no bravest man.

It’s a long and crooked walk to a bad friend, even if he lives nearby. But it’s an easy road to a good friend, no matter how long the journey.

And now, if you have anything more to ask, I can't think how you can manage it, for I've never heard anyone tell more of the story of the world. Make what use of it you can.

A sword age, a wind age, a wolf age. No longer is there mercy among men.

But Loki's relations with Svadilfari were such that a while later he gave birth to a colt.

You forgive yourself for what you've done," Edda told her. "You admit mistakes. You learn from them. And you improve.

That is the true mingling of kinship when a man can tell   someone all his thoughts;   anything is better than to be fickle;   he is no true friend who only says pleasant things.

They all laughed, except Tyr; he lost his hand.

My love is not water in a bucket, you know. It's not as if someone else can drink it all up and leave none left for you.

It is like a man | whom no one loves,-- Why should his life be long?

Tell your secret to one person, never to two— everyone knows, if three people know.

The mind only knows what lies near the heart, that alone is conscious of our affections. No disease is worse to a sensible man than not to be content with himself.

And I said to him that I had made a vow in my turn, that I would never marry a man who knew the meaning of fear.

But she awoke to the cold death of her hopes,

Men become friends when they can share their minds with one another. Anything is better than being lied to: a real friend will disagree with you openly.

Fire is best for mortals, and sunshine— and also good health, if you have it, and living beyond reproach.

Obłęd i szał, rozczarowanie i żal, Siądź tu, a opowiem tobie o męce tęsknoty I zdwojonym bólu.

Exchange of words | with a witless ape Thou must not ever make.

A man shall not boast of his keenness of mind, But keep it close in his breast; To the silent and wise does ill come seldom

The giantess old in Ironwood sat, In the east, and bore the brood of Fenrir; Among these one in monster's guise Was soon to steal the sun from the sky.

Wolf-time, wind-time, axe-time, sword-time, shields-high-time,

I bid thee be wary, | but be not fearful; (Beware most with ale or another's wife,

A brand from a brand | is kindled and burned, And fire from fire begotten; And man by his speech | is known to men, And the stupid by their stillness.

Wake early if you want another man’s life or land. No land for the lazy wolf. No battle’s won in bed.”  – Edda of Sæmund the Wise, a collection of the sayings of Odin Just

Edda danced in the ballet. That was her job. 'Job' was not the word other people chose to describe what Edda did, but the right word nonetheless. Words were queer that way, Edda often thought. They classified things. In her case they could place someone in another dimension.

Wiem, gdzie jesion stoi, Yggdrasill się zowie, Lśniącą wilgotnością pień jego zroszony; Z niego idzie rosa, co w dolinach spada, Koło Urs studni wciąż zielony stoi.

Yang terbaik adalah menjadi setengah bijak, tidak terlalu bodoh dan terlalu pandai. Orang pandai yang pengetahuannya dalam jarang merasakan kebahagiaan di hatinya.

If you have to die [...] better to go down fighting. Better to die in company. Better not be the last, and alone, weighed down with all that knowing.

What hast thou to ask? | why comest thou hither? Othin, I know | where thine eye is hidden.

A stupid man stays awake all night pondering his problems; he's worn out when morning comes and whatever was, still is.

This is surely the most significant of the elements that Tolkien brought to fantasy.... his arranged marriage between the Elder Edda and "The Wind in the Willows"--big Icelandic romance and small-scale, cozy English children's book. The story told by "The Lord of the Rings" is essentially what would happen if Mole and Ratty got drafted into the Nibelungenlied.

The old witch bears many giants for sons, and all in the shape of wolves; and from this source are those wolves sprung. The saying runs thus: from this race shall come one that shall be mightiest of all; he that is named Moon-Hound; he shall be filled with the flesh of all those men that die, and he shall swallow the moon, and sprinkle with blood the heavens and all the air; thereof shall the sun lose her shining, and the winds in that day shall be unquiet and roar on every side.

King Atli had Hogni’s heart cut out while he was alive, and that was his death.

Men will know misery, adulteries be multiplied, an axe-age, a sword-age, shields will be cloven, a wind-age, a wolf-age, before the world's ruin.

The past is the mirror that reflects the future.

The head alone knows what dwells near the heart.

The fierceness of man rules the fates of women.

If we are to seek a body of lore that truly manifests our Odinist heritage, we have to remain detached to the Christianized and mutilated sources that have been handed down to us.

Kostir ro betri heldr en at klökkva sé, hveim er fúss er fara; einu dægri mér var aldr of skapaðr of allt líf of lagit.

Know ye yet the edda? Know ye yet it all?

The best value translations of the Poetic Edda are by Hollander from Texas Uni Press, or by Larrington of Oxford Uni Press.

The story is that Odin travelled from home and came to a place where nine slaves were cutting hay. He asked if they wanted him to sharpen their scythes. They agreed. Then he took a whetstone from his belt and sharpened the scythes. To them it seemed that the scythes now cut much better, and they wanted to buy the whetstone. Odin set this price on the stone: he asked that whoever wanted to buy it should give what he thought was reasonable. They all said they wanted it and each asked to buy it, but instead he threw it into the air. They all scrambled to catch it with the result that they slit each other’s throats with their scythes.

Nine is the mythical number of the Germanic tribes. Documentation for the significance of the number nine is found in both myth and cult. In Odin's self-sacrifice he hung for nine nights on the windy tree (Hávamál), there are nine worlds to Nifhel (Vafprudnismal 43), Heimdallr was born to nine mothers, Freyr had to wait for nine nights for his marriage to Gerd (Skírnismál 41), and eight nights (= nine days?) was the time of betrothal given also in the Þrymskviða. Literary embellishments in the Eddas similarly used the number nine: Skaði and Njörðr lived alternately for nine days in Nóatún and in Þrymheimr; every ninth night eight equally heavy rings drip from the ring Draupnir; Menglöð has nine maidens serve her (Fjölsvinnsmál 35ff), and Ægir had as many daughters. Thor can take nine steps at Ragnarök after his battle with the Midgard serpent before he falls down dead. Sacrificial feasts lasting nine days are mentioned for both Uppsala and Lejre and at these supposedly nine victims were sacrificed each day.

The Midgard Serpent opened its mouth and swallowed the ox head. The hook dug into the gums of its mouth, and when the serpent felt this, he snapped back so hard that both of Thor’s fists slammed against the gunwale. Thor now became angry and, taking on his divine strength, he strained so hard that both his feet pushed through the bottom of the boat. Using the sea floor to brace himself, he began pulling the serpent up on board. It can be said that no one has seen a more terrifying sight than this: Thor, narrowing his eyes at the serpent, while the serpent spits out poison and stares straight back from below. It is told that the giant Hymir changed colour. He grew pale and feared for his life when he saw the serpent and also the sea rushing in and out of the boat.

It is probable, as Anthony Faulkes suggests, that the pagan religion was never systematically understood by those who practiced it. Different areas of Scandinavia worshipped different gods at different times in the pre-Christian era; the localized nature of cults and rituals produced neither dogma nor sacred texts, as far as we know. Rather pre-Christian religion was 'a disorganized body of conflicting traditions that was probably never reduced in heathen times to a consistent orthodoxy such as Snorri attempts to present'.

Hethin was at home with his father, King Hjorvarth, in Norway. Hethin was coming home alone from the forest one Yule-eve, and found a troll-woman ; she

Alive or dead, let Hel hold what she has.

The sun knew not where she had housing; The moon knew not what Might he had; The stars knew not where stood their places. Thus was it ere the earth was fashioned.

Where is the chief abode or holy place of the gods?" Hárr answered: 'That is at the Ash of Yggdrasill; there the gods must give judgment everyday.

He is happy, who in himself possesses fame and wit while living; for bad counsels have oft been received from another's breast.

rumore di gatto, barba di donna, radici di montagna, tendini d’orso, respiro di pesce e sputo d’uccello.

From the Niflung lineage came Gjuki.

From the Ylfing lineage came Eirik the Eloquent.

Skelfir was a warrior king whose lineage is called the Skilfings, who hold sway in the eastern regions.

The ninth was Sigar, founder of the Siklingar. To that lineage belongs Siggeir, the kinsman by marriage of Volsung, and the Sigar who hanged Hagbard.

Huginn and Muninn hover each day The wide earth over; I fear for Huginn lest he fare not back,-- Yet watch I more for Muninn.

Loki was now captured, and with no thought of mercy he was taken to a cave. They [the Æsir] took three flat stones and, setting them on their edges, broke a hole through each of them. Then they caught Loki’s sons, Vali and Nari or Narfi. The Æsir changed Vali into a wolf, and he ripped apart his brother Narfi. Next the Æsir took his guts, and with them they bound Loki on to the top of the three stones – one under his shoulders, a second under his loins and the third under his knees. The fetters became iron. ‘Then Skadi took a poisonous snake and fastened it above Loki so that its poison drips on to his face. But Sigyn, his wife, placed herself beside him from where she holds a bowl to catch the drops of venom. When the bowl becomes full, she leaves to pour out the poison, and at that moment the poison drips on to Loki’s face. He convulses so violently that the whole earth shakes – it is what is known as an earthquake. He will lie bound there until Ragnarok.

One of them, Veggdegg, was a powerful king who ruled over East Saxland. His son was Vitrgils, whose sons were Vitta, the father of Heingest, and Sigar, the father of Svebdegg, whom we call Svipdag.

An ash I know, Yggdrasil its name, With water white is the great tree wet; Thence come the dews that fall in the dales, Green by Urth's well does it ever grow. Thence come the maidens mighty in wisdom, Three from the dwelling down 'neath the tree; Urth is one named, Verthandi the next,-- On the wood they scored,-- and Skuld the third. Laws they made there, and life allotted To the sons of men, and set their fates.

There are many fair places in heaven, and over everything there a godlike watch is kept. A hall stands there, fair, under the ash by the well, and out of that hall come three maids.... [T]hese maids determine the period of men's lives: we call them Norns; but there are many norns: those who come to each child that is born, to appoint his life.”   Prose Edda, Gylfaginning, Snorri Sturlson, translated by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur  

The eighth was Lofdi; he was a great warrior king with a following called the Lofdar; he founded the dynasty of Lofdungs. To that lineage belongs Eylimi, the maternal grandfather of Sigurd who slew the serpent Fafnir.

Loki’s relations with Svadilfari (a powerful stallion) were such that a while later he gave birth to a colt. It was grey and had eight feet, and this is the best horse among gods and men. (The horse's name was Slepnir.)

How should one periphrase Vídarr? He maybe called the Silent God, Possessor of the Iron Shoe, Foe and Slayer of Fenris-Wolf, Avenger of the Gods, Divine Dweller in the Homesteads of the Fathers, Son of Odin, and Brother of the Aesir.

Don’t praise the day until it’s night, don’t praise your wife until she’s buried, don’t praise the sword till after the fight, nor your daughter till she’s married, don’t praise the ice until it’s crossed, nor the ale until you’re sloshed.

Religion Holy Book Prophecy Asatru Edda works No Bahá'í Writings of the Báb No Buddhism Pali texts No Confucianism Analects, Chung Yung No Druidism - No Druze Rasa'il al-Hikma No Hinduism Vedas, Upanishads No Jainism Agama, Culika-sutras No Kabala Zoar, Bahir No Raelians - No Shamanism - No Shinto Kojiki, Nihon Shoki No Scientology Dianetics No Sikh Granth Sahib No Sufi Masnawi No Tao Tao-Te King No Urantia Urantia No Voodoo - No Wicca Book of Shadows No Zoroastrianism Avesta No       Christianity Bible Yes Islam Qur’an No Judaism Old Testament

Another condition of her settlement was that the Æsir must do something she the beard of a goat and tied the other end around his own testicles. The goat and Loki started pulling back and forth, each squealing loudly until finally Loki fell into Skadi’s lap, and then she laughed.

The tales underlying the heroic lays are clearly of foreign origin: the Helgi story comes from Denmark, and that of Völund from Germany, as also the great mass of traditions centering around Sigurth (Siegfried), Brynhild, the sons of Gjuki, Atli (Attila), and Jormunrek (Ermanarich).

When the builder saw that the work would not be finished, he flew into a giant’s rage. Once the Æsir realized for certain that they were facing a mountain giant, they no longer respected their oaths. They called upon Thor, who came immediately, and the next thing to happen was that the hammer Mjollnir was in the air. In this way Thor paid the builder his wages, but not the sun and the moon. Rather, Thor put an end to the giant’s life in Jotunheim. He struck the first blow in such a way that the giant’s skull broke into small pieces, and so Thor sent him down to Niflhel.

Swords I know lying in Sigarsholm, Fifty there are save only four; One there is that is best of all, The shield-destroyer, with gold it shines. 9. “In the hilt is fame, in the haft is courage, In the point is fear, for its owner’s foes; On the blade there lies a blood-flecked snake, And a serpent’s tail round the flat is twisted.

When the Æsir saw Odin flying, they placed their vats in the courtyard, and when Odin entered Asgard he spat the mead into the vats. It was such a close call, with Suttung almost catching him, that he blew some of the mead out of his rear. No one paid attention to this part, and whoever wanted it took it; we call this the bad poets’ portion.

Loki hid in the Falls of Frananger in the shape of a salmon, but the gods caught him. He was tied up with the intestines of his son Nari... Skathi took a poisonous snake and tied it up over Loki; poison dripped on his face from its mouth... this hurt him so badly that he trembled, and all the world with him. This is what is called an earthquake.

THE life of Snorri Sturluson fell in a great but contradictory age, when all that was noble and spiritual in men seemed to promise social regeneration, and when bloody crimes and sordid ambitions gave this hope the lie. Not less than the rest of Europe, Scandinavia shared in the bitter conflict between the law of the spirit and the law of the members.

Asia.1 Everything in that part of the world is beautiful and stately, and the earth produces gold and gemstones. The middle of the world is also there. Just as the earth in that region is more beautiful and better in all ways than other places, so too the people there are most endowed with all blessings: wisdom and strength, beauty, and every kind of skill.

Anyone with an adequate education will easily acknowledge that in the mythology of the Eddas itself the essential element does not correspond to the pathos of the emerging and unleashing of elementary forces and of the struggle against them...the essential, in the tradition in question, is to be found in what are ultimately ‘Olympian’ meanings. These are implied, for instance, by the idea of Miðgarðr, which reflects the general idea of a supreme centre and fundamental order of the world, and which, in a way, may be considered the metaphysical basis of the idea of empire; by the symbolism of Valhalla as a mountain whose frozen and bright peak shines of an eternal light beyond all clouds; and, connected to this, the motif of the so called Light of the North in its many variants. In relation to this, I should recall the symbolism of the golden realm of Glaðsheimr, ‘brighter than the sun’...and the image of the celestial place of Gimlé, ‘more magnificent than any other and brighter than the sun,’ which ‘will endure even when the heavens and the earth pass away.’ In this and many other motifs...a trained eye is bound to detect a testimony to a higher dimension in ancient Nordic mythology...According to Völuspá and Gylfaginning, after Ragnarök a ‘new sun’ and ‘new race’ will arise, the ‘divine heroes’... will return to Iðavöllr and find gold, which symbolises the primordial tradition of luminous Asgard and the original state.

Then spoke Gangleri: 'If norns determine the fates of men, they allot terribly unfairly, when some have a good and prosperous life, and some have little success or glory, some a long life, some short.' High said: 'Good norns, ones of noble parentage, shape good lives, but as for those people that become the victims of misfortune, it is evil norns that are responsible.

Even though great were this cruelty, oppression, and tyranny, though numerous were the oft-victorious clans of the many-familied Erinn; though numerous their kings, and their royal chiefs, and their princes; though numerous their heroes and champions, and their brave soldiers, their chiefs of valour and renown and deeds of arms; yet not one of them was able to give relief, alleviation, or deliverance from that oppression and tyranny, from the numbers and multitudes, and the cruelty and the wrath of the brutal, ferocious, furious, untamed, implacable hordes by whom that oppression was inflicted, because of the excellence of their polished, ample, treble, heavy, trusty, glittering corslets; and their hard, strong, valiant swords; and their well-riveted long spears, and their ready, brilliant arms of valour besides; and because of the greatness of their achievements and of their deeds, their bravery, and their valour, their strength, and their venom, and their ferocity, and because of the excess of their thirst and their hunger for the brave, fruitful, nobly-inhabited, full of cataracts, rivers, bays, pure, smooth-plained, sweet grassy land of Erinn"—(pp. 52-53).

She’d always known a simple truth: Intimacy was the heart of marriage. Not just sex. Intimacy meant doing things together, and being together. In marriage, you were no longer just one person, but two-in-one. Part of a greater whole. Both halves needed to make sacrifices for the union to work, but in the best marriages, those sacrifices were small, because the two halves were so even, and so compatible.

Norse mythology hints at Odinic cults, with Odin being worshipped through a combination of ecstatic and seemingly shamanistic rituals. From the eddic poem The Sayings of the High One ( Hávamál ), he is said to have hanged himself in a sacrificial ritual on a tree. Barely surviving this ordeal, Odin gains arcane knowledge, including the use of runes, the ancient Scandinavian alphabet sometimes used for magical purposes. In the poem, Odin chants : I know that I hung on the wind-swept tree all nine nights with spear was I wounded and given to Odin, myself to me, on that tree which no one knows from which roots it grows. Bread I was not given, no drink from the horn, downwards I glared; up I pulled the runes, screaming I took them, from there I fell back again. - excerpt from Jesse L. Byock's Introduction and Notes, of Sturluson's Prose Edda.

The sagas, however, do not mention any entheogens in any context that I can discover: the special meal prepared for the seeress in Eiriks saga rauöa is of the hearts of animals and is eaten the night before her seiör is to occur. References to drinking in the Eddas (e.g. Mimir's well, the mead of poetry) are ambiguously metaphorical at best (though in a highly speculative mode, Steven Leto (2000) suggests that the use of both A. muscaria and R semilanceata may be represented metaphorically in various poems or sagas). Archaeology, however, gives some evidence, from several hundred henbane seeds found in the pouch of a burial considered to be that of a seeress (Price, pers. com.) and a very small number of cannabis seeds present in the Oseberg burial (often considered to be that of a seeress or a priestess), carefully Placed, Neil Price tells me, between the cushions and feathers piled by the bed.

The Lokasenna (Loki's taunts): Njorth, you were sent from the west as a hostage for the gods. The daughters of Hymir used your mouth as a urinal, and you’ve tasted plenty of piss. ... Freyja, you are a witch, and have dealt out many curses. I hear the gods found you lying with your brother, and that you farted then. ... “Tyr, or don’t you know your own wife had a son by me? You poor fool, I’ll never pay you a penny in compensation for that. ... “Sif, I alone know how you were unfaithful to your husband Thor— and I was the one you slept with. ... And you, Odin, you always judge battles unfairly for humans. You have often given defeat to the better side, when you shouldn’t have. And Odin said: “Even if I did judge unfairly, and made the better side lose, I know that you, for eight years, lived on the earth down below as a cow in milk, and as a woman, and you’ve given birth to children— I call that a pervert’s way of living!

on a wolf, and had snakes in place of a bridle. She asked Hethin for his company. “Nay,” said he. She said, “Thou shalt pay for this at the king’s toast.” That evening the great vows were taken; the sacred boar was brought in, the men laid their hands thereon, and took their vows at the king’s toast. Hethin vowed that he would have Svava, Eylimi’s daughter, the beloved of his brother Helgi ; then such great grief seized him that he went forth on wild paths southward over the land, and found Helgi, his brother.

When the Æsir saw Odin flying, they placed their vats in the courtyard, and when Odin entered Asgard he spat the mead into the vats. It was such a close call, with Suttung almost catching him, that he blew some of the mead out of his rear. No one paid attention to this part, and whoever wanted it took it; we call this the bad poets’ portion. Odin gave Suttung’s mead to the Æsir and to those men who know how to make poetry. For this reason we call poetry Odin’s catch, find, drink or gift, as well as the drink of the Æsir.’ 3

Everybody can imagine how frightened the farmer became as he watched Thor’s eyebrows sink down low over his eyes. The small part of Thor’s eyes that was visible was a sight that alone could have killed. Thor’s hands clenched the shaft of the hammer until his knuckles whitened. As might be expected, the farmer and all his household began to wail. Begging for mercy, they offered in return everything they owned. When Thor saw their fear, his anger passed. Calming down, he took from them their children, Thjalfi and Roskva, as compensation. They became Thor’s bond servants and follow him ever since.

Under the root *( of the Ash Yggdrasil ) that goes to the frost giants is the Well of Mimir. Wisdom and Intelligence are hidden there, and Mimir is the name of the well's owner. He is full of wisdom because he drinks of the well from the Gjallarhorn. All-father went there and asked for one drink from the well, but he did not get this until he gave one of his eyes as a pledge. As it says in The Sibyl's Prophesy : Odin, I know all, where you hid the eye in that famous Well of Mimir. Each morning Mimir drinks mead from Val-Father's pledge. Do you know now or what ? ( The Sibyl's Prophesy. 28 )

They came to the treasure chest, they asked for the keys. They realized Volund’s skill when they peered inside. The boys saw many ornaments, all of them made of gold and gems. Volund said, “Come back alone, just you two, the day after tomorrow. I will give all this gold to you if you do. Don’t tell the ladies, don’t tell the men— don’t tell anyone at all that you’re meeting with me. Early on the appointed day, one boy said to the other: “Let’s go see the rings.” So the two boys came and asked for the keys. They realized Volund’s skill when they peered inside. He cut off the heads of those young boys, he hid their bodies under his bellows. But he took their skulls and scalped them, set them with silver, and sent them as cups to Nithuth. And from the eyes of those young boys he made jewels for their mother.

Può non essere sempre evidente ed esplicito nella forma del nome il nesso necessario con la sua ragione prima, ma ciò è dovuto soltanto all'ignoranza degli uomini, alla fuga del tempo, ed i sapienti, i saggi, i maghi e gli dèi sono tali in ragione delle loro maggiore o assoluta conoscenza di questi nessi. In origine ogni nome è una kenning. Ora essa, qual è praticata dagli scaldi, ci appare nel suo aspetto intellettualistico e concettoso di indovinello, nel riferimento ad una sapienza esclusiva ed esoterica, ma nostro è l'abbaglio nel percepirla così: nella struttura e nel senso suo più genuino essa è il modello originario del nome nel mito, un modello che può riflettersi in sé, nei suoi elementi costitutivi, all'infinito; primo e ultimo frutto dello sforzo di appropriazione del passato e del presente, di fare il mito.

Una parola specifica in norreno che dica 'mito' propriamente non esiste, potrebbe essere 'accadimento' oppure 'storia' o 'saga': per Snorri, ci sembra, quella che più si avvicina all'essenza del mito è la parola per 'ricordo', 'ricordare'. È sorprendente come riappaia più volte nella narrazione il 'ricordo' degli dèi: gli dèi si adunano e parlano e rammemorano quanto è avvenuto o quanto essi hanno compiuto, e questo par costituire agli occhi del narratore l'atto più proprio del loro sacro consesso. Il memorare, quasi che il ricordo costituisca un atto di vera e propria creazione, o forse, più pianamente, l'unico mezzo di conferma della realtà o verità cui riferirsi nella sconcertante poliedricità delle apparenze. Il ricordo è così l'unica vera esperienza del mito, il tempo del mito e la prospettiva della memoria secolare dell'uomo fino alla sua origine divina.

Then spoke Third: 'Odin is highest and most ancient of the Æsir. He rules all things, and mighty though the other gods are, yet they all submit to him like children to their father. Frigg is his wife, and she knows men's fates though she does not prophesy, as it says here that Odin himself spoke to the As called Loki: "Mad you are Loki, and out of your wits; why will you not be silent, Loki? All fates I believe Frigg knows, though she herself does not pronounce." 'Odin is called All-father, for he is father of all gods. He is also called Val-father [father of the slain], since all those who fall in battle are his adopted sons. He assigns them places in Val-hall and Vingolf, and they are then known as Einheriar. He is also called Hanga-god [god of the hanged] and Hapta-god [god of pris- oners), Farma-god [god of cargoes], and he called himself by various other names on his visit to King Geirrod.

Cozinhamos reclamando de perda de tempo, quando podíamos estar transformando amor em comida.

Thor spake: "In a single breast I never have seen More wealth of wisdom old; But with treacherous wiles must I now betray thee: The day has cought thee dwarf! (Now the sun shines here in the hall.)

Was it possible that human psychology changed between the years of nine and fifteen? It seemed unlikely. What evolutionary purpose would such a change serve? Or perhaps this particular human was defective in some

In a single breast I never have seen More wealth of wisdom old; But with treacherous wiles must I now betray thee: The day has cought thee dwarf! (Now the sun shines here in the hall.)

In a single breast I never have seen More wealth of wisdom old; But with treacherous wiles must I now betray thee: The day has caught thee, dwarf! (Now the sun shines here in the hall.)

I’m very glad, Herr Hitler, to hear you say this. There’s such a lot of nonsense talked about blond men, about the Nordic race, about the cult of Wotan and the spirit of the Edda, as if no one else on the globe had any right to exist, or at best to exist only in a second-class position, as subhuman creatures. Those idiotic windbags have no idea what harm their spouting causes. For all they do is arouse inferiority complexes and hatred in those who don’t happen to be lucky enough to be born blond, and so they divide the German Volk into two racial halves: the Germanic and the non-Germanic people.” “I’ve expressly and repeatedly forbidden this sort of thing!” Hitler interrupted, flaring up. “All that rubbish about the Thing places, the solstice festivals, the Midgard snake, and all the rest of the rubbish they dredge up from the German prehistory! Then they read Nietzsche with fifteen-year-old boys and, using incomprehensible quotations, paint a picture of the superman, exhorting the boys: ‘That is you – or that is what you are to become.

Cristokos had only scorn of service, and for those served, pity. But service was Kasmir’s purpose, even when that service was best met through disagreement and argument. His service , however, had always been a chosen one. Cristakos’s had been plundered.

My enemy and my rider’s enemy. He hunts her creatures.

The blue flecks in his hazel eyes seemed brighter than green, momentarily, and Muire glanced down at the platter.

If she’d meant to shame him, it seemed to roll off like water from slate.

Whatever this child had from Strifbjorn…he was smarter than Strifbjorn had ever shown himself.