Havamal Quotes

Cattle die kinsmen die all men are mortal. Words of praise will never perish nor a noble name. - The Havamal; Book of Viking Wisdom

Wake early if you want another man's life or land. No lamb for the lazy wolf. No battle's won in bed. - The Havamal

Never walk away from home ahead of your axe and sword. You can't feel a battle in your bones or foresee a fight. - The Havama; Book of Viking Wisdom

A foolish man is all night awake, pondering over everything; he than grows tired; and when morning comes, all is lament as before.

Tolerance is not a virtue

Look back unto your ancestors for strength They were strong enough to get you here

A cowardly man thinks he will ever live, if warfare he avoids; but old age will give him no peace, though spears may spare him.

What’s right isn’t always popular And what’s popular isn’t always right

Wife and mother is the ultimate career All other careers exist simply to support it

Question what others accept Often the herd is wrong If a thousand people do a foolish thing It is still a foolish thing

You are responsible for your deeds You are responsible for you

Make yourself someone Who you would like to know

Beware a society in which The weak and stupid rise to power Inferior people should never be in positions of superiority Dumber people should not rule smarter people

The coward and the hero are both equally afraid It is only their actions that sets them apart

Surround yourself with good people If you put garbage in you will get garbage out

Remember your ancestors Use their wisdom and add their strength to yours Keep your ancestors alive in your heart Through thoughts and deeds

Crush your enemy completely Do not be deceived believing Your foe is worthy of a chance

Harm seldom befalls the watchful man, for you can never have a more faithful friend than a good supply of wisdom.

You have no right to remain ignorant

There is no safety in stupidity

There is no refuge in ignorance

Be the person you would like to be

You can judge a man by the company he keeps

You must awaken, find your path become yourself Or you will be dragged along your path And wish you had voluntarily walked it

Children follow examples not advice

Treat your children the way You wanted your parents to treat you Do not do to them that which would cause you pain If the same was done to you

The meaning of life is found In one’s children

Do not sacrifice your principles To please anyone You will only displease yourself

Only fools and children weep about the past No warrior ever lost sleep Wishing the past was different Even the gods can’t change the past

Being weak invites attack

Things and people are often not What we wish them to be They are only what they are Learn to accept that

22. A miserable man, and ill-conditioned, sneers at everything: one thing he knows not, which he ought to know, that he is not free from faults.

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.

43. To his friend a man should bear him as friend, to him and a friend of his; but let him beware that he be not the friend of one who is friend to his foe. 44. Hast thou a friend whom thou trustest well, from whom thou cravest good? Share thy mind with him, gifts exchange with him, fare to find him oft. 45. But hast thou one whom thou trusbut falsely think, and leasing pay for a lie. 47. Young was I once, I walked alone, and bewildered seemed in the way; then I found me another and rich I thought me, for man is the joy of man. 50. The pine tree wastes which is perched on the hill, nor bark nor needles shelter it; such is the man whom none doth love; for what should he longer live?

Open your ears to wisdom, your eyes to truth

A man’s character is his fate Your habits are your future

Improve yourself in every way you can You may not be much, but you are all you have

Decide what is worth dying for You will know what is worth living for Live for that

Be who you want to be Not what other people want you to be

It is easier to stay out of trouble Than to get out of trouble

Make a good present and in a few years You will have a good past

Example isn’t another way to teach Example is the only way to teach

A bundle of sticks is stronger than any single stick

When you are planting your crops Be sure you want to harvest the seeds you plant

Be tired at the end of every day From doing a lot of work

Never give up, never give in, never quit Keep working till you’ve won

A tree falls the way it leans Make sure you are leaning In the direction you want to fall Because sooner or later, everyone falls

Friends are the siblings we should have had Friends are siblings we give ourselves

They said the boy had problems sitting still and quiet The wise old man said to his parents There is nothing wrong with that boy That one hundred acres would not cure

Do things with your children While they still want to do things with you

Some people demand freedom of speech When they don't use freedom of thought

The first rule of war is to know when you’re in one

The greatest trick our enemy ever did Was to make us think we are our own enemy Is to make us ashamed, and hate ourselves Thinking we are our own enemy

You can tell the size of a man By the size of what troubles him A small thing should not trouble you Don’t be bothered by little troubles

Revenge is the sweetest of all drinks Sweeter than honey more intoxicating than mead

Sometimes a nap is the best medicine Napping prepares the mind for fresh thoughts

Get rid of all the extras If something is of no use Do not burden yourself with it Get rid of it, let go

Never underestimate the influence of people You allow into your life Be careful who you let in And kick them out as needed

In nature nothing is done without a purpose Nature does nothing useless She is the greatest economist of all There is a reason for everything

You cannot undo anything that you did in the past But you can learn from it Even the gods can’t change the past

No one can make you feel inferior Without your help

I know a ninth: If through storms I need to protect my boat at sea, I calm the wind on the wave and put all the sea to sleep. -Hávamál

Only a man who is wide-traveled and has wandered far can know something about how other men think. Such a man is wise.

What you ask of the runes will prove true; they are of divine origin, made by the mighty gods and painted by Óđin. You’ll learn best with your mouth shut.

122. I counsel you, Loddfáfnir, if you’ll take my advice, you’ll profit if you learn it, it’ll do you good if you remember it: You should never exchange words with someone who won’t see reason.

He who has seen and suffered much, And knows the ways of the world, Who has traveled’, can tell what spirit Governs the men he meets.” -         The Havamal

You cannot be something you are not Without being miserable Without being wrong Live right and be yourself

A big problem is a small problem That was never handled

Clean up your own house first Before you try to clean the neighborhood

Our people perish from lack of knowledge Lack of wisdom kills our folk Most people die from stupidity

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.

To lengthen your life, lessen your meals Don’t dig your grave with your knife and fork

If you cannot command yourself How can you expect to command others

Every second you are alive Gives you the opportunity, to live your life

If you are unsatisfied, dissatisfied with your old one Develop the skills you need to move forward

When death finds you May you be doing something you love And while you are doing something you love May you be living when you die

The Norns weave fate not of our choosing Fate is indifferent to each man’s suffering How you react to fate Is the only choice a man has

The Norns weave each man’s fate But our actions shape our destiny

You can have excuses Or you can have results But you can’t have both

The most important thing parents can teach their children Is how to get along, without them

Part of a parent’s job is to Get out of the way of their children

Live according to your nature You cannot go against yourself

You are only as good as you are today

The slave must be given food The free man provides for himself

A real man does not fear the test of life

Avoid a woman who makes you worse Praise a woman who makes you better

It is always your choice To view a comment as insulting or not No one can insult you without your help Consider the source

Avoid the weak woman Who clings like a calf or vine She is a parasite seeking a host You can never do enough for her

Never chose between the lesser of two evils A choice of two terrible options in not a choice The lesser of two evils, is the evil of two lessers When given only two choices, take the third

you should not do What you don’t want your children to do

I know that I hung On a wind-rocked tree Nine whole nights, With a spear wounded, And to Odin offered Myself to myself; On that tree Of which no one knows From what root it springs.

I swallowed a morsel of bitterness. It annoyed me that Havamal had grown up to be so good-looking… so irksomely muscular and well-proportioned. The other mermaids fawned over him and hung on his every word. If there was any justice under the sea, he would have remained gap-toothed and gangly for the rest of his life.

Wise in measure should each man be; but let him not wax too wise; seldom a heart will sing with joy if the owner be all too wise.

Each man who is wise and would wise be called must ask and answer aright. Let one know thy secret, but never a second, if three a thousand shall know.

All will prove true that thou askest of runes, those that are come from the gods, which the high Powers wrought, and which Odin painted then silence is surely best.

whim rules the child and weather the field, each is open to chance.

With a good woman, if you wish to enjoy her words and her good will, pledge her fairly and be faithful to it: Enjoy the good you are given.

A greedy man, if he be not mindful, eats to his own life's hurt: oft the belly of the fool will bring him to scorn when he seeks the circle of the wise. Herds know the hour of their going home and turn them again from the grass; but never is found a foolish man who knows the measure of his maw.

I was young once, and I wandered alone; The wide road was bewildering; I didn't know much. Then I met a friend and I felt very rich, For man is ever the joy of man.

Praise the day at evening, a woman on her pyre, A weapon after it's tried, a maiden at her wedding, Ice after it's crossed, ale after it's drunk.