's Blogs
Hávamál, The Saying of Odin, Stanza 21
Hail and welcome! This is Huginn's Heathen Hof, with your Daily Hávamál.
Original-
Hjarðir þat vitu
nær þær heim skulu
ok ganga þá af grasi
en ósviðr maðr
kann ævagi
síns um mál maga
Translation-
Even a herd of cattle
knows when they've grazed enough
but a glutton never knows
when to stop eating
-Hávamál: Stanza 21
Stanza 21 is part of the continuing warning about the dangers of greed. As we saw yesterday, the Hávamál makes a point to scorn those who cannot control themselves, to the point of comparing them to common cattle! The Germanic cultures at the time of the Eddas placed a huge emphasis on individuality and critical thinking. To be compared to a herd animal would have been a grave insult, not unlike the modern concept of "sheeple". The verse here implies that those who cannot control their appetites are easily manipulated.
