Got a copy of HAVAMAL ( “The Sayings of the Vikings” translated from the original by Bjorn Jónasson) and have read through it a couple of times. These quotations come from that translation:
Do you see the instant truth in these two sayings from that book:
“LASTING FRIENDSHIP
Give each other Good clothes As friends for all to see. To give and take Is a guarantee Of lasting love”
“ EXTRAVEGANCE
Load no man With lavish gifts. Small presents often win Great praise. With a loaf cut And a cup shared I found fellowship.”
Here are a couple of beautiful sayings that could have come from Foullah or Mandinka, Wolof or Jola wisdom, recorded in those mother tongues:
On Moderation:
“ The Cattle know When to come home From the grazing ground. A man of lean wisdom Will never learn What his stomach can store”
It’s entitled “ The Dangers of Naivety”
“The unwise man Imagines a smiling face, a friend. Surprised to find how little support he musters at a meeting.”
This one’s on
HAPPINESS:
“ He is unhappy and ill-tempered who meets all with mockery. What he doesn’t know, but needs to, are his own familiar faults.”
The Bjorn Jónasson translation probably retains the terseness of the original, most faithfully. Perhaps this is the best poetic paraphrase of them all, by W.H. Auden and P.B. Taylor. W.H Auden has also translated Gunnar Ekelöf. So has Robert Bly…..
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Posted - 03 Dec 2006 : 16:56:28
