The Poetic Edda Quotes

“You should be only a little wise, never too wise. A wise man’s heart is seldom glad if he’s truly wise.”

“It’s best not to know your fate beforehand; you’ll live happier if you don’t.”

“I remember the giants born so long ago; in those ancient days they raised me. I remember nine worlds, nine giantesses, and the seed from which Yggdrasil sprang.”

“A wise man is not showy about his wisdom; he guards it carefully. He is silent when he comes to a stranger’s home. The wise man seldom wanders into harm, for you can never have a more faithful friend than a good supply of wisdom.”

“A traveler cannot bring a better burden on the road than plenty of wisdom, and he can bring no worse a burden than too much alcohol.”

“Even cows know when they should go home and leave behind the fields, but an unwise man does not know the measure of his own appetite.”

“I’ve sat between the fires here for eight nights, and no one offered of gave me food, except Agnar will be the sole ruler of the land of the Goths.”

“Thought and Memory, my ravens, fly every day the whole world over. Each day I fear that Thought might not return, but I fear more for Memory.”

“It was at the very beginning, it was Ymir’s time, there was no sand, no sea, no cooling waves, no earth, no sky, no grass, just Ginnungagap.”

“He needs a fire, the one who has just come in, his knees are shivering. Food and dry clothes will do him well, after his journey over the mountains.”

“Every man will manage his own wealth till his fated death-day, but there is a time when each one of us leaves here for Hel.”

“At every doorway before you enter, you should look around, you should take a good look around--for you never know where your enemies might be seated within.”

“Heed my words, all classes of men, you greater and lesser children of Heimdall. You summoned me, Odin, to tell what I recall of the oldest deeds of gods and men.”

“He needs water, the one who has just arrived, dry clothes, and a warm welcome from a friendly host--and if he can get it, a chance to listen and be listened to.”

“A man is happy if he finds praise and friendship within himself. You can never be sure of where you stand in someone else’s heart.”

“I have traveled so much, I have tried much, and I have often tested the mighty. How will there still be a sun when the wolf has eaten the one that now flies in heaven?”

“But Odin and his brothers created the earth, it was they who made Midgard. The sun shone from the south upon the stones of their hall, and the land turned green with growing plant-life.”

“An unwise man thinks he’ll live forever if only he can avoid a fight, but old age will give him no peace, even if weapons do.”

“Then travel safe, and come back in one piece-- stay safe on your journeys, Odin! May your wits serve you well wherever you go, when you exchange words with the giant.”

“The boys departed, and the wind was favorable. They came to their father’s harbor, and then Geirroth, who stood foremost in the boat, sprang up on land and shoved the boar back out to sea and said: “Go wherever the trolls take you!”