Where Have All the Kings Gone

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Norse Vitki

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Within the gates ere a man shall go, Full long let him look about him;
For little he knows where a foe may lurk, and sit in the seats within.
Hail to the giver! a guest has come; Where shall the stranger sit?
Swift shall he be who, with swords shall try, The proof of his might to make.

Fire he needs who with frozen knees, Has come from the cold without;
Food and clothes must the farer have, The man from the mountains come.
Water and towels and welcoming speech, Should he find who comes, to the feast;
If renown he would get, and again be greeted, Wisely and well must he act.

Wits must he have who wanders wide, But all is easy at home;
At the witless man the wise shall wink, When among such men he sits.
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, When he goes as guest to a house;

Happy the one who wins for himself, Favor and praises fair;
Less safe by far is the wisdom found, That is hid in another's heart.
Happy the man who has while he lives, Wisdom and praise as well,
For evil counsel a man full oft, Has from another's heart.

Where have all the Kings gone…

A better burden may no man bear, For wanderings wide than wisdom;
Worse food for the journey he brings not afield, Than an over-drinking of ale.
Less good there lies than most believe, In ale for mortal men;
For the more he drinks the less does man, Of his mind the mastery hold.

Over beer the bird of forgetfulness broods, And steals the minds of men;
With the heron's feathers fettered I lay, And in Gunnloth's house was held.
Drunk I was, I was dead-drunk, When with Fjalar wise I was;
'Tis the best of drinking if back one brings, His wisdom with him home.

The son of a king shall be silent and wise, And bold in battle as well;
Bravely and gladly a man shall go, Till the day of his death is come.
The sluggard believes he shall live forever, If the fight he faces not;
But age shall not grant him the gift of peace, Though spears may spare his life.

The fool is agape when he comes to the feast, He stammers or else is still;
But soon if he gets a drink is it seen, What the mind of the man is like.
He alone is aware who has wandered wide, And far abroad has fared,
How great a mind is guided by him, That wealth of wisdom has.

Where have all the Kings gone…

Shun not the mead, but drink in measure; Speak to the point or be still;
For rudeness none shall rightly blame thee, If soon thy bed thou seekest.
The greedy man, if his mind be vague, Will eat till sick he is;
The vulgar man, when among the wise, To scorn by his belly is brought.

The herds know well when home they shall fare, And then from the grass they go;
But the foolish man his belly's measure, Shall never know aright.
A paltry man and poor of mind, At all things ever mocks;
For never he knows, what he ought to know, That he is not free from faults.

The witless man is awake all night, Thinking of many things;
Care-worn he is when the morning comes, And his woe is just as it was.
The foolish man for friends all those, Who laugh at him will hold;
When among the wise he marks it not, Though hatred of him they speak.

The foolish man for friends all those, Who laugh at him will hold;
But the truth when he comes to the council he learns, That few in his favor will speak.
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.

Where have all the Kings gone…

A witless man, when he meets with men, Had best in silence abide;
For no one shall find that nothing he knows, If his mouth is not open too much.
Wise shall he seem who well can question, And also answer well;
Nought is concealed that men may say, Among the sons of men.

Often he speaks who never is still, With words that win no faith;
The babbling tongue, if a bridle it find not, Oft for itself sings ill.
In mockery no one a man shall hold, Although he fare to the feast;
Wise seems one oft, if nought he is asked, And safely he sits dry-skinned.

Wise a guest holds it to take to his heels, When mock of another he makes;
But little he knows who laughs at the feast, Though he mocks in the midst of his foes.
Friendly of mind are many men, Till feasting they mock at their friends;
To mankind a bane must it ever be, When guests together strive.

Oft should one make an early meal, Nor fasting come to the feast;
Else he sits and chews as if he would choke, And little is able to ask.
Crooked and far is the road to a foe, Though his house on the highway be;
But wide and straight is the way to a friend, Though far away he fare.

Forth shall one go, nor stay as a guest, In a single spot forever;
Love becomes loathing if long one sits, By the hearth in another's home.
Better a house, though a hut it be, A man is master at home;
A pair of goats and a patched-up roof, Are better far than begging.

Where have all the Kings gone…

Away from his arms in the open field, A man should fare not a foot;
For never he knows when the need for a spear, Shall arise on the distant road.
If wealth a man has won for himself, Let him never suffer in need;
Oft he saves for a foe what he plans for a friend, For much goes worse than we wish.

None so free with gifts or food have I found, That gladly he took not a gift,
Nor one who so widely scattered his wealth, That of recompense hatred he had.
Friends shall gladden each other with arms and garments, As each for himself can see;
Gift-givers' friendships are longest found, If fair their fates may be.

To his friend a man a friend shall prove, And gifts with gifts requite;
But men shall mocking with mockery answer, And fraud with falsehood meet.
To his friend a man a friend shall prove, To him and the friend of his friend;
But never a man shall friendship make, With one of his foeman's friends.

If a friend thou hast whom thou fully wilt trust, And good from him wouldst get,
Thy thoughts with his mingle, and gifts shalt thou make, And fare to find him oft.
If another thou hast whom thou hardly wilt trust, Yet good from him wouldst get,
Thou shalt speak him fair, but falsely think, And fraud with falsehood requite.

Where have all the Kings gone…

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