Page:Norse mythology or, the religion of our forefathers, containing all the myths of the Eddas, systematized and interpreted with an introduction, vocabulary and index.djvu/171

 35. This I thee counsel tenthly: That thou never trust A foe's kinsman's promises, Whose brother thou hast slain, Or sire laid low: There is a wolf In a young son, Though he with gold be gladdened.

36. Strifes and fierce enmities Think not to be lulled, No more than deadly injury. Wisdom and fame in arms A prince not easily acquires, Who shall of men be foremost.

37. This I counsel thee eleventhly: That thou at evil look, What course it may take. A long life, it seems to me, The prince may [not] enjoy; Fierce disputes will arise.

Sigurd said: A wiser mortal exists not, and I swear that I will possess thee, for thou art after my heart. She answered: Thee I will have before all others, though I have to choose among all men. And this they confirmed with oaths to each other.

Here ends the lay of Sigdrifa.

The reader may find some of these rules of Hávamál and Sigrdrífumál somewhat inconsistent with our ideas of a supreme deity; but are not many of these principles laid down in the Odinic morality worthy of a Christian age and of a Christian people, and do they not all reveal a profound knowledge of human nature in all its various phases?

These rules of life, says Professor Keyser, were variously understood, and as variously carried out into