Tarrin Wills and Stefanie Gropper (eds) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Hugsvinnsmál 142’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 444-5.
Vel skaltu vinna, ef þú átt í verkum hlut,
ok geraz hölðum hollr;
sinni sýslu týnir slægr maðr;
ilt er verkþjófr at vera.
Ef þú átt hlut í verkum, skaltu vinna vel ok geraz hollr hölðum; slægr maðr týnir sýslu sinni; ilt er at vera verkþjófr.
If you take part in work, you must work well and become loyal to men; a sly man forgets his work; it is bad to be a work-thief.
Mss: 1199ˣ(75v), 624(147)
Readings: [3] hölðum: om. 624; hollr: ‘hollvr’ corrected from ‘holldvr’ 624 [4] sinni sýslu: sýslu sinni 624 [5] týnir slægr: gleymir slækinn 624
Editions: Skj AII, 196, Skj BII, 209, Skald II, 109; Hallgrímur Scheving 1831, 34, Gering 1907, 38, Tuvestrand 1977, 148, Hermann Pálsson 1985, 126.
Notes: [All]: Lat. parallels: (Dist. IV, 42) Gratior officiis, quo sis mage carior, esto, / ne nomen subeas, quod dicunt, officiperdi ‘Be more gracious in your business dealings to those to whom you may be dearer, so that you will not bear the name of “officiperdus” [lit. one who makes ill use of the favours of others]’. — [5] slægr ‘sly’: 624’s slækinn ‘slack’ (i.e. ‘lax, lazy’) seems to suit the sense better. — [6] verkþjófr ‘work-thief’: This word, occurring in both mss, is a hap. leg. The Lat. word it translates, officiperdus ‘one who makes ill use of the favours of others’, is found only in this distich and an Isidore gloss.
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