Anon Hsv 26^VII

Hirtu eigi at senna,        þótt þú satt vitir,
        við hvassorðan hal;
málskálp mikit        er mörgum gefit;
        fár er at hyggju horskr.

Hirtu eigi at senna við hvassorðan hal, þótt þú vitir satt; mikit málskálp er gefit mörgum; fár er horskr at hyggju.

Take care not to quarrel with a sharp-worded man, even though you may know the truth; great loquacity is granted to many; few are wise in mind.

Mss: 1199ˣ(72v), 723aˣ(78), 401ˣ(1r), 624(141)

Readings: [1] at senna: so 723aˣ, at seggja 1199ˣ, sina 401ˣ, at sverja 624    [2] þótt: so 401ˣ, þó 1199ˣ, 723aˣ, om. 624;    vitir: om. 624    [3] hal: há 624    [4] málskálp: so 401ˣ, málskap 1199ˣ, 723aˣ, því málskálp 624    [5] er: verðr 723aˣ, 401ˣ;    mörgum: ‘m[...]’ 401ˣ    [6] at: í 401ˣ, 624

Editions: Skj AII, 173, Skj BII, 190, Skald II, 99, NN §1915; Hallgrímur Scheving 1831, 11, Konráð Gíslason 1860, 550, Gering 1907, 8, Tuvestrand 1977, 85, Hermann Pálsson 1985, 42.

Notes: [All]: Lat. parallel: (Dist. I, 10) Contra verbosos noli contendere verbis: / sermo datur cunctis, animi sapientia paucis ‘Do not exchange words with wordy people; speech is given to all, wisdom of mind to few’. The corresponding st. of the distichs is also cited in FGT. There the Lat. text is followed by a translation: Hirð eigi þú at þræta við málrófsmenn; málróf er gefit mǫrgum, en spekin fám ‘Do not quarrel with loquacious people; loquacity is given to many, but wisdom to few’ (FGT 1972, 228-9). — [2]: The second l. has no equivalent in the Lat. text. — [4] málskálp ‘loquacity’: 624 does not agree with the other mss of the first version but with 401ˣ, which is usually considered as a representative of the second version.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Tuvestrand, Birgitta, ed. 1977. Hugsvinnsmál: Handskrifter och kritisk text. Lundastudier i nordisk språkvetenskap A:29. Lund: Blom.
5. Hermann Pálsson, ed. 1985a. Áhrif Hugsvinnsmála á aðrar fornbókmenntir. Studia Islandica/Íslensk Fræði 43. Reykjavík: Menningarsjóður.
6. Gering, Hugo, ed. 1907. Hugsvinnsmál. Eine altisländische Übersetzung der Disticha Catonis. Kiel: Lipsius & Tischer.
7. Hallgrímur Scheving, ed. 1831. Hugsvinnsmál, ásamt þeirra látinska frumriti. Skóla hátið. Viðeyar Klaustri: prentuð af Helga Helgasyni, á kostnað Bessastaða Skóla.
8. Internal references
10. Matthew Townend (ed.) 2012, ‘Óttarr svarti, Hǫfuðlausn 8’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 750.