Tarrin Wills and Stefanie Gropper (eds) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Hugsvinnsmál 38’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 383-4.
Aldrlagi sínu kvíði engi maðr
né um þat önn ali;
dugir eigi dægr, þeim er dauða forðaz;
enginn feigð um flýr.
Engi maðr kvíði aldrlagi sínu né ali önn um þat; dægr dugir eigi þeim er dauða forðaz; enginn um flýr feigð.
‘Nobody should dread his death or nourish fear about it; a day and night are not enough for him who wants to avoid death; no one escapes a fated death.’
Lat. parallel: (Dist. I, 22) Ne timeas illam, quae vitae est ultima finis: / qui mortem metuit, quod vivit, perdit id ipsum ‘Do not fear that which is the final end of life: whoever fears death while he is alive, loses life itself’. 624 has only ll. 4-6. As the two helmingar in 1199ˣ each render more or less the sense of the Lat. distich, ll. 1-3 in the second version mss may not be original. Unavoidable death has already been mentioned in Hsv 35. Lines 4-5 may also mean ‘a day and a night has no value for the one who wants to avoid death’, i.e. people waste their time fearing death. This seems to be the sense of the Lat.
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
Aldrlagi sínu
kvíði engi maðr
né um þat önn ali;
dugir eigi dægr,
þeim er dauða kvíðir;
enginn feigð um flýr.
Alldurlæie sijnu kvjdi ein | gi madur, nie um þad ønn ali. dugier ei dægur þeim er dauda kuijder | einginn feigd um flýr.
(VEÞ)
Aldrlagi sínu
kvíði engi maðr
né um þat önn ali;
dugir eigi dægr,
þeim er dauða kvíða;
enginn feigð um flýr.
Alldur lage sı̈nu kvı̈de einge madur, nie umm þad | ónn ale, duger ei dagur þeim er dauda qvı̈da, eingenn | feigd umm flyr.
(TW)
†[...]† sínu
kvíði engi maðr
né um þat önn ali;
dugir eigi dægr,
†[...]† †[...]†;
†[...]ygi† hann feigð um flýr.
[...]sínu kvide eingí madur ne um þad aun alí duger ei dagr | [...]ygi hann feígdum flyr
(VEÞ)
Aldrlagi sínu
†kuid[...]† maðr
né um þat önn ali;
dugir eigi dægr,
þeim er dauða óaz;
†ei[...] [...]† um flýr.
Alldrlagi sinv kuid[...] | madr ne um þad ón ale dugeʀ ei dagr þeim er davda oazt· ei[...] | vm flyr·
(VEÞ)
Aldrlagi sínu
kvíði engi maðr
né um þat önn ali;
dugir eigi dægr,
þeim er dauða forðaz;
hvergi hann feigð um flýr.
dvger eigi dægr þeim er dauda fordaz huer | gi hann feigd um flyr
(VEÞ)
dugier ei dægur þeim, er dauda | fordast, þeige hann feigd vm flijr,
(VEÞ)
Skj: Anonyme digte og vers [XIII], [C. E/5]. Hugsvinnsmál 38: AII, 176, BII, 192, Skald II, 100; Hallgrímur Scheving 1831, 13, Konráð Gíslason 1860, 550, Gering 1907, 11, Tuvestrand 1977, 92, Hermann Pálsson 1985, 52.
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