Tarrin Wills and Stefanie Gropper (eds) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Hugsvinnsmál 54’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 393-4.
Aura þína skaltu eigi til ónýtis hafa;
heldr neyt með hagspeki;
válaðr verðr, sá er eigi vinna má,
ef hann hefr aurum amat.
Skaltu eigi hafa aura þína til ónýtis; heldr neyt með hagspeki; verðr válaðr, sá er eigi má vinna, ef hann hefr amat aurum.
You must not have your money for no use; rather use it with sense; he who cannot work becomes poor if he has squandered his money.
Mss: 1199ˣ(73r), 401ˣ(1v), 624(143)
Readings: [1] Aura þína: ‘[...] þina’ 401ˣ, eigur þínar 624 [2] ónýtis: ónýts 401ˣ, ofneyzlu 624 [3] heldr: ok 1199ˣ, hafna 401ˣ, om. 624; neyt með hagspeki: þú eigi hagspeki 401ˣ, om. 624 [4] válaðr verðr: opt verðr sá aumr 624 [5] sá er eigi vinna má: sá er vinna eigi má 401ˣ, er fyrir aurum ræðr 624 [6] ef hann hefr aurum amat: ok hefr öðrum á mót 624
Editions: Skj AII, 180, Skj BII, 194, Skald II, 101, NN §2590; Hallgrímur Scheving 1831, 16, Gering 1907, 15, Tuvestrand 1977, 101, Hermann Pálsson 1985, 64.
Notes: [All]: Lat. parallel: (Dist. I, 39) Conserva potius, quae sunt iam parta labore; / cum labor in damno est, crescit mortalis egestas ‘Preserve with greater effort what you have already gained; when labour is set at naught, human poverty grows’. 624 has a very different reading:
Eigur þínar skaltu eigi til ofneyzlu hafa;
opt verðr sá aumr, er fyrir aurum ræðr,
ok hefir öðrum á mót.
Skaltu eigi hafa eigur þínar til ofneyzlu; sá verðr opt aumr, er ræðr fyrir aurum ok hefir öðrum á mót ‘You shall not use your property for intemperance; he often becomes poor who rules over money and uses it against others’. 624 lacks a 3rd l. and there is no alliteration in the last l. The verbal correspondences in the first helmingr, however, suggest that both versions are ultimately derived from the same translation. — [3] heldr neyt með hagspeki ‘rather use it with sense’: This l. does not correspond to the Lat. text and is missing in 624. Skj B uses Hallgrímur Scheving’s reading of a now-lost ms. (heldr) to produce the correct alliteration, which is also used here.
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