Þrýtra þann, er verr hefr, valt;
verða kann á ýmsa halt;
misjafnir ’ró blinds manns bitar;
bǫlit kǫllum vér ilt til litar.
Eik hefr þat, er af ǫðrum skefr;
ekki mart er slœgra en refr;
jafnan verðr, at áflóð stakar;
auðfengnar ’ró gelti sakar.
Þrýtra þann valt, er hefr verr; kann verða halt á ýmsa: misjafnir ’ró bitar blinds manns; vér kǫllum bǫlit ilt til litar. Eik hefr þat, er skefr af ǫðrum; ekki mart er slœgra en refr; jafnan verðr, at áflóð stakar; auðfengnar ’ró sakar gelti.
He who has the worse case never withdraws; first one, then another, gets the short stick; unequal are the mouthfuls of a blind man; we declare grief bad for the complexion. An oak has what is scraped from others; not much is slyer than a fox; it always happens that a torrent causes upheavals; easily brought are charges against a hog.
[1] valt ‘never’: Lit. ‘always’ (with negated verb). A variant form of ávalt (see Note to st. 13/8). Cf. Sverris saga (Sv ch. 165, ÍF 30, 259): seint þrýtr þann er verr hefir ‘he who has the worse case is slow to withdraw’.