Slow Havamal: 45

The 45th verse says if you have a friend you don’t trust, it’s best to speak kind words and pay compliments, then show him treachery to repay his own.

One of the hardest things for me with Havamal and certain other texts is to get outside of my Western frame of reference to understand it on its own terms. Western is code for Christian, and I’m not convinced it’s possible to grasp the moral system that I encounter here. Even (and especially) for non-Christians, the mental discord can be too loud to meaningfully penetrate. A Christian at least is aware of their moral prejudices, where they come from, and why he should follow them. The non-Christian, on the other hand, may be totally unaware, and even revile the notion that he acts along a very old groove carved 2,000 years ago. In this case, an apparent moral text would have us lie and betray someone who wouldn’t have done us any greater service. While the Christian may be inclined to turn the other cheek, I’m willing to bet most non-Christians, faced with this kind of friend, would whip out some trope like “be the better person,” “take the high ground,” or “just stop hanging out with the guy.”( Read more... )