Slow Havamal: 55

In the 55th verse, there’s a repetition of the first half from verse 54, then it’s said that the heart of a wise man, if he truly is wise, is rarely ever glad.

This verse doesn’t seem to differ much from the previous one. We have three lines that repeat exactly, then while 54 says that happy people know just enough, 55 mentions the truly wise man who is seldom happy. I might not have many original things to say, but let’s tackle it and see what happens.

My rule has been that repetitions, besides being a poetic and mnemonic technique, emphasize things that are important. We’re advised twice to moderate our wisdom. There’s no use in being a fool, but if the goal is to be happy, the sage will be disappointed. Last week I pointed out that despite this advice, Odin goes to some of the greatest lengths in mythology to acquire wisdom. He sacrifices an eye, then his entire self, to that end. So we can trust that he knows what he’s talking about, but we have to wonder if he means for us to quit while we’re ahead, or just warns away the faint of heart. ( Read more... )

New Blog Roundup 6/29

My new blog is slowly rolling out of the station over at ancientseakings.com/.

Recent highlights:

Homo Colossus. An older thought experiment, but perhaps even more relevant now, in which I explore human beings as a single connected entity.

Nonrenewable Products. An argument that we need to make better distinctions with our words when discussing renewable energy to avoid problems of identification that mislead our thinking. 

The Bureaucracy as Machine. A riff on a Michael Sacasas essay that fiddles with the notion of a bureaucracy as a literal machine, and the implications.