Slow Havamal: 86

The 86th verse says:
a flying spear,
a crashing wave,
one-night-old ice,
a coiled snake,
the words of a bride in bed,
a broken sword,
a playful bear,
the child of a king,

This is the second verse in which we get a list of things that are not to be trusted. As mentioned last week, each of these nouns can have an inert form, or in most cases many pleasant or useful forms, but it’s the adjective that alters it. Therefore, we can’t apply any eternal properties to what is essentially a process. Some stages of the process are tolerable or helpful, and others can harm us if we pay them scant attention. ( Read more... )