It is time to speak From the chair of the wise man At the well of Urd; I saw and was silent, I saw and pondered, I listened to the talk of men; I heard talk of runes, Nor were they silent about their plans At the hall of Hár; In the hall of Hár I heard this spoken. I advise thee, Loddfafnir, Take thou my advice; Thou wilt profit by it if thou takest it;[325] Rise not at night Unless thou goest a spying Or thou art compelled to go out. Thou must not sleep In the arms of a witch So that she clasp thee with her limbs. She (the witch) causes that Thou dost not heed The thing or the words of a chief; Thou wantest not food Nor the amusement of men; Thou goest sorrowful to sleep. The wife of another man Tempt thou never To be thy ear-whisperer.[326] On a mountain or a fjord If thou to travel wantest Take thou good store of food. A bad man Do thou never Let thy misfortunes know; For from a bad man Gettest thou never Reward for thy goodwill. I saw the words Of a wicked woman Wound a man deeply; Her false tongue Became his death, Though he had no guilt. Know this, if thou hast A friend whom thou trustest well, Go often to see him; For with brushwood And with high grass will overgrown The road on which no one walks. Draw a good man to thee For the sake of pleasant talk, And learn healing spells while thou livest. Be never the first To forsake The company of thy friend; Sorrow eats the heart If one cannot tell All his mind to some one. Thou shouldst never Words exchange With fools. For from a bad man Wilt thou never Get return for good; But a good man Will be able to make thee Liked and praised. Souls are together blended, When a man tells to one All his mind; All is better Than to be fickle; No friend is he who speaks as one wishes.[327] Not even in three words quarrel Shalt thou with a worse man; Often the better one yields When the worse one strikes.