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Hávamál, The Saying of Odin, Stanza 17

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Hail and welcome! This is Huginn's Heathen Hof, with your Daily Hávamál.

Original-
Kópir afglapi
er til kynnis kømr
þylsk hann umbeða þrumir
alt er senn
ef hann sylg um getr
uppi er þá geð guma

Translation-
The foolish man stares
hovering about the edges of the feast
He mumbles to himself,
or just sits silently.
But once he has a few drinks,
everybody will know what a fool he is.
-Hávamál: Stanza 17

Today's stanza needs little explanation. We've all met this person. The painfully awkward individual who kind of lurks in doorways at the party rather than joining in the conversation. The verse is almost more about social etiquette than about the current theme of alcohol. 
Also of interest here is a bit of contradictory advice from Odin. Earlier in the poem he made a point of saying that the wise man is silent, but now we see that silence is being regarded as the mark of the fool. I think this is part of a broader concept seen throughout the ancient Germanic and Norse cultures. Problems were rarely seen as having a single solution, and were generally taken on a case by case basis rather than attempting to make a single judgement apply to every scenario. There are no answers that are "always right". Every situation must be taken on it's own merit. So the lesson here is that the silent man could be wise, listening and learning about those around him before he speaks, or he could be a fool who avoids speaking because he does not understand what is being discussed. 
We can't make a judgement based on nothing but his silence, so we must observe for ourselves to see which group the guest belongs too...

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