Othin spake:
21. "Mad art thou, Loki, | and little of wit,
The wrath of Gefjun to rouse;
For the fate that is set | for all she sees,
Even as I, methinks."
Loki spake:
22. "Be silent, Othin! | not justly thou settest
The fate of the fight among men;
Oft gavst thou to him | who deserved not the gift,
To the baser, the battle's prize."
Othin spake:
23. "Though I gave to him | who deserved not the gift,
To the baser, the battle's prize;
Winters eight | wast thou under the earth,
Milking the cows as a maid,
(Ay, and babes didst thou bear;
Unmanly thy soul must seem.)"
Loki spake:
24. "They say that with spells | in Samsey once
Like witches with charms didst thou work;
And in witch's guise | among men didst thou go;
Unmanly thy soul must seem."
Frigg spake:
25. "Of the deeds ye two | of old have done
Ye should make no speech among men;
Whate'er ye have done | in days gone by,
Old tales should ne'er be told."
[21. Snorri quotes line 1; cf. note on stanza 29.
23. There is no other reference to Loki's having spent eight years underground, or to his cow-milking. On one occasion, however,
he did bear offspring. A giant had undertaken to build the gods a fortress, his reward being Freyja and the sun and moon, provided
the work was done by a given time. His sole helper was his horse, Svathilfari. The work being nearly done, and the gods fearing to
lose Freyja and the sun and moon, Loki {footnote p. 160} turned himself into a mare, and so effectually distracted Svathilfari from
his task that shortly afterwards Loki gave birth to Othin's eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. In such contests of abuse a man was not
infrequently taunted with having borne children; cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 39-45. One or two of the last three lines may be
spurious.
24. Samsey: perhaps the Danish island of Samsö. Othin was the god of magic, but there is no other reference to his ever having disguised himself as a witch.
25. Frigg: Othin's wife; cf. note to introductory prose.]
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Óðinn kvað:
21. "Ærr ertu, Loki, ok örviti,
er þú fær þér Gefjun at gremi,
því at aldar örlög
hygg ek, at hon öll of viti
jafngörla sem ek."
Loki kvað:
22. "Þegi þú, Óðinn, þú kunnir aldregi
deila víg með verum;
oft þú gaft, þeim er þú gefa skyldir-a,
inum slævurum sigr."
Óðinn kvað:
23. "Veiztu, ef ek gaf, þeim er ek gefa né skylda,
inum slævurum, sigr, átta vetr
vartu fyr jörð neðan, kýr mólkandi ok kona,
ok hefr þú þar börn borit, ok hugða ek þat args aðal."
Loki kvað:
24. "En þik síða kóðu Sámseyu í,
ok draptu á vétt sem völur;
vitka líki fórtu verþjóð yfir,
ok hugða ek þat args aðal."
Frigg kvað:
25. "Örlögum ykkrum skylið aldregi
segja seggjum frá, hvat it æsir tveir
drýgðuð í árdaga;
firrisk æ forn rök firar."
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