Stanza 29

Original Old Norse:

Œrna mælir

sá er eva þegir

staðlausu stafi

hraðmælt tunga

nema haldendr eigi

opt sér ógótt um gelr

Auden & Taylor:

Wise is he not who is never silent, 

Mouthing meaningless words:

A glib tongue that goes on chattering 

Sings to its own harm.

Bellows:

Often he speaks | who never is still

With words that win no faith;

The babbling tongue, | if a bridle it find not,

Oft for itself sings ill.

Bray:

Too many unstable words are spoken 

by him who ne'er holds his peace; 

the hasty tongue sings its own mishap 

if it be not bridled in.

Chisholm:

He who never shuts up

blathers powerless staves.

The speedy tongue that never stops

often brings itself harm.

Hollander:

Much at random oft rambles he

whose tongue does ever tattle;

a talker's tongue, unless tamed it be,

will often work him woe.

Terry:

A man who speaks and is never silent

is bound to blunder;

a ready tongue, if it's not restrained,

will do you damage.

Thorpe:

He utters too many

futile words

who is never silent;

a garrulous tongue,

if it be not checked,

sings often to its own harm.

DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF STANZA 29

We've all know that person who just cannot stop blabbering about nothing.  They talk and talk, but really they are saying nothing useful. My four year old is a prime example! They are careless with their words.  They lack boundaries regarding what to bring up and not bring up.  They seem to be talking purely to hear themselves talk...or because silence makes them anxious.  Regardless the reason, lines 1 and 2 are describing how unwise it is to be one of these rambling blatherers.

Lines 3 and 4 go a bit further, and asign consequences to being such a person.  Careless unchecked chattering about anything and everything can lead directly to harm for the person with the loose tongue.  Perhaps they will reveal information that hurts their reputation or the reputation of someone that trusts them.  Perhaps they will anger someone, and thus make enemies or be physically confronted with violence.  Perhaps they will hurt someone's feelings or lose friends through misspoken words.  But, one way or another, an fool's loose tongue will bring them harm sooner or later.

This stanza continues a theme we have seen in previous stanzas.  There is this idea that you must be wise enough to know when to talk and when to listen.  You must choose carefully the timing and content of your speech, if you are wise and wish to be seen as wise.  And probably most important is the idea that when in doubt, silence might be your best choice.