Stanza 46

Original Old Norse:

Þat er enn of þann

er þú illa trúir

ok þér er grunr at hans geði

hlæja skaltu við þeim

ok um hug mæla

glík skulu gjöld gjöfum

Auden & Taylor:

Even with one you ill-trust 

And doubt what he means to do, 

False words with fair smiles 

May get you the gift you desire.

Bellows:

So is it with him | whom thou hardly wilt trust,

And whose mind thou mayst not know;

Laugh with him mayst thou, | but speak not thy mind,

Like gifts to his shalt thou give.

Bray:

Yet further of him whom thou trusted ill,

and whose mind thou dost misdoubt; 

thou shalt laugh with him but withhold thy thought, 

for gift with like gift should be paid.

Chisholm:

If you do not trust a man,

and he speaks his mind with you

laugh with him, but speak not your mind

and deal fitting rewards for his gifts.

Hollander:

And eke this heed: if ill thou trust one,

and hollow-hearted his speeck;

thou shalt laugh with him and lure him on,

and let him have tit for tat.

Terry:

Here's more advice about the man

whose intentions you don't trust:

laugh when he does, let your words dissemble,

give back gift for gift.

Thorpe:

But of him yet further,

whom thou little trustest,

and thou suspectest his affection;

before him thou shouldst laugh,

and contrary to thy thoughts speak:

requital should the gift resemble.

The second of two consequative stanzas on folks who might some day end up friends or who might end up disappearing into your personal history as acquaintances.

There are two different types of laughter among friends. One is laughing together with your friend. The other is laughing at the same time as your acquintance. Is sharing a matter of internal perspective or a matter of outside actions? Sometimes it is hard to judge when one gradually fades into the other.

With an old friend you've been exchanging gifts for so long neither
pays much heed to a balance in the business sense. One springs
for a prime rib dinner, the other brings over a pizza the next week
because it hasn't been a profitable year and there isn't the money.
In the end it's the time spend together and the laughter shared that is remembered not the balance.

It doesn't work that way with a new acquaintance. A gift looks to a gift. It's much more business balanced. Friends can just be themselves, business colleagues do mirroring and active listening.

What I get from this stanza is the notion that you should pretend to be friendly to those you suspect. The "Keep your enemies closer" bit. Interesting that it does seem to focus on mistrust of intentions rather than outright knowledge that the other is an enemy. By pretending to friendliness, if it turns out they're not an enemy, you can actually get along with them.