Having just recently subscribed to this group, I have been reading
through past postings and was interested in this one which seemed to
have not been fully resolved. Anyway, I offer my
interpretation/translation (which aligns with Eirich´s) of the proverb
for your consideration, since comments were asked for.
...Því at þat er forn orðskviðr, at eigi veldr sá, er varar annan.
...because that is an old proverb that 'he who warns another
(person)(about something) does not cause (it) to happen.'
sá - that one/he (nom 3rd pers sg) is the subject of the proverb
er - rel pron, who
varar - 3rd pers sg of vara, to warn, agrees with sá
annan - acc sg of annarr, another, direct object of varar
veldr - 3rd pers sg of valda, to cause to happen, agrees with sá
eigi - adv, not.
In the proverb, the thing being warned about is understood or implicit,
in this case, Einarr riding Freyfaxi and the consequences that would
flow from Einarr doing so.
Alysseann
Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 09:44:31 -0000
From: "Gerald Mcharg" <Gerald.Mcharg@...>
Subject: Jed re 'at eigi veldr sá'
Dear All
It looks as if we've split into two camps on this. Laurel
and I want to go for 'veldr' meaning 'he is not at fault', but I think
(certainly in my case) that, failing help from the dictionary, we are
trying to find a translation for 'veldr' which would make the proverb
furnish us with a sentiment appropriate to the context.
However Eirich's interpretation of 'veldr' as 'that he doesn't cause',
looks good if we are allowed to supply something to be understood. If
so, we could end up with 'he doesn't cause the
trouble/problem/wrongdoing .....who warns another.' In modern parlance
Hrafnkell is saying 'You can't blame a man for doing something harmful
to somebody if he has already warned him of the likely consequences of
his actions'. This amounts to the same interpretation that Laura and I
have come with, but Eirich's approach is the proper one because he is
true to the dictionary's definition of 'valda'. Am I right or wrong?
Comments welcome.
Cheers,
Jed.
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