> I don't know if this is the right way to think of it, but could it
> be sort of rhetorical and concerned? "Now you're going to [go and]
> get [yourself] shipwrecked [aren't you]. There won't be much to
> show THEN that you've (subj.) met..."

Perhaps, but that's not quite the
feeling I get from reading this.

> Or would it be better to just treat it as if 'brýtr' has the force
> of a subjunctive, if not the form? The final subjunctive HAFIR I
> guess is there because it involves a perception that won't take
> place. But is it the negative quality that causes this, or the fact
> that it's a perception? I wonder if indicative would be prefered if
> he was saying "then it certainly will be seen that you've met..."
> Or would the fact that it's describing some hypothetical person's
> perception be enough to demand the subjunctive? So many questions...

I'd emphasize the 'nú' here. I don't think the sentence
would work without it. To me the effect is to make the
hypothetical event slightly more real or vivid than using
a subjunctive construction would. I'd translate along
these lines:

"Now, let's say you break your ship..."

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