In the old Times the History and stories of the People
where told by the Bards

The singers and tellers of tales . These were no mere yarns
for whiling away a deep winter afternoon in the Hall .. oh no..
much serious work and teaching came along ...
with the Sweeter meat of fun and fancy

For Example:

The Tales of Odin, Lessons of life and the living
along with the poetry .. Lessons in simple common sense
and good words to know for any who fallow the Path

The man who stands at a strange threshold,
Should be cautious before he cross it,
Glance this way and that:
Who knows beforehand what foes may sit
Awaiting him in the hall ?

Words to the wise of Caution when in strange places
for a Pagan this can mean ,knowing people a little better
before you come out and make noise about who and what you are ..
and consider this.. most often ,
nobody really cares what your faith is ..
and may not need to know ..
as it can cause more problems than it solves ..

Who travels widely needs his wits about him,
The stupid should stay at home:
The ignorant man is often laughed at
When he sits at meat with the sage

Of his knowledge a man should never boast,
Rather be sparing of speech
When to his house a wiser man comes:
Seldom do those who are silent Make mistakes;
mother wit Is ever a faithful friend

Think before you speak .. and do not speak just to say something
To Often we " put our two cents in " when we would be better to keep still and listen ..
On the Path this is all too common .. we do not wish to be thought lacking to our fellows
in understanding .. but if we truly do no know ..

Better to close the mouth and be thought a fool ..
than open the mouth and remove all doubt .. :)
The way of the wise .. it to be wise enough to know .. when you don't know ,
and to be still and learn from those who do .. however there is also this

Fortunate is he who is favored in his lifetime
With praise and words of wisdom:
Evil counsel is often given
By those of evil heart,

Blessed is he who in his own lifetime
Is awarded praise and wit,
For ill counsel is often given
By mortal men to each other

Not all men are to be heeded .. and even the words of the wise
must be measured by a sensible man, think of what you are told
make it pass the test of reason .. before you make it your own

As there are those who delight in in passing about information
that is bogus just to see you take it .. and those that mean well ,
but for whatever reason are misinformed
the Wise person takes All she hears
with a grain or two of salt

Silence becomes the Son of a prince,
To be silent but brave in battle:
It befits a man to be merry and glad
Until the day of his death,

The coward believes he will live forever
If he holds back in the battle,
But in old age he shall have no peace
Though spears have spared his limbs

Once you have your truth, carry it proudly and do not hold back
when the time is right for action .. the way of the Path
is not the way of a coward .. there is no greater regret in life
than to look back on our lives, and think of all the things
we did Not do when we had the opportunity ..

Be glad of who you are and fight
for your rights to be so .. when the need arises, so you can
look back on your life .. in peaceful thanksgiving ..
that you did your best ..

There is also this to think on

A gluttonous man who guzzles away
Brings sorrow on himself:
At the table of the wise he is taunted often
Mocked for his bloated belly

The herd knows its homing time
And leaves the grazing ground:
But the glutton never knows how much
His belly is able to hold

The way of the wise is to know when to say .. enough !
When to stop .. as you have learned enough of any given thing ..
and not try to make an "expert " of yourself in everything ..
know there is a balance to all things

Even to knowledge .. a man only has so many years to live ..
so many hours in a day to learn .. and still live a life
to use the knowledge so gained .. :)

There are things that you will learn forever .. but you can't
"know" it all about everything .. only a fool tries
to be such a glutton and an even bigger fool
claims to already know all :) because ..

The fool who fancies he is full of wisdom
While he sits by his hearth at home.
Quickly finds when questioned by others .
That he knows nothing at all

This one is pretty self explanatory .. you can sound wonderful ..
to yourself .. but often find when you get around those who
Do know .. you start to sound pretty silly .. so take care to really
know of what you speak .. and Even for the Wise know this

Cattle die, kindred die,
Every man is mortal:
But the good name never dies
Of one who has done well

Cattle die, kindred die,
Every man is mortal:
But I know one thing that never dies,
The glory of the great dead

All the knowledge in the world is meaningless
unless you have done something with it ..
something of worth .. to where your good name is spoken of ..
as one who shared freely their gifts of life .. We on the Path tend to "keep"
our understanding a little to close to the chest sometimes ..
Knowledge is worthless .. unless it is shared

The sitters in the hall seldom know
The kin of the new-comer:
The best man is marred by faults,
The worst is not without worth.

Never laugh at the old
when they offer counsel

When seeking the words of the Bard .. seek out good men .. but know this ..
you cannot know all of any man .. expect no woman to be perfect and without faults ..
but even with them .. their words can still be wise .. So too the fool ..
even from them can come things of worth ..
The Elders are best of all in that they Know more than you can ..
simply by all the years they have spent ..

The Wise One has spoken words in the hall,
Needful for men to know,
Unneedful for trolls to know:

Hail to the speaker,
Hail to the knower,
Joy to him who has understood,
Delight to those who have listened

All Hail and May your path to True Wisdom be full and rich :)