190
a prologue, and then after the close of the piece we have an epilogue, in which the author speaks about himself, and weaves his name with Runes into the verses in the manner already described.
The briefest fragment in the Vercelli book is about False Friendship; and it contains a long-drawn simile in which the bee is rather hardly treated.
Anlice beoð swa þa beon berað buton ætsomne; arlicne anleofan and ætterne tægel habbað on hindan; hunig on muðe wynsume wist: hwilum wundiað sare mid swice þonne se sæl cymeð. Swa beoð gelice þa leasan men, þa þe mid tungan treowa gehatað fægerum wordum, facenlice þencað; þonne hie æt nehstan nearwe beswicað: habbað on gehatum hunig smæccas, smeðne sib cwide; and in siofan innan þurh deofles cræft dyrne wunde.
Likened they are to the bees who bear both at one time, food for a king's table, and venomous tail have in reserve; honey in mouth, delectable food: in due time they wound sorely and slyly when the season is come. Such are they like, the leasing men, those who with tongue give assurance of troth with fair-spoken words, false in their thought; then do they at length shrewdly betray: in profession they have the perfume of honey, smooth gossip so sweet; and in their souls purpose, with devilish craft, a stab in the dark.
The "Runic Poem"[139] is a string of epigrams on the characters of the Runic alphabet, beginning with F, U, Þ, O, R, C, according to that primitive order, whence that alphabet was called the "Futhorc." Each of these characters has a name with a meaning, mostly of some well-known familiar thing, apt subject for epigram.
When learned men began to look at the Runes with an eye of erudite curiosity, they often ranged them in the A, B, C order of the Roman alphabet; hence it gives the Rune poem some air of antiquity that it runs in the old Futhorc order. And, indeed, some of the ve