Beowulf

“It is always betterto avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning.For every one of us, living in this worldmeans waiting for our end. Let whoever canwin glory before death. When a warrior is gone,that will be his best and only bulwark.”

“Behaviour that's admiredis the path to power among people everywhere.”

“Anyone with gumption and a sharp mind will take the measure of two things: what's said and what's done.”

“I shall gain glory or die.”

“Quickly, the dragon came at him, encouragedAs Beowulf fell back; its breath flared,And he suffered, wrapped around in swirlingFlames -- a king, before, but nowA beaten warrior. None of his comradesCame to him, helped him, his brave and nobleFollowers; they ran for their lives, fledDeep in a wood. And only one of themRemained, stood there, miserable, remembering,As a good man must, what kinship should mean.”

“Fate will unwind as it must!”

“That was their way, their heathenish hope; deep in their hearts they remembered hell.”

“Fate goes ever as fate must.”

“And a young prince must be prudent like that,giving freely while his father livesso that afterwards, in age when fighting startssteadfast companions will stand by himand hold the line.”

“In off the moors, down through the mist beams, god-cursed Grendel came greedily loping.”

“Meanwhile, the swordbegan to wilt into gory icicles, to slather and thaw. It was a wonderful thing, the way it all melted as ice melts when the Father eases the fetters off the frostand unravels the water-ropes. He who wields powerover time and tide: He is the true Lord.”

“Hwæt! Wē Gār-Dena in geār-dagumþēod-cyninga þrym gefrūnon,hū þā æðelingas ellen fremedon.Oft Scyld Scēfing sceaðena þrēatum, monegum mǣgðum meodo-setla oftēah. Egsode eorlas, syððan ǣrest wearð fēasceaft funden: hē þæs frōfre gebād, wēox under wolcnum, weorð-myndum ðāh, oð þæt him ǣghwylc þāra ymb-sittendra ofer hron-rāde hȳran scolde, gomban gyldan. Þæt wæs gōd cyning!”

“I’ve never known fear; as a youth I fought/ In endless battles. I am old, now,/ But I will fight again, seek fame still,/ If the dragon hiding in his tower dares/ To face me”

“A ring-whorled prow rode in the harbour,ice-clad, outbound, a craft for a prince.They stretched their beloved lord in his boat,laid out by the mast, amidships,the great ring-giver. Far fetched treasureswere piled upon him, and precious gear.I have never heard before of a ship so well furbishedwith battle tackle, bladed weaponsand coats of mail. The massed treasurewas loaded on top of him: it would travel faron out into the ocean's sway.They decked his body no less bountifullywith offerings than those first ones didwho cast him away when he was a childand launched him alone over the waves.And they set a gold standard uphigh above his head and let him driftto wind and tide, bewailing himand mourning their loss. No man can tell,no wise man in hall or weathered veteranknows for certain who salvaged that load.”

“Bebeorh þé ðone bealo-níð, Béowulf léofa,secg betsta, ond þé þæt sélre gecéos,éce rǽdas; ofer-hýda ne gým,mǽre cempa! Nú is þines mægnes blǽdáne hwíle; eft sóna biðþæt þec ádl oððe ecg eafoþes getwǽfeð,oððe fýres feng oððe flódes wylmoððe gripe méces oððe gáres flihtoððe atol yldo, oððe éagena bearhtmforsiteð ond forsworceð; semninga bið,þæt ðec, dryht-guma, déað oferswýðeð.O flower of warriors, beware of that trap.Choose, dear Béowulf, the better part,eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride.For a brief while your strength is in bloombut it fades quickly; and soon there will followillness or the sword to lay you low,or a sudden fire or a surge of wateror jabbing blade or javelin from the airor repellent age. Your piercing eyewill dim and darken; and death will arrive,dear warrior, to sweep you away.”

“Death is not easily escaped, try it who will; but every living soul among the children of men dwelling upon the earth goeth of necessity unto his destined place, where the body, fast in its narrow bed, sleepeth after feast.”

“Beloved Beowulf, remember how you boasted,Once, that nothing in the world would everDestroy your fame; fight to keep it,Now, be strong and brave, my nobleKing, protecting life and fameTogether. My sword will fight at your side!”

“Many a man has a treasure in his hoard that he knows not the worth of. (Sellic Spell)”

“Bro! Tell me we still know how to speak of kings! In the old days,   everyone knew what men were: brave, bold, glory-bound. Only   stories now, but I’ll sound the Spear-Danes’ song, hoarded for hungry times.”

“Beowulf survives: for a time, for as long as learning keeps any honor in its land. And how long will that be? God ána wát. (Tolkien on the life and relevance of the Beowulf poem)”

“Over the waves, with the wind behind her and foam at her neck, she flew like a bird until her curved prow had covered the distance...”

“We know this much is true,   and it’s true for all souls: each of us will one day   find the feast finished and, fattened or famished,   step slowly backward into their own dark hall   for that final night of sleep.”

“That struggle was too strong, hateful and long-lasting, which had come on the people,dire wrack and ruin - the greatest of night-evils.”

“His poem is like a play in a room through the windows of which a distant view can be seen over a large part of the English traditions about the world of their original home. (Tolkien on the author of Beowulf)”

“Wyrd oft nered unfaegne, eorl, ponne his ellen deah.Often, for undaunted courage,fate spares the man it has not already marked.”

“We all know a boy can't daddy until his daddy's dead.”

“Let whoever can win glory before death.”

“Sometimes at pagan shrines they vowedofferings to idols, swore oaths that the killer of souls might come to their aid and save the people. That was their way, their heathenish hope; deep in their hearts they remembered hell.”

“The hall towered,gold-shingled and gabled, and the guest slept in ituntil the black raven with raucous gleeannounced heaven's joy, and a hurry of brightnessoverran the shadows.”

“But to elude deathis not easy: attempt it who will,he shall go to the place prepared for eachof the sons of men, the soul-bearersdwelling on earth, ordained them by fate:laid fast in that bed, the body shall sleepwhen the feast is done.”