Choose, dear Beowulf, the better part,
eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride.For a brief while your strength is in bloom but it fades quickly; and soon there will follow illness or the sword to lay you low,
or a sudden fire or surge of water or jabbing blade or javelin from the air
or repellent age. Your piercing eye will dim and darken; and death will arrive,
dear warrior, to sweep you away. (1758–1768).
This passage is the peak of a long speech, often referred to as “Hrothgar’s sermon,” where…
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