Beowulf
Seamus Heaney
Top 10 Best Quotes
“It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning. For every one of us, living in this world means waiting for our end. Let whoever can win glory before death. When a warrior is gone, that will be his best and only bulwark.”
“Behaviour that's admired is 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.”
“That was their way, their heathenish hope; deep in their hearts they remembered hell.”
“In off the moors, down through the mist beams, god-cursed Grendel came greedily loping.”
“And a young prince must be prudent like that, giving freely while his father lives so that afterwards, in age when fighting starts steadfast companions will stand by him and hold the line.”
“Meanwhile, the sword began 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 frost and unravels the water-ropes. He who wields power over time and tide: He is the true Lord.”
“Fate goes ever as fate must.”
“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 blǽd áne hwíle; eft sóna bið þæt þec ádl oððe ecg eafoþes getwǽfeð, oððe fýres feng oððe flódes wylm oððe gripe méces oððe gáres fliht oððe atol yldo, oððe éagena bearhtm forsiteð 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 bloom but it fades quickly; and soon there will follow illness or the sword to lay you low, or a sudden fire or a 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.”
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Book Keywords:
hell, coast-guard, gifts, leadership, fate, hope, life, beowulf-seamus-heaney, sword, paganism, poetry, seamus-heaney, beowulf, revenge
