Tuesday, May 31, 2022
The Fate of All Men
Beowulf 1002-1008 (tr. Howell D. Chickering):
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No man escapes
easily from death —let him try who will—
but all soul-bearers walking the earth,
each son of man, driven by need, 1005
must enter his place made ready from birth
where the body-covering deep in its earth-bed
sleeps after feast.
No þæt yðe byð
to beflēonne, fremme se þe wille,
ac gesēcan sceal sāwl-berendra,
nyde genȳdde, niþða bearna, 1005
grund-būendra gearwe stōwe,
þǣr his līc-homa leger-bedde fæst
swefeþ æfter symle.
