NOT in any wise would the earls’-defence 36
suffer that slaughterous1 stranger to live,
useless deeming his days and years
to men on earth. Now many an earl
of Beowulf brandished2 blade ancestral,
fain the life of their lord to shield,
their praised prince, if power were theirs;
never they knew, — as they neared the foe3,
aiming their swords on every side
the accursed to kill, — no keenest blade,
no farest of falchions fashioned on earth,
could harm or hurt that hideous5 fiend!
He was safe, by his spells, from sword of battle,
from edge of iron. Yet his end and parting
on that same day of this our life
woful should be, and his wandering soul
far off flit to the fiends’ domain6.
Soon he found, who in former days,
harmful in heart and hated of God,
on many a man such murder wrought7,
that the frame of his body failed him now.
For him the keen-souled kinsman8 of Hygelac
held in hand; hateful alive
was each to other. The outlaw9 dire10
took mortal hurt; a mighty11 wound
showed on his shoulder, and sinews cracked,
and the bone-frame burst. To Beowulf now
the glory was given, and Grendel thence
death-sick his den12 in the dark moor13 sought,
noisome14 abode15: he knew too well
that here was the last of life, an end
of his days on earth. — To all the Danes
by that bloody16 battle the boon17 had come.
From ravage18 had rescued the roving stranger
Hrothgar’s hall; the hardy and wise one
had purged19 it anew. His night-work pleased him,
his deed and its honor. To Eastern Danes
had the valiant20 Geat his vaunt made good,
all their sorrow and ills assuaged21,
their bale of battle borne so long,
and all the dole22 they erst endured
pain a-plenty. — ’Twas proof of this,
when the hardy-in-fight a hand laid down,
arm and shoulder, — all, indeed,
of Grendel’s gripe, — ’neath the gabled roof.
1 slaughterous | |
adj.好杀戮的 | |
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2 brandished | |
v.挥舞( brandish的过去式和过去分词 );炫耀 | |
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3 foe | |
n.敌人,仇敌 | |
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4 hardy | |
adj.勇敢的,果断的,吃苦的;耐寒的 | |
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5 hideous | |
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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6 domain | |
n.(活动等)领域,范围;领地,势力范围 | |
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7 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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8 kinsman | |
n.男亲属 | |
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9 outlaw | |
n.歹徒,亡命之徒;vt.宣布…为不合法 | |
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10 dire | |
adj.可怕的,悲惨的,阴惨的,极端的 | |
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11 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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12 den | |
n.兽穴;秘密地方;安静的小房间,私室 | |
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13 moor | |
n.荒野,沼泽;vt.(使)停泊;vi.停泊 | |
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14 noisome | |
adj.有害的,可厌的 | |
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15 abode | |
n.住处,住所 | |
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16 bloody | |
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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17 boon | |
n.恩赐,恩物,恩惠 | |
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18 ravage | |
vt.使...荒废,破坏...;n.破坏,掠夺,荒废 | |
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19 purged | |
清除(政敌等)( purge的过去式和过去分词 ); 涤除(罪恶等); 净化(心灵、风气等); 消除(错事等)的不良影响 | |
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20 valiant | |
adj.勇敢的,英勇的;n.勇士,勇敢的人 | |
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21 assuaged | |
v.减轻( assuage的过去式和过去分词 );缓和;平息;使安静 | |
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22 dole | |
n.救济,(失业)救济金;vt.(out)发放,发给 | |
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