Chapter 14

HROTHGAR spake, — to the hall he went,

stood by the steps, the steep roof saw,

garnished¹ with gold, and Grendel’s hand:—

“For the sight I see to the Sovran Ruler

be speedy thanks! A throng² of sorrows

I have borne from Grendel; but God still works

wonder on wonder, the Warden-of-Glory.

It was but now that I never more

for woes³ that weighed on me waited help

long as I lived, when, laved in blood,

stood sword-gore-stained this stateliest house, —

widespread woe⁴ for wise men all,

who had no hope to hinder ever

foes⁵ infernal and fiendish sprites

from havoc⁷ in hall. This hero now,

by the Wielder⁹’s might, a work has done

that not all of us erst could ever do

by wile¹⁰ and wisdom. Lo, well can she say

whoso of women this warrior¹¹ bore

among sons of men, if still she liveth,

that the God of the ages was good to her

in the birth of her bairn. Now, Beowulf, thee,

of heroes best, I shall heartily¹² love

as mine own, my son; preserve thou ever

this kinship new: thou shalt never lack

wealth of the world that I wield⁸ as mine!

Full oft for less have I largess showered,

my precious hoard¹³, on a punier¹⁴ man,

less stout¹⁵ in struggle. Thyself hast now

fulfilled such deeds, that thy fame shall endure

through all the ages. As ever he did,

well may the Wielder reward thee still!”

Beowulf spake, bairn of Ecgtheow:—

“This work of war most willingly

we have fought, this fight, and fearlessly dared

force of the foe⁶. Fain, too, were I

hadst thou but seen himself, what time

the fiend in his trappings tottered¹⁶ to fall!

Swiftly, I thought, in strongest gripe

on his bed of death to bind¹⁷ him down,

that he in the hent of this hand of mine

should breathe his last: but he broke away.

Him I might not — the Maker¹⁸ willed not —

hinder from flight, and firm enough hold

the life-destroyer: too sturdy was he,

the ruthless, in running! For rescue, however,

he left behind him his hand in pledge,

arm and shoulder; nor aught of help

could the cursed one thus procure¹⁹ at all.

None the longer liveth he, loathsome²⁰ fiend,

sunk in his sins, but sorrow holds him

tightly grasped in gripe of anguish²¹,

in baleful bonds, where bide²² he must,

evil outlaw²³, such awful doom²⁴

as the Mighty²⁵ Maker shall mete²⁶ him out.”

More silent seemed the son of Ecglaf 40

in boastful speech of his battle-deeds,

since athelings all, through the earl’s great prowess,

beheld²⁷ that hand, on the high roof gazing,

foeman’s fingers, — the forepart of each

of the sturdy nails to steel was likest, —

heathen’s “hand-spear,” hostile warrior’s

claw uncanny. ’Twas clear, they said,

that him no blade of the brave could touch,

how keen soever, or cut away

that battle-hand bloody²⁸ from baneful²⁹ foe.

1 garnished   

v.给（上餐桌的食物）加装饰( garnish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her robes were garnished with gems. 她的礼服上装饰着宝石。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Serve the dish garnished with wedges of lime. 给这道菜配上几角酸橙。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

3 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

4 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

5 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

6 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

7 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

8 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

9 wielder   

行使者

参考例句：

• Thought Bastion: This shield protects the wielder as the Psychic Bastion feat. 思维堡垒：该盾牌如同“心力堡垒”专长那样保护持用者。
• Psychic: A psychic weapon's power depends on its wielder. 灵力：灵力武器的能力依赖于持用者。

10 wile   

v.诡计，引诱；n.欺骗，欺诈

参考例句：

• The music wiled him from his study.诱人的音乐使他无心学习下去。
• The sunshine wiled me from my work.阳光引诱我放下了工作。

11 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

12 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

13 hoard   

n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积

参考例句：

• They have a hoard of food in the basement.地下室里有他们贮藏的食物。
• How many curios do you hoard in your study?你在你书房里聚藏了多少古玩？

14 punier   

adj.小于一般尺寸的( puny的比较级 )；微不足道的；弱小的；微弱的

参考例句：

• We are punier and smaller-brained compared with our ancestors only a few millennia ago. 与距今仅仅几千年的祖先相比，我们的身材变得矮小了，大脑也变小了。 来自时文部分

16 tottered   

v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠

参考例句：

• The pile of books tottered then fell. 这堆书晃了几下，然后就倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wounded soldier tottered to his feet. 伤员摇摇晃晃地站了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

18 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

19 procure   

vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条

参考例句：

• Can you procure some specimens for me?你能替我弄到一些标本吗？
• I'll try my best to procure you that original French novel.我将尽全力给你搞到那本原版法国小说。

20 loathsome   

adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的

参考例句：

• The witch hid her loathsome face with her hands.巫婆用手掩住她那张令人恶心的脸。
• Some people think that snakes are loathsome creatures.有些人觉得蛇是令人憎恶的动物。

21 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

22 bide   

v.忍耐；等候；住

参考例句：

• We'll have to bide our time until the rain stops.我们必须等到雨停。
• Bide here for a while. 请在这儿等一会儿。

23 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

24 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

25 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

26 mete   

v.分配；给予

参考例句：

• Schools should not mete out physical punishment to children.学校不应该体罚学生。
• Duly mete out rewards and punishments.有赏有罚。

27 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

28 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

29 baneful   

adj.有害的

参考例句：

• His baneful influence was feared by all.人们都担心他所造成的有害影响。
• Lower share prices have baneful effect for companies too.更低的股价同样会有损各企业。