Chapter 29

“So held this king to the customs old,

that I wanted for nought² in the wage I gained,

the meed of my might; he made me gifts,

Healfdene’s heir, for my own disposal.

Now to thee, my prince, I proffer³ them all,

gladly give them. Thy grace alone

can find me favor. Few indeed

have I of kinsmen⁴, save, Hygelac, thee!”

Then he bade them bear him the boar-head standard,

the battle-helm high, and breastplate gray,

the splendid sword; then spake in form:—

“Me this war-gear the wise old prince,

Hrothgar, gave, and his hest he added,

that its story be straightway said to thee. —

A while it was held by Heorogar king,

for long time lord of the land of Scyldings;

yet not to his son the sovran left it,

to daring Heoroweard, — dear as he was to him,

his harness of battle. — Well hold thou it all!”

And I heard that soon passed o’er the path of this treasure,

all apple-fallow, four good steeds,

each like the others, arms and horses

he gave to the king. So should kinsmen be,

not weave one another the net of wiles⁵,

or with deep-hid treachery death contrive⁶

for neighbor and comrade. His nephew was ever

by hardy⁷ Hygelac held full dear,

and each kept watch o’er the other’s weal.

I heard, too, the necklace to Hygd he presented,

wonder-wrought treasure, which Wealhtheow gave him

sovran’s daughter: three steeds he added,

slender and saddle-gay. Since such gift

the gem⁸ gleamed bright on the breast of the queen.

Thus showed his strain the son of Ecgtheow

as a man remarked for mighty⁹ deeds

and acts of honor. At ale he slew¹⁰ not

comrade or kin¹; nor cruel his mood,

though of sons of earth his strength was greatest,

a glorious gift that God had sent

the splendid leader. Long was he spurned¹¹,

and worthless by Geatish warriors¹³ held;

him at mead¹⁴ the master-of-clans

failed full oft to favor at all.

Slack and shiftless the strong men deemed him,

profitless prince; but payment came,

to the warrior¹² honored, for all his woes¹⁵. —

Then the bulwark-of-earls 83 bade bring within,

hardy chieftain, Hrethel’s heirloom

garnished¹⁶ with gold: no Geat e’er knew

in shape of a sword a statelier prize.

The brand he laid in Beowulf’s lap;

and of hides assigned him seven thousand, 84

with house and high-seat. They held in common

land alike by their line of birth,

inheritance, home: but higher the king

because of his rule o’er the realm itself.

Now further it fell with the flight of years,

with harryings horrid¹⁷, that Hygelac perished, 85

and Heardred, too, by hewing¹⁸ of swords

under the shield-wall slaughtered¹⁹ lay,

when him at the van of his victor-folk

sought hardy heroes, Heatho-Scilfings,

in arms o’erwhelming Hereric’s nephew.

Then Beowulf came as king this broad

realm to wield²⁰; and he ruled it well

fifty winters, 86 a wise old prince,

warding²¹ his land, until One began

in the dark of night, a Dragon, to rage.

In the grave on the hill a hoard²² it guarded,

in the stone-barrow steep. A strait path reached it,

unknown to mortals. Some man, however,

came by chance that cave within

to the heathen hoard. 87 In hand he took

a golden goblet²³, nor gave he it back,

stole with it away, while the watcher slept,

by thievish wiles: for the warden’s wrath²⁴

prince and people must pay betimes!

1 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

2 nought   

n.／adj.无，零

参考例句：

• We must bring their schemes to nought.我们必须使他们的阴谋彻底破产。
• One minus one leaves nought.一减一等于零。

3 proffer   

v.献出，赠送；n.提议，建议

参考例句：

• He rose and proffered a silver box full of cigarettes.他站起身，伸手递过一个装满香烟的银盒子。
• I proffer to lend him one.我表示愿意借他一个。

4 kinsmen   

n.家属，亲属( kinsman的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Kinsmen are less kind than friends. 投亲不如访友。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• One deeply grateful is better than kinsmen or firends. 受恩深处胜亲朋。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

5 wiles   

n.（旨在欺骗或吸引人的）诡计，花招；欺骗，欺诈( wile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All her wiles were to persuade them to buy the goods. 她花言巧语想打动他们买这些货物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The woman used all her wiles to tempt him into following her. 那女人用尽了自己的诱骗本领勾引着他尾随而去。 来自《用法词典》

6 contrive   

vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出

参考例句：

• Can you contrive to be here a little earlier?你能不能早一点来？
• How could you contrive to make such a mess of things?你怎么把事情弄得一团糟呢？

7 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

8 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

9 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。

10 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

11 spurned   

v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Eve spurned Mark's invitation. 伊夫一口回绝了马克的邀请。
• With Mrs. Reed, I remember my best was always spurned with scorn. 对里德太太呢，我记得我的最大努力总是遭到唾弃。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

14 mead   

n.蜂蜜酒

参考例句：

• He gave me a cup of mead.他给我倒了杯蜂蜜酒。
• He drank some mead at supper.晚饭时他喝了一些蜂蜜酒。

15 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。

16 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》

17 horrid   

adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的

参考例句：

• I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
• The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

18 hewing   

v.（用斧、刀等）砍、劈( hew的现在分词 )；砍成；劈出；开辟

参考例句：

• The farmer spent a day in the woods hewing timber. 这个农夫花了一天时间在森林里砍木材。 来自辞典例句
• He was hewing away at the trunk of the tree. 他不停地照着树干砍去。 来自辞典例句

19 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 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。

21 warding   

监护，守护（ward的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Magina channels a powerful warding magic damping the negative effects of spells. 敌法师用守护魔法来抵御负面法术的攻击。
• Indeed, warding off disruption is the principal property of complex systems. 的确，避免破损解体是复杂系统主要的属性。

22 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？

23 goblet   

n.高脚酒杯

参考例句：

• He poured some wine into the goblet.他向高脚酒杯里倒了一些葡萄酒。
• He swirled the brandy around in the huge goblet.他摇晃着高脚大玻璃杯使里面的白兰地酒旋动起来。

24 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。