"Then in a fury, he [Beowulf] flung his sword away.
The keen, inlaid, worm-loop-patterned steel
was hurled to the ground: he would have to rely
on the might of his arm. So must a man do
who intends to gain enduring glory
in a combat. Life doesn't cost him a thought."
"...He who wields power
over time and tide: He is the true Lord."
Here Hrothgar speaks after Beowulf has defeated both Grendel and his mother. I liked this quote because God and dripping blood show up together. That doesn't happen much in modern Christian fiction.
"....So I praise God
in His heavenly glory that I lived to behold
this head dripping blood and that after such harrowing
I can look upon it in triumph at last."
This scene reminds me of two Biblical scenes: Jonathan departing from David (I Samuel 20) and Paul departing from Ephesus in Acts 20:37-38. Why do men not form friendships like this much anymore?
"And so the good and grey-haired Dane,
that high-born king, kissed Beowulf
and embraced his neck, then broke down
in sudden tears. Two forebodings
disturbed him in his wisdom, but one was stronger:
nevermore would they meet each other
face to face. And such was his affection
that he could not help being overcome:
his fondness for the man was so deep-founded,
it warmed his heart and wound the heartstrings
tight in his breast."
