Hunferth spake, the son of Ecglaf, who sat at the feet of the
master of the Scyldings; he unbound the secret counsel of his
malice. The expedition of Beowulf, the valiant mariner, was to him
a great cause of offence; for that he allowed not that any other
man on the earth should ever appropriate more deeds of fame under
heaven than he himself. ‘Art thou that Beowulf who strove against
Breca in a swimming-match on the broad sea? where ye two for
emulation explored the waves, and for foolish boasting ventured
your lives in the deep water. Nor could any man, either friend or
foe, warn you off from your perilous adventure. Then ye two rowed
on the sea, where with your arms [outspread] ye covered the
ocean-stream, measured the sea-ways, churned up [the water] with
your hands, glided over the deep; the sea was tossing with waves,
the icy wintry sea. Ye two toiled for seven nights in the watery
realm; he overcame thee in the match, he had more strength. Then,
at dawn of morn, the sea cast him up on [the coast of] the
Heathoreamas; thence he, dear in the sight of his people, sought
his loved native soil, the land of the Brondings, the fair safe
burgh where he was the owner of folk, burgh, and precious jewels.’
--Pages 37, 38.
_Criticism of the Translation._
The translation is literal, and its value is therefore in direct ratio
to the value of the text, which has been discussed above.
[Footnote 1: See supra, p. 49.] [[Thorpe]]
[Footnote 2: A theory which the author continued to regard as
partially tenable. See _Notes on Beowulf_ (London, 1898), p. 114.]
[Footnote 3: Contrast this with the editions of Heyne. See p. 64.]
[Footnote 4: See supra, p. 33.] [[Kemble]]
[Footnote 5: See supra, p. 49.] [[Thorpe]]
[Footnote 6: The numbers are those of Wyatt’s text; for Zupitza’s
and Arnold’s add 1.]
[Footnote 7: See _Amer. Journal of Philol._ I. 1. 90.]
[Footnote 8: See supra, p. 51.] [[Thorpe: Criticism...]]
[Footnote 9: See _Beowulfs Beorh_, and p. 22.]
[Footnote 10: See supra, p. 15.] [[Thorkelin]]
[Footnote 11: See supra, p. 33.] [[Kemble]]