Not ever on earth need any man
780 Have dread of the darts of the devil's race,
Of the fighting of the fiends, whose defense is in God,
The just Lord of Hosts. The judgment is nigh
When each without fail shall find his reward,
Of weal or of woe, for his work on the earth
785 During the time of his life. 'Tis told us in books,
How from on high the humble one came,
The Treasure-hoard of honor, to the earth below
In the Virgin's womb, the valiant Son of God,
Holy from on high. I hope in truth
790 And also dread the doom far sterner,
When Christ and his angels shall come again,
Since I kept not closely the counsels my Savior
Bade in his books. I shall bear therefore
To see the work of sin (it shall certainly be)
795 When many shall be led to meet their doom,
To receive justice in the sight of their Judge.
Then the _C_ourageous shall tremble, shall attend the King,
The Righteous Ruler, when his wrath he speaks
To the worldlings who weakly his warning have heeded
800 While their _Y_earning and _N_eed even yet could have easily
Found a comfort. There, cowering in fear,
Many wearily shall wait on the wide plain
What doom shall be dealt them for the deeds of their life,
Of angry penalties. Departed hath _W_insomeness,
805 The ornaments of earth. It _U_sed to be true
That long our _L_ife-joys were locked in the sea-streams,
Our _F_ortunes on earth; in the fire shall our treasure
Burn in the blast; brightly shall mount,
The red flame, raging and wrathfully striding
810 Over the wide world; wasted shall be the plains;
The castles shall crumble; then shall climb the swift fire,
The greediest of guests, grimly and ruthlessly
Eat the ancient treasure that of old men possessed
While still on the earth was their strength and their pride.
815 Hence I strive to instruct each steadfast man
That he be cautious in the care of his soul,
And not pour it forth in pride in that portion of days
That the Lord allows him to live in the world,
While the soul abideth safe in the body,
820 In that friendly home. It behooveth each man
To bethink him deeply in the days of his life
How meekly and mildly the mighty Lord
Came of old to us by an angel's word;
Yet grim shall he be when again he cometh,
825 Harsh and righteous. Then the heavens shall rock,
And the measureless ends of the mighty earth
Shall tremble in terror. The triumphant King
Shall avenge their vain and vicious lives,
Their loathsome wickedness. Long shall they wallow
830 With heavy hearts in the heat of the fire bath,
Suffer for their sins in its surging flame.
779. The passage following contains the runes from which we obtain the
name Cynewulf. The runes are at once a word and a letter, in the same
way that our letter _I_ is also the symbol for the first personal
pronoun. In the places where the meaning fits, Cynewulf has written
the runes that spell his name.
804. In this passage the runes omit the _e_ of the poet's name, although
it is found in the other runic passages.