And dusky night-shade. Down from the north 105 The hated hail-storms beat on heroes with fury. All on earth is irksome to man; Oft changes the work of the fates, the world under the firmament. Here treasure is fleeting; here true friends are fleeting; Here comrades are fleeting; here kinsmen are fleeting. 110 All idle and empty the earth has become.' So says the sage one in mind, as he sits and secretly ponders. Good is the man who is true to his trust; never should he betray anger, Divulge the rage of his heart till the remedy he knows That quickly will quiet his spirit. The quest of honor is a noble pursuit; 115 Glory be to God on high, who grants us our salvation!" 1. These opening lines are typical of the group of poems usually known as the "Elegies"--this and the next four poems in the book. It is probable that the poems of this group have no relation with one another save in general tone--a deep melancholy that, though present in the other old English poems is blackest in these. 15. _Wyrd:_ the "Fate" of the Germanic peoples. The Anglo-Saxon's life was overshadowed by the power of Wyrd, though Beowulf says that "a man may escape his Wyrd--if he be good enough." 87. Ancient fortifications and cities are often referred to in Anglo-Saxon poetry as "the old work of the giants." THE SEAFARER [Edition used: Kluge, _Angelsaechsisches Lesebuch_. Up to line 65 this is one of the finest specimens of Anglo-Saxon poetry. It expresses as few poems in English have done the spirit of adventure, the _wanderlust_ of springtime. The author was a remarkable painter of the sea and its conditions. From line 65 to the end the poem consists of a very tedious homily that must surely be a later addition. The use of the first person throughout and the opposing sentiments expressed have caused several scholars to consider the first part of the poem a dialogue between a young man eager to go to sea and an old sailor. The divisions of the speeches suggested have been as follows: (By Hoenncher) (By Kluge) (By Rieger) 1-33a Sailor 1-33 Sailor 1-38a Sailor 33b-38 Youth 34-64 or 66 Youth 33b-38 Youth 39-43 Sailor 39-47 Sailor 44-52 Youth 48-52 Youth 53-57 Sailor 53-57 Sailor 58-64a Youth 58-71 Youth 71-end Sailor Sweet, in his _Anglo-Saxon Reader_, objects to these theories since there are not only no headings or divisions in the manuscript to indicate such divisions, but there are no breaks or contrasts in the poem itself.