"Then finally the end arrives

when the body he was lent collapses and falls

prey to its death; ancestral possessions

and the goods he hoarded are inherited by another

who lets them go with a liberal hand...

For a brief while your strength is in bloom

but it fades quickly; and soon there will follow

illness or the sword to lay you low, or a sudden fire or surge of water

or a jabbing blade or javelin from the air

or repellent age. Your piercing eye will dim and darken; and death will arrive,

dear warrior, to sweep you away." (1753-1768)

This quote was chosen because it is a universal truth. “Life is fleeting” and you can’t take any treasure with you after death. Quite a few kings/heroes are named in Beowulf such as Hrothgar, Hygelac, and of course Beowulf. However, they all died honorable deaths in battle. No matter how great and powerful you are, even you will eventually die. The speaker is warning the young man, Beowulf, not to forget that he too is a mortal. He doesn’t want Beowulf to make the same mistakes he made in becoming prideful and believing that he was untouchable by death and his enemies. He is also cautioning him against hoarding treasure that another man may freely give away after his death. In the beginning and middle of the poem it looks like nothing can take Beowulf down. He even fights Grendel’s mother underwater. He is a Christ-figure, and he is a hero, so it’s only fitting that he would have an ultimate destroyer just as Jesus did. The dragon could represent Satan as he is called “the old dawn-scorching serpent” (2760). Heroes die. It’s possible that they become even greater in death because they have given their life for another. I’m not sure if the men of the time would find the words of Hrothgar persuasive, especially if they were Vikings who spent a lot of time raiding other countries for treasure. With that being said, they weren’t necessarily doing it for fun, but they needed to keep the gift-giving economy alive. Of course, war comes along when one country breaches another to steal their silver and god, so they weren’t too concerned with dying to keep the economy alive. Maybe there were many men who felt like they would be young forever, or at least they acted as if death couldn’t touch them; hence, the constant pillaging of other countries.