From that example, Hrothgar generalizes about all of those who benefit from God’s gifts. Only the wise and mature realize that all glory is fleeting. God will allow a “high-born heart [to] travel far in delight” (1729); one day, however, it will fall. A fool grows in his arrogance and thinks he is invincible, even forgetting that life and glory are loans from the Creator. Then Hrothgar turns to Beowulf, who has just experienced his finest victory, and warns him to guard against the curse of pride. Beowulf is young and strong now, but his youth and strength will not last. Defeat and death wait for him as they do for all. Hrothgar himself has ruled 50 years and seen his own glory days; but he points out that he, too, experienced failure and sorrow. Grendel’s victories chased the Danes from Heorot, the great symbol of his reign, and humiliated the old king.
First joy, then sorrow. The message is repeated throughout Beowulf. In this harsh and often cruel world, joy never seems to last long. For this day, however, Hrothgar has finished his sermon. He directs Beowulf to return to his seat and generously signals that the feast shall continue, a second feast as impressive as the first.
The next day features generosity and departure. Beowulf returns the great sword Hrunting to Unferth. He continues to refrain from vengeance against Unferth for the earlier insults regarding the Breca contest; nor does he blame the sword for its failure in the cave fight. He is, we are told, “noble, generous in spirit” (1812), perhaps reflecting, at least for the time, virtues of Hrothgar’s sermon. Beowulf generously offers to come to Hrothgar’s assistance if enemies threaten the king. He speaks for his own country’s ruler in welcoming Hrothgar’s son to Hygelac’s court if the lad chooses to visit. Hrothgar observes, prophetically, that Beowulf would make a fine king himself if the Geats should ever find themselves in need of one. He presents Beowulf with a dozen more treasures.
Hrothgar’s farewell to Beowulf is poignant and sincere. Tears running down his cheeks, he embraces and kisses the young warrior as an aging father might treat a son whom he realistically does not expect to see again. Hrothgar is not a bad king. He just got old: “He was one king / blameless in everything, till age took from him / the joy of his strength — a thing that harms many” (1885–87).
