wide weleras; 55 of his innope, sæfisca cynn, cymeð wynsum stenc þætte ōpre purh pone, Swimmað sundhwate þær se swēta stenc unware weorude, opþæt se wida ceafl whereupon there issues a ravishing perfume from his inwards, by which other kinds of fish are beguiled. With lively motions they swim to where the sweet odor comes forth, and there enter in, a heedless host, until the wide gorge is full; then, in one instant, he snaps his fierce jaws together about the swarming prey. Thus it is with any one who, in this fleeting time, full oft neglects to take heed to his life, and allows himself to be enticed by sweet fragrance, a lying lure, so that he becomes hostile to the King of glory by reason of his sins. The accursed one will, when they die, throw wide the doors of hell to those who, in their folly, have wrought the treacherous delights of the body, contrary to the wise guidance of the soul. When the deceiver, skilful in wrongdoing, hath brought into that fastness, His monstrous lips; and from his cavernous maw In swiftly moving schools toward that fell place Make him abhorrent. After death for him Opens for all who in their folly here Their spirits' guidance. When the wily fiend æt þam [a]dwylme, 75 in hira lifdagum pa þe him on cleofiað, and ær georne his lārum hyrdon, ponne he pa grimman gōman bihlemmeð, æfter feorhcwale, fæste tōgædre, helle hlinduru. Nāgon hwyrft nē swice, ūtsiþ æfre, pā [be] þær in cumað, hweorfan mōtan. 80 pon mă pe pā fiscas, faraðlācende, of pæs hwæles fenge Forbon is eallinga dryhtna Dryhtne, and a deoflum wiðsace 85 wordum and weorcum, þæt we Wuldorcyning ges on mōton. Uton a sibbe tō him, on þās hwilnan tid, hælu sēcan, þæt we mid swā lēofne in lofe mötan tō widan feore the lake of fire, those that cleave to him and are laden with guilt, such as had eagerly followed his teachings in the days of their life, he then, after their death, snaps tight together his fierce jaws, the gates of hell. They who enter there have neither relief nor escape, no means of flight, any more than the fishes that swim the sea can escape from the clutch of the monster. Therefore is it by all means [best for every one of us to serve1] the Lord of lords, and strive against devils with words and works, that so we may come to behold the King of glory. Let us ever, now in this fleeting time, seek from him grace and salvation, that so with the Beloved we may in worship enjoy the bliss of heaven for evermore. 1 Conjecturally supplied. With evil craft has led those erring ones Nor may he any more escape his doom And thence depart, than can the swimming fish Elude the monster. Therefore it is [best And1] altogether [right for each of us To serve and honor God,1] the Lord of lords, 1 Conjecturally supplied. So, too, I have heard tell a wondrous [tale2] about a certain bird. . . . fair the word spoken by the King of glory: 'At whatsoever time ye turn to me with faith in your soul, and forsake the black iniquities of hell, I will turn straightway to you with love, in the gentleness of my heart; and thenceforth ye shall be reckoned to 1 The partridge (like the cuckoo) broods the eggs of other birds. When they are hatched and grown, they fly off to their true parents. So men may turn from the devil, who has wrongfully gained possession of them, to their heavenly Father, who will receive them as his children. 2 Conjecturally supplied. Gap in the manuscript, probably of considerable length. 4 Cf. 2 Cor. 6. 17, 18; Isa. 55. 7; Heb. 2. 10, II. |