To my plain request: promptly to tell me
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he commander of the company, from his word-treasury: ‘We are men belonging to the nation of the Geats,We are hearth-companions of Hygelac.Well-known was my father among the peoples,A princely battle-chief, Ecgtheow his name;Many many years he lived before he left us,Went old from our courts; him every counsellorHappily remembers far and wide.With friendly purpose we have come to seekYour own overlord, the son of Healfdene,Protector of his people; give us fair forwarding!To that renowned man, ruler of the Danes,We have a great mission; and this not, I may say,Secret in any way. You know (if indeedThings have run as rumour has reached us)How among the Scyldings a certain persecutor,A mysterious destroying-force in the deep of night,Unveils to dread a malignity unfathomable,Murderousness, humiliation. I might in magnanimityGive Hrothgar advising for the remedy of that,How he, old and trusted, could overcome this fiend(If ever again he is to find a reversal,A cure for the care of slaughter and evil),And affliction’s flames become assuaged—Or else he may suffer ever afterDistress and oppression as long as there standsOn that thronelike site his hall of halls.’ The officer spoke, seated on his horse,The guard unfearing: ‘Keen shield-fighterOf any circumspection must know how to judgeAnd distinguish the worth of both words and deeds.You are, as I have heard, a troop loyalTo the lord of the Danes; go forward nowWith your arms and armour, and I shall be your guide.Also I shall have my men hold fast
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