200
THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC
So found I ever, in faring thus,
that he is dearest to dwellers on earth
whom God has raised to rule o’er men
as long as here he lives in the world.”[1]
135So, faring aye, are fated to wander
men of song through many lands,
to say their need and to speak their thanks.
Or south or north, some one is found,
wise of word and willing of hoard,
140to lift his praise in his liegemen’s presence,
to honor his earlship,—till all is fled,
light and life together: he gets him laud,
holds under heaven a haughty name.
- ↑ The words of Widsith are ended,—with a fine bow to the king on whose favor he relies for bread. Even in the epilogue a professional note is evident. Minstrels are the real voice of fame; treat them accordingly,—as Hamlet advised about the actors. For the results of bad treatment of minstrels, see Uhland’s effective little piece, Des Sängers Fluch.
