One of three translation extracts published, together with a short essay, on pp. 6-7 of the July 26, 1998, issue of the Sunday Times (London). "Paths to Power" translates Beowulf, ll. 1-25. Heaney would later make considerable revisions to the Sunday Times version as he incorporated it into his full 1999 translation.

The translation begins:

So: the Spear Danes in days gone by
And the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness:
We have heard of those princes' heroic campaigns.

There was Shield Sheafson, the scourge of many tribes,
A wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among foes.
This terror of the hall-troops had come far.
He had been a foundling, but fared well in the end
As his powers waxed and his worth was proved.
In the end each sept on the neighbouring coasts
Beyond the whale-road had to yield and obey
And begin to pay tribute. He was a good king. (7)

And ends:

And a young prince ought to be prudent like that,
Giving freely while his father lives
So that afterwards in age when fighting starts
Steadfast companions will stand by him
And bear the brunt. Behaviour that's admired
Is the path to power among people everywhere. (7)

Not mentioned specifically in MO2, but MO2 1987(c) references Heaney's "many other fragmentary translations" in advance of his 1999 full translation.

BAM (from digital copy accessed via The Sunday Times Historical Archive, GaleCengage).