According to the speaker in "The Seafarer," what qualities might earn a person a place in heaven?

The speaker talks about how the days of the warrior society and its great rulers has come to an end. In doing so, he notes the transition from a warrior society to a Christian culture. The speaker is bittersweet about this, and he uses this transition to make his own transition in the poem. After lamenting his hardships at sea and making this struggle an allegory for struggles in life, the speaker begins talking more...

The speaker talks about how the days of the warrior society and its great rulers has come to an end. In doing so, he notes the transition from a warrior society to a Christian culture. The speaker is bittersweet about this, and he uses this transition to make his own transition in the poem. After lamenting his hardships at sea and making this struggle an allegory for struggles in life, the speaker begins talking more spiritually. He notes that any fame and riches a ruler or warrior might obtain in life will mean nothing to God. He therefore warns people that if they have lived a sinful life, fame and fortune will not help them get into heaven:

Opens his palms, and pours down gold

On his kinsman's grave, strewing his coffin

With treasures intended for Heaven, but nothing

Golden shakes the wrath of God 

For a soul overflowing with sin, and nothing 

Hidden on earth rises to Heaven.

The speaker goes on to list virtues that will help one get into heaven. "He who lives humbly has angels from Heaven / To carry him courage and strength and belief." In other words, humility will manifest in courage and belief (faith).

The speaker then offers a seemingly less generous version of the Golden Rule with "Treat all the world as the world deserves." This might be a combination of the warrior society's "eye for an eye" philosophy and the Golden Rule characterized in Christian teachings. However, the speaker follows this by encouraging people to practice peace, calling on them to treat others with love or with hate but "never with harm." He concludes that people should direct their thoughts to "where our home is." Here, home means Heaven, God, and/or the afterlife. In other words, people should live their lives according to God's purpose and spiritual teachings.