The point is not "the fleetingness of life" per se, it's the question of what comes before and what comes after. Bede's implication is that the pagan religion o

The point is not "the fleetingness of life" per se, it's the question of what comes before and what comes after. Bede's implication is that the pagan religion of King Edwin had no explanation, whereas Christianity provided one ("... what came before or what follows after, we do not know. Therefore, if this new lore brings anything more certain and more wise, it is worthy of that that we follow it").