To the Author of Memoirs of the House of Brandenburg. 1751
The men renown'd as chiefs of human race,And born to lead in counsels or in arms,Have seldom turn'd their feet from glory's chaseTo dwell with books, or court the Muse's charms.Yet, to our eyes if haply time hath broughtSome genuine transcript of their calmer thought,There still we own the wise, the great, or good;And Caesar there and Xenophon are seen,As clear in spirit and sublime of mien,As on Pharsalian plains, or by the Assyrian flood.
Say thou too, Frederic, was not this thy aim?Thy vigils could the student's lamp engage,Except for this, except that future FameMight read thy genius in the faithful page?That if hereafter Envy shall presumeWith words irreverent to inscribe thy tomb,And baser weeds upon thy palms to fling,That hence posterity may try thy reign,Assert thy treaties, and thy wars explain,And view in native lights the hero and the king.
O evil foresight and pernicious care!Wilt thou indeed abide by this appeal?Shall we the lessons of thy pen compareWith private honour or with public zeal?Whence, then, at things divine those darts of scorn?Why are the woes, which virtuous men have borneFor sacred truth, a prey to laughter given?What fiend, what foe of Nature urged thy armThe Almighty of his sceptre to disarm,To push this earth adrift and leave it loose from Heaven?
Ye godlike shades of legislators old,Ye who made Rome victorious, Athens wise,Ye first of mortals with the bless'd enroll'd,Say, did not horror in your bosoms rise,When thus, by impious vanity impell'd,A magistrate, a monarch, ye beheldAffronting civil order's holiest bands,Those bands which ye so labour'd to improve,Those hopes and fears of justice from above,Which tamed the savage world to your divine commands?
Words in this poem
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- haply adv.
- By hap, chance, luck, or accident; perhaps; it may be.
- calmer n.
- One who, or that which, makes calm.
- hereafter adv.
- In time to come; in some future time or state. [AS. hræfter.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- presume v. t.
- To assume or take beforehand; esp., to do or undertake without leave or authority previously obtained. [F. présumer, L. praesumere, praesumptum; prae before + sumere to take. See Assume, Redeem.]
- inscribe v. t.
- To write or engrave; to mark down as something to be read; to imprint. [L. inscribere. See 1st In-, and Scribe.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- virtuous a.
- Possessing or exhibiting virtue. Specifically: -- (a) Exhibiting manly courage and strength; valorous; valiant; brave. [OE. vertuous, OF. vertuos, vertuous, F. vertueux, fr. L. Virtuous. See Virtue, and cf. Virtuoso.]
- sceptre n.
- A staff or baton borne by a sovereign, as a ceremonial badge or emblem of authority; a royal mace. [F. sceptre, L. sceptrum, from Gr. shaft. See Shaft, and cf. Scape a stem, shaft.]
- disarm v. t.
- To deprive of arms; to take away the weapons of; to deprive of the means of attack or defense; to render defenseless. [OE. desarmen, F. désarmer; pref. dés- (L. dis-) + armer to arm. See Arm.]
- adrift adv.
- Floating at random; in a drifting condition; at the mercy of wind and waves. Also fig. [Pref. a- (for on) + drift.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the Author of Memoirs of the House of Brandenburg. 1751 is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Mark Akenside, Project Gutenberg ebook #9814; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mark Akenside, To the Author of Memoirs of the House of Brandenburg. 1751, in The Poetical Works of Mark Akenside (1744), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9814, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/akenside-poems/to-the-author-of-memoirs-of-the-house-of-brandenburg-1751.html, id L09538.
Form and metre
To the Author of Memoirs of the House of Brandenburg. 1751 is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCDEED, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 20% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCCDEED raceA · armsB · chaseA · charmsB · broughtC · thoughtC · goodD · seenE · mienE · floodD
- 2 ABABCCDEED aimA · engageB · fameA · pageB · presumeC · tombC · flingD · reignE · explainE · kingD
- 3 ABABCC-DD- careA · appealB · compareA · zealB · scornC · borneC · given · armD · disarmD · heaven
- 4 ABABCCDEED oldA · wiseB · enroll'dA · riseB · impell'dC · beheldC · bandsD · improveE · aboveE · commandsD
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The men renown'd as chiefs of human race, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| And born to lead in counsels or in arms, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Have seldom turn'd their feet from glory's chase | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| To dwell with books, or court the Muse's charms. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Yet, to our eyes if haply time hath brought | 10 | ··/··/˘··· |
| Some genuine transcript of their calmer thought, | 10 | ·/˘/···/˘· |
| There still we own the wise, the great, or good; | 10 | ·········· |
| And Caesar there and Xenophon are seen, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| As clear in spirit and sublime of mien, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| As on Pharsalian plains, or by the Assyrian flood. | 13 | ·········˘/˘· |
| Say thou too, Frederic, was not this thy aim? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thy vigils could the student's lamp engage, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Except for this, except that future Fame | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Might read thy genius in the faithful page? | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| That if hereafter Envy shall presume | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| With words irreverent to inscribe thy tomb, | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| And baser weeds upon thy palms to fling, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| That hence posterity may try thy reign, | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| Assert thy treaties, and thy wars explain, | 10 | ˘/·/˘···˘/ |
| And view in native lights the hero and the king. | 12 | ···/˘··/˘··· |
| O evil foresight and pernicious care! | 10 | ·/˘/··˘/˘· |
| Wilt thou indeed abide by this appeal? | 10 | ··˘/˘/··˘/ |
| Shall we the lessons of thy pen compare | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| With private honour or with public zeal? | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Whence, then, at things divine those darts of scorn? | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Why are the woes, which virtuous men have borne | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For sacred truth, a prey to laughter given? | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| What fiend, what foe of Nature urged thy arm | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The Almighty of his sceptre to disarm, | 11 | ·˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| To push this earth adrift and leave it loose from Heaven? | 12 | ····˘/·····/ |
| Ye godlike shades of legislators old, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘· |
| Ye who made Rome victorious, Athens wise, | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| Ye first of mortals with the bless'd enroll'd, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Say, did not horror in your bosoms rise, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| When thus, by impious vanity impell'd, | 10 | ···˘/˘/˘˘/ |
| A magistrate, a monarch, ye beheld | 10 | ·/˘··/··˘/ |
| Affronting civil order's holiest bands, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| Those bands which ye so labour'd to improve, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Those hopes and fears of justice from above, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Which tamed the savage world to your divine commands? | 12 | ···/˘···˘/˘/ |
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