Progress
The Master stood upon the mount, and taught.He saw a fire in his disciples’ eyes;“The old law,” they said, “is wholly come to naught:Behold the new world rise!”
“Was it,” the Lord then said, “with scorn ye sawThe old law observed by scribes and Pharisees?I say unto you, see ye keep that lawMore faithfully than these!
“Too hasty heads for ordering worlds, alas!Think not that I to annul the law have willed:No jot, no tittle, from the law shall passTill all have been fulfilled.”
So Christ said eighteen hundred years ago.And what, then, shall be said to those to-day,Who cry aloud to lay the old world lowTo clear the new world’s way?
“Religious fervors! ardor misapplied!Hence, hence!” they cry, “ye do but keep man blind!But keep him self-immersed, pre-occupied,And lame the active mind.”
Ah! from the old world let some one answer give:“Scorn ye this world, their tears, their inward cares?I say unto you, see that your souls liveA deeper life than theirs!
“Say ye, ‘The spirit of man has found new roads,And we must leave the old faiths, and walk therein’?Leave, then, the cross as ye have left carved gods,But guard the fire within!
“Bright, else, and fast the stream of life may roll,And no man may the other’s hurt behold;Yet each will have one anguish,--his own soulWhich perishes of cold.”
Here let that voice make end; then let a strainFrom a far lonelier distance, like the windBe heard, floating through heaven, and fill againThese men’s profoundest mind:--
“Children of men! the unseen Power, whose eyeForever doth accompany mankind,Hath looked on no religion scornfullyThat men did ever find.
“Which has not taught weak wills how much they can?Which has not fallen on the dry heart like rain?Which has not cried to sunk, self-weary man,--Thou must be born again!
“Children of men! not that your age excelIn pride of life the ages of your sires,But that ye think clear, feel deep, bear fruit well,The Friend of man desires.”
Words in this poem
- ordering n.
- Disposition; distribution; management. South.
- tittle n.
- A particle; a minute part; a jot; an iota. [OE. titel, titil, apparently a dim. of tit, in the sense of small; cf. G. tüttel a tittle, dim. of OHG. tutta teat. Perhaps, however, the same word as title, n.]
- 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,]
- aloud adv.
- With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Progress is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #54985; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Matthew Arnold, Progress, in Poems (1849–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54985, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/arnold-poems/progress.html, id L07049.
Form and metre
Progress is 48 lines in 12 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 9 of its 12 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.2 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% 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 ABAB taughtA · eyesB · naughtA · riseB
- 2 ABAB sawA · phariseesB · lawA · theseB
- 3 ABAB alasA · willedB · passA · fulfilledB
- 4 ABAB agoA · dayB · lowA · wayB
- 5 ABAB misappliedA · blindB · occupiedA · mindB
- 6 ABAB giveA · caresB · liveA · theirsB
- 7 -A-A roads · thereinA · gods · withinA
- 8 ABAB rollA · beholdB · soulA · coldB
- 9 ABAB strainA · windB · againA · mindB
- 10 -A-A eye · mankindA · scornfully · findA
- 11 ABAB canA · rainB · manA · againB
- 12 A-A- excelA · sires · wellA · desires
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 Master stood upon the mount, and taught. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| He saw a fire in his disciples’ eyes; | 10 | ···/··˘/˘· |
| “The old law,” they said, “is wholly come to naught: | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| Behold the new world rise!” | 6 | ˘/···· |
| “Was it,” the Lord then said, “with scorn ye saw | 10 | ·········· |
| The old law observed by scribes and Pharisees? | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| I say unto you, see ye keep that law | 10 | ·········· |
| More faithfully than these! | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| “Too hasty heads for ordering worlds, alas! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Think not that I to annul the law have willed: | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| No jot, no tittle, from the law shall pass | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Till all have been fulfilled.” | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| So Christ said eighteen hundred years ago. | 10 | ···///˘·˘/ |
| And what, then, shall be said to those to-day, | 10 | ·········· |
| Who cry aloud to lay the old world low | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| To clear the new world’s way? | 6 | ······ |
| “Religious fervors! ardor misapplied! | 10 | ˘/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Hence, hence!” they cry, “ye do but keep man blind! | 10 | ·········· |
| But keep him self-immersed, pre-occupied, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| And lame the active mind.” | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Ah! from the old world let some one answer give: | 11 | ········/˘· |
| “Scorn ye this world, their tears, their inward cares? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I say unto you, see that your souls live | 10 | ·········· |
| A deeper life than theirs! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| “Say ye, ‘The spirit of man has found new roads, | 10 | ···/······ |
| And we must leave the old faiths, and walk therein’? | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Leave, then, the cross as ye have left carved gods, | 10 | ·········· |
| But guard the fire within! | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| “Bright, else, and fast the stream of life may roll, | 10 | ·········· |
| And no man may the other’s hurt behold; | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Yet each will have one anguish,--his own soul | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Which perishes of cold.” | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Here let that voice make end; then let a strain | 10 | ·········· |
| From a far lonelier distance, like the wind | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| Be heard, floating through heaven, and fill again | 10 | ··/˘·/··˘/ |
| These men’s profoundest mind:-- | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| “Children of men! the unseen Power, whose eye | 10 | /˘···˘//·· |
| Forever doth accompany mankind, | 9 | ˘/˘·˘/˘// |
| Hath looked on no religion scornfully | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| That men did ever find. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| “Which has not taught weak wills how much they can? | 10 | ·········· |
| Which has not fallen on the dry heart like rain? | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Which has not cried to sunk, self-weary man,-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Thou must be born again! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| “Children of men! not that your age excel | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| In pride of life the ages of your sires, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| But that ye think clear, feel deep, bear fruit well, | 10 | ·········· |
| The Friend of man desires.” | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
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