A Fable (Written in 1757, and First Published in 1766.)
Laws, as we read in ancient sages,Have been like cobwebs in all ages:Cobwebs for little flies are spread,And laws for little folks are made;But if an insect of renown,Hornet or beetle, wasp or drone,Be caught in quest of sport or plunder,The flimsy fetter flies in sunder.Your simile perhaps may please oneWith whom wit holds the place of reason:But can you prove that this in fact isAgreeable to life and practice?Then hear, what in his simple wayOld Æsop told me t' other day.In days of yore, but (which is very odd)Our author mentions not the period,We mortal men, less given to speeches,Allow'd the beasts sometimes to teach us.But now we all are prattlers grown,And suffer no voice but our own;With us no beast has leave to speak,Although his honest heart should break.'Tis true, your asses and your apes,And other brutes in human shapes,And that thing made of sound and show,Which mortals have misnamed a beau,(But in the language of the skyIs call'd a two-legg'd butterfly),Will make your very heartstrings acheWith loud and everlasting clack,And beat your auditory drum,Till you grow deaf, or they grow dumb.But to our story we return:'Twas early on a Summer morn,A Wolf forsook the mountain den,And issued hungry on the plain.Full many a stream and lawn he pastAnd reach'd a winding vale at last;Where from a hollow rock he spiedThe shepherds drest in flowery pride.Garlands were strew'd, and all was gay,To celebrate a holiday.The merry tabor's gamesome soundProvoked the sprightly dance around.Hard by a rural board was rear'd,On which in fair array appear'dThe peach, the apple, and the raisin,And all the fruitage of the season.But, more distinguish'd than the rest,Was seen a wether ready drest,That smoking, recent from the flame,Diffused a stomach-rousing steam.Our Wolf could not endure the sight,Courageous grew his appetite:His entrails groan'd with tenfold pain,He lick'd his lips, and lick'd again:At last, with lightning in his eyes,He bounces forth, and fiercely cries:"Shepherds, I am not given to scolding,But now my spleen I cannot hold in.By Jove, such scandalous oppressionWould put an elephant in passion.You, who your flocks (as you pretend)By wholesome laws from harm defend,Which make it death for any beast,How much soe'er by hunger press'd,To seize a sheep by force or stealth,For sheep have right to life and health;Can you commit, uncheck'd by shame,What in a beast so much you blame?What is a law, if those who make itBecome the forwardest to break it?The case is plain: you would reserveAll to yourselves, while others starve.Such laws from base self-interest spring,Not from the reason of the thing--"He was proceeding, when a swainBurst out,--"And dares a wolf arraignHis betters, and condemn their measures,And contradict their wills and pleasures?We have establish'd laws, 'tis true,But laws are made for such as you.Know, sirrah, in its very natureA law can't reach the legislature.For laws, without a sanction join'd,As all men know, can never bind;But sanctions reach not us the makers,For who dares punish us, though breakers?'Tis therefore plain, beyond denial,That laws were ne'er design'd to tie all;But those, whom sanctions reach alone:We stand accountable to none.Besides, 'tis evident, that, seeingLaws from the great derive their being,They as in duty bound should loveThe great, in whom they live and move,And humbly yield to their desires:'Tis just what gratitude requires.What suckling, dandled on the lap,Would tear away its mother's pap?But hold--Why deign I to disputeWith such a scoundrel of a brute?Logic is lost upon a knave,Let action prove the law our slave."An angry nod his will declaredTo his gruff yeoman of the guard;The full-fed mongrels, train'd to ravage,Fly to devour the shaggy savage.The beast had now no time to loseIn chopping logic with his foes;"This argument," quoth he, "has force,And swiftness is my sole resource."He said, and left the swains their prey,And to the mountains scour'd away.
Words in this poem 23
- folks n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- simile n.
- A word or phrase by which anything is likened, in one or more of its aspects, to something else; a similitude; a poetical or imaginative comparison. [L., from similis. See Similar.]
- yore adv.
- In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
- ache n.
- A name given to several species of plants; as, smallage, wild celery, parsley. Holland. [F. ache, L. apium parsley.]
- clack v. i.
- To make a sudden, sharp noise, or a succesion of such noises, as by striking an object, or by collision of parts; to rattle; to click. [Prob. of imitative origin; cf. F.claquer to clap, crack, D. klakken, MHG. klac crack, Ir. clagaim I make a noise, ring. Cf. Clack, n., Clatter, Click.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- gamesome a.
- Gay; sportive; playful; frolicsome; merry.
- raisin n.
- A grape, or a bunch of grapes. Cotgrave. [F. raisin grape, raisin, L. racemus cluster of grapes or berries; cf. Gr. Raceme.]
- fruitage n.
- Fruit, collectively; fruit, in general; fruitery. [F. fruitage.]
- wether n.
- A castrated ram. [OE. wether, AS. we; akin to OS. wethar, withar, a ram, D. weder, G. widder, OHG. widar, Icel. ver, Sw. vädur, Dan. vædder, Goth. wiprus a lamb, L. vitulus calf,]
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- scandalous a.
- Giving offense to the conscience or moral feelings; exciting reprobation; calling out condemnation. [Cf. F. scandaleux.]
- stealth n.
- The act of stealing; theft. [OE. staple. See Steal, v. t.]
- arraign v. t.
- To call or set as a prisoner at the bar of a court to answer to the matter charged in an indictment or complaint. Blackstone. [OE. arainen, arenen, OF. aragnier, aranier, araisnier, F. arraisonner, fr. LL. arrationare to address to call before court; L. ad + ratio reason, reasoning, LL.]
- derive v. t.
- To turn the course of, as water; to divert and distribute into subordinate channels; to diffuse; to communicate; to transmit; -- followed by to, into, on, upon. [F. dériver, L. derivare; de- + rivus stream, brook. See Rival.]
- humbly adv.
- With humility; lowly.
- deign v. t.
- To esteem worthy; to consider worth notice; -- opposed to disdain. [OE. deinen, deignen, OF. degner, deigner, daigner, F. daigner, fr. L. dignari to deem worthy, deign, fr. dignus worthy; akin to decere to be fitting. See Decent]
- knave n.
- A boy; especially, a boy servant. Wyclif. [OE., boy, servant, knave, AS. cnafa boy, youth; cf. AS. cnapa boy, youth, D. kna, G. knabe boy, knappe esquire, Icel. knapi, Sw. knape esquire, knäfvel knave.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- gruff a.
- Of a rough or stern manner, voice, or countenance; sour; surly; severe; harsh. [D. grof; akin to G. grob, OHG. gerob, grob, Dan. grov, Sw. grof, perh. akin to AS. rcófan to break, Z. reavc, rupture, g- standing for the AS. prefix ge-, Goth.]
- quoth v. t.
- Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
- resource n.
- That to which one resorts orr on which one depends for supply or support; means of overcoming a difficulty; resort; expedient. [F. ressource, fr. OF. ressourdre, resourdre, to spring forth or up again; pref. re- re- + sourdre to spring forth. See Source.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Fable (Written in 1757, and First Published in 1766.) is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Beattie, Blair, and Falconer With Lives, Critical Dissertations, and Explanatory Notes, Project Gutenberg ebook #8695; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: James Beattie, A Fable (Written in 1757, and First Published in 1766.), in The Minstrel and Other Poems (1771–1774), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/beattie-minstrel/a-fable-written-in-1757-and-first-published-in-1766.html, id L09612.
Form and metre
A Fable (Written in 1757, and First Published in 1766.) is 114 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 61% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 28 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 -----ABBAA--CCDD--EE--FFGGHH--II----JJKKLLMMNN--OO--PP-QRR-Q--SS--TTUU----VVWWXXYYZZ--aabb--ccddeeffgghh------iijj sages · ages · spread · made · renown · droneA · plunderB · sunderB · oneA · reasonA · is · practice · wayC · dayC · oddD · periodD · speeches · us · grownE · ownE · speak · break · apesF · shapesF · showG · beauG · skyH · butterflyH · ache · clack · drumI · dumbI · return · morn · den · plain · pastJ · lastJ · spiedK · prideK · gayL · holidayL · soundM · aroundM · rear'dN · appear'dN · raisin · season · restO · drestO · flame · steam · sightP · appetiteP · pain · againQ · eyesR · criesR · scolding · inQ · oppression · passion · pretendS · defendS · beast · press'd · stealthT · healthT · shameU · blameU · it · it · reserve · starve · springV · thingV · swainW · arraignW · measuresX · pleasuresX · trueY · youY · natureZ · legislatureZ · join'd · bind · makersa · breakersa · denialb · allb · alone · none · seeingc · beingc · loved · moved · desirese · requirese · lapf · papf · disputeg · bruteg · knaveh · slaveh · declared · guard · ravage · savage · lose · foes · forcei · resourcei · preyj · awayj
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Laws, as we read in ancient sages, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Have been like cobwebs in all ages: | 9 | ···/···/˘ |
| Cobwebs for little flies are spread, | 8 | /··/˘··· |
| And laws for little folks are made; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But if an insect of renown, | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| Hornet or beetle, wasp or drone, | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Be caught in quest of sport or plunder, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| The flimsy fetter flies in sunder. | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Your simile perhaps may please one | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| With whom wit holds the place of reason: | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| But can you prove that this in fact is | 9 | ········· |
| Agreeable to life and practice? | 9 | ˘/˘˘···/˘ |
| Then hear, what in his simple way | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Old Æsop told me t' other day. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In days of yore, but (which is very odd) | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Our author mentions not the period, | 11 | /˘/˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| We mortal men, less given to speeches, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘ |
| Allow'd the beasts sometimes to teach us. | 9 | ˘/··˘/··· |
| But now we all are prattlers grown, | 8 | ········ |
| And suffer no voice but our own; | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| With us no beast has leave to speak, | 8 | ········ |
| Although his honest heart should break. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'Tis true, your asses and your apes, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And other brutes in human shapes, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And that thing made of sound and show, | 8 | ········ |
| Which mortals have misnamed a beau, | 9 | ·/˘···˘·· |
| (But in the language of the sky | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Is call'd a two-legg'd butterfly), | 9 | ····/˘/˘· |
| Will make your very heartstrings ache | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With loud and everlasting clack, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And beat your auditory drum, | 8 | ···/˘·˘· |
| Till you grow deaf, or they grow dumb. | 8 | ········ |
| But to our story we return: | 9 | ··/˘/˘·˘/ |
| 'Twas early on a Summer morn, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A Wolf forsook the mountain den, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| And issued hungry on the plain. | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘··· |
| Full many a stream and lawn he past | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| And reach'd a winding vale at last; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Where from a hollow rock he spied | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The shepherds drest in flowery pride. | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| Garlands were strew'd, and all was gay, | 8 | /˘······ |
| To celebrate a holiday. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The merry tabor's gamesome sound | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Provoked the sprightly dance around. | 9 | ˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Hard by a rural board was rear'd, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| On which in fair array appear'd | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| The peach, the apple, and the raisin, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| And all the fruitage of the season. | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| But, more distinguish'd than the rest, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Was seen a wether ready drest, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| That smoking, recent from the flame, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Diffused a stomach-rousing steam. | 9 | ˘/˘·/˘/˘· |
| Our Wolf could not endure the sight, | 9 | /˘···˘/·· |
| Courageous grew his appetite: | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| His entrails groan'd with tenfold pain, | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| He lick'd his lips, and lick'd again: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| At last, with lightning in his eyes, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He bounces forth, and fiercely cries: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| "Shepherds, I am not given to scolding, | 10 | /˘···/˘·/˘ |
| But now my spleen I cannot hold in. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| By Jove, such scandalous oppression | 9 | ···/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Would put an elephant in passion. | 9 | ···/˘˘·/˘ |
| You, who your flocks (as you pretend) | 8 | ······˘/ |
| By wholesome laws from harm defend, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Which make it death for any beast, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| How much soe'er by hunger press'd, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| To seize a sheep by force or stealth, | 8 | ········ |
| For sheep have right to life and health; | 8 | ········ |
| Can you commit, uncheck'd by shame, | 8 | ··˘/˘/·· |
| What in a beast so much you blame? | 8 | ········ |
| What is a law, if those who make it | 9 | ········· |
| Become the forwardest to break it? | 9 | ˘/·/˘˘··· |
| The case is plain: you would reserve | 8 | ······˘/ |
| All to yourselves, while others starve. | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Such laws from base self-interest spring, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Not from the reason of the thing--" | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He was proceeding, when a swain | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Burst out,--"And dares a wolf arraign | 8 | ······˘/ |
| His betters, and condemn their measures, | 9 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘ |
| And contradict their wills and pleasures? | 9 | ··˘/···/˘ |
| We have establish'd laws, 'tis true, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| But laws are made for such as you. | 8 | ········ |
| Know, sirrah, in its very nature | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| A law can't reach the legislature. | 9 | ·····/˘·˘ |
| For laws, without a sanction join'd, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As all men know, can never bind; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But sanctions reach not us the makers, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| For who dares punish us, though breakers? | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| 'Tis therefore plain, beyond denial, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| That laws were ne'er design'd to tie all; | 9 | ····˘/··· |
| But those, whom sanctions reach alone: | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| We stand accountable to none. | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
| Besides, 'tis evident, that, seeing | 9 | ˘/·/˘˘·/˘ |
| Laws from the great derive their being, | 9 | ····˘/·/˘ |
| They as in duty bound should love | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The great, in whom they live and move, | 8 | ········ |
| And humbly yield to their desires: | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| 'Tis just what gratitude requires. | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| What suckling, dandled on the lap, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Would tear away its mother's pap? | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| But hold--Why deign I to dispute | 8 | ······˘/ |
| With such a scoundrel of a brute? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Logic is lost upon a knave, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Let action prove the law our slave." | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| An angry nod his will declared | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| To his gruff yeoman of the guard; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The full-fed mongrels, train'd to ravage, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Fly to devour the shaggy savage. | 10 | ··˘/˘·/˘/˘ |
| The beast had now no time to lose | 8 | ········ |
| In chopping logic with his foes; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| "This argument," quoth he, "has force, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| And swiftness is my sole resource." | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| He said, and left the swains their prey, | 8 | ········ |
| And to the mountains scour'd away. | 9 | ···/˘/˘˘/ |
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