Religious Progress
Professor dear, I think it queerThat all these good religions('Twixt you and me, some two or threeAre schemes for plucking pigeons)--
I mean 'tis strange that every changeOur poor minds to unfetterEntails a new religion--trueAs t' other one, and better.
From each in turn the truth we learn,That wood or flesh or spiritMay justly boast it rules the roastUntil we cease to fear it.
Nay, once upon a time long goneMan worshipped Cat and Lizard:His God he'd find in any kindOf beast, from a to izzard.
When risen above his early loveOf dirt and blood and slumber,He pulled down these vain deities,And made one out of lumber.
"Far better that than even a cat,"The Howisons all shouted;"When God is wood religion's good!"But one poor cynic doubted.
"A timber God--that's very odd!"Said Progress, and inventedThe simple plan to worship Man,Who, kindly soul! consented.
But soon our eye we lift asky,Our vows all unregarded,And find (at least so says the priest)The Truth--and Man's discarded.
Along our line of march reclineDead gods devoid of feeling;And thick about each sun-cracked loutDried Howisons are kneeling.
Words in this poem
- unfetter v. t.
- To loose from fetters or from restraint; to unchain; to unshackle; to liberate; as, to unfetter the mind. [1st pref. un- + fetter.]
- izzard n.
- The letter z; -- formerly so called. [Formerly ezed, prob. fr. F. et zÉde and z.]
- cynic a.
- Having the qualities of a surly dog; snarling; captious; currish. [L. cynicus of the sect of Cynics, fr. Gr. Hound.]
- cracked a.
- Coarsely ground or broken; as, cracked wheat.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Religious Progress is in the public domain. This text is taken from Shapes of Clay (1903), Project Gutenberg ebook #12658; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ambrose Bierce, Religious Progress, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/religious-progress.html, id L27999.
Form and metre
Religious Progress is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See 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 -A-A queer · religionsA · three · pigeonsA
- 2 -A-A change · unfetterA · true · betterA
- 3 -A-A learn · spiritA · roast · itA
- 4 -A-A gone · lizardA · kind · izzardA
- 5 -A-A love · slumberA · deities · lumberA
- 6 -AAA cat · shoutedA · goodA · doubtedA
- 7 AA-A oddA · inventedA · man · consentedA
- 8 -A-A asky · unregardedA · priest · discardedA
- 9 -A-A recline · feelingA · lout · kneelingA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Professor dear, I think it queer | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| That all these good religions | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| ('Twixt you and me, some two or three | 8 | ········ |
| Are schemes for plucking pigeons)-- | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| I mean 'tis strange that every change | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Our poor minds to unfetter | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| Entails a new religion--true | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| As t' other one, and better. | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| From each in turn the truth we learn, | 8 | ········ |
| That wood or flesh or spirit | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| May justly boast it rules the roast | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Until we cease to fear it. | 7 | ······· |
| Nay, once upon a time long gone | 8 | ········ |
| Man worshipped Cat and Lizard: | 8 | ·/˘˘··/˘ |
| His God he'd find in any kind | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of beast, from a to izzard. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| When risen above his early love | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| Of dirt and blood and slumber, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| He pulled down these vain deities, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| And made one out of lumber. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| "Far better that than even a cat," | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| The Howisons all shouted; | 7 | ·/˘˘·/˘ |
| "When God is wood religion's good!" | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| But one poor cynic doubted. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| "A timber God--that's very odd!" | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Said Progress, and invented | 7 | ·/··˘/˘ |
| The simple plan to worship Man, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Who, kindly soul! consented. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| But soon our eye we lift asky, | 8 | ··/····· |
| Our vows all unregarded, | 8 | /˘······ |
| And find (at least so says the priest) | 8 | ········ |
| The Truth--and Man's discarded. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Along our line of march recline | 8 | ˘//···˘/ |
| Dead gods devoid of feeling; | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| And thick about each sun-cracked lout | 8 | ········ |
| Dried Howisons are kneeling. | 7 | ·/˘˘·/˘ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.