The Statesmen
How blest the land that counts amongHer sons so many good and wise,To execute great feats of tongueWhen troubles rise.
Behold them mounting every stumpOur liberty by speech to guard.Observe their courage:--see them jumpAnd come down hard!
"Walk up, walk up!" each cries aloud,"And learn from me what you must doTo turn aside the thunder cloud,The earthquake too.
"Beware the wiles of yonder quackWho stuffs the ears of all that pass.I--I alone can show that blackIs white as grass."
They shout through all the day and breakThe silence of the night as well.They'd make--I wish they'd go and make--Of Heaven a Hell.
A advocates free silver, BFree trade and C free banking laws.Free board, clothes, lodging would from meWin warm applause.
Lo, D lifts up his voice: "You seeThe single tax on land would fallOn all alike." More evenlyNo tax at all.
"With paper money" bellows E"We'll all be rich as lords." No doubt--And richest of the lot will beThe chap without.
As many "cures" as addle witsWho know not what the ailment is!Meanwhile the patient foams and spitsLike a gin fizz.
Alas, poor Body Politic,Your fate is all too clearly read:To be not altogether quick,Nor very dead.
You take your exercise in squirms,Your rest in fainting fits between.'T is plain that your disorder's worms--Worms fat and lean.
Worm Capital, Worm Labor dwellWithin your maw and muscle's scope.Their quarrels make your life a Hell,Your death a hope.
God send you find not such an endTo ills however sharp and huge!God send you convalesce! God sendYou vermifuge.
Words in this poem
- aloud adv.
- With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
- beware v. t.
- To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- banking n.
- The business of a bank or of a banker. Banking house, an establishment or office in which, or a firm by whom, banking is done.
- addle n.
- Liquid filth; mire. [OE. adel, AS. adela, mud.]
- ailment n.
- Indisposition; morbid affection of the body; -- not applied ordinarily to acute diseases.
- meanwhile n.
- The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
- fizz v. i.
- To make a hissing sound, as a burning fuse. [Cf. Icel. fisa to break wind, Dan. fise to foist, fizzle, OSw. fisa, G. fisten, feisten. Cf. Foist.]
- altogether adv.
- All together; conjointly. [OE. altogedere; al all + togedere together. See Together.]
- 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]
- convalesce v. i.
- To recover health and strength gradually, after sickness or weakness; as, a patient begins to convalesce. [L. convalscere; con- + valescere to grow strong, v. incho. of valere to be strong. See Vallant.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Statesmen 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, The Statesmen, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/the-statesmen.html, id L28038.
Form and metre
The Statesmen is 52 lines in 13 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
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 ABAB amongA · wiseB · tongueA · riseB
- 2 ABAB stumpA · guardB · jumpA · hardB
- 3 ABAB aloudA · doB · cloudA · tooB
- 4 ABAB quackA · passB · blackA · grassB
- 5 ABAB breakA · wellB · makeA · hellB
- 6 ABAB bA · lawsB · meA · applauseB
- 7 ABAB seeA · fallB · evenlyA · allB
- 8 ABAB eA · doubtB · beA · withoutB
- 9 ABAB witsA · isB · spitsA · fizzB
- 10 ABAB politicA · readB · quickA · deadB
- 11 ABAB squirmsA · betweenB · wormsA · leanB
- 12 ABAB dwellA · scopeB · hellA · hopeB
- 13 ABAB endA · hugeB · sendA · vermifugeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| How blest the land that counts among | 8 | ········ |
| Her sons so many good and wise, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To execute great feats of tongue | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When troubles rise. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Behold them mounting every stump | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Our liberty by speech to guard. | 8 | //˘˘···· |
| Observe their courage:--see them jump | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| And come down hard! | 4 | ···· |
| "Walk up, walk up!" each cries aloud, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| "And learn from me what you must do | 8 | ········ |
| To turn aside the thunder cloud, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| The earthquake too. | 4 | ·/·· |
| "Beware the wiles of yonder quack | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Who stuffs the ears of all that pass. | 8 | ········ |
| I--I alone can show that black | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Is white as grass." | 4 | ···· |
| They shout through all the day and break | 8 | ········ |
| The silence of the night as well. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| They'd make--I wish they'd go and make-- | 8 | ········ |
| Of Heaven a Hell. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| A advocates free silver, B | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Free trade and C free banking laws. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Free board, clothes, lodging would from me | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Win warm applause. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Lo, D lifts up his voice: "You see | 8 | ········ |
| The single tax on land would fall | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| On all alike." More evenly | 8 | ··˘/·/˘˘ |
| No tax at all. | 4 | ···· |
| "With paper money" bellows E | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| "We'll all be rich as lords." No doubt-- | 8 | ········ |
| And richest of the lot will be | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The chap without. | 4 | ···· |
| As many "cures" as addle wits | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Who know not what the ailment is! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Meanwhile the patient foams and spits | 8 | /··/˘··· |
| Like a gin fizz. | 4 | ···· |
| Alas, poor Body Politic, | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Your fate is all too clearly read: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To be not altogether quick, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Nor very dead. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| You take your exercise in squirms, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Your rest in fainting fits between. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'T is plain that your disorder's worms-- | 9 | ·····˘/˘· |
| Worms fat and lean. | 4 | ···· |
| Worm Capital, Worm Labor dwell | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Within your maw and muscle's scope. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Their quarrels make your life a Hell, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Your death a hope. | 4 | ···· |
| God send you find not such an end | 8 | ········ |
| To ills however sharp and huge! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| God send you convalesce! God send | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| You vermifuge. | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
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.