Book II IV
Quisquis uolet perennemCautus ponere sedemStabilisque nec sonoriSterni flatibus EuriEt fluctibus minantemCurat spernere pontum,Montis cacumen alti,Bibulas uitet harenas.Illud proteruus AusterTotis uiribus urget,Hae pendulum solutaePondus ferre recusant.Fugiens periculosamSortem sedis amoenaeHumili domum mementoCertus figere saxo.Quamuis tonet ruinisMiscens aequora uentus,Tu conditus quietiFelix robore ualliDuces serenus aeuumRidens aetheris iras.
Who with an heedful careWill an eternal seat prepare,Which cannot be down castBy force of windy blast,And will the floods despise,When threatening billows do arise,He not on hills must stand,Nor on the dangerous sinking sand.For there the winds will threat,And him with furious tempests beat,And here the ground too weakWill with the heavy burden break.Fly then the dangerous caseOf an untried delightful place,And thy poor house bestowIn stony places firm and low.For though the winds do sound,And waves of troubled seas confound:Yet thou to rest disposedIn thy safe lowly vale inclosed,Mayst live a quiet age,Scorning the air's distempered rage.
Words in this poem
- curat n.
- A cuirass or breastplate. [SeeCuirass.]
- auster n.
- The south wind. [L. auster a dry, hot, south wind; the south.]
- ferre a.
- compar. of Fer.
- recusant a.
- Obstinate in refusal; specifically, in English history, refusing to acknowledge the supremacy of the king in the churc, or to conform to the established rites of the church; as, a recusant lord. [L. recusans, -antis, p.pr. of recure to refuse, to oject to; pref. re- re + causa a cause, pretext: cf. F. récusant. See Cause, and cf. Ruse.]
- memento n.
- A hint, suggestion, token, or memorial, to awaken memory; that which reminds or recalls to memory; a souvenir. [L., remember, be mindful, imper. of meminisse to remember. See Mention.]
- despise v. t.
- To look down upon with disfavor or contempt; to contemn; to scorn; to disdain; to have a low opinion or contemptuous dislike of. [OF. despis-, in some forms of despire to despise, fr. L. despicere, despectum, to look down upon, despise; de- + spicere, specere, to look. See Spy, and cf. Des]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book II IV is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Theological Tractates and The Consolation of Philosophy, Project Gutenberg ebook #13316; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Boethius, Book II IV, in The Consolation of Philosophy (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13316, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/boethius-consolation/book-ii-iv.html, id L23706.
Form and metre
Book II IV is 44 lines in 2 stanzas of 22 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
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 AA--A-----B--B-------- perennemA · sedemA · sonori · euri · minantemA · pontum · alti · harenas · auster · urget · solutaeB · recusant · periculosam · amoenaeB · memento · saxo · ruinis · uentus · quieti · ualli · aeuum · iras
- 2 AABBCCDD----EEFFGGHHII careA · prepareA · castB · blastB · despiseC · ariseC · standD · sandD · threat · beat · weak · break · caseE · placeE · bestowF · lowF · soundG · confoundG · disposedH · inclosedH · ageI · rageI
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Quisquis uolet perennem | 7 | ······· |
| Cautus ponere sedem | 6 | ······ |
| Stabilisque nec sonori | 7 | ······· |
| Sterni flatibus Euri | 7 | ······· |
| Et fluctibus minantem | 7 | ······· |
| Curat spernere pontum, | 6 | /˘···· |
| Montis cacumen alti, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Bibulas uitet harenas. | 8 | ········ |
| Illud proteruus Auster | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Totis uiribus urget, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Hae pendulum solutae | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Pondus ferre recusant. | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Fugiens periculosam | 7 | ······· |
| Sortem sedis amoenae | 6 | ······ |
| Humili domum memento | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Certus figere saxo. | 6 | ······ |
| Quamuis tonet ruinis | 6 | ······ |
| Miscens aequora uentus, | 7 | ······· |
| Tu conditus quieti | 6 | ······ |
| Felix robore ualli | 6 | /˘···· |
| Duces serenus aeuum | 6 | /˘···· |
| Ridens aetheris iras. | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| Who with an heedful care | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Will an eternal seat prepare, | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| Which cannot be down cast | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| By force of windy blast, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And will the floods despise, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| When threatening billows do arise, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| He not on hills must stand, | 6 | ······ |
| Nor on the dangerous sinking sand. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| For there the winds will threat, | 6 | ······ |
| And him with furious tempests beat, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And here the ground too weak | 6 | ······ |
| Will with the heavy burden break. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Fly then the dangerous case | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Of an untried delightful place, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| And thy poor house bestow | 6 | ····˘/ |
| In stony places firm and low. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| For though the winds do sound, | 6 | ······ |
| And waves of troubled seas confound: | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Yet thou to rest disposed | 6 | ····˘/ |
| In thy safe lowly vale inclosed, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Mayst live a quiet age, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Scorning the air's distempered rage. | 8 | /˘··˘/˘· |
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.