Book II VIII
Quod mundus stabili fideConcordes uariat uices,Quod pugnantia seminaFoedus perpetuum tenent,Quod Phoebus roseum diemCurru prouehit aureo,Vt quas duxerit HesperosPhoebe noctibus imperet,Vt fluctus auidum mareCerto fine coerceat,Ne terris liceat uagisLatos tendere terminos,Hanc rerum seriem ligatTerras ac pelagus regensEt caelo imperitans amor.Hic si frena remiserit,Quidquid nunc amat inuicemBellum continuo geretEt quam nunc socia fidePulchris motibus incitant,Certent soluere machinam.Hic sancto populos quoqueIunctos foedere continet,Hic et coniugii sacrumCastis nectit amoribus,Hic fidis etiam suaDictat iura sodalibus.O felix hominum genus,Si uestros animos amorQuo caelum regitur regat."
That this fair world in settled course her several forms should vary,That a perpetual law should tame the fighting seeds of things,That Phoebus should the rosy day in his bright chariot carry,That Phoebe should govern the nights which Hesperus forth brings,That to the floods of greedy seas are certain bounds assigned,Which them, lest they usurp too much upon the earth, debar,Love ruling heaven, and earth, and seas, them in this course doth bind.And if it once let loose their reins, their friendship turns to war,Tearing the world whose ordered form their quiet motions bear.By it all holy laws are made and marriage rites are tied,By it is faithful friendship joined. How happy mortals were,If that pure love did guide their minds, which heavenly spheresdoth guide!"
Words in this poem
- quod v.
- Quoth; said. See Quoth.
- tenent n.
- A tenet. Bp. Sanderson. [L. tenent they hold, 3d pers. pl. pres. of tenere.]
- phoebus n.
- Apollo; the sun god.
- quas n.
- A kind of beer. Same as Quass.
- phoebe n.
- The pewee, or pewit.
- continuo n.
- Basso continuo, or continued bass. [It.]
- incitant a.
- Inciting; stimulating. [L. incitans, -antis, p. pr. of incitare. See Incite.]
- hesperus n.
- Venus when she is the evening star; Hesper. [L. See Hesper.]
- debar v. t.
- To cut off from entrance, as if by a bar or barrier; to preclude; to hinder from approach, entry, or enjoyment; to shut out or exclude; to deny or refuse; -- with from, and sometimes with of. [Pref. de- + bar.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book II VIII 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 VIII, in The Consolation of Philosophy (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13316, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/boethius-consolation/book-ii-viii.html, id L23710.
Form and metre
Book II VIII is 43 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
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------B------CB-BA-----D-D-C- fideA · uices · semina · tenent · diem · aureo · hesperos · imperetB · mare · coerceat · uagis · terminos · ligat · regens · amorC · remiseritB · inuicem · geretB · fideA · incitant · machinam · quoque · continet · sacrum · amoribusD · sua · sodalibusD · genus · amorC · regat
- 2 ABABC-C--D--D varyA · thingsB · carryA · bringsB · assignedC · debar · bindC · war · bear · tiedD · were · spheres · guideD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Quod mundus stabili fide | 7 | ······· |
| Concordes uariat uices, | 6 | /····· |
| Quod pugnantia semina | 7 | ······· |
| Foedus perpetuum tenent, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Quod Phoebus roseum diem | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Curru prouehit aureo, | 6 | ······ |
| Vt quas duxerit Hesperos | 8 | ········ |
| Phoebe noctibus imperet, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Vt fluctus auidum mare | 6 | ······ |
| Certo fine coerceat, | 5 | /˘··· |
| Ne terris liceat uagis | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Latos tendere terminos, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Hanc rerum seriem ligat | 7 | ······· |
| Terras ac pelagus regens | 9 | /˘//···/˘ |
| Et caelo imperitans amor. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Hic si frena remiserit, | 8 | ········ |
| Quidquid nunc amat inuicem | 8 | ········ |
| Bellum continuo geret | 8 | /˘˘/˘˘·· |
| Et quam nunc socia fide | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Pulchris motibus incitant, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Certent soluere machinam. | 7 | ······· |
| Hic sancto populos quoque | 7 | ······· |
| Iunctos foedere continet, | 7 | ······· |
| Hic et coniugii sacrum | 7 | ······· |
| Castis nectit amoribus, | 8 | ········ |
| Hic fidis etiam sua | 6 | ······ |
| Dictat iura sodalibus. | 8 | ········ |
| O felix hominum genus, | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| Si uestros animos amor | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Quo caelum regitur regat." | 8 | ········ |
| That this fair world in settled course her several forms should vary, | 15 | ·····/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| That a perpetual law should tame the fighting seeds of things, | 14 | ··˘/˘····/˘··· |
| That Phoebus should the rosy day in his bright chariot carry, | 15 | ·/˘··/˘····/˘/˘ |
| That Phoebe should govern the nights which Hesperus forth brings, | 14 | ·/˘·/˘···/˘˘·· |
| That to the floods of greedy seas are certain bounds assigned, | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Which them, lest they usurp too much upon the earth, debar, | 14 | ·····/······˘/ |
| Love ruling heaven, and earth, and seas, them in this course doth bind. | 14 | ·/˘/·········· |
| And if it once let loose their reins, their friendship turns to war, | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| Tearing the world whose ordered form their quiet motions bear. | 13 | /˘···/˘··//˘· |
| By it all holy laws are made and marriage rites are tied, | 14 | ···/˘····/˘··· |
| By it is faithful friendship joined. How happy mortals were, | 14 | ···/˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| If that pure love did guide their minds, which heavenly spheres | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| doth guide!" | 2 | ·· |
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.