Book III X
Huc omnes pariter uenite captiQuos fallax ligat improbis catenisTerrenas habitans libido mentes,Haec erit uobis requies laborum,Hic portus placida manens quiete,Hoc patens unum miseris asylum,Non quidquid Tagus aureis harenisDonat aut Hermus rutilante ripaAut Indus calido propinquus orbiCandidis miscens uirides lapillos,Inlustrent aciem magisque caecosIn suas condunt animos tenebras.Hoc quidquid placet excitatque mentes,Infimis tellus aluit cauernis;Splendor quo regitur uigetque caelum,Vitat obscuras animae ruinas.Hanc quisquis poterit notare lucem,Candidos Phoebi radios negabit."
Come hither, all you that are bound,Whose base and earthly minds are drownedBy lust which doth them tie in cruel chains:Here is a seat for men opprest,Here is a port of pleasant rest;Here may a wretch have refuge from his pains.No gold, which Tagus' sands bestow,Nor which on Hermus' banks doth flow,Nor precious stones which scorched Indians get,Can clear the sharpness of the mind,But rather make it far more blind,And in the farther depth of darkness set.For this that sets our souls on workBuried in caves of earth doth lurk.But heaven is guided by another light,Which causeth us to shun the dark,And who this light doth truly mark,Must needs deny that Phoebus' beams are bright."
Words in this poem
- fallax n.
- Cavillation; a caviling. Cranmer. [L. fallax deceptive. See Fallacy.]
- asylum n.
- A sanctuary or place of refuge and protection, where criminals and debtors found shelter, and from which they could not be forcibly taken without sacrilege.
- placet n.
- A vote of assent, as of the governing body of a university, of an ecclesiastical council, etc. [L. placet it pleases.]
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book III X 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 III X, in The Consolation of Philosophy (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13316, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/boethius-consolation/book-iii-x.html, id L23718.
Form and metre
Book III X is 36 lines in 2 stanzas of 18 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 -AB---A--CCDB--D-- capti · catenisA · mentesB · laborum · quiete · asylum · harenisA · ripa · orbi · lapillosC · caecosC · tenebrasD · mentesB · cauernis · caelum · ruinasD · lucem · negabit
- 2 AABCCBDDEFFEGGHIIH boundA · drownedA · chainsB · opprestC · restC · painsB · bestowD · flowD · getE · mindF · blindF · setE · workG · lurkG · lightH · darkI · markI · brightH
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Huc omnes pariter uenite capti | 9 | ········· |
| Quos fallax ligat improbis catenis | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Terrenas habitans libido mentes, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Haec erit uobis requies laborum, | 9 | ········· |
| Hic portus placida manens quiete, | 9 | ···˘/˘··· |
| Hoc patens unum miseris asylum, | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| Non quidquid Tagus aureis harenis | 10 | ·········· |
| Donat aut Hermus rutilante ripa | 10 | /˘······/˘ |
| Aut Indus calido propinquus orbi | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Candidis miscens uirides lapillos, | 10 | ·········· |
| Inlustrent aciem magisque caecos | 9 | ········· |
| In suas condunt animos tenebras. | 10 | ·········· |
| Hoc quidquid placet excitatque mentes, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Infimis tellus aluit cauernis; | 9 | ········· |
| Splendor quo regitur uigetque caelum, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Vitat obscuras animae ruinas. | 9 | ········· |
| Hanc quisquis poterit notare lucem, | 10 | ·········· |
| Candidos Phoebi radios negabit." | 11 | ˘/˘··/˘···· |
| Come hither, all you that are bound, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Whose base and earthly minds are drowned | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| By lust which doth them tie in cruel chains: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Here is a seat for men opprest, | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| Here is a port of pleasant rest; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Here may a wretch have refuge from his pains. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| No gold, which Tagus' sands bestow, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Nor which on Hermus' banks doth flow, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor precious stones which scorched Indians get, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘˘· |
| Can clear the sharpness of the mind, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But rather make it far more blind, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And in the farther depth of darkness set. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| For this that sets our souls on work | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Buried in caves of earth doth lurk. | 8 | /˘······ |
| But heaven is guided by another light, | 10 | ·/·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Which causeth us to shun the dark, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And who this light doth truly mark, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Must needs deny that Phoebus' beams are bright." | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
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.