Book IV V
Si quis Arcturi sidera nescitPropinqua summo cardine labi,Cur legat tardus plaustra BootesMergatque seras aequore flammas,Cum nimis celeres explicet ortus,Legem stupebit aetheris alti.Palleant plenae cornua lunaeInfecta metis noctis opacaeQuaeque fulgenti texerat oreConfusa Phoebe detegat astra,Commouet gentes publicus errorLassantque crebris pulsibus aera.Nemo miratur flamina CoriLitus frementi tundere fluctuNec niuis duram frigore molemFeruente Phoebi soluier aestu.Hic enim causas cernere promptum est,Illic latentes pectora turbant.Cuncta quae rara prouehit aetasStupetque subitis mobile uulgus,Cedat inscitiae nubilus error,Cessent profecto mira uideri."
Who knows not how the stars near to the poles do slide,And how Boötes his slow wain doth guide,And why he sets so late, and doth so early rise,May wonder at the courses of the skies.If when the moon is full her horns seem pale to sight,Infested with the darkness of the night,And stars from which all grace she with her brightness took,Now show themselves, while she doth dimly look,A public error straight through vulgar minds doth pass,And they with many strokes beat upon brass.None wonders why the winds upon the waters blow.Nor why hot Phoebus' beams dissolve the snow.These easy are to know, the other hidden lie,And therefore more our hearts they terrify.All strange events which time to light more seldom brings,And the vain people count as sudden things,If we our clouded minds from ignorance could free,No longer would by us admired be."
Words in this poem
- phoebe n.
- The pewee, or pewit.
- mira n.
- A remarkable variable star in the constellation Cetus (o Ceti). [NL., from L. mirus wonderful.]
- wain n.
- A four-wheeled vehicle for the transportation of goods, produce, etc.; a wagon. [OE. wain, AS. wægn; akin to D. & G. wagen, OHG. wagan, Icel. & Sw. vagn, Dan. vogn, and E. way. Way, Weigh, and cf. Wagon.]
- dimly adv.
- In a dim or obscure manner; not brightly or clearly; with imperfect sight.
- terrify v. t.
- To make terrible. [L. terrere to frighten + -fy: cf. F. terrifier, L. terrificare. See Terrific, and -fy.]
- admired a.
- Regarded with wonder and delight; highly prized; as, an admired poem.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book IV V 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 IV V, in The Consolation of Philosophy (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13316, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/boethius-consolation/book-iv-v.html, id L23725.
Form and metre
Book IV V is 40 lines in 2 stanzas. 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 ------AA--B---------B- nescit · labi · bootes · flammas · ortus · alti · lunaeA · opacaeA · ore · astra · errorB · aera · cori · fluctu · molem · aestu · est · turbant · aetas · uulgus · errorB · uideri
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHII slideA · guideA · riseB · skiesB · sightC · nightC · tookD · lookD · passE · brassE · blowF · snowF · lieG · terrifyG · bringsH · thingsH · freeI · beI
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Si quis Arcturi sidera nescit | 10 | ·········· |
| Propinqua summo cardine labi, | 9 | ········· |
| Cur legat tardus plaustra Bootes | 8 | ········ |
| Mergatque seras aequore flammas, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Cum nimis celeres explicet ortus, | 10 | ·········· |
| Legem stupebit aetheris alti. | 10 | ·········· |
| Palleant plenae cornua lunae | 6 | ······ |
| Infecta metis noctis opacae | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Quaeque fulgenti texerat ore | 8 | ········ |
| Confusa Phoebe detegat astra, | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| Commouet gentes publicus error | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Lassantque crebris pulsibus aera. | 9 | ········· |
| Nemo miratur flamina Cori | 10 | /˘········ |
| Litus frementi tundere fluctu | 9 | ········· |
| Nec niuis duram frigore molem | 8 | ········ |
| Feruente Phoebi soluier aestu. | 8 | ········ |
| Hic enim causas cernere promptum est, | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Illic latentes pectora turbant. | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| Cuncta quae rara prouehit aetas | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Stupetque subitis mobile uulgus, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Cedat inscitiae nubilus error, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Cessent profecto mira uideri." | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Who knows not how the stars near to the poles do slide, | 12 | ············ |
| And how Boötes his slow wain doth guide, | 8 | ········ |
| And why he sets so late, and doth so early rise, | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| May wonder at the courses of the skies. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| If when the moon is full her horns seem pale to sight, | 12 | ············ |
| Infested with the darkness of the night, | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| And stars from which all grace she with her brightness took, | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| Now show themselves, while she doth dimly look, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| A public error straight through vulgar minds doth pass, | 12 | ·/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| And they with many strokes beat upon brass. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| None wonders why the winds upon the waters blow. | 12 | ·/˘······/˘· |
| Nor why hot Phoebus' beams dissolve the snow. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| These easy are to know, the other hidden lie, | 12 | ·/˘····/˘/˘· |
| And therefore more our hearts they terrify. | 10 | ····/··/˘· |
| All strange events which time to light more seldom brings, | 12 | ··˘/·····/˘· |
| And the vain people count as sudden things, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| If we our clouded minds from ignorance could free, | 11 | ··//˘··/˘·· |
| No longer would by us admired be." | 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.