From the Same to the Same
IV. That which exists can possess something besides itself. But absoluteBeing has no admixture of aught besides Itself.
Similarly Porphyry divided the works of Plotinus into sixEnneades or groups of nine.
(infra, p. 270).
Words in this poem
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- infra adv.
- Below; beneath; under; after; -- often used as a prefix. [L. Cf. Inferior.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
From the Same to the Same 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, From the Same to the Same, in The Consolation of Philosophy (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13316, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/boethius-consolation/from-the-same-to-the-same.html, id L23701.
Form and metre
From the Same to the Same is 5 lines in 3 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| IV. That which exists can possess something besides itself. But absolute | 18 | ···˘/·˘//˘˘/˘/·/˘· |
| Being has no admixture of aught besides Itself. | 12 | /··˘/˘···/˘/ |
| Similarly Porphyry divided the works of Plotinus into six | 16 | /˘/˘˘/˘········· |
| Enneades or groups of nine. | 6 | ······ |
| (infra, p. 270). | 3 | /˘· |
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.