Canto III XLII
Sager than in thy fortunes; for in themAmbition steeled thee on to far too showThat just habitual scorn, which could contemnMen and their thoughts; 'twas wise to feel, not soTo wear it ever on thy lip and brow,And spurn the instruments thou wert to useTill they were turned unto thine overthrow:'Tis but a worthless world to win or lose;So hath it proved to thee, and all such lot who choose.
If, like a tower upon a headland rock,Thou hadst been made to stand or fall alone,Such scorn of man had helped to brave the shock;But men's thoughts were the steps which paved thy throne,THEIR admiration thy best weapon shone;The part of Philip's son was thine, not then(Unless aside thy purple had been thrown)Like stern Diogenes to mock at men;For sceptred cynics earth were far too wide a den.
But quiet to quick bosoms is a hell,And THERE hath been thy bane; there is a fireAnd motion of the soul, which will not dwellIn its own narrow being, but aspireBeyond the fitting medium of desire;And, but once kindled, quenchless evermore,Preys upon high adventure, nor can tireOf aught but rest; a fever at the core,Fatal to him who bears, to all who ever bore.
Words in this poem
- contemn v. t.
- To view or treat with contempt, as mean and despicable; to reject with disdain; to despise; to scorn. [L. contemnere, -temptum; con- + temnere to slight, despise: cf. OF. contemner.]
- spurn v. t.
- To drive back or away, as with the foot; to kick. [OE. spurnen to kick against, to stumble over, AS. spurnan to kick, offend; akin to spura spur, OS. & OHG. spurnan to kick, Icel. spyrna, L. spernere to despise,]
- admiration n.
- Wonder; astonishment. [F., fr. L. admiratio. See Admire.]
- bane v. t.
- To be the bane of; to ruin. Fuller.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- aspire v. t.
- To aspire to; to long for; to try to reach; to mount to.
- quenchless a.
- Incapable of being quenched; inextinguishable; as, quenchless fire or fury.
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto III XLII is in the public domain. This text is taken from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Project Gutenberg ebook #5131; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Lord Byron, Canto III XLII, in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812–1818), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5131, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-childe-harold/canto-iii-xlii.html, id L06552.
Form and metre
Canto III XLII is 27 lines in 3 stanzas of 9 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABBCBCC, the Spenserian stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 37% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in the Spenserian stanza, 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 ABABBCBCC themA · showB · contemnA · soB · browB · useC · overthrowB · loseC · chooseC
- 2 ABABBCBCC rockA · aloneB · shockA · throneB · shoneB · thenC · thrownB · menC · denC
- 3 ABABBCBCC hellA · fireB · dwellA · aspireB · desireB · evermoreC · tireB · coreC · boreC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sager than in thy fortunes; for in them | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Ambition steeled thee on to far too show | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| That just habitual scorn, which could contemn | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| Men and their thoughts; 'twas wise to feel, not so | 10 | ·········· |
| To wear it ever on thy lip and brow, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And spurn the instruments thou wert to use | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Till they were turned unto thine overthrow: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| 'Tis but a worthless world to win or lose; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| So hath it proved to thee, and all such lot who choose. | 12 | ············ |
| If, like a tower upon a headland rock, | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Thou hadst been made to stand or fall alone, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Such scorn of man had helped to brave the shock; | 10 | ·········· |
| But men's thoughts were the steps which paved thy throne, | 10 | ·········· |
| THEIR admiration thy best weapon shone; | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| The part of Philip's son was thine, not then | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| (Unless aside thy purple had been thrown) | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Like stern Diogenes to mock at men; | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| For sceptred cynics earth were far too wide a den. | 12 | ·/˘/˘······· |
| But quiet to quick bosoms is a hell, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And THERE hath been thy bane; there is a fire | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And motion of the soul, which will not dwell | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| In its own narrow being, but aspire | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Beyond the fitting medium of desire; | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And, but once kindled, quenchless evermore, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Preys upon high adventure, nor can tire | 11 | ····˘/˘··/˘ |
| Of aught but rest; a fever at the core, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Fatal to him who bears, to all who ever bore. | 11 | /˘·······/· |
Notes from the edition 1
E. H. Coleridge's notes to Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, The Works of Lord Byron, Poetry vol. II (John Murray, 1899; Project Gutenberg #25340). Bracketed passages are the editor's; unbracketed are Byron's own (Cantos I-III) or John Cam Hobhouse's (Canto IV, his 'Historical Notes'). Digit footnotes ('[17]') are informational and numbered continuously through the whole book; end-notes keyed '[n.B.]' (Byron) or '[n.H.]' (Hobhouse) follow each canto and are numbered afresh from 1 there. Both kinds are placed here by matching each note's own quoted words against the site's text, not by the number or stanza the note states, because the site's text (Gutenberg #5131) and this edition (#25340) are different editions with different stanza counts in Canto I. Lettered footnotes ('[h]', '[dn]') are manuscript and edition variant readings and are not harvested, matching the treatment of Don Juan's and byron-works-3's lettered notes.
- Stanza 2, line 9 The great error of Napoleon, "if we have writ our annals true," was a continued obtrusion on mankind of his want of all community of feeling for or with them; perhaps more offensive to human vanity than the active cruelty of more trembling and suspicious tyranny. Such were his speeches to public assemblies as well as individuals; and the single expression which he is said to have used on returning to Paris after the Russian winter had destroyed his army, rubbing his hands over a fire, "This is pleasanter than Moscow," would probably alienate more favour from his cause than the destruction and reverses which led to the remark.
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