In Praise of Lessius's Rule of Health
Goe now, with some dareing drugg,Baite thy disease, and while they tugg,Thou, to maintaine their cruell strifeSpend the deare treasure of thy life:Goe take physicke, doat uponSome big-nam'd composition,--The oraculous doctors' mistick bills,Certain hard words made into pills;And what at length shalt get by these?Onely a costlyer disease.Goe poore man, thinke what shall beeRemedie 'gainst thy remedie.That which makes us have no needOf phisick, that's phisick indeed.Heark hither, Reader: would'st thou seeNature her own physician be?Would'st see a man all his own wealth,His own musick, his own health?A man, whose sober soul can tellHow to wear her garments well?Her garments, that upon her sit,(As garments should do) close and fit?A well-clothed soul, that's not opprestNor choked with what she should be drest?Whose soul's sheath'd in a crystall shrine,Through which all her bright features shine?As when a piece of wanton lawn,A thin aerial vail is drawn,O're Beauty's face; seeming to hide,More sweetly shows the blushing bride:A soul, whose intellectuall beamsNo mists do mask, no lazie steams?A happie soul, that all the wayTo Heav'n, hath a Summer's day?Would'st see a man whose well-warm'd bloudBathes him in a genuine floud?A man, whose tuned humours beA set of rarest harmonie?Would'st see blithe looks, fresh cheeks beguileAge? Would'st see December smile?Would'st see a nest of roses growIn a bed of reverend snow?Warm thoughts, free spirits, flatteringWinter's self into a Spring?In summe, would'st see a man that canLive to be old, and still a man?Whose latest, and most leaden houres,Fall with soft wings, stuck with soft flowres;And when Life's sweet fable ends,His soul and bodie part like friends:No quarrels, murmures, no delay:A kisse, a sigh, and so away?This rare one, Reader, would'st thou see,Heark hither: and thyself be he.
Words in this poem
- drugg v. i.
- To drudge; to toil laboriously. [See 1st Drudge.]
- tugg v. t.
- To pull or draw with great effort; to draw along with continued exertion; to haul along; to tow; as, to tug a loaded cart; to tug a ship into port. [OE. toggen; akin to OD. tocken to entice, G. zucken to jerk, draw, Icel. toga to draw, AS. téon, p. p. togen, to draw, G. ziehen, OHG. ziohan, Goth. tiuhan, L. ]
- cruell a.
- Disposed to give pain to others; willing or pleased to hurt, torment, or afflict; destitute of sympathetic kindness and pity; savage; inhuman; hard-hearted; merciless. [F. cruel, fr. L. crudelis, fr. crudus. See Crude.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- deare
- variant of Dere, v. t. & n.
- oraculous a.
- Oracular; of the nature of an oracle.
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- vail n.
- Avails; profit; return; proceeds. [Aphetic form of avail, n.]
- intellectuall a.
- Belonging to, or performed by, the intellect; mental; as, intellectual powers, activities, etc. [L. intellectualis: cf. F. intellectuel.]
- blithe a.
- Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. [AS. bli blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei kind, Icel. bli mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blidi kind, blithe.]
- reverend a.
- Worthy of reverence; entitled to respect mingled with fear and affection; venerable. [F. révérend, L. reverendus, fr. revereri. See Revere.]
- summe n.
- The aggregate of two or more numbers, magnitudes, quantities, or particulars; the amount or whole of any number of individuals or particulars added together; as, the sum of 5 and 7 is 12. [OE. summe, somme, OF. sume, some, F. somme, L. summa, fr. summus highest, a superlative from sub under. See Sub-, and cf. Supreme.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In Praise of Lessius's Rule of Health is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw, Volume I, Project Gutenberg ebook #38549; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Richard Crashaw, In Praise of Lessius's Rule of Health, in Steps to the Temple and Other Poems (1646–1652), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38549, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/crashaw-poems/in-praise-of-lessius-s-rule-of-health.html, id L12096.
Form and metre
In Praise of Lessius's Rule of Health is 54 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 93% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEF-GGFFHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQ--RRSSTTUUVVWWXXYY druggA · tuggA · strifeB · lifeB · uponC · compositionC · billsD · pillsD · theseE · diseaseE · beeF · remedie · needG · indeedG · seeF · beF · wealthH · healthH · tellI · wellI · sitJ · fitJ · opprestK · drestK · shrineL · shineL · lawnM · drawnM · hideN · brideN · beamsO · steamsO · wayP · dayP · bloudQ · floudQ · be · harmonie · beguileR · smileR · growS · snowS · flatteringT · springT · canU · manU · houresV · flowresV · endsW · friendsW · delayX · awayX · seeY · heY
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Goe now, with some dareing drugg, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Baite thy disease, and while they tugg, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Thou, to maintaine their cruell strife | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Spend the deare treasure of thy life: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Goe take physicke, doat upon | 7 | ······· |
| Some big-nam'd composition,-- | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| The oraculous doctors' mistick bills, | 10 | ·˘/˘˘/˘··· |
| Certain hard words made into pills; | 8 | /˘······ |
| And what at length shalt get by these? | 8 | ········ |
| Onely a costlyer disease. | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| Goe poore man, thinke what shall bee | 7 | ······· |
| Remedie 'gainst thy remedie. | 8 | ········ |
| That which makes us have no need | 7 | ······· |
| Of phisick, that's phisick indeed. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Heark hither, Reader: would'st thou see | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Nature her own physician be? | 8 | /˘··˘/˘· |
| Would'st see a man all his own wealth, | 8 | ········ |
| His own musick, his own health? | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| A man, whose sober soul can tell | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| How to wear her garments well? | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Her garments, that upon her sit, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| (As garments should do) close and fit? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A well-clothed soul, that's not opprest | 10 | ···˘···/˘˘ |
| Nor choked with what she should be drest? | 9 | ··˘······ |
| Whose soul's sheath'd in a crystall shrine, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Through which all her bright features shine? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As when a piece of wanton lawn, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A thin aerial vail is drawn, | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| O're Beauty's face; seeming to hide, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| More sweetly shows the blushing bride: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A soul, whose intellectuall beams | 9 | ····˘/˘˘· |
| No mists do mask, no lazie steams? | 8 | ········ |
| A happie soul, that all the way | 8 | ········ |
| To Heav'n, hath a Summer's day? | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Would'st see a man whose well-warm'd bloud | 8 | ········ |
| Bathes him in a genuine floud? | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| A man, whose tuned humours be | 7 | ····/˘· |
| A set of rarest harmonie? | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Would'st see blithe looks, fresh cheeks beguile | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Age? Would'st see December smile? | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| Would'st see a nest of roses grow | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In a bed of reverend snow? | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Warm thoughts, free spirits, flattering | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Winter's self into a Spring? | 7 | /˘····· |
| In summe, would'st see a man that can | 8 | ········ |
| Live to be old, and still a man? | 8 | ········ |
| Whose latest, and most leaden houres, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Fall with soft wings, stuck with soft flowres; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And when Life's sweet fable ends, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| His soul and bodie part like friends: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| No quarrels, murmures, no delay: | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| A kisse, a sigh, and so away? | 8 | ······˘/ |
| This rare one, Reader, would'st thou see, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Heark hither: and thyself be he. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
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.