The Pictures of Columbus: Picture V
What would this madman have, this odd projector!A wild address I have to-day attended,Mingling its folly with our great affairs,Dreaming of islands and new hemispheresPlac'd on the ocean's verge, we know not where--What shall I do with this petitioner?
Even send him, sire, to perish in his search:He has so pester'd me these many yearsWith idle projects of discovery--His name--I almost dread to hear it mention'd:He is a Genoese of vulgar birthAnd has been round all Europe with his plansPresenting them to every potentate;He lives, 'tis said, by vending maps and charts,And being us'd to sketch imagin'd islandsOn that blank space that represents the seas,His head at last grows giddy with this folly,And fancied isles are turned to real landsWith which he puzzles me perpetually:What pains me too, is, that our royal ladyLends him her ear, and reads his mad addresses,Oppos'd to reason and philosophy.
He acts the devil's part in Eden's garden;Knowing the man was proof to his temptationsHe whisper'd something in the ear of Eve,And promis'd much, but meant not to perform.
I've treated all his schemes with such contemptThat any but a rank, mad-brain'd enthusiast,Pushing his purpose to extremities,Would have forsook your empire, royal sir,Discourag'd, and forgotten long ago.
Has he so long been busy at his projects?--I scarcely heard of him till yesterday:A plan pursued with so much obstinacyLooks not like madness:--wretches of that stampSurvey a thousand objects in an hour,In love with each, and yet attach'd to noneBeyond the moment that it meets the eye--But him I honour, tho' in beggar's garbs,Who has a soul of so much constancyAs to bear up against the hard rebuffs,Sneers of great men, and insolence of power,And through the opposition of them allPursues his object:--Minister, this manMust have our notice:--Let him be commissionedViceroy of all the lands he shall discover,Admiral and general in the fleets of Spain;Let three stout ships be instantly selected,The best and strongest ribb'd of all we own,With men to mann them, patient of fatigue:But stay, attend! how stands our treasury?--
Empty--even to the bottom, royal sir!We have not coin for bare necessities,Much less, so pardon me, to spend on madmen.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- genoese a.
- Of or pertaining to Genoa, a city of Italy.
- potentate n.
- One who is potent; one who possesses great power or sway; a prince, sovereign, or monarch. [LL. potentatus, fr. potentare to exercise power: cf. F. potentat. See Potent, a.]
- perpetually adv.
- In a perpetual manner; constantly; continually.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- insolence n.
- The quality of being unusual or novel. [F. insolence, L. insolentia. See Insolent.]
- discover v. i.
- To discover or show one's self.
- mann n.
- A human being; -- opposed tobeast. [AS. mann, man, monn, mon; akin to OS., D., & OHG. man, G. mann, Icel. maedhr, for mannr, Dan. Mand, Sw. man, Goth. manna, Skr. manu, manus, and perh. to Skr. ma]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Pictures of Columbus: Picture V is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Philip Freneau, Poet of the American Revolution. Volume 1 (of 3), Project Gutenberg ebook #38475; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Philip Freneau, The Pictures of Columbus: Picture V, in Columbus to Ferdinand, and other poems (1786–1815), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38475, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/freneau-poems/the-pictures-of-columbus-picture-v.html, id L26051.
Form and metre
The Pictures of Columbus: Picture V is 54 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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.
- 2 --------A--A---- search · years · discovery · mention'd · birth · plans · potentate · charts · islandsA · seas · folly · landsA · perpetually · lady · addresses · philosophy
- 5 ----A-----A--------- projects · yesterday · obstinacy · stamp · hourA · none · eye · garbs · constancy · rebuffs · powerA · all · man · commissioned · discover · spain · selected · own · fatigue · treasury
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What would this madman have, this odd projector! | 11 | ···/····˘/˘ |
| A wild address I have to-day attended, | 11 | ··˘/····˘/˘ |
| Mingling its folly with our great affairs, | 10 | /˘·/˘·/·˘/ |
| Dreaming of islands and new hemispheres | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Plac'd on the ocean's verge, we know not where-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| What shall I do with this petitioner? | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| Even send him, sire, to perish in his search: | 10 | /··/·/˘··· |
| He has so pester'd me these many years | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| With idle projects of discovery-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| His name--I almost dread to hear it mention'd: | 11 | ···/·····/˘ |
| He is a Genoese of vulgar birth | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| And has been round all Europe with his plans | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Presenting them to every potentate; | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| He lives, 'tis said, by vending maps and charts, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And being us'd to sketch imagin'd islands | 11 | ·/˘···˘/˘/˘ |
| On that blank space that represents the seas, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| His head at last grows giddy with this folly, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| And fancied isles are turned to real lands | 10 | ·/˘···˘··· |
| With which he puzzles me perpetually: | 11 | ···/˘·˘/˘˘˘ |
| What pains me too, is, that our royal lady | 11 | ······//˘/˘ |
| Lends him her ear, and reads his mad addresses, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Oppos'd to reason and philosophy. | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| He acts the devil's part in Eden's garden; | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Knowing the man was proof to his temptations | 11 | /˘······˘/˘ |
| He whisper'd something in the ear of Eve, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And promis'd much, but meant not to perform. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| I've treated all his schemes with such contempt | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| That any but a rank, mad-brain'd enthusiast, | 12 | ·/˘·····˘/˘· |
| Pushing his purpose to extremities, | 10 | /˘·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Would have forsook your empire, royal sir, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Discourag'd, and forgotten long ago. | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Has he so long been busy at his projects?-- | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| I scarcely heard of him till yesterday: | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| A plan pursued with so much obstinacy | 11 | ··˘/···/˘˘˘ |
| Looks not like madness:--wretches of that stamp | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Survey a thousand objects in an hour, | 11 | ˘/·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| In love with each, and yet attach'd to none | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Beyond the moment that it meets the eye-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But him I honour, tho' in beggar's garbs, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Who has a soul of so much constancy | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| As to bear up against the hard rebuffs, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Sneers of great men, and insolence of power, | 11 | ·····/˘˘·/˘ |
| And through the opposition of them all | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Pursues his object:--Minister, this man | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘˘·· |
| Must have our notice:--Let him be commissioned | 11 | ··//˘···˘/˘ |
| Viceroy of all the lands he shall discover, | 11 | /˘······˘/˘ |
| Admiral and general in the fleets of Spain; | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Let three stout ships be instantly selected, | 11 | ·····/˘˘˘/˘ |
| The best and strongest ribb'd of all we own, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| With men to mann them, patient of fatigue: | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| But stay, attend! how stands our treasury?-- | 11 | ··˘/··/˘/˘˘ |
| Empty--even to the bottom, royal sir! | 10 | /˘/··/˘/˘· |
| We have not coin for bare necessities, | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| Much less, so pardon me, to spend on madmen. | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
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