557. To His Honoured Friend, M. John Weare, Councillor
Did I or love, or could I others drawTo the indulgence of the rugged law,The first foundation of that zeal should beBy reading all her paragraphs in thee,Who dost so fitly with the laws unite,As if you two were one hermaphrodite.Nor courtst thou her because she's well attendedWith wealth, but for those ends she was intended:Which were,--and still her offices are known,--Law is to give to ev'ry one his own;To shore the feeble up against the strong,To shield the stranger and the poor from wrong.This was the founder's grave and good intent:To keep the outcast in his tenement,To free the orphan from that wolf-like man,Who is his butcher more than guardian;To dry the widow's tears, and stop her swoons,By pouring balm and oil into her wounds.This was the old way; and 'tis yet thy courseTo keep those pious principles in force.Modest I will be; but one word I'll say,Like to a sound that's vanishing away,Sooner the inside of thy hand shall growHisped and hairy, ere thy palm shall knowA postern-bribe took, or a forked fee,To fetter Justice, when she might be free.Eggs I'll not shave; but yet, brave man, if IWas destin'd forth to golden sovereignty,A prince I'd be, that I might thee preferTo be my counsel both and chancellor.
Hisped (hispidus), rough with hairs.Postern-bribe, a back-door bribe.Forked fee, a fee from both sides in a case; cp. Ben Jonson'sVolpone: "Give forked counsel, take provoking gold on either hand".Eggs I'll not shave, a proverb.
Words in this poem
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- outcast a.
- Cast out; degraded. [Cf. Sw. utkasta to cast out.]
- 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,]
- postern n.
- Originally, a back door or gate; a private entrance; hence, any small door or gate. [OF. posterne, posterle, F. poterne, fr. L. posterula, fr. posterus coming after. See Posterior.]
- bribe n.
- A gift begged; a present. [F. bribe a lump of bread, scraps, leavings of meals (that are generally given to a beggar), LL. briba scrap of bread; cf. OF. briber, brifer, to eat gluttonousl]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
557. To His Honoured Friend, M. John Weare, Councillor is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Hesperides & Noble Numbers: Vol. 1 and 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #22421; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Herrick, 557. To His Honoured Friend, M. John Weare, Councillor, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/557-to-his-honoured-friend-m-john-weare-councillor.html, id L05527.
Form and metre
557. To His Honoured Friend, M. John Weare, Councillor is 35 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 69% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 26% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH--IIJJKKBBB--- drawA · lawA · beB · theeB · uniteC · hermaphroditeC · attendedD · intendedD · knownE · ownE · strongF · wrongF · intentG · tenementG · manH · guardianH · swoons · wounds · courseI · forceI · sayJ · awayJ · growK · knowK · feeB · freeB · iB · sovereignty · prefer · chancellor
- 2 -A--A hairs · bribeA · jonson's · hand · proverbA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Did I or love, or could I others draw | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To the indulgence of the rugged law, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| The first foundation of that zeal should be | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| By reading all her paragraphs in thee, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Who dost so fitly with the laws unite, | 10 | ···/˘···/· |
| As if you two were one hermaphrodite. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Nor courtst thou her because she's well attended | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| With wealth, but for those ends she was intended: | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Which were,--and still her offices are known,-- | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Law is to give to ev'ry one his own; | 10 | ·········· |
| To shore the feeble up against the strong, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To shield the stranger and the poor from wrong. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| This was the founder's grave and good intent: | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| To keep the outcast in his tenement, | 10 | ···/···/˘˘ |
| To free the orphan from that wolf-like man, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Who is his butcher more than guardian; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| To dry the widow's tears, and stop her swoons, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| By pouring balm and oil into her wounds. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| This was the old way; and 'tis yet thy course | 10 | ·········· |
| To keep those pious principles in force. | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| Modest I will be; but one word I'll say, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Like to a sound that's vanishing away, | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| Sooner the inside of thy hand shall grow | 10 | /˘·˘/····· |
| Hisped and hairy, ere thy palm shall know | 10 | ·˘·/˘····· |
| A postern-bribe took, or a forked fee, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘· |
| To fetter Justice, when she might be free. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Eggs I'll not shave; but yet, brave man, if I | 10 | ·········· |
| Was destin'd forth to golden sovereignty, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| A prince I'd be, that I might thee prefer | 10 | ········˘/ |
| To be my counsel both and chancellor. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Hisped (hispidus), rough with hairs. | 7 | ······· |
| Postern-bribe, a back-door bribe. | 7 | /˘····· |
| Forked fee, a fee from both sides in a case; cp. Ben Jonson's | 14 | ············/˘ |
| Volpone: "Give forked counsel, take provoking gold on either hand". | 15 | ····/˘·˘/˘··/˘· |
| Eggs I'll not shave, a proverb. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
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.