To the Rev. Father Goldie, S. J
Deficit inter tenebras cor triste:Unde fulgebit mihi lux petita?O cor infidum! Nonne dicis, Christe!Ego sum Via, et Veritas, et Vita.
Via amara Tu, Veritas dura,Vita difficilis, tremende Deus!Deliciarum Via, Veritas pura,Vita vitarum Tu, et amor meus!
Non Te relinquam, carae Dator crucis,Rex caritatis, Domine dolorum!Splendet longinqua mihi patria lucis,Et diadema omnium amorum.
Words in this poem
- deficit n.
- Deficiency in amount or quality; a falling short; lack; as, a deficit in taxes, revenue, etc. [Lit., it is wanting, 3d person pres. indic. of L. deficere, cf. F. déficit. See Defect.]
- unde a.
- Waving or wavy; -- applied to ordinaries, or division lines. [F. ondé.]
- veritas n.
- The Bureau Veritas. See under Bureau. [Cf. F. véritas. See Verity.]
- domine n.
- A name given to a pastor of the Reformed Church. The word is also applied locally in the United States, in colloquial speech, to any clergyman. [See Dominie.]
- omnium n.
- The aggregate value of the different stocks in which a loan to government is now usually funded. M'Culloch. [L., of all, gen. pl. of omnis all.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the Rev. Father Goldie, S. J is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #66520; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Lionel Johnson, To the Rev. Father Goldie, S. J, in Poems (1895), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66520, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/johnson-lionel-poems/to-the-rev-father-goldie-s-j.html, id L12507.
Form and metre
To the Rev. Father Goldie, S. J is 12 lines in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is dactylic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 79% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in dactylic 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 A-A- tristeA · petita · christeA · vita
- 2 ABAB duraA · deusB · puraA · meusB
- 3 ABAB crucisA · dolorumB · lucisA · amorumB
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 dactylic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Deficit inter tenebras cor triste: | 9 | /˘˘/····· |
| Unde fulgebit mihi lux petita? | 11 | /˘········· |
| O cor infidum! Nonne dicis, Christe! | 9 | ········· |
| Ego sum Via, et Veritas, et Vita. | 12 | /˘·/˘·/˘˘·/˘ |
| Via amara Tu, Veritas dura, | 11 | /˘˘/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| Vita difficilis, tremende Deus! | 9 | /˘······· |
| Deliciarum Via, Veritas pura, | 11 | ····/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Vita vitarum Tu, et amor meus! | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Non Te relinquam, carae Dator crucis, | 10 | ·········· |
| Rex caritatis, Domine dolorum! | 11 | ·····˘/˘··· |
| Splendet longinqua mihi patria lucis, | 11 | ··········· |
| Et diadema omnium amorum. | 10 | ····/˘˘··· |
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.