'Our Fathers of Old'
Excellent herbs had our fathers of old--Excellent herbs to ease their pain--Alexanders and Marigold,Eyebright, Orris, and Elecampane.Basil, Rocket, Valerian, Rue,(Almost singing themselves they run)Vervain, Dittany, Call-me-to-you--Cowslip, Melilot, Rose of the Sun.Anything green that grew out of the mouldWas an excellent herb to our fathers of old.
Wonderful tales had our fathers of old--Wonderful tales of the herbs and the stars--The Sun was Lord of the Marigold,Basil and Rocket belonged to Mars.Pat as a sum in division it goes--(Every plant had a star bespoke)--Who but Venus should govern the Rose?Who but Jupiter own the Oak?Simply and gravely the facts are toldIn the wonderful books of our fathers of old.
Wonderful little, when all is said,Wonderful little our fathers knew.Half their remedies cured you dead--Most of their teaching was quite untrue--'Look at the stars when a patient is ill,(Dirt has nothing to do with disease,)Bleed and blister as much as you will,Blister and bleed him as oft as you please.'Whence enormous and manifoldErrors were made by our fathers of old.
Yet when the sickness was sore in the land,And neither planets nor herbs assuaged,They took their lives in their lancet-handAnd, oh, what a wonderful war they waged!Yes, when the crosses were chalked on the door--(Yes, when the terrible dead-cart rolled,)Excellent courage our fathers bore--Excellent heart had our fathers of old.None too learned, but nobly boldInto the fight went our fathers of old.
If it be certain, as Galen says,And sage Hippocrates holds as much--'That those afflicted by doubts and dismaysAre mightily helped by a dead man's touch',Then, be good to us, stars above!Then, be good to us, herbs below!We are afflicted by what we can prove,We are distracted by what we know--So--ah, so!Down from your heaven or up from your mould,Send us the hearts of our fathers of old!
Words in this poem
- alexanders n.
- A name given to two species of the genus Smyrnium, formerly cultivated and used as celery now is; -- called also horse parsely. [OE. alisaundre, OF. alissandere, fr. Alexander or Alexandria.]
- eyebright n.
- A small annual plant (Euphrasia officinalis), formerly much used as a remedy for diseases of the eye.
- orris n.
- A plant of the genus Iris (I. Florentina); a kind of flower-de- luce. Its rootstock has an odor resembling that of violets. Orris pea (Med.), an issue pea made from orris root. [Prob. corrupted from It. ireos iris. See Iris.]
- elecampane n.
- A large, coarse herb (Inula Helenium), with composite yellow flowers. The root, which has a pungent taste, is used as a tonic, and was formerly of much repute as a stomachic. [F. énulecampane, NL. inula campana; L. inula elecampane + LL. campana a bell; cf. G. glockenwurz, i. e., "bellwort."]
- cowslip n.
- A common flower in England (Primula veris) having yellow blossoms and appearing in early spring. It is often cultivated in the United States. [AS. c, c, prob. orig., cow's droppings. Cf. Slop, n.]
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- gravely adv.
- In a grave manner.
- nobly adv.
- Of noble extraction; as, nobly born or descended.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- mightily adv.
- In a mighty manner; with might; with great earnestness; vigorously; powerfully. [From Mighty.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
'Our Fathers of Old' is in the public domain. This text is taken from Songs from Books, Project Gutenberg ebook #15529; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Rudyard Kipling, 'Our Fathers of Old', in Songs from Books (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15529, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-songs-from-books/our-fathers-of-old.html, id L20343.
Form and metre
'Our Fathers of Old' is 51 lines in 5 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABCDCDAA, in 2 of the 5 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed.
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 ABABCDCDAA oldA · painB · marigoldA · elecampaneB · rueC · runD · youC · sunD · mouldA · oldA
- 2 ABABCDCDAA oldA · starsB · marigoldA · marsB · goesC · bespokeD · roseC · oakD · toldA · oldA
- 3 ABABCDCDEE saidA · knewB · deadA · untrueB · illC · diseaseD · willC · pleaseD · manifoldE · oldE
- 4 ABABCDCDDD landA · assuagedB · handA · wagedB · doorC · rolledD · boreC · oldD · boldD · oldD
- 5 -A-ABCBCCDD says · muchA · dismays · touchA · aboveB · belowC · proveB · knowC · soC · mouldD · oldD
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Excellent herbs had our fathers of old-- | 9 | /˘··//˘·· |
| Excellent herbs to ease their pain-- | 8 | /˘˘····· |
| Alexanders and Marigold, | 8 | ·˘/˘·/˘· |
| Eyebright, Orris, and Elecampane. | 9 | /˘/˘····· |
| Basil, Rocket, Valerian, Rue, | 8 | /˘/˘˘/˘· |
| (Almost singing themselves they run) | 8 | /·/˘˘/·· |
| Vervain, Dittany, Call-me-to-you-- | 9 | /˘/˘˘···· |
| Cowslip, Melilot, Rose of the Sun. | 9 | /˘/˘˘···· |
| Anything green that grew out of the mould | 10 | /˘········ |
| Was an excellent herb to our fathers of old. | 11 | ··/˘··//˘·· |
| Wonderful tales had our fathers of old-- | 9 | /˘··//˘·· |
| Wonderful tales of the herbs and the stars-- | 9 | /˘······· |
| The Sun was Lord of the Marigold, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Basil and Rocket belonged to Mars. | 9 | /˘·/˘˘/·· |
| Pat as a sum in division it goes-- | 10 | ·····˘/˘·· |
| (Every plant had a star bespoke)-- | 8 | /˘····˘/ |
| Who but Venus should govern the Rose? | 9 | ··/˘·/˘·· |
| Who but Jupiter own the Oak? | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| Simply and gravely the facts are told | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| In the wonderful books of our fathers of old. | 11 | ··/˘··//˘·· |
| Wonderful little, when all is said, | 8 | /˘/˘···· |
| Wonderful little our fathers knew. | 8 | /˘/˘//˘· |
| Half their remedies cured you dead-- | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| Most of their teaching was quite untrue-- | 9 | ···/˘··˘/ |
| 'Look at the stars when a patient is ill, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| (Dirt has nothing to do with disease,) | 9 | ··/˘···˘/ |
| Bleed and blister as much as you will, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Blister and bleed him as oft as you please.' | 10 | /˘········ |
| Whence enormous and manifold | 8 | ·˘/˘·/˘· |
| Errors were made by our fathers of old. | 10 | /˘···//˘·· |
| Yet when the sickness was sore in the land, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And neither planets nor herbs assuaged, | 9 | ·/˘/˘··˘/ |
| They took their lives in their lancet-hand | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And, oh, what a wonderful war they waged! | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Yes, when the crosses were chalked on the door-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| (Yes, when the terrible dead-cart rolled,) | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Excellent courage our fathers bore-- | 8 | /˘/˘//˘· |
| Excellent heart had our fathers of old. | 9 | /˘··//˘·· |
| None too learned, but nobly bold | 8 | ···˘·/˘· |
| Into the fight went our fathers of old. | 10 | ·····//˘·· |
| If it be certain, as Galen says, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| And sage Hippocrates holds as much-- | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| 'That those afflicted by doubts and dismays | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| Are mightily helped by a dead man's touch', | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Then, be good to us, stars above! | 8 | ········ |
| Then, be good to us, herbs below! | 8 | ········ |
| We are afflicted by what we can prove, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| We are distracted by what we know-- | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| So--ah, so! | 3 | ··· |
| Down from your heaven or up from your mould, | 9 | ···/····· |
| Send us the hearts of our fathers of old! | 10 | ·····//˘·· |
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