Book X: The Burier and His Comrade
A close-fist had his money hoardedBeyond the room his till afforded.His avarice aye growing ranker,(Whereby his mind of course grew blanker,)He was perplex'd to choose a banker;For banker he must have, he thought,Or all his heap would come to nought.'I fear,' said he, 'if kept at home,And other robbers should not come,It might be equal cause of griefThat I had proved myself the thief.'The thief! Is to enjoy one's pelfTo rob or steal it from one's self?My friend, could but my pity reach you,This lesson I would gladly teach you,That wealth is weal no longer thanDiffuse and part with it you can:Without that power, it is a woe.Would you for age keep back its flow?Age buried 'neath its joyless snow?With pains of getting, care of gotConsumes the value, every jot,Of gold that one can never spare.To take the load of such a care,Assistants were not very rare.The earth was that which pleased him best.Dismissing thought of all the rest,He with his friend, his trustiest,--A sort of shovel-secretary,--Went forth his hoard to bury.Safe done, a few days afterward,The man must look beneath the sward--When, what a mystery! beholdThe mine exhausted of its gold!Suspecting, with the best of cause,His friend was privy to his loss,He bade him, in a cautious mood,To come as soon as well he could,For still some other coins he had,Which to the rest he wish'd to add.Expecting thus to get the whole,The friend put back the sum he stole,Then came with all despatch.The other proved an overmatch:Resolved at length to save by spending,His practice thus most wisely mending,The total treasure home he carried--No longer hoarded it or buried.Chapfallen was the thief, when goneHe saw his prospects and his pawn.
From this it may be stated,That knaves with ease are cheated.
Words in this poem
- avarice n.
- An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; covetousness; cupidity. [F. avaritia, fr. avarus avaricious, prob. fr. av to covert, fr. a root av to satiate one's self: cf. Gr. av to satiate one's self, rejoice, protect.]
- ranker n.
- One who ranks, or disposes in ranks; one who arranges.
- pelf n.
- Money; riches; lucre; gain; -- generally conveying the idea of something ill-gotten or worthless. It has no plural. [OE. pelfir booty, OF. pelfre, akin to pelfrer to plunder, and perh. to E. pillage. Cf. Pilfer.]
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- joyless a.
- Not having joy; not causing joy; unenjoyable.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- overmatch v. t.
- To be more than equal to or a match for; hence, to vanquish.
- spending n.
- The act of expending; expenditure. Spending money, money set apart for extra (not necessary) personal expenses; pocket money.
- chapfallen a.
- Having the lower chap or jaw drooping, -- an indication of humiliation and dejection; crestfallen; discouraged. See Chopfallen.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book X: The Burier and His Comrade is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Fables of La Fontaine, Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, the Elizur Wright translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Jean de La Fontaine, Book X: The Burier and His Comrade, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/10-5.html, id L28405.
Form and metre
Book X: The Burier and His Comrade is 52 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See 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 --AAABBCCDDEE--FFGGGHHIIIJJJKK--LL----MMNNOOPP--QQ hoarded · afforded · rankerA · blankerA · bankerA · thoughtB · noughtB · homeC · comeC · griefD · thiefD · pelfE · selfE · you · you · thanF · canF · woeG · flowG · snowG · gotH · jotH · spareI · careI · rareI · bestJ · restJ · trustiestJ · secretaryK · buryK · afterward · sward · beholdL · goldL · cause · loss · mood · could · hadM · addM · wholeN · stoleN · despatchO · overmatchO · spendingP · mendingP · carried · buried · goneQ · pawnQ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A close-fist had his money hoarded | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Beyond the room his till afforded. | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| His avarice aye growing ranker, | 9 | ·/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| (Whereby his mind of course grew blanker,) | 9 | ········· |
| He was perplex'd to choose a banker; | 9 | ··˘/···/˘ |
| For banker he must have, he thought, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Or all his heap would come to nought. | 8 | ········ |
| 'I fear,' said he, 'if kept at home, | 8 | ········ |
| And other robbers should not come, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| It might be equal cause of grief | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That I had proved myself the thief.' | 8 | ·····/·· |
| The thief! Is to enjoy one's pelf | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| To rob or steal it from one's self? | 8 | ········ |
| My friend, could but my pity reach you, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| This lesson I would gladly teach you, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| That wealth is weal no longer than | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Diffuse and part with it you can: | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Without that power, it is a woe. | 8 | ···/···· |
| Would you for age keep back its flow? | 8 | ········ |
| Age buried 'neath its joyless snow? | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| With pains of getting, care of got | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Consumes the value, every jot, | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Of gold that one can never spare. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To take the load of such a care, | 8 | ········ |
| Assistants were not very rare. | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| The earth was that which pleased him best. | 8 | ········ |
| Dismissing thought of all the rest, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| He with his friend, his trustiest,-- | 7 | ······· |
| A sort of shovel-secretary,-- | 9 | ···/˘/˘·˘ |
| Went forth his hoard to bury. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Safe done, a few days afterward, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| The man must look beneath the sward-- | 8 | ········ |
| When, what a mystery! behold | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| The mine exhausted of its gold! | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Suspecting, with the best of cause, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| His friend was privy to his loss, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He bade him, in a cautious mood, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To come as soon as well he could, | 8 | ········ |
| For still some other coins he had, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Which to the rest he wish'd to add. | 8 | ········ |
| Expecting thus to get the whole, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| The friend put back the sum he stole, | 8 | ········ |
| Then came with all despatch. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The other proved an overmatch: | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Resolved at length to save by spending, | 9 | ˘/·····/˘ |
| His practice thus most wisely mending, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| The total treasure home he carried-- | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| No longer hoarded it or buried. | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Chapfallen was the thief, when gone | 7 | /˘····· |
| He saw his prospects and his pawn. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| From this it may be stated, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| That knaves with ease are cheated. | 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.