Book XII: The Scythian Philosopher
A Scythian philosopher austere,Resolved his rigid life somewhat to cheer,Perform'd the tour of Greece, saw many things,But, best, a sage,--one such as Virgil sings,--A simple, rustic man, that equal'd kings;From whom, the gods would hardly bear the palm;Like them unawed, content, and calm.His fortune was a little nook of land;And there the Scythian found him, hook in hand,His fruit-trees pruning. Here he cropp'dA barren branch, there slash'd and lopp'd,Correcting Nature everywhere,Who paid with usury his care.'Pray, why this wasteful havoc, sir?'--So spoke the wondering traveller;'Can it, I ask, in reason's name,Be wise these harmless trees to maim?Fling down that instrument of crime,And leave them to the scythe of Time.Full soon, unhasten'd, they will goTo deck the banks of streams below.'Replied the tranquil gardener,'I humbly crave your pardon, sir;Excess is all my hook removes,By which the rest more fruitful proves.'The philosophic traveller,--Once more within his country cold,--Himself of pruning-hook laid hold,And made a use most free and bold;Prescribed to friends, and counsel'd neighboursTo imitate his pruning labours.The finest limbs he did not spare,But pruned his orchard past all reason,Regarding neither time nor season,Nor taking of the moon a care.All wither'd, droop'd, and died.
This Scythian I set besideThe indiscriminating Stoic.The latter, with a blade heroic,Retrenches, from his spirit sad,Desires and passions, good and bad,Not sparing e'en a harmless wish.Against a tribe so VandalishWith earnestness I here protest.They maim our hearts, they stupefyTheir strongest springs, if not their best;They make us cease to live before we die.
Words in this poem
- tour n.
- A going round; a circuit; hence, a journey in a circuit; a prolonged circuitous journey; a comprehensive excursion; as, the tour of Europe; the tour of France or England. [F. tour. See Turn, v. t.]
- nook n.
- A narrow place formed by an angle in bodies or between bodies; a corner; a recess; a secluded retreat. [OE. nok; cf. Gael. & Ir. niuc.]
- usury n.
- A premium or increase paid, or stipulated to be paid, for a loan, as of money; interest. [OE. usurie, usure, F. usure, L. usura use, usury, interest, fr. uti, p. p. usus, to use. See Use, v. t.]
- havoc n.
- Wide and general destruction; devastation; waste. [W. hafog devastation, havoc; or, if this be itself fr. E. havoc, cf. OE. havot, or AS. hafoc hawk, which is a cruel or rapacious bird, or F. hai, voux! a cry to]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- gardener n.
- One who makes and tends a garden; a horticulturist.
- humbly adv.
- With humility; lowly.
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- philosophic a.
- Of or pertaining to philosophy; versed in, or imbued with, the principles of philosophy; hence, characterizing a philosopher; rational; wise; temperate; calm; cool. [L. philosophicus: cf. F. philosophique.]
- indiscriminating a.
- Not discriminating.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book XII: The Scythian Philosopher 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 XII: The Scythian Philosopher, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/12-20.html, id L28446.
Form and metre
Book XII: The Scythian Philosopher is 47 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 60% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AABBBCCDDEEFF--GGHHII--JJ-KKKLLMNNM- austereA · cheerA · thingsB · singsB · kingsB · palmC · calmC · landD · handD · cropp'dE · lopp'dE · everywhereF · careF · sir · traveller · nameG · maimG · crimeH · timeH · goI · belowI · gardener · sir · removesJ · provesJ · traveller · coldK · holdK · boldK · neighboursL · laboursL · spareM · reasonN · seasonN · careM · died
- 2 -AABBCCDEDE beside · stoicA · heroicA · sadB · badB · wishC · vandalishC · protestD · stupefyE · bestD · dieE
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 Scythian philosopher austere, | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘˘/ |
| Resolved his rigid life somewhat to cheer, | 10 | ˘/·/˘·//·· |
| Perform'd the tour of Greece, saw many things, | 9 | ˘/·····/· |
| But, best, a sage,--one such as Virgil sings,-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| A simple, rustic man, that equal'd kings; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| From whom, the gods would hardly bear the palm; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Like them unawed, content, and calm. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| His fortune was a little nook of land; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And there the Scythian found him, hook in hand, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| His fruit-trees pruning. Here he cropp'd | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A barren branch, there slash'd and lopp'd, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Correcting Nature everywhere, | 8 | ˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| Who paid with usury his care. | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| 'Pray, why this wasteful havoc, sir?'-- | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| So spoke the wondering traveller; | 9 | ···/˘˘/˘˘ |
| 'Can it, I ask, in reason's name, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Be wise these harmless trees to maim? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Fling down that instrument of crime, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| And leave them to the scythe of Time. | 8 | ········ |
| Full soon, unhasten'd, they will go | 8 | ········ |
| To deck the banks of streams below.' | 8 | ········ |
| Replied the tranquil gardener, | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘˘ |
| 'I humbly crave your pardon, sir; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Excess is all my hook removes, | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| By which the rest more fruitful proves.' | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The philosophic traveller,-- | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Once more within his country cold,-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Himself of pruning-hook laid hold, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| And made a use most free and bold; | 8 | ········ |
| Prescribed to friends, and counsel'd neighbours | 9 | ˘/···/˘/˘ |
| To imitate his pruning labours. | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| The finest limbs he did not spare, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But pruned his orchard past all reason, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Regarding neither time nor season, | 9 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Nor taking of the moon a care. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| All wither'd, droop'd, and died. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| This Scythian I set beside | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| The indiscriminating Stoic. | 9 | ·˘˘/˘˘˘/˘ |
| The latter, with a blade heroic, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| Retrenches, from his spirit sad, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Desires and passions, good and bad, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Not sparing e'en a harmless wish. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Against a tribe so Vandalish | 8 | ········ |
| With earnestness I here protest. | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| They maim our hearts, they stupefy | 9 | ··/˘··/˘˘ |
| Their strongest springs, if not their best; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| They make us cease to live before we die. | 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.