Book IV: The Man and the Wooden God
A pagan kept a god of wood,--A sort that never hears,Though furnish'd well with ears,--From which he hoped for wondrous good.The idol cost the board of three;So much enrich'd was heWith vows and offerings vain,With bullocks garlanded and slain:No idol ever had, as that,A kitchen quite so full and fat.But all this worship at his shrineBrought not from this same block divineInheritance, or hidden mine,Or luck at play, or any favour.Nay, more, if any storm whateverBrew'd trouble here or there,The man was sure to have his share,And suffer in his purse,Although the god fared none the worse.At last, by sheer impatience bold,The man a crowbar seizes,His idol breaks in pieces,And finds it richly stuff'd with gold.'How's this? Have I devoutly treated,'Says he, 'your godship, to be cheated?Now leave my house, and go your way,And search for altars where you may.You're like those natures, dull and gross,From, which comes nothing but by blows;The more I gave, the less I got;I'll now be rich, and you may rot.'
Words in this poem
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- idol n.
- An image or representation of anything. [OE. idole, F. idole, L. idolum, fr. Gr. Wit, and cf. Eidolon.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- crowbar n.
- A bar of iron sharpened at one end, and used as a lever.
- devoutly adv.
- In a devout and reverent manner; with devout emotions; piously.
- godship n.
- The rank or character of a god; deity; divinity; a god or goddess. [God, n. + -ship.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book IV: The Man and the Wooden God 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 IV: The Man and the Wooden God, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/4-8.html, id L28278.
Form and metre
Book IV: The Man and the Wooden God is 31 lines in a single stanza. 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 ABBACCDDEEFFF--GGHHI--IJJKK--LL woodA · hearsB · earsB · goodA · threeC · heC · vainD · slainD · thatE · fatE · shrineF · divineF · mineF · favour · whatever · thereG · shareG · purseH · worseH · boldI · seizes · pieces · goldI · treatedJ · cheatedJ · wayK · mayK · gross · blows · gotL · rotL
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 pagan kept a god of wood,-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A sort that never hears, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Though furnish'd well with ears,-- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| From which he hoped for wondrous good. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The idol cost the board of three; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| So much enrich'd was he | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| With vows and offerings vain, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| With bullocks garlanded and slain: | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| No idol ever had, as that, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| A kitchen quite so full and fat. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But all this worship at his shrine | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Brought not from this same block divine | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Inheritance, or hidden mine, | 8 | ˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| Or luck at play, or any favour. | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Nay, more, if any storm whatever | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Brew'd trouble here or there, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The man was sure to have his share, | 8 | ········ |
| And suffer in his purse, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Although the god fared none the worse. | 8 | ········ |
| At last, by sheer impatience bold, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| The man a crowbar seizes, | 7 | ···/·/˘ |
| His idol breaks in pieces, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| And finds it richly stuff'd with gold. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'How's this? Have I devoutly treated,' | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Says he, 'your godship, to be cheated? | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Now leave my house, and go your way, | 8 | ········ |
| And search for altars where you may. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| You're like those natures, dull and gross, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| From, which comes nothing but by blows; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The more I gave, the less I got; | 8 | ········ |
| I'll now be rich, and you may rot.' | 8 | ········ |
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.