Book VII: The Rat Retired from the World
The sage Levantines have a taleAbout a rat that weary grewOf all the cares which life assail,And to a Holland cheese withdrew.His solitude was there profound,Extending through his world so round.Our hermit lived on that within;And soon his industry had beenWith claws and teeth so good,That in his novel hermitage,He had in store, for wants of age,Both house and livelihood.What more could any rat desire?He grew fair, fat, and round.'God's blessings thus redoundTo those who in His vows retire.'One day this personage devout,Whose kindness none might doubt,Was ask'd, by certain delegatesThat came from Rat-United-States,For some small aid, for theyTo foreign parts were on their way,For succour in the great cat-war.Ratopolis beleaguer'd sore,Their whole republic drain'd and poor,No morsel in their scrips they bore.Slight boon they craved, of succour sureIn days at utmost three or four.'My friends,' the hermit said,'To worldly things I'm dead.How can a poor recluseTo such a mission be of use?What can he do but prayThat God will aid it on its way?And so, my friends, it is my prayerThat God will have you in his care.'His well-fed saintship said no more,But in their faces shut the door.What think you, reader, is the serviceFor which I use this niggard rat?To paint a monk? No, but a dervise.A monk, I think, however fat,Must be more bountiful than that.
Words in this poem
- hermitage n.
- The habitation of a hermit; a secluded residence. [OE. hermitage, ermitage, F. hermitage, ermitage. See Hermit.]
- redound v. i.
- To roll back, as a wave or flood; to be sent or driven back; to flow back, as a consequence or effect; to conduce; to contribute; to result. [F. redonder, L. redundare; pref. red-, re-, re- + undare to rise in waves or surges, fr. unda a wave. See Undulate, and cf. Redundant.]
- succour v. t.
- tiono run to, or run to support; hence, to help or relieve when in difficulty, want, or distress; to assist and deliver from suffering; to relieve; as, to succor a besieged city. [OE. socouren, OF. sucurre, soucourre, secorre, F. secourir, L. succurrere, succursum, to run under, run to the aid of, help, succor; sub under + currere to run.]
- republic n.
- Common weal. B. Jonson. [F. république, L. respublica commonwealth; res a thing, an affair + publicus, publica, public. See Real, a., and Public.]
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- saintship n.
- The character or qualities of a saint.
- dervise n.
- A Turkish or Persian monk, especially one who professes extreme poverty and leads an austere life. [Per. derw, fr. OPer. derew to beg, ask alms: cf. F. derviche.]
- bountiful a.
- Free in giving; liberal in bestowing gifts and favors.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book VII: The Rat Retired from the World 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 VII: The Rat Retired from the World, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/7-3.html, id L28339.
Form and metre
Book VII: The Rat Retired from the World is 43 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 51% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
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 ABABCCDDEFFE-GG-HHIIJJKKLKLKMMNNOOPPQQ-R-RR taleA · grewB · assailA · withdrewB · profoundC · roundC · withinD · beenD · goodE · hermitageF · ageF · livelihoodE · desire · roundG · redoundG · retire · devoutH · doubtH · delegatesI · statesI · theyJ · wayJ · warK · soreK · poorL · boreK · sureL · fourK · saidM · deadM · recluseN · useN · prayO · wayO · prayerP · careP · moreQ · doorQ · service · ratR · dervise · fatR · thatR
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The sage Levantines have a tale | 8 | ········ |
| About a rat that weary grew | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of all the cares which life assail, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And to a Holland cheese withdrew. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| His solitude was there profound, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Extending through his world so round. | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Our hermit lived on that within; | 8 | //˘····· |
| And soon his industry had been | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| With claws and teeth so good, | 6 | ······ |
| That in his novel hermitage, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| He had in store, for wants of age, | 8 | ········ |
| Both house and livelihood. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| What more could any rat desire? | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| He grew fair, fat, and round. | 6 | ······ |
| 'God's blessings thus redound | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| To those who in His vows retire.' | 8 | ······˘/ |
| One day this personage devout, | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| Whose kindness none might doubt, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Was ask'd, by certain delegates | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| That came from Rat-United-States, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| For some small aid, for they | 6 | ······ |
| To foreign parts were on their way, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For succour in the great cat-war. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Ratopolis beleaguer'd sore, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Their whole republic drain'd and poor, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| No morsel in their scrips they bore. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Slight boon they craved, of succour sure | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In days at utmost three or four. | 8 | ···/···· |
| 'My friends,' the hermit said, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| 'To worldly things I'm dead. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| How can a poor recluse | 6 | ····˘/ |
| To such a mission be of use? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| What can he do but pray | 6 | ······ |
| That God will aid it on its way? | 8 | ········ |
| And so, my friends, it is my prayer | 8 | ········ |
| That God will have you in his care.' | 8 | ········ |
| His well-fed saintship said no more, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But in their faces shut the door. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| What think you, reader, is the service | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| For which I use this niggard rat? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To paint a monk? No, but a dervise. | 9 | ········· |
| A monk, I think, however fat, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Must be more bountiful than that. | 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.