Book VIII: The Wolf and the Hunter
Thou lust of gain,--foul fiend, whose evil eyesRegard as nought the blessings of the skies,Must I for ever battle thee in vain?How long demandest thou to gainThe meaning of my lessons plain?Will constant getting never cloy?Will man ne'er slacken to enjoy?Haste, friend; thou hast not long to live:Let me the precious word repeat,And listen to it, I entreat;A richer lesson none can give--The sovereign antidote for sorrow--ENJOY!--'I will.'--But when?--'To-morrow.--'Ah! death may take you on the way,Why not enjoy, I ask, to-day?Lest envious fate your hopes ingulf,As once it served the hunter and the wolf.
The former, with his fatal bow,A noble deer had laid full low:A fawn approach'd, and quickly layCompanion of the dead,For side by side they bled.Could one have wished a richer prey?Such luck had been enough to sateA hunter wise and moderate.Meantime a boar, as big as e'er was taken,Our archer tempted, proud, and fond of bacon.Another candidate for Styx,Struck by his arrow, foams and kicks.But strangely do the shears of FateTo cut his cable hesitate.Alive, yet dying, there he lies,A glorious and a dangerous prize.And was not this enough? Not quite,To fill a conqueror's appetite;For, ere the boar was dead, he spiedA partridge by a furrow's side--A trifle to his other game.Once more his bow he drew;The desperate boar upon him came,And in his dying vengeance slew:The partridge thank'd him as she flew.
Thus much is to the covetous address'd;The miserly shall have the rest.
A wolf, in passing, saw that woeful sight.'O Fortune,' cried the savage, with delight,'A fane to thee I'll build outright!'Four carcasses! how rich! But spare--'I'll make them last--such luck is rare,'(The miser's everlasting plea.)'They'll last a month for--let me see--One, two, three, four--the weeks are fourIf I can count--and some days more.Well, two days henceAnd I'll commence.Meantime, the string upon this bowI'll stint myself to eat;For by its mutton-smell I know'Tis made of entrails sweet.'His entrails rued the fatal weapon,Which, while he heedlessly did step on,The arrow pierced his bowels deep,And laid him lifeless on the heap.
Hark, stingy souls! insatiate leeches!Our text this solemn duty teaches,--Enjoy the present; do not waitTo share the wolf's or hunter's fate.
Words in this poem 18
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- cloy v. t.
- To fill or choke up; to stop up; to clog. [OE. cloer to nail up, F. clouer, fr. OF. clo nail, F. clou, fr. L. clavus nail. Cf. 3d Clove.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- entreat v. t.
- To treat, or conduct toward; to deal with; to use. [OE. entreten to treat, request, OF. entraiter to treat of; pref. en- (L. in) + traitier to treat. See Treat.]
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- ingulf v. t.
- To swallow up or overwhelm in, or as in, a gulf; to cast into a gulf. See Engulf. [Cf. Engulf.]
- sate v. t.
- To satisfy the desire or appetite of; to satiate; to glut; to surfeit. [Probably shortened fr. satiate: cf. L. satus full. See Satiate.]
- styx n.
- The principal river of the lower world, which had to be crossed in passing to the regions of the dead.
- strangely adv.
- As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- desperate a.
- Without hope; given to despair; hopeless. [L. desperatus, p. p. of desperare. See Despair, and cf. Desperado.]
- covetous a.
- Very desirous; eager to obtain; -- used in a good sense. [OF. coveitos, F. convoiteux. See Covet, v. t.]
- miserly a.
- Like a miser; very covetous; sordid; niggardly. [From Miser.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- fane n.
- A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]
- outright adv.
- Immediately; without delay; at once; as, he was killed outright.
- mutton n.
- A sheep. Chapman. [OE. motoun, OF. moton, molton, a sheep, wether, F. mouton, LL. multo, by transposition of l fr. L. mutilus mutilated. See Mutilate.]
- insatiate a.
- Insatiable; as, insatiate thirst. [L. insatiatus.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book VIII: The Wolf and the Hunter 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 VIII: The Wolf and the Hunter, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/8-27.html, id L28381.
Form and metre
Book VIII: The Wolf and the Hunter is 67 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 69% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 AABBBCCDEEDFFGGHH eyesA · skiesA · vainB · gainB · plainB · cloyC · enjoyC · liveD · repeatE · entreatE · giveD · sorrowF · morrowF · wayG · dayG · ingulfH · wolfH
- 2 AABCCBDDEEFFDDGGHHIIJKJKK bowA · lowA · layB · deadC · bledC · preyB · sateD · moderateD · takenE · baconE · styxF · kicksF · fateD · hesitateD · liesG · prizeG · quiteH · appetiteH · spiedI · sideI · gameJ · drewK · cameJ · slewK · flewK
- 3 AA address'dA · restA
- 4 AAABBCCDDEEFGFGHHII sightA · delightA · outrightA · spareB · rareB · pleaC · seeC · fourD · moreD · henceE · commenceE · bowF · eatG · knowF · sweetG · weaponH · onH · deepI · heapI
- 5 AABB leechesA · teachesA · waitB · fateB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thou lust of gain,--foul fiend, whose evil eyes | 9 | ·······/· |
| Regard as nought the blessings of the skies, | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Must I for ever battle thee in vain? | 9 | ···//˘··· |
| How long demandest thou to gain | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| The meaning of my lessons plain? | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Will constant getting never cloy? | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Will man ne'er slacken to enjoy? | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Haste, friend; thou hast not long to live: | 8 | ········ |
| Let me the precious word repeat, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And listen to it, I entreat; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| A richer lesson none can give-- | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The sovereign antidote for sorrow-- | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| ENJOY!--'I will.'--But when?--'To-morrow.--' | 9 | ˘/·····/˘ |
| Ah! death may take you on the way, | 8 | ········ |
| Why not enjoy, I ask, to-day? | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Lest envious fate your hopes ingulf, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| As once it served the hunter and the wolf. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The former, with his fatal bow, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A noble deer had laid full low: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A fawn approach'd, and quickly lay | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Companion of the dead, | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| For side by side they bled. | 6 | ······ |
| Could one have wished a richer prey? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Such luck had been enough to sate | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| A hunter wise and moderate. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Meantime a boar, as big as e'er was taken, | 11 | /········/˘ |
| Our archer tempted, proud, and fond of bacon. | 11 | //˘/˘····/˘ |
| Another candidate for Styx, | 8 | ˘/˘/˘˘·· |
| Struck by his arrow, foams and kicks. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But strangely do the shears of Fate | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To cut his cable hesitate. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Alive, yet dying, there he lies, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| A glorious and a dangerous prize. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And was not this enough? Not quite, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| To fill a conqueror's appetite; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| For, ere the boar was dead, he spied | 8 | ········ |
| A partridge by a furrow's side-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A trifle to his other game. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Once more his bow he drew; | 6 | ······ |
| The desperate boar upon him came, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And in his dying vengeance slew: | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The partridge thank'd him as she flew. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Thus much is to the covetous address'd; | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| The miserly shall have the rest. | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| A wolf, in passing, saw that woeful sight. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| 'O Fortune,' cried the savage, with delight, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| 'A fane to thee I'll build outright! | 8 | ······// |
| 'Four carcasses! how rich! But spare-- | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| 'I'll make them last--such luck is rare,' | 8 | ········ |
| (The miser's everlasting plea.) | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| 'They'll last a month for--let me see-- | 8 | ········ |
| One, two, three, four--the weeks are four | 8 | ········ |
| If I can count--and some days more. | 8 | ········ |
| Well, two days hence | 4 | ···· |
| And I'll commence. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Meantime, the string upon this bow | 8 | /······· |
| I'll stint myself to eat; | 6 | ···/·· |
| For by its mutton-smell I know | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'Tis made of entrails sweet.' | 6 | ···/˘· |
| His entrails rued the fatal weapon, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Which, while he heedlessly did step on, | 9 | ········· |
| The arrow pierced his bowels deep, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And laid him lifeless on the heap. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Hark, stingy souls! insatiate leeches! | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Our text this solemn duty teaches,-- | 9 | /··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Enjoy the present; do not wait | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| To share the wolf's or hunter's fate. | 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.