Book VIII: The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox
A lion, old, and impotent with gout,Would have some cure for age found out.Impossibilities, on all occasions,With kings, are rank abominations.This king, from every species,--For each abounds in every sort,--Call'd to his aid the leeches.They came in throngs to court,From doctors of the highest feeTo nostrum-quacks without degree,--Advised, prescribed, talk'd learnedly;But with the restCame not Sir Cunning Fox, M.D.Sir Wolf the royal couch attended,And his suspicions there express'd.Forthwith his majesty, offended,Resolved Sir Cunning Fox should come,And sent to smoke him from his home.He came, was duly usher'd in,And, knowing where Sir Wolf had been,Said, 'Sire, your royal earHas been abused, I fear,By rumours false and insincere;To wit, that I've been self-exemptFrom coming here, through sheer contempt.But, sire, I've been on pilgrimage,By vow expressly made,Your royal health to aid,And, on my way, met doctors sage,In skill the wonder of the age,Whom carefully I did consultAbout that great debilityTerm'd in the books senility,Of which you fear, with reason, the result.You lack, they say, the vital heat,By age extreme become effete.Drawn from a living wolf, the hideShould warm and smoking be applied.The secret's good, beyond a doubt,For nature's weak, and wearing out.Sir Wolf, here, won't refuse to giveHis hide to cure you, as I live.'The king was pleased with this advice.Flay'd, jointed, served up in a trice,Sir Wolf first wrapp'd the monarch up,Then furnish'd him whereon to sup.
Beware, ye courtiers, lest ye gain,By slander's arts, less power than pain;For in the world where ye are living,A pardon no one thinks of giving.
Words in this poem
- forthwith adv.
- Immediately; without delay; directly.
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- pilgrimage n.
- The journey of a pilgrim; a long journey; especially, a journey to a shrine or other sacred place. Fig., the journey of human life. [OE. pilgrimage, pelgrinage; cf. F. pèlerinage.]
- consult n.
- The act of consulting or deliberating; consultation; also, the result of consulation; determination; decision.
- senility n.
- The quality or state of being senile; old age. [Cf. F. sénilité.]
- effete a.
- No longer capable of producing young, as an animal, or fruit, as the earth; hence, worn out with age; exhausted of energy; incapable of efficient action; no longer productive; barren; sterile. [L. effetus that has brought forth, exhausted; ex + fetus that has brought forth. See Fetus.]
- trice v. t.
- To pull; to haul; to drag; to pull away. [OE. trisen; of Scand. or Low German origin; cf. Sw. trissa a sheave, pulley, triss a spritsail brace, Dan. tridse a pulley, tridse to haul by means of a pulley,]
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- beware v. t.
- To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book VIII: The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox 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 Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/8-3.html, id L28357.
Form and metre
Book VIII: The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox is 50 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 AA---B-BCC-D-EDEFFGGHHHIIJKKJJLMMLNNOOPP--QQRR goutA · outA · occasions · abominations · species · sortB · leeches · courtB · feeC · degreeC · learnedly · restD · — · attendedE · express'dD · offendedE · comeF · homeF · inG · beenG · earH · fearH · insincereH · exemptI · contemptI · pilgrimageJ · madeK · aidK · sageJ · ageJ · consultL · debilityM · senilityM · resultL · heatN · effeteN · hideO · appliedO · doubtP · outP · give · live · adviceQ · triceQ · upR · supR
- 2 AABB gainA · painA · livingB · givingB
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 lion, old, and impotent with gout, | 8 | ·/··/˘·· |
| Would have some cure for age found out. | 8 | ········ |
| Impossibilities, on all occasions, | 10 | ˘·˘/˘··˘/˘ |
| With kings, are rank abominations. | 9 | ····˘·˘/˘ |
| This king, from every species,-- | 8 | ···/˘˘/˘ |
| For each abounds in every sort,-- | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Call'd to his aid the leeches. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| They came in throngs to court, | 6 | ······ |
| From doctors of the highest fee | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To nostrum-quacks without degree,-- | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Advised, prescribed, talk'd learnedly; | 8 | ˘/˘/···· |
| But with the rest | 4 | ···· |
| Came not Sir Cunning Fox, M.D. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Sir Wolf the royal couch attended, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| And his suspicions there express'd. | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| Forthwith his majesty, offended, | 9 | //·/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Resolved Sir Cunning Fox should come, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| And sent to smoke him from his home. | 8 | ········ |
| He came, was duly usher'd in, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And, knowing where Sir Wolf had been, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Said, 'Sire, your royal ear | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| Has been abused, I fear, | 7 | ··˘/˘·· |
| By rumours false and insincere; | 8 | ··˘···˘/ |
| To wit, that I've been self-exempt | 8 | ······˘/ |
| From coming here, through sheer contempt. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| But, sire, I've been on pilgrimage, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘˘ |
| By vow expressly made, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Your royal health to aid, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And, on my way, met doctors sage, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In skill the wonder of the age, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Whom carefully I did consult | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| About that great debility | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| Term'd in the books senility, | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| Of which you fear, with reason, the result. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| You lack, they say, the vital heat, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| By age extreme become effete. | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘/ |
| Drawn from a living wolf, the hide | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Should warm and smoking be applied. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| The secret's good, beyond a doubt, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For nature's weak, and wearing out. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Sir Wolf, here, won't refuse to give | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| His hide to cure you, as I live.' | 8 | ········ |
| The king was pleased with this advice. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Flay'd, jointed, served up in a trice, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Sir Wolf first wrapp'd the monarch up, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Then furnish'd him whereon to sup. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Beware, ye courtiers, lest ye gain, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| By slander's arts, less power than pain; | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| For in the world where ye are living, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| A pardon no one thinks of giving. | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
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.