Spoken of Several Philosophers
I pray you, all ye men who put your trustIn moulds and systems and well-tackled gear,Holding that Nature lives from year to yearIn one continual round because she must--Set me not down, I pray you, in the dustOf all these centuries, like a pot of beer--A pewter-pot disconsolately clear,Which holds a potful, as is right and just!I will grow clamorous--by the rood, I will,If thus ye use me like a pewter pot!Good friend, thou art a toper and a sot--will not be the lead to hold thy swill,Nor any lead: I will arise and spillThy silly beverage--spill it piping hot!
Words in this poem
- pewter n.
- A hard, tough, but easily fusible, alloy, originally consisting of tin with a little lead, but afterwards modified by the addition of copper, antimony, or bismuth. [OE. pewtyr, OF. peutre, peautre, piautre: cf. D. peauter, piauter, It. peltro, Sp. & Pg. peltre, LL. peutreum, pestrum. Cf. Spelter.]
- rood n.
- A representation in sculpture or in painting of the cross with Christ hanging on it. [AS. rr, D. roede rod, G. ruthe, rute, OHG. ruota. CF. Rod a measure.]
- swill v. t.
- To wash; to drench. [OE. swilen to wash, AS. swilian.]
- spill n.
- A bit of wood split off; a splinter. [sq. root170. Cf. Spell a splinter.]
- piping a.
- Playing on a musical pipe. [From Pipe, v.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Spoken of Several Philosophers is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of George MacDonald in two volumes — Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #9984; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George MacDonald, Spoken of Several Philosophers, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/spoken-of-several-philosophers.html, id L22456.
Form and metre
Spoken of Several Philosophers is 14 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 57% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABBAABBACD-CCD trustA · gearB · yearB · mustA · dustA · beerB · clearB · justA · willC · potD · sot · swillC · spillC · hotD
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I pray you, all ye men who put your trust | 10 | ·········· |
| In moulds and systems and well-tackled gear, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Holding that Nature lives from year to year | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| In one continual round because she must-- | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Set me not down, I pray you, in the dust | 10 | ·········· |
| Of all these centuries, like a pot of beer-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| A pewter-pot disconsolately clear, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Which holds a potful, as is right and just! | 10 | ·········· |
| I will grow clamorous--by the rood, I will, | 11 | ···/˘˘····· |
| If thus ye use me like a pewter pot! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Good friend, thou art a toper and a sot-- | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| will not be the lead to hold thy swill, | 9 | ········· |
| Nor any lead: I will arise and spill | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Thy silly beverage--spill it piping hot! | 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.