Two Infamous Sinners
Come, let us praise the Omnipotent!Let us the legend relateTold by a monk in the Priory.Thus did I hear him narrate:
Once were twelve brigands notorious,One, Kudear, at their head;Torrents of blood of good ChristiansFoully the miscreants shed.
Deep in the forest their hiding-place,Rich was their booty and rare;Once Kudear from near Kiev TownStole a young maiden most fair.
Days Kudear with his mistress spent,Nights on the road with his horde;Suddenly, conscience awoke in him,Stirred by the grace of the Lord.
Sleep left his couch. Of iniquitySickened his spirit at last;Shades of his victims appeared to him,Crowding in multitudes vast.
Long was this monster most obdurate,Blind to the light from above,Then flogged to death his chief satellite,Cut off the head of his love,--
Scattered his gang in his penitence,And to the churches of GodAll his great riches distributed,Buried his knife in the sod,
Journeyed on foot to the Sepulchre,Filled with repentance and grief;Wandered and prayed, but the pilgrimageBrought to his soul no relief.
When he returned to his FatherlandClad like a monk, old and bent,'Neath a great oak, as an anchorite,Life in the forest he spent.
There, from the Maker Omnipotent,Grace day and night did he crave:"Lord, though my body thou castigate,Grant that my soul I may save!"
Pity had God on the penitent,Showed him the pathway to take,Sent His own messenger unto himDuring his prayers, who thus spake:
"Know, for this oak sprang thy preference,Not without promptings divine;Lo! take the knife thou hast slaughtered with,Fell it, and grace shall be thine.
"Yea, though the task prove laborious,Great shall the recompense be,Let but the tree fall, and verilyThou from thy load shalt be free."
Vast was the giant's circumference;Praying, his task he begins,Works with the tool of atrociousness,Offers amends for his sins.
Glory he sang to the Trinity,Scraped the hard wood with his blade.Years passed away. Though he tarried not,Slow was the progress he made.
'Gainst such a mighty antagonistHow could he hope to prevail?Only a Samson could vanquish it,Not an old man, spent and frail.
Doubt, as he worked, began plaguing him:Once of a voice came the sound,"Heh, old man, say what thy purpose is?"Crossing himself he looked round.
There, Pan Glukhovsky was watching himOn his brave Arab astride,Rich was the Pan, of high family,Known in the whole countryside.
Many cruel deeds were ascribed to him,Filled were his subjects with hate,So the old hermit to caution himTold him his own sorry fate.
"Ho!" laughed Glukhovsky, derisively,"Hope of salvation's not mine;These are the things that I estimate--Women, gold, honour, and wine.
"My life, old man, is the only one;Many the serfs that I keep;What though I waste, hang, and torture them--You should but see how I sleep!"
Lo! to the hermit, by miracle,Wrath a great strength did impart,Straight on Glukhovsky he flung himself,Buried the knife in his heart.
Scarce had the Pan, in his agony,Sunk to the blood-sodden ground,Crashed the great tree, and lay subjugate,Trembled the earth at the sound.
Lo! and the sins of the anchoritePassed from his soul like a breath."Let us pray God to incline to us,Slaves in the shadow of Death...."
Words in this poem 21
- priory n.
- A religious house presided over by a prior or prioress; -- sometimes an offshoot of, an subordinate to, an abbey, and called also cell, and obedience. See Cell, 2. [Cf. LL. prioria. See Prior, n.]
- foully v.
- In a foul manner; filthily; nastily; shamefully; unfairly; dishonorably.
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- horde n.
- A wandering troop or gang; especially, a clan or tribe of a nomadic people migrating from place to place for the sake of pasturage, plunder, etc.; a predatory multitude. Thomson. [F. horde (cf. G. horde), fr. Turk. ord, ordi, camp; of Tartar origin.]
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- sepulchre n.
- The place in which the dead body of a human being is interred, or a place set apart for that purpose; a grave; a tomb. [OE. sepulcre, OF. sepulcre, F. sépulcre, fr. L. sepulcrum, sepulchrum, fr. sepelire to bury.]
- 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.]
- fatherland n.
- One's native land; the native land of one's fathers or ancestors. [Imitated fr. D. vaderland. See Father, and Land.]
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- anchorite n.
- One who renounces the world and secludes himself, usually for religious reasons; a hermit; a recluse. [Written by some authors anachoret.] [F. anachorète, L. anachoreta, fr. Gr. ha to leave. Cf. Anchor a hermit.]
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- castigate v. t.
- To punish by stripes; to chastise by blows; to chasten; also, to chastise verbally; to reprove; to criticise severely. [L. castigatus, p. p. of castigare to correct, punish; castus pure, chaste + agere to move, drive. See Caste, and cf. Chasten.]
- pathway n.
- A footpath; a beaten track; any path or course. Also used figuratively.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- 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,]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- astride adv.
- With one leg on each side, as a man when on horseback; with the legs stretched wide apart; astraddle. [Pref. a- + stride.]
- countryside n.
- A particular rural district; a country neighborhood. [Eng.] W.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- subjugate v. t.
- To subdue, and bring under the yoke of power or dominion; to conquer by force, and compel to submit to the government or absolute control of another; to vanquish. [L. subjugatus, p.p. of subjugare to subjugate; sub under + jugum a yoke. See Yoke.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Two Infamous Sinners is in the public domain. This text is taken from Who Can Be Happy and Free in Russia?, Project Gutenberg ebook #9619; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Nikolai Nekrasov, Two Infamous Sinners, in Who Can Be Happy and Free in Russia? (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/nekrasov-who-can-be-happy/two-infamous-sinners.html, id L25518.
Form and metre
Two Infamous Sinners is 96 lines in 24 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is dactylic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%).
See other poems in dactylic trimeter.
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 -A-A omnipotent · relateA · priory · narrateA
- 2 -A-A notorious · headA · christians · shedA
- 3 -A-A place · rareA · town · fairA
- 4 -A-A spent · hordeA · him · lordA
- 5 -A-A iniquity · lastA · him · vastA
- 6 ABAB obdurateA · aboveB · satelliteA · loveB
- 7 -AAA penitence · godA · distributedA · sodA
- 8 -A-A sepulchre · griefA · pilgrimage · reliefA
- 9 -A-A fatherland · bentA · anchorite · spentA
- 10 -A-A omnipotent · craveA · castigate · saveA
- 11 -A-A penitent · takeA · him · spakeA
- 12 -A-A preference · divineA · with · thineA
- 13 -A-A laborious · beA · verily · freeA
- 14 -A-A circumference · beginsA · atrociousness · sinsA
- 15 -A-A trinity · bladeA · not · madeA
- 16 -A-A antagonist · prevailA · it · frailA
- 17 -A-A him · soundA · is · roundA
- 18 -A-A him · astrideA · family · countrysideA
- 19 ABAB himA · hateB · himA · fateB
- 20 -A-A derisively · mineA · estimate · wineA
- 21 -A-A one · keepA · them · sleepA
- 22 -A-A miracle · impartA · himself · heartA
- 23 -A-A agony · groundA · subjugate · soundA
- 24 -A-A anchorite · breathA · us · deathA
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 dactylic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Come, let us praise the Omnipotent! | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Let us the legend relate | 7 | ···/˘˘/ |
| Told by a monk in the Priory. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Thus did I hear him narrate: | 7 | ·····/· |
| Once were twelve brigands notorious, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| One, Kudear, at their head; | 6 | ······ |
| Torrents of blood of good Christians | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Foully the miscreants shed. | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Deep in the forest their hiding-place, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Rich was their booty and rare; | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Once Kudear from near Kiev Town | 8 | ······/· |
| Stole a young maiden most fair. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Days Kudear with his mistress spent, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nights on the road with his horde; | 7 | ······· |
| Suddenly, conscience awoke in him, | 8 | /˘/˘˘/·· |
| Stirred by the grace of the Lord. | 7 | ······· |
| Sleep left his couch. Of iniquity | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Sickened his spirit at last; | 6 | /˘·/·· |
| Shades of his victims appeared to him, | 9 | ···/˘˘/·· |
| Crowding in multitudes vast. | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| Long was this monster most obdurate, | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Blind to the light from above, | 7 | ······· |
| Then flogged to death his chief satellite, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Cut off the head of his love,-- | 7 | ······· |
| Scattered his gang in his penitence, | 9 | /˘····/˘˘ |
| And to the churches of God | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| All his great riches distributed, | 8 | ···/˘˘/˘ |
| Buried his knife in the sod, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Journeyed on foot to the Sepulchre, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Filled with repentance and grief; | 7 | ··˘/˘·· |
| Wandered and prayed, but the pilgrimage | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Brought to his soul no relief. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| When he returned to his Fatherland | 9 | ··˘/··/˘· |
| Clad like a monk, old and bent, | 7 | ······· |
| 'Neath a great oak, as an anchorite, | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| Life in the forest he spent. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| There, from the Maker Omnipotent, | 8 | ···/˘˘/˘ |
| Grace day and night did he crave: | 7 | ······· |
| "Lord, though my body thou castigate, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Grant that my soul I may save!" | 7 | ······· |
| Pity had God on the penitent, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Showed him the pathway to take, | 7 | ···/··· |
| Sent His own messenger unto him | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| During his prayers, who thus spake: | 7 | /˘····· |
| "Know, for this oak sprang thy preference, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Not without promptings divine; | 7 | ···/˘˘/ |
| Lo! take the knife thou hast slaughtered with, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Fell it, and grace shall be thine. | 7 | ······· |
| "Yea, though the task prove laborious, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Great shall the recompense be, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Let but the tree fall, and verily | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| Thou from thy load shalt be free." | 7 | ······· |
| Vast was the giant's circumference; | 8 | ···/˘˘/˘ |
| Praying, his task he begins, | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| Works with the tool of atrociousness, | 9 | ········· |
| Offers amends for his sins. | 7 | /˘˘/··· |
| Glory he sang to the Trinity, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Scraped the hard wood with his blade. | 7 | ······· |
| Years passed away. Though he tarried not, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Slow was the progress he made. | 7 | ···/··· |
| 'Gainst such a mighty antagonist | 8 | ···/˘˘/˘ |
| How could he hope to prevail? | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Only a Samson could vanquish it, | 9 | /˘·/˘·/˘· |
| Not an old man, spent and frail. | 7 | ······· |
| Doubt, as he worked, began plaguing him: | 9 | ····˘//˘· |
| Once of a voice came the sound, | 7 | ······· |
| "Heh, old man, say what thy purpose is?" | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Crossing himself he looked round. | 7 | /˘˘/··· |
| There, Pan Glukhovsky was watching him | 9 | ······/˘· |
| On his brave Arab astride, | 7 | ···/˘˘/ |
| Rich was the Pan, of high family, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Known in the whole countryside. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Many cruel deeds were ascribed to him, | 8 | //··˘/·· |
| Filled were his subjects with hate, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| So the old hermit to caution him | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Told him his own sorry fate. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| "Ho!" laughed Glukhovsky, derisively, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| "Hope of salvation's not mine; | 7 | ··˘/˘·· |
| These are the things that I estimate-- | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Women, gold, honour, and wine. | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| "My life, old man, is the only one; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Many the serfs that I keep; | 6 | /····· |
| What though I waste, hang, and torture them-- | 9 | ······/˘· |
| You should but see how I sleep!" | 7 | ······· |
| Lo! to the hermit, by miracle, | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Wrath a great strength did impart, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Straight on Glukhovsky he flung himself, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Buried the knife in his heart. | 7 | /˘····· |
| Scarce had the Pan, in his agony, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Sunk to the blood-sodden ground, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Crashed the great tree, and lay subjugate, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Trembled the earth at the sound. | 7 | /˘····· |
| Lo! and the sins of the anchorite | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| Passed from his soul like a breath. | 7 | ······· |
| "Let us pray God to incline to us, | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| Slaves in the shadow of Death...." | 7 | ···/··· |
Notes from the edition 1
The translator's own notes to Who Can Be Happy and Free in Russia? (Project Gutenberg #9619).
- Stanza 18, line 1 Polish title for nobleman or gentleman.
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.