Book II
The way of writing Esop chose,Sound doctrine by example shows;For nothing by these tales is meant,So much as that the bad repent;And by the pattern that is set,Due diligence itself should whet.Wherefore, whatever arch conceitYou in our narratives shall meet(If with the critic's ear it take,And for some special purpose make),Aspires by real use to fame,Rather than from an author's name.In fact, with all the care I can,I shall abide by Esop's plan:But if at times I intersperseMy own materials in the verse,That sweet variety may pleaseThe fancy, and attention ease;Receive it in a friendly way;Which grace I purpose to repayBy this consciousness of my song;Whose praises, lest they be too long,Attend, why you should stint the sneak,But give the modest, ere they seek.
Words in this poem
- repent a.
- Prostrate and rooting; -- said of stems. Gray. [L. repens, -entis, creeping, p. pr. of repere to creep.]
- whet v. t.
- To rub or on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening; to sharpen by attrition; as, to whet a knife. [AS. hwettan; akin to D. wetten, G. wetzen, OHG. wezzen, Icel. hvetja, Sw. vättja, and AS. hwæt vigorous, brave, OS. hwat, OHG. waz, was, sharp, Icel. hvatr, bol]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- 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,]
- intersperse v. t.
- To scatter or set here and there among other things; to insert at intervals; as, to intersperse pictures in a book. [L. interspersus interspersed; inter between, among + spargere to scatter. See Sparse.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book II is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Fables of Phædrus Literally translated into English prose with notes, Project Gutenberg ebook #25512; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Phaedrus, Book II, in The Fables of Phaedrus (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #25512, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/phaedrus-fables/book-ii.html, id L21263.
Form and metre
Book II is 24 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLL choseA · showsA · meantB · repentB · setC · whetC · conceitD · meetD · takeE · makeE · fameF · nameF · canG · planG · intersperseH · verseH · pleaseI · easeI · wayJ · repayJ · songK · longK · sneakL · seekL
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 way of writing Esop chose, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Sound doctrine by example shows; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| For nothing by these tales is meant, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| So much as that the bad repent; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And by the pattern that is set, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Due diligence itself should whet. | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/·· |
| Wherefore, whatever arch conceit | 8 | /˘·/˘·˘/ |
| You in our narratives shall meet | 8 | ··//˘˘·· |
| (If with the critic's ear it take, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And for some special purpose make), | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Aspires by real use to fame, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Rather than from an author's name. | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| In fact, with all the care I can, | 8 | ········ |
| I shall abide by Esop's plan: | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| But if at times I intersperse | 8 | ······˘/ |
| My own materials in the verse, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| That sweet variety may please | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
| The fancy, and attention ease; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Receive it in a friendly way; | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Which grace I purpose to repay | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| By this consciousness of my song; | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| Whose praises, lest they be too long, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Attend, why you should stint the sneak, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| But give the modest, ere they seek. | 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.