Fable I. the Judicious Lion
A Lion on the carcass stoodOf a young heifer in the wood;A robber that was passing there,Came up, and ask'd him for a share."A share," says he, "you should receive,But that you seldom ask our leaveFor things so handily removed."At which the ruffian was reproved.It happen'd that the selfsame dayA modest pilgrim came that way,And when he saw the Lion, fled:Says he, "There is no cause of dread,In gentle tone--take you the chine,Which to your merit I assign."--Then having parted what he slew,To favour his approach withdrew.A great example, worthy praise,But not much copied now-a-days!For churls have coffers that o'erflow,And sheepish worth is poor and low.
Words in this poem
- carcass n.
- A dead body, whether of man or beast; a corpse; now commonly the dead body of a beast. [F. carcasse, fr. It. carcassa, fr. L. caro flesh + capsa chest, box, case. Cf. Carnal, Case a sheath.]
- handily adv.
- In a handy manner; skillfully; conveniently. [See Handy.]
- selfsame a.
- Precisely the same; the very same; identical. [Self, a. + same.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- sheepish a.
- Of or pertaining to sheep.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Fable I. the Judicious Lion 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, Fable I. the Judicious Lion, in The Fables of Phaedrus (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #25512, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/phaedrus-fables/fable-i-the-judicious-lion.html, id L21264.
Form and metre
Fable I. the Judicious Lion is 20 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 90% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFF--GGHHII stoodA · woodA · thereB · shareB · receiveC · leaveC · removedD · reprovedD · dayE · wayE · fledF · dreadF · chine · assign · slewG · withdrewG · praiseH · daysH · o'erflowI · lowI
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 on the carcass stood | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Of a young heifer in the wood; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A robber that was passing there, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Came up, and ask'd him for a share. | 8 | ········ |
| "A share," says he, "you should receive, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| But that you seldom ask our leave | 8 | ···/˘·/· |
| For things so handily removed." | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| At which the ruffian was reproved. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| It happen'd that the selfsame day | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A modest pilgrim came that way, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And when he saw the Lion, fled: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Says he, "There is no cause of dread, | 8 | ········ |
| In gentle tone--take you the chine, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Which to your merit I assign."-- | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Then having parted what he slew, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| To favour his approach withdrew. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘/ |
| A great example, worthy praise, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| But not much copied now-a-days! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For churls have coffers that o'erflow, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And sheepish worth is poor and low. | 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.