Phædrus, on His Fables
What certain envious hearts intendI very clearly comprehend,Let them dissemble e'er so much.--When they perceive the master's touch,And find 'tis likely to endure,They'll say 'tis Esop to be sure--But what appears of mean design,At any rate they'll vouch for mine.These in a word I would refute:Whether of great or no repute,What sprung from Esop's fertile thoughtThis hand has to perfection brought;But waiving things to our distaste,Let's to the destined period haste.
Words in this poem
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- intend v. t.
- To stretch' to extend; to distend. [OE. entenden to be attentive, F. entendre, fr. L. intendre, intentum, and intensum, to intend, attend, stretch out, extend; pref. in- in + tendere to stretch, s]
- dissemble v. t.
- To hide under a false semblance or seeming; to feign (something) not to be what it really is; to put an untrue appearance upon; to disguise; to mask. [OF. dissembler to be dissimilar; pref. dis- (L. dis-) + F. sembler to seem, L. simulare to simulate; cf. L. dissimulare to dissemble. See Simulate, and cf. Diss]
- vouch v. t.
- To call; to summon. [OE. vouchen, OF. vochier to call, fr. L. vocare to call, fr. vox, vocis, voice. See Voice, and cf. Avouch.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Phædrus, on His Fables 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, Phædrus, on His Fables, in The Fables of Phaedrus (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #25512, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/phaedrus-fables/ph-drus-on-his-fables.html, id L21308.
Form and metre
Phædrus, on His Fables is 14 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGG intendA · comprehendA · muchB · touchB · endureC · sureC · designD · mineD · refuteE · reputeE · thoughtF · broughtF · distasteG · hasteG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What certain envious hearts intend | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| I very clearly comprehend, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Let them dissemble e'er so much.-- | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| When they perceive the master's touch, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| And find 'tis likely to endure, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| They'll say 'tis Esop to be sure-- | 8 | ········ |
| But what appears of mean design, | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| At any rate they'll vouch for mine. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| These in a word I would refute: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Whether of great or no repute, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| What sprung from Esop's fertile thought | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| This hand has to perfection brought; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| But waiving things to our distaste, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘/ |
| Let's to the destined period haste. | 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.