Phædrus to the Cavillers
Thou that against my tales inveigh'st,As much too pleasant for thy taste;Egregious critic, cease to scoff,While for a time I play you off,And strive to soothe your puny rage.As Esop comes upon the stage,And dress'd entirely new in Rome,Thus enters with the tragic plume.--"O that the fair Thessalian pineHad never felt the wrath divine,And fearless of the axe's wound,Had still the Pelian mountain crown'd!That Argus by Palladian aidHad ne'er the advent'rous vessel made;In which at first, without dismay,Death's bold professors won their way,In which th' inhospitable mainWas first laid open for the baneOf Grecians and barbarians too.Which made the proud Æetas rue,And whence Medea's crimes to noughtThe house and reign of Pelias brought.She--while in various forms she triesHer furious spirit to disguise,At one place in her flight bestow'dHer brother's limbs upon the road;And at another could betrayThe daughters their own sire to slay."How think you now?--What arrant trash!And our assertions much too rash!--Since prior to th' Ægean fleetDid Minos piracy defeat,And made adventures on the sea.How then shall you and I agree?Since, stern as Cato's self, you hateAll tales alike, both small and great.Plague not too much the man of parts;For he that does it surely smarts.--This threat is to the fools, that squeamAt every thing of good esteem;And that they may to taste pretend,Ev'n heaven itself will discommend.
Words in this poem
- soothe v. t.
- To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
- puny a.
- Imperfectly developed in size or vigor; small and feeble; inferior; petty. [F. puîté younger, later born, OF. puisné; puis afterwards (L. post; see Post-) + né born, L. natus. See Natal, and cf. Puisne.]
- thessalian a.
- Of or pertaining to Thessaly in Greece. [Cf. L. Thessalius.]
- argus n.
- A fabulous being of antiquity, said to have had a hundred eyes, who has placed by Juno to guard Io. His eyes were transplanted to the peacock's tail.
- palladian a.
- Of, pertaining to, or designating, a variety of the revived classic style of architecture, founded on the works of Andrea Palladio, an Italian architect of the 16th century.
- inhospitable a.
- Not hospitable; not disposed to show hospitality to strangers or guests; as, an inhospitable person or people. [Pref. in- not + hospitable: cf. L. inhospitalis.]
- bane v. t.
- To be the bane of; to ruin. Fuller.
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- arrant a.
- Notoriously or preëminently bad; thorough or downright, in a bad sense; shameless; unmitigated; as, an arrant rogue or coward. [OE. erraunt, errant, errand, equiv. to E. errant wandering, which was first applied to vagabonds, as an errant rogue, an errant thief, and hence passed graduall]
- minos n.
- A king and lawgiver of Crete, fabled to be the son of Jupiter and Europa. After death he was made a judge in the Lower Regions.
- piracy n.
- The act or crime of a pirate. [Cf. LL. piratia, Gr. Pirate.]
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
- 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,]
- discommend v. t.
- To mention with disapprobation; to blame; to disapprove.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Phædrus to the Cavillers 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 to the Cavillers, in The Fables of Phaedrus (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #25512, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/phaedrus-fables/ph-drus-to-the-cavillers.html, id L21298.
Form and metre
Phædrus to the Cavillers is 42 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 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 --AABB--CCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSS inveigh'st · taste · scoffA · offA · rageB · stageB · rome · plume · pineC · divineC · woundD · crown'dD · aidE · madeE · dismayF · wayF · mainG · baneG · tooH · rueH · noughtI · broughtI · triesJ · disguiseJ · bestow'dK · roadK · betrayL · slayL · trashM · rashM · fleetN · defeatN · seaO · agreeO · hateP · greatP · partsQ · smartsQ · squeamR · esteemR · pretendS · discommendS
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thou that against my tales inveigh'st, | 8 | ········ |
| As much too pleasant for thy taste; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Egregious critic, cease to scoff, | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| While for a time I play you off, | 8 | ········ |
| And strive to soothe your puny rage. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As Esop comes upon the stage, | 8 | ········ |
| And dress'd entirely new in Rome, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Thus enters with the tragic plume.-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| "O that the fair Thessalian pine | 9 | ····˘/˘˘· |
| Had never felt the wrath divine, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And fearless of the axe's wound, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Had still the Pelian mountain crown'd! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That Argus by Palladian aid | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘· |
| Had ne'er the advent'rous vessel made; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| In which at first, without dismay, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Death's bold professors won their way, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| In which th' inhospitable main | 8 | ··˘/˘˘˘· |
| Was first laid open for the bane | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of Grecians and barbarians too. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Which made the proud Æetas rue, | 7 | ······· |
| And whence Medea's crimes to nought | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| The house and reign of Pelias brought. | 8 | ········ |
| She--while in various forms she tries | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Her furious spirit to disguise, | 8 | ·/˘˘/·˘/ |
| At one place in her flight bestow'd | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Her brother's limbs upon the road; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And at another could betray | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| The daughters their own sire to slay." | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| How think you now?--What arrant trash! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And our assertions much too rash!-- | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Since prior to th' Ægean fleet | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Did Minos piracy defeat, | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| And made adventures on the sea. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| How then shall you and I agree? | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Since, stern as Cato's self, you hate | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| All tales alike, both small and great. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Plague not too much the man of parts; | 8 | ········ |
| For he that does it surely smarts.-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| This threat is to the fools, that squeam | 8 | ········ |
| At every thing of good esteem; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And that they may to taste pretend, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Ev'n heaven itself will discommend. | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
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