V. Cæsar and His Slave
There is in town a certain setOf mortals, ever in a sweat,Who idly bustling here and there,Have never any time to spare,While upon nothing they discussWith heat, and most outrageous fuss,Plague to themselves, and to the restA most intolerable pest.I will correct this stupid clanOf busy-bodies, if I can,By a true story; lend an ear,'Tis worth a trifler's time to hear.Tiberius Cæsar, in his wayTo Naples, on a certain dayCame to his own Misenian seat,(Of old Lucullus's retreat,)Which from the mountain top surveysTwo seas, by looking different ways.Here a shrewd slave began to cringeWith dapper coat and sash of fringe,And, as his master walk'd betweenThe trees upon the tufted green,Finding the weather very hot,Officiates with his wat'ring-pot;And still attending through the glade,Is ostentatious of his aid.Cæsar turns to another row,Where neither sun nor rain could go;He, for the nearest cut he knows,Is still before with pot and rose.Cæsar observes him twist and shift,And understands the fellow's drift;"Here, you sir," says th' imperial lord.The bustler, hoping a reward,Runs skipping up. The chief in jestThus the poor jackanapes address'd"As here is no great matter done,Small is the premium you have won:The cuffs that make a servant free,Are for a better man than thee."
Words in this poem
- bustling a.
- Agitated; noisy; tumultuous; characterized by confused activity; as, a bustling crowd.
- discuss v. t.
- To break to pieces; to shatter. Sir T. Browne. [L. discussus, p. p. of discutere to strike asunder (hence came the sense to separate mentally, distinguish); dis- + quatere to shake, strike. See Quash.]
- outrageous a.
- Of the nature of an outrage; exceeding the limits of right, reason, or decency; involving or doing an outrage; furious; violent; atrocious. [OF. outrageus, F. outrageux. See Outrage, n.]
- fuss n.
- A tumult; a bustle; unnecessary or annoying ado about trifles. [Cf. Fusome.]
- pest n.
- A fatal epidemic disease; a pestilence; specif., the plague. [L. pestis: cf. F. peste.]
- shrewd a.
- Inclining to shrew; disposing to curse or scold; hence, vicious; malicious; evil; wicked; mischievous; vexatious; rough; unfair; shrewish. [Originally the p. p. of shrew, v.t.]
- dapper a.
- Little and active; spruce; trim; smart; neat in dress or appearance; lively. [OE. daper; prob. fr. D. dapper brave, valiant; akin to G. tapfer brave, OHG. taphar heavy, weighty, OSlav. dobrû good, Russ. dobrui. Cf. Deft.]
- glade n.
- An open passage through a wood; a grassy open or cleared space in a forest. [Prob. of Scand. origin, and akin to glad, a.; cf. also W. golead, goleuad, a lighting, illumination, fr. goleu light, clear, bright, goleu fwlch glade, lit., a ]
- bustler n.
- An active, stirring person.
- jest n.
- A deed; an action; a gest. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perfor]
- jackanapes n.
- A monkey; an ape. [For Jack o' (= of) apes; prop., a man who exhibits apes.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
V. Cæsar and His Slave 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, V. Cæsar and His Slave, in The Fables of Phaedrus (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #25512, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/phaedrus-fables/v-c-sar-and-his-slave.html, id L21268.
Form and metre
V. Cæsar and His Slave is 40 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSSTT setA · sweatA · thereB · spareB · discussC · fussC · restD · pestD · clanE · canE · earF · hearF · wayG · dayG · seatH · retreatH · surveysI · waysI · cringeJ · fringeJ · betweenK · greenK · hotL · potL · gladeM · aidM · rowN · goN · knowsO · roseO · shiftP · driftP · lordQ · rewardQ · jestR · address'dR · doneS · wonS · freeT · theeT
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 |
|---|---|---|
| There is in town a certain set | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of mortals, ever in a sweat, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Who idly bustling here and there, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Have never any time to spare, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| While upon nothing they discuss | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| With heat, and most outrageous fuss, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Plague to themselves, and to the rest | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| A most intolerable pest. | 8 | ··˘/˘˘˘· |
| I will correct this stupid clan | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Of busy-bodies, if I can, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| By a true story; lend an ear, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'Tis worth a trifler's time to hear. | 8 | ········ |
| Tiberius Cæsar, in his way | 7 | ······· |
| To Naples, on a certain day | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Came to his own Misenian seat, | 8 | ········ |
| (Of old Lucullus's retreat,) | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Which from the mountain top surveys | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Two seas, by looking different ways. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Here a shrewd slave began to cringe | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| With dapper coat and sash of fringe, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And, as his master walk'd between | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The trees upon the tufted green, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Finding the weather very hot, | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘· |
| Officiates with his wat'ring-pot; | 9 | ˘/˘······ |
| And still attending through the glade, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Is ostentatious of his aid. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Cæsar turns to another row, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| Where neither sun nor rain could go; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| He, for the nearest cut he knows, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Is still before with pot and rose. | 8 | ········ |
| Cæsar observes him twist and shift, | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| And understands the fellow's drift; | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| "Here, you sir," says th' imperial lord. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| The bustler, hoping a reward, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Runs skipping up. The chief in jest | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Thus the poor jackanapes address'd | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| "As here is no great matter done, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Small is the premium you have won: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The cuffs that make a servant free, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Are for a better man than thee." | 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.