Optimus
There is a deep and subtle snareWhose sure temptation hardly fails,Which, just because it looks so fair,Only a noble heart assails.
So all the more we need be strongAgainst this false and seeming Right;Which none the less is deadly wrong,Because it glitters clothed in light.
When duties unfulfilled remain,Or noble works are left unplanned,Or when great deeds cry out in vainOn coward heart and trembling hand,--
Then will a seeming Angel speak:--"The hours are fleeting--great the need--If thou art strong and others weak,Thine be the effort and the deed.
"Deaf are their ears who ought to hear;Idle their hands, and dull their soul;While sloth, or ignorance, or fear,Fetters them with a blind control.
"Sort thou the tangled web aright;Take thou the toil--take thou the pain:For fear the hour begin its flight,While Right and Duty plead in vain."
And now it is I bid thee pause,Nor let this Tempter bend thy will:There are diviner, truer lawsThat teach a nobler lesson still.
Learn that each duty makes its claimUpon one soul: not each on all.How, if God speaks thy Brother's name,Dare thou make answer to the call?
The greater peril in the strife,The less this evil should be done;For as in battle, so in life,Danger and honour still are one.
Arouse him then:- this is thy part:Show him the claim; point out the need;And nerve his arm, and cheer his heart;Then stand aside, and say "God speed!"
Smooth thou his path ere it is trod;Burnish the arms that he must wield;And pray, with all thy strength, that GodMay crown him Victor of the field.
And then, I think, thy soul shall feelA nobler thrill of true content,Than if presumptuous, eager zealHad seized a crown for others meant.
And even that very deed shall shineIn mystic sense, divine and true,More wholly and more purely thine--Because it is another's too.
Words in this poem
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- aright adv.
- Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
- tempter n.
- One who tempts or entices; especially, Satan, or the Devil, regarded as the great enticer to evil.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- burnish v. t.
- To cause to shine; to make smooth and bright; to polish; specifically, to polish by rubbing with something hard and smooth; as, to burnish brass or paper. [OE. burnischen, burnissen, burnen, OF. burnir, brunir, to make brown, polish, F. brunir, fr. F. brun brown, fr. OHG. br; cf. MHG. briunen to make brown, polish.]
- wield v. t.
- To govern; to rule; to keep, or have in charge; also, to possess. [OE. welden to govern, to have power over, to possess, AS. geweldan, gewyldan, from wealdan; akin to OS. waldan, OFries. walda, G. walten, OHG. waltan, Icel. val]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Optimus is in the public domain. This text is taken from Legends and Lyrics. Part 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #2304; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Adelaide Anne Procter, Optimus, in Legends and Lyrics: Second Series (1861), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2304, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/procter-legends-lyrics/optimus.html, id L21762.
Form and metre
Optimus is 52 lines in 13 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See 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 ABAB snareA · failsB · fairA · assailsB
- 2 ABAB strongA · rightB · wrongA · lightB
- 3 ABAB remainA · unplannedB · vainA · handB
- 4 ABAB speakA · needB · weakA · deedB
- 5 ABAB hearA · soulB · fearA · controlB
- 6 ABAB arightA · painB · flightA · vainB
- 7 ABAB pauseA · willB · lawsA · stillB
- 8 ABAB claimA · allB · nameA · callB
- 9 ABAB strifeA · doneB · lifeA · oneB
- 10 ABAB partA · needB · heartA · speedB
- 11 ABAB trodA · wieldB · godA · fieldB
- 12 ABAB feelA · contentB · zealA · meantB
- 13 ABAB shineA · trueB · thineA · tooB
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 a deep and subtle snare | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Whose sure temptation hardly fails, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Which, just because it looks so fair, | 8 | ········ |
| Only a noble heart assails. | 8 | /˘·/˘·˘/ |
| So all the more we need be strong | 8 | ········ |
| Against this false and seeming Right; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Which none the less is deadly wrong, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Because it glitters clothed in light. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| When duties unfulfilled remain, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘/ |
| Or noble works are left unplanned, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Or when great deeds cry out in vain | 8 | ········ |
| On coward heart and trembling hand,-- | 8 | ·/··/˘˘· |
| Then will a seeming Angel speak:-- | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| "The hours are fleeting--great the need-- | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| If thou art strong and others weak, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thine be the effort and the deed. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "Deaf are their ears who ought to hear; | 8 | ········ |
| Idle their hands, and dull their soul; | 8 | /˘······ |
| While sloth, or ignorance, or fear, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Fetters them with a blind control. | 8 | /˘····˘/ |
| "Sort thou the tangled web aright; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Take thou the toil--take thou the pain: | 8 | ········ |
| For fear the hour begin its flight, | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| While Right and Duty plead in vain." | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And now it is I bid thee pause, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor let this Tempter bend thy will: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| There are diviner, truer laws | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| That teach a nobler lesson still. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Learn that each duty makes its claim | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Upon one soul: not each on all. | 8 | ········ |
| How, if God speaks thy Brother's name, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Dare thou make answer to the call? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The greater peril in the strife, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The less this evil should be done; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For as in battle, so in life, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Danger and honour still are one. | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Arouse him then:- this is thy part: | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Show him the claim; point out the need; | 8 | ········ |
| And nerve his arm, and cheer his heart; | 8 | ········ |
| Then stand aside, and say "God speed!" | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Smooth thou his path ere it is trod; | 8 | ········ |
| Burnish the arms that he must wield; | 8 | /˘······ |
| And pray, with all thy strength, that God | 8 | ········ |
| May crown him Victor of the field. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And then, I think, thy soul shall feel | 8 | ········ |
| A nobler thrill of true content, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Than if presumptuous, eager zeal | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Had seized a crown for others meant. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And even that very deed shall shine | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| In mystic sense, divine and true, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| More wholly and more purely thine-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Because it is another's too. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
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