Epilogus

Prudentius (348–413) · 1905

34 lines · from The Hymns of Prudentius

Inmolat Deo Patripius, fidelis, innocens, pudicusdona conscientiae,quibus beata mens abundat intus:alter et pecuniamrecidit, unde victitent egeni.Nos citos iambicossacramus et rotatiles trochaeos,sanctitatis indiginec ad levamen pauperum potentes;adprobat tamen Deuspedestre carmen, et benignus audit.Multa divitis domosita est per omnes angulos supellex.Fulget aureus scyphus,nec aere defit expolita pelvis:est et olla fictilis,gravisque et ampla argentea est parabsis.Sunt eburna quaepiam,nonnulla quercu sunt cavata et ulmo:omne vas fit utile,quod est ad usum congruens herilem,Instruunt enim domumut empta magno, sic parata ligno.Me paterno in atriout obsoletum vasculum caducisChristus aptat usibus,sinitque parte in anguli manere.Munus ecce fictileinimus intra regiam salutis;attamen vel infimamDeo obsequelam praestitisse prodest.Quidquid illud accidit,iuvabit ore personasse Christum.

Words in this poem

unde a.
Waving or wavy; -- applied to ordinaries, or division lines. [F. ondé.]
audit n.
An audience; a hearing. [L. auditus a hearing, fr. audire. See Audible, a.]
scyphus n.
A kind of large drinking cup, -- used by Greeks and Romans, esp. by poor folk.
olla n.
A pot or jar having a wide mouth; a cinerary urn, especially one of baked clay. [See Olio.]
utile a.
Profitable; useful. [L. utilis, fr. uti to use: cf. F. utile. See Use, v. t.]
quod v.
Quoth; said. See Quoth.
fictile a.
Molded, or capable of being molded, into form by art; relating to pottery or to molding in any soft material. [L. fictilis. See Fiction.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Epilogus is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Hymns of Prudentius, Project Gutenberg ebook #14959; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Prudentius, Epilogus, in The Hymns of Prudentius (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #14959, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/prudentius-hymns/epilogus.html, id L23689.

Form and metre

Epilogus is 34 lines in a single stanza.

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. 1 -A-A------------BB-------C---C---- patri · pudicusA · conscientiae · intusA · pecuniam · egeni · iambicos · trochaeos · indigi · potentes · deus · audit · domo · supellex · scyphus · pelvis · fictilisB · parabsisB · quaepiam · ulmo · utile · herilem · domum · ligno · atrio · caducisC · usibus · manere · fictile · salutisC · infimam · prodest · accidit · christum
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. How this is done.

LineSyl.Stress
Inmolat Deo Patri7···/˘··
pius, fidelis, innocens, pudicus11/˘·········
dona conscientiae,4/˘··
quibus beata mens abundat intus:11··˘/˘······
alter et pecuniam6/˘····
recidit, unde victitent egeni.11···/˘······
Nos citos iambicos6······
sacramus et rotatiles trochaeos,9·········
sanctitatis indigi7·······
nec ad levamen pauperum potentes;10········/˘
adprobat tamen Deus6······
pedestre carmen, et benignus audit.10··/˘····/˘
Multa divitis domo7·······
sita est per omnes angulos supellex.12··˘/··˘/˘···
Fulget aureus scyphus,6····/˘
nec aere defit expolita pelvis:10········/˘
est et olla fictilis,8˘/·/˘···
gravisque et ampla argentea est parabsis.13········˘/···
Sunt eburna quaepiam,6······
nonnulla quercu sunt cavata et ulmo:12············
omne vas fit utile,5···/˘
quod est ad usum congruens herilem,11·˘/········
Instruunt enim domum6······
ut empta magno, sic parata ligno.11···/˘······
Me paterno in atrio7·˘/˘···
ut obsoletum vasculum caducis11·····/˘˘···
Christus aptat usibus,7·······
sinitque parte in anguli manere.9·········
Munus ecce fictile5···/˘
inimus intra regiam salutis;10···/˘·····
attamen vel infimam7·······
Deo obsequelam praestitisse prodest.11/˘·······/˘
Quidquid illud accidit,7·······
iuvabit ore personasse Christum.9·········

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.

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