The Advice

John Wilmot Rochester (1647–1680) · 1680

iambic pentameter · heroic couplets · 44 lines · from The Works of the Earl of Rochester

All Things submit themselves to your Command,Fair Cælia, when it does not Love withstand:The Pow'r it borrows from your Eyes alone;All but the God must yield to, who has none.Were he not blind, such are the Charms you have,He'd quit his Godhead to become your Slave:Be proud to act a mortal Hero's Part,And throw himself for Fame on his own Dart.But Fate has otherwise dispos'd of Things,In different Bands subjected Slaves and Kings:Fetter'd in Forms of Royal State are they,While we enjoy the Freedom to obey.That Fate like you resistless does ordain,To Love, that over Beauty he shall reign.By Harmony the Universe does move,And what is Harmony but mutual Love?Who would resist an Empire so divine,Which universal Nature does enjoin?See gentle Brooks, how quietly they glide,Kissing the rugged Banks on either Side.While in their Crystal Streams at once they show,And with them feed the Flow'rs which they bestow:Tho' rudely throng'd by a too near Embrace,In gentle Murmurs they keep on their PaceTo the lov'd Sea; for Streams have their Desires;Cool as they are, they feel Love's powerful Fires;And with such Passion, that if any ForceStop or molest them in their amorous Course;They swell, break down with Rage, and ravage o'erThe Banks they kiss'd, and Flow'rs they fed before.Submit then, Cælia, e'er you be reduc'd;For Rebels, vanquish'd once, are vilely us'd.Beauty's no more but the dead Soil, which LoveManures, and does by wise Commerce improve:Sailing by Sighs, thro' Seas of Tears, he sendsCourtships from foreign Hearts, for your own Ends:Cherish the Trade, for as with Indians weGet Gold and Jewels for our Trumpery:So to each other for their useless Toys,Lovers afford whole Magazines of Joys.But if you're fond of Baubles, be, and starve,Your Guegaw Reputation still preserve:Live upon Modesty and empty Fame,Foregoing Sense for a fantastick Name.

Words in this poem

resistless a.
Having no power to resist; making no opposition.
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,]
enjoin v. t.
To join or unite. Hooker.
molest v. t.
To trouble; to disturb; to render uneasy; to interfere with; to vex. [F. molester, L. molestare, fr. molestus troublesome, fr. moles a heavy mass, load, burden. See 3d Mole.]
trumpery n.
Deceit; fraud. Grenewey. [F. tromperie deceit, fr. tromper to deceive. See Trump to trick.]

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

About this text

The Advice is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Works of the Right Honourable John, Earl of Rochester Consisting of Satires, Songs, Translations, and other Occasional Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #44891; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: John Wilmot Rochester, The Advice, in The Works of the Earl of Rochester (1680), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44891, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rochester-works/the-advice.html, id L09178.

Form and metre

The Advice is 44 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 73% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.

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 AA--BBCCDDEEFFGG--HHIIJJKKLL----MMNN--OO--PP commandA · withstandA · alone · none · haveB · slaveB · partC · dartC · thingsD · kingsD · theyE · obeyE · ordainF · reignF · moveG · loveG · divine · enjoin · glideH · sideH · showI · bestowI · embraceJ · paceJ · desiresK · firesK · forceL · courseL · o'er · before · reduc'd · us'd · loveM · improveM · sendsN · endsN · we · trumpery · toysO · joysO · starve · preserve · fameP · nameP
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 pentameter. How this is done.

LineSyl.Stress
All Things submit themselves to your Command,10··˘/˘/··˘/
Fair Cælia, when it does not Love withstand:10········˘/
The Pow'r it borrows from your Eyes alone;10···/˘···˘/
All but the God must yield to, who has none.10··········
Were he not blind, such are the Charms you have,10··········
He'd quit his Godhead to become your Slave:10···/··˘/··
Be proud to act a mortal Hero's Part,10·····/˘/˘·
And throw himself for Fame on his own Dart.10··˘/······
But Fate has otherwise dispos'd of Things,10···/˘·˘/··
In different Bands subjected Slaves and Kings:10·/˘·˘/˘···
Fetter'd in Forms of Royal State are they,10/˘···/˘···
While we enjoy the Freedom to obey.10··˘/·/˘·˘/
That Fate like you resistless does ordain,10····˘/˘·˘/
To Love, that over Beauty he shall reign.10·····/˘···
By Harmony the Universe does move,10·/˘˘·/˘···
And what is Harmony but mutual Love?10···/˘·/˘˘·
Who would resist an Empire so divine,10··˘/·/˘·˘/
Which universal Nature does enjoin?10··˘/˘/˘·˘/
See gentle Brooks, how quietly they glide,10·/˘··/˘˘··
Kissing the rugged Banks on either Side.10/˘·/˘··/˘·
While in their Crystal Streams at once they show,10···/˘·····
And with them feed the Flow'rs which they bestow:10········˘/
Tho' rudely throng'd by a too near Embrace,10·/˘·····˘/
In gentle Murmurs they keep on their Pace10·/˘/˘·····
To the lov'd Sea; for Streams have their Desires;11········˘/˘
Cool as they are, they feel Love's powerful Fires;10·······/˘/
And with such Passion, that if any Force10···/˘··/˘·
Stop or molest them in their amorous Course;10··˘/···/˘·
They swell, break down with Rage, and ravage o'er10·······/˘·
The Banks they kiss'd, and Flow'rs they fed before.10··········
Submit then, Cælia, e'er you be reduc'd;10˘/······˘/
For Rebels, vanquish'd once, are vilely us'd.11·/˘/˘······
Beauty's no more but the dead Soil, which Love10/˘········
Manures, and does by wise Commerce improve:10˘/····/˘˘/
Sailing by Sighs, thro' Seas of Tears, he sends10/˘········
Courtships from foreign Hearts, for your own Ends:10/··/˘·····
Cherish the Trade, for as with Indians we10/˘·····/˘·
Get Gold and Jewels for our Trumpery:11···/˘·/˘/˘˘
So to each other for their useless Toys,10···/˘··/˘·
Lovers afford whole Magazines of Joys.10/˘˘/·/˘···
But if you're fond of Baubles, be, and starve,10·····/˘···
Your Guegaw Reputation still preserve:10····˘/˘·˘/
Live upon Modesty and empty Fame,10···/˘˘·/˘·
Foregoing Sense for a fantastick Name.10˘/˘·······

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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