The Philosophers
The principle by which each thingToward strength and shape first tended,--The pulley whereon Zeus the ringOf earth, that loosely used to swing,With cautiousness suspended,--he is a clever man, I vow,Who its real name can tell me now,Unless to help him I consent--'Tis: ten and twelve are different!
Fire burns,--'tis chilly when it snows,Man always is two-footed,--The sun across the heavens goes,--This, he who naught of logic knowsFinds to his reason suited.Yet he who metaphysics learns,Knows that naught freezes when it burns--Knows that what's wet is never dry,--And that what's bright attracts the eye.
Old Homer sings his noble lays,The hero goes through dangers;The brave man duty's call obeys,And did so, even in the daysWhen sages yet were strangers--But heart and genius now have taughtWhat Locke and what Descartes never thought;By them immediately is shownThat which is possible alone.
In life avails the right of force.The bold the timid worries;Who rules not, is a slave of course,Without design each thing acrossEarth's stage forever hurries.Yet what would happen if the planWhich guides the world now first began,Within the moral system liesDisclosed with clearness to our eyes.
"When man would seek his destiny,Man's help must then be given;Save for the whole, ne'er labors he,--Of many drops is formed the sea,--By water mills are driven;Therefore the wolf's wild species flies,--Knit are the state's enduring ties."Thus Puffendorf and Feder, eachIs, ex cathedra, wont to teach.
Yet, if what such professors say,Each brain to enter durst not,Nature exerts her mother-sway,Provides that ne'er the chain gives way,And that the ripe fruits burst not.Meanwhile, until earth's structure vastPhilosophy can bind at last,'Tis she that bids its pinion move,By means of hunger and of love!
Words in this poem
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- cautiousness n.
- The quality of being cautious.
- hurries n.
- A staith or framework from which coal is discharged from cars into vessels.
- cathedra n.
- The official chair or throne of a bishop, or of any person in high authority. Ex cathedra Etym: [L., from the chair], in the exercise of one's office; with authority. [L., fr. Gr. Chair.]
- meanwhile n.
- The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
- pinion n.
- A moth of the genus Lithophane, as L. antennata, whose larva bores large holes in young peaches and apples.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Philosophers is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Schiller — Third period, Project Gutenberg ebook #6796; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Friedrich Schiller, The Philosophers, in The Poems of Schiller: Third Period (1805), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/schiller-third-period/the-philosophers-2.html, id L21912.
Form and metre
The Philosophers is 54 lines in 6 stanzas of 9 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAABCCDD, complete in 3 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
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 ABAABCCDD thingA · tendedB · ringA · swingA · suspendedB · vowC · nowC · consentD · differentD
- 2 A-AA-BBCC snowsA · footed · goesA · knowsA · suited · learnsB · burnsB · dryC · eyeC
- 3 ABAABCCDD laysA · dangersB · obeysA · daysA · strangersB · taughtC · thoughtC · shownD · aloneD
- 4 ABA-BCCDD forceA · worriesB · courseA · across · hurriesB · planC · beganC · liesD · eyesD
- 5 -ABBACCDD destiny · givenA · heB · seaB · drivenA · fliesC · tiesC · eachD · teachD
- 6 ABAABCCDD sayA · notB · swayA · wayA · notB · vastC · lastC · moveD · loveD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The principle by which each thing | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Toward strength and shape first tended,-- | 8 | ······/˘ |
| The pulley whereon Zeus the ring | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| Of earth, that loosely used to swing, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With cautiousness suspended,-- | 7 | ·/˘˘˘/˘ |
| he is a clever man, I vow, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Who its real name can tell me now, | 8 | ········ |
| Unless to help him I consent-- | 8 | ······˘/ |
| 'Tis: ten and twelve are different! | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Fire burns,--'tis chilly when it snows, | 8 | /··/˘··· |
| Man always is two-footed,-- | 7 | ·/···/˘ |
| The sun across the heavens goes,-- | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| This, he who naught of logic knows | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Finds to his reason suited. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Yet he who metaphysics learns, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Knows that naught freezes when it burns-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Knows that what's wet is never dry,-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And that what's bright attracts the eye. | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Old Homer sings his noble lays, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The hero goes through dangers; | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| The brave man duty's call obeys, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And did so, even in the days | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| When sages yet were strangers-- | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| But heart and genius now have taught | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| What Locke and what Descartes never thought; | 8 | ····˘//· |
| By them immediately is shown | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
| That which is possible alone. | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| In life avails the right of force. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| The bold the timid worries; | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Who rules not, is a slave of course, | 8 | ········ |
| Without design each thing across | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Earth's stage forever hurries. | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| Yet what would happen if the plan | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Which guides the world now first began, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Within the moral system lies | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Disclosed with clearness to our eyes. | 8 | ˘/·/˘·/· |
| "When man would seek his destiny, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Man's help must then be given; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Save for the whole, ne'er labors he,-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of many drops is formed the sea,-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| By water mills are driven; | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Therefore the wolf's wild species flies,-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Knit are the state's enduring ties." | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Thus Puffendorf and Feder, each | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Is, ex cathedra, wont to teach. | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| Yet, if what such professors say, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Each brain to enter durst not, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Nature exerts her mother-sway, | 8 | /˘˘/·/˘· |
| Provides that ne'er the chain gives way, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| And that the ripe fruits burst not. | 7 | ······· |
| Meanwhile, until earth's structure vast | 8 | /····/˘· |
| Philosophy can bind at last, | 8 | ˘/˘˘···· |
| 'Tis she that bids its pinion move, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| By means of hunger and of love! | 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.