Horace, Part of Book I, Sat. Vi, Paraphrased 1733
If Noisy Tom should in the senate prate,"That he would answer both for church and state;And, farther, to demonstrate his affection,Would take the kingdom into his protection;"All mortals must be curious to inquire,Who could this coxcomb be, and who his sire?"What! thou, the spawn of him who shamed our isle,Traitor, assassin, and informer vile!Though by the female side, you proudly bring,To mend your breed, the murderer of a king:What was thy grandsire, but a mountaineer,Who held a cabin for ten groats a-year:Whose master Moore preserved him from the halter,For stealing cows! nor could he read the Psalter!Durst thou, ungrateful, from the senate chaseThy founder's grandson, and usurp his place?Just Heaven! to see the dunghill bastard broodSurvive in thee, and make the proverb good?Then vote a worthy citizen to jail,In spite of justice, and refuse his bail!"
Words in this poem
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- informer n.
- One who informs, animates, or inspires. Thomson. [From Inform,v.]
- grandsire n.
- Specifically, a grandfather; more generally, any ancestor. [OF. grantsire. See Grand, and Sire.]
- mountaineer n.
- An inhabitant of a mountain; one who lives among mountains. [OF. montanier, LL. montanarius. See Mountain.]
- groats n.
- Dried grain, as oats or wheat, hulled and broken or crushed; in high milling, cracked fragments of wheat larger than grits. Embden groats, crushed oats. [OE. grot, AS. gratan; akin to Icel. grautr porridge, and to E. gritt, grout. See Grout.]
- psalter n.
- The Book of Psalms; -- often applied to a book containing the Psalms separately printed. [OE. psauter, sauter, OF. sautier, psaltier, F. psautier, from L. psalterium. See Psaltery.]
- ungrateful a.
- Not grateful; not thankful for favors; making no returns, or making ill return for kindness, attention, etc.; ingrateful. South.
- dunghill n.
- A heap of dung.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Horace, Part of Book I, Sat. Vi, Paraphrased 1733 is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #13621; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Jonathan Swift, Horace, Part of Book I, Sat. Vi, Paraphrased 1733, in Poems, Volume II (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/horace-part-of-book-i-sat-vi-paraphrased-1733.html, id L09354.
Form and metre
Horace, Part of Book I, Sat. Vi, Paraphrased 1733 is 20 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 80% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% 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 AABB--CCDDEEFFGG--HH prateA · stateA · affectionB · protectionB · inquire · sire · isleC · vileC · bringD · kingD · mountaineerE · yearE · halterF · psalterF · chaseG · placeG · brood · good · jailH · bailH
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.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| If Noisy Tom should in the senate prate, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| "That he would answer both for church and state; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And, farther, to demonstrate his affection, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘··˘/˘ |
| Would take the kingdom into his protection;" | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| All mortals must be curious to inquire, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Who could this coxcomb be, and who his sire? | 10 | ···/˘····/ |
| "What! thou, the spawn of him who shamed our isle, | 10 | ········/· |
| Traitor, assassin, and informer vile! | 10 | /˘˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Though by the female side, you proudly bring, | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| To mend your breed, the murderer of a king: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| What was thy grandsire, but a mountaineer, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Who held a cabin for ten groats a-year: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Whose master Moore preserved him from the halter, | 11 | ·/˘·˘/···/˘ |
| For stealing cows! nor could he read the Psalter! | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| Durst thou, ungrateful, from the senate chase | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Thy founder's grandson, and usurp his place? | 9 | ·//···/·· |
| Just Heaven! to see the dunghill bastard brood | 10 | ·/···/˘/˘· |
| Survive in thee, and make the proverb good? | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Then vote a worthy citizen to jail, | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| In spite of justice, and refuse his bail!" | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
Notes from the edition 9
The notes to the Poems of Jonathan Swift, Volume II (Project Gutenberg #13621).
- Line 1 Sir Thomas Prendergast. See post, p. 266.
- Line 7 The father of Sir Thomas Prendergast, who engaged in a plot to murder King William III; but, to avoid being hanged, turned informer against his associates, for which he was rewarded with a good estate, and made a baronet.--F.
- Line 9 Cadogan's family.--F.
- Line 11 A poor thieving cottager under Mr. Moore, condemned at Clonmel assizes to be hanged for stealing cows.--F.
- Line 13 The grandfather of Guy Moore, Esq., who procured him a pardon.--F.
- Line 16 Guy Moore was fairly elected member of Parliament for Clonmel; but Sir Thomas, depending upon his interest with a certain party then prevailing, and since known by the title of parson-hunters, petitioned the House against him; out of which he was turned upon pretence of bribery, which the paying of his lawful debts was then voted to be.--F.
- Line 18 "Save a thief from the gallows, and he will cut your throat."--F.
- Line 19 Mr. George Faulkner. Mr. Sergeant Bettesworth, a member of the Irish Parliament, having made a complaint to the House of Commons against the "Satire on Quadrille," they voted Faulkner the printer into custody (who was confined closely in prison three days, when he was in a very bad state of health, and his life in much danger) for not discovering the author.--F.
- Line 20 Among the poems, etc., preserved by Mr. Smith are verses on the same subject and person with these in the text. The verses are given in Swift's works, edit. Scott, xii, 448.--W. E. B.
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