Mopsus
Than such a boonWhat dearer could I deem? the boy himselfWas worthy to be sung, and many a timeHath Stimichon to me your singing praised.
"In dazzling sheen with unaccustomed eyesDaphnis stands rapt before Olympus' gate,And sees beneath his feet the clouds and stars.Wherefore the woods and fields, Pan, shepherd-folk,And Dryad-maidens, thrill with eager joy;Nor wolf with treacherous wile assails the flock,Nor nets the stag: kind Daphnis loveth peace.The unshorn mountains to the stars up-tossVoices of gladness; ay, the very rocks,The very thickets, shout and sing, 'A god,A god is he, Menalcas "Be thou kind,Propitious to thine own. Lo! altars four,Twain to thee, Daphnis, and to Phoebus twainFor sacrifice, we build; and I for theeTwo beakers yearly of fresh milk afoam,And of rich olive-oil two bowls, will set;And of the wine-god's bounty above all,If cold, before the hearth, or in the shadeAt harvest-time, to glad the festal hour,From flasks of Ariusian grape will pourSweet nectar. Therewithal at my behestShall Lyctian Aegon and Damoetas sing,And Alphesiboeus emulate in danceThe dancing Satyrs. This, thy service due,Shalt thou lack never, both when we pay the NymphsOur yearly vows, and when with lustral ritesThe fields we hallow. Long as the wild boarShall love the mountain-heights, and fish the streams,While bees on thyme and crickets feed on dew,Thy name, thy praise, thine honour, shall endure.Even as to Bacchus and to Ceres, soTo thee the swain his yearly vows shall make;And thou thereof, like them, shalt quittance claim."
How, how repay thee for a song so rare?For not the whispering south-wind on its waySo much delights me, nor wave-smitten beach,Nor streams that race adown their bouldered beds.
First this frail hemlock-stalk to you I give,Which taught me "Corydon with love was firedFor fair Alexis," ay, and this beside,"Who owns the flock?- Meliboeus?"
But take youThis shepherd's crook, which, howso hard he begged,Antigenes, then worthy to be loved,Prevailed not to obtain- with brass, you see,And equal knots, Menalcas, fashioned fair!
Words in this poem 22
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- rapt n.
- An ecstasy; a trance. Bp. Morton. [From F. rapt abduction, rape, L. raptus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to transport; or fr. E. rapt, a. See Rapt, a., and Rapid.]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- wile n.
- A trick or stratagem practiced for insnaring or deception; a sly, insidious; artifice; a beguilement; an allurement. [OE. wile, AS. wil; cf. Icel. v, væl. Cf. Guile.]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- phoebus n.
- Apollo; the sun god.
- afoam adv.
- In a foaming state; as, the sea is all afoam. [Pref. a- + foam.]
- bounty n.
- Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
- festal a.
- Of or pertaining to a holiday or a feast; joyous; festive. [L. festum holiday, feast. See feast.]
- therewithal adv.
- Over and above; besides; moreover. Daniel.
- behest v. t.
- To vow. Paston.
- 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,]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- lustral a.
- Of or pertaining to, or used for, purification; as, lustral days; lustral water. [L. lustralis, fr. lustrum: cf. F. lustral. See Lustrum.]
- hallow v. t.
- To make holy; to set apart for holy or religious use; to consecrate; to treat or keep as sacred; to reverence. [OE. halowen, halwien, halgien, AS. halgian, fr. halig holy. See Holy.]
- 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.]
- ceres n.
- The daughter of Saturn and Ops or Rhea, the goddess of corn and tillage. [L., Ceres, also corn, grain, akin to E. create.]
- quittance v. t.
- To repay; to requite.
- adown adv.
- From a higher to a lower situation; downward; down, to or on the ground. [OE. adun, adoun, adune. AS. of dune off the hill. See Down.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Mopsus is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Bucolics and Eclogues, Project Gutenberg ebook #230; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Virgil, Mopsus, in The Eclogues (1881), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #230, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/virgil-eclogues/mopsus.html, id L25454.
Form and metre
Mopsus is 50 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See 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.
- 4 -AA- give · firedA · besideA · meliboeus
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Than such a boon | 4 | ···· |
| What dearer could I deem? the boy himself | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Was worthy to be sung, and many a time | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| Hath Stimichon to me your singing praised. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| "In dazzling sheen with unaccustomed eyes | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Daphnis stands rapt before Olympus' gate, | 10 | /˘····˘/˘· |
| And sees beneath his feet the clouds and stars. | 10 | ·········· |
| Wherefore the woods and fields, Pan, shepherd-folk, | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| And Dryad-maidens, thrill with eager joy; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Nor wolf with treacherous wile assails the flock, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Nor nets the stag: kind Daphnis loveth peace. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The unshorn mountains to the stars up-toss | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Voices of gladness; ay, the very rocks, | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| The very thickets, shout and sing, 'A god, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| A god is he, Menalcas "Be thou kind, | 10 | ·········· |
| Propitious to thine own. Lo! altars four, | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| Twain to thee, Daphnis, and to Phoebus twain | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| For sacrifice, we build; and I for thee | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Two beakers yearly of fresh milk afoam, | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| And of rich olive-oil two bowls, will set; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And of the wine-god's bounty above all, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| If cold, before the hearth, or in the shade | 10 | ·········· |
| At harvest-time, to glad the festal hour, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| From flasks of Ariusian grape will pour | 9 | ········· |
| Sweet nectar. Therewithal at my behest | 11 | ·/˘······˘/ |
| Shall Lyctian Aegon and Damoetas sing, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And Alphesiboeus emulate in dance | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| The dancing Satyrs. This, thy service due, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Shalt thou lack never, both when we pay the Nymphs | 10 | ···/······ |
| Our yearly vows, and when with lustral rites | 10 | //˘····/˘· |
| The fields we hallow. Long as the wild boar | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Shall love the mountain-heights, and fish the streams, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| While bees on thyme and crickets feed on dew, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thy name, thy praise, thine honour, shall endure. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Even as to Bacchus and to Ceres, so | 10 | /··/˘··/˘· |
| To thee the swain his yearly vows shall make; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And thou thereof, like them, shalt quittance claim." | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| How, how repay thee for a song so rare? | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| For not the whispering south-wind on its way | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| So much delights me, nor wave-smitten beach, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Nor streams that race adown their bouldered beds. | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| First this frail hemlock-stalk to you I give, | 10 | ···/······ |
| Which taught me "Corydon with love was fired | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| For fair Alexis," ay, and this beside, | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| "Who owns the flock?- Meliboeus?" | 8 | ········ |
| But take you | 3 | ··· |
| This shepherd's crook, which, howso hard he begged, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Antigenes, then worthy to be loved, | 10 | /˘˘·/˘···˘ |
| Prevailed not to obtain- with brass, you see, | 10 | ˘/··˘/···· |
| And equal knots, Menalcas, fashioned fair! | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
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