Verses to Dr George Rogers, on His Taking the Degree of Doctor of Physic at Padua, in the Year 1664
When as of old the earth's bold children strove,With hills on hills, to scale the throne of Jove,Pallas and Mars stood by their sovereign's side,And their bright arms in his defence employ'd;While the wise Phoebus, Hermes, and the rest,Who joy in peace, and love the Muses best,Descending from their so distemper'd seat,Our groves and meadows chose for their retreat.There first Apollo tried the various useOf herbs, and learn'd the virtues of their juice,And framed that art, to which who can pretendA juster title than our noble friend,Whom the like tempest drives from his abode,And like employment entertains abroad?This crowns him here, and in the bays so earn'd,His country's honour is no less concern'd,Since it appears not all the English rave,To ruin bent; some study how to save;And as Hippocrates did once extendHis sacred art, whole cities to amend;So we, great friend! suppose that thy great skill,Thy gentle mind, and fair example will,At thy return, reclaim our frantic isle,Their spirits calm, and peace again shall smile.
Words in this poem
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- pallas n.
- Pallas Athene, the Grecian goddess of wisdom, called also Athene, and identified, at a later period, with the Roman Minerva.
- defence n.
- The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger. [F. défense, OF. defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. Fence.]
- phoebus n.
- Apollo; the sun god.
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
- 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.]
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Verses to Dr George Rogers, on His Taking the Degree of Doctor of Physic at Padua, in the Year 1664 is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham, Project Gutenberg ebook #12322; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edmund Waller, Verses to Dr George Rogers, on His Taking the Degree of Doctor of Physic at Padua, in the Year 1664, in Cooper's Hill, and Other Poems (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/verses-to-dr-george-rogers-on-his-taking-the-degree-of-doctor-of-physic-at-padua-in-the-year-1664.html, id L26316.
Form and metre
Verses to Dr George Rogers, on His Taking the Degree of Doctor of Physic at Padua, in the Year 1664 is 24 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLL stroveA · joveA · sideB · employ'dB · restC · bestC · seatD · retreatD · useE · juiceE · pretendF · friendF · abodeG · abroadG · earn'dH · concern'dH · raveI · saveI · extendJ · amendJ · skillK · willK · isleL · smileL
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When as of old the earth's bold children strove, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| With hills on hills, to scale the throne of Jove, | 10 | ·········· |
| Pallas and Mars stood by their sovereign's side, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And their bright arms in his defence employ'd; | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| While the wise Phoebus, Hermes, and the rest, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Who joy in peace, and love the Muses best, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Descending from their so distemper'd seat, | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Our groves and meadows chose for their retreat. | 10 | /··/····˘/ |
| There first Apollo tried the various use | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Of herbs, and learn'd the virtues of their juice, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And framed that art, to which who can pretend | 10 | ········˘/ |
| A juster title than our noble friend, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·//˘· |
| Whom the like tempest drives from his abode, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| And like employment entertains abroad? | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘/ |
| This crowns him here, and in the bays so earn'd, | 10 | ·········· |
| His country's honour is no less concern'd, | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Since it appears not all the English rave, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| To ruin bent; some study how to save; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And as Hippocrates did once extend | 9 | ··/˘···˘/ |
| His sacred art, whole cities to amend; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| So we, great friend! suppose that thy great skill, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Thy gentle mind, and fair example will, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| At thy return, reclaim our frantic isle, | 10 | ··˘/˘///˘· |
| Their spirits calm, and peace again shall smile. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
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