The Devil Among The Scholars, A Fragment Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: AABBCCDDDAA EEFFAAAAGGAAHHIJKKLL MNOOAAPPGGAAAAIIAAAA AAQROOSSGTAACCIICCSS AASSSSTTAASSUU GGAAVVGGAAOO AATTIIAAIIOOAACCIITT II AAIIAAUUTTSSCCSSAAAA AAAAAA

But whither have these gentle onesA
These rosy nymphs and black eyed nunsA
With all of Cupid's wild romancingB
Led by truant brains a dancingB
Instead of studying tomes scholasticC
Ecclesiastic or monasticC
Off I fly careering farD
In chase of Pollys prettier farD
Than any of their namesakes areD
The Polymaths and PolyhistorsA
Polyglots and all their sistersA
-
So have I known a hopeful youthE
Sit down in quest of lore and truthE
With tomes sufficient to confound himF
Like Tohu Bohu heapt around himF
Mamurra stuck to TheophrastusA
And Galen tumbling o'er BombastusA
When lo while all that's learned and wiseA
Absorbs the boy he lifts his eyesA
And through the window of his studyG
Beholds some damsel fair and ruddyG
With eyes as brightly turned upon him asA
The angel's were on HieronymusA
Quick fly the folios widely scatteredH
Old Homer's laureled brow is batteredH
And Sappho headlong sent flies just inI
The reverend eye of St AugustinJ
Raptured he quits each dozing sageK
Oh woman for thy lovelier pageK
Sweet book unlike the books of artL
Whose errors are thy fairest partL
In whom the dear errata columnM
Is the best page in all the volumeN
But to begin my subject rhymeO
'Twas just about this devilish timeO
When scarce there happened any frolicsA
That were not done by DiabolicsA
A cold and loveless son of LuciferP
Who woman scorned nor saw the use of herP
A branch of Dagon's familyG
Which Dagon whether He or SheG
Is a dispute that vastly better isA
Referred to Scaliger et coeterisA
Finding that in this cage of foolsA
The wisest sots adorn the schoolsA
Took it at once his head Satanic inI
To grow a great scholastic manikinI
A doctor quite as learned and fine asA
Scotus John or Tom AquinasA
Lully Hales IrrefragabilisA
Or any doctor of the rabble isA
In languages the PolyglotsA
Compared to him were BabelsotsA
He chattered more than ever Jew didQ
Sanhedrim and Priest includedR
Priest and holy SanhedrimO
Were one and seventy fools to himO
But chief the learned demon felt aS
Zeal so strong for gamma deltaS
That all for Greek and learning's gloryG
He nightly tippled Graeco moreT
And never paid a bill or balanceA
Except upon the Grecian KalendsA
From whence your scholars when they want tickC
Say to be Attic's to be on tickC
In logics he was quite Ho PanuI
Knew as much as ever man knewI
He fought the combat syllogisticC
With so much skill and art eristicC
That though you were the learned StagyriteS
At once upon the hip he had you rightS
In music though he had no earsA
Except for that amongst the spheresA
Which most of all as he averred itS
He dearly loved 'cause no one heard itS
Yet aptly he at sight could readS
Each tuneful diagram in BedeS
And find by Euclid's corollariaT
The ratios of a jig or ariaT
But as for all your warbling DeliasA
Orpheuses and Saint CeciliasA
He owned he thought them much surpastS
By that redoubted HyaloclastS
Who still contrived by dint of throttleU
Where'er he went to crack a bottleU
-
Likewise to show his mighty knowledge heG
On things unknown in physiologyG
Wrote many a chapter to divert usA
Like that great little man AlbertusA
Wherein he showed the reason whyV
When children first are heard to cryV
If boy the baby chance to beG
He cries O A if girl O EG
Which are quoth he exceeding fair hintsA
Respecting their first sinful parentsA
Oh Eve exclaimeth little madamO
While little master cries Oh AdamO
-
But 'twas in Optics and DioptricsA
Our daemon played his first and top tricksA
He held that sunshine passes quickerT
Through wine than any other liquorT
And though he saw no great objectionI
To steady light and clear reflectionI
He thought the aberrating raysA
Which play about a bumper's blazeA
Were by the Doctors looked in common onI
As a more rare and rich phenomenonI
He wisely said that the sensoriumO
Is for the eyes a great emporiumO
To which these noted picture stealersA
Send all they can and meet with dealersA
In many an optical proceedingC
The brain he said showed great good breedingC
For instance when we ogle womenI
A trick which Barbara tutored him inI
Although the dears are apt to get in aT
Strange position on the retinaT
Yet instantly the modest brainI
Doth set them on their legs againI
-
Our doctor thus with stuft sufficiencyA
Of all omnigenous omnisciencyA
Began as who would not beginI
That had like him so much withinI
To let it out in books of all sortsA
Folios quartos large and small sortsA
Poems so very deep and sensibleU
That they were quite incomprehensibleU
Prose which had been at learning's FairT
And bought up all the trumpery thereT
The tattered rags of every vestS
In which the Greeks and Romans drestS
And o'er her figure swollen and anticC
Scattered them all with airs so franticC
That those who saw what fits she hadS
Declared unhappy Prose was madS
Epics he wrote and scores of rebusesA
All as neat as old Turnebus'sA
Eggs and altars cyclopaediasA
Grammars prayer books oh 'twere tediousA
Did I but tell thee half to follow meA
Not the scribbling bard of PtolemyA
No nor the hoary TrismegistusA
Whose writings all thank heaven have missed usA
E'er filled with lumber such a wareroomA
As this great porcus literarumA

Thomas Moore



Rate:
(1)



Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme

Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation


Write your comment about The Devil Among The Scholars, A Fragment poem by Thomas Moore


 

Recent Interactions*

This poem was read 16 times,

This poem was added to the favorite list by 0 members,

This poem was voted by 0 members.

(* Interactions only in the last 7 days)

New Poems

Popular Poets