Phormio: Act the First: Scene III
ANT. Is it come to this?My father, Phaedria!--my best friend!--That IShould tremble, when I think of his return!When, had I not been inconsiderate,I, as 'tis meet, might have expected him.
ANT. Is that a question? and from you?Who know the atrocious fault I have committed?Oh, that it ne'er had enter'd Phormio's mindTo give such counsel! nor to urge me on,In the extravagance of blind desire,To this rash act, the source of my misfortunes!I should not have possess'd her: that indeedHad made me wretched some few days.--But thenThis constant anguish had not torn my mind.----
ANT. --While each moment I expectHis coming to divorce me.
PHAED. Other men,For lack of what they love, are miserable;Abundance is your grievance. You're too richA lover, Antipho! For your conditionIs to be wish'd and pray'd for. Now, by Heaven,Might I, so long as you have done, enjoyMy love, it were bought cheaply with my life.How hard my lot, unsatisfied, unbless'd!How happy yours, in full possession!--OneOf lib'ral birth, ingenuous disposition,And honest fame, without expense, you've got:The wife, whom you desir'd!--in all things bless'd,But want the disposition to believe so.Had you, like me, a scoundrel pimp to deal with,Then you'd perceive--But sure 'tis in our natureNever to be contented.
ANT. Now to me,Phaedria, 'tis you appear the happy man.Still quite at large, free to consider still,To keep, pursue, or quit her: I, alas!Have so entangled and perplex'd myself,That I can neither keep nor let her go.--What now? isn't that our Geta, whom I seeRunning this way?--'Tis he himself-- Ah me,How do I fear what news he brings!
Words in this poem
- expect v. t.
- To wait for; to await. [L. expectatum, to look out for, await, expect; ex + out spectare to look at. See Spectacle.]
- grievance n.
- A cause of uneasiness and complaint; a wrong done and suffered; that which gives ground for remonstrance or resistance, as arising from injustice, tyranny, etc.; injury. [OF. grcvance. See Grieve, v. t.]
- cheaply adv.
- At a small price; at a low value; in a common or inferior manner.
- ingenuous a.
- Of honorable extraction; freeborn; noble; as, ingenuous blood of birth. [L. ingenuus inborn, innate, freeborn, noble, frank; pref. in- in + the root of gignere to beget. See Genius, and cf. Ingenious.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Phormio: Act the First: Scene III is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Comedies of Terence, Project Gutenberg ebook #22695; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Terence, Phormio: Act the First: Scene III, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/phormio-act-the-first-scene-iii.html, id L25888.
Form and metre
Phormio: Act the First: Scene III is 41 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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.
- 2 --A-----A you · committed · mindA · on · desire · misfortunes · indeed · then · mindA
- 4 A--AA--BAA-B---- menA · miserable · rich · conditionA · heavenA · enjoy · life · unbless'dB · oneA · dispositionA · got · bless'dB · so · with · nature · contented
- 5 A-----AA- meA · man · still · alas · myself · go · seeA · meA · brings
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ANT. Is it come to this? | 6 | ······ |
| My father, Phaedria!--my best friend!--That I | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Should tremble, when I think of his return! | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| When, had I not been inconsiderate, | 10 | ·········· |
| I, as 'tis meet, might have expected him. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| ANT. Is that a question? and from you? | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Who know the atrocious fault I have committed? | 12 | ···˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| Oh, that it ne'er had enter'd Phormio's mind | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| To give such counsel! nor to urge me on, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| In the extravagance of blind desire, | 11 | ··˘/˘˘··˘/˘ |
| To this rash act, the source of my misfortunes! | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| I should not have possess'd her: that indeed | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Had made me wretched some few days.--But then | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| This constant anguish had not torn my mind.---- | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| ANT. --While each moment I expect | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| His coming to divorce me. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/· |
| PHAED. Other men, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| For lack of what they love, are miserable; | 11 | ·······/˘˘˘ |
| Abundance is your grievance. You're too rich | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| A lover, Antipho! For your condition | 11 | ·/˘·····˘/˘ |
| Is to be wish'd and pray'd for. Now, by Heaven, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Might I, so long as you have done, enjoy | 10 | ········˘/ |
| My love, it were bought cheaply with my life. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| How hard my lot, unsatisfied, unbless'd! | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| How happy yours, in full possession!--One | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Of lib'ral birth, ingenuous disposition, | 11 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| And honest fame, without expense, you've got: | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| The wife, whom you desir'd!--in all things bless'd, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| But want the disposition to believe so. | 11 | ····˘/˘·˘/· |
| Had you, like me, a scoundrel pimp to deal with, | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Then you'd perceive--But sure 'tis in our nature | 11 | ··˘/····//˘ |
| Never to be contented. | 7 | /˘··˘/˘ |
| ANT. Now to me, | 4 | ···· |
| Phaedria, 'tis you appear the happy man. | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Still quite at large, free to consider still, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| To keep, pursue, or quit her: I, alas! | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| Have so entangled and perplex'd myself, | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·/ |
| That I can neither keep nor let her go. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| --What now? isn't that our Geta, whom I see | 11 | ··/˘·/····· |
| Running this way?--'Tis he himself-- Ah me, | 10 | /˘····˘/·· |
| How do I fear what news he brings! | 8 | ········ |
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