Phormio: Act the Fourth: Scene III
DEM. Come then, Nausistrata, afford us nowA little of your usual art, and tryTo put this woman in good humor with us;That what is done she may do willingly.
DEM. And now assist us with your counsel,As with your cash a little while ago.
NAUS. With all my heart: and I am only sorryThat 'tis my husband's fault I can't do more.
NAUS. Because he takes such little careOf the estate my father nurs'd so well:For from these very farms he never fail'dTo draw two talents by the year. But ah!What difference between man and man!NAUS. Aye--in worse times than these--and yet two talents?
NAUS. What, are you surpris'd?
DEM. Prodigiously.
DEM. Nay, but spare yourself a littleFor the encounter with the girl: lest she,Flippant and young, may weary you too much.
NAUS. --Well, I'll obey your orders: but I seeMy husband coming forth.
Words in this poem
- willingly adv.
- In a willing manner; with free will; without reluctance; cheerfully.
- prodigiously adv.
- Enormously; wonderfully; astonishingly; as, prodigiously great.
- flippant a.
- Of smooth, fluent, and rapid speech; speaking with ease and rapidity; having a voluble tongue; talkative. [Prov. E. flip to move nimbly; cf. W. llipa soft, limber, pliant, or Icel. fleipa to babble, prattle. Cf. Flip, Fillip, Flap, Flipper.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Phormio: Act the Fourth: 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 Fourth: Scene III, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/phormio-act-the-fourth-scene-iii.html, id L25907.
Form and metre
Phormio: Act the Fourth: Scene III is 21 lines in 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| DEM. Come then, Nausistrata, afford us now | 11 | ·······˘/·· |
| A little of your usual art, and try | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| To put this woman in good humor with us; | 11 | ···/˘··/˘·· |
| That what is done she may do willingly. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| DEM. And now assist us with your counsel, | 10 | ···˘/···/˘ |
| As with your cash a little while ago. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| NAUS. With all my heart: and I am only sorry | 12 | ········/˘/˘ |
| That 'tis my husband's fault I can't do more. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| NAUS. Because he takes such little care | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Of the estate my father nurs'd so well: | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| For from these very farms he never fail'd | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| To draw two talents by the year. But ah! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| What difference between man and man! | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| NAUS. Aye--in worse times than these--and yet two talents? | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| NAUS. What, are you surpris'd? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| DEM. Prodigiously. | 5 | ·˘/˘˘ |
| DEM. Nay, but spare yourself a little | 9 | ····˘/·/˘ |
| For the encounter with the girl: lest she, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Flippant and young, may weary you too much. | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| NAUS. --Well, I'll obey your orders: but I see | 11 | ···˘/·/˘··· |
| My husband coming forth. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
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