Phormio: Act the Fourth: Scene VIII
GETA. O fortune, O best fortune, what high blessings,What sudden, great, and unexpected joysHast thou shower'd down on Antipho to-day!----
ANT. What can this be he's so rejoic'd about?
GETA. --And from what fears deliver'd us, his friends?--But wherefore do I loiter thus? and whyDo I not throw my cloak upon my shoulder,And haste to find him out, that he may knowAll that has happen'd?
ANT. (to PHORMIO). Do you comprehendWhat he is talking of?PHOR. I'm just as wise as you.
GETA. I'll hurry henceTo the procurer's.--I shall find them there. (Going.)
GETA. Look ye there!--Is't new or strange,To be recall'd when one's in haste? (Going.)
GETA. Again? bawl on! I'll ne'er stop. (Going on.)
GETA. Go, and be drubb'd!
ANT. You shall, I promise you,Unless you stop, you rascal!
GETA (stopping). Hold, hold, Geta!Some intimate acquaintance this, be sure,Being so free with you.--But is it heThat I am looking for, or not?--'Tis he.PHOR. Go up immediately. (They go up to GETA.)
ANT. (to GETA). What means all this?
GETA. O happy man! the happiest man on earth!So very happy, that, beyond all doubt,You are the God's chief fav'rite, Antipho.ANT. Would I were! but your reason.
GETA. Is't enoughTo plunge you over head and ears in joy?ANT. You torture me.
PHOR. No promises! but tell usWhat is your news?
GETA. Oh, Phormio! are you here?
PHOR. I am: but why d'ye trifle?
GETA. Mind me then! (To PHORMIO.)No sooner had we paid you at the Forum,But we return'd directly home again.--Arriv'd, my master sends me to your wife. (To ANTIPHO.)
GETA. No matter now, good Antipho.I was just entering the women's lodging,When up runs little Mida; catches meHold by the cloak behind, and pulls me back.I turn about, and ask why he detains me.He told me, "Nobody must see his mistress:For Sophrona," says he, "has just now broughtDemipho's brother, Chremes, here; and heIs talking with the women now within."--When I heard this, I stole immediatelyOn tip-toe tow'rd the door; came close; stood hush;Drew in my breath; applied my ear; and thus,Deep in attention, catch'd their whole discourse.
GETA. Here I overheardThe pleasantest adventure! On my life,I scarce refrain'd from crying out for joy.GETA. What d'ye think? (Laughing.)
ANT. I can't tell,
GETA. Oh! it was (laughing.)Most wonderful!--most exquisite!--your uncleIs found to be the father of your wife.
GETA. He had a sly intrigue, it seems,With Phanium's mother formerly at Lemnos. (Laughing.)PHOR. Nonsense! as if she did not know her father!
GETA. Nay, there's some reason for it, Phormio,You may be sure.--But was it possibleFor me, who stood without, to comprehendEach minute circumstance that pass'd within?
ANT. I have heard something of this story too.
GETA. Then, Sir, to settle your belief the more,At last out comes your uncle; and soon afterReturns again, and carries in your father.Then they both said, they gave their full consentThat you should keep your Phanium.--In a word,I'm sent to find you out, and bring you to them.
ANT. Away with me then instantly! D'ye linger?
ANT. My Phormio, fare you well!
PHOR. Fare you well, Antipho! (Exeunt.
Words in this poem
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- 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,]
- bawl v. i.
- To cry out with a loud, full sound; to cry with vehemence, as in calling or exultation; to shout; to vociferate. [Icel. baula to low, bellow, as a cow; akin to Sw. böla; cf. AS bellan, G. bellen to bark, E. bellow, bull.]
- forum n.
- A market place or public place in Rome, where causes were judicially tried, and orations delivered to the people. [L.; akin to foris, foras, out of doors. See Foreign.]
- mida n.
- The larva of the bean fly.
- nobody n.
- No person; no one; not anybody. [No, a. + body.]
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- exeunt
- They go out, or retire from the scene; as, exeunt all except Hamlet. See 1st Exit. [L., 3d pers. pl. pres. of exire to go out.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Phormio: Act the Fourth: Scene VIII 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 VIII, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/phormio-act-the-fourth-scene-viii.html, id L25912.
Form and metre
Phormio: Act the Fourth: Scene VIII is 79 lines in 28 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.
- 10 A-BBA getaA · sure · heB · heB · getaA
- 18 --A-A--A----- antipho · lodging · meA · back · meA · mistress · brought · heA · within · immediately · hush · thus · discourse
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GETA. O fortune, O best fortune, what high blessings, | 13 | ···/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| What sudden, great, and unexpected joys | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Hast thou shower'd down on Antipho to-day!---- | 10 | ··/······· |
| ANT. What can this be he's so rejoic'd about? | 11 | ·······˘/·· |
| GETA. --And from what fears deliver'd us, his friends? | 12 | ······˘/˘··· |
| --But wherefore do I loiter thus? and why | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Do I not throw my cloak upon my shoulder, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And haste to find him out, that he may know | 10 | ·········· |
| All that has happen'd? | 5 | ···/˘ |
| ANT. (to PHORMIO). Do you comprehend | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| What he is talking of? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| PHOR. I'm just as wise as you. | 7 | ······· |
| GETA. I'll hurry hence | 6 | ···/˘· |
| To the procurer's.--I shall find them there. (Going.) | 11 | ··˘/˘·····/ |
| GETA. Look ye there!--Is't new or strange, | 9 | ········· |
| To be recall'd when one's in haste? (Going.) | 10 | ··˘/····/˘ |
| GETA. Again? bawl on! I'll ne'er stop. (Going on.) | 11 | ··˘/·····/· |
| GETA. Go, and be drubb'd! | 6 | ······ |
| ANT. You shall, I promise you, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Unless you stop, you rascal! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| GETA (stopping). Hold, hold, Geta! | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Some intimate acquaintance this, be sure, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Being so free with you.--But is it he | 10 | /˘········ |
| That I am looking for, or not?--'Tis he. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| PHOR. Go up immediately. (They go up to GETA.) | 12 | ···˘/˘······ |
| ANT. (to GETA). What means all this? | 8 | ········ |
| GETA. O happy man! the happiest man on earth! | 12 | ···/˘··/˘··· |
| So very happy, that, beyond all doubt, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| You are the God's chief fav'rite, Antipho. | 10 | ·········· |
| ANT. Would I were! but your reason. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| GETA. Is't enough | 5 | ···˘/ |
| To plunge you over head and ears in joy? | 10 | ·········· |
| ANT. You torture me. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| PHOR. No promises! but tell us | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| What is your news? | 4 | ···· |
| GETA. Oh, Phormio! are you here? | 8 | ········ |
| PHOR. I am: but why d'ye trifle? | 8 | ······/˘ |
| GETA. Mind me then! (To PHORMIO.) | 8 | ········ |
| No sooner had we paid you at the Forum, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| But we return'd directly home again. | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| --Arriv'd, my master sends me to your wife. (To ANTIPHO.) | 14 | ˘/·/˘········· |
| GETA. No matter now, good Antipho. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I was just entering the women's lodging, | 11 | ···/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| When up runs little Mida; catches me | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Hold by the cloak behind, and pulls me back. | 10 | ·········· |
| I turn about, and ask why he detains me. | 11 | ········˘/· |
| He told me, "Nobody must see his mistress: | 11 | ···/·····/˘ |
| For Sophrona," says he, "has just now brought | 10 | ·········· |
| Demipho's brother, Chremes, here; and he | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Is talking with the women now within." | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| --When I heard this, I stole immediately | 11 | ······˘/˘˘˘ |
| On tip-toe tow'rd the door; came close; stood hush; | 10 | ·········· |
| Drew in my breath; applied my ear; and thus, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Deep in attention, catch'd their whole discourse. | 10 | ··˘/˘···/˘ |
| GETA. Here I overheard | 7 | ····/˘/ |
| The pleasantest adventure! On my life, | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/˘··· |
| I scarce refrain'd from crying out for joy. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| GETA. What d'ye think? (Laughing.) | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| ANT. I can't tell, | 4 | ···· |
| GETA. Oh! it was (laughing.) | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Most wonderful!--most exquisite!--your uncle | 11 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘·/˘ |
| Is found to be the father of your wife. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| GETA. He had a sly intrigue, it seems, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| With Phanium's mother formerly at Lemnos. (Laughing.) | 12 | ···/˘/˘···/˘ |
| PHOR. Nonsense! as if she did not know her father! | 12 | ·/˘·······/˘ |
| GETA. Nay, there's some reason for it, Phormio, | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| You may be sure.--But was it possible | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| For me, who stood without, to comprehend | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Each minute circumstance that pass'd within? | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| ANT. I have heard something of this story too. | 11 | ····/˘··/˘· |
| GETA. Then, Sir, to settle your belief the more, | 12 | ·····/˘·˘/·· |
| At last out comes your uncle; and soon after | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Returns again, and carries in your father. | 11 | ˘/˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| Then they both said, they gave their full consent | 10 | ········˘/ |
| That you should keep your Phanium.--In a word, | 10 | ·········· |
| I'm sent to find you out, and bring you to them. | 11 | ··········· |
| ANT. Away with me then instantly! D'ye linger? | 11 | ·˘/···/˘·/˘ |
| ANT. My Phormio, fare you well! | 7 | ······· |
| PHOR. Fare you well, Antipho! (Exeunt. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
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