Phormio: Act the Second: Scene I
PHOR. And Antipho, you say, has slunk away,Fearing his father's presence?PHOR. Poor Phanium left alone?
GETA. 'Tis even so.
PHOR. And the old gentleman enrag'd!
PHOR. The sum of all then, Phormio, rests on you:On you, and you alone. You've bak'd this cake;E'en eat it for your pains. About it then!GETA. I do beseech you.
GETA. Our only hope's in you.
PHOR. (to himself). I have it!--Then,Suppose he offer to return the girl?----
GETA. You urg'd us to it.
PHOR. (to himself). Aye! it shall be so.
PHOR. Let him come, old gentleman!'Tis here: it is engender'd: I am arm'dWith all my counsels.
GETA. What d'ye mean to do?
PHOR. What would you have me do, unless contriveThat Phanium may remain, that AntiphoBe freed from blame, and all the old man's rageTurn'd upon me?
GETA. Brave fellow! friend indeed!And yet I often tremble for you, Phormio,Lest all this noble confidence of yoursEnd in the stocks at last.
PHOR. Ah, 'tis not so.I'm an old stager too, and know my road.How many men d'ye think I've bastinadoedAlmost to death? Aliens and citizens?The oft'ner, still the safer.--Tell me then,Didst ever hear of actions for assaultAnd batt'ry brought against me?
GETA. How comes that?
PHOR. Because the net's not stretch'd to catch the hawk,Or kite, who do us wrong; but laid for thoseWho do us none at all: In them there's profit,In those mere labor lost. Thus other menMay be in danger who have aught to lose;I, the world knows, have nothing.--You will say,They'll seize my person.--No, they won't maintainA fellow of my stomach.--And they're wise,In my opinion, if for injuriesThey'll not return the highest benefit.
GETA. It is impossible for AntiphoTo give you thanks sufficient.
PHOR. Rather say,No man sufficiently can thank his patron.You at free cost to come! anointed, bath'd,Easy and gay! while he's eat up with careAnd charge, to cater for your entertainment!He gnaws his heart, you laugh; eat first, sit first,And see a doubtful banquet plac'd before you!GETA. Doubtful! what phrase is that?
PHOR. Where you're in doubt,What you shall rather choose. Delights like theseWhen you but think how sweet, how dear, they are;Him that affords them must you not supposeA very deity?
GETA. The old man's here.Mind what you do! the first attack's the fiercest:Sustain but that, the rest will be mere play. (They retire.)
HarperIn those mere labor lost. Thus other menColman 1768
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- stager n.
- A player. B. Jonson.
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- cater n.
- A provider; a purveyor; a caterer. [OE. catour purchaser, caterer, OF. acator, fr. acater, F. acheter, to buy, provide, fr. LL. accaptare; L. ad + captare to strive, to seize, intens, of capere to]
- harper n.
- A player on the harp; a minstrel. [AS. hearpere.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Phormio: Act the Second: Scene I 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 Second: Scene I, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/phormio-act-the-second-scene-i.html, id L25893.
Form and metre
Phormio: Act the Second: Scene I is 65 lines in 20 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.
- 4 A--A youA · cake · then · youA
- 13 -AA---- so · roadA · bastinadoedA · citizens · then · assault · me
- 15 ----A--AA- hawk · those · profit · men · loseA · say · maintain · wiseA · injuriesA · benefit
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PHOR. And Antipho, you say, has slunk away, | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Fearing his father's presence? | 7 | /˘·/˘/˘ |
| PHOR. Poor Phanium left alone? | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| GETA. 'Tis even so. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| PHOR. And the old gentleman enrag'd! | 9 | ····/˘˘˘/ |
| PHOR. The sum of all then, Phormio, rests on you: | 11 | ··········· |
| On you, and you alone. You've bak'd this cake; | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| E'en eat it for your pains. About it then! | 10 | ·········· |
| GETA. I do beseech you. | 7 | ····˘/· |
| GETA. Our only hope's in you. | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| PHOR. (to himself). I have it!--Then, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Suppose he offer to return the girl?---- | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/·· |
| GETA. You urg'd us to it. | 7 | ······· |
| PHOR. (to himself). Aye! it shall be so. | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| PHOR. Let him come, old gentleman! | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| 'Tis here: it is engender'd: I am arm'd | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| With all my counsels. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| GETA. What d'ye mean to do? | 7 | ······· |
| PHOR. What would you have me do, unless contrive | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| That Phanium may remain, that Antipho | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Be freed from blame, and all the old man's rage | 10 | ·········· |
| Turn'd upon me? | 4 | ···· |
| GETA. Brave fellow! friend indeed! | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And yet I often tremble for you, Phormio, | 11 | ···/˘/˘···· |
| Lest all this noble confidence of yours | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| End in the stocks at last. | 6 | ······ |
| PHOR. Ah, 'tis not so. | 5 | ····· |
| I'm an old stager too, and know my road. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| How many men d'ye think I've bastinadoed | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Almost to death? Aliens and citizens? | 11 | /···/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| The oft'ner, still the safer.--Tell me then, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Didst ever hear of actions for assault | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| And batt'ry brought against me? | 7 | ······· |
| GETA. How comes that? | 5 | ····· |
| PHOR. Because the net's not stretch'd to catch the hawk, | 11 | ··········· |
| Or kite, who do us wrong; but laid for those | 10 | ·········· |
| Who do us none at all: In them there's profit, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| In those mere labor lost. Thus other men | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| May be in danger who have aught to lose; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I, the world knows, have nothing.--You will say, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| They'll seize my person.--No, they won't maintain | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| A fellow of my stomach.--And they're wise, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| In my opinion, if for injuries | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| They'll not return the highest benefit. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘˘ |
| GETA. It is impossible for Antipho | 11 | ····˘/˘···· |
| To give you thanks sufficient. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| PHOR. Rather say, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| No man sufficiently can thank his patron. | 11 | ··˘/˘˘···/˘ |
| You at free cost to come! anointed, bath'd, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Easy and gay! while he's eat up with care | 10 | /˘········ |
| And charge, to cater for your entertainment! | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| He gnaws his heart, you laugh; eat first, sit first, | 10 | ·········· |
| And see a doubtful banquet plac'd before you! | 11 | ···/˘/˘···· |
| GETA. Doubtful! what phrase is that? | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| PHOR. Where you're in doubt, | 5 | ····· |
| What you shall rather choose. Delights like these | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| When you but think how sweet, how dear, they are; | 10 | ·········· |
| Him that affords them must you not suppose | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| A very deity? | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| GETA. The old man's here. | 6 | ······ |
| Mind what you do! the first attack's the fiercest: | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| Sustain but that, the rest will be mere play. (They retire.) | 13 | ˘/·········˘/ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| In those mere labor lost. Thus other men | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
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