Phormio: Act the Second: Scene II
PHOR. Hist! mind your cue: I'll work him.--(Coming forward, and speaking loud.) Oh, ye Gods!Does he deny that Phanium's his relation?What, Demipho! does Demipho denyThat Phanium is his kinswoman?PHOR. And who her father was, he does not know?
DEM. (to the Lawyers). Here's the very fellow, I believe,Of whom I have been speaking.--Follow me!
PHOR. (aloud). And that he does not know who Stilpho was?
PHOR. Ah! because, poor thing, she's left in want,Her father is unknown, and she despis'd.What will not avarice do?
GETA. If you insinuateMy master's avaricious, woe be to you!
DEM. (behind). Oh impudence! he dares accuse me first.
PHOR. As to the youth, I can not take offense,If he had not much knowledge of him; since,Now in the vale of years, in want, his workHis livelihood, he nearly altogetherLiv'd in the country: where he held a farmUnder my father. I have often heardThe poor old man complain that this his kinsmanNeglected him.--But what a man! A manOf most exceeding virtue.
GETA. Much at one:Yourself and he you praise so much.
PHOR. Away!Had I not thought him what I've spoken of him,I would not for his daughter's sake have drawnSo many troubles on our family,Whom this old cuff now treats so scandalously.GETA. What, still abuse my absent master, rascal!
PHOR. It is no more than he deserves.
GETA. How, villain!
DEM. Geta! (Calling.)
GETA. Rogue, robber, pettifogger! (To PHORMIO pretending not to hearDEMIPHO.)
PHOR. Answer. (Apart to GETA.)
GETA. Behind your backAll day without cessation has this knaveThrown scurvy terms upon you, such as noneBut men like him can merit.
DEM. Well! have done.(Putting GETA by, then addressing PHORMIO.)Young man! permit me first to ask one question.And, if you please, vouchsafe to answer me.--Who was this friend of yours? Explain! and howMight he pretend that I was his relation?PHOR. So! you fish for't, as if you did not know. (Sneeringly.)
DEM. Not I: You that maintainI ought, instruct me how to recollect.PHOR. What! not acquainted with your cousin?
DEM. Plague!Tell me his name.
PHOR. His name? aye!
DEM. Well, why don't you?
PHOR. Confusion! I've forgot the name. (Apart.)
DEM. What say you?
PHOR. Geta, if you remember, prompt me.(Apart to GETA.)--Pshaw,I will not tell.--As if you did not know,You're come to try me. (Loud to DEMIPHO.)
DEM. How! try you?
GETA. Stilpho. (Whispering PHORMIO.)
DEM. Whom say you?
PHOR. Stilpho:Did you know Stilpho, Sir?
DEM. I neither know him,Nor ever had I kinsman of that name.
PHOR. How! are you not asham'd?--But if, poor man,Stilpho had left behind him an estateOf some ten talents----
DEM. Out upon you!
PHOR. ThenYou would have been the first to trace your lineQuite from your grandsire and great grandsire.
DEM. True.Had I then come, I'd have explain'd at largeHow she was my relation: so do you!Say, how is she my kinswoman?
GETA. Well said!Master, you're right.--Take heed! (Apart to PHORMIO.)
PHOR. I have explain'dAll that most clearly, where I ought, in court.If it were false, why did not then your sonRefute it?
DEM. Do you tell me of my son?Whose folly can't be spoke of as it ought.
PHOR. But you, who are so wise, go seek the judge:Ask sentence in the self-same cause again:Because you're lord alone, and have alonePow'r to obtain judgment of the courtTwice in one cause.
DEM. Although I have been wrong'd,Yet, rather than engage in litigation,And rather than hear you; as if she wereIndeed related to us, as the lawOrdains, I'll pay her dowry: take her hence,And with her take five minae.
PHOR. Ha! ha! ha!A pleasant gentleman!
DEM. Why, what's the matter?Have I demanded any thing unjust?Sha'n't I obtain this neither, which is law?
PHOR. Is't even so, Sir?--Like a common harlot,When you've abus'd her, does the law ordainThat you should pay her hire and whistle her off?Or, lest a citizen through povertyBring shame upon her honor, does it orderThat she be given to her next of kinTo pass her life with him? which you forbid.
DEM. Aye; to her next of kin: But why to us;Or wherefore?
PHOR. Oh! that matter is all settled:Think on't no more.
DEM. Not think on't! I shall thinkOf nothing else till there's an end of this.PHOR. Words, words!
DEM. I'll make them good.
PHOR. But, after all,With you I have no business, Demipho!Your son is cast, not you: for at your ageThe coupling-time is over.
DEM. Be assur'dThat all I've said he says: or I'll forbidHim and this wife of his my house.GETA. He's angry. (Apart.)
PHOR. No; you'll think better on't.
DEM. Are you resolv'd,Wretch that you are, to thwart me ev'ry way?
PHOR. He fears, though he dissembles.
GETA. Well begun!
PHOR. Well; but what can't be cur'd must be endur'd:'Twere well, and like yourself, that we were friends.DEM. I! friend to you? or choose to see or hear you!
PHOR. Do but agree with her, you'll have a girlTo comfort your old age. Your years, consider!
DEM. Plague on your comfort! take her to yourself!
PHOR. Ah! don't be angry!
DEM. One word more, I've done.See that you fetch away this wench, and soon,Or I shall turn her headlong out o'doors.So much for Phormio!
PHOR. Offer but to touch herIn any other manner than beseemsA gentlewoman and a citizen,And I shall bring a swinging writ against you.So much for Demipho!--If I am wanted,I am at home, d'ye hear? (Apart to GETA.)GETA. I understand. (Apart.) (Exit PHORMIO.
Words in this poem 24
- kinswoman n.
- A female relative.
- aloud adv.
- With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
- avarice n.
- An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; covetousness; cupidity. [F. avaritia, fr. avarus avaricious, prob. fr. av to covert, fr. a root av to satiate one's self: cf. Gr. av to satiate one's self, rejoice, protect.]
- insinuate v. t.
- To introduce gently or slowly, as by a winding or narrow passage, or a gentle, persistent movement. [L. insinuatus, p. p. of insinuareto insinuate; pref. in- in + sinus the bosom. See Sinuous.]
- avaricious a.
- Actuated by avarice; greedy of gain; immoderately desirous of accumulating property. [Cf. F. avaricieux.]
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- altogether adv.
- All together; conjointly. [OE. altogedere; al all + togedere together. See Together.]
- kinsman n.
- A man of the same race or family; one related by blood.
- cuff v. t.
- To strike; esp., to smite with the palm or flat of the hand; to slap. [Cf. Sw. kuffa to knock, push,kufva to check, subdue, and E. cow, v. t.]
- scandalously adv.
- In a manner to give offense; shamefully.
- knave n.
- A boy; especially, a boy servant. Wyclif. [OE., boy, servant, knave, AS. cnafa boy, youth; cf. AS. cnapa boy, youth, D. kna, G. knabe boy, knappe esquire, Icel. knapi, Sw. knape esquire, knäfvel knave.]
- vouchsafe v. t.
- To condescend to grant; to concede; to bestow. [Vouch + safe, that is, to vouch or answer for safety.]
- sneeringly adv.
- In a sneering manner.
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- instruct a.
- Arranged; furnished; provided. [L. instructus, p. p. of instruere to furnish, provide, construct, instruct; pref. in- in, struere. See Structure.]
- recollect v. t.
- To recover or recall the knowledge of; to bring back to the mind or memory; to remember. [Pref. re- + collect: cf. L. recolligere, recollectum, to collect. Cf. Recollet.]
- pshaw interj.
- Pish! pooch! -- an exclamation used as an expression of contempt, disdain, dislike, etc. [Of imitative origin.]
- grandsire n.
- Specifically, a grandfather; more generally, any ancestor. [OF. grantsire. See Grand, and Sire.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- dowry n.
- A gift; endowment. [Contr. from dowery; cf. LL. dotarium. See Dower.]
- 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,]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- gentlewoman n.
- A woman of good family or of good breeding; a woman above the vulgar.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Phormio: Act the Second: Scene II 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 II, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/phormio-act-the-second-scene-ii.html, id L25894.
Form and metre
Phormio: Act the Second: Scene II is 150 lines in 56 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.
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.
- 7 ------AA- offense · since · work · altogether · farm · heard · kinsmanA · manA · virtue
- 16 A-A---- doneA · phormio · questionA · me · how · relation · sneeringly
- 17 A-A maintainA · recollect · cousinA
- 32 A-A- trueA · large · youA · kinswoman
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. Hist! mind your cue: I'll work him. | 8 | ········ |
| --(Coming forward, and speaking loud.) Oh, ye Gods! | 11 | /˘/˘·/˘···· |
| Does he deny that Phanium's his relation? | 11 | ··˘/····˘/˘ |
| What, Demipho! does Demipho deny | 10 | ········˘/ |
| That Phanium is his kinswoman? | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| PHOR. And who her father was, he does not know? | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| DEM. (to the Lawyers). Here's the very fellow, I believe, | 14 | ···/˘··/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Of whom I have been speaking.--Follow me! | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| PHOR. (aloud). And that he does not know who Stilpho was? | 13 | ·˘/·········· |
| PHOR. Ah! because, poor thing, she's left in want, | 10 | ·········· |
| Her father is unknown, and she despis'd. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| What will not avarice do? | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| GETA. If you insinuate | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| My master's avaricious, woe be to you! | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| DEM. (behind). Oh impudence! he dares accuse me first. | 13 | ····/˘˘··˘/·· |
| PHOR. As to the youth, I can not take offense, | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| If he had not much knowledge of him; since, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Now in the vale of years, in want, his work | 10 | ·········· |
| His livelihood, he nearly altogether | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Liv'd in the country: where he held a farm | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Under my father. I have often heard | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The poor old man complain that this his kinsman | 11 | ····˘/···/· |
| Neglected him.--But what a man! A man | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Of most exceeding virtue. | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| GETA. Much at one: | 5 | ····· |
| Yourself and he you praise so much. | 8 | ˘/······ |
| PHOR. Away! | 3 | ·˘/ |
| Had I not thought him what I've spoken of him, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| I would not for his daughter's sake have drawn | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| So many troubles on our family, | 11 | ·/˘/˘·/˘/˘˘ |
| Whom this old cuff now treats so scandalously. | 11 | ·······/˘˘˘ |
| GETA. What, still abuse my absent master, rascal! | 13 | ····˘/·/˘/˘/˘ |
| PHOR. It is no more than he deserves. | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| GETA. How, villain! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| DEM. Geta! (Calling.) | 5 | ···/˘ |
| GETA. Rogue, robber, pettifogger! (To PHORMIO pretending not to hear | 17 | ···/˘/˘˘···˘/˘··· |
| DEMIPHO.) | 3 | ··· |
| PHOR. Answer. (Apart to GETA.) | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| GETA. Behind your back | 6 | ······ |
| All day without cessation has this knave | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thrown scurvy terms upon you, such as none | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| But men like him can merit. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| DEM. Well! have done. | 4 | ···· |
| (Putting GETA by, then addressing PHORMIO.) | 11 | /˘····˘/˘·· |
| Young man! permit me first to ask one question. | 11 | ··˘/·····/˘ |
| And, if you please, vouchsafe to answer me. | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| --Who was this friend of yours? Explain! and how | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Might he pretend that I was his relation? | 11 | ··˘/····˘/˘ |
| PHOR. So! you fish for't, as if you did not know. (Sneeringly.) | 14 | ···········/˘˘ |
| DEM. Not I: You that maintain | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| I ought, instruct me how to recollect. | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| PHOR. What! not acquainted with your cousin? | 10 | ···˘/˘··/˘ |
| DEM. Plague! | 2 | ·· |
| Tell me his name. | 4 | ···· |
| PHOR. His name? aye! | 4 | ···· |
| DEM. Well, why don't you? | 5 | ····· |
| PHOR. Confusion! I've forgot the name. (Apart.) | 11 | ·˘/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| DEM. What say you? | 4 | ···· |
| PHOR. Geta, if you remember, prompt me. | 10 | ·····˘/˘·· |
| (Apart to GETA.)--Pshaw, | 6 | ˘/···· |
| I will not tell.--As if you did not know, | 10 | ·········· |
| You're come to try me. (Loud to DEMIPHO.) | 10 | ·········· |
| DEM. How! try you? | 4 | ···· |
| GETA. Stilpho. (Whispering PHORMIO.) | 9 | ····/˘˘·· |
| DEM. Whom say you? | 4 | ···· |
| PHOR. Stilpho: | 3 | ··· |
| Did you know Stilpho, Sir? | 6 | ······ |
| DEM. I neither know him, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Nor ever had I kinsman of that name. | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| PHOR. How! are you not asham'd?--But if, poor man, | 11 | ·····˘/···· |
| Stilpho had left behind him an estate | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Of some ten talents---- | 5 | ···/˘ |
| DEM. Out upon you! | 5 | ····· |
| PHOR. Then | 2 | ·· |
| You would have been the first to trace your line | 10 | ·········· |
| Quite from your grandsire and great grandsire. | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| DEM. True. | 2 | ·· |
| Had I then come, I'd have explain'd at large | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| How she was my relation: so do you! | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Say, how is she my kinswoman? | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| GETA. Well said! | 4 | ···· |
| Master, you're right.--Take heed! (Apart to PHORMIO.) | 11 | /˘····˘/··· |
| PHOR. I have explain'd | 5 | ···˘/ |
| All that most clearly, where I ought, in court. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| If it were false, why did not then your son | 10 | ·········· |
| Refute it? | 3 | ˘/· |
| DEM. Do you tell me of my son? | 8 | ········ |
| Whose folly can't be spoke of as it ought. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| PHOR. But you, who are so wise, go seek the judge: | 11 | ··········· |
| Ask sentence in the self-same cause again: | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Because you're lord alone, and have alone | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Pow'r to obtain judgment of the court | 9 | ··˘//˘··· |
| Twice in one cause. | 4 | ···· |
| DEM. Although I have been wrong'd, | 7 | ······· |
| Yet, rather than engage in litigation, | 11 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/˘ |
| And rather than hear you; as if she were | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Indeed related to us, as the law | 10 | ˘/˘/˘····· |
| Ordains, I'll pay her dowry: take her hence, | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| And with her take five minae. | 6 | ······ |
| PHOR. Ha! ha! ha! | 4 | ···· |
| A pleasant gentleman! | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| DEM. Why, what's the matter? | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Have I demanded any thing unjust? | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Sha'n't I obtain this neither, which is law? | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| PHOR. Is't even so, Sir?--Like a common harlot, | 11 | ··/····/˘/˘ |
| When you've abus'd her, does the law ordain | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| That you should pay her hire and whistle her off? | 11 | ·····/·/˘·· |
| Or, lest a citizen through poverty | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| Bring shame upon her honor, does it order | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| That she be given to her next of kin | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To pass her life with him? which you forbid. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| DEM. Aye; to her next of kin: But why to us; | 11 | ··········· |
| Or wherefore? | 3 | ·/˘ |
| PHOR. Oh! that matter is all settled: | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Think on't no more. | 4 | ···· |
| DEM. Not think on't! I shall think | 7 | ······· |
| Of nothing else till there's an end of this. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| PHOR. Words, words! | 3 | ··· |
| DEM. I'll make them good. | 5 | ····· |
| PHOR. But, after all, | 5 | ····· |
| With you I have no business, Demipho! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Your son is cast, not you: for at your age | 10 | ·········· |
| The coupling-time is over. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| DEM. Be assur'd | 4 | ··˘/ |
| That all I've said he says: or I'll forbid | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Him and this wife of his my house. | 8 | ········ |
| GETA. He's angry. (Apart.) | 7 | ···/˘˘/ |
| PHOR. No; you'll think better on't. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| DEM. Are you resolv'd, | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Wretch that you are, to thwart me ev'ry way? | 10 | ·········· |
| PHOR. He fears, though he dissembles. | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| GETA. Well begun! | 5 | ···˘/ |
| PHOR. Well; but what can't be cur'd must be endur'd: | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| 'Twere well, and like yourself, that we were friends. | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| DEM. I! friend to you? or choose to see or hear you! | 12 | ············ |
| PHOR. Do but agree with her, you'll have a girl | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| To comfort your old age. Your years, consider! | 11 | ·/˘·····˘/˘ |
| DEM. Plague on your comfort! take her to yourself! | 11 | ····/˘···˘/ |
| PHOR. Ah! don't be angry! | 6 | ····/˘ |
| DEM. One word more, I've done. | 6 | ······ |
| See that you fetch away this wench, and soon, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Or I shall turn her headlong out o'doors. | 10 | ·····/···· |
| So much for Phormio! | 5 | ····· |
| PHOR. Offer but to touch her | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| In any other manner than beseems | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| A gentlewoman and a citizen, | 10 | ·/˘·˘··/˘˘ |
| And I shall bring a swinging writ against you. | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| So much for Demipho!--If I am wanted, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| I am at home, d'ye hear? (Apart to GETA.) | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| GETA. I understand. (Apart.) (Exit PHORMIO. | 12 | ····˘/˘//˘·· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.