Phormio: Act the Second: Scene VI
PHAED. What shall I do? Unhappy that I am,How shall I, who am almost worse than nothing,Raise such a sum so suddenly?--Alas!Had I prevail'd on him to wait three days,I had a promise of it.
ANT. Shall we, Geta,Suffer my Phaedria to be miserable?My best friend Phaedria, who but now, you said,Assisted me so heartily?--No--RatherLet us, since there is need, return his kindness!GETA. It is but just, I must confess.
ANT. Come then;'Tis you alone can save him.
GETA. By what means?
ANT. Procure the money.
GETA. Willingly: but whence?
ANT. My father is arriv'd.
GETA. He is: what then?
ANT. A word to the wise, Geta!
GETA. Say you so?
GETA. By Hercules, 'tis rare advice.Are you there with me? will it not be triumph,So I but 'scape a scouring for your match,That you must urge me to run risks for him?
ANT. He speaks the truth, I must confess.
PHAED. How's that?Am I a stranger to you, Geta?
GETA. No:Nor do I hold you such. But is it nothingThat the old man now rages at us all,Unless we irritate him so much furtherAs to preclude all hopes to pacify him?
PHAED. Shall then another bear her hence? Ah me!Now then, while I remain, speak to me, Antipho.Behold me!ANT. Wherefore? what is it you mean?
PHAED. Wherever she's convey'd, I'll follow her;Or perish.
GETA. Heaven prosper your designs!--Gently, Sir, gently!
ANT. See if you can help him.
GETA. Help him! but how?
ANT. Nay, think, invent, devise;Lest he do something we repent of, Geta!
GETA. I'm thinking. (Pausing.)--Well then I believe, he's safe.But I'm afraid of mischief.
ANT. Never fear:We'll bear all good and evil fortune with you.GETA. Tell me the sum you have occasion for.
PHAED. But thirty minae.
GETA. Thirty! monstrous, Phaedria!She's very dear.PHAED. Dog-cheap.
GETA. Well, say no more.I'll get them for you.
PHAED. O brave fellow!
PHAED. But I shall want it now.
GETA. You'll have it now.But Phormio must assist me in this business.
ANT. He's ready: lay what load you will upon him,He'll bear it all; for he's a friend indeed.GETA. Let's to him quickly then!
ANT. D'ye want my help?
GETA. We've no occasion for you. Get you homeTo the poor girl, who's almost dead with fear;And see you comfort her.--Away! d'ye loiter?
ANT. There's nothing I would do so willingly. (Exit.
PHAED. But how will you effect this?
GETA. I'll explainThat matter as we go along.--Away! (Exeunt.
HarperThat the old man now rages at us allColman 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,]
- willingly adv.
- In a willing manner; with free will; without reluctance; cheerfully.
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- wherever adv.
- At or in whatever place; wheresoever.
- prosper v. t.
- To favor; to render successful. [F. prospérer v. i., or L. prosperare, v. i., or L. prosperare, v. t., fr. prosper or prosperus. See Prosperous.]
- invent v. t.
- To come or light upon; to meet; to find. [L. inventus, p. p. of invenire to come upon, to find, invent; pref. in- in + venire to come, akin to E. come: cf. F. inventer. See Come.]
- repent a.
- Prostrate and rooting; -- said of stems. Gray. [L. repens, -entis, creeping, p. pr. of repere to creep.]
- 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.]
- 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 VI 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 VI, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/phormio-act-the-second-scene-vi.html, id L25898.
Form and metre
Phormio: Act the Second: Scene VI is 73 lines in 35 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.
- 2 ----AA geta · miserable · said · rather · kindnessA · confessA
- 15 A-A- meA · antipho · meA · mean
- 21 AA safeA · mischiefA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PHAED. What shall I do? Unhappy that I am, | 11 | ·····˘/˘··· |
| How shall I, who am almost worse than nothing, | 11 | ·····/···/˘ |
| Raise such a sum so suddenly?--Alas! | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| Had I prevail'd on him to wait three days, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| I had a promise of it. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| ANT. Shall we, Geta, | 5 | ····· |
| Suffer my Phaedria to be miserable? | 11 | /˘·····/˘˘˘ |
| My best friend Phaedria, who but now, you said, | 10 | ·········· |
| Assisted me so heartily?--No--Rather | 11 | ˘/˘··/˘˘·/˘ |
| Let us, since there is need, return his kindness! | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| GETA. It is but just, I must confess. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| ANT. Come then; | 3 | ··· |
| 'Tis you alone can save him. | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| GETA. By what means? | 5 | ····· |
| ANT. Procure the money. | 6 | ·˘/·/˘ |
| GETA. Willingly: but whence? | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| ANT. My father is arriv'd. | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| GETA. He is: what then? | 6 | ······ |
| ANT. A word to the wise, Geta! | 8 | ········ |
| GETA. Say you so? | 5 | ····· |
| GETA. By Hercules, 'tis rare advice. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Are you there with me? will it not be triumph, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| So I but 'scape a scouring for your match, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| That you must urge me to run risks for him? | 10 | ·········· |
| ANT. He speaks the truth, I must confess. | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| PHAED. How's that? | 3 | ··· |
| Am I a stranger to you, Geta? | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| GETA. No: | 3 | ··· |
| Nor do I hold you such. But is it nothing | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| That the old man now rages at us all, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Unless we irritate him so much further | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| As to preclude all hopes to pacify him? | 11 | ··˘/···/˘·· |
| PHAED. Shall then another bear her hence? Ah me! | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| Now then, while I remain, speak to me, Antipho. | 12 | ····˘/······ |
| Behold me! | 3 | ˘/· |
| ANT. Wherefore? what is it you mean? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| PHAED. Wherever she's convey'd, I'll follow her; | 11 | ·˘/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| Or perish. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| GETA. Heaven prosper your designs!-- | 9 | ··/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Gently, Sir, gently! | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| ANT. See if you can help him. | 7 | ······· |
| GETA. Help him! but how? | 6 | ······ |
| ANT. Nay, think, invent, devise; | 7 | ···˘/˘/ |
| Lest he do something we repent of, Geta! | 11 | ···/˘·˘/··· |
| GETA. I'm thinking. (Pausing.)--Well then I believe, he's safe. | 14 | ···/˘/˘···˘/·· |
| But I'm afraid of mischief. | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| ANT. Never fear: | 4 | ·/˘· |
| We'll bear all good and evil fortune with you. | 10 | ·····//˘·· |
| GETA. Tell me the sum you have occasion for. | 12 | ········˘/˘· |
| PHAED. But thirty minae. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| GETA. Thirty! monstrous, Phaedria! | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| She's very dear. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| PHAED. Dog-cheap. | 3 | ··· |
| GETA. Well, say no more. | 6 | ······ |
| I'll get them for you. | 5 | ····· |
| PHAED. O brave fellow! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| PHAED. But I shall want it now. | 7 | ······· |
| GETA. You'll have it now. | 6 | ······ |
| But Phormio must assist me in this business. | 11 | ····˘/···/˘ |
| ANT. He's ready: lay what load you will upon him, | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| He'll bear it all; for he's a friend indeed. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| GETA. Let's to him quickly then! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| ANT. D'ye want my help? | 5 | ····· |
| GETA. We've no occasion for you. Get you home | 12 | ····˘/˘····· |
| To the poor girl, who's almost dead with fear; | 10 | ·····/···· |
| And see you comfort her.--Away! d'ye loiter? | 11 | ···/˘·˘/·/˘ |
| ANT. There's nothing I would do so willingly. (Exit. | 12 | ··/˘····/˘/˘ |
| PHAED. But how will you effect this? | 9 | ·˘····/˘· |
| GETA. I'll explain | 5 | ···˘/ |
| That matter as we go along.--Away! (Exeunt. | 13 | ·/˘···˘/˘//˘˘ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| That the old man now rages at us all | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
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.