The Andrian: Act the Fifth: Scene I
CHREMES. Enough already, Simo, and enoughI've shown my friendship for you; hazardedEnough of peril: urge me then no more!Wishing to please you, I had near destroy'dMy daughter's peace and happiness forever.
SIMO. Ah, Chremes, I must now entreat the more,More urge you to confirm the promis'd boon.
CHREMES. Mark, how unjust you are through willfulness!So you obtain what you demand, you setNo bounds to my compliance, nor considerWhat you request; for if you did consider,You'd cease to load me with these injuries.
SIMO. What injuries?
CHREMES. Is that a question now?Have you not driven me to plight my childTo one possess'd with other love, averseTo marriage; to expose her to divorce,And crazy nuptials; by her woe and baneTo work a cure for your distemper'd son?You had prevail'd: I travel'd in the match,While circumstances would admit; but nowThe case is chang'd, content you:--It is saidThat she's a citizen; a child is born:Prithee excuse us!
SIMO. Now, for Heav'n's sake.Believe not them, whose interest it isTo make him vile and abject as themselves.These stories are all feign'd, concerted all,To break the match: when the occasion's pastThat urges them to this, they will desist.
CHREMES. Oh, you mistake: e'en now I saw the maidWrangling with Davus.SIMO. Artifice! mere trick.
CHREMES. Aye, but in earnest; and when neither knewThat I was there.
SIMO. It may be so: and DavusTold me beforehand they'd attempt all this;Though I, I know not how, forgot to tell you.
Words in this poem
- entreat v. t.
- To treat, or conduct toward; to deal with; to use. [OE. entreten to treat, request, OF. entraiter to treat of; pref. en- (L. in) + traitier to treat. See Treat.]
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- plight v. t.
- To weave; to braid; to fold; to plait. [OE. pliten; probably through Old French, fr. LL. plectare, L. plectere. See Plait, Ply.]
- averse a.
- Turned away or backward. [L. aversus, p. p. of avertere. See Avert.]
- bane v. t.
- To be the bane of; to ruin. Fuller.
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
- abject a.
- Cast down; low-lying. [L. abjectus, p. p. of abjicere to throw away; ab + jacere to throw. See Jet a shooting forth.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Andrian: Act the Fifth: 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, The Andrian: Act the Fifth: Scene I, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-andrian-act-the-fifth-scene-i.html, id L25745.
Form and metre
The Andrian: Act the Fifth: Scene I is 38 lines in 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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.
- 1 -A-A- enough · hazardedA · more · destroy'dA · forever
- 3 --AA- willfulness · set · considerA · considerA · injuries
- 5 A------A--- nowA · child · averse · divorce · bane · son · match · nowA · said · born · us
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CHREMES. Enough already, Simo, and enough | 11 | ·˘/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| I've shown my friendship for you; hazarded | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Enough of peril: urge me then no more! | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| Wishing to please you, I had near destroy'd | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| My daughter's peace and happiness forever. | 11 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/˘ |
| SIMO. Ah, Chremes, I must now entreat the more, | 11 | /˘·····˘/·· |
| More urge you to confirm the promis'd boon. | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| CHREMES. Mark, how unjust you are through willfulness! | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| So you obtain what you demand, you set | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| No bounds to my compliance, nor consider | 11 | ····˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| What you request; for if you did consider, | 11 | ··˘/····˘/˘ |
| You'd cease to load me with these injuries. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| SIMO. What injuries? | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| CHREMES. Is that a question now? | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Have you not driven me to plight my child | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To one possess'd with other love, averse | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| To marriage; to expose her to divorce, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| And crazy nuptials; by her woe and bane | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| To work a cure for your distemper'd son? | 10 | ·········· |
| You had prevail'd: I travel'd in the match, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| While circumstances would admit; but now | 10 | ·/˘·˘·˘/·· |
| The case is chang'd, content you:--It is said | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| That she's a citizen; a child is born: | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Prithee excuse us! | 5 | /˘˘/· |
| SIMO. Now, for Heav'n's sake. | 6 | /˘···· |
| Believe not them, whose interest it is | 9 | ˘/···/˘·· |
| To make him vile and abject as themselves. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| These stories are all feign'd, concerted all, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| To break the match: when the occasion's past | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| That urges them to this, they will desist. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| CHREMES. Oh, you mistake: e'en now I saw the maid | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| Wrangling with Davus. | 6 | /˘˘··· |
| SIMO. Artifice! mere trick. | 7 | /˘/˘˘·· |
| CHREMES. Aye, but in earnest; and when neither knew | 11 | ····/˘··/˘· |
| That I was there. | 4 | ···· |
| SIMO. It may be so: and Davus | 9 | /˘······· |
| Told me beforehand they'd attempt all this; | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| Though I, I know not how, forgot to tell you. | 11 | ······˘/··· |
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