The Andrian: Act the Fourth: Scene II
PAM. Oh, Charinus,By my imprudence, unless Heav'n forefend,I've ruin'd both myself and you.
CHAR. Imprudence!Paltry evasion! you have broke your faith.
CHAR. And do you think that words like theseCan baffle me again?PAM. What means all this?
CHAR. Soon as I told you of my passion for her,Then she had charms for you.----Ah, senseless fool,To judge your disposition by my own!
PAM. You are mistaken.
CHAR. Was your joy no joy,Without abusing a fond lover's mind,Fool'd on with idle hopes?--Well, take her.
PAM. Take her?Alas, you know not what a wretch I am:How many cares this slave has brought upon me,My rascal here.
CHAR. No wonder if he takesExample from his master.
PAM. Ah, you know notMe, or my love, or else you would not talk thus.
CHAR. Oh yes, I know it all. You had but nowA dreadful altercation with your father:And therefore he's enrag'd, nor could prevailOn you, forsooth, to wed. (Ironically.)
PAM. To show you then,How little you conceive of my distress,These nuptials were mere semblance, mock'ry all,Nor was a wife intended me.
CHAR. I know it:You are constrain'd, poor man, by inclination.
CHAR. I knowThat you're to marry her.
PAM. Why rack me thus?Nay hear! he never ceas'd to importuneThat I would tell my father, I would wed;So press'd, and urg'd, that he at length prevail'd.CHAR. Who did this?
PAM. I know not: but I know the GodsMeant in their anger I should listen to him.
CHAR. Is it so, Davus?
CHAR. How, villain?The Gods confound you for it!--Tell me, wretchHad all his most inveterate foes desir'dTo throw him on this marriage, what adviceCould they have given else?
DAVUS. I am deceiv'd,But not dishearten'd.
CHAR. True. (Ironically.)
DAVUS. This way has fail'd;We'll try another way: unless you thinkBecause the business has gone ill at first,We can not graft advantage on misfortune.
PAM. Oh aye, I warrant you, if you look to 't,Out of one wedding you can work me two.
DAVUS. Pamphilus, 'tis my duty, as your slave,To strive with might and main, by day and nightWith hazard of my life, to do you service:'Tis yours, if I am cross'd, to pardon me.My undertakings fail indeed, but thenI spare no pains. Do better, if you can,And send me packing.
PAM. Aye, with all my heart:Place me but where you found me first.PAM. But do it instantly.
DAVUS. Hist! hold a while:I hear the creaking of Glycerium's door.
PAM. Nothing to you.
DAVUS. I'm thinking.
PAM. What, at last?
DAVUS. Your business shall be done, and presently.
Words in this poem
- forefend v. t.
- To hinder; to fend off; to avert; to prevent the approach of; to forbid or prohibit. See Forfend. [OE. forfenden; pref. for- + fenden to fend. See Fend, v. t.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- baffle v. i.
- To cause to undergo a disgraceful punishment, as a recreant knight. [Cf. Lowland Scotch bauchle to treat contemptuously, bauch tasteless, abashed, jaded, Icel. bagr uneasy, poor, or bagr, n., struggle, bægja to push, treat harshl]
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
- forsooth v. t.
- To address respectfully with the term forsooth.
- importune a.
- Inopportune; unseasonable. [F. importun, L. importunus; pref. im- not + a derivative from the root of portus harbor, importunus therefore orig. meaning, hard of access. See Port harbor, an]
- inveterate a.
- Old; long-established. [L. inveteratus, p. p. of inveterare to render old; pref. in- in + vetus, veteris, old. See Veteran.]
- 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,]
- presently adv.
- At present; at this time; now.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Andrian: Act the Fourth: 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, The Andrian: Act the Fourth: Scene II, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-andrian-act-the-fourth-scene-ii.html, id L25738.
Form and metre
The Andrian: Act the Fourth: Scene II is 73 lines in 28 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PAM. Oh, Charinus, | 5 | ····· |
| By my imprudence, unless Heav'n forefend, | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| I've ruin'd both myself and you. | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| CHAR. Imprudence! | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| Paltry evasion! you have broke your faith. | 10 | /˘˘/˘····· |
| CHAR. And do you think that words like these | 9 | ········· |
| Can baffle me again? | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| PAM. What means all this? | 5 | ····· |
| CHAR. Soon as I told you of my passion for her, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| Then she had charms for you.----Ah, senseless fool, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To judge your disposition by my own! | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| PAM. You are mistaken. | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| CHAR. Was your joy no joy, | 6 | ······ |
| Without abusing a fond lover's mind, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Fool'd on with idle hopes?--Well, take her. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| PAM. Take her? | 3 | ··· |
| Alas, you know not what a wretch I am: | 10 | ˘/········ |
| How many cares this slave has brought upon me, | 10 | ·/········ |
| My rascal here. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| CHAR. No wonder if he takes | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Example from his master. | 7 | ˘/˘··/˘ |
| PAM. Ah, you know not | 5 | ····· |
| Me, or my love, or else you would not talk thus. | 11 | ··········· |
| CHAR. Oh yes, I know it all. You had but now | 11 | ··········· |
| A dreadful altercation with your father: | 11 | ·/˘·˘/˘··/˘ |
| And therefore he's enrag'd, nor could prevail | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| On you, forsooth, to wed. (Ironically.) | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘˘ |
| PAM. To show you then, | 5 | ····· |
| How little you conceive of my distress, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| These nuptials were mere semblance, mock'ry all, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Nor was a wife intended me. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| CHAR. I know it: | 4 | ···· |
| You are constrain'd, poor man, by inclination. | 11 | ··˘/····˘/˘ |
| CHAR. I know | 3 | ··· |
| That you're to marry her. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| PAM. Why rack me thus? | 5 | ····· |
| Nay hear! he never ceas'd to importune | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That I would tell my father, I would wed; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| So press'd, and urg'd, that he at length prevail'd. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| CHAR. Who did this? | 4 | ···· |
| PAM. I know not: but I know the Gods | 9 | ········· |
| Meant in their anger I should listen to him. | 11 | ···/˘··/˘·· |
| CHAR. Is it so, Davus? | 6 | ······ |
| CHAR. How, villain? | 4 | ··/˘ |
| The Gods confound you for it!--Tell me, wretch | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Had all his most inveterate foes desir'd | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| To throw him on this marriage, what advice | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Could they have given else? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| DAVUS. I am deceiv'd, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| But not dishearten'd. | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| CHAR. True. (Ironically.) | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| DAVUS. This way has fail'd; | 6 | ······ |
| We'll try another way: unless you think | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Because the business has gone ill at first, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| We can not graft advantage on misfortune. | 11 | ····˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| PAM. Oh aye, I warrant you, if you look to 't, | 12 | ····/˘······ |
| Out of one wedding you can work me two. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| DAVUS. Pamphilus, 'tis my duty, as your slave, | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| To strive with might and main, by day and night | 10 | ·········· |
| With hazard of my life, to do you service: | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| 'Tis yours, if I am cross'd, to pardon me. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| My undertakings fail indeed, but then | 10 | ·/˘·˘·˘/·· |
| I spare no pains. Do better, if you can, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And send me packing. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| PAM. Aye, with all my heart: | 6 | ······ |
| Place me but where you found me first. | 8 | ········ |
| PAM. But do it instantly. | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| DAVUS. Hist! hold a while: | 6 | ······ |
| I hear the creaking of Glycerium's door. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| PAM. Nothing to you. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| DAVUS. I'm thinking. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| PAM. What, at last? | 4 | ···· |
| DAVUS. Your business shall be done, and presently. | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
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