The Andrian: Act the Second: Scene II
CHAR. Save you, Pamphilus!Imploring comfort, safety, help, and counsel,You see me now before you.
PAM. I do lackMyself both help and counsel--But what mean you?
CHAR. Ah, Pamphilus, if so, this dayYou see the last of me.PAM. How so?
CHAR. Ah me!I dare not speak it: prithee tell him, Byrrhia.
BYR. Aye, that I will.
PAM. What is't?
BYR. He is in loveWith your bride, Sir.
PAM. I' faith so am not I.Tell me, Charinus, has aught further passed'Twixt you and her?CHAR. Ah, no, no.
PAM. Would there had!
CHAR. Now by our friendship, by my love I begYou would not marry her.----PAM. I will endeavor.
CHAR. If that's impossible, or if this matchBe grateful to your heart----
PAM. My heart!
CHAR. At leastDefer it some few days; while I depart,That I may not behold it.
PAM. Hear, Charinus;It is, I think, scarce honesty in himTo look for thanks, who means no favor. IAbhor this marriage, more than you desire it.CHAR. You have reviv'd me.
PAM. Now if you, or he,Your Byrrhia here, can do or think of aught;Act, plot, devise, invent, strive all you canTo make her yours; and I'll do all I canThat she may not be mine.
CHAR. Enough.
PAM. I seeDavus, and in good time: for he'll adviseWhat's best to do.
CHAR. But you, you sorry rogue, (To BYRRHIA)Can give me no advice, nor tell me aught,But what it is impertinent to know.Hence, Sirrah, get you gone!
BYR. With all my heart. (Exit.
HarperPAM. I do lackMyself both help and counsel--But what mean you?Colman 1768PAM. Help, and counsel!
Words in this poem
- imploring a.
- That implores; beseeching; entreating.
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- abhor v. i.
- To shrink back with horror, disgust, or dislike; to be contrary or averse; -- with from.
- 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.]
- harper n.
- A player on the harp; a minstrel. [AS. hearpere.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Andrian: 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, The Andrian: Act the Second: 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-second-scene-ii.html, id L25723.
Form and metre
The Andrian: Act the Second: Scene II is 52 lines in 20 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
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.
- 14 --A-A charinus · him · iA · it · meA
- 15 --AA- he · aught · canA · canA · mine
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CHAR. Save you, Pamphilus! | 6 | ······ |
| Imploring comfort, safety, help, and counsel, | 11 | ˘/˘/˘/˘··/˘ |
| You see me now before you. | 7 | ······· |
| PAM. I do lack | 4 | ···· |
| Myself both help and counsel--But what mean you? | 11 | ·/···/˘···· |
| CHAR. Ah, Pamphilus, if so, this day | 9 | ········· |
| You see the last of me. | 6 | ······ |
| PAM. How so? | 3 | ··· |
| CHAR. Ah me! | 3 | ··· |
| I dare not speak it: prithee tell him, Byrrhia. | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| BYR. Aye, that I will. | 5 | ····· |
| PAM. What is't? | 3 | ··· |
| BYR. He is in love | 5 | ····· |
| With your bride, Sir. | 4 | ···· |
| PAM. I' faith so am not I. | 7 | ······· |
| Tell me, Charinus, has aught further passed | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| 'Twixt you and her? | 4 | ···· |
| CHAR. Ah, no, no. | 4 | ···· |
| PAM. Would there had! | 4 | ···· |
| CHAR. Now by our friendship, by my love I beg | 11 | ···//˘····· |
| You would not marry her.---- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| PAM. I will endeavor. | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| CHAR. If that's impossible, or if this match | 10 | ···˘/˘···· |
| Be grateful to your heart---- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| PAM. My heart! | 3 | ··· |
| CHAR. At least | 3 | ··· |
| Defer it some few days; while I depart, | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| That I may not behold it. | 7 | ····˘/· |
| PAM. Hear, Charinus; | 5 | ····· |
| It is, I think, scarce honesty in him | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| To look for thanks, who means no favor. I | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Abhor this marriage, more than you desire it. | 11 | ˘/·/˘···˘/· |
| CHAR. You have reviv'd me. | 6 | ···˘/· |
| PAM. Now if you, or he, | 6 | ······ |
| Your Byrrhia here, can do or think of aught; | 10 | ·········· |
| Act, plot, devise, invent, strive all you can | 10 | ··˘/˘/···· |
| To make her yours; and I'll do all I can | 10 | ·········· |
| That she may not be mine. | 6 | ······ |
| CHAR. Enough. | 3 | ·˘/ |
| PAM. I see | 3 | ··· |
| Davus, and in good time: for he'll advise | 10 | ········˘/ |
| What's best to do. | 4 | ···· |
| CHAR. But you, you sorry rogue, (To BYRRHIA) | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Can give me no advice, nor tell me aught, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| But what it is impertinent to know. | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| Hence, Sirrah, get you gone! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| BYR. With all my heart. (Exit. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| PAM. I do lack | 4 | ···· |
| Myself both help and counsel--But what mean you? | 11 | ·/···/˘···· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| PAM. Help, and counsel! | 5 | ···/˘ |
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.