The Andrian: Act the Second: Scene III
DAVUS. Good Heav'ns, what news I bring! what joyful news!But where shall I find Pamphilus, to driveHis fears away, and make him full of joy?CHAR. There's something pleases him.
PAM. No matter what.He has not heard of our ill fortune yet.
DAVUS. And he, I warrant, if he has been toldOf his intended wedding----
DAVUS. Poor soul, is running all about the townIn quest of me. But whither shall I go?Or which way run?CHAR. Why don't you speak to him?
PAM. Ho! Davus! Stop, come here!
DAVUS. Who calls?O, Pamphilus! the very man.--Heyday!Charinus too!--Both gentlemen, well met!I've news for both.PAM. I'm ruin'd, Davus.
DAVUS. I know your fears.
CHAR. My life's at stake.
DAVUS. Yours I know also.
PAM. Matrimony mine.
DAVUS. I know it.
PAM. But to-day.
DAVUS. You stun me; plague!I tell you I know ev'ry thing: you fear (To CHARINUS.)You should not marry her.--You fear you should. (To PAM.)CHAR. The very thing.
DAVUS. And yet that sameIs nothing. Mark!PAM. Nay, rid me of my fear.
DAVUS. I will then. ChremesWon't give his daughter to you.
DAVUS. I'm sure of it. Your Father but just nowTakes me aside, and tells me 'twas his willThat you should wed to-day; with much beside,Which now I have not leisure to repeat.I, on the instant, hastening to find you,Run to the Forum to inform you of it:There, failing, climb an eminence, look round:No Pamphilus: I light by chance on Byrrhia;Inquire; he hadn't seen you. Vex'd at heart,What's to be done? thought I. Returning thenceA doubt arose within me. Ha! bad cheer,The old man melancholy, and a weddingClapp'd up so suddenly! This don't agree.PAM. Well, what then?
DAVUS. I betook me instantlyTo Chremes' house; but thither when I came,Before the door all hush. This tickled me.
PAM. You're in the right. Proceed.
DAVUS. I watch'd a while:Meantime no soul went in, no soul came out;No matron; in the house no ornament;No note of preparation. I approach'd,Look'd in----
PAM. I understand: a potent sign!
DAVUS. Does this seem like a nuptial?
PAM. I think not,Davus.
DAVUS. Think not, d'ye say? you don't conceive:The thing is evident. I met beside,As I departed thence, with Chremes' boy,Bearing some pot-herbs, and a pennyworthOf little fishes for the old man's dinner.
CHAR. I am deliver'd, Davus, by your means,From all my apprehensions of to-day.
DAVUS. And yet you are undone.
CHAR. How so? Since ChremesWill not consent to give PhilumenaTo Pamphilus.
DAVUS. Ridiculous! As if,Because the daughter is denied to him,She must of course wed you. Look to it well;Court the old Gentleman through friends, apply,Or else----
CHAR. You're right: I will about it straight,Although that hope has often fail'd. Farewell. (Exit.
HarperDAVUS. I will then. ChremesWon't give his daughter to you.PAM. How d'ye know?Colman 1768DAVUS. I will then. Chremes don't intend his daughterShall marry you to-day.
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,]
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- heyday interj.
- An expression of frolic and exultation, and sometimes of wonder. B. Jonson. [Cf. G. heida, or hei da, D. hei daar. Cf. Hey, and There.]
- forum n.
- A market place or public place in Rome, where causes were judicially tried, and orations delivered to the people. [L.; akin to foris, foras, out of doors. See Foreign.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- pennyworth n.
- A penny's worth; as much as may be bought for a penny.
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- harper n.
- A player on the harp; a minstrel. [AS. hearpere.]
- intend v. t.
- To stretch' to extend; to distend. [OE. entenden to be attentive, F. entendre, fr. L. intendre, intentum, and intensum, to intend, attend, stretch out, extend; pref. in- in + tendere to stretch, s]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Andrian: Act the Second: Scene III 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 III, 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-iii.html, id L25724.
Form and metre
The Andrian: Act the Second: Scene III is 85 lines in 29 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
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.
- 28 AA straightA · exitA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| DAVUS. Good Heav'ns, what news I bring! what joyful news! | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| But where shall I find Pamphilus, to drive | 10 | ·········· |
| His fears away, and make him full of joy? | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| CHAR. There's something pleases him. | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| PAM. No matter what. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| He has not heard of our ill fortune yet. | 10 | ·····/·/˘· |
| DAVUS. And he, I warrant, if he has been told | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Of his intended wedding---- | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| DAVUS. Poor soul, is running all about the town | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| In quest of me. But whither shall I go? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Or which way run? | 4 | ···· |
| CHAR. Why don't you speak to him? | 7 | ······· |
| PAM. Ho! Davus! Stop, come here! | 7 | ······· |
| DAVUS. Who calls? | 4 | ···· |
| O, Pamphilus! the very man.--Heyday! | 10 | ·····/˘·/· |
| Charinus too!--Both gentlemen, well met! | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| I've news for both. | 4 | ···· |
| PAM. I'm ruin'd, Davus. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| DAVUS. I know your fears. | 6 | ······ |
| CHAR. My life's at stake. | 5 | ····· |
| DAVUS. Yours I know also. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| PAM. Matrimony mine. | 6 | ·/˘·˘· |
| DAVUS. I know it. | 5 | ····· |
| PAM. But to-day. | 4 | ···· |
| DAVUS. You stun me; plague! | 6 | ······ |
| I tell you I know ev'ry thing: you fear (To CHARINUS.) | 14 | ·············· |
| You should not marry her.--You fear you should. (To PAM.) | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| CHAR. The very thing. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| DAVUS. And yet that same | 6 | ······ |
| Is nothing. Mark! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| PAM. Nay, rid me of my fear. | 7 | ······· |
| DAVUS. I will then. Chremes | 6 | ······ |
| Won't give his daughter to you. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| DAVUS. I'm sure of it. Your Father but just now | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| Takes me aside, and tells me 'twas his will | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| That you should wed to-day; with much beside, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Which now I have not leisure to repeat. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| I, on the instant, hastening to find you, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Run to the Forum to inform you of it: | 11 | ···/˘·˘/··· |
| There, failing, climb an eminence, look round: | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| No Pamphilus: I light by chance on Byrrhia; | 11 | ··········· |
| Inquire; he hadn't seen you. Vex'd at heart, | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| What's to be done? thought I. Returning thence | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| A doubt arose within me. Ha! bad cheer, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| The old man melancholy, and a wedding | 11 | ···/˘·˘··/˘ |
| Clapp'd up so suddenly! This don't agree. | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| PAM. Well, what then? | 4 | ···· |
| DAVUS. I betook me instantly | 9 | ···˘/·/˘˘ |
| To Chremes' house; but thither when I came, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Before the door all hush. This tickled me. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| PAM. You're in the right. Proceed. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| DAVUS. I watch'd a while: | 6 | ······ |
| Meantime no soul went in, no soul came out; | 10 | /········· |
| No matron; in the house no ornament; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| No note of preparation. I approach'd, | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Look'd in---- | 2 | ·· |
| PAM. I understand: a potent sign! | 9 | ···˘/·/˘· |
| DAVUS. Does this seem like a nuptial? | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| PAM. I think not, | 4 | ···· |
| Davus. | 2 | ·· |
| DAVUS. Think not, d'ye say? you don't conceive: | 10 | ········˘/ |
| The thing is evident. I met beside, | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| As I departed thence, with Chremes' boy, | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| Bearing some pot-herbs, and a pennyworth | 10 | /˘·····/˘˘ |
| Of little fishes for the old man's dinner. | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| CHAR. I am deliver'd, Davus, by your means, | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| From all my apprehensions of to-day. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| DAVUS. And yet you are undone. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| CHAR. How so? Since Chremes | 5 | ····· |
| Will not consent to give Philumena | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| To Pamphilus. | 4 | ···· |
| DAVUS. Ridiculous! As if, | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
| Because the daughter is denied to him, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| She must of course wed you. Look to it well; | 10 | ·········· |
| Court the old Gentleman through friends, apply, | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| Or else---- | 2 | ·· |
| CHAR. You're right: I will about it straight, | 9 | ········· |
| Although that hope has often fail'd. Farewell. (Exit. | 12 | ·····/˘··//˘ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| DAVUS. I will then. Chremes | 6 | ······ |
| Won't give his daughter to you. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| PAM. How d'ye know? | 4 | ···· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| DAVUS. I will then. Chremes don't intend his daughter | 12 | ·······˘/·/˘ |
| Shall marry you to-day. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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