The Andrian: Act the Second: Scene VII
DAVUS. Now he supposes I've some trick in hand,And loiter here to practice it on him!SIMO. Well, what now, Davus?
SIMO. Nothing, say you?
DAVUS. Nothing at all.
SIMO. And yet I look'd for something.
DAVUS. So, I perceive, you did:--This nettles him. (Aside.)
SIMO. Can you speak truth?
DAVUS. Most easily.
SIMO. Say then,Is not this wedding irksome to my son,From his adventure with the Andrian?
DAVUS. No faith; or if at all, 'twill only beTwo or three days' anxiety, you know;Then 'twill be over: for he sees the thingIn its true light.SIMO. I praise him for't.
DAVUS. While youRestrain'd him not; and while his youth allow'd'Tis true he lov'd; and even then by stealth,As wise men ought, and careful of his fame.Now his age calls for matrimony, nowTo matrimony he inclines his mind.SIMO. Yet, in my eyes, he seem'd a little sad.
DAVUS. Not upon that account. He has he thinksAnother reason to complain of you.
SIMO. Well, what is't?
DAVUS. Nay, nothing.
SIMO. Tell me, what is't?
DAVUS. You are then, he complains,Somewhat too sparing of expense.
DAVUS. You.A feast of scarce ten Drachms? Does this, says he,Look like a wedding-supper for his son?What friends can I invite? especiallyAt such a time as this?--and, truly, Sir,You have been very frugal; much too sparing.I can't commend you for it.
SIMO. Hold your peace.
DAVUS. I've ruffled him. (Aside.)
SIMO. I'll look to that. Away! (Exit DAVUS.What now? What means the varlet? Precious rogue,For if there's any knavery on foot,He, I am sure, is the contriver on't. (Exit.
Harper'Tis true he lov'd; and even then by stealthColman 1768
Words in this poem
- irksome a.
- Wearisome; tedious; disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; as, irksome hours; irksome tasks.
- stealth n.
- The act of stealing; theft. [OE. staple. See Steal, v. t.]
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- 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]
- varlet n.
- A servant, especially to a knight; an attendant; a valet; a footman. Spenser. Tusser. [OF. varlet, vaslet, vallet, servant, young man, young noble, dim of vassal. See Vassal, and cf. Valet.]
- knavery n.
- The practices of a knave; petty villainy; fraud; trickery; a knavish action.
- 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 VII 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 VII, 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-vii.html, id L25728.
Form and metre
The Andrian: Act the Second: Scene VII is 47 lines in 20 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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.
- 19 --AA davus · rogue · footA · 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. Now he supposes I've some trick in hand, | 12 | ····˘/˘····· |
| And loiter here to practice it on him! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| SIMO. Well, what now, Davus? | 7 | /˘····· |
| SIMO. Nothing, say you? | 6 | /˘/˘·· |
| DAVUS. Nothing at all. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| SIMO. And yet I look'd for something. | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| DAVUS. So, I perceive, you did:--This nettles him. (Aside.) | 14 | ····˘/···/˘·˘/ |
| SIMO. Can you speak truth? | 6 | /˘···· |
| DAVUS. Most easily. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| SIMO. Say then, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Is not this wedding irksome to my son, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| From his adventure with the Andrian? | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| DAVUS. No faith; or if at all, 'twill only be | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| Two or three days' anxiety, you know; | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| Then 'twill be over: for he sees the thing | 10 | ·········· |
| In its true light. | 4 | ···· |
| SIMO. I praise him for't. | 6 | /˘···· |
| DAVUS. While you | 4 | ···· |
| Restrain'd him not; and while his youth allow'd | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| 'Tis true he lov'd; and even then by stealth, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| As wise men ought, and careful of his fame. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Now his age calls for matrimony, now | 10 | ·····/˘·˘· |
| To matrimony he inclines his mind. | 10 | ·/˘·˘·˘/·· |
| SIMO. Yet, in my eyes, he seem'd a little sad. | 12 | /˘·······/˘· |
| DAVUS. Not upon that account. He has he thinks | 12 | ······˘/···· |
| Another reason to complain of you. | 10 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| SIMO. Well, what is't? | 5 | /˘··· |
| DAVUS. Nay, nothing. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| SIMO. Tell me, what is't? | 6 | /˘···· |
| DAVUS. You are then, he complains, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Somewhat too sparing of expense. | 8 | //·/˘·˘/ |
| DAVUS. You. | 3 | ··· |
| A feast of scarce ten Drachms? Does this, says he, | 10 | ·········· |
| Look like a wedding-supper for his son? | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| What friends can I invite? especially | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| At such a time as this?--and, truly, Sir, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| You have been very frugal; much too sparing. | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| I can't commend you for it. | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| SIMO. Hold your peace. | 5 | /˘··· |
| DAVUS. I've ruffled him. (Aside.) | 9 | ···/˘˘·˘/ |
| SIMO. I'll look to that. Away! (Exit DAVUS. | 12 | /˘····˘//˘·· |
| What now? What means the varlet? Precious rogue, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| For if there's any knavery on foot, | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| He, I am sure, is the contriver on't. (Exit. | 12 | ······˘/˘·/˘ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| 'Tis true he lov'd; and even then by stealth | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
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