The Andrian: Act the Third: Scene V
CHREMES. Well met.--Some persons cameTo tell me you inform'd them, that my daughterWas to be married to your son to-day:And therefore came I here, and fain would knowWhether 'tis you or they have lost their wits.
SIMO. A moment's hearing; you shall be inform'd,What I request, and what you wish to know.CHREMES. I hear: what would you? speak.
SIMO. Now by the Gods;Now by our friendship, Chremes, which begunIn infancy, has still increas'd with age;Now by your only daughter, and my son,Whose preservation wholly rests on you;Let me entreat this boon: and let the matchWhich should have been, still be.
CHREMES. Why, why entreat?Knowing you ought not to beseech this of me.Think you that I am other than I was,When first I gave my promise? If the matchBe good for both, e'en call them forth to wed.But if their union promises more harmThan good to both, you also, I beseech you,Consult our common interest, as ifYou were her father, Pamphilus my son.
SIMO. E'en in that spirit, I desire it, Chremes,Entreat it may be done; nor would entreat,But that occasion urges.CHREMES. What occasion?
SIMO. A diff'rence 'twixt Glycerium and my son.
CHREMES. I hear. (Ironically.)
SIMO. A breach so wide as gives me hopesTo sep'rate them forever.
CHREMES. Idle tales!
SIMO. Indeed 'tis thus.
CHREMES. Aye marry, thus it is.Quarrels of lovers but renew their love.
SIMO. Prevent we then, I pray, this mischief now;While time permits, while yet his passion's soreFrom contumelies; ere these women's wiles,Their wicked arts, and tears made up of fraudShake his weak mind, and melt it to compassion.Give him a wife: by intercourse with her,Knit by the bonds of wedlock, soon I hope,He'll rise above the guilt that sinks him now.
CHREMES. So you believe: for me, I can not thinkThat he'll be constant, or that I can bear it.SIMO. How can you know, unless you make the trial?
CHREMES. Aye, but to make that trial on a daughterIs hard indeed.
SIMO. The mischief, should he fail,Is only this: divorce, which Heav'n forbid!But mark what benefits if he amend!First, to your friend you will restore a son;Gain to yourself a son-in-law, and matchYour daughter to an honest husband.
CHREMES. Well!Since you're so thoroughly convinc'd 'tis right,I can deny you naught that lies in me.
SIMO. I see I ever lov'd you justly, Chremes.
CHREMES. Whence is't you knowThat there's a difference between them?
SIMO. Davus,Davus, in all their secrets, told me so;Advis'd me too, to hasten on the matchAs fast as possible. Would he, d'ye think,Do that, unless he were full well assur'dMy son desir'd it too?--Hear, what he says.Ho there! call Davus forth.--But here he comes.
HarperCHREMES. Whence is't you knowColman 1768
Words in this poem
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- 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,]
- 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.]
- 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.]
- consult n.
- The act of consulting or deliberating; consultation; also, the result of consulation; determination; decision.
- 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 Third: Scene V 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 Third: Scene V, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-andrian-act-the-third-scene-v.html, id L25733.
Form and metre
The Andrian: Act the Third: Scene V is 71 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.
- 3 -A-A--- gods · begunA · age · sonA · you · match · be
- 12 A------A nowA · sore · wiles · fraud · compassion · her · hope · nowA
- 15 --A--A fail · forbid · amendA · son · match · husbandA
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. Well met.--Some persons came | 7 | ····/˘· |
| To tell me you inform'd them, that my daughter | 11 | ····˘/···/˘ |
| Was to be married to your son to-day: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And therefore came I here, and fain would know | 10 | ·········· |
| Whether 'tis you or they have lost their wits. | 10 | ·········· |
| SIMO. A moment's hearing; you shall be inform'd, | 12 | /˘·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| What I request, and what you wish to know. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| CHREMES. I hear: what would you? speak. | 7 | ······· |
| SIMO. Now by the Gods; | 6 | /˘···· |
| Now by our friendship, Chremes, which begun | 10 | ··/˘/˘··/˘ |
| In infancy, has still increas'd with age; | 10 | ·/˘˘··˘/·· |
| Now by your only daughter, and my son, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Whose preservation wholly rests on you; | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Let me entreat this boon: and let the match | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Which should have been, still be. | 6 | ······ |
| CHREMES. Why, why entreat? | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Knowing you ought not to beseech this of me. | 10 | /····˘/··· |
| Think you that I am other than I was, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| When first I gave my promise? If the match | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Be good for both, e'en call them forth to wed. | 10 | ·········· |
| But if their union promises more harm | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| Than good to both, you also, I beseech you, | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/· |
| Consult our common interest, as if | 10 | ˘//˘/˘/˘·· |
| You were her father, Pamphilus my son. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| SIMO. E'en in that spirit, I desire it, Chremes, | 11 | /˘···/·˘/·· |
| Entreat it may be done; nor would entreat, | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| But that occasion urges. | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| CHREMES. What occasion? | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| SIMO. A diff'rence 'twixt Glycerium and my son. | 12 | /˘·········· |
| CHREMES. I hear. (Ironically.) | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
| SIMO. A breach so wide as gives me hopes | 10 | /˘········ |
| To sep'rate them forever. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| CHREMES. Idle tales! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| SIMO. Indeed 'tis thus. | 6 | /˘˘/·· |
| CHREMES. Aye marry, thus it is. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Quarrels of lovers but renew their love. | 10 | /˘·/˘·˘/·· |
| SIMO. Prevent we then, I pray, this mischief now; | 12 | /˘˘/·····/˘· |
| While time permits, while yet his passion's sore | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| From contumelies; ere these women's wiles, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Their wicked arts, and tears made up of fraud | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Shake his weak mind, and melt it to compassion. | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Give him a wife: by intercourse with her, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Knit by the bonds of wedlock, soon I hope, | 10 | ·····/···· |
| He'll rise above the guilt that sinks him now. | 10 | ·········· |
| CHREMES. So you believe: for me, I can not think | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| That he'll be constant, or that I can bear it. | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| SIMO. How can you know, unless you make the trial? | 13 | /˘·········/˘ |
| CHREMES. Aye, but to make that trial on a daughter | 12 | ······/˘··/˘ |
| Is hard indeed. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| SIMO. The mischief, should he fail, | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Is only this: divorce, which Heav'n forbid! | 10 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| But mark what benefits if he amend! | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| First, to your friend you will restore a son; | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Gain to yourself a son-in-law, and match | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Your daughter to an honest husband. | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| CHREMES. Well! | 2 | ·· |
| Since you're so thoroughly convinc'd 'tis right, | 10 | ···/˘˘˘/·· |
| I can deny you naught that lies in me. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| SIMO. I see I ever lov'd you justly, Chremes. | 11 | /˘···/··/˘· |
| CHREMES. Whence is't you know | 5 | ····· |
| That there's a difference between them? | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| SIMO. Davus, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Davus, in all their secrets, told me so; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Advis'd me too, to hasten on the match | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| As fast as possible. Would he, d'ye think, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Do that, unless he were full well assur'd | 10 | ········˘/ |
| My son desir'd it too?--Hear, what he says. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Ho there! call Davus forth.--But here he comes. | 10 | ·········· |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| CHREMES. Whence is't you know | 5 | ····· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
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