The Andrian: Act the Third: Scene VI
SIMO. D'ye hear him?--Davus, I for some time pastWas fearful of you; lest, like other slaves,As slaves go now, you should put tricks upon me,And baffle me, to favor my son's love.
SIMO. I thought so: and in fear of thatConceal'd a secret which I'll now disclose.DAVUS. What secret, Sir?
SIMO. I'll tell you: for I nowAlmost begin to think you may be trusted.DAVUS. You've found what sort of man I am at last.
SIMO. No marriage was intended.
SIMO. None.All counterfeit, to sound my son and you.
DAVUS. How say you?
DAVUS. Alack, alack!I never could have thought it. Ah, what art! (Archly.)
SIMO. Hear me. No sooner had I sent you in.But opportunely I encountered Chremes.DAVUS. How! are we ruin'd then? (Aside.)
SIMO. I told him all.That you had just told me,----DAVUS. Confusion! how? (Aside.)
SIMO. Begged him to grant his daughter, and at lengthWith much ado prevail'd.
DAVUS. Undone! (Aside.)
SIMO. How's that? (Overhearing.)
DAVUS. Well done! I said.
SIMO. My good friend Chremes thenIs now no obstacle.
CHREMES. I'll home a while,Order due preparations, and return. (Exit.
SIMO. Prithee, now, Davus, seeing you aloneHave brought about this match----DAVUS. Yes, I alone.
SIMO. Endeavor farther to amend my son.
DAVUS. Most diligently.
SIMO. It were easy now,While his mind's irritated.
DAVUS. Be at peace.
SIMO. Do then: where is he?
DAVUS. Probably at home.
Words in this poem
- 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]
- alack interj.
- An exclamation expressive of sorrow. [Prob. from ah! lack! OE. lak loss, failure, misfortune. See Lack.]
- archly adv.
- In an arch manner; with attractive slyness or roguishness; slyly; waggishly.
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Andrian: Act the Third: Scene VI 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 VI, 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-vi.html, id L25734.
Form and metre
The Andrian: Act the Third: Scene VI is 41 lines in 22 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.
- 16 A-A aloneA · match · aloneA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| SIMO. D'ye hear him?--Davus, I for some time past | 12 | /˘·········· |
| Was fearful of you; lest, like other slaves, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| As slaves go now, you should put tricks upon me, | 11 | ··········· |
| And baffle me, to favor my son's love. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| SIMO. I thought so: and in fear of that | 10 | /˘········ |
| Conceal'd a secret which I'll now disclose. | 10 | ˘/·/˘···˘/ |
| DAVUS. What secret, Sir? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| SIMO. I'll tell you: for I now | 8 | /˘······ |
| Almost begin to think you may be trusted. | 11 | /·˘/·····/˘ |
| DAVUS. You've found what sort of man I am at last. | 12 | ············ |
| SIMO. No marriage was intended. | 9 | /˘·/˘·˘/˘ |
| SIMO. None. | 3 | /˘· |
| All counterfeit, to sound my son and you. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| DAVUS. How say you? | 5 | ····· |
| DAVUS. Alack, alack! | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
| I never could have thought it. Ah, what art! (Archly.) | 11 | ·/·······/˘ |
| SIMO. Hear me. No sooner had I sent you in. | 12 | /˘···/˘····· |
| But opportunely I encountered Chremes. | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| DAVUS. How! are we ruin'd then? (Aside.) | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| SIMO. I told him all. | 6 | /˘···· |
| That you had just told me,---- | 6 | ······ |
| DAVUS. Confusion! how? (Aside.) | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| SIMO. Begged him to grant his daughter, and at length | 12 | /˘·····/˘··· |
| With much ado prevail'd. | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
| DAVUS. Undone! (Aside.) | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
| SIMO. How's that? (Overhearing.) | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| DAVUS. Well done! I said. | 6 | ······ |
| SIMO. My good friend Chremes then | 7 | /˘····· |
| Is now no obstacle. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| CHREMES. I'll home a while, | 5 | ····· |
| Order due preparations, and return. (Exit. | 12 | /˘··˘/˘·˘//˘ |
| SIMO. Prithee, now, Davus, seeing you alone | 11 | /˘/˘···/·˘/ |
| Have brought about this match---- | 6 | ······ |
| DAVUS. Yes, I alone. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| SIMO. Endeavor farther to amend my son. | 12 | /˘˘/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| DAVUS. Most diligently. | 7 | ···/˘˘˘ |
| SIMO. It were easy now, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| While his mind's irritated. | 7 | ···/˘·˘ |
| DAVUS. Be at peace. | 5 | ····· |
| SIMO. Do then: where is he? | 7 | /˘····· |
| DAVUS. Probably at home. | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
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.