The Andrian: Act the Third: Scene VIII
PAM. And yet I must confess,That I deserv'd this, being such a dolt,A very idiot, to commit my fortunesTo a vile slave. I suffer for my folly,But will at least take vengeance on him.
DAVUS. If I can but escape this mischief now,I'll answer for hereafter.
PAM. To my fatherWhat shall I say?--And can I then refuse,Who have but now consented? with what face?I know not what to do.
DAVUS. I'faith, nor I;And yet it takes up all my thoughts. I'll tell himI've hit on something to delay the match.PAM. Oh! (Seeing DAVUS.)
PAM. So, good Sir! What say you?See, how I'm hamper'd with your fine advice.
PAM. What, as you did just now?
DAVUS. Better, I hope.
PAM. And can you then believeThat I would trust you, rascal? You amendMy broken fortunes, or redeem them lost?You, who to-day, from the most happy state,Have thrown me upon marriage.--Did not IForetell it would be thus?
DAVUS. You did indeed.
PAM. And what do you deserve for this?
DAVUS. The gallows.--Yet suffer me to take a little breath,I'll devise something presently.
PAM. Alas,I have not leisure for your punishment.The time demands attention to myself,Nor will be wasted in revenge on you.
HarperBut will at least take vengeance on him.DAVUS. If I can but escape this mischief nowColman 1768But will at least take vengeance upon him.
Words in this poem
- idiot n.
- A man in private station, as distinguished from one holding a public office. [F. idiot, L. idiota an uneducated, ignorant, ill- informed person, Gr. Idiom.]
- hereafter adv.
- In time to come; in some future time or state. [AS. hræfter.]
- 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,]
- presently adv.
- At present; at this time; now.
- 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 VIII 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 VIII, 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-viii.html, id L25736.
Form and metre
The Andrian: Act the Third: Scene VIII is 39 lines in 13 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.
- 13 -A--A harper · himA · now · — · himA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PAM. And yet I must confess, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| That I deserv'd this, being such a dolt, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| A very idiot, to commit my fortunes | 11 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·/˘ |
| To a vile slave. I suffer for my folly, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| But will at least take vengeance on him. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| DAVUS. If I can but escape this mischief now, | 12 | ······˘/·/˘· |
| I'll answer for hereafter. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| PAM. To my father | 5 | ···/˘ |
| What shall I say?--And can I then refuse, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Who have but now consented? with what face? | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| I know not what to do. | 6 | ······ |
| DAVUS. I'faith, nor I; | 6 | ······ |
| And yet it takes up all my thoughts. I'll tell him | 11 | ··········· |
| I've hit on something to delay the match. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| PAM. Oh! (Seeing DAVUS.) | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| PAM. So, good Sir! What say you? | 7 | ······· |
| See, how I'm hamper'd with your fine advice. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| PAM. What, as you did just now? | 7 | ······· |
| DAVUS. Better, I hope. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| PAM. And can you then believe | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| That I would trust you, rascal? You amend | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| My broken fortunes, or redeem them lost? | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| You, who to-day, from the most happy state, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Have thrown me upon marriage.--Did not I | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Foretell it would be thus? | 6 | ˘/···· |
| DAVUS. You did indeed. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| PAM. And what do you deserve for this? | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| DAVUS. The gallows. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| --Yet suffer me to take a little breath, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| I'll devise something presently. | 8 | ·˘//˘/˘˘ |
| PAM. Alas, | 3 | ·˘/ |
| I have not leisure for your punishment. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| The time demands attention to myself, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··/ |
| Nor will be wasted in revenge on you. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| But will at least take vengeance on him. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| DAVUS. If I can but escape this mischief now | 12 | ······˘/·/˘· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| But will at least take vengeance upon him. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
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