The Brothers: Act the Fifth: Scene I
Never did man lay down so fair a plan,So wise a rule of life, but fortune, age,Or long experience made some change in it;And taught him that those things he thought he knewHe did not know, and what he held as best,In practice he threw by. The very thingThat happens to myself. For that hard lifeWhich I have ever led, my race near run,Now in the last stage, I renounce: and why?But that by dear experience I've been told,There's nothing so advantages a manAs mildness and complacency. Of thisMy brother and myself are living proofs:He always led an easy, cheerful life;Good-humor'd, mild, offending nobody,Smiling on all; a jovial bachelor,His whole expenses centred in himself.I, on the contrary, rough, rigid, cross,Saving, morose, and thrifty, took a wife:--What miseries did marriage bring!--had children;--A new uneasiness!--and then besides,Striving all ways to make a fortune for them,I have worn out my prime of life and health:And now, my course near finish'd, what returnDo I receive for all my toil? Their hate.Meanwhile my brother, without any care,Reaps all a father's comforts. Him they love,Me they avoid: to him they open allTheir secret counsels; doat on him; and bothRepair to him; while I am quite forsaken.His life they pray for, but expect my death.Thus those, brought up by my exceeding labor,He, at a small expense, has made his own:The care all mine, and all the pleasure his.--Well then, let me endeavor in my turnTo teach my tongue civility, to giveWith open-handed generosity,Since I am challeng'd to't!--and let me tooObtain the love and reverence of my children!And if 'tis bought by bounty and indulgence,I will not be behind-hand.--Cash will fail:What's that to me, who am the eldest born?
Words in this poem
- complacency n.
- Calm contentment; satisfaction; gratification. [LL. complacentia: cf. F. complaisance. See Complacent, and cf. Complaisance.]
- nobody n.
- No person; no one; not anybody. [No, a. + body.]
- jovial a.
- Of or pertaining to the god, or the planet, Jupiter. [F., fr. L. Jovialis pertaining to Jove. The planet Jupiter was thought to make those born under it joyful or jovial. See Jove.]
- meanwhile n.
- The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
- avoid v. t.
- To empty. Wyclif. [OF. esvuidier, es (L. ex) + vuidier, voidier, to empty. See Void, a.]
- expect v. t.
- To wait for; to await. [L. expectatum, to look out for, await, expect; ex + out spectare to look at. See Spectacle.]
- civility n.
- The state of society in which the relations and duties of a citizen are recognized and obeyed; a state of civilization. [L. civilitas: cf. F. civilité. See Civil.]
- generosity n.
- Noble birth. Harris (Voyages). [L. generositas: cf. F. générosité.]
- bounty n.
- Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Brothers: Act the Fifth: Scene I 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 Brothers: Act the Fifth: Scene I, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-brothers-act-the-fifth-scene-i.html, id L25849.
Form and metre
The Brothers: Act the Fifth: Scene I is 42 lines in a single stanza. 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.
- 1 -------------------A---A-----B--B-C---C--- plan · age · it · knew · best · thing · life · run · why · told · man · this · proofs · life · nobody · bachelor · himself · cross · wife · childrenA · besides · them · health · returnA · hate · care · love · all · both · forsakenB · death · labor · ownB · his · turnC · give · generosity · too · childrenC · indulgence · fail · born
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Never did man lay down so fair a plan, | 10 | /˘········ |
| So wise a rule of life, but fortune, age, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Or long experience made some change in it; | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| And taught him that those things he thought he knew | 10 | ·········· |
| He did not know, and what he held as best, | 10 | ·········· |
| In practice he threw by. The very thing | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| That happens to myself. For that hard life | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| Which I have ever led, my race near run, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Now in the last stage, I renounce: and why? | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| But that by dear experience I've been told, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| There's nothing so advantages a man | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘·· |
| As mildness and complacency. Of this | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘·· |
| My brother and myself are living proofs: | 10 | ·/˘··/·/˘· |
| He always led an easy, cheerful life; | 10 | ·/···/˘/˘· |
| Good-humor'd, mild, offending nobody, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/·· |
| Smiling on all; a jovial bachelor, | 11 | /˘···/˘˘/˘˘ |
| His whole expenses centred in himself. | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| I, on the contrary, rough, rigid, cross, | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| Saving, morose, and thrifty, took a wife: | 10 | /˘˘/·/˘··· |
| --What miseries did marriage bring!--had children; | 11 | ·/˘˘·/˘··/˘ |
| --A new uneasiness!--and then besides, | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| Striving all ways to make a fortune for them, | 11 | /˘·····/˘·· |
| I have worn out my prime of life and health: | 10 | ·········· |
| And now, my course near finish'd, what return | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Do I receive for all my toil? Their hate. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Meanwhile my brother, without any care, | 10 | /··/˘··/˘· |
| Reaps all a father's comforts. Him they love, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Me they avoid: to him they open all | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Their secret counsels; doat on him; and both | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Repair to him; while I am quite forsaken. | 11 | ˘/······˘/˘ |
| His life they pray for, but expect my death. | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Thus those, brought up by my exceeding labor, | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| He, at a small expense, has made his own: | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| The care all mine, and all the pleasure his. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| --Well then, let me endeavor in my turn | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| To teach my tongue civility, to give | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| With open-handed generosity, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Since I am challeng'd to't!--and let me too | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Obtain the love and reverence of my children! | 11 | ˘/···/˘··/˘ |
| And if 'tis bought by bounty and indulgence, | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| I will not be behind-hand.--Cash will fail: | 10 | ·········· |
| What's that to me, who am the eldest born? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
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.