The Brothers: Act the Fifth: Scene V
DEM. 'Twas my order:And by this means, and every other way,I would unite, serve, cherish, and oblige,And join the family to ours!AESCH. Pray do, Sir! (To MICIO.)
MICIO. I don't oppose it.
DEM. Nay, but 'tis our duty.First, there's the mother of the bride----
MICIO. What then?
DEM. Worthy and modest.
MICIO. So they say.
DEM. In years.
DEM. And so far advanc'd, that she is longPast child-bearing, a poor lone woman too,With none to comfort her.
MICIO. I marry her?
DEM. Yes, you I say.
MICIO. Ridiculous!
AESCH. (to MICIO). Dear father!
MICIO. How!Do you then join him, fool?
DEM. Nay, don't deny.It can't be otherwise.MICIO. You've lost your senses!
AESCH. Let me prevail upon you, Sir!
MICIO. You're mad.Away!
DEM. Oblige your son.
MICIO. Have you your wits?I a new married man at sixty-five!And marry a decrepit poor old woman!Is that what you advise me!
AESCH. Do it, Sir!I've promis'd them.
MICIO. You've promis'd them, indeed!Prithee, boy, promise for yourself.
DEM. Come, come!What if he ask'd still more of you?
MICIO. As ifThis was not ev'n the utmost.DEM. Nay, comply!
AESCH. Be not obdurate!
DEM. Come, come, promise him.
MICIO. Won't you desist?
AESCH. No, not till I prevail.
MICIO. This is mere force.
DEM. Nay, nay, comply, good Micio!
MICIO. Though this appears to me absurd, wrong, foolish,And quite repugnant to my scheme of life,Yet, if you're so much bent on't, let it be!
AESCH. Obliging father, worthy my best love!
DEM. (aside). What now?--This answers to my wish.--What more?--Hegio's their kinsman (to MICIO), our relation too,And very poor. We should do him some service.MICIO. Do what?
DEM. There is a little piece of ground,Which you let out near town. Let's give it himTo live upon.
MICIO. So little, do you call it?
DEM. Well, if 'tis large, let's give it. He has beenFather to her; a good man; our relation.It will be given worthily. In short,That saying, Micio, I now make my own,Which you so lately and so wisely quoted;"It is the common failing of old menTo be too much intent on worldly matters."Let us wipe off that stain. The saying's true,And should be practic'd.
MICIO. Well, well; be it so,If he requires it. (Pointing to AESCHINUS.)
AESCH. I beseech it, father.
DEM. Now you're indeed my brother, soul and body.
MICIO. I'm glad to find you think me so.
DEM. I foil himAt his own weapons. (Aside.)
HarperColman 1768DEM. Well, if 'tis large, let's give it. He has beenA father to the bride; a worthy man;Our kinsman too. It will be well bestow'd.In short, that saying I now make my own,Which you but now so wisely quoted, Micio;"It is the common failing of old menTo be too much intent on worldly matters."Let us wipe off that stain. The saying's true,
Words in this poem
- oblige v. t.
- To attach, as by a bond. [OF. obligier, F.obliger, L. obligare; ob (see Ob-) + ligare to bind. See Ligament, and cf. Obligate.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- decrepit a.
- Broken down with age; wasted and enfeebled by the infirmities of old age; feeble; worn out. [L. decrepitus, perhaps orig., noised out, noiseless, applied to old people, who creep about quietly; de- + crepare to make a noise, rattle: cf. F. décrépit. See]
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
- kinsman n.
- A man of the same race or family; one related by blood.
- worthily adv.
- In a worthy manner; excellently; deservedly; according to merit; justly; suitably; becomingly.
- harper n.
- A player on the harp; a minstrel. [AS. hearpere.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Brothers: Act the Fifth: 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 Brothers: Act the Fifth: Scene V, 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-v.html, id L25853.
Form and metre
The Brothers: Act the Fifth: Scene V is 85 lines in 40 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.
- 14 -AA deny · otherwiseA · sensesA
- 34 AA-A-A--- beenA · relationA · short · ownA · quoted · menA · matters · true · practic'd
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 |
|---|---|---|
| DEM. 'Twas my order: | 5 | ···/˘ |
| And by this means, and every other way, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| I would unite, serve, cherish, and oblige, | 10 | ··/··/˘·˘/ |
| And join the family to ours! | 9 | ···/˘˘·/˘ |
| AESCH. Pray do, Sir! (To MICIO.) | 7 | ······· |
| MICIO. I don't oppose it. | 7 | ····˘/· |
| DEM. Nay, but 'tis our duty. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| First, there's the mother of the bride---- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| MICIO. What then? | 4 | ···· |
| DEM. Worthy and modest. | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| MICIO. So they say. | 5 | ····· |
| DEM. In years. | 3 | ··· |
| DEM. And so far advanc'd, that she is long | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Past child-bearing, a poor lone woman too, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| With none to comfort her. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| MICIO. I marry her? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| DEM. Yes, you I say. | 5 | ····· |
| MICIO. Ridiculous! | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| AESCH. (to MICIO). Dear father! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| MICIO. How! | 3 | ··· |
| Do you then join him, fool? | 6 | ······ |
| DEM. Nay, don't deny. | 5 | ···˘/ |
| It can't be otherwise. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| MICIO. You've lost your senses! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| AESCH. Let me prevail upon you, Sir! | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| MICIO. You're mad. | 4 | ···· |
| Away! | 2 | ˘/ |
| DEM. Oblige your son. | 5 | ·˘/·· |
| MICIO. Have you your wits? | 6 | ······ |
| I a new married man at sixty-five! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And marry a decrepit poor old woman! | 11 | ·/˘·˘/˘··/˘ |
| Is that what you advise me! | 7 | ····˘/· |
| AESCH. Do it, Sir! | 4 | ···· |
| I've promis'd them. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| MICIO. You've promis'd them, indeed! | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Prithee, boy, promise for yourself. | 8 | /˘·/˘·˘/ |
| DEM. Come, come! | 3 | ··· |
| What if he ask'd still more of you? | 8 | ········ |
| MICIO. As if | 4 | ···· |
| This was not ev'n the utmost. | 7 | ·····/· |
| DEM. Nay, comply! | 4 | ··˘/ |
| AESCH. Be not obdurate! | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| DEM. Come, come, promise him. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| MICIO. Won't you desist? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| AESCH. No, not till I prevail. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| MICIO. This is mere force. | 6 | ······ |
| DEM. Nay, nay, comply, good Micio! | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| MICIO. Though this appears to me absurd, wrong, foolish, | 13 | ····˘/··˘/·/˘ |
| And quite repugnant to my scheme of life, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Yet, if you're so much bent on't, let it be! | 10 | ·········· |
| AESCH. Obliging father, worthy my best love! | 11 | ·˘/˘/˘/˘··· |
| DEM. (aside). What now?--This answers to my wish.--What more? | 13 | ·˘/···/˘····· |
| --Hegio's their kinsman (to MICIO), our relation too, | 13 | ···/····/˘/˘· |
| And very poor. We should do him some service. | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| MICIO. Do what? | 4 | ···· |
| DEM. There is a little piece of ground, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Which you let out near town. Let's give it him | 10 | ·········· |
| To live upon. | 4 | ···· |
| MICIO. So little, do you call it? | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| DEM. Well, if 'tis large, let's give it. He has been | 11 | ··········· |
| Father to her; a good man; our relation. | 11 | /˘·····/˘/˘ |
| It will be given worthily. In short, | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| That saying, Micio, I now make my own, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Which you so lately and so wisely quoted; | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| "It is the common failing of old men | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| To be too much intent on worldly matters." | 11 | ····˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Let us wipe off that stain. The saying's true, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And should be practic'd. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| MICIO. Well, well; be it so, | 7 | ······· |
| If he requires it. (Pointing to AESCHINUS.) | 11 | ··˘/·/˘···· |
| AESCH. I beseech it, father. | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| DEM. Now you're indeed my brother, soul and body. | 12 | ···˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| MICIO. I'm glad to find you think me so. | 10 | ·········· |
| DEM. I foil him | 4 | ···· |
| At his own weapons. (Aside.) | 7 | ···/˘˘/ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| DEM. Well, if 'tis large, let's give it. He has been | 11 | ··········· |
| A father to the bride; a worthy man; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Our kinsman too. It will be well bestow'd. | 10 | //······˘/ |
| In short, that saying I now make my own, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Which you but now so wisely quoted, Micio; | 11 | ·····/˘/˘·· |
| "It is the common failing of old men | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| To be too much intent on worldly matters." | 11 | ····˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Let us wipe off that stain. The saying's true, | 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.