The Brothers: Act the First: Scene III
Though what he says be not entirely true,There's something in it, and it touches me.But I dissembled my concern with him,Because the nature of the man is such,To pacify, I must oppose and thwart him;And even thus I scarce can teach him patience.But were I to inflame, or aid his anger,I were as great a madman as himself.Yet AEschinus, 'tis true, has been to blame.What wench is there he has not lov'd? to whomHe has not made some present--And but lately(Tir'd, I suppose, and sick of wantonness)He told me he propos'd to take a wife.I hop'd the heyday of the blood was over,And was rejoic'd: but his intemperanceBreaks out afresh.--Well, be it what it may,I'll find him out; and know it instantly,If he is to be met with at the Forum. (Exit.
HarperWhat wench is there he has not lov'd? to whomHe has not made some present--And but latelyColman 1768What wench is there but he is her gallant?
Words in this poem
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- heyday interj.
- An expression of frolic and exultation, and sometimes of wonder. B. Jonson. [Cf. G. heida, or hei da, D. hei daar. Cf. Hey, and There.]
- afresh adv.
- Anew; again; once more; newly. [Pref. a- + fresh.]
- forum n.
- A market place or public place in Rome, where causes were judicially tried, and orations delivered to the people. [L.; akin to foris, foras, out of doors. See Foreign.]
- 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 First: Scene III 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 First: Scene III, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-brothers-act-the-first-scene-iii.html, id L25821.
Form and metre
The Brothers: Act the First: Scene III is 23 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
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------------- true · me · himA · such · himA · patience · anger · himself · blame · whom · lately · wantonness · wife · over · intemperance · may · instantly · exit
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Though what he says be not entirely true, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| There's something in it, and it touches me. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| But I dissembled my concern with him, | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Because the nature of the man is such, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To pacify, I must oppose and thwart him; | 11 | ·/˘···˘/··· |
| And even thus I scarce can teach him patience. | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| But were I to inflame, or aid his anger, | 11 | ····˘/···/˘ |
| I were as great a madman as himself. | 10 | ·····/··˘/ |
| Yet AEschinus, 'tis true, has been to blame. | 10 | ·········· |
| What wench is there he has not lov'd? to whom | 10 | ·········· |
| He has not made some present--And but lately | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| (Tir'd, I suppose, and sick of wantonness) | 11 | /˘·˘/···/˘˘ |
| He told me he propos'd to take a wife. | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| I hop'd the heyday of the blood was over, | 10 | ···/······ |
| And was rejoic'd: but his intemperance | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘˘ |
| Breaks out afresh.--Well, be it what it may, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| I'll find him out; and know it instantly, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| If he is to be met with at the Forum. (Exit. | 13 | ·········/˘/˘ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| What wench is there he has not lov'd? to whom | 10 | ·········· |
| He has not made some present--And but lately | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| What wench is there but he is her gallant? | 10 | ········/˘ |
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