The Brothers: Act the Fourth: Scene I
SYRUS. He's at his farm,And hard at work, I warrant you.
CTES. I wish,So that his health were not the worse for it,He might so heartily fatigue himself,As to be forc'd to keep his bed these three days!SYRUS. I wish so too; and more, if possible.
CTES. With all my heart: for I would fain consume,As I've begun, the livelong day in pleasure.Nor do I hate that farm of ours so muchFor any thing, as that it is so near.For if 'twas at a greater distance, nightWould come upon him ere he could return.But now, not finding me, I'm very sureHe'll hobble back again immediately;Question me where I've been, that I've not seen himAll the day long; and what shall I reply?SYRUS. What? can you think of nothing?
SYRUS. So much the worse.--Have you no client, friend,Or guest?CTES. I have. What then?
SYRUS. You've been engag'dWith them.
CTES. When not engag'd? It can not be.
CTES. Aye, marry, for the day I grant you.But if I pass the night here, what excuseThen, Syrus?
SYRUS. Ah! I would it were the customTo be engag'd at night too with one's friends!--But be at ease! I know his mind so well,That when he raves the loudest, I can make himAs gentle as a lamb.
SYRUS. He lovesTo hear you prais'd. I sing your praises to him,And make you out a little God.
SYRUS. You.And then the old man blubbers like a child,For very joy.--But have a care! (Looking out.)SYRUS. The wolf i' th' fable!
CTES. What, my father?
CTES. What's the best, Syrus?
SYRUS. In! fly! I'll take care.
CTES. You have not seen me, if he asks: d'ye hear?
SYRUS. Can't you be quiet? (Pushes out CTESIPHO.)
Words in this poem
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- livelong a.
- Whole; entire; long in passing; -- used of time, as day or night, in adverbial phrases, and usually with a sense of tediousness. [For lifelong. Cf. Lifelong.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Brothers: Act the Fourth: 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 Fourth: 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-fourth-scene-i.html, id L25835.
Form and metre
The Brothers: Act the Fourth: Scene I is 44 lines in 15 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.
- 8 A--AA customA · friends · well · himA · lambA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| SYRUS. He's at his farm, | 6 | ······ |
| And hard at work, I warrant you. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| CTES. I wish, | 3 | ··· |
| So that his health were not the worse for it, | 10 | ·········· |
| He might so heartily fatigue himself, | 10 | ···/˘˘˘/˘/ |
| As to be forc'd to keep his bed these three days! | 11 | ··········· |
| SYRUS. I wish so too; and more, if possible. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| CTES. With all my heart: for I would fain consume, | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| As I've begun, the livelong day in pleasure. | 11 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| Nor do I hate that farm of ours so much | 10 | ·······/·· |
| For any thing, as that it is so near. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| For if 'twas at a greater distance, night | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Would come upon him ere he could return. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| But now, not finding me, I'm very sure | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| He'll hobble back again immediately; | 11 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘˘˘ |
| Question me where I've been, that I've not seen him | 11 | /˘········· |
| All the day long; and what shall I reply? | 10 | ········˘/ |
| SYRUS. What? can you think of nothing? | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| SYRUS. So much the worse.--Have you no client, friend, | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| Or guest? | 2 | ·· |
| CTES. I have. What then? | 5 | ····· |
| SYRUS. You've been engag'd | 6 | ····˘/ |
| With them. | 2 | ·· |
| CTES. When not engag'd? It can not be. | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| CTES. Aye, marry, for the day I grant you. | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| But if I pass the night here, what excuse | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Then, Syrus? | 3 | ··· |
| SYRUS. Ah! I would it were the custom | 10 | ········/˘ |
| To be engag'd at night too with one's friends! | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| --But be at ease! I know his mind so well, | 10 | ·········· |
| That when he raves the loudest, I can make him | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| As gentle as a lamb. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| SYRUS. He loves | 4 | ···· |
| To hear you prais'd. I sing your praises to him, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| And make you out a little God. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| SYRUS. You. | 3 | ··· |
| And then the old man blubbers like a child, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For very joy.--But have a care! (Looking out.) | 11 | ·/˘·····/˘· |
| SYRUS. The wolf i' th' fable! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| CTES. What, my father? | 5 | ···/˘ |
| CTES. What's the best, Syrus? | 6 | ······ |
| SYRUS. In! fly! I'll take care. | 7 | ······· |
| CTES. You have not seen me, if he asks: d'ye hear? | 11 | ··········· |
| SYRUS. Can't you be quiet? (Pushes out CTESIPHO.) | 12 | ·····//˘···· |
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.