The Brothers: Act the Second: Scene V
SAN. (behind.) He inquires for me.Has he brought out the cash with him?--Confusion!I see none.
AESCH. (to CTESIPHO). Ha! well met: I long'd to see youHow is it, Ctesipho? All's safe. AwayWith melancholy!
CTES. Melancholy! IBe melancholy, who have such a brother?Oh my dear AEschinus! thou best of brothers,--Ah, I'm asham'd to praise you to your face,Lest it appear to come from flattery,Rather than gratitude.
AESCH. Away, you fool!As if we did not know each other, Ctesipho.It only grieves me, we so lately knew this,When things were almost come to such a pass,That all the world, had they desir'd to do it,Could not assist you.CTES. 'Twas my modesty.
AESCH. Pshaw! it was folly, and not modesty.For such a trifle, almost fly your country?Heaven forbid it!--fie, fie, Ctesipho!
CTES. I've been to blame.
AESCH. Well, what says Sannio?
SYRUS. He's pacified at last.
AESCH. I'll to the Forum,And pay him off.--You, Ctesipho, go inTo the poor girl.SAN. Now urge the matter, Syrus! (Apart to SYRUS.)
SYRUS. Let's go; for Sannio wants to be at Cyprus.
SAN. Not in such haste: though truly I have no causeTo loiter here.
CTES. For Heaven's sake discharge that scurvy fellowImmediately; for fear, if further urg'd,This tale should reach my father's ears: and thenI am undone forever.
SYRUS. It sha'n't be.Be of good courage! meanwhile, get you in,And entertain yourself with her; and orderThe couches to be spread, and all prepar'd.For, these preliminaries once dispatch'd,I shall march homeward with provisions.
CTES. Do!And since this business has turn'd out so well,Let's spend the day in mirth and jollity!(Exeunt severally.
HarperSAN. Not in such haste: though truly I have no causeTo loiter here.Colman 1768SAN. Not in such haste: though truly I've no cause
Words in this poem
- pshaw interj.
- Pish! pooch! -- an exclamation used as an expression of contempt, disdain, dislike, etc. [Of imitative origin.]
- 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.]
- cyprus n.
- A thin, transparent stuff, the same as, or corresponding to, crape. It was either white or black, the latter being most common, and used for mourning. [OE. cipres, cypirs; perh. so named as being first manufactured in Cyprus. Cf. Cipers.]
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- meanwhile n.
- The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
- 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,]
- homeward a.
- Being in the direction of home; as, the homeward way.
- exeunt
- They go out, or retire from the scene; as, exeunt all except Hamlet. See 1st Exit. [L., 3d pers. pl. pres. of exire to go out.]
- 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 Second: 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 Second: 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-second-scene-v.html, id L25826.
Form and metre
The Brothers: Act the Second: Scene V is 51 lines in 15 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.
- 1 -AA me · confusionA · noneA
- 15 -A--A harper · causeA · here · — · causeA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| SAN. (behind.) He inquires for me. | 9 | ····˘/˘·· |
| Has he brought out the cash with him?--Confusion! | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| I see none. | 3 | ··· |
| AESCH. (to CTESIPHO). Ha! well met: I long'd to see you | 13 | ············· |
| How is it, Ctesipho? All's safe. Away | 10 | ········˘/ |
| With melancholy! | 5 | ·/˘·˘ |
| CTES. Melancholy! I | 6 | ·/˘·˘· |
| Be melancholy, who have such a brother? | 11 | ·/˘·˘····/˘ |
| Oh my dear AEschinus! thou best of brothers, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| --Ah, I'm asham'd to praise you to your face, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Lest it appear to come from flattery, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘˘ |
| Rather than gratitude. | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| AESCH. Away, you fool! | 5 | ·˘/·· |
| As if we did not know each other, Ctesipho. | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| It only grieves me, we so lately knew this, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| When things were almost come to such a pass, | 10 | ···/······ |
| That all the world, had they desir'd to do it, | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| Could not assist you. | 5 | ··˘/· |
| CTES. 'Twas my modesty. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| AESCH. Pshaw! it was folly, and not modesty. | 11 | ····/˘··/˘˘ |
| For such a trifle, almost fly your country? | 11 | ···/˘/···/˘ |
| Heaven forbid it!--fie, fie, Ctesipho! | 10 | /˘˘/······ |
| CTES. I've been to blame. | 5 | ····· |
| AESCH. Well, what says Sannio? | 6 | ······ |
| SYRUS. He's pacified at last. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| AESCH. I'll to the Forum, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| And pay him off.--You, Ctesipho, go in | 10 | ·········· |
| To the poor girl. | 4 | ···· |
| SAN. Now urge the matter, Syrus! (Apart to SYRUS.) | 13 | ····/˘··˘/··· |
| SYRUS. Let's go; for Sannio wants to be at Cyprus. | 13 | ···········/˘ |
| SAN. Not in such haste: though truly I have no cause | 12 | ······/˘···· |
| To loiter here. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| CTES. For Heaven's sake discharge that scurvy fellow | 12 | ··/˘·˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Immediately; for fear, if further urg'd, | 10 | ˘/˘˘···/˘· |
| This tale should reach my father's ears: and then | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I am undone forever. | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| SYRUS. It sha'n't be. | 5 | ····· |
| Be of good courage! meanwhile, get you in, | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| And entertain yourself with her; and order | 11 | ··˘/˘/···/˘ |
| The couches to be spread, and all prepar'd. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| For, these preliminaries once dispatch'd, | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘·˘/ |
| I shall march homeward with provisions. | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| CTES. Do! | 2 | ·· |
| And since this business has turn'd out so well, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Let's spend the day in mirth and jollity! | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| (Exeunt severally. | 6 | /˘˘/˘˘ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| SAN. Not in such haste: though truly I have no cause | 12 | ······/˘···· |
| To loiter here. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| SAN. Not in such haste: though truly I've no cause | 11 | ······/˘··· |
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