The Eunuch: Act the Fifth: Scene VII
PYTH. Well! I was ne'er more pleas'd in all my lifeThan when I saw th' old man come blund'ring in.I had the jest alone; for I aloneKnew what he was afraid of.
PYTH. I'm now come forth t' encounter Parmeno.Where is he?
PYTH. Oh, there he is.I'll go up to him.
PAR. Well, fool, what's the matter? (PYTHIAS laughs.)What would you? what d'ye laugh at? Hey! what still?
PYTH. Oh, I shall die: I'm horribly fatigu'dWith laughing at you. (Laughing heartily.)
PYTH. Why so? (Laughing.)I ne'er saw, ne'er shall see, a greater fool.Oh, it's impossible to tell what sportYou've made within.--I swear, I always thoughtThat you had been a shrewd, sharp, cunning fellow.What! to believe directly what I told you!Or was you prick'd in conscience for the sinThe young man had committed through your means,That you must after tell his father of him?How d'ye suppose he felt when old gray-beardSurpris'd him in that habit?--What! you findThat you're undone. (Laughing heartily.)
PAR. What's this, impertinence?Was it a lie you told me? D'ye laugh still?Is't such a jest to make fools of us, hag?PYTH. Delightful! (Laughing.)
PYTH. Perhaps so. (Laughing.)
PAR. I'll return it.
PYTH. Oh, no doubt on't. (Laughing.)But what you threaten, Parmeno, is distant:You'll be truss'd up to-day; who first draw inA raw young man to sin, and then betray him.They'll both conspire to make you an example. (Laughing.)
PYTH. Take this, slave, as a rewardFor the fine gift you sent us; so, farewell! (Exit PYTHIAS.
PAR. I've been a fool indeed; and like a rat,Betray'd myself to-day by my own squeaking.
HarperPAR. Why so? pray!PYTH. Why so?Colman 1768PAR. For what cause?PYTH. What cause?
HarperOr was you prick'd in conscience for the sinThe young man had committed through your means,That you must after tell his father of him?Colman 1768Or was not you contented with the crimeYou urg'd the youth to perpetrate, unless
Words in this poem
- jest n.
- A deed; an action; a gest. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perfor]
- 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,]
- horribly adv.
- In a manner to excite horror; dreadfully; terribly.
- shrewd a.
- Inclining to shrew; disposing to curse or scold; hence, vicious; malicious; evil; wicked; mischievous; vexatious; rough; unfair; shrewish. [Originally the p. p. of shrew, v.t.]
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- impertinence n.
- The condition or quality of being impertnent; absence of pertinence, or of adaptedness; irrelevance; unfitness. [Cf. F. impertinence. See Impertinent.]
- harper n.
- A player on the harp; a minstrel. [AS. hearpere.]
- perpetrate v. t.
- To do or perform; to carry through; to execute, commonly in a bad sense; to commit (as a crime, an offense); to be guilty of; as, to perpetrate a foul deed. [L. perpetratus, p.p. of perpetrare to effect, perpetrare; per + patrare to perform.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Eunuch: Act the Fifth: Scene VII 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 Eunuch: Act the Fifth: Scene VII, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-eunuch-act-the-fifth-scene-vii.html, id L25782.
Form and metre
The Eunuch: Act the Fifth: Scene VII is 52 lines in 14 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
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- life · inA · aloneA · of
- 10 A---A laughingA · distant · in · him · laughingA
- 13 ----AA harper · pray · so · — · causeA · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| PYTH. Well! I was ne'er more pleas'd in all my life | 11 | ··········· |
| Than when I saw th' old man come blund'ring in. | 10 | ·········· |
| I had the jest alone; for I alone | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Knew what he was afraid of. | 7 | ····˘/· |
| PYTH. I'm now come forth t' encounter Parmeno. | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| Where is he? | 3 | ··· |
| PYTH. Oh, there he is. | 5 | ····· |
| I'll go up to him. | 5 | ····· |
| PAR. Well, fool, what's the matter? (PYTHIAS laughs.) | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| What would you? what d'ye laugh at? Hey! what still? | 10 | ·········· |
| PYTH. Oh, I shall die: I'm horribly fatigu'd | 10 | ······/˘˘/ |
| With laughing at you. (Laughing heartily.) | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| PYTH. Why so? (Laughing.) | 5 | ···/˘ |
| I ne'er saw, ne'er shall see, a greater fool. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Oh, it's impossible to tell what sport | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| You've made within.--I swear, I always thought | 10 | ·······/·· |
| That you had been a shrewd, sharp, cunning fellow. | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| What! to believe directly what I told you! | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘···· |
| Or was you prick'd in conscience for the sin | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The young man had committed through your means, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| That you must after tell his father of him? | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| How d'ye suppose he felt when old gray-beard | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Surpris'd him in that habit?--What! you find | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| That you're undone. (Laughing heartily.) | 9 | ··˘//˘/˘˘ |
| PAR. What's this, impertinence? | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
| Was it a lie you told me? D'ye laugh still? | 10 | ·········· |
| Is't such a jest to make fools of us, hag? | 10 | ·········· |
| PYTH. Delightful! (Laughing.) | 6 | ·˘/˘/˘ |
| PYTH. Perhaps so. (Laughing.) | 6 | ·˘/·/˘ |
| PAR. I'll return it. | 5 | ··˘/· |
| PYTH. Oh, no doubt on't. (Laughing.) | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| But what you threaten, Parmeno, is distant: | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| You'll be truss'd up to-day; who first draw in | 10 | ·········· |
| A raw young man to sin, and then betray him. | 11 | ········˘/· |
| They'll both conspire to make you an example. (Laughing.) | 13 | ··˘/····˘/˘/˘ |
| PYTH. Take this, slave, as a reward | 8 | ······˘/ |
| For the fine gift you sent us; so, farewell! (Exit PYTHIAS. | 14 | ·········//˘/˘ |
| PAR. I've been a fool indeed; and like a rat, | 11 | ·····˘/···· |
| Betray'd myself to-day by my own squeaking. | 11 | ˘/·/·····/˘ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| PAR. Why so? pray! | 4 | ···· |
| PYTH. Why so? | 3 | ··· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| PAR. For what cause? | 4 | ···· |
| PYTH. What cause? | 3 | ··· |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| Or was you prick'd in conscience for the sin | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The young man had committed through your means, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| That you must after tell his father of him? | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| Or was not you contented with the crime | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| You urg'd the youth to perpetrate, unless | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
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