The Eunuch: Act the Fourth: Scene III
PYTH. Where shall I find, unhappy that I am,Where seek this rascal-slave?--this slave, that durstTo do a deed like this?--Undone! undone!PHAED. What this may be, I dread.
PYTH. And then the villain,After he had abused the virgin, toreThe poor girl's clothes, and dragg'd her by the hair.
PHAED. How's this!
PYTH. Who, were he now within my reach,How could I fly upon the vagabond,And tear the villain's eyes out with my nails?
PHAED. What tumult's this, arisen in my absence?I'll go and ask her.-- (Going up.) What's the matter, Pythias?Why thus disturb'd? and whom is it you seek?
PYTH. Whom do I seek? Away, Sir Phaedria!You and your gifts together!PHAED. What's the matter?
PYTH. The matter, Sir! the Eunuch, that you sent us,Has made fine work here! the young virgin, whomThe Captain gave my mistress, he has ravish'd.
PHAED. Ravish'd? How say you?
PYTH. Ruin'd, and undone!
PHAED. You're drunk.
PYTH. Would those who wish me ill were so!
DORI. Ah Pythias! what strange prodigy is this?
PYTH. I don't knowOr who, or what he was.--What he has done,The thing itself declares.----The virgin weeps,Nor, when you ask what ails her, dare she tell.But he, good man, is nowhere to be found:And I fear too, that when he stole away,He carried something off.
PHAED. I can't conceiveWhither the rascal can have flown, unlessHe to our house, perhaps, slunk back again.PYTH. See now, I pray you, if he has.
PHAED. I will. (Exit.
DORI. Good lack! so strange a thing I never heard.
PYTH. I've heard, that they lov'd women mightilyBut could do nothing; yet I never thought on't:For if I had, I'd have confin'd him closeIn some by-place, nor trusted the girl to him.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- tore n.
- The dead grass that remains on mowing land in winter and spring. Mortimer. [Probably from the root of tear; cf. W. tór a break, cut, tóri to break, cut.]
- prodigy n.
- Something extraordinary, or out of the usual course of nature, from which omens are drawn; a portent; as, eclipses and meteors were anciently deemed prodigies. [L. prodigium; pro before + (perh.) a word appearing in adagium adage: cf. F. prodige. Cf. Adage.]
- nowhere adv.
- Not anywhere; not in any place or state; as, the book is nowhere to be found. [AS. nahwær. See No, and Where.]
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- flown a.
- Flushed, inflated.
- mightily adv.
- In a mighty manner; with might; with great earnestness; vigorously; powerfully. [From Mighty.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Eunuch: Act the Fourth: 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 Eunuch: Act the Fourth: Scene III, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-eunuch-act-the-fourth-scene-iii.html, id L25770.
Form and metre
The Eunuch: Act the Fourth: Scene III is 42 lines in 17 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
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.
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. Where shall I find, unhappy that I am, | 11 | ·····˘/˘··· |
| Where seek this rascal-slave?--this slave, that durst | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To do a deed like this?--Undone! undone! | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| PHAED. What this may be, I dread. | 7 | ······· |
| PYTH. And then the villain, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| After he had abused the virgin, tore | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| The poor girl's clothes, and dragg'd her by the hair. | 10 | ·········· |
| PHAED. How's this! | 3 | ··· |
| PYTH. Who, were he now within my reach, | 9 | ········· |
| How could I fly upon the vagabond, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| And tear the villain's eyes out with my nails? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| PHAED. What tumult's this, arisen in my absence? | 12 | ··/˘·˘/˘··/˘ |
| I'll go and ask her.-- (Going up.) What's the matter, Pythias? | 13 | ·····/···/˘/˘ |
| Why thus disturb'd? and whom is it you seek? | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| PYTH. Whom do I seek? Away, Sir Phaedria! | 10 | ·····˘/··· |
| You and your gifts together! | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| PHAED. What's the matter? | 5 | ···/˘ |
| PYTH. The matter, Sir! the Eunuch, that you sent us, | 12 | ··/˘··/˘···· |
| Has made fine work here! the young virgin, whom | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The Captain gave my mistress, he has ravish'd. | 11 | ·/˘··/˘···· |
| PHAED. Ravish'd? How say you? | 6 | ······ |
| PYTH. Ruin'd, and undone! | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| PHAED. You're drunk. | 3 | ··· |
| PYTH. Would those who wish me ill were so! | 9 | ········· |
| DORI. Ah Pythias! what strange prodigy is this? | 11 | /˘·/˘··/˘·· |
| PYTH. I don't know | 4 | ···· |
| Or who, or what he was.--What he has done, | 10 | ·········· |
| The thing itself declares.----The virgin weeps, | 10 | ··˘/˘/·/˘· |
| Nor, when you ask what ails her, dare she tell. | 10 | ·········· |
| But he, good man, is nowhere to be found: | 10 | ·····/···· |
| And I fear too, that when he stole away, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| He carried something off. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| PHAED. I can't conceive | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Whither the rascal can have flown, unless | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| He to our house, perhaps, slunk back again. | 10 | ··/·˘/··˘/ |
| PYTH. See now, I pray you, if he has. | 9 | ········· |
| PHAED. I will. (Exit. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| DORI. Good lack! so strange a thing I never heard. | 11 | /˘·······/· |
| PYTH. I've heard, that they lov'd women mightily | 11 | ······/˘/˘˘ |
| But could do nothing; yet I never thought on't: | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| For if I had, I'd have confin'd him close | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| In some by-place, nor trusted the girl to him. | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
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.