The Eunuch: Act the Second: Scene III. Labeled Scene IV in 1768 Edition
You know you've often told me; "Chaerea,And mark how I will serve you!" ...Quotation marks supplied from 1768 edition
HarperCHAER. Oh most unhappily! for other illsMay be told, Parmeno!--I could swear tooColman 1768CHAER. Oh most unhappily! for lighter illsMay pass for inconvenient, Parmeno.Nay, I could swear, with a safe conscience too
He hobbled up to me.--"Holo! ho! Chaerea!"----All quotation marks in this speech supplied from 1768 edition
HarperCHAER. Soon as ICame hither, she was out of sight.PAR. Had sheAny attendants?Colman 1768CHAER. When I reach'dThis place, the girl was vanish'd.PAR. Had your ladyAny attendants?
HarperHe and his gift together--I ne'er knewTill now that Thais was our neighbor.PAR. SheHas not been long so.Colman 1768He and his gift together--But till nowI never knew this Thais was our neighbour.PAR. She came but lately.
PAR. Yes, faith.Harper edition has question mark
HarperHis fellow-servant, see her, speak with her,Be with her in the same house all day long,And sometimes eat, and sometimes sleep by her.Colman 1768His fellow-servant, see her all day long,Converse with her, dwell under the same roof,And sometimes eat, and sometimes sleep by her.
HarperOrder, command, force.PAR. Oh, I'll not disputeYour pow'r. So, follow me.CHAER. Heav'n speed the plow.Colman 1768Order, command, compel you; nor will e'erDeny, or disavow my putting-on.PAR. Come on then: follow me!
Words in this poem
- quotation n.
- The act of quoting or citing. [From Quote.]
- harper n.
- A player on the harp; a minstrel. [AS. hearpere.]
- 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.]
- neighbour v. i.
- To dwell in the vicinity; to be a neighbor, or in the neighborhood; to be near.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Eunuch: Act the Second: Scene III. Labeled Scene IV in 1768 Edition 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 Second: Scene III. Labeled Scene IV in 1768 Edition, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-eunuch-act-the-second-scene-iii-labeled-scene-iv-in-1768.html, id L25761.
Form and metre
The Eunuch: Act the Second: Scene III. Labeled Scene IV in 1768 Edition is 50 lines in 8 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.
- 2 -AB-A-B harper · illsA · tooB · — · illsA · parmeno · tooB
- 4 -A-AB----B harper · iA · sight · sheA · attendantsB · — · reach'd · vanish'd · lady · attendantsB
- 5 --A----A- harper · knew · neighborA · she · so · — · now · neighbourA · lately
- 7 -ABA-B-A harper · herA · longB · herA · — · longB · roof · herA
- 8 ---A----A harper · force · dispute · meA · plow · — · e'er · on · meA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| You know you've often told me; "Chaerea, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| And mark how I will serve you!" ... | 7 | ······· |
| Quotation marks supplied from 1768 edition | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/·˘/˘ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| CHAER. Oh most unhappily! for other ills | 10 | ···˘/˘·/˘· |
| May be told, Parmeno!--I could swear too | 10 | ·········· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| CHAER. Oh most unhappily! for lighter ills | 10 | ···˘/˘˘·/· |
| May pass for inconvenient, Parmeno. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Nay, I could swear, with a safe conscience too | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| He hobbled up to me.--"Holo! ho! Chaerea!"---- | 11 | ·/˘···/˘··· |
| All quotation marks in this speech supplied from 1768 edition | 14 | ·˘/˘····˘/·˘/˘ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| CHAER. Soon as I | 4 | ···· |
| Came hither, she was out of sight. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| PAR. Had she | 3 | ··· |
| Any attendants? | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| CHAER. When I reach'd | 4 | ···· |
| This place, the girl was vanish'd. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| PAR. Had your lady | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Any attendants? | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| He and his gift together--I ne'er knew | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Till now that Thais was our neighbor. | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| PAR. She | 2 | ·· |
| Has not been long so. | 5 | ····· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| He and his gift together--But till now | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| I never knew this Thais was our neighbour. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| PAR. She came but lately. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| PAR. Yes, faith. | 3 | ··· |
| Harper edition has question mark | 9 | /˘˘/˘·/˘· |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| His fellow-servant, see her, speak with her, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Be with her in the same house all day long, | 10 | ·········· |
| And sometimes eat, and sometimes sleep by her. | 10 | ·˘/··˘/··· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| His fellow-servant, see her all day long, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Converse with her, dwell under the same roof, | 10 | /˘········ |
| And sometimes eat, and sometimes sleep by her. | 10 | ·˘/··˘/··· |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| Order, command, force. | 5 | /˘˘/· |
| PAR. Oh, I'll not dispute | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Your pow'r. So, follow me. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| CHAER. Heav'n speed the plow. | 5 | ····· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| Order, command, compel you; nor will e'er | 10 | /˘˘/˘/···· |
| Deny, or disavow my putting-on. | 10 | ˘/··˘/·/˘· |
| PAR. Come on then: follow me! | 7 | ····/˘· |
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.