The Eunuch: Act the Second: Scene III
CHAER. Undone! undone!The Girl is lost; I know not where she is,Nor where I am: ah, whither shall I trace?Where seek? of whom inquire? or which way turn?I'm all uncertain; but have one hope still:Where'er she is, she can not long lie hid.Oh charming face! all others from my memoryHence I blot out. Away with common beauties!
PAR. So, here's the other! and he mutters tooI know not what of love. Oh what a poorUnfortunate old man their father is!As for this stripling, if he once begin,His brother's is but jest and children's playTo his mad fury.
CHAER. Twice ten thousand cursesSeize the old wretch, who kept me back to-day;And me for staying! with a fellow tooI did not care a farthing for!--But see!Yonder stands Parmeno.--Good-day!
PAR. How now?Wherefore so sad? and why this hurry, Chaerea?Whence come you?
CHAER. I? I can not tell, i'faith,Whence I am come, or whither I am going,I've so entirely lost myself.CHAER. I am in love.
CHAER. Now, Parmeno,Now you may show what kind of man you are.You know you've often told me; "Chaerea,Find something out to set your heart upon,And mark how I will serve you!" yes, you knowYou've often said so, when I scrap'd togetherAll the provisions for you at my father's.
PAR. Away, you trifler!
CHAER. Nay, in faith, it's true:Now make your promise good! and in a causeWorthy the utmost reachings of your soul:A girl! my Parmeno, not like our misses;Whose mothers try to keep their shoulders down,And bind their bosoms, that their shapes may seemGenteel and slim. Is a girl rather plump?They call her nurse, and stint her in her food:Thus art, in spits of nature, makes them allMere bulrushes: and therefore they're belov'd.PAR. And what's this girl of yours?
PAR. Oh, to be sure!
CHAER. True, natural red and white;Her body firm, and full of precious stuff!
CHAER. About sixteen.
PAR. The very prime!
CHAER. This girl, by force, by stealth, or by entreaty,Procure me! how I care not, so I have her.PAR. Well, whom does she belong to?
CHAER. I don't know.
PAR. Whence comes she?
CHAER. I can't tell.
PAR. Where does she live?
CHAER. I can't tell neither.
PAR. Where was it you saw her?
CHAER. Here in the street.
PAR. And how was it you lost her?
CHAER. Why it was that, which I so fumed about,As I came hither! nor was ever manSo jilted by good fortune as myself.
PAR. What mischief now?
CHAER. Confounded luck.
CHAER. How so! d'ye know one Archidemides,My father's kinsman, and about his age?
CHAER. As I was in pursuit of herHe met me.PAR. Rather inconveniently.
CHAER. Oh most unhappily! for other illsMay be told, Parmeno!--I could swear too,For six, nay seven months, I had not seen him,Till now, when least I wish'd and most would shun it.Is not this monstrous? Eh!
PAR. Oh! very monstrous.
CHAER. Soon as from far he saw me, instantly,Bent, trembling, drop-jaw'd, gasping, out of breath,He hobbled up to me.--"Holo! ho! Chaerea!"----I stopp'd.--"D'ye know what I want with you?"--"What?"--"I have a cause to-morrow."--"Well! what then?"------"Fail not to tell your father, he rememberTo go up with me, as an advocate."----His prating took some time. "Aught else?" said I."Nothing," said he:--Away flew I, and sawThe girl that instant turn into this street.
PAR. Sure he must mean the virgin, just now broughtTo Thais for a present.
CHAER. Soon as ICame hither, she was out of sight.
PAR. Had sheAny attendants?
CHAER. Yes; a parasite,With a maid-servant.
PAR. 'Tis the very same;Away! have done! all's over.CHAER. What d'ye mean?
PAR. The girl I mean.
CHAER. D'ye know then who she is?Tell me!--or have you seen her?
PAR. Yes, I've seen her;I know her; and can tell you where she is.CHAER. How! my dear Parmeno, d'ye know her?
CHAER. And where she is, d'ye know?
PAR. Yes,--there she is; (Pointing.)Carried to Madam Thais for a present.
CHAER. What monarch could bestow a gift so precious?
PAR. The mighty Captain Thraso, Phaedria's rival.
CHAER. Alas, poor brother!
PAR. Aye, and if you knewThe gift he sends to be compar'd with this,You'd cry alas, indeed!CHAER. What is his gift?
CHAER. What! that old and ugly slaveThat he bought yesterday?
PAR. The very same.
CHAER. Why, surely, he'll be trundled out o' doorsHe and his gift together--I ne'er knewTill now that Thais was our neighbor.
PAR. SheHas not been long so.
CHAER. Ev'ry way unlucky:Ne'er to have seen her neither:--Prithee, tell me,Is she so handsome, as she's said to be?CHAER. But nothing to compare to mine.
PAR. Oh, quite another thing.
CHAER. But Parmeno!Contrive that I may have her.
PAR. Well, I will.Depend on my assistance:--have you anyFurther commands? (As if going.)
CHAER. Where are you going?
PAR. Home;To bring according to your brother's order,The slaves to Thais.
CHAER. Oh, that happy Eunuch!To be convey'd into that house!
CHAER. Why so? why, he shall have that charming girlHis 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.
CHAER. How?Tell me, dear Parmeno!
PAR. Assume his dress.
CHAER. His dress! what then?
PAR. I'll carry you for him.
CHAER. I hear you.
PAR. I will say that you are he.
CHAER. I understand you.
PAR. So shall you enjoyThose blessings which but now you envied him:Eat with her, be with her, touch, toy with her,And sleep by her: since none of Thais' maidsKnow you, or dream of what you are. Besides,Your figure, and your age are such, that youMay well pass for an Eunuch.
CHAER. Oh, well said!I ne'er heard better counsel. Come, let's in?Dress me, and carry me! Away, make haste!PAR. What are you at? I did but jest.
CHAER. You trifle.
PAR. I'm ruin'd: fool, what have I done? Nay, whitherD'ye push me thus? You'll throw me down. Nay, stay!
PAR. Nay, prithee!
CHAER. I'm resolv'd.
PAR. Consider;You carry this too far.
CHAER. No, not at all.Give way!
PAR. And Parmeno must pay for all.Ah, we do wrong!
CHAER. Is it then wrong for meTo be convey'd into a house of harlots,And turn those very arts on them, with whichThey hamper us, and turn our youth to scorn?Can it be wrong for me too, in my turn,To deceive them, by whom we're all deceiv'd?No, rather let it be! 'tis just to playThis trick upon them: which, if gray-beards know,They'll blame indeed, but all will think well done.
PAR. Well, if you must, you must; but do not then,After all's over, throw the blame on me.PAR. But do you order me?
CHAER. I do:Order, command, force.
PAR. Oh, I'll not disputeYour pow'r. So, follow me.
Words in this poem
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- 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.]
- 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,]
- stripling n.
- A youth in the state of adolescence, or just passing from boyhood to manhood; a lad. [Dim. of strip; as if a small strip from the main stock or steam.]
- 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]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- stealth n.
- The act of stealing; theft. [OE. staple. See Steal, v. t.]
- entreaty n.
- Treatment; reception; entertainment. B. Jonson.
- kinsman n.
- A man of the same race or family; one related by blood.
- inconveniently adv.
- In an inconvenient manner; incommodiously; unsuitably; unseasonably.
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Eunuch: Act the Second: 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 Second: 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-second-scene-iii.html, id L25760.
Form and metre
The Eunuch: Act the Second: Scene III is 188 lines in 75 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
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.
- 3 -A--A curses · dayA · too · see · dayA
- 8 -A-A------- true · causeA · soul · missesA · down · seem · plump · food · all · belov'd · yours
- 29 ---A--A--A instantly · breath · chaerea · whatA · then · remember · advocateA · i · saw · streetA
- 37 A-A herA · is · herA
- 48 -AA- unlucky · meA · beA · mine
- 55 -A-A girl · herA · long · herA
- 73 -AA then · meA · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CHAER. Undone! undone! | 5 | ·˘/˘/ |
| The Girl is lost; I know not where she is, | 10 | ·········· |
| Nor where I am: ah, whither shall I trace? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Where seek? of whom inquire? or which way turn? | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| I'm all uncertain; but have one hope still: | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Where'er she is, she can not long lie hid. | 11 | ˘˘/········ |
| Oh charming face! all others from my memory | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| Hence I blot out. Away with common beauties! | 11 | ····˘/·/˘/˘ |
| PAR. So, here's the other! and he mutters too | 11 | ····/˘··/˘· |
| I know not what of love. Oh what a poor | 10 | ·········· |
| Unfortunate old man their father is! | 10 | ˘/˘˘···/˘· |
| As for this stripling, if he once begin, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| His brother's is but jest and children's play | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| To his mad fury. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| CHAER. Twice ten thousand curses | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Seize the old wretch, who kept me back to-day; | 10 | ·········· |
| And me for staying! with a fellow too | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| I did not care a farthing for!--But see! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Yonder stands Parmeno.--Good-day! | 8 | /˘······ |
| PAR. How now? | 3 | ··· |
| Wherefore so sad? and why this hurry, Chaerea? | 11 | /˘·····/˘·· |
| Whence come you? | 3 | ··· |
| CHAER. I? I can not tell, i'faith, | 8 | ········ |
| Whence I am come, or whither I am going, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| I've so entirely lost myself. | 9 | ··˘/˘˘··/ |
| CHAER. I am in love. | 5 | ····· |
| CHAER. Now, Parmeno, | 5 | ····· |
| Now you may show what kind of man you are. | 10 | ·········· |
| You know you've often told me; "Chaerea, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Find something out to set your heart upon, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And mark how I will serve you!" yes, you know | 10 | ·········· |
| You've often said so, when I scrap'd together | 11 | ·/˘·····˘/˘ |
| All the provisions for you at my father's. | 11 | ··˘/˘····/˘ |
| PAR. Away, you trifler! | 6 | ·˘/·/˘ |
| CHAER. Nay, in faith, it's true: | 6 | ······ |
| Now make your promise good! and in a cause | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Worthy the utmost reachings of your soul: | 10 | /˘·/·/˘··· |
| A girl! my Parmeno, not like our misses; | 11 | ········//˘ |
| Whose mothers try to keep their shoulders down, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And bind their bosoms, that their shapes may seem | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Genteel and slim. Is a girl rather plump? | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| They call her nurse, and stint her in her food: | 10 | ·········· |
| Thus art, in spits of nature, makes them all | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Mere bulrushes: and therefore they're belov'd. | 10 | ·/˘˘····˘/ |
| PAR. And what's this girl of yours? | 7 | ······· |
| PAR. Oh, to be sure! | 5 | ····· |
| CHAER. True, natural red and white; | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| Her body firm, and full of precious stuff! | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| CHAER. About sixteen. | 5 | ···˘/ |
| PAR. The very prime! | 5 | ··/˘· |
| CHAER. This girl, by force, by stealth, or by entreaty, | 12 | ·········˘/˘ |
| Procure me! how I care not, so I have her. | 11 | ˘/········· |
| PAR. Well, whom does she belong to? | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| CHAER. I don't know. | 4 | ···· |
| PAR. Whence comes she? | 4 | ···· |
| CHAER. I can't tell. | 4 | ···· |
| PAR. Where does she live? | 5 | ····· |
| CHAER. I can't tell neither. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| PAR. Where was it you saw her? | 7 | ······· |
| CHAER. Here in the street. | 5 | ····· |
| PAR. And how was it you lost her? | 8 | ········ |
| CHAER. Why it was that, which I so fumed about, | 11 | ··········· |
| As I came hither! nor was ever man | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| So jilted by good fortune as myself. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··/ |
| PAR. What mischief now? | 5 | ··/˘· |
| CHAER. Confounded luck. | 5 | ·˘/˘· |
| CHAER. How so! d'ye know one Archidemides, | 10 | ·········· |
| My father's kinsman, and about his age? | 10 | ·/˘/······ |
| CHAER. As I was in pursuit of her | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| He met me. | 3 | ··· |
| PAR. Rather inconveniently. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| CHAER. Oh most unhappily! for other ills | 10 | ···˘/˘·/˘· |
| May be told, Parmeno!--I could swear too, | 10 | ·········· |
| For six, nay seven months, I had not seen him, | 10 | ···/······ |
| Till now, when least I wish'd and most would shun it. | 11 | ··········· |
| Is not this monstrous? Eh! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| PAR. Oh! very monstrous. | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| CHAER. Soon as from far he saw me, instantly, | 11 | ········/˘˘ |
| Bent, trembling, drop-jaw'd, gasping, out of breath, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| He hobbled up to me.--"Holo! ho! Chaerea!"---- | 11 | ·/˘···/˘··· |
| I stopp'd.--"D'ye know what I want with you?"--"What?" | 10 | ·········· |
| --"I have a cause to-morrow."--"Well! what then?"---- | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| --"Fail not to tell your father, he remember | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| To go up with me, as an advocate."---- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| His prating took some time. "Aught else?" said I. | 10 | ·········· |
| "Nothing," said he:--Away flew I, and saw | 10 | /˘··˘/···· |
| The girl that instant turn into this street. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| PAR. Sure he must mean the virgin, just now brought | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| To Thais for a present. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| CHAER. Soon as I | 4 | ···· |
| Came hither, she was out of sight. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| PAR. Had she | 3 | ··· |
| Any attendants? | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| CHAER. Yes; a parasite, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| With a maid-servant. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| PAR. 'Tis the very same; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Away! have done! all's over. | 7 | ˘/····· |
| CHAER. What d'ye mean? | 4 | ···· |
| PAR. The girl I mean. | 5 | ····· |
| CHAER. D'ye know then who she is? | 7 | ······· |
| Tell me!--or have you seen her? | 7 | ······· |
| PAR. Yes, I've seen her; | 5 | ····· |
| I know her; and can tell you where she is. | 10 | ·········· |
| CHAER. How! my dear Parmeno, d'ye know her? | 10 | ·········· |
| CHAER. And where she is, d'ye know? | 7 | ······· |
| PAR. Yes,--there she is; (Pointing.) | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Carried to Madam Thais for a present. | 10 | /˘·/˘···/˘ |
| CHAER. What monarch could bestow a gift so precious? | 12 | ··/··˘/···/˘ |
| PAR. The mighty Captain Thraso, Phaedria's rival. | 12 | ··/˘/˘····/˘ |
| CHAER. Alas, poor brother! | 6 | ·˘/·/˘ |
| PAR. Aye, and if you knew | 6 | ······ |
| The gift he sends to be compar'd with this, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| You'd cry alas, indeed! | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
| CHAER. What is his gift? | 5 | ····· |
| CHAER. What! that old and ugly slave | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That he bought yesterday? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| PAR. The very same. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| CHAER. Why, surely, he'll be trundled out o' doors | 11 | ··/˘··/˘··· |
| 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 | ····· |
| CHAER. Ev'ry way unlucky: | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Ne'er to have seen her neither:--Prithee, tell me, | 11 | ·····/˘/˘·· |
| Is she so handsome, as she's said to be? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| CHAER. But nothing to compare to mine. | 9 | ··/˘·˘/·· |
| PAR. Oh, quite another thing. | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| CHAER. But Parmeno! | 5 | ····· |
| Contrive that I may have her. | 7 | ˘/····· |
| PAR. Well, I will. | 4 | ···· |
| Depend on my assistance:--have you any | 11 | ˘/··˘/˘··/˘ |
| Further commands? (As if going.) | 8 | /˘˘/··/˘ |
| CHAER. Where are you going? | 6 | ····/˘ |
| PAR. Home; | 2 | ·· |
| To bring according to your brother's order, | 11 | ··˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| The slaves to Thais. | 4 | ···· |
| CHAER. Oh, that happy Eunuch! | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| To be convey'd into that house! | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| CHAER. Why so? why, he shall have that charming girl | 11 | ········/˘· |
| 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 | ·˘/··˘/··· |
| CHAER. How? | 2 | ·· |
| Tell me, dear Parmeno! | 6 | ······ |
| PAR. Assume his dress. | 5 | ·˘/·· |
| CHAER. His dress! what then? | 5 | ····· |
| PAR. I'll carry you for him. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| CHAER. I hear you. | 4 | ···· |
| PAR. I will say that you are he. | 8 | ········ |
| CHAER. I understand you. | 6 | ···˘/· |
| PAR. So shall you enjoy | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Those blessings which but now you envied him: | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Eat with her, be with her, touch, toy with her, | 10 | ·········· |
| And sleep by her: since none of Thais' maids | 9 | ········· |
| Know you, or dream of what you are. Besides, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Your figure, and your age are such, that you | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| May well pass for an Eunuch. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| CHAER. Oh, well said! | 4 | ···· |
| I ne'er heard better counsel. Come, let's in? | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Dress me, and carry me! Away, make haste! | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| PAR. What are you at? I did but jest. | 9 | ········· |
| CHAER. You trifle. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| PAR. I'm ruin'd: fool, what have I done? Nay, whither | 12 | ··/˘······/˘ |
| D'ye push me thus? You'll throw me down. Nay, stay! | 10 | ·········· |
| PAR. Nay, prithee! | 4 | ··/˘ |
| CHAER. I'm resolv'd. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| PAR. Consider; | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| You carry this too far. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| CHAER. No, not at all. | 5 | ····· |
| Give way! | 2 | ·· |
| PAR. And Parmeno must pay for all. | 9 | ········· |
| Ah, we do wrong! | 4 | ···· |
| CHAER. Is it then wrong for me | 7 | ······· |
| To be convey'd into a house of harlots, | 11 | ··˘/·····/˘ |
| And turn those very arts on them, with which | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| They hamper us, and turn our youth to scorn? | 10 | ·/˘···/··· |
| Can it be wrong for me too, in my turn, | 10 | ·········· |
| To deceive them, by whom we're all deceiv'd? | 10 | ·˘/·····˘/ |
| No, rather let it be! 'tis just to play | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| This trick upon them: which, if gray-beards know, | 10 | ·········· |
| They'll blame indeed, but all will think well done. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| PAR. Well, if you must, you must; but do not then, | 11 | ··········· |
| After all's over, throw the blame on me. | 10 | ·········· |
| PAR. But do you order me? | 7 | ····/˘· |
| CHAER. I do: | 3 | ··· |
| Order, command, force. | 5 | /˘˘/· |
| PAR. Oh, I'll not dispute | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Your pow'r. So, follow me. | 6 | ···/˘· |
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