The Eunuch: Prologue
To please the candid, give offense to none,This, says the Poet, ever was his care:Yet if there's one who thinks he's hardly censur'd,Let him remember he was the aggressor:He, who translating many, but not well,On good Greek fables fram'd poor Latin plays;He, who but lately to the public gaveThe Phantom of Menander; He, who made,In the Thesaurus, the Defendant pleadAnd vouch the question'd treasure to be his,Before the Plaintiff his own title shows,Or whence it came into his father's tomb.
Henceforward, let him not deceive himself,Or cry, "I'm safe, he can say naught of me."I charge him that he err not, and forbearTo urge me farther; for I've more, much more,Which now shall be o'erlook'd, but shall be known,If he pursue his slanders, as before.
Soon as this play, the Eunuch of Menander,Which we are now preparing to perform,Was purchas'd by the AEdiles, he obtain'dLeave to examine it: and afterwardWhen 'twas rehears'd before the Magistrates,"A Thief," he cried, "no Poet gives this piece.Yet has he not deceived us: for we know,The Colax is an ancient comedyOf Naevius, and of Plautus; and from thenceThe Parasite and Soldier both are stolen."
If that's the Poet's crime, it is a crimeOf ignorance, and not a studied theft.Judge for yourselves! the fact is even thus.The Colax is a fable of Menander's;Wherein is drawn the character of ColaxThe parasite, and the vain-glorious soldier;Which characters, he scruples not to own,He to his Eunuch from the Greek transferr'd:But that he knew those pieces were beforeMade Latin, that he steadfastly denies.
Yet if to other Poets 'tis not lawfulTo draw the characters our fathers drew,How can it then be lawful to exhibitSlaves running to and fro; to representGood matrons, wanton harlots; or to showAn eating parasite, vain-glorious soldier,Supposititious children, bubbled dotards,Or love, or hate, or jealousy?--In short,Nothing's said now but has been said before.Weigh then these things with candor, and forgiveThe Moderns, if what Ancients did, they do.
Attend, and list in silence to our play,That ye may know what 'tis the Eunuch means.
Or cry, "I'm safe, he can say naught of me."
Words in this poem
- aggressor n.
- The person who first attacks or makes an aggression; he who begins hostility or a quarrel; an assailant. [L.: cf. F. agresseur.]
- thesaurus n.
- A treasury or storehouse; hence, a repository, especially of knowledge; -- often applied to a comprehensive work, like a dictionary or cyclopedia. [L. See Treasure.]
- vouch v. t.
- To call; to summon. [OE. vouchen, OF. vochier to call, fr. L. vocare to call, fr. vox, vocis, voice. See Voice, and cf. Avouch.]
- henceforward adv.
- From this time forward; henceforth.
- 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,]
- steadfastly adv.
- In a steadfast manner; firmly.
- supposititious a.
- Fraudulently substituted for something else; not being what is purports to be; not genuine; spurious; counterfeit; as, a supposititious child; a supposititious writing. [L. suppositicus. See Supposition.]
- candor n.
- Whiteness; brightness; (as applied to moral conditions) usullied purity; innocence. [L. candor, fr. candëre; cf. F. candeur. See candid.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Eunuch: Prologue 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: Prologue, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-eunuch-prologue.html, id L25754.
Form and metre
The Eunuch: Prologue is 52 lines in 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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 ---A-A himself · me · forbear · moreA · known · beforeA
- 5 -A--------A lawful · drewA · exhibit · represent · show · soldier · dotards · short · before · forgive · doA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| To please the candid, give offense to none, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| This, says the Poet, ever was his care: | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Yet if there's one who thinks he's hardly censur'd, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Let him remember he was the aggressor: | 11 | ··˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| He, who translating many, but not well, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| On good Greek fables fram'd poor Latin plays; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| He, who but lately to the public gave | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The Phantom of Menander; He, who made, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| In the Thesaurus, the Defendant plead | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| And vouch the question'd treasure to be his, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Before the Plaintiff his own title shows, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Or whence it came into his father's tomb. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Henceforward, let him not deceive himself, | 11 | ·······˘/˘/ |
| Or cry, "I'm safe, he can say naught of me." | 10 | ·········· |
| I charge him that he err not, and forbear | 10 | ········˘/ |
| To urge me farther; for I've more, much more, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Which now shall be o'erlook'd, but shall be known, | 10 | ·········· |
| If he pursue his slanders, as before. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Soon as this play, the Eunuch of Menander, | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Which we are now preparing to perform, | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Was purchas'd by the AEdiles, he obtain'd | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Leave to examine it: and afterward | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| When 'twas rehears'd before the Magistrates, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| "A Thief," he cried, "no Poet gives this piece. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Yet has he not deceived us: for we know, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| The Colax is an ancient comedy | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Of Naevius, and of Plautus; and from thence | 10 | ·········· |
| The Parasite and Soldier both are stolen." | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| If that's the Poet's crime, it is a crime | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Of ignorance, and not a studied theft. | 10 | ·/˘˘···/˘· |
| Judge for yourselves! the fact is even thus. | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| The Colax is a fable of Menander's; | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Wherein is drawn the character of Colax | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The parasite, and the vain-glorious soldier; | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Which characters, he scruples not to own, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| He to his Eunuch from the Greek transferr'd: | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| But that he knew those pieces were before | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Made Latin, that he steadfastly denies. | 10 | ·/˘··/·˘˘/ |
| Yet if to other Poets 'tis not lawful | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| To draw the characters our fathers drew, | 10 | ···/˘˘//˘· |
| How can it then be lawful to exhibit | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| Slaves running to and fro; to represent | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Good matrons, wanton harlots; or to show | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| An eating parasite, vain-glorious soldier, | 11 | ·/˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Supposititious children, bubbled dotards, | 9 | ··/˘/˘˘·· |
| Or love, or hate, or jealousy?--In short, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Nothing's said now but has been said before. | 10 | /˘········ |
| Weigh then these things with candor, and forgive | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| The Moderns, if what Ancients did, they do. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Attend, and list in silence to our play, | 10 | ˘/···/˘·/· |
| That ye may know what 'tis the Eunuch means. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Or cry, "I'm safe, he can say naught of me." | 10 | ·········· |
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.