The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: Scene III
CLIT. And can it, Menedemus, can it be,My father has so suddenly cast offAll natural affection? for what act?What crime, alas! so heinous have I done?It is a common failing.
MENE. This I know,Should be more heavy and severe to youOn whom it falls: and yet am I no lessAffected by it, though I know not why,And have no other reason for my grief,But that I wish you well.
CLIT. Did not you sayMy father waited here?MENE. Aye; there he is. (Exit MENEDEMUS.
CHREM. Why d'ye accuse your father, Clitipho?Whate'er I've done, was providently doneTow'rd you and your imprudence. When I sawYour negligence of soul, and that you heldThe pleasures of to-day your only care,Regardless of the morrow; I found meansThat you should neither want, nor waste my substance.When you, whom fair succession first made heir,Stood self-degraded by unworthiness,I went to those the next in blood to you,Committing and consigning all to them.There shall your weakness, Clitipho, be sureEver to find a refuge; food, and raiment,And roof to fly to.
CHREM. Better thus,Than, you being heir, for Bacchis to have all.
SYRUS. Distraction! what disturbances have I,Wretch that I am, all unawares created!CLIT. Would I were dead!
CHREM. Learn first what 'tis to live.When you know that, if life displeases you,Then talk of dying.
SYRUS. Master, may I speak?
SYRUS. But with safety?
SYRUS. How wrong is this,Or rather what extravagance and madness,To punish him for my offense!
CHREM. Away!Do not you meddle. No one blames you, Syrus!Nor need you to provide a sanctuary,Or intercessor.
SYRUS. What is it you do?
CHREM. I am not angry, nor with you, nor him:Nor should you take offense at what I do.(Exit CHREMES.
Words in this poem
- providently adv.
- In a provident manner.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- 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,]
- distraction n.
- The act of distracting; a drawing apart; separation. [L. distractio: cf. F. distraction.]
- meddle v. i.
- To mix; to mingle. [OE. medlen to mix, OF. medler, mesler, F. mêler, LL. misculare, a dim. fr. L. miscere to mix. Mix, and cf. Medley, Mellay.]
- intercessor n.
- One who goes between, or intercedes; a mediator. (a) One who interposes between parties at variance, with a view to reconcile them. (b) One who pleads in behalf of another. [L., a surety: cf. F. intercesseur.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: 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 Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: Scene III, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-self-tormentor-act-the-fifth-scene-iii.html, id L25812.
Form and metre
The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: Scene III is 49 lines in 13 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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.
- 4 ----A--A-B---B clitipho · done · saw · held · careA · means · substance · heirA · unworthiness · youB · them · sure · raiment · toB
- 6 -AA i · createdA · deadA
- 10 AA- thisA · madnessA · offense
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CLIT. And can it, Menedemus, can it be, | 11 | ··········· |
| My father has so suddenly cast off | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| All natural affection? for what act? | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/˘··· |
| What crime, alas! so heinous have I done? | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| It is a common failing. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| MENE. This I know, | 4 | ···· |
| Should be more heavy and severe to you | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| On whom it falls: and yet am I no less | 10 | ·········· |
| Affected by it, though I know not why, | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| And have no other reason for my grief, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| But that I wish you well. | 6 | ······ |
| CLIT. Did not you say | 5 | ····· |
| My father waited here? | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| MENE. Aye; there he is. (Exit MENEDEMUS. | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| CHREM. Why d'ye accuse your father, Clitipho? | 11 | ···˘/·/˘··· |
| Whate'er I've done, was providently done | 11 | ˘˘/···/˘˘˘· |
| Tow'rd you and your imprudence. When I saw | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Your negligence of soul, and that you held | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| The pleasures of to-day your only care, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Regardless of the morrow; I found means | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| That you should neither want, nor waste my substance. | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| When you, whom fair succession first made heir, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Stood self-degraded by unworthiness, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| I went to those the next in blood to you, | 10 | ·········· |
| Committing and consigning all to them. | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/˘··· |
| There shall your weakness, Clitipho, be sure | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Ever to find a refuge; food, and raiment, | 11 | /˘···/˘··/˘ |
| And roof to fly to. | 5 | ····· |
| CHREM. Better thus, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Than, you being heir, for Bacchis to have all. | 10 | ··/··/˘··· |
| SYRUS. Distraction! what disturbances have I, | 11 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘·· |
| Wretch that I am, all unawares created! | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| CLIT. Would I were dead! | 5 | ····· |
| CHREM. Learn first what 'tis to live. | 7 | ······· |
| When you know that, if life displeases you, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Then talk of dying. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| SYRUS. Master, may I speak? | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| SYRUS. But with safety? | 6 | ····/˘ |
| SYRUS. How wrong is this, | 6 | ······ |
| Or rather what extravagance and madness, | 11 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| To punish him for my offense! | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| CHREM. Away! | 3 | ·˘/ |
| Do not you meddle. No one blames you, Syrus! | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Nor need you to provide a sanctuary, | 11 | ····˘/·/˘·˘ |
| Or intercessor. | 5 | ····· |
| SYRUS. What is it you do? | 7 | ······· |
| CHREM. I am not angry, nor with you, nor him: | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Nor should you take offense at what I do. | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| (Exit CHREMES. | 3 | /˘· |
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