The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: Scene IV
SYRUS. Where I should eat, since he has cast us off.You, I perceive, are quarter'd on your sister.
CLIT. Is't come to this, that I should be in fearOf starving, Syrus?
SYRUS. So we do but live,There's hope----SYRUS. That we shall have rare stomachs.
CLIT. D'ye jest at such a time as this;And lend me no assistance by your counsel?
SYRUS. Nay, I was studying for you even now.And was so all the while your father spoke.And far as I can understand this----SYRUS. Stay, you shall have it presently. (Thinking.)
SYRUS. Thus then: I don't believe that you're their son.
CLIT. How Syrus! are you mad?
SYRUS. I'll speak my thoughts.Be you the judge. While they had you alone,While yet there was no other nearer joy,You they indulg'd, and gave with open hand:But now a daughter's found, their real child,A cause is found to drive you forth.
SYRUS. Think you this fault so angers him?
SYRUS. Consider too; 'tis ever found that mothersPlead for their sons, and in the father's wrathDefend them. 'Tis not so at present.
CLIT. True.What shall I do then, Syrus?
SYRUS. Ask of themThe truth of this suspicion. Speak your thoughts.If 'tis not so, you'll speedily incline themBoth to compassion; or, if so, be toldWhose son you are.
CLIT. Your counsel's good. I'll do't.
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,]
- 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]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- presently adv.
- At present; at this time; now.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: Scene IV 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 IV, 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-iv.html, id L25813.
Form and metre
The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: Scene IV is 33 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.
- 12 A-A-- themA · thoughts · themA · told · are
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 |
|---|---|---|
| SYRUS. Where I should eat, since he has cast us off. | 12 | ············ |
| You, I perceive, are quarter'd on your sister. | 11 | ··˘/·····/˘ |
| CLIT. Is't come to this, that I should be in fear | 11 | ··········· |
| Of starving, Syrus? | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| SYRUS. So we do but live, | 7 | ······· |
| There's hope---- | 2 | ·· |
| SYRUS. That we shall have rare stomachs. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| CLIT. D'ye jest at such a time as this; | 9 | ········· |
| And lend me no assistance by your counsel? | 11 | ····˘/˘··/˘ |
| SYRUS. Nay, I was studying for you even now. | 11 | ·····/˘··/· |
| And was so all the while your father spoke. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And far as I can understand this---- | 9 | ······˘/· |
| SYRUS. Stay, you shall have it presently. (Thinking.) | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| SYRUS. Thus then: I don't believe that you're their son. | 12 | ······˘/···· |
| CLIT. How Syrus! are you mad? | 7 | ······· |
| SYRUS. I'll speak my thoughts. | 6 | ······ |
| Be you the judge. While they had you alone, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| While yet there was no other nearer joy, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| You they indulg'd, and gave with open hand: | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| But now a daughter's found, their real child, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| A cause is found to drive you forth. | 8 | ········ |
| SYRUS. Think you this fault so angers him? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| SYRUS. Consider too; 'tis ever found that mothers | 12 | ··˘/˘··/··/˘ |
| Plead for their sons, and in the father's wrath | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Defend them. 'Tis not so at present. | 9 | ˘/·····/˘ |
| CLIT. True. | 2 | ·· |
| What shall I do then, Syrus? | 7 | ······· |
| SYRUS. Ask of them | 5 | ····· |
| The truth of this suspicion. Speak your thoughts. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| If 'tis not so, you'll speedily incline them | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Both to compassion; or, if so, be told | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Whose son you are. | 4 | ···· |
| CLIT. Your counsel's good. I'll do't. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
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