The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: Scene VIII
MENE. Now in good faith our Chremes plagues his sonToo long and too severely. I come forthTo reconcile him, and make peace between them.And there they are!
CHREM. Ha, Menedemus! whereforeIs not my daughter summon'd? and the portion,I settled on her; ratified by you?SOSTRA. Dear husband, I beseech you not to do it!
CLIT. My father, I entreat you pardon me!
MENE. Forgive him, Chremes! let his pray'rs prevail!
CHREM. What! shall I then with open eyes bestowMy whole estate on Bacchis? I'll not do't.
MENE. We will prevent that. It shall not be so.
CLIT. If you regard my life, forgive me, father!
SOSTRA. Do, my dear Chremes!
MENE. Do, I prithee now!Be not obdurate, Chremes!
CHREM. Why is this?I see I can't proceed as I've begun.MENE. 'Tis as it should be now.
CHREM. On this condition,That he agrees to do what I think fit.
CLIT. I will do ev'ry thing. Command me, father!
CHREM. Take a wife.
CHREM. Nay, Sir, no denial!
MENE. I take that charge upon me. He shall do't.
CHREM. But I don't hear a word of it from him.
SOSTRA. Do you doubt then, Clitipho?
CHREM. Nay, which he pleases.
MENE. He'll obey in all;Whate'er you'd have him.
SOSTRA. This at first is grievous,While you don't know it; when you know it, easy.
CLIT. I'm all obedience, father!
SOSTRA. Oh my son,I'll give you a sweet wife, that you'll adore,Phanocrata's, our neighbor's daughter.
CLIT. Her!That red-hair'd, blear-eyed, wide-mouth'd, hook-nos'd wench?I can not, father.
CHREM. Oh, how nice he is!Would any one imagine it?
SOSTRA. I'll get youAnother then.
CLIT. Well, well; since I must marry,I know one pretty near my mind.
SOSTRA. Good boy!
CLIT. The daughter of Archonides, our neighbor.
SOSTRA. Well chosen!
CLIT. One thing, father, still remains.
CLIT. That you'd grant poor Syrus a full pardonFor all that he hath done on my account.
Words in this poem
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- entreat v. t.
- To treat, or conduct toward; to deal with; to use. [OE. entreten to treat, request, OF. entraiter to treat of; pref. en- (L. in) + traitier to treat. See Treat.]
- 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,]
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: Scene VIII 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 VIII, 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-viii.html, id L25817.
Form and metre
The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: Scene VIII is 52 lines in 31 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| MENE. Now in good faith our Chremes plagues his son | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Too long and too severely. I come forth | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| To reconcile him, and make peace between them. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| And there they are! | 4 | ···· |
| CHREM. Ha, Menedemus! wherefore | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Is not my daughter summon'd? and the portion, | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| I settled on her; ratified by you? | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| SOSTRA. Dear husband, I beseech you not to do it! | 13 | ···/˘·˘/····· |
| CLIT. My father, I entreat you pardon me! | 11 | ··/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| MENE. Forgive him, Chremes! let his pray'rs prevail! | 10 | ·˘/·····˘/ |
| CHREM. What! shall I then with open eyes bestow | 11 | ······/˘·˘/ |
| My whole estate on Bacchis? I'll not do't. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| MENE. We will prevent that. It shall not be so. | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| CLIT. If you regard my life, forgive me, father! | 12 | ···˘/··˘/·/˘ |
| SOSTRA. Do, my dear Chremes! | 6 | ······ |
| MENE. Do, I prithee now! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Be not obdurate, Chremes! | 6 | ··/˘˘· |
| CHREM. Why is this? | 4 | ···· |
| I see I can't proceed as I've begun. | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| MENE. 'Tis as it should be now. | 7 | ······· |
| CHREM. On this condition, | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| That he agrees to do what I think fit. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| CLIT. I will do ev'ry thing. Command me, father! | 12 | ·······˘/·/˘ |
| CHREM. Take a wife. | 4 | ···· |
| CHREM. Nay, Sir, no denial! | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| MENE. I take that charge upon me. He shall do't. | 11 | ··········· |
| CHREM. But I don't hear a word of it from him. | 11 | ··········· |
| SOSTRA. Do you doubt then, Clitipho? | 9 | ········· |
| CHREM. Nay, which he pleases. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| MENE. He'll obey in all; | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Whate'er you'd have him. | 6 | ˘˘/··· |
| SOSTRA. This at first is grievous, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| While you don't know it; when you know it, easy. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| CLIT. I'm all obedience, father! | 9 | ···˘/˘˘/˘ |
| SOSTRA. Oh my son, | 5 | ····· |
| I'll give you a sweet wife, that you'll adore, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Phanocrata's, our neighbor's daughter. | 10 | ····/˘/˘/˘ |
| CLIT. Her! | 2 | ·· |
| That red-hair'd, blear-eyed, wide-mouth'd, hook-nos'd wench? | 10 | ·········· |
| I can not, father. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| CHREM. Oh, how nice he is! | 6 | ······ |
| Would any one imagine it? | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| SOSTRA. I'll get you | 5 | ····· |
| Another then. | 4 | ˘/˘· |
| CLIT. Well, well; since I must marry, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| I know one pretty near my mind. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| SOSTRA. Good boy! | 4 | ···· |
| CLIT. The daughter of Archonides, our neighbor. | 11 | ··/˘····//˘ |
| SOSTRA. Well chosen! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| CLIT. One thing, father, still remains. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| CLIT. That you'd grant poor Syrus a full pardon | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| For all that he hath done on my account. | 10 | ········˘/ |
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