The Self-Tormentor: Act the First: Scene IV
What partial judges of all sons are fathers!Who ask gray wisdom from our greener years,And think our minds should bear no touch of youth;Governing by their passions, now kill'd in them,And not by those that formerly rebell'd.If ever I've a son, I promise himHe shall find me an easy father; fitTo know, and apt to pardon his offenses!Not such as mine, who, speaking of another,Shows how he'd act in such a case himself:Yet when he takes a cup or two too much,Oh, what mad pranks he tells me of his own:But warns me now "to draw from others' faultsA profitable lesson for myself."Cunning old gentleman! he little knows,He pours his proverbs in a deaf man's ear.The words of Bacchis, Give me, Bring me, nowHave greater weight with me: to whose commands,Alas! I've nothing to reply withal;Nor is there man more wretched than myself.For Clinia here (though he, I must confess,Has cares enough) has got a mistress, modest,Well-bred, and stranger to all harlot arts:Mine is a self-will'd, wanton, haughty madam,Gay, and extravagant; and let her askWhate'er she will, she must not be denied;Since poverty I durst not make my plea.This is a plague I have but newly found,Nor is my father yet appris'd of it.
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,]
- withal adv.
- With this; with that. [With + all.]
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Self-Tormentor: Act the First: 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 First: 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-first-scene-iv.html, id L25790.
Form and metre
The Self-Tormentor: Act the First: Scene IV is 29 lines in a single stanza. 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.
- 1 ------A--B---B-----B--------A fathers · years · youth · them · rebell'd · him · fitA · offenses · another · himselfB · much · own · faults · myselfB · knows · ear · now · commands · withal · myselfB · confess · modest · arts · madam · ask · denied · plea · found · itA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What partial judges of all sons are fathers! | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| Who ask gray wisdom from our greener years, | 10 | ···/˘·//˘· |
| And think our minds should bear no touch of youth; | 10 | ··/······· |
| Governing by their passions, now kill'd in them, | 10 | /˘··/˘···· |
| And not by those that formerly rebell'd. | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| If ever I've a son, I promise him | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| He shall find me an easy father; fit | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| To know, and apt to pardon his offenses! | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| Not such as mine, who, speaking of another, | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| Shows how he'd act in such a case himself: | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Yet when he takes a cup or two too much, | 10 | ·········· |
| Oh, what mad pranks he tells me of his own: | 10 | ·········· |
| But warns me now "to draw from others' faults | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| A profitable lesson for myself." | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/˘··/ |
| Cunning old gentleman! he little knows, | 10 | /˘·/˘˘·/˘· |
| He pours his proverbs in a deaf man's ear. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The words of Bacchis, Give me, Bring me, now | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Have greater weight with me: to whose commands, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Alas! I've nothing to reply withal; | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/˘/ |
| Nor is there man more wretched than myself. | 10 | ·····/˘··/ |
| For Clinia here (though he, I must confess, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Has cares enough) has got a mistress, modest, | 11 | ··˘/···/˘/˘ |
| Well-bred, and stranger to all harlot arts: | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Mine is a self-will'd, wanton, haughty madam, | 11 | ·····/˘/˘/˘ |
| Gay, and extravagant; and let her ask | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| Whate'er she will, she must not be denied; | 11 | ˘˘/······˘/ |
| Since poverty I durst not make my plea. | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| This is a plague I have but newly found, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Nor is my father yet appris'd of it. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
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