The Self-Tormentor: Act the Third: Scene V
CHREM. How now?What manners are these, Clitipho? does thisBecome you?CLIT. What's the matter?
CHREM. Did not IThis very instant see you put your handInto yon wench's bosom?
SYRUS. So! all's over:I am undone. (Aside.)
CHREM. These very eyesBeheld you: don't deny it.--'Tis base in youTo be so flippant with your hands. For whatAffront's more gross than to receive a friendUnder your roof, and tamper with his mistress?And, last night in your cups too, how indecentAnd rudely you behav'd!
SYRUS. 'Tis very true.
CHREM. So very troublesome, so help me Heav'n,I fear'd the consequence. I know the waysOf lovers: they oft take offense at thingsYou dream not of.
CLIT. But my companion, Sir,Is confident I would not wrong him.
CHREM. Granted.Yet you should cease to hang forever on them.Withdraw, and leave them sometimes to themselves.Love has a thousand sallies; you restrain them.I can conjecture from myself. There's none,How near soever, Clitipho, to whomI dare lay open all my weaknesses.With one my pride forbids it, with anotherThe very action shames me: and believe me,It is the same with him; and 'tis our placeTo mark on what occasions to indulge him.SYRUS. What says he now? (Aside.)
SYRUS. Clitipho,These are the very precepts that I gave you:And how discreet and temperate you've been!
CLIT. Prithee, peace!
SYRUS. Aye, I warrant you.
CHREM. Oh, Syrus,I'm quite asham'd of him.
SYRUS. I do not doubt it.Nor without reason; for it troubles me.
CLIT. Still, rascal!
SYRUS. Nay, I do but speak the truth.
CLIT. May I not then go near them?
CHREM. Prithee, then,Is there one way alone of going near them?
SYRUS. Confusion! he'll betray himself beforeI get the money. (Aside.)--Chremes, will you onceHear a fool's counsel?CHREM. What do you advise?
SYRUS. Order your son about his business.
SYRUS. Whither! where'er you please. Give place to them.Go take a walk.CLIT. Walk! where?
SYRUS. A pretty question!This, that, or any way.
CHREM. He says right. Go!
CLIT. Now, plague upon you, Syrus! (Going.)
SYRUS (to CLITIPHO, going). Henceforth, learnTo keep those hands of yours at rest. (Exit CLITIPHO.
Words in this poem
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- flippant a.
- Of smooth, fluent, and rapid speech; speaking with ease and rapidity; having a voluble tongue; talkative. [Prov. E. flip to move nimbly; cf. W. llipa soft, limber, pliant, or Icel. fleipa to babble, prattle. Cf. Flip, Fillip, Flap, Flipper.]
- tamper n.
- One who tamps; specifically, one who prepares for blasting, by filling the hole in which the charge is placed.
- discreet a.
- Possessed of discernment, especially in avoiding error or evil, and in the adaptation of means to ends; prudent; sagacious; judicious; not rash or heedless; cautious. [F. discret, L. discretus separated (whence the meaning reserved, prudent), p. p. of discernere. See Discern, and cf. Discrete.]
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Self-Tormentor: Act the Third: Scene V 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 Third: Scene V, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-self-tormentor-act-the-third-scene-v.html, id L25798.
Form and metre
The Self-Tormentor: Act the Third: Scene V is 63 lines in 24 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.
- 8 -A-A-------- granted · themA · themselves · themA · none · whom · weaknesses · another · me · place · him · aside
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CHREM. How now? | 3 | ··· |
| What manners are these, Clitipho? does this | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Become you? | 3 | ˘/· |
| CLIT. What's the matter? | 5 | ···/˘ |
| CHREM. Did not I | 4 | ···· |
| This very instant see you put your hand | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Into yon wench's bosom? | 6 | ····/˘ |
| SYRUS. So! all's over: | 6 | ······ |
| I am undone. (Aside.) | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
| CHREM. These very eyes | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Beheld you: don't deny it.--'Tis base in you | 11 | ˘/··˘/····· |
| To be so flippant with your hands. For what | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Affront's more gross than to receive a friend | 10 | ˘/····˘/·· |
| Under your roof, and tamper with his mistress? | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| And, last night in your cups too, how indecent | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| And rudely you behav'd! | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| SYRUS. 'Tis very true. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| CHREM. So very troublesome, so help me Heav'n, | 10 | ··/˘/˘···· |
| I fear'd the consequence. I know the ways | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Of lovers: they oft take offense at things | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| You dream not of. | 4 | ···· |
| CLIT. But my companion, Sir, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| Is confident I would not wrong him. | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| CHREM. Granted. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Yet you should cease to hang forever on them. | 11 | ······˘/˘·· |
| Withdraw, and leave them sometimes to themselves. | 10 | ˘/···/··˘/ |
| Love has a thousand sallies; you restrain them. | 11 | ···/˘/˘·˘/· |
| I can conjecture from myself. There's none, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/·· |
| How near soever, Clitipho, to whom | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| I dare lay open all my weaknesses. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| With one my pride forbids it, with another | 11 | ····˘/··˘/˘ |
| The very action shames me: and believe me, | 11 | ·/˘/˘···˘/· |
| It is the same with him; and 'tis our place | 10 | ········/· |
| To mark on what occasions to indulge him. | 11 | ····˘/˘·˘/· |
| SYRUS. What says he now? (Aside.) | 8 | ······˘/ |
| SYRUS. Clitipho, | 5 | ····· |
| These are the very precepts that I gave you: | 11 | ···/˘/····· |
| And how discreet and temperate you've been! | 9 | ··˘/·/˘·· |
| CLIT. Prithee, peace! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| SYRUS. Aye, I warrant you. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| CHREM. Oh, Syrus, | 4 | ···· |
| I'm quite asham'd of him. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| SYRUS. I do not doubt it. | 7 | ······· |
| Nor without reason; for it troubles me. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| CLIT. Still, rascal! | 4 | ··/˘ |
| SYRUS. Nay, I do but speak the truth. | 9 | ········· |
| CLIT. May I not then go near them? | 8 | ········ |
| CHREM. Prithee, then, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Is there one way alone of going near them? | 10 | ····˘/·/·· |
| SYRUS. Confusion! he'll betray himself before | 12 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘/·· |
| I get the money. (Aside.)--Chremes, will you once | 11 | ···/˘˘/···· |
| Hear a fool's counsel? | 5 | ···/˘ |
| CHREM. What do you advise? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| SYRUS. Order your son about his business. | 11 | ··/˘·····/˘ |
| SYRUS. Whither! where'er you please. Give place to them. | 13 | ··/˘˘˘/······ |
| Go take a walk. | 4 | ···· |
| CLIT. Walk! where? | 3 | ··· |
| SYRUS. A pretty question! | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| This, that, or any way. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| CHREM. He says right. Go! | 5 | ····· |
| CLIT. Now, plague upon you, Syrus! (Going.) | 10 | ········/˘ |
| SYRUS (to CLITIPHO, going). Henceforth, learn | 10 | ······///· |
| To keep those hands of yours at rest. (Exit CLITIPHO. | 13 | ········/˘··· |
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