The Step-Mother: Act the Fourth: Scene IX
PHID. (to the Nurse). Nay, you shall want for nothing at my house;I'll give you all that's needful in abundance;But when you've eat and drank your fill yourself,Take care to satisfy the infant too.
LACH. I see the father of PhilumenaComing this way. He brings the child a nurse.--Phidippus, Bacchis swears most solemnly----
PHID. They never mind the Gods,Nor do I think the Gods mind them.
BACCH. Here areMy waiting-women: take them, and extortBy any kind of torment the truth from them.--Our present business is, I take it, this:That I should win the wife of PamphilusTo return home; which so I but effect,I sha'n't regret the same of having doneWhat others of my calling would avoid.
LACH. Phidippus, we've discover'd that in factWe both suspected our wives wrongfully.Let's now try her: for if your wife perceivesHer own suspicions also are unjust,She'll drop her anger. If my son's offendedBecause his wife conceal'd her labor from him,That's but a trifle; he'll be soon appeas'd.--And truly I see nothing in this matterThat need occasion a divorce.
PHID. 'Fore Heaven,I wish that all may end well.
LACH. Here she is:Examine her; she'll give you satisfaction.
PHID. What needs all this to Me! You know my mindAlready, Laches: do but make them easy.
LACH. Bacchis, be sure you keep your promise with me.
BACCH. Shall I go in then for that purpose?
LACH. Aye.Go in; remove their doubts, and satisfy them.
BACCH. I will; although I'm very sure my presenceWill be unwelcome to them; for a wife,When parted from her husband, to a mistressIs a sure enemy.
LACH. They'll be your friends,When once they know the reason of your coming.
PHID. Aye, aye, they'll be your friends, I promise you,When they once learn your errand; for you'll freeThem from mistake, yourself from all suspicion.
BACCH. I'm cover'd with confusion. I'm asham'dTo see Philumena.-- (To her women.) You two in after me.(Exeunt PHIDIPPUS, BACCHIS, etc.
What is there that could please me more than this,That Bacchis, without any loss, should gainFavor from them, and do me service too?For if she really has withdrawn herselfFrom Pamphilus, it will increase, she knows,Her reputation, interest, and honor:Since by this generous act she will at onceOblige my son, and make us all her friends. (Exit.
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,]
- needful a.
- Full of need; in need or want; needy; distressing.
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
- avoid v. t.
- To empty. Wyclif. [OF. esvuidier, es (L. ex) + vuidier, voidier, to empty. See Void, a.]
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- laches n.
- Neglect; negligence; remissness; neglect to do a thing at the proper time; delay to assert a claim. [OF. lachesse, fr. lache lax, indolent, F. lâche, ultimately fr. L. laxus loose, lax. See Lax.]
- exeunt
- They go out, or retire from the scene; as, exeunt all except Hamlet. See 1st Exit. [L., 3d pers. pl. pres. of exire to go out.]
- generous a.
- Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
- oblige v. t.
- To attach, as by a bond. [OF. obligier, F.obliger, L. obligare; ob (see Ob-) + ligare to bind. See Ligament, and cf. Obligate.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Step-Mother: Act the Fourth: Scene IX 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 Step-Mother: Act the Fourth: Scene IX, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-step-mother-act-the-fourth-scene-ix.html, id L25880.
Form and metre
The Step-Mother: Act the Fourth: Scene IX is 56 lines in 16 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PHID. (to the Nurse). Nay, you shall want for nothing at my house; | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| I'll give you all that's needful in abundance; | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| But when you've eat and drank your fill yourself, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Take care to satisfy the infant too. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| LACH. I see the father of Philumena | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Coming this way. He brings the child a nurse. | 10 | /˘········ |
| --Phidippus, Bacchis swears most solemnly---- | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| PHID. They never mind the Gods, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Nor do I think the Gods mind them. | 8 | ········ |
| BACCH. Here are | 3 | ··· |
| My waiting-women: take them, and extort | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| By any kind of torment the truth from them. | 11 | ·/˘··/····· |
| --Our present business is, I take it, this: | 10 | //˘/˘····· |
| That I should win the wife of Pamphilus | 10 | ·········· |
| To return home; which so I but effect, | 10 | ·˘/·····/˘ |
| I sha'n't regret the same of having done | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| What others of my calling would avoid. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| LACH. Phidippus, we've discover'd that in fact | 11 | ·····˘/˘··· |
| We both suspected our wives wrongfully. | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘·/˘˘ |
| Let's now try her: for if your wife perceives | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Her own suspicions also are unjust, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| She'll drop her anger. If my son's offended | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| Because his wife conceal'd her labor from him, | 11 | ····˘/·/˘·· |
| That's but a trifle; he'll be soon appeas'd. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| --And truly I see nothing in this matter | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| That need occasion a divorce. | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| PHID. 'Fore Heaven, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| I wish that all may end well. | 7 | ······· |
| LACH. Here she is: | 4 | ···· |
| Examine her; she'll give you satisfaction. | 11 | ˘/˘·····˘/˘ |
| PHID. What needs all this to Me! You know my mind | 11 | ··········· |
| Already, Laches: do but make them easy. | 11 | ˘/˘/˘····/˘ |
| LACH. Bacchis, be sure you keep your promise with me. | 12 | ·/˘·····/˘·· |
| BACCH. Shall I go in then for that purpose? | 10 | ········/˘ |
| LACH. Aye. | 2 | ·· |
| Go in; remove their doubts, and satisfy them. | 11 | ··˘/···/˘·· |
| BACCH. I will; although I'm very sure my presence | 12 | ······/˘··/˘ |
| Will be unwelcome to them; for a wife, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| When parted from her husband, to a mistress | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| Is a sure enemy. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| LACH. They'll be your friends, | 5 | ····· |
| When once they know the reason of your coming. | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| PHID. Aye, aye, they'll be your friends, I promise you, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| When they once learn your errand; for you'll free | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Them from mistake, yourself from all suspicion. | 11 | ··˘/˘/··˘/˘ |
| BACCH. I'm cover'd with confusion. I'm asham'd | 11 | ··/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| To see Philumena.-- (To her women.) You two in after me. | 16 | ········/˘······ |
| (Exeunt PHIDIPPUS, BACCHIS, etc. | 11 | /˘˘···/˘·/˘ |
| What is there that could please me more than this, | 10 | ·········· |
| That Bacchis, without any loss, should gain | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Favor from them, and do me service too? | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| For if she really has withdrawn herself | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘/ |
| From Pamphilus, it will increase, she knows, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Her reputation, interest, and honor: | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·/˘ |
| Since by this generous act she will at once | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Oblige my son, and make us all her friends. (Exit. | 12 | ˘/········/˘ |
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