The Step-Mother: Act the Second: Scene II
PHID. (to PHILUMENA within). Although, Philumena, I knowmy pow'rTo force you to comply with my commands;Yet yielding to paternal tenderness,I e'en give way, nor cross your humor.
LACH. See,Phidippus in good time! I'll learn from himThe cause of this.-- (Going up to him.) Phidippus, though I ownMyself indulgent to my family,Yet my complacency and easinessRuns not to that extreme, that my good-natureCorrupts their morals. Would you act like me,'Twould be of service to both families.But you, I see, are wholly in their power.
LACH. I waited on you yesterdayAbout your daughter: but I went awayNo wiser than I came. It is not right,If you would have the alliance last between us,To smother your resentment. If we seemIn fault, declare it; that we may refute,Or make amends for our offense: and youShall carve the satisfaction out yourself.But if her sickness only is the causeOf her remaining in your family,Trust me, Phidippus, but you do me wrong,To doubt her due attendance at my house.For, by the pow'rs of heav'n, I'll not allowThat you, although her father, wish her betterThan I. I love her on my son's account;To whom, I'm well convinc'd, she is as dearAs he is to himself: and I can tellHow deeply 'twill affect him, if he knows this.Wherefore I wish she should come home again,Before my son's return.
PHID. My good friend Laches,I know your care, and your benevolence;Nor doubt that all is as you say; and hopeThat you'll believe I wish for her return,So I could but effect it.
LACH. What prevents it?Tell me, Phidippus! does she blame her husband?
PHID. Not in the least. For when I urg'd it home,And threaten'd to oblige her to return,She vow'd most solemnly she could not bearYour house, so long as Pamphilus was absent.--All have their failings: I am of so softA nature, I can't thwart my family.LACH. Ha, Sostrata! (To SOSTRATA, apart.)
SOSTRA. Wretch that I am! Ah me! (Aside.)
LACH. And her return's impossible? (To PHIDIPPUS.)
PHID. At present.--Would you aught else with me? for I have businessThat calls me to the Forum.
LACH. I'll go with you. (Exeunt.
Words in this poem
- complacency n.
- Calm contentment; satisfaction; gratification. [LL. complacentia: cf. F. complaisance. See Complacent, and cf. Complaisance.]
- easiness n.
- The state or condition of being easy; freedom from distress; rest.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- 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,]
- attendance n.
- Attention; regard; careful application. [OE. attendance, OF. atendance, fr. atendre, F. attendre. See Attend, v. t.]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- 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.]
- 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.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- forum n.
- A market place or public place in Rome, where causes were judicially tried, and orations delivered to the people. [L.; akin to foris, foras, out of doors. See Foreign.]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Step-Mother: Act the Second: Scene II 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 Second: Scene II, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-step-mother-act-the-second-scene-ii.html, id L25860.
Form and metre
The Step-Mother: Act the Second: Scene II is 54 lines in 10 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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.
- 2 A-----A-- seeA · him · own · family · easiness · nature · meA · families · power
- 3 AA------------------ yesterdayA · awayA · right · us · seem · refute · you · yourself · cause · family · wrong · house · allow · better · account · dear · tell · this · again · return
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 PHILUMENA within). Although, Philumena, I know | 16 | ················ |
| my pow'r | 2 | ·· |
| To force you to comply with my commands; | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Yet yielding to paternal tenderness, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘˘ |
| I e'en give way, nor cross your humor. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| LACH. See, | 2 | ·· |
| Phidippus in good time! I'll learn from him | 10 | ·········· |
| The cause of this.-- (Going up to him.) Phidippus, though I own | 14 | ····/········· |
| Myself indulgent to my family, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| Yet my complacency and easiness | 10 | ··˘/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| Runs not to that extreme, that my good-nature | 11 | ····˘/···/˘ |
| Corrupts their morals. Would you act like me, | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| 'Twould be of service to both families. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| But you, I see, are wholly in their power. | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| LACH. I waited on you yesterday | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| About your daughter: but I went away | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| No wiser than I came. It is not right, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| If you would have the alliance last between us, | 12 | ·····˘/˘···· |
| To smother your resentment. If we seem | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| In fault, declare it; that we may refute, | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| Or make amends for our offense: and you | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/·· |
| Shall carve the satisfaction out yourself. | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| But if her sickness only is the cause | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Of her remaining in your family, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| Trust me, Phidippus, but you do me wrong, | 10 | ·········· |
| To doubt her due attendance at my house. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| For, by the pow'rs of heav'n, I'll not allow | 10 | ········˘/ |
| That you, although her father, wish her better | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Than I. I love her on my son's account; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| To whom, I'm well convinc'd, she is as dear | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| As he is to himself: and I can tell | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| How deeply 'twill affect him, if he knows this. | 11 | ·/˘·˘/····· |
| Wherefore I wish she should come home again, | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| Before my son's return. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| PHID. My good friend Laches, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| I know your care, and your benevolence; | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| Nor doubt that all is as you say; and hope | 10 | ·········· |
| That you'll believe I wish for her return, | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| So I could but effect it. | 7 | ····˘/· |
| LACH. What prevents it? | 5 | ··˘/· |
| Tell me, Phidippus! does she blame her husband? | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| PHID. Not in the least. For when I urg'd it home, | 11 | ··········· |
| And threaten'd to oblige her to return, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| She vow'd most solemnly she could not bear | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Your house, so long as Pamphilus was absent. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| --All have their failings: I am of so soft | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| A nature, I can't thwart my family. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| LACH. Ha, Sostrata! (To SOSTRATA, apart.) | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| SOSTRA. Wretch that I am! Ah me! (Aside.) | 10 | ········˘/ |
| LACH. And her return's impossible? (To PHIDIPPUS.) | 12 | ···˘/˘/˘···· |
| PHID. At present. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| --Would you aught else with me? for I have business | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| That calls me to the Forum. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| LACH. I'll go with you. (Exeunt. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
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