Plautus: Bacchides

LYDVS PAEDAGOGVS
CHRYSALVS SERVVS
NICOBVLVS SENEX
MNESILOCHVS ADVLESCENS
PHILOXENVS SENEX
PARASITVS
PVER
ARTAMO LORARIVS
CLEOMACHVS MILES

LYDUS PEDAGOGUE
CHRYSALUS SLAVE
NICOBULUS OLD MAN
MNESILOCHUS ADOLESCENT
PHILOXENUS OLD MAN
PARASITE
BOY
ARTAMO WHIP-MASTER
CLEOMACHUS SOLDIER

FRAGMENTA

FRAGMENTS

Non. 342M
quibus ingenium in animo utibilest, modicum et sine vernilitate

Non. 342M
for those to whom ingenuity in the mind is useful, moderate and without servility

Non. 172M
vincla, virgae, molae: saevitudo mala fit peior

Non. 172M
chains, rods, millstones: savagery, being evil, becomes worse

Char. GL 1.219K
converrite *** scopis, agite strenue

Char. GL 1.219K
sweep together *** with brooms, act strenuously

Festus 169M
ecquis evocat
cum nassiterna et cum aqua istum impurissimum?

Festus 169M
does anyone call forth
with the ewer and with water that most impure fellow?

Pomp. C. art. Don.

Pompeius, Commentary on Donatus’s Art.

GL 5.199K
sicut lacte lactis similest

GL 5.199K
just as milk is similar to milk

Serv. A. 6.383
BACCHIS illa mi cognominis fuit

Serv. A. 6.383
BACCHIS that one was my namesake

Serv. A. 12.7
(latro) suam qui auro vitam venditat

Serv. A. 12.7
(robber) who vends his own life for gold

Prisc. GL 2.575K
scio spiritum eius maiorem esse multo
quam folles taurini habent, cum liquescunt

Prisc. GL 2.575K
I know his breath to be much greater
than the bull-hide bellows have, when they liquefy [metal]

10
petrae, ferrum ubi fit. <Cuiatis tibi visust?>
Praenestinum opino esse, ita erat gloriosus.

10
at the rock/forge, where iron is made. <Of what country did he seem to you?>
I think him to be Praenestine, he was so vainglorious.

Don. Ter. An. 1.2.34
neque <id> haud subditiva gloria oppidum arbitror.

Don. Ter. An. 1.2.34
nor do I reckon that town to have a non-supposititious glory.

Non. 334M
(PVER) ne a quoquam acciperes alio mercedem annuam,
nisi ab sese, nec cum quiquam limares caput.

Non. 334M
(BOY) that you not accept the annual wage from anyone else,
except from himself, nor have your head trimmed with anyone.

Non. 333M
limaces viri

Non. 333M
men like slugs

Non. 173M
cor meum, spes mea,
mel meum, suavitudo, cibus, gaudium.

Non. 173M
my heart, my hope,
my honey, sweetness, food, joy.

Don. Ter. Eu. 4.2.13
sine te amem

Don. Ter. Eu. 4.2.13
allow me to love you

Non. 421M, Serv. A. 4.194
Cupidon tecum saevust anne Amor?

Non. 421M, Serv. A. 4.194
Is Cupid savage with you, or Amor?

Char. GL 1.201K
Vlixem audivi fuisse aerumnosissimum,
qui annis viginti errans a patria afuit;
verum hic adulescens multo Vlixem anteit ***
qui ilico errat intra muros civicos.

Char. GL 1.201K
I have heard Ulysses to have been most burdened with hardships,
who, wandering for 20 years, was away from his fatherland;
but this youth far surpasses Ulysses ***
who right away wanders within the civic walls.

Serv. A. 10.493
quidquid est nomen sibi

Serv. A. 10.493
whatever its name is to itself

Char. GL 1.229K, Non. 6M
(PISTOCLERVS) quae sodalem atque me exercitos habet

Char. GL 1.229K, Non. 6M
(PISTOCLERVS) which keeps my comrade and me exercised

Non. 102M
nam credo cuivis excantare cor potes.

Non. 102M
for I believe you can enchant away anyone’s heart.

Char. GL 1.200K
sin lenocinium forte collibitum est tibi,
videas mercedis quid tibi est aecum dari,
ne istac aetate me sectere gratiis.

Char. GL 1.200K
but if by chance pimping has appealed to you,
see what fee it is equitable to be given you,
so that at your age you do not pursue me gratis.

Char. GL 1.123K
Arabus

Char. GL 1.123K
Arab

ACTVS I

ACT 1

I.i
BACCHIS Quid si hoc potis est ut tu taceas, ego loquar? SOROR 35
Lepide, licet.
BACCH. Vbi me fugiet memoria, ibi tu facito ut subvenias, soror.

I.i
BACCHIS What if this is possible: you be silent, I will speak? SISTER 35
Cleverly; it is permitted.
BACCH. Where my memory runs away from me, there see to it that you come to help, sister.

SOR. Pol magis metuo, ne defuerit mi in monendo oratio.
BACCH. Pol ego metuo, lusciniolae ne defuerit cantio.
sequere hac.

SOR. By Pollux, I fear more lest an oration fail me in admonishing.
BACCH. By Pollux, I fear lest a song fail the little nightingale.
follow this way.

PISTOCLERVS Quid agunt duae germanae meretrices cognomines?
quid in consilio consuluistis? BACCH. Bene.

PISTOCLERVS What are the two sister prostitutes,
namesakes?
what, in council, have you consulted? BACCH. Well.

PIST. Pol haud meretricium est.

PIST. By Pollux, it is not meretricious.

40
BACCH. Miserius nihil est quam mulier. PIST. Quid esse dices dignius?
BACCH. Haec ita me orat, sibi qui caveat aliquem ut hominem reperiam,
ut istunc militem — ut, ubi emeritum sibi sit, se revehat domum.

40
BACCH. Nothing is more miserable than a woman. PIST. What will you say is more deserving?
BACCH. She thus begs me, that I find some man who may look out for her,
about that soldier — that, when his term of service is ended, he carry her back home.

id, amabo te, huic caveas. PIST. Quid isti caveam? B. Vt revehatur domum,
ubi ei dediderit operas, ne hanc ille habeat pro ancilla sibi;

that, please, see to for her. PIST. What am I to be on guard for in his case? B. That she be conveyed home,
when she has given him her services, lest that man have this one as a handmaid for himself;

45
nam si haec habeat aurum quod illi renumeret, faciat lubens.
P. Vbi nunc is homost? B. Iam hic credo aderit.

45
for if this woman has gold with which to renumerate him, let him do it gladly.
P. Where is that man now? B. Even now, I believe, he will be here.

sed hoc idem apud nos rectius
poteris agere; atque is dum veniat, sedens ibi opperibere.
eadem biberis, eadem dedero tibi, ubi biberis, savium.
P. Viscus merus vostrast blanditia.

but this
same thing you will be able to do more rightly with us;
and until he comes, sitting there you will wait.
you will drink the same; likewise I will give you, when you have drunk, a kiss.
P. Your flattery is pure birdlime.

B. Quid iam? P. Quia enim intellego,

B. What now? P. Because indeed I understand,

50
duae unum expetitis palumbem, ~ perii harundo alas verberat.
non ego istuc facinus mihi, mulier, conducibile esse arbitror.
BACCH. Qui, amabo?

50
you two are seeking one wood‑pigeon, ~ I’m undone—the reed lashes my wings.
I do not judge that deed, woman, to be conducive for me.
BACCH. How so, please?

PIST. Quia, Bacchis, bacchas metuo et bacchanal tuom.
BACCH. Quid est? quid metuis?

PIST. Because, Bacchis, I fear the Bacchants and your bacchanal.
BACCH. What is it? what do you fear?

ne tibi lectus malitiam apud me suadeat?
PIST. Magis illectum tuom quam lectum metuo. mala tu es bestia.

lest your bed persuade you to malice against me?
PIST. I fear your illected man more than your bed. you are a wicked beast.

55
nam huic aetati non conducit, mulier, latebrosus locus.
BACCH. Egomet, apud me <si> quid stulte facere cupias, prohibeam.
sed ego apud me te esse ob eam rem, miles cum veniat, volo,
quia, cum tu aderis, huic mihique haud faciet quisquam iniuriam:
tu prohibebis, et eadem opera tuo sodali operam dabis;

55
for this age a hiding-place is not conducive, woman.
BACCH. I myself, at my place, if you should <if> wish to do anything foolish, I would prevent it.
but I want you to be with me for this reason, when the soldier comes,
because, when you are present, no one will do injury to this girl and to me:
you will prohibit it, and at the same time you will give service to your comrade;

60
et ille adveniens tuam med esse amicam suspicabitur.
quid, amabo, opticuisti? PIST. Quia istaec lepida sunt memoratui:
eadem in usu atque ubi periclum facias, aculeata sunt,
animum fodicant, bona distimulant, facta et famam sauciant.

60
and he, arriving, will suspect that I am your girlfriend.
what, please, have you chosen? PIST. Because those things are pretty for recollection:
the same things, in use and when you make a trial, are prickly,
they prod the mind, they drive off goods, they wound deeds and fame.

SOR. Quid ab hac metuis? PIST. Quid ego metuam rogitas? adulescens homo

SOR. What do you fear from her? PIST. You ask what I should fear? an adolescent fellow

65
penetrem me huius modi in palaestram, ubi damnis desudascitur?
[ubi pro disco damnum capiam, pro cursura dedecus?]
BACCH. Lepide memoras. PIST. Vbi ego capiam pro machaera turturem,
[ubique imponat in manum alius mihi pro cestu cantharum]
pro galea scaphium, pro insigni sit corolla plectilis,

65
should I thrust myself into a palestra of this sort, where one is sweated down in losses?
[where in place of the discus I take a loss, in place of the running a disgrace?]
BACCH. Neatly you mention it. PIST. Vbi I take in place of the machaira a turtledove,
[and everywhere another puts into my hand a kantharos in place of the cestus]
in place of the galea a scaphium, and for the badge let there be a plaited corolla,

70
pro hasta talos, pro lorica malacum capiam pallium,
ubi mihi pro equo lectus detur, scortum pro scuto accubet?
apage a me, apage. B. Ah, nimium ferus es. P. Mihi sum.

70
in place of a spear, knucklebones; in place of a cuirass, I shall take a soft cloak,
where for a horse a couch is given me, a harlot reclines in place of a shield?
begone from me, begone. B. Ah, you are too savage. P. I am, for my part.

B. Malacissandus es.
equidem tibi do hanc operam. PIST. Ah, nimium pretiosa es operaria.
BACCH. Simulato me amare.

B. You must be softened.
indeed I render you this service. PIST. Ah, you are a too-precious workwoman.
BACCH. Simulate that you love me.

PIST. Vtrum ego istuc iocon adsimulem an serio?

PIST. Am I to simulate that in jest or in earnest?

75
BACCH. Heia, hoc agere meliust. miles quom huc adveniat, te volo
me amplexari. PIST. Quid eo mi opus est?

75
BACCH. Hey, it is better to do this. When the soldier arrives here, you I want
to embrace me. PIST. What need have I of that?

BACCH. Vt ille te videat volo.
scio quid ago. PIST. Et pol ego scio quid metuo.

BACCH. I want him to see you.
I know what I am doing. PIST. And by Pollux, I too know what I fear.

sed quid ais? B. Quid est?
PIST. Quid si apud te eveniat desubito prandium aut potatio
forte aut cena, ut solet in istis fieri conciliabulis,

but what do you say? B. What is it?
PIST. What if there should suddenly happen at your place a luncheon or a potation,
perhaps a dinner, as is wont to be done in those meeting-places,

80
ubi ego tum accumbam? BACCH. Apud me, mi anime, ut lepidus cum lepida accubet.
locus hic apud nos, quamvis subito venias, semper liber est.

80
where then shall I recline? BACCH. At my place, my dear soul, so that the charming man may recline with the charming woman.
a place here with us, although you come suddenly, is always free.

ubi tu lepide voles esse tibi, 'mea rosa', mihi dicito
'dato qui bene sit': ego ubi bene sit tibi locum lepidum dabo.
PIST. Rapidus fluvius est hic, non hac temere transiri potest.

whenever you will wish to be charmingly for yourself, 'my rose,' say to me
'grant what will be for the good': I will give a charming place where it will be well for you.
PIST. A rapid river is here; it cannot be crossed rashly this way.

85
BACCH. Atque ecastor apud hunc fluvium aliquid perdundumst tibi.
manum da et sequere. P. Aha, minime.

85
BACCH. And, by Castor, at this river there is something to be lost by you.
give your hand and follow. P. Aha, not at all.

B. Quid ita? P. Quia istoc in lecebrosius
fieri nil potest: nox mulier vinum homini adulescentulo.
BACCH. Age igitur, equidem pol nihili facio nisi causa tua.

B. Why so? P. Because nothing can be made more lascivious
than that: night, a woman, wine, for an adolescent man.
BACCH. Come then; for my part, by Pollux, I value it at nothing except for your sake.

ille quidem hanc abducet; tu nullus adfueris, si non lubet.

he will indeed lead her away; don’t be present at all, if it doesn’t please you.

90
PIST. Sumne autem nihili, qui nequeam ingenio moderari meo?
B. Quid est quod metuas? P. Nihil est, nugae.

90
PIST. Am I then worth nothing, that I cannot moderate my own nature?
B. What is there that you fear? P. It is nothing, trifles.

mulier, tibi me emancupo:
tuos sum, tibi dedo operam. B. Lepidu's. nunc ego te facere hoc volo.
ego sorori meae cenam hodie dare volo viaticam:
eo tibi argentum iubebo iam intus ecferri foras;

woman,
I mancipate myself to you:
I am yours, I devote my service to you. B. You're lepid—charming. Now I want you to do
this.
I want to give my sister today a viatic dinner:
therefore I’ll order the silver now to be carried out from inside to outside.

95
tu facito opsonatum nobis sit opulentum opsonium.
PIST. Ego opsonabo, nam id flagitium meum sit, mea te gratia
et operam dare mi et ad eam operam facere sumptum de tuo.
BACCH. At ego nolo dare te quicquam.

95
you see to it that we have an opulent course catered for us.
PIST. I will cater; for let that be my disgrace, for my sake, that you both give me your service and, for that service, make the expense from your own.
BACCH. But I do not wish you to give anything.

P. Sine. B. Sino equidem, si lubet.
propera, amabo.

P. Let me. B. I do indeed allow it, if it pleases.
hurry, please.

PIST. Prius hic adero quam te amare desinam.—

PIST. I will be here sooner than I cease to love you.—

100
SOR. Bene me accipies advenientem, mea soror. BACCH. Quid ita, obsecro?
SOR. Quia piscatus meo quidem animo hic tibi hodie evenit bonus.

100
SOR. You will receive me well on my arrival, my sister. BACCH. Why so, I beseech?
SOR. Because, to my mind, the fishing here has turned out good for you today.

BACCH. Meus ille quidemst. tibi nunc operam dabo de Mnesilocho, soror,
ut hic accipias potius aurum, quam hinc eas cum milite.
SOR. Cupio.

BACCH. He is mine indeed. I will now give you my effort regarding Mnesilochus, sister,
so that you may receive gold here rather than go from here with the soldier.
SOR. I desire it.

BACCH. Dabitur opera. aqua calet: eamus hinc intro, ut laves.

BACCH. Attention will be given. The water is hot: let us go from here
inside, so that you may wash.

105
nam uti navi vecta es, credo timida es. SOR. Aliquantum, soror.
[simul huic nescio cui, turbare qui huc it, decedamus * ]
BACCH. Sequere hac igitur me intro in lectum, ut sedes lassitudinem.

105
for since you traveled by ship, I suppose you are timid. SOR. Somewhat, sister.
[at the same time let us step aside for this I-know-not-who, who goes here to cause a disturbance * ]
BACCH. Follow me this way inside onto the couch, so that you may settle your weariness.

I.ii
LYDVS Iam dudum, Pistoclere, tacitus te sequor,
expectans quas tu res hoc ornatu geras.

I.ii
LYDVS For a long time now, Pistoclerus, silently I follow you,
waiting to see what affairs you will carry on with this attire.

110
namque ita me di ament, ut Lycurgus mihi quidem
videtur posse hic ad nequitiam adducier.
quo nunc capessis ted hinc adversa via
cum tanta pompa? PISTOCLERVS Huc.

110
for indeed may the gods so love me, as Lycurgus, to me indeed,
seems able here to be brought to iniquity.
whither now do you betake yourself hence by the contrary way
with such pomp? PISTOCLERVS Hither.

LYD. Quid huc? quis istic habet?
PIST. Amor, Voluptas, Venus, Venustas, Gaudium,

LYD. What here? Who has it there?
PIST. Love, Voluptuousness, Venus, Venusty, Joy,

115
Iocus, Ludus, Sermo, Suavisaviatio.
LYD. Quid tibi commercist cum dis damnosissimis?
PIST. Mali sunt homines, qui bonis dicunt male;
tu dis nec recte dicis: non aequom facis.

115
Jest, Play, Discourse, Sweet-kissing.
LYD. What commerce have you with the most ruinous gods?
PIST. They are bad men who speak ill of the good;
you do not speak rightly of the gods: you do not do what is fair.

LYD. An deus est ullus Suavisaviatio?

LYD. Is there any god Suavisaviatio?

120
PIST. An non putasti esse umquam? o Lyde, es barbarus;
quem ego sapere nimio censui plus quam Thalem,
is stultior es barbaro poticio,
qui tantus natu deorum nescis nomina.
LYD. Non hic placet mi ornatus.

120
PIST. Did you never think there was? O Lyde, you are a barbarian;
whom I reckoned to be wiser by far than Thales,
you are more foolish than a barbarian drunkard,
you who, so advanced in years, do not know the names of the gods.
LYD. This outfit does not please me here.

PIST. Nemo ergo tibi

PIST. Therefore, no one for you

125
haec apparavit: mihi paratum est quoi placet.
LYD. Etiam me advorsus exordire argutias?
qui si decem habeas linguas, mutum esse addecet.

125
this has been prepared; as for me, it is ready for whoever likes it.
LYD. Will you even begin your quibbles against me?
for even if you had ten tongues, it is proper to be mute.

PIST. Non omnis aetas, Lyde, ludo convenit.
magis unum in mentemst mihi nunc, satis ut commode

PIST. Not every age, Lydus, is convenient for play.
Rather, one thing is in my mind now, that quite commodiously

130
pro dignitate opsoni haec concuret cocus.
LYD. Iam perdidisti te atque me atque operam meam,
qui tibi nequiquam saepe monstravi bene.
PIST. Ibidem ego meam operam perdidi, ubi tu tuam:
tua disciplina nec mihi prodest nec tibi.

130
to suit the dignity of the dish the cook will hasten to these.
LYD. Now you have lost yourself and me and my effort,
since I have often shown you well, to no avail.
PIST. In the same place I lost my effort where you lost yours:
your discipline profits neither me nor you.

135
LYD. O praeligatum pectus. PIST. Odiosus mihi es.
tace atque sequere, Lyde, me. LYD. Illuc sis vide,
non paedagogum iam me, sed Lydum vocat.
PIST. Non par videtur neque sit consentaneum,
cum haec <qui emit> intus sit et cum amica accubet

135
LYD. O tightly-bound heart. PIST. You are odious to me.
Be silent and follow me, Lyde. LYD. Look there, please,
he no longer calls me “tutor,” but “Lydus.” PIST. It does not seem equal nor would it be consistent,
since the one <who bought> these things is inside and is reclining with his mistress.

140
cumque osculetur et convivae alii accubent,
praesentibus illis paedagogus una ut siet.
LYD. An hoc ad eas res opsonatumst, obsecro?
PIST. Sperat quidem animus: quo evenat dis in manust.

140
and while he is kissing and the other guests recline,
that, with them present, the pedagogue should be there along. LYD. Is it for such things that the dinner has been catered, I beg? PIST. My spirit indeed hopes; how it turns out is in the gods’ hands.

LYD. Tu amicam habebis? PIST. Cum videbis, tum scies. 145
LYD. Immo neque habebis neque sinam. i prorsum domum.

LYD. Will you have a girlfriend? PIST. When you see, then you will know. 145
LYD. Nay, you will neither have one nor will I allow it. Go straight home.

PIST. Omitte, Lyde, ac cave malo. LYD. Quid? cave malo?

PIST. Omit it, Lyde, and beware of harm. LYD. What? beware of harm?

PIST. Iam excessit mi aetas ex magisterio tuo.
LYD. O barathrum, ubi nunc es? ut ego te usurpem lubens.
[video nimio iam multo plus quam volueram.]

PIST. My age has now passed beyond your instruction.
LYD. O abyss, where are you now? how gladly I would make use of you.
[I now see far more than I had wished, by too much.]

150
vixisse nimio satiust iam quam vivere.
magistron quemquam discipulum minitarier?
[nil moror discipulos mihi iam plenos sanguinis:
valens afflictat me vacivom virium.]
PIST. Fiam, ut ego opinor, Hercules, tu autem Linus. 155
LYD. Pol metuo magis, ne Phoenix tuis factis fuam
teque ad patrem esse mortuom renuntiem.

150
it is now by far more preferable to have lived than to live.
for a pupil to menace his master?
[I care nothing for pupils now full to the brim with blood:
a robust one batters me, me void of strength.]
PIST. I shall become, as I opine, Hercules, but you Linus. 155
LYD. By Pollux, I fear rather, lest by your deeds I become a Phoenix and report to your father that you are dead.

PIST. Satis historiarumst. LYD. Hic vereri perdidit.
compendium edepol haud aetati optabile
fecisti, cum istanc nactu's inpudentiam.

PIST. Enough of the histories. LYD. This man has lost reverence.
By Pollux, you have made a gain not at all desirable for your age
when you got hold of that impudence.

160
occisus hic homo est. ecquid in mentem est tibi
patrem tibi esse? PIST. Tibi ego an tu mihi servos es?
LYD. Peior magister te istaec docuit, non ego.

160
this man is slain. does it come at all into your mind
that you have a father? PIST. Am I your slave, or are you mine?
LYD. A worse teacher taught you those things, not I.

nimio es tu ad istas res discipulus docilior,
quam ad illa quae te docui, ubi operam perdidi.

you are by far a more docile disciple for those matters,
than for those things which I taught you, where I wasted my effort.

165
[edepol fecisti furtum in aetatem malum
cum istaec flagitia me celavisti et patrem.]
PIST. Istactenus tibi, Lyde, libertas datast
orationis. satis est. sequere hac me ac tace.—

165
[By Pollux, you have committed a theft upon your life, a bad one,
when you hid these flagitious acts from me and from your father.]
PIST. Thus far to you, Lydus, the liberty of speech has been granted.
That is enough. Follow me this way and be silent.—

ACTVS II

ACT 2

II.i
CHRYSALVS Erilis patria, salve, quam ego biennio,

II.i
CHRYSALVS My master’s fatherland, hail, which I for two years,

170
postquam hinc in Ephesum abii, conspicio lubens.
saluto te, vicine Apollo, qui aedibus
propinquos nostris accolis, veneroque te,
ne Nicobulum me sinas nostrum senem
prius convenire quam sodalem viderim

170
after I went away from here to Ephesus, I look upon with pleasure.
I greet you, neighbor Apollo, who dwell in buildings
neighboring to ours, and I venerate you,
that you not allow Nicobulus, our old man,
to meet me before I shall have seen my sodalis.

175
Mnesilochi Pistoclerum, quem ad epistulam
Mnesilochus misit super amica Bacchide.

175
Pistoclerus, Mnesilochus’s friend, to whom Mnesilochus sent an epistle
concerning his mistress Bacchis.

II.ii
PISTOCLERVS Mirumst me ut redeam te opere tanto quaesere,
qui abire hinc nullo pacto possim, si velim:
ita me vadatum amore vinctumque adtines.

II.ii
PISTOCLERVS It’s strange that, just as I return, you should be seeking me with so great an effort,
since I could by no means get away from here, even if I wished:
so you hold me on bail and bound by love.

180
CHRYS. Pro di immortales, Pistoclerum conspicor.
o Pistoclere, salve. PIST. Salve, Chrysale.

180
CHRYS. By the immortal gods, I catch sight of Pistoclerus.
o Pistoclerus, hail. PIST. Hail, Chrysalus.

CHRYS. Compendi verba multa iam faciam tibi.
venire tu me gaudes: ego credo tibi;
hospitium et cenam pollicere, ut convenit

CHRYS. I will now make a compendium of many words for you.
You are glad that I am coming: I credit you;
you promise hospitality and dinner, as is fitting

185
peregre advenienti: ego autem venturum adnuo.
salutem tibi ab sodali solidam nuntio:
rogabis me ubi sit: vivit. PIST. Nempe recte valet?

185
to one arriving from abroad: and I, moreover, nod assent that I will come.
I announce to you a solid salutation from your comrade:
you will ask me where he is: he lives. PIST. Surely he is well?

CHRYS. Istuc volebam ego ex te percontarier.
PIST. Qui scire possum? CHRYS. Nullus plus.

CHRYS. That was what I wanted to inquire from you.
PIST. How can I know? CHRYS. No one more.

PIST. Quemnam ad modum?

PIST. In what way?

190
CHRYS. Quia si illa inventa est, quam ille amat, recte valet;
si non inventa est, minus valet moribundusque est.
animast amica amanti: si abest, nullus est;
si adest, res nullast: ipsus est — nequam et miser.
sed tu quid factitasti mandatis super?

190
CHRYS. Because if she has been found, the one whom he loves, he is all right;
if she has not been found, he is less well and is moribund.
The sweetheart is the soul to the lover: if she is absent, he is nothing;
if she is present, there is no business: he himself is — good-for-nothing and wretched.
but you, what have you been doing about the orders?

195
PIST. Egon ut, quod ab illoc attigisset nuntius,
non impetratum id advenienti ei redderem?
regiones colere mavellem Acherunticas.
CHRYS. Eho, an invenisti Bacchidem?

195
PIST. I—that what the messenger had broached with that fellow,
that, obtained, I should not render it to him on his arrival?
I would rather cultivate the Acherontic regions.
CHRYS. Hey, have you found Bacchis?

PIST. Samiam quidem. 199-200
CHRYS. Vide quaeso, ne quis tractet illam indiligens;

PIST. The Samian, indeed. 199-200
CHRYS. See to it, I pray, that no one handle her carelessly;

201
scis tu ut confringi vas cito Samium solet.
PIST. Iamne ut soles? CHRYS. Dic ubi ea nunc est, obsecro.

201
you know how a Samian vessel is accustomed to be quickly broken.
PIST. Already as you are wont? CHRYS. Tell where she is now, I beg.

PIST. Hic, exeuntem me unde aspexisti modo.
CHRYS. Vt istuc est lepidum: proximae viciniae

PIST. Here, from where you just now saw me going out.
CHRYS. How charming that is: the very next neighborhood

205
habitat. ecquidnam meminit Mnesilochi? PIST. Rogas?

205
she lives there. Does she remember Mnesilochus at all? PIST. You ask?

immo unice unum plurimi pendit. CHRYS. Papae.
PIST. Immo ut eam credis?

nay, uniquely she values the one at a very great price. CHRYS. Goodness.
PIST. Nay, how do you suppose she regards him?

misera amans desiderat.
CHRYS. Scitum istuc. PIST. Immo, Chrysale, em non tantulum
umquam intermittit tempus quin eum nominet.

the wretched lover desires.
CHRYS. That’s clever. PIST. Nay rather, Chrysalus, look, not even the least little
moment does she ever let pass without naming him.

210
CHRYS. Tanto hercle melior. PIST. Immo — CHRYS. Immo hercle abiero
potius. PIST. Num invitus rem bene gestam audis eri?

210
CHRYS. So much the better, by Hercules. PIST. Rather— CHRYS. Rather, by Hercules, I’ll be off
instead. PIST. You aren’t unwilling to hear of your master’s successful affair, are you?

CHRYS. Non res, sed actor mihi cor odio sauciat.
etiam Epidicum, quam ego fabulam aeque ac me ipsum amo,
nullam aeque invitus specto, si agit Pellio.

CHRYS. Not the piece, but the actor wounds my heart with hatred.
even Epidicus, the play which I love as much as myself,
I watch none so unwillingly, if Pellio is acting it.

215
sed Bacchis etiam fortis tibi visast? PIST. Rogas?
ni nanctus Venerem essem, hanc Iunonem dicerem.

215
but did Bacchis also seem brave to you? PIST. You ask?
if I had not happened upon Venus, I would call this one Juno.

CHRYS. Edepol, Mnesiloche, ut hanc rem natam intellego,
quod ames paratumst: quod des inventost opus.
nam istic fortasse auro est opust. PIST. Philippeo quidem.

CHRYS. By Pollux, Mnesilochus, as I understand how this matter stands,
what you love is prepared; what you are to give, the need has been found.
for there, perhaps, there is need of gold. PIST. Philippean gold, indeed.

220
CHRYS. Atque eo fortasse iam opust. PIST. Immo etiam prius:
nam iam huc adveniet miles. CHRYS. Et miles quidem?

220
CHRYS. And perhaps there is already need for that. PIST. Nay, even earlier:
for now the soldier will arrive here. CHRYS. And a soldier indeed?

PIST. Qui de amittenda Bacchide aurum hic exiget.
CHRYS. Veniat quando volt, atque ita ne mihi sit morae.
domist: non metuo nec <ego> quoiquam supplico,

PIST. The one who will here exact gold for giving up Bacchis.
CHRYS. Let him come whenever he wants, and so let there be no delay for me.
He’s at home: I do not fear, nor do I supplicate anyone,

225
dum quidem hoc valebit pectus perfidia meum.
abi intro, ego hic curabo. tu intus dicito
Mnesilochum adesse Bacchidi.

225
so long as this breast of mine will be strong in perfidy.
go inside, I will see to it here. you inside, say
that Mnesilochus is present to Bacchis.

PIST. Faciam ut iubes.—
CHRYS. Negotium hoc ad me adtinet aurarium.
mille et ducentos Philippos attulimus aureos

PIST. I will do as you order.—
CHRYS. This business pertains to me, the monetary one.
we have brought one thousand two hundred golden Philippi

230
Epheso, quos hospes debuit nostro seni.
inde ego hodie aliquam machinabor machinam,
unde aurum efficiam amanti erili filio.
sed foris concrepuit nostra: quinam exit foras?

230
From Ephesus, which the guest owed to our old man.
Thereupon today I will contrive some contrivance,
whence I may effect gold for the enamored master’s son.
But our door has rattled outside: who is coming out?

II.iii
NICOBVLVS Ibo in Piraeum, visam ecquae advenerit

2.3
NICOBVLVS I will go to the Piraeus, to see whether any [ship] has arrived

235
in portum ex Epheso navis mercatoria.
nam meus formidat animus, nostrum tam diu
ibi desidere neque redire filium.
CHRYS. Extexam ego illum pulchre iam, si di volunt.

235
into the harbor a merchant ship from Ephesus.
for my mind fears that our son is lingering there so long
and not returning.
CHRYS. I will finish him off nicely now, if the gods will.

haud dormitandumst: opus est chryso Chrysalo.

no sleeping must be done: Chrysalus has need of gold.

240
adibo hunc, quem quidem ego hodie faciam hic arietem
Phrixi, itaque tondebo auro usque ad vivam cutem.
servos salutat Nicobulum Chrysalus.
NIC. Pro di immortales, Chrysale, ubi mist filius?

240
I will go up to this man, whom indeed today I will make here the ram of Phrixus,
and so I will shear him for gold right down to the living skin.
The slave Chrysalus greets Nicobulus.
NIC. By the immortal gods, Chrysalus, where is my son?

CHRYS. Quin tu salutem primum reddis quam dedi?

CHRYS. Why don’t you first return the salutation which I gave?

245
NIC. Salve. sed ubinamst Mnesilochus? CHRYS. Vivit, valet.

245
NIC. Hello. But where is Mnesilochus? CHRYS. He lives, he is well.

NIC. Venitne? CHRYS. Venit. NIC. Euax, aspersisti aquam.

NIC. Has he come? CHRYS. He has come. NIC. Hurrah, you have sprinkled water.

benene usque valuit? CHRYS. Pancratice atque athletice.
NIC. Quid hoc?

has he been well all along? CHRYS. Pancratically and athletically.
NIC. What is this?

qua causa eum in Ephesum miseram,
accepitne aurum ab hospite Archidemide?

for what cause did I send him to Ephesus,
did he accept gold from the host Archidemides?

250
CHRYS. Heu, cor meum et cerebrum, Nicobule, finditur,
istius hominis ubi fit quomque mentio.
tun hospitem illum nominas hostem tuom?
NIC. Quid ita, obsecro hercle?

250
CHRYS. Alas, my heart and my brain, Nicobulus, are split asunder,
whenever mention is made of that man.
Do you then call that guest your enemy?
NIC. Why so, I beseech you, by Hercules?

CHRYS. Quia edepol certo scio,
Volcanus, Luna, Sol, Dies, dei quattuor,

CHRYS. Because, by Pollux, I certainly know,
Vulcan, Luna, Sol, Day, four gods,

255
scelestiorem nullum inluxere alterum.
NIC. Quamne Archidemidem? CHRYS. Quam, inquam, Archidemidem.

255
no other more wicked has ever seen the light.
NIC. Than Archidemides? CHRYS. Than, I say, Archidemides.

NIC. Quid fecit? CHRYS. Quid non fecit? quin tu id me rogas?

NIC. What did he do? CHRYS. What did he not do? Indeed, do you ask me that?

primumdum infitias ire coepit filio,
negare se debere tibi triobulum.

first, he began to deny it to his son,
to deny that he owed you a triobolus.

260
continuo antiquom hospitem nostrum sibi
Mnesilochus advocavit, Pelagonem senem;
eo praesente homini extemplo ostendit symbolum,
quem tute dederas, ad eum ut ferret, filio.
NIC. Quid ubi ei ostendit symbolum? CHRYS. Infit dicere

260
immediately Mnesilochus summoned to himself our old guest-friend,
the old man Pelagon; with that man present he straightway showed the symbol,
which you yourself had given, that he might carry it to him, to your son.
NIC. What then when he showed him the symbol? CHRYS. He begins to speak

265
adulterinum et non eum esse symbolum.
quotque innocenti ei dixit contumelias!
adulterare eum aibat rebus ceteris.

265
adulterine and that it was not the symbol.
and how many insults he said to that innocent man!
he kept saying he adulterated the other things besides.

NIC. Habetin aurum? id mihi dici volo.
CHRYS. Postquam quidem praetor recuperatores dedit,

NIC. Do you have the gold? I want that to be told to me.
CHRYS. After indeed the praetor appointed recuperators,

270
damnatus demum, vi coactus reddidit
ducentos et mille Philippum. NIC. Tantum debuit.
CHRYS. Porro etiam ausculta pugnam quam voluit dare.

270
condemned at last, compelled by force, he paid back
1,200 Philippi. NIC. He owed that much.
CHRYS. Furthermore, listen also to the battle which he wished to give.

NIC. Etiamnest quid porro? CHRYS. Em, accipitrina haec nunc erit.
NIC. Deceptus sum, Autolyco hospiti aurum credidi.

NIC. Is there still anything further? CHRYS. Look, this will now be accipitrine.
NIC. I have been deceived; I entrusted gold to Autolycus my host.

275
CHRYS. Quin tu audi. NIC. Immo ingenium avidi haud pernoram hospitis.
CHRYS. Postquam aurum abstulimus, in navem conscendimus,
domi cupientes.

275
CHRYS. Why don’t you listen. NIC. Rather, I had not thoroughly known the disposition of the greedy host.
CHRYS. After we carried off the gold, we boarded the ship,
desiring home.

forte ut adsedi in stega,
dum circumspecto, atque ego lembum conspicor
longum, strigorem maleficum exornarier.

by chance, as I sat down on the deck,
while I look around, I espy a long lembus
being outfitted by a wicked sorcerer.

280
NIC. Perii hercle, lembus ille mihi laedit latus.
CHRYS. Is erat communis cum hospite et praedonibus.
NIC. Adeon me fuisse fungum, ut qui illi crederem,
cum mi ipsum nomen eius Archidemides
clamaret dempturum esse, si quid crederem?

280
NIC. I’m done for, by Hercules; that skiff bruises my side.
CHRYS. It was common between the host and the pirates.
NIC. Was I so much a fungus as to trust that fellow,
when his very name, Archidemides,
was shouting to me that he would take something off me, if I lent anything?

285
CHRYS. Is lembus nostrae navi insidias dabat.
occepi ego observare eos quam rem gerant.
interea e portu nostra navis solvitur.

285
CHRYS. That skiff was laying an ambush for our ship.
I began to observe what they were up to.
Meanwhile, from the port our ship is being loosed.

ubi portu eximus, homines remigio sequi,
neque aves neque venti citius. quoniam sentio

when we leave the port, the men follow by rowing,
neither birds nor winds faster. since I sense

290
quae res gereretur, navem extemplo statuimus.
quoniam vident nos stare, occeperunt ratem
turbare in portu. NIC. Edepol mortalis malos.

290
what affair was being carried on, we immediately brought the ship to a stop.
since they see us standing still, they began to disturb the boat
in the harbor. NIC. By Pollux, what wicked mortals.

quid denique agitis? CHRYS. Rursum in portum recipimus.
NIC. Sapienter factum a vobis.

What, in the end, are you doing? CHRYS. We are putting back into harbor again.
NIC. Wisely done by you.

quid illi postea?

what about him afterward?

295
CHRYS. Revorsionem ad terram faciunt vesperi.
NIC. Aurum hercle auferre voluere: ei rei operam dabant.
CHRYS. Non me fefellit, sensi, eo exanimatus fui.

295
CHRYS. They make a return to land in the evening.
NIC. By Hercules, they wanted to carry off the gold: they were giving their effort to that matter.
CHRYS. It did not deceive me; I sensed it; for that reason I was breathless.

quoniam videmus auro insidias fieri,
capimus consilium continuo; postridie

since we see ambushes being made for the gold,
we take counsel immediately; on the next day

300
auferimus aurum omne illis praesentibus,
palam atque aperte, ut illi id factum sciscerent.
NIC. Scite hercle. cedo quid illi?

300
we carry off all the gold with them present,
publicly and openly, so that they might ascertain that this was done.
NIC. Cleverly, by Hercules. Come then, what about them?

CHRYS. Tristes ilico,
quom extemplo a portu ire nos cum auro vident,
subducunt lembum capitibus quassantibus.

CHRYS. Sad at once,
when straightway they see us going from the port with the gold,
they haul up their skiff, their heads shaking.

305
nos apud Theotimum omne aurum deposivimus,
qui illic sacerdos est Dianae Ephesiae.
NIC. Quis istic Theotimust? CHRYS. Megalobuli filius,
qui nunc in Ephesost Ephesiis carissimus.

305
we deposited all the gold with Theotimus,
who there is priest of Diana of Ephesus. NIC. Who is that Theotimus? CHRYS. The son of Megalobulus,
who now at Ephesus is most dear to the Ephesians.

NIC. Ne ille hercle mihi sit multo tanto carior,

NIC. By Hercules, may he be by much the dearer to me,

310
si me illo auro tanto circumduxerit.
CHRYS. Quin in eapse aede Dianai conditumst;
ibidem publicitus servant. NIC. Occidistis me;
nimio hic privatim servaretur rectius.

310
if he has cheated me out of that much gold.
CHRYS. Why, it is stored in that very temple of Diana;
there in the same place they keep it in public custody. NIC. You have killed me;
far more properly it would be kept here privately.

sed nilne attulistis inde auri domum?

but did you bring nothing of gold home from there?

315
CHRYS. Immo etiam. verum quantum attulerit nescio.
NIC. Quid?

315
CHRYS. Yes indeed. But how much he has brought, I do not know.
NIC. What?

nescis? CHRYS. Quia Mnesilochus noctu clanculum
devenit ad Theotimum, nec mihi credere
nec cuiquam in navi voluit: eo ego nescio
quantillum attulerit; verum haud permultum attulit.

You don’t know? CHRYS. Because Mnesilochus by night, clandestinely,
came to Theotimus, and he was unwilling to trust me
nor anyone on the ship: therefore I don’t know
what small amount he brought; but he brought not very much.

320
NIC. Etiam dimidium censes? CHRYS. Non edepol scio;
verum haud opinor. NIC. Fertne partem tertiam?

320
NIC. Do you reckon even a half? CHRYS. By Pollux, I do not know;
but I do not opine so. NIC. Does he bring a third part?

CHRYS. Non hercle opinor; verum verum nescio.
profecto de auro nil scio nisi nescio.
nunc tibimet illuc navi capiundumst iter,

CHRYS. By Hercules, I don’t think so; but truly, truly I do not know.
Surely about the gold I know nothing except that I do not know.
now you yourself must take the journey there by ship,

325
ut illud reportes aurum ab Theotimo domum.
atque heus tu. NIC. Quid vis? CHRYS. Anulum gnati tui
facito ut memineris ferre.

325
so that you bring back that gold home from Theotimus.
and hey, you. NIC. What do you want? CHRYS. The ring of your son
see to it that you remember to bring.

NIC. Quid opust anulo?
CHRYS. Quia id signumst cum Theotimo, qui eum illi adferet,
ei aurum ut reddat. NIC. Meminero, et recte mones.

NIC. What need is there of the ring?
CHRYS. Because that is the token with Theotimus, for the one who brings it to him,
that he may give back the gold. NIC. I will remember, and you admonish rightly.

330
sed divesne est istic Theotimus? CHRYS. Etiam rogas?
quin auro habeat soccis subpactum solum?

330
but is that Theotimus there rich? CHRYS. Do you even ask?
why, hasn’t he the sole of his slippers packed underneath with gold?

NIC. Cur ita fastidit? CHRYS. Tantas divitias habet;
nescit quid faciat auro. NIC. Mihi dederit velim.

NIC. Why is he so disdainful? CHRYS. He has such great riches;
he does not know what to do with gold. NIC. I’d like him to give it to me.

sed qui praesente id aurum Theotimo datumst?

but in whose presence was that gold given to Theotimus?

335
CHRYS. Populo praesente: nullust Ephesi quin sciat.
NIC. Istuc sapienter saltem fecit filius,
cum diviti homini id aurum servandum dedit;
ab eo licebit quamvis subito sumere.
CHRYS. Immo em tantisper numquam te morabitur,

335
CHRYS. With the populace present: there is no one in Ephesus who does not know it.
NIC. In that at least the son acted wisely,
when he gave that gold to a rich man to be kept;
from him it will be licit to take it, however suddenly.
CHRYS. Nay rather—see—meantime it will never delay you,

340
quin habeas illud quo die illuc veneris.
NIC. Censebam me effugisse a vita marituma,
ne navigarem tandem hoc aetatis senex;
id mi haud, utrum velim, licere intellego:
ita bellus hospes fecit Archidemides.

340
why, you shall have that on the day you come there.
NIC. I was thinking I had escaped from a maritime life,
so that I should not sail at last, at this age, an old man;
I understand that for me, whether I wish it or not, that is not permitted:
so has the fine host Archidamides managed it.

345
ubi nunc est ergo meus Mnesilochus filius?
CHRYS. Deos atque amicos iit salutatum ad forum.
NIC. At ego hinc ad illum, ut convenam quantum potest.—
CHRYS. Ille est oneratus recte et plus iusto vehit.

345
where then is my son Mnesilochus now?
CHRYS. He has gone to the forum to pay his respects to the gods and to friends.
NIC. But I’ll go from here to him, to meet him as quickly as I can.—
CHRYS. He is well-laden and carries more than is just.

exorsa haec tela non male omnino mihi est:

this web I have begun is not altogether bad for me:

350
ut amantem erilem copem facerem filium,
ita feci, ut auri quantum vellet sumeret,
quantum autem lubeat reddere ut reddat patri.
senex in Ephesum ibit aurum arcessere,
hic nostra agetur aetas in malacum modum,

350
in order that I might make the master’s amorous son wealthy,
so I did, that he might take as much gold as he wished,
and that he pay back to his father as much as it may please him to repay.
the old man will go to Ephesus to fetch the gold,
here our lifetime will be conducted in a soft, luxurious mode,

355
siquidem hic relinquet neque secum abducet senex
med et Mnesilochum. quas ego hic turbas dabo!
sed quid futurumst, cum hoc senex resciverit,
cum se excucurrisse illuc frustra sciverit
nosque aurum abusos?

355
since indeed the old man will leave me and Mnesilochus here and will not take us along with him,
what tumults I shall raise here!
but what will happen, when the old man learns this,
when he realizes that he has run out there to no purpose,
and that we have made off with the gold?

quid mihi fiet postea?

what will become of me afterwards?

360
credo hercle adveniens nomen mutabit mihi
facietque extemplo Crucisalum me ex Chrysalo.
aufugero hercle, si magis usus venerit.
si ero reprehensus, macto ego illum infortunio:
si illi sunt virgae ruri, at mihi tergum domist.

360
I believe, by Hercules, when he arrives he’ll change my name for me
and make me straightway “Crucisalus” out of “Chrysalus.”
I’ll run away, by Hercules, if greater need comes.
If I am apprehended, I’ll doom him to misfortune:
if he has rods in the countryside, but for me there is a back at home.

365
nunc ibo, erili filio hanc fabricam dabo
super auro amicaque eius inventa Bacchide.—

365
now I will go, I will give this fabrication to my master’s son
concerning the gold and his girlfriend, with Bacchis found.—

ACTVS III

ACT 3

III.i
LYDVS Pandite atque aperite propere ianuam hanc Orci, obsecro.
nam equidem haud aliter esse duco, quippe quo nemo advenit,
nisi quem spes reliquere omnes, esse ut frugi possiet.

3.1
LYDVS Throw wide and open in haste this door of Orcus, I beseech you.
for indeed I deem it to be no otherwise, since to this place no one arrives,
except one whom all hopes have abandoned, so that he can be frugal.

370
Bacchides non Bacchides, sed bacchae sunt acerrumae.
apage istas a me sorores, quae hominum sorbent sanguinem.
omnis ad perniciem instructa domus opime atque opipare—
quae ut aspexi, me continuo contuli protinam in pedes.

370
The Bacchides are not Bacchides, but the fiercest Bacchae.
Away with those sisters from me, who gulp down the blood of men.
The whole house is equipped for perdition, opulent and sumptuous—
which, as soon as I beheld, I straightway immediately betook myself to my feet.

egone ut haec conclusa gestem clanculum? ut celem patrem,

I— that I should carry these things enclosed clandestinely? that I should conceal it from my father,

375
Pistoclere, tua flagitia aut damna aut desidiabula?
[quibus patrem et me teque amicosque omnes affectas tuos
ad probrum, damnum, flagitium appellere una et perdere.]
neque mei neque te tui intus puditumst factis quae facis,
quibus tuom patrem meque una, amicos, adfinis tuos

375
Pistoclerus, your flagitious acts or losses or lounging-places?
[with which you aim to drive your father and me and yourself and all your friends
to disgrace, loss, flagitium all together, and to ruin us.]
neither I nor any of your own feel shame within at the deeds you do,
by which your father and me together, your friends, your in-laws

380
tua infamia fecisti gerulifigulos flagiti.
[nunc prius quam malum istoc addis, certumst iam dicam patri]
de me hanc culpam demolibor iam et seni faciam palam,
ut eum ex lutulento caeno propere hinc eliciat foras.—

380
by your infamy you have made (us) carriers-and-molders of scandal.
[now, before you add that evil besides, it is fixed: I will tell father at once]
I will dismantle this blame from myself now and make it plain to the old man,
so that he may quickly draw him out from the muddy mire and out of here.—

III.ii
MNESILOCHVS Multimodis meditatus egomet mecum sum, et ita esse arbitror:

3.2
MNESILOCHVS In many modes I have meditated, I myself with myself, and I deem it to be so:

385
homini amico, qui est amicus ita uti nomen possidet,
nisi deos ei nil praestare; id opera expertus sum esse ita.
nam ut in Ephesum hinc abii — hoc factumst ferme abhinc biennium—
ex Epheso huc ad Pistoclerum meum sodalem litteras
misi, amicam ut mi inveniret Bacchidem. illum intellego

385
for a friendly man, who is a friend only as he possesses the name,
the gods bestow nothing upon him; by deed I have found it to be so.
for when I went off from here to Ephesus — this was done almost two years ago —
from Ephesus I sent letters hither to my comrade Pistoclerus,
that he should find for me my girlfriend Bacchis. him I understand

390
invenisse, ut servos meus mi nuntiavit Chrysalus.
condigne is quam techinam de auro advorsum meum fecit patrem,
ut mi amanti copia esset. [sed eccum video incedere.]
nam pol quidem meo animo ingrato homine nihil inpensiust;
malefactorem amitti satius quam relinqui beneficum;

390
that he had found her, as my slave Chrysalus announced to me.
and condignly what a stratagem about the gold against my father he devised,
so that for me, a lover, there might be means. [But look, I see him advancing.]
for, by Pollux indeed, to my mind nothing is more costly than an ungrateful man;
it is better that a malefactor be lost than that a benefactor be left behind;

395
nimio inpendiosum praestat te quam ingratum dicier:
illum laudabunt boni, hunc etiam ipsi culpabunt mali.
qua me causa magis cum cura esse aecum, obvigilatost opus.
nunc, Mnesiloche, specimen specitur, nunc certamen cernitur,
sisne necne ut esse oportet, malus, bonus quoivis modi,

395
by far it is preferable that you be called extravagant rather than ungrateful:
that man the good will praise; this one even the evil themselves will blame.
for which cause it is the more proper that I be with care; there is need to keep watch.
now, Mnesilochus, the specimen is inspected, now the contest is discerned,
whether you are or are not as you ought to be—bad, good, of whatever sort,

400
iustus iniustus, malignus largus, comis incommodus.
cave sis te superare servom siris faciundo bene.
utut eris, moneo, haud celabis.

400
just unjust, malign liberal, gracious incommodious.
mind you do not allow your slave to surpass you by doing good.
whatever you will be, I warn you, you will not conceal it.

sed eccos video incedere
patrem sodalis et magistrum. hinc auscultabo quam rem agant.

but look, I see them coming along
the father of my companion and the master. from here I will listen to what matter they are about.

III.iii
LYDVS Nunc experiar, sitne aceto tibi cor acre in pectore.

3.3
LYDVS Now I will try whether your heart is vinegar-sharp in your breast.

405
sequere. PHILOXENVS Quo sequar? quo ducis nunc me? LYD. Ad illam quae tuom
perdidit, pessum dedit tibi filium unice unicum.

405
follow. PHILOXENVS Whither am I to follow? whither are you leading me now? LYD. To that woman who has ruined what is yours,
who has sent your one-and-only son to the bottom.

PHIL. Heia, Lyde, leniter qui saeviunt sapiunt magis.
minus mirandumst, illaec aetas si quid illorum facit,
quam si non faciat. feci ego istaec itidem in adulescentia.

PHIL. Come now, Lydus, they who rage gently are the wiser.
it is less to be wondered at if that age does some of those things,
than if it does not. I did those same things likewise in adolescence.

410
LYD. Ei mihi, ei mihi, istaec illum perdidit assentatio.
nam absque te esset, ego illum haberem rectum ad ingenium bonum:
nunc propter te tuamque pravos factus est fiduciam
Pistoclerus. MNES. Di immortales, meum sodalem hic nominat.

410
LYD. Ah me, ah me, that assentation has undone him.
For if he were without you, I would have him straight toward a good natural disposition:
now on account of you and your confidence, Pistoclerus has been made crooked. MNES. Immortal gods, he names my companion.

quid hoc negoti est, Pistoclerum Lydus quod erum tam ciet?

What is this business, that Lydus is summoning Pistoclerus, the master, so much?

415
PHIL. Paulisper, Lyde, est libido homini suo animo obsequi;
iam aderit tempus, cum sese etiam ipse oderit. morem geras;
dum caveatur, praeter aequom ne quid delinquat, sine.
LYD. Non sino, neque equidem illum me vivo corrumpi sinam.

415
PHIL. For a little while, Lydus, a man has the desire to obey his own mind; soon the time will be at hand when he will even hate himself. Humor him; provided it be guarded that he commit no delinquency beyond what is equitable, allow it.
LYD. I do not allow it, nor indeed shall I allow him to be corrupted while I live.

sed tu, qui pro tam corrupto dicis causam filio,

but you, who plead the cause for so corrupt a son,

420
eademne erat haec disciplina tibi, cum tu adulescens eras?
nego tibi hoc annis viginti fuisse primis copiae,
digitum longe a paedagogo pedem ut efferres aedibus.
ante solem exorientem nisi in palaestram veneras,
gymnasi praefecto haud mediocris poenas penderes.

420
Was this the same discipline for you, when you were a young man?
I deny that in your first twenty years you had leave
to carry your foot a finger’s length away from your pedagogue out of the house.
Unless you had come to the palaestra before the sun rose,
you would pay no mean penalties to the prefect of the gymnasium.

425
id quom optigerat, hoc etiam ad malum accersebatur malum:
et discipulus et magister perhibebantur improbi.
ibi cursu luctando hasta disco pugilatu pila
saliendo sese exercebant magis quam scorto aut saviis:
ibi suam aetatem extendebant, non in latebrosis locis.

425
when that had befallen, this evil too was summoned to the evil:
both pupil and teacher were held to be improper.
there with running, wrestling, spear, discus, pugilism, ball
by leaping they exercised themselves more than with a harlot or with kisses:
there they prolonged their lifetime, not in lurking places.

430
inde de hippodromo et palaestra ubi revenisses domum,
cincticulo praecinctus in sella apud magistrum adsideres
cum libro: cum legeres, si unam peccavisses syllabam,
fieret corium tam maculosum quam est nutricis pallium.
MNES. Propter me haec nunc meo sodali dici discrucior miser;

430
then from the hippodrome and the palestra, when you had returned home,
girt with a little cincture you would sit on a seat beside the master
with a book: when you read, if you had erred by a single syllable,
your hide would become as speckled as the nurse’s mantle.
MNES. On my account I am now wracked, poor wretch, that these things are being said to my companion;

435
innocens suspicionem hanc sustinet causa mea.
PHIL. Alii, Lyde, nunc sunt mores. LYD. Id equidem ego certo scio.

435
The innocent bears this suspicion on my account.
PHIL. The morals are other now, Lyde. LYD. That indeed I for my part know for certain.

nam olim populi prius honorem capiebat suffragio,
quam magistro desinebat esse dicto oboediens;
at nunc, prius quam septuennis est, si attingas eum manu,

for once, he would sooner take the people’s honor by suffrage,
than he would cease to be obedient to his master’s word;
but now, before he is seven years old, if you touch him with your hand,

440
extemplo puer paedagogo tabula disrumpit caput.
cum patrem adeas postulatum, puero sic dicit pater:
'noster esto, dum te poteris defensare iniuria.'
provocatur paedagogus: 'eho senex minimi preti,
ne attigas puerum istac causa, quando fecit strenue.'

440
instantly the boy with a tablet bursts the pedagogue’s head.
when you go to the father to press a claim, the father thus says to the boy:
'be ours, so long as you will be able to defend yourself against injustice.'
the pedagogue is challenged: 'hey, old man of the least price,
do not touch the boy for that cause, since he did it strenuously.'

445
[it magister quasi lucerna uncto expretus linteo.]
itur illinc iure dicto. hocine hic pacto potest
inhibere imperium magister, si ipsus primus vapulet?
MNES. Acris postulatio haec est.

445
[the master goes out like a lamp squeezed out by an oiled linen.]
from there they go, the law having been declared. Can the master in this fashion here
restrain authority, if he himself is the first to be thrashed?
MNES. This is a sharp demand.

cum huius dicta intellego,
mira sunt ni Pistoclerus Lydum pugnis contudit.

when I understand this one’s words,
it would be a marvel if Pistoclerus didn’t batter Lydus with his fists.

450
LYD. Sed quis hic est, quem astantem video ante ostium? o Philoxene,
deos propitios me videre quam illum <haud> mavellem mihi.
PHIL. Quis illic est?

450
LYD. But who is this, whom I see standing before the door? O Philoxenus,
by the propitious gods, I would rather see them favorable to me than see that man.
PHIL. Who is that there?

LYD. Mnesilochus, gnati tui sodalis [Pistocleri].
haud consimili ingenio atque ille est qui in lupanari accubat.
fortunatum Nicobulum, qui illum produxit sibi.

LYD. Mnesilochus, your son’s comrade [Pistoclerus].
not of a similar disposition as that one who lies reclining in the lupanary.
fortunate Nicobulus, who produced him for himself.

455
PHIL. Salvos sis, Mnesiloche, salvom te advenire gaudeo.
MNES. Di te ament, Philoxene. LYD. Hic enim rite productust patri:
in mare it, rem familiarem curat, custodit domum,
obsequens oboediensque est mori atque imperiis patris.

455
PHIL. Be safe, Mnesilochus; I rejoice to see you arrive safe.
MNES. May the gods love you, Philoxenus. LYD. For this one has been rightly brought up for his father:
he goes to sea, he takes care of the family estate, he guards the house,
he is compliant and obedient to the custom and the commands of his father.

hic sodalis Pistoclero iam puer puero fuit;

this comrade to Pistoclerus was already, boy to boy;

460
triduom non interest aetatis uter maior siet:
verum ingenium plus triginta annis maiust quam alteri.
PHIL. Cave malo et compesce in illum dicere iniuste. LYD. Tace,
stultus es qui illi male aegre patere dici qui facit.

460
there is not a three-day interval of age as to which is the elder:
but his genius is greater by more than thirty years than the other's.
PHIL. Beware of trouble and restrain yourself from speaking unjustly against him. LYD. Be silent,
you are a fool who scarcely allow ill to be said of the man who does it.

[nam illum meum malum promptare malim quam peculium.

[for I would rather bring out that punishment of mine than my peculium.

465
PHIL. Quidum? LYD. Quia, malum si promptet, in dies faciat minus.]
MNES. Quid sodalem meum castigas, Lyde, discipulum tuom?
LYD. Periit tibi sodalis.

465
PHIL. How so? LYD. Because, if he brings out the punishment, he will do less day by day.]
MNES. Why do you chastise my comrade, Lyde, your disciple?
LYD. Your comrade is lost to you.

MNES. Ne di sirint. LYD. Sic est ut loquor.
quin ego cum peribat vidi, non ex audito arguo.

MNES. May the gods not permit it. LYD. So it is as I say.
indeed I myself saw him as he was perishing; I do not argue from hearsay.

MNES. Quid factum est? LYD. Meretricem indigne deperit. M. Non tu taces?

MNES. What happened? LYD. He pines disgracefully for a prostitute. M. Won’t you be silent?

470
LYD. Atque acerrume aestuosam: absorbet ubi quemque attigit.
M. Vbi ea mulier habitat? L. Hic.

470
LYD. And a most fiercely fevered one: she absorbs whoever she has touched.
M. Where does that woman live? L. Here.

M. Vnde eam esse aiunt? L. Ex Samo.
M. Quae vocatur?

M. From where do they say she is? L. From Samos.
M. What is she called?

L. Bacchis. M. Erras, Lyde: ego omnem rem scio
quem ad modumst. tu Pistoclerum falso atque insontem arguis.

L. Bacchis. M. You are mistaken, Lyde: I know the whole matter
how it is. You accuse Pistoclerus falsely, and though he is innocent.

nam ille amico et benevolenti suo sodali sedulo

for he sedulously attends to his friendly and benevolent comrade

475
rem mandatam exsequitur. ipsus neque amat nec tu creduas.
LYD. Itane oportet rem mandatam gerere amici sedulo,
ut ipsus in gremio osculantem mulierem teneat sedens?

475
he executes the mandated matter. he himself does not love, nor should you believe it.
LYD. Is this how one ought sedulously to conduct a friend’s mandated matter,
that he himself, sitting, should hold a woman kissing in his lap?

nullon pacto res mandata potest agi, nisi identidem
manus ferat <ei> ad papillas, labra ab labris nusquam auferat?

In no way can the mandated affair be managed, unless again and again
he carries his hand to her breasts, and nowhere removes his lips from her lips?

480
nam alia memorare quae illum facere vidi dispudet:
cum manum sub vestimenta ad corpus tetulit Bacchidi
me praesente, neque pudere quicquam. quid verbis opust?
mihi discipulus, tibi sodalis periit, huic filius;
nam ego illum periisse dico quoi quidem periit pudor.

480
for I am ashamed to recount the other things which I saw him do:
when he put his hand under the garments to Bacchis’s body with me present, and felt no shame at all.
what need is there of words?
for me the disciple has perished, for you the companion, for this man his son;
for I say that he has perished, the man for whom indeed modesty has perished.

485
[quid opust verbis? si opperiri vellem paulisper modo,
ut opinor illius inspectandi mi esset maior copia,
plus viderem quam deceret, quam me atque illo aequom foret.]
MNES. Perdidisti me, sodalis. egone ut illam mulierem
capitis non perdam?

485
[what need of words? if I were willing to wait only a little while,
as I suppose, I would have a greater opportunity of inspecting him,
I would see more than was decorous, than would be equitable for me and for him.]
MNES. You have undone me, comrade. Am I to not make that woman forfeit her head?

perire me malis malim modis.

I would rather perish by evil ways.

490
satin ut quem tu habeas fidelem tibi aut cui credas nescias?
LYD. Viden ut aegre patitur gnatum esse corruptum tuom,
suom sodalem, ut ipsus sese cruciat aegritudine?
PHIL. Mnesiloche, hoc tecum oro, ut illius animum atque ingenium regas;
serva tibi sodalem et mihi filium.

490
Do you really not know whether you have anyone faithful to you, or whom you may credit?
LYD. Do you see how he can hardly endure that your son has been corrupted,
his own comrade, how he tortures himself with affliction?
PHIL. Mnesilochus, this I beg of you, that you rule his mind and character govern;
preserve for yourself a comrade and for me a son.

MNES. Factum volo.

MNES. I want it done.

495
LYD. Melius esset, me quoque una si cum illo relinqueres.
PHIL. Adfatim est. LYD. Mnesiloche, cura, ei, concastiga hominem probe,
qui dedecorat te, me amicosque alios flagitiis suis.

495
LYD. It would be better if you left me behind with him as well.
PHIL. Enough. LYD. Mnesilochus, see to it—come on—thoroughly castigate the man,
who disgraces you, me, and other friends by his flagitious deeds.

Phil. In te ego hoc onus omne impono. Lyde, sequere hac me. L. Sequor.—

Phil. I impose this whole burden on you. Lyde, follow me this way. L. I follow.—

III.iv
MNES. Inimiciorem nunc utrum credam magis

3.4
MNES. Now which one I should think more inimical

500
sodalemne esse an Bacchidem, incertum admodumst.
illum exoptavit potius? habeat.

500
whether it is the comrade or Bacchis, it is quite uncertain.
Did he opt for that one rather? Let him have him.

optumest.
ne illa illud hercle cum malo fecit suo;
nam mihi divini numquam quisquam creduat,
ni ego illam exemplis plurumis planeque — amo.

It’s best.
aye, she did that, by Hercules, to her own harm;
for let no diviner ever credit me,
unless I — love her with very many and plain examples.

505
ego faxo hau dicet nactam quem derideat.
nam iam domum ibo atque — aliquid surrupiam patri.
id isti dabo.

505
I’ll make sure she won’t say she’s got someone to deride.
For now I’ll go home and — I’ll surreptitiously filch something from father.
I’ll give that to her.

ego istanc multis ulciscar modis. 507a
adeo ego illam cogam usque ut mendicet — meus pater.
sed satine ego animum mente sincera gero,
qui ad hunc modum haec hic quae futura fabulor?

I will avenge that woman in many ways. 507a
I will indeed force her on and on until she begs — my father.
But am I truly bearing my spirit with a sincere mind,
who here in this manner prattle about these things that are to be?

510
amo hercle opino, ut pote quod pro certo sciam.
verum quam illa umquam de mea pecunia
ramenta fiat plumea propensior,
mendicum malim mendicando vincere.
numquam edepol viva me inridebit. nam mihi

510
I love, by Hercules, I opine, since I know for certain.
But rather than that she should ever from my money
be more propense toward feathery scrapings,
I would rather conquer a mendicant by mendicancy.
By Pollux, never while alive will she deride me. For to me

515
decretumst renumerare iam omne aurum patri.
igitur mi inani atque inopi subblandibitur
tum quom blandiri nihilo pluris referet,
quam si ad sepulcrum mortuo narres logos.
[sed autem quam illa umquam meis opulentiis      519a
ramenta fiat gravior aut propensior,                      519b
mori me malim excruciatum inopia.]                     519c
profecto stabilest me patri aurum reddere.

515
it is decreed to pay back now all the gold to my father.
therefore, to me empty and in want, she will wheedle,
then, when to flatter will profit nothing more,
than if at a sepulcher you were telling logos to a dead man.
[but moreover, than that she ever, by my opulences,      519a
become heavier by filings or more propense,                      519b
I would rather die, excruciated by indigence.]                     519c
assuredly it is settled that I return the gold to my father.

eadem exorabo, Chrysalo causa mea
pater ne noceat, neu quid ei suscenseat
mea causa de auro quod eum ludificatus est;
nam illi aequomst me consulere, qui causa mea
mendacium ei dixit. vos me sequimini.—

I will beg the same thing: that my father, for my sake,
not harm Chrysalus, nor be incensed at him
on my account about the gold, because he deluded him;
for it is equitable that I look out for him who, for my sake,
told him a lie. You, follow me.—

525

III.v
PISTOCLERVS Rebus aliis antevortar, Bacchis, quae mandas mihi:
Mnesilochum ut requiram atque ut eum mecum ad te adducam simul.
nam illud animus meus miratur, si a me tetigit nuntius,
quid remoretur. ibo ut visam huc ad eum, si forte est domi.

3.5
PISTOCLERVS I will turn first to the other matters, Bacchis, which you mandate to me:
that I should seek Mnesilochus and bring him along with me to you at once.
for this my mind marvels at—if the messenger from me has reached him—
what is delaying him. I will go to see him, if by chance he is at home.

III.vi
MNESILOCHVS Reddidi patri omne aurum. nunc ego illam me velim

III.vi
MNESILOCHVS I have returned to my father all the gold. Now I would like that woman for myself

530
convenire, postquam inanis sum, contemptricem meam.
sed veniam mihi quam gravate pater dedit de Chrysalo;
verum postremo impetravi, ut ne quid ei suscenseat.
PIST. Estne hic meus sodalis?

530
to meet, now that I am empty, my contemptress.
But pardon my father gave me, how grudgingly, about Chrysalus;
yet at last I obtained that he not be incensed against him at all.
PIST. Is my comrade here?

MNES. Estne hic hostis, quem aspicio, meus?
PIST. Certe is est.MNES. Is est. PIST. Adibo contra et contollam gradum.

MNES. Is this enemy,
whom I behold, mine?
PIST. Surely he is.MNES. He is. PIST. I will go to meet him
and quicken my pace.

535
salvos sis, Mnesiloche. MNES. Salve.

535
May you be safe, Mnesilochus. MNES. Hail.

PIST. Salvos quom peregre advenis,
cena detur. MNES. Non placet mi cena quae bilem movet.
PIST. Numquae advenienti aegritudo obiecta est?

PIST. Since you come safe from abroad,
dinner should be given. MNES. A dinner which stirs up bile does not please me.
PIST. Has any sickness been thrown in the way to the one arriving?

MNES. Atque acerruma.
PIST. Vnde? MNES. Ab homine quem mi amicum esse arbitratus sum antidhac.

MNES. And a most severe one.
PIST. Whence? MNES. From a man whom I supposed to be a friend to me before this.

PIST. Multi more isto atque exemplo vivont, quos cum censeas

PIST. Many live by that custom and example, whom when you suppose

540
esse amicos, reperiuntur falsi falsimoniis,
lingua factiosi, inertes opera, sublesta fide.
nullus est quoi non invideant rem secundam optingere;
sibi ne invideatur, ipsi ignavia recte cavent.
MNES. Edepol ne tu illorum mores perquam meditate tenes.

540
to be friends, they are found false by falsimonies,
factious in tongue, inert in deed, of rather suspect faith.
there is no one to whom they do not envy a favorable fortune to befall;
so that envy not be felt toward themselves, by sloth they rightly take precautions.
MNES. By Pollux, indeed you grasp their ways exceedingly, and thoughtfully.

545
sed etiam unum hoc: ex ingenio malo malum inveniunt suo:
nulli amici sunt, inimicos ipsi in sese omnis habent.
ei se cum frustrantur, frustrari alios stolidi existumant.
sicut est hic, quem esse amicum ratus sum atque ipsus sum mihi:
ille, quod in se fuit, accuratum habuit quod posset mali

545
but also this one thing: out of their own ill nature they find evil for themselves:
they are friends to no one; they themselves have all as enemies against themselves.
when they frustrate themselves, as stolid men they suppose others to be frustrated.
just as this fellow here, whom I supposed to be a friend—and I myself am to myself:
he, so far as it was in him, had carefully arranged whatever evil he could

550
faceret in me, inconciliaret copias omnis meas.
PIST. Improbum istunc esse oportet hominem. MNES. Ego ita esse arbitror.

550
he would do against me, he would alienate all my resources.
PIST. That fellow must be a wicked man. MNES. I think it to be so.

PIST. Obsecro hercle loquere, quis is est. MNES. Benevolens vivit tibi.
nam ni ita esset, tecum orarem ut ei quod posses mali
facere faceres.

PIST. I beg, by Hercules, speak: who is he? MNES. He lives well-disposed toward you.
for if it were not so, I would beg you to do to him whatever harm you could
do.

PIST. Dic modo hominem qui sit: si non fecero

PIST. Only tell who the man is: if I do not do it

555
ei male aliquo pacto, me esse dicito ignavissimum.
MNES. Nequam homost, verum hercle amicus est tibi. PIST. Tanto magis
dic quis est; nequam hominis ego parvi pendo gratiam.

555
if I do not do him ill in some way, say that I am the most cowardly.
MNES. He is a worthless man, but by Hercules he is a friend to you. PIST. So much the more
tell who he is; the favor of a worthless man I set at little value.

MNES.Video non potesse quin tibi eius nomen eloquar.
Pistoclere, perdidisti me sodalem funditus.

MNES.I see it cannot be but that I speak out his name to you.
Pistoclerus, you have undone me, your comrade, from the foundation.

560
PIST. Quid istuc est? MNES. Quid est? misine ego ad te ex Epheso epistulam
super amica, ut mi invenires?

560
PIST. What is that? MNES. What is it? Did I not send to you from Ephesus a letter
about the girlfriend, that you might find her for me?

PIST. Fateor factum, et repperi.
MNES. Quid? tibi non erat meretricum aliarum Athenis copia
quibuscum haberes rem, nisi cum illa quam ego mandassem tibi
occiperes tute ~ amare et mi ires consultum male?

PIST. I admit the deed, and I found her.
MNES. What? Was there not at Athens a plenty of other courtesans
with whom you might have had a matter, unless you yourself should set about ~ to love the one whom I had commissioned to you,
and go to look out for me badly?

565
PIST. Sanun es? MNES. Rem repperi omnem ex tuo magistro. ne nega.
perdidisti me. PIST. Etiamne ultro tuis me prolectas probris?

565
PIST. Are you sane? MNES. I have discovered the whole affair from your master; do not deny it.
you have brought me to perdition. PIST. Do you even, unprovoked, assail me with your reproaches into the bargain?

Mnes. Quid? amas Bacchidem? PIST. Duas ergo hic intus eccas Bacchides.

Mnes. What? Do you love Bacchis? PIST. Then, look—there are two Bacchises in here.

M. Quid? duas? P. Atque ambas sorores.

M. What? two? P. And both sisters.

M. Loqueris nunc nugas sciens.
PIST. Postremo, si pergis parvam mihi fidem arbitrarier,

M. You are knowingly talking nonsense now.
PIST. Finally, if you persist in judging little faith in me,

570
tollam ego ted in collum atque intro hinc auferam. M. Immo ibo, mane.
PIST. Non maneo, neque tu me habebis falso suspectum.

570
I’ll hoist you onto my neck and carry you in from here. M. No rather, I’ll go—stay.
PIST. I am not staying, nor shall you hold me under false suspicion.

M. Sequor.—

M. I follow.—

ACTVS IV

ACT 4

IV.i
PARASITVS Parasitus ego sum hominis nequam atque improbi,
militis, qui amicam secum avexit ex Samo.
nunc me ire iussit ad eam et percontarier,

4.1
PARASITE I am the parasite of a worthless and wicked man,
a soldier, who has carried off his girlfriend with him from Samos.
now he has ordered me to go to her and to inquire,

575
utrum aurum reddat anne eat secum semul.
tu dudum, puere, cum illac usque isti semul:
quae harum sunt aedes, pulta. adi actutum ad fores.

575
whether she render back the gold or go along with him together.
you right now, boy, go that way all the way along with him together:
whichever of these is her house, knock. Go straightway to the doors.

recede hinc dierecte. ut pulsat propudium!
comesse panem tris pedes latum potes,

recede from here, straight-on. how the abomination batters!
you are able to consume bread three feet broad,

580
fores pultare nescis. ecquis in aedibust?
heus, ecquis hic est?

580
you don’t know how to knock on doors. is anyone in the house?
hey, is anyone here?

ecquis hoc aperit ostium?
ecquis exit?

Is anyone opening this door?
Is anyone coming out?

IV.ii
PISTOCLERVS Quid istuc? quae istaec est pulsatio?
*** quae te mala crux agitat, qui ad istunc modum
alieno viris tuas extentes ostio?

IV.ii
PISTOCLERVS What’s that? what is this knocking?
*** what cursed gallows drives you, that in this fashion
you are stretching out your forces at another’s door?

585
fores paene exfregisti. quid nunc vis tibi?
PAR. Adulescens, salve.

585
you almost broke down the doors. what do you want now?
PAR. young man, hail.

PIST. Salve. sed quem quaeritas?
PAR. Bacchidem.

PIST. Greetings. But whom do you seek?
PAR. Bacchis.

PIST. Vtram ergo? PAR. Nil scio nisi Bacchidem.
paucis: me misit miles ad eam Cleomachus,
vel ut ducentos Philippos reddat aureos

PIST. Which one, then? PAR. I know nothing except Bacchis.
in brief: the soldier Cleomachus sent me to her,
either that she return two hundred golden Philippi

590
vel ut hinc in Elatiam hodie eat secum semul.
PIST. Non it. negat se ituram. abi et renuntia.

590
or that she go from here to Elatia today together with him at once.
PIST. She is not going. She denies she will go. Go away and report back.

alium illa amat, non illum. duc te ab aedibus.
PAR. Nimis iracunde.

she loves another, not him. take yourself away from the house.
PAR. Too irately.

PIST. At scin quam iracundus siem?
ne tibi hercle haud longe est os ab infortunio,

PIST. But do you know how irascible I am?
by Hercules, your mouth is not far from misfortune,

595
ita dentifrangibula haec meis manibus gestiunt.
PAR. Cum ego huius verba interpretor, mihi cautiost,
ne nucifrangibula excussit ex malis meis.
tuo ego istaec igitur dicam illi periculo.

595
thus these tooth-breakers are eager in my hands.
PAR. When I interpret this fellow’s words, I must be cautious,
lest he knock the nut-crackers out of my cheeks.
therefore I will say those things to him at your peril.

PIST. Quid ais tu? PAR. Ego istuc illi dicam. PIST. Dic mihi,

PIST. What are you saying? PAR. I will tell him that. PIST. Tell me,

600
quis tu es? PAR. Illius sum integumentum corporis.
PIST. Nequam esse oportet cui tu integumentum improbu's.
PAR. Sufflatus ille huc veniet. PIST. Dirrumptum velim.

600
who are you? PAR. I am the integument of his body.
PIST. He must be a good-for-nothing, he for whom you are the integument, you being a wicked one.
PAR. Puffed-up, he will come here. PIST. I would wish him burst asunder.

PAR. Numquid vis? PIST. Abeas. celeriter factost opus.

PAR. Do you want anything? PIST. Be off. There's urgent work to be done.

PAR. Vale, dentifrangibule.— PIST. Et tu, integumentum, vale.

PAR. Farewell, tooth-breaker.— PIST. And you, integument, farewell.

605
in eum nunc haec res venit locum, ut quid consili
dem meo sodali super amica nesciam,
qui iratus renumeravit omne aurum patri,
neque nummus ullust qui reddatur militi.
sed huc concedam, nam concrepuerunt fores.

605
now this matter has come to such a pass, that I do not know what counsel
to give my comrade about his girlfriend,
who in anger renumerated all the gold to his father,
and there is not a single coin that can be rendered to the soldier.
but I'll withdraw here, for the doors have creaked.

610
Mnesilochus eccum maestus progreditur foras.

610
Here is Mnesilochus, sad, coming forth outside.

IV.iii
MNESILOCHVS Petulans, protervo iracundo animo, indomito incogitato,
sine modo et modestia sum, sine bono iure atque honore,
incredibilis imposque animi, inamabilis inlepidus vivo,
malevolente ingenio natus. postremo id mi est quod volo

IV.iii
MNESILOCHVS Petulant, with an insolent irascible spirit, untamed, incogitate,
I am without measure and modesty, without good right and honor,
incredible and not in command of my mind, I live unlovable, un-lovely,
born with a malevolent nature. Finally, I have what I want

615
ego esse aliis. credibile hoc est? 615a
nequior nemost neque indignior quoi
di bene faciant neque quem quisquam 616a
homo aut amet aut adeat.
inimicos quam amicos aequomst med habere,
malos quam bonos par magis me iuvare.

615
—that I be so for others. Is this believable? 615a
There is no one more wicked nor more unworthy for whom
the gods should do well, nor anyone whom any man 616a
either would love or would approach.
It is just that I have enemies rather than friends,
that the bad rather than the good, equally more, help me.

omnibus probris, quae improbis viris

with all the opprobrium that to wicked men

620
digna sunt, dignior nullus est homo;
qui patri reddidi omne aurum amans, <mihi>
quod fuit prae manu. sumne ego homo miser?
perdidi me simulque operam Chrysali.

620
they are worthy; no man is more worthy;
I—being in love—who returned to my father all the gold
that was ready to hand for me. Am I a wretched man?
I have ruined myself, and at the same time the effort of Chrysalus.

PI. Consolandus hic mist, ibo ad eum.

PI. This one is to be consoled; I will go to him.

625
Mnesiloche, quid fit? MN. Perii.
PI. Di melius faciant.

625
Mnesilochus, what is happening? MN. I am ruined.
PI. May the gods make it better.

MN. Perii. 626a
PI. Non taces, insipiens? MN. Taceam?
PI. Sanus satis non es. MN. Perii. 627a
multa mala mi in pectore nunc acria atque acerba eveniunt.

MN. I have perished. 626a
PI. Won’t you be silent, fool? MN. Should I be silent?
PI. You are not quite sane. MN. I have perished. 627a
many sharp and bitter evils are now coming upon me in my breast.

criminin me habuisse fidem? immerito tibi iratus fui.
PI. Heia, bonum habe animum.

Did I have faith in the accusation? I was angry with you undeservedly.
PI. Hey, have good spirit.

MN. Vnde habeam? mortuos pluris pretist

MN. Whence am I to have it? dead men
are of greater price

630
quam ego sum. PI. Militis parasitus venerat modo aurum petere hinc,
eum ego meis dictis malis his foribus atque hac <platea abegi>;
reppuli, reieci hominem. MN. Quid mi id prodest?

630
than I am. PI. The soldier’s parasite had just now come to seek gold from here,
him I, with my evil words, from these doors and from this <street I drove him off>;
I repelled him, I rejected the fellow. MN. What does that profit me?

<quom ipse veniet,>
quid faciam? nil habeo miser. ille quidem hanc abducet, scio.

<when he himself comes,>
what am I to do? wretched, I have nothing. he indeed will abduct her, I know.

PI. Si mihi sit, non pollicear. MN. Scio, dares, novi <tuom>.

PI. If it were mine, I would not be promising. MN. I know—you would give; I know your nature.

635
sed nisi ames, non habeam tibi fidem tantam; <eo quod amas tamen>
nunc agitas sat tute tuarum rerum; <sin liber sies>
egone ut opem mi ferre posse putem inopem te? <non potest>.
PI. Tace modo: deus respiciet nos aliquis. MN. Nugae. <vale>. 638a
P. Mane.

635
but unless you were in love, I would not have such trust in you; <because you are in love, however>
now you manage quite enough of your own affairs yourself; <but if you were free>
that I should think that you, being without means, could bring help to me? <it cannot be>.
PI. Just be silent: some god will look upon us. MN. Nonsense. <farewell>. 638a
P. Wait.

M. Quid est? P. Tuam copiam eccam Chrysalum video. <tace.>

M. What is it? P. Look—your chance, Chrysalus;
I see it. <be quiet.>

IV.iv
CHRYSALVS Hunc hominem decet auro expendi, huic decet statuam statui ex
auro;
nam duplex hodie facinus feci, duplicibus spoliis sum adfectus.
erum maiorem meum ut ego hodie lusi lepide, ut ludificatust.
callidum senem callidis dolis
compuli et perpuli, mi omnia ut crederet.

4.4
CHRYSALUS This man it befits to be weighed out in gold, for him it befits that a statue be set up of
gold;
for today I have done a double deed, I have been endowed with double spoils.
how cleverly I played my elder master today, how he has been made sport of.
the crafty old man with crafty deceits I compelled and even drove through, to believe everything to me.

nunc amanti ero filio senis,

now for the amorous master, the old man's son,

645
quicum ego bibo, quicum edo et amo,
regias copias aureasque optuli,
ut domo sumeret neu foris quaereret.
non mihi isti placent Parmenones, Syri,
qui duas aut tris minas auferunt eris.

645
with whom I drink, with whom I eat and love,
I have offered regal and golden supplies,
so that he might take from home and not seek abroad.
those Parmenons, Syrians, do not please me,
who carry off two or three minas from their masters.

650
nequius nil est quam egens consili servos, nisi
habet multipotens pectus:
ubicumque usus siet, pectore expromat suo.
nullus frugi esse potest homo,
nisi qui et bene et male facere tenet.

650
nothing is more good-for-nothing than a slave in want of counsel, unless
he has a multi-potent heart:
wherever there is need, let him bring it forth from his own breast.
no man can be a man of worth,
unless he holds the skill to do both good and ill.

655
improbis cum improbus sit, harpaget furibus,
furetur quod queat,
vorsipellem frugi convenit esse hominem,
pectus quoi sapit: bonus sit bonis, malus sit malis; 659-660
utcumque res sit, ita animum habeat.

655
let him, being unscrupulous with the unscrupulous, harry thieves,
steal whatever he can,
it befits a man to be versipellous for advantage,
whose breast is wise: let him be good with the good, let him be bad with the bad; 659-660
however the matter stands, so let him hold his mind.

662
sed lubet scire quantum aurum erus sibi
dempsit et quid suo reddidit patri.
si frugi est, Herculem fecit ex patre:

662
but it pleases me to know how much gold the master took off for himself
and what he returned to his own father.
if he is frugal, he has made a Hercules out of his father:

665
decimam partem ei dedit, sibi novem abstulit.
sed quem quaero optume eccum obviam mihi est.
num qui nummi exciderunt, ere, tibi,
quod sic terram optuere? 668a
quid vos maestos tam tristesque esse conspicor?

665
he gave him a tenth part, took nine for himself.
but the one whom I seek—excellent—here he is to meet me.
have some coins fallen out, master, for you,
since you behold the ground so? 668a
why do I perceive you to be so gloomy and so sad?

non placet nec temere est etiam. quin mihi respondetis?
MNES. Chrysale, occidi.

It does not please, nor is it even rash. Why do you not answer me?
MNES. Chrysale, I am slain.

CHRYS. Fortassis tu auri dempsisti parum?
MNES. Quam, malum, parum? immo vero nimio minus multo parum.

CHRYS. Perhaps you deducted too little of the gold?
MNES. What, the devil, “too little”? Nay indeed—by far, by much, too little.

CHRYS. Quid igitur, stulte? <an tu,> quoniam occasio ad eam rem fuit
mea virtute parta, ut quantum velles tantum sumeres,
sic hoc digitulis duobus sumebas primoribus?

CHRYS. What then, fool? <Or you,> since the occasion for that matter was won by my virtue, so that you might take as much as you wished, were you thus taking it with your two foremost little fingers?

675
an nescibas quam eius modi homini raro tempus se daret?
MNES. Erras. CHRYS. At quidem tute errasti, cum parum immersti ampliter.

675
Or did you not know how rarely time offered itself to a man of that sort?
MNES. You err. CHRYS. But indeed you yourself have erred, in that you did not immerse amply enough.

MNES. Pol tu quam nunc med accuses magis, si magis rem noveris.
occidi. CHRYS. Animus iam istoc dicto plus praesagitur mali.

MNES. By Pollux, you would accuse me even more than you do now, if you knew the matter better.
I am done for. CHRYS. My mind already, from that word, presages more evil.

MNES. Perii. CHRYS. Quid ita? MNES. Quia patri omne cum ramento reddidi.

MNES. I’m ruined. CHRYS. Why so? MNES. Because to my father I returned everything, down to the last scrap.

680
CHRYS. Reddidisti? M. Reddidi. C. Omnene?

680
CHRYS. Did you give it back? M. I gave it back. C. All of it?

M. Oppido. C. Occisi sumus.
qui in mentem venit tibi istuc facinus facere tam malum?

M. Absolutely. C. We are slain.
How did it come into your mind to commit such a wicked deed?

MNES. Bacchidem atque hunc suspicabar propter crimen, Chrysale,
mi male consuluisse: ob eam rem omne aurum iratus reddidi
meo patri. CHRYS. Quid, ubi reddebas aurum, dixisti patri?

MNES. Bacchis and this fellow I was suspecting, on account of the charge, Chrysalus, that you had counseled me ill; for that reason, irate, I returned all the gold to my father. CHRYS. What—when you were returning the gold—did you say to your father?

685
MNES. Me id aurum accepisse extemplo ab hospite Archidemide. CHRYS. Em,
istoc dicto dedisti hodie in cruciatum Chrysalum;
nam ubi me aspiciet, ad carnuficem rapiet continuo senex.
MNES. Ego patrem exoravi.

685
MNES. That I received that gold immediately from my guest-friend Archidemides. CHRYS. See,
by that statement you have delivered Chrysalus today into torment;
for when he sees me, the old man will straightway drag me to the executioner. MNES. I have entreated my father.

CHRYS. Nempe ergo hoc ut faceret quod loquor?
MNES. Immo tibi ne noceat neu quid ob eam rem suscenseat;

CHRYS. Surely then, that he should do this which I am saying?
MNES. No indeed, so that it may not harm you, and that he not be angry at anything on that account;

690
atque aegre impetravi. nunc hoc tibi curandumst, Chrysale.
CHRYS. Quid vis curem?

690
and I obtained it with difficulty. now this must be taken care of by you, Chrysalus.
CHRYS. What do you wish me to take care of?

MNES. Vt ad senem etiam alteram facias viam.
compara, fabricare finge quod lubet, conglutina,
ut senem hodie doctum docte fallas aurumque auferas.
CHRYS. Vix videtur fieri posse.

MNES. That you also make a second way to the old man.
prepare, fabricate, feign what you please, conglutinate,
so that today you may learnedly deceive the learned old man and carry off the gold.
CHRYS. It scarcely seems it can be done.

MNES. Perge, ac facile ecfeceris.

MNES. Proceed, and easily you will have effected it.

695
CHRYS. Quam, malum, facile, quem mendaci prendit manufesto modo?
quem si orem ut mihi nil credat, id non ausit credere.
MNES. Immo si audias quae dicta dixit me adversum tibi.

695
CHRYS. How, the devil, is it easy—the one whom he has just now caught manifestly in a lie?
the one who, if I should beg that he believe nothing of me, would not dare to believe even that.
MNES. Nay rather, if you heard what words he said against me to you.

CHRYS. Quid dixit? MNES. Si tu illum solem sibi solem esse diceres,
se illum lunam credere esse et noctem qui nunc est dies.

CHRYS. What did he say? MNES. If you were to say that that sun is a sun for him,
he would believe it to be a moon, and that what is now day is night.

700
CHRYS. Emungam hercle hominem probe hodie, ne id nequiquam dixerit.
MNES. Nunc quid nos vis facere? CHRYS. Enim nil nisi ut ametis impero.

700
CHRYS. By Hercules, I will fleece the fellow thoroughly today, so that he may not have said that in vain.
MNES. Now what do you wish us to do? CHRYS. Indeed nothing except that you love do I command.

ceterum quantum lubet me poscitote aurum: ego dabo.
quid mihi refert Chrysalo esse nomen, nisi factis probo?
sed nunc quantillum usust auri tibi, Mnesiloche?

but moreover, ask me for as much gold as you please: I will give.
What does it matter to me to have the name Chrysalus, unless I prove it by deeds?
But now how much gold is there need of for you, Mnesilochus?

dic mihi.

tell me.

705
MNES. Militi nummis ducentis iam usus est pro Bacchide.
CHRYS. Ego dabo. MNES. Tum nobis opus est sumptu.

705
MNES. For the soldier there is already need of two hundred coins for Bacchis.
CHRYS. I will give. MNES. Then we have need of an expenditure.

C. Ah, placide volo
unum quidque agamus: hoc ubi egero, tum istuc agam.
de ducentis nummis primum intendam ballistam in senem;
ea ballista si pervortam turrim et propugnacula,

C. Ah, calmly I want
let us do each thing: when I have done this, then I will do that.
about the two hundred coins, first I will aim the ballista at the old man;
if with that ballista I overturn the tower and the ramparts,

710
recta porta invadam extemplo in oppidum anticum et vetus:
si id capso, geritote amicis vostris aurum corbibus,
sicut animus sperat. PIST. Apud test animus noster, Chrysale.
CHRYS. Nunc tu abi intro, Pistoclere, ad Bacchidem, atque ecfer cito
PIST. Quid?

710
straight through the gate I will storm at once into the old and ancient town:
if I capture it, carry to your friends gold in baskets,
as my spirit hopes. PIST. Our spirit is with you, Chrysalus. CHRYS. Now you go inside, Pistoclerus, to Bacchis, and bring out
quickly
PIST. What?

C. Stilum, ceram et tabellas, linum. P. Iam faxo hic erunt.—

C. A stylus, wax and tablets, linen. P. Now I’ll see to it they’re here.—

715
MNES. Quid nunc es facturus? id mihi dice. CHRYS. Coctumst prandium?

715
MNES. What are you going to do now? Tell me that. CHRYS. Is the lunch cooked?

vos duo eritis atque amica tua erit tecum tertia?
MNES. Sicut dicis. CHRYS. Pistoclero nulla amica est?

will there be the two of you, and will your girlfriend be with you as the third?
MNES. As you say. CHRYS. Has Pistoclerus no girlfriend?

M. Immo adest.
alteram ille amat sororem, ego alteram, ambas Bacchides.
CHRYS. Quid tu loquere?

M. Rather, she is here.
He loves one sister, I the other, both Bacchises.
CHRYS. What are you talking about?

MNES. Hoc, ut futuri sumus. CHRYS. Vbist

MNES. Just so, as we are going to be. CHRYS. Where is she?

720
biclinium
vobis stratum? MNES. Quid id exquaeris? CHRYS. Res itast, dici volo.

720
a biclinium
laid for you? MNES. What are you asking that for? CHRYS. The matter is so; I want it said.

nescis quid ego acturus sim nec facinus quantum exordiar.
MNES. Cedo manum ac subsequere propius me ad fores. intro inspice.

you do not know what I am going to do, nor how great a deed I am about to begin.
MNES. Give your hand and follow closer with me to the doors. Look inside.

CHRYS. Euax, nimis bellus atque ut esse maxume optabam locus. 724-725
PIST. Quae imperavisti. imperatum bene bonis factum ilicost.

CHRYS. Hurrah, a very fine place, and just as I most desired it to be. 724-725
PIST. What you ordered: the command has been well done on the spot by good men.

726
CHRYS. Quid parasti? PIST. Quae parari tu iussisti omnia.
CHRYS. Cape stilum propere et tabellas tu has tibi.

726
CHRYS. What have you prepared? PIST. Everything which you ordered to be prepared.
CHRYS. Take the stylus quickly, and take these tablets for yourself.

MNES. Quid postea?
CHRYS. Quod iubebo scribito istic. nam propterea <te> volo
scribere, ut pater cognoscat litteras quando legat.

MNES. What next?
CHRYS. Write there what I will order. For that reason I want <te> to write,
so that father may recognize the letters when he reads.

730
scribe. MNES. Quid scribam? CHRYS. Salutem tuo patri verbis tuis.

730
write. MNES. What shall I write? CHRYS. A greeting to your father in your own words.

PIST. Quid si potius morbum mortem scribat? id erit rectius.
C. Ne interturba.

PIST. What if rather he should write “illness, death”? that will be more correct.
C. Do not confuse things.

M. Iam imperatum in cera inest. C. Dic quem ad modum.
MNES. 'Mnesilochus salutem dicit suo patri.' CHRYS. Adscribe hoc cito:
'Chrysalus mihi usque quaque loquitur nec recte, pater,

M. Now what was commanded is on the wax. C. Tell how.
MNES. 'Mnesilochus sends greetings to his father.' CHRYS. Add this quickly:
'Chrysalus keeps talking to me at every turn, and not rightly, father,

735
quia tibi aurum reddidi et quia non te fraudaverim.'
PIST. Mane dum scribit. CHRYS. Celerem oportet esse amatoris manum.
P. Atque ~ idem hercle em perdundum magis quam ad scribundumst cito.

735
because I have rendered back the gold to you and because I have not defrauded you.'
PIST. Wait while he writes. CHRYS. A lover’s hand ought to be swift.
P. And ~ indeed, by Hercules, the same is quicker for squandering it than for writing quickly.

M. Loquere. hoc scriptumst. C. 'Nunc, pater mi, proin tu ab eo ut caveas tibi,
sycophantias componit, aurum ut abs ted auferat;

M. Speak. This is written. C. 'Now, my father, therefore see that you beware of him,
he is composing sycophancies, to carry off the gold from you;'

740
et profecto se ablaturum dixit.' plane adscribito.
MNES. Dic modo. CHRYS. 'Atque id pollicetur se daturum aurum mihi,
quod dem scortis quodque in lustris comedim congraecem, pater.

740
and indeed he said that he would carry it off.' plainly write that in.
MNES. Just say. CHRYS. 'And he promises that he will give the gold to me,
to give to harlots and to eat it up and carouse in brothels, father.

sed, pater, vide ne tibi hodie verba det: quaeso cave.'
M. Loquere porro. C. Adscribe dum etiam. M. Loquere quid scribam modo.

but, father, see that he doesn’t give you words today: I beg, beware.'
M. Speak on. C. Write this down as well, do. M. Speak what I am to write now.

745
CHRYS. 'Sed, pater, quod promisisti mihi, te quaeso ut memineris,
ne illum verberes; verum apud te vinctum adservato domi.'
cedo tu ceram ac linum actutum. age obliga, obsigna cito.
MNES. Obsecro, quid istis ad istunc usust conscriptis modum,
ut tibi ne quid credat atque ut vinctum te adservet domi?

745
CHRYS. 'But, father, as to what you promised me, I beg you to remember,
not to scourge him; rather keep him bound in custody at your house.'
come, you, hand over the wax and the flax at once. Come, bind it, seal it quickly.
MNES. I beseech you, what is the use to that fellow of these things written in this manner,
that he should not trust you in anything and that he should keep you bound at home?

750
CHRYS. Quia mi ita lubet. potin ut cures te atque ut ne parcas mihi?
mea fiducia opus conduxi et meo periclo rem gero.

750
CHRYS. Because it so pleases me. Could you look after yourself and not spare me?
On my own confidence I have contracted the work, and at my own peril I conduct the affair.

MNES. Aequom dicis. C. Cedo tabellas. M. Accipe.

MNES. You say what is fair. C. Hand over the tablets. M. Take them.

C. Animum advortite.
Mnesiloche et tu, Pistoclere, iam facite in biclinio
cum amica sua uterque accubitum eatis, ita negotiumst,

C. Pay attention.
Mnesilochus, and you, Pistoclerus, now see to it that on the biclinium
each with his own girlfriend you go to recline; such is the business,

755
atque ibidem ubi nunc sunt lecti strati potetis cito.
PIST. Numquid aliud? CHRYS. Hoc, atque etiam: ubi erit accubitum semel,
ne quoquam exsurgatis, donec a me erit signum datum.

755
and right there where the couches are now spread, you will be able to drink quickly.
PIST. Anything else? CHRYS. This, and furthermore: once you have reclined,
do not get up at all, until a signal has been given by me.

PIST. O imperatorem probum! CHRYS. Iam bis bibisse oportuit.
MNES. Fugimus.—

PIST. O an upright commander! CHRYS. By now you ought to have drunk twice.
MNES. We flee.—

IV.v
CHRYS. Vos vostrum curate officium, ego efficiam meum.

4.5
CHRYS. You take care of your duty, I will accomplish mine.

760
insanum magnum molior negotium,
metuoque ut hodie possiem emolirier.
sed nunc truculento mi atque saevo usus senest;
nam non conducit huic sycophantiae
senem tranquillum esse ubi me aspexerit.

760
I am contriving an insane great business,
and I fear that today I may not be able to work it out.
but now I have for my use an old man, truculent and savage;
for it does not conduce to this sycophancy that the old man be tranquil when he has caught sight of me.

765
versabo ego illum hodie, si vivo, probe.
tam frictum ego illum reddam quam frictum est cicer.
adambulabo ad ostium, ut, quando exeat,
extemplo advenienti ei tabellas dem in manum.

765
I will turn him about today, if I live, thoroughly.
I will render him as fried as a chickpea is fried.
I will walk up and down by the doorway, so that, whenever he comes out,
at once, as he arrives, I may give the tablets into his hand.

IV.vi
NICOBVLVS Nimium illaec res est magnae dividiae mihi,

IV.vi
NICOBVLVS That matter is far too great a vexation to me,

770
supterfugisse sic mihi hodie Chrysalum.
CHRYS. Salvos sum, iratus est senex. nunc est mihi
adeundi ad hominem tempus.

770
that Chrysalus has slipped away from me like this today.
CHRYS. I am safe; the old man is irate. now it is time for me
to approach the man.

NIC. Quis loquitur prope?
atque hic quidem, opinor, Chrysalust. CHRYS. Accessero.

NIC. Who is speaking nearby?
and this one here indeed, I think, is Chrysalus. CHRYS. I will approach.

NIC. Bone serve, salve. quid fit? quam mox navigo

NIC. Good servant, greetings. What is happening? How soon do I sail?

775
in Ephesum, ut aurum repetam ab Theotimo domum?
taces? per omnis deos adiuro, ut ni meum
gnatum tam amem atque ei facta cupiam quae is velit,
ut tua iam virgis latera lacerentur probe 779-780
ferratusque in pistrino aetatem conteras.

775
to Ephesus, to reclaim the gold from Theotimus—home?
you’re silent? by all the gods I swear, that if I did not
love my son so much and desire deeds to be done for him which he wants,
that your flanks would now be thoroughly lacerated with rods, 779-780
and, iron-shackled, you would grind away your lifetime in the mill-house.

781
omnia rescivi scelera ex Mnesilocho tua.
CHRYS. Men criminatust? optimest: ego sum malus,
ego sum sacer, scelestus.

781
I have found out all your crimes from Mnesilochus.
CHRYS. Has he criminated me? Excellent: I am bad,
I am accursed, a scelerate.

specta rem modo;
ego verbum faciam <nullum>. NIC. Etiam, carnufex,

just watch the matter;
I will speak not a word. NIC. Yes, you hangman,

785
minitare? CHRYS. Nosces tu illum actutum qualis sit.
nunc has tabellas ferre me iussit tibi.

785
are you threatening? CHRYS. You will know him straightway, what sort he is.
now he has ordered me to bring these tablets to you.

orabat, quod istic esset scriptum ut fieret.
NIC. Cedo. CHRYS. Nosce signum.

he was beseeching that what was written there should be done.
NIC. Hand it over. CHRYS. Recognize the sign.

NIC. Novi. ubi ipse est? CHRYS. Nescio.

NIC. I know. where is he himself? CHRYS. I do not know.

nil iam me oportet scire. oblitus sum omnia.

I no longer need to know anything. I have forgotten everything.

790
scio me esse servom. nescio etiam id quod scio.
nunc ab trasenna hic turdus lumbricum petit;
pendebit hodie pulcre, ita intendi tenus.

790
I know that I am a slave. I do not know even that which I know.
now from the lattice here this thrush seeks a worm;
he will hang today neatly, thus stretched to the limit.

NIC. Mane dum parumper; iam exeo ad te, Chrysale.—
CHRYS. Vt verba mihi dat, ut nescio quam rem gerat.

NIC. Wait just a little; I’m coming out to you now, Chrysale.—
CHRYS. How he gives me words, how he is carrying on I-know-not-what affair.

795
servos arcessit intus qui me vinciant.
bene navis agitatur, pulcre haec confertur ratis.
sed conticiscam, nam audio aperiri fores.

795
He is summoning the servants inside to bind me.
The ship is being well driven; this raft is being nicely packed tight.
But I will fall silent, for I hear the doors being opened.

IV.vii
NIC. Constringe tu illi, Artamo, actutum manus.
CHRYS. Quid feci? NIC. Impinge pugnum, si muttiverit.

4.7
NIC. You, Artamo, tie his hands at once.
CHRYS. What have I done? NIC. Plant your fist if he so much as mutters.

800
quid hae locuntur litterae? CHRYS. Quid me rogas?
ut ab illo accepi, ad te obsignatas attuli.

800
what do these letters say? CHRYS. Why do you ask me?
just as I received them from him, I have brought them to you sealed.

NIC. Eho tu, *** loquitatusne es gnato meo
male per sermonem, quia mi id aurum reddidit,
et te dixisti id aurum ablaturum tamen

NIC. Hey you, ***, have you spoken ill to my son
through your discourse, because he returned that gold to me,
and you said that you would carry off that gold nevertheless

805
per sycophantiam? CHRYS. Egone istuc dixi? NIC. Ita.

805
by sycophancy? CHRYS. Did I say that? NIC. Yes.

CHRYS. Quis homost qui dicat me dixisse istuc? NIC. Tace,
nullus homo dicit: hae tabellae te arguont,
quas tu attulisti. em hae te vinciri iubent.

CHRYS. Who is the man who says that I said that? NIC. Hush,
no man says it: these tablets arraign you,
which you brought. Look—these order you to be bound.

CHRYS. Aha, Bellorophontem tuos me fecit filius:

CHRYS. Aha, your son has made me a Bellerophon:

810
egomet tabellas tetuli ut vincirer. sine.
NIC. Propterea hoc facio, ut suadeas gnato meo
ut pergraecetur tecum, tervenefice.

810
I myself carried the tablets so that I might be bound. Leave it.
NIC. For this reason I do this: so that you may persuade my son to play the Greek with you, thrice-poisoner.

CHRYS. O stulte, stulte, nescis nunc venire te;
atque in eopse adstas lapide, ut praeco praedicat.

CHRYS. O fool, fool, you don’t know you’re now being sold;
and you stand on the very stone, as the crier proclaims.

815
NIC. Responde: quis me vendit? CHRYS. Quem di diligunt
adulescens moritur, dum valet sentit sapit.
hunc si ullus deus amaret, plus annis decem,
plus iam viginti mortuom esse oportuit:
terrai odium ambulat, iam nil sapit

815
NIC. Answer: who is selling me? CHRYS. He whom the gods love dies a youth, while he is sound, sentient, and sapient.
If any god loved this man, more than ten years—more than twenty already—he ought to have been dead:
a walking hatred of the earth; now he has no sense

820
nec sentit, tantist quantist fungus putidus.
NIC. Tun terrae me odium esse autumas? abducite hunc
intro atque adstringite ad columnam fortiter.

820
nor does he perceive; he is worth as much as a putrid fungus.
NIC. Do you think that I am the earth’s hatred? Lead this fellow inside and fasten him to a column firmly.

numquam auferes hinc aurum. CHRYS. At qui iam dabis.
NIC. Dabo?

you will never carry off the gold from here. CHRYS. But indeed now you will give it.
NIC. Shall I give it?

CHRYS. Atque orabis me quidem ultro ut auferam,

CHRYS. And you will indeed beg me unbidden to take it away,

825
cum illum rescisces criminatorem meum
quanto in periclo et quanta in pernicie siet.
tum libertatem Chrysalo largibere;
ego adeo numquam accipiam. NIC. Dic, scelerum caput,
dic, quo in periclo est meus Mnesilochus filius?

825
when you find out that accuser of mine,
in how great a peril and in how great a perdition he is.
then you will bestow liberty upon Chrysalus;
I indeed will never accept it. NIC. Speak, head of crimes,
speak, in what peril is my son Mnesilochus?

830
CHRYS. Sequere hac me, faxo iam scies. NIC. Quo gentium?
CHRYS. Tres unos passus.

830
CHRYS. Follow me this way; I’ll make sure you know at once. NIC. Where in the world?
CHRYS. Three single steps.

NIC. Vel decem. CHRYS. Agedum tu, Artamo,
forem hanc pauxillum aperi; placide, ne crepa;
sat est. accede huc tu. viden convivium?

NIC. Even ten. CHRYS. Come now, you, Artamo,
open this door a little; quietly, don’t let it creak;
that’s enough. Come over here, you. Do you see the banquet?

NIC. Video exadvorsum Pistoclerum et Bacchidem.

NIC. I see Pistoclerus and Bacchis straight opposite.

835
CHRYS. Qui sunt in lecto illo altero? NIC. Interii miser.
CHRYS. Novistine hominem?

835
CHRYS. Who are on that other couch? NIC. I have perished—miserable me.
CHRYS. Do you know the man?

NIC. Novi. CHRYS. Dic sodes mihi,
bellan videtur specie mulier? NIC. Admodum.

NIC. I know him. CHRYS. Tell me, please,
does the woman seem beautiful in appearance? NIC. Very much.

CHRYS. Quid illam, meretricemne esse censes? NIC. Quippini?
CHRYS. Frustra es. NIC. Quis igitur obsecrost?

CHRYS. What about her—do you think she’s a prostitute? NIC. Why not?
CHRYS. You’re wrong. NIC. Who, then, pray, is she?

CHRYS. Inveneris.

CHRYS. You’ll find out.

840
ex me quidem hodie numquam fies certior.

840
from me indeed today you will never become more certain.

IV.viii
CLEOMACHVS Meamne hic Mnesilochus, Nicobuli filius,
per vim ut retineat mulierem? quae haec factiost?
NIC. Quis illest?

4.8
CLEOMACHUS Is this Mnesilochus here, son of Nicobulus,
to detain my woman by force? what deed is this?
NIC. Who is that man?

CHRYS. Per tempus hic venit miles mihi.
CLEOM. Non me arbitratur militem, sed mulierem,

CHRYS. This soldier has come to me in good time.
CLEOM. He does not think me a soldier, but a woman,

845
qui me meosque non queam defendere.
nam neque Bellona mi umquam neque Mars creduat,
ni illum exanimalem faxo, si convenero,
nive exheredem fecero vitae suae.
NIC. Chrysale, quis ille est qui minitatur filio?

845
that I cannot defend myself and my own.
for neither Bellona ever nor Mars may give credence to me,
unless I make that man exanimate, if I meet him,
or unless I have disinherited him of his own life.
NIC. Chrysalus, who is that who threatens my son?

850
CHRYS. Vir hic est illius mulieris quacum accubat.
NIC. Quid, vir? CHRYS. Vir, inquam.

850
CHRYS. This man is the husband of that woman with whom he lies.
NIC. What, the husband? CHRYS. The husband, I say.

NIC. Nuptanest illa, obsecro?
CHRYS. Scies haud multo post. NIC. Oppido interii miser.

NIC. Is she married, I beseech you?
CHRYS. You will know very soon. NIC. I am utterly done for, poor wretch.

CHRYS. Quid nunc? scelestus tibi videtur Chrysalus?
age nunc vincito me, auscultato filio.

CHRYS. What now? Does Chrysalus seem wicked to you?
come now, bind me, listen to your son.

855
dixin tibi ego illum inventurum te qualis sit?
NIC. Quid nunc ego faciam? CHRYS. Iube sis me exsolvi cito;
nam ni ego exsolvor, iam manufesto hominem opprimet.

855
Did I tell you that he would find you out—what sort you are?
NIC. What am I to do now? CHRYS. Order me, please, to be released quickly;
for if I am not released, right now he will catch the man in the very act.

CLEOM. Nihil est lucri quod me hodie facere mavelim,
quam illum cubantem cum illa opprimere, ambo ut necem.

CLEOM. There is nothing of profit that I would rather do today,
than to catch him lying with her and crush them, both unto death.

860
CHRYS. Audin quae loquitur? quin tu me exsolvi iubes?
NIC. Exsolvite istum.

860
CHRYS. Do you hear what he's saying? Why don't you order me to be unbound?
NIC. Unbind that man.

perii, pertimui miser.
CLEOM. Tum illam, quae corpus publicat volgo suom,
faxo se haud dicat nactam quem derideat.
CHRYS. Pacisci cum illo paulula pecunia

I have perished; I was greatly afraid, poor wretch.
CLEOM. Then that woman, who makes her body public to the common crowd,
I will make sure she does not say she has gotten someone to deride.
CHRYS. Bargain with him with a little money

865
potes. NIC. Pacisce ergo, obsecro, quid tibi lubet,
dum ne manifesto hominem opprimat neve enicet.
CLEOM. Nunc nisi ducenti Philippi redduntur mihi,
iam illorum ego animam amborum exsorbebo oppido.

865
you can. NIC. So bargain then, I beg, whatever you please,
provided he does not seize the man in the act nor strangle him. CLEOM. Now, unless 200 Philippi are paid back to me,
I’ll completely suck out the life-breath of those two.

NIC. Em illuc pacisce, si potes; perge obsecro,

NIC. There—make that bargain, if you can; go on, I beg,

870
pacisce quid vis. CHRYS. Ibo et faciam sedulo.
quid clamas?

870
make a pact for what you wish. CHRYS. I will go and do it sedulously.
why are you shouting?

CLEOM. Vbi erus tuos est? CHRYS. Nusquam. nescio.

CLEOM. Where is your master? CHRYS. Nowhere. I do not know.

vis tibi ducentos nummos iam promittier,
ut ne clamorem hic facias neu convicium?
CLEOM. Nihil est quod malim. CHRYS. Atque ut tibi mala multa ingeram?

do you want two hundred coins to be promised to you now,
so that you make no clamor here nor reviling?
CLEOM. There is nothing I’d rather. CHRYS. And that I may heap many ills upon you?

875
CLEOM. Tuo arbitratu. NIC. Vt subblanditur carnufex.
CHRYS. Pater hic Mnesilochi est; sequere, is promittet tibi.

875
CLEOM. As you please. NIC. How the hangman wheedles!
CHRYS. This is Mnesilochus’s father; follow, he will promise you.

tu aurum rogato; ceterum verbum sat est.
NIC. Quid fit? CHRYS. Ducentis Philippis rem pepigi.

you should ask for the gold; as for the rest, a word is enough.
NIC. What’s happening? CHRYS. I struck the bargain for 200 Philippi.

NIC. Ah, salus
mea, servavisti me. quam mox dico 'dabo'?

NIC. Ah, my salvation, you have saved me. how soon do I say 'I will give'?

880
CHRYS. Roga hunc tu, tu promitte huic. NIC. Promitto, roga.
CLEOM. Ducentos nummos aureos Philippos probos
dabin?

880
CHRYS. You ask him; you promise to him. NIC. I promise, ask.
CLEOM. Will you give two hundred gold coins, good Philippi
will you?

CHRYS. 'Dabuntur' inque. responde. NIC. Dabo.

CHRYS. Respond, ‘They will be given.’ NIC. I will give.

CHRYS. Quid nunc, impure? numquid debetur tibi?
quid illi molestu's? quid illum morte territas?

CHRYS. What now, impure one? Is anything owed to you?
Why do you molest him? Why do you terrify him with death?

885
et ego te et ille mactamus infortunio.
si tibi est machaera, at nobis veruinast domi:
qua quidem te faciam, si tu me inritaveris,
confossiorem soricina nenia.
iam dudum hercle equidem sentio, suspicio

885
and both I and that fellow sacrifice you to misfortune.
if you have a machaera, yet we have a spit at home:
with which indeed I will make you, if you irritate me,
more run-through than a mouse’s dirge.
for quite a while now, by Hercules, I indeed feel it, I suspect

890
quae te sollicitet: eum esse cum illa muliere.
CLEOM. Immo est quoque. CHRYS. Ita me Iuppiter Iuno Ceres
Minerva ~ Latona Spes Opis Virtus Venus
Castor Polluces Mars Mercurius Hercules
Summanus Sol Saturnus dique omnes ament,

890
what troubles you: that he is with that woman.
CLEOM. Indeed he is as well. CHRYS. So may Jupiter Juno Ceres
Minerva ~ Latona Hope Ops Virtue Venus
Castor Pollux Mars Mercury Hercules
Summanus Sun Saturn and all the gods love me,

895
ut ille cum illa neque cubat neque ambulat
neque osculatur neque illud quod dici solet.
NIC. Vt iurat! servat me ille suis periuriis.

895
that he with that woman neither lies nor walks
nor kisses nor that thing which is wont to be said.
NIC. How he swears! He keeps me safe by his perjuries.

CLEOM. Vbi nunc Mnesilochus ergost? CHRYS. Rus misit pater.
illa autem in arcem abiit aedem visere

CLEOM. Where is Mnesilochus now, then? CHRYS. His father has sent him to the countryside.
she, however, has gone into the citadel to visit the temple

900
Minervae. nunc apertast. i, vise estne ibi.

900
to Minerva. Now it is open. Go, see whether she is there.

CLEOM. Abeo ad forum igitur. CHRYS. Vel hercle in malam crucem.
CLEOM. Hodie exigam aurum hoc?

CLEOM. I go to the forum then. CHRYS. Or, by Hercules, to the gallows.
CLEOM. Shall I exact this gold today?

CHRYS. Exige, ac suspende te:
ne supplicare <hunc> censeas <tibi>, nihili homo.—
ille est amotus. sine me — per te, ere, opsecro

CHRYS. Exact it, and hang yourself:
do not suppose <this one> will supplicate <to you>, you man of nothing.—
he is removed. let me — by you, master, I beseech

905
deos immortales — ire huc intro ad filium.
NIC. Quid eo intro ibis? CHRYS. Vt eum dictis plurumis
castigem, cum haec sic facta ad hunc faciat modum.

905
immortal gods— to go in here to the son.
NIC. Why will you go in there? CHRYS. So that with very many words
I may chastise him, since he has had these things done in this manner.

NIC. Immo oro ut facias, Chrysale, et ted opsecro,
cave parsis in eum dicere. CHRYS. Etiam me mones?

NIC. Nay rather I beg that you do so, Chrysale, and I beseech you,
take care not to be sparing in speaking against him. CHRYS. Do you even admonish me?

910
satin est si plura ex me audiet hodie mala,
quam audivit umquam Clinia ex Demetrio?—
NIC. Lippi illic oculi servos est simillimus:
si non est, nolis esse neque desideres;
si est, abstinere quin attingas non queas.

910
is it enough if today he will hear more evils from me,
than Clinia ever heard from Demetrius?—
NIC. Bleary are that fellow’s eyes; he is most like a slave:
if it is not, you would not wish it to be nor desire it;
if it is, you cannot abstain from touching it.

915
nam ni illic hodie forte fortuna hic foret,
miles Mnesilochum cum uxore opprimeret sua
atque obtruncaret moechum manufestarium.
nunc quasi ducentis Philippis emi filium,
quos dare promisi militi: quos non dabo

915
for if he had not by sheer chance been here today,
the soldier would have overtaken Mnesilochus with his wife
and cut down the manifest adulterer.
now, as if for two hundred Philippi I have bought my son,
which I promised to give to the soldier: which I will not give

920
temere etiam prius quam filium convenero.
numquam edepol quicquam temere credam Chrysalo;
verum lubet etiam mi has perlegere denuo:
aequomst tabellis consignatis credere.—

920
rashly, even before I meet my son.
By Pollux, I will never trust Chrysalus rashly in anything;
but I also wish to read through these anew:
it is right to trust tablets that are sealed.—

IV.ix
CHRYSALVS Atridae duo fratres cluent fecisse facinus maxumum,

4.9
CHRYSALVS The two Atridae brothers are reputed to have done a very great deed,

925
quom Priami patriam Pergamum divina moenitum manu
armis, equis, exercitu atque eximiis bellatoribus
mille cum numero navium decumo anno post subegerunt.
non pedibus termento fuit praeut ego erum expugnabo meum
sine classe sineque exercitu et tanto numero militum.

925
when they subdued Priam’s fatherland, Pergamum, fortified by a divine hand,
with arms, horses, an army, and exceptional warriors,
with a tally of a thousand ships, after the tenth year thereafter.
it was nothing in comparison with how I shall storm my master,
without a fleet and without an army and such a number of soldiers.

930
[cepi expugnavi amanti erili filio aurum ab suo patre.]
nunc prius quam huc senex venit, libet lamentari dum exeat.
o Troia, o patria, o Pergamum, o Priame periisti senex,
qui misere male mulcabere quadringentis Philippis aureis.
nam ego has tabellas obsignatas consignatas quas fero

930
[I seized, I stormed—gold for the enamored master’s son, from his own father.]
Now, before the old man comes here, I feel like lamenting while he’s out.
O Troy, O fatherland, O Pergamum, O Priam—you have perished, old man,
you who will be miserably mauled with four hundred gold Philippi.
For I these tablets, sealed and countersigned, which I carry

935
non sunt tabellae, sed equos quem misere Achivi ligneum.
[Epiust Pistoclerus: ab eo haec sumptae; Mnesilochus Sino est
relictus, ellum non in busto Achilli, sed in lecto accubat;
Bacchidem habet secum: ille olim habuit ignem qui signum daret,
hunc ipsum exurit; ego sum Vlixes, cuius consilio haec gerunt.]

935
they are not writing-tablets, but the horse which the Achaeans sent, wooden.
[Epeius is Pistoclerus: from him these things were taken; Mnesilochus is Sinon,
left behind—look at him—he reclines not on Achilles’ tomb, but on a couch;
he has Bacchis with him: that one once had the fire to give the signal,
this one burns this very man up; I am Ulysses, by whose counsel these things are carried out.]

940
tum quae hic sunt scriptae litterae, hoc in equo insunt milites
armati atque animati probe. ita res successit mi usque adhuc.
atque hic equos non in arcem, verum in arcam faciet impetum:
exitium excidium exlecebra fiet hic equos hodie auro senis.
nostro seni huic stolido, ei profecto nomen facio ego Ilio;

940
then as for the letters that are written here, in this horse there are soldiers
armed and animated in good measure. thus the affair has succeeded for me right up to now.
and this horse will make an attack not upon the citadel, but upon the chest:
a destruction, a demolition, a decoy this horse will become today by means of the old man's gold.
for this our silly old man, to him indeed I make the name Ilium;

945
miles Menelaust, ego Agamemno, idem Vlixes Lartius,
Mnesilochust Alexander, qui erit exitio rei patriae suae;
is Helenam avexit, cuia causa nunc facio obsidium Ilio.
nam illi itidem Vlixem audivi, ut ego sum, fuisse et audacem et malum:
<in> dolis ego prensus sum, ille mendicans paene inventus interiit,

945
the soldier is Menelaus; I am Agamemnon, likewise Ulysses Laertius,
Mnesilochus is Alexander, who will be the ruin of his country’s cause;
he carried off Helen, for whose cause I now make a siege against Ilium.
for I have heard that among them likewise Ulysses, as I am, was both audacious and malicious:
in stratagems I am caught; he, begging, was nearly discovered and undone,

950
dum ibi exquirit fata Iliorum; adsimiliter mi hodie optigit.
vinctus sum, sed dolis me exemi: item se ille servavit dolis.
Ilio tria fuisse audivi fata quae illi forent exitio:
signum ex arce si periisset; alterum etiamst Troili mors;
tertium, cum portae Phrygiae limen superum scinderetur:

950
while there he inquired into the fates of the Ilians; similarly it befell me today.
I was bound, but by wiles I freed myself: likewise he saved himself by wiles.
for Ilium I heard there were three fates which would be for its ruin:
if the sign from the citadel should perish; another also is the death of Troilus;
the third, when the upper threshold of the Phrygian gate should be split:

955
paria item tria eis tribus sunt fata nostro huic Ilio.
nam dudum primo ut dixeram nostro seni mendacium
et de hospite et de auro et de lembo, ibi signum ex arce iam abstuli.
iam duo restabant fata tunc, nec magis id ceperam oppidum.
post ubi tabellas ad senem detuli, ibi occidi Troilum,

955
likewise three, equal in number, are the fates for these three for this our Ilium.
for just now at first, as I had said, I told our old man a mendacity both about the guest and about the gold and about the skiff; there I already removed the signal from the citadel.
already two fates then remained, nor thereby had I taken that town.
afterwards, when I carried the tablets to the old man, there I killed Troilus,

960
cum censuit Mnesilochum cum uxore esse dudum militis.
[ibi vix me exsolvi: id periclum adsimilo, Vlixem ut praedicant
cognitum ab Helena esse proditum Hecubae; sed ut olim ille se
blanditiis exemit et persuasit se ut amitteret,
item ego dolis me illo extuli e periclo et decepi senem.]

960
when he judged that Mnesilochus had for some time been with the soldier’s wife.
[there I scarcely freed myself: I liken that peril to how they proclaim
Ulysses, recognized by Helen, to have been betrayed to Hecuba; but as once he
by blandishments rescued himself and persuaded her to let him go,
so I by stratagems lifted myself out of that peril and deceived the old man.]

965
post cum magnifico milite, urbes verbis qui inermus capit,
conflixi atque hominem reppuli; dein pugnam conserui seni:
eum ego adeo uno mendacio devici, uno ictu extempulo
cepi spolia. is nunc ducentos nummos Philippos militi,
quos dare se promisit, dabit.

965
afterwards, with the magnificent soldier, who unarmed captures cities with words,
I clashed and repelled the man; then I joined battle with the old man:
him indeed I defeated with one lie, with one stroke on the instant
I seized the spoils. He now will give to the soldier two hundred Philippus-coins,
which he promised to give.

970
nunc alteris etiam ducentis usus est, qui dispensentur
Ilio capto, ut sit mulsum qui triumphent milites.
[sed Priamus hic multo illi praestat: non quinquaginta modo,
quadringentos filios habet atque equidem omnis lectos sine probro:
eos ego hodie omnis contruncabo duobus solis ictibus.

970
now there is use even for another two hundred, to be dispensed
with Ilium captured, so that there may be mulsum for the soldiers to celebrate a triumph.
[but this Priam here far surpasses that one: not only fifty,
he has four hundred sons, and indeed all chosen without reproach:
all of them I today will hew to pieces with only two blows.]

975
nunc Priamo nostro si est quis emptor, comptionalem senem
vendam ego, venalem quem habeo, extemplo ubi oppidum expugnavero.]
sed Priamum adstantem eccum ante portam video. adibo atque adloquar.
NICOBVLVS Quoianam vox prope me sonat?

975
now if there is any buyer for our Priam, I will sell the auction-block old man, whom I have for sale, immediately once I have stormed the town.]
but look, I see Priam standing before the gate. I will go up and address him.
NICOBVLVS Whose voice, pray, is sounding near me?

CHRYS. O Nicobule. NIC. Quid fit?
quid quod te misi, ecquid egisti?

CHRYS. O Nicobulus. NIC. What is happening?
what about that which I sent you for—have you done anything?

CHRYS. Rogas? congredere. NIC. Gradior.

CHRYS. You ask? Come meet me. NIC. I am coming.

980
CHRYS. Optumus sum orator. ad lacrumas coegi hominem castigando
maleque dictis, quae quidem quivi comminisci. NIC. Quid ait?

980
CHRYS. I am the best orator. I drove the man to tears by castigating him
and with abusive words, such as indeed I could contrive. NIC. What did he say?

C. Verbum
nullum fecit: lacrumans tacitus auscultabat quae ego loquebar;
tacitus conscripsit tabellas, obsignatas mi has dedit.
tibi me iussit dare, sed metuo, ne idem cantent quod priores.

C. A word
he made none: weeping, silent, he was listening to what I was speaking;
silent he wrote out the tablets, and, sealed, he gave these to me.
he ordered me to give them to you, but I fear, lest they sing the same song as the prior ones.

985
nosce signum. estne eius? NIC. Novi.

985
recognize the sign. is it his? NIC. I know it.

libet perlegere has. C. Perlege.
nunc superum limen scinditur, nunc adest exitium Ilio,
turbat equos lepide ligneus.

I am inclined to read these through. C. Read them through.
now the supernal threshold is rent, now ruin is at hand for Ilium,
the ligneous one cleverly perturbs the horses.

NIC. Chrysale, ades, dum ego has perlego.
CHRYS. Quid me tibi adesse opus est? N. Volo, [ut quod iubeo facias] 988a
ut scias quae hic scripta sient.

NIC. Chrysalus, be present, while I read these through.
CHRYS. What need is there for me to be present for you? N. I want, [that you do what I order] 988a
so that you may know what things are written here.

CHRYS. Nil moror neque scire volo. 989a
NIC. Tamen ades. CHRYS. Quid opust? NIC. Taceas:
quod iubeo id facias.

CHRYS. I don’t care a whit, nor do I wish to know. 989a
NIC. Still, be here. CHRYS. What need is there? NIC. Be quiet:
do what I order.

CHRYS. Adero. 990a
NIC. Euge litteras minutas. CHRYS. Qui quidem videat parum;
verum, qui satis videat, grandes satis sunt. NIC. Animum advortito igitur.

CHRYS. I shall be present. 990a
NIC. Bravo, minute letters. CHRYS. One who indeed sees too little;
but for one who sees enough, they are large enough. NIC. Turn your mind, then.

CHRYS. Nolo inquam. NIC. At volo inquam. CHRYS. Quid opust?

CHRYS. I don’t want to, I say. NIC. But I do want to, I say. CHRYS. What need is there?

NIC. At enim id quod te iubeo facias.
CHRYS. Iustumst <ut> tuos tibi servos tuo arbitratu serviat.
NIC. Hoc age sis nunciam.

NIC. But then, do what I bid you.
CHRYS. It is just that your slave should serve you at your discretion.
NIC. Do this, please, right now.

C. Vbi lubet, recita: aurium operam tibi dico.

C. Whenever you please, recite: the attention of my ears
I give to you.

995
NIC. Cerae quidem haud parsit neque stilo;
sed quidquid est, pellegere certumst. 996a
'Pater, ducentos Philippos quaeso Chrysalo
da, si esse salvom vis me aut vitalem tibi.'
malum quidem hercle magnum. CHRYS. Tibi dico. NIC. Quid est?

995
NIC. He indeed spared neither the wax nor the stylus;
but whatever it is, I am determined to read it through. 996a
“Father, please give two hundred Philippi to Chrysalus,
if you wish me to be safe or alive for you.”
a great evil indeed, by Hercules. CHRYS. I’m speaking to you. NIC. What is it?

CHRYS. Non prius salutem scripsit? NIC. Nusquam sentio.

CHRYS. Did he not write a greeting first? NIC. Nowhere do I perceive it.

1000
CHRYS. Non dabis, si sapies; verum si das maxume,
ne ille alium gerulum quaerat, si sapiet, sibi:
nam ego non laturus sum, si iubeas maxume.
sat sic suspectus sum, cum careo noxia.
NIC. Ausculta porro, dum hoc quod scriptumst perlego.

1000
CHRYS. You will not give, if you are wise; but even if you do give,
let him, if he’s wise, look for another bearer for himself:
for I will not carry it, even if you order me ever so much.
I am quite enough suspected as it is, though I am free of guilt.
NIC. Listen on, while I read through what is written.

1005
CHRYS. Inde a principio iam inpudens epistula est.
NIC. 'Pudet prodire me ad te in conspectum, pater:
tantum flagitium te scire audivi meum,
quod cum peregrini cubui uxore militis.'
pol haud derides; nam ducentis aureis

1005
CHRYS. From the very beginning the epistle is already impudent.
NIC. 'I am ashamed to proceed into your sight, father:
I have heard that you know my so great a flagitious crime,
that I have lain with the wife of a peregrine (foreign) soldier.'
by Pollux, you are not jesting; for 200 gold-pieces

1010
Philippis redemi vitam ex flagitio tuam.
CHRYS. Nihil est illorum quin ego illi dixerim.
NIC. 'Stulte fecisse fateor.

1010
At Philippi I ransomed your life from disgrace.
CHRYS. There is nothing of those things that I did not tell him.
NIC. 'I admit I acted foolishly.

sed quaeso, pater,
ne me, in stultitia si deliqui, deseras.
ego animo cupido atque oculis indomitis fui;

but I beseech, father,
do not desert me, if I have transgressed in foolishness.
I was of a desirous spirit and with untamed eyes;

1015
persuasumst facere quoius me nunc facti pudet.'
prius te cavisse ergo quam pudere aequom fuit.
CHRYS. Eadem istaec verba dudum illi dixi omnia.
NIC. 'Quaeso ut sat habeas id, pater, quod Chrysalus
me obiurigavit plurumis verbis malis,

1015
'I was persuaded to do it, a deed of which I am now ashamed.'
Therefore it was right that you had taken precautions earlier rather than be ashamed.
CHRYS. I said all those same words to him just now.
NIC. 'I beg that you hold it enough, father, that Chrysalus
has objurgated me with very many bad words,

1020
et me meliorem fecit praeceptis suis,
ut te ei habere gratiam aequom sit bonam.'
CHRYS. Estne istuc istic scriptum? NIC. Em specta, tum scies.
CHRYS. Vt qui deliquit supplex est ultro omnibus.

1020
and he has made me better by his precepts,
so that it is just that you should have good gratitude to him.'
CHRYS. Is that written there? NIC. Here, look, then you will know.
CHRYS. Just like one who has done wrong, he is a suppliant of his own accord to everyone.

NIC. 'Nunc si me fas est obsecrare abs te, pater,

NIC. 'Now, if it is right for me to beseech you, father,

1025
da mihi ducentos nummos Philippos, te obsecro.'
CHRYS. Ne unum quidem hercle, si sapis. NIC. Sine perlegam.
'ego ius iurandum verbis conceptis dedi,
daturum id me hodie mulieri ante vesperum,
prius quam a me abiret.

1025
'give me two hundred Philips, I beseech you.'
CHRYS. Not even one, by Hercules, if you are wise. NIC. Let me read it through.
'I gave an oath in set words,
that I would give it to the woman today before evening,
before she went away from me.

nunc, pater, ne perierem

now, father, lest I perish

1030
cura atque abduce me hinc ab hac quantum potest,
quam propter tantum damni feci et flagiti.
cave tibi ducenti nummi dividiae fuant;
sescenta tanta reddam, si vivo, tibi.
vale atque haec cura'. quid nunc censes, Chrysale?

1030
see to it and lead me away from here, from her, as much as is possible,
on whose account I have made so much loss and scandal.
beware lest the two hundred coins be a cause of quarrel to you;
six hundred such I will repay to you, if I live.
farewell, and take care of this. what do you think now, Chrysalus?

1035
CHRYS. Nihil ego tibi hodie consili quicquam dabo,
neque ego haud committam ut, si quid peccatum siet,
fecisse dicas de mea sententia.
verum, ut ego opinor, si ego in istoc sim loco,
dem potius aurum quam illum corrumpi sinam.

1035
CHRYS. I will give you no counsel at all today,
nor will I commit it that, if anything should be done amiss,
you may say it was done by my opinion.
But, as I opine, if I were in that place,
I would rather give gold than allow that fellow to be corrupted.

1040
duae condiciones sunt: utram tu accipias vide:
vel ut aurum perdas vel ut amator perieret.
ego neque te iubeo neque veto, neque suadeo.
NIC. Miseret me illius.

1040
there are two conditions: see which you may accept:
either that you lose the gold or that the lover would perish.
I neither order you nor forbid you, nor do I advise.
NIC. I pity him.

CHRYS. Tuos est, non mirum facis.
si plus perdundum sit, periisse suaviust,

CHRYS. He is yours; no wonder you do so.
if more must be squandered, to have lost is sweeter,

1045
quam illud flagitium volgo dispalescere.
NIC. Ne ille edepol Ephesi multo mavellem foret,
dum salvos esset, quam revenisset domum.
quid ego istic?

1045
than for that disgrace to be scattered abroad among the populace.
NIC. By Pollux, I would much rather he were at Ephesus, so long as he were safe, than that he had returned home.
what am I to do there?

quod perdundumst properem perdere.
binos ducentos Philippos iam intus ecferam,

what must be lost, let me hasten to lose.
I’ll now bring out from inside two sets of two hundred Philippi,

1050
et militi quos dudum promisi miser
et istos. mane istic, iam exeo ad te, Chrysale.—
CHRYS. Fit vasta Troia, scindunt proceres Pergamum.
scivi ego iam dudum fore me exitio Pergamo.

1050
and to the soldier, poor fellow, those which I promised a while ago—and these too.
stay there; I’m coming out to you now, Chrysalus.—
CHRYS. Troy is laid waste; the nobles are rending Pergamum.
I knew long ago that I would be ruin to Pergamum.

edepol qui me esse dicat cruciatu malo

By Pollux, who could say how evil my torment is

1055
dignum, ne ego cum illo pignus haud ausim dare;
tantas turbellas facio. sed crepuit foris:
ecfertur praeda ex Troia. taceam nunciam.

1055
worthy—indeed I would not dare to wager a pledge with him;
I make such great commotions. But the door has creaked:
booty is being carried out from Troy. Let me be silent right now.

NIC. Cape hoc tibi aurum, Chrysale, i, fer filio.
ego ad forum autem hinc ibo, ut solvam militi.

NIC. Take this gold for yourself, Chrysalus; go, carry it to my son.
I, however, will go from here to the forum, so that I may pay the soldier.

1060
CHRYS. Non equidem accipiam. proin tu quaeras qui ferat.
nolo ego mihi credi.

1060
CHRYS. I for my part will not accept it. So you look for someone to carry it. I do not want to be trusted with it.

NIC. Cape vero, odiose facis.
CHRYS. Non equidem capiam. NIC. At quaeso.

NIC. Take it indeed; you act odiously.
CHRYS. I for my part will not take it. NIC. But, I pray.

C. Dico ut res se habet.
NIC. Morare. CHRYS. Nolo, inquam, aurum concredi mihi.

C. I say how the matter stands.
NIC. Wait. CHRYS. I do not want, I say, for gold to be entrusted to me.

vel da aliquem qui servet me. NIC. Ohe, odiose facis.

or give someone who will watch over me. NIC. Oh, you act odiously.

1065
CHRYS. Cedo, si necesse est. NIC. Cura hoc. iam ego huc revenero.—
CHRYS. Curatum est — esse te senem miserrumum.

1065
CHRYS. Hand it over, if it is necessary. NIC. See to this. Soon I will have returned here.—
CHRYS. It is taken care of — that you are a most wretched old man.

hoc est incepta efficere pulcre: bellule
mi evenit, ut ovans praeda onustus incederem;
salute nostra atque urbe capta per dolum

this is to effect undertakings handsomely: nicely
it has happened to me, that I should march in ovation, laden with booty;
with our safety and the city captured through guile

1070
domum reduco integrum omnem exercitum.
sed, spectatores, vos nunc ne miremini
quod non triumpho: pervolgatum est, nil moror;
verum tamen accipientur mulso milites.
nunc hanc praedam omnem iam ad quaestorem deferam.—

1070
home I lead back the whole army intact.
but, spectators, do not now marvel that I do not triumph:
it has been made common; I care nothing for it;
yet truly the soldiers will be welcomed with mulsum.
now straightway I will carry all this booty to the quaestor.—

1075

IV.x
PHILOXENVS Quam magis in pectore meo foveo quas meus filius turbas turbet,
quam se ad vitam et quos ad mores praecipitem inscitus capessat,
magis curae est magisque adformido, ne is pereat neu corrumpatur.
scio, fui ego illa aetate et feci illa omnia, sed more modesto;
neque placitant mores quibus video volgo <in> gnatos esse parentes:

4.10
PHILOXENUS The more I brood in my breast over the tumults which my son stirs up,
over how, unknowing, he takes himself precipitately to a way of life and to what mores he commits himself,
the more it is a care and the more I dread, lest he perish or be corrupted.
I know; I was of that age and I did all those things, but in a modest manner;
nor do the mores please me in which I see parents commonly to be toward their sons:

1080
[duxi, habui scortum, potavi, dedi, donavi, sed enim id raro.]
ego dare me meo gnato institui, ut animo obsequium sumere possit;
aequom esse puto, sed nimis nolo desidiae ei dare ludum.
nunc Mnesilochum, quod mandavi,
viso ecquid eum ad virtutem aut ad 1084a
frugem opera sua compulerit, sic
ut eum, si convenit, scio fe-
cisse: eost ingenio natus.

1080
[I kept, I had a courtesan, I drank, I gave, I donated, but indeed that rarely.]
I have resolved to yield myself to my son, so that he may be able to take indulgence to heart;
I think it equitable, but I do not wish to give too much play to sloth for him.
Now Mnesilochus, as I instructed,
I will go see whether he by his own effort has driven him toward virtue or toward 1084a
frugality, thus
as, if it be fitting, I know he has
done: he was born of that disposition.

ACTVS V

ACT 5

V.i
NICOBVLVS Quicumque ubi ubi sunt, qui fuerunt quique futuri sunt posthac
stulti, stolidi, fatui, fungi, bardi, blenni, buccones,
solus ego omnis longe antideo
stultitia et moribus indoctis.
perii, pudet: hocine me aetatis

5.1
NICOBULUS Whoever, wherever they are, those who were and who will be hereafter—fools, stolid ones, fatuous dolts, numbskulls, slowcoaches, simpletons, big-cheeked chumps—
I alone by far outdo them all
in stupidity and in untrained manners.
I’m ruined, I’m ashamed: that this should be me at this age!

1090
ludos bis factum esse indigne?
magis quam id reputo, tam magis uror
quae meus filius turbavit.
perditus sum atque eradicatus
sum, omnibus exemplis excrucior.

1090
that the games have been held twice—with indignity?
the more I reckon that, the more I burn
at the things which my son has thrown into turmoil.
I am ruined and uprooted,
I am excruciated in every way.

omnia me mala consectantur,
omnibus exitiis interii.
Chrysalus med hodie laceravit,
Chrysalus me miserum spoliavit:
is me scelus auro usque attondit

all evils pursue me,
by every doom I have perished.
Chrysalus has torn me to pieces today,
Chrysalus has despoiled me, wretched me:
that villain has shorn me clean of my gold

1095
dolis doctis indoctum, ut lubitumst.
ita miles memorat meretricem esse
eam quam ille uxorem esse aiebat,
omniaque ut quidque actum est memoravit,
eam sibi hunc annum conductam,
relicuom id auri factum quod ego ei
stultissimus homo promisissem: hoc,
hoc est quo <cor> peracescit;
hoc est demum quod percrucior,
me hoc aetatis ludificari,

1095
by learned deceits he has managed the unlearned, as it pleased.
thus the soldier reports that she is a prostitute,
she whom that man was saying was his wife,
and he recounted everything just as each thing was done,
that she had been hired by him for this year,
that the remainder of that gold was furnished from what I,
most foolish man, had promised him: this,
this is that by which the <heart> grows very sour;
this is, at last, what I am excruciated by,
that at this age I am being made sport of,

1100
[immo edepol sic ludos factum]
cano capite atque alba barba
miserum me auro esse emunctum.
perii, hoc servom meum non nauci facere esse ausum! atque ego, si alibi
plus perdiderim, minus aegre habeam minusque id mihi damno ducam.

1100
[nay, by Pollux, to have thus been made sport of]
with gray head and white beard
that I, wretched, have been cleaned out of my gold.
I am undone, that this slave of mine has dared to reckon me not worth a whit! and I, if elsewhere
I had lost more, I would take it less ill and would reckon it less to my damage.

PHIL. Certo hic prope me mihi nescio quis loqui visust; sed quem video?
hic quidemst pater Mnesilochi.
N. Euge, socium aerumnae et mei mali video.

PHIL. Certainly, here near me it seemed to me that someone or other wanted to speak; but whom do I see?
this indeed is Mnesilochus’s father.
N. Bravo, I see an associate in affliction and of my ill.

1105
Philoxene, salve. PHIL.Et tu. unde agis? NIC. Vnde homo miser atque infortunatus.

1105
Philoxenus, greetings. PHIL.And you. Where do you come from? NIC. From where—a miserable and unfortunate man.

P. At pol ego ibi sum, esse ubi miserum hominem decet atque infortunatum.
NIC. Igitur pari fortuna, aetate ut sumus, utimur. PHIL. Sic est.

P. But, by Pollux, I am there, where it befits a wretched and unfortunate man to be.
NIC. Therefore, we enjoy equal fortune, as we are in age. PHIL. So it is.

sed tu,
quid tibist? NIC. Pol mihi par, idem est quod tibi.
PHIL. Numquid nam ad filium haec aegritudo attinet?

but you,
what's the matter with you? NIC. By Pollux, for me it's equal—the same as for you.
PHIL. Does this distress pertain to the son?

1110
NIC. Admodum. PHIL. Idem mihi morbus in pectorest.
NIC. At mihi Chrysalus optumus homo
perdidit filium, me atque rem omnem meam.

1110
NIC. Quite so. PHIL. The same malady is in my breast.
NIC. But for me, Chrysalus, that most excellent man,
has ruined my son, myself, and all my whole estate.

PHIL. Quid tibi ex filio nam, obsecro, aegrest? NIC. Scies:
id, perit cum tuo: ambo aeque amicas habent.

PHIL. What, I beg, ails you on account of your son? NIC. You will know:
this—that he is ruined along with yours: both equally have mistresses.

1115
PHIL. Qui scis? NIC. Vidi. PHIL. Ei mihi, disperii.

1115
PHIL. How do you know? NIC. I saw. PHIL. Alas for me, I am undone.

NIC. Quid dubitamus pultare atque huc evocare ambos foras?
PHIL. Haud moror. NIC. Heus Bacchis, iube sis actutum aperiri fores,
nisi mavoltis fores et postes comminui securibus.

NIC. Why do we hesitate to knock and call both of them out here?
PHIL. I do not delay. NIC. Hey, Bacchis, please order the doors to be opened at once,
unless you prefer the doors and doorposts to be smashed to pieces with axes.

V.ii
BACCHIS Quis sonitu ac tumultu tanto nominat me atque pultat aedes?

5.2
BACCHIS Who, with such sound and so great a tumult, calls my name and knocks at the house?

1120
NIC. Ego atque hic. BACCH. Quid hoc est negoti nam, amabo?
quis has huc ovis adegit? 1121a
NIC. Ovis nos vocant pessumae.

1120
NIC. I and this one. BACCH. What is this business, pray?
who has driven these sheep here? 1121a
NIC. The very worst women call us "sheep."

SOROR Pastor harum
dormit, quom haec eunt sic a pecu balitantes.
BACCH. At pol nitent, haud sordidae videntur ambae.
SOR. Attonsae hae quidem ambae usque sunt.

SOROR The shepherd of these
is sleeping, as these go thus from the flock bleating.
BACCH. But, by Pollux, they shine; they do not seem sordid, both.
SOR. These indeed are both altogether shorn.

PHIL. Vt videntur

PHIL. As they seem

1125
deridere nos. NIC. Sine suo usque arbitratu.
BACCH. Rerin ter in anno tu has tonsitari?

1125
to mock us. NIC. Let it be entirely at his own discretion.
BACCH. Do you think these get shorn three times in a year?

SOR. Pol hodie altera iam bis detonsa certo est.
BACCH. Vetulae sunt, ~ thimiame. SOR. At bonas fuisse credo.

SOR. By Pollux, today the other is already certainly shorn twice.
BACCH. They’re little old women, ~ thymiame. SOR. But I believe they were good.

BACCH. Viden limulis, obsecro, ut intuentur?

BACCH. Do you see, I beg, how they look with little sidelong glances?

1130
SOR. Ecastor sine omni arbitror malitia esse.
PHIL. Merito hoc nobis fit, qui quidem huc venerimus.
BACCH. Cogantur quidem intro.

1130
SOR. By Castor, I think it is entirely without malice.
PHIL. Deservedly this happens to us, since indeed we came here.
BACCH. Let them indeed be compelled inside.

SOR. Haud scio quid eo opus sit,
quae nec lac nec lanam ullam habent. sic sine astent.
exsolvere quanti fuere, omnis fructus

SOR. I do not know what need there is of it,
since they have neither milk nor any wool. Let them stand thus without it.
to pay off how much they cost, the whole proceeds

1135
iam illis decidit. non vides, ut palantes
solae liberae
grassentur? quin aetate credo esse mutas:
ne balant quidem, quom a pecu cetero absunt. 1138a
stultae atque haud malae videntur.

1135
already the fruit has fallen from them. do you not see how, wandering,
they, alone and free,
go stalking about? nay, with age I believe they are mute:
they do not even bleat, when they are away from the rest of the flock. 1138a
they seem stupid and not bad.

SOR. Revortamur intro, soror. NIC. Ilico ambae
manete: haec oves volunt vos. 1140a
SOR. Prodigium hoc quidemst: humana nos voce appellant oves.
NIC. Haec oves vobis malam rem magnam, quam debent, dabunt.

SOR. Let us turn back inside, sister. NIC. Straightaway, both of you
stay: these sheep want you. 1140a
SOR. This indeed is a prodigy: the sheep address us with a human voice.
NIC. These sheep will give you a great evil, which they owe.

BACCH. Si quam debes, te condono: tibi habe, numquam abs te petam.
sed quid est quapropter nobis vos malum minitamini?
PHIL. Quia nostros agnos conclusos istic esse aiunt duos.

BACCH. If you owe anything, I remit it: keep it for yourself; I will never demand it from you.
But what is it for which you menace us with harm?
PHIL. Because they say that two of our lambs are enclosed in there.

1145
NIC. Et praeter eos agnos meus est istic clam mordax canis:
qui nisi nobis producuntur iam atque emittuntur foras,
arietes truces nos erimus, iam in vos incursabimus.
B. Soror, est quod te volo secreto. S. Eho, amabo.

1145
NIC. And besides those lambs, my slyly-biting dog is there with you:
unless they are led out to us now and sent outside,
we will be fierce rams, we will now charge against you.
B. Sister, there is something I want with you in secret. S. Hey, please.

N. Quo illaec abeunt?
BACCH. Senem illum tibi dedo ulteriorem, lepide ut lenitum reddas;

N. Where are those going?
BACCH. I hand over that old man to you for later, so that you may neatly render him lenified;

1150
ego ad hunc iratum adgrediar, <si> possumus nos hos intro inlicere huc.
S. Meum pensum ego lepide accurabo, quamquam odiost mortem amplexari.
B. Facito ut facias.

1150
I will approach this irate man, if we can entice these men inside here.
S. I will neatly attend to my task, although it is odious to embrace death.
B. See that you do so.

S. Taceas. tu tuom facito: ego quod dixi haud mutabo.
NIC. Quid illaec illic in consilio duae secreto consultant?

S. Be silent. You, see that you do your own; what I said I shall not alter.
NIC. What are those two there consulting in counsel, in secret?

PHIL. Quid ais tu, homo? NIC. Quid me vis?

PHIL. What are you saying, man? NIC. What do you want with me?

1155
PHIL. Pudet dicere me tibi quiddam. 1155a
N. Quid est quod pudeat? P. Sed amico homini tibi quod volo credere certumst.
nihili sum.

1155
PHIL. I am ashamed to tell you something. 1155a
N. What is there to be ashamed of? P. But it is settled to entrust to you, a friendly man, what I wish.
I am worth nothing.

NIC. Istuc iam pridem scio. sed qui nihili es? id memora.
PHIL. Tactus sum vehementer visco;
cor stimulo foditur.

NIC. That I have long known already. But how are you nothing? recount that.
PHIL. I am vehemently stuck with birdlime;
my heart is pierced with a goad.

NIC. Pol tibi multo aequius est coxendicem.
sed quid istuc est? etsi iam ego ipsus quid sit probe scire puto me;

NIC. By Pollux, it would be much fairer for you to have a pain in your hip.
but what is that? although now I myself think that I know well what it is;

1160
verum audire etiam ex te studeo. PHIL. Viden hanc? NIC. Video.

1160
but I am eager to hear it also from you. PHIL. Do you see her? NIC. I see.

PHIL.
Haud mala est mulier.
NIC. Pol vero ista mala et tu nihili. PHIL. Quid multa?

PHIL.
The woman is not bad.
NIC. By Pollux, indeed that woman is bad, and you are worth nothing. PHIL. What more?

ego amo. NIC.
An amas? PHIL.

I am in love. NIC.
Are you in love? PHIL.

Nai gar.
NIC. Tun, homo putide, amator istac fieri aetate audes? PHIL. Qui non?

Yes indeed.
NIC. You, putrid man, do you dare to become a lover at that age? PHIL. Who does not?

NIC. Quia flagitium est. PHIL. Quid opust verbis? meo filio non sum iratus,
neque te tuost aequom esse iratum: si amant, sapienter faciunt.

NIC. Because it is a scandal. PHIL. What need is there of words? I am not angry with my son,
nor is it right for you to be angry with yours: if they are in love, they act wisely.

1165
BACCH. Sequere hac. NIC. Eunt eccas tandem
probri perlecebrae et persuastrices.
quid nunc?

1165
BACCH. Follow this way. NIC. There they go—look—at last,
the enticers of disgrace and the persuadresses.
what now?

etiam redditis nobis
filios et servom? an ego experior
tecum vim maiorem? PHIL. Abin hinc?

Will you even return to us
the sons and the slave? Or shall I try
greater force with you? PHIL. Will you be off from here?

non homo tu quidem es, qui istoc pacto tam lepidam inlepide appelles.
BACCH. Senex optime quantumst in terra, sine <me> hoc exorare abs te,

you are no man indeed, who in that fashion address so charming a girl inelegantly.
BACCH. best old man as much as there is on earth, allow <me> to beg this
from you,

1170
ut istuc delictum desistas tanto opere ire oppugnatum.
NIC. Ni abeas, quamquam tu bella es,
malum tibi magnum dabo iam. BACCH. Patiar,
non metuo, ne quid mihi doleat
quod ferias.

1170
that you desist from going so strenuously to oppugn that offense.
NIC. If you don’t go away—although you are pretty—I will do you great harm now. BACCH. I shall endure it;
I do not fear, that anything you may strike will hurt me
by your blows.

NIC. Vt blandiloquast!
ei mihi, metuo. SOR. Hic magis tranquillust.

NIC. How blandiloquent she is!
ah me, I fear. SOR. Here it is calmer.

BACCH. I hac mecum intro atque ibi, si quid vis,

BACCH. Go in here with me, and there, if you want anything,

1175
filium concastigato.
N. Abin a me, scelus? B. Sine, mea pietas, te exorem.

1175
chastise the son thoroughly.
N. Will you be off from me, you scoundrel? B. Allow, my piety, that I may win you over.

N. Exores tu me?
S. Ego quidem ab hoc certe exorabo. P. Immo ego te oro, ut me intro abducas.
SOR. Lepidum te. PHIL. At scin quo pacto me ad te intro abducas?

N. Would you win me over by entreaty?
S. I for my part will certainly win this fellow over by entreaty. P. Nay rather I beg you, to lead me inside.
SOR. What a charmer you are. PHIL. But do you know in what way to lead me in to you?

SOR.
PHIL. Omnia quae cupio commemoras.
NIC. Vidi ego nequam homines, verum te
neminem deteriorem. PHIL. Ita sum.

SOR.
to be with me.
PHIL. You mention all the things I desire.
NIC. I have seen worthless men, but truly no one worse than you. PHIL. So I am.

1180
BACCH. I hac mecum intro, ubi tibi sit lepide victibus, vino atque unguentis.
NIC. Satis, satis iam vostrist convivi:
me nil paenitet ut sim acceptus:
quadringentis Philippis filius me et
Chrysalus circumduxerunt.
quem quidem ego ut non excruciem,
alterum tantum auri non meream.

1180
BACCH. Come in here with me, where you shall be regaled charmingly with victuals, wine, and unguents.
NIC. Enough, enough now of your banqueting:
I have no regret as to how I have been received:
with 400 Philippi the son and Chrysalus have swindled me.
whom indeed, if I do not put to torture,
I do not deserve another equal amount of gold.

BACCH. Quid tandem, si dimidium auri

BACCH. What then, if half the gold

1185
redditur, in hac mecum intro? atque ut
eis delicta ignoscas. PHIL. Faciet.

1185
if it is returned, come in here with me? and to
forgive their delicts. PHIL. He will do it.

NIC. Minime, nolo. nil moror, sine sic.
malo illos ulcisci ambo.

NIC. By no means, I do not want to. I do not care, leave it so.
I prefer to avenge them both.

PHIL.Etiam tu, homo nihili? quod di dant boni cave culpa tua amissis:
dimidium auri datur: accipias, potesque et scortum accumbas.
NIC. Egon ubi filius corrumpatur meus, ibi potem?

PHIL.You too, you good-for-nothing? What the gods give as good, beware lest by your fault you lose it:
half the gold is being given: accept it, and you can even have a prostitute recline with you.
NIC.I—where my son is being corrupted, am I to drink there?

PHIL. Potandumst.

PHIL. We must drink.

1190
NIC. Age iam, id ut ut est, etsi est dedecori, patiar, facere inducam animum:
egon, cum haec cum illo accubet, inspectem? BACCH. Immo equidem pol tecum
        accumbam,
te amabo et te amplexabor.                              1192a
NIC. Caput prurit, perii, vix negito.
BACCH. Non tibi venit in mentem, amabo,
si dum vivas tibi bene facias
tam pol id quidem esse haud perlonginquom,

1190
NIC. Come now, be it as it may, though it is a disgrace, I will endure it; I will bring myself to do it:
am I—when this woman reclines with him—to look on? BACCH. Nay indeed, by Pollux, I
        will recline with you,
I will love you and I will embrace you.                              1192a
NIC. My head itches; I’m ruined; I can hardly deny it.
BACCH. Does it not come into your mind, please,
that, while you live, you should do yourself good—since, by Pollux, that “while you live” is by no means very long?

1195
neque, si hoc hodie amissis, post in
morte eventurum esse umquam? 1195a
N. Quid ago? P. Quid agas? rogitas etiam?

1195
nor that, if you let this slip today, afterward in
death it will ever come to pass? 1195a
N. What am I to do? P. What are you to do? You even ask?

N. Libet et metuo. B. Quid metuis?
NIC. Ne obnoxius filio sim et servo.

N. I want to, and I fear. B. What do you fear?
NIC. Lest I be subject to my son and to a slave.

BACCH. Mel meum, amabo, etsi haec fiunt,
tuost: unde illum sumere censes, nisi quod tute illi dederis?
hanc veniam illis sine te exorem. NIC. Vt terebrat!

BACCH. My honey, please, even if these things are happening,
it is yours: from where do you suppose he takes it, except what you yourself have given to him?
let me obtain this indulgence for them without you. NIC. How he bores!

satin offirmatum
quod mihi erat, id me exorat?

Is what I had firmly set,
does he win me over from that?

1200
tua sum opera et propter te improbior. BACCH. Neminis quam mea mavellem.
satin ego istuc habeo firmatum?

1200
I am your handiwork, and because of you the more shameless. BACCH. I’d rather it were no one’s than mine.
Have I got that pretty well settled?

NIC. Quod semel dixi haud mutabo.
BACCH. It dies, ite intro accubitum,
filii vos exspectant intus. NIC. Quam quidem actutum emoriamur.

NIC. What I have said once I will not change.
BACCH. The day is going; go inside to recline,
your sons await you within. NIC. Which indeed let us straightway die for.

S. Vesper hic est, sequimini. N. Ducite nos quo lubet tamquam quidem addictos.

S. Evening is here, follow. N. Lead us wherever you please, as though indeed adjudged.

1205
BACCH. Lepide ipsi hi sunt capti, suis qui filiis fecere insidias.

1205
BACCH. Neatly these men themselves are captured, who made ambushes for their own sons.

GREX

CHORUS

Hi senes nisi fuissent nihili iam inde ab adulescentia,
non hodie hoc tantum flagitium facerent canis capitibus;
neque adeo haec faceremus, ni antehac vidissemus fieri,
ut apud lenones rivales filiis fierent patres.

These old men, unless they had been good-for-nothing already from adolescence,
would not today be committing so great a flagitious outrage with hoary heads;
nor indeed would we be doing these things, if we had not previously seen it done,
that among panders rivals to their sons would turn out to be their fathers.

1210