| [ARGVMENTVM] | ARGUMENT OF THE PLAY |
| Captust in pugna Hegionis filius; Alium quadrimum fugiens servus vendidit. Pater captivos commercatur Aleos, Tantum studens ut natum captum recuperet; Et inibi emit olim amissum filium. Is suo cum domino veste versa ac nomine Vt amittatur fecit: ipsus plectitur; Et is reduxit captum, et fugitivum simul, Indicio cuius alium agnoscit filium. |
One of Hegio's sons has been taken prisoner in a battle with
the Eleans; the other was stolen by a runaway slave and sold
when he was four years old. The father, in his great anxiety
to recover the captured boy, bought up Elean prisoners of
war; and among those that he purchased was the son he had
lost many years before. This son, having exchanged clothes
and names with his Elean master, secured the latter's
release, taking the consequences himself. This master of his
returned, bringing Hegio's captive son, and along with him
that runaway slave, whose disclosures led to the recognition
of the other son. |
| [PERSONAE] | DRAMATIS PERSONAE |
|
ERGASILVS PARASITUS HEGIO SENEX LORARIVS PHILOCRATES ADULESCENS TYNDARVS SERVUS ARISTOPHONTES ADULESCENS PVER PHILOPOLEMVS ADULESCENS STALAGMVS SERVUS |
ERGASILUS, a parasite.
HEGIO, an old gentleman.
SLAVE OVERSEER, belonging to Hegio.
PHILOCRATES, a young Elean captive.
TYNDARUS, his slave, captured with him.
ARISTOPHONTES, a young Elean captive.
A PAGE, in the service of Hegio.
PHILOPOLEMUS, Hegio's son.
STALAGMUS, Hegio's slave. |
| [PROLOGVS] | PROLOGUE |
| Tyndarus and Philocrates are chained, in an uncomfortable position, to a pillar in front of Hegio's house. | |
| Hos quos videtis stare his captives duos, illi qui astant,[1] hi stant ambo, non sedent; hoc vos mihi testes estis me verum loqui. senex qui his habitat Hegio est huius pater. | These two prisoners you see standing here, well, both of those bystanders are men who are—standing, not sitting down. (Prologue laughs uproariously at his pleasantry) I leave it to you if so much is not true. The old man that lives yonder—(pointing to Hegio's house) Hegio, by name—is this man's (pointing to Tyndarus) father. |
| sed is quo pacto serviat suo sibi patri, id ego hic apud vos proloquar, si operam datis. seni huic fuerunt filii nati duo; alterum quadrimum puerum servos surpuit eumque hinc profugiens vendidit in Alide patri huius. iam hoc tenetis?[2] optume est. 10 | But how it happens that he is the slave of his own father I shall (jauntily) here in your midst proclaim, with your kind attention. This old gentleman had two sons. One of them, when he was four years old, was stolen by a slave who took to his heels and sold the boy in Elis to the father of this worthy (pointing to Philocrates) here. Now you take me? Very good! |
| negat hercle ille ultimus. accedito. si non ubi sedeas locus est, est ubi ambules, quando histrionem cogis mendicarier. ego me tua causa, ne erres, non rupturus sum. vos qui potestis ope vestra censerier, accipite relicuom: alieno uti nil moror. | Bless my soul! That gentleman at the back says he does not. Let him step this way—. (no move in audience) In case there is no opportunity to take a seat, sir, you can take a (pointing to an exit) stroll, seeing you insist on making an actor turn beggar. I have no intention of bursting myself, merely to keep you from misunderstanding the plot. (to rest of audience) As for you gentlemen who do own enough property to pay taxes on, let me discharge my debt—none of the credit system for me. |
| fugitivos ille, ut dixeram ante, huius patri domo quem profugiens dominum abstulerat vendidit. is postquam hunc emit, dedit eum huic gnato suo 20 peculiarem, quia quasi una aetas erat. hic nunc domi servit suo patri, nec scit pater; enim vero di nos quasi pilas homines habent. | That runaway slave, as I said before, stole his young master when he decamped and sold him to this (indicating Philocrates) man's father. This gentleman, on buying the boy, gave him to this son of his for his very own, the two being of about the same age. Now here he is, back home, his own father's slave without his father knowing it. Ah yes, the gods use us mortals as footballs! |
| rationem habetis, quo modo unum amiserit. postquam belligerant Aetoli cum Aleis, ut fit in bello, capitur alter filius: medicus Menarchus emit ibidem in Alide. coepit captives commercari hic Aleos, si quem reperire possit qui mutet suom, illum captivom: hunc suom esse nescit, qui domist. | Well, you comprehend the way in which he lost one son. Later, when war broke out between the Aetolians and Eleans, the other son was taken prisoner—a common occurrence in times of war—and a doctor, Menarchus, in that same Elis, bought the young man. Hegio then began to buy up Elean captives, hoping to get hold of one that he could exchange for his son—the captive son, that is: for he has no idea that this man at his home is his own child. |
| 30 et quoniam heri indaudivit, de summo loco summoque genere captum esse equitem Aleum, nil pretio parsit, filio dum parceret: reconciliare ut facilius posset domum, emit hosce e praeda ambos de quaestoribus. | And inasmuch as he heard it rumoured yesterday that an Elean knight of the very highest rank and family connections had been captured, he had no thought of saving money if only he could save his son. So in the hope of getting that son back home more readily he bought both of these prisoners from the commissioners who were disposing of the spoils. |
| hisce autem inter sese hunc confinxerunt dolum. quo pacto hic servos suom erum hinc amittat domum. itaque inter se commutant vestem et nomina; illic vocatur Philocrates, hic Tyndarus: huius illic, hic illius hodie fert imaginem. | These same prisoners, however, have got together and laid a scheme, as you can see, to the end that the slave here (indicating Tyndarus) may send his master off home. Accordingly, they have exchanged clothes and names with each other. That one (indicating Tyndarus) is calling himself Philocrates, and this one (indicating Philocrates) Tyndarus: each is posing as the other for the time being. |
| 40 et hic hodie expediet hanc docte fallaciam, et suom erum faciet libertatis compotem, eodemque pacto fratrem servabit suom reducemque faciet liberum in patriam ad patrem, imprudens: itidem ut saepe iam in multis locis plus insciens quis fecit quam prudens boni. | And Tyndarus here is going to work out this trick to-day like an artist, and set his master at liberty. By so doing he will rescue his own brother, too, and enable him to return home to his father a free man, all quite unwittingly,—as in so many cases before now a man has often done more good unconsciously than wittingly. |
| sed inscientes sua sibi fallacia ita compararunt et confinxerunt dolum itaque hi commenti, de sua sententia ut in servitute hic ad suom maneat patrem: 50 ita nunc ignorans suo sibi servit patri; homunculi quanti sunt, quom recogito! haec res agetur nobis, vobis fabula. | But all unconsciously, in their trickery, they have so planned and contrived and schemed, acting upon their own ideas, that Tyndarus will stay here as his own father's slave. So now it is his father he is serving unawares. What helpless creatures we mortals be, when I stop to reflect! All this will be fact on the boards, fiction for the benches. |
| sed etiam est, paucis vos quod monitos voluerim. profecto expediet fabulae huic operam dare. non pertractate facta est neque item ut ceterae: neque spurcidici insunt versus, immemorabiles; hic neque periurus leno est nec meretrix mala neque miles gloriosus; ne vereamini, quia bellum Aetolis esse dixi cum Aleis: 60 foris illic extra scaenam fient proelia. | About one thing more, though, I should like to offer a word or two of suggestion. It will undeniably be to your profit to pay attention to this play. It is not composed in the hackneyed style, is quite unlike other plays; nor does it contain filthy lines that one must not repeat. In this comedy you will meet no perjured pimp, or unprincipled courtesan, or braggart captain. Let not my statement that the Aetolians and Eleans are at war alarm you: engagements will take place off the stage yonder. |
| nam hoc paene iniquomst, comico choragio conari desubito agere nos tragoediam. proin si quis pugnam expectat, litis contrahat: valentiorem nactus adversarium si erit, ego faciam ut pugnam inspectet non bonam, adeo ut spectare postea omnis oderit. | It would almost amount to imposition, you know, for us, in our comedy get-up, to try to present a tragedy all of a sudden. So if anyone is looking for a battle scene, let him pick a quarrel: if he gets a good strong opponent, I promise him a glimpse of a battle scene so unpleasant that hereafter he will hate the very sight of one. |
| abeo. valete, iudices iustissimi domi duellique duellatores optumi. |
(turning to go) And so good-bye to you, most
just of judges here at home and doughtiest of fighters in
the field. [exeunt Prologue and Captives. |
| [ACTVS I] | ACT I |
| enter Ergasilus looking hungry and forlorn. | |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Iuventus nomen indidit Scorto mihi, 70 eo quia invocatus soleo esse in convivio. scio absurde dictum hoc derisores dicere, at ego aio recte. nam scortum in convivio sibi amator, talos quom iacit, scortum invocat. | The young fellows have dubbed me Missy, on the ground that whenever they're at their banquets I feel called upon to be with 'em. To be sure, the professional wags say it is an absurd nickname, but I protest it's a good one. For at banquets when the young sparks are playing dice they call upon their missies, yes, their missies, to be with 'em as they make a throw. |
| estne invocatum an non est? est planissume; verum hercle vero nos parasiti planius, quos numquam quisquam neque vocat neque invocat. quasi mures semper edimus alienum cibum; ubi res prolatae sunt, quom rus homines eunt, simul prolatae res sunt nostris dentibus. | Does missy feel called upon to be with 'em, or not? Most unmistakably. But by heaven, I tell you we parasites feel the call more unmistakably still, for no one else ever feels for us or calls us, either. Like mice, we're forever nibbling at some one else's food. When the holidays come, and men hie 'em to their country estates, our grinders take a holiday, too. |
| 80 quasi, cum caletur, cocleae in occulto latent, suo sibi suco vivont, ros si non cadit, item parasiti rebus prolatis latent in occulto miseri victitant suco suo, dum ruri rurant homines quos ligurriant. | It's the same as snails hiding in their holes during the dog days and living on their own juices when there's no dew falling: that's the way with parasites during the holidays—hide in their holes, poor devils, and subsist on their own juices while the people they could get pickings from are in the rural regions ruralizing. |
| prolatis rebus parasiti venatici sumus, quando res redierunt, molossici odiosicique et multum incommodestici. et hic quidem hercle, nisi qui colaphos perpeti potest parasitus frangique aulas in caput, [3]ire extra portam Trigeminam ad saccum licet. 90 quod mihi ne eveniat, non nullum periculum est. | So long as the holidays last we parasites are greyhounds: when they're over we are wolf-hounds and dear-hounds and bore- hounds, very much so. And, by gad, in this town, at least, if a parasite objects to being banged about and having crockery smashed on his cranium, he can betake himself to the far side of Three Arch Gate and a porter's bag. (ruefully) Which is precious likely to be my own fate. |
| nam postquam meus rex est potitus hostium— ita nunc belligerant Aetoli cum Aleis; nam Aetolia haec est, illic est captus in Alide, Philopolemus, huius Hegionis filius senis, qui hie habitat, quae aedes lamentariae mihi sunt, quas quotienscumque conspicio fleo; | For after my patron fell in with the enemy—the Aetolians, you see, are at war now with the Eleans; this is Aetolia, you understand, and it's there in Elis that Philopolemus is a captive, Philopolemus being the son of Hegio here, the old gentleman that lives in (pointing) that house (and a lamentatious house it is! every time I look at it, it makes me weep!) |
| nunc hic occepit quaestum hunc fili gratia inhonestum et maxime alienum ingenio suo: 100 homines captives commercatur, si queat aliquem invenire, suom qui mutet filium. quod quidem ego nimis quam cupio[4] ut impetret: nam ni illum recipit, nihil est quo me recipiam. | —well, now Hegio has taken up his present business, all for his son's sake, ungentlemanly business as it is, and quite beneath a man of his type. He's buying up prisoners of war, to see if he can't come across one to exchange for his boy. And Lord! how I do yearn for him to succeed! You see, it's a matter of his coming home, or my going hungry. |
| nam nulla est spes iuventutis, sese omnis amant; ille demum antiquis est adulescens moribus, cuius numquam voltum tranquillavi gratiis. condigne pater est eius moratus moribus. nunc ad eum pergam. sed aperitur ostium, unde saturitate saepe ego exii ebrius. | For our young fellows are absolutely unpromising—egoists, the whole lot of 'em! But he is a young gentleman of the old school, that lad: I never smoothed the wrinkles out of his brow without getting more than a thankye for it. His father is just such another perfect gentleman. Now for a call on him. (moves toward Hegio's house) But there goes his door, out of which I've often come so full of food I was fairly tipsy. (withdraws) |
| [I. 2.] | Scene 2. |
| enter Hegio with Slave Overseer. | |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| 110 Advorte animum sis tu: istos captives duos, heri quos emi de praeda a quaestoribus, eis indito catenas singularias istas, maiores, quibus sunt iuncti, demito; | Attention, please, my man. Those two captives that I bought yesterday from the commissioners in charge of the spoils—put the light irons on them and take off the heavy ones they're coupled with. |
| sinito ambulare, si foris si intus volent, sed uti adserventur magna diligentia. liber captivos avis ferae consimilis est: semel fugiendi si data est occasio, satis est, numquam postilla possis prendere. | Let them walk out here or inside, whichever they please; but look after them sharp, mind you. A captive free is a regular wild bird: once given a chance to flit, that is enough—you can never get hold of him again. |
| Lor. | Over. |
| Omnes profecto liberi lubentius sumus quam servimus. | Well, of course sir, we'd all rather be free than slaves. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| 120 Non videre ita tu quidem. | That seems untrue of you at any rate.[A] |
| Lor. | Over. |
| Si non est quod dem, mene vis dem ipse—in pedes? | In case I haven't anything else to give you, how about my giving you—the slip? |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Si dederis, erit extemplo mihi quod dem tibi. | Give me that, and I shall shortly have something to give you. |
| Lor. | Over. |
| Avis me ferae consimilem faciam, ut praedicas. | I'll copy that wild bird you speak of. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Ita ut dicis: nam si faxis, te in caveam dabo. sed satis verborumst. cura quae iussi atque abi. ego ibo ad fratrem ad alios captives meos, visam ne nocte hac quippiam turbaverint. inde me continuo recipiam rursum domum. |
Exactly—for then I'll cage you. But enough of this. Mind my
orders and be off with you. I'll drop in at my brother's for
a look at my other prisoners, and see if they made any
disturbance last night. Then I'll return home again at once. [exit Overseer into house. |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Aegre est mi, hunc facere quaestum carcerarium 130 propter sui gnati miseriam miserum senem. sed si ullo pacto ille huc conciliari potest, vel carnificinam hunc facere possum perpeti. | (with a loud sigh) It does grieve me to see the poor old gentleman at this gaoler's job for his poor son's sake. (in lower tone) However, if he only manages to get the lad back here somehow, let him turn hangman, too,—I can stand it. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Quis hic loquitur? | (looking round) Who is that speaking here? |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Ego, qui tuo maerore maceror, macesco, consenesco et tabesco miser; ossa atque pellis sum miser a macritudine; neque umquam quicquam me iuvat quod edo domi: foris aliquantillum etiam quod gusto, id beat. | (stepping forward) I—a man that am all worn out by your woe, that am getting thin, growing old, pining away in sorrow; I'm nothing but skin and bones, I feel for you so. Nothing I eat—at home—ever does me any good, (aside) But how I do relish the merest morsel when I'm dining out! |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Ergasile, salve. | Ah, good day, Ergasilus. |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Di te bene ament, Hegio. | God bless you, Hegio, bless you bounteously! (grasps Hegio's hand fervently and bursts into tears) |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Ne fle. | Don't cry. |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Egone illum non fleam? egon non defleam talem adulescentem? | I not cry for him? I not cry my eyes out for such a youth? |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| 140 Semper sensi, filio meo te esse amicum, et illum intellexi tibi. | (somewhat moved) I always did feel that you were a friend to my son, and I realized that he regarded you as one. |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Tum denique homines nostra intellegimus bona, quom quae in potestate habuimus, ea amisimus. ego, postquam gnatus tuos potitust hostium, expertus quanti fuerit nunc desidero. | Ah, we mortals realize the value of our blessings only when we have lost them. Myself now—after your son fell in with the enemy, I have come to understand how much he meant to me, and now I long for him. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Alienus cum eius incommodum tam aegre feras, quid me patrem par facerest, cui ille est unicus? | When an outsider like you takes his misfortune so bitterly, how must I feel, his father, and he my only son? |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Alienus ego? alienus illi? aha, Hegio, numquam istuc dixis neque animum induxis tuom; 150 tibi ille unicust, mi etiam unico magis unicus. | (choking) An outsider? I? An outsider to that boy? Oh-h-h, Hegio! don't say a thing like that, don't let such a thought enter your mind, ever! Your only son, yes,—but he was even more than that to me: he was my only only! (sobs violently) |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Laudo, malum cum amici tuom ducis malum, nunc habe bonum animum. | I appreciate this, that you consider your friend's disaster your own. (patting him on the back) Come now, take heart. |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Eheu, huic illud dolet, quia nunc remissus est edendi exercitus. | Oh, dear! oh, dear! here's (rubbing his stomach) where it hurts: my whole commissary department has been disbanded now, you see. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Nullumne interea nactu's, qui posset tibi remissum quem dixti imperare exercitum? | (smiling) And meantime haven't you hit upon anyone that could reorganize the department you say is disbanded? |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Quid credis? fugitant omnes hanc provinciam, quoi optigerat postquam captust Philopolemus tuos. | Would you believe it? Every one keeps fighting shy of the office ever since your Philopolemus, its duly elected occupant, was captured. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Non pol mirandum est fugitare hanc provinciam, multis et multigeneribus opus est tibi 160 militibus: primumdum opus est Pistorensibus: eorum sunt aliquot genera Pistorensium: opus Paniceis est, opus Placentinis quoque; opus Turdetanis, opust Ficedulensibus; iam maritumi omnes milites opus sunt tibi. | Bless my soul! no wonder they fight shy of it. You need many recruits, of many sorts, too: why, in the first place you need Pad-u-ans;[B] and there are several kinds of Paduans: you need the support of Bologna, and you need Frankfurters too; you need Leghorners and you need Pis-ans, and furthermore you need every fighter in fin land. |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Ut saepe summa ingenia in occulto latent; hic qualis imperator nunc privatus est. | (appreciatively) How often it does happen that the greatest talents are shrouded in obscurity! This man now—what a generalissimo, and here he is only a private citizen! |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Habe modo bonum animum, nam illum confido domum in his diebus me reconciliassere. nam eccum hic captivom adulescentem intus Aleum, 170 prognatum genere summo et summis ditiis: hoc illum me mutare confido pote. | Well, well, now, take heart. As a matter of fact, I trust we shall have the boy back with us in a few days. For, look you (pointing to house) I have a young Elean prisoner inside here—splendid family, quantities of money: I count on being able to exchange him for my son. |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Ita di deaeque faxint. sed num quo foras vocatus es ad cenam? | (heartily) The gods and goddesses be with you! I say, though,—you haven't been invited out to dinner anywhere? |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Nusquam quod sciam sed quid tu id quaeris? | (cautiously) Nowhere, to my knowledge. But why do you ask? |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Quia mi est natalis dies; propterea te vocari ad te ad cenam volo | Well, to-day is my birthday: so consider yourself invited to take dinner at—your house. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Facete dictum. sed si pauxillo potes, contentus esse. | (laughing) Well put! But only on condition you can be content with very little. |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Ne perpauxillum modo, nam istoc me assiduo victu delecto domi, age sis, roga emptum. nisi qui meliorem adferet 180 quae mi atque amicis placeat condicio magis, quasi fundum vendam, meis me addicam legibus | Yes, only don't make it very, very, very little, for that is what I regale myself on constantly at home. Come on, come on, do please say "Done!" (after a pause, formally) In the event of no party making a better offer, more satisfactory to myself and associates, I'll knock myself down to you—on my own terms—just as if I was selling an estate by auction. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Profundum vendis tu quidem, haud fundum, mihi sed si venturu's, temperi. | An estate indeed! You mean an empty state. But if you intend to come, come in season. |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Em, vel iam otium est. | Oho! I'm at leisure this minute, for that matter. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| I modo, venare leporem: nunc irim tenes; nam meus scruposam victus commetat viam. | No, no, go hunt your hare: you've got only a hedge-hog so far. For it is a rocky road my table travels. |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Numquam istoc vinces me, Hegio, ne postules: cum calceatis dentibus veniam tamen. | You'll never down me that way, Hegio, and don't you think to do it: I'll be with you just the same—with my teeth shod. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Asper meus victus sane est. | My meals are perfect terrors, really. |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Sentisne essitas? | Tearers? Do you eat brambles? |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Terrestris cena est. | Well, things that root in the earth. |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Sus terrestris bestia est. | A porker does that. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Multis holeribus. | Mostly vegetables, I mean. |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| 190 Curato aegrotos domi. numquid vis? | Open a sanitarium, then. (turning to go) Anything else I can do for you? |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Venias temperi. | Come in season. |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Memorem mones. |
(cheerfully) The suggestion is superfluous. [exit. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Ibo intro atque intus subducam ratiunculam, quantillum argenti mi apud trapezitam siet. ad fratrem, quo ire dixeram, mox ivero. |
(sighing as he looks at the back of his prospective
guest) I must go in and reckon up my bit of a bank
balance, and see how low it is. Then to my brother's, where
I spoke of going before. [exit into house. |
| [ACTVS II] | ACT II |
| enter from Hegio's house Overseers and Slaves with Philocrates and Tyndarus in fetters: the two have exchanged clothes. | |
| Lor. | Over. |
| Si di immortales id voluerunt, vos hanc aerumnam exsequi, decet id pati animo aequo: si id facietis, levior labos erit. domi fuistis, credo, liberi: nunc servitus si evenit, ei vos morigerari mos bonust et erili imperio eamque ingeniis vostris lenem reddere. 200 indigna digna habenda sunt, erus quae facit. | (to captives, patronizingly) Seeing it's the will of Heaven you're in this box, the thing for you to do is to take it calmly: do that, and you won't have such a hard time of it. At home you were free men, I suppose: since you happen to be slaves at present, it's a good idea to accept the situation and a master's orders gracefully, and make things easy to bear by taking 'em the proper way. Anything a master does is right, no matter how wrong it is. |
| Captivi | Captivi |
| Oh oh oh. | (protestingly) Oh-h-h-h! |
| Lor. | Over. |
| Eiulatione haud opus est, oculis haud[5] lacrimantibus: in re mala animo si bono utare, adiuvat. | There's no need of howling or crying. It helps to take bad things well. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| At nos pudet, quia cum catenis sumus. | But to be in chains—we feel disgraced! |
| Lor. | Over. |
| At pigeat postea nostrum erum, si vos eximat vinculis, aut solutos sinat, quos argento emerit. | But it's disgusted our master would feel later on, if he took the chains off, or let you loose, when he's paid money for you. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Quid a nobis metuit? scimus nos nostrum officium quod est, si solutos sinat. | What has he to fear from us? We realise what our duty is, if he should let us loose. |
| Lor. | Over. |
| At fugam fingitis: sentio quam rem agitis. | Ah yes, you're planning to run for it! I see what's afoot. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Nos fugiamus? quo fugiamus? | Run—we? Where should we run to? |
| Lor. | Over. |
| In patriam. | Home. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Apage, haud nos id deceat. fugitivos imitari. | Get out! The idea of our acting like runaway slaves! |
| Lor. | Over. |
| 210 Immo edepol, si erit occasio, haud dehortor. | Lord! why not? I'm not saying you shouldn't, if you get the chance. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Unum exorare vos sinite nos. | (with dignity) Be good enough to grant us one request. |
| Lor. | Over. |
| Quidnam id est? | Well, what is it? |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Ut sine hisce arbitris atque vobis nobis detis locum loquendi. | Merely this—give us an opportunity to talk together without being overheard by these good fellows (pointing to slaves) and yourselves. |
| Lor. | Over. |
| Fiat. abscedite hinc: nos concedamus huc. sed brevem orationem incipisse. | All right. (to slaves) Away with you! (to other overseer) Let's drop back here. (to captives) Make it short, though. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Em istuc mihi certum erat. concede huc. | Oh yes, that was my intention. (to Philocrates, drawing him farther from slaves) Come this way. |
| Lor. | Over. |
| Abite ab istis. | (to slaves still hanging about) Get out and leave 'em alone. (slaves obey) |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Obnoxii ambo vobis sumus propter hanc rem, quom quae volumus nos copia est; ea[6] facitis nos compotes. | (to overseers) We are much obliged to you, both of us, for the privilege of doing as we wish; we owe it to you. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Secede huc nunciam, si videtur, procul. 220 ne arbitri dicta nostra arbitrari queant neu permanet palam haec nostra fallacia. nam doli non doli sunt, nisi astu colas, sed malum maxumum, si id palam provenit. | (to Tyndarus) Step over here now, if you please, come over, so that no one may catch what we say and leave us with a scheme that has leaked out. (they move still farther from the overseers) Shrewd management is what makes a trick a trick, you know: once it gets out, it becomes an instrument of torture. |
| nam si erus mihi es tu atque ego me tuom esse servom assimulo, tamen viso opust, cauto est opus, ut hoc sobrie sineque arbitris accurate agatur, docte et diligenter; tanta incepta res est: haud somniculose hoc agendum est. | No matter if you are passing as my master and I as your slave, even so we've got to be wary, we've got to be cautious, so that our plan may be worked out in a clear-headed way, quietly and carefully, with discretion and diligence. It's a big job we've got in hand: we can't go to sleep over it. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Ero ut me voles esse. | I will be all you wish me to be, sir. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Spero. | I hope so. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Nam tu nunc vides pro tuo caro capite 230 carum offerre me meum caput vilitati. | For that matter, sir, you already see that to save a man I love, I am holding my own life cheap, much as I love it. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Scio. | I realize it. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| At scire memento, quando id quod voles habebis; nam fere maxima pars morem hunc homines habent; quod sibi volunt, dum id impetrant, boni sunt; sed id ubi iam penes sese habent, ex bonis pessimi et fraudulentissimi fiunt: nunc ut mihi te volo esse autumo.[7] (236) | But remember to realize it when you get what you want. For, generally speaking, men have a habit of being fine fellows so long as they are seeking some favour; but when they have obtained it there's a change, and your fine fellows turn into villainous cheats of the worst description. In all this, sir, I'm telling you how I wish you to act toward me. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Pol ego si te audeam, meum patrem nominem: (238) nam secundum patrem tu es pater proximus. | By heaven, I might call you my father, if I chose: for next to my real father you are the best one I have. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Audio. | I know, I know. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| 240 Et propterea saepius te uti memineris moneo: non ego erus tibi, sed servos sum; nunc obsecro te hoc unum— quoniam nobis di immortales animum ostenderunt suom, ut qui erum me tibi fuisse atque esse conservom velint, quom antehac pro iure imperitabam meo, nunc te oro per precem— | And that's just why I keep reminding you the oftener to remember what the situation calls for: I'm not your master, I'm a slave. Now I beg this one thing of you—since we have unmistakable proof that it's Heaven's will I should no longer be your master but your fellow slave, I, who used to have the right to command you, now implore and entreat you— |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| per fortunam incertam et per mei te erga bonitatem patris, perque conservitium commune, quod hostica evenit manu, ne me secus honore honestes quam quom servibas mihi, atque ut qui fueris et qui nunc sis meminisse ut memineris. | by the common peril in which we stand and by my father's kindness to you and by the captivity which the chances of war have brought upon us both, don't feel less respect for my wishes than you did when you were my slave, and remember, remember carefully, both who you were and who you are now. |
| Scio quidem me te esse nunc et te esse me. | Yes, yes, I know that I am you for the time being and that you are I. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Em istuc si potes 250 memoriter meminisse, inest spes nobis in hac astutia. | There! manage to remember to keep that in mind, and this scheme of ours looks likely. |
| [II. 2.] | Scene 2. |
| enter Hegio from house. | |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Iam ego revertar intro, si ex his quae volo exquisivero. ubi sunt isti quos ante aedis iussi huc produci foras? | (to those within) I shall be back directly, if I find out what I want to know from these fellows. (to overseers) Where are those prisoners I had brought out in front of the house here? |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Edepol tibi ne in quaestione essemus cautum intellego, ita vinclis custodiisque circum moeniti sumus. | (advancing, pertly) Gad! You guarded against having to look for us far, I perceive,—see how we're barricaded with chains and watchmen. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Qui cavet ne decipiatur, vix cavet, cum etiam cavet; etiam cum cavisse ratus est, saepe is cautor captus est. an vero non iusta causa est, ut vos servem sedulo, quos tam grandi sim mercatus praesenti pecunia? | The man on his guard against being deceived is hardly on his guard even when he is on his guard, even when he supposed he was on his guard, your guarder has often enough been gulled. Really though, haven't I good reason to take pains to keep you, when I paid so high for you, cash down? |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Neque pol tibi nos, quia nos servas, aequomst vitio vortere, 260 neque te nobis, si abeamus hinc, si fuat occasio. | Bless your heart, sir, we haven't any right to find fault with you for trying to keep us, or you with us, if we clear out—if we get a chance. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Ut vos hic, itidem illic apud vos meus servatur filius. | My son is kept prisoner there in your country just as you are here. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Captus est? | Captured? |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Ita. | Yes. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Non igitur nos soli ignavi fuimus. | Then other folks besides us have been cowards. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Secede huc. nam sunt quae ex te solo scitari volo. quarum rerum te falsilocum mi esse nolo. | (leading him farther from Tyndarus) Step over here. There are some matters I wish to ask you about in private. No lying about them, mind. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Non ero quod sciam. si quid nescibo, id nescium tradam tibi. | Not I, sir, not if I know. If I don't know about a thing, I'll (innocently) tell you what I don't know. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Nunc senex est in tostrina, nunc iam cultros attinet. ne id quidem, involucrum inicere, voluit, vestem ut ne inquinet. sed utrum strictimne adtonsurum dicam esse an per pectinem, nescio; verum, si frugist, usque admutilabit probe. | (aside, cheerfully) Now the old fellow is in the barber's chair, yes, now we have the clippers on him. And master not even willing to throw a towel over him to keep his clothes clean! Is it going to be a close crop, I wonder, or just a trim?—that's the question. If he knows his business, though, he'll dock him handsomely. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| 270 Quid tu? servosne esse an liber mavelis, memora mihi. | See here, would you prefer to be a slave or a free man, tell me that? |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Proxumum quod sit bono quodque a malo longissume, id volo; quamquam non multum fuit molesta servitus, nec mihi secus erat quam si essem familiaris filius. | The maximum of pleasure and the minimum of pain, that's my preference, sir; but being a slave hasn't bothered me much, though: I wasn't treated any differently than if I'd been a son of the house. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Eugepae, Thalem talento non emam Milesium, nam ad sapientiam huius[8] nimius nugator fuit. ut facete orationem ad servitutem contulit. | (aside) Well done my boy! I wouldn't buy Milesian Thales at a thousand thalers: why, he was nothing but the veriest amateur of a wise man compared with master here. How cleverly he's dropped into the servant jargon! |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Quo de genere natust illic Philocrates? | Who are Philocrates' people there in Elis? |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Polyplusio: quod genus illi est unum pollens atque honoratissumum. | The Goldfields, sir,—the most influential and respected family in those parts easily. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Quid ipsus hic? quo honore est illic? | And the young man himself? How does he stand? |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| 279 Summo, atque ab summis viris.[9] | Very high indeed, sir,—belongs to the highest circles. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Quid divitiae, suntne opimae? | How about his property? Pretty fat one, eh? |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| (281) Unde excoquat sebum senex. | Fat? Old Goldfields could get dripping out of it. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Quid pater, vivitne? | What about his father? Is he living? |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Vivom, cum inde abimus, liquimus; nunc vivatne necne, id Orcum scire oportet scilicet. | He was when we left home, whether he's alive now or not, of course you had better inquire below as to that, sir. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Salva res est, philosophatur quoque iam, non mendax modo est. | (aside) The situation is saved! Now he not only lies but moralizes. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Quid erat ei nomen? | What was his name? |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Thensaurochrysonicochrysides. | Ducatsdoubloonsandpiecesofeightson. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Videlicet propter divitias inditum id nomen quasi est. | A sort of name applied to him on account of his money, I take it. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Immo edepol propter avaritiam ipsius atque audaciam.[10] (287) | (apparently struck by a new idea) Lord, no! on account of his being so greedy and grasping, sir. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Quid tu ais? tenaxne pater est eius? | What's that? His father's rather close, is he? |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| (289) Immo edepol pertinax; 290 quin etiam ut magis noscas: Genio suo ubi quando sacruficat, ad rem divinam quibus est opus, Samiis vasis utitur, ne ipse Genius surripiat: proinde aliis ut credat vide. | Close? My word, sir! he's adhesive! Why, really,—just so as to give you a better notion of him—whenever he sacrifices to his own Guardian Spirit he won't use any dishes needed in the service except ones made of Samian earthenware, for fear his very Guardian Spirit may steal 'em. You can see from this what a confiding character he is in general. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Sequere hac me igitur. eadem ego ex hoc quae volo exquaesivero. Philocrates, hic fecit, hominem frugi ut facere oportuit. nam ego ex hoc quo genere gnatus sis scio, hic fassust mihi; haec tu eadem si confiteri vis, tua ex re feceris: quae tamen scio scire me ex hoc. | Well, well, come this way with me. (aside, as they join Tyndarus) I'll soon get the information I want out of the master here at the same time. (to Tyndarus) Philocrates, your servant has acted as a worthy fellow ought to act. Yes, I know from him about your family: he has admitted everything. If you choose to be equally open with me, it will be to your advantage: however, I have been completely informed already by him. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Fecit officium hic suom, cum tibi est confessus verum, quamquam volui sedulo meam nobilitatem occultare et genus et divitias meas, 300 Hegio; nunc quando patriam et libertatem perdidi, non ego istunc me potius quam te metuere aequom censeo. vis hostilis cum istoc fecit meas opes aequabiles; memini, cum dicto haud audebat: facto nunc laedat licet. | (with dignified melancholy) He has done his duty in admitting the truth to you, much as I did wish to keep you in the dark, Hegio, about my rank and birth and wealth; now that I am a man without a country, a prisoner, I suppose it is not to be expected that he should stand more in awe of me than of you. The chances of war have put master and man on an equal footing. I remember the time when he did not venture to offend me by a word: now he is at liberty to do me an actual injury. |
| sed viden? fortuna humana fingit artatque ut lubet: me, qui liber fueram servom fecit, e summo infimum; qui imperare insueram, nunc alterius imperio obsequor. et quidem si, proinde ut ipse fui imperator familiae, habeam dominum, non verear ne iniuste aut graviter mi imperet. Hegio, hoc te monitum, nisi forte ipse non vis, voluerim. | But you see! fortune moulds us, pinches us, to suit her whims: here am I, the one-time free man, a slave—tossed from the heights to the depths. Accustomed to command, I am now at another's beck and call. And indeed, if I might have such a master as I myself was when I was the head of a household, I should have no fear of being treated unjustly or harshly. There is one thing I should like to impress upon you, Hegio,—unless you object, maybe. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Loquere audacter. | No, no, speak out. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| 310 Tam ego fui ante liber quam gnatus tuos, tam mihi quam illi libertatem hostilis eripuit manus. tam ille apud nos servit, quam ego nunc his apud te servio. est profecto deus, qui quae nos gerimus auditque et videt: is, uti tu me his habueris, proinde illum illic curaverit; bene merenti bene profuerit, male merenti par erit. quam tu filium tuom, tam pater me meus desiderat. | Once I was free as your son; an enemy's success deprived me of my liberty as he was deprived of his; he is a slave in my country as I am here with you. There surely is a God who hears and sees what we do: and according to your treatment of me here, so will he look after your son there. He will reward the deserving and requite the undeserving. Just as you long for your son, so does my father long for me. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Memini ego istuc. sed faterin eadem quae hic fassust mihi? | I know all that—but do you admit the truth of what this fellow has told me? |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Ego patri meo esse fateor summas divitias domi meque summo genere gnatum. sed te optestor, Hegio, 320 ne tuom animum avariorem faxint divitiae meae: ne patri, tam etsi sum unicus, decere videatur magis, me saturum servire apud te sumptu et vestitu tuo potius quam illi, ubi minime honestumst, mendicantem vivere.[11] (323) | I do admit that my father is a very wealthy man at home and that I do come of very good family. But, Hegio, I beseech you, don't let my wealth make your demands too exorbitant: for my father, even though I am his only son, might feel that it was better for me to remain your slave, well fed and clothed at your expense, than to come to beggary there at home where it would disgrace us most. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| (325) Non ego omnino lucrum omne esse utile homini existimo scio ego, multos iam lucrum lutulentos homines reddidit, est etiam ubi profecto damnum praestet facere quam lucrum. odi ego aurum: multa multis saepe suasit perperam. | I am not a man who regards each and every acquisition of money as a blessing: plenty of people have been tainted before now by this money getting, I know that. There are even times when it certainly is more profitable to lose money than to make it. Gold! I despise it: it has led many a man into many a wrong course. |
| nunc hoc animum advorte, ut ea quae sentio pariter scias. 330 filius meus illic apud vos servit captus Alide: eum si reddis mihi, praeterea unum nummum ne duis; et te et hunc amittam hinc. alio pacto abire non potes. | Now give me your attention. I want you to understand thoroughly what I have in mind. (slowly and emphatically) My son is a prisoner in Elis, a slave there among your countrymen: get him back to me, and without your giving me a single penny in addition, I will let you go home, and your servant, too. On no other terms can you get off. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Optumum atque aequissumum oras optumusque hominum es homo. sed is privatam servitutem servit illi an publicam? | A very fair and reasonable proposition, sir, and you are the very fairest of men. Does he belong to some private person, though, or to the state? |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Privatam medici Menarchi. | To a private person, a doctor named Menarchus. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Pol is quidem huius est cliens. tam hoc quidem tibi in proclivi quam amber est quando pluit. | (aside) Jove! why, he's a client of master's! (aloud) Why, this will be just as easy for you as rain when it pours. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Fac is homo ut redimatur. | Have him ransomed. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Faciam. sed te id oro, Hegio— | I will. But thus much I beg of you Hegio,— |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Quid vis, dum ab re ne quid ores, faciam. | (eagerly) Anything you please, provided my interests don't suffer by it. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Ausculta, tum scies. ego me amitti, donicum ille huc redierit, non postulo 340 verum quaeso ut aestumatum bunc mihi des, quem mittam ad patrem ut is homo redimatur illi. | Listen, and you can see if they will. I don't ask to be released myself until my servant gets back. But I do urge you to let me have him under a forfeit, to send to father so that your son there can be ransomed. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Immo alium potius misero hunc, ubi erant indutiae, illuc, tuom qui conveniat patrem, qui tua quae tu iusseris mandata ita ut velis perferat. | Oh no, I'll send some one else instead when we have an armistice; that will be preferable: he shall confer with your father and carry out your orders to your satisfaction. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| At nihil est ignotum ad illum mittere: operam luseris. hunc mitte, hic transactum reddet omne, si illuc venerit. nec quemquam fideliorem neque cui plus credat potes mittere ad eum nec qui magis sit servos ex sententia, neque adeo cui suom concredat filium hodie audacius. ne vereare, meo periclo huius ego experiar fidem, 350 fretus ingenio eius, quod me esse scit erga se benevolum. | But it's no good sending a stranger to him: you'll have frittered away your time. Send him: (pointing to Philocrates) he will transact the whole affair, once he gets there. You can't send him a more reliable man, one he would trust more, a servant that's more to his mind; I may go so far as to say there is no one he would be readier to entrust his own son to. Never fear: I will be responsible for his fidelity. I can depend on his goodness of heart; he appreciates my kindness to him. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Mittam equidem istunc aestumatum tua fide, si vis. | Very well, I'll send him under a forfeit, on your guarantee, if you wish. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Volo; quam citissime potest, tam hoc cedere ad factum volo. | I do wish it. And I wish to have all this an accomplished fact just as quickly as possible. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Num quae causa est quin, si ille huc non redeat, viginti minas mihi des pro illo? | Have you any objection to paying me eighty pounds for him in case he doesn't return? |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Optuma immo. | Not the slightest—fair as can be. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Solvite istum nunciam, atque utrumque. | (to overseers) Take the chains off that fellow at once, off both of them, in fact. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Di tibi omnis omnia optata offerant, cum me tanto honore honestas cumque ex vinclis eximis. hoc quidem haud molestumst, iam quod collus collari caret. | (as slaves obey) God grant your every wish, sir, for your highly considerate conduct toward me and for releasing me. (aside, stretching himself) I tell you what, it's no unpleasant sensation, having that necklet off one's neck. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Quod bonis bene fit beneficium, gratia ea gravida est bonis. nunc tu illum si illo es missurus, dice monstra praecipe quae ad patrem vis nuntiari. vin vocem huc ad te? | "A good deed done a good man yields a large return of good." Now if you intend to send that fellow home, inform him, instruct him, give him full particulars as to the message he's to carry your father. Shall I call him over here to you? |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| 360 Voca. | Do. |
| [II. 3.] | Scene 3. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Quae res bene vortat mihi meoque filio vobisque, volt te novos erus operam dare tuo veteri domino, quod is velit, fideliter. nam ego te aestumatum huic dedi viginti minis, his autem te ait mittere hinc velle ad patrem, meum ut illic redimat filium, mutatio inter me atque illum ut nostris fiat filiis. | (going to Philocrates) God bless us all in this, me, and my son, and yourselves! My man, your new master wishes you to do something your old master wishes, and to do it faithfully. The fact is, I have given you over to him, under an eighty pound forfeit, he saying he desires to send you off to his father and let him ransom my son there in Elis, so that he may exchange my boy for his own. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Utroque vorsum rectumst ingenium meum, ad te atque ad illum; pro rota me uti licet: 370 vel ego huc vel illic vortar, quo imperabitis. | I'm quite disposed to do both of you a good turn, sirs, you and him both; you can use me like a wheel, I'll turn your way or his, either way, wherever you like. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Tute tibi tuopte ingenio prodes plurumum, cum servitutem ita fers ut ferri decet. sequere. em tibi hominem. | And you are acting very much to your own advantage in being so disposed, and in accepting your slavery as you should. Follow me. (leading way to Tyndarus) There's your man. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Gratiam habeo tibi, quom copiam istam mi et potestatem facis, ut ego ad parentes hunc remittam nuntium, qui me quid rerum his agitem et quid fieri velim patri meo, ordine omnem rem, illuc perferat. | (sedately) I thank you, sir, for affording me this opportunity, of making him my messenger to my parents, so that he may carry to my father a full account of me and my situation here, and what I wish him to see to. |
| nunc ita convenit inter me atque hunc, Tyndare. ut te aestumatum in Alidem mittam ad patrem, 380 si non rebitas huc, ut viginti minas dem pro te. | (turning to Philocrates) Tyndarus, this gentleman and I have just arranged that I send you to Elis to father, under a forfeit: if you fail to return, I am to pay him eighty pounds for you. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Recte convenisse sentio. nam pater expectat aut me aut aliquem nuntium, qui hinc ad se veniat. | And a good arrangement, too, in my opinion. For the old gentleman's expecting either me or some messenger to come to him from here. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Ergo animum advortas volo quae nuntiare hinc te volo in patriam ad patrem. | Well then, I wish you to pay attention to the message I wish you to take home to him. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Philocrates, ut adhuc locorum feci, faciam sedulo, ut potissimum quod in rem recte conducat tuam, id petam idque persequar corde et animo atque viribus. | I'll do the best I can for you, sir, just as I always have: anything that makes for your good, sir, I'll work my hardest for, and follow up with all my heart and soul and strength. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Facis ita ut te facere oportet. nunc animum advortas volo: omnium primum salutem dicito matri et patri 390 et cognatis et si quem alium benevolentem videris; me hic valere et servitutem servire huic homini optumo, qui me honore honestiorem semper fecit et facit. | The proper spirit. Now I wish you to pay attention. First of all, remember me to my father and mother and my relatives and anyone else you may see who is interested in my welfare; tell them I am in good health here and a slave of this most estimable gentleman who has always accorded me the (with emphasis) very extraordinary consideration which I still enjoy. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Istuc ne praecipias, facile memoria memini tamen. | No instructions needed along that line, sir: I can remember to mind that easily enough, without. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Nam equidem, nisi quod custodem habeo, liberum me esse arbitror. dicito patri, quo pacto mihi cum hoc convenerit de huius filio. | For really, aside from the fact that I have a guard, I feel that I am a free man. Tell my father what arrangement this gentleman and I have made regarding his son. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Quae memini, mora mera est monerier. | Mere waste of time, sir, to remind me of what I remember. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Ut eum redimat et remittat nostrum huc amborum vicem. | That he is to ransom him and send him back here in exchange for us both. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Meminero. | I'll remember. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| At quamprimum pote: istuc in rem utriquest maxime. | Yes, but just as quickly as possible: that's of the highest importance to each of us. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Non tuom tu magis videre quam ille suom gnatum cupit. | You don't long to see your son any more than he does his, sir. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Meus mihi, suos cuique est carus. | My son is dear to me, as his own son is to every father. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| 400 Numquid aliud vis patri nuntiari? | No further message for him, eh? |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Me hic valere et—tute audacter dicito, Tyndare—inter nos fuisse ingenio haud discordabili, neque te commeruisse culpam—neque me adversatum tibi— beneque ero gessisse morem in tantis aerumnis tamen; | (somewhat at a loss) Say I am in good health here, and—(earnestly) Tyndarus, speak up boldly to him, yourself,—say that we have never been at variance, that I have never had reason to find fault with you (nor you to think me obstinate) and that you have served your master to the full even in such adversity. |
| neque med umquam deseruisse te neque factis neque fide, rebus in dubiis egenis. haec pater quando sciet, Tyndare, ut fueris animatus erga suom gnatum atque se, numquam erit tam avarus, quin te gratiis emittat manu[12]; et mea opera, si hinc rebito, faciam ut faciat facilius. | Say that a treacherous act, a disloyal thought were things undreamed of even in the dark hours of distress. When my father knows of this, Tyndarus, knows what your spirit toward his son and himself has been, he will never be so niggardly as not to set you free at his own expense; and if I return, I will put forth my own efforts to make him the more ready to do it. |
| 410 nam tua opera et comitate et virtute et sapientia fecisti ut redire liceat ad parentis denuo, cum apud hunc confessus es et genus et divitias meas: quo pacto emisisti e vinclis tuom erum tua sapientia. | For it is through your efforts and good will and devotion and wisdom that I have a chance to go back to my parents once more, inasmuch as you informed this gentleman of my family and wealth: thanks to your wisdom in doing so, your master's fetters have been removed. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Feci ego ista ut commemoras, et te meminisse id gratum est mihi. merito tibi ea venerunt a me; nam nunc, Philocrates, si ego item memorem quae me erga multa fecisti bene, nox diem adimat; nam quasi servos meus esses, nihilo setius tu mihi obsequiosus semper fuisti. | Right you are, sir, so I did, and I'm glad you remember it. You deserve anything I've done for you, too; why, sir, if I was to go on like that now and mention how many good turns you've done me, it would take all day and more; why, it was just as if you had been my slave, not a bit different, the deferential way you've always treated me. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Di vostram fidem, hominum ingenium liberale. ut lacrumas excutiunt mihi. 420 videas corde amare inter se. quantis lautus laudibus suom erum servos collaudavit. | (half aside) Bless my soul, what noble natures! Dear, dear, it brings the tears to my eyes! You can see they are simply devoted to each other, The way that splendid slave praised his own master—a perfect panegyric! |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Pol istic me haud centesimam partem laudat quam ipse meritust ut laudetur laudibus. | Heavens, sir, he doesn't praise me a hundredth part as much as he deserves to be praised himself. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Ergo cum optume fecisti, nunc adest occasio bene facta cumulare, ut erga hunc rem geras fideliter. | (to Philocrates) Well then, having been such an excellent servant, here is an opportunity to crown your services by carrying through this business for him faithfully. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Magis non factum possum velle, quam opera experiar persequi; id ut scias, Iovem supremum testem laudo, Hegio. me infidelem non futurum Philocrati. | I'll be just as keen in actually trying to do it as I can be for wanting it done, sir; and to prove it, sir, I swear by God Almighty that I'll never be unfaithful to Philocrates— |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Probus es homo. | (heartily) Worthy fellow! |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Nec me secus umquam ei facturum quicquam quam memet mihi. | —or ever act any differently by him than I would by my own self. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Istaec dicta te experiri et operis et factis volo; 430 et, quo minus dixi quam volui de te, animum advortas volo, atque horunc verborum causa caveto mi iratus fuas; sed, te quaeso, cogitato hinc mea fide mitti domum te aestimatum, et meam esse vitam hic pro te positam pignori, | (with increased earnestness) It is the actual performance, the deed, I wish to test those words by; and inasmuch as I said less than I wished about your conduct, I wish you to pay particular attention,—yes, and be sure not to take offence at what I say. But I beg you, do bear in mind the fact that you are being sent off home, sent home at my risk and under a forfeit, and that I am staking my life for you here: |
| ne tu me ignores, quom extemplo meo e conspectu abscesseris, quom me servom in servitute pro ted hic reliqueris, tuque te pro libero esse ducas, pignus deseras neque des operam pro me ut huius reducem facias filium.[13] (437) (439) fac fidelis sis fideli, cave fidem fluxam geras: 440 nam pater, scio, faciet quae illum facere oportet omnia; serva tibi in perpetuom amicum me, atque hunc inventum inveni. | so don't forget me the moment you are out of sight, when you have left me here in servitude, a slave, in your stead; and don't consider yourself a free man and let your promise go and fail to save me by bringing back this gentleman's son. Be faithful, I entreat you, to one who has shown his faith, and don't falter in that faithfulness. As for my father, I am sure he will do everything he should do. For your part, keep me your friend for ever, and do not lose this friend (indicating Hegio) you have found. |
| haec per dexteram tuam te dextera retinens manu opsecro, infidelior mihi ne fuas quam ego sum tibi. tu hoc age. tu mihi erus nunc es, tu patronus, tu pater, tibi commendo spes opesque meas. | This I beseech you by this hand (grasping Philocrates' right hand), this hand I hold in mine: don't be less true to me than I am to you. (after a pause) Well, to the work! You are my master now, my protector, my father, you and you only: to you I commend my hopes and my welfare. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Mandavisti satis satin habes, mandata quae sunt facta si refero? | Enough commands, sir. Will you be satisfied, if I turn your commands to accomplished facts? |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Satis. | Yes. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Et tua et tua huc ornatus reveniam ex sententia. numquid aliud? | I'll come back here equipped to suit you (to Hegio) sir, and you, (to Tyndarus) too. Nothing else? |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Ut quam primum possis redeas. | Return as soon as you can. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Res monet. | Naturally, sir. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Sequere me, viaticum ut dem a trapezita tibi, eadem opera a praetore sumam syngraphum. | (to Philocrates) Follow me. I must go to the banker's and give you some money for travelling expenses: I'll get a passport from the praetor at the same time. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| 450 Quem syngraphum? | What passport? |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Quem hic ferat secum ad legionem, hinc ire huic ut liceat domum. tu intro abi. | One to take to the army with him so that he'll he allowed to go off home. As for yourself, you go inside. |
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
| Ben ambulato. | (to Philocrates) A good journey to you. |
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
| Bene vale. |
Good-bye, sir, good-bye! [exit Tyndarus into Hegio's house. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Edepol rem meam constabilivi, quom illos emi de praeda a quaestoribus; expedivi ex servitute filium, si dis placet, at etiam dubitavi, hos homines emerem an non emerem, diu. | (aside, in high spirits) Well, well, well, it was the making of me when I bought those two from the commissioners! I've set my son at Liberty, God willing! And to think I hesitated for a long time whether to buy them or not! |
| servate istum sultis intus, servi, ne quoquam pedem ecferat sine custodela. iam ego apparebo domi; ad fratrem modo captivos alios inviso meos, eadem percontabor, ecquis hunc adulescentem noverit. 460 sequere tu, te ut amittam; ei rei primum praevorti volo. |
(to overseers) Please keep an eye on that prisoner inside
there, my lads, and don't let him set a foot out here
anywhere without a guard. I shall soon be home myself. I'll
just step over to my brother's for a look at my other
captives: at the same time I'll inquire if any one of them
knows this young gentleman. (to Philocrates) Come, my
man, so that I may send you off; I want to attend to that
first. [exeunt Hegio and Philocrates. |
| [ACTVS III] | ACT III |
|
(An hour has elapsed.) enter Ergasilus, much depressed. | |
| Erg. | Erg. |
| Miser homo est, qui ipse sibi quod edit quaerit et id aegre invenit, sed ille est miserior, qui et aegre quaerit et nihil invenit; ille miserrimust, qui cum esse cupit, tum quod edit non habet. nam hercle ego huic die, si liceat, oculos effodiam libens, ita malignitate oneravit omnis mortalis mihi; | It's sad when a man has to spend his time looking for his food and has hard work finding it. It's sadder, though, when he has hard work looking for it and doesn't find it. But it's saddest of all when a man is pining to eat, and no food in range. By gad, if I only could, I'd like to dig the eyes out of this day, it's made every living soul so damnably mean to me! |
| neque ieiuniosiorem neque magis ecfertum fame vidi nec quoi minus procedat quidquid facere occeperit, ita venter gutturque resident esurialis ferias. ilicet parasiticae arti maximam malam crucem, 470 ita iuventus iam ridicules inopesque ab se segregat. | A more hungriful day, a more bulged- out-with-starvation day, a more unprogressive day for every undertaking, I never did see! Such a famine feast as my inside is having! Devil take the parasitical profession! How the young fellows nowadays do sheer off from impecunious wits! |
| nil morantur iam Lacones unisubselli viros, plagipatidas, quibus sunt verba sine penu et pecunia eos requirunt, qui libenter, quom ederint, reddant domi; ipsi obsonant, quae parasitorum ante erat provincia, ipsi de foro tam aperto capite ad lenones eunt quam in tribu aperto capite sontes condemnant reos; neque ridiculos iam terrunci faciunt, sese omnes amant. | Not a bit of use have they nowadays for us Spartans, us valiant benchenders, us descendants of old Takesacuff, whose capital is talk without cash and comestibles. The guests they're after are the ones that enjoy a dinner and then like to return the compliment. They do their marketing themselves, too,—that used to be the parasites' province—and away they go from the forum themselves to interview the pimps, just as barefaced as they are in court when they condemn guilty defendants. They don't care a farthing for wits these days: they're egoists, every one. |
| nam uti dudum hinc abii, accessi ad adulescentes in foro. "salvete" inquam. "quo imus una" inquam "ad prandium?" atque illi tacent. 480 "quid ait 'hoc' aut quis profitetur?" inquam. quasi muti silent, neque me rident. "ubi cenamus?" inquam. atque illi abnuont. | Why, when I left here a little while ago, I went up to some young fellows in the forum. "Good day," says I. "Where are we going to lunch together?" says I. Sudden silence. "Who says: 'This way'? Who makes a bid?" says I. Dumb as mutes, didn't even give me a smile. "Where do we dine?" says I. A shaking of heads. |
| dico unum ridiculum dictum de dictis melioribus, quibus solebam menstruales epulas ante adipiscier: nemo ridet; scivi extemplo rem de compecto geri; ne canem quidem irritatam voluit quisquam imitarier, saltem, si non arriderent, dentes ut restringerent. | I told 'em a funny story—one of my best, that used to find me free board for a month. Nobody smiled. I saw in a moment it was a put-up job; not a one of 'em was even willing to act like a cross dog and at least show their teeth, no matter if they wouldn't laugh. |
| abeo ab illis, postquam video me sic ludificarier; pergo ad alios, venio ad alios, deinde ad alios: una res. omnes de compecto rem agunt, quasi in Velabro olearii. 490 nunc redeo inde, quoniam me ibi video ludificarier. item alii parasiti frustra obambulabant in foro. | I left 'em after I saw I was being made a fool of this way, up I went to some others, and then to others, and to others still,—same story. They re all in a combination, just like the oil dealers in the Velabrum.[C] So here I am back again, seeing I was trifled with there. Some more parasites were prowling round the forum all for nothing, too. |
| nunc barbarica lege certumst ius meum omne persequi: qui consilium iniere, quo nos victu et vita prohibeant, is diem dicam, inrogabo multam. ut mihi cenas decem meo arbitratu dent, cum cara annona sit. sic egero. nunc ibo ad portum hinc: est illic mi una spes cenatica; si ea decolabit, redibo huc ad senem ad cenam asperam. |
Now I'm going to have the foreign law on
those chaps and demand my full rights, I certainly am: it's
conspiracy, conspiracy to deprive us of sustenance and life,
and I'm going to summon 'em, fine 'em—make 'em give me ten
dinners, at my discretion, and that will be when food is
dear. That's how I'll catch them. (turning to go)
Well, now for the harbour. That's where my one hope is,
gastronomically speaking, if that oozes away, I'll come back
here to the old man's terror of a meal. [exit Ergasilus, looking in all directions for a possible host. |
| [III. 2.] | Scene 2. |
| enter Hegio with Aristophontes and Slaves. | |
| Hegio | Hegio |
| Quid est suavius, quam bene rem gerere, bono publico, sic ut ego feci heri, 500 cum emi hosce homines: ubi quisque vident, eunt obviam gratulanturque eam rem, ita me miserum restitando retinendoque lassum reddiderunt: vix ex gratulando miser iam eminebam. | (highly pleased with himself) Now what makes you feel better than managing your affairs properly and contributing to the common good, just as I did yesterday in buying these prisoners? Whenever anyone sees me up he comes and congratulates me on it! Dear, dear! I was so worn out with all their stopping and detaining me, it got to be frightfully hard work emerging from the flood of felicitations. |
| tandem abii ad praetorem; ibi vix requievi: rogo syngraphum, datur mi ilico; dedi Tyndaro: ille abiit domum. inde ilico praevortor domum, postquam id actum est; eo protinus ad fratrem, mei ubi sunt alii captivi. | At last I escaped to the praetor's. Barely waiting to catch my breath, I asked for a passport, got it on the spot, gave it to Tyndarus: he's off for home. After seeing to that, I first start straight for home. Then I go on to my brother's where the rest of my prisoners are. |
| rogo, Philocratem ex Alide ecquis hominum 510 noverit: tandem his exclamat, eum sibi esse sodalem; dico eum esse apud me; hic extemplo orat obsecratque, eum sibi ut liceat videre: iussi ilico hunc exsolvi. nunc tu sequere me, ut quod me oravisti impetres, eum hominem uti convenias. |
Inquire if any one of 'em knows Philocrates of Elis. Finally
this fellow (pointing to Aristophontes) calls out
that Philocrates is a particular friend of his. I tell him
he's at my house; the next instant he's begging and
beseeching me for a chance to see him. I had him unfettered
at once. (to Aristophontes) Now, sir, come this way,
so as to obtain your request and meet your friend. [exeunt into house: as they go in Tyndarus rushes out. |