| [III. 4.] | Scene 4. |
|
enter Hegio, Aristophontes, and Slaves.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Quo illum nunc hominem proripuisse foras se dicam ex aedibus?
|
Where did that fellow bolt for out of the house just now, I
wonder?
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Nunc enim vero ego occidi: eunt ad te hostes, Tyndare.
quid loquar? quid fabulabor? quid negabo aut quid fatebor?
mihi res omnis in incerto sita est. quid rebus confidam meis?
utinam te di prius perderent, quam periisti e patria tua,
Aristophontes, qui ex parata re imparatam omnem facis.
occisa est haec res, nisi reperio atrocem mi aliquam astutiam.
|
(aside) It's all over with me, all over with me now:
the enemy are upon you, Tyndarus! What shall I say? What
story shall I tell? What shall I deny—or what admit? It's a
shaky business for me on every side! What faith can I put in
my luck? Oh, I wish the gods had made away with you before
you made away from home, Aristophontes,—upsetting my
settled plan completely! The game is up, unless I hit upon
some awfully clever scheme.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Sequere. em tibi hominem. adi, atque adloquere.
|
(to Aristophontes, on seeing Tyndarus) Come along!
There's your man! Go up and speak to him!
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
540
Quis homo est me hominum miserior?
|
(aside, as Aristophontes approaches) What mortal man
is in a more confounded hole than this? (pretends not to
recognize him)
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Quid istuc est quod meos te dicam fugitare oculos, Tyndare,
proque ignoto me aspernari, quasi me numquam noveris?
equidem tam sum servos quam tu, etsi ego domi liber fui,
tu usque a puero servitutem servivisti in Alide.
|
I wonder what you mean by this, Tyndarus,—avoiding my eye
and snubbing me as a stranger, quite as if you never knew
me? I'm just as much of a slave as you are, to be sure, but
at home I was free: as for you, you've been slaving it in
Elis from your boyhood up.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Edepol minime miror, si te fugitat aut oculos tuos,
aut si te odit, qui istum appelles Tyndarum pro Philocrate.
|
Bless my soul! I'm not a bit surprised if he avoids you, or
your eye, no, nor if he detests you, when you call him
Tyndarus instead of Philocrates.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Hegio, hic homo rabiosus habitus est in Alide,
ne tu quod istic fabuletur auris immittas tuas.
nam istis hastis insectatus est domi matrem et patrem,
550
et illic isti qui insputatur morbus interdum venit.
proin tu ab istoc procul recedas.
|
(dragging Hegio aside) Hegio, this fellow was looked
upon as a raving maniac in Elis, so don't you let him fill
your ears with his babble. Why, at home he chased his father
and mother about with a spear, and every once in a while he
has an attack of the disease that people spit on.[D]
So get out of his reach, then,—well away.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Ultro istum a me.
|
(to slaves) Keep him off! Keep him off!
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Ain, verbero?
me rabiosum atque insectatum esse hastis meum memoras patrem,
et eum morbum mi esse, ut qui me opus sit insputarier?
|
What's that, you rascal? I'm a raving maniac and chased my
own father with a spear, you say? I have the disease that
calls for my being spat upon?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Ne verere, multos iste morbus homines macerat,
quibus insputari saluti fuit atque is profuit.
|
(cheeringly) Never you mind! Many a man's consumed by
that disease of yours, who's been helped by being spat on,
and it's brought him through.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Quid tu autem? etiam huic credis?
|
(to Hegio, hotly) How's this? You, too? Do you
actually believe him?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Quid ego credam huic?
|
Believe him in what?
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Insanum esse me?
|
That I'm insane?
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Viden tu hunc, quam inimico voltu intuetur? concedi optumumst,
Hegio: fit quod tibi ego dixi, gliscit rabies, cave tibi.
|
(to Hegio) Do you see him—that angry glare of his?
You'd better leave, Hegio. It's just as I said: a fit's
coming on. Look out for yourself!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Credidi esse insanum extemplo, ubi te appellavit Tyndarum.
|
(hastily moving farther off) I thought so, I thought
he was crazy, from the moment he called you Tyndarus.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
560
Quin suom ipse interdum ignorat nomen neque scit qui siet.
|
Why, at times he positively forgets his own name and doesn't
know who he is.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
At etiam te suom sodalem esse aibat.
|
But he was even saying you were an intimate friend of his.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Haud vidi magis.
et quidem Alcumeus atque Orestes et Lycurgus postea
una opera mihi sunt sodales qua iste.
|
(dryly) Quite so! And the fact is that
Alcumeus,[E]
in
that case, and Orestes,[E]
and Lycurgus[E]
too are intimate
friends of mine, just exactly as much.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
At etiam, furcifer,
male loqui mi audes? non ego te novi?
|
Ha! You scoundrel, do you dare go on maligning me? Don't I know you?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Pol planum id quidem est,
non novisse, qui istum appelles Tyndarum pro Philocrate.
quem vides, eum ignoras: illum nominas quem non vides.
|
Good heavens! It's quite plain you don't know him—calling
him Tyndarus instead of Philocrates! The man you see you
don't know: you name the man you don't see.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Immo iste eum sese ait, qui non est, esse, et qui vero est, negat.
|
No, sir! This fellow says he's the man he isn't, and says he
isn't the man he really is.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Tu enim repertu's, Philocratem qui superes veriverbio.
|
(to Aristophontes, meaningly) So you have turned up
to beat Philocrates in stating facts!
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Pol ego ut rem video, tu inventu's, vera vanitudine
qui convincas. sed quaeso hercle, agedum aspice ad me.
|
Good Lord! As I look at it, you have been unearthed to
browbeat facts by stating falsehoods. But come now, confound
it, look me in the eye!
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Em.
|
(doing so coolly) Well?
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
570
Dic modo:
tun negas te Tyndarum esse?
|
Now tell me: do you deny that you are Tyndarus?
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Nego, inquam.
|
I do, certainly.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Tun te Philocratem
esse ais?
|
You claim to be Philocrates, you?
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Ego, inquam.
|
I certainly do.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Tune huic credis?
|
(to Hegio, exasperated) Do you believe him?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Plus quidem quam tibi aut mihi.
nam ille quidem, quem tu hunc memoras esse, hodie hinc abiit Alidem
ad patrem huius.
|
More than I do you, surely,—or myself. For you see, the
fellow you tell me this man is—he went away to Elis to-day
to this man's father.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Quem patrem, qui servos est?
|
(contemptuously) Father! What do you mean, when he's a slave?
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Et tu quidem
servos es, liber fuisti, et ego me confido fore,
si huius huc reconciliasso in libertatem filium.
|
Well, you, too, are a slave and once were free: and (with
emphasis) I hope to be so myself, when I have restored
this gentleman's son to home and liberty.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Quid ais, furcifer? tun te gnatum esse memoras liberum?
|
What's that, you villain? You tell me you were born a freeman?
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Non equidem me Liberum, sed Philocratem esse aio.
|
No indeed, my name is not Freeman, but Philocrates, that's
what I say.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Quid est?
ut scelestus, Hegio, nunc iste te ludos facit.
nam is est servos ipse, neque praeter se umquam
580
ei servos fuit.
|
What's all this? How the rascal's making game of you,
Hegio! Why he's a slave himself—the only one he ever had.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Quia tute ipse eges in patria nec tibi qui vivas domist,
omnis inveniri similis tui vis; non mirum facis:
est miserorum, ut malevolentes sint atque invideant bonis.
|
(superior) Just because you yourself are poverty-
stricken in your own country, with nothing at home to live
on, you want to have every one else put in the same list.
There is nothing strange in that: it is characteristic of
poor beggars to be ill-natured, and envy the well-to-do.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Hegio, vide sis, ne quid tu huic temere insistas credere.
atque, ut perspicio, profecto iam aliquid pugnae edidit.
filium tuom quod redimere se ait, id ne utiquam mini placet.
|
Hegio, I beg you take care not to go on with your rash
confidence in this fellow. And for that matter, he's
certainly given you a fall or two already, I take it. This
talk of his about rescuing your son doesn't please me at
all.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Scio te id nolle fieri; efficiam tamen ego id, si di adiuvant.
illum restituam huic, hic autem in Alidem me meo patri.
propterea ad patrem hinc amisi Tyndarum.
|
(with an appealing look) I know you don't want it
done; but I'll bring it about, God helping me.
(slowly) I will restore his son to this gentleman,
and then this gentleman will send me back to Elis to my
father. That was why I sent Tyndarus off to my father.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Quin tute is es:
590
neque praeter te in Alide ullus servos istoc nominest.
|
Why, you're Tyndarus yourself: and besides you there's not a
slave in Elis of that name.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Pergin servom me exprobrare esse, id quod vi hostili optigit?
|
Still taunting me with being a slave, eh? A slave as it
happens, because the enemy were too much for us!
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Enim iam nequeo contineri.
|
(angrily) I positively can't control myself any
longer!
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Heus, audin quid ait? quin fugis?
iam illic his nos insectabit lapidibus, nisi illunc iubes
comprehendi.
|
(apparently alarmed, to Hegio) Aha! Hear what he's
saying? Run, why don't you? He'll be after us with stones in
a minute, if you don't have him seized.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Crucior.
|
Oh, this is driving me wild!
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Ardent oculi: fit opus, Hegio;
viden tu illi maculari corpus totum maculis luridis?
atra bilis agitat hominem.
|
His eyes are blazing! He's having one, Hegio! See how his
whole body is covered with lurid spots? It's black fury
that's tormenting the fellow!
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
At pol te, si hic sapiat senex,
pix atra agitet apud carnificem tuoque capiti inluceat.
|
Now, by the Lord, if this old gentleman did the wise thing,
it's black pitch that would torment you at the
executioner's, and light up that head of yours!
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Iam deliramenta loquitur, laruae stimulant virum.
hercle qui, si hunc comprehendi iusseris, sapias magis.
|
Now he's got to the raving point! Evil spirits are hounding
the man, Hegio. Heavens! You'd do more wisely to have him
seized!
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
600
Crucior, lapidem non habere me, ut illi mastigiae
cerebrum excutiam, qui me insanum verbis concinnat suis.
|
Oh, damnation! not to have a stone to knock out the brains
of this blackguard that's driving me mad with his talk!
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Audin lapidem quaeritare?
|
Hear that—looking for a stone!
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Solus te solum volo,
Hegio.
|
(struggling to contain himself) Hegio, I want a word
with you all alone.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Instinc loquere, si quid vis, procul tamen audiam.
|
(timorously) Say it from there, if there's anything
you want—from away off there. I shall hear it all the same.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Namque edepol si adbites propius, os denasabit tibi
mordicus.
|
That's right, by Jove! for if you go any nearer, he'll bite
your nose off.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Neque pol me insanum, Hegio, esse creduis
neque fuisse umquam, neque esse morbum quem istic autumat.
verum si quid metuis a me, iube me vinciri: volo,
dum istic itidem vinciatur.
|
Heavens and earth, Hegio! don't believe I'm insane, or that
I have, or ever had, the disease he's talking about.
However, if you're at all afraid of me, have me tied up. I
am willing, provided that fellow is tied up too.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Immo enim vero, Hegio,
istic, qui volt, vinciatur.
|
No indeed, Hegio, certainly not, tie up the fellow that wants it.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Tace modo. ego te, Philocrates
610
false, faciam ut verus hodie reperiare Tyndarus.
quid mi abnutas?
|
You keep still, now! I'll soon show you up, you false
Philocrates, for the real Tyndarus. (Tyndarus makes signs
to him behind Hegio's back) What, are you shaking your
head at me for?
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Tibi ego abnuto?
|
I shaking my head at you?
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Quid agat, si absis longius?
|
(to Hegio) What would he do, if you were farther off?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Quid ais? quid si adeam hunc insanum?
|
See here, what if I should step up to this lunatic?
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Nugas. ludificabitur,
garriet quoi neque pes umquam neque caput compareat.
ornamenta absunt: Aiacem, hunc cum vides, ipsum vides.
|
Ridiculous! He'll make a fool of you, jabbering
something without head or tail to it. Look at this
fellow, and you're looking at a regular Ajax[F]—all but the make-up.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Nihili facio. tamen adibo.
|
I don't care. I'm going to step up to him just the same.
(approaches Aristophontes hesitantly)
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Nunc ego omnino occidi,
nunc ego inter sacrum saxumque sto, nec quid faciam scio.
|
(aside) Now I'm done for entirely. Now I'm between
the axe and the altar, and what to do I don't know.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Do tibi operam, Aristophontes, si quid est quod me velis.
|
I'm at your service, Aristophontes, if there's anything you
want of me.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Ex me audibis vera quae nunc falsa opinare, Hegio.
620
sed hoc primum, me expurigare tibi volo. me insaniam
neque tenere neque mi esse ullum morbum, nisi quod servio.
at ita me rex deorum atque hominum faxit patriae compotem,
ut istic Philocrates non magis est quam aut ego aut tu.
|
I'll show you, Hegio, that all this you take for a lie is
the truth. But first I want to clear myself with you, and
assure you that I am not insane, and have no affliction
except captivity. And now,—(solemnly) so may the
King of heaven and earth restore me to my native land,—that
fellow is no more Philocrates than you or I.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Eho dic mihi,
quis illic igitur est?
|
(impressed) Hey? Tell me, who is he then?
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Quem dudum dixi a principio tibi.
hoc si secus reperies, nullam causam dico quin mihi
et parentum et libertatis apud te deliquio siet.
|
The man I told you he was to begin with, a while ago. If you
find it otherwise, I make no objection to forfeiting my
parents and my liberty and staying here with you.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Quid tu ais?
|
(to Tyndarus) And you—what have you to say?
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Me tuom esse servom et te meum erum.
|
(urbanely) That I am your servant, and that you are my master.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Haud istuc rogo.
fuistin liber?
|
(impatiently) That isn't what I'm asking about. Were
you a freeman?
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Fui.
|
I was.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Enim vero non fuit, nugas agit.
|
He certainly was not. Absurd!
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Qui tu scis? an tu fortasse fuisti meae matri obstetrix,
qui id tam audacter dicere audes?
|
(superciliously) How do you know? Or were you my
mother's midwife, perhaps, that you venture to speak with
such assurance on this point?
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
630
Puerum te vidi puer.
|
I saw you when we were both boys.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
At ego te video maior maiorem: em rursum tibi.
meam rem non cures, si recte facis. num ego curo tuam?
|
Well, I see you now we are both grown-ups. There's one for
you! You wouldn't meddle with my business, if you behaved
decently. I don't meddle with yours, do I?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Fuitne huic pater Thensaurochrysonicochrysides?
|
Wasn't his father called Ducatsdoubloonsandpiecesofeightson?
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Non fuit, neque ego istuc nomen umquam audivi ante hunc diem
Philocrati Theodoromedes fuit pater.
|
No sir, he was not, and I never heard that name before
to-day. The father of Philocrates was Theodoromedes.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Pereo probe
quin quiescis? idie rectum cor meum, ac suspende te.
tu sussultas, ego miser vix asto prae formidine.
|
(aside, dryly) I'm jolly well done for. Stop your
noise, will you, heart? Go to the deuce, and be hanged to
you! Jumping up and down, while I, poor devil, can hardly
stand for fear!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Satin istuc mihi exquisitum est, fuisse hunc servom in Alide
neque esse hunc Philocratem?
|
Am I to take it as absolutely clear that this fellow was a
slave in Elis, that he is not Philocrates?
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Tam satis quam numquam hoc invenies secus.
sed ubi is nunc est?
|
So absolutely that you'll never find it to be anything
different. But where is Philocrates at present?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
640
Ubi ego mimime atque ipsus se volt maxume
sed vide sis.
|
(savagely) Where I least want him, and he most wants
to be. Do, do, see if there's not some mistake, though.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Quin exploratum dico et provisum hoc tibi.
|
No, I'm sure of my ground and fully informed in what I tell you.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Certon?
|
You're certain?
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Quin nihil, inquam, invenies magis hoc certo certus.
Philocrates iam inde usque amicus fuit mihi a puero puer.
|
You'll never find a deader certainty than this, I assure
you. Philocrates has been a friend of mine ever since he was
a boy.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Tum igitur ego deruncinatus, deartuatus sum miser
huius scelesti techinis, qui me ut lubitum est ductavit dolis
sed qua faciest tuos sodalis Philocrates?
|
So then, I've been trimmed, torn limb from limb, poor fool,
by the arts of this rogue, who's taken me in with his tricks
to suit his taste! But what does your friend Philocrates
look like?
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Dicam tibi
macilento ore, naso acuto, corpore albo, oculis nigris,
subrufus aliquantum, crispus, cincinnatus.
|
I'll tell you—thin face, sharp nose, complexion fair, black
eyes, hair a little reddish, waving, and curled.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Convenit.
|
That agrees!
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Ut quidem hercle in medium ego hodie pessume processerim.
650
vae illis virgis miseris, quae hodie in tergo morientur meo.
|
(aside ruefully) Gad! Indeed it does—with my coming
into damned unpleasant prominence this day. Alas for those
poor whips that are doomed this day to die upon my back!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Verba mihi data esse video.
|
I see I've been duped!
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Quid cessatis, compedes,
currere ad me meaque amplecti crura, ut vos custodiam?
|
(aside) Come on, ye shackles, run up and embrace my
shanks, so that I may keep you safe!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Satin med illi hodie scelesti capti ceperunt dolo?
illic servom se assimulabat, hic sese autem liberum.
nuculeum amisi, retinui pignori putamina.
ita mihi stolido sursum versum os sublevere offuciis.
his quidem me numquam irridebit. Colaphe, Cordalio, Corax,
ite istinc, ecferte lora.
|
Well, haven't those rascal captives taken me in with this
day's trickery? The other one pretended he was the slave,
while this fellow here played the freeman. I've lost the
kernel and kept the shell for surety. That's the way they've
daubed my face up for me, ass that I am! (grimly)
This one shall never have the laugh on me, at any rate.
(stepping to door and calling) Box! Buffum! Bangs!
Come! Out with you! Bring your straps!
|
| [III. 5.] | Scene 5. |
|
enter overseers, carrying heavy rawhides.
|
| Cola. | Box |
|
Num lignatum mittimur?
|
(merrily cracking a whip) You don't want us to go and
tie up faggots, do you, sir?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Inicite huic manicas[17] mastigiae.
|
Clap handcuffs on this rogue. (pointing to Tyndarus)
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Quid hoc est negoti? quid ego deliqui?
|
(as they obey) What does this mean? What have I done?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
660
Rogas.
sator sartorque scelerum, et messor maxume?
|
Done! You sower and hoer of sin—(more savagely) and
reaper, especially!
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Non occatorem dicere audebas prius?
nam semper occant prius quam sariunt rustici.
|
(politely) Couldn't you manage to slip in "harrower"?
Why, farmers always harrow before they hoe.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
At tu confidenter[18]
mihi contra astitit.
|
(angrily) Now look at that! the bold way he stands up
to me!
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Decet innocentem servom atque innoxium
confidentem esse, suom apud erum potissimum.
|
A guiltless, harmless slave ought to face his own master
boldly, his own master, of all men.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Adstringite isti sultis vehementer manus.
|
(to overseers) Fasten his hands, tight, mind you!
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Tuos sum, tu has quidem vel praecidi iube.
sed quid negoti est, quam ob rem suscenses mihi?
|
I am yours. Have them cut off, even, for that matter. But
what does this mean? Why this rage at me?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
670
Quia me meamque rem, quod in te uno fuit,
tuis scelestis falsidicis fallaciis
deartuasti dilaceravisti atque opes
confecisti omnes, res ac rationes meas:
ita mi exemisti Philocratem fallaciis.
illum esse servom credidi, te liberum:
ita vosmet aiebatis itaque nomina
inter vos permutastis.
|
Because as far as in you lay you've sent me and my hopes to
smash, demolished me, with your rascally deceitful dodges,
and spoiled all my chances, all my prospects and plans.
That's the way you, got Philocrates off—by swindling me! I
supposed he was the slave and you the freeman; that's what
you said yourselves; that's how you exchanged names.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Fateor, omnia
facta esse ita ut tu dicis, et fallaciis
abiisse eum abs te mea opera atque astutia;
680
an, obsecro hercle te, id nunc suscenses mihi?
|
(coolly) I admit it: it is all as you say—yes, you
were swindled out of him, and it was my support and my
scheming that did it. But heavens and earth, that isn't what
sets you raging at me, is it?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
At cum cruciatu maxumo id factumst tuo.
|
You shall pay for doing it, though, pay for it with your own
best blood!
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Dum ne ob male facta, peream, parvi aestumo.
si ego hic peribo, ast ille ut dixit non redit,
at erit mi hoc factum mortuo memorabile,
me meum erum captum ex servitute atque hostibus
reducem fecisse liberum in patriam ad patrem,
meumque potius me caput periculo
praeoptavisse, quam is periret, ponere.
|
(simply) Provided it is not for wrongdoing, let me
die—it matters little. If I myself do die here, and if he
does fail to return, as he said he would, what I have done,
at least, will be remembered when I am gone—men will tell
how I saved my captured master from slavery and from his
enemies, restored him, a free man, to his home and his
father, and how I chose to put my own life in peril rather
than let him die.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Facito ergo ut Acherunti clueas gloria.
|
Well then, you can look in the next world for that glorious
name of yours.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
690
Qui per virtutem, periit, at non interit.
|
The man that dies in a worthy cause does not perish utterly.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Quando ego te exemplis pessumis cruciavero
atque ob sutelas tuas te morti misero,
vel te interiisse vel periisse praedicent;
dum pereas, nihil intererit: dicant vivere.
|
After I've tortured you in the most excruciating ways
possible, and sent you to perdition for the lies you've
patched up, let 'em announce that you've perished utterly,
or that you've merely died; so long as you're dead, no
matter—they can say you're living, for all I care.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Pol si istuc faxis, haud sine poena feceris,
si ille hue rebitet, sicut confido affore.
|
You do that, sir, and I swear it will cost you dear, if my
master comes back, as I expect him to do.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Pro di immortales, nunc ego teneo, nunc scio
quid hoc sit negoti. meus sodalis Philocrates
in libertate est ad patrem in patria. bene est,
700
nec quisquam est mihi, aeque melius cui velim.
sed hoc mihi aegre est, me huic dedisse operam malam,
qui nunc propter me meaque verba vinctus est.
|
(aside) Great God! Now I see it! Now I understand
what it all means! My chum Philocrates is free, has gone
home to his father. Good! And not a friend have I got that I
wish better luck to, either. But I do feel bad about the
cursed way I've treated Tyndarus here! He's got me and my
tongue to thank for being strapped up at this moment.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Votuin te quicquam mi hodie falsum proloqui?
|
Didn't I tell you not to deceive me in the slightest particular?
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Votuisti.
|
Yes.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Cur es ausus mentiri mihi?
|
Then why did you dare lie to me?
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Quia vera obessent illi quoi operam dabam:
nunc falsa prosunt.
|
Because the truth would have harmed the person I was trying
to help: as it is, deceit has served his turn.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
At tibi oberunt.
|
It won't serve yours, however.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Optumest.
at erum servavi, quem servatum gaudeo.
cui me custodem addiderat erus maior meus.
sed malene id factum arbitrare?
|
Very well, sir. I saved my master, at any rate, and I'm
happy in having saved the man that my older master put in my
care. Really now, do you think this was a wrong act?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Pessume.
|
Atrocious!
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
710
At ego aio recte. qui abs te sorsum sentio.
nam cogitato, si quis hoc gnato tuo
tuos servos faxit, qualem haberes gratiam?
emitteresne necne eum servom manu?
essetne apud te is servos aceeptissimus?
responde.
|
Well, sir, I differ with you—I say it was right. Why, just
think! if a slave of yours did the same thing for your own
son, what would be your feeling toward him? Would you set
this slave free, or not? Wouldn't this slave be your
favourite? Answer me that.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Opinor.
|
(reluctantly) I suppose so.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Cur ergo iratus mihi es?
|
Why are you angry at me, then?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Quia illi fuisti quam mihi fidelior.
|
Because you have been more faithful to him than to me.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Quid? tu una nocte postulavisti et die
recens captum hominem, nuperum novicium,
te perdocere ut melius consulerem tibi,
720
quam illi, quicum una a puero aetatem exegeram?
|
What? Did you expect in a single night and day to teach a
man just recently captured, a slave you had hardly bought,
to consult your interests more than those of the master I
grew up from boyhood with?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Ergo ab eo petito gratiam istam. ducite,
ubi ponderosas crassas capiat compedes.
inde ibis porro in latomias lapidarias.
ibi quom alii octonos lapides effodiunt, nisi
cotidiano sesquiopus confeceris,
Sescentoplago nomen indetur tibi.
|
Well then, look to him for your thanks for it. (to
overseers) Off with him and have him shackled—heavy
ones, solid ones! (to Tyndarus) After that you shall
go straight to the stone quarries. There, while the rest of
them are digging out their eight blocks a day, you're to do
half as much again, or you'll be dubbed The Cracks-
collector.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Per deos atque homines ego te obtestor, Hegio,
ne tu istunc hominem perduis.
|
Hegio! for God's sake don't let the man be utterly lost!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Curabitur;
nam noctu nervo vinctus custodibitur,
730
interdius sub terra lapides eximet:
diu ego hunc cruciabo, non uno absolvam die.
|
Lost? We'll see to that! Why, at night he'll be chained up
in a cell and guarded, and in the daytime he'll be under
ground hewing out stone. It's agony long drawn out he'll get
from me; I won't end it for him all in one day.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Certumne est tibi istuc?
|
(distressed) Is this your fixed intention, sir?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Non moriri certius.
abducite istum actutum ad Hippolytum fabrum,
iubete huic crassas compedes impingier;
inde extra portam ad meum libertum Cordalum
in lapicidinas facite deductus siet:
atque hunc me velle dicite ita curarier,
ne qui deterius huic sit quam cui pessume est.
|
Fixed as death! (to overseers) Quick! March him off
to Hippolytus the blacksmith and have some solid irons
forged on him; then he's to be escorted outside the city to
my freedman Cordalus and the quarries. Yes, and tell
Cordalus I want it seen to that he be treated quite as well
as the man that's treated (ferociously) worst.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
Cur ego te invito me esse salvom postulem?
740
periclum vitae meae tuo stat periculo.
post mortem in morte nihil est quod metuam mali.
etsi pervivo usque ad summam aetatem, tamen
breve spatium est perferundi quae minitas mihi.
|
Why should I ask for mercy when you refuse it? My life is
risked at risk to you. After death, there is no evil in
death for me to fear. And even if I live on and on to the
very limits of human life, it's still only for a short time
I shall have to endure what you threaten me with.
|
|
vale atque salve, etsi aliter ut dicam meres.
tu, Aristophontes, de me ut meruisti, ita vale;
nam mihi propter te hoc optigit.
|
Farewell, sir, and God bless you, no matter if you do deserve to have
me wish you something else. As for you,
Aristophontes, fare you well—as well as you deserve of me;
for it is all on account of you that this has happened to
me.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Abducite.
|
(to overseers) Off with him.
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
At unum hoc quaeso, si huc rebitet Philocrates,
ut mi eius facias conveniundi copiam.
|
But I do ask this one thing of you, sir: if Philocrates
comes back, give me a chance to meet him.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Periistis, nisi hunc iam e conspectu abducitis.
|
(to overseers) Out of my sight with him this instant,
or I'll murder you! (they seize Tyndarus and hurry him
off roughly)
|
| Tynd. | Tynd. |
|
750
Vis haec quidem hercle est, et trahi et trudi simul.
|
(dryly) Well, well! This is positive violence, being
pushed and pulled at the same time.
[exeunt.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Illic est abductus recta in phylacam, ut dignus est.
ego illis captivis aliis documentum dabo,
ne tale quisquam facinus incipere audeat.
quod absque hoc esset, qui mihi hoc fecit palam,
usque offrenatum suis me ductarent dolis.
|
That rascal is bound straight for the prison cell he's
entitled to. I'll make an example of him for the benefit of
those other prisoners, so that none of them will dare engage
in such deviltry. If it hadn't been for this fellow here who
disclosed it all, they'd have bitted me and led me along
with their tricks till the end of time.
|
|
nunc certum est nulli posthac quicquam credere.
satis sum semel deceptus. speravi miser
ex servitute me exemisse filium:
ea spes elapsa est. perdidi unum filium,
760
puerum quadrimum quem mihi servos surpuit,
neque eum servom umquam repperi neque filium;
|
Never again do I trust a soul in anything, that's settled.
Once cheated is
enough. (pauses, then gloomily) I hoped, poor fool,
that I had ransomed my son from slavery—a hope that's
slipped away! I lost one son, a four-year-old boy that a
slave kidnapped, and never a trace of slave or son since.
|
|
maior potitus hostium est. quod hoc est scelus?
quasi in orbitatem liberos produxerim.
sequere hac. reducam te ubi fuisti. neminis
miserere certum est, quia mei miseret neminem.
|
And my older boy in the hands of enemies! What curse am I
under? As if I'd begotten children so as to be left
childless! (to Aristophontes) This way, you.
(going toward brother's house) Back you go where you
were before. I am determined to pity no one, since no one
pities me.
|
| Arist. | Arist. |
|
Exauspicavi ex vinclis. nunc intellego
redauspicandum esse in catenas denuo.
|
(wryly) It seemed a good omen, my getting out of
irons. Now I perceive I must omen myself back to chains
again.
[exeunt.
|
|
[IV. 2.]
| Scene 2. |
|
enter Hegio.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Quanto in pectore hanc rem meo magis volato,
tanto mi aegritudo auctior est in animo.
ad illum modum sublitum os esse mi hodie!
neque id perspicere quivi.
quod cum scibitur, tum per urbem inridebor.
|
(soliloquizing moodily) The more I think it over, the
sourer I feel. The idea of their playing upon me in that
style to-day! And I couldn't see through it. When it gets
known, I shall be the joke of the town.
|
|
cum extemplo ad forum advenero, omnes loquentur:
"hic illest senex doctus, quoi verba data sunt."
sed Ergasilus estne his, procul quem video?
conlecto quidem est pallio. quidnam acturust?
|
The moment I appear
at the forum they'll all be saying, "Here comes that smart
old fellow that got humbugged." (observing Ergasilus)
But isn't that Ergasilus I see over there? With his cloak
all tucked up, too! Now what in the world is he going to do?
(steps aside)
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
790
Move aps te moram atque, Ergasile, age hanc rem.
eminor interminorque, ne mi obstiterit obviam
nisi quis satis diu vixisse sese homo arbitrabitur.
nam qui obstiterit, ore sistet.
|
(with burlesque importance and bustle) No dawdling
now, Ergasilus! At it, my boy, at it! I give you to wit by
all the law's pains and penalties that no man stand in my
way, unless he thinks he has lived long enough. For the man
that does stand in my way shall stand on his head.
(squares off and delivers lusty blows at imaginary
passers-by)
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Hic homo pugilatum incipit.
|
(aside) The fellow is going in for a boxing match!
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Facere certumst. proinde ita omnes itinera insistant sua,
ne quis in hanc plateam negoti conferat quicquam sui.
nam meus est ballista pugnus, cubitus catapultast mihi,
umerus aries, tum genu quemque icero ad terram dabo,
dentilegos omnes mortales faciam, quemque offendero.
|
I'll do it, I'm resolved. So everybody keep where they
belong, and don't anyone bring his business into this
street! I tell you what, my fist is a siege-gun, and this
forearm is my catapult, and my shoulder is a battering ram,
yes, and every man I lay my knee into will bite the earth.
I'll make every man I meet a tooth-collector.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Quae illaec eminatiost nam? nequeo mirari satis.
|
(aside) What on earth does all this bluster mean?
Quite unaccountable!
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Faciam ut huius diei locique meique semper
meminerit.[20]
800
|
I'll make him remember this day and this place and me
for ever.[20]
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
(802)
Quid hic homo tantum incipissit facere cum tantis minis?
|
(aside) What giant undertaking is the fellow at, with
all this big talk?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Prius edico, ne quis propter culpam capiatur suam:
continete vos domi, prohibete a vobis vim meam.
|
I give you due notice, that no one may come to grief through
his own ignorance of the law: stay at home: keep away from
me—I am a violent man.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Mira edepol sunt, ni hic in ventrem sumpsit confidentiam.
vae misero illi, cuius cibo iste factust imperiosior.
|
(aside) Bless my soul! I'll be sworn he's got some
assurance put into his inside. Heaven help the poor wretch
whose larder has set him up so!
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Tum pistores scrofipasci, qui alunt furfuribus sues,
quarum odore praeterire nemo pistrinum potest:
eorum si quoiusquam scrofam in publico conspexero,
810
ex ipsis dominis meis pugnis exculcabo furfures.
|
And as for the millers that keep sows, and feed waste stuff
to their swine, that raise such a stench nobody can go by
the mill,—if I spy a sow of any one of 'em on the public
highway, I'll up with my fists and stamp the stuffing out of
those sows'—owners.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Basilicas edictiones atque imperiosas habet:
satur homost, habet profecto in ventre confidentiam.
|
(aside) Right royal and imperious pronunciamentos.
The man is gorged: he certainly has got some assurance
stowed away inside.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Tum piscatores, qui praebent populo pisces foetidos,
qui advehuntur quadrupedanti crucianti cantherio,
quorum odos subbasilicanos omnes abigit in forum,
eis ego ora verberabo surpiculis piscariis,
ut sciant, alieno naso quam exhibeant molestiam.
|
Then the fishmongers that travel around on a jogging,
jolting gelding, and offer folk stale fish so strong it
drives every last lounger in the arcade out into the
forum— I'll whack their faces with their own fish baskets,
just to teach 'em what an abomination they are to the public nose.
|
|
tum lanii autem, qui concinnant liberis orbas oves,
qui locant caedundos agnos et duplam agninam danunt,
820
qui petroni nomen indunt verveci sectario,
eum ego si in via petronem publica conspexero
et petronem et dominum reddam mortales miserrumos.
|
Yes, and the butchers, too, that bereave sheep of their
little ones, that engage to sell you lambs fit for
slaughter, and then give you lamb as old as two lambs, and
pass off a tough old ram as a prime wether—if I spy that
ram on a city thoroughfare, I'll make ram and owner the
saddest men alive!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Eugepae, edictiones aedilicias hic quidem habet,
mirumque adeost ni hunc fecere sibi Aetoli agoranomum.
|
(aside) Splendid! Why, he is issuing edicts like a
Comptroller of the Victualling: I shouldn't be surprised if
the Aetolians have made him market inspector.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Non ego nunc parasitus sum, sed regum rex regalior,
tantus ventri commeatus meo adest in portu cibus
sed ego cesso hunc Hegionem onerare laetitia senem,
quo homine hominum adaeque nemo vivit fortunatior?
|
I'm no parasite now, not I! I'm a precious potent potentate
of potentates, with all that invoice at the harbour for my
belly—food, food! But I must hurry and load old Hegio here
with ecstasy. There's not a luckier man alive than he!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Quae illaec est laetitia, quam illic laetus largitur mihi?
|
(aside) What ecstasy is it this ecstatic creature is
going to lavish on me?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
830
Heus ubi estis? ecquis hic est? ecquis hoc aperit ostium?
|
(pounding on Hegio's door) Hi! Where are you? Anybody
here? Anybody going to open this door?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Hic homo ad cenam recipit se ad me.
|
(aside) The fellow is coming to dine with me.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Aperite hasce ambas fores
prius quam pultando assulatim foribus exitium adfero.
|
Open this door—both doors—before I knock 'em to flinders
and finish 'em for good and all!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Perlubet hunc hominem colloqui. Ergasile.
|
(aside) I should quite enjoy a word with him.
(aloud) Ergasilus!
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Ergasilum qui vocat?
|
(still pounding) Who calls Ergasilus?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Respice.
|
Vouchsafe me a look, sir.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Fortuna quod tibi nec facit nec faciet, me iubes.
sed quis est?
|
(without turning his head) Vouchsafe you a look, eh!
That is more than Good Luck does for you, or ever will do,
either! Who is it, though?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Respice ad me, Hegio sum.
|
Look around this way. It's Hegio.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Oh mihi,
quantum est hominum optumorum optume, in tempore advenis.
|
(rushing up) Oh! oh! You best of all the best men
that tread the earth, you come just in time!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Nescio quem ad portum nactus es ubi cenes, eo fastidis.
|
You have hit upon some one or other at the harbour to dine
with: that's why you are so haughty.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Cedo manum.
|
(rapturously) Give me your hand!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Manum?
|
My hand?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Manum, inquam, cedo tuam actutum.
|
Your hand, I say—give me your hand this instant!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Tene.
|
(doing so) Take it. (Ergasilus shakes it vigorously)
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Gaude.
|
Rejoice!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Quid ego gaudeam?
|
Rejoice—I? What for?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Quia ego impero, age gaude modo.
|
Because I bid you to. Come now, rejoice!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Pol maerores mi antevortunt gaudiis.[21]
840
|
Good Lord, man! grief takes precedence of joy in my case.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Iam ego ex corpore exigam omnis maculas maerorum tibi.
gaude audacter.
|
I will remove every grief spot from off your person for you
this minute. Rejoice, rejoice boldly!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Gaudeo, etsi nil scio quod gaudeam.
|
Well, I am rejoicing, although I haven't the least idea why I should.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Bene facis. iube—
|
Much obliged! Order—
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Quid iubeam?
|
(suspiciously) Order what?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Ignem ingentem fieri.
|
—a fire to be built, an enormous fire.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Ignem ingentem?
|
An enormous fire?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Ita dico, magnus ut sit.
|
That's what I say—make it a big one.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Quid? me, volturi,
tuan causa aedis incensurum censes?
|
(angry) How's that? Do you think I'm going to burn my
house down for your benefit, you vulture?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Noli irascier.
iuben an non iubes astitui aulas, patinas elui,
[22]laridum
atque epulas foveri foculis ferventibus?
alium pisces praestinatum abire?
|
Calm yourself, sir. Will you order the pots to be set near
the oven, or won't you—and the platters washed—and bacon
and lovely things to eat to be warmed up in fire-pans piping
hot? And some one to go and lay in fish?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Hic vigilans somniat.
|
Day dreams, poor fellow!
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Alium porcinam atque agninam et pullos gallinaceos?
|
And some one else to get pork and lamb and spring chicken?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Scis bene esse, si sit unde.
|
You know how to enjoy yourself—given the
wherewithal.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
850
[23]
Pernam atque ophthalmiam,
horaeum, scombrum et trygonum et cetum, et mollem caseum?
|
And ham and river-lamprey and pickled fish, mackerel and
sting ray and tunny, and nice soft cheese?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Nominandi istorum tibi erit magis quam edundi copia
his apud me, Ergasile.
|
You will have more of an opportunity to mention those
viands, Ergasilus, than to masticate them here at my house.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Mean me causa hoc censes dicere?
|
Do you suppose I'm saying this on my own account?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Nec nihil hodie nec multo plus tu hic edes, ne frustra sis.
proin tu tui cottidiani victi ventrem ad me afferas.
|
What you get here to-day will be a cross between nothing and
next to nothing; make no mistake about that. So bring me a
stomach that is ready for your ordinary fare.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Quin ita faciam. ut tute cupias facere sumptum, etsi ego vetem.
|
Why, I'll make you long to squander money, you yourself,
even though I should forbid it.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Egone?
|
Me?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Tune.
|
Yes, sir, you!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Tum tu mi igitur erus es.
|
Then you are my master, I take it.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Immo benevolens.
vin te faciam fortunatum?
|
No, no, your whole-souled friend. Do you want me to make you
a fortunate man?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Malim quam miserum quidem.
|
Rather than unfortunate, why, yes.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Cedo manum.
|
Give me your hand.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Em manum.
|
Here it is. (Ergasilus again shakes it fervently)
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Di te omnes adiuvant.
|
The gods are with you!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Nil sentio.
|
I wouldn't know it.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
860
Non enim es in senticeto, eo non sentis. sed iube
vasa tibi pura apparari ad rem divinam cito,
atque agnum afferri proprium pinguem.
|
You wouldn't? Well, you're out of the wood; that's why you
don't twig it. But see they get the holy vessels ready for
worship—quick! Yes, and have a special lamb brought in, a
fat one.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Cur?
|
Why?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Ut sacrufices.
|
So that you may offer sacrifice.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Cui deorum?
|
To what deity?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Mi hercle, nam ego nunc tibi sum summus Iuppiter,
idem ego sum Salus, Fortuna, Lux, Laetitia, Gaudium.
proin tu deum hunc saturitate facias tranquillum tibi.
|
To me, by gad! For I'm your Jupiter Most High now, myself;
and Salvation, Fortune, Light, Gladness, Joy—they're all
this identical I! So mind you placate this divinity by
stuffing him full.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Esurire mihi videre.
|
You need food, I fancy.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Mi quidem esurio, non tibi.
|
No sir, I need food I fancy, not food you fancy.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Tuo arbitratu, facile patior.
|
(smiling) Have it your own way: I'm perfectly willing
to—crawl.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Credo, consuetu's puer.
|
Crawl? I believe you: it's a habit you—fell into—as a child.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Iuppiter te dique perdant.
|
(disgusted) Oh, you be damned, sir!
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Te hercle—mi aequom est gratias
agere ob nuntium; tantum ego nunc porto a portu tibi boni:
nunc tu mihi places.
|
And by Jove, you be—grateful to me, as you ought, for my
news. The glorious news from the port I'm just reporting!
Now your dinner begins to tempt me.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
870
Abi, stultu's, sero post tempus venis.
|
Be off, you idiot: you're behind time, you have come too
late.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Igitur olim si advenissem, magis tu tum istuc diceres;
nunc hanc laetitiam accipe a me, quam fero. nam filium
tuom modo in portu Philopolemum vivom, salvom et sospitem
vidi in publica celoce, ibidemque illum adulescentulum
Aleum una et tuom Stalagmum servom, qui aufugit domo,
qui tibi surripuit quadrimum puerum filiolum tuom.
|
Well, if I had come before, then you'd have had more reason
to say that. (slowly and portentously) Now, sir,
prepare for the ecstasy of which I am the vehicle. A few
minutes ago at the harbour your son, your son Philopolemus,
alive, safe and sound,—I saw him, saw him in a despatch
boat, and along with him that young Elean and your slave
Stalagmus that stole your little four year old boy.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Abi in malam rem, ludis me.
|
To the devil with you! You're making fun of me.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Ita me amabit sancta Saturitas,
Hegio, itaque suo me semper condecoret cognomine,
ut ego vidi.
|
So help me Holy Stuffing, so may she grace me with her name
for evermore—I did see them, Hegio!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Meum gnatum?
|
(sceptically) My son?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Tuom gnatum et genium meum.
|
Your son and my guardian angel.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Et captivom illum Alidensem?
|
And that Elean prisoner?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Μὰ τὸν Ἀπόλλω.
|
Oui, par Hercules!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
880
Et servolum
meum Stalagmum, meum qui gnatum surripuit?
|
And that miserable slave of mine, Stalagmus, that kidnapped
my son?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Ναὶ τὰν Κόραν.
|
Oui, par Hercul-aneum!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Iam credo?
|
I'm to believe that?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Ναὶ τὰν Πραινέστην.
|
Oui, par Pompeii!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Venit?
|
He's come?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Ναὶ τὰν Σιγνίαν.
|
Oui, par Sorrento!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Certon?
|
You're sure?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Ναὶ τὸν Φρουσινῶνα.
|
Oui, par Amalfi!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Vide sis.
|
Careful now!
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Ναὶ τὸν Ἀλάτριον.
|
Oui, par Torre dell'Annunziata!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Quid tu per barbaricas urbes iuras?
|
What are you swearing by foreign cities for!
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Quia enim item asperae
sunt ut tuom victum autumabas esse.
|
Well, because they're the same as you said your meals
were—perfect terrors.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Vae aetati tuae.
|
Plague take you!
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Quippe quando mihi nil credis, quod ego dico sedulo.
sed Stalagmus quoius erat tunc nationis, cum hinc abit?
|
My sentiments exactly, seeing you don't believe a word I
tell you in sober earnest. Stalagmus, though,—what was his
nationality when he disappeared?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Siculus.
|
Sicilian.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
At nunc Siculus non est, Boius est, Boiam terit:
liberorum quaerundorum causa ei, credo, uxor datast.
|
But he's no Sicilian now: he's a Gaul—he's being
galled,[G]
anyhow, by that thing he's attached to: he's
coupled with the article so as to get children, I suppose?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Dic, bonan fide tu mi istaec verba dixisti?
|
See here, have you told me all this in good faith?
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
890
Bona.
|
In good faith.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Di immortales, iterum gnatus videor, si vera autumas.
|
Great heavens! I feel like a new man, if what you say is
true.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Ain tu? dubium habebis etiam, sancte quom ego iurem tibi?
postremo, Hegio, si parva iuri iurandost fides,
vise ad portum.
|
Eh? How's that? You'll still doubt me when I'd give you my
sacred word on it? Very well then, Hegio, if my solemn oath
is insufficient for you, go down to the harbour and see for
yourself.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Facere certumst. tu intus cura quod opus est.
sume, posce, prome quid vis. te facio cellarium.
|
(excited) Precisely what I will do. You go inside and
attend to what's needed. Take anything you want, ask for it,
get it from the store-room. I make you butler.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Nam hercle, nisi mantiscinatus probe ero, fusti pectito.
|
(wild with joy) Now by Jupiter, if I don't do some
handsome catering, comb me down with a club!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Aeternum tibi dapinabo victum, si vera autumas.
|
I'll dinner you till doomsday, if it's true.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Unde id?
|
And who's to pay?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
A me meoque gnato.
|
I and my son.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
Sponden tu istud?
|
I have your word on that?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Spondeo.
|
My word.
|
| Erg. | Erg. |
|
At ego tuom tibi advenisse filium respondeo.
|
And for my part, my word to you is—your son has arrived.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Cura quam optume potes.
|
(making off toward harbour) Attend to everything the
very best you can.
|
| [ACTVS V] | ACT V |
|
(Half an hour has elapsed.)
enter Hegio, Philopolemus,
Philocrates, and Stalagmus.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Iovi disque ago gratias merito magnas,
quom reducem tuo te patri reddiderunt
quomque ex miseriis plurimis me exemerunt,
quae adhuc te carens dum hic[25]
fui sustentabam,
quomque hunc conspicor in potestate nostra,
quomque huius reperta est fides firma nobis.
|
(to Philopolemus) I thank God with all my heart, as I
ought, for bringing you back to your father, and for
relieving me of the dreadful anguish I've been enduring as
day after day went by, and I still here without you; yes,
and for letting me see this rascal (indicating
Stalagmus) in my power, and for this gentleman's
(indicating Philocrates) proving himself a man of
honour in standing by his promise to us.
|
| Philop. | Philop. |
|
Satis iam dolui ex animo, et cura me satis et lacrumis maceravi,
satis iam audivi tuas aerumnas, ad portum mihi quas memorasti.
hoc agamus.
|
(seeing Philocrates is getting impatient) I've had
quite enough bitter suffering, and enough of wearing myself
out with anxiety and weeping, too, and I've heard quite
enough of your distress of which you told me at the harbour,
father! So now to the main point. (turns to
Philocrates)
|
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
|
930
Quid nunc, quoniam tecum servavi fidem
tibique hunc reducem in libertatem feci?
|
(to Hegio) What of me, sir, now that I have kept
faith with you and secured the liberty of your son here?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Fecisti ut tibi,
Philocrates, numquam referre gratiam possim satis,
proinde ut tu promeritu's de me et filio.
|
After the way you have acted, Philocrates, I'm entirely
unable to show gratitude enough for your treatment of me and
my son.
|
| Philop. | Philop. |
|
Immo potes,
pater, et poteris et ego potero, et di eam potestatem dabunt
ut beneficium bene merenti nostro merito muneres;
sicut tu huic[26]
potes, pater mi, facere merito maxume.
|
No, no, you are able, father, yes, and always will be able,
and so shall I be, and Heaven will give you the ability to
do a deserved kindness to a man that has been so kind to us.
It's just as with this slave here, (pointing to Stalagmus)
father dear; you're able to give him his full deserts.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Quid opust verbis? lingua nullast qua negem quidquid roges.
|
(to Philocrates) It's plain enough, sir,—I have no
tongue with which to refuse a request of yours.
|
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
|
Postulo abs te, ut mi illum reddas servom, quem hic reliqueram
pignus pro me, qui mihi melior quam sibi semper fuit,
940
pro bene factis eius ut ei pretium possim reddere.
|
What I ask you to do is to give me back the slave I left
here as security for myself—he was always ready to
sacrifice himself for me!—so that I can reward him for his
kindnesses.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Quod bene fecisti referetur gratia id quod postulas;
et id et aliud, quod me orabis, impetrabis. atque te
nolim suscensere quod ego iratus ei feci male.
|
You have been kind to us, sir, and I shall be glad to do as
you ask; both that request, and any other, will be granted.
(embarrassed) And—and I trust you won't be incensed
at me for getting angry and treating him badly.
|
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
|
Quid fecisti?
|
(anxiously) What did you do?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
In lapicidinas compeditum condidi,
ubi rescivi mihi data esse verba.
|
I had him fettered and put down in the stone quarries when I
found out I had been imposed upon.
|
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
|
Vae misero mihi,
propter meum caput labores homini evenisse optumo.
|
God forgive me! To think of the splendid fellow suffering
so, and all for my sake!
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
At ob eam rem mihi libellam pro eo argenti ne duis.
gratiis a me, ut sit liber, ducito.
|
Well, sir, this being so, you needn't give me a single
farthing for him: take him from me gratis—he is a free man.
|
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
|
Edepol, Hegio.
facis benigne. sed quaeso, hominem ut iubeas arcessi.
|
Well, well, Hegio, many thanks! But have him sent for, I beg
you.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Licet.
950
ubi estis vos? ite actutum Tyndarum huc arcessite,
vos ite intro. interibi ego ex hac statua verberea volo
erogitare, meo minore quid sit factum filio.
vos lavate interibi.
|
By all means (calling to slaves in house) Where are you?
[enter overseers.]
Quick! go bring Tyndarus here.
[exeunt overseers] (to Philopolemus
and Philocrates) As for you lads, step inside. Meanwhile
I want to inquire of this whipping post here (pointing to
Stalagmus) what was done with my younger son. You can
take a bath meanwhile.
|
| Philop. | Philop. |
|
Sequere hac. Philocrates, me intro.
|
Come along in with me, Philocrates.
|
| Philocr. | Philocr. |
|
Sequor.
|
Certainly.
[exeunt.
|
| [V. 2.] | Scene 2. |
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Age tu illuc procede. bone vir, lepidum mancupium meum.
|
(to Stalagmus) Come now, you! Over there with you,
(pointing) my good sir, my charming piece of
property.
|
| Stal. | Stal. |
|
Quid me oportet facere, ubi tu talis vir falsum autumas?
fui ego bellus, lepidus. bonus vir numquam, neque frugi bonae,
neque ero umquam, ne erres: spem ponas me bonae frugi fore.
|
(sullenly) What can you look for from me, when a fine
gentleman like you tells lies? I've had my day as a dandy, a
charmer; a good sir, or good for anything, I never was, and
I never will be, make no mistake, don't you build up hopes I
will be good for anything.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Propemodum ubi loci fortunae tuae sint facile intellegis.
si eris verax, tua ex re, facies ex mala meliusculam.
960
recte et vera loquere, sed neque vere neque tu recte adhuc
fecisti umquam.
|
You have no difficulty in appreciating your position pretty
fairly well. Now be truthful, and you'll be acting to your
own advantage and make a bad prospect somewhat better. Out
with your story, make it straightforward and honest—virtues
you have never displayed hitherto, however.
|
| Stal. | Stal. |
|
Quod ego fatear, credin pudeat cum autumes?
|
When I'm ready to admit a thing myself d'ye think I should
be ashamed of it just because you say it's so?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
At ego faciam ut pudeat, nam in ruborem te totum dabo.
|
I'll make you ashamed, though: (savagely) I tell you
what, I'll make one big blush of you.
|
| Stal. | Stal. |
|
Eia, credo ego imperito plagas minitaris mihi.
tandem ista aufer ac dic quid fers, ut feras hinc quod petis.
|
(ironically) La! La! I'm promised a whipping, it
seems, and I such a novice at it—oh, yes I am! Look here,
get done with that talk and say what you've got to propose,
so as to get what you're after.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Satis facundu's. sed iam fieri dicta compendi volo.
|
Quite a gift of tongue, sir! But oblige me by saving some of
it for the moment.
|
| Stal. | Stal. |
|
Ut vis fiat.
|
Anything you like.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Bene morigerus fuit puer, nunc non decet.
hoc agamus. iam animum advorte ac mihi quae dicam
edissere.[27]
(967)
|
(half aside) That compliance he showed as a boy
hardly becomes him at present. (aloud) To business!
Now then, pay attention and answer me fully.
|
| Stal. | Stal. |
|
(969)
Nugae istaec sunt. non me censes scire quid dignus siem?
|
Rot! Don't you suppose I know what I deserve?
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
970
At ea subterfugere potis es pauca, si non omnia.
|
Well, you have a chance to escape a little of it, if not
all.
|
| Stal. | Stal. |
|
Pauca effugiam, scio; nam multa evenient, et merito meo,
quia et fugi et tibi surripui filium et eum vendidi.
|
Little enough I'll escape, I know that; for there'll be
plenty coming, and it serves me right, seeing I ran away and
kidnapped your son and sold him.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Cui homini?
|
To whom?
|
| Stal. | Stal. |
|
Theodoromedi in Alide Polyplusio,
sex minis.
|
(drawling) Theodoromedes Goldfields, in Elis, for
twenty-four pounds.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Pro di immortales, is quidem huius est pater Philocrati.
|
God bless my soul! Why, he is the father of Philocrates here!
|
| Stal. | Stal. |
|
Quin melius novi quam tu et vidi saepius.
|
Well, I know him better than you, and I've seen him oftener.
|
| Hegio | Hegio |
|
Serva, Iuppiter supreme, et me et meum gnatum mihi.
Philocrates, per tuom te genium obsecro, exi, te volo.
|
God Almighty, save me and save my boy for me! (running to
door and shouting) Philocrates! Here, here, come, on
your life! I want you!
|