Chapter VII: Act THE FIFTH: Scene I

_Enter CHREMES and SIMO from the house of SIMO._

CHREM. Enough already, enough, Simo, has my friendship toward you been proved. Sufficient hazard have I begun to encounter; make an end of your entreaties, then. While I’ve been endeavoring to oblige you, I’ve almost fooled away my daughter’s prospects in life.

SIM. Nay but, now in especial, Chremes, I do beg and entreat of you, that the favor, commenced a short time since in words, you’ll now complete by deeds.

CHREM. See how unreasonable you are from your {very} earnestness; so long as you effect what you desire, you neither think of limits to compliance, nor what {it is} you request of me; for if you did think, you would now forbear to trouble me with unreasonable requests.

SIM. What unreasonable {requests}?

CHREM. Do you ask? You importuned me to promise my daughter to a young man engaged in another attachment, averse to the marriage state, to plunge her into discord and a marriage of uncertain duration; that through her sorrow and her anguish I might reclaim your son. You prevailed; while the case admitted of it I made preparations. Now it does not admit of it; you must put up with it; they say that she is a citizen of this place; a child has been born; do cease to trouble us.

SIM. By the Gods, I do conjure you not to bring your mind to believe those whose especial interest it is that he should be as degraded as possible. On account of the marriage, have all these things been feigned and contrived. When the reason for which they do these things is removed from them, they will desist.

CHREM. You are mistaken: I myself saw the servant-maid wrangling with Davus.

SIM. (_sneeringly._) I am aware.

CHREM. With an appearance of earnestness, when neither at the moment perceived that I was present there.

SIM. I believe it; and Davus a short time since forewarned me that this would be the case; and I don’t know how I forgot to tell it you to-day, as I had intended.

SCENE II.

_Enter DAVUS from the house of GLYCERIUM._

DAV. (_aloud at the door, not seeing SIMO and CHREMES._) Now then, I bid you set your minds at ease.

CHREM. (_to SIMO._) See you, there’s Davus.

SIM. From what house is he coming out?

DAV. (_to himself._) Through my means, and that of the stranger----

SIM. (_overhearing._) What mischief is this?

DAV. (_to himself._) I never did see a more opportune person, encounter, {or} occasion.

SIM. The rascal! I wonder who it is he’s praising?

DAV. All the affair is now in a safe position.

SIM. Why do I delay to accost him?

DAV. (_to himself, catching sight of SIMO._) It’s my master; What am I to do?

SIM. (_accosting him._) O, save you, good sir!

DAV. (_affecting surprise._) Hah! Simo! O, Chremes, my {dear sir}, all things are now quite ready in-doors.

SIM. (_ironically._) You have taken such very good care.

DAV. Send for the bride when you like.

SIM. Very good: (_ironically_) of course, that’s the {only} thing that’s now wanting here. But do you answer me this, what business had you there? (_Pointing to the house of GLYCERIUM._)

DAV. What, I?

SIM. Just so.

DAV. I?

SIM. Yes, you.

DAV. I went in just now.

SIM. As if I asked how long ago!

DAV. Together with your son.

SIM. What, is Phamphilus in there? (_Aside._) To my confusion, I’m on the rack (_To DAVUS._) How now? Didn’t you say that there was enmity between them, {you} scoundrel?

DAV. There is.

SIM. Why is he there, then?

CHREM. Why do you suppose he {is}? (_Ironically._) Quarreling with her, {of course}.

DAV. Nay but, Chremes, I’ll let you now hear from me a disgraceful piece of business. An old man, I don’t know who he is, has just now come here; look you, he is a confident {and} shrewd person; when you look at his appearance, he seems to be a person of some consequence. There is a grave sternness in his features, and something commanding in his words.

SIM. What {news} are you bringing, I wonder?

DAV. Why nothing but what I heard him mention.

SIM. What does he say then?

DAV. That he knows Glycerium to be a citizen of Attica.

SIM. (_going to his door._) Ho there! Dromo, Dromo!

SCENE III.

_Enter DROMO hastily from the house._

DRO. What is it?

SIM. Dromo!

DAV. Hear me.

SIM. If you add a word-- Dromo!

DAV. Hear me, pray.

DRO. (_to SIMO._) What do you want?

SIM. (_pointing to DAVUS._) Carry him off on your shoulders in-doors as fast as possible.

DRO. Whom?

SIM. Davus.

DAV. For what reason?

SIM. Because I choose. (_To DROMO._) Carry him off, I say.

DAV. What have I done?

SIM. Carry him off.

DAV. If you find that I have told a lie in any one matter, {then} kill me.

SIM. I’ll hear nothing. I’ll soon have you set in motion.[89]

DAV. {What?} Although this is the truth.

SIM. In spite of it. (_To DROMO._) Take care he’s kept well secured; and, do you hear? Tie him up hands and feet together.[90] Now then, be off; upon my faith this very day, if I live, I’ll teach you what hazard there is in deceiving a master, and him {in deceiving} a father. (_DROMO leads DAVUS into the house._)

CHREM. Oh, don’t be so extremely vexed.

SIM. O Chremes, the dutifulness of a son! Do you not pity me? That I should endure so much trouble for such a son! (_Goes to the door of GLYCERIUM’S house._) Come, Pamphilus, come out, Pamphilus! have you any shame left?

SCENE IV.

_Enter PAMPHILUS in haste from GLYCERIUM’S house._

PAM. Who is it that wants me? (_Aside._) I’m undone! it’s my father.

SIM. What say you, of all men, the--?

CHREM. Oh! rather speak about the matter itself, and forbear to use harsh language.

SIM. As if any thing too severe could now be possibly said against him. Pray, do you say that Glycerium is a citizen--

PAM. So they say.

SIM. So they say! Unparalleled assurance! does he consider what he says? Is he sorry for what he has done? Does his countenance, pray, at all betray any marks of shame? That he should be of mind so weak, as, without regard to the custom and the law[91] of his fellow-citizens, and the wish of his own father, to be anxious, in spite of every thing, to have her, to his own utter disgrace!

PAM. Miserable that I am!

SIM. Ha! have you at last found that out only just now, Pamphilus? Long since {did} that expression, long since, when you made up your mind, that what you desired must be effected by you at any price; from that very day did that {expression} aptly befit you. But yet why do I torment myself? Why vex myself? Why worry my old age with this madness? Am I to suffer the punishment for his offenses? Nay then, let him have her, good-by to him, let him pass his life with her.

PAM. My father----

SIM. How, “my father?” As if you stood in any need of this father. Home, wife, {and} children, provided {by you} against the will of your father! People suborned, {too,} to say that she is a citizen of this place! You have gained your point.

PAM. Father, may I {say} a few words?

SIM. What can you say to me?

CHREM. But, Simo, do hear him.

SIM. I, hear him? Why should I hear him, Chremes?

CHREM. Still, however, do allow him to speak.

SIM. Well then, let him speak: I allow him.

PAM. I own that I love her; if that is committing a fault, I own that also. To you, father, do I subject myself. Impose on me any injunction you please; command me. Do you wish me to take a wife? Do you wish me to give her up? As well as I can, I will endure it. This only I request of you, not to think that this old gentleman has been suborned by me. Allow me to clear myself, and to bring him here before you.

SIM. To bring him here?

PAM. Do allow me, father.

CHREM. He asks what’s reasonable; do give him leave.

PAM. Allow me to obtain thus much of you.

SIM. I allow it. I desire any thing, so long as I find, Chremes, that I have not been deceived by him. (_PAMPHILUS goes into the house of GLYCERIUM._)

CHREM. For a great offense, a slight punishment ought to satisfy a father.

SCENE V.

_Re-enter PAMPHILUS with CRITO._

CRI. (_to PAMPHILUS, as he is coming out._) Forbear entreating. Of these, any one reason prompts me to do it, either your own sake, or the fact that it is the truth, or that I wish well for Glycerium herself.

CHREM. (_starting._) Do I see Crito of Andros? Surely it is he.

CRI. Greetings to you, Chremes.

CHREM. How is it that, so contrary to your usage, you are at Athens?

CRI. {So} it has happened. But is this Simo?

CHREM. {It is} he.

CRI. Simo, were you asking for me?

SIM. How now, do you say that Glycerium is a citizen of this place?

CRI. Do you deny it?

SIM. (_ironically._) Have you come here so well prepared?

CRI. For what purpose?

SIM. Do you ask? Are you to be acting this way with impunity? Are you to be luring young men into snares here, inexperienced in affairs, and liberally brought up, by tempting them, and to be playing upon their fancies by making promises?

CRI. Are you in your senses?

SIM. And are you to be patching up amours with Courtesans by marriage?

PAM. (_aside._) I’m undone! I fear that the stranger will not put up with this.

CHREM. If, Simo, you knew this person well, you would not think thus; he is a worthy man.

SIM. He, a worthy man! To come so opportunely to-day {just} at the very nuptials, {and yet} never to have come before? (_Ironically._) Of course, we must believe him, Chremes.

PAM. (_aside._) If I didn’t dread my father, I have something, which, in this conjuncture, I could opportunely suggest to him.[92]

SIM. (_sneeringly, to CHREMES._) A sharper![93]

CRI. (_starting._) Hah!

CHREM. It is his way, Crito; do excuse it.

CRI. Let him take heed how he behaves. If he persists in saying to me what he likes, he’ll be hearing things that he don’t like. Am I meddling with these matters or interesting myself? Can you not endure your troubles with a patient mind? For as to what I say, whether it is true or false what I have heard, can soon be known. A certain man of Attica, a long time ago,[94] his ship being wrecked, was cast ashore at Andros, and this woman together with him, who was {then} a little girl; he, in his destitution, by chance first made application to the father of Chrysis--

SIM. (_ironically._) He’s beginning his tale.

CHREM. Let him alone.

CRI. Really, is he to be interrupting me in this way?

CHREM. Do you proceed.

CRI. He who received him was a relation of mine. There I heard from him that he was a native of Attica. He died there.

CHREM. His name?

CRI. The name, in such a hurry!

PAM. Phania.

CHREM. (_starting._) Hah! I shall die!

CRI. I’faith, I really think it was Phania; this I know for certain, he said that he was a citizen of Rhamnus.[95]

CHREM. O Jupiter!

CRI. Many other persons in Andros have heard the same, Chremes.

CHREM. (_aside._) I trust it may turn out as I hope. (_To CRITO._) Come now, tell me, what {did} he then {say} about her? Did he say she was his own {daughter}?

CRI. No.

CHREM. Whose then?

CRI. His brother’s daughter.

CHREM. She certainly is mine.

CRI. What do you say?

SIM. What is this that you say?

PAM. (_aside._) Prick up your ears, Pamphilus.

SIM. Why do you suppose {so}?

CHREM. That Phania was my brother.

SIM. I knew him, and I am aware of it.

CHREM. He, flying from the wars, and following me to Asia, set out from here. At the same time he was afraid to leave her here behind; since then, this is the first time I have heard what became of him.

PAM. (_aside._) I am scarcely myself, so much has my mind been agitated by fear, hope, joy, {and} surprise at this so great, so unexpected blessing.

SIM. Really, I am glad for many reasons that she has been discovered to be a citizen.

PAM. I believe it, father.

CHREM. But there yet remains one difficulty[96] with me, which keeps me in suspense.

PAM. (_aside._) You deserve to be ----, with your scruples, {you} plague. You are seeking a knot in a bulrush.[97]

CRI. (_to CHREMES._) What is that?

CHREM. The names don’t agree.

CRI. Troth, she had another when little.

CHREM. What {was it}, Crito? Can you remember it?

CRI. I’m trying to recollect it.

PAM. (_aside._) Am I to suffer his memory to stand in the way of my happiness, when I myself can provide my own remedy in this matter? I will not suffer it. (_Aloud._) Hark you, Chremes, that which you are trying to recollect {is} “Pasibula.”

CHREM. The very same.

CRI. That’s it.

PAM. I’ve heard it from herself a thousand times.

SIM. I suppose, Chremes, that you believe that we all rejoice at this discovery.

CHREM. So may the Gods bless me, I do believe it.

PAM. What remains {to be done}, father?

SIM. The event itself has quite brought me to reconcilement.

PAM. O kind father! With regard to her as a wife, since I have taken possession of her, Chremes will not offer any opposition.

CHREM. The plea is a very good one, unless perchance your father says any thing to the contrary.

PAM. Of course, I agree.

SIM. {Then} be it so.[98]

CHREM. Her portion, Pamphilus, is ten talents.

PAM. I am satisfied.

CHREM. I’ll hasten to my daughter. Come now, (_beckoning_) along with me, Crito; for I suppose that she will not know me. (_They go into GLYCERIUM’S house._)

SIM. (_To PAMPHILUS._) Why don’t you order her to be sent for hither, {to our house}?

PAM. Well thought of; I’ll at once give charge of that to Davus.

SIM. He can’t {do it}.

PAM. How so?

SIM. Because he has another matter that more nearly concerns himself, and of more importance.

PAM. What, pray?

SIM. He is bound.

PAM. Father, he is not rightly bound.[99]

SIM. But I ordered to that effect.

PAM. Prithee, do order him to be set at liberty.

SIM. Well, be it so.

PAM. But immediately.

SIM. I’m going in.

PAM. O fortunate and happy day! (_SIMO goes into his house._)

SCENE VI.

_Enter CHARINUS, at a distance._

CHAR. (_apart to himself._) I’m come to see what Pamphilus is about; and look, here he is.

PAM. (_to himself._) Some one perhaps might imagine that I don’t believe this to be true; but now it is clear to me that it really is true. I do think that the life of the Gods is everlasting, for this reason, because their joys are their own.[100] For immortality has been obtained by me, if no sorrow interrupts this delight. But whom in particular could I wish to be now thrown in my way, for me to relate these things to?

CHAR. (_apart to himself._) What means this rapture?

PAM. (_to himself._) I see Davus. There is no one in the world whom I would choose in preference; for I am sure that he of all people will sincerely rejoice in my happiness.

SCENE VII.

_Enter DAVUS._

DAV. (_to himself._) Where is Pamphilus, I wonder?

PAM. Here he is, Davus.

DAV. (_turning round._) Who’s that?

PAM. ’Tis I, Pamphilus; you don’t know what has happened to me.

DAV. No really; but I know what has happened to myself.

PAM. And I too.

DAV. It has fallen out just like human affairs in general, that you should know the mishap I have met with, before I the good that has befallen you.

PAM. My Glycerium has discovered her parents.

DAV. O, well done!

CHAR. (_apart, in surprise._) Hah!

PAM. Her father is an intimate friend of ours.

DAV. Who?

PAM. Chremes.

DAV. You do tell good news.

PAM. And there’s no hinderance to my marrying her at once.

CHAR. (_apart._) Is he dreaming the same that he has been wishing for when awake?

PAM. Then about the child, Davus.

DAV. O, say no more; you are the only person whom the Gods favor.

CHAR. (_apart._) I’m all right if these things are true. I’ll accost them. (_Comes forward._)

PAM. Who is this? {Why,} Charinus, you meet me at the very nick of time.

CHAR. That’s all right.

PAM. Have you heard--?

CHAR. Every thing; come, in your good fortune do have some regard for me. Chremes is now at your command; I’m sure that he’ll do every thing you wish.

PAM. I’ll remember you; and because it is tedious for us to wait for him until he comes out, follow me this way; he is now in-doors at the house of Glycerium; do you, Davus, go home; send with all haste to remove her thence. Why are you standing {there}? Why are you delaying?

DAV. I’m going. (_PAMPHILUS and CHARINUS go into the house of GLYCERIUM. DAVUS then comes forward and addresses the Audience._) Don’t you wait until they come out from there; she will be betrothed within: if there is any thing else that remains, it will be transacted in-doors. Grant us your applause.[101]

FOOTNOTES

[Footnote 1: From σιμὸς, “flat-nosed.”]

[Footnote 2: From πᾶν, “all,” and φιλὸς, “a friend.”]

[Footnote 3: From σώζω, “to save;” saved in war.]

[Footnote 4: From χρέμπτομαι, “to spit.”]

[Footnote 5: From ξάρις, “grace.”]

[Footnote 6: From κριτής, “a judge.”]

[Footnote 7: From Dacia, his native country; the Davi and Daci
being the same people.]

[Footnote 8: From δρόμος, “a race.”]

[Footnote 9: From πυῤῥὸς, “red-haired.”]

[Footnote 10: From γλυκερὸς, “sweet.”]

[Footnote 11: From Mysia, her native country.]

[Footnote 12: From Lesbos, her native country.]

[Footnote 13: _The Megalensian Games_)--These games were
instituted at Rome in honor of the Goddess Cybele, when her statue
was brought thither from Pessinum, in Asia Minor, by Scipio
Nasica; they were so called from the Greek title Μεγάλη Μήτηρ,
“the Great Mother.” They were called Megalesia or Megalensia,
indifferently. A very interesting account of the origin of these
games will be found in the Fasti of Ovid. B. iv. l. 194, et seq.]

[Footnote 14: _Being Curule Ædiles_)--Among the other offices of
the Ædiles at Rome, it was their duty to preside at the public
games, and to provide the necessary dramatic representations for
the Theatre, by making contracts with the Poets and Actors.]

[Footnote 15: _Ambivius Turpio and Lucius Atilius
Prænestinus_)--These persons were the heads or managers of the
company of actors who performed the Play, and as such it was their
province to make the necessary contracts with the Curule Ædiles.
They were also actors themselves, and usually took the leading
characters. Ambivius Turpio seems to have been a favorite with the
Roman public, and to have performed for many years; of L. Atilius
Prænestinus nothing is known.]

[Footnote 16: _Freedman of Claudius_)--According to some, the
words, “Flaccus Claudi” mean “the son of Claudius.” It is,
however, more generally thought that it is thereby meant that he
was the freedman or liberated slave of some Roman noble of the
family of the Claudii.]

[Footnote 17: _Treble flutes and bass flutes_)--The history of
ancient music, and especially that relative to the “tibiæ,”
“pipes” or “flutes,” is replete with obscurity. It is not agreed
what are the meanings of the respective terms, but in the present
Translation the following theory has been adopted: The words
“dextræ” and “sinistræ” denote the kind of flute, the former being
{treble}, the latter {bass} flutes, or, as they were sometimes
called, “incentivæ” or “succentivæ;” though it has been thought by
some that they were so called because the former held with the
right hand, the latter with the left. When two treble flutes or
two bass flutes were played upon at the same time, they were
called “tibiæ pares;” but when one was “dextra” and the other
“sinistra,” “tibiæ impares.” Hence the words “paribus dextris et
sinistris,” would mean alternately with treble flutes and bass
flutes. Two “tibiæ” were often played upon by one performer at the
same time. For a specimen of a Roman “tibicen” or “piper,” see the
last scene of the Stichus of Plautus. Some curious information
relative to the pipers of Rome and the legislative enactments
respecting them will be found in the Fasti of Ovid, B. vi. l. 653,
et seq.]

[Footnote 18: _It is entirety Grecian_)--This means that the scene
is in Greece, and that it is of the kind called “palliata,” as
representing the manners of the Greeks, who wore the “pallium,” or
outer cloak; whereas the Romans wore the “toga.” In the Prologue,
Terence states that he borrowed it from the Greek of Menander.]

[Footnote 19: _Being Consuls_)--M. Claudius Marcellus and C.
Sulpicius Galba were Consuls in the year from the building of Rome
586, and B.C. 167.]

[Footnote 20: _A malevolent old Poet_)--Ver. 7. He alludes to
Luscus Lanuvinus, or Lavinius, a Comic Poet of his time, but
considerably his senior. He is mentioned by Terence in all his
Prologues except that to the Hecyra, and seems to have made it the
business of his life to run down his productions and discover
faults in them.]

[Footnote 21: _Composed the Andrian_)--Ver. 9. This Play, like
that of our author, took its name from the Isle of Andros, one of
the Cyclades in the Ægean Sea, where Glycerium is supposed to have
been born. Donatus, the Commentator on Terence, informs us that
the first Scene of this Play is almost a literal translation from
the Perinthian of Menander, in which the old man was represented
as discoursing with his wife just as Simo does here with Sosia. In
the Andrian of Menander, the old man opened with a soliloquy.]

[Footnote 22: _And the Perinthian_)--Ver. 9. This Play was so
called from Perinthus, a town of Thrace, its heroine being a
native of that place.]

[Footnote 23: _Nævius, Plautus, and Ennius_)--Ver. 18. Ennius was
the oldest of these three Poets. Nævius a contemporary of Plautus.
See a probable allusion to his misfortunes in the Miles Gloriosus
of Plautus, l. 211.]

[Footnote 24: _The mystifying carefulness_)--Ver. 21. By “obscuram
diligentiam” he means that formal degree of precision which is
productive of obscurity.]

[Footnote 25: _Are to be taken care of, I suppose_)--Ver. 30.
“Nempe ut curentur recte hæc.” Colman here remarks; “Madame Dacier
will have it that Simo here makes use of a kitchen term in the
word ‘curentur.’ I believe it rather means ‘to take care of’ any
thing generally; and at the conclusion of this very scene, Sosia
uses the word again, speaking of things very foreign to cookery,
‘Sat est, curabo.’”]

[Footnote 26: _To be my freedman_)--Ver. 37. “Libertus” was the
name given to a slave set at liberty by his master. A “libertinus”
was the son of a “libertus.”]

[Footnote 27: _As it were a censure_)--Ver. 43. Among the Greeks
(whose manners and sentiments are supposed to be depicted in this
Play) it was a maxim that he who did a kindness should forget it,
while he who received it should keep it in memory. Sosia
consequently feels uneasy, and considers the remark of his master
in the light of a reproach.]

[Footnote 28: _After he had passed from youthfulness_)--Ver. 51.
“Ephebus” was the name given to a youth when between the ages of
sixteen and twenty.]

[Footnote 29: _And a master_)--Ver. 54. See the Notes to the
Translation of the Bacchides of Plautus, l. 109, where Lydus,
a slave, appears as the “pædagogus,” or “magister,” of
Pistoclerus.]

[Footnote 30: _Or to the philosophers_)--Ver. 57. It was the
custom in Greece with all young men of free birth to apply
themselves to the study of philosophy, of course with zeal
proportioned to the love of learning in each. They each adopted
some particular sect, to which they attached themselves. There is
something sarcastic here, and indeed not very respectful to the
“philosophers,” in coupling them as objects of attraction with
horses and hounds.]

[Footnote 31: _Nothing to excess_)--Ver. 61. “Ne quid nimis.” This
was one of the three sentences which were inscribed in golden
letters in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. The two others were
“Know thyself,” and “Misery is the consequence of debt and
discord.” Sosia seems from the short glimpse we have of him to
have been a retailer of old saws and proverbs. He is unfortunately
only a Protatic or introductory character, as we lose sight of him
after this Act.]

[Footnote 32: _Meanwhile, three years ago_)--Ver. 60. The
following remark of Donatus on this passage is quoted by Colman
for its curiosity. “The Author has artfully said three years, when
he might have given a longer or a shorter period; since it is
probable that the woman might have lived modestly one year; set up
the trade the next; and died the third. In the first year,
therefore, Pamphilus knew nothing of the family of Chrysis; in the
second, he became acquainted with Glycerium; and in the third,
Glycerium marries Pamphilus, and finds her parents.”]

[Footnote 33: _He is smitten_)--Ver. 78. “Habet,” literally “He
has it.” This was the expression used by the spectators at the
moment when a Gladiator was wounded by his antagonist. In the
previous line, in the words “captus est,” a figurative allusion is
made to the “retiarius,” a Gladiator who was provided with a net,
with which he endeavored to entangle his opponent.]

[Footnote 34: _Gave his contribution_)--Ver. 88. “Symbolam.” The
“symbolæ,” “shot” at picnic or club entertainments, are more than
once alluded to in the Notes to the Translation of Plautus.]

[Footnote 35: _Even I myself_)--Ver. 116. Cooke remarks here: “A
complaisant father, to go to the funeral of a courtesan, merely to
oblige his son!”]

[Footnote 36: _The female attendants_)--Ver. 123. “Pedissequæ.”
These “pedissequæ,” or female attendants, are frequently alluded
to in the Plays of Plautus. See the Notes to Bohn’s Translation.]

[Footnote 37: _To the burying-place_)--Ver. 128. “Sepulcrum”
strictly means, the tomb or place for burial, but here the funeral
pile itself. When the bones were afterward buried on the spot
where they were burned, it was called “bustum.”]

[Footnote 38: _Troubles itself about that_)--Ver. 185. He says
this contemptuously, as if it was likely that the public should
take any such great interest in his son as the father would imply
by his remark. By thus saying, he also avoids giving a direct
reply.]

[Footnote 39: _Davus, not Œdipus_)--Ver. 194. Alluding to the
circumstance of Œdipus alone being able to solve the riddle of the
Sphynx.]

[Footnote 40: _To the mill_)--Ver. 199. The “pistrinum,” or
“hand-mill,” for grinding corn, was used as a mode of punishment
for refractory slaves. See the Notes to the Translation of
Plautus.]

[Footnote 41: _Those in their dotage, not those who dote in
love_)--Ver. 218. There is a jingle intended in this line, in the
resemblance between “amentium,” “mad persons,” and “amantium,”
“lovers.”]

[Footnote 42: _They have resolved to rear_)--Ver. 219. This
passage alludes to the custom among the Greeks of laying new-born
children on the ground, upon which the father, or other person who
undertook the care of the child, lifted it from the ground,
“tollebat.” In case no one took charge of the child, it was
exposed, which was very frequently done in the case of female
children. Plato was the first to inveigh against this barbarous
practice. It is frequently alluded to in the Plays of Plautus.]

[Footnote 43: _Hence to the Forum_)--Ver. 226. Colman has the
following remark: “The Forum is frequently spoken of in the Comic
Authors; and from various passages in which Terence mentions it,
it may be collected that it was a public place, serving the
several purposes of a market, the seat of the courts of justice,
a public walk, and an exchange.”]

[Footnote 44: _Wine-bibbing_)--Ver. 229. The nurses and midwives
of antiquity seem to have been famed for their tippling
propensities. In some of the Plays of Plautus we do not find them
spared.]

[Footnote 45: _Rearing some monster_)--Ver. 250. “Aliquid monstri
alunt.” Madame Dacier and some other Commentators give these words
the rather far-fetched meaning of “They are hatching some plot.”
Donatus, with much more probability, supposes him to refer to the
daughter of Chremes, whom, as the young women among the Greeks
were brought up in great seclusion, we may suppose Pamphilus never
to have seen.]

[Footnote 46: _She is oppressed with grief_)--Ver. 268. “Laborat a
dolore.” Colman has the following remark upon this passage:
“Though the word ‘laborat’ has tempted Donatus and the rest of the
Commentators to suppose that this sentence signifies Glycerium
being in labor, I can not help concurring with Cooke, that it
means simply that she is weighed down with grief. The words
immediately subsequent corroborate this interpretation; and at the
conclusion of the Scene, when Mysis tells him that she is going
for a midwife, Pamphilus hurries her away, as he would naturally
have done here had he understood by these words that her mistress
was in labor.”]

[Footnote 47: _By your good Genius_)--Ver. 289. “Per Genium tuum.”
This was a common expression with the Romans, and is used by
Horace, Epistles, B. i., Ep. 7:--

“Quod te per Genium dextramque Deosque Penates,
Obsecro, et obtestor--”

The word “Genius” signified the tutelary God who was supposed to
attend every person from the period of his birth. The
signification of the word will be found further referred to in the
Notes to the Translation of Plautus.]

[Footnote 48: _To fetch the midwife_)--Ver. 299. Cooke has the
following remark here: “Methinks Mysis has loitered a little too
much, considering the business which she was sent about; but
perhaps Terence knew that some women were of such a temper as to
gossip on the way, though an affair of life or death requires
their haste.” Colman thus takes him to task for this observation:
“This two-edged reflection, glancing at once on Terence and the
ladies, is, I think, very ill-founded. The delay of Mysis, on
seeing the emotion of Pamphilus, is very natural; and her artful
endeavors to interest Pamphilus on behalf of her mistress, are
rather marks of her attention than neglect.”]

[Footnote 49: _Charinus and Byrrhia_). We learn from Donatus that
the characters of Charinus and Byrrhia were not introduced in the
work of Menander, but were added to the Play of Terence, lest
Philumena’s being left without a husband, on the marriage of
Pamphilus to Glycerium, should appear too tragical a circumstance.
Diderot is of opinion that Terence did not improve his Play by
this addition.]

[Footnote 50: _Tell me nothing_)--Ver. 336. It has been suggested
that this refers to Byrrhia’s dissuading his master from
addressing Pamphilus, or else to what he has told him concerning
the intended marriage. Westerhovius thinks that Byrrhia is just
then whispering some trifling nonsense in his master’s ear, which
he, occupied with more important cares, is unwilling to attend
to.]

[Footnote 51: _To a high place_)--Ver. 356. He probably alludes to
some part of the Acropolis, the citadel, or higher part of Athens,
which commanded a view of the lower town.]

[Footnote 52: _Stillness before the door_)--Ver. 362. Madame
Dacier observes that this remark is very appropriately made by
Davus, as showing that the marriage was clearly not intended by
Chremes. The house of the bride on such an occasion would be
thronged by her friends, and at the door would be the musicians
and those who were to form part of the bridal procession.]

[Footnote 53: _No matron at the house_)--Ver. 364. By the use of
the word “matrona,” he probably alludes to the “pronubæ” among the
Romans, whose duties were somewhat similar to those of our
bride’s-maids. At the completion of the bridal repast, the bride
was conducted to the bridal chamber by matrons who had not had
more than one husband.]

[Footnote 54: _An obol’s worth_)--Ver. 369. The “obelus” was the
smallest Greek silver coin, and was equal in value to about three
halfpence of our money. “Pisciculi minuti,” “little fish,” were
much used for food among the poorer classes; “mena,” a fish
resembling our pilchard, was a common article of food with the
Romans. The larger kinds of fish went under the general name of
“cetum.”]

[Footnote 55: _I have now followed him_)--Ver. 414. “Hunc
venientem sequor.” Cooke has the following remark on this line:
“This verse, though in every edition, as Bentley judiciously
observes, is certainly spurious; for as Pamphilus has not
disappeared since Byrrhia left the stage, he could not say ‘nunc
{hunc} venientem sequor.’ If we suppose the line genuine, we must
at the same time suppose Terence guilty of a monstrous absurdity.”
On these words Colman makes the following just observations:
“Other Commentators have also stumbled at this passage; but if in
the words ‘followed {him} hither,’ we suppose {‘him’} (hunc) to
refer to Simo, the difficulty is removed; and that the pronoun
really does signify Simo, is evident from the circumstance of
Pamphilus never having left the stage since the disappearance of
Byrrhia. Simo is also represented as coming on the stage homeward,
so that Byrrhia might easily have followed him along the street;
and it is evident that Byrrhia does not allude to Pamphilus from
the agreeable surprise which he expresses on seeing him there so
opportunely for the purpose.”]

[Footnote 56: _Inflict evil upon me_)--Ver. 431. “Malum;” the
usual name by which slaves spoke of the beatings they were in the
habit of receiving at the hands or by the order of their irascible
masters. Colman has the following remarks: “Donatus observes on
this Scene between Byrrhia, Simo, Pamphilus, and Davus, that the
dialogue is sustained by four persons, who have little or no
intercourse with each other; so that the Scene is not only in
direct contradiction to the precept of Horace, excluding a fourth
person, but is also otherwise vicious in its construction. Scenes
of this kind are, I think, much too frequent in Terence, though,
indeed, the form of the ancient Theatre was more adapted to the
representation of them than the modern. The multiplicity of
speeches {aside} is also the chief error in this dialogue; such
speeches, though very common in dramatic writers, ancient and
modern, being always more or less unnatural.”]

[Footnote 57: _What does he say, Davus?_)--Ver. 434. “Quid, Dave,
narrat?” This reading Vollbehr suggests in place of the old one,
“Quid Davus narrat?” and upon good grounds, as it appears.
According to the latter reading we are to suppose that Davus is
grumbling to himself, on which Simo says, “What does Davus say?”
It seems, however, much more likely that Davus accompanies
Pamphilus to the door, and speaks to him before he goes in, and
then, on his return to Simo, the latter asks him, “What does he
say, Davus?”]

[Footnote 58: _Just as much as nothing_)--Ver. 434. “Æque quidquam
nunc quidem.” This is a circumlocution for “nothing at all:”
somewhat more literally perhaps, it might be rendered “just as
much as before.” Perizonius supplies the ellipsis with a long
string of Latin words, which translated would mean, “Now, indeed,
he says equally as much as he says then, when he says nothing at
all.”]

[Footnote 59: _Amount of ten drachmæ_)--Ver. 451. The Attic
drachma was a silver coin worth in value about 9¾_d._ of English
money.]

[Footnote 60: _Juno Lucina_)--Ver. 473. Juno Lucina had the care
of women in childbed. Under this name some suppose Diana to have
been worshiped. A similar incident to the present is found in the
Adelphi, l. 486; and in the Aulularia of Plautus, l. 646.]

[Footnote 61: _Are your scholars forgetful?_)--Ver. 477. He
alludes under this term to Mysis, Lesbia, and Pamphilus, whom he
supposes Davus to have been training to act their parts in the
plot against him.]

[Footnote 62: _Let her bathe_)--Ver. 483. It was the custom for
women to bathe immediately after childbirth. See the Amphitryon of
Plautus, l. 669, and the Note to the passage in Bohn’s
Translation.]

[Footnote 63: _Be laying the child_)--Ver. 507. Colman has the
following remark on this line:-- “The art of this passage is equal
to the pleasantry, for though Davus runs into this detail merely
with a view to dupe the old man still further by flattering him on
his fancied sagacity, yet it very naturally prepares us for an
incident which, by another turn of circumstances, afterward
becomes necessary.”]

[Footnote 64: _Proved to be false_)--Ver. 513. That is, according
to Simo’s own notion, which Davus now thinks proper to humor.]

[Footnote 65: _To Bring a child at the same time_)--Ver. 515. This
is a piece of roguery which has probably been practiced in all
ages, and was somewhat commonly perpetrated in Greece. The reader
of English history will remember how the unfortunate son of James
II was said, in the face of the strongest evidence to the
contrary, to have been a supposititious child brought into the
queen’s chamber in a silver warming-pan.]

[Footnote 66: _But I do not think_)--Ver. 563-4. “At ego non posse
arbitror neque illum hane perpetuo habere.” Chremes uses an
ambiguous expression here, perhaps purposely. It may mean, “I do
not think that he can possibly be constant to her,” or, “that she
will continue to live with him.”]

[Footnote 67: _A sure son-in-law_)--Ver. 571. By the use of the
word “firmum,” he means a son-in-law who will not be likely to
resort to divorce or separation from his wife.]

[Footnote 68: _Why isn’t the bride sent for?_)--Ver. 582. Among
the Greeks the bride was conducted by the bridegroom at nightfall
from her father’s house, in a chariot drawn by a pair of mules or
oxen, and escorted by persons carrying the nuptial torches. Among
the Romans she proceeded in the evening to the bridegroom’s house;
preceded by a boy carrying a torch of white thorn, or, according
to some, of pine-wood. To this custom reference is indirectly made
in the present passage.]

[Footnote 69: _I myself, indeed!_)--Ver. 597. No doubt Davus says
these words in sorrow and regret; Simo, however, supposes them to
be uttered in exultation at the apparent success of his plans.
Consequently “vero” is intended by Davus to have the sense here of
“too truly.”]

[Footnote 70: _To a frivolous slave_)--Ver. 610. “Servo futili.”
According to the Scholiast on the Thebais of Statius, B. viii.
l. 297, “vas futile” was a kind of vessel with a broad mouth and
narrow bottom, used in the rites of Vesta. It was made of that
peculiar shape in order that the priest should be obliged to hold
it during the sacrifices, and might not set it on the ground,
which was considered profane; as, if set there, the contents must
necessarily fall out. From this circumstance, men who could not
{contain} a secret were sometimes called “futiles.”]

[Footnote 71: _You scoundrel_)--Ver. 619. “Furcifer;” literally,
wearer of the “furca,” or wooden collar. This method of punishment
has been referred to in the Notes to the Translation of Plautus.]

[Footnote 72: _What do you deserve?_)--Ver. 622. Madame Dacier
remarks that this question is taken from the custom of the
Athenians, who never condemned a criminal without first asking him
what punishment he thought he deserved; and according to the
nature of his answer they mitigated or increased his punishment.
Tho Commentators quote a similar passage from the Frogs of
Aristophanes.]

[Footnote 73: _The cross_)--Ver. 622. The “cross,” “crux,” as a
punishment for refractory slaves has been remarked upon in the
Notes to the Translation of Plautus.]

[Footnote 74: _The circumstances_)--Ver. 635. “Res.” According,
however, to Donatus, this word has the meaning here of “malice” or
“spitefulness.”]

[Footnote 75: _Concerned in my own interests_)--Ver. 637.
Equivalent to our sayings, “Charity begins at home;” “Take care of
number one.”]

[Footnote 76: _They are not ashamed_)--Ver. 638. Terence has
probably borrowed this remark from the Epidicus of Plautus,
l. 165-6: “Generally all men are ashamed when it is of no use; when
they ought to be ashamed, then does shame forsake them, when
occasion is for them to be ashamed.”]

[Footnote 77: _Makes a noise_)--Ver. 683. The doors with the
Romans opened inwardly, while those of the Greeks opened on the
outside. It was therefore usual with them, when coming out, to
strike the door on the inside with a stick or with the knuckles,
that those outside might be warned to get out of the way. Patrick,
however, observes with some justice, that the word “concrepuit”
may here allude to the creaking of the hinges. See the Curculio of
Plautus, l. 160, where the Procuress pours water on the hinges, in
order that Cappadox may not hear the opening of the door.]

[Footnote 78: _Take some sacred herbs_)--Ver. 727. “Verbena”
appears to have been a general term applied to any kind of herb
used in honor of the Deities, or to the boughs and leaves of any
tree gathered from a pure or sacred place. Fresh “verbenæ” were
placed upon the altars every day. See the Mercator of Plautus,
l. 672.]

[Footnote 79: _From the altar here_)--Ver. 727. It was usual to
have altars on the stage; when Comedy was performed, one on the
left hand in honor of Apollo, and on the representation of
Tragedy, one on the right in honor of Bacchus. It has been
suggested that Terence here alludes to the former of these. As,
however, at Athens almost every house had its own altar in honor
of Apollo Prostaterius just outside of the street door, it is most
probable that to one of these altars reference is here made. They
are frequently alluded to in the Plays of Plautus.]

[Footnote 80: _Which I had first purposed, I now give up_)--Ver.
734. His first intention no doubt was to go and inform Simo of the
child being laid at the door.]

[Footnote 81: _Whenever there’s necessity_)--Ver. 737. He retires
without fully explaining his intention to Mysis; consequently, in
the next Scene she gives an answer to Chremes which Davus does not
intend.]

[Footnote 82: _Stuffed out beneath her clothes_)--Ver. 771.
“Suffarcinatam.” He alludes to the trick already referred to as
common among the Greeks, of the nurses and midwives secretly
introducing supposititious children; see l. 515 and the Note.]

[Footnote 83: _Several free women were present_)--Ver. 772. She
speaks of “liberæ,” “free women,” because in Greece as well as
Italy slaves were not permitted to give evidence. See the Curculio
of Plautus, l. 621, and the Note to the passage in Bohn’s
Translation. See also the remark of Geta in the Phormio, l. 293.]

[Footnote 84: _Constrained by the laws_)--Ver. 782. He alludes to
a law at Athens which compelled a man who had debauched a
free-born woman to marry her. This is said by Davus with the view
of frightening Chremes from the match.]

[Footnote 85: _She ought to be carried off_)--Ver. 787. He says
this implying that Mysis, who is a slave, ought to be put to the
torture to confess the truth; as it was the usual method at Athens
to force a confession from slaves by that method. We find in the
Hecyra, Bacchis readily offering her slaves to be put to the
torture, and in the Adelphi the same custom is alluded to in the
scene between Micio, Hegio, and Geta.]

[Footnote 86: _Descended to me by law_)--Ver. 800. On the
supposition that Chrysis died without a will, Crito as her next of
kin would be entitled to her effects.]

[Footnote 87: _ Is Chrysis then----?_)--Ver. 804. This is an
instance of Aposiopesis; Crito, much affected, is unwilling to
name the death of Chrysis. It was deemed of ill omen to mention
death, and numerous Euphemisms or circumlocutions were employed in
order to avoid the necessity of doing so.]

[Footnote 88: _Warn me, a stranger_)--Ver. 812. Patrick has the
following remarks upon this passage: “Madame Dacier observes that
it appears, from Xenophon’s Treatise on the policy of the
Athenians, that all the inhabitants of cities and islands in
alliance with Athens were obliged in all claims to repair thither,
and refer their cause to the decision of the people, not being
permitted to plead elsewhere. We can not wonder then that Crito is
unwilling to engage in a suit so inconvenient from its length,
expense, and little prospect of success.” She might have added
that such was the partiality and corruptness of the Athenian
people, that, being a stranger, his chances of success would
probably be materially diminished.]

[Footnote 89: _You set in motion_)--Ver. 865. By the use of the
word “Commotus” he seems to allude to the wretched, restless
existence of a man tied hand and foot, and continually working at
the hand-mill. Westerhovius thinks that Simo uses this word
sarcastically, in allusion to the words of Davus, at the beginning
of the present Scene, “Animo otioso esse impero;” “I bid you set
your minds at ease.”]

[Footnote 90: _Hands and feet together_)--Ver. 866. “Quadrupedem.”
Literally “as a quadruped” or “all fours.” Echard remarks that it
was the custom of the Athenians to tie criminals hands and feet
together, just like calves.]

[Footnote 91: _ Without regard to the custom and the law_)--Ver.
880. There was a law among the Athenians which forbade citizens to
marry strangers, and made the offspring of such alliances
illegitimate; the same law also excluded such as were not born of
two citizens from all offices of trust and honor.]

[Footnote 92: _Could opportunely suggest to him_)--Ver. 919.
Colman has the following remark on this line: “Madame Dacier and
several English Translators make Pamphilus say that he could give
Crito a hint or two. What hints he could propose to suggest to
Crito, I can not conceive. The Italian translation, printed with
the Vatican Terence, seems to understand the words in the same
manner that I have translated them, in which sense (the pronoun
‘illum’ referring to Simo instead of Crito) they seem to be the
most natural words of Pamphilus on occasion of his father’s anger
and the speech immediately preceding.”]

[Footnote 93: _A sharper_)--Ver. 920. “Sycophanta.” For some
account of the “sycophantæ,” “swindlers” or “sharpers” of ancient
times, see the Notes to the Trinummus of Plautus, Bohn’s
Translation.]

[Footnote 94: _A long time ago_)--Ver. 924. The story begins with
“Olim,” just in the same way that with us nursery tales commence
with “There was, a long time ago.”]

[Footnote 95: _A citizen of Rhamnus_)--Ver. 931. Rhamnus was a
maritime town of Attica, near which many of the more wealthy
Athenians had country-seats. It was famous for the Temple of
Nemesis there, the Goddess of Vengeance, who was thence called
“Rhamnusia.” In this Temple was her statue, carved by Phidias out
of the marble which the Persians brought to Greece for the purpose
of making a statue of Victory out of it, and which was thus
appropriately devoted to the Goddess of Retribution. The statue
wore a crown, and had wings, and, holding a spear of ash in the
right hand, it was seated on a stag.]

[Footnote 96: _One difficulty_)--Ver. 941. “Scrupus,” or
“scrupulus,” was properly a stone or small piece of gravel which,
getting into the shoe, hurt the foot; hence the word figuratively
came to mean a “scruple,” “difficulty,” or “doubt.” We have a
similar expression: “to be graveled.”]

[Footnote 97: _A knot in a bulrush_)--Ver. 942. “Nodum in scirpo
quærere” was a proverbial expression implying a desire to create
doubts and difficulties where there really were none; there being
no knots in the bulrush. The same expression occurs in the
Menæchmi of Plautus, l. 247.]

[Footnote 98: _Of course----Then be it so_)--Ver. 951. “Nempe id.
Scilicet.” Colman has the following remark on this line: “Donatus,
and some others after him, understand these words of Simo and
Pamphilus as requiring a fortune of Chremes with his daughter; and
one of them says that Simo, in order to explain his meaning, in
the representation, should produce a bag of money. This surely is
precious refinement, worthy the genius of a true Commentator.
Madame Dacier, who entertains a just veneration for Donatus,
doubts the authenticity of the observation ascribed to him. The
sense I have followed is, I think, the most obvious and natural
interpretation of the words of Pamphilus and Simo, which refers to
the preceding, not the subsequent, speech of Chremes.”]

[Footnote 99: _He is not rightly bound_)--Ver. 956. “Non recte
vinctus;” meaning “it was not well done to bind him.” The father
pretends to understand him as meaning (which he might equally well
by using the same words), “non satis stricte,” “he wasn’t tightly
enough” bound; and answers “I ordered that he should be,”
referring to his order for Davus to be bound hand and foot.
Donatus justly observes that the disposition of the old gentleman
to joke is a characteristic mark of his thorough reconciliation.]

[Footnote 100: _Their joys are their own_)--Ver. 961. Westorhovius
remarks that he seems here to be promulgating the doctrine of
Epicurus, who taught that the Deities devoted themselves entirely
to pleasure and did not trouble themselves about mortals. Donatas
observes that these are the doctrines of Epicurus and that the
whole sentence is copied from the Eunuch of Menander; to which
practice of borrowing from various Plays, allusion is made in the
Prologue, where he mentions the mixing of plays; “contaminari
fabulas.”]

[Footnote 101: _Grant us your applause_)--Ver. 982. “Plaudite.”
Colman has the following remark at the conclusion of this Play:
“All the old Tragedies and Comedies acted at Rome concluded in
this manner. ‘Donec cantor vos “Plaudite” dicat,’ says Horace. Who
the ‘cantor’ was, is a matter of dispute. Madame Dacier thinks it
was the whole chorus; others suppose it to have been a single
actor; some the prompter, and some the composer. Before the word
‘Plaudite’ in all the old copies is an Ω which has also given rise
to several learned conjectures. It is most probable, according to
the notion of Madame Dacier, that this Ω, being the last letter of
the Greek alphabet, was nothing more than the mark of the
transcriber to signify the end, like the Latin word ‘Finis’ in
modern books; or it might, as Patrick supposes, stand for Ωδος,
‘cantor,’ denoting that the following word ‘Plaudite’ was spoken
by him. After ‘Plaudite’ in all the old copies of Terence stand
these two words, ‘Calliopius recensui;’ which signify,
‘I, Calliopius, have revised and corrected this piece.’ And this
proceeds from the custom of the old critics, who carefully revised
all Manuscripts, and when they had read and corrected any work,
certified the same by placing their names at the end of it.”]

* * * * *
* * * *

EUNUCHUS; THE EUNUCH.

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ.

LACHES,[1] an aged Athenian.
PHÆDRIA,[2] } his sons.
CHÆREA,[3] }
ANTIPHO,[4] a young man, friend of Chærea.
CHREMES,[5] a young man, brother of Pamphila.
THRASO,[6] a boastful Captain.
GNATHO,[7] a Parasite.
PARMENO,[8] servant of Phædria.
SANGA,[9] cook to Thraso.
DONAX,[10] }
SIMALIO,[11] } servants of Thraso.
SYRISCUS,[12] }
DORUS,[15] a Eunuch slave.
THAIS,[13] a Courtesan.
PYTHIAS,[14] } her attendants.
DORIAS,[15] }
SOPHRONA,[16] a nurse.
PAMPHILA,[17] a female slave.

_Scene._--Athens; before the houses of LACHES and THAIS.

THE SUBJECT.

A certain citizen of Athens had a daughter named Pamphila, and a son called Chremes. The former was stolen while an infant, and sold to a Rhodian merchant, who having made a present of her to a Courtesan of Rhodes, she brought her up with her own daughter Thais, who was somewhat older. In the course of years, Thais following her mother’s way of life, removes to Athens. Her mother dying, her property is put up for sale, and Pamphila is purchased as a slave by Thraso, an officer and an admirer of Thais, who happens just then to be visiting Rhodes. During the absence of Thraso, Thais becomes acquainted with Phædria, an Athenian youth, the son of Laches; she also discovers from Chremes, who lives near Athens, that Pamphila, her former companion, is his sister. Thraso returns, intending to present to her the girl he has bought, but determines not to do so until she has discarded Phædria. Finding that the girl is no other than Pamphila, Thais is at a loss what to do, as she both loves Phædria, and is extremely anxious to recover Pamphila. At length, to please the Captain, she excludes Phædria, but next day sends for him, and explains to him her reasons, at the same time begging of him to allow Thraso the sole right of admission to her house for the next two days, and assuring him that as soon as she shall have gained possession of the girl, she will entirely throw him off. Phædria consents, and resolves to spend these two days in the country; at the same time he orders Parmeno to take to Thais a Eunuch and an Æthiopian girl, whom he has purchased for her. The Captain also sends Pamphila, who is accidentally seen by Chærea, the younger brother of Phædria; he, being smitten with her beauty, prevails upon Parmeno to introduce him into the house of Thais, in the Eunuch’s dress. Being admitted there, in the absence of Thais, he ravishes the damsel. Shortly afterward Thraso quarrels with Thais, and comes with all his attendants to her house to demand the return of Pamphila, but is disappointed. In conclusion, Pamphila is recognized by her brother Chremes, and is promised in marriage to Chremes; while Thraso becomes reconciled to Phædria, through the mediation of Gnatho, his Parasite.

THE TITLE[18] OF THE PLAY.

Performed at the Megalensian Games; L. Posthumius Albinus and L. Cornelius Merula being Curule Ædiles. L. Ambivius Turpio and L. Atilius Præsnestinus performed it. Flaccus, the freedman of Claudius, composed the music to two treble flutes. From the Greek of Menander. It was acted twice,[19] M. Valerius and C. Fannius being Consuls.[20]

EUNUCHUS; THE EUNUCH.

THE SUMMARY OF C. SULPITIUS APOLLINARIS.

The Captain, Thraso, being ignorant of the same, has brought {from abroad} a girl who used wrongly to be called the sister of Thais, and presents her to {Thais} herself: she {in reality} is a citizen of Attica. To the same woman, Phædria, an admirer of Thais, orders a Eunuch whom he has purchased, to be taken, and he himself goes away into the country, having been entreated to give up two days to Thraso. A youth, the brother of Phædria, having fallen in love with the damsel sent to the house of Thais, is dressed up in the clothes of the Eunuch. Parmeno prompts him; he goes in; he ravishes the maiden; but {at length} her brother being discovered, a citizen of Attica, betroths her who has been ravished, to the youth, {and} Thraso prevails upon Phædria by his entreaties.

THE PROLOGUE.

If there is any one who desires to please as many good men as possible, and to give offense to extremely few, among those does our Poet enroll his name. Next, if there is one who thinks[21] that language too harsh, is {here} applied to him, let him bear this in mind-- that it is an answer, not an attack; inasmuch as he has himself been the first aggressor; who, by translating {plays} verbally,[22] and writing them in bad {Latin}, has made out of good Greek {Plays} Latin ones by no means good. Just as of late he has published the Phasma[23] [the Apparition] of Menander; and in the Thesaurus [the Treasure] has described[24] him from whom the gold is demanded, as pleading his cause why it should be deemed his own, before the person who demands it {has stated} how this treasure belongs to him, or how it came into the tomb of his father. Henceforward, let him not deceive himself, or fancy thus, “I have now done with it; there’s nothing that he can say to me.” I recommend him not to be mistaken, and to refrain from provoking me. I have many other points, as to which for the present he shall be pardoned, which, {however}, shall be brought forward hereafter, if he persists in attacking me, as he has begun to do. After the Ædiles had purchased the Eunuch of Menander, {the Play} which we are about to perform, he managed to get an opportunity of viewing it.[25] When the magistrates were present it began to be performed. He exclaimed that a thief, no Poet, had produced the piece, but still had not deceived[26] {him}; that, in fact, it was the Colax, an old Play of Plautus;[27] {and} that from it were taken the characters of the Parasite and the Captain. If this is a fault, the fault is the ignorance of the Poet; not that he intended to be guilty of theft. That so it is, you will now be enabled to judge. The Colax is {a Play} of Menander’s; in it there is Colax, a Parasite, and a braggart Captain: he does not deny that he has transferred these characters into his Eunuch from the Greek; but assuredly he does deny this, that he was aware that those pieces had been already translated into Latin. But if it is not permitted {us} to use the same characters as others, how can it any more be allowed to represent hurrying servants,[28] to describe virtuous matrons, artful courtesans, the gluttonous parasite, the braggart captain, the infant palmed off, the old man cajoled by the servant, about love, hatred, suspicion? In fine, nothing is said now that has not been said before. Wherefore it is but just that you should know this, and make allowance, if the moderns do what the ancients used to do. Grant me your attention, and give heed in silence, that you may understand what the Eunuch means.