Amphitryo, Asinaria, Aulularia, Bacchides, Captivi: Amphitryon, The Comedy of Asses, The Pot of Gold, The Two; Bacchises, The CaptivesPlautus, Titus Maccius
General
Amphitryo, Asinaria, Aulularia, Bacchides, Captivi: Amphitryon, The Comedy of Asses, The Pot of Gold, The Two; Bacchises, The Captives
Plautus, Titus Maccius
Latin drama (Comedy); Latin drama (Comedy) -- Translations into English
Sine perlegam.
“ego ius iurandum verbis conceptis dedi,
daturum id me hodie mulieri ante vesperum,
prius quam a me abiret. nunc, pater, ne perierem 1030
cura atque abduce me hinc ab hac quantum potest,
quam propter tantum damni feci et flagiti.
cave tibi ducenti nummi dividiae fuant;
sescenta tanta reddam, si vivo, tibi.
vale atque haec cura.” quid nunc censes, Chrysale?
Let me read it through. “I took an oath in express terms to
give the woman this sum before evening comes and she leaves
me. Now, father, do see to it that I don’t forswear myself,
and do rescue me just as soon as you can from this creature
on account of whom I have been so wasteful and wicked. See
you don’t let a matter of two hundred pounds vex you;
I will pay it back to you a thousand times over, if I live.
Good-bye and do look out for this.” What do you recommend
now, Chrysalus?
_Chrys._
Nihil ego tibi hodie consili quicquam dabo,
neque ego haud committam ut, si quid peccatum siet,
fecisse dicas de mea sententia.
verum, ut ego opinor, si ego in istoc sim loco,
dem potius aurum quam illum corrumpi sinam. 1040
duae condiciones sunt: utram tu accipias vide:
vel ut aurum perdas vel ut amator perieret.
ego neque te iubeo neque veto, neque suadeo.
(_vehemently_) Never a bit of advice will I give you this
day! I’ll take no chance of your saying, if anything goes
wrong, that you did it at my suggestion. However, in my
opinion, if I was in your place, I should rather give up the
money than let him be debauched. There are two alternatives:
see for yourself which to choose: you must either lose the
money, or let our lover be forsworn. I do not order you, or
forbid you, or urge you, either, not I.
_Nic._
Miseret me illius.
(_earnestly_) I’m sorry for the lad.
_Chrys._
Tuos est, non mirum facis.
si plus perdundum sit, periisse suaviust,
quam illud flagitium volgo dispalescere.
Nothing strange in that, your own flesh and blood as he is.
(_casually_) If more must be lost, that’s pleasanter than
having such a piece of wickedness come to be the common talk.
_Nic._
Ne ille edepol Ephesi multo mavellem foret,
dum salvos esset, quam revenisset domum.
quid ego istic? quod perdundumst properem perdere.
binos ducentos Philippos iam intus ecferam. 1050
et militi quos dudum promisi miser
et istos. mane istic, iam exeo ad te, Chrysale.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account