The Comedies of Terence: Literally Translated into English Prose, with NotesTerence
General
The Comedies of Terence: Literally Translated into English Prose, with Notes
Terence
Latin drama (Comedy) -- Translations into English; Terence -- Translations into English
[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.]
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