Prologue: Address to the Audience and Plot Outline — Plautus, Casina, lines 1–80, Latin & English

Salvere iubeo spectatores optumos,

I bid the most excellent spectators welcome,

fidem qui facitis maxumi, et vos Fides.

who value trust (Fides) most highly, and you too, O Fides.

si verum dixi, signum clarum date mihi,

If I have spoken the truth, give me a clear sign,

ut vos mi esse aequos iam inde a principio sciam.

so that I may know right from the start that you are favorable to me.

qui utuntur vino vetere sapientis¹ puto

Those who drink old wine I consider wise,

et qui libenter veteres spectant fabulas;

and those who gladly watch old plays;

atque antiqua opera et verba cum vobis placent,

and since ancient works and words please you,

aequom est placere ante alias veteres fabulas:

it is fitting that old plays should please you above all others:

nam nunc novae quae prodeunt comoediae

for the new comedies that come out now

multo sunt nequiores quam nummi novi.

are much more worthless than new coins.

nos postquam populi rumore intelleximus

Since we understood from the rumor of the people

studiose expetere vos Plautinas fabulas,

that you eagerly seek Plautine plays,

antiquam éius edimus comoediam,

we are producing an old comedy of his,

quam vos probastis qui estis in senioribus;

which you approved of, those of you who are among the elders;

nam iuniorum qui sunt non norunt, scio;

for those who are among the younger do not know it, I know;

verum ut cognoscant dabimus operam sedulo.

but we will strive diligently so that they may come to know it.

haec cum primum acta est, vicit omnis fabulas.

When this was first performed, it surpassed all other plays.

ea tempestate flos poetarum fuit,

In that season was the flower of poets,

qui nunc abierunt hinc in communem locum.

who have now departed hence to the common place.

sed tamen absentes prosunt pro praesentibus.

But yet, though absent, they are of service in place of the present.

vos omnes opere magno esse oratos volo,²

I wish you all to be greatly entreated,

benigne ut operam detis ad nostrum gregem.

that you kindly give your attention to our company.

eicite ex animo curam atque alienum aes

Cast out care and debt from your minds,

ne quis formidet flagitatorem suom:

lest anyone dread his dunning creditor:

ludi sunt, ludus datus est argentariis;

it is the games, a holiday has been given to the bankers;

tranquillum est, Alcedonia sunt circum forum:

it is tranquil, Halcyon days are around the forum:

ratione utuntur, ludis poscunt neminem,

they use reason, they demand from no one during the games,

secundum ludos reddunt autem nemini.

and indeed, after the games, they pay back to no one.

aures vocivae si sunt, animum advortite:

If your ears are vacant, turn your attention hither:

comoediai nomen dare vobis volo.

I wish to give you the name of this comedy.

Clerumenoe vocatur haec comoedia

This comedy is called Clerumenoe

graece, latine Sortientes. Deiphilus

in Greek, and in Latin Sortientes. Deiphilus

hanc graece scripsit, post id rursum denuo

wrote this in Greek, and after that, once again anew,

latine Plautus cum latranti nomine.³

Plautus with his barking name put it into Latin.

senex híc maritus habitat; éi est filius,

Here lives an old married man; he has a son,

is una cum patre in illisce habitat aedibus.

who lives together with his father in that house.

est éi quidam servos, qui in morbo cubat,

He has a certain slave, who lies sick in bed,

immo hercle vero in lecto, ne quid mentiar;

nay, by Hercules, in a couch indeed, lest I tell any lie;

is servos, sed abhinc annos factum est sedecim,

this slave—but it happened sixteen years ago—

quom conspicatust primulo crepusculo

when he saw at the very first twilight

puellam exponi. adít extemplo ad mulierem

a girl being exposed. He goes immediately to the woman

quae illam exponebat, orat ut eam det sibi:

who was exposing her, and begs her to give the girl to him:

exorat, aufert; detulit recta domum,

he wins her over, takes her away, and carried her straight home;

dat erae suae, orat ut eam curet, educet.

he gives her to his mistress, and begs her to care for her and bring her up.

era fecit, educavit magna industria,

The mistress did so, and brought her up with great industry,

quasi si esset ex se nata,⁴ non multo secus.

just as if she were born of herself, not much otherwise.

postquam ea adolevit ad eam aetatem, ut viris

After she grew up to that age when she could

placere posset, eam puellam hic senex

please men, this old man fell desperately in love

amat efflictim, et item contra filius.

with this girl, and likewise, in turn, his son.

nunc sibi utérque contra legiones parat,

Now each of them is preparing forces against the other,

paterque filiusque, clam alter alterum:

both father and son, secretly from one another:

pater adlegavit vilicum, qui posceret

the father has commissioned his bailiff to ask for

sibi istánc uxorem: is sperat, si ei sit data,

this girl as a wife for himself; he hopes, if she is given to him,

sibi fore paratas clam uxorem excubias foris;

that a watch will be prepared for him outside, secretly from his wife;

filius is autem armigerum adlegavit suom,

but the son, in turn, has commissioned his armor-bearer

qui sibi eam uxorem poscat: scit, si id impetret,

to ask for her as a wife for himself; he knows, if he should obtain this,

futurum quod amat intra praesepis suas.

that what he loves will be within his own stalls.

senis uxor sensit virum amóri operam dare,

The old man’s wife perceived that her husband was devoting himself to love,

propterea úna consentit cum filio.

therefore she agrees in union with her son.

ille autem postquam filium sensit suom

But after he perceived that his son

eandem illam amare et esse ímpedimento sibi,

loved the very same girl and was an obstacle to him,

hinc adulescentem peregre ablegavit pater;

the father sent the young man away abroad from here;

sciens ei mater dat operam absenti tamen.

yet the mother, knowing this, works on behalf of him who is absent.

is, ne exspectetis, hodie in hac comoedia

As for him, lest you expect him, today in this comedy

in urbem non redibit: Plautus noluit,

he will not return to the city: Plautus did not wish it,

pontem interrupit, quí erat ei in itinere.

and broke down the bridge that was on his journey.

sunt hic, inter se quos nunc credo dicere:

There are some here who, I believe, are now saying to one another:

“quaeso hercle, quíd istuc est? serviles nuptiae?

”Pray, by Hercules, what is this? A slave marriage?

servin uxorem ducent aut poscent sibi?

Will slaves marry wives or ask for them for themselves?

novom attulerunt, quod fit nusquam gentium.”

They have brought in a novelty, which happens nowhere in the world.”

at ego aio id fieri in Graecia et Carthagini,

But I say that this happens in Greece and in Carthage,

et hic in nostra terra † in Apulia;

and here in our land, in Apulia;

maioreque opere ibi serviles nuptiae

and that there, slave marriages are cared for with greater effort

quam liberales etiam curari solent;

than even those of free citizens;

id ni fit, mecum pignus si quis volt dato⁵

if this is not so, let anyone who wishes lay a wager with me

in urnam mulsi, Poenus dum iudex siet

for a jar of honey-wine, as long as a Carthaginian is the judge,

vel Graecus adeo, vel mea causa Apulus.

or even a Greek, or for my sake, an Apulian.

quid nunc? nihil agitis? sentio, nemo sitit.

What now? Are you doing nothing? I perceive, no one is thirsty.

revortar ád illam puellam éxpositiciam:

I shall return to that exposed girl,

quam servi summa vi sibi uxorem expetunt,

whom the slaves are seeking as a wife for themselves with all their might,

Syntax notes5 items

5sapientis
Archaic spelling for the accusative plural sapientes. It functions as the object complement of puto: 'I think those who use old wine are wise (sapientes)'.
21vos omnes opere magno esse oratos volo
Accusative with infinitive construction governed by volo using the passive perfect infinitive oratos esse. Literally, 'I wish you all to have been greatly entreated', rendering a polite and indirect plea.
34cum latranti nomine
'With a barking name', a pun on Plautus' name. It likely refers to his cognomen Maccius, which evokes barking (or dog-like sounds), or the name Plautus itself (flat-footed, often associated with dog ears).
46quasi si esset ex se nata
Subjunctive of unreal comparison (imperfect esset) introduced by quasi si: 'as if she had been born from herself (i.e., her own daughter)'.
75id ni fit, mecum pignus si quis volt dato
Dato is a future imperative (third person singular). It forms a pseudo-legal and challenging colloquial expression: 'if this is not so (id ni fit), let anyone who wishes lay down (dato) a wager (pignus) with me'.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0119.phi006.humanitext-lat2:1-80