- Source
- Plautus. Plauti Comoediae, Volume 1. Leo, Friedrich, editor. Berlin: Weidmann, 1895.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0119.phi006.humanitext-lat2:551-621
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Alcesimus, confused by Cleostrata's trick which resulted in the refusal of his wife's assistance, decides to withdraw from the plot. Meanwhile, Lysidamus returns from a fruitless legal task at the forum, only to face Cleostrata's manipulation which sparks a furious argument with Alcesimus over whose wife refused whom, culminating in a rapid-fire comedic exchange of the word 'quin'.
qui hoc mihí contraxit; operam uxoris polliceor foras,
who brought this trouble upon me; I promise my wife’s assistance outside,
quasi catillatum. flagitium hóminis, qui dixit mihi
as if to lick dishes. The outrageousness of the man, who told me
suam úxorem hanc arcessituram esse; éa se eam négat morarier.1
that his wife would summon her; she says she does not want her.
atque edepol mirum ni subolet iam hoc huic vicinae meae.
And by Pollux, it would be a wonder if this neighbor of mine hasn’t already smelled this out.
verum autem altrovorsum quóm eam mecum rationem puto,
But on the other hand, when I reckon that account with myself,
si quid eius esset, esset mecum postulatio.2
if there were anything to it, there would be a complaint against me.
ibo intro, ut subducam navim rusum in pulvinaria.—
I will go inside, to haul my ship back onto the dock.—
Iám hic est lepide ludificatus. miseri ut festinant senes.
Now this man has been nicely mocked. How the wretched old men are in a hurry!
nunc ego illúm nihili decrepitum meum virum veniat velim,
Now I wish that worthless, decrepit husband of mine would come,
ut eum ludificem vicissim, postquam hunc delusi alterum.
so that I may mock him in turn, after I have deluded this other one.
nam ego aliquid contrahere cupio litigi inter eos duos.
For I desire to stir up some quarrel between those two.
sed eccum incedit. at, quom aspicias tristem, frugi censeas.
But look, here he comes walking. Yet, when you look at him looking sad, you would think him a worthy man.
Stultitia magna est, mea quidem sententia,
It is a great folly, indeed in my opinion,
hominem amatorem ullum ad forum procedere,
for any man in love to go to the forum,
in eum diem quoi quod amet in mundo siet;
on that day for which what he loves is ready at hand;
sicut ego feci stultus: contrivi diem,
just as I, fool that I am, did: I wasted the day,
dum asto advocatus cuidam cognato meo;
while I stood as an advocate for a certain relative of mine;
quem hercle ego litem adeo perdidisse gaudeo,
whom, by Hercules, I am so glad has lost his lawsuit,
ne me nequiquam sibi hodie advocaverit.3
so that he may not have summoned me to himself in vain today.
nam meo quidem animo qui advocatos advocet
For in my opinion, he who summons advocates
rogitare oportet prius et percontarier,
ought first to ask and inquire,
adsitne ei animus necne adsit, quem ádvocet:
whether his mind is present or not, whom he summons:
si neget adesse, exanimatum amittat domum.
if he says it is not, he should send him home lifeless.
sed uxorem ante aedis eccam. ei misero mihi,
But look, there is my wife before the house. Oh, wretched me,
metuo ne non sit surda atque haec audiverit.
I fear she is not deaf and has heard these things.
Audivi ecastor cum malo magno tuo.
By Castor, I heard them, to your great misfortune.
Accedam propius. quid agis, mea festivitas?
I will approach closer. How are you, my delight?
Te ecastor praestolabar.
By Castor, I was waiting for you.
Iamne ornata res?
Is the matter already prepared?
iamne hanc traduxti huc ad nos vicinam tuam,
have you already brought this neighbor of yours over here to us,
quae te adiutaret?
who was to help you?
Arcessivi, ut iusseras.
I summoned her, as you had ordered.
verum hic sodalis tuos, amicus optumus,
But this companion of yours, your best friend,
nescio quid se sufflavit uxori suae:
blew up at his wife for some reason or other:
negavit posse, quoniam arcesso, mittere.
he denied he could send her, since I was summoning her.
Vitium tibi istuc maxumum est, blanda es parum.
That is your greatest fault, you are not flattering enough.
Non matronarum officiumst, sed meretricium,
It is not the duty of matrons, but of courtesans,
viris alienis, mi vir, subblandirier.
to flatter other men, my husband.
i tu atque arcesse illam: égo intus quod factost opus
You go and summon her: I, inside, what is necessary to be done,
volo accurare, mi vir.
want to take care of, my husband.
Propera ergo.
Hurry, then.
Licet.
Very well.
iam pol ego huic aliquem in pectus iniciam metum;
Now, by Pollux, I will throw some fear into his heart;
miserrumum hodie ego hunc habebo amasium.—
most miserable today I shall keep this lover.—
Viso huc, amator si a foro rediit domum,
I am looking out here, to see if the lover has returned home from the forum,
qui me atque uxorem ludificatust, larua.
who mocked me and my wife, that ghost.
sed eccum ante aedis. ad te hercle ibam commodum.
But look, there he is before the house. By Hercules, I was just going to you.
Et hercle ego ad te. quid ais, vir minimi preti?
And by Hercules, I to you. What do you say, you man of the least value?
quid tibi mandavi? quid tecum oravi?
What did I commission you? What did I beg of you?
Quid est?
What is it?
Vt bene vocivas aedis fecisti mihi,
How well you made your house empty for me,
ut traduxisti huc ad nos uxorem tuam.
how you brought your wife over here to us!
satin propter te pereo ego atque occasio?
Is it not enough that because of you I am ruined, and the opportunity as well?
Quin tu suspendis te? nempe túte dixeras,
Why don’t you hang yourself? Surely you yourself had said,
tuam arcessituram esse uxorem uxorem meam.
that your wife would summon my wife.
Ergo arcessivisse ait sese, et dixisse te
Therefore she says she summoned her, and that you said
eam nón missurum.
you would not send her.
Quin eapse ultro mihi
On the contrary, she herself of her own accord to me
negavit eius operam se morarier.
denied she wanted her help.
Quin eapse me adlegavit, qui istam arcesserem.
On the contrary, she herself sent me to summon her.
Quin nihili facio.
On the contrary, I care nothing.
Quin me perdis.
On the contrary, you are ruining me.
Quin benest,
On the contrary, it is well,
quin etiam diu morabor, quin cupio tibi—
on the contrary, I shall delay you a long time, on the contrary, I desire for you—
Quin—
On the contrary—
Aliquid aegre facere.
To do something to vex you.
Quin faciam lubens.
On the contrary, I will do so with pleasure.
numquam tibi hodie quin erit plus quam mihi.4
you will never have more “on the contrary” today than I.
Quin hercle di te perdant postremo quidem.
On the contrary, by Hercules, may the gods ruin you in the end indeed!
Quid nunc? missurusne es ad me uxorem tuam?
What now? Are you going to send your wife to me?
Ducas, easque in maxumam malam crucem
Take her, and go to the greatest bad cross
cum hác cum ístac, cumque amica etiam tua.
with this one, with that one, and even with your mistress.
abi et aliud cura, ego iam per hortum iussero
Go and mind something else, I will now through the garden order
meam istúc transire uxorem ad uxorem tuam.—
my wife to cross over there to your wife.—
Nunc tu mi amicus es in germanum modum.
Now you are a friend to me in a brotherly way.
qua ego hunc amorem mi esse avi dicam datum
By what bird shall I say this love has been given to me,
aut quid ego umquam erga Venerem inique fecerim,
or what have I ever done unjustly toward Venus,
cui sic tot amanti mi obviam eveniant morae?
that so many delays come to meet me, who am so much in love?
attat,
Ah,
quid illúc clamoris, opsecro, in nostrast domo?
what is that shouting, I beseech you, in our house?
Núlla sum, núlla sum, tóta, tota óccidi,
I am no more, I am no more, completely, completely ruined!
- 553ea se eam negat morarier
The reference of the pronouns must be carefully distinguished. The nominative ea refers to Cleostrata (the speaker's wife), the accusative se is the subject of the infinitive referring to Cleostrata herself, and eam refers to Alcesimus's wife (or her help). The deponent verb moror (here in the archaic infinitive form morarier) is used in the idiomatic sense of non moror, meaning 'to care nothing for' or 'not to want' something.
- 556si quid eius esset, esset mecum postulatio
The genitive eius is a partitive genitive qualifying the neuter pronoun quid ('if there were any of that'). The main clause esset mecum postulatio is a present contrary-to-fact condition using the imperfect subjunctive, where mecum functions as 'with me' or 'against me' (i.e., a complaint directed at me).
- 569ne me nequiquam sibi hodie advocaverit
The clause introduced by ne explains the reason why Lysidamus rejoices over his relative's loss. It means 'lest he should have summoned me to support him in vain today.' It ironically suggests that the relative's loss somehow justifies or makes up for the fact that Lysidamus's time was wasted as an advocate.
- 608numquam tibi hodie quin erit plus quam mihi
Following the rapid-fire exchange of the word quin (which can mean 'why not', 'indeed', 'on the contrary') in the preceding lines, the word quin itself is treated substantively here. It forms a meta-linguistic wordplay typical of Roman comedy, meaning 'you will never have more "quin"s today than I do.'