Quarrel of Olympio and Chalinus and Cleostrata's Revenge — Plautus, Casina, lines 81–157, Latin & English

ea invenietur et pudica et libera,

She will be found to be both chaste and free,

ingenua Atheniensis, neque quicquam stupri

a freeborn Athenian girl, and indeed no disgrace

faciet profecto in hac quidem comoedia.

will she commit in this comedy at least.

mox hercle vero, post transactam fabulam,

But by Hercules, soon indeed, after the play is over,

argentum si quis dederit, ut ego suspicor,

if anyone gives money, as I suspect,

ultro ibit nuptum, non manebit auspices.

she will go to marry of her own accord, she won’t wait for the auspices.

tantum est. valete, bene rem gerite et vincite

That is all. Farewell, manage your affairs well, and win

virtute vera, quod fecistis antidhac.

by true virtue, as you have done before.

Non mihi licere meam rem me solum, ut volo,

Is it not allowed for me to speak and think about my own business,

loqui atque cogitare, sine ted arbitro?¹

by myself, as I wish, without you as a witness?

quid tu, malum, me sequere?

Why, plague take you, are you following me?

Quia certum est mihi,

Because it is fixed for me,

quasi umbra, quoquo tu ibis, te semper sequi;

like a shadow, wherever you go, always to follow you;

quin edepol etiam si in crucem vis pergere,

indeed, by Pollux, even if you wish to go to the gallows,

sequi decretumst. dehinc conicito ceterum,

to follow you is resolved. Therefore, guess for the rest,

possisne necne clam me sutelis tuis

whether or not you can, secretly from me by your tricks,

praeripere Casinam uxorem, proinde ut postulas.

snatch Casina away as a wife, just as you desire.

Quid tibi negotist mecum?

What business have you with me?

Quid ais, impudens?

What do you say, impudent fellow?

quid in urbe reptas, vilice haud magni preti?

Why are you crawling in the city, you worthless bailiff?

Lubet.

I like it.

Quin ruri es in praefectura tua?

Why are you not in the country, in your district?

100

quin potius quod legatum est tibi negotium,

Why do you not rather care for that business

id curas atque urbanis rebus te apstines?

which was entrusted to you, and keep yourself from city affairs?

huc mihi venisti sponsam praereptum² meam:

You have come hither to snatch away my bride from me:

abi rus, abi dierectus tuam in provinciam.

go to the country, go to the devil in your own province.

Chaline, non sum oblitus officium meum:

Chalinus, I have not forgotten my duty:

105

praefeci ruri recte qui curet tamen.

yet I have appointed someone in the country to care for it properly.

ego huc quod veni in urbem si impetravero,

If I obtain that for which I have come hither to the city,

uxorem ut istam ducam, quam tu deperis,

to marry that wife whom you love to death,

bellam et tenellam Casinam, conservam tuam,

the beautiful and tender Casina, your fellow-slave,

quando ego eam mecum rus uxorem abduxero,

when I have carried her away with me to the country as my wife,

110

ruri incubabo usque in praefectura mea.

I will lie on her continuously in my district in the country.

Tun illam ducas? hercle me suspendio,

You marry her? By Hercules, it is better for me to hang myself,

quam tu eius potior fias, satiust mortuom.³

to be dead, rather than you should get possession of her.

Mea praedast illa: proin tu te in laqueum induas.

She is my prey: therefore, put yourself in a noose.

Ex sterculino effosse, tua illaec praeda sit?

Dug out from a dunghill, is she to be your prey?

115

Scies hóc ita esse.

You shall know this to be so.

Vae tibi.

Woe to you.

Quot te modis,

In how many ways,

si vivo, habebo in nuptiis miserum meis.

if I live, shall I make you miserable at my wedding.

Quid tu mihi facies?

What will you do to me?

Egone quid faciam tibi?

What will I do to you?

primum omnium huic lucebis novae nuptae facem;

First of all, you shall carry the torch for this new bride;

postilla, ut semper, improbus nihilique eris:

after that, as always, you shall be worthless and of no account:

120

post id locorum quando ad villam veneris,

after that, when you come to the farm,

dabitur tibi amphora una et una semita,

one jar will be given to you, and one path,

fons unus, unum ahenum et octo dolia:

one spring, one bronze kettle, and eight vats:

quae nisi erunt semper plena, ego te implebo flagris.

and unless these are always full, I will fill you with lashes.

ita te aggerunda curvom aqua faciam probe,

I will make you so thoroughly bent by carrying water,

125

ut postilena possit ex te fieri.

that a crupper can be made out of you.

post autem érvi nisi tu acervom éderis

And after that, unless you eat a heap of vetch,

aut quasi lumbricus terram, quod te postules⁴

or earth like an earthworm, if you expect

gustare quicquam, numquam edepol ieiunium

to taste anything else, by Pollux, never was a fast

ieiunumst aeque atque ego te ruri reddibo.

so empty as I will make you in the country.

130

post id, quom lassus fueris et famelicus,

After that, when you are tired and starving,

noctu ut condigne te cubes curabitur.

it will be cared for that you sleep at night in a fitting manner.

Quid facies?

What will you do?

Concludere in fénestram firmiter,

You will be shut up tightly in a window,

unde auscultare possis quóm ego illam ausculer:

from where you can listen while I kiss her:

quom mi illa dicet “mi animule, mi Olympio,

when she says to me, “My sweet soul, my Olympio,

135

mea vita, mea mellilla, mea festivitas,

my life, my little honey, my delight,

sine tuos ocellos deosculer, voluptas mea,

let me kiss your sweet eyes, my pleasure,

sine amabo ted amari,⁵ meus festus dies,

let me love you, please, and be loved, my festive day,

meus pullus passer, mea columba, mi lepus”,

my young sparrow, my dove, my little hare,”

quom mi haec dicentur dicta, tum tu, furcifer,

when these words are said to me, then you, gallows-bird,

140

quasi mus, in medio pariete versabere.

like a mouse, will stir in the middle of the wall.

nunc ne tu te mihi respondere postules,

Now do not expect to answer me,

abeo intro. taedet tui sermonis.—

I am going inside. I am tired of your talk.—

Te sequor.

I follow you.

hic quidem pol certo nil ages síne med arbitro.—

Indeed, by Pollux, you will do nothing here without me as a witness.—

Obsígnate céllas, reférte anulum ád me:

Seal up the storehouses, bring back the ring to me:

145

ego húc transeo ín proxumum ád meam vicínam.

I am crossing over hither to my neighbor’s house next door.

vir sí quid volét me, facite hínc accersátis.

If my husband wants me for anything, see that you fetch me from there.

Prándium iússerat sénex sibi parari.

The old man had ordered lunch to be prepared for him.

St! tace átque abi; néque paro néque hodie coquetur,

Sh! Be silent and go away; I am neither preparing nor will anything be cooked today,

quándo is mi et fílio ádvorsatúr suo

since he opposes me and his own son

150

ánimi amorísque causá sui,

for the sake of his own lust and love,

flágitium illud hóminis. ego illúm fame, ego illúm siti,

that disgrace of a man. I will avenge myself on that lover with hunger, with thirst,

maledíctis, malefáctis amátorem ulcíscar,

with bad words and bad deeds,

ego pól illum probe íncommodís dictis ángam,

indeed, by Pollux, I will torment him properly with troublesome words,

fáciam uti proínde ut est dígnus vitám colat,

I will make him live his life just as he deserves,

Ácheruntis pábulum,⁶

that food for Acheron.

Syntax notes6 items

89Non mihi licere ... loqui atque cogitare, sine ted arbitro?
Accusative and infinitive of exclamation, expressing anger or indignation. Here, the impersonal verb "licet" becomes "licere" with the dative "mihi" preserved, or it can be understood as part of an exclamatory infinitive construction with subject accusative.
102praereptum
Supine in -um (accusative) expressing purpose, used with the verb of motion "venisti" ("to snatch away").
112quam tu eius potior fias, satiust mortuom.
Structurally, "satiust [me] mortuom [esse] suspendio, quam tu eius potior fias". Led by the comparative "satius" (better), it expresses that death by hanging (with "suspendio" as ablative of means, and "mortuom" as subject accusative with omitted "me") is preferable to the rival getting possession of her ("eius potior fias", where "potior" takes the genitive "eius").
127quod te postules
Led by the adverbial relative pronoun "quod" (equivalent to "quoad", meaning "as far as", "in respect of which"), expressing a limitation or premise: "as far as you expect to taste anything".
137sine amabo ted amari
The imperative "sine" (from "sino", allow/let) is accompanied by "amabo" (a parenthetical expression of entreaty, "please") and governs the accusative and infinitive "ted amari" ("yourself to be loved"). Thus, it means "please allow yourself to be loved [by me]".
157Acheruntis pabulum
A noun phrase with the genitive "Acheruntis" (of Acheron, the underworld), serving as an appositive (abuse term) to "illum" (the husband) in line 151. It literally means "food for Acheron" (i.e., someone who belongs to the grave/underworld).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0119.phi006.humanitext-lat2:81-157