- 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.phi011.humanitext-lat2:646-712
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Charinus lists various destinations for his exile, rejecting Eutychus's advice. Meanwhile, Demipho's wife Dorippa returns from the countryside and falls into despair upon discovering a courtesan inside her house.
Megares,1 Eretriam, Corinthum, Chalcidem, Cretam, Cyprum,
To Megara, Eretria, Corinth, Chalcis, Crete, Cyprus,
Sicyonem, Cnidum, Zacynthum, Lesbiam, Boeotiam.
Sicyon, Cnidus, Zacynthus, Lesbos, Boeotia.
Cur istuc coeptas consilium?
Why do you begin such a plan?
Quia enim me adflictat amor.
Because indeed love afflicts me.
Quid tu ais? quid cum illuc, quo nunc ire paritas, veneris,
What do you say? When you arrive there, where you are now preparing to go, if
sí ibi amare forte occipias atque item eius sit inopia,
by chance you begin to love there and likewise there is a lack of her,
iam inde porro aufugies, deinde item illinc, sí item evenerit?
will you then run away further from there, and then likewise from there, if the same should happen?
quis modus tibi exílio tandem eveniet, qui finis fugae?
What limit, pray, will there ever be to your exile, what end to your flight?
quae patria aut domus tibi stabilis esse poterit? dic mihi.
What homeland or house can be stable for you? Tell me.
cedo, si hac urbe abis, amorem te hic relicturum putas?
Come, if you depart from this city, do you think you will leave love behind here?
si id fore ita sat animo acceptum est, certum id, pro certo si habes,
If that is sufficiently accepted in your mind, if it is certain, if you hold it for certain,
quanto te satiust2 rus aliquo abire, ibi esse, ibi vivere
how much better is it for you to go away to some countryside, to be there, to live there,
adeo dum illius te cupiditas atque amor missum facit?
until indeed your desire and love for her lets you go?
Iam dixisti?
Have you spoken now?
Dixi.
I have spoken.
Frustra dixti. hoc mihi certissumumst.
You have spoken in vain. This is most certain to me.
eo domum, patrem atque matrem ut meos salutem, postea
I am going home to greet my father and mother, and afterwards,
clam patrem patria hac effugiam, aut aliquid capiam consili.—
secretly from my father, I will flee from this country, or I will take some counsel.
Vt corripuit se repente atque abiit. heu misero mihi,
How suddenly he pulled himself away and departed. Alas, wretched me,
si ille abierit, mea factum omnes dicent esse ignavia.
if he departs, everyone will say it was done by my negligence.
certumst praeconum iubere iam quantum est conducier,3
It is certain that I will now order as many town criers to be hired as possible,
qui illam investigent, qui inveniant. post ad praetorem ilico
to track her down and find her. Afterwards, I will go immediately to the praetor,
ibo, orabo, ut conquaestores det mi in vicis omnibus;
I will beg him to give me searchers in all the streets;
nam mihi nil relicti quicquam áliud iam esse intellego.—
for I understand that nothing else is now left for me.
Quoniam a viro ad me rus advenit nuntius,
Since a messenger came to me in the country from my husband,
rus non iturum, feci ego ingenium meum,
saying he would not go to the country, I showed my character,
reveni, ut illum persequar qui me fugit.
and I returned to pursue him who flees from me.
sed anum non video consequi nostram Syram.
But I do not see our old woman Syra following.
atque eccam incedit tandem. quin is ocius?
Oh, there she comes at last. Why don’t you walk faster?
nequeo mecastor, tantum hoc onerist quod fero.
By Castor, I cannot, so great is this burden that I carry.
Quid oneris?
What burden?
Annos octoginta et quattuor;
Eighty-four years;
et eodem accedit servitus, sudor, sitis:
and to the same is added slavery, sweat, thirst:
simul haec quae porto deprimunt.
at the same time, these things which I carry weigh me down.
Aliquid cedo
Give me something,
qui hánc vicini nostri áram augeam.
so that I may adorn this altar of our neighbor.
da sane hanc virgam lauri. abi tu intro.
Give me that branch of laurel. Go inside.
Eo.—
I am going.
Apollo, quaeso te, ut des pacem propitius,
Apollo, I pray to you that you may favorably grant peace,
salutem et sanitatem nostrae familiae,
safety and health to our household,
meoque ut parcas gnato pace propitius.
and that you may favorably spare my son in peace.
Disperii, perii misera, vae miserae mihi.
I am undone, I have perished in misery, woe to miserable me.
Satin tu sana es, obsecro? quid eiulas?
Are you quite sane, I beseech you? Why do you wail?
Dorippa, mea Dorippa.
Dorippa, my Dorippa.
Quid clamas, obsecro?
Why do you cry out, I beseech you?
Nescio quaest mulier intus hic in aedibus.
There is some woman inside here in the house.
Quid, mulier?
What, a woman?
Mulier meretrix.
A courtesan woman.
Veron serio?
Are you speaking in earnest?
Nimium scis sapere, ruri quae non manseris.4quamvis insipiens poterat persentiscere
You know too much, since you did not remain in the country.
illam esse amicam tui viri bellissumi.
Any foolish person could have perceived
Credo mecastor.
that she is the mistress of your most handsome husband.
Ei hac mecum, ut videas semul
I believe it, by Castor. Go this way with me, so that you may see at the same time
+ extra markers: 689c (translation introduced markers absent in the source; merged into this section)
tuam Alcumenam paelicem, Iuno mea.—
your rival Alcumena, my Juno.
Ecastor vero istuc eo quantum potest.—
By Castor indeed, I am going there as fast as possible.
Parumne ést malai rei, quod amat Demipho,
Is it too little of a bad thing that Demipho is in love,
ni sumptuosus insuper etiam siet?
unless he should also be extravagant besides?
decem sí vocasset summos ad cenam viros,
If he had invited ten of the highest men to dinner,
nimium obsonavit. sed coquos, quasi in mari
he has marketed too much. But the cook, just as on the sea
solét hortator remiges hortarier,
the coxswain is accustomed to urge on the rowers,
ita hortabatur. egomet conduxi coquom.
so was he urging them on. I myself hired the cook.
sed eum demiror non venire, ut iusseram.
But I wonder that he does not come, as I had ordered.
sed quinam hinc a nobis exit? aperitur foris.
But who is this coming out from our house? The door is opening.
Miserior mulier me nec fiet, nec fuit,
No more miserable woman than I will ever be, nor has been,
tali viro quae nupserim. heu miserae mihi.
to have married such a husband. Alas, miserable me.
em quoi te et tua, quae tu habeas, commendes5 viro,
Behold the husband to whom you would commend yourself and your possessions,
em quoi decem talenta dotis detuli,
behold the one to whom I brought ten talents of dowry,
haec ut viderem, ut ferrem has contumelias.
that I might see these things, that I might bear these insults.
Perii hercle, rure iam rediit uxor mea:
I am ruined, by Hercules, my wife has already returned from the country:
vidisse credo mulierem in aedibus.
I believe she has seen the woman in the house.
sed quae loquatur exaudire hinc non queo.
But I cannot hear from here what she is saying.
accedam propius.
I will go closer.
Vae miserae mi.
Woe to miserable me.
Immo mihi.
Rather to me.
Disperii.
I am undone.
Equidem hercle oppido perii miser.
Indeed, by Hercules, miserable I have utterly perished.
vidit. ut te omnes, Demipho, di perduint.
She has seen her. Demipho, may all the gods ruin you.
Pol hoc est, ire quod rus meus vir noluit.
By Pollux, this is why my husband did not want to go to the country.
Quid nunc ego faciam nisi uti ádeam atque adloquar?
What shall I do now except go to her and speak to her?
- 646Megares
Accusative of place whither. Names of towns (Megares, Eretriam) and smaller islands are used in the accusative without a preposition to indicate direction.
- 656quanto te satiust
satiust is a contraction of satius est. Accompanied by the comparative measure of difference quanto, it takes the accusative subject te and the infinitive to form an accusative-and-infinitive construction ('how much better it is for you to go away').
- 663praeconum iubere iam quantum est conducier
conducier is an archaic passive infinitive (= conduci). quantum est is an idiomatic relative clause meaning 'all that exists'. The partitive genitive praeconum depends on this phrase, meaning 'to order as many of town criers to be hired as there are'.
- 686ruri quae non manseris
The relative pronoun quae is followed by the perfect subjunctive manseris, forming a subjunctive relative clause of cause ('since you did not remain in the country') or concession ('although you did not remain').
- 702commendes
Second-person singular present subjunctive. It is used in the relative clause introduced by quoi (= cui) to express purpose ('to whom you should commend') or characteristic ('such that you would commend').