Humanitext Reader

Plautus · Captivi §331-387

Agreement to Send the Slave and Tyndarus' Message

Passage 6 of 17 · Latin

Summary

Hegio agrees to send Philocrates' slave (who is actually Philocrates himself) with a fixed valuation to Alis to negotiate with his father for the ransom of his son. Tyndarus (pretending to be Philocrates) entrusts the released slave with a message to his father and instructs him to remain faithful.

§331eum si reddis mihi, praeterea únum nummum ne duis; §332et te et hunc amittam hinc.
Hegio: If you return him to me, do not pay a single coin besides; I will let both you and this man go from here.
alio pacto abire non potes.
In no other way can you depart.
§333Optumum atque aequissumum oras optumusque hominum es homo.
Tyndarus: You ask what is best and most fair, and you are the best of men.
§334sed is privatam servitutem servit illi an publicam?
But does he serve a private slavery there, or a public one?
§335Privatam medici Menarchi.
Hegio: A private one, of the physician Menarchus.
§335bPol is quidem huius est cliens.
Tyndarus: By Pollux, he indeed is a client of this family.
§336tam hoc quidem tibi in proclivi quam imber est quando pluit.
This indeed is as easy for you as the rain when it pours.
§337Fac is homo ut redimatur.
Hegio: See to it that the man is ransomed.
§337bFaciam.
Tyndarus: I will do so.
sed te id oro, Hegio— §338Quid vis, dum ab re ne quid ores, faciam.
But I entreat you of this, Hegio— Hegio: What do you wish? Provided you ask nothing against my interest, I will do it.
§338bAusculta, tum scies.
Tyndarus: Listen, and then you will know.
§339ego me amitti, donicum ille huc redierit, non postulo.
I do not demand that I be released until he returns here.
§340verum quaeso ut aestumatum hunc mihi des, quem mittam ad patrem, §341ut is homo redimatur illi.
But I ask that you give me this man evaluated, whom I may send to my father, so that that man may be ransomed for him there.
§341bImmo alium potius misero §342hinc, ubi erunt indutiae, illuc, tuom qui conveniat patrem, §343qui tua quae tu iusseris mandata ita út velis perferat.
Hegio: Nay, I will rather send another from here, when there is a truce, to go there to meet your father, who may convey your messages, which you command, just as you wish.
§344At nihil est ignotum ad illum mittere: operam luseris.
Tyndarus: But it is of no use to send an unknown man to him; you will have lost your labor.
§345hunc mitte, hic transactum reddet omne, si illuc venerit.
Send this man; he will return having settled everything, if he goes there.
§346nec quemquam fideliorem neque cui plus credat potes §347mittere ad eum nec qui magis sit servos ex sententia, §348neque adeo cui suom concredat filium hodie audacius.
You can send no one more faithful to him, nor one whom he trusts more, nor a servant who is more to his liking, nor indeed one to whom he would today more confidently entrust his own son.
§349ne vereare, meo periclo húius ego experiar fidem, §350fretus ingenio eius, quod me ésse scit erga se benevolum.
Do not fear; at my own risk I will answer for this man's fidelity, relying on his character, because he knows I am well-disposed toward him.
§351Mittam equidem istunc aestumatum tua fide, si vis.
Hegio: I will indeed send him evaluated under your guarantee, if you wish.
§351bVolo; §352quam citissime potest, tam hoc cedere ad factum volo.
Tyndarus: I wish it; as quickly as possible, so do I wish this to be carried out.
§353Num quae causa est quin, si ille huc non redeat, viginti minas §354mihi des pro illo?
Hegio: Is there any reason why, if he does not return here, you should not pay me twenty minae for him?
§354bOptuma immo.
Tyndarus: On the contrary, none at all.
§354cSolvite istum nunciam, §355atque utrumque.
Hegio: Release him now, and indeed both of them.
§355bDi tibi omnis omnia optata offerant, §356cum me tanto honore honestas cumque ex vinclis eximis.
Tyndarus: May all the gods grant you all your wishes, since you honor me with such honor and release me from chains.
§357hoc quidem haud molestumst, iam quod collus collari caret.
This indeed is not unpleasant, that my neck now lacks its collar.
§358Quod bonis bene fit beneficium, gratia ea gravida est bonis.
Hegio: The benefit which is well done to good men is pregnant with good gratitude.
§359nunc tu illum si illo es missurus, dice monstra praecipe §360quae ad patrem vis nuntiari.
Now if you are to send him there, speak, show, instruct him what you wish to be reported to your father.
vin vocem huc ad te?
Do you want me to call him here to you?
§360bVoca.
Tyndarus: Call him.
§361Quae res bene vortat mihi meoque filio §362vobisque, volt te novos erus operam dare §363tuo veteri domino, quod is velit, fideliter.
Hegio: May this matter turn out well for me and for my son, and for you; your new master wishes you to give service to your old master, faithfully, in what he wishes.
§364nam ego te aestumatum huíc dedi viginti minis, §365hic autem té ait mittere hinc velle ad patrem, §366meum ut illic redimat filium, mutatio §367inter me atque illum ut nostris fiat filiis.
For I have given you evaluated to him for twenty minae, and he says that he wishes to send you from here to his father, so that he may ransom my son there; it is an exchange between me and him for our sons.
§368Vtroque vorsum rectumst ingenium meum, §369ad te atque ad illum; pro rota me uti licet: §370vel ego huc vel illuc vortar, quo imperabitis.
Philocrates: My mind is directed straight in both directions, toward you and toward him; you may use me like a wheel: I will turn either this way or that way, wherever you command.
§371Tute tibi tuopte ingenio prodes plurumum, §372cum servitutem íta fers ut ferri decet.
Hegio: You profit yourself most of all by your own character, since you bear slavery as it is fitting to be borne.
§373sequere.
Follow me.
em tibi hominem.
Look, here is the man for you.
§373bGratiám habeo tibi, §374quom copiam istam mi et potestatem facis, §375ut ego ad parentes hunc remittam nuntium, §376qui me quid rerum hic agitem et quid fieri velim §377patri meo, ordine omnem rem, illuc perferat.
Tyndarus: I am grateful to you, since you grant me this opportunity and power, so that I may send this man as a messenger to my parents, who may convey what things I am doing here and what I wish to be done to my father, the whole matter in order, to that place.
§378nunc ita convenit inter me atque hunc, Tyndare, §379ut te aestumatum in Alidem mittam ad patrem, §380si non rebitas huc, ut viginti minas §381dem pro te.
Now it has been so agreed between me and this man, Tyndarus, that I should send you evaluated to Alis to your father, so that, if you do not return here, twenty minae I must pay for you.
§381bRecte convenisse sentio.
Philocrates: I feel that the agreement has been rightly made.
§382nam pater expectat aut me aut aliquem nuntium, §383qui hinc ad se veniat.
For my father is expecting either me or some messenger who may come to him from here.
§383bErgo animum advortas volo §384quae nuntiare hinc te volo in patriam ad patrem.
Tyndarus: Therefore I wish you to turn your mind to what things I wish you to report from here to my father in my country.
§385Phílocrates, ut adhuc locorum feci, faciam sedulo, §386ut potissimum quod in rem recte conducat tuam, §387id petam idque persequar corde et animo atque viribus.
Philocrates: Philocrates, as I have done up to this place, I will do carefully, so that, especially what may rightly be to your advantage, I may seek that and pursue it with my heart, mind, and strength.

Notes

  1. 331duis — duis is an archaic present subjunctive 2nd person singular of do (equivalent to classical des), here used with the negative particle ne to form a negative command ('do not pay').
  2. 338ab re — ab re literally means 'away from property/matter (res)', but here functions as an idiomatic phrase meaning 'contrary to one's interest' or 'to one's disadvantage'. dum introduces a proviso clause ('provided that...').
  3. 340aestumatum — aestumatus (perfect passive participle of aestumo) is a commercial and legal technical term. It refers to delivering a slave or goods with a pre-agreed valuation, which must be compensated in money (here, twenty minae) if they are not returned or are lost.
  4. 374quom... facis — quom (classical cum) is used here with the present indicative facis to express a cause or contemporaneous circumstance ('since/in that you grant'), which is followed by a purpose clause introduced by ut with the present subjunctive remittam.
  5. 385locorum — locorum is the genitive plural of locus (place), here functioning as a partitive genitive dependent on the temporal adverb adhuc ('up to this point'), forming an idiomatic expression meaning 'up to now' or 'hitherto'.

Cite this passage

Plautus, Captivi §331-387. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0119.phi005.humanitext-lat2:331-387

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.