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Plautus · Captivi §559-611

Madness of Aristophontes and Hegio's Suspicion

Passage 10 of 17 · Latin

Summary

Hegio is completely convinced that Aristophontes is mad, and Tyndarus exploits this misunderstanding to escape his predicament. However, at the end, Hegio notices Tyndarus making suspicious gestures and begins to doubt his true identity.

§559Credidi esse insanum extemplo, ubi te appellavit Tyndarum.
Hegio: I believed him to be mad immediately, when he called you Tyndarus.
§560Quin suom ipse interdum ignorat nomen neque scit qui siet.
Tyndarus: On the contrary, he sometimes does not know his own name and does not know who he is.
§561At etiam te suom sodalem esse aibat.
Hegio: But he also said that you are his friend.
§561bHaud vidi magís.
Tyndarus: I have never seen a greater lie.
§562et quidem Alcumeus atque Orestes et Lycurgus postea §563una opera mihi sunt sodales qua iste.
And indeed, Alcumeus, Orestes, and Lycurgus afterwards are my friends in the same way as that man is.
§563bAt etiam, furcifer,
Aristophontes: But even so, you scoundrel, do you dare to speak ill of me?
§564male loqui mi audés? non ego te novi?
Do I not know you?
§564bPol planum id quidem est, §565non novisse, qui istum appelles Tyndarum pro Philocrate.
Tyndarus: By Pollux, that indeed is very clear, that you do not know him, since you call him Tyndarus instead of Philocrates.
§566quem vides, eum ignoras: illum nominas quem non vides.
You do not know the one you see; you name the one you do not see.
§567Immo iste eum sese ait, qui non est, esse, et qui vero est, negat.
Aristophontes: Nay, that man there says that he is the one he is not, and denies being who he truly is.
§568Tu énim repertu's, Philocratem qui superes veriverbio.
Hegio: So you indeed have been found to surpass Philocrates in speaking the truth.
§569Pol ego ut rem video, tu inventu's, vera vanitudine §570qui convincas.
Tyndarus: By Pollux, as I see the matter, you have been found to defeat truth with falsehood.
sed quaeso hercle, agedum aspice ad me.
But I pray, by Hercules, come, look at me.
Aristophontes: Look.
§570cDic modo: §571tun negas te Tyndarum esse?
Tyndarus: Just tell me: do you deny that you are Tyndarus?
§571bNégo, inquam.
Aristophontes: I deny it, I say.
§571cTun te Philocratem
Tyndarus: Do you say that you are Philocrates?
§572esse ais? §572bÉgo, inquam.
Aristophontes: I do, I say.
§572cTune huic credis?
Aristophontes: Do you believe this man?
§572dPlus quidem quam tibi aut mihi.
Hegio: More indeed than you or myself.
§573nam ílle quidem, quem tu hunc memoras esse, hodie hinc abiit Alidem §574ad patrem huius.
For indeed that man, whom you say this man is, has left from here today for Alis to this man's father.
§574bQuem patrem, qui servos est?
Aristophontes: What father, to one who is a slave?
§574cEt tu quidem §575servos es, liber fuisti, et ego me confido fore, §576si huius huc reconciliasso in libertatem filium.
Tyndarus: And indeed you are a slave, though you were free, and I trust that I shall be so too, if I restore this man's son to freedom here.
§577Quid ais, furcifer? tun te gnatum esse memoras liberum?
Aristophontes: What do you say, you scoundrel? Do you say you were born free?
§578Non equidem me Liberum, sed Philocratem esse aio.
Tyndarus: I do not say that I am Liber, but Philocrates.
§578bQuid est?
Aristophontes: What is that?
§579ut scelestus, Hegio, nunc iste te ludos facit.
Hegio, how that scoundrel is making sport of you now.
§580nám is est servos ipse, neque praeter se umquam ei servos fuit.
For he himself is a slave, and there never was any slave to him except himself.
§581Quia tute ipse eges in patria nec tibi qui vivas domist, §582omnis inveniri similis tui vis; non mirum facis: §583est miserorum, ut malevolentes sint atque invideant bonis.
Tyndarus: Because you yourself are in want in your fatherland and have nothing at home to live on, you wish everyone to be found like yourself; you do nothing strange: it is characteristic of the wretched to be malevolent and to envy the prosperous.
§584Hegio, vide sis, ne quid tu huic temere insistas credere.
Aristophontes: Hegio, please take care lest you rashly persist in believing this man.
§585atque, ut perspicio, profecto iam áliquid pugnae edidit.
And indeed, as I perceive, he has surely already played some trick on you.
§586filium tuom quód redimere se ait, id ne utiquam mihi placet.
That he says he is redeeming your son does not please me at all.
§587Scio te id nolle fieri; efficiam tamen ego id, si di adiuvant.
Tyndarus: I know you do not want that to happen; yet I shall accomplish it, if the gods help.
§588illum restituam huic, hic autem in Alidem me meo patri.
I shall restore him to this man, and this man will restore me to my father in Alis.
§589propterea ad patrem hinc amisi Tyndarum.
For this reason I sent Tyndarus from here to my father.
§589bQuin tute is es: §590neque praeter te in Alide ullus servos istoc nominest.
Aristophontes: Rather, you yourself are that man: nor is there any other slave in Alis by that name except you.
§591Pergin servom me exprobrare esse, id quod vi hostili optigit?
Tyndarus: Do you continue to reproach me with being a slave, which happened to me by hostile force?
§592Enim iam nequeo contineri.
Aristophontes: Indeed, I cannot restrain myself any longer.
§592bHeus, audin quid ait? quin fugis?
Tyndarus: Hey, do you hear what he says? Why don't you flee?
§593iam illic hic nos insectabit lapidibus, nisi illunc iubes §594comprehendi.
He will soon chase us here with stones, unless you order him to be seized.
§594bCrucior.
Aristophontes: I am tortured!
§594cArdent oculi: fit opus, Hegio; §595viden tu illi maculari corpus totum maculis luridis?
Tyndarus: His eyes are burning: it is starting, Hegio; do you see his whole body being spotted with yellow spots?
§596atra bilis agitat hominem.
Black bile is driving the man.
§596bAt pol te, si hic sapiat senex, §597pix atra agitet apud carnificem tuoque capiti inluceat.
Aristophontes: But by Pollux, if this old man were wise, black pitch would drive you at the executioner's and shine upon your head.
§598Iam deliramenta loquitur, laruae stimulant virum.
Tyndarus: Already he speaks delirious things, larvae are driving the man.
§599hercle qui, si hunc comprehendi iusseris, sapias magis.
By Hercules, if you order him to be seized, you would be wiser.
§600Crucior, lapidem non habere mé, ut illi mastigiae §601cerebrum excutiam, qui me insanum verbis concinnat suis.
Aristophontes: I am tortured that I do not have a stone, so that I might knock out the brains of that whip-rascal, who makes me out to be mad with his words.
§602Audin lapidem quaeritare?
Tyndarus: Do you hear him searching for a stone?
§602bSolus te solum volo, §603Hegio.
Aristophontes: I want you alone, Hegio, alone.
§603bIstinc loquere, si quid vis, procul.
Hegio: Speak from there, if you want anything, from afar.
tamen audiam.
Still I shall hear.
§604Namque edepol si adbites propius, os denasabit tibi §605mordicus.
Tyndarus: For by Pollux, if you go nearer, he will bite off your nose with his teeth.
§605bNeque pol me insanum, Hégio, esse creduis §606neque fuisse umquam, neque esse morbum quem istic autumat.
Aristophontes: By Pollux, Hegio, do not believe that I am mad, or ever have been, nor that I have the disease that this man claims.
§607verum si quid metuis a me, iube me vinciri: volo, §608dum istic itidem vinciatur.
But if you fear anything from me, order me to be bound: I wish it, provided that this man is bound in the same way.
§608bImmo enim vero, Hegio, §609istic, qui volt, vinciatur.
Tyndarus: Rather indeed, Hegio, let that man, since he wishes it, be bound.
§609bTace modo.
Hegio: Be silent.
ego te, Philocrates §610false, faciam ut verus hodie reperiare Tyndarus.
I shall make you, false Philocrates, be found today to be the true Tyndarus.
§611quid mi abnutas?
Why are you shaking your head at me?

Notes

  1. 561bHaud vidi magís — An idiomatic expression literally meaning "I have not seen more," used here ironically to imply "I have never seen a greater falsehood" or "that is a complete lie."
  2. 571tun negas te Tyndarum esse? — Tyndarus attempts to confuse Aristophontes by using the accusative "te" with the infinitive ("do you deny that you are Tyndarus?"). This questioning serves as a trap to make Aristophontes appear mad and confused to Hegio.
  3. 578Non equidem me Liberum — A pun typical of Plautus, playing on the adjective "liber" (free) from the previous line and the name of the god "Liber" (Bacchus). Tyndarus quibbles that he did not claim to be the god Liber.
  4. 597pix atra agitet — An allusion to the brutal Roman punishment (tunica molesta) in which a criminal or slave was smeared with black pitch ("pix atra") and set on fire. It is introduced by Aristophontes in a furious response to the "black bile" ("atra bilis") mentioned by Tyndarus.
  5. 609bfaciam ut verus hodie reperiare — A causative construction featuring "faciam ut" followed by the subjunctive "reperiare" (second-person singular present passive). It strongly emphasizes the contrast between "false Philocrates" and "true Tyndarus."

Cite this passage

Plautus, Captivi §559-611. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0119.phi005.humanitext-lat2:559-611

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