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Plautus · Captivi §743-808

Hegio's Lament and the Jubilant Return of Ergasilus

Passage 13 of 17 · Latin

Summary

After Tyndarus is led away, Hegio laments being deceived, while the parasite Ergasilus arrives in high spirits with good news, threatening anyone in his way as he rushes to Hegio's house.

§743breve spatium est perferundi quae minitas mihi.
The time is short for enduring what you threaten me with.
§744vale atque salve, etsi aliter ut dicam meres.
Farewell and be well, although you deserve that I should speak otherwise.
§745tu, Aristophontes, de me ut meruisti, ita vale; §746nam mihi propter te hoc optigit.
And you, Aristophontes, just as you have deserved of me, so farewell; for on your account this has happened to me.
§746bAbducite.
Lead him away.
§747At unum hoc quaeso, si huc rebitet Philocrates, §748ut mi eius facias conveniundi copiam.
But I entreat this one thing, if Philocrates returns here, that you grant me the opportunity of meeting him.
§749Periistis, nisi hunc iam e conspectu abducitis.
You are dead men, unless you take him away from my sight this instant.
§750Vis haec quidem hercle est, et trahi et trudi simul. — §751Illic ést abductus recta in phylacam, ut dignus est.
By Hercules, this is indeed violence, to be both dragged and pushed at the same time!— He has been led away straight to prison, as he deserves.
§752ego illís captivis aliis documentum dabo, §753ne tale quisquam facinus incipere audeat.
I will give an example to those other captives, lest anyone should dare to attempt such a deed.
§754quod absque hoc esset, qui mihi hoc fecit palam, §755usque offrenatum suis me ductarent dolis.
Had it not been for this man, who made this clear to me, they would constantly be leading me around, muzzled by their tricks.
§756nunc certum est nulli posthac quicquam credere.
Now I am resolved to believe nothing of anyone hereafter.
§757satis súm semel deceptus.
I have been deceived enough once.
speravi miser §758ex servitute me exemisse filium: §759ea spes elapsa est.
In my misery I hoped that I had rescued my son from slavery: that hope has slipped away.
perdidi unum filium, §760puerum quadrimum quem mihi servos surpuit, §761neque eum servom umquam repperi neque filium; §762maior potitus hostium est.
I have lost one son, a four-year-old boy whom a slave stole from me, and I have never found either that slave or my son; the older one has fallen into the hands of the enemy.
quod hoc ést scelus?
What crime is this?
§763quasi in orbitatem liberos produxerim.
As if I had brought up children for childlessness.
§764sequere hac.
Follow this way.
reducam te ubi fuisti.
I will lead you back where you were.
neminis §765miserere certum est, quia mei miseret neminem. — §766Exauspicavi ex vinclis.
I am resolved to pity no one, since no one pities me.— I came out of my chains with bad omens.
nunc intellego §767redauspicandum esse in catenas denuo. — §768Iúppiter supreme, servas me measque auges opes, §769máximas opimitates opiparasque offers mihi, §770laudém lucrum, ludum iocum, festivitatem ferias, §771pompám penum, potationis saturitatem, gaudium, §772néc cuiquam homini supplicare nunc certum est mihi; §773nam vél prodesse amico possum vel inimicum perdere, §774ita híc me amoenitate amoena amoenus oneravit dies.
Now I understand that I must seek omens anew back into chains again.— Supreme Jupiter, you preserve me and increase my wealth, you offer me the greatest abundance and sumptuous wealth, fame, profit, play, jest, festivity, holidays, pomp, provisions, saturation of drinking, joy, and now I am resolved to supplicate no man; for I can either benefit a friend or destroy an enemy, so has this pleasant day pleasantly loaded me with pleasant amenity.
§775síne sacris hereditatem sum aptus effertissimam.
I have obtained a most abundant inheritance without any sacred rites.
§776nunc ád senem cursum capessam hunc Hegionem, cui boni §777tantum affero quantum ipsus a dis optat, atque etiam amplius.
Now I will direct my run to this old man Hegio, to whom good things I bring as great as he himself wishes from the gods, and even more.
§778nunc cérta res est, eodem pacto ut comici servi solent §779coníciam in collum pallium, primo ex med hanc rem ut audiat; §780speróque me ob hunc nuntium aetérnum adepturum cibum.
Now it is a certain thing, in the same manner as comic slaves are wont, I will throw my cloak over my shoulder, so that he may hear this matter first from me; and I hope that on account of this news I shall obtain eternal food.
§781Quanto ín pectore hánc rem meó magis volúto, §782tanto mi aegritudo auctiór est in animo.
The more I revolve this matter in my breast, the more is my sorrow increased in my mind.
§783ad illum modum sublitum os esse mi hodie!
That my face should be so smeared today in that manner!
§784neque íd perspicere quivi.
And I was unable to perceive it.
§785quod cúm scibitúr, tum per úrbem inridébor.
Which when it is known, then I shall be laughed at throughout the city.
§786cum extemplo ad forum advenero, omnes loquentur: §787hic illest senex doctus, quoi verba data sunt.
As soon as I arrive at the forum, everyone will say: This is that clever old man who was given words.
§788sed Ergasilus estne hic, procúl quem video?
But is this Ergasilus whom I see in the distance?
§789conlécto quidem est pallio.
He has indeed gathered up his cloak.
quidnam acturust?
What on earth is he going to do?
§790Move áps te moram átque, Ergásile, age hanc rem.
Remove delay from yourself and, Ergasilus, do this business.
§791éminor interminorque, ne mi obstiterit obviam §792nisi quis satis diu vixisse sese homo arbitrabitur.
I warn and strictly forbid that anyone should stand in my way, unless anyone shall think that he has lived long enough.
§793nam qui obstiterit, ore sistet.
For whoever stands in my way shall stand on his face.
§793bHic homo pugilatum incipit.
This man is beginning to box.
§794Facere certumst.
I am resolved to do it.
proinde ita omnes itinera insistant sua, §795ne quis in hanc plateam negoti conferat quicquam sui.
Therefore let everyone keep to their own path, lest anyone should bring any of his business into this street.
§796nam meus est ballista pugnus, cubitus catapultast mihi, §797umerus aries, tum genu quemque icero ad terram dabo, §798dentilegos omnes mortales faciam, quemque offendero.
For my fist is a ballista, my elbow is my catapult, my shoulder a ram, and then whichever knee I strike with, I will bring them to the ground, I will make all mortals tooth-gatherers, whomever I hit.
§799Quae illaec eminatiost nam? nequeo mirari satis.
What threat is that? I cannot wonder enough.
§800Faciam ut huius diei locique meique semper meminerit.
I will make him always remember this day, this place, and me.
§802Quid hic homo tantum incipissit facere cum tantis minis?
What is this man starting to do with such great threats?
§803Prius edico, ne quis propter culpam capiatur suam: §804continete vos domi, prohibete a vobis vim meam.
I proclaim beforehand, lest anyone should be caught through his own fault: keep yourselves at home, keep my violence away from yourselves.
§805Mira edepol sunt, ní hic in ventrem sumpsit confidentiam.
By Pollux, these are strange things, unless he has taken confidence into his belly.
§806vae misero illi, cuius cibo iste factust imperiosior.
Woe to that miserable man, by whose food this fellow has been made so imperious!
§807Tum pistores scrofipasci, quí alunt furfuribus sues, §808quarum odore praeterire nemo pistrinum potest:
Then the sow-feeding bakers, who nourish swine with bran, whose bakery no one can pass by because of the smell:—

Notes

  1. 754quod absque hoc esset — The preposition absque followed by an ablative and the imperfect subjunctive esset is a classic archaic Latin idiom expressing a negative contrafactual condition ("if it had not been for..."). Here, it means "had it not been for this man (Aristophontes)."
  2. 775sine sacris hereditatem — A proverbial expression derived from Roman legal and religious practice. Normally, inheriting an estate (hereditas) entailed the obligation and expense of maintaining family sacrifices (sacra). An inheritance 'without sacrifices' (sine sacris hereditas) thus proverbially means pure profit or a windfall with no strings attached.
  3. 783sublitum os esse mi — An accusative with infinitive construction expressing exclamation. It is the passive of the idiom os sublinere (to smear someone's face, meaning to dupe or trick someone), conveying Hegio's utter shock and outrage: "To think that my face has been so smeared (I have been so tricked) today!"

Cite this passage

Plautus, Captivi §743-808. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0119.phi005.humanitext-lat2:743-808

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