Humanitext Reader

Plautus · Epidicus §436-504

Arrival of the Soldier and Discovery of the Deception

Passage 8 of 12 · Latin

Summary

A soldier arrives wishing to buy Acropolis from Periphanes. However, when the woman is brought out, the soldier realizes she is not Acropolis, revealing to Periphanes that he has been thoroughly deceived by his slave Epidicus.

§436suam qui undantem chlamydem quassando facit?
Periphanes: Who is this who makes his cloak wave by shaking it?
§437Cave praéterbitas ullas aedis, quin roges, §438senex híc ubi habitat Periphanes Platenius.
Soldier: Take care you do not pass by any house without asking where the old man Periphanes of Platea lives here.
§439incertus tuom cave ad me rettuleris pedem.
Take care you do not return your foot to me in uncertainty.
§440Adulescens, si istunc hominem, quem tu quaeritas, §441tibi commonstrasso, ecquam abs te inibo gratiam?
Periphanes: Young man, if I point out to you that man whom you are searching for, shall I receive any gratitude from you?
§442Virtute belli armatus promerui, ut mihi §443omnis mortalis agere deceat gratias.
Soldier: Armed by the virtue of war, I have deserved that it should befit every mortal to give thanks to me.
§444Non repperisti, adulescens, tranquillum locum, §445ubi tuas virtutes explices, ut postulas.
Periphanes: You have not found, young man, a quiet place to display your virtues as you demand.
§446nam strenuiori deterior si praedicat §447suas pugnas, de illius illae fiunt sordidae.
For if a lesser man boasts of his battles to a more active one, those of the former become cheapened because of the latter.
§448sed istúm quem quaeris Periphanem Platenium, §449ego sum, si quid vis.
But that Periphanes of Platea whom you seek, I am he, if you want anything.
§449bNempe quem in adulescentia §450memorant apud réges armis, arte duellica §451divitias magnas indeptum?
Soldier: Surely the one who they recall, in his youth, acquired great riches under kings by arms and the art of war?
§451bImmo si audias §452meas púgnas, fugias manibus dimissis domum.
Periphanes: Nay, if you were to hear of my battles, you would flee home with your hands let down.
§453Pol égo magis unum quaero, meas cui praedicem, §454quam illum qui memoret suas mihi.
Soldier: By Pollux, I am rather looking for someone to boast of my own to, than him who would recall his own to me.
§454bHic non est locus; §455proin tu alium quaeras cui centones sarcias.
Periphanes: This is not the place; therefore look for someone else to whom you may patch up your patchwork stories.
§431atque haec stultitiast me illi vitio vortere §432egomet quod factitavi in adulescentia, §433cum militabam: pugnis memorandis meis §434eradicabam hominum auris, quando occeperam.
Periphanes: And this is foolishness, for me to turn into a fault in him what I myself used to do in my youth, when I was soldiering: when I had begun, I used to tear out people's ears by recounting my battles.
§456Animum advorte, ut quod ego ad te advenio intellegas.
Soldier: Pay attention, so that you may understand why I come to you.
§457meam amicam audivi te esse mercatum.
I heard that you have bought my mistress.
§457bAttatae,
Periphanes: Aha!
§458nunc demum scio ego hunc qui sit: quem dudum Epidicus §459mihi praedicavit militem.
Now at last I know who this is: the soldier whom Epidicus told me about just now.
adulescens, itast §460ut dicis, emi.
Young man, it is as you say, I bought her.
§460bVolo te verbis pauculis, §461si tibi molestum non est.
Soldier: I wish to speak with you in a few words, if it is not troublesome to you.
§461bNon edepol scio, §462molestum necne sit, nisi dicis quid velis.
Periphanes: By Pollux, I do not know whether it is troublesome or not, unless you say what you want.
§463Mi illam ut tramittas, argentum accipias: adest.
Soldier: Hand her over to me, take the money: here it is.
§464nam quid ego apud te vera parcam proloqui?
For why should I spare to speak the truth before you?
§465ego illám volo hodie facere libertam meam, §466mihi concubina quae sit.
I want to make her my freedwoman today, to be my concubine.
§466bTe absolvam brevi: §467argenti quinquaginta mi illa empta est minis; §468si sexaginta mihi denumerantur minae, §469tuas póssidebit mulier faxo ferias; §470atque ita profecto, ut eam ex hoc exoneres agro.
Periphanes: I will settle with you briefly: she was bought by me for fifty minae of silver; if sixty minae are counted out to me, I will make sure the woman keeps your holidays; and indeed, on the condition that you remove her from this territory.
§471Estne empta mi istis legibus?
Soldier: Is she bought by me on those terms?
§471bHabeas licet.
Periphanes: You may have her.
§472Conciliavisti pulchre.
Soldier: You have made an excellent bargain.
§472bHeus, fóras educite §473quam introduxistis fidicinam.
Periphanes: Hey, bring out here the music-girl whom you took inside.
atque etiam fides, §474ei quae accessere, tibi addam dono gratiis.
And also the lyre, which went with her, I will add for you as a gift, free of charge.
§475age accipe hanc sis.
Come, take her, please.
§475bQuae te intemperiae tenent?
Soldier: What madness possesses you?
§476quas tu mihi tenebras trudis? quin tu fidicinam
What deceptions are you thrusting upon me?
§477produci íntus iubes.
Why don't you order the music-girl to be brought out from within?
§477bHaec ergo est fidicina.
Periphanes: This indeed is the music-girl.
§478hic alia nullast.
There is no other here.
§478bNon mihi nugari potes.
Soldier: You cannot trifle with me.
§479quin tu huc producis fidicinam Acropolistidem?
Why do you not bring out here the music-girl Acropolis?
§480Haec inquamst.
Periphanes: This, I say, is she.
§480bNon haec inquamst.
Soldier: This, I say, is not she.
non novisse me §481meam rere amicam posse?
Do you think I cannot recognize my own mistress?
§481bHanc, inquam, filius §482meus deperibat fidicinam.
Periphanes: This is the music-girl, I say, whom my son was dying of love for.
§482bHaec non est ea.
Soldier: This is not she.
§483Quid? non est?
Periphanes: What?
§483bNon est.
She is not? Soldier: She is not.
§483cVnde haec igitur gentiumst?
Periphanes: Where on earth, then, does this one come from?
§484equidem hercle argentum pro hac dedi.
Indeed, by Hercules, I paid the money for this one.
§484bStulte datum §485reor et peccatum largiter.
Soldier: Foolishly paid, I think, and a huge mistake.
§485bImmo haec east.
Periphanes: Nay, this is she.
§486nam servom misi, qui illum sectari solet §487meum gnátum: is ipse hanc destinavit fidicinam.
For I sent the slave who is accustomed to follow my son: he himself purchased this music-girl.
§488Em istíc homo te articulatim concidit, senex, §489tuos servos.
Soldier: Look, that fellow has cut you to pieces limb by limb, old man, your slave.
§489bQuid? concidit?
Periphanes: What? Cut me to pieces?
§489cSic suspiciost, §490nam pro fidicina haec cerva supposita est tibi.
Soldier: Such is the suspicion, for this hind has been substituted for you instead of the music-girl.
§491senex, tibi os est sublitum plane et probe.
Old man, you have been cheated plainly and thoroughly.
§492ego illám requiram iam ubi ubi est.
I shall search for her right now, wherever she is.
§492bBellator, vale.
Periphanes: Warrior, farewell.
§493euge, euge, Epidice, frugi es, pugnavisti, homo es,
Periphanes: Well done, well done, Epidicus!
§494qui me emunxisti mucidum, minimi preti.
You are a worthy fellow, you have fought well, you are a real man, who has wiped the nose of me, a sniveling wretch of no value at all.
§495mercatus te hodie est de lenone Apoecides?
Did Apoecides buy you today from the pimp?
§496Fando ego istunc hominem numquam audivi ante hunc diem, §497neque me quidem emere quisquam ulla pecunia §498potuit: plus iam sum libera quinquennium.
Music-girl: By hearsay, I have never heard of that man before this day, nor indeed could anyone have bought me for any money: I have been free now for more than five years.
§499Quid tibi negotist meae domi igitur?
Periphanes: What business have you at my house then?
§499bAudies.
Music-girl: You shall hear.
§500conducta veni, ut fidibus cantarem seni, §501dum rem divinam faceret.
I came hired to play on the lyre for the old man, while he was performing the sacred rite.
§501bFateor me omnium §502hominum esse Athenis Atticis minimi preti.
Periphanes: I confess that of all men in Attic Athens I am of the least value.
§503sed tu novistin fidicinam Acropolistidem?
But do you know the music-girl Acropolis?
§504Tam facile quam me.
Music-girl: As easily as myself.

Notes

  1. §441commonstrasso — Archaic future perfect form, equivalent to `commonstravero`. Frequently found in early Latin and comedy in conditional clauses (si-clauses) to express a future hypothesis.
  2. §469faxo — Archaic future/perfect subjunctive equivalent to `faciam`. It expresses a strong promise or guarantee ('I will make sure that...'), taking a subjunctive (or future indicative `possidebit`) directly without the conjunction `ut`.
  3. §491os est sublitum — Passive voice of the idiomatic expression `os sublinere` (literally, 'to smear someone's face/lips', meaning to dupe, trick, or mock). It signifies 'to be completely cheated/bamboozled'.

Cite this passage

Plautus, Epidicus §436-504. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0119.phi009.humanitext-lat2:436-504

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.