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Plautus · Mostellaria §1064-1122

Tranio's Refuge at the Altar and Theopropides' Fury

Passage 17 of 18 · Latin

Summary

Theopropides prepares handcuffs with his slaves to trap Tranio, but Tranio, realizing that his tricks have been exposed, seeks refuge at the altar and wittily evades his master. While the furious Theopropides threatens him, Callidamates, a companion of his son, approaches.

§1064Ilico intra limen isti astate, ut, cum extemplo vocem, §1065continuo exiliatis.
Stand right there inside the threshold, so that as soon as I call, you may spring out immediately.
manicas celeriter conectite.
Bind the handcuffs quickly.
§1066ego illum ante aedis praestolabor ludificatorem meum, §1067cuius ego hodie ludificabor corium, si vivo, probe.
I will wait in front of the house for that deceiver of mine, whose hide I shall flay thoroughly today, as I live.
§1068Res palam est.
The matter is out in the open.
nunc te videre meliust quid agas, Tranio.
Now, Tranio, it's best for you to see what you are doing.
§1069Docte atque astu mihi captandumst cum illo, ubi huc advenerit.
I must catch him with cleverness and craft when he comes here.
§1070non ego illi éxtemplo hamum ostendam, sensim mittam lineam.
I won't show him the hook right away, but will pay out the line gradually.
§1071dissimulabo me horum quicquam scire.
I will pretend to know nothing of these things.
§1071bO mortalem malum,
O what a wicked fellow!
§1072alter hoc Athenis nemo doctior dici potest.
No one else in Athens can be called cleverer than he.
§1073verba illi non magis dare hodie quisquam quam lapidi potest.
Today no one can give him words any more than they could a stone.
§1074adgrediar hominem, appellabo.
I will approach the fellow, I will address him.
§1074bNunc ego ille húc veniat velim.
Now I would like him to come here.
§1075Siquidem pol me quaeris, adsum praesens praesenti tibi.
By Pollux, if you are looking for me, here I am, present before you.
§1076Euge, Tranio, quid agitur?
Well done, Tranio, what's going on?
§1076bVeniunt rure rustici.
Country-folk are coming from the country.
§1077Philolaches iam hic aderit.
Philolaches will be here soon.
§1077bEdepol mi opportune advenerit.
By Pollux, he will arrive opportunely for me.
§1078nostrum ego hunc vicinum opinor esse hominem audacem et malum.
I think this neighbor of ours is a bold and wicked man.
§1079Quidum?
How so?
§1079bQuia negat novisse vos.
Because he denies that he knows you.
§1079cNegat?
He denies it?
§1079dNec vos sibi §1080nummum umquam argenti dedisse.
And that you ever gave him a single silver coin.
§1080bAbi, lúdis me, credo haud negat.
Go on, you are joking with me; I don't believe he denies it.
§1081Quid iam?
Why so now?
§1081bScio, iocaris nunc tu.
I know you are joking now.
nam ille quidem edepol haud negat.
For indeed, by Pollux, he doesn't deny it.
§1082Immo edepol negat profecto, neque se hasce aedis Philolachi §1083vendidisse.
Nay, by Pollux, he denies it absolutely, and that he sold this house to Philolaches.
§1083bEho, an negavit sibi datum argentum, obsecro?
What? Did he deny that the money was given to him, please?
§1084Quin ius iurandum pollicitust dare se, si vellem, mihi, §1085neque se hasce aedis vendidisse neque sibi argentum datum.
Indeed, he even promised to take an oath, if I wished, to me, that he neither sold this house nor was the money given to him.
§1087Dixi ego istuc idem illi.
I said that same thing to him.
§1087bQuid ait?
What did he say?
§1087cServos pollicitust dare §1088suos mihi omnes quaestioni.
He promised to give all his slaves to me for questioning under torture.
§1088bNugas.
Nonsense.
numquam edepol dabit.
By Pollux, he will never give them.
§1089Dat profecto.
He will give them indeed.
§1089bQuin i cum illo in ius.
Why don't you go to court with him?
sine inveniam.
Let me find out.
§1089cMane.
Wait.
§1090experiar, ut opinor.
I will try it, as I think.
certum est.
It is resolved.
§1090bImmo mihi hominem cedo.
Nay, hand the man over to me.
§1091vel hominem iube aedis † mancipio poscere.
Or order him to demand the house by legal possession.
§1091bImmo hoc primum volo, §1092quaestioni accipere servos.
Nay, first I want this: to receive the slaves for interrogation.
§1092bFaciundum edepol censeo.
By Pollux, I think that ought to be done.
§1093Quid si igitur ego accersam homines?
What if, then, I fetch the men?
§1093bFactum iam esse oportuit.
It ought to have been done already.
§1094ego interim hanc aram occupabo.
In the meantime, I will take possession of this altar.
§1094bQuid ita?
Why so?
§1094cNullam rem sapis.
You have no sense.
§1095né enim illi huc confugere possint, quaestioni quos dabit.
It is so that those whom he gives for torture cannot flee here.
§1096hic ego tibi praesidebo, ne interbitat quaestio.
Here I will stand guard for you, so that the interrogation does not fall through.
§1097Surge.
Get up.
§1097bMinime.
By no means.
§1097cNe occupassis, obsecro, aram.
Don't occupy the altar, please.
Why?
§1097eScies.
You shall know.
§1098quia enim id maxime volo, ut illi ístoc confugiant.
Because indeed I want that most of all, that they should flee there.
sine: §1099tanto apud iúdicem hunc argenti condemnabo facilius.
Let them: so much the more easily shall I have him condemned before the judge for a sum of money.
§1100Quod agas id agas.
Do what you must do.
quid tu porro serere vis negotium?
Why do you want to sow further trouble?
§1101nescis quam metuculosa res sit ire ad iudicem?
Don't you know what a scary thing it is to go to a judge?
§1102Surgedum huc igitur.
Get up from there now, then.
consulere quiddam est quod tecum volo.
There is something I want to consult you about.
§1103Sic tamen hinc consilium dedero.
Still, I will give you advice from here.
nimio plus sapio sedens.
I am far wiser sitting down.
§1104tum consilia firmiora sunt de divinis locis.
Besides, advice is more solid when given from sacred places.
§1105Surge, ne nugare.
Get up, don't play the fool.
aspicedum contra me.
Just look me in the face.
§1105bAspexi.
I have looked.
§1105cVides?
Do you see?
§1106Video.
I see.
huc si quis intercedat tertius, pereat fame.
If any third person should intervene here, he would die of hunger.
§1107Quidum?
How so?
§1107bQuia nil illi quaesti sit.
Because there would be no profit for him.
mali hercle ambo sumus.
By Hercules, we are both rascals.
§1108Perii.
I am ruined!
§1108bQuid tibi est?
What's the matter with you?
§1108cDedisti verba.
You have deceived me!
§1108dQui tandem?
How so, pray?
§1108eProbe §1109med emunxti.
Thoroughly you have wiped my nose.
§1109bVide sis, satine recte: num mucci fluont?
Please look, is it done well enough? Is there snot running down?
§1110Immo etiam cerebrum quoque omne é capite emunxti meo.
Nay, indeed, you've wiped all the brain right out of my head as well.
§1111nam omnia male facta vestra repperi radicitus, §1112non radicitus quidem hercle, verum etiam exradicitus.
For I have found out all your bad deeds by the roots; not just by the roots indeed, by Hercules, but even completely uprooted.
§1113Numquam edepol hodie hinc, si vivo, invitus desistam tibi.
By Pollux, today I will never leave you against your will, as I live.
§1114Iam iubebo ignem et sarmenta, carnifex, circumdari.
Now, you scoundrel, I will order fire and firewood to be placed around you.
§1115Ne faxis, nam elixus esse quam assus soleo suavior.
Don't do that, for I am usually tastier boiled than roasted.
§1116Exempla edepol faciam ego in te.
By Pollux, I will make an example of you.
§1116bQuia placeo, exemplum expetis?
Because I please you, are you seeking a portrait of me?
§1117Loquere: quoius modi reliqui, quom hinc abibam, filium?
Speak: in what state did I leave my son when I went away from here?
§1118Cum pedibus, manibus, cum digitis, auribus, oculis, labris.
With feet, hands, with fingers, ears, eyes, lips.
§1119Aliud te rogo.
I am asking you something else.
§1119bAliud ergo nunc tibi respondeo.
Therefore I am answering you something else.
§1120sed eccum tui gnati sodalem video húc incedere
But look, I see your son's companion, Callidamates, walking this way.
§1121Callidamatem: illo praesente mecum agito, si quid voles.
Conduct your business with me in his presence, if you want anything.
§1122Vbi somno sepelivi omnem atque édormivi crapulam,
When I buried all my hangover in sleep and slept it off,

Notes

  1. §1067ludificabor corium — The verb ludificor can be active or passive, but here it is used in the active sense ('to make sport of, play tricks on') with 'corium' (hide, skin) as its accusative object, creating a comic colloquial expression meaning 'to thoroughly tan/flay someone's hide'.
  2. §1076bVeniunt rure rustici — In response to Theopropides' general greeting 'quid agitur?' ('How are things?', literally 'What is being done/driven?'), Tranio plays on the physical meaning of the verb ago (agere = to drive, as cattle), wittily answering 'Country-folk are being driven from the country'.
  3. §1097cNe occupassis — A prohibition expressed by 'ne' with the archaic perfect subjunctive (the -sso/-ssim form, equivalent to the standard 'occupaveris'). This construction is common in colloquial language and early Latin comedy.
  4. §1109med emunxti — The perfect tense of emungo ('to wipe someone's nose'). Metaphorically derived from cleaning out a nose, it is used here as a colloquial and slang terms for 'to clean someone out, cheat or swindle thoroughly'.
  5. §1116bexemplum expetis — Tranio deliberately twists the word 'exemplum' used by Theopropides in the sense of 'exemplary punishment' into the meaning of 'a model, portrait, or copy', wittily responding: 'Because I please you, are you seeking a portrait of me?'.

Cite this passage

Plautus, Mostellaria §1064-1122. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0119.phi013.humanitext-lat2:1064-1122

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