Humanitext Reader

Plautus · Rudens §79-153b

The Storm's Damage and the Meeting with Daemones

Passage 2 of 22 · Latin

Summary

Arcturus finishes the prologue and departs. The slave Sceparnio enters complaining of the storm's damage, followed by the young man Pleusidippus, who was deceived by the pimp, and his master Daemones, who all engage in dialogue.

§79et servos illic est éius, qui egreditur foras.
And there is his slave, who is coming out.
§80adulescens huc iam adveniet, quem videbitis, §81qui illam mercatust de lenone virginem.
The young man will soon arrive here, whom you will see, who bought that maiden from the pimp.
§82valete, ut hostes vestri diffidant sibi. — §83Pro di immortales, tempestatem cuius modi §84Neptunus nobis nocte hac misit proxima.
Farewell, so that your enemies may lose confidence in themselves.— By the immortal gods, what a storm Neptune has sent us this last night!
§85detexit ventus villam—quid verbis opust?
The wind uncovered the villa—what need is there of words?
§86non ventus fuit, verum Álcumena Euripidi, §87ita omnís de tecto deturbavit tegulas; §88inlustrioris fecit fenestrasque indidit.
It was no wind, but Euripides' Alcumena, so completely did it sweep all the tiles off the roof; it made the house brighter and put in windows.
§89Et vos a vestris abduxi negotiis §90neque id processit qua vos duxi gratia, §91neque quivi ad portum lenonem prehendere.
And I have drawn you away from your businesses, and that did not turn out for the purpose for which I brought you, nor was I able to catch the pimp at the harbor.
§92sed mea desidia spem deserere nolui: §93eo vós, amici, detinui diutius.
But I did not want to abandon hope because of my own laziness; therefore, friends, I have kept you longer.
§94nunc huc ad Veneris fanum venio visere, §95ubi rem divinam se facturum dixerat.
Now I come here to the temple of Venus to see, where he had said he would perform a sacrifice.
§96Si sapiam, hoc quod me mactat concinnem lutum.
If I were wise, I would mix this clay which is tormenting me.
§97Prope me hic nescio quis loquitur.
Someone is speaking here near me.
§97bHeus, Sceparnio.
Hey, Sceparnio!
§98Qui nominat me?
Who calls my name?
§98bQui pro te argentum dedit.
He who paid money for you.
§99Quasi me tuom esse servom dicas, Daemones.
As if to say I am your slave, Daemones.
§100Luto usust multo, multam terram confode.
We need a lot of clay; dig up a lot of earth.
§101villam integundam intellego totam mihi, §102nam nunc perlucet ea quam cribrum crebrius.
I understand that I must re-roof the entire villa, for now it lets in more light than a sieve has holes.
§103Pater salveto, ámboque adeo.
Good day, father, and both of you indeed.
§103bSalvos sis.
Good day to you.
§104Sed utrum tu masne an femina es, qui illum patrem §105voces?
But are you male or female, that you call him "father"?
§105bVir sum equidem.
I am indeed a man.
§105cQuaere vir porro patrem.
Then, man, go look for your father elsewhere.
§106Filiolam ego unam hábui, eam unam perdidi.
I had one little daughter; that only one I lost.
§107virile sexus numquam ullum habui.
I never had any offspring of the male sex.
§107bAt di dabunt.
But the gods will give you one.
§108Tibi quidem hercle, quisquis es, magnum malum, §109qui oratione hic occupatos occupes.
To you indeed, by Hercules, whoever you are, they will give a great mischief, for interrupting with your chatter those who are busy here.
§110Isticine vos habitatis?
Do you live in there?
§110bQuid tu id quaeritas?
Why do you keep asking that?
§111quon furatum mox venias, vestigas loca?
Are you scouting out the place so that you can come to steal soon?
§112Peculiosum esse addecet servom et probum, §113quem ero praesente † praetereat oratio §114aut qui inclementer dicat homini libero.
It is fitting for a slave to be prosperous and honest, to let speech pass him by in his master's presence and not to speak rudely to a free man.
§115Et impudicum et impudentem hominem addecet §116molestum ultro advenire ad alienam domum, §117cui debeatur nil.
And it is fitting for a shameless and impudent man to come uninvited and annoyingly to another man's house, to whom nothing is owed.
§117bTace, Sceparnio.
Be quiet, Sceparnio.
§118quid opust, adulescens?
What do you need, young man?
§118bIstic infortunium, §119qui praefestinet, ubi erus adsit, praeloqui.
A beating is what's needed for that fellow there, who is in such a hurry to speak before his master speaks.
§120sed nisi molestumst, paucis percontarier §121volo ego ex te.
But unless it is troublesome, I wish to ask you a few things.
§121bDabitur opera, atque in negotio.
Attention will be given, even though we are busy.
§122Quin tu in paludem is exicasque harundinem, §123qui pertegamus villam, dum sudumst?
Why don't you go to the marsh and cut reeds, so we can roof the villa while it's dry?
§123bTace.
Be quiet.
§124tu si quid opus est dice.
You, tell me if you need anything.
§124bDic quod te rogo, §125ecquem tu hic hominem crispum, incanum videris, §126malum, periurum, palpatorem— §126bPlurimos,
Tell me what I ask you: have you seen any curly-haired, gray-haired man here, wicked, perjured, a flatterer— Very many of them!
§127nam ego propter eius modi viros vivo miser.
For I live miserably because of men of that kind.
§128Hic dico, in fanum Veneris qui mulierculas §129duas sécum adduxit, quique adornaret sibi §130ut rem divinam faciat, aut hodie aut heri.
I mean here, one who brought two young women with him to the temple of Venus, and who was making preparations to perform a sacrifice, either today or yesterday.
§131Non hercle, adulescens, iam hos dies complusculos §132quemquam istic vidi sacruficare, neque potest §133clam me esse si qui sacruficat: semper petunt §134aquam hinc aut ignem aut vascula aut cultrum aut veru §135aut aulam extarem, aut aliquid—quid verbis opust?
By Hercules, young man, for quite a few days now I haven't seen anyone sacrificing in there, nor can it be hidden from me if anyone sacrifices: they always ask for water from here, or fire, or vessels, or a knife, or a spit, or a pot for entrails, or something—what need is there of words?
§136Veneri paravi vasa et puteum, non mihi.
I have provided vessels and a well for Venus, not for myself.
§137nunc intervallum iam hos dies multos fuit.
Now there has been an interval for these many days.
§138Vt verba praehibes, me periisse praedicas.
According to what you say, you declare that I am ruined.
§139Mea quidem hercle causa salvos sis licet.
For all I care, by Hercules, you may be safe and sound.
§140Heus tu, qui fana ventris causa circumis, §141iubere meliust prandium ornari domi.
Hey you, who go around temples for the sake of your belly, it would be better to order lunch to be prepared at home.
§142Fortasse tu huc vocatus es ad prandium, §143ille quí vocavit nullus venit?
Perhaps you were invited here to lunch, and he who invited you has not appeared?
§143bAdmodum.
Exactly so.
§144Nullumst periclum te hinc ire inpransum domum: §145Cererem te meliust quam Venerem sectarier: §146amori haec curat; tritico curat Ceres.
There's no danger of you going home from here without lunch: it is better for you to follow Ceres than Venus: Venus cares for love; Ceres cares for wheat.
§147Deludificavit me illic homo indignis modis.
That man has mocked me in shameful ways.
§148Pro di immortales, quid illuc est, Sceparnio, §149hominum secundum litus?
By the immortal gods, what is that, Sceparnio, of people along the shore?
§149bVt mea est opinio, §150propter viam illi sunt vocati ad prandium.
As my opinion is, they have been invited to a parting lunch.
§151Qui?
How so?
§151bQuia post cenam, credo, laverunt heri.
Because, I believe, they took a bath yesterday after dinner.
§152Confracta navis in mari est illis.
Their ship has been wrecked in the sea.
§152bIta est.
So it is.
§153at hercle nobis villa in terra et tegulae.
But by Hercules, we have our villa and tiles on land.
§153bHui,
Oh,

Notes

  1. §86Alcumena Euripidi — The proper noun "Euripidi" is an archaic genitive form of the Greek name "Euripides". It refers to Euripides' tragedy "Alcmene", in which Jupiter is said to have sent a violent storm. Sceparnio uses this mythological reference to humorously describe the ferocity of the wind.
  2. §92mea desidia — Although there are manuscript variants (such as "meae desidiae"), "mea desidia" is interpreted as an ablative of cause, meaning "on account of my own laziness (or dejection)." It expresses that the young man refused to abandon hope despite his own failure to act promptly.
  3. §104utrum tu masne an femina es — In this disjunctive question (utrum ... an ...), the enclitic "-ne" is redundantly added to the first part, which is a common Plautine colloquialism. The subjunctive "voces" (2nd person singular present subjunctive of "vocare") in the relative clause expresses characteristic or cause ("since you call him father").
  4. §112Peculiosum esse addecet servom — The impersonal verb "addecet" takes an accusative and infinitive construction ("servom esse"), meaning "It is fitting for a slave to have savings and be honest." The subsequent relative clause features the ablative absolute "ero praesente" (in the master's presence), describing how a good slave should hold his tongue.
  5. §138me periisse praedicas — This is an accusative with infinitive (ACI) construction. "me periisse" (that I am ruined; "periisse" is the perfect infinitive of "pereo") serves as the object of "praedicas" (you declare). Literally meaning "you declare that I have perished," it expresses the young man's despair upon hearing Daemones' response.
  6. §150propter viam — Meaning "on account of the journey" or "by the wayside." This is Sceparnio's pun playing on the Roman custom of a farewell feast before a journey ("cena proptervia" or "prandium proptervium") and the literal location "near the road" (which is actually the sea). He is making a sarcastic joke about the shipwrecked people who were "washed" by the sea.

Cite this passage

Plautus, Rudens §79-153b. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0119.phi017.humanitext-lat2:79-153b

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