Now I’ll go and see whether the gold is just as I concealed it, that so troubles wretched me in very many ways.(He goes into his house.)STAPHYLABy heavens, I cannot now conceive what misfortune, or what insanity, I am to say has befallen my master; in such a way does he often, ten times in one day, in this fashion push wretched me out of the house. I’ faith, I know not what craziness does possess this man; whole nights is he on the watch; then, too, all the day long does he sit for whole days together at home like a lame cobbler A lame cobbler: Of course, lame people would be the most likely to take to such a sedentary employment as that of a cobbler. Nor can I imagine now by what means to conceal the disgrace of my master’s daughter, whose lying-in approaches near; and there isn’t anything better for me, as I fancy, than to make one long capital letter Long capital letter: She means to say, that she shall be forced to make a letter I of herself, by hanging herself. In so saying, she not only alludes to the straight and perpendicular form of that letter, but to its being especially long in the Roman mode of writing. of myself, when I’ve tied up my neck in a halter.

(Enter EUCLIO, from his house.)EUCLIO(to himself.)Now, with my mind at ease, at length I go out of my house, after I’ve seen that everything is safe in-doors. Now do you return at once into the house (to STAPHYLA), and keep watch in-doors.STAPHYLAKeep watch in-doors upon nothing at all, forsooth! or is it, that no one may carry the house away. For here in our house there’s nothing else for thieves to gain, so filled is it with emptiness Filled is it with emptiness: The expression, full of emptiness, is intended as a piece of wit on the part of the old woman. Perhaps Euclio would not have the spiders molested, because they were considered to bring good luck. and cobwebs.EUCLIO’Tis a wonder that, for your sake, Jupiter doesn’t now make me a King Philip, or a DariusPhilip, or a Darius: The names of Philip, King of Macedon, and Darius, King of Persia, as powerful and wealthy monarchs, would be likely to be well known to the writers of the new Greek Comedy, from whom Plautus borrowed most, if not all, of his plays., you hag of hags. I choose those cobwebs to be watched for me. I am poor, I confess it—I put up with it. What the Gods send, I endure. Go in-doors, shut to the door, I shall be there directly.Take you care not to let any strange person into the house.