Dramatis Personae HEGIO, an Aetolian, father of Philopolemus. PHILOCRATES, an Elean, captive in Aetolia. TYNDARUS, his servant. ARISTOPHONTES, an Elean, captive in Aetolia. PHILOPOLEMUS, an Aetolian, captive in Elis. ERGASILUS, a Parasite. STALAGMUS, the servant of Hegio. A SLAVE of Hegio. A LAD, the same. (Scene—A place in Aetolia, before the house of Hegio) THE SUBJECT.
 HEGIO, a wealthy native of Aetolia, had two sons, one of which was stolen by a slave when four years old, and being carried away to Elis, was sold there; the father being unable for many years to learn what has become of him. A war having commenced between the Eleans and the Aetolians, Phiiopolemus, the other son of Hegio, is taken prisoner by the Eleans. The Aetolians having taken many Elean prisoners, Hegio commences to traffic in captives, with the view of thereby redeeming his son from the Eleans, in exchange for some prisoner of rank. A this conjuncture the Play commences. Among the captives whom Hegio has purchased, Philocrates is one, having been taken prisoner, together with his servant, Tyndarus. With the object of deceiving Hegio, Philocrates and Tyndarus change their clothes, and having exchanged names as well, Philocrates pretends to be the servant of Tyndarus. Hegio being desirous to procure the exchange of his son, Philocrates (in the character of the servant of his fellowcaptive) is sent to Elis for that purpose. After his departure, Aristophontes, another captive, accidentally puts Hegio in the way of discovering the manner in which he has been deceived. On this, the old man, losing all hope of obtaining the liberation of his son, sends Tyndarus in chains to the stone-quarries. Shortly after, Philocrates returns, and brings with him Philopolemus, the son of Hegio, and Stalagmus, the runaway slave, that had stolen his other son. It is then discovered that Stalagmus had sold the child to the father of Philocrates, and that he is no other than Tyndarus, the slave; on which, Tyndarus is sent for, and is informed that he is the lost son of Hegio. Stalagmus is then condemned to the chains from which Tyndarus is liberated. THE ACROSTIC ARGUMENT In this Acrostic it will be found that the old form of Capteivei is preserved. . [Supposed to have been written by Priscian the Grammarian] One son of Hegio has been made prisoner ( Captus ) in battle. A runaway slave has sold the other ( Alium ) when four years old. The father ( Pater ) traffics in Elean captives, only ( Tantum ) desirous that he may recover his son, and ( Et ) among these he buys his son that was formerly lost. He ( Is ), his clothes and his name changed with his master, causes that ( Ut ) he is lost to Hegio; and he himself is punished. And ( Et ) he brings back the captive and the runaway together, through whose information ( Indicio ) he discovers his other son. THE PROLOGUE. PROLOGUS THESE two captives (pointing to PHILOCRATES and TYNDARUS) , whom you see standing here, are standing here because—they are both Because—they are both : This is apparently intended as a piece of humour, in catching or baulking the audience. He begins as though he was going to explain why the captives are standing there, and ends his explanation with saying that they are standing because they are not sitting. A similar truism is uttered by Pamphila, in the Stichus, l. 120. standing, and are not sitting. That I am saying this truly, you are my witnesses. The old man, who lives here (pointing to HEGIO’S house) , is Hegio— his father (pointing to TYNDARUS.) But under what circumstances he is the slave of his own father, that I will here explain to you, if you give attention. This old man had two sons; a slave stole one child when four years old, and flying hence, he sold him in Elis In Elis : Elis, or, as it is called by Plautus, Alis, was a city of Achaia, in the north-western part of the Peloponnesus. Near it the Olympio games were celebrated , to the father of this captive (pointing to PHIILOCRATES.) Now, do you understand this? Very good. I’ faith, that man at a distance That man at a distance : One of the audience, probably a plebeian who has no seat, but is standing in a remote part of the theatre, is supposed to exclaim in a rude manner that he cannot hear what the actor says. On this the speaker tells him that he had better come nearer; and if he cannot find a seat, there is room for him to walk away. Possibly the verb ambulo may be intended to signify in this case either to walk or to stand, in contradistinction to sitting. Rost, with some reason, suggests abscedito, walk out, in place of accedito, come nearer. there (pointing) says, no. Come nearer then. If there isn’t room for you to sit down, there is for you to walk; since you’d be compelling an actor to bawl like a beggar To bawl like a beggar : Commentators have differed as to the meaning of this passage. Some think that he means that with the view of pleasing the plebeian part of the audience, he shall not bawl out like a beggar asking alms; while others suppose that the meaning is, that he will not run the risk of cracking his voice, after which he will be hissed off the stage, and so be reduced to beggary. . I’m not going to burst myself for your sake, so don’t you be mistaken. You who are enabled by your means to pay your taxes To pay your taxes : By this he shows that the party whom he is addressing, is either one of the lowest plebeians or a slave. In the assessment or census, which was made by the Censors, the slaves were not numbered at all, being supposed to have no caput, or civil condition. The lowest century were the proletarii, whose only qualification was the being heads of families, or fathers of children. In addressing those who are reckoned in the census ope vestrâ, by your means or circumstances, he seems to be rebuking the proletarii, who had no such standing, and who probably formed the most noisy part of the audience. As these paid no part of the taxes with which the theatres were in part supported, of course they would be placed at a greater distance from the stage, and probably were not accommodated with seats. It was just about this period that the elder Scipio assigned different places in the theatres to the various classes of the people. , listen to the rest Listen to the rest : Reliquum was a term which either signified generally, what is left, or money borrowed and still unpaid. He plays upon these different meanings— Accipite reliquum, which may either signify hear the rest or take what is due and owing, and he then makes the observation, parenthetically, alieno uti nil moror, I don’t care to be in debt. ; I care not to be in debt to another. This runaway slave, as I said before, sold his young master, whom, whom he fled, he had carried off, to this one’s father. He, after he bought him, gave him as his own private slave His own private slave : Peculiaris means for his own private use or attached to his person; being considered as though bought with his son’s peculium, or ut of his own private purse. The peculium was the sum of money which a son in his minority was allowed by his father to be in possession of. The word also signified the savings of the slave. to his son of his, because they were of about the same age. He is now the slave at home of his own father, nor does his father know it. Verily, the Gods do treat us men just like footballs Just like footballs : Pilas. Among the ancients, games with the pila were those played with the pila trigonalis, so called, probably, from the players standing in a triangle, and those with the follis, which was a larger ball, inflated with air and struck with the hands, or used for a football. Paganica was a similar ball, but harder, being stuffed with feathers, and was used by the country-people. Harpastum was a small ball used by the Greeks, which was scrambled for as soon as it came to the ground, whence it received its name. The Greeks had a proverb similar to this expression, θεῶν παίγνια ἀνθρωποὶ, men are the playthings of the Gods. So Plato called mankind θέων ἀθύπματα, the sport of the Gods. . You hear the manner now how he lost one son. Afterwards, the Aetolians The Aetolians : Aetolia was a country of Greece, the southern portion of which was are bounded by the Corinthian Gulf; it was opposite to the Elean territory, from which it was divided by the gulf. are waging war with the people of Elis, and, as happens in warfare, the other son is taken prisoner. The physician Menarchus buys him there in Elis. On this, this Hegio begins to traffic in Elean captives, if, perchance, he may be able to find one to change for that captive son of his. He knows not that this one who is in his house is his own son. And as he heard yesterday that an Elean knight of very high rank and very high family was taken prisoner, he has spared no expense to rescue his son To rescue his son : Filio dum parceret. Literally, so long as he might spare his son. . In order that he may more easily bring him back home, he buys both of these of the Quaestors Of the Quaestors : In speaking of these officers, Plautus, as usual, introduces Roman customs into a Play the scene of which is in Greece. It has been previously remarked that the Quaestors had the selling of the spoils taken in war. out of the spoil. Now they, between themselves, have contrived this plan, that, by means of it, the servant may send away hence his master home. And therefore among themselves they change their garments and their names. He, there (pointing) , is called Philocrates; this one (pointing) , Tyndarus; he this day assumes the character of this one, this one of him. And this one to-day will cleverly carry out this plot, and cause his master to gain his liberty; and by the same means he will save his own brother, and without knowing it, will cause him to return back a free man to his own country to his father. Just as often now, on many occasions, a person has done more good unknowingly than knowingly. But unconsciously, by their devices, they have so planned and devised their plot, and have so contrived it by their design, that this one is living in servitude with his own father. And thus now, in ignorance, he is the slave of his own father. What poor creatures are men, when I reflect upon it! This plot will be performed by us—a play for your entertainment. But there is, besides, a thing which, in a few words, I would wish to inform you of. Really, it will be worth your while to give your attention to this play. ’Tis not composed in the hackneyed style, nor yet like other plays, nor are there in it any ribald lines Any ribald lines : See the address of the Company of actors to the Spectators at the end of the Play. unfit for utterance: here is neither the perjured procurer, nor the artful courtesan, nor yet the braggart captain. Don’t you be afraid because I’ve said that there’s war between the Aetolians and the Eleans. There (pointing) , at a distance, beyond the scenes, the battles will be fought. For this were almost impossible for a Comic establishmen A Comic establishment : Comico choragio. Literally, for the choragium of Comedy. The choragium was the dress and furniture, or properties for the stage, supplied by the choragus, or keeper of the theatrical wardrobe. , that we should at a moment attempt to be acting Tragedy. If, therefore, any one is looking for a battle, let him commence the quarrel; if he shall find an adversary more powerful, I’ll cause him to be the spectator of a battle that isn’t pleasant to him, so that hereafter he shall hate to be a spectator them all. I now retire. Fare ye well, at home, most upright judges, and in warfare most valiant combatants. (Enter ERGASILUS.) ERGASILUS The young men have given me the name of the mistress, for this reason, because invocated Because invocated : Invocatus. The following Note is extracted from Thornton’s Translation of this Play:— The reader’s indulgence for the coinage of a new term (and perhaps not quite so much out of character from the mouth of a Parasite) is here requested in the use of the word ‘invocated’ in a sense, which it is owned, there is no authority for, but without it no way occurs to explain the poet’s meaning—which, such as it is, and involved in such a pun, is all that can be aimed at. The word ‘invocatus’ means both ‘called upon’ and ‘not called upon.’ Ergasilus here quibbles upon it; for, though at entertainments he attends, as it is the common character of Parasites to do, without invitation, that is ‘not called upon;’ and as mistresses are ‘called upon’ that their names so invoked may make their lovers throw the dice with success; still, according to the double sense of the word, they may be compared to each other, as they are both, according to the Latin idiom, ‘invocati.’ I am wont to attend at the banquet. I know that buffoons That buffoons : Derisores, buffoons. By this word he means, that particular class of Parasites who earned their dinners by their repartees and bon-mots. say that this is absurdly said, but I affirm that it is rightly said. For at the banquet the lover, when he throws the dice, invokes his mistress Invokes his mistress : It was the Grecian custom, when they threw dice at an entertainment, for the thrower to call his mistress by name, which invocation was considered to bring good luck. . Is she then invocated, or is she not? She is, most clearly. But, i’ faith, we Parasites with better reason are so called, whom no person ever either invites or invokes, and who, like mice, are always eating the victuals of another person. When business is laid aside When business is laid aside : Ubi res prolatae sunt. Meaning thereby in vacation-time. In the heat of summer the courts of justice were closed, and the more wealthy portion of the Romans retired into the country, or to the seaside. Cicero mentions this vacation as rerum prolatio. The allusion in the previous line is probably derived from a saying of the Cynic Diogenes: when he saw mice creeping under the table, he used to say, See the Parasites of Diogenes. , when people repair to the country, at that same moment is business laid aside for our teeth. Just as, when it is hot weather, snails lie hidden in secret, and live upon their own juices, if the dew doesn’t fall; so, when business is laid aside, do Parasites lie hidden in retirement, and miserably live upon their own juices, while in the country the persons are rusticating whom they sponge upon. When business is laid aside, we Parasites are greyhounds; when business recommences, like mastiffs Like mastiffs : Molossici. Literally, dogs of Molossus, a country of Epirus. , we are annoying-like and very troublesome-like Annoying-like and very troublesome-like : Odiosici— incommodestici. These are two extravagant forms of the words odiosi and incommodi, coined by the author for the occasion. . And here, indeed, unless, i’ faith, any Parasite is able to endure cuffs with the fist, and pots to be broken Pots to be broken : By Meursius we are informed that these practical jokes were played upon the unfortunate Parasites with pots filled with cinders, which were sometimes scattered over their clothes, to the great amusement of their fellow-guests. about his head, why he may e’en go with his wallet outside the Trigeminian Gate The Trigeminian Gate : The Ostian Gate was so called because the Horatii left the city by that gate to fight the Curiatii. The brothers being born at one birth were trigemini, whence the gate received its name. The beggars with their wallets were seated there. See the Trinummus, l. 423, and the Note to the passage. . That this may prove my lot, there is some danger. For since my patron Since my patron : Rex; literally, king. The Parasites were in the habit of so calling their entertainers. has fallen into the hands of the enemy—(such warfare are the Aetolians now waging with the Eleans; for this is Aetolia; this Philopolemus has been made captive in Elis, the son of this old man Hegio who lives here (pointing to the house) —a house which to me is a house of woe, and which so oft as I look upon, I weep). Now, for the sake of his son, has he commenced this dishonorable traffic, very much against his own inclination. He buys up men that have been made captives, if perchance he may be able to find some one for whom to gain his son in exchange. An object which I really do much desire that he may gain. For unless he finds him, there’s nowhere for me to find myself. I have no hopes in the young men; they are all too fond of themselves. He, in fine, is a youth with the old-fashioned nanners, whose countenance I never rendered cheerful without a return. His father is worthily matched, as endowed with like manners. Now I’ll go to him;—but his door is opening, the door from which full oft I’ve sallied forth drunk with excess of cheer. (He stands aside.) (Enter, from his house, HEGIO and a SLAVE.) HEGIO Now, give attention you, if you please. Those two captives whom I purchased yesterday of the Quaestors out of the spoil, put upon them chains of light weight Chtains of light weight : Singularias. This word may admit of three interpretations, and it is impossible to decide which is the right one. It may mean chains weighing a single libra, or pound; it may signify chains for the captives singly, in contradistinction to those by which they were fastened to each other; or it may mean single chains, in opposition to double ones. In the Acts of the Apostles, ch. 12, v. 6, we read that St. Peter was bound with two chains; and in ch. 13, v. 33, the chief captain orders St. Paul to be bound with two chains. ; take off those greater ones with which they are bound. Permit them to walk, if they wish, out of doors, or if in-doors, but so that they are watched with the greatest care. A captive at liberty is like a bird that’s wild; if opportunity is once given for escaping, ‘tis enough; after that, you can never catch him. A SLAVE Doubtless we all are free men more willingly than we live the life of slaves.