Be of good courage. OLYMPIO Upon my faith, I do believe that she’ll lay a spell upon the lots this very day, if she touches them. STALINO Hold your tongue. OLYMPIO I’ll hold my tongue. I pray the Gods— CHALINUS Aye,that this day you may have to endure the chain Endure the chain : Canis. Literally, the dog. This was the small chain, which was also called catillus. It has been referred to in a previous Note. and the bilboes The bilboes : Furcam. . OLYMPIO That the lot may fall to me. CHALINUS Aye, faith, that you may hang up by the feet. OLYMPIO Aye, that you may blow your eyes out of your head through your nose. CHALINUS (to STALINO.) What are you afraid of? It must be ready by this— (Turning to OLYMPIO.) A halter for you, I mean. OLYMPIO (to CHALINUS.) You’re undone! STALINO Give attention, both of you. OLYMPIO I’ll be mum. STALINO Now you, Cleostrata, that you may not say that anything has been done cheatingly by me in this matter, or suspect it, I give you leave, do you yourself draw the lots. OLYMPIO (to STALINO.) You are ruining me. CHALINUS He’s gaining an advantage rather. CLEOSTRATA (to STALINO.) You do what’s fair. CHALINUS (to OLYMPIO.) I pray the Gods that your lot say run away out of the urn. OLYMPIO Say you so? Because you are a runaway yourself, do you wish all to follow your example? I wish, indeed, that that lot of yours, as they say that of the descendants of Hercules Descendants of Hercules : Pausanias says that the sons of Aristo demus and Cresphontes drew lots, on condition that the party whose lot came first out of the urn should receive Messenia, and the other Lacedaemon. Temenus, favouring Cresphontes, placed the lots in the water, taking care that the one belonging to Cresphontes should be of baked clay, while the other was of clay only dried in the sun, which of course melted on coming in contact with the water; by which stratagem Cresphontes gained possession of Messenia. Apollodorus relates the same story in a different manner. He says that Temenus, Procles and Eurysthenes, the sons of Aristodemus, jointly, and Cresphontes, drew lots, on condition that the one whose lot should appear first should have Argos, the second have Lacedaemon, and the third Messenia. Cresphlontes having long set his mind upon gaining Messenia, had his lot made of unbaked clay, which melted; the others being taken out, there was no necessity to look for the remaining one, and thus the trick succeeded. once did, may melt away while the lots are drawing. CHALINUS And you, that you may melt away yourself, and just now be made hot with twigs. STALINO Attend, will you, to the business in hand, Olympio! OLYMPIO Yes, if this thrice-dotted Thrice-dotted : Literatus. Lambinus thinks that this alludes to his back being marked by stripes. There is, however, more reason to believe that it refers to the custom of branding slaves and criminals. The Greeks marked criminals on the forehead with Θ , the beginning of the word θάνατος , to denote that they were dead in law. fellow ’ll let me. STALINO May this prove lucky and fortunate to me. OLYMPIO Yes indeed; to me as well. CHALINUS Not so. OLYMPIO By my troth, yes, I say. CHALINUS By my troth, yes, for myself, I say. STALINO (to OLYMPIO.) He’ll be the winner; you’ll live in wretchedness. Do you give him a punch in the face this instant! Well, what are you about? CLEOSTRATA (to OLYMPIO.) Don’t you raise your hand. Part of line 404 in the Latin.