Mercator, or The Merchant (641-683)

You are mentioning to me not a human being, but a whole storehouse, I don’t know what, of deformities. Is there anything else that you can tell about him?

It is just as much as I know.

I’ troth, for sure, with his lank jaws he has caused my jaw to drop[*]. I cannot endure it; I’m determined that I’ll go hence in exile.

But what state in especial to repair to, I’m in doubt; Megara, Eretria, Corinth, Chalcis, Crete, Cyprus, Sicyon, Cnidos, Zacynthus, Lesbos, or Bœotia.

Why are you adopting that design?

Why, because love is tormenting me.

What say you as to this? Suppose, if when you have arrived there, whither you are now intending to go,

you begin there to fall desperately in love, and there, too, you fail of success, then you’ll be taking flight from there as well, and after that, again, from another place, if the same shall happen, what bounds, pray, will be set to your exile, what limits to your flight? What country or home can possibly be certain for you? Tell me that. Say now, if you leave this city, do you fancy that you’ll leave your love here behind?

If it is so fully taken as certain in your mind that so it will be, if you hold that as a point resolved upon, how much better is it for you to go away somewhere in the country, to be there, to live there, until the time when desire for her and passion have set you at liberty?

Have you now said your say?

I have said it.

You have said it to no purpose; this is my full determination. I’ll be off home, to pay my duty to my father and my mother; after that,

unknown to my father, I’ll fly from this country, or adopt some other plan.

How suddenly he has taken himself off and gone away. Ah! wretch that I am! if he goes away, all will say that it has happened through my remissness. I’m determined at once to order as many criers as possible to be hired to search for her to find her; after that, I’ll go to the Praetor forthwith,

and beg him to give me search-warrant officers in all the quarters of the city; for I find that nothing else whatever is now left for me to do.

Since a messenger came to me in the country from my husband, that he couldn’t come into the country, I made up my mind, and came back to follow after him who fled from me.

But (looking round) I don’t see our old woman Syra following. Aye, look, there she comes at last. (Enter SYRA with a bundle of green sprigs.) Why don’t you go quicker?

By my troth, I cannot; so great is this burden that I’m carrying.

What burden?

Fourscore years and four, and to that are added servitude, sweat, and thirst;

these things as well which I am carrying weigh me down.

Give me something, Syra, with which to decorate this altar of our neighbour[*].

Present this sprig of laurel, then.

Now do you go into the house.[*]

I’m going.

Apollo, I pray thee that thou wilt propitiously grant peace, safety, and health, unto our household,

and that in thy propitiousness thou wilt show favour to my son.

I’m utterly undone! Wretch that I am, I’m ruined! Ah! wretched me!

Prithee, are you quite in your senses? What are you howling for?

Dorippa, my dear Dorippa!