Complete Works of Plautus Read online

  ARGYRIPPUS

  In truth, I do them both, as is proper for a son.

  DEMAENETUS

  I’d believe it, if I saw you were cheerful.

  ARGYRIPPUS

  Why, do you think that I’m sorrowful?

  DEMAENETUS

  Do I think so? You, whom I see as melancholy as if the day of trial had been named for you.

  ARGYRIPPUS

  Don’t you say that.

  DEMAENETUS

  Don’t you be so, then I’ll not say so.

  ARGYRIPPUS

  Well then, look at me; I’m laughing. He affects to laugh.

  DEMAENETUS

  I’d like that those who wish me ill would laugh thus.

  ARGYRIPPUS

  I know, indeed, father, why you now suppose to yourself that I’m sad; it is because she is by you. And really, father, by my faith, to tell you the truth, that matter does hurt me; and not for this reason, that I don’t desire for you that which you wish, but because I love her; another woman, indeed, I could easily endure to be by you.

  DEMAENETUS

  But I have a fancy for this one.

  ARGYRIPPUS

  Then you have what you desire; for myself, I wish for what I could desire.

  DEMAENETUS

  Submit to it this one day, since I’ve given you the power to be with her for a year, and have procured for you the command of money in your amour.

  ARGYRIPPUS

  Well, by doing that, you have laid me under an obligation to you.

  DEMAENETUS

  Why then don’t you show yourself cheerful to me? They commence the banquet, PHILENIUM reclining below DEMÆNETUS.

  Enter ARTEMONA and the PARASITE, from the house of DEMÆNETUS, at the further side of the stage.

  ARTEMONA

  Prithee, do you say that my husband is carousing here, together with my son? — and that he has carried to his mistress twenty minæ of silver? — and that, with the knowledge of my son, his father is perpetrating this wickedness?

  A PARASITE

  Trust me in nothing henceforth, either divine or human, Artemona, if you find me untruthful in this matter.

  ARTEMONA

  Wretched then am I, who have supposed that, beyond others, my husband was sober, decent, chaste, and especially fond of his wife.

  A PARASITE

  But now, henceforth, understand that he, before all men, is a person of the smallest worth — a drunkard, a good-for-nothing fellow, unchaste, and a contemner of his own wife.

  ARTEMONA

  I’ faith, if this wasn’t true, he would never be doing the things that he is now doing.

  A PARASITE

  Upon my word, I too always hitherto took him to be a decent person; but by this action he declares himself, — to be carousing, indeed, together with his son, and, a decrepit old man, toying with a mistress in his company.

  ARTEMONA

  For this it is, i’ faith, that he’s going out to dinner every day. He says that he’s going to Archidemus, Chereas, Chærestratus, Clinius, Chremes, Cratinus, Dinias, Demosthenes: while he’s thinking of debauchery, and public dens of infamy with his harlot.

  A PARASITE

  Why don’t you bid your maid-servants carry him off home upon their shoulders?

  ARTEMONA

  Do you only be quiet. By my troth, I’ll surely give him some trouble.

  A PARASITE

  I’m sure of it, that so it will befall him, so long, indeed, as you shall continue married to him.

  ARTEMONA

  I was fancying that this fellow was still giving attendance either in the senate or to his dependants: that for that reason it was, that, worn out with fatigue, he snored the whole night through. Wearied with his labours out of doors he comes home at night. Another’s farm he ploughs, his own he leaves untilled. Both he himself is corrupted, and he corrupts his son as well.

  A PARASITE

  Do you only follow me this way, I’ll make you just now to fall upon the man himself in the very fact.

  ARTEMONA

  By heaven, there’s nothing that I could more wish for.

  A PARASITE

  Just stop there. He moves stealthily forward, and examines the other side of the stage.

  ARTEMONA

  What’s the matter?

  A PARASITE

  returning to her . If perchance you were to see your husband reclining, if you beheld him with a garland on, caressing a mistress, could you recognize him?

  ARTEMONA

  I’ troth, I could.

  A PARASITE

  points to the other end of the stage . Then there’s your man.

  ARTEMONA

  moving stealthily forward with the PARASITE . I’m undone.

  A PARASITE

  Stay a little. Let’s observe in private, from ambush, what business they are about.

  ARGYRIPPUS

  What end will you put to your caresses, father?

  DEMAENETUS

  I confess, my son ——

  ARGYRIPPUS

  What do you confess?

  DEMAENETUS

  That I’m utterly undone with love for her.

  A PARASITE

  to ARTEMONA . Do you hear what he says?

  ARTEMONA

  I hear.

  DEMAENETUS

  to PHILENIUM . Ought I not to filch the mantle from my wife at home, which she is so fond of, and bring it to you? Though my wife’s life should last a whole year in consequence, by my troth I could not be dissuaded from doing so.

  A PARASITE

  to ARTEMONA . Do you suppose that he has been accustomed to frequent a brothel to-day for the first time?

  ARTEMONA

  Upon my faith, it was he that was pilfering me; whereas I was suspecting my maid-servants, and was tormenting the wretched creatures who were innocent all the while.

  ARGYRIPPUS

  Father, bid him pour out some wine; ’tis a long time since I drank first.

  DEMAENETUS

  to the SERVANT . Begin, boy, from the top. To PHILENIUM . Come, do you meanwhile from below give me a kiss. Kisses her.

  ARTEMONA

  to the PARASITE . Wretch that I am, I’m undone! How the villain, the garnishing of a bier, is kissing away.

  DEMAENETUS

  A breath, by my faith, somewhat sweeter than that of my wife.

  PHILENIUM

  Tell me, there’s a dear, does the breath of your wife smell bad?

  DEMAENETUS

  I’d prefer to drink bilge-water, if it were necessary, rather than kiss her.

  ARTEMONA

  apart . By heavens, you are a wretch. PAR. apart . I’ faith, he’s deserving so to be.

  ARGYRIPPUS

  How say you, father? Takes a draught in the meanwhile.

  ARTEMONA

  apart . Aye, pray, how say you? By my troth, to your own great detriment, you’ve surely said that against me. Never mind; only de you come home, I’ll let you know what danger there is in speaking abusively against a wife with a dowry.

  ARGYRIPPUS

  Don’t you love my mother?

  DEMAENETUS

  Who — I? I love her just now, because she isn’t present.

  ARGYRIPPUS

  How, when she is present?

  DEMAENETUS

  Then, I wish she was dead.

  A PARASITE

  apart to ARTEMONA . This fellow is fond of you, according to what he says.

  ARTEMONA

  On my word, he’s surely laying out all this at interest; for if, this day, he returns home, I’ll especially have my revenge in kissing him.

  ARGYRIPPUS

  handing the dice-box . Father, throw the dice; that afterwards I may have a throw.

  DEMAENETUS

  By all means. You, Philenium, for myself, and death for my wife. He throws. ’Tis Venus’s cast. Lads, clap your hands, and give me some honeyed wine in my cup, in honor of my throw.

  ARTEMONA

  apar
t . I can hold out no longer.

  A PARASITE

  apart . If you haven’t learned the fulling trade, it’s not to be wondered at; now it’s quite fitting for you to beset his eyes. They make their appearance before the revellers.

  ARTEMONA

  By heavens, I will live, and you this day have made that invocation to your own great misfortune.

  A PARASITE

  Will some one run to fetch the undertakers?

  ARGYRIPPUS

  Health to you, mother.

  ARTEMONA

  Health indeed after this fashion!

  A PARASITE

  aside . Demænetus is dead. ’Tis time to betake myself hence: this battle bravely waxes hot. I’ll be off to Diabolus. I’ll tell him his orders are performed as he desired them; and in the meantime I’ll persuade him that we should take a meal, while these people are squabbling. Afterwards, in fine, I’ll bring him here to-morrow, to the procuress, that he may give her the twenty mince, that, in his turn, he in his passion may be enabled to obtain this damsel. I hope that Argyrippus will be able to be prevailed upon to allow him to pass each alternate night with him in her company; for, unless I obtain that, I’ve lost my patron; so great is the passion of the man by reason of his love. He quietly withdraws.

  ARTEMONA

  addressing PHILENIUM . What business have you to give a retreat here in your house to my husband?

  PHILENIUM

  Troth, he really will this day be the death of wretched me, through sheer disgust.

  ARTEMONA

  to DEM ÆNETUS . Rise, wencher, be off home.

  DEMAENETUS

  I’m undone.

  ARTEMONA

  Yes, you are; don’t, i’ faith, gainsay it, you most vile of all men. Why, the cuckoo’s still on his nest. Rise, wencher, be off home.

  DEMAENETUS

  Woe to me!

  ARTEMONA

  You prophesy correctly. Rise, wencher, be off home.

  DEMAENETUS

  Step a little this way then.

  ARTEMONA

  Rise, wencher, be off home.

  DEMAENETUS

  Now, prithee, wife ——

  ARTEMONA

  Do you remember now that I’m your wife? It was but just now, when you were heaping abuse upon me, that I wasn’t your wife.

  DEMAENETUS

  I’m utterly ruined.

  ARTEMONA

  Why, pray? Does the breath of your wife smell strong?

  DEMAENETUS

  It smells of myrrh.

  ARTEMONA

  Have you filched my mantle then to be giving to your harlot?

  ARGYRIPPUS

  By the powers — what, did he promise that he would filch your mantle?

  ARTEMONA

  Won’t you hold your tongue?

  ARGYRIPPUS

  I was going to dissuade him, mother.

  ARTEMONA

  to ARGYRIPPUS . A pretty son! To DEMÆNETUS. Is it proper for a father to teach these morals to his children? Are you ashamed of nothing?

  DEMAENETUS

  I’ faith, if there’s nothing else, I’m ashamed of you, wife.

  ARTEMONA

  With your hoary head, your wife is dragging you, you cuckoo, from dens of infamy.

  DEMAENETUS

  The dinner’s cooking; mayn’t I stop, only to take my dinner?

  ARTEMONA

  Faith, you’ll dine to-day on a heavy mishap, as you deserve.

  DEMAENETUS

  rising . I shall repose but uncomfortably; my wife is taking me home condemned.

  ARGYRIPPUS

  I told you, father, not to devise ill against my mother.

  PHILENIUM

  to DEMÆNETUS . Do remember about the mantle, there’s a dear.

  DEMAENETUS

  calls out to CLEÆRETA . Won’t you order her to go away from here?

  PHILENIUM

  No, I’ll go in, in preference. To ARGYRIPPUS. Follow me this way, my life.

  ARGYRIPPUS

  Yes, I follow.

  ARTEMONA

  to DEMÆNETUS . Be off home.

  PHILENIUM

  to DEMÆNETUS . Do give me a kiss, at least, before you go.

  DEMAENETUS

  to PHILENIUM . Go hang yourself. (Exeunt.)

  The COMEDIANS.

  If this old fellow, unknown to his wife, has been in any way indulging his own inclinations, he has been doing nothing new or wonderful, or otherwise than others are in the habit of doing. No one is there of a disposition so severe, or of a temper so firm, but that he will enjoy himself when he has any opportunity. Now if you wish to interpose in behalf of this old man, so that he be not punished, we think that it can be brought about if you give us loud applause.

  AULULARIA

  Translated by Henry Thomas Riley

  Aulularia, which has been translated as ‘The Pot of Gold’, revolves around a horde of gold that the miserly protagonist, Euclio, guards zealously. The play’s ending has not survived, though there are indications of how the plot is resolved in later summaries and a few fragments of dialogue. The play opens with Lar Familiaris, the household deity of Euclio, an old man with a marriageable daughter named Phaedria, issuing a prologue about how he allowed Euclio to discover a pot of gold buried in his house. Euclio is then shown fanatically guarding his gold from real and imagined threats. Unknown to Euclio, Phaedria is pregnant by a young man named Lyconides. Phaedria is never seen on stage, though at a key point in the play the audience hears her painful cries in labour.

  The figure of the miser had been a stock character of comedy for many years in Greece. Plautus does not spare his protagonist various embarrassments caused by the vice, but he is relatively gentle in his satire. Euclio is eventually portrayed as a good-hearted man that has been only temporarily affected by his cupidity.

  The playwright’s frequent theme of clever servants outwitting their supposed superiors is a recurring theme found throughout Plautus’ works. Not only does Lyconides’ slave manage to filch Euclio’s beloved gold, but also Euclio’s housemaid Staphyla is shown as intelligent and kind in her attitude toward the unfortunately pregnant Phaedria.

  During the Renaissance there were a number of adaptations of the Aulularia. One of the earliest was Giovanni Battista Gelli’s La Sporta (The Basket), which was published in Florence in 1543. A Croatian version by Marin Držić was titled Skup (The Miser, 1555) and set in Dubrovnik. In 1597 Ben Jonson adapted elements of the plot for his early comedy The Case is Altered. At about the same time it was also used by the Danish Hieronymus Justesen Ranch (1539–1607) as the basis for his play Karrig Nidding (The Stingy Miser).

  CONTENTS

  THE SUBJECT

  THE ACROSTIC ARGUMENT OF PRISCIAN.

  ACT I.

  ACT II.

  ACT III.

  ACT IV.

  ACT V.

  THE SUBJECT

  EUCLIO, a miserly old Athenian, has a daughter named Phædra, who has been ravished by a young man named Lyconides, but is ignorant from whom she has received that injury. Lyconides has an uncle named Megadorus, who being ignorant of these circumstances, determines to ask Phædra of her father, in marriage for himself. Euclio has discovered a pot of gold in his house which he watches with the greatest anxiety. In the meantime, Megadorus asks his daughter in marriage, and his proposal is accepted; and while preparations are making for the nuptials, Euclio conceals his treasure, first in on place and then in another. Strobilus, the servant of Lyconides, watches his movements, and, having discovered it, carries off the treasure. While Euclio is lamenting his loss, Lyconides accosts him, with the view of confessing the outrage he has committed on his daughter, and of announcing to him that his uncle, Megadorus, has cancelled his agreement to marry her, in favour of himself. Euclio at first thinks that he is come to confess the robbery of the treasure. After much parleying, his mistake is rectified, and the matter is explained; on which Lyconides forces Strobilus to confess the theft; and (although
the rest of the Play In its original form is lost) we learn from the acrostic Argument that Strobilus gives up the treasure, and Lyconides marries the daughter of Euclio, and receives the gold for a marriage-portion. The Supplement written by Codrus Urcens to supply the place of what is lost has been added.

  THE ACROSTIC ARGUMENT OF PRISCIAN.

  A POT (Aulam) that he has found full of gold, Euclio watches with the greatest strictness (Vi), being distracted in a dreadful manner. Lyconides (Lyconides) debauches his daughter. Megadorus wishes (Vult) to marry her without a portion, and to do it in a cheerful way (Lubens), he provides cooks with provisions. Euclio is afraid on account of the gold (Auro); he drives them out of the house; and the whole matter (Re) having been seen, the servant of the ravisher steals it (Id). He discloses the matter to Euclio; by (Ab) him he is presented with the gold, a wife, and a son. THE PROLOGUE

  THE HOUSEHOLD GOD

  Lest any one should wonder who I am, I will tell you in a few words. I am the household God of this family, from whose house you have seen me coming forth. It is now many years that I have been occupying this houses and I inhabited it for the father and the grandfather of this person who now dwells here. But beseeching me, his grandfather entrusted to me a treasure of gold, unknown to all. He deposited it in the midst of the hearth, praying me that I would watch it for him. He, when he died, was of such an avaricious disposition, that he would never disclose it to his own son, and preferred rather to leave him in want than to show that treasure to that son. He left him no large quantity of land, on which to live with great laboriousness and in wretchedness. When he died who had entrusted that gold to me, I began to take notice whether his son would any how pay greater honor to me than his father had paid me. But he was in the habit of venerating me still less and less by very much, and gave me a still less share of devotion. So in return was it done by me; and he likewise ended his life. He left this person who now dwells here, his son, of the same disposition as his father and grandfather were. He has an only daughter; she is always every day making offerings to me, either with incense, or wine, or something or other; she presents me, too, with chaplets. Out of regard for her, I have caused this Euclio to find this treasure, in order that he might more readily give her in marriage if he should wish; for a young man of very high rank has ravished her; this young man knows who it is that he has ravished; she knows him not, nor yet does her father know that she has been ravished. This day I shall cause the old gentleman here, our neighbour, to ask her as his wife; that will I do for this reason, that he may the more easily marry her who has ravished her. And this old gentleman who shall ask her as his wife, the same is the uncle of that young man who debauched her in the night time at the festival of Ceres. But this old fellow is now making an uproar in the house, as usual; he is thrusting the old woman out of doors, that she may not be privy to the secret. I suppose he wants to look at the gold, if it be not stolen.