Chapter 20

Sed, si quid narrare occæpi continuo dariTibi verba censes.S.Falso.D. Itaque hercle nil jam mutire audeo.

Sed, si quid narrare occæpi continuo dari

Tibi verba censes.

S.Falso.

D. Itaque hercle nil jam mutire audeo.

Dr. Bentley readsfalsoin Davus’s speech; and Cooke thinks it should be altogether omitted. I have followed the old English edition in supposing the word in question to be spokenironically, which is certainly consistent with the usual style of conversation between Simo and Davus.

NOTE 148.

Now, finding that the marriage preparations are going forwards in our house, she sends her maid to fetch a midwife.

This is a very subtle contrivance. Davus intends that the birth of Pamphilus’s child shall be reported to Chremes to alarm him, (as we see ActV. SceneI.page 82,) and, therefore, that Simo may not suspecthim, he persuades him that Glycera is contriving to spread reports of Pamphilus’s engagements to her. M. Baron has entirely omitted the incident of the birth of the child. He introduces Sosia again to fill up the chasm. In a scene between Simo, Davus, and Chremes, the latter is induced to renew his consent to the marriage, by overhearing a conversation between Simo and Davus; in which, as in the original, the slave invents a tale that Pamphilus and Glycera are at variance.

Sir R. Steele varies the third act altogether; he makes it turn wholly on the underplot, of which the chief personages are Lucinda, and her two lovers Myrtle and Cimberton: the latter is a pedantic coxcomb, and added to the original characters by the English poet.

NOTE 149.

And to provide a child at the same time, thinking that unless you should see a child, the marriage would not be impeded.

——“Et puerum ut adferret simul;Hoc nisi fit puerum ut tu videas, nilmoventurnuptiæ.”

——“Et puerum ut adferret simul;

Hoc nisi fit puerum ut tu videas, nilmoventurnuptiæ.”

Moventur, in this passage, does not mean tomove forward: but signifiesto move back with disturbance,to hinder, orto disorder, and is used instead ofperturbantur. Moveo is very unfrequently though sometimes employed in this sense. I shall cite one passage fromHorace, where it has the same meaning as in the before-mentioned line fromTerence.

——“CensorquemoveretAppius, ingenuo si non essem patre natus.”He to whom I owe my birth was free,A freeborn citizen: had he not been so,The censor Claudius Appius would havestopt,Anddrivenmeback.

——“CensorquemoveretAppius, ingenuo si non essem patre natus.”

——“Censorquemoveret

Appius, ingenuo si non essem patre natus.”

He to whom I owe my birth was free,A freeborn citizen: had he not been so,The censor Claudius Appius would havestopt,Anddrivenmeback.

He to whom I owe my birth was free,

A freeborn citizen: had he not been so,

The censor Claudius Appius would havestopt,

Anddrivenmeback.

NOTE 150.A. III. S. III.Simo. (alone) I am not exactly, &c.

Terence uses an expression in the beginning of this scene that has been a source of discussion among the critics. It is in the following line,

“Atque haud scioANquæ dixit sint vera omnia.”

I have selected from a very long note on this passage, by an eminent writer, the following extracts, which will afford, I trust, a satisfactory elucidation of the line in question.

“Atque haud scio an quæ dixit sint vera omnia: this seems, at first sight, to signify,I do not know if all that he has told me be truth; but, in the elegance of the Latin expression, however,haud scio an, means the same asfortasse(perhaps) as if he had saidhaud scio an non. Thus, in the Brothers,A. IV. S. V. v.33.Qui infelix haud scio an illam misere non amat: which does not mean,I do not know whether he loves her, but, on the contrary,I do not know that he does not love her. Also, in Cicero’s Epistles,B. IX. L.13.,Istud quidem magnum, atque haud scio an maximum;this is a great thing, and perhaps the greatest of all, or, I do not know but it is the greatest of all. And, also, in his Oration for Marcellus, when he said that future ages would form a juster estimate of Cæsar’s character than could be made by men of his own times; he says,Servis iis etiam indicibus qui multis post sæculis de te judicabunt, et quidem haud scio, an incorruptius quam nos. There are numberless examples of this kind in the writings of Cicero, and I know that there are some which make for the opposite side of the question, as in his book on “Old Age,” speaking of a country life, he says,Atque haud scia an ulla possit esse beatior vita. But, it is my opinion, that these passages have been altered by some person who did not understand that mode of expression, and that it ought to be,Atque haud scio annullapossit esse beatior vita.”The Authorof the old Translation of Terence. Printed 1671. Paris.

Terence frequently has this construction: the two following sentences are of similar difficulty: they both occur in this play:

Id paves, ne ducas tu illam; tu autem, ut ducas.Cave te esse tristem sentiat.

Id paves, ne ducas tu illam; tu autem, ut ducas.

Cave te esse tristem sentiat.

NOTE 151.A. III. S. IV.Simo, Chremes.Simo.—Chremes, I am very glad to see you.

“Jubeo Chremetem (saluere)”: the last word is not spoken, because the speaker is interrupted by Simo. It is necessary to observe thatjubeodoes not always signify tocommand, but sometimes means towish, todesire, especially when the speaker’s wish is afterwards verbally expressed; according to what Donatus observes on this passage,“Columus animo, jubemus verbis.”—Old Paris Edition.

Terence has portrayed Chremes as a very amiable character; he is mild and patient, and the most benevolent sentiments issue from his lips. It was necessary, as Donatus observes, to represent Chremes with this temper, for, had he been violent and headstrong, he could not have been supposed to seek Simo, and afterwardsrenew his consent, which is a very important incident, upon which the remainder of the epitasis entirely hinges. The Chremes of Sir R. Steele (Sealand) has all the worth of Terence’s original, but is deficient in that polish of manners which renders the Latin character so graceful.

NOTE 152.The quarrels of lovers is the renewal of their love.Amantium iræ amoris integratio est.

In this sentence I have followed the Latin grammatical construction; and I believe it is also allowable in English, in such a case as this, to choose at pleasure either the antecedent or the subsequent for the nominative case. Very few sentences from profane writers have (I imagine) been more frequently repeated thanAmantium iræ amoris integratio est, an observation which is undeniably just. This sentence has been repeatedly imitated.

As bySeneca,

Plisth.“Redire pietas, unde summota est, solet.Reparatque vires justus amissas amor.”Thyestes,A. III. S. I.

Plisth.“Redire pietas, unde summota est, solet.

Reparatque vires justus amissas amor.”

Thyestes,A. III. S. I.

Affection, though repell’d, will still return:And faithful love, though for a moment curb’d,Or driven away, will, with augmented strength,Regain its empire.

Affection, though repell’d, will still return:

And faithful love, though for a moment curb’d,

Or driven away, will, with augmented strength,

Regain its empire.

And also byOvid,

Quæ modò pugnarunt jungunt sua rostra columbæ,Quarum blanditias verbaque murmur habet.Ovid,Art. Am., B. 2. v.465.

Quæ modò pugnarunt jungunt sua rostra columbæ,

Quarum blanditias verbaque murmur habet.

Ovid,Art. Am., B. 2. v.465.

NOTE 153.

Simo.—Yet the most serious mischief, after all, can amount but to a separation, which may the gods avert.

The Athenian laws permitted citizens to divorce their wives on very trivial pretences; but compelled them, at the same time, to give in a memorial to thearchons, stating the grounds on which the divorce was desired. A citizen might put away his wife, without any particular disgrace being attached to either the husband or the wife; and when the divorce was by mutual consent, the parties were at liberty to contract elsewhere. He who divorced his wife, was compelled to restore her dowry, though he was allowed to pay it by instalments: sometimes it was paid as alimony, nine oboli each month.

For a very flagrant offence, a wife, by the Athenian laws, might divorce her husband: if the men divorced, they were saidἀποπέμπειν, orἀπολεύειν, to send away their wives: but if the women divorced, they were saidἀπολείπειν, to quit their husbands. (Vide Potter’s Arch. Græc.,Vol. II. B. IV. C.12.)

Terence artfully makes Simo use the worddiscessioinstead ofdivortium, ordiscidium, orrepudium: which means the worst kind of divorce.Discessio, among the Romans, was nearly the same asa separationamong us: by separation, I mean what our lawyers calldivorce a mensa et thoro;which does not dissolve the marriage; and which they place in opposition todivorce a vinculo matrimonii; which is a total divorce. In the earlier ages of the Roman Republic, the wife had no option of divorcing her husband: but it was afterwards allowed, as we see inMartial.

“Mense novo Janiveterem, Proculeia, maritumDeseris, atque jubes res sibi habere suas.Quid, rogo, quid factum est? subiti quæ causa doloris?”B. 10. Epigr.39.

“Mense novo Janiveterem, Proculeia, maritum

Deseris, atque jubes res sibi habere suas.

Quid, rogo, quid factum est? subiti quæ causa doloris?”

B. 10. Epigr.39.

NOTE 154ᴬ.Why is not the bride brought? it grows late.

An Athenian bride was conveyed to her bridegroom’s house in the evening by torchlight, attended by her friends:videNotes116,117,118,119. Various singular customs prevailed among the Athenians at their marriages: when the bride entered her new habitation, quantities of sweetmeats were poured over her person: she and her husband also ate quinces, and the priests who officiated at marriages (videSt.Basil,Hom.7,Hexame.) first made a repast on grasshoppers, (τέττιγες, cicadæ,) which were in high esteem among the Athenians, who wore golden images of this insect in their hair, and, on that account, were calledτέττιγες. Grasshoppers were thought to have originally sprung from the earth; and, for that reason, were chosen as the symbol of the Athenians, who pretended to the same origin.

NOTE 154ᴮ.

I have been fearful that you would prove perfidious, like the common herd of slaves, and deceive me in this intrigue of Pamphilus.

Ego dudum non nil veritus sum.

Donatus makes a remark on the style of this sentence, which deserves attention,“gravis oratio ab hoc pronomine (ego) plerumque inchoatur,”a speech which begins with the pronounegois generally grave and serious: to which some commentator has added the following remark respecting the before-mentioned passage from Terence,“Est autem hoc principium orationis Simonis à benevolentia per antithesin.”The remarks ofDonatusandNonniuson the style of our author, are generally very acute and ingenious.Scaliger,Muretus, andTrapp, may be added to the critics before mentioned. The learned writer last named has composed a treatise in Latin “De Dramate,” which contains many very valuable hints relative to dramatic writing.

NOTE 155.Simo.—Ha! what’s that you say?

There is a play upon words here, which I have endeavoured to preserve in the English. The Latin is as follows.Davus.Occidi.Simo.Hem! quid dixisti?Davus.Optumeinquam factum.If the requisite similarity of sound was preserved in this pun, it may be conjectured that the Latiniwas not pronounced very differently from theiof the modern Italians.VideNote 92.

NOTE 156.Pam.—What trust can I put in such a rascal?Oh! tibi ego ut credamFURCIFER?

The epithetfurcifer(rascal) is of singular derivation; and, though it was an appellation of great reproach in the times of Terence, yet, in later ages of the Roman Republic, it bore a very different signification. The name offurcifer, which was originally given to slaves, took its rise from the Roman custom of punishing a slave who had committed any flagrant offence, by fastening round his neck a heavy piece of wood, in the shape of a fork, and thence called furca; this occasioned the delinquent to be afterwards called furcifer, (furcam ferre.) Three modes of punishment by the furca were practised at Rome: 1. ignominious, 2. penal, 3. capital. In the first, the criminal merely carried the furca on his shoulders for a short period; in the second, he wore the furca, and was whipped round the Forum; in the third, after having been tied to a large furca, somewhat like a modern gallows, he was beaten to death. Slaves were treated more severely by the Romans than by the Athenians, who were celebrated for their mild and gentle behaviour to that class of persons. The furca was afterwards employed in a very different manner; and, from a badge of disgrace, was changed to a serviceable implement. Caius Marius, nearly a hundred years after Terence composed this play, introduced the use of the furca among his soldiers. It was employed to carry baggage and other requisites; and, in use, somewhat resembled a modern porter’s knot, hence, the wordfurculumorferculum, became an expression to signify a burden, or any thing carried in the hand: and sometimes, also, the various courses brought to table, as inHorace,

“Multaque de magnâ superessentferculacœnâ,Quæ procul extructis inerant hesterna canistris?”B. II. Sat. 6.

“Multaque de magnâ superessentferculacœnâ,

Quæ procul extructis inerant hesterna canistris?”

B. II. Sat. 6.

NOTE 157.Ah! how foolishly have I relied on you, who, out of a perfect calm, have raised this storm.

Hem quo fretu siemQui me hodie ex tranquillissima re conjecisti in nuptias.

Hem quo fretu siem

Qui me hodie ex tranquillissima re conjecisti in nuptias.

“My father reads this passage thus,en quo fretus sum,that is, the rascal on whom I relied,” &c.

Madame Dacier.

If an error has been insinuated into the text in this passage, it can scarcely be of sufficient importance to render an alteration essential: the correction suggested by Madame Dacier, is not so decidedly superior to the usual mode of reading the lines, as to compensate for the inconvenience which must be occasioned by a general variation of the text.

NOTE 158.Pam.—What do you deserve?

This alludes to the Athenian custom of questioning supposed criminals, either before sentence was passed, or while they were under the torture, to the following effect: What have you deserved? and, according to the tenor of the reply, they augmented or diminished the punishment:videNonni. Miscel.,B.2. It was also customary, at Athens, when the punishment was not fixed by the laws, but was left to the discretion of the judges, that the condemned person was required to state what injury he thought his adversary had suffered from him; and the answer, when delivered upon oath, was calledδιαμοσία; by which the final sentence was in some measure regulated.

NOTE 159.Char. (alone.) Is this credible, or to be mentioned as a truth?

“Hoccine credibile est, aut memorabile,Tanta vecordia innata cuiquam ut siet,Ut malis gaudeat alienis, atque ex incommodisAlterius, sua ut comparet commoda? ah!Idne est verum? Imo id genus est hominum pessimumIn denegando modo queis pudor est paululum:Post ubi jam tempus est promissa perfici,Tum coacti necessario se aperiunt et timent,Et tamen res cogit eos denegare. IbiTum impudentissima eorum oratio est:Quis tu es? quis mihi es? cur meam tibi? heus;Proximus sum egomet mihi.”

“Hoccine credibile est, aut memorabile,

Tanta vecordia innata cuiquam ut siet,

Ut malis gaudeat alienis, atque ex incommodis

Alterius, sua ut comparet commoda? ah!

Idne est verum? Imo id genus est hominum pessimum

In denegando modo queis pudor est paululum:

Post ubi jam tempus est promissa perfici,

Tum coacti necessario se aperiunt et timent,

Et tamen res cogit eos denegare. Ibi

Tum impudentissima eorum oratio est:

Quis tu es? quis mihi es? cur meam tibi? heus;

Proximus sum egomet mihi.”

Terence, in the composition of these lines, has admirably succeeded in expressing the sense by the sounds and measure of his verse, and the very lines seem as angry (if I may be allowed to use such an expression) as Charinus, who is to speak them, is supposed to be. The whole speech is written with a great deal of fire and spirit; and represents, in a very lively manner, the impatient bursts of indignation, and the broken periods which issue from the mouth of an enraged and disappointed person, during the first transports of his anger. The ancients particularly studied this poetical beauty; and many of them have reached a degree of excellence scarcely inferior to that of the moderns. Terence has as eminently distinguished himself by his success in this ornament to composition as he has by his other excellencies: as familiar verse, his compositions are extremely harmonious.

Mr. Pope has described the poetical embellishment before mentioned in a most inimitable poem, which at once explains and exemplifies his meaning.

“’Tis not enough no harshness gives offence,The sound must seem an echo to the sense:Soft is the strain when zephyr gently blows,And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows;But when loud surges lash the sounding shore,The hoarse, rough verse should like the torrent roar:When Ajax strives some rock’s vast weight to throw,The line too labours, and the words move slow;Not so, when swift Camilla scours the plain,Flies o’er th’ unbending corn, and skims along the main.”

“’Tis not enough no harshness gives offence,

The sound must seem an echo to the sense:

Soft is the strain when zephyr gently blows,

And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows;

But when loud surges lash the sounding shore,

The hoarse, rough verse should like the torrent roar:

When Ajax strives some rock’s vast weight to throw,

The line too labours, and the words move slow;

Not so, when swift Camilla scours the plain,

Flies o’er th’ unbending corn, and skims along the main.”

Virgil was particularly successful in his endeavours to impart this ornament to his composition. The following lines are reckoned by the critics to be a beautiful specimen of his ability in this species of verse.

“Ter sunt conati imponere Pelio OssamScilicet, atque Ossæ frondosum involvere Olympum.”Georg.,B. I. V.281.Sternitur exanimisque tremens procumbit humi bos.Æneis,B.5.

“Ter sunt conati imponere Pelio OssamScilicet, atque Ossæ frondosum involvere Olympum.”Georg.,B. I. V.281.

“Ter sunt conati imponere Pelio Ossam

Scilicet, atque Ossæ frondosum involvere Olympum.”

Georg.,B. I. V.281.

Sternitur exanimisque tremens procumbit humi bos.Æneis,B.5.

Sternitur exanimisque tremens procumbit humi bos.

Æneis,B.5.

NOTE 160.

Those men have characters of the very worst description, who make a scruple to deny a favour; and are ashamed, or unwilling to give a downright refusal at first; but who, when the time arrives. &c.

This is one of those beautiful passages which prove Terence to have been so able a delineator of character. How faithful a picture does he here draw of this particular species of weakness! A man is asked a favour which he knows it is out of his power to compass, and yet feels a repugnance to candidly avow it: he cannot bear to witness the uneasiness of the disappointed person, and, from a kind of false shame, he misleads him with a promise which he cannot perform. To detect those lurking impulses which almost escape observation, though they influence the actions: to describe with force and elegance, and convince the mind of a feeling of which it was before scarcely conscious, is an effort of genius worthy of a Terence.

NOTE 161.

If any one tell me, that no advantage will result from it: I answer this, that I shall poison his joy: and even that will yield me some satisfaction.

Ingeram mala multa: atque aliquis dicat; Nihil promoveris.Multum; molestus certè ei fuero, atque animo morem gessero.

Ingeram mala multa: atque aliquis dicat; Nihil promoveris.

Multum; molestus certè ei fuero, atque animo morem gessero.

This sentiment has been imitated by the first of dramatists in his Othello: he has expanded it into a greater number of lines, which are extremely beautiful.

Iago.Call up her father,Rouse him, make after him, poison his delight.Proclaim him in the streets, incense her kinsmen.And tho’ he in a fertile climate dwell,Plague him with flies: tho’ that his joy be joy,Yet throw such changes of vexation on’t,As it may lose some colour.—Shakspeare’sOthello,A. 1. S. 1.

Iago.Call up her father,

Rouse him, make after him, poison his delight.

Proclaim him in the streets, incense her kinsmen.

And tho’ he in a fertile climate dwell,

Plague him with flies: tho’ that his joy be joy,

Yet throw such changes of vexation on’t,

As it may lose some colour.—

Shakspeare’sOthello,A. 1. S. 1.

The soliloquy of Charinus, (of which the lines I have cited in the commencement of this Note form a part,) is one of the best written in the plays of our author: it is exactly of the kind recommended by theDuke of Buckingham.

“Soliloquies had need be very few,Extremely short, and spoke in passion too.Our lovers, talking to themselves, for wantOf others, make the pit their confidant:Nor is the matter mended yet, if thusThey trust a friend only to tell it us.”

“Soliloquies had need be very few,

Extremely short, and spoke in passion too.

Our lovers, talking to themselves, for want

Of others, make the pit their confidant:

Nor is the matter mended yet, if thus

They trust a friend only to tell it us.”

A soliloquy is introduced with most success, when the speaker of it is supposed to be deliberating with himself on doubtful subjects: but, when narration is to be introduced, it is brought forward with more advantage in the shape of a dialogue between the speaker and his confidant. But a skilful dramatist can often employ a preferable method to either of those I have just named, for the disposition of narration. Papias lays it down as an absolute rule for the composition of soliloquies, that they must be deliberations only.

NOTE 162.Well, take her.

Sir R. Steele, in his play, calledthe Conscious Lovers, does not represent Myrtle as comporting himself in his disappointment with the moderation observed by Charinus. He challenges Bevil: though the duel is afterwards prevented by the patience and forbearance of the latter, who communicates to his angry friend a letter which he had received from Lucinda, expressive of her favourable thoughts of Myrtle. The ingenious author of the Conscious Lovers imagined, no doubt, that to an English audience, Charinus’s easy resignation of his mistress to Pamphilus would appear tame and unnatural. In nothing do the manners of the ancients and the moderns differ more widely than in their respective behaviour in cases of private injury, real or imagined. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans,duellingwas totally unknown. Alexander and Pyrrhus, Themistocles, Leonidas, and Epaminondas, the Scipios and Hannibal, Cæsar and Pompey, all men whose fame will never be surpassed, and a countless number of the heroes of antiquity, would have scorned to draw their swords in a private quarrel. It was reserved for Christians, to introduce and countenance this barbarous practice; which ought to be the shame of civilized humanity. Barbarous, however, it can scarcely with justice be called: for those nations whose unpolished manners caused them to be termed barbarians, were never known to have adopted it; nor has a single instance occurred, where men, in a state of uncultivated nature, have been known to sacrifice a brother’s life in the mortal arbitration of a private quarrel. Duelling was originally practised among northern nations. Those who wish to entertain just ideas on this subject cannot do better than to consultA Discourse on Duelling, by the Rev. Thomas Jones, A.M., Trinity College, Cambridge.

NOTE 163.Pam.—Why do you vex me thus?Cur me enicas.

Eneco and enico are thought by some critics to have been exactly similar in signification; but eneco generally means to kill, as in Plautusangues enecavit: whereas enico signifies only to teaze, or to torment; as in the passage in Terence before mentioned.VideHoraceEp., B. I.Ep. 7. L.87.

NOTE 164.

Davus.—Hist! Glycera’s door opens.Hem’! st, mane, crepuit a Glycerio ostium.

Davus.—Hist! Glycera’s door opens.

Hem’! st, mane, crepuit a Glycerio ostium.

Literally, a noise is made on the inside of Glycera’s door. As all the street-doors in Athens opened towards the street, it was customary to knock loudly on the inside, before the door was thrown open, lest, by a sudden and violent swing, the heavy barrier should injure any of the passengers. The Greeks called this ceremonyψοφεῖν θυραν. All the doors of the Romans opened inwards, unless (which rarely happened) a law was passed to allow any particular person to open his door towards the street. This was considered a very great honour, and never conferred but as a reward for very eminent services.

In Sparta, a law prevailed that no instrument but a kind of saw should be employed in making the doors of the houses; this regulation was intended to prevent luxury, and wasteful expense. Both in Athens and Rome, the first room within the door was made extremely large, and highly ornamented. This room was called aula by the Romans, and, by the Greeksαὐλὴ. Here were placed the trophies gained by the master of the house, and by his family. In later and more luxurious ages, the doors were made of more costly materials, sometimes they formed them of metal, either iron or brass; sometimes also ivory was used for this purpose, or scarce and curious kinds of wood.

NOTE 165.

Mysis. (speaking to Glycera within.) I will directly, Madam; wherever he may be, I’ll take care to find your dear Pamphilus, and bring him to you: only, my love, let me beg you not to make yourself so wretched.

Sir R. Steele and Monsieur Baron have brought both Glycera and Philumena on the stage; but, in the Latin drama, the principal female characters (if they appear at all) are generally mutes. It is a circumstance worthy of our attention, that (except in one instance) Terence never brings on the stage any female character of rank and consideration: the women who take a part in the dialogue are generally either attendants, or professional people, as nurses, midwives,&c.But this exclusion, (though our author has been compelled to sacrifice to it all those embellishments which the portraiture of the Athenian ladies must have added to his scenes,) is in strict conformity with the manners of the Greeks. Grecian women of rank seldom appeared in company, and closely confined themselves within doors, occupying the most remote parts of the house. Unmarried women were scarcely allowed to quit the rooms they inhabited, without giving previous notice to their protectors. Terence was instructed clearly in this point, by his great originalMenander; who expressly says, that the door of theαὐλὴ, or hall, was a place where even a married woman ought never to be seen. Women, among the Greeks, seldom inhabited the same apartment with the men: their rooms were always kept as retired as possible, usually in the loftiest part of the house.VideHom.Il., γʹv.423; their apartments were called Gynæceum, (γυναικεῖον).VideTerence’s Phormio, Act 5.S.6, where he says,

“Ubi inGynæceumire occipio, puer ad me accurrit Mida.”

These rooms were sometimes calledὦα, which signifies alsoeggs; it is supposed that the fable of Castor, Pollux, Helen, and Clytemnestra, being hatched from eggs, took its rise from the double signification of the wordὦα.

NOTE 166.

Pam.—The oracles of Apollo are not more true: I wish that, if possible, my father may not think that I throw any impediments in the way of the marriage: if not, I will do what will be easily done, tell him frankly that I cannot marry Chremes’ daughter.

Among the Greeks, no oracles were either so numerous or so highly esteemed as those of Apollo. The first place among them is assigned to the oracle at Delphi, near mount Parnassus, which excelled the others in magnificence, and claimed the precedence in point of antiquity. Next to this, ranks the oracle in the island of Delos, the birthplace of Apollo and Diana. It is situated in the north part of Mare Ægeum, or Archipelago, not far from the Isle of Andros, and between Myconus and Rhene. The Athenians reverenced this oracle above all others, and its answers were held to be infallible. Theseus, the most celebrated of the Athenian heroes, instituted a solemn procession to Delos, in honour of Apollo. A certain number of Athenian citizens were chosen, who were calledΘεωροὶ, who made the voyage in a sacred ship; the same in which Theseus and his companions were said to have sailed to Crete. This ship was denominatedἀειζώοντα, on account of its great age: it was preserved till the time of Demetrius Phalereus. No criminal was ever put to death during the absence of the sacred ship.

NOTE 167.Char. (to Pamphilus.) But you are constant and courageous.

P. Quis videor?C. Miser æque atque ego.D. Consilium quæro.C. Fortis.

Critics have differed considerably respecting this passage. Some think the word fortis should be understood as addressed to Davus.

I have adopted the interpretation which M. le Fevre, Madame Dacier’s father, has given of this passage. Pamphilus, after expressing his resolution to remain faithful to Glycera, turns to Charinus, expecting a compliment on his behaviour. After a jest on his friend’s having reduced himself to such a forlorn situation, by following the advice of Davus, Charinus, by the word fortis, pays him the compliment his handsome conduct deserved.

NOTE 168.Pam. (to Davus.) I know what you would attempt.

Pamphilus, in this speech, alludes to his jest upon Davus in the previous scene, where he says, “I have no doubt, that if that wise head of yours goes to work,”&c.,videp. 67, l. 8.Pamphilus means, I imagine, when he says, “I know what you would attempt,” I suppose you are going to provide the two wives I was speaking of. He could not mean that he really knew Davus’s plan: because he asks him afterwards,page 70, line 10,what he intended to do.

NOTE 169.Pam.—What are you going to do? tell me.

The Davus of M. Baron, instead of laying the child at Simo’s door, makes a false report to Mysis, that Pamphilus intends to desert Glycera, and to espouse Philumena: Mysis communicates this to her mistress, who, in her distress, throws herself at Chremes’ feet, and shews him the contract of her marriage with Pamphilus. This induces Chremes to favour Glycera, and to break off the intended marriage.

NOTE 170.Hitherto, he has been to her a source of more evil than good.

“As I never was able to make any sense of facile hic plus est quam illic boni, I choose to give the passage a turn, though contrary to all the readings which I have seen, which makes that proper, with the omission of one word, which was not before intelligible. The usual construction of the words, as they stand in all editions, is this,—there is more ill in his sorrow, or trouble, (some read dolorem, some laborem,) than there is good in his love: see, particularly, Camus’s edition for the use of the Dauphin, which is not only a poor meaning, and unworthy Terence, but inconsistent with what Mysis had said before in the preceding scenes: I therefore choose to be singular and intelligible, rather than to go with all the editors and translators of our poet, and be obscure.”—Cooke.

NOTE 171.Davus.—Take the child from me directly, and lay him down at our door.

Accipe à me hunc ocius,Atque ante nostram januam appone.

Accipe à me hunc ocius,

Atque ante nostram januam appone.

Some commentators read vestram januam, appone, lay him down before your door. But Davus tells Simo,A. III. S. II., (page 51, line 13,) that Glycera intends to have a child laid athisdoor. It could have answered no purpose, moreover, to have placed Glycera’s child at her own door. We must rather suppose that Davus wished Simo to think that Glycera had sent the infant to Pamphilus as its father.VideNote 174.

NOTE 172.

Davus.—You may take some of the herbs from that altar, and strew them under him.

“Altar, Altare, Ara, a place or pile whereon to offer sacrifice to some deity. Among the Romans, thealtarwas a kind of pedestal, either square, round, or triangular; adorned with sculpture, with basso-relievos, and inscriptions, whereon were burnt the victims sacrificed to idols. According to Servius, thosealtarsset apart for the honour of the celestial gods, and gods of the higher class, were placed on some pretty tall pile of building; and, for that reason, were calledaltaria, from the wordaltaandara, a high elevatedaltar. Those appointed for the terrestrial gods, were laid on the surface of the earth, and calledaræ. And, on the contrary, they dug into the earth, and opened a pit for those of the infernal gods which were calledβοθροι λακκοι,scrobiculi. But this distinction is not every-where observed: the best authors frequently usearaas a general word, under which are included the altars of the celestial and infernal, as well as those of the terrestrial gods. Witness Virgil,Ecl.5.

——En quatuor aras,

wherearæplainly includesaltaria; for whatever we make of Daphnis, Phœbus was certainly a celestial god. So Cicero, pro Quint.Aras delubraque Hecates in Græcia vidimus.The Greeks, also, distinguish two sorts ofaltars; that whereon they sacrificed to the gods was calledβωμος, and was a realaltar, different from the other, whereon they sacrificed to the heroes, which was smaller, and calledεσχαρα. Pollux makes this distinction ofaltarsin his Onomasticon: he adds, however, that some poets used the wordεσχαρα, for the altar whereon sacrifice was offered to the gods. The Septuagint version does sometimes also use the wordεσχαρα, for a sort of little lowaltar, which may be expressed in Latin bycraticula, being a hearth, rather than analtar.”—Chambers’Cyclopædia.

Scaliger thinks that the altar mentioned by Terence was the altar usually placed on the stage of a theatre during representation, and consecrated to Bacchus in tragedy, and to Apollo in comedy. It is most probable, that one of theἐσχάραιis alluded to by our author in this passage. Theἐσχάραιwere low altars which stood before the doors in Athens: they were dedicated to the ancient heroes.

NOTE 173.

Davus.—That if my master should require me to swear that I did not do it, I may take the oath with a safe conscience.

The Greeks paid very great regard to oaths. They divided them into two classes. The first kind was theμέγας ὅρκος, or great oath, when the swearer called the gods to witness his truth; the second was theμικρὸς ὅρκος, when the swearer called on other creatures. They usually, when falsely accused of any crime, took an oath to clear themselves. This oath was sometimes administered in a very singular manner: the oath of exculpation was written on a tablet, and hung round the neck, and rested on the breast of the accused, who was then compelled to wade into the sea about knee-deep: if the oath was true, the water remained stationary; but, if false, it instantly rose up, and covered the tablet, that so dreadful a sight as a false oath might be concealed from the view of mankind. The Athenians were proverbial for their sincere regard for truth.VideVelleius Paterculus,B.1.C.4., also, inB.2.C.23: we are told

“Adeò enim certa Atheniensum in Romanos fides fuit, ut semper et in omni re, quicquid sincerâ fide generetur, id Romani Atticâ fieri, prædicarent.”—Marcus Velleius Paterculus,B.2.C.23.L.18.

The Athenians behaved with so much good faith and inviolable honour in all their treaties with the Romans, that it became a custom at Rome, when a person was affirmed to be just and honourable, to say, he is as faithful as an Athenian.

NOTE 174.

Davus. (to himself.) The father of the bride is coming this way; I abandon my first design.

Mysis.—I don’t understand this.

Davus’s first design was (we are to suppose) to go to Simo as soon as Mysis had placed the child at the door, and acquaint him that Glycera had sent him Pamphilus’s child. This would have compelled Simo to suspend the marriage until he had ascertained the real nature of Glycera’s claims on his son. Though Davus’s speech is not usually read aside, we cannot suppose that Mysis heard him say, that Chremes, the bride’s father, approached, because, in the ninth scene of the same act, (videp. 78, l. preantepen,) he tells her, “that was the bride’s father,” and she replies, “you should have given me notice then.”

NOTE 175.

Mysis. (aside to Davus.)—Are you mad to ask me such a question?

Davus.—Whom should I ask? I can see no one else here.

This certainly seems a little over-acted on the part of Davus, considering that he knew Chremes to be so very near him. If we conclude that Davus acted his part with the proper gestures, and accompanied the above words with the very natural action of looking round him, to see if any other person was visible near Simo’s door; it appears extremely improbable that he should not have seen Chremes, who was near enough to hear all that passed between Davus and Mysis. Davus intended that what passed between Mysis and himself should be overheard by Chremes, whom he knew to be but a very few yards distant. It seems extraordinary, therefore, that Davus should make use of an expression which compelled him to run the risk of being obliged to recognise Chremes if he looked round, and, if he did not, of raising a suspicion in his mind, that Davus knew him to be there: either circumstance must effectually have spoiled the stratagem, to deter Chremes from the match. To solve this apparent inconsistency, we must suppose that Chremes, wishing, for obvious reasons, to overhear what passed between Mysis and Davus, had, at the entrance of the latter, withdrawn himself behind a row of pillars, or into a portico, or cloister, (which were common in the streets of Athens, and were also built upon the Roman stage,) lest his presence, which Mysis knew of, as he had questioned her, should be a check upon their conversation; from which he, of course, expected to learn the truth respecting the child at Simo’s door, as he knew that Mysis was the servant of Glycera, and Davus the servant of Pamphilus.

NOTE 176.Mysis.—The deuce take you, fellow, for terrifying me in this manner.Dii teeradicent, ita me miseram territas.

Literally, May the gods root you up. An ingenious French critic informs us, that the Romans borrowed this expression from the Greeks, who say, “to destroy a man to the very root:” and, that the Greeks borrowed it from the eastern nations. We have a similar expression in English,to destroy root and branch.

NOTE 177.Chremes. (aside.) I acted wisely in avoiding the match.

Recte ego fugio has nuptias.

The general way of reading this line is as follows:

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