Miles Gloriosus
Plautus, Titus Maccius
Plautus. The Comedies of Plautus, Volume 1. Riley, H. T., translator. London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1912.
- I very much fear—
- What do you fear?
- Why, that we have lost ourselves somewhere or other; for she says that she knows neither you nor me.
- I wish, Sceledrus, to examine into this, whether we are ourselves, or else some other persons; lest secretly somehow some one of our neighbours may have transformed us without our knowing it.
- For my part, beyond a doubt, I am my own self.
- I’ faith, and so am I.
- My lady, you are seeking your destruction. To you I am speaking; hark you, Philocomasium!
- What craziness possesses you, to be calling me wrongly by a crackjaw name[*](Crackjaw name: Perplexo nomine.The Commentators seem to think that this means no more than by my wrong name. The word perplexoseems, however, to refer to the extreme length of the name, as well as the fact that it does not belong to her.)?
- How now! What are you called, then?
- My name is Glycera.
- For a bad purpose, Philocomasium, you wish to have a wrong name[*](In the original Latin, the name is Diceae, which sounds like the Greek word for just or righteous. Scledrus is making a pun.). Away with you, shocking woman; for most notably are you doing a wrong to my master.
- I?
- Yes, you.
- I, who arrived from Athens yesterday evening at Ephesus, with my lover, a young man of Athens?
- Tell me, what business have you here in Ephesus?
- I had heard that my own twin-sister is here in Ephesus; I came here to look for her.
- You’re a good-for-nothing woman.
- Yes, i’ faith, I am a very foolish one to be parleying with you fellows. I am going.
- I won’t let you go. Catches hold of her.