Miles Gloriosus
Plautus, Titus Maccius
Plautus. The Comedies of Plautus, Volume 1. Riley, H. T., translator. London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1912.
- I can’t help it when I look upon you.
- Be of good courage.
- I know what pain it is to me.
- I really don’t wonder now, Philocomasium, if you were here with happiness to yourself, when I, a servant—as I look at him, weep because we are parting pretends to cry, so much have his beauty, his manners, his valour, captivated your feelings.
- Prithee, do let me embrace you before I depart?
- By all means
- embracing him. O my eyes! O my life!
- Do hold up the woman, I entreat you, lest she should fall. He takes hold of her, and she pretends to faint.
- What means this?
- Because, after she had quitted you, she suddenly became faint, poor thing.
- Run in and fetch some water.
- I want no water; but I had rather you would keep at a distance. Prithee, don’t you interfere till she comes to.
- observing PLEUSICLES, who is holding PHILOCOMASIUM in his arm. They have their heads too closely in contact between them; I don’t like it; he is soldering his lips[*](He is soldering his lips: Ferruminatis a strong expression here; it literally means to weld iron with iron. hammering it in a red-hot state) to hers. What the plague are you about?
- I was trying whether she was breathing or not.
- You ought to have applied your ear then.
- If you had rather, I’ll let her go.
- No, I don’t care; do you support her.
- To my misery, I’m quite distracted.
- Go and bring here from in-doors all the things that I have given her.
- And even now, household God, do I salute thee before I depart; my fellow-servants, both male and female, all farewell, and happy may you live; prithee, though absent, among yourselves bestow your blessings upon me as well.