Plautus Mercator 5.2

Henry Thomas Riley (Translator)

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Mercator. Plautus. Henry Thomas Riley (Translator). London. 1913.

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Current edition Perseus

Mercator, or The Merchant (English) (Plautus. The Comedies of Plautus, Volume 2. Riley, Henry Thomas, translator. London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1913.)

Editions (1)
Mercator Perseus (Plautus. Plauti Comoediae, Volume 1. Leo, Friedrich, editor. Berlin: Weidmann, 1895.) — 5.2 focus

Notes on the current edition

Mercator, or The Merchant

1. Lares of the roads: He seems here to allude to the class of Lares who were usually called Compitales, and whose statues were erected at the cross-roads. Varro tells us that there were 265 stations for Lares at the corners of the streets of Rome.
2. Thrown religious scruples: He considers the remark made by Eutychus as ominous, which it would be impious for him to disregard.
3. Take this cloak: Though commonly rendered cloak, the pallium differed materially from that article of dress. It was a square piece of cloth, which came direct from the loom in that shape, and required no cutting out by the tailor. The pallia were mostly worn in an undyed state, consequently white, brown, and grey were the prevailing colours. They were sometimes dyed of crimson, purple, and saffron colour. Sometimes they were striped, like our plaids or checks. Flowers were sometimes interwoven, and occasionally with gold thread. Wool was the most common material. They were not only used for wearing, but for spreading over beds and couches, and covering the body during sleep. Sometimes they were used as carpets, and sometimes as awnings or curtains; and indeed the word as often means a blanket as a garment. When worn, the pallium was passed over the left shoulder, then drawn behind the back and under the right arm, leaving it bare, and then thrown again over the left shoulder See Dr. Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities.
4. My belt: The zona, girdle or belt, would be employed by the traveller to tuck up his long clothing, for the sake of expedition; it was also used either as a purse or for the purpose of holding the purse. The traveller would require his sword for the purposes of safety, while the ampulla, or leather bottle, was to hold the oil with which the feet were anointed when galled with walking.
5. Calchas: The soothsayer who attended the Grecian army to Troy.