Plautus Miles Gloriosus 2.2

Henry Thomas Riley (Translator)

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Miles Gloriosus. Plautus. Henry Thomas Riley (Translator). London. 1912.

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Current edition Perseus

Miles Gloriosus, or The Braggart Captain (English) (Plautus. The Comedies of Plautus, Volume 1. Riley, Henry Thomas, translator. London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1912.)

Editions (1)
Miles Gloriosus Perseus (Plautus. Plauti Comoediae, Volume 2. Leo, Friedrich, editor. Berlin: Weidmann, 1896.) — 2.2 focus

Notes on the current edition

Miles Gloriosus, or The Braggart Captain

1. Through the skylight: The atrium, or middle hall, of the houses of the Romans was a large apartment, roofed over, with the exception of an opening in the centre, which was called impluvium, or compluvium, towards which the roof sloped, so as to throw the rain-water down through pipes into a cistern below. Vitruvius says that the impluvium was from a fourth to a third of the size of the atrium, or hall below. It was probably glazed, and thus would form a sort of sloping skylight. In the present instance, it would seem to have overlooked the upper chamber, into which Philocomasium passed through the wall of the next house, to meet Pleusicles.
2. The laws of dice: Commentators are much divided as to what is the meaning here of lex alearia, or, as some editions have it lex talaria. Some suppose that it simply means the rules of the game with the tali, or dice; while others think that Plautus alludes to some recent enactment at Rome against games of chance. Such laws were repeatedly promulgated, but immediately became a mere dead letter. Talus means either a person’s anklebone, or the knuckle-bone of an animal, which latter was marked with numbers on four sides, and used by the Greeks and Romans in sets of four for the purpose of dice. The old man puns on the two meanings, and says, I’ll take care that your tali (or ankle-bones) are broken, so that (if we adopt the first meaning) you shall not cheat at dice in future, or (if we take the second interpretation) you shall not have an opportunity of infringing the public laws. Simia, which is translated monkey, is. strictly speaking, a she-ape; probably a present from the Captain to Philocomasium.
3. Her fellow-slaves: He seems to use the word contubernales, comrades, or fellow-slaves, as applying to the relation between Philocomasium and the other slaves in the house; since, falling into the hands of the Captain, she had become reduced to the condition of a slave. The cross was the instrument of a punishment among the Romans, which was especially inflicted upon slaves. It was usually in shape like the letter T or X, but there were various other forms of it. The condemned carried his own cross, and, being first stripped, was either nailed or bound to it, and in the latter case was generally left to die of hunger. It must be remembered that in the time of the Roman Republic the laws did not protect the person or life of the slaves, who were sometimes very barbarously treated.
4. Never goes begging: He uses a rather out-of-the-way simile here; he means to say, a woman never needs to go to a gardener’s, who has a garden of her own, with a most plentiful stock of artfulness, etc;. Some Commentators fancy that he means literally to say that women have always at hand plenty of poisonous plants for the purposes of mischief, and that they need not the assistance of the gardener or nurseryman when they wish to carry out their designs. Such an interpretation seems, however, to be very far-fetched.
5. Impudence: Os, literally, face; similar to a common expression it use with us.
6. Is moving rapidly: Mico strictly means, to have a tremulous motion imparted. Micare digitis properly meant to play at a game called mora, in which two persons suddenly raised or compressed the fingers, and at the same moment each guessed the number of the other. The expression also means, to determine anything by suddenly raising the fingers, as who is to do or to have anything.
7. As a pillar: He means that Palaestrio looks up in thought, while his clenched hand is placed, as though it were a pillar beneath his chin.
8. Of a foreign Poet: Barbaro. The speaker being supposed to be a Greek, and a native of Ionia , he would speak of a Roman as being barbarus. It is generally supposed that Plautus here refers to the Roman poet Naevius, who had a habit of using this posture, and was, as is thought, at that moment in prison for having offended, in one of his Comedies, the family of the Metelli. He was afterwards liberated on having apologised in his plays called Hariolus ( the Wizard) and Leo ( the Lion). Periplecomenus thinks that this posture bodes no good, and is ominous of an evil result.
9. Like a very slave: He says that the actor is well representing the character of the slave. The actors themselves, as already remarked, were generally slaves in the earlier times of the Republic.
10. Is at breakfast: Among the Romans some began the day with the ientaculum, which, however, was in general confined to sick persons, the very luxurious, or the labouring classes. From Martial we learn that it was taken about four in the morning, and it can, therefore, hardly have corresponded with our breakfast. Bread, with cheese or dried fruit, was used at this meal. The prandium, which is here translated breakfast, is supposed to have been a hasty meal, and to have been taken from twelve to one o’clock in the day. Sometimes it was of simple character, while occasionally fish, fruit, and wine formed part of the repast, in which latter case it would almost correspond with the luncheon of modern times.
11. She is taking dessert: It was the custom of the Romans, after the second course of the cena or dinner was taken away, to have wine on the table, and to prolong the evening with conversation; perhaps this period is here referred to as furnishing one of the excuses to be made.
12. Is enjoying her rest: Operae non est usually signifies she is not at leisure, i.e., she is busy; but here it is thought to mean the reverse, she is not at work, she is taking her ease, and consequently cannot be disturbed.