Plautus Stichus 3.2

Henry Thomas Riley (Translator)

Table of Contents

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Line
← Previous Next →

Stichus. Plautus. Henry Thomas Riley (Translator). London. 1912.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by NSF, NEH: Digital Libraries Initiative, Phase 2.

Current edition Perseus

Stichus, or The Parasite Rebuffed (English) (Plautus. The Comedies of Plautus, Volume 1. Riley, Henry Thomas, translator. London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1912.)

Editions (1)
Stichus Perseus (Plautus. Plauti Comoediae, Volume 2. Leo, Friedrich, editor. Berlin: Weidmann, 1896.) — 3.2 focus

Notes on the current edition

Stichus, or The Parasite Rebuffed

1. Recover my patron: Regem. In common parlance, rich men were often styled by their dependents and flatterers, rex, my king.
2. Auspiciously befel me: Quum strena mi obscaevavit. This passage is very obscure, and has puzzled the Commentators, who have generally taken refuge in a various reading, Eum strenue obcaenavit, which seems to make but very poor sense. The research, however, of the indefatigable Ritschel has set that mode of escape entirely at rest. Strena was the name of a New Year’s gift, which was given and received on the Calenus of January, that the year might be commenced under good auspices. Probably from that circumstance, it became synonymous with a good or auspicious omen. Obscaevo is rendered in the Dictionaries, to give a bad omen Such, however, is not necessarily its meaning, in all instances. Scaeva is an omen or augury, whether fortunate or not. Consequently, obscaevo may very reasonably mean, to fall in one’s way as an omen; if so, the expression, as here used, will mean a lucky omen fell in my way.
3. I wish you health: Propino tibi salutem plenis faucibus. Literally, I drink your health with my jaws crammed full, a very apt mode of expression for a Parasite.
4. Part of prior line(s) in the Latin.
5. Luxuries at hand: In mundo. Literally, in the world.
6. Nine other people: Aulus Gellius and Macrobius tell us that the ancients never admitted to a feast more than nine, the number of the Muses, or less than three, the number of the Graces. The true reason, however, was that the three triclinia, or couches, made three parts of the square around the table; and each containing but three, nine was as great a number as could be accommodated. Epignomus mentions that number here, by way of assuring Gelasimus that there is really no room for him. On this, the Parasite says that he is imi subsellii vir, a man for the lowest stool or bench, which he can very well manage with. Subsellia was the name of the seats of the Tribunes, Triumvirs, and Quaestors, who were not honoured with Curule chairs.
7. From Ambracia : Ambracia was a city of Epirus , on the Western coast of Greece .
8. I’m a deputy, too: He puns on the word orator, which signifies a pleader or orator, as well as an ambassador or deputy. He says that he is a pleader too (for the cause of his own stomach), but all to no purpose.
9. By no fault of my own: Nihil obnoxie, by reason of no fault or offence of my own; thus consoling himself for his rebuff. It has been observed by various Critics, that this passage is very obscure; but the above translation, which is sanctioned by the learned Rost, is most probably the correct one Warner renders it out of doubt, which, out of doubt, is not the meaning.