Translation from Plautus.

(1850.)

[The author passed a part of the summer and autumn of 1850 at
Ventnor, in the Isle of Wight. He usually, when walking alone,
had with him a book. On one occasion, as he was loitering in the landslip near Bonchurch, reading the Rudens of Plautus, it struck him that it might be an interesting experiment to attempt to produce something which might be supposed to resemble passages in the lost Greek drama of Diphilus, from which the Rudens appears to have been taken. He selected one passage in the Rudens, of which he then made the following version, which he afterwards copied out at the request of a friend to whom he had repeated it.]

Act IV. Sc. vii.

DAEMONES:
O Gripe, Gripe, in aetate hominum plurimae
Fiunt transennae, ubi decipiuntur dolis;
Atque edepol in eas plerumque esca imponitur.
Quam si quis avidus pascit escam avariter,
Decipitur in transenna avaritia sua.
Ille, qui consulte, docte, atque astute cavet,
Diutine uti bene licet partum bene.
Mi istaec videtur praeda praedatum irier:
Ut cum majore dote abeat, quam advenerit.
Egone ut, quod ad me adlatum esse alienum sciam,
Celem? Minime istuc faciet noster Daemones.
Semper cavere hoc sapientes aequissimum est,
Ne conscii sint ipsi maleficiis suis.
Ego, mihi quum lusi, nil moror ullum lucrum.

GRIPUS:
Spectavi ego pridem Comicos ad istum modum
Sapienter dicta dicere, atque iis plaudier,
Quum illos sapientis mores monstrabant poplo;
Sed quum inde suam quisque ibant diversi domum,
Nullus erat illo pacto, ut illi jusserant.

DAIM:
O Gripe, Gripe, pleista pagidon schemata idoi tis an pepegmen en thneton bio,
kai pleist ep autois deleath, on epithumia oregomenos tis en kakois alisketai ostis d apistei kai sophos phulattetai kalos apolauei ton kalos peporismenon.
arpagma d ouch arpagm o larvax outosi,
all autos, oimai, mallon arpaxei tina.
tond andra kleptein tallotri—euphemei, talan tauten ye me mainoito manian Daimones.
tode gar aei sophoisin eulabeteon,
me ti poth eauto tis adikema sunnoe kerde d emoige panth osois euphrainomai,
kerdos d akerdes o toumon algunei kear.

GRIP:
kago men ede komikon akekoa semnos legonton toiade, tous de theomenous krotein, mataiois edomenous sophismasin eith, os apelth ekastos oikad, oudeni ouden paremeine ton kalos eiremenon.

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