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Et cuja Græca sit, ni partem maximam
Existimarem scire vestrum, id dicerem.

10 Nunc, quamobrem has partes didicerim, paucis dabo.
Oratorem esse voluit me, non prologum:
Vestrum judicium fecit: me actorem dedit.
Sed hic actor tantum poterit a facundia,
Quantum ille potuit cogitare commode,
15 Qui orationem hanc scripsit, quam dicturus sum.
Nam quod rumores distulerunt malevoli,

quis, whether interrogatively or otherwise.
So aliqui is often met for aliquis. See
Duker, Flor. i. 18. p. 193. R. D. scrip-
serit,] i. e. wrote this play about to be acted.
8. cuja Græca] ¶ The Greek original
was written by Menander. See C. on 4.
above, and And. iv. 4. 24. on cujus.

10. Nunc,] T See end of note on 3. above. didicerim,] As poets are said to teach plays, so actors are said to learn their parts. R. D. ¶ Compare Hor. Ep. ii. 1. 133. "Discerit unde preces, vatem nisi Musa dedisset." Od. iv. 6. ult. “Reddidi carmen, docilis modorum Vatis Horati." dabo.] i. e. dicam, narrabo. Virg. Ecl. i. 19. "iste Deus qui sit da Tityre nobis." R. D. So the Greeks use didóval. Comp. Lucret. iii. 356. "Si non ipsa palam quod res dedit ac docuit nos."

11. Oratorem] It is the law of nations that an orator should be heard, and should be exempt from injury. For this reason he professes himself an orator, not a prologus. And an orator is, one who asks; an exorator, one who obtains; as in Hec. alter prol. 2. Also one, to whom a cause is given to be pleaded is called orator. C. The business of a prologue-speaker was either to give the argument, commend the poet, or ask a hearing. E.

12. Vestrum judicium fecit:] ¶ He has made the decision yours; has left the judgment (of the cause in which he is orator) at your disposal. actorem] ¶ I would interpret actorem, not an actor in this play, as performing the Chremes in it (this is Bentley's view); but as specially applied to his office of orator. The word appears to be used here in its primary import; distinguished from orator, in designating a person pleading for another, while orator means a pleader in the abstract. Mad. Dacier translates the word in this and the following line, l'avocát. Agere and actor are very often applied to pleading; and sometimes absolutely, as: Plin. ix. Ep. ult. "Si agendi necessitas instat, quæ frequens hyeme." Quintil. vi. 1. "Quæ enim est actoris infantia," &c. So, I think,

iv. 1. 29. "Quid cum illis agas," &c., means, "what pleading or reasoning can you hold with those," &c. Hence such phrases as Phorm. ii. 3. 72. "Actum, aiunt, ne agas;" a judicial expression, importing, that all the pleading in the case is over, and the evidence summed up. The suit in which Ambivius is actor here, is given at line 26, &c.

13. Sed] That the spirit of vanity, inconsistent in a prologue, may be removed, for sed read si; i. e. "provided that my voice and gesture," &c. B. ¶ But poterit is the indicative mood, and B. thus uses it as if it were the subjunctive. However sed is unobjectionable, nay, rather forcible, if we interpret tantum for tantummodo, “as much and no more." Virg. Ecl. ix. 11. "sed carmina tantum Nostra valent, Lycida, tela inter Martia, quantum Chaonias dicunt, aquilâ veniente, columbas." Το τοσοῦτο is used for rorouto povov. Esch. Eumen. 20. τοσοῦτο μῆκος ἔκτεινον λόγου, where see Abresch. vol. ii. page 23. Ambivius, then, in effect says: "But I neither expect success with you from my own powers, nor will I attribute it to them, if I obtain it; for the defence (or play, as B. would explain) has been supplied by the abler hand of the poet." actor] dunrinas. See ii. 3. 115. Tantum,] qu. tam multum ; quantum, qu. quam multum. poterit a facundia,] ¶ "Will have influence, effect, from the delivery." Thus a often seems to be used in the sense of per, and is confounded with it, though quite distinct. A man is facundus when he speaks the words of another; but, in order to be eloquens, he must compose the words also.

hic

14. commode,] ¶ Aptly to his purpose; i. e. bene. So in Hec. i. 2. 33.

15. orationem] T As he calls himself the deliverer (orator) of it, line 11.

16. Nam] T Often intimating the commencement of a subject, of which the speaker had given previous notice. As here, and And. i. 1. 24. quod] ¶ The antecedent is id negotium, line 18. rumores distulerunt malevoli,] Either, "which malicious reports

Multas contaminasse Græcas, dum facit
Paucas Latinas; factum hic esse id non negat,
Neque se pigere: et deinde facturum autumat.
20 Habet bonorum exemplum: quo exemplo sibi
Licere id facere, quod illi fecerunt, putat.
Tum quod malevolus vetus poeta dictitat,
Repente ad studium hunc se applicasse musicum,
Amicum ingenio fretum, haud natura sua:
25 Arbitrium vestrum, vestra existimatio,

Valebit. quamobrem omnes vos oratos volo,
Ne plus iniquum possit quam æquum oratio.
Facite æqui sitis; date crescendi copiam,
Novarum qui spectandi faciunt copiam
30 Sine vitiis: ne ille pro se dictum existimet,

have disseminated, viz. that he has cor-
rupted," &c.; or, "which the reports of his
malicious rival (Lanuvinus) have," &c.

17. contaminasse] See And. prol. 16. 18. hic] ¶ Scil. poeta Terentius. id] ¶ The antecedent to quod, line 16, unless the latter be used adverbially, "as to the fact that." non negat,] He confesses the contaminatio, not in this play (for it is integra and ex integra Græca), but with respect to other plays. Non negat is here put for profitetur, as we must translate it, to show the connexion of Neque se pigere; and resolve Neque into et non; i. e. et profitetur se non pigere, wherein se is the object of the impersonal pigere.

20. bonorum] Scil. scriptorum; i. e. Plautus, Nævius, Ennius; as he acknowledges in the prologue to the Andrian. C.

22. malevolus vetus poeta] See And. prol. 7. dictitat,] ¶ Frequentitive. Harps incessantly, as it were, on the one string.

23. hunc musicum,] i. e. hunc poetam elegantem. Musicus is elegans; povoos, inelegans. C. Thus hunc musicum would be the subject of applicasse; and scribendi, or something similar, must be understood to studium. ¶ Rather connect studium musicum, i. e. "the dramatic art." The ancients applied musica, as DA. observes, to what we call belles lettres.

24. Amicúm] For amicorum, scil. Lælius and Scipio, in whose friendship Terence was very intimate. Terence refutes this charge, likewise, in the prologue to his Adelphi. C. natura] On natural abilities of his own.

25. Arbitrium vestrum, &c.] In other words, "Vestrum judicium fecit," line 12. E. existimatio,] i. e. judicium. So in Cicero, existimare and existimator, for judicare and

judex. See Gronov. Liv. iv. 41. R. D. Since his having been connected with such men, is no cause for shame, he takes little care to have the charge refuted; he merely leaves the matter to their decision. E.

26. Valebit.] ¶ Your decision shall be the prevailing one. And because all power in this respect lies with you, I desire to bespeak at least your impartiality. oratos volo,] ¶ Ambivius is the orator; his words, the oratio; and his hearers, the orati. Literally, "I wish you all entreated;" i. e. I beg that you will give ear to my suit.

27. iniquúm] ¶ For iniquorum. Of the unfavourable, of his enemies. æquum]

Either for æquorum, and contrasted with iniquúm; or, the nominative, scil. quam æquum est. I prefer the former construction, which gives more force to "Facite ut æqui sitis." He means then: "Let the speech of the poet's friends, not of his enemies, prevail; but your speech will be the prevailing one at all events; therefore, I have to beg that you will be on the side of his friends.

28. date] ¶ Scil. poetis iis, qui, &c. crescendi] ¶ Scil. quoad famam. Virg. Ecl. vii. 25. "Pastores hederâ crescentem ornate poetam." Hor. Od. i. 12. 45. “Crescit, velut occulto arbor ævo, Fama Marcelli." ¶ A very

29. Novarum spectandi] unusual construction for the gerund, instead of Novas spectandi; or, with the participle, "Novarum spectandarum," scil, fabularum. The only way in which it can be strictly explained, is to consider spectandi (as it is doubtless a substantive) as if spectaculi, on which fabularum implied to Novarum can depend grammatically.

30. Sine vitiis:] ¶ Scil. fabularum sine vitiis, i. e. sincerarum; in which nothing of

Qui nuper fecit servo currenti in via
Decesse populum: cur insano serviat?
De illius peccatis plura dicet, quum dabit
Alias novas, nisi finem maledictis facit.
35 Adeste æquo animo; date potestatem mihi,
Statariam agere ut liceat per silentium:
Ne semper servus currens, iratus senex,
Edax parasitus, sycophanta autem impudens,
Avarus leno, assidue agendi sint mihi
40 Clamore summo, cum labore maximo.

a heterogeneous nature is introduced. ne ille
pro se, &c.] T Let not the vanity of Lanu-
vinus imagine, that I make this request of you
in behalf of him (pro se); far be it that he
should rank among those "Novarum qui
spectandi faciunt copiam Sine vitiis." This
one fact, viz: nuper fecit-populum," is
ample proof that vitium in his plays must
exclude him from the number. ne ille, &c.
is connected in the sense with oratos volo;
like Ne plus iniquûm, &c.

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31. nuper] In fabula nuper edita. servo currenti in via] It was a peculiar characteristic of a slave to run through the streets; as we learn from Plautus. Hence the saying of Severus in Æl. Lampred. "ingenuum currere, nisi in sacro certamine, non debere." L. His adversary is herein censured for not preserving the proper deportment of the character. For what is more inconsistent with the deportment of a slave than that "populus in via decedat, et insano serviat." C. Terence condemns him, not for representing the slave as running and clearing the way before him; but for making such a scene a principal feature in the play. DA. T The point of vitium, I think, lies in "Decesse populum."

32. Decesse populum:] The emendation of Perizonius, "Dixisse populum" is excellent. For Terence blames Lavinius for having represented the people speaking on the stage to a slave. Bentley approves this. R. D. cur insano serviut?] i. e. why should Terence trouble himself in speaking in behalf of a fool? DA. T Better than the meaning given by C. in his last note; whose explanation there, however, may be adopted, if the words et insano serviat be expunged from the note. See note on 37.

33. dicet,] ¶ Scil. Terentius. Scil. Lanuvinus.

40

dabit]

31. nisi finem] T Compare And. prol. 23. 35. Adeste] T See And. prol, 24... 36. Statariam] Scil. fabulam; comœdia was, stataria, i. e, in which there is not any

e.

great confusion or exertion; or motoria, abounding in active movements; or mixta, i. e. which was tempered with a degree of both the former. Z. Calpurnius seems to have understood statariam as in a measure synonymous with per silentium; i. e. to act the play with success (statariam) as a piece is said stare when it is approved of. per silentium:] ¶ C.'s view of this seems to be: Not interrupted, as often happens, by gladiatorial games, &c. For when the people became clamorous in the demand for such exhibitions, they generally succeeded in obliging the actors of the play then in performance to give place to their favorite scenes of riot. But Ambivius seems to solicit a preference for the stataria comedia; that he may not be obliged to act the iratus senex, edax parasitus, &c. in the motoria comœdia;— characters, the support of which demand great bodily exertion.

37. servus currens,] ¶ Probably these words imply a sarcasm against Lanuvinus; as much as to say: "The servus currens (see 31.) and similar noisy characters, which form the only prominent features in Lanuvinus' plays, are the last to which I aspire." I think we may conclude from lines 30-40. that that poet's pieces were all motoriæ; whence the propriety of insanus applied to him.

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38. parasitus,] Tragaciros (one who eats with another) is a person who makes adulation his profession, in order to maintain a perpetual seat at the rich man's table. sycophanta] See And. iv. 6. 20.

39. semper-assiduè] T Semper means always, i. e. every time I act in a play; assiduè means, with unremitted exertion, while supporting the particular character assigned me in each play.

40. Clamore] Either, exertion of lungs on the part of the actor; or, rather, applause from the spectators. Thence the meaning of this line is: Such scenes are very amusing, no doubt, to the audience; but cost the actor full abundance of fatigue.

Mea causa, causam hanc justam esse, animum inducite,
Ut aliqua pars laboris minuatur mihi.

Nam nunc novas qui scribunt, nihil parcunt seni:

Si quæ laboriosa est, ad me curritur:

45 Sin lenis est, ad alium defertur gregem.

In hac est pura oratio. experimini,

In utramque partem ingenium quid possit meum.
Si nunquam avare pretium statui arti meæ,

Et eum esse quæstum in animum induxi maximum,
50 Quam maxime servire vestris commodis;-
Exemplum statuite in me, ut adolescentuli
Vobis placere studeant potius, quam sibi.

ACTUS I-SCENA I.

CHREMES, MENEDEMUS.

QUANQUAM hæc inter nos nuper notitia admodum est,

41. Meá causa, causam hanc justam] Paronomasia and adliteration. Thus Cic. cited by Juv. Sat. x. 122. "O fortunatam natam, me consule, Romam;" and Dryden's version, "Fortune foretuned the dying notes of Rome, Till I thy consul sole consoled thy doom." Soph. Ed. Col. 1339. “σr' iv SóμOLO: TOTO: σÕIS σornow o'äywv. causam hanc] This plea which I have advanced, for your observing silence, and not interrupting me in the play. The causa is contained, lines 37, 40. animum inducite,] T-See And. prol. 8. The preposition in the verb is often repeated, as "in animum induxi," 49.

44. Si quæ] Siqui and siquis; siquæ and siqua are used indiscriminately. R. D. Si qua] Scil. comœdia or fabula, as implied from the substantive to novas. If any play be one which requires energy of voice and gesture, I, as being more experienced, am called upon to act it with the company of which I am the head. Compare "noster grex," Phorm. prol. 33.

45. defertur] ¶ Scil. comœdia lenis agenda. gregem] Peculiarly applied to actors, as Phorm. prol. 33. R. D.

46. pura] ¶ Language not dressed up in the extravagancies and specious embellishments to be found in that of the motoriæ and mixtæ fabulæ. So, Hor. Sat. i. 4. 54. "puris versum perscribere verbis," simple, di

vested of pomp; where Horace is speaking of the character Menedemus in this very play.

47. In utramque partem] T How far I may prevail towards the mastery of each branch, scil. as well of the stataria, as of the motoria.

50. Quam maxime] T See And. i. 1. 109. servire vestris commodis,] Do every thing which your conveniences demand. R. D. He has said more in using commodis, than if he said, voluptatibus. C.

51. Exemplum statuite] ¶ In the instance of me establish a precedent, &c. adolescentuli] This may mean, young poets, as Terence himself was at this time but in his thirty-second year. Da. Rather, young actors.

52. Vobis placere—quam sibi] Sibi placens is aiDádns, avraígeros. So, sibi sufficiens, airáguns. L. ¶ Explain "placere sibi" by servire suis commodis, contrasted with "placere vobis," i. e. servire vestris commodis; heedless of your entertainment, provided they obtain their immediate object, viz. "pretium artis suæ. Compare Hor. Ep. i. 9. 9. "Dissimulator opis propriæ, mihi commodus uni."

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MENEDEMUs acquaints Chremes with the circumstances of Clinia's departure from home, and of his own laborious occupations.

1. IAMBIC TRIMETERS.-nuper] ¶ i, e. nú

Inde adeo quod agrum in proximo hic mercatus es,
Nec rei fere sane amplius quidquam fuit;
Tamen vel virtus tua me, vel vicinitas,

5 Quod ego in propinqua parte amicitiæ puto,
Facit, ut te audacter moneam et familiariter,
Quod mihi videre præter ætatem tuam

Facere, et præter quam res te adhortatur tua.

Nam, proh deum atque hominum fidem! quid vis tibi? 10 Quid quæris? annos sexaginta natus es,

Aut plus eo, ut conjicio: agrum in his regionibus
Meliorem, neque preti majoris, nemo habet;

per constituta; for nupera, which is read in some editions; the scansion admits of either.

2. adeo] ¶ For vero. See Tursellinus. "Inde vero orta (notitia) nempe quod," &c. proximo] Scil. loco or solo.

3. Nec] Equivalent to et non; i. e. et quamquam non-" and although, to say the truth, there was not almost any circumstance besides," which would tend to make us mutually acquainted, "yet," &c.

4. virtus] He thus names the austere and laborious life which Menedemus has been following; for from this he has formed his judgment of him. DA. vicinitas] Vicinia is said to differ from vicinitas, in that it means a conjunction of streets or dwellings; while vicinitas is, more properly, the intercourse among the inhabitants. Both words are found used in the singular for vicini.

5. in propinqua parte amicitiæ] Whether amicitiæ be taken as the genitive or as the dative, convenient sense will not be obtained. Correct thus: “Quod ego esse in aliqua parte am. p." B. Refer Quod to both virtus and vicinitas; so that line 5. may be introduced to account for Chremes presuming to do, on the score of virtus and vicinitas, that which is more the part of amicitia, and familiaritas. Therefore propinqua pars amicitiæ seems to be a thing or office which approaches nearest to the influence, nature, and office of friendship. So at least the Greeks say iv μigu ridevas. Z. Read propinqui. S. Demosthenes, as Schneider reminds us: ἐν μέρει εὐεργεσίας τοῦτ ̓ ἀριθμήσει, in parte beneficii hoc numerabit, i. e. beneficium hoc existimabit. And vicinitas is admirably said to be a thing bordering on friendship. The letters a and i are often confounded in MSS. Bo. i. e. "which, in my opinion, holds the first rank after friendship." Amicitia is the dative. Terence in this follows Hesiod, who makes three degrees, friend, neighbour, subject. Also Cic. 5. De fin. "deinde amicitiis,

post vicinitatibus, tum civibus." DA. ¶ The reading of S. is satisfactory, and to it the notes of Bo. and DA. are to be applied.

6. audacter-familiariter] Audacter, because he is about to find fault; familiariter, because he is accosting him, as if he had been previously acquainted. C.

7. præter] Here, as also in next line, for supra. Comp. its use, And. i. 1. 31. and Hor. Epod. 3. 9. "Ut Argonautas præter omnes candidum Medea mirata est ducem."

8. et præter quam] ¶ Præter for supra; i. e. et facere supra quam res," &c. If Quod be a conjunction, facere must be taken absolutely, "to act." However I prefer to construe:moneam super hoc (opere) quod videre facere, &c. restua] ¶ Your fortune, income; which surely is not so contracted as to render a laborious life advisable.

9. Nam,] Used interrogatively, like yάg, especially where surprise dictates the language. See And. ii. 6. 18. and comp. Eur. Orest. 477. κείνου γὰρ ὅδε πέφυκε, τοιοῦτος yeyás;

10. Quid quæris ?] TWhat further wealth are you endeavouring to amass? This absolute use of quæro is frequent:-below 87. Adel. v. 3. 27. "Conserva, quære, parce;" and ib. v. 4. 15. "Contrivi in quærendo vitam." It is natural for a man, appearing as Menedemus now does, to be suspected as a miser.

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