quid ego: what (about) me? With this colloquial phrase Peniculus the Parasite, a free citizen, demands that Erotium acknowledge him; she ignores him as a freeloader in competition for Menaechmus' resources.
extra preposition + accusative
outside of, beyond. Extra numerum=don't count. Erotium dismisses Peniculus, introducing military imagery that the three characters exploit throughout the scene.
istuc: read istud + -ce, a demonstrative particle that is added to pronouns and adverbs in colloquial speech for emphasis.
adscriptivus, -a, -um
add-ons; enrolled additionally (in the military); it is not certain whether adscripts were substitutes or extras for the drafted men (see Gratwick) or whether they provided services to the army; in either case they were considered inferior to the conscripts.
fio, fieri, factus
become, arise; be made; be done.
legio, -onis f.
army, active service.
soleo, -ere, solitus
be accustomed to, be used to. Peniculus complains that Erotium considers him worthless.
iubeo, -ere, iussi, iussum
order, command. Menaechmus develops the military imagery, speaking as a general.
proelium, -i n.
battle, conflict; comic surprise, as the audience expects to hear prandium (earlier in line 174 Menaechmus claimed: mihi, tibi atque illi iubebo iam adparari prandium).
uterque, utraque, utrumque
each of two; either; both.
poto (1)
drink; unexpected, as pugnabimus should have followed proelium. The mss. assign lines 184-188 to Peniculus; I follow Fontaine (“The Punctuation and Assignation of Menaechmi 184, 185, 189,” Mnemosyne 55.6, 2002, 735-736) in assigning lines 185-6 to Menaechmus.
uter, utra, utrum
which (of two); the one that, one or the other; the subject of inventus erit.
bellator, -oris m.
warrior, fighter, soldier.
invenio, -ire, -veni, -ventum
find, come upon, discover, find out. The form of inventus erit is the future perfect passive indicative.
cantharus, -i m.
tankard; a Greek word describing a footed, two-handled, deep cup (click on the SPQR at the end of the line for an example). Menaechmus and Peniculus look forward to a battle with wine cups rather than swords.
adiudico (1)
grant, award, ascribe. Adiudicato is a future imperative, indicating that the action of the imperative will take place in future time.
hanc noctem: translate this as accusative of duration of time: throughout.
sies = sis, present active subjunctive, 2nd person singular of sum, used in an indirect question.
voluptas, -atis f.
pleasure, delight, enjoyment. Menaechmus uses the phrase as a term of endearment in response to Erotium's anime mi. Notice the word order that places husband, wife, and courtesan side by side, syntactically expressing the tension of otium-negotium.
aspicio, -ere, aspexi, aspectum
catch sight of; look at.
odi, odisse (perfect used with present meaning)
hate, dislike; with odi male, Menaechmus subverts the expected ducere volo (“how I wish to make you my wife”).
interim adverb
meanwhile, in the meantime.
nequeo, -ire, -ivi, -itum
be unable, cannot. Nequis is present active indicative, 2nd person singular (conjugated like the verb eo). Nequis quin + subjunctive (indutus sies) = you cannot but.
induo, -ere, -ui, -utum
put on (an article of clothing). Indutus sies [sis] is the perfect passive subjunctive used reflexively, with eius aliquid, the accusative, as the thing put on.
induviae, -arum f. pl.
clothes, things put on.
exuviae, -arum f. pl.
clothes, things taken off; spoils (taken from a fallen enemy). Note the chiastic word order: induviae tuae atque uxoris exuviae.
rosa, -ae f
rose; the flower or as here, a term of endearment.
supero (1)
conquer, overcome, surpass, overtop. Erotium suggestively mingles military and erotic imagery, punning on the double meaning of the word superior, and demonstrating that she is a match for Menaechmus in every way.
ut: here introduces a clause of actual result with the subjunctive.
quisquam, quaequam, quicquam pronoun
any, anyone; understand [eorum] before the nominative plural qui, subject of impetrant.
impetro (1)
achieve, obtain by entreaty, secure (a request); supply me.
meretrix, -icis f.
prostitute, courtesan.
tantisper...dum: so long...as.
blandior, -iri, -itus
coax, caress, flatter.
rapio, -ere, rapui, raptum
snatch, carry off, seize, plunder. Rapiat is present active subjunctive in a relative clause of characteristic.
oportet, -ere, oportuit (impersonal verb)
ought, should.
nasum, -i n.
nose; understand [eius] (Menaechmus).
abripio, -ere, abripui, abreptum
tear off, carry away. Supply esse for the perfect passive infinitive abreptum following the impersonal verb oportebat.
mordicus adverb
by biting, with a bite. As in Catullus 8.18 (cui labella mordebis), the biting is playful.
sustineo, -ere, sustinui, sustentum
hold up, support. Menaechmus asks Peniculus to lift up his cloak; under it is a palla, taken as booty from his battle with his wife.
facio, -ere, feci, factum
Here facere means to dedicate. Like a victorious general, Menaechmus dedicated the spoils of war (exuviae) to his favoring deity.
voveo, -ere, vovi, votum
vow, promise; note the alliteration of -v's in the line and the comic jingle of the last two words.
cedo: old imperative.
give me, bring here, look at.
hercle interjection
by Hercules! Men swear by Hercules, women by Castor (see ecastor below).
sic adverb
so, thus, as one is. Peniculus asks Menaechmus to dance, wearing his wife’s palla, as in a comic mime.
palla, -ae f.
woman's mantle, cloak; for an example of a woman's palla, click on the SPQR at the end of the line.
postea adverb
afterwards, then. What is the effect of the alliteration here?
sanus, -a, -um
sane, sensible. Menaechmus is offended by being compared to a lowly dancer.
egone= ego + -ne, a negative particle attached to the word intended for emphasis.
magis adverb
more; understand sanus (i.e. insanus).
exuo, -ere, exuvi, exutum
lay aside, strip, take off (clothes).
nimius, -a, -um
too much, too great, excessive. Nimio modifies periculo.
surripio, -ere, surrupui, surruptum
take away, snatch away.
quidem adverb
in fact, indeed; Peniculus exaggerates ironically.
Hippolyta, -ae f.
Hippolyta. Hercules' ninth labor was to obtain the girdle of this Amazon queen, for which he did battle (click on SPQR at the end of the line). Peniculus’ reference casts Menaechmus in the role of Hercules and his wife as the fierce Hippolyta, enhancing the mock heroic tone of the scene.
Hercules, -is and –i m.
Hercules/Herakles, the Greek hero and demi-god whom the Romans adopted (click on the SPQR at the end of the line).
aeque adverb
equally; Peniculus mocks Menaechmus’ nimio . . . periculo (line 199).
umquam adverb
ever, at any time.
aufero, auferre, abstuli, ablatum
to take away, carry away, steal.
quando conjunction
since; when.
morigerus, -a, -um (+ dative)
compliant with, obedient to. Note the alliteration of meis morigera moribus. Morigera (< mos + gero) is the word used for wives who live in harmony with their husbands (Alcmene claims that virtue in Plautus' Amphitryo).
decet, decere, decuit
it is fitting, right, proper. Decet is followed by the accusative (amatores) and infinitive (esse).
animatus, -a, -um
disposed, minded; a predicate adjective after esse, agreeing with amatores. Erotium's play on words (203: animo...animatos) responds to Menaechmus' morigera moribus.
probus, -a, um
good, proper, excellent.
mendicitas, -atis f.
poverty, beggary.
propero (1)
hasten; the subjunctive follows the relative clause of characteristic introduced by qui.
detrudo, -ere, detrusi, detrusum
push down, thrust away, reduce to. The reflexive pronoun se is accusative, the direct object of detrudere.
mina, -ae f.
mina; a unit of weight or Greek money equivalent to 100 Attic drachmas. Quattuor minis = ablative of price. A.S. Gratwick (Plautus: Menaechmi, Cambridge University Press, 1993, 160) calculates this to be nearly four pounds of silver.
emo, -ere, emi, emptum
buy, procure, win over; its direct object is istanc (istam + -ce). Because Erotium now holds the palla, the demonstrative pronoun is no longer hanc.
anno: ablative of time when (last year).
pereo, -ire, perii, peritum
be lost, be wasted; perish, pass away, die.
plane adverb
plainly, clearly.
ratio, -onis f.
account, reckoning; with reddere = to render an account.
scin = scis + -ne (interrogative particle)
accuro (1)
take care of, do with care. Erotium responds with the simple form curo. In the next line Menaechmus repeats the verb, using an old form of the present passive infinitive (accurarier).
scitamenta, -orum n. pl.
choice morsels, delicacies. Scitamentorum is the partitive genitive following aliquid. Peniculus, ordering his own lunch, creates this word based on scitus (fine, elegant).
forum, -i n.
market place; click on the SPQR at the end of the line for a view of Trajan's Market where food could be purchased.
obsono (1)
buy provisions; obsonarier = obsonari.
glandionida, -ae f.
son of sweet-bread; a unique occurrence of this comic patronymic of glandium. It heightens the mock-epic tone of the scene and recalls Peniculus’ prior description of Menaechmus’ penchant for grandiose banquets (ll. 100-3).
suillus, -a, -um
of swine. Modifies glandionida and refers to fresh pork.
laridum, -i n.
bacon; the second in a series of different pork meats, all of which the Romans relished.
pernonida, -ae f.
son of ham; a comic patronymic of perna.
sincipitamentum, -i n.
half-a-head; comic formation from semi + caput.
madidus, -a, -um
moist, wet, soaked, juicy; neuter plural subject of suggerant.
adpono, -ere, adposui, adpositum + dative
put or place near, serve up, set before someone.
miluinus, -a, -um
of a kite (hawk); supply famem.
suggero, -ere, -gessi, -gestum
furnish, supply, excite, produce; suggerant is in the subjunctive in a relative clause of characteristic. Note the repeated use of a, m, s sounds in ll. 210-13 that aurally describe the mouth-watering meal.
actutum adverb
immediately, without delay.
ecastor interjection
by Castor! Women swear by the Roman god Castor, men by Hercules (see hercle above).
prodeo, -ire, -ii, -itum
go forth; Menaechmus is going for a walk in the Roman Forum, the center of male social, political and legal life (click on the SPQR).
coquo, -ere, coxi, coctum
cook, bake; note the tense, here used impersonally. Click on the SPQR for a reproduction of a Roman kitchen.
vis, veni: note the alliteration and comic abruptness, signaling her ready compliance with Menaechmus' wishes. Erotium ends the scene as she began it, speaking only to Menaechmus.
sequor, sequi, secutus
follow, accompany; sequere is present imperative, addressed to Peniculus.
servo (1)
observe, watch, guard. Peniculus picks up a key theme, for Menaechmus is closely watched by his wife who limits his freedom.
perdo, -ere, perdidi, perditum
lose; destroy; the subjunctive is introduced by ut (=that), used here to establish a hypothetical situation.
mereo, -ere, merui, meritum
obtain, get; buy, purchase; a potential subjunctive, translate with neque.
divitiae, -arum f. pl.
riches, wealth.
evoco (1)
call out, call forth.
Cylindrus, -i m.
Cylindrus; the name comically suggests the shape of the cook or his signature tool, the rolling pin.
coquus, -i m.
cook; coquom = coquum, a stock role in Greek and Roman comedy.
foras adverb
outdoors, outside.
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