THE SUBJECT. EUCLIO, a miserly old Athenian, has a daughter named Phædra, who has been ravished by a young man named Lyconides, but is ignorant from whom she has received that injury. Lyconides has an uncle named Megadorus, who, being ignorant of these circumstances, determines to ask Phædra of her father, in marriage for himself. Euclio has discovered a pot of gold in his house, which he watches with the greatest anxiety. In the meantime, Megadorus asks his daughter in marriage, and his proposal is accepted; and while preparations are making for the nuptials, Euclio conceals his treasure, first in one place and then in another. Strobilus, the servant of Lyconides, watches his movements, and, having discovered it, carries off the treasure. While Euclio is lamenting his loss, Lyconides accosts him, with the view of confessing the outrage he has committed on his daughter, and of announcing to him that his uncle, Megadorus, has cancelled his agreement to marry her, in favour of himself. Euclio at first thinks that he is come to confess the robbery of the treasure. After much parleying, his mistake is rectified, and the matter is explained; on which Lyconides forces Strobilus to confess the theft; and (although the rest of the Play in its original form is lost) we learn from the acrostic Argument that Strobilus gives up the treasure, and Lyconides marries the daughter of Euclio, and receives the gold for a marriage-portion. The Supplement written by Codrus Urcens to supply the place of what is lost, has been added. AULULARIA'; OR, THE CONCEALED TREASURE. THE ACROSTIC ARGUMENT OF PRISCIAN. A POT (Aulam) that he has found full of gold, Euclio watches with the greatest strictness (Vi), being distracted in a dreadful manner. Lyconides (Lyconides) debauches his daughter. Megadorus wishes (Vult) to marry her without a portion, and to do it in a cheerful way (Lubens), he provides cooks with provisions. Euclio is afraid on account of the gold (Auro); he drives them out of the house; and the whole matter (Re) having been seen, the servant of the ravisher steals it (Id). He discloses the matter to Euclio; by (Ab) him he is presented with the gold, a wife, and a son. THE PROLOGUE, Spoken by the HOUSEHOLD GOD. Lest any one should wonder who I am, I will tell you in a few words. I am the household God of this family, from whose house you have seen me coming forth. It is now many years that I have been occupying this house, and I inhabited it for the father and the grandfather of this person who now dwells here. But beseeching me, his grandfather entrusted to me a treasure of gold, unknown to all. He deposited it in the midst of the hearth2, praying me that I would watch it for him. He, when he died, was of such an avaricious disposition, that he 1 Aulularia) This word is derived from the old Latin word "aula," the same with the more recent form "olla," signifying "a pot," and whose diminutive was "aulula," which had the same signification. It will be seen how conspicuous a part the "aula" performs in the Play. Warner says, in a Note to his Translation, that Molière took a great part of his Comedy, called L'Avare, from this play of Plautus; and that there are two English Comedies on the same plan, one by Shadwell, the other by Fielding, called the Miser. 2.Midst of the hearth)-Ver. 7. The Lares, or household Gods, were kept in the "lararium," which was a recess near the "focus," or "hearth," and in which prayers were offered up by the Romans on rising in the morning. The hearth or fireplace was in the middle of the house, and was sacred to the Lares. would never disclose it to his own son, and preferred rather to leave him in want than to show that treasure to that son. He left him no large quantity of land, on which to live with great laboriousness and in wretchedness. When he died who had entrusted that gold to me, I began to take notice whether his son would any how pay greater honor to me than his father had paid me. But he was in the habit of venerating me still less and less by very much, and gave me a still less share of devotion. So in return was it done by me; and he likewise ended his life. He left this person who now dwells here, his son, of the same disposition as his father and grandfather were. He has an only daughter; she is always every day making offerings to me, either with incense, or wine, or something or other; she presents me, too, with chaplets. Out of regard for her, I have caused this Euclio to find this treasure, in order that he might more readily give her in marriage if he should wish; for a young man of very high rank has ravished her; this young man knows who it is that he has ravished; she knows him not, nor yet does her father know that she has been ravished. This day I shall cause the old gentleman here, our neighbour, to ask her as his wife; that will I do for this reason, that he may the more easily marry her who has ravished her. And this old gentleman who shall ask her as his wife, the same is the uncle of that young man who debauched her in the night time at the festival of Ceres1. But this old fellow is now making an uproar in the house, as usual; he is thrusting the old woman out of doors, that she may not be privy to the secret. I suppose he wants to look at the gold, if it be not stolen. ACT I.-SCENE I. Enter EUCLIO, driving out STAPHYLA. Euc. Get out, I say, be off, get out; by my troth, you 1 Festival of Ceres)-Ver. 36. He probably alludes to the Thesmophoria, a festival which was celebrated in honor of the Goddess Ceres, and a large portion of the rites whereof were solemnized in the night time. In general it was celebrated only by the married women, though, as we find in the present instance, the maidens took some part in a portion of the ceremonial. It was said to have been celebrated in the night time in commemoration of the search by Ceres, with a torch in her hand, for her daughter Proserpine, when ravished by Pluto. No lights were used on the occasion, which will account, in a great measure, for the mishap of Phædra in the present instance, without her knowing who was the party that had insulted her. See an able article on the Thesmophoria in Dr. Smith's Dictionary of Antiquities. must budge out of this house here, you pryabout woman, with your inquisitive eyes. STAPH. Pray why are you beating me, wretched creature that I am? Euc. That you may be wretched, and that, curst as you are, you may pass a curst life, well befitting you. STAPH. But for what reason have you now pushed me out of the house ? Euc. Am I to be giving you a reason, you whole harvest of whips1. Get away there from the door! There, do look, if you please, how she does creep along. But do you know how matters stand with you? If I just now take a stick or a whip in my hand, I'll quicken that tortoise pace for you. STAPH. O that the Gods would drive me to hang myself, rather indeed than that I should be a slave in your house on these terms ! Euc. Hark how the hag is grumbling to herself! By my troth, you wretch, I'll knock out those eyes of yours, that you mayn't be able to watch me, what business I'm about. Get out (pushes her with his hands)-further yet! still further! further! There now, stand you there! By my faith, if you budge a finger's breadth, or a nail's width from that spot, or if you look back until I shall order you, i' faith, I'll give you up at once as a trainer for the gibbet. (Aside.) I know for sure that I did never see one more accursed than this hag, and I'm sadly in fear of her, lest she should be cheating me unawares, or be scenting it out where the gold is concealed, a most vile wretch, who has eyes in the back of her head as well. Now I'll go and see whether the gold is just as I concealed it, that so troubles wretched me in very many ways. (He goes into his house.) SCENE II.-STAPHYLA, alone. STAPH. By heavens, I cannot now conceive what misfortune, or what insanity, I am to say has befallen my master; in such a way does he often, ten times in one day, in this fashion push wretched me out of the house. I' faith, I know not what craziness does possess this man; whole nights is he on the watch; then, too, all the day long does he sit for 1 Harvest of whips)—Ver. 6. " Stimulorum seges." Literally, "you corn-field of whips." He means, that he will make her body as full of weals from whipping as a corn-field is of ears of corn. |