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The Captives of Plautus
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1896 edition. Excerpt: ... ACTVS II. LORARII, Captivi (PHILOCRATES, TYNDARVS). 195 Lo. Si di immortales id uoluere, uos hanc aerumnam exequi, II. 1. Decet pati animo id aequo: si id facietis, leuior labor erit. Domi fufstis credo h"beri: Nunc seruitus si euenit, ei uos morigerari mos bonust Eamque etiam erili imperio ingeniis uostris lenem reddere. 5 200 . Indigna digna habenda sunt, erus quae facit. Ca. Oh. Lo. Eiulatione haut opus est: oculis fmulta miraclitis. In re mala animo sf bono utare, adiuuat. Ca. At nos pudet quia cum catenis sumus. Lo. At Pigeat postea Nostrum erum, [nunc] si uos eximat uinculis 10 205 Aut solut6s sinat quos argento emerit. Ca. Quid [flle] a nobis metuit? scimus nos nostrum officium quod est. Lo. At fugam ffngitis: sentio quam rem agitis. Ca. Fugiamus nos? quo fugiamus? Lo. In patriam. Ca. Apage, hau nos id deceat ACT II. Scene I. OVERSEERS, The Captives (PHILOCRATES And TYNDARUS). Enter, from the house DEGREES/'hegio, two Overseers, leading Philocrates and Tyndarus, and followed by slaves belonging to the house. Philocrates is dressed as a slave, Tyndarus as an Elean of good family. Lorarii. [Overseers.] Since Providence has decreed that you shall suffer this affliction, you must submit to it patiently. If you do that, you will have less trouble. You were, I believe, free men at home. Since, now, slavery has fallen to your lot, it is a good plan for you to give in to it, and by obeying your master make your fate more endurable by your manner of bearing it. Whatever a master does is right, however wrong it is. Ca. [Captives.] Alas! Lo. You must n't cry; you 'll hurt your eyes. When a man's in trouble, it always helps matters to show a brave heart. Ca. But we are ashamed to be in chains. Lo. But the governor would feel cheap, later, if he...
28 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 196
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About the author
Plautus
1,877 books114 followersTitus Maccius Plautus (c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest works in Latin literature to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus. The word Plautine refers to both Plautus's own works and works similar to or influenced by his.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 8, 2023
The prologue of this play is absolutely mind-blowing, and while the plot is entertaining and sufficiently intriguing in its own right, the conclusion comes up without as much conflict as I would have liked. When I finished it, I simply headed back to the first page and read the prologue once again, and that's saying something (for me) because I read five of his plays in a single sitting.
May 7, 2021
A serious comedy on slavery. The characters are virtuous. I miss the humor of his low farces.
May 20, 2018
4.5 stars. According to the critical introduction, this play was lauded by Lessing as the most perfect comedy ever staged. If we were to amend that to “most perfect ancient comedy," then I certainly wouldn’t squabble with that claim. This is the first play I’ve read by Plautus that felt like it had something important to impart to the audience. In fact, the play’s Epilogue makes just that point. I would almost classify this as a drama, especially if we were to remove the entirely tangential character Ergasilus, who appears as the stereotypical moocher who will do anything for some food and drink. With his antics cast aside, we are left with a drama (although not a tragedy) that touches on the vicious cycle of slavery, the bonds of friendship, and the abiding love of fathers for their lost children.
The concept is ultra-theatrical (i.e., contrived): a son of a wealthy man is kidnapped and sold into slavery as the companion of another wealthy boy. As adults, they are captured into slavery by the son’s father, who has no idea that one man is his son. Instead, he is attempting to trade them for the release of his other son, who has also been enslaved. If that weren’t enough, the first enslaved son and his master switch identities in a ruse to escape, causing the father to think that his enslaved son is actually a wealthy young man.
I know: that’s confusing as hell! But the confusion is only due to my poor ability to summarize the plot. Part of Plautus’s brilliance is making this all perfectly understandable. Sure, we know how it’s all going to end; but the fun is watching as Plautus takes us on the ride.
The concept is ultra-theatrical (i.e., contrived): a son of a wealthy man is kidnapped and sold into slavery as the companion of another wealthy boy. As adults, they are captured into slavery by the son’s father, who has no idea that one man is his son. Instead, he is attempting to trade them for the release of his other son, who has also been enslaved. If that weren’t enough, the first enslaved son and his master switch identities in a ruse to escape, causing the father to think that his enslaved son is actually a wealthy young man.
I know: that’s confusing as hell! But the confusion is only due to my poor ability to summarize the plot. Part of Plautus’s brilliance is making this all perfectly understandable. Sure, we know how it’s all going to end; but the fun is watching as Plautus takes us on the ride.
February 16, 2022
"I preferred to put my own life at risk rather than let him die."
"Then make sure that you're famous in the Underworld."
"A man who dies as a result of his noble character does not perish."
(I feverishly read this like a mad woman at 7am with 3h of sleep because tutorial was this morning. I have also recently discovered I'm a sucker for ancient plays. They don't write unhinged dialogue like in the BCEs anymore...)
"Then make sure that you're famous in the Underworld."
"A man who dies as a result of his noble character does not perish."
(I feverishly read this like a mad woman at 7am with 3h of sleep because tutorial was this morning. I have also recently discovered I'm a sucker for ancient plays. They don't write unhinged dialogue like in the BCEs anymore...)
October 31, 2023
Absolutely hilarious. Good times were had by all. I love the comic elements in an otherwise interesting moral play.
Also, their whole moral of “be a good slave to your master and you will be rewarded” is kinda wild but ok.
Also, their whole moral of “be a good slave to your master and you will be rewarded” is kinda wild but ok.
September 27, 2014
An ancient criticism of slavery
27 September 2014
The issue of slavery and war is not necessarily something that dominates our discourse in the 21st century, namely because the losers in a war are not enslaved by the victors. While I am not suggesting that wars of the 21st century are less brutal than the wars of the Roman era, these days enemy combatants are generally taken prisoner, usually for the duration of the war (as is stipulated in the Geneva Convention), or they are simply killed.
However this was not the case in the Roman world, and this is a theme that Plautus explores in this play. It appears that this is one of his darker plays and it explores the strain that war and slavery can place on the families of those who have been taken prisoner. The play itself is about a father who has lost his son when he was on the losing side of a battle, and seeks to regain him by whatever means possible. The play does have its light-hearted elements though, with two prisoners taking on the identity of the other, as well as another character whose only goal is to get a free meal.
This is an interesting look at slavery in the ancient world namely because back then it was a natural part of life. This is not the case today where slavery is riled against as the denial of basic human rights. These days we do not believe that a human can be owned by another human. This does not necessarily mean that slavery is non-existent, however it is something that we in the Western World do not wish to think about because we simply want to believe that we have grown up as a race.
However war is still as brutal as it was back then, though in many cases its form has changed dramatically. While countries still go to war against each other, we in the West believe that we have climbed above that and that these days we nut out our disagreements in councils such as a United Nations. Wars these days seem to be between ideologies and seem to exist beyond state boundaries, as the case with ISIS seems to demonstrate. However, wars also seem to be funded from the background, as is the case with the situation in the Ukraine. Despite Russia's claims to the contrary, it is clear that there is a lot of funding going to the separatists in Eastern Ukraine.
However, looking back at the time that this book was written, there was no such thing as the United Nations, nor was their any belief in the sovereignty of other states. The view of the time was that there were the people in the empire and people outside of it, and the people outside of it only existed to be conquered and brought into the empire. Despite arguments to the contrary, once again little as really changed because those of us in the West still have a very 'us and them' approach to world affairs. There are those in the West and then there are those outside, and those that exist outside are seen as targets of incorporation – and once again the current situation in the Ukraine is evidence of that.
27 September 2014
The issue of slavery and war is not necessarily something that dominates our discourse in the 21st century, namely because the losers in a war are not enslaved by the victors. While I am not suggesting that wars of the 21st century are less brutal than the wars of the Roman era, these days enemy combatants are generally taken prisoner, usually for the duration of the war (as is stipulated in the Geneva Convention), or they are simply killed.
However this was not the case in the Roman world, and this is a theme that Plautus explores in this play. It appears that this is one of his darker plays and it explores the strain that war and slavery can place on the families of those who have been taken prisoner. The play itself is about a father who has lost his son when he was on the losing side of a battle, and seeks to regain him by whatever means possible. The play does have its light-hearted elements though, with two prisoners taking on the identity of the other, as well as another character whose only goal is to get a free meal.
This is an interesting look at slavery in the ancient world namely because back then it was a natural part of life. This is not the case today where slavery is riled against as the denial of basic human rights. These days we do not believe that a human can be owned by another human. This does not necessarily mean that slavery is non-existent, however it is something that we in the Western World do not wish to think about because we simply want to believe that we have grown up as a race.
However war is still as brutal as it was back then, though in many cases its form has changed dramatically. While countries still go to war against each other, we in the West believe that we have climbed above that and that these days we nut out our disagreements in councils such as a United Nations. Wars these days seem to be between ideologies and seem to exist beyond state boundaries, as the case with ISIS seems to demonstrate. However, wars also seem to be funded from the background, as is the case with the situation in the Ukraine. Despite Russia's claims to the contrary, it is clear that there is a lot of funding going to the separatists in Eastern Ukraine.
However, looking back at the time that this book was written, there was no such thing as the United Nations, nor was their any belief in the sovereignty of other states. The view of the time was that there were the people in the empire and people outside of it, and the people outside of it only existed to be conquered and brought into the empire. Despite arguments to the contrary, once again little as really changed because those of us in the West still have a very 'us and them' approach to world affairs. There are those in the West and then there are those outside, and those that exist outside are seen as targets of incorporation – and once again the current situation in the Ukraine is evidence of that.
August 1, 2019
It was as "schoolchild" appropriate as the introduction and Plautus' prologue promised. Weird. A pretty good play, nonetheless.
[edit. Lindsay's notes are, of course, magisterial, even in this school edition -- and as always, I am in awe of these schoolboys [it's always boys] who would need the kind of philological information in these notes and not help with, say, what case is that, etc. The play itself I still really like, as perhaps the closest thing to a slave's perspective on the inherent wrongness of that institution that survives from antiquity. But I would also like to share these quotes from my notes on this play, viz.:
What even is this, Lindsay, a list:
* [184n.] “leporem, ‘a hare’, and irim, ‘a hedgehog’ (which gipsies find very good eating)"
* “Any reader who fails to see that vv.478-489 tell the tale in the liveliest style had better give up the study of Latin and take to some light manual labour.”
* “539. This is very Irish. Tyndarus shows a gay defiance of danger.”
* [781n.] “mark the different metrical expression of ‘Jean qui pleure’ and ‘Jean qui rit'
* [790n.] “And he does get to work, and no mistake. His vapourings are quite in the Cambyses vein."
* [809n.] “scrofam: the same word as our ‘grumphy'"
* [note on Books of Reference]: “In a school-edition it is best not to reveal the uncertainty of many a statement nor the divergence of authorities—‘Dr. Dryasdust thinks this, Prof. Rechterwinkel that’. This edition can take the easy path without scruple since the author has also a large edition of this play (Methuen, 1900), with full discussion of moot points."
You're welcome.
[edit. Lindsay's notes are, of course, magisterial, even in this school edition -- and as always, I am in awe of these schoolboys [it's always boys] who would need the kind of philological information in these notes and not help with, say, what case is that, etc. The play itself I still really like, as perhaps the closest thing to a slave's perspective on the inherent wrongness of that institution that survives from antiquity. But I would also like to share these quotes from my notes on this play, viz.:
What even is this, Lindsay, a list:
* [184n.] “leporem, ‘a hare’, and irim, ‘a hedgehog’ (which gipsies find very good eating)"
* “Any reader who fails to see that vv.478-489 tell the tale in the liveliest style had better give up the study of Latin and take to some light manual labour.”
* “539. This is very Irish. Tyndarus shows a gay defiance of danger.”
* [781n.] “mark the different metrical expression of ‘Jean qui pleure’ and ‘Jean qui rit'
* [790n.] “And he does get to work, and no mistake. His vapourings are quite in the Cambyses vein."
* [809n.] “scrofam: the same word as our ‘grumphy'"
* [note on Books of Reference]: “In a school-edition it is best not to reveal the uncertainty of many a statement nor the divergence of authorities—‘Dr. Dryasdust thinks this, Prof. Rechterwinkel that’. This edition can take the easy path without scruple since the author has also a large edition of this play (Methuen, 1900), with full discussion of moot points."
You're welcome.
May 4, 2025
Non ne farò una recensione
October 3, 2022
Surprisingly serious for Plautus, and a departure from the slapstick-esque style of Roman Comedy in general. Full of stock characters (like Roman drama) but tackling a pertinent issue for late-Republic Rome: the increasing volume of slaves from foreign conquests. Plautus uses his typical "mistaken identities" plot that switches a slave and his master. This begs the question–if you can't tell them apart, then are they so different?
I great read, by the standards of Roman Drama, with a surprisingly complex plot.
I great read, by the standards of Roman Drama, with a surprisingly complex plot.
March 13, 2025
Obra maestra. Innovadora a más no poder, moderna y fresca, con un mensaje moral pronunciado y alejado de lo burlesco y vulgar de la comedia. Me ha encantado. Una pena que sea menos leída y representada que otras dentro del corpus plautino.
September 25, 2017
An interesting play with good characterization.
April 16, 2020
Really dry social commentary plus the translator had to be British because “pound” was anachronistic
Read
November 10, 2020Muy interesante!!
October 22, 2024
(read for uni)
October 30, 2025
Would a slave write a character like Tyndarus? I don’t know. Maybe not. Stalagmus for the win.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews