he Captain. If this is a fault, the
fault is the ignorance of the Poet; not that he intended to be guilty
of theft. That so it is, you will now be enabled to judge. The Colax
is {a Play} of Menander's; in it there is Colax, a Parasite, and a
braggart Captain: he does not deny that he has transferred these
characters into his Eunuch from the Greek; but assuredly he does deny
this, that he was aware that those pieces had been already translated
into Latin. But if it is not permitted {us} to use the same characters
as others, how can it any more be allowed to represent hurrying
servants,[28] to describe virtuous matrons, artful courtesans, the
gluttonous parasite, the braggart captain, the infant palmed off, the
old man cajoled by the servant, about love, hatred, suspicion? In
fine, nothing is said now that has not been said before. Wherefore it
is but just that you should know this, and make allowance, if the
moderns do what the ancients used to do. Grant me your attention, and
give heed in silence, that you may understand what the Eunuch means.

ACT THE FIRST.

SCENE I.

_Enter PHAEDRIA and PARMENO._

PHAED. What, then, shall I do?[29] Ought I not to go, not now even,
when I am sent for of her own accord? Or ought I rather so to behave
myself as not to put up with affronts from Courtesans? She shut her
door against me; she {now} invites me back. Ought I to return? No;
though she should implore me.

PAR. I'faith, if indeed you {only} can, there's nothing better or more
spirited; but if you begin, and can not hold out stoutly, and if, when
you can not endure it, while no one asks you, peace being not made,
you come to her of your own accord, showing that you love her, and can
not endure it, you are done for; it's all over {with you}; you are
ruined outright. She'll be jilting you, when she finds you overcome.
Do you then, while there's time, again and again reflect upon this,
master, that a matter, which in itself admits of neither prudence nor
moderation, you are unable to manage with prudence. In love there are
all these evils; wrongs, suspicions, enmities, reconcilements, war,
then peace; if you expect to render these things, {naturally}
uncertain, certain by dint of reason, you wouldn't effect it a bit the
more than if you were to use your endeavors to be mad with reason.
And, what you are now, in anger, meditating to yourself, "What! I to
her?[30] Who-- him! Who-- me! Who wouldn't? Only let me alone; I