Sure 'tis Blepharo's voice I hear.
I wonder wherefore he should come to me!
He comes though opportunely to assist
In proving my wife's baseness.-Blepharo,
What brings you hither?

Bleph.

How! have you forgot
So soon your sending Sosia to the ship
This morning to invite me here to dinner?
Amph. I never did. May I perish, Blepharo,
If I have been within yet, or e'er sent him.
Where did you leave me? Speak.

Sos.
At your own house,
And with my lady,-when I parted from you
I flew to the port, and in your name invited
Blepharo here to dinner. We are come ;-
I never saw you after till this instant.
Amph. How villain, with my wife? You shall
not hence

Sosia go in, and see the dinner

Got ready, whilst I sacrifice this fellow.
Sos. I'll go-Amphitryon will, as I suppose,
Receive Amphitryon with like courtesy

As I, the other Sosia, did receive

Me Sosia. In the meantime, while they're squab

bling,

I'll to the kitchen, there lick all the platters,
And empty all the cups.

SCENE V1.

[Exit SOSIA.

Remain JUPITER, AMPHITRYON, and BLEPHARO.

Amph. Thou liest, I say,-corrupter of my

He has lately told me

Jup.

Say'st thou I lie?

Some juggler, perad

family.

Jup. Now for these

scurvy terms I'll throttle

(takes him by the collar.)

Or sorcerer, has enchanted all your family.
Inquire into it, see what it can be,

And do not torture this poor wretch, until
You've learn'd the truth.

thee.

Amph. Oh, oh!

Jup. You should have look'd to this before.
Amph. Help, Blepharo.

Bleph.

They are both so like each other,
(they move towards the door.) I know not which to side with; but I'll try
To finish their contention, if I can.
Amphitryon do not kill Amphitryon: pray
Let go his collar.

Jup.
And of Oboli twice as many.
Bleph. Both hit the mark so truly, one of them
Must needs have hid him in the bag.

Attend.

Jup.
With this right arm, (as you are not to learn)
I slew King Pterelas; seized on the spoils,
And in a casket brought the golden cup,
Which he was wont to drink from. This I gave
A present to my wife, with whom to-day
I bath'd, I sacrific'd, I lay.

Amph.
Ah me!
What do I hear? I scarcely ain myself!
Awake I sleep; awake I dream; alive,
In health, and in perfect mind, I perish.
I am Amphitryon, nephew of Gorgophone
Commander of the Thebans, favourite
Of Creon, conqueror of the Teleboans,
Who vanquish'd with his might the Arcananians
And Taphians, by his warlike prowess slew
Their monarch, and appointed Cephalus
Their governor, son of Deioneus.

Jup. I by my bravery in the battle crush'd
Those hostile ravagers, that had destroy'd
Electryon, and the brothers of our wife,
These wand'ring through th' Ionian, the Ægean,
And Cretan seas, with pow'r piratical
Laid waste Achaia, Phocis, and Ætolia.

Amph. O, ye immortal gods! I scarce can have
Faith in myself, so just is his relation.
What say you, Blepharo?

Bleph.

One thing yet remains:
If that appear, be double, both-Amphitryons.
Jup. I know what you would say; that scar
you mean

Upon my right arm from the wound by Pterelas,
Deeply intrench'd.
Bleph.
Amph.

The same.

Jup.

Well thought on.
See you?

Lo! look!

Bleph.

Uncover, and I'll look.

Jup.

We have

Uncover'd look!

Bleph.

What shall I do, abandon'd by my friends,
And now without an advocate to help me?
Yet shall he ne'er abuse me unreveng'd,
Whoe'er he is.-I'll straight unto the king
And lay the whole before him.-I'll have ven-

geance

On this damn'd sorcerer, who has strangely
turn'd

The minds of all our family.-But where is he?—
I doubt not, but he's gone in to my wife.
Lives there in Thebes a greater wretch than I?—
What shall I do now, since all men deny me,
And fool me at their pleasure?-Tis resolv'd,
I'll burst into the house, and whomsoe'er
Wife or gallant, father or grandfather,
I set my eyes on, servant male or female,
I'll cut them into pieces-Nor shall Jove,
Nor all the gods, prevent it, if they would;
But I will do what I've resolv'd.-I'll in now.
[As he advances towards the door, it thunders and
and he falls down.-(Thunder and lightning.)
ACT V. SCENE I.

Enter BROMIA.

(AMPHITRYON continuing in a swoon.)
Brom. I have no means of safety left; my
hopes

Lie in my breast extinct and buried; I
Have lost all confidence of heart and spirit;
Since all things seem combin'd, sea, earth, and
heaven,

To oppress and to destroy me.-I am wretched!—
I know not what to do, such prodigies
Have been display'd within!—Ah, woe is me!
I'm sick at heart now,-would I had some water,
I faint, my head aches,-I don't hear, nor see
Well with my eyes.-Ah me! no woman sure
Was e'er so wretched, an event so strange
Has happen'd to my mistress!-When she found
Herself in labour, she invok'd the gods :-

(they both show their arms.) Then what a rumbling, grumbling, flashing, O Jupiter supreme!

What do I see?-On both of you most plainly,
Upon the right arm, in the self-same place,
The self-same token does appear,-a scar,
New-closing, of a reddish wannish hue!

All reasoning fails, and judgment is struck dumb.
I know not what to do.

(Here ends the suppositious part.)

clashing,

Straitway ensued! how suddenly, how quick,
How terribly it thunder'd! All that stood
Fell flat down at the noise: and then we heard
Some one, I know not who, with mighty voice
| Cry out-"Alcmena, succour is at hand:
Be not dismay'd: the heaven's high ruler comes
To you propitious and to yours. Arise,"

Says he, "ye who have fallen through the terror
And dread of me." I arose from where I lay,

Brom. Meantime, while this was done, not one of us

And such a brightness stream'd through all the Or heard your wife once groan, or once com

house,

Methought it was in flames. Then presently
Alcmena call'd:-I ran to her, in haste,

plain;

She was deliver'd e'en without a pang.
Amph. That joys me, I confess, however little

To know what she might want, and (bless my She merits at my hands.

eyes!)

Saw she had been deliver'd of two boys;
Nor any of us knew, or did suspect,

When she was thus deliver'd.-But what's this?
Who is this old man, stretch'd before our house?
Has he been thunder-stricken? I believe so:
For he is laid out as if dead: I'll go,
And learn who 'tis.-'Tis certainly Amphitryon,
My master. Hoa, Amphitryon!
Amph.
I am dead.

Brom. Come, rise, sir.

Amph.

Brom.

Brom.
Leave that, and hear
What more I have to say. After delivery,
She bade us wash the boys: we set about it,
But he that I wash'd, O how sturdy is he!
So strong and stout withal, not one of us
Could bind him in his swaddling-clothes.
Amph.
'Tis wondrous

What you relate: if your account be true,
I doubt not but Alcmena has been favour'd
With large assistance and support from heaven,
Brom. You'll say what follows is more won-
drous still.

I'm quite dead.
Give me your hand. After the boy was in his cradle laid
Two monstrous serpents with high-lifted crests
Slid down the sky-light! in an instant both
Rear'd up their heads.

Amph. Who is it holds me?
Brom.
I your maid, sir, Bromia.
Amph. I tremble every joint, with such amaze
Has Jupiter appall'd me! and I seem
As though I were just risen from the dead.
But wherefore came you forth?

Brom.
The same dread fear
Fill'd us poor souls with horror. I have seen,
Ah me! such wondrous prodigies within,
I scarce am in my senses.
Amph.
Prithee tell me ;
D'ye know me for your master, for Amphitryon?
Brom. Yes, surely.

Amph.

Brom.

Look again now.

I well know you.

Brom. Yes, two.
Amph.

How say you, two?

The gods preserve me.

Brom. Permit me to go on, that you may know How all the gods to you are most propitious And to your wife.

Amph.

Brom.

Speak.

Be not dismay'd:
The serpents cast their eyes around on all;
And after they had spied the children out,
With quickest motion made towards the cradle.
I, fearing for the boys, and for myself,
Drew back the cradle, stirr'd it to and fro,
Backwards and forwards, on one side and
t'other;

The more I work'd it, by so much the more
These serpents fierce pursued. That other boy,
Soon as he spied the monsters, in an instant,
Leaps him from out the cradle, straight darts at
them,

And suddenly he seizes upon both,
In each hand grasping one.

Amph.

The tale you tell
Is fraught with many wonders, and the deed
That you relate is all too terrible;
For horror at your words creeps through my
limbs.-

What happen'd next? Proceed now in your
story.

Brom. The child kill'd both the serpents.-
During this

A loud voice calls upon your wife.

Who calls?

Amph.
Brom. Jove, supreme sovereign of gods and
men,

He own'd that he had secretly enjoy'd

When your spouse began Alcmena, that the boy, who slew the serpents,
Was his; the other, he declar'd, was yours.
Amph. I now repent me, an' it pleases him,
To share a part with Jove in any good.
Go home, and see the vessels be prepar'd
For sacrifice forthwith, that I may make
My peace with Jove by offering many victims.
[BROMIA goes in.

To be in labour, and the wonted pangs
Of child-birth came upon her, she invok'd
Th' immortal gods to aid her, with wash'd hands
Aad cover'd head; then presently it thunder'd,
And with a crack so loud, we thought at first
The house itself was tumbling, and it shone
As bright throughout, as if it were of gold.
Amph. Prithee relieve me quickly, since you
Perplex'd me full enough.-What follow'd after?

have

* Agreeably to the religious ceremonies of the ancients.

I'll to the soothsayer Tiresias, and
Consult with him what's fittest to be done :
I'll tell him what has happened—but what's
this?

How dreadfully it thunders!-Mercy on us!

SCENE II.

JUPITER appears above-thunder and lightning.
Be of good cheer, Amphitryon; I am come
To comfort and assist you and your family.
Nothing you have to fear; then let alone
All soothsayers and diviners: I'll inform you
Of what is past, and what is yet to come,
Much better than they can, since I am Jove.
Know first of all, I have enjoy`d Alcmena,
Whence she was pregnant by me with a son:
You likewise left her pregnant, when you went
To th' army. At one birth, two boys together
She has brought forth the one, sprung from my
loins,

Shall gain immortal glory by his deeds.
Restore Alcmena to your ancient love:
In nothing does she merit your reproaches:
She was compell'd, by my resistless power,
To what she did.-I now return to heaven.
[JUPITER ascends.

SCENE the Last.

AMPHITRYON alone.

I'll do as you command; and I beseech you
That you would keep your promises.—I'll in
Unto my wife, and think no more of old
Tiresias.-Now, spectators, for the sake
Of highest Jove, give us your loud applause.*

HEGIO.

THE CAPTIVES.

DRAMATIS PERSONE.

PHILOCRATES.

TYNDARUS.

ARISTOPHONTES.

PHILOPOLEMUS.
ERGASILUS.

STALAGMUS.

SERVANTS.

Unfit to be remembered; here you'll find
No infamous, abandon'd courtezan,
No rascal pimp, no braggard captain here.
ACT I. SCENE I.

Enter ERGASILUS.

Because I usually attend at feasts,
An invocated guest, our sparks forsooth
Nickname me mistress. This, I know, the
jeerers

Say is absurd.—I say, 'tis right. The lover
At a carousal, when he throws the dice,
Invokes his mistress. Is she invocated,
Or is she not? Most plain, she is.-But yet
To say the truth, we are termed Parasites
For a much plainer reason.-For, like mice,†
Ask'd or not ask'd, we always live upon
Provisions not our own.-In the vacation
When to the country men retire, 'tis also
Vacation with my teeth.-As in hot weather
Snails hide them in their shells, and, if no dew
Should chance to fall, live on their proper mois-

ture,

We Parasites, in times of the vacation,
Keep ourselves snug; and while into the country
Those are retired, on whom we us'd to feed,
Poor we support our natural call of appetite
From our own juices.-We in the vacation
Are thin as hounds;-but when men come to

town,

We are as plump as mastiffs, full as troublesome,
And as detested. What is worst of all,
Except we patiently endure a drubbing,
And let them break their pots upon our heads,
We must submit to sit among the beggars
Without the city gate.-That this will be
My lot, there's not a little danger, since
My patron is a captive with the enemy.
Th' Etolians and the Elians are at war:

SCENE.-Calydon in Ætolia, before HEGIO's house. We now are in Ætolia. Philopolemus,

to appease his anger.

There is no doubt but that this play ends happily and

seriously in our author, with the vindication of Alcmena's
honour, entirely to the satisfaction of Amphitryon. Mo-
liere, to accommodate his piece more to the modern taste,
humourously enough makes Sosia conclude it with saying
(when the company present were for congratulating
Amphitryon upon the honour done him by Jupiter,)
Sur telles affaires toujours

Le meilleur est de ne rien dire.
Dryden copies him exactly in this speech; but he gives
it (though not nearly so much in character) to Mercury,
who had already declared his godship.

"All. We all congratulate Amphitryon.

Merc. Keep your congratulations to yourselves, gentlemen. 'Tis a nice point, let me tell you that ; and the less that is said of it the better."

Old Hegio's son, whose house is here hard by,
Is prisoner now in Elis.-Sad indeed
This house to me! which, often as I see it,
Brings tears into my eyes. The good old father,
Upon his son's account, not in compliance
With his own inclination, has engaged
In an illiberal traffic, and by purchasing
Of captives hopes, that in some lucky hour
He may find one to barter for his son.-
But the door opens, whence I've sallied forth
Full many a time, drunk with excess of cheer.

* Parasites are by our author often called Mistresses.
This humour of calling parasites by droll names, we may
suppose was common, as we find it again in the Menachmi
or Twins, where the parasite is made to say-
"Our young men call me Dishclout,-for this reason,
Whene'er I dine, I wipe the tables clean.

+ Diogenes, the Cynic, when he saw mice creeping under a table, used to say, "See there Diogenes' para sites!"-The same allusion we meet with again in the Persa, act i., scene ii.

Quasi mures semper edere alienum cibum.

Like mice, they lived on victuals not their own.

‡ Quæstum inhonestum. So in another place it is called quæstum carcerarium. Whence it is plain, that dealing in slaves was accounted irreputable.

Heg. Mind what I say-from those two cap- Find his true value, and now feel his want.

Whom yesterday I purchased from the Quæs-So ill can bear his sufferings, what should I,

Heg. Indeed! Beware the cage then, if you Besides whole companies of Fishmongerians.