Curculio

T. Maccius Plautus

qui periurum convenire volt hominem ito in comitium;qui mendacem et gloriosum, apud Cloacinae sacrum,ditis damnosos maritos sub basilica quaerito.ibidem erunt scorta exoleta quique stipulari solent,symbolarum collatores apud forum piscarium.in foro infimo boni homines atque dites ambulant,in medio propter canalem, ibi ostentatores meri;confidentes garrulique et malevoli supera lacum,qui alteri de nihilo audacter ducunt contumeliamet qui ipsi sat habent quod in se possit vere dicier.sub veteribus, ibi sunt qui dant quique accipiunt faenore.pone aedem Castoris, ibi sunt subito quibus credas male.in Tusco vico, ibi sunt homines qui ipsi sese venditant,vel qui ipsi vorsant vel qui aliis ubi vorsentur praebeant.

In case you wish to meet a perjurer, go to the Comitium; for a liar and braggart, try the temple of Venus Cloacina; for wealthy married wasters, the Basilica. There too will be harlots, well-ripened ones, and men ready for a bargain, while at the Fish-market are the members of eating clubs. In the lower forum citizens of repute and wealth stroll about; in the middle forum, near the Canal, there you find the merely showy set. Above the Lake are those brazen, garrulous, spiteful fellows who boldly decry other people without reason and are open to plenty of truthful criticism themselves. Below the Old Shops are those who lend and borrow upon usury. Behind the temple of Castor are those whom you would do ill to trust too quickly. In the Tuscan Quarter are those worthies who sell themselves--either those who turn themselves or give others a chance to turn.

Reprinted by permission of the publishers and the Trustees of the Loeb Classical Library from T. Macchius Plautus: Volume II. Casina. The Casket Comedy. Curculio. Epidicus. The Two Menaechmuses, Loeb Classical Library Vol. 61, translated by Paul Nixon, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, © 1917, by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. The Loeb Classical Library ® is a registered trademark of the President and Fellows of Harvard College.

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