1. AMPELIS: If a man isn’t jealous or angry, Chrysis, and never hits you, cuts your hair off, or tears your clothes, is he still in love with you? CHRYSIS: Are these the only signs of a man’s love, then?
1. ΑΜΠΕΛΙΣ: Ὅστις δέ, ὦ Χρυσί, μήτε ζηλοτυπεῖ μήτε ὀργίζεται μήτε ἐρράπισέ ποτε ἢ περιέκειρεν ἢ τὰ ἱμάτια περιέσχισεν, ἔτι ἐραστὴς ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν; ΧΡΥΣΙΣ: Οὐκοῦν ταῦτα μόνα ἐρῶντος, ὦ Ἀμπελί, δείγματα;
AMPELIS: Yes, these are the signs of a burning love. All else, the kisses, the tears, the vows and the frequent visits are the signs of a love that is beginning and still growing. But the real flame comes from jealousy. And so, if Gorgias hits you, and shows jealousy, as you say, you may be hopeful, and should pray that he always continues in the same way. CHRYSIS: In the same way? What do you mean? That he should go on hitting me for the rest of his days?
ΑΜΠΕΛΙΣ: Ναί, ταῦτ' ἀνδρὸς θερμοῦ· ἐπεὶ τἆλλα, φιλήματα καὶ δάκρυα καὶ ὅρκοι καὶ τὸ πολλάκις ἥκειν ἀρχομένου ἔρωτος σημεῖον καὶ φυομένου ἔτι· τὸ δὲ πῦρ ὅλον ἐκ τῆς ζηλοτυπίας ἐστίν. ὥστε εἰ καὶ σέ, ὡς φῄς, ὁ Γοργίας ῥαπίζει καὶ ζηλοτυπεῖ, χρηστὰ ἔλπιζε καὶ εὔχου ἀεὶ τὰ αὐτὰ ποιεῖν. ΧΡΥΣΙΣ: Τὰ αὐτά; τί λέγεις; ἀεὶ ῥαπίζειν με;
AMPELIS: No, but that he should be hurt, whenever you have eyes for another man. For, unless he’s in love with you, why should he be angry at your having another lover? CHRYSIS: I haven’t one. But he wrongly imagined the rich fellow was in love with me, just because I happened to mention his name once.
ΑΜΠΕΛΙΣ: Οὐχί, ἀλλ’ ἀνιᾶσθαι, εἰ μὴ πρὸς μόνον αὐτὸν βλέποις, ἐπεὶ εἰ μὴ ἐρᾷ γε, τί ἂν ὀργίζοιτο, εἰ σύ τινα ἕτερον ἐραστὴν ἔχεις; ΧΡΥΣΙΣ: Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἔχω ἔγωγε· ὁ δὲ μάτην ὑπέλαβε τὸν πλούσιόν μου ἐρᾶν, διότι ἄλλως ἐμνημόνευσά ποτε αὐτοῦ.
2. AMPELIS: That again is nice for you—having him thinking you’re sought after by rich men. It will hurt him the more, and make him the more eager not to be outdone by his rivals for your affection. CHRYSIS: But all he does is show temper and hit me. He never gives me anything.
2. ΑΜΠΕΛΙΣ: Καὶ τοῦτο ἡδὺ τὸ ὑπὸ πλουσίων οἴεσθαι σπουδάζεσθαί σε· οὕτω γὰρ ἀνιάσεται μᾶλλον καὶ φιλοτιμήσεται, ὡς μὴ ὑπερβάλοιντο αὐτὸν οἱ ἀντερασταί. ΧΡΥΣΙΣ: Καὶ μὴν οὗτός γε μόνον ὀργίζεται καὶ ῥαπίζει, δίδωσι δὲ οὐδέν.
AMPELIS: He will—for he’s jealous—particularly if you hurt him. CHRYSIS: Somehow you seem to want me to be hit, my dear Ampelis.
ΑΜΠΕΛΙΣ: Ἀλλὰ δώσει—ζηλοτυπεῖ γάρ—καὶ μάλιστα ἢν λυπῇς αὐτόν. ΧΡΥΣΙΣ: Οὐκ οἶδ’ ὅπως ῥαπίσματα λαμβάνειν βούλει με, ὦ Ἀμπελίδιον.
AMPELIS: No, Chrysis, but in my opinion that’s the way great passions start, even though the men believe they’re being slighted. But if a man is confident he has you to himself, his desire for you somehow dwindles. That’s what I tell you after twenty whole years as a courtesan, whereas you, I think, are eighteen or even younger. If you like, I’ll tell you what happened to me not so very many years ago. Demophantus, the money-lender, who lives behind the Painted Stoa, was in love with me. He’s never given me more than five drachmas, but regarded himself as my master. His love was a superficial thing, my dear, that never made him groan or weep or appear at all hours at my doors, but he would merely sleep with me at not very frequent intervals.
ΑΜΠΕΛΙΣ: Οὔκ, ἀλλ’, ὡς οἶμαι, οὕτως οἱ μεγάλοι ἔρωτες γίγνονται, καὶ εἰ πείθοιντο ἀμελεῖσθαι, εἰ δὲ πιστεύσαι μόνος ἔχειν, ἀπομαραίνεταί πως ἡ ἐπιθυμία. ταῦτα λέγω πρὸς σὲ εἴκοσιν ὅλοις ἔτεσιν ἑταιρήσασα, σὺ δὲ ὀκτωκαιδεκαέτις, οἶμαι, ἢ ἔλαττον οὖσα τυγχάνεις. εἰ βούλει δέ, καὶ διηγήσομαι ἃ ἔπαθόν ποτε οὐ πάνυ πρὸ πολλῶν ἐτῶν· ἤρα μου Δημόφαντος ὁ δανειστὴς ὁ κατόπιν οἰκῶν τῆς Ποικίλης. οὗτος οὐδεπώποτε πλέον πέντε δραχμῶν δέδωκε καὶ ἠξίου δεσπότης εἶναι. ἤρα δέ, ὦ Χρυσί, ἐπιπόλαιόν τινα ἔρωτα οὔτε ὑποστένων οὔτε δακρύων οὔτε ἀωρὶ παραγιγνόμενος ἐπὶ τὰς θύρας, ἀλλ’ αὐτὸ μόνον συνεκάθευδέ μοι ἐνίοτε, καὶ τοῦτο διὰ μακροῦ.
3. But, after the time when he came and I locked him out, because I had with me Callides, the painter, who had sent me ten drachmas, to start with he went away abusing me. But, after many days had passed, and there was no word from me, as I had Callides in the house, eventually even Demophantus began to burn and blaze with passion, and one day he posted himself at my door and waited for it to open. He began to weep and strike me, he threatened to kill me, he tore my dress; there was nothing he didn’t do, and in the end he gave me a talent and kept me for himself alone for eight whole months. His wife said I’d driven him mad by means of drugs, but the only drug was his own jealousy. So, Chrysis, you’d better use the same treatment on Gorgias. He’ll be a rich young fellow if anything happens to his father.
3. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐλθόντα ποτὲ ἀπέκλεισα—Καλλίδης γὰρ ὁ γραφεὺς ἔνδον ἦν δέκα δραχμὰς πεπομφώς—τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἀπῆλθέ μοι λοιδορησάμενος· ἐπεὶ δὲ πολλαὶ μὲν διῆλθον ἡμέραι, ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ προσέπεμπον, ὁ Καλλίδης δὲ ἔνδον ἦν, ὑποθερμαινόμενος ἤδη τότε ὁ Δημόφαντος καὶ αὐτὸς ἀναφλέγεται ἐς τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ ἐπιστάς ποτε ἀνεῳγμένην τηρήσας τὴν θύραν ἔκλαεν, ἔτυπτεν, ἠπείλει φονεύσειν, περιερρήγνυε τὴν ἐσθῆτα, ἅπαντα ἐποίει, καὶ τέλος τάλαντον δοὺς μόνος εἶχεν ὀκτὼ ὅλους μῆνας. ἡ γυνὴ δὲ αὐτοῦ πρὸς ἅπαντας ἔλεγεν ὡς ὑπὸ φαρμάκων ἐκμήναιμι αὐτόν. τό δὲ ἦν ἄρα ζηλοτυπία τὸ φάρμακον. ὥστε, Χρυσί, καὶ σὺ χρῶ ἐπὶ τὸν Γοργίαν τῷ αὐτῷ φαρμάκῳ· πλούσιος δὲ ὁ νεανίσκος ἔσται, ἤν τι ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ πάθῃ.