Mercator, "The Merchant," is a Latin comedic play for the early Roman theatre by Titus Maccius Plautus. It is based on the Greek play Emporos (the Merchant) by the Greek comedy playwright Philemon. It is believed to be among Plautus's first plays, possibly written around 206 BC. The central conflict involves a father who falls in love with a slave girl who is, unbeknownst to the father, his son's lover.
Characters
Charinus—a young merchant Acanthio—Charinus's slave Demipho—father of Charinus, also a merchant Lysimachus—friend of Demipho Eutychus—friend of Charinus, son of Lysimachus Pasicompsa—lover and slave of Charinus Dorippa—wife of Lysimachus Syra—slave of Lysimachus's family A cook Other slaves
Plot
The play takes place in a street in Athens. In the back wall of the stage there are two houses, that of Demipho and his son Charinus, and that of his friend Lysimachus and his son Eutychus. There is a shrine or altar of Apollo near Lysimachus's house.
Prologue
Charinus explains that he had taken after his father's example and decided to become a merchant. He had much success in Rhodes and there fell in love with a slave woman named Pasicompsa. He purchased Pasicompsa and brought her with him to his home in Athens where he now ponders how to prevent his father from discovering his love.
Act I
Acanthio runs to Charinus from the harbor to deliver news that Demipho has been to the ship and seen Pasicompsa. To cover for Charinus, Acanthio had convinced Demipho that Charinus had purchased Pasicompsa to serve as a maid for Charinus's mother. He further tells Charinus that Demipho was flirting with Pasicompsa. Charinus decides he must go to the harbor at once.
Act II
Returning from the harbor, Demipho enters and claims that he has had a dream in which he entrusted a prize goat to his monkey friend, but the monkey lost the goat to a younger goat. He admits to his neighbor Lysimachus that he has fallen in love and feels youthful. Lysimachus leaves and Charinus enters, lamenting his predicament. Demipho then tells Charinus that Pasicompsa is too fine to be a maid and instead insists Pasicompsa be sold. The two begin a bidding war, each claiming to represent imaginary clients. Demipho rejects his son's offers and turns Charinus away from the harbor. When Charinus exits, Demipho reveals his plan to have Lysimachus purchase Pasicompsa on Demipho's behalf. Separately, Charinus sends Eutychus to purchase Pasicompsa himself.
Act III
Lysimachus buys Pasicompsa and is bringing her to Lysimachus's home. He tells her he bought her on behalf of her own master, and Pasicompsa is pleased, believing Lysimachus to mean Charinus. After they exit into Lysimachus's house, Demipho enters and attempts to justify what he believes he has earned with age. Lysimachus returns to Demipho and tells him he must find Pasicompsa elsewhere to stay before Dorippa returns from the countryside. For the time being, the two exit to find a cook for a feast to be held that night. Shortly after, Eutychus tells Charinus that he was too late and Pasicompsa was sold to an unknown buyer. Heartbroken, Charinus decides he will leave Athens, but Eutychus becomes determined to find Pasicompsa.
Act IV
Dorippa returns home from the countryside earlier than expected, and she and Syra (whose name is meant to imply her Syrian ethnicity) discover Pasicompsa in the house, believing her to be Lysimachus's mistress. Lysimachus returns home and tries to explain to his wife that he is only looking after Pasicompsa temporarily, but when the cook hired for that night's feast arrives, Dorippa becomes only more sure of her suspicions and exits into her house crying. Lysimachus dismisses the cook and follows after his wife. Eutychus returns home to find Syra outside, who urges him inside to see his father's mistress. Syra laments the inequalities between the unfaithfulness of men and women.
Act V
Eutychus finds Charinus just as Charinus is about to leave Athens and tells him that he has found Pasicompsa in Eutychus's own home. Charinus exits into the home, and Eutychus remains outside to confront Lysimachus and Demipho. He tells them Pasicompsa was really Charinus's lover and that Demipho should be ashamed for trying to take her for himself. He proposes a law that old men should not interfere in the passionate love of young men, and the three exit into Lysimachus's house.
Metrical structure
The scheme of Mercator is a simple one. If A = iambic senarii, B = other metres, and C = trochaic septenarii, the scheme is as follows:Timothy Moore calls this the "ABC succession", where A = iambic senarii, B = other metres, C = trochaic septenarii: Moore, Timothy J. (2012), Music in Roman Comedy. Cambridge University Press, pp. 237–42, 253–8, 305–8, 367–71. One way of dividing it would be as follows: ABC, ABC, BAC, AC
Timothy Moore, however, argues that the scene with Pasicompsa (499–543), though only 46 lines, is a metrical unit by itself; he therefore divides the play as follows:Moore, T. J. (2010). "A Music Merchant: The Cantica of Mercator. New England Classical Journal, 37.1, p. 17. ABC, ABC, B, AC, AC
The Mercator is thought to follow Philemon's original five-act Greek play from which it is adapted fairly closely, although one scholar has suggested that the first act in the Greek play might have ended at 334 rather than 224.De Melo (2011), The Merchant (Loeb Classical Library vol. 163), pp. 7–8. Greek plays had a "chorus" or dance interlude between acts to represent the passing of time. Latin plays had no chorus, and the action was continuous. At Pseudolus 573, the -player who was on stage throughout the play played some music to cover the gap; though it is not certain whether this happened regularly.Moore, T. J. (2012) Music in Roman Comedy, pp. 17–19.
The "A" passages, in iambic senarii, are believed to have been recited without music. This metre is used for the introduction to the play and also for most of the scenes where the old men are involved. The "B" passages appear to have been songs. In this play various metres are used for the songs: iambic octonarii, mixed with trochaic septenarii and other metres, for the "running slave" scene; mainly bacchiac, but mixed with anapaestic quaternarii and trochaic octonarii, for Charinus's lament;Moore points out that the repeated juxtaposition of the slow bacchiac metre and the rapid trochaic is striking and very unusual in Roman comedy: Moore, T. J. (2010). "A Music Merchant: The Cantica of Mercator. New England Classical Journal, 37.1; p. 26. and iambic septenarii, a metre often used in scenes with prostitutes, for the scene with Pasicompsa. The "C" passages in trochaic septenarii may also have been sung; certainly they were accompanied by music.Moore, T. J. (2012), Music in Roman Comedy, pp. 102–103. They tend to round off the episodes in the play.
Demipho sees his son's girlfriend Act 1.1 (1–110): iambic senarii (109 lines) The young man Charinus explains to the audience that this play is an adaptation of one called the Emporos ("Merchant") of Philemon. He describes how in early youth he had annoyed his father by wasting a lot of money on a certain courtesan. Eventually his father had sent him to Rhodes to do business, and for two years he had worked there successfully. But shortly before he left he had been invited to a friend's house, and that night had been entertained by a young slave-girl and had fallen in love with her. He had purchased that girl and brought her back. He had left her on the boat with a servant. Suddenly Charinus is alarmed to see the same slave running towards him.
Act 1.2 (111–116): mixed (mostly iambic octonarii but with some tr7, ia4, ia6)For details of the metres see Database by Timothy J. Moore of The Meters of Roman Comedy Washington University in St Louis. (30 lines) The slave Acanthio arrives running and completely out of breath. Charinus watches him and begs him to say what is the matter. Acanthio seems out of sorts and annoyed.
Act 1.2 (141–224): trochaic septenarii (82 lines) Eventually, after much hesitation and mutual interruption, Acanthio says he has bad news: Charinus's father had gone on board the ship and seen the girl. Acanthio had told him that Charinus had bought her as a servant for his mother. Charinus is dismayed to hear this; he doesn't want to lie to his father, and doesn't think that his father will believe the tale; but Acanthio assures him that he has already believed it. Charinus hurriedly leaves for the harbour. Acanthio advises him to go by a different route so as not to risk meeting his father.
Demipho plots to have the girl for himself Act 2.1–2.2 (225–334): iambic senarii (108 lines) Charinus's father Demipho enters. He recounts a strange dream in which he had bought a she-goat and entrusted it to a monkey to look after; but soon the monkey had come to him complaining that the goat had eaten part of his wife's marriage-portion. Later a billy-goat had come and taken away the she-goat from the monkey and made fun of him. Demipho says that he believes the she-goat must be a beautiful girl he had just seen on the boat his son had arrived in from Rhodes. He had fallen madly in love with this girl. Demipho's friend and neighbour Lysimachus enters, accompanied by a servant carrying hoes. He tells the servant that he will have a certain troublesome goat castrated. Demipho is alarmed in case these words turn out to be an omen. Lysimachus sends the servant off to his farm with a message to his wife that he will not be at the farm today. Demipho addresses him and tells him he is in love. Lysimachus is surprised. He goes off to the harbour. Demipho watches as his son approaches.
Act 2.3 (335–363): polymetric song (ba, an, tr8) (29 lines) Charinus enters, singing of his unhappiness. Now that his father has seen the girl, he doesn't think he is going to be able to convince him that she is to be a maid for his mother; he is afraid his father may take her away and sell her overseas.
Act 2.3–2.4 (364–498): trochaic septenarii (130 lines) Demipho asks Charinus if he is ill, and suggests he should rest, but Charinus says he has business to complete. Next Demipho asks his son about the servant girl he has brought. He says that because she's pretty, she would be unsuitable as a lady's maid. Demipho pretends to see a friend in the distance who is bidding to buy the girl and will pay a high price. Charinus says he also has a friend who is also keen to buy her and is madly in love with her. Charinus raises legal objections; he also says the girl is partly owned by a third party. But Demipho won't listen, and hurries off to the harbour, telling the audience that he will ask his friend Lysimachus to buy the girl.
Charinus is miserable and wishes to kill himself. Suddenly Lysimachus's son Eutychus, a friend of Charinus, comes out of Lysimachus's house. He offers to go to the harbour and trick Charinus's father by outbidding him for the girl. Charinus gladly accepts.
Lysimachus brings Pasicompsa Act 3.1–3.2 (499–543): (ia7) (46 lines) Lysimachus returns with the girl, having just purchased her. She tells him her name is Pasicompsa and that she is good at weaving. He says he hasn't purchased her for himself but for another man. For a moment she thinks he means Charinus; but Lysimachus disappoints her by saying that her new owner is old enough to have lost his teeth. He takes her into his house, which is next door to Demipho's.
Act 3.2–3.3 (544–587): iambic senarii (44 lines)