Texts and Commentaries

• Latin text on-line at the Perseus Project (Leo 1895)
• Lindsay, W.M. 1904-1905. T. Macci Plauti Comoediae. 2 vols. Clarendon: Oxford.
• Nixon, Paul. 1916-38. Plautus. 5 vols. Loeb Classical Library 61. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 2:185-269.
• Ernout, Alfred. 1932. Plaute. 7 vols. Paris: Les Belles Lettres.  3:57-107.
• Paratore, Ettore. 1958. Curculio (Il Gorgoglioni). Florence: Sansoni.
• Collart, Jean. 1962. Curculio: Plaute, Charançon. Paris: Presses universitaires de France.
• Monaco, Giusto. 1991. Curculio. Syracuse: Istituto nazionale di dramma antico.
• Wright, John. 1993. Plautus' Curculio. Rev. ed. Oklahoma Series in Classical Culture 17. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

English Translations available
 

Riley, Henry Thomas. 1912. The Comedies of Plautus. 2 vols. London: G. Bell and Sons. 1:525-564.

translation on-line at the Perseus Project

Nixon, Paul. 1916-38. Plautus. 5 vols. Loeb Classical Library 61. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 2:185-269.

Duckworth, George E. 1942. The Complete Roman Drama. 2 vols. New York: Random House. 1:351-89.

Stace, Christopher.  1981.  Plautus: Rudens, Curculio, Casina.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 76-113.

Taylor, Henry. 1995. Plautus: The Comedies, eds. David R. Slavitt and Palmer Bovie. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press. 1:319-73.

Act and Scene	Lines	Characters	Action
I.i	1-95	Palinurus  Phaedromus	The young Phaedromus is in love with a virgin kept in a brothel.  He is unable to buy her freedom but he hopes a parasite will be bringing him the money he needs. He is going out tonight in the hopes of bribing the guard and meeting her.  His slave Palinurus attends and chides his master for his behavior.
I.ii	96-157	Leaena  Phaedromus  Palinurus	In this lyric scene, Phaedromus bribes Leaena with wine and she agrees to bring Planesium outside.
I.iii	158-215	Leaena  Palinurus  Planesium  Phaedromus	Phaedromus and Planesium make love while Palinurus impatiently insults each of them.  Planesium returns inside while Phaedromus and Palinurus depart.
II.i	216-250	Cappadox  Palinurus	Cappadox emerges, complaining about his illness.  Palinurus comes out and banters with him.  Cappadox asks about interpreting a dream.
II.ii	251-279	Cook  Palinurus  Cappadox  Phaedromus	The cook emerges and interprets Cappadox's dream.  The cook suggests placating Asclepius.  Palinurus calls Phaedromus out because the parasite Curculio is coming.
II.iii	280-370	Curculio  Phaedromus  Palinurus	Curculio enters flamboyantly.  He reports to Phaedromus that Phaedromus' friend did not have any money but by chance Curculio played dice with the soldier who is to buy Planesium.  Curculio has stolen the soldier's signet ring.  They go in to feed Curculio and forge a letter.
III.i	371-461	Lyco  Curculio  Cappadox	Curculio, disguised as the soldier's assistant, gives a forged letter to Lyco the banker to purchase Planesium.  Cappadox emerges and all enter to complete the transaction.
IV.i	462-486	Producer	The Producer comes out and banters about the city of Epidaurus (very much like Rome).
IV.ii	487-532	Curculio  Cappadox  Lyco	Cappadox hands Planesium over to Curculio.
IV.iii	533-556	Therapontigonus  Lyco	Therapontigonus yells at Lyco for turning the money over without authorization.  Lyco simply leaves.
IV.iv	557-590	Cappadox  Therapontigonus	Therapontigonus threatens Cappadox for handing over Planesium and realizes Curculio has pulled off a scam.
V.i	591-598	Curculio	Curculio comes out and complains that Planesium is obsessed with the ring of Therapontigonus.
V.ii	599-678	Planesium  Phaedromus  Curculio  Therapontigonus	It is revealed that Planesium is Therapontigonus' long lost sister.  Since she is a citizen, Cappadox must repay the sale.
V.iii	679-729	Cappadox  Therapontigonus  Phaedromus  Planesium	Cappadox is forced to return the money paid for Planesium.