Of
course, these appellations, as relating to the trades, are only comical
words coined for the occasion.]
[Footnote 6: _A bottomless pit_)--Ver. 183. He plays upon the
resemblance in sound of the word "fundum," "landed property," to
"profundum," "a deep cavity," to which he compares the Parasite's
stomach. "You sell me landed property, indeed; say rather a bottomless
pit."]
[Footnote 7: _Have but a ferret_)--Ver. 185. This passage has much
puzzled the Commentators; but allowing for some very far-fetched wit,
which is not uncommon with Plautus, it may admit of some explanation. He
tells the Parasite that he had better look for a nicer dinner, a hare,
in fact; for that in dining with him, he will only get the ferret (with
which the hare was hunted) for his dinner. Then, inasmuch as the ferret
was and for following the bare or rabbit into "scruposae viae,"
"impervious" or "rocky places" where they had burrowed, he adds: "For my
dinner, ferret-like, frequents ragged places;" by which he probably
means that it is nothing but a meagre repast of vegetables, of which
possibly capers formed a part, which grow plentifully in Italy, in old
ruins and craggy spots. Some suggest that it was a custom with the
huntsmen, if they failed to catch the hurt, to kill and eat the ferret.]
[Footnote 8: _Are but of a rough sort_)--Ver. 189. The word "asper"
means either "unsavoury" or "prickly," according to the context.
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