At the beginning of the Asinaria, the slaves Libanus and Leonida come up with a clever ruse to acquire twenty minae of silver. When a merchant arrives in Athens to pay for an ass with this sum, Leonida decides to impersonate Saurea, the chamberlain of his master’s wife, to whom the money is supposed to be paid. At first, the merchant does not find this ruse entirely convincing:
| Latin | English Translation |
|---|---|
| LEONIDA. Ita facito, age ambula ergo. tu contumeliam alteri facias, tibi non dicatur? tam ego homo sum quam tu. | LEONIDA. Do so; come on, then, and go. Are you to insult another person, and is it not to be repeated to you? I’m as much a man as you are. |
| MERCATOR. Scilicet. ita res est. | MERCHANT. Evidently. The matter is thus. |
| LEONIDA. Sequere hoc ergo. praefiscini hoc nunc dixerim: nemo etiam me accusavit merito meo, neque me alter est Athenis hodie quisquam, cui credi recte aeque putent. | LEONIDA. Therefore follow this way. By your leave I would now say this: no one has ever accused me because I deserved it, and there is not anyone other than me in Athens today, whom they would think equally worthy of trust. |
| MERCATOR. Fortassis. sed tamen me numquam hodie induces, ut tibi credam hoc argentum ignoto. lupus est homo homini, non homo, quom qualis sit non novit. | MERCHANT. Perhaps. But nevertheless you will never persuade me today to entrust this silver to you, whom I do not know. Man is a wolf to man, not a man, when he doesn’t know of what sort he is. |
In this passage, the merchant refuses to hand over the money without confirming Leonida’s identity. Leonida is insulted, or pretends to be insulted, by the merchant’s reluctance. But the merchant maintains that he cannot trust Leonida’s word because he is not familiar with his character, and waits for Leonida’s master, Demaenetus, to verify that he really is Saurea.
The phrase “lupus est homo homini,” apparently a variation on a Roman proverb, has been invoked to explain all manner of human cruelties. In the context of the Asinaria, it is a warning against trusting strangers too easily: when you meet someone you don’t know, you should assume that he is as dangerous as a wolf. In the Asinaria, the merchant is certainly correct to doubt Leonida’s intentions. But the phrase “homo homini lupus” is just as true in modern times as it was in the ancient world. Even as it has become easier to verify the identity of strangers, technology has provided unscrupulous actors with new and exciting opportunities to exploit other people.
Ironically, the merchant of the Asinaria is ultimately duped in spite of his reluctance: Demaenetus confirms Leonida’s identity, and the twenty minae of silver are duly handed over. But it cannot be said that the merchant did not perform his due diligence; and I hope it is not trite to say that many people, myself included, have something to learn from his prudence.
Milo Austin is a guest author who is a junior at Colgate University