Terence: Eunuchus

INCIPIT EVNVCHVS TERENTI
ACTA LVDIS MEGALENSIBVS
L. POSTVMIO ALBINO L. CORNELIO MERVLA AEDILIBVS CVRVLIBVS
EGERE L. AMBIVIVS TVRPIO L. ATILIVS PRAENESTINVS
MODOS FECIT FLACCVS CLAVDI
TIBIIS DVABVS DEXTRIS
GRAECA MENANDRV
FACTA II M. VALERIO C. FANNIO COS.

HERE BEGINS THE EUNUCH BY TERENCE
ACTED AT THE MEGALENSIAN GAMES
UNDER THE CURULE AEDILES L. POSTUMIUS ALBINUS, L. CORNELIUS MERULA
PERFORMED BY L. AMBIVIUS TURPIO, L. ATILIUS OF PRAENESTE
THE MELODIES WERE MADE BY FLACCUS, OF CLAUDIUS
WITH TWO RIGHT-HAND PIPES
FROM THE GREEK, MENANDER
PERFORMED 2, IN THE CONSULSHIP OF M. VALERIUS AND G. FANNIUS

PERSONAE

PERSONS

(PROLOGVS)
PHAEDRIA ADVLESCENS
PARMENO SERVOS
THAIS MERETRIX
GNATHO PARASITVS
CHAEREA ADVLESCENS
THRASO MILES
PYTHIAS ANCILLA
CHREMES ADVLESCENS
ANTIPHO ADVLESCENS
DORIAS ANCILLA
DORVS EVNVCHVS
SANGA SERVOS
SOPHRONA NVTRIX
SENEX (DEMEA seu LACHES)
(CANTOR)

(PROLOGUE)
PHAEDRIA ADOLESCENT
PARMENO SLAVE
THAIS COURTESAN
GNATHO PARASITE
CHAEREA ADOLESCENT
THRASO SOLDIER
PYTHIAS HANDMAID
CHREMES ADOLESCENT
ANTIPHO ADOLESCENT
DORIAS HANDMAID
DORUS EUNUCH
SANGA SLAVE
SOPHRONA NURSE
OLD MAN (DEMEA OR LACHES)
(SINGER)

PERIOCHA
C. SVLPICI APOLLINARIS

SUMMARY
C. SULPICIUS APOLLINARIS

Sororem falso dictitatam Thaidis
id ipsum ignorans miles advexit Thraso
ipsique donat. erat haec civis Attica.
eidem eunuchum, quem emerat, tradi iubet
Thaidis amator Phaedria ac rus ipse abit
Thrasoni oratus biduum concederet.

the sister of Thais, falsely so-called,
Thraso the soldier, ignorant of that very thing, brought in,
and presents her to her. She was an Attic citizen.
to the same woman he orders the eunuch, which he had bought, to be delivered—
Phaedria, lover of Thais—and he himself goes to the country,
having been begged to grant two days to Thraso.

ephebus frater Phaedriae puellulam
cum deperiret dono missam Thaidi,
ornatu eunuchi induitur (suadet Parmeno):
introiit, vitiat virginem. sed Atticus
civis repertus frater eius conlocat
vitiatam ephebo; Phaedriam exorat Thraso.

the ephebus, brother of Phaedria, when he was desperately in love with the little girl sent as a gift to Thais,
is clothed in the eunuch’s adornment (Parmeno urges):
he went in, he deflowers the virgin. But her brother, found to be an Attic citizen,
settles the violated girl in marriage with the ephebus; Thraso prevails upon Phaedria.

PROLOGVS

PROLOGUE

Si quisquamst qui placere se studeat bonis
quam plurimis et minime multos laedere,
in is poeta hic nomen profitetur suom.
tum siquis est qui dictum in se inclementius
existumavit esse, sic existumet 5
responsum, non dictum esse, quia laesit prior.
qui bene vortendo et easdem scribendo male
ex Graecis bonis Latinas fecit non bonas,
idem Menandri Phasma nunc nuper dedit,
atque in Thesauro scripsit causam dicere 10
prius unde petitur, aurum qua re sit suom,
quam illic qui petit, unde is sit thensaurus sibi
aut unde in patrium monumentum pervenerit.

If there is anyone who strives to please good men
as many as possible and to harm as few as possible,
among these this poet professes his name.
then if there is anyone who has thought that a remark against himself
was more inclement, let him so think 5
that it was a response, not an original saying, because he injured first.
he who, by turning well and by writing these same things badly,
from good Greek ones made Latin ones not good,
this same man has just recently put out Menander’s Phantom,
and in the Treasure he wrote that the one from whom suit is sought should plead his case 10
first, for what reason the gold is his,
rather than that the one who sues should say from where that treasure is his
or how it came into his paternal monument (tomb).

de(h)inc ne frustretur ipse se aut sic cogitet
"defunctu' iam sum, nil est quod dicat mihi": 15
is ne erret moneo, et desinat lacessere.
habeo alia multa quae nunc condonabitur,
quae proferentur post si perget laedere
ita ut facere instituit. quam nunc acturi sumus
Menandri Eunuchum, postquam aediles emerunt, 20
perfecit sibi ut inspiciundi esset copia.

then, lest he frustrate himself or thus cogitate
"I am already done; there is nothing that he can say to me": 15
I warn that he not err, and let him cease to provoke.
I have many other things which for now will be condoned,
which will be brought forth afterward if he persists in injuring
just as he has instituted to do. The play which we are now about to act,
Menander’s Eunuch, after the Aediles purchased it, 20
he brought it about for himself that there should be an opportunity for inspecting.

magistratu' quom ibi adesset occeptast agi.
exclamat furem, non poetam fabulam
dedisse et nil dedisse verborum tamen:
Colacem esse Naevi, et Plauti veterem fabulam; 25
parasiti personam inde ablatam et militis.
si id est peccatum, peccatum inprudentiast
poetae, non quo furtum facere studuerit.

when the magistrate was present there, it began to be acted.
he shouts that a thief, not a poet, has presented the play,
and yet has given nothing in the way of words:
that it is Naevius’s Colax, and an old play of Plautus; 25
that the role of the parasite and of the soldier was lifted from there.
if this is a sin, the sin is the poet’s imprudence,
not because he was eager to commit theft.

id ita esse vos iam iudicare poteritis.
Colax Menandrist: in east parasitus Colax 30
et miles gloriosus: <ea>s se non negat
personas transtulisse in Eunuchum suam
ex Graeca; sed eas fabulas factas prius
Latinas scisse sese id vero pernegat.
quod si personis isdem huic uti non licet: 35
qui mage licet currentem servom scribere,
bonas matronas facere, meretrices malas,
parasitum edacem, gloriosum militem,
puerum supponi, falli per servom senem,
amare odisse suspicari?

You will now be able to judge that this is so.
The Colax is Menander’s: in it is the parasite Colax 30
and a glorious soldier: he does not deny
that he transferred those personae into his Eunuch from the Greek;
but that he knew those plays had previously been made Latin, that indeed he denies.
But if it is not permitted for him to use the same personae in this one: 35
how much more is it permitted to write a running slave,
to make good matrons, bad prostitutes,
a voracious parasite, a glorious soldier,
a boy to be substituted, an old man to be deceived by a slave,
to love, to hate, to suspect?

denique 40
nullumst iam dictum quod non dictum sit prius.
qua re aequom est vos cognoscere atque ignoscere
quae veteres factitarunt si faciunt novi.
date operam, cum silentio animum attendite,
ut pernoscati' quid sibi Eunuchus velit. 45

finally, 40
now nothing is said which has not been said before.
wherefore it is equitable that you recognize and forgive
if the new do what the ancients used to do repeatedly.
give effort; in silence, attend your mind,
so that you may thoroughly learn what the Eunuch means. 45

ACTVS I

ACT 1

Phaedria Parmeno

I.i
PH. Quid igitur faciam? non eam ne nunc quidem
quom accersor ultro? an potius ita me comparem
non perpeti meretricum contumelias?

I.i
PH. What then shall I do? Not go, not even now,
when I am summoned unasked? Or rather so compose myself
as not to endure the courtesans’ contumelies?

exclusit; revocat: redeam? non si me obsecret.
PA. siquidem hercle possis, nil prius neque fortius. 50
verum si incipies neque pertendes gnaviter
atque, ubi pati non poteri', quom nemo expetet,
infecta pace ultro ad eam venies indicans
te amare et ferre non posse: actumst, ilicet,
peristi: eludet ubi te victum senserit. 55
proin tu, dum est tempus, etiam atque etiam cogita,
ere: quae res in se neque consilium neque modum
habet ullum, eam consilio regere non potes.

she has shut me out; she calls me back: should I return? not even if she entreat me. PA. if indeed, by Hercules, you could, nothing sooner nor more bravely. 50
but if you begin and do not per-tend vigorously,
and, when you will not be able to suffer it, when no one seeks you,
with the peace unmade you will of your own accord come to her, declaring
that you love and cannot bear it: it’s done, that’s it, you’re ruined;
she will elude you once she perceives you conquered. 55
therefore you, while there is time, think again and again,
master: a thing which in itself has neither counsel nor measure
at all, you cannot govern by counsel.

in amore haec omnia insunt vitia: iniuriae,
suspiciones, inimicitiae, indutiae,                  60
bellum, pax rursum: incerta haec si tu postules
ratione certa facere, nihilo plus agas
quam si des operam ut cum ratione insanias.
et quod nunc tute tecum iratus cogitas
"egon illam, quae illum, quae me, quae non . . ! sine modo,  65
mori me malim: sentiet qui vir siem":
haec verba una mehercle falsa lacrimula
quam oculos terendo misere vix vi expresserit,
restinguet, et te ultro accusabit, et dabis
ultro supplicium. PH. o indignum facinu'! nunc ego   70
et illam scelestam esse et me miserum sentio:
et taedet et amore ardeo, et prudens sciens,
vivos vidensque pereo, nec quid agam scio.

in love all these vices are inherent: injuries,
suspicions, enmities, truces,                  60
war, peace again: if you demand to make these uncertainties
by a sure rationale, you will accomplish nothing more
than if you give effort to be mad with reason. And that which now, angry, you are thinking
to yourself: "I? her, who him, who me, who not . . ! only let me,  65
I would rather die: she shall feel what sort of man I am":
these words a single, by Hercules, false little tear,
which by rubbing her eyes she has miserably, scarcely, by force squeezed out,
will extinguish, and she will of her own accord accuse you, and you
will of your own accord pay the penalty. PH. O outrageous deed! Now I   70
perceive both that she is wicked and that I am wretched:
I am weary and I burn with love, and, prudent, knowing,
alive and seeing I perish, nor do I know what I should do.

PA. quid agas? nisi ut te redimas captum quam queas
minimo; si nequeas paullulo, at quanti queas; 75
et ne te adflictes. PH. itane suades?

PA. What are you to do? Unless to redeem yourself, a captive, as cheaply as you can
for the minimum; if you cannot, for a little bit, at whatever price you can; 75
and do not afflict yourself. PH. Do you so advise?

PA. si sapis,
neque praeter quam quas ipse amor molestias
habet addas, et illas quas habet recte feras.
sed ecca<m> ipsa egreditur, nostri fundi calamitas;
nam quod nos capere oportet haec intercipit. 80

PA. if you are wise,
do not add troubles beyond those which love itself has,
and bear rightly those which it has.
but look, she herself comes out, the calamity of our estate;
for what we ought to take, she intercepts. 80

Thais Phaedria Parmeno

I.ii
TH. Miseram me, vereor ne illud graviu' Phaedria
tulerit neve aliorsum atque ego feci acceperit,
quod heri intro missu' non est. PH. totus, Parmeno,
tremo horreoque, postquam aspexi hanc. PA. bono animo es:
accede ad ignem hunc, iam calesces plus satis. 85
TH. quis hic loquitur?

1.2
TH. Poor me, I fear lest Phaedria has borne that more grievously,
and lest he has taken it otherwise than I did it,
that yesterday he was not admitted inside. PH. All over, Parmeno,
I tremble and shudder, since I beheld her. PA. Be of good spirit:
come near to this fire; now you will grow warm more than enough. 85
TH. Who is speaking here?

ehem tun hic eras, mi Phaedria?
quid hic stabas? quor non recta intro ibas?

Ah! Were you here, my Phaedria?
Why were you standing here? Why didn’t you go straight inside?

PA. ceterum
de exclusione verbum nullum? TH. quid taces?
PH. sane quia vero haec mihi patent semper fores
aut quia sum apud te primu'. TH. missa istaec face. 90
PH. quid "missa"? o Thais, Thais, utinam esset mihi
pars aequa amori' tecum ac pariter fieret,
ut aut hoc tibi doleret itidem ut mihi dolet
aut ego istuc abs te factum nihili penderem!

PA. but otherwise—
about the exclusion, not a single word? TH. why are you silent?
PH. sure—since, forsooth, these doors stand open to me always,
or because I am first with you. TH. dismiss that; drop it. 90
PH. what “dismissed”? O Thais, Thais, would that I had
an equal share of love with you, and that it were made equal,
so that either this would pain you just as it pains me,
or I would value that deed done by you at nothing!

TH. ne crucia te obsecro, anime mi, <mi> Phaedria. 95
non pol quo quemquam plus amem aut plus diligam
<eo> feci; sed ita erat res, faciundum fuit.
PA. credo, ut fit, misera prae amore exclusti hunc foras.
TH. sicin agi', Parmeno?

TH. Do not torment yourself, I beseech you, my dear heart, <mi> Phaedria. 95
not, by Pollux, that because I love anyone more or esteem more
<eo> I did this; but such was the matter—it had to be done.
PA. I believe it—as happens—wretched with love, you shut this fellow out of doors.
TH. Is it carried on so, Parmeno?

age; sed huc qua gratia
te accersi iussi, ausculta. PH. fiat. TH. dic mihi 100
hoc primum, potin est hic tacere?

come; but for what purpose here
I ordered you to be summoned, listen. PH. so be it. TH. tell me 100
this first: can this fellow keep silent?

PA. egon? optume.
verum heus tu, hac lege tibi meam adstringo fidem:
quae vera audivi taceo et contineo optume;
sin falsum aut vanum aut finctumst, continuo palamst:
plenus rimarum sum, hac atque illac perfluo. 105
proin tu, taceri si vis, vera dicito.

PA. Me? very well.
But hey, you—on this condition I bind my fidelity to you:
what true things I have heard I keep quiet and contain most excellently;
but if it is false or vain or feigned, straightway it is public:
I am full of cracks; I leak through here and there. 105
therefore you, if you want it to be kept quiet, do tell the truth.

TH. Samia mihi mater fuit: ea habitabat Rhodi.
PA. potest taceri hoc. TH. ibi tum matri parvolam
puellam dono quidam mercator dedit
ex Attica hinc abreptam.

TH. My mother was Samian: she lived at Rhodes.
PA. This can be kept quiet. TH. There then to my mother a very little girl a certain merchant gave as a gift, snatched from Attica from here.

PH. civemne? TH. arbitror; 110
certum non scimu': matri' nomen et patris
dicebat ipsa: patriam et signa cetera
neque scibat neque per aetatem etiam potis erat.
mercator hoc addebat: e praedonibus,
unde emerat, se audisse abreptam e Sunio. 115
mater ubi accepit, coepit studiose omnia
docere, educere, ita ut si esset filia.

PH. a citizen? TH. I think so; 110
for certain we do not know: the names of her mother and father
she herself used to say; her fatherland and the other signs
she did not know, nor was she even able to, by reason of her age.
the merchant added this: from the pirates,
from whom he had bought her, he had heard she was abducted from Sunium. 115
when the mother received her, she began studiously to teach everything,
to teach, to educate, just as if she were her daughter.

sororem plerique esse credebant meam.
ego cum illo, quocum tum uno rem habebam hospite,
abii huc: qui mihi reliquit haec quae habeo omnia. 120
PA. utrumque hoc falsumst: effluet. TH. qui istuc?

most believed her to be my sister.
I, with that man, with whom at that time alone I had dealings as a guest‑friend,
came away here; he left to me all these things which I have. 120
PA. both points are false: it will leak out. TH. how so?

PA. quia
neque tu uno eras contenta neque solus dedit;
nam hic quoque bonam magnamque partem ad te attulit.
TH. itast; sed sine me pervenire quo volo.
interea miles qui me amare occeperat 125
in Cariamst profectu'; te interea loci
cognovi.

PA. because
neither were you content with one, nor did one alone give;
for this man too brought to you a good and great portion.
TH. it is so; but allow me to arrive where I wish.
meanwhile the soldier who had begun to love me 125
has set out to Caria; in the meantime
I came to know you.

tute scis postilla quam intumum
habeam te et mea consilia ut tibi credam omnia.
PH. ne hoc quidem tacebit Parmeno. PA. oh dubiumne id est?

you yourself know thereafter how intimate I hold you,
and that I entrust all my counsels to you.
PH. not even this will Parmeno keep quiet about. PA. oh, is that in doubt?

TH. hoc agite, amabo. mater mea illic mortuast 130
nuper; eiu' frater aliquantum ad remst avidior.
is ubi esse hanc forma videt honesta virginem
et fidibu' scire, pretium sperans ilico
producit, vendit.

TH. Do this, please. My mother there died 130
recently; her brother is somewhat more avid for gain.
When he sees that this virgin is of honorable form
and is skilled in the strings, hoping for a price straightway
he brings her forth, he sells her.

forte fortuna adfuit
hic meus amicus: emit <ea>m dono mihi 135
inprudens harum rerum ignaru'que omnium.
is venit: postquam sensit me tecum quoque
rem habere, fingit causas ne det sedulo:
ait, si fidem habeat se iri praepositum tibi
apud me, ac non id metuat, ne, ubi acceperim, 140
sese relinquam, velle se illam mihi dare;
verum id vereri. sed ego quantum suspicor,
ad virginem animum adiecit.

by fortunate chance my friend here was present: he bought her as a gift for me 135
imprudent in these matters and ignorant of everything.
he comes; after he sensed that I too had an affair with you,
he feigns causes so as not to deliver her diligently:
he says, if he could have confidence that he would be put in charge of you
with me, and not fear this—that, when I have received her, 140
I would leave him—he wishes to give her to me;
but he fears that. But, as far as I suspect,
he has attached his mind to the virgin.

PH. etiamne amplius?
TH. nil; nam quaesivi. nunc ego <ea>m, mi Phaedria,
multae sunt causae quam ob rem cupio abducere: 145
primum quod soror est dicta; praeterea ut suis
restituam ac reddam.

PH. Anything more besides?
TH. Nothing; for I asked. Now, her, my Phaedria,
there are many causes on account of which I desire to lead her away: 145
first, because she is said to be a sister; besides, that I may restore and render her back
to her own.

sola sum; habeo hic neminem
neque amicum neque cognatum: quam ob rem, Phaedria,
cupio aliquos parere amicos beneficio meo.
id amabo adiuta me, quo id fiat facilius: 150
sine illum priores partis hosce aliquot dies
apud me habere. nil respondes?

I am alone; I have here no one
neither friend nor kinsman: therefore, Phaedria,
I desire to procure some friends by my beneficence.
please, help me in this, so that it may be done more easily: 150
allow him to have the leading part these few days
at my house. You answer nothing?

PH. pessuma,
egon quicquam cum istis factis tibi respondeam?
PA. eu noster, laudo: tandem perdoluit: vir es.
PH. aut ego nescibam quorsum tu ires? "parvola 155
hinc est abrepta; eduxit mater pro sua;
soror dictast; cupio abducere, ut reddam suis":
nempe omnia haec nunc verba huc redeunt denique:
ego excludor, ille—recipitur.

PH. You wretch,
am I to answer you anything after those deeds of yours?
PA. Bravo, my friend, I commend it: at last it pained you to the quick: you are a man.
PH. Or did I not know where you were going? "a little girl 155
has been snatched from here; a mother has brought her up as her own;
she is said to be a sister; I desire to lead her away, so that I may restore her to her own":
of course all these words now come back to this in the end:
I am excluded; he— is admitted.

qua gratia?
nisi si illum plus amas quam me et istam nunc times 160
quae advectast ne illum talem praeripiat tibi.
TH. ego[n] id timeo?

for what reason?
unless it is that you love him more than me and now you fear that one 160
who has been brought in, lest she snatch away such a man from you.
TH. Do I fear that?

PH. quid te ergo aliud sollicitat? cedo.
num solus ille dona dat?

PH. What else, then, is troubling you? Tell me.
Does he alone give gifts?

num ubi meam
benignitatem sensisti in te claudier?
nonne ubi mi dixti cupere te ex Aethiopia 165
ancillulam, relictis rebus omnibus
quaesivi? porro eunuchum dixti velle te,
quia solae utuntur is reginae; repperi,
heri minas viginti pro ambobus dedi.

surely where have you ever
sensed my benignity toward you to be shut off?
did I not, when you told me you desired from Aethiopia 165
a little handmaid, with all other things left aside,
seek her? furthermore you said you wanted a eunuch,
because only queens make use of them; I found one,
yesterday I paid twenty minas for both.

tamen contemptus abs te haec habui in memoria: 170
ob haec facta abs te spernor? TH. quid istic, Phaedria?
quamquam illam cupio abducere atque hac re arbitror
id fieri posse maxume, verum tamen
potius quam te inimicum habeam, faciam ut iusseris.

nevertheless, though contemned by you, I have held these things in memory: 170
for these deeds am I spurned by you? TH. What of it, Phaedria?
although I desire to carry her off and by this plan I judge
that it can be brought about most readily, yet nonetheless
rather than have you as an enemy, I will do as you have ordered.

PH. utinam istuc verbum ex animo ac vere diceres 175
"potius quam te inimicum habeam"! si istuc crederem
sincere dici, quidvis possem perpeti.
PA. labascit victus uno verbo quam cito!
TH. ego non ex animo misera dico?

PH. would that you were saying that word from the soul and truly 175
"rather than have you as an enemy"! if I believed that was being said
sincerely, I could endure anything.
PA. how quickly the conquered lapses at one word!
TH. am I not, wretched as I am, speaking from the soul?

quam ioco
rem voluisti a me tandem, quin perfeceris? 180
ego impetrare nequeo hoc abs te, biduom
saltem ut concedas solum. PH. siquidem biduom:
verum ne fiant isti viginti dies.
TH. profecto non plus biduom aut . . PH. "aut" nil moror.

since in jest
you wanted the matter from me, why don’t you at last carry it through? 180
I cannot impetrate this from you, at least that you concede only a two-day period. PH. provided it’s two days:
but let that not become twenty days.
TH. indeed, not more than two days, or . . PH. I care nothing for "or".

TH. non fiet: hoc modo sine te exorem. PH. scilicet 185
faciundumst quod vis. TH. merito te amo, bene facis.

TH. It will not happen: allow me in this way to win you over. PH. Of course 185
what you wish must be done. TH. With good reason I love you; you do well.

PH. rus ibo: ibi hoc me macerabo biduom.
ita facere certumst: mos gerundust Thaidi.
tu, Parmeno, huc fac illi adducantur.

PH. I will go to the country: there I will macerate myself for two days.
It is settled to do so: Thais must be humored.
You, Parmeno, see to it that they are brought here to her.

PA. maxume.
PH. in hoc biduom, Thais, vale. TH. mi Phaedria, 190
et tu. numquid vis aliud?

PA. most certainly.
PH. for this two-day period, Thais, farewell. TH. my Phaedria, 190
and you. Is there anything else you want?

PH. egone quid velim?
cum milite istoc praesens absens ut sies;
dies noctesque me ames, me desideres,
me somnies, me exspectes, de me cogites,
me speres, me te oblectes, mecum tota sis: 195
meu' fac sis postremo animu' quando ego sum tuos.—
TH. me miseram, fors[it]an hic mihi parvam habeat fidem
atque ex aliarum ingeniis nunc me iudicet.
ego pol, quae mihi sum conscia, hoc certo scio
neque me finxisse falsi quicquam neque meo 200
cordi esse quemquam cariorem hoc Phaedria.

PH. Do I need to say what I would will?
that, when with that soldier, present, you be absent;
that days and nights you love me, desire me,
dream of me, expect me, think of me,
hope for me, take your delectation in me, be wholly with me: 195
do be at last my soul, since I am yours.—
TH. poor me, perhaps he holds but little trust in me
and now judges me by the characters of others.
By Pollux, as I am conscious to myself, this I know for sure:
that I have fashioned nothing false, nor is there to my own 200
heart anyone dearer than this Phaedria.

et quidquid huiu' feci causa virginis
feci; nam me eiu' fratrem spero propemodum
iam repperisse, adulescentem adeo nobilem;
et is hodie venturum ad me constituit domum. 205
concedam hinc intro atque exspectabo dum venit.

and whatever I have done for this virgin’s sake
I have done; for I hope that I have pretty nearly
already found her brother, a youth so noble;
and he has arranged today to come to my house. 205
I will withdraw inside from here and wait until he comes.

ACTVS II

ACT 2

Phaedria Parmeno

II.i
PH. Fac, ita ut iussi, deducantur isti. PA. faciam. PH. at diligenter.

2.1
PH. See to it, just as I ordered, that those men be escorted out. PA. I will do it. PH. but carefully.

PA. fiet. PH. at mature. PA. fiet.

PA. It will be done. PH. But promptly. PA. It will be done.

PH. satine hoc mandatumst tibi? PA. ah
rogitare, quasi difficile sit!
utinam tam aliquid invenire facile possis, Phaedria, 210
quam hoc peribit.

PH. Is this mandate clear enough to you? PA. ah
to keep asking, as if it were difficult! Would that you could find something so easily, Phaedria, 210
as this will perish.

PH. ego quoque una pereo, quod mist carius;
ne istuc tam iniquo patiare animo. PA. minime: qui effectum dabo.
sed numquid aliud imperas?

PH. I too perish along with it, since that is what is most dear to me; do not suffer that with so iniquitous a spirit. PA. By no means: for I will bring it to effect.
but is there anything else you command?

PH. munu' nostrum ornato verbis, quod poteris, et istum aemulum,
quod poteris, ab ea pellito. 215
PA. memini, tam etsi nullu' moneas. PH. ego rus ibo atque ibi manebo.
PA. censeo.

PH. adorn our gift with words, as you can, and that rival,
as you can, drive him away from her. 215
PA. I remember, even if you give no admonition. PH. I will go to the country and
there I will stay.
PA. I think so.

PH. sed heus tu. PA. quid vis? PH. censen posse me obfirmare et
perpeti ne redeam interea? PA. tene?

PH. but hey, you. PA. what do you want? PH. do you think I can steel myself and
endure, so that I do not return in the interim? PA. you?

non hercle arbitror;
nam aut iam revortere aut mox noctu te adiget horsum insomnia.
PH. opu' faciam, ut defetiger usque, ingratiis ut dormiam. 220
PA. vigilabi' lassus: hoc plus facies. PH. abi, nil dicis, Parmeno.

By Hercules, I do not think so;
for either you will turn back now, or soon by night the dreams will drive you this way.
PH. I will make it my business to toil so that I am worn out completely, so that I sleep against my will. 220
PA. you will keep awake, tired: this you will do the more. PH. be off; you are saying nothing, Parmeno.

eiciunda hercle haec est mollities animi; nimi' me indulgeo.
tandem non ego illam caream, si sit opu', vel totum triduom? PA. hui
univorsum triduom?

By Hercules, this softness of spirit must be cast out; I indulge myself too much.
At last, shall I not do without her, if there be need, even for a whole three days? PA.
oh—
an entire three days?

vide quid agas. PH. stat sententia.—
PA. di boni, quid hoc morbist? adeon homines inmutarier 225
ex amore ut non cognoscas <eu>ndem esse!

see what you are doing. PH. the decision stands.—
PA. good gods, what sickness is this? to such a degree are men altered 225
out of love that you would not recognize him as the same!

hoc nemo fuit
minus ineptu', mage severu' quisquam nec mage continens.
sed quis hic est qui huc pergit? attat hi(c)quidem est parasitus Gnatho
militis: ducit secum una virginem dono huic.

in this respect no one was less inept, nor was anyone more severe nor more continent.
but who is this who is proceeding hither? ah, this indeed is Gnatho, the parasite of the soldier:
he is leading along with him a virgin as a gift for this man.

papae
facie honesta! mirum ni ego me turpiter hodie hic dabo 230
cum m<eo> decrepito hoc eunucho. haec superat ipsam Thaidem.

good heavens!
an honorable-looking face! It will be a wonder if I do not disgrace myself here today here 230
with this decrepit eunuch of mine. This one surpasses Thaïs herself.

Gnatho Parmeno

II.ii
GN. Di inmortales, homini homo quid praestat? stulto intellegens
quid inter est? hoc adeo ex hac re venit in mentem mihi:
conveni hodie adveniens quendam m<ei> loci hinc atque ordinis,
hominem haud inpurum, itidem patria qui abligurrierat bona: 235
video sentum squalidum aegrum, pannis annisque obsitum.

2.2
GN. Immortal gods, how much does a man surpass a man? what difference is there between an intelligent man and a fool?
This indeed from this matter came into my mind:
today, upon arriving, I met a certain man of my place here and of my order,
a man not disreputable, who likewise had gobbled up his patrimony: 235
I see him bristly, squalid, sick, covered with rags and with years.

"oh
quid istuc" inquam "ornatist?" "quoniam miser quod habui perdidi, em
quo redactu' sum. omnes noti me atque amici deserunt."
hic ego illum contempsi prae me: "quid homo" inquam "ignavissime?
itan parasti te ut spes nulla relicua in te s<ie>t tibi? 240
simul consilium cum re amisti?

"oh
'what is that,' I say, 'finery?' 'Since, wretched as I am, I have lost what I had—look
to what reduction I am come. All acquaintances and friends desert me.'
Here I despised him in comparison with myself: 'What, man,' I say, 'you most craven?
Is it thus you have prepared yourself, that no hope remains left in you for yourself? 240
Have you lost your counsel along with your means?

viden me ex <eo>dem ortum loco?
qui color nitor vestitu', quae habitudost corporis!
omnia habeo neque quicquam habeo; nil quom est, nil defit tamen."
"at ego infelix neque ridiculus esse neque plagas pati
possum." "quid?

Do you see me sprung from the same place? what color, what luster in my vesture, what habitude of body! I have everything and I have nothing; when nothing is, nevertheless nothing is deficient." "But I, unfortunate, can be neither ridiculous nor endure blows
am able." "What?

tu his rebu' credi' fieri? tota erras via. 245
olim isti f<ui>t generi quondam quaestus apud saeclum prius:
hoc novomst aucupium; ego adeo hanc primus inveni viam.
est genus hominum qui esse primos se omnium rerum volunt
nec sunt: hos consector; hisce ego non paro me ut rideant,
sed eis ultro adrideo et eorum ingenia admiror simul. 250
quidquid dicunt laudo; id rursum si negant, laudo id quoque;
negat quis: nego; ait: aio; postremo imperavi egomet mihi
omnia adsentari.

Do you think this can be brought about by these things? You are entirely astray in your way. 245
Once there was gain for that kind, in a prior age:
this is a new sort of fowling; I, for my part, first found this way.
There is a kind of men who want themselves to be first in all things
and are not: these I pursue; for these I do not prepare myself to be laughed at,
but I, unbidden, smile at them and at the same time admire their talents. 250
Whatever they say, I praise; if they deny that in turn, I praise that too;
someone says “no”: I say “no”; he says “yes”: I say “yes”; finally I have commanded myself
to assent to everything.

is quaestu' nunc est multo uberrimus."
PA. scitum hercle hominem! hic homines prorsum ex stultis insanos facit.
GN. dum haec loquimur, interealoci ad macellum ubi advenimus, 255
concurrunt laeti mi obviam cuppedenarii omnes,
cetarii lanii coqui fartores piscatores,
quibus et re salva et perdita profueram et prosum saepe:
salutant, ad cenam vocant, adventum gratulantur.

this line of business is now by far the most bountiful."
PA. a clever fellow, by Hercules! this man turns people straight from foolish to insane.
GN. while we are saying these things, meanwhile, when we arrive at the market, 255
all the delicacy-mongers run together, happy, to meet me,
fishmongers, butchers, cooks, sausage-stuffers, fishermen,
to whom, both with their estate safe and with it lost, I had been and am often of use:
they greet me, invite me to dinner, congratulate my arrival.

ille ubi miser famelicus videt mi esse tantum honorem et 260
tam facile victum quaerere, ibi homo coepit me obsecrare
ut sibi liceret discere id de me: sectari iussi,
si potis est, tamquam philosophorum habent disciplinae ex ipsis
vocabula, parasiti ita ut Gnathonici vocentur.
PA. viden otium et cibu' quid facit alienu'? GN. sed ego cesso 265
ad Thaidem hanc deducere et rogare ad cenam ut veniat?
sed Parmenonem ante ostium Thaini' tristem video,
rivali' servom: salva res[es]t. nimirum hic homines frigent.

when that wretch, famished, sees that I have so much honor and 260
seek victuals so easily, there the man began to beseech me
that it might be permitted him to learn that from me: I ordered him to follow,
if it is possible, just as the disciplines of the philosophers have from the men themselves
their vocabularies, so let parasites be called Gnathonics.
PA. do you see what leisure and another’s food does? GN. but am I delaying 265
to escort this Thais and to ask that she come to dinner?
but I see Parmenon sad before Thais’s door,
the rival’s slave: the matter is safe. Clearly these fellows are cold.

nebulonem hunc certumst ludere. PA. hisce hoc munere arbitrantur
suam Thaidem esse. GN. plurima salute Parmenonem 270
summum suom inpertit Gnatho.

it is certain to play this scoundrel. PA. these men, by this gift, reckon that Thais is theirs. GN. with very many salutations, Gnatho imparts to Parmenon, his very best, 270

quid agitur? PA. statur. GN. video.

What is being done? PA. Standing. GN. I see.

num quid nam hic quod nolis vides? PA. te. GN. credo; at numquid aliud?
PA. qui dum?

Do you see here anything that you don't like? PA. You. GN. I believe it; but anything else?
PA. Why, pray?

GN. quia tristi's. PA. nil quidem. GN. ne sis; sed quid videtur
hoc tibi mancupium? PA. non malum hercle.

GN. because you are gloomy. PA. nothing at all. GN. don’t be; but how does this chattel seem to you?
this to you, the mancipium? PA. not bad, by Hercules.

GN. uro hominem. PA. ut
falsus animist!
GN. quam hoc munu' gratum Thaidi arbitrare esse?

GN. I’m burning the fellow up. PA. how
misguided of mind he is!
GN. how gratifying do you judge this gift to be to Thais?

PA. hoc nunc dicis 275
eiectos hinc nos: omnium rerum, heus, vicissitudost.
GN. sex ego te totos, Parmeno, hos mensis quietum reddam
ne sursum d<eo>rsum cursites neve usque ad lucem vigiles.
ecquid beo te? PA. men?

PA. you say this now 275
that we’re ejected from here: of all things, hey, there is vicissitude.
GN. for these six whole months, Parmeno, I’ll make you at ease, so that you don’t run up and down nor keep vigil straight through till daylight.
do I make you happy? PA. me?

papae. GN. sic soleo amicos. PA. laudo.

bravo. GN. that’s how I’m accustomed with friends. PA. I approve.

GN. detineo te: fortasse tu profectus alio fueras. 280
PA. nusquam. GN. tum tu igitur paullulum da mi operae: fac ut admittar
ad illam. PA. age modo, i: nunc tibi patent fores hae quia istam ducis.

GN. I detain you: perhaps you had set out elsewhere. 280
PA. Nowhere. GN. Then you therefore give me a little assistance: see to it that I be admitted
to her. PA. Come now, go: now these doors stand open to you because you are leading that woman.

GN. numquem evocari hinc vis foras? PA. sine biduom hoc praetereat:
qui mihi nunc uno digitulo fores aperis fortunatus,
ne tu istas faxo calcibus saepe insultabi' frustra. 285
GN. etiamnunc tu hic stas, Parmeno? eho numnam hic relictu's custos,
nequis forte internuntius clam a milite ad istam curset?

GN. Would you by any chance like to be called out from here, outside? PA. Let this two-day period pass by:
you who now open the doors for me with a single fingertip, fortunate fellow,
I’ll make sure you’ll often be jumping on those doors with your heels in vain. 285
GN. Are you still standing here, Parmeno? Hey, have you been left here as a guard,
lest perhaps some go-between run secretly from the soldier to that woman?

PA. facete dictum: mira vero militi qui placeat?—
sed video erilem filium minorem huc advenire.
miror quid ex Piraeo abierit; nam ibi custos publice est nunc. 290
non temere est; et properans venit: nescioquid circumspectat.

PA. wittily said: strange indeed—how could he be pleasing to the soldier?—
but I see the master's younger son coming here.
I wonder why he has left from the Piraeus; for there he is now on public guard-duty. 290
it is not without cause; and he comes in haste: he is looking around for I know not what.

Chaerea Parmeno

II.iii
CH. Occidi!
neque virgost usquam neque ego, qui illam e conspectu amisi meo.
ubi quaeram, ubi investigem, quem perconter, quam insistam viam
incertu' sum.

II.iii
CH. I am slain!
neither is the maiden anywhere, nor am I, who lost her from my sight.
where am I to seek, where to investigate, whom to interrogate, which road to set foot upon—
I am uncertain.

una haec spes est: ubi ubi est, diu celari non potest. 295
o faciem pulchram! deleo omnis de(h)inc ex animo mulieres:
taedet cotidianarum harum formarum. PA. ecce autem alterum!

This is my sole hope: wherever she is, she cannot be concealed for long. 295
O beautiful face! I erase all women hereafter from my mind:
I am sick of these quotidian forms. PA. Look, another one!

nescioquid de amore loquitur: o infortunatum senem!
hic vero est qui si occeperit,
ludum iocumque dices f<ui>sse illum alterum, 300
praeut huiu' rabies quae dabit.
CH. ut illum di d<eae>que senium perdant qui me hodie remoratus est;
meque adeo qui <ei> restiterim; tum autem qui illum flocci fecerim.

he is talking something-or-other about love: O ill-fortuned old man!
this indeed is the one who, if he begins,
you will say that that other was play and jest, 300
compared to the frenzy which this one will give.
CH. may the gods and goddesses blast with senility the one who delayed me today;
and me too, for that I resisted him; then moreover that I valued him at a trifle.

sed eccum Parmenonem. salve. PA. quid tu's tristi'? quidve's alacris?

But look—Parmenon. Hello. PA. Why are you sad? Or why are you cheerful?

unde is? CH. egone? nescio hercle, 305
neque unde eam neque quorsum eam: ita prorsu' sum oblitus mei.
PA. qui quaeso?

whence are you? CH. I? I don't know, by Hercules, 305
neither whence I go nor whither I go: so outright I have forgotten myself.
PA. How, pray?

CH. amo. PA. hem. CH. nunc, Parmeno, ostendes te qui vir sies.

CH. I am in love. PA. eh? CH. now, Parmeno, you will show what kind of man you are.

scis te mihi saepe pollicitum esse "Chaerea, aliquid inveni
modo quod ames: in ea re utilitatem ego faciam ut cognoscas meam",
quom in cellulam ad te patri' penum omnem congerebam clanculum. 310
PA. age, inepte. CH. hoc hercle factumst. fac sis nunc promissa adpareant,
si adeo digna res[es]t ubi tu nervos intendas tuos.

you know that you have often promised me, "Chaerea, only find something to love: in that matter I will make you recognize my utility,"
when into your little cell I was secretly heaping together all my father's provisions to you. 310
PA. come now, inept one. CH. by Hercules, this has indeed been done. see to it now that the promises appear,
if indeed it is so worthy a matter where you should stretch your sinews.

haud simili' virgost virginum nostrarum, quas matres student
demissis umeris esse, vincto pectore, ut gracilae sient.
siquaest habitior paullo pugilem esse aiunt, deducunt cibum: 315
tam etsi bonast natura, reddunt curatura iunceas:
itaque ergo amantur. PA. quid tua istaec?

she is a maiden not at all like our virgins, whom mothers are eager
to have with lowered shoulders, with the chest bound, so that they may be slender.
if any is a little stouter they say she is a pugilist; they reduce her food: 315
and thus, even if her nature is good, by regimen they render her rush-like:
and so therefore they are loved. PA. what’s that to you?

CH. nova figura oris. PA. papae.
CH. color veru', corpu' solidum et suci plenum.

CH. a new figure of the face. PA. good heavens.
CH. true color, a body solid and full of juice.

PA. anni? CH. anni? sedecim.

PA. years? CH. years? sixteen.

PA. flos ipse. CH. <ipsam> hanc tu mihi vel vi vel clam vel precario
fac tradas: mea nil refert dum potiar modo. 320
PA. quid? virgo quoiast?

PA. the very flower. CH. <herself> this one, see that you hand her over to me either by force or secretly or on sufferance;
it matters nothing to me so long as I may get possession at all. 320
PA. what? the maiden—whose is she?

CH. nescio hercle. PA. undest? CH. tantundem.

CH. I don’t know, by Hercules. PA. where’s she from? CH. the same.

PA. ubi habitat?
CH. ne id quidem. PA. ubi vidisti?

PA. Where does she live?
CH. Not even that. PA. Where did you see her?

CH. in via. PA. qua ratione eam amisti?
CH. id equidem adveniens mecum stomachabar modo,
nec quemquam ego esse hominem arbitror quoi mage bonae
felicitates omnes advorsae sient. 325
quid hoc est sceleri'? perii.

CH. on the road. PA. by what method did you lose her?
CH. indeed, arriving, I was just now fretting with myself about that, nor do I think there exists any man to whom all good felicities are more adverse. 325
what is this of wickedness? I am undone.

PA. quid factumst? CH. rogas?
patris cognatum atque aequalem Archidemidem
nostin?

PA. What has been done? CH. You ask?
Do you know Archidemides, my father’s cognate and equal?

PA. quidni? CH. is, dum hanc sequor, fit mi obviam.
PA. incommode hercle.

PA. why not? CH. he, while I follow her, comes to meet me.
PA. inconveniently, by Hercules.

CH. immo enimvero infeliciter;
nam incommoda alia sunt dicenda, Parmeno. 330
illum liquet mihi deierare his mensibus
sex septem prorsum non vidisse proxumis,
nisi nunc quom minime vellem minimeque opu' fuit.
eho nonne hoc monstri similest? quid ais?

CH. no indeed, in very truth, unhappily;
for other inconveniences are to be told, Parmeno. 330
it is clear to me that he would swear that in these most recent months
for six or seven straight he absolutely has not seen her,
except now, when I least wished it and there was least need.
hey, is this not like a prodigy? what do you say?

PA. maxume.
CH. continuo occurrit ad me, quam longe quidem, 335
incurvo' tremulu' labiis demissis gemens:
"heus heus tibi dico, Chaerea" inquit. restiti.

PA. very much.
CH. at once he comes up to me, though from quite far off, 335
stooped, tremulous, with lips downcast, groaning:
"hey, hey, I’m speaking to you, Chaerea," he says. I stopped.

"scin quid ego te volebam?" "dic." "cras est mihi
iudicium." "quid tum?" "ut diligenter nunties
patri, advocatu' mane mi esse ut meminerit." 340
dum haec dicit abiit hora. rogo numquid velit.
"recte" inquit.

"Do you know what I wanted you for?" "Say." "Tomorrow I have
a judgment." "What then?" "That you diligently notify
my father, that he remember to be my advocate in the morning." 340
While he was saying these things, the hour went by. I ask whether he wants anything else.
"All right," he says.

abeo. quom huc respicio ad virginem,
illa se[se] interea commodum huc advorterat
in hanc nostram plateam. PA. mirum ni hanc dicit, modo
huic quae datast dono.

I go off. When I look back here toward the virgin,
she meanwhile at just that moment had turned herself here
into our street. PA. No wonder if he means this one,
the one who just now was given to this fellow as a gift.

CH. huc quom advenio nulla erat. 345
PA. comites secuti scilicet sunt virginem?
CH. verum: parasitu' cum ancilla. PA. ipsast: ilicet.

CH. when I came here, she was not here. 345
PA. her companions have, of course, followed the maiden?
CH. true: the parasite with the maidservant. PA. it's she herself: all right, then.

desine; iam conclamatumst. CH. alias res agis.
PA. istuc ago equidem.

stop; it's all over now. CH. you’re minding other matters.
PA. that’s exactly what I’m doing, indeed.

CH. nostin quae sit, dic mihi, aut
vidistin? PA. vidi novi scio quo abducta sit. 350
CH. eho Parmeno mi, nostin? [PA. novi.

CH. do you know who she is, tell me, or
have you seen her? PA. I saw, I know, I know where she has been abducted. 350
CH. hey, my Parmeno, do you know? [PA. I know.

CH.] et scis ubi siet?
PA. huc deductast ad meretricem Thaidem: <ei> dono datast.
CH. quis is est tam potens cum tanto munere hoc?

CH.] and do you know where she is?
PA. she has been brought here to the courtesan Thais: <to her> she has been given as a gift.
CH. who is he that is so potent with so great a present as this?

PA. miles Thraso,
Phaedriae rivali'. CH. duras fratri' partis praedicas.
PA. immo enim si scias quod donum huic dono contra conparet, 355
[tum] magis id dicas. CH. quodnam quaeso hercle?

PA.
the soldier Thraso,
Phaedria’s rival. CH. you proclaim hard parts for your brother.
PA. nay indeed, if you should know what gift he matches against this gift, 355
[tum] you would say that the more. CH. what, pray, by Hercules?

PA. eunuchum. CH.
illumne obsecro
inhonestum hominem, quem mercatus est heri, senem mulierem?
PA. istunc ipsum.

PA. a eunuch. CH.
that one, I beseech—
the dishonorable fellow, whom he purchased yesterday, an old woman-man?
PA. that very one.

CH. homo quatietur certe cum dono foras.
sed istam Thaidem non scivi nobis vicinam. PA. haud diust.

CH. the fellow will certainly be shaken out of doors with the gift.
but I did not know that Thais was our neighbor. PA. not for long.

CH. perii, numquamne etiam me illam vidisse! eho dum dic mihi: 360
estne, ut fertur, forma? PA. sane.

CH. I'm undone—have I really never even seen her! Hey now, tell me: 360
is she, as it's reported, a beauty? PA. Certainly.

CH. at nil ad nostram hanc? PA. alia rest.
CH. obsecro hercle, Parmeno, fac ut potiar.

CH. but nothing about this our girl? PA. it is another matter.
CH. I beg you, by Hercules, Parmeno, see that I may obtain her.

PA. faciam sedulo ac
dabo operam, adiuvabo: numquid me aliud? CH. quo nunc is? PA. domum,
ut mancupia haec, ita ut iussit frater, ducam ad Thaidem.
CH. o fortunatum istum eunuchum quiquidem in hanc detur domum! 365
PA. quid ita?

PA. I will do it
sedulously and
I will give my effort, I will aid: anything else for me? CH. Where are you going now? PA. home,
to lead these slaves, just as your brother ordered, to Thais.
CH. O fortunate that eunuch who indeed is given into this house! 365
PA. Why so?

CH. rogitas? summa forma semper conservam domi
videbit conloquetur aderit una in unis aedibus,
cibum non numquam capiet cum ea, interdum propter dormiet.
PA. quid si nunc tute fortunatu' fias?

CH. you ask? the girl of highest form will always see a fellow-slave at home,
she will converse, will be present together in one and the same house,
she will sometimes take food with him, sometimes sleep beside him.
PA. what if now you yourself should become fortunate?

CH. qua re, Parmeno?
responde. PA. capias tu illi(u)s vestem.

CH. why, Parmeno? respond. PA. you should take his garment.

CH. vestem? quid tum postea? 370
PA. pro illo te ducam. CH. audio.

CH. The garment? What then afterward? 370
PA. In his place I’ll conduct you. CH. I hear.

PA. te esse illum dicam. CH. intellego.
PA. tu illis fruare commodis quibu' tu illum dicebas modo:
cibum una capias, adsis tangas ludas propter dormias;
quandoquidem illarum neque te quisquam novit neque scit qui sies.

PA. I will say that you are that man. CH. I understand.
PA. You may enjoy those advantages which you were just now saying he had:
take food together, be present, touch, play, sleep nearby;
since of those women none knows you nor knows who you are.

praeterea forma et aetas ipsast facile ut pro eunucho probes. 375
CH. dixti pulchre: numquam vidi meliu' consilium dari.
age eamus intro nunciam: orna me abduc duc quantum potest.
PA. quid agi'? iocabar equidem.

besides, your form and age themselves are such that you can easily pass as a eunuch. 375
CH. you have spoken beautifully: I have never seen better counsel given.
come, let us go inside right now: outfit me, take me off, lead me as fast as possible.
PA. what are you doing? I was joking, indeed.

CH. garris. PA. perii, quid ego egi miser!
quo trudi'? perculeris iam tu me. tibi equidem dico, mane.

CH. you prattle. PA. I’m ruined—what have I, poor wretch, done!
where are you shoving me? you’ll knock me down presently. I tell you, wait.

CH. eamu'. PA. pergin? CH. certumst. PA. vide ne nimium calidum 380
hoc sit modo.

CH. let’s go. PA. are you going on? CH. it’s settled. PA. look out that this isn’t too hot 380
just now.

CH. non est profecto: sine. PA. at enim istaec in me cudetur faba. CH. ah.
PA. flagitium facimus.

CH. it is not, assuredly: let it be. PA. but indeed that bean will be beaten out on me. CH. ah.
PA. we are committing a flagitious deed.

CH. an id flagitiumst si in domum meretriciam
deducar et illis crucibu', quae nos nostramque adulescentiam
habent despicatam et quae nos semper omnibus cruciant modis,
nunc referam gratiam atque eas itidem fallam, ut ab is fallimur? 385
an potius haec patri aequomst fieri ut a me ludatur dolis?
quod qui rescierint, culpent; illud merito factum omnes putent.
PA. quid istic?

CH. Or is that a scandal if into a brothel
I am led, and with those torments, which hold us and our adolescence in contempt,
and which always excruciate us in every way,
shall I now return the favor and likewise trick them, as we are tricked by them? 385
or rather is it fair that this be done to my father—that he be played with by my wiles?
which whoever gets wind of would blame; the other everyone would think done deservedly.
PA. What of it?

si certumst facere, facias; verum ne post conferas
culpam in me. CH. non faciam. PA. iubesne? CH. iubeam?

if it is certain to do it, do it; but do not afterward ascribe the culpability to me.
CH. I will not. PA. Do you order it? CH. should I order it?

cogo atque impero:
numquam defugiam auctoritatem. sequere. PA. di vortant bene! 390

I compel and I command:
I will never evade authority. Follow. PA. May the gods turn it well! 390

ACTVS III

ACT 3

Thraso Gnatho Parmeno

III.i
TH. Magnas vero agere gratias Thais mihi?
GN. ingentis. TH. <ai>n tu, laetast?

III.i
TH. Does Thais indeed give great thanks to me?
GN. Enormous. TH. <do you> say so? Is she glad?

GN. non tam ipso quidem
dono quam abs te datum esse: id vero serio
triumphat. PA. hoc proviso ut, ubi tempus siet,
deducam. sed eccum militem.

GN. not so much by the gift itself
as that it was given by you: that indeed in earnest
triumphs. PA. this provided, that, when there is time,
I will lead her out. But behold, the soldier.

TH. est istuc datum 395
profecto ut grata mihi sint quae facio omnia.
GN. advorti hercle animum. TH. vel rex semper maxumas
mihi agebat quidquid feceram: aliis non item.

TH. that has been granted 395
indeed, that all the things I do be pleasing to me. GN. by Hercules, I noticed. TH. even a king always rendered to me the very great thanks for whatever I had done: not so to others.

GN. labore alieno magno partam gloriam
verbis saepe in se transmovet qui habet salem; 400
quod in test. TH. habes. GN. rex te ergo in oculis . . TH. scilicet.

GN. by another’s great labor the glory acquired
he who has wit often transfers into himself by words; 400
as far as lies in you. TH. you’ve got it. GN. the king therefore keeps you before his eyes . . TH. of course.

GN. gestare. TH. vero: credere omnem exercitum,
consilia. GN. mirum.

GN. to carry about. TH. indeed: to entrust the whole army,
the counsels. GN. amazing.

TH. tum sicubi eum satietas
hominum aut negoti siquando odium ceperat,
requiescere ubi volebat, quasi . . nostin? GN. scio: 405
quasi ubi illam exspueret miseriam ex animo. TH. tenes.

TH. then whenever satiety of men, or if ever a hatred of business, had seized him,
wherever he wished to rest, as if . . you know? GN. I know: 405
as if he were spitting out that misery from his spirit. TH. you grasp it.

tum me convivam solum abducebat sibi. GN. hui
regem elegantem narras. TH. immo sic homost:
perpaucorum hominum.

then he would lead me away as his only dinner-companion. GN. wow
you tell of an elegant king. TH. nay rather, such a man he is:
of very few men.

GN. immo nullorum arbitror,
si tecum vivit. TH. invidere omnes mihi, 410
mordere clanculum: ego non flocci pendere:
illi invidere misere; verum unus tamen
inpense, elephantis quem Indicis praefecerat.
is ubi molestu' magis est, "quaeso" inquam "Strato,
eon es ferox quia habes imperium in beluas?" 415
GN. pulchre mehercle dictum et sapienter.

GN. rather, I think of none, if he lives with you. TH. they all envied me, 410
to bite me clandestinely: I did not value it a flocc:
they envied me miserably; but one, however, intensely, whom he had set over the Indian elephants.
he, whenever he is more troublesome, “please,” I say, “Strato, are you ferocious because you have command over wild beasts?” 415
GN. beautifully, by Hercules, said and wisely.

papae
iugularas hominem. quid ille? TH. mutus ilico.

good heavens!
you were cutting the man’s throat. what about him? TH. mute on the spot.

GN. quidni esset? PA. di vostram fidem, hominem perditum
miserumque et illum sacrilegum! TH. quid illud, Gnatho,
quo pacto Rhodium tetigerim in convivio, 420
numquam tibi dixi?

GN. why wouldn’t he be? PA. gods, by your good faith, a ruined and wretched man—and that sacrilegious fellow! TH. what about that, Gnatho,
in what way I touched the Rhodian at a banquet, 420
have I never told you?

GN. numquam; sed narra obsecro.
(plus miliens audivi.) TH. una in convivio
erat hic, quem dico, Rhodius adulescentulus.
forte habui scortum: coepit ad id adludere
et me inridere.

GN. never; but tell it, I beseech you.
(I’ve heard it more than a thousand times.) TH. once at a banquet
there was present—this fellow I mean—a young Rhodian.
by chance I had a prostitute: he began to make sport of that
and to mock me.

"quid ais" inquam homini "inpudens? 425
lepu' tute's, pulpamentum quaeris?" GN. hahahae.
TH. quid est? GN. facete lepide laute nil supra.

"What do you say," I say to the man, "impudent fellow? 425
Are you the hare yourself, are you looking for the relish?" GN. ha ha ha.
TH. What is it? GN. Facetiously, wittily, elegantly—nothing above it.

tuomne, obsecro te, hoc dictum erat? vetu' credidi.
TH. audieras?

Was this, I beseech you, your dictum? I thought it was old.
TH. Had you heard it?

GN. saepe, et fertur in primis. TH. meumst.
GN. dolet dictum inprudenti adulescenti et libero. 430
PA. at te di perdant!

GN. Often, and it is reported among the foremost. TH. It’s mine.
GN. The saying pains an imprudent adolescent and a freeborn man. 430
PA. But may the gods destroy you!

GN. quid ille quaeso? TH. perditus:
risu omnes qui aderant emoriri. denique
metuebant omnes iam me. GN. haud iniuria.

GN. what about him, pray? TH. ruined:
all who were present were dying of laughter. in the end
everyone already was fearing me. GN. not unjustly.

TH. sed heus tu, purgon ego me de istac Thaidi,
quod eam me amare suspicatast? GN. nil minus. 435
immo auge mage suspicionem. TH. quor?

TH. but hey, you, shall I clear myself to that Thais, because she has suspected that I love her?
GN. nothing less. 435
nay rather, increase the suspicion more. TH. why?

GN. rogas?
scin, si quando illa mentionem Phaedriae
facit aut si laudat, te ut male urat? TH. sentio.

GN. you ask?
do you know, if ever she makes mention of Phaedria, or if she praises him, how it burns you up? TH. I feel it.

GN. id ut ne fiat haec res solast remedio:
ubi nominabit Phaedriam, tu Pamphilam          440
continuo; siquando illa dicet "Phaedriam
intro mittamu' comissatum," Pamphilam
cantatum provocemu'; si laudabit haec
illiu' formam, tu huiu' contra. denique
par pro pari referto quod eam mordeat.             445
TH. siquidem me amaret, tum istuc prodesset, Gnatho.
GN. quando illud quod tu das exspectat atque amat,
iamdudum te amat, iamdudum illi facile fit
quod doleat; metuit semper quem ipsa nunc capit
fructum nequando iratu' tu alio conferas.         450
TH. bene dixti, ac mihi istuc non in mentem venerat.

GN. So that this may not happen, this one thing is the remedy:
whenever she names Phaedria, you Pamphila          440
immediately; if ever she says “let us send Phaedria in
to revel,” let us provoke Pamphila to singing; if she will praise that one’s
form, you this one’s in return. In fine,
repay like for like with something that may bite her.             445
TH. If indeed she loved me, then that would profit, Gnatho.
GN. Since she expects and loves that which you confer, she has long since loved you; long since it becomes easy for her to have something to grieve at; she always fears lest the fruit which she now herself takes you, being angry, should sometime confer upon another.         450
TH. You’ve spoken well, and that had not come into my mind.

GN. ridiculum; non enim cogitaras. ceterum
idem hoc tute meliu' quanto invenisses, Thraso!

GN. Ridiculous; for you had not considered. Besides,
you yourself would have found out this same thing how much better, Thraso!

Thais Thraso Gnatho Parmeno Pythias

III.ii
TH. Audire vocem visa sum modo militis.
atque eccum. salve, mi Thraso.

3.2
TH. I seemed just now to hear the soldier’s voice.
and look, here he is. hail, my Thraso.

THR. o Thais mea, 455
m<eu>m savium, quid agitur? ecquid nos amas
de fidicina istac? PA. quam venuste!

THR. O my Thais, 455
my kiss, how goes it? Do you love us at all
on account of that lyre-girl? PA. How charming!

quod dedit
principium adveniens! TH. plurimum merito tuo.
GN. eamus ergo ad cenam.

what a beginning his arriving gave! TH. very much, by your merit.
GN. let us go then to dinner.

quid stas? PA. em alterum:
ex homine hunc natum dicas? TH. ubi vis, non moror. 460
PA. adibo atque adsimulabo quasi nunc exeam.

why are you standing? PA. here’s another one:
would you say this one was born from a human? TH. where you wish, I do not tarry. 460
PA. I’ll approach and simulate, as if I am just now going out.

ituran, Thais, quopiam es? TH. ehem Parmeno:
bene fecisti; hodie itura . . PA. quo? TH. quid, hunc non vides?
PA. video et me taedet.

are you going to go anywhere, Thais? TH. ahem, Parmeno:
you have done well; today I am going to go . . PA. where? TH. what, him
do you not see?
PA. I see, and it wearies me.

ubi vis, dona adsunt tibi
a Phaedria. THR. quid stamu'? quor non imus hinc? 465
PA. quaeso hercle ut liceat, pace quod fiat tua,
dare huic quae volumu', convenire et conloqui.
THR. perpulchra credo dona aut nostri similia.

wherever you wish, gifts are here for you
from Phaedria. THR. why are we standing? why don’t we go from here? 465
PA. I beg, by Hercules, that it be permitted, that, with your leave, it be done:
to give to her what we have wished, to convene and to converse. THR. very beautiful gifts, I suppose, or similar to ours.

PA. res indicabit. heus iubete istos foras
exire, quos iussi, ocius. procede tu huc: 470
ex Aethiopiast usque haec.

PA. the matter will indicate. hey, order those to go outside
to go out, whom I ordered, quickly. proceed here, you: 470
this one is all the way from Ethiopia.

THR. hic sunt tres minae.
GN. vix. PA. ubi tu es, Dore?

THR. Here are three minae.
GN. Hardly. PA. Where are you, Dore?

accede huc. em eunuchum tibi,
quam liberali facie, quam aetate integra!
TH. ita me di ament, honestust.

come here. Look—your eunuch,
how liberal a face, how integral in age!
TH. so may the gods love me, he’s honorable.

PA. quid tu ais, Gnatho?
numquid habes quod contemnas? quid tu autem, Thraso? 475
tacent: sati' laudant.

PA. What do you say, Gnatho?
Have you anything you contemn? What about you, Thraso? 475
They are silent: that’s praise enough.

fac periclum in litteris,
fac in palaestra, in musicis: quae liberum
scire aequomst adulescentem, sollertem dabo.
THR. ego illum eunuchum, si opu' siet, vel sobrius . .
PA. atque haec qui misit non sibi soli postulat 480
te vivere et sua causa excludi ceteros,
neque pugnas narrat neque cicatrices suas
ostentat neque tibi obstat, quod quidam facit;
verum ubi molestum non erit, ubi tu voles,
ubi tempu' tibi erit, sat habet si tum recipitur. 485
THR. adparet servom hunc esse domini pauperis
miserique. GN. nam hercle nemo posset, sat scio,
qui haberet qui pararet alium, hunc perpeti.

make trial in letters,
make trial in the palaestra, in the musical arts: the things which it is equitable for a freeborn adolescent to know, I will deliver him adept.
THR. I, that eunuch, if there were need, even sober . .
PA. and the one who sent these requests does not demand 480
that you live for himself alone and that others be excluded for his sake,
nor does he tell of battles nor display his scars
nor stand in your way, as a certain person does;
but where it will not be troublesome, when you wish,
when you have time, he has enough if he is received then. 485
THR. it is apparent that this servant is of a poor and wretched master.
GN. for, by Hercules, no one could, I know full well,
who had, or could procure, another, endure this one.

PA. tace tu, quem te ego esse infra infimos omnis puto
homines; nam qui huic animum adsentari induxeris, 490
e flamma petere te cibum posse arbitror.
THR. iamne imus? TH. hos prius intro ducam et quae volo
simul imperabo: poste continuo exeo.

PA. be silent, you, whom I consider you to be below all the lowliest of men;
for whoever has induced his mind to assent to this fellow, 490
I judge you could fetch your food from the flame.
THR. are we going now? TH. I will first lead these inside and at the same time give the orders I want:
afterward I come out immediately.

THR. ego hinc abeo: tu istanc opperire. PA. haud convenit
una ire cum amica imperatorem in via. 495
THR. quid tibi ego multa dicam? domini similis es.
GN. hahahae.

THR. I am going away from here: you wait for that woman. PA. It is not fitting
to go together with one’s girlfriend as a commander on the road. 495
THR. Why should I say many things to you? You are like your master.
GN. ha ha ha.

THR. quid rides? GN. istuc quod dixti modo;
et illud de Rhodio dictum quom in mentem venit.
sed Thais exit.

THR. why are you laughing? GN. at what you just said just now;
and when that saying about the Rhodian comes to mind.
but Thais comes out.

THR. abi prae, curre, ut sint domi
parata. GN. fiat.— TH. diligenter, Pythias, 500
fac cures, si Chremes hoc forte advenerit,
ut ores primum ut maneat; si id non commodumst,
ut redeat; si id non poterit, ad me adducito.
PY. ita faciam.

THR. go on ahead, run, so that things may be prepared at home. GN. let it be done.— TH. diligently, Pythias, 500
see to it, if Chremes should by chance arrive here,
that you beg him first to stay; if that is not convenient,
that he return; if he cannot do that, bring him to me.
PY. I will do so.

TH. quid? quid aliud volui dicere?
ehem curate istam diligenter virginem: 505
domi adsiti' facite.

TH. What? What else did I mean to say?
ahem, take care of that virgin diligently: 505
see to it that she is at home.

THR. eamu'. TH. vos me sequimini.

THR. let's go. TH. you follow me.

Chremes Pythias

III.iii
CH. Profecto quanto mage magisque cogito,
nimirum dabit haec Thai' mihi magnum malum:
ita me ab ea astute video labefactarier,
iam tum quom primum iussit me ad se accersier. 510
roget quis "quid [rei] tibi cum illa?" ne noram quidem.
ubi veni, causam ut ibi manerem repperit:
<ai>t rem divinam fecisse [se] et rem seriam
velle agere mecum. iam tum erat suspicio
dolo malo haec fieri omnia.

3.3
CH. Indeed, the more and more I think, surely this Thais will give me a great evil (trouble):
so cleverly do I see myself being undermined by her,
even then when first she ordered me to be summoned to her. 510
Someone might ask, “What business have you with her?” I hadn’t even known her.
When I came, she found a pretext for me to stay there:
she says she has performed a sacred rite and wants to transact a serious matter
with me. Even then there was a suspicion
that all these things are being done by malicious trickery.

ipsa accumbere 515
mecum, mihi sese dare, sermonem quaerere.
ubi friget, huc evasit, quam pridem pater
mihi et mater mortui essent. dico, iamdiu.

she herself to recline with me, 515
to give herself to me, to seek a conversation.
when that cools off, she shifted to this: how long ago my
father and mother had died. I say, long since.

rus Sunii ecquod habeam et quam longe a mari.
credo <ei> placere hoc: sperat se a me avellere. 520
postremo, ecqua inde parva periisset soror;
ecquis cum ea una; quid habuisset quom perit;
ecquis eam posset noscere. haec quor quaeritet?

whether I have any country-place at Sunium and how far from the sea.
I believe <to her> this pleases: she hopes to tear me away from herself. 520
finally, whether some little sister had perished from there;
whether anyone along with her; what she had had when she perished;
whether anyone could recognize her. why is she asking these things?

nisi si illa forte quae olim periit parvola
soror, hanc se intendit esse, ut est audacia. 525
verum ea si vivit annos natast sedecim,
non maior: Thai' quam ego sum maiusculast.
misit porro orare ut venirem serio.
aut dicat quid volt aut molesta ne siet:
non hercle veniam tertio.

unless perhaps that little sister who once perished, she intends to be this one—such is her audacity. 525
but if she lives, she’s sixteen years old, no older: Thais is somewhat bigger than I am.
furthermore, she sent to implore that I come in earnest.
either let her say what she wants, or let her not be troublesome:
by Hercules, I will not come a third time.

heus heus, ecquis hic? 530
ego sum Chremes. PY. o capitulum lepidissimum!
CH. dico ego mi insidias fieri?

hey, hey, is anyone here? 530
I am Chremes. PY. o most delightful little head!
CH. do I say an ambush is being laid for me?

PY. Thais maxumo
te orabat opere ut cras redires. CH. rus eo.
PY. fac amabo. CH. non possum, inquam.

PY. Thais was imploring you with the utmost effort to return tomorrow. CH. I am going to the country.
PY. Do, please. CH. I cannot, I say.

PY. at tu apud nos hic mane
dum redeat ipsa. CH. nil minus. PY. quor, mi Chremes? 535
CH. malam rem hinc ibi'? PY. si istuc ita certumst tibi,
amabo ut illuc transeas ubi illast.

PY. but
you stay here with us
until she herself returns. CH. nothing less. PY. why, my Chremes? 535
CH. the devil—am I to go from here to there? PY. if that is thus settled for you,
please go across there where she is.

CH. eo.
PY. abi, Dorias, cito hunc deduce ad militem.

CH. I’m going.
PY. Go, Dorias, quickly escort this man to the soldier.

Antipho

III.iv
AN. Heri aliquot adulescentuli coiimus in Piraeo
in hunc diem, ut de symbolis essemu'. Chaeream <ei> r<ei> 540
praefecimus; dati anuli; locu' tempu' constitutumst.
praeteriit tempu': quo in loco dictumst parati nil est;
homo ipse nusquamst neque scio quid dicam aut quid coniectem.
nunc mi hoc negoti ceteri dedere ut illum quaeram
idque adeo visam si domist.

3.4
AN. Yesterday several young men gathered in the Piraeus
for this day, to arrange the contributions. We put Chaerea in charge of the 540
affair; rings were given; the place and time were appointed.
The time has passed: in the place where it was said, nothing is ready;
the man himself is nowhere, nor do I know what I should say or what I should conjecture.
Now the rest have given me this business, to look for him,
and indeed I will go see whether he is at home.

quisnam hinc ab Thaide exit? 545
is est an non est? ipsus est. quid hoc hominist?

who on earth is coming out from Thais’s? 545
is it he or is it not? it’s himself. what is the matter with this man?

qui hic ornatust?
quid illud malist? nequeo satis mirari neque conicere;
nisi, quidquid est, procul hinc lubet priu' quid sit sciscitari.

How is he adorned here?
what evil is that? I cannot sufficiently marvel nor conjecture;
unless, whatever it is, it pleases me from here at a distance first to inquire what it is.

Chaerea Antipho

III.v
CH. Numquis hic est? nemost. numquis hinc me sequitur?

III.v
CH. Is anyone here? No one. Is anyone following me from here?

nemo homost.
iamne erumpere hoc licet mi gaudium? pro Iuppiter, 550
nunc est profecto interfici quom perpeti me possum,
ne hoc gaudium contaminet vita aegritudine aliqua.

no one—no man.
is it now permitted that this joy erupt for me? By Jupiter, 550
now indeed is the time when I can endure being killed,
lest life contaminate this joy with some affliction.

sed neminemne curiosum intervenire nunc mihi
qui me sequatur quoquo eam, rogitando obtundat enicet
quid gestiam aut quid laetu' sim, quo pergam, unde emergam, ubi siem 555
vestitum hunc nanctu', quid mi quaeram, sanu' sim anne insaniam!
AN. adibo atque ab eo gratiam hanc, quam video velle, inibo.
Chaerea, quid est quod sic gestis?

but is there no curious busybody to intrude upon me now
who will follow me wherever I go, and by questioning batter and wear me out
about what I long for or why I am elate, whither I proceed, whence I emerge, where I may be 555
having gotten hold of this outfit, what I am seeking for myself, whether I am sane or am I raving!
AN. I’ll approach and do him this favor, which I see he wants. Chaerea, what is it that you are so excited?

quid sibi hic vestitu' quaerit?
quid est quod laetus es? quid tibi vis? satine sanu's? quid me adspectas?

what does this vesture mean?
why is it that you are glad? what do you want? are you quite sane? why are you looking at me?

quid taces? CH. o festu' dies hominis! amice, salve: 560
nemost hominum quem ego nunc magis cuperem videre quam te.
AN. narra istuc quaeso quid sit.

why are you silent? CH. O festive day for a man! friend, hail: 560
there is no one among men whom I would now more desire to see than you.
AN. tell that, I pray, what it is.

CH. immo ego te obsecro hercle ut audias.
nostin hanc quam amat frater? AN. novi: nempe, opinor, Thaidem.

CH. rather I beseech you by Hercules, listen.
do you know this woman whom my brother loves? AN. I know: namely, I suppose, Thais.

CH. istam ipsam. AN. sic commemineram. CH. quaedam hodie est <ei> dono data
virgo: quid ego eiu' tibi nunc faciem praedicem aut laudem, Antipho, 565
quom ipsum me noris quam elegans formarum spectator siem?

CH. that very one. AN. so I had remembered. CH. a certain
maiden has today been given to her as a gift: what shall I now proclaim to you of her face or praise, Antipho, 565
since you yourself know how elegant a spectator of forms I am?

in hac commotu' sum. AN. <ai>n tu? CH. primam dices, scio, si videris.
quid multa verba?

I am stirred up over this one. AN. Really, you? CH. You will call her prime, I know, if you see her.
why many words?

amare coepi. forte fortuna domi
erat quidam eunuchu' quem mercatu' fuerat frater Thaidi,
neque is deductus etiamdum ad eam. submonuit me Parmeno 570
ibi servo' quod ego arripui.

I began to love. By sheer chance, at home
there was a certain eunuch whom my brother had purchased for Thais,
and he had not yet been brought to her. Parmeno prompted me 570
there about the slave, which I seized upon.

AN. quid id est? CH. tacitu' citius audies:
ut vestem cum illo mutem et pro illo iubeam me illoc ducier.
AN. pro eunuchon?

AN. what is that? CH. be quiet—you’ll hear more quickly:
that I exchange clothing with him and order myself to be led there in his stead.
AN. in place of the eunuch?

CH. sic est. AN. quid ex ea re tandem ut caperes commodi?
CH. rogas?

CH. so it is. AN. what, pray, advantage were you to take from that matter?
CH. you ask?

viderem audirem essem una quacum cupiebam, Antipho.
num parva causa aut prava ratiost? traditus sum mulieri. 575
illa ilico ubi me accepit, laeta vero ad se abducit domum;
commendat virginem.

that I might see, hear, be together with the one I desired, Antipho.
surely it is not a small cause or a crooked rationale? I was consigned to the woman. 575
she immediately, when she received me, indeed joyful, leads me off to her house;
she commends the maiden.

AN. quoi? tibine? CH. mihi.

AN. to whom? to you? CH. to me.

AN. satis tuto tamen?
CH. edicit ne vir quisquam ad eam adeat et mihi ne abscedam imperat;
in interiore parti ut maneam solu' cum sola. adnuo
terram intuens modeste.

AN. safe enough, though?
CH. he proclaims that no man is to go to her, and commands me not to depart;
that I am to remain in the inner part alone with her alone. I nod assent,
modestly gazing at the ground.

AN. miser. CH. "ego" inquit "ad cenam hinc eo." 580
abducit secum ancillas: paucae quae circum illam essent manent
noviciae puellae. continuo haec adornant ut lavet.

AN. miserable. CH. "I," she says, "am going from here to dinner." 580
she leads the maidservants away with her: a few who were around her remain
novice girls. At once these prepare her to bathe.

adhortor properent. dum adparatur, virgo in conclavi sedet
suspectans tabulam quandam pictam: ibi inerat pictura haec, Iovem
quo pacto Danaae misisse aiunt quondam in gremium imbrem aureum. 585
egomet quoque id spectare coepi, et quia consimilem luserat
iam olim ille ludum, inpendio magis animu' gaudebat mihi,
deum sese in hominem convortisse atque in alienas tegulas
venisse clanculum per inpluvium fucum factum mulieri.
at quem deum!

I urge them to hurry. While it is being prepared, the maiden sits in the chamber
looking up at a certain painted panel: there was in it this picture—how they say that Jove
once sent into Danae’s lap a golden shower. 585
I myself too began to look at it, and because that fellow had long ago played
a similar game, my spirit rejoiced all the more exceedingly,
that a god had converted himself into a man and onto another’s tiles
had come secretly through the impluvium, a trick worked upon a woman. And what a god!

"qui templa caeli summa sonitu concutit." 590
ego homuncio hoc non facerem? ego illud vero ita feci—ac lubens.
dum haec mecum reputo, accersitur lavatum interea virgo:
iit lavit rediit; deinde eam in lecto illae conlocarunt.

"who with his crash shakes the highest temples of the sky." 590
Would I, a little man, not do this? Indeed I did that thus—and gladly.
While I am reckoning these things with myself, meanwhile the maiden is summoned to bathe:
she went, bathed, returned; then those women placed her on the bed.

sto exspectans siquid mi imperent. venit una, "heus tu" inquit "Dore,
cape hoc flabellum, ventulum huic sic facito, dum lavamur; 595
ubi nos laverimu', si voles, lavato." accipio tristis.
AN. tum equidem istuc os tuom inpudens videre nimium vellem,
qui esset status, flabell<ul>um tenere te asinum tantum.

I stand waiting to see if they order me anything. One comes and says, “hey, you, Dorus, take this fan; make a little breeze for this one like this, while we wash; 595
when we have washed, if you wish, wash.” I accept it sadly.
AN. Then indeed I would very much wish to see that impudent face of yours, what its status would be, you, such a jackass, holding a little fan.

CH. vix elocutast hoc, foras simul omnes proruont se,
abeunt lavatum, perstrepunt, ita ut fit domini ubi absunt. 600
interea somnu' virginem opprimit. ego limis specto
sic per flabellum clanculum; simul alia circumspecto,
satin explorata sint. video esse.

CH. she had hardly uttered this, when at once they all rush out of doors,
they go away to wash, they make a din, just as it happens when the masters are absent. 600
meanwhile sleep overpowers the maiden. I look sidelong,
thus through the little fan, clandestinely; at the same time I look around at other things,
whether all is sufficiently reconnoitered. I see that it is.

pessulum ostio obdo.
AN. quid tum? CH. quid "quid tum," fatue?

I bolt the door.
AN. What then? CH. What "what then," you fool?

AN. fateor. CH. an ego occasionem
mi ostentam, tantam, tam brevem, tam optatam, tam insperatam 605
amitterem? tum pol ego is essem vero qui simulabar.

AN. I confess. CH. should I let an occasion
presented to me, so great, so brief, so desired, so unhoped-for 605
slip away? then, by Pollux, I would truly be the very man I was pretending to be.

AN. sane hercle ut dici'. sed interim de symbolis quid actumst?
CH. paratumst. AN. frugi es: ubi?

AN. indeed, by Hercules, just as you say. But meanwhile, about the tokens, what has been done?
CH. it’s ready. AN. you’re a decent fellow: where?

domin? CH. immo apud libertum Discum.
AN. perlongest, sed tanto ocius properemu': muta vestem.

at the master’s? CH. no, at the freedman Discus’s.
AN. it’s very far, but all the faster let’s hurry: change your clothing.

CH. ubi mutem? perii; nam domo exsulo nunc: metuo fratrem 610
ne intus sit; porro autem pater ne rure redierit iam.
AN. eamus ad me, ibi proxumumst ubi mutes.

CH. Where should I change? I am undone; for I am in exile from home now: I fear my brother, lest he be inside; furthermore, I fear my father, lest he has already returned from the countryside. 610
AN. Let us go to my place; there is the nearest spot where you may change.

CH. recte dicis.
eamus; et de istac simul, quo pacto porro possim
potiri, consilium volo capere una tecum. AN. fiat.

CH. you say rightly .
let us go; and about that matter at the same time, by what way further I can
get possession, I want to take counsel together with you. AN. let it be done.

ACTVS IV

ACT 4

Dorias

IV.i
Ita me di ament, quantum ego illum vidi, non nil timeo misera, 615
nequam ille hodie insanu' turbam faciat aut vim Thaidi.
nam postquam iste advenit Chremes adulescens, frater virginis,
militem rogat ut illum admitti iubeat: ill' continuo irasci,
neque negare audere; Thai' porro instare ut hominem invitet.
id faciebat retinendi illi(u)s causa, quia illa quae cupiebat 620
de sorore ei(u)s indicare ad eam rem tempu' non erat.

IV.i
So may the gods love me, from what I saw of him, I, poor wretch, am not without fear, 615
lest that good-for-nothing madman today raise a tumult or do violence to Thais.
for after the young man Chremes arrived, the brother of the maiden,
she asks the soldier to order that he be admitted: he immediately grows angry,
nor does he dare to refuse; Thais in turn presses him to invite the man.
she was doing this for the sake of retaining him, because those things which she desired 620
to indicate to him about his sister—there was not time for that matter.

invitat tristi': mansit. ibi illa cum illo sermonem ilico;
miles vero sibi putare adductum ante oculos aemulum;
voluit facere contra huic aegre: "heus" inquit "puer<e>, Pamphilam
accerse ut delectet hic nos." illa [exclamat] "minime gentium: 625
in convivium illam?" miles tendere: inde ad iurgium.
interea aurum sibi clam mulier demit, dat mi ut auferam.

she invites him grimly; he stayed. There she at once strikes up conversation with him;
but the soldier thinks that a rival has been brought before his eyes;
he wanted to act the opposite way, to his annoyance: "hey," he says, "boy, call Pamphila
to come and delight us here." she [exclaims] "by no means on earth: 625
to bring her into the banquet?" the soldier presses on: from there to a quarrel.
meanwhile the woman secretly takes off the gold for herself, gives it to me to carry away.

hoc est signi: ubi primum poterit, se illinc subducet scio.

this is the sign: as soon as he is able, he will withdraw himself from there, I know.

Phaedria <Dorias>

IV.ii
Dum rus eo, coepi egomet mecum inter vias,
ita ut fit ubi quid in animost molestiae, 630
aliam rem ex alia cogitare et ea omnia in
peiorem partem. quid opust verbis? dum haec puto,
praeterii inprudens villam.

IV.ii
As I go to the countryside, I began, myself, to think to myself along the ways,
just as it happens when there is some trouble in one’s mind, 630
to think one thing out of another, and to take all of it in
the worse part. What need is there of words? While I’m thinking these things,
I unknowingly passed by the villa.

longe iam abieram
quom sensi: redeo rursum, male me vero habens.
ubi ad ipsum veni devorticulum, constiti: 635
occepi mecum cogitare "hem biduom hic
manendumst soli sine illa? quid tum postea?

I had now gone far away
when I realized it: I turn back again, truly feeling ill at ease.
when I came to the very by-road, I halted: 635
I began to think to myself: “hah, must I stay here
for two days alone without her? what then afterward?

nil est. quid nil? si non tangendi copiast,
eho ne videndi quidem erit?

it's nothing. what, nothing? if there is no opportunity of touching, hey, will there not even be of seeing?

si illud non licet,
saltem hoc licebit. certe extrema linea 640
amare haud nil est." villam praetereo sciens.
sed quid hoc quod timida subito egreditur Pythias?

if that is not permitted,
at least this will be permitted. surely at the extreme line 640
to love is by no means nothing." I knowingly pass by the villa.
but what is this, that timid Pythias suddenly comes out?

Pythias Dorias Phaedria

IV.iii
PY. Vbi ego illum scelerosum misera atque inpium inveniam? aut ubi quaeram?
hoccin tam audax facinu' facere esse ausum!

4.3
PY. Where shall I, wretched, find that criminal and impious man? or where shall I seek him?
Is he then to have dared to do so audacious a deed as this!

PH. perii: hoc quid sit vereor.
PY. quin etiam insuper scelu', postquam ludificatust virginem, 645
vestem omnem miserae discidit, tum ipsam capillo conscidit.
PH. hem.

PH. I’m undone: I fear what this is.
PY. Nay, moreover the scoundrel, after he had made sport of the virgin, 645
he tore all the clothing of the poor girl, then tore her herself by the hair.
PH. Ah.

PY. qui nunc si detur mihi,
ut ego unguibus facile illi in oculos involem venefico!
PH. nescioquid profecto absente nobis turbatumst domi.
adibo.

PY. if only he were now given to me,
how with my nails I would easily fly into that poisoner’s eyes!
PH. surely something or other has been disturbed at home with us absent.
I will go in.

quid istuc? quid festinas? aut quem quaeri', Pythias? 650
PY. ehem Phaedria, egon?

what’s that? why do you hasten? or whom do you seek, Pythias? 650
PY. ah, Phaedria, I?

quem quaeram? in' hinc quo dignu's cum donis tuis
tam lepidis? PH. quid istuc est rei?

whom should I seek? Is there here anyone worthy to go with your
so charming gifts? PH. what is this matter?

PY. rogas me? eunuchum quem dedisti nobis quas turbas dedit!
virginem quam erae dono dederat miles, vitiavit. PH. quid ais?

PY. do you ask me? the eunuch whom you gave us, what troubles he has caused!
the virgin whom the soldier had given as a gift to the mistress, he defiled. PH. what are you saying?

PY. perii. PH. temulenta's. PY. utinam sic sint qui mihi male volunt! 655
DO. au obsecro, mea Pythias, quod istuc nam monstrum fuit?
PH. insanis: qui istuc facere eunuchu' potuit?

PY. I’m done for. PH. You’re tipsy. PY. If only those who wish me ill were so! 655
DO. Oh, I beg you, my Pythias, what ever was that monster?
PH. You’re insane: how could a eunuch do that?

PY. ego illum nescio
qui fuerit; hoc quod fecit, res ipsa indicat.
virgo ipsa lacrumat neque, quom rogites, quid sit audet dicere.
ille autem bonu' vir nusquam apparet.

PY. I do not know the man
who he was; what he did, the thing itself indicates.
The virgin herself weeps, nor, when you ask, does she dare to say what it is.
But that "good man" appears nowhere.

etiam hoc misera suspicor, 660
aliquid domo abeuntem abstulisse. PH. nequeo mirari satis
quo ille abire ignavo' possit longius, nisi si domum
forte ad nos rediit. PY. vise amabo num sit.

I even suspect this, wretched as I am, 660
that as he was departing from the house he has carried off something. PH. I cannot marvel enough
whither that coward could possibly go any farther, unless perhaps he
has returned home to us. PY. Please go see whether he is there.

PH. iam faxo scies.—
DO. perii, obsecro! tam infandum facinu', mea tu, ne audivi quidem.
PY. at pol ego amatores audieram mulierum esse <eo>s maxumos, 665
sed nil potesse; verum miserae non in mentem venerat;
nam illum aliquo conclusissem neque illi commisissem virginem.

PH. now
I’ll make sure you know.—
DO. I am undone, I beg! Such an unspeakable deed, my dear, I had not even heard of it.
PY. But, by Pollux, I had heard that the amators of women are the greatest, but able to do nothing; 665
but it had not come into the mind of wretched me; for I would have shut him up somewhere, nor would I have committed the virgin to him.

Phaedria Dorvs Pythias Dorias

Phaedria Dorus Pythias Dorias

IV.iv
PH. Exi foras, sceleste. at etiam restitas,
fugitive? prodi, male conciliate.

4.4
PH. Get outside, you scoundrel. What, do you still stand your ground,
runaway? Come out, you ill-disposed fellow.

DO(RVS). obsecro. PH. oh
illud vide, os ut sibi distorsit carnufex! 670
quid huc tibi reditiost? quid vestis mutatio?

DO(RVS). I beseech. PH.
oh
look at that, how the executioner has distorted his face! 670
what is your return here? what is the mutation of clothing?

quid narras? paullum si cessassem, Pythias,
domi non offendissem, ita iam ornarat fugam.
PY. haben hominem, amabo?

what are you saying? if I had delayed a little, Pythias,
I would not have encountered him at home, so he had already arrayed his flight.
PY. have you the man, please?

PH. quidni habeam? PY. o factum bene.
DOR(IAS). istuc pol vero bene.

PH. why should I not have him? PY. oh, a deed well done.
DOR(IAS). that, by Pollux, verily well.

PY. ubist? PH. rogitas? non vides? 675
PY. videam?

PY. where is he? PH. you ask? do you not see? 675
PY. am I to see?

obsecro quem? PH. hunc scilicet. PY. quis hic est homo?

Whom, pray? PH. this one, of course. PY. who is this man?

PH. qui ad vos deductus hodiest. PY. hunc oculis suis
nostrarum numquam quisquam vidit, Phaedria.
PH. non vidit?

PH. who today has been conducted to you. PY. this man no one of our women has ever seen with her own eyes, Phaedria.
PH. has not seen?

PY. an tu hunc credidisti esse, obsecro,
ad nos deductum? PH. namque alium habui neminem. PY. au 680
ne comparandus hi(c)quidem ad illumst: ille erat
honesta facie et liberali.

PY. Or did you believe this man to be, I pray,
conducted to us? PH. For indeed I had no one else. PY.
ah 680
not even is this one to be compared to that man: that one was
of honest and liberal countenance.

PH. ita visus est
dudum, quia varia veste exornatus fuit.
nunc tibi videtur foedu', quia illam non habet.
PY. tace obsecro: quasi vero paullum intersiet. 685
ad nos deductus hodiest adulescentulus,
quem tu videre vero velles, Phaedria.

PH. so he seemed
a moment ago, because he was ornamented with a varied vesture.
now he seems foul to you, because he does not have that.
PY. be quiet, I beg: as though indeed it made little difference. 685
today there has been conducted to us a young adolescent,
whom you would truly wish to see, Phaedria.

hic est vietu' vetu' veternosus senex,
colore mustelino. PH. hem quae haec est fabula?
<eo> rediges me ut quid egerim egomet nesciam? 690
eho tu, emin ego te? DO. emisti.

this is a withered, worn-out, torpid old man,
of musteline color. PH. ha! what tale is this?
<eo> will you reduce me to such a point that I myself do not know what I have done? 690
hey, you there, did I buy you? DO. you bought me.

PY. iube mi denuo
respondeat. PH. roga. PY. venisti hodie ad nos?

PY. order him to answer me again.
PH. ask. PY. did you come to us today?

negat.
at ille alter venit annos natu' sedecim,
quem secum adduxit Parmeno. PH. agedum hoc mi expedi
primum: istam quam habes unde habes vestem?

he denies it.
but that other came, sixteen years old,
whom Parmeno brought along with him. PH. come then, clear this up for me
first: that garment which you have—whence have you it?

taces? 695
monstrum homini', non dicturu's? DO. venit Chaerea.
PH. fraterne? DO. ita.

are you silent? 695
you monster of a man, are you not going to say? DO. Chaerea has come.
PH. the brother? DO. yes.

PH. quando? DO. hodie. PH. quam dudum?

PH. When? DO.
Today. PH. How long ago?

DO. modo.
PH. quicum? DO. cum Parmenone.

DO. just now.
PH. with whom? DO. with Parmeno.

PH. norasne <eu>m prius?
DO. non. [nec quis esset umquam audieram dicier.]
PH. unde igitur fratrem m<eu>m esse scibas?

PH. Did you know him before?
DO. No. [Nor had I ever heard it said who he was.]
PH. Whence, then, did you know that he was my brother?

DO. Parmeno 700
dicebat <eu>m esse. is dedit mi hanc. PH. occidi.

DO. Parmeno 700
was saying it was he. He gave me this. PH. I am slain.

DO. m<ea>m ipse induit: post una ambo abierunt foras.
PY. iam sati' credi' sobriam esse me et nil mentitam tibi?
iam sati' certumst virginem vitiatam esse?

DO. He himself put on my garment; afterward the two together went outside.
PY. Do you now enough believe that I am sober and have told you no lie?
Is it now enough certain that the virgin has been violated?

PH. age nunc, belua,
credis huic quod dicat? PY. quid isti credam? res ipsa indicat. 705
PH. concede istuc paullulum: audin?

PH. come now, beast,
do you believe this man, what he says? PY. what am I to believe that fellow? the thing itself indicates it. 705
PH. give way there a little: do you hear?

etiam [nunc] paullulum: sat est.
dic dum hoc rursum: Chaerea t<ua>m vestem detraxit tibi?
DO. factum.

even [now] a little more: enough.
say this again: Did Chaerea strip your garment off you?
DO. He did.

PH. et east indutu'? DO. factum. PH. et pro te huc deductust?
DO. ita.

PH. and is she dressed in it? DO. done. PH. and has he been brought here in your place?
DO. yes.

PH. Iuppiter magne, o scelestum atque audacem hominem! PY. vae mihi:
etiam [nunc] non credes indignis nos esse inrisas modis? 710
PH. mirum ni tu credas quod iste dicat. quid agam nescio.

PH. Great Jupiter, O wicked and audacious man! PY. woe is me:
even [now] will you not believe that we have been mocked in unworthy modes? 710
PH. A marvel if you did not believe what that fellow says. I do not know what I am to do.

heus negato rursum. possumne ego hodie ex te exsculpere
verum? vidistine fratrem Chaeream?

hey, deny it again. Can I today extract from you
the truth? Have you seen the brother Chaerea?

DO. non. PH. non potest
sine malo fateri, video: sequere hac. modo ait modo negat.

DO. no. PH. he cannot confess without trouble, I see: follow this way. now he says, now he denies.

ora me. DO. obsecro te vero, Phaedria. PH. i intro nunciam. 715
DO. oiei. PH. alio pacto honeste quomodo hinc abeam nescio.

beg me. DO. I truly beseech you, Phaedria. PH. go inside right now. 715
DO. oh dear! PH. otherwise, I don't know how I can decently go away from here.

actumst, siquidem tu me hic etiam, nebulo, ludificabere.—
PY. Parmenoni' tam scio esse hanc technam quam me vivere.
DOR. sic est. PY. inveniam pol hodie parem ubi referam gratiam.

It's all over, if indeed you, scoundrel, are going to make a fool of me here as well.—
PY. I know this trick to be Parmenio’s as surely as that I live.
DOR. So it is. PY. By Pollux, today I’ll find his match, where I may repay the favor.

sed nunc quid faciundum censes, Dorias? DOR. de istac rogas 720
virgine? PY. ita, utrum taceam an praedicemne?

but now what do you think should be done, Dorias? DOR. about that maiden you ask 720
the maiden? PY. yes: whether I should be silent or proclaim it?

DOR. tu pol, si sapis,
quod scis nescis neque de eunucho neque de vitio virginis.
hac re et te omni turba evolves et illi gratum feceris.
id modo dic, abisse Dorum.

DOR. you by Pollux, if you are wise,
what you know you do not know, neither about the eunuch nor about the virgin’s defect.
by this course you will extricate yourself from all the turmoil, and you will have done something gratifying to him.
only say this: that Dorus has gone away.

PY. ita faciam. DOR. sed videon Chremen?
Thai' iam aderit.

PY. I will do so. DOR. but do I see Chremes?
Thais will be here presently.

PY. quid ita? DOR. quia, quom inde abeo, iam tum occeperat 725
turba inter eos. PY. tu aufer aurum hoc.

PY. why so? DOR. because, as I was leaving from there, already then a commotion had begun 725
between them. PY. you, take this gold away.

ego scibo ex hoc quid siet.

I shall know from him what it is.

Chremes Pythias

IV.v
CH. Attat data hercle verba mihi sunt: vicit vinum quod bibi.
at dum accubabam quam videbar mi esse pulchre sobrius!
postquam surrexi neque pes neque mens sati' suom officium facit.

4.5
CH. Ah! by Hercules, I’ve been given words—tricked: the wine that I drank has conquered me.
but while I was reclining, how beautifully sober I seemed to myself!
after I got up, neither foot nor mind does its own office enough.

PY. Chreme. CH. quis est? ehem Pythias: vah quanto nunc formonsior 730
videre mihi quam dudum!

PY. Chremes. CH. Who is it? Eh, Pythias: ah, how much fairer now 730
to be seen by me than just now!

PY. certe tuquidem pol multo hilarior.
CH. verbum hercle hoc verum erit "sine Cerere et Libero friget Venus".
sed Thai' multo ante venit? PY. anne abiit iam a milite?

PY. surely you indeed, by Pollux, are much more cheerful.
CH. by Hercules this proverb will be true: "without Ceres and Liber, Venus grows cold."
but has Thais come much earlier? PY. or has she already gone away from the soldier?

CH. iamdudum, aetatem. lites factae sunt inter eos maxumae.
PY. nil dixit tu ut sequerere sese?

CH. Long since—an age. The greatest quarrels have arisen between them.
PY. Did he say nothing for you to follow him?

CH. nil, nisi abiens mi innuit. 735
PY. eho nonne id sat erat? CH. at nescibam id dicere illam, nisi quia
correxit miles, quod intellexi minu'; nam me extrusit foras.
sed eccam ipsam: miror ubi ego huic antevorterim.

CH. nothing, except as she was departing she signaled to me. 735
PY. hey, wasn’t that enough? CH. but I didn’t know she meant that, except because
the soldier corrected—whereby I understood the less; for he thrust me out of doors.
but look, here she herself: I wonder where I am to get ahead of her.

Thais Chremes Pythias

IV.vi
TH. Credo equidem illum iam adfuturum esse, ut illam [a me] eripiat: sine veniat.
atqui si illam digito attigerit uno, oculi ilico ecfodientur. 740
usque adeo ego illi(u)s ferre possum ineptiam et magnifica verba,
verba dum sint; verum enim si ad rem conferentur, vapulabit.
CH. Thais, ego iamdudum hic adsum.

4.6
TH. I indeed believe he will already be here, to snatch that girl [from me]: let him come.
but if he touches her with one finger, his eyes will instantly be gouged out. 740
to such a degree I can bear his ineptitude and magnificent words,
so long as they are words; but indeed if they are brought to the matter, he will be thrashed.
CH. Thais, I have been here for a long time already.

TH. o mi Chreme, te ipsum exspectabam.
scin tu turbam hanc propter te esse factam? et adeo ad te attinere hanc
omnem rem?

TH. O my Chremes, I was expecting you yourself.
Do you know that this turmoil has been made on account of you? And indeed that to you pertains this
whole business?

CH. ad me? qui? quasi istuc . . TH. quia, dum tibi sororem studeo 745
reddere ac restituere, haec atque hui(u)smodi sum multa passa.
CH. ubi east?

CH. to me? how? as if that . . TH. because, while I strive to give back and restore your sister to you, 745
I have suffered many things of these and of this kind.
CH. where is she?

TH. domi apud me. CH. hem. TH. quid est?
educta ita uti teque illaque dignumst.

TH. at my house with me. CH. eh? TH. what is it?
she has been brought up in such a way as is worthy of both you and her.

CH. quid ais? TH. id quod res est.
hanc tibi dono do neque repeto pro illa quicquam abs te preti.

CH. What are you saying? TH. Just what the fact is.
I give you this one as a gift, and I do not demand any price from you in return for that one.

CH. et habetur et referetur, Thais, ita uti merita's gratia. 750
TH. at enim cave ne priu' quam hanc a me accipias amittas, Chreme;
nam haec east quam miles a me vi nunc ereptum venit.
abi tu, cistellam, Pythias, domo ecfer cum monumentis.
CH. viden tu illum, Thais, . . PY. ubi sitast?

CH. and gratitude is both held and will be returned, Thais, in such measure as you have deserved. 750
TH. but indeed take care, Chremes, lest before you receive her from me you lose her; for this is the girl whom the soldier has now come to snatch from me by force.
you there, Pythias, go, bring out the little chest from the house with the tokens.
CH. do you see that man, Thais, . . PY. where is it?

TH. in risco: odiosa cessas.
CH. militem secum ad te quantas copias adducere? 755
attat . . TH. num formidulosus obsecro es, mi homo? CH. apage sis:
egon formidulosu'? nemost hominum qui vivat minus.

TH.
in the casket: troublesome one, you’re dawdling.
CH. how great forces is the soldier bringing with him to you? 755
attah . . TH. surely you’re not timorous, I beg, my good man? CH.
away with you, please:
I, timorous? there’s no man alive less so.

TH. atqui ita opust. CH. ah metuo qualem tu me esse hominem existumes.
TH. immo hoc cogitato: quicum res tibist peregrinus est,
minu' potens quam tu, minu' notu', minus amicorum hic habens. 760
CH. scio istuc.

TH. but indeed it is required. CH. ah, I fear what sort of man you esteem me to be.
TH. nay rather, consider this: the one with whom you have an affair is a foreigner,
less potent than you, less known, having fewer friends here. 760
CH. I know that.

sed tu quod cavere possis stultum admittere est.
malo ego nos prospicere quam hunc ulcisci accepta iniuria.
tu abi atque obsera ostium intu', dum ego hinc transcurro ad forum:
volo ego adesse hic advocatos nobis in turba hac.

but to admit what you can guard against is foolish.
I prefer that we provide for ourselves rather than avenge this fellow after an injury has been received.
you go and bar the door from within, while I run across from here to the forum:
I want advocates to be present here for us in this throng.

TH. mane.
CH. meliust. TH. mane.

TH. wait.
CH. better. TH. wait.

CH. omitte: iam adero. TH. nil opus est istis, Chreme. 765
hoc modo dic, sororem illam t<ua>m esse et te parvam virginem
amisisse, nunc cognosse. signa ostende.

CH. leave it: I’ll be right there. TH. there’s no need of those, Chremes. 765
say it this way: that that woman is your sister, and that you lost her when she was a little maiden, and have now recognized her. show the tokens.

PY. adsunt. TH. cape.
si vim faciet, in ius ducito hominem: intellextin?

PY. they are here. TH. take it.
if he uses force, lead the man into court: did you understand?

CH. probe.
TH. fac animo haec praesenti dicas. CH. faciam.

CH. good.
TH. see to it that you say these things with presence of mind. CH. I will do it.

TH. attolle pallium.
perii, huic ipsist opu' patrono, quem defensorem paro. 770

TH. lift up your cloak.
I’m done for; this very man has need of a patron—the one whom I’m getting as defender. 770

Thraso Gnatho Sanga Chremes Thais

IV.vii
THR. Hancin ego ut contumeliam tam insignem in me accipiam, Gnatho?
mori me satiust. Simalio, Donax, Syrisce, sequimini.

4.7
THR. Am I to accept such signal contumely against me, Gnatho?
it is better for me to die. Simalio, Donax, Syriscus, follow me.

primum aedis expugnabo. GN. recte. THR. virginem eripiam.

First I will storm the house. GN. Right. THR. I will snatch the maiden.

GN. probe.
THR. male mulcabo ipsam. GN. pulchre.

GN. good.
THR. i will thrash her soundly. GN. splendid.

THR. in medium huc agmen cum
vecti, Donax;
tu, Simalio, in sinistrum cornum; tu, Syrisce, in dexterum. 775
cedo alios: ubi centuriost Sanga et manipulus furum? SA. eccum adest.
THR. quid ignave?

THR. into
the middle here of the line, mounted, Donax;
you, Simalio, to the left horn; you, Syriscus, to the right horn. 775
produce the others: where is Centurion Sanga and the maniple of thieves? SA. look, here he is.
THR. what, you sluggard?

peniculon pugnare, qui istum huc portes, cogitas?
SA. egon? imperatoris virtutem noveram et vim militum;
sine sanguine hoc non posse fieri: qui abstergerem volnera?

to fight with a little sponge—are you thinking that, since you’re carrying that here?
SA. I? I had known the emperor’s valor and the force of the soldiers; that this could not be done without blood: with what was I to wipe the wounds?

THR. ubi alii? GN. qui malum "alii"? solu' Sannio servat domi. 780
THR. tu hosce instrue; ego hic ero post principia: inde omnibus signum dabo.
GN. illuc est sapere: ut hosce instruxit, ipsu' sibi cavit loco.

THR. where are the others? GN. what the devil do you mean “others”? Sannio alone keeps watch at home. 780
THR. you draw these up; I will be here behind the front line: from there I will give the signal to all.
GN. that is wisdom: as he has drawn these up, he has taken care for himself in his position.

THR. idem hoc iam Pyrru' factitavit. CH. viden tu, Thais, quam hic rem agit?
nimirum consilium illud rectumst de occludendis aedibus.

THR. Pyrrhus has already been doing this same thing. CH. Do you see, Thais, what business he is up to?
surely that counsel is right about shutting up the house.

TH. sane quod tibi nunc vir videatur esse hic, nebulo magnus est: 785
ne metuas. THR. quid videtur? GN. fundam tibi nunc nimi' vellem dari,
ut tu illos procul hinc ex occulto caederes: facerent fugam.

TH. indeed, though this fellow may now seem a man to you, he is a great rascal: 785
do not fear. THR. what seems? GN. I would right now too much wish a sling to be given to you,
so that you might strike them from a distance from here, from hiding: they would take to flight.

THR. sed eccam Thaidem ipsam video. GN. quam mox inruimus? THR. mane:
omnia prius experiri quam armis sapientem decet.

THR. but look, I see Thais herself. GN. how soon do we rush in? THR. wait:
it befits the wise to try all things first rather than by arms.

qui scis an quae iubeam sine vi faciat? GN. di vostram fidem, 790
quantist sapere! numquam accedo quin abs te abeam doctior.

how do you know whether she will do what I bid without force? GN. ye gods, by your good faith, 790
how much it is to be wise! I never come near without going away from you more learned.

THR. Thai', primum hoc mihi responde: quom tibi do istam virginem,
dixtin hos dies mihi soli dare te? TH. quid tum postea?
THR. rogitas? quae mi ante oculos coram amatorem adduxti tuom . .
TH. quid cum illoc agas?

THR. Thais, first answer me this: when I give you that virgin,
did you say you would give these days to me alone? TH. what then after that?
THR. you ask? you who before my eyes, in my presence, brought your lover . .
TH. what have you to do with that fellow?

THR. et cum eo clam te subduxti mihi? 795
TH. lubuit. THR. Pamphilam ergo huc redde, nisi vi mavis eripi.
CH. tibi illam reddat aut tu eam tangas, omnium . . ? GN. ah quid agis?

THR. and with him did you secretly sneak yourself away from me? 795
TH. I felt like it. THR. Then hand Pamphila back here, unless you prefer her to be snatched by force.
CH. that she should give her back to you, or that you should even touch her, of all . . ? GN. ah, what are you doing?

tace.
THR. quid tu tibi vis? ego non tangam meam?

be quiet.
THR. what do you want for yourself? shall I not touch my own?

CH. tuam autem, furcifer?
GN. cave sis: nescis quoi maledicas nunc viro. CH. non tu hinc abis?

CH. yours, then, you gallows-bird?
GN. beware, please: you don’t know to what man you are now uttering malediction. CH. won’t you be off from here?

scin tu ut tibi res se habeat? si quicquam hodie hic turbae coeperis, 800
faciam ut hui(u)s loci di<ei>que meique semper memineris.
GN. miseret t<ui> me qui hunc tantum hominem facias inimicum tibi.

Do you know how the matter stands with you? If today you begin any tumult here, 800
I will make it so that you always remember this place and this day and me.
GN. I pity you, that you make so great a man an enemy to yourself.

CH. diminuam ego caput tuum hodie, nisi abis. GN. <ai>n vero, canis?
sicin agis?

CH. I will diminish your head today, unless you go away. GN. Really, cur?
Is that how you act?

THR. quis tu homo es? quid tibi vis? quid cum illa r<ei> tibist?
CH. scibi': principio <ea>m esse dico liberam.

THR. who are you, man? what do you want? what have you to do with that affair of hers?
CH. you shall know: first, I say that she is free.

THR. hem. CH. 805
civem Atticam. THR. hui.

THR. eh. CH. 805
an Attic citizen. THR. wow.

CH. m<ea>m sororem. THR. os durum. CH. miles, nunc adeo edico tibi
ne vim facias ullam in illam.

CH. my sister. THR. impudent! CH. soldier, now indeed I expressly forbid you
to do any violence against her.

Thais, ego eo ad Sophronam
nutricem, ut eam adducam et signa ostendam haec. THR. tun me prohibeas
meam ne tangam? CH. prohibebo inquam.

Thais, I am going to Sophrona
the nurse, so that I may bring her and show these tokens. THR. do you then
forbid me
that I not touch my own? CH. I will forbid it, I say.

GN. audin tu? hic furti se adligat:
sat[is] hoc tibist. THR. idem hoc tu [ais], Thai'? TH. quaere qui respondeat.— 810
THR. quid nunc agimu'? GN. quin redeamu': iam haec tibi aderit supplicans
ultro. THR. credin?

GN. Do you hear? This man binds himself to theft:
this is enough for you. THR. Do you say this same thing, Thais? TH. Find someone who will answer.— 810
THR. What do we do now? GN. Why don’t we go back? Soon she will be with you, supplicating
of her own accord. THR. Do you believe it?

GN. immo certe: novi ingenium mulierum:
nolunt ubi velis, ubi nolis cupiunt ultro. THR. bene putas.
GN. iam dimitto exercitum?

GN. Nay, certainly: I know the nature of women:
they are unwilling where you wish; where you do not wish, they desire unbidden. THR. You think well.
GN. Shall I now dismiss the army?

THR. ubi vis. GN. Sanga, ita ut fortis decet
milites, domi focique fac vicissim ut memineris. 815
SA. iamdudum animus est in patinis. GN. frugi es. THR. vos me hac sequimini.

THR. where you please. GN. Sanga, as it befits brave soldiers, see in turn that you remember home and hearth. 815
SA. My mind has long now been on the platters. GN. you’re frugal. THR. you, follow me this way.

ACTVS V

ACT 5

Thais Pythias

V.i
TH. Pergin, scelesta, mecum perplexe loqui?
"scio nescio abiit audivi, ego non adfui."
non tu istuc mihi dictura aperte es quidquid est?
virgo conscissa veste lacrumans opticet; 820
eunuchus abiit: quam ob rem?

5.1
TH. Do you keep on, wicked girl, speaking with me perplexedly?
"I know—I don’t know—he went away—I heard—I was not present."
Won’t you tell me that openly, whatever it is?
the virgin, with garment torn, weeping, appears; 820
the eunuch has gone away: for what reason?

[aut] quid factumst? taces?
PY. quid tibi ego dicam misera?

[or] what has happened? Are you silent?
PY. What am I, miserable, to say to you?

illum eunuchum negant
fuisse. TH. quis fuit igitur? PY. iste Chaerea.

They deny that that eunuch
was one. TH. Who was it then? PY. That Chaerea.

TH. qui Chaerea? PY. iste ephebu' frater Phaedriae.
TH. quid ais, venefica?

TH. Which Chaerea? PY. That ephebe, Phaedria’s brother.
TH. What are you saying, sorceress?

PY. atqui certe comperi. 825
TH. quid is obsecro ad nos? quam ob rem adductust? PY. nescio;
nisi amasse credo Pamphilam.

PY. but indeed I have certainly found out. 825
TH. what has he, I beg, to do with us? for what reason has he been brought here? PY. I don’t know;
except that I believe he was in love with Pamphila.

TH. hem misera occidi,
infelix, siquidem tu istaec vera praedicas.
num id lacrumat virgo? PY. id opinor.

TH. alas, wretched, I am slain,
unlucky, since indeed you proclaim those things to be true.
does the maiden weep for that? PY. I think so.

TH. quid ais, sacrilega?
istucine interminata sum hinc abiens tibi? 830
PY. quid facerem? ita ut tu iusti, soli creditast.

TH. What do you say, you sacrilegious one?
about that—was I not threatening you thus as I went away from here? 830
PY. What was I to do? Just as you ordered, she was entrusted to me alone.

TH. scelesta, ovem lupo commisisti. dispudet
sic mihi data esse verba. quid illuc hominis est?

TH. wicked woman, you have entrusted a sheep to a wolf. I am utterly ashamed
that words have been given to me thus. What sort of man is that over there?

PY. era mea, tace tace obsecro, salvae sumus:
habemus hominem ipsum. TH. ubi is est? PY. em ad sinist<e>ram. 835
viden?

PY. my mistress, hush, hush, I beseech, we are safe:
we have the man himself. TH. where is he? PY. there, on the left. 835
do you see?

TH. video. PY. conprendi iube, quantum potest.
TH. quid illo faciemu', stulta?

TH. I see. PY. Order him to be apprehended, as quickly as possible.
TH. What shall we do with him, foolish girl?

PY. quid facias, rogas?
vide amabo, si non, quom aspicias, os inpudens
videtur! non est?

PY. Do you ask what you should do?
Look, please—see whether, when you look, he seems an impudent face! Is he not?

tum quae ei(u)s confidentiast!

then what confidence she has!

Chaerea Thais Pythias

V.ii
CH. Apud Antiphonem uterque, mater et pater, 840
quasi dedita opera domi erant, ut nullo modo
intro ire possem quin viderent me. interim
dum ante ostium sto, notu' mihi quidam obviam
venit. ubi vidi, ego me in pedes quantum queo
in angiportum quoddam desertum, inde item 845
in aliud, inde in aliud: ita miserrimus
fui fugitando nequi' me cognosceret.
sed estne haec Thai' quam video?

V.ii
CH. At Antiphon’s, both mother and father, 840
were, as if with deliberate purpose, at home, so that in no way
could I go inside without their seeing me. Meanwhile,
while I stand before the door, a certain person known to me comes
to meet me. When I saw him, I take to my heels as much as I can,
into a certain deserted alley, then likewise 845
into another, then into another: so, most miserable,
I kept fleeing lest he recognize me.
But is this Thais whom I see?

ipsast. haereo
quid faciam. quid mea autem?

it’s herself. I hesitate—
what am I to do? But what is it to me?

quid faciet mihi?
TH. adeamu'. bone vir Dore, salve: dic mihi, 850
aufugistin? CH. era, factum.

what will she do to me?
TH. let’s go up. good man Doro, greetings: tell me, 850
did you run away? CH. mistress, done.

TH. satine id tibi placet?
CH. non. TH. credin te inpune habiturum?

TH. Does that please you well enough?
CH. No. TH. Do you think you will get off with impunity?

CH. unam hanc noxiam
amitte: si aliam admisero umquam, occidito.
TH. num m<ea>m saevitiam veritus es? CH. non. TH. quid igitur?

CH. forgive
this one offense:
if I ever commit another, kill me.
TH. were you afraid of my savagery? CH. no. TH.
what then?

CH. hanc metui ne me criminaretur tibi. 855
TH. quid feceras? CH. paullum quiddam. PY. eho "paullum", inpudens?

CH. I feared this one lest she should criminate me to you. 855
TH. What had you done? CH. A little something. PY. hey
“a little,” impudent one?

an paullum hoc esse tibi videtur, virginem
vitiare civem? CH. conservam esse credidi.
PY. conservam!

Or does this seem a small thing to you, to vitiate a maiden citizen?
CH. I believed her to be a fellow-slave.
PY. A fellow-slave!

vix me contineo quin involem in
capillum, monstrum: etiam ultro derisum advenit. 860
TH. abin hinc, insana? PY. quid ita? vero debeam,
credo, isti quicquam furcifero si id fecerim;
praesertim quom se servom fateatur tuom.

I scarcely restrain myself from flying at his hair, monster: he even comes of his own accord to mock. 860
TH. Will you be off from here, madwoman? PY. Why so? Indeed, I suppose, I should owe that gallows-bird anything if I should do that;
especially since he confesses himself to be your servant.

TH. missa haec faciamu'. non te dignum, Chaerea,
fecisti; nam si ego digna hac contumelia 865
sum maxume, at tu indignu' qui faceres tamen.
neque edepol quid nunc consili capiam scio
de virgine istac: ita conturbasti mihi
rationes omnis, ut eam non possim suis
ita ut aequom fuerat atque ut studui tradere, 870
ut solidum parerem hoc mi beneficium, Chaerea.
CH. at nunc de(h)inc spero aeternam inter nos gratiam
fore, Thai'. saepe ex hui(u)smodi re quapiam et
malo principio magna familiaritas
conflatast.

TH. let’s dismiss this. You have not acted worthy of yourself, Chaerea;
for if I am most of all worthy of this contumely 865
yet you are unworthy to have done it, nevertheless.
nor, by Pollux, do I know what counsel I should now take
about that maiden: you have so thrown all my calculations
into confusion for me, that I cannot deliver her to her own
as was equitable and as I strove, 870
so that I might procure this solid benefit for myself, Chaerea.
CH. but now hereafter I hope there will be eternal goodwill
between us, Thais. Often from some affair of this kind and
from a bad beginning great familiarity
has been forged.

quid si hoc quispiam voluit deus? 875
TH. equidem pol in eam partem accipioque et volo.
CH. immo ita quaeso. unum hoc scito, contumeliae
me non fecisse causa, sed amoris.

What if some god has willed this? 875
TH. For my part, by Pollux, I both accept it in that sense and wish it.
CH. Nay rather, so, I beg. Know this one thing: that I did it not for the sake of contumely, but of love.

TH. scio,
et pol propterea mage nunc ignosco tibi.
non adeo inhumano ingenio sum, Chaerea, 880
neque ita inperita ut quid amor valeat nesciam.
CH. te quoque iam, Thais, ita me di bene ament, amo.

TH. I know,
and, by Pollux, for that reason I forgive you the more now.
I am not of so inhuman a disposition, Chaerea, 880
nor so unskilled as not to know what love avails.
CH. I too, Thais—so may the gods love me well—love you.

PY. tum pol tibi ab istoc, era, cavendum intellego.
CH. non ausim. PY. nil tibi quicquam credo.

PY. then, pol, I understand that you must beware of that fellow, mistress.
CH. I would not dare. PY. I trust you not at all.

TH. desinas.
CH. nunc ego te in hac re mi oro ut adiutrix sies, 885
ego me tuae commendo et committo fide[i],
te mihi patronam capio, Thai', te obsecro:
emoriar si non hanc uxorem duxero.
TH. tamen si pater . . ? CH. quid?

TH.
desist.
CH. now I beg you, my dear, in this matter, be my assistress, 885
I commend and commit myself to your faith,
I take you as my patroness, Thai', I beseech you:
may I die if I do not take this woman as wife.
TH. yet if father . . ? CH. what?

ah volet, certo scio,
civis modo haec sit. TH. paullulum opperirier 890
si vis, iam frater ipse hic aderit virginis;
nutricem accersitum iit quae illam aluit parvolam:
in cognoscendo tute ipse aderi', Chaerea.
CH. ego vero maneo.

ah, he will be willing, I know for certain, provided only that this girl be a citizen.
TH. if you wish to wait a little, 890
the maiden’s very brother himself will be here presently;
he has gone to summon the nurse who nourished her when she was a very little girl:
in the recognition you yourself will be present, Chaerea.
CH. indeed I will stay.

TH. vin interea, dum venit,
domi opperiamur potiu' quam hic ante ostium? 895
CH. immo percupio. PY. quam tu rem actura obsecro es?
TH. nam quid ita? PY. rogitas?

TH. Would you, meanwhile, while he’s coming,
shall we wait at home rather than here before the doorway? 895
CH. Indeed, I’m very eager. PY. What business are you going to do, pray?
TH. Why so? PY. You ask?

hunc tu in aedis cogitas
recipere posthac? TH. quor non? PY. crede hoc m<eae> fide[i],
dabit hic pugnam aliquam denuo.

Are you thinking to take this man back into the house hereafter?
TH. why not? PY. believe this on my faith[i],
he will give some fight again.

TH. au tace obsecro.
PY. parum perspexisse ei(u)s videre audaciam. 900
CH. non faciam, Pythias. PY. non credo, Chaerea,
nisi si commissum non erit.

TH. oh, be quiet, I beseech.
PY. you seem to have too little perceived his audacity. 900
CH. I will not do so, Pythias. PY. I do not believe it, Chaerea,
unless no offense will have been committed.

CH. quin, Pythias,
tu me servato. PY. neque pol servandum tibi
quicquam dare ausim neque te servare: apage te.
TH. adest optume ipse frater. CH. perii hercle: obsecro 905
abeamus intro, Thais: nolo me in via
cum hac veste videat.

CH. Why not then, Pythias,
you save me. PY. By Pollux, I would neither dare to give anything to you to be kept
nor to keep you: away with you.
TH. The brother himself is here most opportunely. CH. I’m ruined, by Hercules: I beg— 905
let’s go inside, Thais: I do not want him to see me in the street
with this garment.

TH. quam ob rem tandem? an quia pudet?
CH. id ipsum.

TH. for what reason, then? or because you are ashamed?
CH. that very thing.

PY. id ipsum? virgo vero! TH. i prae, sequor.

PY. That very thing? A virgin indeed! TH. Go on ahead, I follow.

tu istic mane ut Chremem intro ducas, Pythias.

you stay there so that you may lead Chremes inside, Pythias.

Pythias Chremes Sophrona

V.iii
PY. Quid, quid venire in mentem nunc possit mihi, 910
quidnam qui referam sacrilego illi gratiam
qui hunc supposvit nobis? CH. move vero ocius
te nutrix. SO. moveo.

V.iii
PY. What, what could come into my mind now, 910
what way to repay that sacrilegious fellow the favor
who foisted this one upon us? CH. Do move more quickly,
nurse. SO. I’m moving.

CH. video, sed nil promoves.
PY. iamne ostendisti signa nutrici? CH. omnia.

CH. I see, but you advance nothing.
PY. Have you shown the tokens to the nurse yet? CH. All of them.

PY. amabo, quid ait? cognoscitne? CH. ac memoriter. 915
PY. probe edepol narras; nam illi faveo virgini.

PY. please, what does she say? does she recognize? CH. and from memory. 915
PY. you tell well, by Pollux; for I favor that maiden.

ite intro: iamdudum era vos exspectat domi.—
virum bonum eccum Parmenonem incedere
video: vide ut otiosus it! si dis placet,
spero me habere qui hunc meo excruciem modo. 920
ibo intro de cognitione ut certum sciam:
post exibo atque hunc perterrebo sacrilegum.

go inside: for a long time now the mistress has been expecting you at home.—
behold the good man Parmenon proceeding
I see: see how idly he goes! if it pleases the gods,
I hope I have someone by whom I may excruciate this fellow in my own mode. 920
I will go inside about the recognition so that I may know for certain:
afterward I will come out and thoroughly terrify this sacrilegious fellow.

Parmeno Pythias

V.iv
PA. Reviso quidnam Chaerea hic rerum gerat.
quod si astu rem tractavit, di vostram fidem,
quantam et quam veram laudem capiet Parmeno!      925
nam ut mittam quod ei amorem difficillimum et
carissimum, a meretrice avara virginem
quam amabat, eam confeci sine molestia
sine sumptu et sine dispendio: tum hoc alterum,
id verost quod ego mi puto palmarium,                 930
me repperisse quo modo adulescentulus
meretricum ingenia et mores posset noscere
mature, ut quom cognorit perpetuo oderit.
quae dum foris sunt nil videtur mundius,
nec mage compositum quicquam nec magis elegans       935
quae cum amatore quom cenant ligurriunt.

V.iv
PA. I’ll go back to see what business Chaerea is about here.
but if he has handled the matter with astuteness—gods, by your good faith—
what great, and how true, praise Parmeno will win!      925
for, to pass over this: that for him the most difficult and
dearest love—the virgin whom he loved—from an avaricious meretrix
I have brought to completion without trouble,
without expense and without loss: then this second point—
this truly is what I for my part deem palmary—                 930
that I have discovered how a young adolescent
can early learn the dispositions and mores of courtesans,
so that, when he has learned them, he will hate them forever.
who, so long as they are out-of-doors, nothing seems neater,
nor anything more composed nor more elegant,
who, when they dine with a lover, lick and nibble daintily.       935

harum videre inluviem sordes inopiam,
quam inhonestae solae sint domi atque avidae cibi,
quo pacto ex iure hesterno panem atrum vorent,
nosse omnia haec salus est adulescentulis. 940
PY. ego pol te pro istis dictis et factis, scelus,
ulciscar, ut ne inpune in nos inluseris.
pro deum fidem, facinu' foedum! o infelicem adulescentulum!

to see the filth, the dirt, the want of these creatures,
how unseemly they are when alone at home and avid for food,
in what fashion, with yesterday’s broth, they devour black bread—
to know all these things is salvation for adolescent lads. 940
PY. By Pollux, I will avenge myself on you for those words and deeds, you villain,
so that you shall not have mocked us with impunity.
by the faith of the gods, a foul crime! O unhappy adolescent!

o scelestum Parmenonem, qui istum huc adduxit! PA. quid est?
PY. miseret me: itaque ut ne viderem, misera huc ecfugi foras. 945
quae futura exempla dicunt in illum indigna!

O wicked Parmeno, who brought that fellow here! PA. what is it?
PY. I am moved to pity: and so, in order not to see, wretched, I fled out here outside. 945
what unworthy exemplary punishments they say are in store for him!

PA. o Iuppiter,
quae illaec turbast? numnam ego perii? adibo.

PA. O Jupiter,
what is that turmoil? am I undone? I will approach.

quid istuc, Pythias?
quid ais? in quem exempla fient?

what is that, Pythias?
what do you say? upon whom will examples be made?

PY. rogitas, audacissime?
perdidisti istum quem adduxti pro eunucho adulescentulum,
dum studes dare verba nobis. PA. quid ita?

PY. You ask, most audacious man?
You have ruined that adolescent whom you brought as a eunuch,
while you were eager to give us words—to trick us. PA. How so?

aut quid factumst? cedo. 950
PY. dicam: virginem istam, Thaidi hodie quae dono datast,
scis eam hinc civem esse? et fratrem ei(u)s [esse] adprime nobilem?

or what has happened? out with it. 950
PY. I will say: that maiden, who today was given as a gift to Thais,
do you know she is a citizen from here? and her brother [to be] eminently noble?

PA. nescio. PY. atqui sic inventast: eam istic vitiavit miser.
ille ubi id rescivit factum frater violentissimus
PA. quidnam fecit?

PA. I do not know. PY. And yet she was found thus: that wretch there violated her.
Then, when that most violent brother learned that this had been done—
PA. What did he do?

PY. conligavit primum eum miseris modis. 955
PA. hem 955a
conligavit? PY. atque quidem orante ut ne id faceret Thaide.
PA. quid ais?

PY. he bound him first in miserable modes. 955
PA. ah! 955a
bound him? PY. and indeed with Thais entreating that he not do it.
PA. what are you saying?

PY. nunc minatur porro sese id quod moechis solet:
quod ego numquam vidi fieri neque velim. PA. qua audacia
tantum facinus audet? PY. quid ita "tantum"? PA. an non tibi hoc maxumumst?

PY. now he furthermore threatens that which is customary for adulterers:
which I have never seen done nor would I wish. PA. with what audacity
does he dare so great a deed? PY. why “so great”? PA. or is this not
to you the greatest?

quis homo pro moecho umquam vidit in domo meretricia 960
prendi quemquam? PY. nescio. PA. at ne hoc nesciatis, Pythias:
dico edico vobis nostrum esse illum erilem filium.

what man ever saw, in place of an adulterer, in a brothel 960
anyone seized? PY. I do not know. PA. but that you not be ignorant of this, Pythias:
I say, I proclaim to you that that master’s son is ours.

PY. hem
obsecro, an is est? PA. nequam in illum Thai' vim fieri sinat!
atque adeo autem quor non egomet intro eo? PY. vide, Parmeno,
quid agas, ne neque illi prosis et tu pereas; nam hoc putant 965
quidquid factumst ex te esse ortum.

PY. ah
I beseech you, is it he? PA. let Thais not allow any violence to be done against him!
and indeed moreover why do I not go inside myself? PY. see, Parmeno,
what you are doing, lest you be of no use to him and you perish yourself; for this they think: 965
whatever has been done has sprung from you.

PA. quid igitur faciam miser?
quidve incipiam? ecce autem video rure redeuntem senem.

PA. what then shall I do, wretch that I am?
what shall I begin? look, however, I see the old man returning from the countryside.

dicam huic an non? ei dicam hercle; etsi mihi magnum malum
scio paratum; sed necessest huic ut subveniat. PY. sapis.

shall I tell him or not? by Hercules, I will tell him; although I know a great evil is prepared for me; but it is necessary that this man be succored. PY. you are wise.

ego abeo intro: tu isti narra omne[m] ordine[m] ut factum siet. 970

I’m going inside: you tell that fellow the whole story in order, how it happened. 970

Senex Parmeno

Old man Parmeno

V.v
SE. Ex m<eo> propinquo rure hoc capio commodi:
neque agri neque urbis odium me umquam percipit.
ubi satias coepit fieri commuto locum.
sed estne ille noster Parmeno?

V.v
SE. From my own nearby country estate I take this convenience:
neither the odium of the field nor of the city ever takes hold of me.
when satiety begins to arise, I change my location.
but is that our Parmeno?

et certe ipsus est.
quem praestolare, Parmeno, hic ante ostium? 975
PA. quis homost? ehem salvom te advenire, ere, gaudeo.

and surely he himself it is.
whom are you waiting for, Parmeno, here before the door? 975
PA. who is the man? eh! I rejoice that you arrive safe, master.

SE. quem praestolare? PA. perii: lingua haeret metu. SE. hem
quid est?

SE. whom are you waiting for? PA. I'm done for: my tongue sticks with fear. SE. hey?
what is it?

quid trepidas? satine salve? dic mihi.

Why do you tremble? Are you all right? Tell me.

PA. ere, primum te arbitrari [id] quod res est velim:
quidquid huiu' factumst, culpa non factumst mea. 980
SE. quid? PA. recte sane interrogasti: oportuit
rem praenarrasse me. emit quendam Phaedria
eunuchum quem dono huic daret. SE. quoi?

PA. sir, first I would like you to think what the matter is in fact:
whatever has been done in this business has not been done by my fault. 980
SE. what? PA. you have asked quite rightly: it was proper
for me to have narrated the matter beforehand. Phaedria bought a certain
eunuch, to give as a gift to this woman. SE. to whom?

PA. Thaidi.
SE. emit? perii hercle.

PA. For Thais.
SE. He bought? By Hercules, I am ruined.

quanti? PA. viginti minis.
SE. actumst.

how much? PA. twenty minae.
SE. it’s all over.

PA. tum quandam fidicinam amat hic Chaerea. 985
SE. hem quid? amat? an scit ill' iam quid meretrix siet?

PA. then Chaerea here loves a certain lyre-girl. 985
SE. eh, what? in love? Or does he already know what a prostitute is?

an in astu venit? aliud ex alio malum!
PA. ere, ne me spectes: me inpulsore haec non facit.

Or has he come into the city? one trouble out of another!
PA. sir, don’t look at me: it’s not at my instigation that she does this.

SE. omitte de te dicere. ego te, furcifer,
si vivo . . ! sed istuc quidquid est primum expedi. 990
PA. is pro illo eunucho ad Thaidem hanc deductus est.
SE. pro eunuchon?

SE. leave off speaking about yourself. As for you, gallows-bird,
if I live . . ! but whatever that is, first explain it. 990
PA. he was conducted to Thais here in place of that eunuch.
SE. in place of the eunuch?

PA. sic est. hunc pro moecho postea
conprendere intus et constrinxere. SE. occidi.

PA. So it is. This one, as the adulterer, afterward they apprehended inside and bound him. SE. I am slain.

PA. audaciam meretricum specta. SE. numquid est
aliud mali damnive quod non dixeris 995
relicuom? PA. tantumst.

PA. Look at the audacity of the harlots. SE. is there
any other evil or damage that you haven’t said, left remaining? 995
PA. that’s all.

SE. cesso huc intro rumpere?—
PA. non dubiumst quin mi magnum ex hac re sit malum;
nisi, quia necessu' fuit hoc facere, id gaudeo
propter me hisce aliquid esse eventurum mali.
nam iamdiu aliquam causam quaerebat senex 1000
quam ob rem insigne aliquid faceret is: nunc repperit.

SE. Do I delay to burst in here?—
PA. There is no doubt that great harm will come to me from this matter;
save that, because it was necessary to do this, I rejoice
that, on account of me, some evil is going to befall these here.
for a long time now the old man was seeking some cause 1000
on account of which he might do something signal: now he has found it.

Pythias Parmeno

V.vi
PY. Numquam edepol quicquam iamdiu quod mage vellem evenire
mi evenit quam quod modo senex intro ad nos venit errans.
mihi solae ridiculo fuit quae quid timeret scibam.
PA. quid hoc autemst?

5.6
PY. By Pollux, never for a long time has anything I would more wish to come to pass happened to me than that the old man just now came in to us, errant.
To me alone it was ridiculous, I who knew what there was to fear.
PA. What is this, then?

PY. nunc id prodeo ut conveniam Parmenonem. 1005
sed ubi obsecro est? PA. me quaerit haec. PY. atque eccum video: adibo.

PY. now I go forth to meet Parmeno. 1005
but where, I pray, is he? PA. she is looking for me, this woman. PY. and lo, I see him: I will approach.

PA. quid est, inepta? quid tibi vis? quid rides?

PA. What is it, you inept one? What do you want? Why are you laughing?

pergin? PY. perii:
defessa iam sum misera te ridendo. PA. quid ita?

do you go on? PY. i have perished:
i am already worn out, miserable, from laughing at you. PA. why so?

PY. rogitas?
numquam pol hominem stultiorem vidi nec videbo. ah
non possum sati' narrare quos ludos praebueris intus 1010
[de sene quem fecisti ingredi pulsantem ut senes solent]. 1010a
at etiam primo callidum et disertum credidi hominem.

PY. do you ask?
never, by Pollux, have I seen a more foolish man, nor shall I see. ah
I cannot tell enough what antics you put on inside 1010
[about the old man whom you made to enter, knocking, as old men are wont]. 1010a
and yet at first I believed the man clever and eloquent.

quid? ilicone credere ea quae dixi oportuit te?
an paenitebat flagiti, te auctore quod fecisset
adulescens, ni miserum insuper etiam patri indicares?
nam quid illi credis animi tum fuisse, ubi vestem vidit 1015
illam esse eum indutum pater?

What? Was it fitting for you straightway to believe the things I said?
Or were you repenting of the flagitious deed, which the adolescent had done with you as author,
unless you were, besides, even to inform his father about the poor wretch?
For what do you think his spirit was then, when the father saw 1015
that he was clad in that garment?

quid est? iam scis te perisse?
PA. ehem quid dixti, pessuma?

what is it? do you now know you are done for?
PA. ahem, what did you say, you worst woman?

an mentita es? etiam rides?
itan lepidum tibi visumst, scelus, nos inridere? PY. nimium.

Or have you lied? Do you even laugh?
So then did it seem charming to you, villain, to deride us? PY. too much.

PA. siquidem istuc inpune habueris . . ! PY. verum? PA. reddam hercle. PY. credo:
sed in diem istuc, Parmeno, est fortasse quod minare. 1020
tu iam pendebi' qui stultum adulescentulum nobilitas
flagitiis et eundem indicas: uterque in te exempla edent.

PA. if indeed you get away with that with impunity . . ! PY. really? PA. I’ll pay you back, by Hercules. PY. I believe it:
but that, Parmeno, perhaps is for another day, what you threaten. 1020
you will presently pay, you who make a foolish adolescent notorious by disgraces and denounce that same man: each will make an example of you.

PA. nullus sum. PY. hic pro illo munere tibi honos est habitus: abeo.
PA. egomet meo indicio miser quasi sorex hodie perii.

PA. I'm done for. PY. This is the honor shown you in return for that favor: I go away.
PA. I myself, by my own evidence—wretched—like the shrew, have perished today.

Gnatho Thraso Parmeno

V.vii
GN. Quid nunc? qua spe aut quo consilio huc imu'? quid coeptas, Thraso? 1025
TH. egone? ut Thaidi me dedam et faciam quod iubeat.

5.7
GN. What now? With what hope or with what counsel are we going in here? What are you setting about, Thraso? 1025
TH. I? That I hand myself over to Thais and do what she bids.

GN. quid est?
TH. qui minu' quam Hercules servivit Omphalae? GN. exemplum placet.

GN. what is it?
TH. Why not, just as Hercules served Omphale? GN. The example pleases.

(utinam tibi conmitigari videam sandalio caput!)
sed fores crepuerunt ab ea. TH. perii: quid hoc autemst mali?
hunc ego numquam videram etiam: quidnam hic properans prosilit? 1030

(would that I might see your head tamed with a sandal!)
but the doors creaked at her coming. TH. I am undone: what evil is this now?
this fellow I had never even seen: what man is this who, hurrying, springs out? 1030

Chaerea Parmeno Gnatho Thraso V.viii
CH. O populares, ecqui' me hodie vivit fortunatior?
nemo hercle quisquam; nam in me plane di potestatem suam
omnem ostendere quoi tam subito tot congruerint commoda.
PA. quid hic laetus est?

Chaerea Parmeno Gnatho Thraso 5.8
CH. O fellow citizens, does anyone today live more fortunate than I?
no one, by Hercules, no one; for upon me plainly the gods have shown all their power, for whom so many conveniences have so suddenly concurred.
PA. what is this fellow so merry about?

CH. o Parmeno mi, o m<ea>rum voluptatum omnium
inventor inceptor perfector, scis me in quibu' sim gaudiis? 1035
scis Pamphilam m<ea>m inventam civem? PA. audivi. CH. scis sponsam mihi?

CH. O my Parmeno, O inventor, initiator, perfecter of all my pleasures, do you know in what joys I am? 1035
do you know that my Pamphila has been found to be a citizen? PA. I have heard. CH. do you know she is my betrothed?

PA. bene, ita me di ament, factum. GN. audin tu, hic quid ait? CH. tum
autem Phaedriae
m<eo> fratri gaudeo esse amorem omnem in tranquillo: unast domus;
Thais patri se commendavit, in clientelam et fidem
nobis dedit se. PA. fratris igitur Thai' totast?

PA. Good; so may the gods love me, it’s done. GN. Do you hear, you, what this fellow says? CH. then
moreover I rejoice that for Phaedria, my brother, all his love is in tranquil waters: it is one household;
Thais has commended herself to our father, and has given herself into our clientship and protection. PA. So then Thais is wholly your brother’s?

CH. scilicet. 1040
PA. iam hoc aliud est quod gaudeamu': miles pelletur foras.
CH. tu frater ubi ubi est fac quam primum haec audiat. PA. visam domum.—
TH. numquid, Gnatho, tu dubitas quin ego nunc perpetuo perierim?

CH. of course. 1040
PA. now here is another thing to rejoice at: the soldier will be driven out.
CH. you, see that my brother, wherever he is, hears this as soon as possible. PA. I’ll go visit the house.—
TH. is there any doubt, Gnatho, that I have now perished for good?

GN. sine dubio opinor. CH. quid commemorem primum aut laudem maxume?
illumne qui mihi dedit consilium ut facerem, an me qui id ausu' sim 1045
incipere, an fortunam conlaudem quae gubernatrix fuit,
quae tot res tantas tam opportune in unum conclusit diem,
an m<ei> patris festivitatem et facilitatem?

GN. without doubt, I suppose. CH. what should I recall first or praise most?
that one who gave me counsel that I should do it, or myself, who dared 1045
to begin it; or should I extol Fortune, who was the helmswoman,
who so opportunely enclosed so many great matters into one day,
or my father’s festivity and affability?

o Iuppiter,
serva obsecro haec bona nobis!

O Jupiter,
preserve, I beseech, these good things for us!

Phaedria Chaerea Thraso Gnatho

V.ix
PH. Di vostram fidem, incredibilia
Parmeno modo quae narravit. sed ubist frater? CH. praesto adest. 1050
PH. gaudeo.

5.9
PH. By your good faith, gods, unbelievable things
Parmeno has just told. But where is my brother? CH. He is right here. 1050
PH. I am glad.

CH. sati' credo. nil est Thaide hac, frater, tua
digniu' quod ametur: ita nostrae omnist fautrix familiae. PH. hui
mihi illam laudas?

CH. Enough, I believe. Nothing, brother, for you
is more worthy to be loved than this Thais: so entirely is she a favorer of our household. PH. hey!
are you praising her to me?

TH. perii, quanto minu' sp<ei> 'st tanto magis amo.
obsecro, Gnatho, in te spes est. GN. quid vis faciam?

TH. I am undone; the less hope there is, the more I love.
I beseech you, Gnatho, the hope rests in you. GN. What do you wish me to do?

TH. perfice hoc
precibu' pretio ut haeream in parte aliqua tandem apud Thaidem. 1055
GN. difficilest. TH. siquid conlubitum, novi te. hoc si feceris,
quodvis donum praemium a me optato: id optatum auferes.
GN. itane?

TH.
bring this to completion
by prayers, by a price, that I may adhere in some part at last with Thais. 1055
GN. it is difficult. TH. if anything is to your liking, I know you. if you do this,
choose from me whatever gift, reward you please: you shall carry off that which you have chosen. GN. is it so?

TH. sic erit. GN. si efficio hoc, postulo ut mihi tua domus
te praesente absente pateat, invocato ut sit locus
semper. TH. do fidem futurum.

TH. so it will be. GN. if I accomplish this, I demand that your house
be open to me, whether you are present or absent, that there be room when I call
always. TH. I give my faith it will be.

GN. adcingar. PH. quem ego hic audio? 1060
o Thraso. TH. salvete.

GN. I will gird myself. PH. Whom do I hear here? 1060
O Thraso. TH. Greetings.

PH. tu fortasse quae facta hic sient
nescis. TH. scio. PH. quor te ergo in his ego conspicor regionibus?

PH. you perhaps what things have been done here
you do not know. TH. I know. PH. why then do I behold you in these regions?

TH. vobis fretu'. PH. scin quam fretu'? miles, edico tibi,
si te in platea offendero hac post umquam, quod dicas mihi
"alium quaerebam, iter hac habui": periisti. GN. heia haud sic decet. 1065
PH. dictumst. TH. non cognosco vostrum tam superbum . . PH. sic ago.

TH. relying on you. PH. do you know on what reliance? soldier, I give notice to you,
if I meet you in this street ever after, for you to say to me
"I was looking for another, I had my route this way": you are finished. GN. hey now, it is not decent so. 1065
PH. it has been said. TH. I do not recognize any of yours so superb . . PH. I act so.

GN. prius audite paucis: quod quom dixero, si placuerit,
facitote. CH. audiamu'. GN. tu concede paullum istuc, Thraso.
principio ego vos ambos credere hoc mihi vehementer velim,
me huiu' quidquid facio id facere maxume causa mea; 1070
verum si idem vobis prodest, vos non facere inscitiast.

GN. first, listen in a few words: when I have said this, if it shall please, see that you do it.
CH. let’s hear.
GN. you, step a little that way, Thraso.
to begin with, I would very much like you both to believe this about me,
that whatever I do in this matter, I do chiefly on my own account; 1070
but if the same thing profits you, it is ignorance for you not to do it.

PH. quid id est? GN. militem rivalem ego recipiundum censeo. PH. hem
recipiundum?

PH. what is that? GN. I opine the rival soldier is to be received. PH. eh
to be received?

GN. cogita modo: tu hercle cum illa, Phaedria,
ut lubenter vivis (etenim bene lubenter victitas),
quod des paullumst et necessest multum accipere Thaidem. 1075
ut tuo amori suppeditare possit sine sumptu tuo ad
omnia haec, magis opportunu' nec magis ex usu tuo
nemost. principio et habet quod det et dat nemo largius.
fatuos est, insulsu' tardu', stertit noctes et dies:
neque istum metuas ne amet mulier: facile pellas ubi velis. 1080
CH. quid agimus?

GN. just consider: by Hercules, how pleasantly you live with her, Phaedria (for indeed you live well and pleasantly),
what you give is little, and it is necessary that Thais receive much. 1075
so that she may be able to supply your love without your expense for
all these things, there is no one more opportune nor more to your use.
To begin with, he both has what he can give, and no one gives more largely.
he is fatuous, insipid, tardy; he snores nights and days:
nor need you fear that a woman will love that man: you can easily drive him off whenever you wish. 1080
CH. what are we to do?

GN. praeterea hoc etiam, quod ego vel primum puto,
accipit homo nemo meliu' prorsu' neque prolixius.
CH. mirum ni illoc homine quoquo pacto opust. PH. idem ego arbitror.

GN. besides this too, which I would count even first,
no one receives a man outright better nor more bountifully.
CH. a wonder if there were not need of that man in some way or other. PH. I think the same.

GN. recte facitis. unum etiam hoc vos oro, ut me in vostrum gregem
recipiati': sati' diu hoc iam saxum vorso. PH. recipimus. 1085
CH. ac lubenter.

GN. you do rightly. this one thing also I beg of you, that you receive me back into your flock;
I have been rolling this stone long enough already. PH. we receive you. 1085
CH. and gladly.

GN. at ego pro istoc, Phaedria et tu Chaerea,
hunc comedendum vobis propino et deridendum. CH. placet.
PH. dignus est.

GN. but I, in place of that fellow, Phaedria—and you Chaerea,
I proffer this man to you to be devoured and to be derided. CH. it pleases.
PH. he is worthy.

GN. Thraso, ubi vis accede. TH. obsecro te, quid agimus?
GN. quid?

GN. Thraso, come up wherever you like. TH. I beseech you, what are we doing?
GN. What?

isti te ignorabant: postquam is mores ostendi tuos
et conlaudavi secundum facta et virtutes tuas, 1090
impetravi. TH. bene fecisti: gratiam habeo maxumam.
numquam etiam fui usquam quin me omnes amarent plurimum.

those men did not know you: after I showed them your character and extolled, in accordance with your deeds, your virtues, 1090
I obtained it. TH. you did well: I owe the greatest gratitude.
never yet have I been anywhere without everyone loving me most.

GN. dixin ego in hoc esse vobis Atticam elegantiam?
PH. nil praeter promissum est. ite hac.

GN. Did I say that in this man there is for you Attic elegance?
PH. Nothing beyond what was promised. Go this way.

CANTOR. vos valete et plaudite!

CANTOR. you all, farewell
and applaud!