Terence: Heauton Timorumenos

INCIPIT HEAVTON TIMORVMENOS TERENTI
ACTA LVDIS MEGALENSIBVS
L. CORNELIO LENTVLO L. VALERIO FLACCO AEDILIBVS CVRVLIBVS
EGERE L. AMBIVIVS TVRPIO L. ATILIVS PRAENESTINVS
MODOS FECIT FLACCVS CLAVDI
ACTA I TIBIIS INPARIBVS DEINDE DVABUS DEXTRIS
GRAECA EST MENANDRV
FACTAST III M' IVVENTIO TI. SEMPRONIO COS.

HERE BEGINS TERENCE’S HEAUTON TIMORUMENOS
PERFORMED AT THE MEGALESIAN GAMES
WITH L. CORNELIUS LENTULUS AND L. VALERIUS FLACCUS AS CURULE AEDILES
STAGED BY L. AMBIVIUS TURPIO AND L. ATILIUS OF PRAENESTE
MELODIES COMPOSED BY FLACCUS, OF CLAUDIUS
PERFORMED WITH THE UNEQUAL TIBIAE, THEN WITH TWO RIGHT-HAND [PIPES]
IT IS GREEK: MENANDER
IT WAS PRODUCED FOR THE 3RD TIME, WHEN M'. IUVENTIUS AND TI. SEMPRONIUS WERE CONSULS.

PERSONAE

PERSONS

(PROLOGVS)
CHREMES SENEX
MENEDEMVS SENEX
CLITIPHO ADVLESCENS
CLINIA ADVLESCENS
SYRVS SERVOS
DROMO SERVOS
BACCHIS MERETRIX
ANTIPHILA VIRGO
SOSTRATA MATRONA
(CANTHARA) NVTRIX
PHRYGIA ANCILLA
(CANTOR)

(PROLOGUE)
CHREMES OLD MAN
MENEDEMUS OLD MAN
CLITIPHO YOUTH
CLINIA YOUTH
SYRUS SLAVE
DROMO SLAVE
BACCHIS COURTESAN
ANTIPHILA MAIDEN
SOSTRATA MATRON
(CANTHARA) NURSE
PHRYGIA HANDMAID
(SINGER)

PERIOCHA
C. SVLPICI APOLLINARIS

SUMMARY
C. SULPICIUS APOLLINARIS

In militiam proficisci gnatum Cliniam
amantem Antiphilam conpulit durus pater
animique sese angebat facti paenitens.
mox ut reversust, clam patrem devortitur
ad Clitiphonem. is amabat scortum Bacchidem.

A harsh father compelled his son Clinia, loving Antiphila, to set out for military service;
and he was vexing himself in spirit, repentant of the deed.
Soon as he returned, secretly from his father he turns aside
to Clitipho. He was in love with the courtesan Bacchis.

cum accerseret cupitam Antiphilam Clinia,
ut eius Bacchis venit amica ac servolae
habitum gerens Antiphila: factum id quo patrem
suum celaret Clitipho. hic technis Syri
decem minas meretriculae aufert a sene.
Antiphila Clitiphonis reperitur soror:
hanc Clinia, aliam Clitipho uxorem accipit.

When Clinia was summoning his desired Antiphila,
soon Bacchis, his girlfriend, came, and Antiphila, wearing the garb of a little slave-girl;
this was done so that Clitipho might conceal it from his father. By the techniques of Syrus
he carries off ten minae for the little meretrix (prostitute) from the old man.
Antiphila is discovered to be the sister of Clitipho:
Clinia receives this one as wife, Clitipho takes another as wife.

PROLOGVS

PROLOGUE

Nequoi sit vostrum mirum quor partis seni
poeta dederit quae sunt adulescentium,
id primum dicam, deinde quod veni eloquar.
ex integra Graeca integram comoediam
hodie sum acturus H[e]auton timorumenon, 5
duplex quae ex argumento facta est simplici.
novam esse ostendi et quae esset: nunc qui scripserit
et quoia Graeca sit, ni partem maxumam
existumarem scire vostrum, id dicerem.

Lest it be a marvel to any of you why the poet has given to an old man parts that are of young men,
that first I will say, then I will declare what I came for.
from an entire Greek I am today going to perform an entire comedy,
H[e]auton Timorumenon, 5
which has been made double from a simple argument.
I have shown that it is new and what it is: now, who wrote it
and whose Greek it is, if I did not suppose the greatest part of you
to know, that I would say.

nunc quam ob rem has partis didicerim paucis dabo.     10
oratorem esse voluit me, non prologum:
vostrum iudicium fecit; me actorem dedit.
sed hic actor tantum poterit a facundia
quantum ille potuit cogitare commode
qui orationem hanc scripsit quam dicturu' sum?       15
nam quod rumores distulerunt malevoli
multas contaminasse Graecas, dum facit
paucas Latinas: factum id esse hic non negat
neque se pigere et deinde facturum autumat.
habet bonorum exemplum quo exemplo sibi     20
licere [id] facere quod illi fecerunt putat.

now why I have learned these parts I will give in a few words.     10
he wanted me to be an orator, not the Prologue:
he made it your judgment; he appointed me actor.
but this actor will be able so far in facundity
as far as that man was able to contrive it aptly
who wrote this oration which I am about to speak?       15
for as to what malevolent rumors have spread abroad—
that he has contaminated many Greek ones while he makes
a few Latin ones—he does not deny that this has been done,
nor does he feel regret, and he deems he will do it hereafter.
he has the example of the good, by which example he     20
thinks it is permitted [to do this], to do what those men did.

tum quod malevolu' vetu' poeta dictitat
repente ad studium hunc se adplicasse musicum,
amicum ingenio fretum, haud natura sua:
arbitrium vostrum, vostra existumatio 25
valebit. quare omnis vos oratos volo,
ne plus iniquom possit quam aequom oratio.
facite aequi siti', date crescendi copiam
novarum qui spectandi faciunt copiam
sine vitiis.

then, because a malevolent old poet keeps on saying
that this man suddenly applied himself to the musical pursuit,
relying on a friend’s talent, not on his own nature:
your arbitration, your estimation 25
will prevail. Wherefore I beg you all,
that the inequitable may not have more power than the equitable plea.
be equitable, grant opportunity for growth
to those who furnish the chance of viewing new things
without faults.

ne ille pro se dictum existumet     30
qui nuper fecit servo currenti in via
decesse populum: quor insano serviat?
de illi(u)s peccatis plura dicet quom dabit
alias novas, nisi finem maledictis facit.
adeste aequo animo, date potestatem mihi       35
statariam agere ut liceat per silentium,
ne semper servo' currens, iratus senex,
edax parasitu', sycophanta autem inpudens,
avaru' leno adsidue agendi sint seni
clamore summo, cum labore maxumo.        40
mea causa causam hanc iustam esse animum inducite,
ut aliqua pars labori' minuatur mihi.

let him not think this was said on his behalf     30
who lately made the populace step aside for a slave running in the street:
why should it serve a madman?
about that one’s offenses he will say more when he gives
other new ones, unless he makes an end to his slanders.
be present with fair mind, grant me the power       35
that it may be permitted to act a stationary piece through silence,
lest always the running slave, the angry old man,
the gluttonous parasite, and moreover the shameless sycophant,
the avaricious pander be continually acted to the old man
with the highest clamor, with the greatest labor.        40
for my sake, induce your mind that this cause is just,
that some part of the labor may be lessened for me.

nam nunc novas qui scribunt nil parcunt seni:
siquae laboriosast, ad me curritur;
si lenis est, ad alium defertur gregem. 45
in hac est pura oratio. experimini
in utramque partem ingenium quid possit meum.
[si numquam avare pretium statui arti meae
et eum esse quaestum in animum induxi maxumum,
quam maxume servire vostris commodis:] 50
exemplum statuite in me, ut adulescentuli
vobis placere studeant potiu' quam sibi.

for now those who write new pieces spare nothing for the old man:
if anything is laborious, they run to me;
if it is easy, it is borne to another troupe. 45
in this the oration is pure. make trial
what my ingenuity can do in either direction.
[if I have never set a greedy price on my art,
and have taken into mind that the greatest gain is
to serve your conveniences as much as possible:] 50
set an example in me, so that the young men
may strive to please you rather than themselves.

ACTVS I

ACT 1

Chremes Menedemvs

Chremes Menedemus

I.i
CH. Quamquam haec inter nos nuper notitia admodumst
(inde adeo quod agrum in proxumo hic mercatus es)
nec rei fere sane amplius quicquam fuit,            55
tamen vel virtus tua me vel vicinitas,
quod ego in propinqua parte amicitiae puto,
facit ut te audacter moneam et familiariter
quod mihi videre praeter aetatem tuam
facere et praeter quam res te adhortatur tua.     60
nam pro deum atque hominum fidem quid vis tibi aut
quid quaeris? annos sexaginta natus es
aut plus eo, ut conicio; agrum in his regionibus
meliorem neque preti maiori' nemo habet;
servos compluris: proinde quasi nemo siet,     65
ita attente tute illorum officia fungere.
numquam tam mane egredior neque tam vesperi
domum revortor quin te in fundo conspicer
fodere aut arare aut aliquid ferre denique.

1.1
CH. Although this acquaintance between us is quite recent
(indeed from the fact that you bought a field close by here),
nor, to speak sane, has there been much more of dealings,            55
yet either your virtue or our vicinity,
which I reckon as a near part of friendship,
makes it that I may advise you boldly and familiarly
that which seems to me you are doing beyond your age
and beyond what your affair/estate urges you to do.     60
For by the faith of gods and men, what do you want for yourself, or
what do you seek? You are sixty years old,
or more than that, as I surmise; in these regions no one has
a better field, nor at a higher price;
several slaves; just as if no one existed,     65
so attentively you yourself perform their duties.
I never go out so early nor return home so late
without catching sight of you on your land,
digging or plowing or, finally, carrying something.

nullum remitti' tempu' neque te respicis. 70
haec non voluptati tibi esse sati' certo scio. at
enim dices "quantum hic operi' fiat paenitet."
quod in opere faciundo operae consumis tuae,
si sumas in illis exercendis, plus agas.
ME. Chreme, tantumne ab re tuast oti tibi 75
aliena ut cures ea quae nil ad te attinent?

you remit no time, nor do you look to yourself. 70
I am quite sure these things are not for your pleasure. But
indeed you will say, "I am dissatisfied at how much work gets done here."
The effort you expend in doing the work—if you were to take it up in training them, you would accomplish more.
ME. Chremes, have you so much leisure away from your own business that you concern yourself with things that do not pertain to you? 75

CH. homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto.
vel me monere hoc vel percontari puta:
rectumst ego ut faciam; non est te ut deterream.
ME. mihi sic est usu'; tibi ut opu' factost face. 80
CH. an quoiquamst usus homini se ut cruciet?

CH. I am a man: I think nothing human alien to me.
either think that I am advising you of this or inquiring:
it is right that I should do so; it is not that I should deter you.
ME. for me, such is my usage; do as there is need for you. 80
CH. or is there to any man a use, that he should torment himself?

ME. mihi.
CH. si quid laborist nollem. sed quid istuc malist?

ME. to me.
CH. if there is any labor, I would not wish it; but what ill is that?

quaeso, quid de te tantum meruisti? ME. eheu!
CH. ne lacruma atque istuc, quidquid est, fac me ut sciam:
ne retice, ne verere, crede inquam mihi: 85
aut consolando aut consilio aut re iuvero.

please, what have you so much deserved at your own hands? ME. alas!
CH. do not weep, and as for that—whatever it is—make it that I know it:
do not keep silent, do not fear, believe me, I say: 85
I will help either by consoling, or by counsel, or by deed.

ME. scire hoc vis? CH. hac quidem causa qua dixi tibi.
ME. dicetur.

ME. Do you wish to know this? CH. Indeed for this very cause which I told you.
ME. It shall be told.

CH. at istos rastros interea tamen
adpone, ne labora. ME. minime. CH. quam rem agis?

CH. But meanwhile, nevertheless, set down those rakes,
so do not labor. ME. By no means. CH. What business are you about?

ME. sine me vocivom tempu' nequod dem mihi 90
labori'. CH. non sinam, inquam. ME. ah non aequom facis.
CH. hui tam gravis hos, quaeso?

ME. allow me to give no vacant time to myself from labor 90
labor. CH. I will not allow it, I say. ME. ah, you do not do what is equitable.
CH. hey! are these so heavy, pray?

ME. sic meritumst meum.
CH. nunc loquere. ME. filium unicum adulescentulum
habeo.

ME. such is my desert.
CH. now speak. ME. I have an only son, a young adolescent.

ah quid dixi habere me? immo habui, Chreme;
nunc habeam necne incertumst. CH. quid ita istuc? ME. scies. 95
est e Corintho hic advena anu' paupercula;
ei(u)s filiam ille amare coepit perdite,
prope iam ut pro uxore haberet: haec clam me omnia.

ah what did I say that I have? No—rather, I had, Chremes; whether I have him now or not is uncertain. CH. Why so? ME. You will know. 95
there is here a stranger from Corinth, a poor little old woman;
he began to love her daughter desperately,
almost now to the point of holding her as a wife:
all this in secret from me.

ubi rem rescivi, coepi non humanitus
neque ut animum decuit aegrotum adulescentuli 100
tractare, sed vi et via pervolgata patrum.
cotidie accusabam: "hem tibine haec diutius
licere speras facere me vivo patre,
amicam ut habeas prope iam in uxoris loco?
erras, si id credis, et me ignoras, Clinia. 105
ego te meum esse dici tantisper volo
dum quod te dignumst facies; sed si id non facis,
ego quod me in te sit facere dignum invenero.

when I learned the matter, I began not humanely,
nor as it was proper to handle the sick spirit of the adolescent, 100
but with force and by the well-worn way of fathers.
every day I kept accusing: "ha! do you hope that you are allowed
to do these things any longer while I, your living father, am here,
that you should have a girlfriend almost now in the place of a wife?
you err, if you believe that, and you do not know me, Clinia. 105
I want you to be said to be mine only so long
as you will do what is worthy of you; but if you do not do that,
I will discover what it is worthy for me to do with respect to you."

nulla adeo ex re istuc fit nisi ex nimio otio.
ego istuc aetati' non amori operam dabam, 110
sed in Asiam hinc abii propter pauperiem atque ibi
simul rem et gloriam armis belli repperi."
postremo adeo res rediit: adulescentulus
saepe eadem et graviter audiendo victus est;
putavit me et aetate et benevolentia 115
plus scire et providere quam se ipsum sibi:
in Asiam ad regem militatum abiit, Chreme.
CH. quid ais?

nothing at all comes from any source so much as from excessive idleness.
I, at that age, was not devoting my effort to love, 110
but I went off from here into Asia because of poverty, and there
I found both wealth and glory by the arms of war."
at last the matter came to this: the young man,
by hearing the same things often and severely, was overcome;
he thought that I, both in age and in benevolence, 115
knew and foresaw more than he himself for himself:
he went away into Asia to the king to do military service, Chreme.
CH. what do you say?

ME. clam me profectu' mensis tris abest.
CH. ambo accusandi; etsi illud inceptum tamen
animist pudenti' signum et non instrenui. 120
ME. ubi comperi ex is qui <ei> fuere conscii,
domum revortor maestus atque animo fere
perturbato atque incerto prae aegritudine.
adsido: adcurrunt servi, soccos detrahunt;
video alios festinare, lectos sternere, 125
cenam adparare: pro se quisque sedulo
faciebant quo illam mihi lenirent miseriam.

ME. without my knowledge he set out; he has been absent three months.
CH. both are to be accused; although that undertaking, however,
is a sign of a modest spirit and not an unstrenuous one. 120
ME. when I learned from those who were privy to it,
I return home sad and with my mind well-nigh
disturbed and uncertain from grief.
I sit down: the slaves run up, they take off my slippers;
I see others hurrying, spreading the couches, 125
preparing dinner: each one, for his part, diligently
was doing what would soothe that misery for me.

ubi video, haec coepi cogitare "hem tot mea
soli[us] solliciti sunt causa ut me unum expleant?
ancillae tot me vestient? sumptus domi 130
tantos ego solu' faciam?

when I see it, I began to think these things: "ha! are so many of my people
solicitous solely on my account, so that they may satisfy me alone?
will so many maidservants vest me? the expenses at home 130
shall I alone incur such great ones?"

sed gnatum unicum,
quem pariter uti his decuit aut etiam amplius,
quod illa aetas magis ad haec utenda idoneast,
eum ego hinc eieci miserum iniustitia mea!
malo quidem me dignum quovis deputem, 135
si id faciam. nam usque dum ille vitam illam colet
inopem carens patria ob meas iniurias,
interea usque illi de me supplicium dabo
laborans parcens quaerens, illi serviens."
ita facio prorsu': nil relinquo in aedibus 140
nec vas nec vestimentum: conrasi omnia.

but my only son,
whom it was fitting to use these on equal terms, or even more,
since that age is more suitable for using these things,
him I have cast out from here, wretched, by my injustice!
indeed I reckon myself worthy of any evil whatsoever, 135
if I do this. for as long as he will live that life
destitute, lacking a fatherland on account of my injuries,
meanwhile I will continually exact punishment from myself for him,
toiling, being sparing, earning, serving him."
thus I do outright: I leave nothing in the house 140
neither vessel nor garment: I have scraped together everything.

ancillas servos, nisi eos qui opere rustico
faciundo facile sumptum exsercirent suom,
omnis produxi ac vendidi. inscripsi ilico
aedis mercede. quasi talenta ad quindecim 145
coegi: agrum hunc mercatu' sum: hic me exerceo.

handmaids and slaves, except those who by doing rustic work
could easily defray their own expense,
I brought them all out and sold them. I immediately posted
the house for rent. about fifteen talents 145
I collected: I bought this field: here I exercise myself.

decrevi tantisper me minus iniuriae,
Chreme, m<eo> gnato facere dum fiam miser;
nec fas esse ulla me voluptate hic frui,
nisi ubi ille huc salvo' redierit meu' particeps. 150
CH. ingenio te esse in liberos leni puto,
et illum obsequentem siqui' recte aut commode
tractaret. verum nec tu illum sati' noveras
nec te ille; hoc qui fit?

I have resolved meanwhile to do less injustice, Chremes, to my own son, while I make myself wretched;
and that it is not right for me to enjoy any pleasure here,
unless when he shall have returned here safe, my partner. 150
CH. I think you to be lenient in disposition toward your children,
and that he would be compliant if someone were to treat him rightly or suitably.
But neither did you know him well enough, nor he you; how does this come about?

ubi non vere vivitur.
tu illum numquam ostendisti quanti penderes 155
nec tibi illest credere ausu' quae est aequom patri.
quod si esset factum, haec numquam evenissent tibi.

where one does not truly live.
you never demonstrated to him how highly you valued him 155
nor did he dare to trust you, as is right for a father.
but if that had been done, these things would never have befallen you.

ME. ita res est, fateor: peccatum a me maxumest.
CH. Menedeme, at porro recte spero et illum tibi
salvom adfuturum esse hic confido propediem. 160
ME. utinam ita di faxint! CH. facient.

ME. So the matter is, I confess: the greatest fault is mine.
CH. Menedemus, but furthermore I hope aright, and I am confident that he will be here safe with you before long. 160
ME. Would that the gods may do so! CH. They will.

nunc si commodumst,
Dionysia hic sunt hodie: apud me sis volo.
ME. non possum. CH. quor non?

now, if it’s convenient,
the Dionysia are here today: I want you to be at my place.
ME. I can’t. CH. Why not?

quaeso tandem aliquantulum
tibi parce: idem absens facere te hoc volt filius.
ME. non convenit, qui illum ad laborem in<pe>pulerim, 165
nunc me ipsum fugere. CH. sicine est sententia?

I beg you, at last, a little—spare yourself: your son, though absent, wants you to do this same thing.
ME. It is not fitting, since I have impelled him to labor, 165
now for me myself to flee. CH. Is that your opinion?

ME. sic. CH. bene vale. ME. et tu.-- CH. lacrumas excussit mihi
miseretque me eiu'. sed ut diei tempus est,
<tempust> monere me hunc vicinum Phaniam
ad cenam ut veniat: ibo, visam si domist.-- 170

ME. yes. CH. farewell. ME. and you.-- CH.
he has brought tears to my eyes,
and I pity him. But as the time of day is,
<it is time> for me to advise this neighbor Phania
to come to dinner: I will go, I will see if he is at home.-- 170

nil opu' fuit monitore: iamdudum domi
praesto apud me esse aiunt. egomet convivas moror.
ibo adeo hinc intro.

there was no need for a monitor: for some time now at home
they say they are ready at my place. I myself am delaying the guests.
I’ll go then in from here.

sed quid crepuerunt fores
hinc a me? quinam egreditur? huc concessero.

But what? the doors have creaked—
from here, by me? Who is coming out? I’ll step aside here.

Clitipho Chremes

I.ii
CL. Nil adhuc est quod vereare, Clinia: haudquaquam etiam cessant 175
et illam simul cum nuntio tibi hic adfuturam hodie scio.
proin tu sollicitudinem istam falsam quae te excruciat mittas.
CH. quicum loquitur filius?

1.2
CL. There is as yet nothing for you to fear, Clinia: by no means are they lingering even now, 175
and I know that she too will be here today together with the messenger for you.
therefore send away that false anxiety which is tormenting you.
CH. With whom is my son speaking?

CL. pater adest quem volui: adibo. pater, opportune advenis.
CH. quid id est?

CL. the father whom I wanted is here: I will go up to him. father, you arrive opportunely.
CH. what is that?

CL. hunc Menedemum nostin nostrum vicinum? CH. probe. 180
CL. huic filium scis esse? CH. audivi esse in Asia.

CL. Do you know this Menedemus, our neighbor? CH. Well. 180
CL. Do you know he has a son? CH. I have heard that he is in Asia.

CL. non est, pater:
apud nos est. CH. quid ais? CL. advenientem, e navi egredientem ilico
abduxi ad cenam; nam mihi cum <eo> iam inde usque a pueritia
f<ui>t semper familiaritas.

CL. he is not, father:
he is with us. CH. what are you saying? CL. arriving, disembarking immediately
from the ship, I took him off to dinner; for with <him> I have had, from boyhood onward,
a continual familiarity.

CH. voluptatem magnam nuntias.
quam vellem Menedemum invitatum ut nobiscum esset, amplius 185
ut hanc laetitiam necopinanti primus obicerem <ei> domi!
atque etiam nunc tempus est.

CH. you announce great delight.
how I wish Menedemus had been invited to be with us, further 185
so that I might be the first to present this joy to him at home, not expecting it!
and even now there is time.

CL. cave faxis: non opus est, pater.
CH. quapropter? CL. quia enim incertumst etiam quid se faciat.

CL. see that you don’t do it: there is no need, father.
CH. for what reason? CL. because indeed it is still uncertain what he will do.

modo venit;
timet omnia, patris iram et animum amicae se erga ut sit suae.
<ea>m misere amat; propter eam haec turba atque abitio evenit. CH. scio. 190
CL. nunc servolum ad eam in urbem misit et ego nostrum una Syrum.

just now he has come;
he fears everything, his father's wrath and his girlfriend’s mind toward himself, how it may be.
he loves miserably; on account of her this turmoil and going-away has come about. CH. I know. 190
CL. now he has sent a little slave to her into the city, and I have sent our Syrus along with him.

CH. quid narrat? CL. quid ille? miserum se esse.

CH. what does he narrate? CL. what of him? that he is miserable.

CH. miserum? quem
minu' crederest?
quid relicuist quin habeat quae quidem in homine dicuntur bona?

CH.
miserable? whom
would you have believed less?
what have you left but that he has the things which indeed in a man are called good?

parentis, patriam incolumem, amicos genu' cognatos ditias.
atque haec perinde sunt ut illi(u)s animu' qui ea possidet: 195
qui uti scit <ei> bona; illi qui non utitur recte mala.
CL. immo ill' fuit senex inportunu' semper, et nunc nil magis
vereor quam nequid in illum iratu' plus satis faxit, pater.

a parent, a fatherland unharmed, friends, lineage, cognates, riches.
and these are just as the spirit of the one who possesses them is: 195
he who knows how to use them—for him they are good; for him who does not use them rightly, bad.
CL. nay, he was an importunate old man always, and now nothing do I fear more than that, angry, he may do something against him more than enough, father.

CH. illene? (sed reprimam me: nam in metu esse hunc illist utile.)
CL. quid tute tecum? CH. dicam: ut ut erat, mansum tamen oportuit. 200
fortasse aliquanto iniquior erat praeter ei(u)s lubidinem:
pateretur; nam quem ferret si parentem non ferret suom?

CH. That one? (but I will repress myself: for it is useful to them that this one be in fear.)
CL. What are you saying to yourself? CH. I’ll say it: however it was, he ought, nevertheless, to have stayed. 200
Perhaps he was somewhat more unjust beyond his desire: let him endure; for whom would he endure, if he would not endure his own parent?

huncin erat aequom ex illi(u)s more an illum ex huiu' vivere?
et quod illum insimulat durum id non est; nam parentum iniuriae
uniu' modi sunt ferme, paullo qui est homo tolerabilis: 205
scortari crebro nolunt, nolunt crebro convivarier,
praebent exigue sumptum; atque haec sunt tamen ad virtutem omnia.
verum ubi animus semel se cupiditate devinxit mala,
necessest, Clitipho, consilia consequi consimilia.

Was it right that this one live according to that one’s custom, or that that one according to this one’s?
And that he charges him with being harsh—that is not so; for parents’ “injuries” are for the most part of one kind, to a man who is somewhat tolerable: 205
they do not wish frequent whoring, they do not wish frequent banqueting,
they supply expense sparingly; and yet all these things are toward virtue.
But when once the mind has bound itself with evil cupidity,
needs must, Clitipho, that counsels to match be pursued.

hoc
scitumst: periclum ex aliis face[re] tibi quod ex usu siet. 210
CL. ita credo. CH. ego ibo hinc intro, ut videam nobis quid in cena siet.
tu, ut tempus est diei, vide sis nequo hinc abeas longius.

this
has been a settled maxim: make a trial from others for yourself of what may be of use. 210
CL. so I believe. CH. I will go in, to see what there is for us at dinner.
you, given the time of day, see please that you do not go any farther from here.

ACTVS II

ACT 2

Clitipho

II.i
CL. Quam iniqui sunt patres in omnis adulescentis iudices!
qui aequom esse censent nos a pueris ilico nasci senes
neque illarum adfinis esse rerum quas fert adulescentia. 215
ex s<ua> lubidine moderantur nunc quae est, non quae olim fuit.
mihin si umquam filius erit, ne ille facili me utetur patre;
nam et cognoscendi et ignoscendi dabitur peccati locus:
non ut meus, qui mihi per alium ostendit s<ua>m sententiam.

II.i
CL. How unfair fathers are as judges over all adolescents!
who think it fair that we, from boyhood, straightway be born old men,
and not be in affinity with those things which adolescence brings. 215
by their own pleasure they measure things as it is now, not as once it was.
if ever I have a son, he for sure will make use of me as an easy father;
for there shall be room both for recognizing and for pardoning a fault:
not like mine, who shows me his opinion through another.

perii! is mi, ubi adbibit plus paullo, sua quae narrat facinora! 220
nunc ait "periclum ex aliis facito tibi quod ex usu siet":
astutu'. ne ille haud scit quam mihi nunc surdo narret fabulam.
mage nunc me amicae dicta stimulant "da mihi" atque "adfer mihi":
quoi quod respondeam nil habeo; neque me quisquamst miserior.

I’m done for! That fellow, when he has drunk a little more, tells his own misdeeds! 220
now he says, “take peril from others for yourself, whatever may be to your use”:
astute, eh! Surely he doesn’t know how now he tells a tale to a deaf man for me.
more now my girlfriend’s words spur me, “give me” and “bring me”:
to whom I have nothing with which to answer; nor is anyone more miserable than I.

nam hic Clinia, etsi is quoque suarum rerum satagit, attamen 225
habet bene et pudice eductam, ignaram artis meretriciae.
meast potens procax magnifica sumptuosa nobilis.
tum quod dem [<ei>] "recte" est; nam nil esse mihi religiost dicere.

for this Clinia, although he too is busy about his own affairs, nevertheless 225
has a girl well and modestly brought up, ignorant of the meretricial art.
mine is potent, saucy, magnificent, sumptuous, noble.
then whatever I give [] is "right"; for it is a scruple to me to say that I have nothing.

hoc ego mali non pridem inveni neque etiamdum scit pater.

this evil I discovered not long ago, nor does my father as yet know.

Clinia Clitipho

II.ii
CLIN. Si mihi secundae res de amore m<eo> essent, iamdudum scio 230
venissent; sed vereor ne mulier me absente hic corrupta sit.
concurrunt multae opiniones quae mihi animum exaugeant:
occasio locus aetas mater quoi(u)s sub imperiost mala,
quoi nil iam praeter pretium dulcest. CLIT. Clinia.

2.2
CLIN. If my affairs in my love were favorable, I know they would long since have come; 230
but I fear that the woman, with me absent, has here been corrupted.
many opinions concur which exhaust my spirit:
the occasion, the place, the age, the mother under whose authority she is—bad,
to whom now nothing is sweet except the price. CLIT. Clinia.

CLIN. ei misero mihi!
CLIT. etiam caves ne videat forte hic te a patre aliquis exiens? 235
CLIN. faciam; sed nescioquid profecto mi animu' praesagit mali.
CLIT. pergin istuc priu' diiudicare quam scis quid veri siet?

CLIN. Alas, wretched me!
CLIT. Are you also taking care that no one by chance here sees you coming out from your father’s house? 235
CLIN. I will; but indeed my mind presages I-know-not-what of ill for me.
CLIT. Do you go on to determine that before you know what of truth there is?

CLIN. si nil mali esset iam hic adessent. CLIT. iam aderunt. CLIN.
quando istuc erit?

CLIN. if there were nothing bad, they would already be here. CLIT. they will be here presently. CLIN.
when will that be?

CLIT. non cogitas hinc longule esse? et nosti mores mulierum:
dum moliuntur, dum conantur, annus est. CLIN. o Clitipho, 240
timeo.

CLIT. Do you not consider that it is a bit far from here? And you know the ways of women: while they are getting things underway, while they are trying, a year goes by. CLIN. o Clitipho, 240
timeo.

CLIT. respira: eccum Dromonem cum Syro una: adsunt tibi.

CLIT. breathe again: look, Dromo is here with Syrus together: they are present for you.

Syrvs Dromo Clinia Clitipho

Syrus Dromo Clinia Clitipho

II.iii
SY. Ain tu? DR. sic est. SY. verum interea, dum sermones caedimus,
illae sunt relictae. CLIT. mulier tibi adest.

2.3
SY. Is that so? DR. It is so. SY. But meanwhile, while we are chopping words,
they have been left behind. CLIT. The woman is here for you.

audin, Clinia?
CLIN. ego vero audio nunc demum et video et valeo, Clitipho.
DR. minime mirum: adeo inpeditae sunt: ancillarum gregem 245
ducunt secum.

Do you hear, Clinia?
CLIN. I indeed hear now at last, and I see and I am well, Clitipho.
DR. Not at all a wonder: they are so encumbered: they are leading a flock of maidservants with them. 245

CLIN. perii, unde illi sunt ancillae? CLIT. men rogas?
SY. non oportuit relictas: portant quid rerum!

CLIN. I’m undone, where did she get those maidservants? CLIT. Are you asking me?
SY. They ought not to have been left behind: what a lot of things they are carrying!

CLIN. ei mihi!
SY. aurum vestem; et vesperascit et non noverunt viam.
factum a nobis stultest.

CLIN. Alas for me!
SY. Gold, clothing; and it is getting toward evening and they do not know the way.
What has been done by us is foolish.

abi dum tu, Dromo, illis obviam.
propera: quid stas? CLIN. vae misero mi, quanta de spe decidi! 250
CLIT. quid istuc?

Off with you then, Dromo, go meet them.
hurry up; why are you standing? CLIN. woe to miserable me, from how great a hope I have fallen! 250
CLIT. what’s that?

quae res te sollicitat autem? CLIN. rogitas quid siet?
viden tu? ancillas aurum vestem, quam ego cum una ancillula
hic reliqui, unde esse censes?

what is it that troubles you, then? CLIN. you ask what it is?
do you see? the maidservants, the gold, the clothing, which I left here with one little maidservant—where do you suppose they are from?

CLIT. vah nunc demum intellego.
SY. di boni, quid turbaest! aedes nostrae vix capient, scio.

CLIT. ah, now at last I understand.
SY. good gods, what a crowd there is! our house will scarcely hold them, I know.

quid comedent! quid ebibent! quid sene erit nostro miserius? 255
sed video eccos quos volebam.

how they'll eat! how they'll drink up! what will be more wretched than our old man? 255
but I see—there are the ones I wanted.

CLIN. o Iuppiter, ubinamst fides?
dum ego propter te errans patria careo demens, tu interea loci
conlocupletasti te, Antiphila, et me in his deseruisti malis,
propter quam in summa infamia sum et m<eo> patri minus [sum] obsequens:
quoi(u)s nunc pudet me et miseret, qui harum mores cantabat mihi, 260
monuisse frustra neque eum potuisse umquam ab hac me expellere;
quod tamen nunc faciam; tum quom gratum mi esse potuit nolui.
nemost miserior me. SY. hic de nostris verbis errat videlicet
quae hic sumu' locuti.

CLIN. O Jupiter, where is faith?
while I, wandering on your account, out of my mind, am without my homeland, you meanwhile
have enriched yourself, Antiphila, and have deserted me in these miseries,
on account of whom I am in the utmost infamy and am less obedient to my father:
before whom now I am ashamed and I pity him, who used to sing to me the mores of these women, 260
having admonished in vain, nor was he ever able to drive me away from her;
which nevertheless I will do now; then, when it could have been welcome to me, I was unwilling.
no one is more miserable than me. SY. this fellow evidently errs about our words which we have spoken here.

Clinia, aliter tuom amorem atque est accipis:
nam et vitast eadem et animu' te erga idem ac fuit, 265
quantum ex ipsa re coniecturam fecimus.
CLIN. quid est obsecro? nam mihi nunc nil rerum omniumst
quod malim quam me hoc falso suspicarier.

Clinia, you take your love otherwise than it is:
for both her life is the same and her spirit toward you the same as it was, 265
so far as we have made a conjecture from the thing itself.
CLIN. What is it, I beseech? For now there is nothing of all things
I would rather than that I be suspecting this falsely.

SY. hoc primum, ut ne quid hui(u)s rerum ignores: anus,
quae est dicta mater esse ei ant(e)hac, non fuit; 270
ea obiit mortem. hoc ipsa in itinere alterae
dum narrat forte audivi. CLIT. quaenamst altera?

SY. First this, so that you not be ignorant of any of these matters: the old woman,
who was said to be her mother before was not; 270
she has met death. This I chanced to hear on the journey, while she herself was narrating it to the other.
CLIT. Which is the other?

SY. mane: hoc quod coepi primum enarrem, Clitipho:
post istuc veniam. CLIT. propera. SY. iam primum omnium,
ubi ventum ad aedis est, Dromo pultat fores; 275
anu' quaedam prodit; haec ubi aperuit ostium,
continuo hic se coniecit intro, ego consequor;
anu' foribus obdit pessulum, ad lanam redit.

SY. wait: let me first recount what I began, Clitipho; I will come to that after. CLIT. hurry. SY. now first of all,
when we came to the house, Dromo knocks on the doors; 275
a certain old woman comes out; when she opened the door,
immediately he flung himself inside, I follow;
the old woman bolts the doors and returns to her wool.

hic sciri potuit aut nusquam alibi, Clinia,
quo studio vitam s<ua>m te absente exegerit,       280
ubi de inprovisost interventum mulieri.
nam ea res dedit tum existumandi copiam
cotidianae vitae consuetudinem,
quae quoi(u)sque ingenium ut sit declarat maxume.
texentem telam studiose ipsam offendimus,         285
mediocriter vestitam veste lugubri
(ei(u)s anui' causa opinor quae erat mortua)
sine auro; tum ornatam ita uti quae ornantur sibi,
nulla mala re esse expolitam muliebri;
capillu' pexu' prolixus circum caput                290
reiectu' neglegenter; pax.

here it could be known, or nowhere else, Clinia,
with what zeal she has passed her life, you absent,       280
when the woman was come upon unexpectedly.
for that circumstance then gave the opportunity of judging
the custom of daily life,
which most of all declares how each person’s natural character is.
we found her herself industriously weaving the web,         285
modestly clothed in a mourning garment
(on account, I suppose, of that old woman who had died),
without gold; then adorned in the way that women adorn themselves for themselves,
not furbished by any bad womanly contrivance;
her hair, combed, long, around her head,                290
thrown back carelessly; peace.

CLIN. Syre mi, obsecro,
ne me in laetitiam frustra conicias. SY. anus
subtemen nebat. praeterea una ancillula
erat; ea texebat una, pannis obsita,
neglecta, inmunda inluvie.

CLIN. Syrus, my dear, I beg you,
do not cast me into joy in vain. SY. The old woman
was spinning the weft. Besides, there was one little maidservant;
she was weaving along with her, clothed in rags,
neglected, unclean with squalor.

CLIT. si haec sunt, Clinia, 295
vera, ita uti credo, quis te est fortunatior?
scin hanc quam dicit sordidatam et sordidam?
magnum hoc quoque signumst dominam esse extra noxiam,
quom eius tam negleguntur internuntii.

CLIT. If these things are, Clinia, 295
true, as I believe, who is more fortunate than you?
Do you know this one whom he says is sordidly clad and sordid?
This too is a great sign that the mistress is beyond blame,
when her internuncios are so neglected.

nam disciplinast isdem munerarier 300
ancillas primum ad dominas qui adfectant viam.
CLIN. perge, obsecro te, et cave ne falsam gratiam
studeas inire. quid ait ubi me nominas?

for the practice is that the same men first bestow gifts upon the maidservants 300
who aim at the way to the mistresses.
CLIN. go on, I beg you, and take care not to try to win favor falsely.
what does she say when you name me?

SY. ubi dicimus redisse te et rogare uti
veniret ad te, mulier telam desinit 305
continuo et lacrumis opplet os totum sibi,
ut facile scires desiderio id fieri [tuo].
CLIN. prae gaudio, ita me di ament, ubi sim nescio:
ita timui. CLIT. at ego nil esse scibam, Clinia.
agedum vicissim, Syre, dic quae illast altera? 310
SY. adducimus t<ua>m Bacchidem.

SY. when we say that you have returned and ask that she
come to you, the woman stops the loom 305
immediately and with tears she fills her whole face,
so that you might easily know it happens from desire [for you].
CLIN. for joy—so may the gods love me—I know not where I am:
so much I was afraid. CLIT. but I knew there was nothing to it, Clinia.
come now in turn, Syrus, say who is that other one? 310
SY. we are bringing your Bacchis.

CLIT. hem quid? Bacchidem?
eho sceleste, quo illam duci'? SY. quo ego illam?

CLIT. ha, what? Bacchis?
hey, scoundrel, where are you leading her? SY. where am I leading her?

ad nos scilicet.
CLIT. ad patrem[ne]? SY. ad eum ipsum. CLIT. o hominis inpudentem
audaciam!

to us, of course.
CLIT. to father? SY. to him himself. CLIT. oh the man's impudent
audacity!

SY. heus
non fit sine periclo facinu' magnum nec memorabile.
CLIT. hoc vide: in mea vita tu tibi laudem is quaesitum, scelus? 315
ubi si paullulum modo quid te fugerit, ego perierim.
quid illo facias?

SY. hey—
a great and memorable deed is not done without peril.
CLIT. Look at this: at the risk of my life are you going to seek praise for yourself, you scoundrel? 315
where, if even just a very little thing escapes you, I shall perish.
what will you do about that?

SY. at enim . . CLIT. quid "enim"? SY. si sinas, dicam.
CLIN. sine.
CLIT. sino.

SY. but indeed . . CLIT. what do you mean, "indeed"?SY. if you permit, I will speak.
CLIN. permit it.
CLIT. I permit.

SY. ita res est haec nunc quasi quom . . CLIT. quas, malum,
ambages mihi
narrare occipit? CLIN. Syre, verum hic dicit: mitte, ad rem redi.
SY. enimvero reticere nequeo: multimodis iniurius, 320
Clitipho, es neque ferri potis es. CLIN. audiundum hercle est, tace.

SY. so the matter now is as when . . CLIT.
what, the devil,
ambages does he begin to narrate to me? CLIN. Syrus, he speaks true: drop it; return to the matter.
SY. indeed I cannot keep silence: in many ways you are injurious, 320
Clitipho, nor can you be borne. CLIN. by Hercules, it must be heard; be silent.

[CLIT. quid est?] 321a
SY. vis amare, vis potiri, vis quod des illi effici;
tuom esse in potiundo periclum non vis: haud stulte sapis;
siquidem id saperest velle te id quod non potest contingere.
aut haec cum illis sunt habenda aut illa cum his mittenda sunt. 325
harum d<ua>rum condicionum nunc utram malis vide;
etsi consilium quod cepi rectum esse et tutum scio.
nam apud patrem tua amica tecum sine metu ut sit copiast.

[CLIT. what is it?] 321a
SY. you wish to love, you wish to obtain, you wish that what you give to her be brought about;
you do not wish the danger to be yours in the getting: you are not foolishly wise;
since, if indeed that is to be wise, to want that which cannot come to pass.
either these must be kept with those, or those must be dismissed along with these. 325
of these two conditions now see which you prefer;
although I know that the plan which I have adopted is right and safe.
for at your father’s house there is opportunity that your girlfriend may be with you without fear.

tum quod illi argentum es pollicitus, <ea>dem hac inveniam via,
quod ut efficerem orando surdas iam auris reddideras mihi. 330
quid aliud tibi vis? CLIT. siquidem hoc fit. SY. siquidem?

then, as to the argent you have promised her, by this same way I will find it,
in order to bring this about, by begging you had already made my ears deaf. 330
what else do you want? CLIT. provided that this is done. SY. provided that?

experiundo scies.
CLIT. age age, cedo istuc t<uo>m consilium: quid id est? SY.
adsimulabimus
tuam amicam huius esse amicam.

by experiencing you will know.
CLIT. come, come, hand over that plan of yours: what is it? SY.
we will pretend
that your girlfriend is this fellow’s girlfriend.

CLIT. pulchre: quid faciat sua?
an ea quoque dicetur huiu', si una haec dedecorist parum?
SY. immo ad t<ua>m matrem abducetur.

CLIT. Fine: what is his own girl to do?
Or will she also be said to be this fellow’s, if this one alone is too little a disgrace?
SY. Nay rather, she will be led away to your mother.

CLIT. quid eo? SY. longumst, Clitipho, 335
si tibi narrem quam ob rem id faciam. CLIN. vera causast. CLIT. fabulae!

CLIT. what of it? SY. it's a long story, Clitipho, 335
if I narrate to you for what cause I do that. CLIN. it's a true cause. CLIT. nonsense!

nil sati' firmi video quam ob rem accipere hunc mi expediat metum.
SY. mane, habeo aliud, si istuc metui', quod ambo confiteamini
sine periclo esse. CLIT. huiu' modi obsecro aliquid reperi.

I see nothing sufficiently firm, on account of which it would be expedient for me to accept this risk.
SY. wait, I have another, if you fear that, which you both will confess to be without peril. CLIT. I beg, find something of this kind.

CLIN. maxume.
SY. ibo obviam, hinc dicam ut revortantur domum. CLIT. hem 340
quid dixti?

CLIN. very much.
SY. I'll go to meet them; from here I'll tell them to turn back home. CLIT. eh 340
what did you say?

SY. ademptum tibi iam faxo omnem metum,
in aurem utramvis otiose ut dormias.
CLIT. quid ago nunc? CLIN. tune?

SY. I will make it now that all fear is taken away from you,
so that you may sleep at ease on either ear.
CLIT. What am I to do now? CLIN. You?

quod boni . . CLIT. Syre! dic modo
verum. SY. age modo: hodie sero ac nequiquam voles.

what good . . CLIT. Syrus! say only
the truth. SY. come now: today you will wish it late and in vain.

CLIN. datur, fruare dum licet; nam nescias . . 345
CLIT. Syre inquam! SY. perge porro, tamen istuc ago.
CLIN. ei(u)s sit potestas posthac an numquam tibi.

CLIN. it is granted; enjoy it while you may; for you may not know... 345
CLIT. Syrus, I say! SY. go on further; nevertheless I’m doing that.
CLIN. whether the power be his hereafter, or never yours.

CLIT. verum hercle istuc est. Syre, Syre inquam, heus heus Syre!
SY. concaluit.

CLIT. true, by Hercules, that is so. Syrus, Syrus, I say, hey, hey, Syrus!
SY. he’s heated up.

quid vis? CLIT. redi, redi! SY. adsum: dic quid est?

what do you want? CLIT. come back, come back! SY. I am here: say what it is?

iam hoc quoque negabi' tibi placere. CLIT. immo, Syre, 350
et me et meum amorem et famam permitto tibi.
tu es iudex: nequid accusandu' sis vide.

now you will deny that this too pleases you. CLIT. on the contrary, Syrus, 350
both myself and my love and my reputation I commit to you.
you are the judge: see that you be accused of nothing.

SY. ridiculumst istuc me admonere, Clitipho,
quasi istic minor mea res agatur quam tua.
hic siquid nobis forte advorsi evenerit, 355
tibi erunt parata verba, huic homini verbera:
quapropter haec res ne utiquam neglectust mihi.
sed istunc exora ut suam esse adsimulet.

SY. it’s ridiculous, your reminding me of that, Clitipho,
as if in this matter my interest were less at stake than yours.
here, if by chance anything adverse happens to us, 355
you will have words prepared; for this man, beatings:
wherefore this affair is by no means neglected by me.
but beg that fellow to pretend it is his own.

CLIN. scilicet
facturum me esse; in eum iam res rediit locum
ut sit necessu'. CLIT. merito te amo, Clinia. 360
CLIN. verum illa nequid titubet. SY. perdoctast probe.
CLIT. at hoc demiror qui tam facile potueris
persuadere illi, quae solet quos spernere!

CLIN. of course
that I will do it; the matter has now come back to that point
that it is necessary. CLIT. deservedly do I love you, Clinia. 360
CLIN. but only let her not falter in anything. SY. she is thoroughly well-instructed.
CLIT. but at this I marvel, how you could so easily
persuade her, she who is accustomed to spurn men!

SY. in tempore ad eam veni, quod rerum omniumst
primum. nam quendam misere offendi ibi militem 365
ei(u)s noctem orantem: haec arte tractabat virum,
ut illius animum cupidum inopia incenderet
<ea>demque ut esset apud te hoc quam gratissimum.
sed heus tu, vide sis nequid inprudens ruas!

SY. I came to her in time, which is the first thing of all.
for I chanced to run into there a certain soldier, pitifully begging for a night with her, 365
she was handling the man with art, so as to inflame his desirous mind by want,
and likewise so that this might be as very pleasing as possible to you.
but hey, you—see, please, that you don’t unwittingly rush headlong!

patrem novisti ad has res quam sit perspicax; 370
ego te autem novi quam esse soleas inpotens;
inversa verba, eversas cervices tuas,
gemitus screatus tussis risus abstine.
CLIT. laudabi'. SY. vide sis. CLIT. tutemet mirabere.

you know how perspicacious your father is in these matters; 370
but I, however, know you—how you are wont to be uncontrolled;
inverted words, your neck thrown back,
refrain from groans, expectorations, coughs, laughs.
CLIT. you’ll be praising me. SY. look, please. CLIT. you yourself will marvel.

SY. sed quam cito sunt consecutae mulieres! 375
CLIT. ubi sunt? quor retines? SY. iam nunc haec non est tua.

SY. but how quickly the women have come up! 375
CLIT. where are they? why do you hold me back? SY. right now this one is no longer yours.

CLIT. scio, apud patrem; at nunc interim. SY. nihilo magis.
CLIT. sine.

CLIT. I know, at my father’s; but now in the interim. SY. none the more.
CLIT. allow it.

SY. non sinam inquam. CLIT. quaeso paullisper. SY. veto.

SY. I will not permit, I say. CLIT. I beg, just a little while. SY. I veto.

CLIT. saltem salutem . . SY. abeas si sapias. CLIT. eo.
quid istic? SY. manebit.

CLIT. at least a greeting . . SY. be off, if you are wise. CLIT. I’m going.
what of that? SY. he will remain.

CLIT. [o] hominem felicem! SY. ambula. 380

CLIT. [oh] fortunate man! SY. move along. 380

Bacchis Antiphila Clinia Syrvs

Bacchis Antiphila Clinia Syrus

II.iv
BA. Edepol te, mea Antiphila, laudo et fortunatam iudico,
id quom studuisti isti formae ut mores consimiles forent;
minimeque, ita me di ament, miror si te sibi quisque expetit.
nam mihi quale ingenium haberes fuit indicio oratio:
et quom egomet nunc mecum in animo vitam t<ua>m considero 385
omniumque adeo vostrarum volgu' quae ab se segregant,
et vos esse isti(u)s modi et nos non esse haud mirabilest.
nam expedit bonas esse vobis; nos, quibu'cum est res, non sinunt:
quippe forma inpulsi nostra nos amatores colunt;
haec ubi immutata est, illi suom animum alio conferunt: 390
nisi si prospectum interea aliquid est, desertae vivimus.

II.iv
BA. By Pollux, you, my Antiphila, I praise and I judge fortunate,
in that you have studied for that form of yours that your mores might be consimilar;
and least of all, so may the gods love me, do I marvel if each man seeks you for himself.
for your oration was an indication to me of what sort of ingenium you had:
and when I myself now with myself in mind consider your life 385
and indeed of all yours who segregate themselves from the vulgar crowd,
it is not at all marvelous that you are of such a kind and that we are not.
for it is expedient for you to be good; those with whom we have dealings do not allow us:
indeed, impelled by our beauty, our lovers court us;
when this is altered, they transfer their mind to another: 390
unless, meanwhile, some prospect has been looked to, we live deserted.

vobis cum uno semel ubi aetatem agere decretumst viro,
quoi(u)s mos maxumest consimili' vostrum, [h]i se ad vos adplicant.
hoc beneficio utrique ab utrisque vero devincimini,
ut numquam ulla amori vostro incidere possit calamitas. 395
AN. nescio alias: mequidem semper scio fecisse sedulo
ut ex illiu' commodo meum compararem commodum. CL. ah
ergo, mea Antiphila, tu nunc sola reducem me in patriam facis;
nam dum abs te absum omnes mihi labores f<ue>re quos cepi leves
praeter quam tui carendum quod erat.

for you, when it has been decreed to spend your lifetime with one man once for all,
those whose custom is most similar to yours, these attach themselves to you.
by this benefaction, each is truly bound to the other by the other,
so that never can any calamity fall upon your love. 395
AN. I do not know about others: for my part I know I have always done diligently
that out of his advantage I might align my own advantage. CL. ah
therefore, my Antiphila, you now alone bring me home to my fatherland;
for while I was away from you, all the labors I undertook were light to me
except for having to do without you.

SY. credo. CL. Syre, vix suffero: 400
hocin me miserum non licere meo modo ingenium frui!
SY. immo ut patrem t<uo>m vidi esse habitum, diu etiam duras dabit.

SY. I believe it. CL. Syrus, I can hardly bear it: 400
that, wretched as I am, it is not permitted me to enjoy my genius in my own mode!
SY. Nay rather, as I have seen your father to be disposed, he will deal out hardships for a long time yet.

BA. quisnam hic adulescens est qui intuitur nos? AN. ah retine me, obsecro!
BA. amabo quid tibist?

BA. Who is this adolescent here who gazes at us? AN. ah, hold me back, I beg!
BA. please, what’s the matter with you?

AN. disperii, perii misera! BA. quid stupes,
Antiphila? AN. videon Cliniam an non?

AN. I am undone, I have perished, wretched me! BA. why are you stupefied,
Antiphila? AN. Do I see Clinia or not?

BA. quem vides? 405
CL. salve, anime mi. AN. o mi Clinia, salve. CL. ut vales?
AN. salvom venisse gaudeo.

BA. whom do you see? 405
CL. hello, my soul. AN. O my Clinia, hello. CL. how are you?
AN. I rejoice that you have come safe.

CL. teneone te,
Antiphila, maxume animo exspectatam meo?
SY. ite intro; nam vos iamdudum exspectat senex.

CL. Do I hold you,
Antiphila, long-expected above all by my mind?
SY. go inside; for the old man has long been expecting you.

ACTVS III

ACT 3

Chremes Menedemvs

Chremes Menedemus

III.i
CH. Luciscit hoc iam. cesso pultare ostium 410
vicini, primum e me ut sciat sibi filium
redisse? etsi adulescentem hoc nolle intellego.

3.1
CH. It is dawning now. Shall I delay to knock at the neighbor’s door 410
so that first from me he may know that his son has returned to him?
although I understand that the adolescent does not want this.

verum quom videam miserum hunc tam excruciarier
ei(u)s abitu, celem tam insperatum gaudium,
quom illi pericli nil ex indicio siet?                      415
haud faciam; nam quod potero adiutabo senem.
item ut filium m<eu>m amico atque aequali suo
video inservire et socium esse in negotiis,
nos quoque senes est aequom senibus obsequi.
ME. aut ego profecto ingenio egregio ad miserias      420
natus sum aut illud falsumst quod volgo audio
dici, diem adimere aegritudinem hominibus;
nam mihi quidem cotidie augescit magis
de filio aegritudo, et quanto diutius
abest mage cupio tanto et mage desidero.                425
CH. sed ipsum foras egressum video: ibo adloquar.

but when I see this poor man so excruciated by his departure, should I conceal such unhoped-for joy, when for him there would be no peril from a disclosure? 415
I will not; for what I can, I will aid the old man. Likewise, as I see my son wait upon his friend and equal and be a partner in affairs, it is fair that we old men also defer to old men.
ME. Either I was surely born with a remarkable disposition for miseries, or that saying is false which I commonly hear, that the day removes grief from men; for to me indeed grief about my son grows more every day, and the longer he is absent the more I long and the more I miss him. 420
425
CH. but I see the man himself come out: I will go and address him.

Menedeme, salve: nuntium adporto tibi
quoi(u)s maxume te fieri participem cupis.
ME. num quid nam de gnato meo audisti, Chreme?
CH. valet atque vivit.

Menedemus, hail: I bring news to you
of which you most desire to be made a participant.
ME. Have you by any chance heard anything about my son, Chremes?
CH. He is well and lives.

ME. ubinamst quaeso? CH. apud me domi. 430
ME. meu' gnatu'? CH. sic est. ME. venit?

ME. Where is he, pray? CH. At my house at home. 430
ME. My son? CH. So it is. ME. Has he come?

CH. certe. ME. Clinia
meu' venit? CH. dixi.

CH. certainly. ME. Clinia
has my Clinia come? CH. I said so.

ME. eamu': duc me ad eum, obsecro.
CH. non volt te scire se redisse etiam et tuom
conspectum fugitat: propter peccatum hoc timet,
ne tua duritia antiqua illa etiam adaucta sit. 435
ME. non tu illi dixti ut essem? CH. non.

ME. let’s go: lead me to him, I beseech you.
CH. he does not wish you to know that he has returned yet, and he flees your sight: because of this fault he fears, lest your durity, that old one, has even been augmented. 435
ME. didn’t you tell him that I was here? CH. no.

ME. quam ob rem, Chreme?
CH. quia pessume istuc in te atque [in] illum consulis,
si te tam leni et victo esse animo ostenderis.
ME. non possum: sati' iam, sati' pater durus fui.

ME. for what reason, Chreme?
CH. because you take counsel in the worst way for yourself and [for] him,
if you show yourself to be of so lenient and conquered spirit.
ME. I cannot: enough now, enough I have been a hard father.

CH. ah
vehemens in utramque partem, Menedeme, es nimis 440
aut largitate nimia aut parsimonia:
in eandem fraudem ex hac re atque ex illa incides.
primum olim potiu' quam paterere filium
commetare ad mulierculam, quae paullulo
tum erat contenta quoique erant grata omnia, 445
proterruisti hinc. ea coacta ingratiis
postilla coepit victum volgo quaerere.

CH. ah
you are too vehement in both directions, Menedemus, 440
either with excessive largess or with parsimony:
into the same harm from this side and from that you will fall.
first, formerly, rather than allow your son
to resort to the little woman, who then
was content with a little, and to whom everything was pleasing, 445
you drove her away from here. She, compelled against her will,
afterwards began to seek her sustenance publicly.

nunc quom sine magno intertrimento non potest
haberi, quidvis dare cupis. nam ut tu scias
quam ea nunc instructa pulchre ad perniciem siet, 450
primum iam ancillas secum adduxit plus decem
oneratas veste atque auro: satrapes si siet
amator, numquam sufferre ei(u)s sumptus queat;
nedum tu possis. ME. estne ea intu'? CH. sit rogas?

now when she cannot be kept without great detriment,
you are eager to give anything. For, that you may know
how finely she is now equipped for ruin, 450
first, already, she has brought with her more than ten maidservants
laden with clothing and gold: if a satrap were the lover,
he could never bear her expenses; much less could you.
ME. is she inside? CH. you ask whether she is?

sensi. nam unam ei cenam atque eiu' comitibus 455
dedi; quod si iterum mihi sit danda, actum siet.
nam ut alia omittam, pytissando modo mihi
quid vini absumsit "sic hoc" dicens; "asperum,
pater, hoc est: aliud lenius sodes vide":
relevi dolia omnia, omnis serias; 460
omnis sollicitos habui--atque haec una nox.

I sensed it. For I gave one dinner to her and to her companions 455
I gave; and if it had to be given me again, I’d be done for.
For, to omit other things, merely by sipping for me
how much wine she used up, saying “thus this”; “this is harsh,
father, this is: please look for another gentler”:
I ran down all the casks, all the jars; 460
I kept everyone anxious—and this one night.

quid te futurum censes quem adsidue exedent?
sic me di amabunt ut me t<ua>rum miseritumst,
Menedeme, fortunarum. ME. faciat quidlubet:
sumat consumat perdat, decretumst pati, 465
dum illum modo habeam mecum.

What do you think will become of you, whom they continually eat away at?
So may the gods love me, as I have pitied your fortunes, Menedemus. ME. let him do whatever he pleases:
let him take, consume, and squander; it is decreed to suffer, 465
so long as I only have him with me.

CH. si certumst tibi
sic facere, illud permagni referre arbitror
ut ne scientem sentiat te id sibi dare.
ME. quid faciam? CH. quidvis potiu' quam quod cogitas:
per alium quemvis ut des, falli te sinas 470
techinis per servolum; etsi subsensi id quoque,
illos ibi esse, id agere inter se clanculum.

CH. If it is settled for you to do so, I judge that it matters very greatly that he not, being aware, perceive that you are giving that to him.
ME. What am I to do? CH. Anything rather than what you are thinking: that you give it through any other person, that you allow yourself to be deceived by contrivances through a little slave; 470
although I also surmised this, too: that those men are there, doing that on the quiet among themselves.

Syru' cum illo vostro consusurrant, conferunt
consilia ad adulescentes; et tibi perdere
talentum hoc pacto satius est quam illo minam. 475
non nunc pecunia agitur sed illud quo modo
minimo periclo id demus adulescentulo.
nam si semel tuom animum ille intellexerit,
priu' proditurum te tuam vitam et prius
pecuniam omnem quam abs te amittas filium, hui 480
quantam fenestram ad nequitiem patefeceris,
tibi autem porro ut non sit suave vivere!
nam deteriores omnes sumu' licentia.

Syrus with that man of yours whisper together; they confer
counsels for the adolescents; and for you it is better to lose
a talent in this way than a mina in that one. 475
It is not money that is now at issue, but this: how
with the least peril we may give that to the adolescent.
For if once he understands your mind,
that you would sooner betray your life and sooner
all your money than lose your son from you, whew 480
what a window to wickedness you will have opened,
and for you thereafter that it will not be pleasant to live!
For we all become worse through license.

quod quoique quomque inciderit in mentem volet
neque id putabit pravom an rectum sit: petet. 485
tu rem perire et ipsum non poteris pati:
dare denegaris; ibit ad illud ilico
qui maxume apud te se valere sentiet:
abiturum se abs te esse ilico minitabitur.
ME. videre vera atque ita uti res est dicere. 490
CH. somnum hercle ego hac nocte oculis non vidi meis,
dum id quaero tibi qui filium restituerem.
ME. cedo dextram: porro te idem oro ut facias, Chreme.

whatever to whomever whenever shall fall into mind he will want,
nor will he think whether that is depraved or right: he will seek it. 485
you will not be able to endure that the matter and the man himself perish:
if you refuse to give, he will go straightaway to the one
who most feels that he prevails with you:
he will threaten that he is going to depart from you at once.
ME. you see truths and speak just as the matter is. 490
CH. by Hercules, I did not see sleep with my eyes this night,
while I was seeking how I might restore your son to you.
ME. give me your right hand: further I beg you to do the same, Chremes.

CH. paratu' sum. ME. scin quid nunc facere te volo?
CH. dic.

CH. I am prepared. ME. Do you know what I want you to do now?
CH. Say.

ME. quod sensisti illos me incipere fallere, 495
id uti maturent facere: cupio illi dare
quod volt, cupio ipsum iam videre. CH. operam dabo.
paullum negoti mi obstat: Simus et Crito
vicini nostri hic ambigunt de finibus;
me cepere arbitrum: ibo ac dicam, ut dixeram 500
operam daturum me, hodie non posse is dare:
continuo hic adero.

ME. since you sensed that they are beginning to deceive me, 495
see that they hasten to do it: I desire to give him
what he wants, I desire now to see him himself. CH. I will give my effort.
a little business stands in my way: Simus and Crito
our neighbors here, are disputing about the boundaries;
they have taken me as arbiter: I will go and say, as I had said 500
that I would give my effort, that today I am not able to give it:
I will be here immediately.

ME. ita quaeso.-- di vostram fidem,
ita conparatam esse hominum naturam omnium
aliena ut meliu' videant et diiudicent
quam sua! an eo fit quia in re nostra aut gaudio 505
sumu' praepediti nimio aut aegritudine?
hic mihi nunc quanto plus sapit quam egomet mihi!

ME. so, I beg.— ye gods, by your good faith,
thus is the nature of all men composed
that they see and adjudge others’ things better
than their own! Or does it come to pass for this reason, that in our own affair either by joy 505
we are hampered to excess or by affliction?
how much more this fellow now has wisdom for me than I myself for myself!

CH. dissolvi me otiosus operam ut tibi darem.
Syrus est prendendus atque adhortandus mihi.
a me nescioquis exit: concede hinc domum 510
ne nos inter nos congruere sentiant.

CH. I disengaged myself, at leisure, so that I might give you my service.
Syrus must be seized and encouraged by me.
Someone-or-other is coming out from my place: withdraw home from here 510
lest they sense that we are agreeing among ourselves.

Syrvs Chremes

Syrus Chremes

III.ii
SY. Hac illac circumcursa; inveniundumst tamen
argentum: intendenda in senemst fallacia.
CH. num me fefellit hosce id struere? videlicet
ill' Cliniai servo' tardiusculust; 515
idcirco huic nostro traditast provincia.

3.2
SY. Run around here and there; yet the silver (money) must be found: the deception must be aimed at the old man.
CH. Did it escape me that these fellows are contriving this? Evidently
that slave of Clinias is rather slow; 515
therefore the province—this assignment—has been handed over to our man here.

SY. quis hic loquitur? perii. numnam haec audivit?

SY. Who is speaking here? I am ruined. Can it be that he has heard this?

CH. Syre. SY. hem.
CH. quid tu istic?

CH. Syrus. SY. eh.
CH. what are you doing there?

SY. recte equidem; sed te miror, Chreme,
tam mane, qui heri tantum biberis. CH. nil nimis.
SY. "nil" narras?

SY. Quite right, indeed; but I marvel at you, Chremes,
so early, you who drank so much yesterday. CH. Nothing in excess. SY. “nothing,” you say?

visa verost, quod dici solet, 520
aquilae senectus. CH. heia. SY. mulier commoda et
faceta haec meretrix.

it has proved true, as the saying goes, 520
the eagle’s old age. CH. hey. SY. an accommodating and facetious woman,
this courtesan.

CH. sane. SY. idem visast tibi?
et quidem hercle forma luculenta.

CH. certainly. SY. did the same seem to you?
and indeed, by Hercules, of splendid form.

CH. sic satis.
SY. ita non ut olim, sed uti nunc, sane bona;
minimeque miror Clinia hanc si deperit. 525
sed habet patrem quendam avidum, miserum atque aridum
vicinum hunc: nostin? at quasi is non ditiis
abundet, gnatus ei(u)s profugit inopia.

CH. so, enough.
SY. yes— not as once, but as now— truly good;
and I am by no means amazed if Clinia is perishing for her. 525
but she has a certain father— greedy, wretched, and dried-up—
this neighbor here: do you know him? and as though he did not abound
in riches, his son has fled for want.

scis esse factum ut dico? CH. quid ego ni sciam?
hominem pistrino dignum!

do you know it has been done as I say? CH. why should I not know?
a man fit for the treadmill!

SY. quem? CH. istunc servolum 530
dico adulescenti' . . SY. Syre, tibi timui male!
CH. qui passus est id fieri.

SY. whom? CH. that little slave 530
I mean the young man . . SY. Syrus, I was badly afraid for you!
CH. who allowed that to happen.

SY. quid faceret? CH. rogas?
aliquid reperiret, fingeret fallacias
unde esset adulescenti amicae quod daret,
atque hunc difficilem invitum servaret senem. 535
SY. garris.

SY. what was he to do? CH. you ask?
he should have found something, fabricated fallacies,
so that there would be for the adolescent something to give to his girlfriend,
and he should have kept this difficult, unwilling old man in check. 535
SY. you’re chattering.

CH. haec facta ab illo oportebant, Syre.
SY. eho quaeso laudas qui eros fallunt? CH. in loco
ego vero laudo.

CH. these things ought to have been done by him, Syrus.
SY. hey, please—do you praise those who deceive their masters? CH. when fitting
I indeed do praise.

SY. recte sane. CH. quippe qui
magnarum saepe id remedium aegritudinumst:
iam huic mansisset unicus gnatus domi. 540
SY. iocone an serio ille haec dicat nescio;
nisi mihi quidem addit animum quo lubeat magis.
CH. et nunc quid exspectat, Syre?

SY. quite right indeed. CH. since in fact
that is often the remedy of great afflictions:
by now his only-begotten son would have stayed at home. 540
SY. I do not know whether he says these things in jest or in earnest;
except that, for my part, it adds spirit to me, so that it pleases me more.
CH. and now what is he waiting for, Syrus?

an dum hic denuo
abeat, quom tolerare illi(u)s sumptus non queat?
nonne ad senem aliquam fabricam fingit? SY. stolidus est. 545
CH. at te adiutare oportet adulescentuli
causa.

or is it while this fellow goes away again,
since he cannot tolerate that one’s expenses?
doesn’t he fashion some contrivance against the old man? SY. he is stolid. 545
CH. but you ought to aid for the adolescent’s
sake.

SY. facile equidem facere possum si iubes;
etenim quo pacto id fieri soleat calleo.
CH. tanto hercle melior. SY. non est mentiri meum.

SY. easily indeed I can do it if you bid;
for truly in what manner that is wont to be done I am well-versed.
CH. by Hercules, so much the better. SY. it is not mine to lie.

CH. fac ergo. SY. at heus tu facito dum eadem haec memineris 550
siquid huiu' simile forte aliquando evenerit,
ut sunt humana, tuos ut faciat filius.
CH. non usu' veniet, spero.

CH. do it then. SY. but hey, you, be sure meanwhile to remember these same things 550
if anything similar to this should by chance ever occur,
as human things are, so that your son may do it.
CH. it will not come to pass, I hope.

SY. spero hercle ego quoque,
neque eo nunc dico quo quicquam illum senserim;
sed siquid, nequid. quae sit ei(u)s aetas vides; 555
et ne ego te, si usu' veniat, magnifice, Chreme,
tractare possim. CH. de istoc, quom usu' venerit,
videbimus quid opu' sit: nunc istuc age.--
SY. numquam commodius umquam erum audivi loqui,
nec quom male facere[m] crederem mi inpunius 560
licere.

SY. by Hercules, I too hope so,
nor do I say this now because I have perceived anything of him;
but if anything, that it be nothing. You see what his age is; 555
and indeed, if it should come to need, I could handle you magnificently, Chremes.
CH. about that, when need comes, we shall see what is requisite: now attend to this.--
SY. never more conveniently have I ever heard a master speak,
nor that, when I were to do wrong, I would believe it allowed to me with greater 560
impunity.

quisnam a nobis egreditur foras?

who, pray, is coming out from our place?

Chremes Clitipho Syrvs

Chremes Clitipho Syrus

III.iii
CH. Quid istuc quaeso? qui istic mos est, Clitipho? itane fieri oportet?

III.iii
CH. What is that, pray? What custom is that here, Clitipho? Ought it to be done so?

CL. quid ego feci? CH. vidin ego te modo manum in sinum huic meretrici
inserere? SY. acta haec res est: perii.

CL. What have I done? CH. Did I just see you, just now, put your hand into the bosom of this courtesan
to insert it? SY. This affair is done for: I’m ruined.

CL. mene? CH. hisce oculis, ne nega.
facis adeo indigne iniuriam illi qui non abstineas manum. 565
nam istaec quidem contumeliast,
hominem amicum recipere ad te atque ei(u)s amicam subigitare.

CL. me? CH. with these very eyes, do not deny it.
you are doing so unworthy an injury to him that you do not abstain your hand. 565
for that indeed is contumely,
to receive a man, a friend, to you, and to be taking liberties with his girlfriend.

vel here in vino quam inmodestu' f<ui>sti . . SY. factum. CH. quam molestus!
ut equidem, ita me di ament, metui quid futurum denique esset!

even yesterday in drink, how immodest you were . . SY. Granted. CH. How vexatious!
so that I, indeed—so may the gods love me—feared what at last would come to be!

novi ego amantium animum: advortunt graviter quae non censeas. 570
CL. at mihi fides apud hunc est nil me istiu' facturum, pater.
CH. esto; at certe concedas aliquo ab ore <eo>rum aliquantisper.
multa fert lubido: ea facere prohibet tua praesentia.

I know the mind of lovers: they advert gravely to things which you would not reckon. 570
CL. But I have faith with this man that I will do nothing of that, father.
CH. Be it so; but at least withdraw somewhere from their face for a little while. Libido bears many things: your presence prohibits the doing of those.

ego de me facio coniecturam: nemost m<eo>rum amicorum hodie
apud quem expromere omnia mea occulta, Clitipho, audeam. 575
apud alium prohibet dignitas; apud alium ipsi(u)s facti pudet,
ne ineptu', ne protervo' videar: quod illum facere credito.
sed nostrum est intellegere utquomque atque ubiquomque opu' sit obsequi.
SY. quid istic narrat!

I make a conjecture from myself: there is none of my friends today
with whom I would dare to bring out all my secrets, Clitipho. 575
With one, dignity forbids; with another, there is shame of the deed itself,
lest I seem inept, lest I seem overbold: which, believe, that fellow does.
But it is our part to understand however and wherever there is need to comply.
SY. What is he talking about there!

CL. perii. SY. Clitipho, haec ego praecipio tibi?
homini' frugi et temperanti' functu's officium?

CL. I am ruined. SY. Clitipho, am I enjoining these things upon you?
have you performed a duty for a frugal and temperate man?

CL. tace sodes. 580
SY. recte sane. CL. Syre, pudet me. SY. credo: neque id iniuria; quin
mihi molestumst. CL. perdis hercle.

CL. Be quiet, please. 580
SY. Quite right, indeed. CL. Syrus, I am ashamed. SY. I believe it: and not without justice; indeed, it is troublesome to me. CL. You’re ruining me, by Hercules.

SY. verum dico quod videtur.
CL. nonne accedam ad illos? CH. eho quaeso, una accedundi viast?

SY. I say what seems true.
CL. Shall I not go up to them? CH. Hey, please, is there only one way of approaching?

SY. actumst: hic priu' se indicarit quam ego argentum effecero.
Chreme, vin tu homini stulto mi auscultare? CH. quid faciam?

SY. It's all over: this fellow will give himself away sooner than I shall have gotten the money.
Chremes, will you listen to me, a foolish man? CH. What am I to do?

SY. Iube hunc 585
abire hinc aliquo. CL. quo ego hinc abeam? SY. quo lubet: da illis locum:
abi d<ea>mbulatum.

SY. Order this fellow 585
to go away from here somewhere. CL. Where am I to go away from here? SY. Wherever you please: give them room:
go take a walk.

CL. d<ea>mbulatum? quo? SY. vah quasi desit locus.

CL. to go walking? whither? SY. bah, as if there were no place.

abi sane istac, istorsum, quovis. CH. recte dicit, censeo.
CL. di te eradicent, Syre, qui me hinc ~extrudis~!
SY. at tu pol tibi istas posthac comprimito manus!-- 590
censen vero?

Go on then that way, that direction, wherever. CH. He speaks rightly, I reckon.
CL. May the gods eradicate you, Syrus, you who are driving me out from here!
SY. But you, by Pollux, henceforth restrain those hands of yours!-- 590
do you really think so?

quid illum porro credas facturum, Chreme,
nisi eum, quantum tibi opi' di dant, servas castigas mones?
CH. ego istuc curabo. SY. atqui nunc, ere, tibi istic adservandus est.

what do you further suppose he will do, Chremes,
unless you, as far as the gods grant you aid, watch him, chastise, admonish? CH. I will take care of that. SY. But indeed now, master, there with you he must be kept under guard.

CH. fiet. SY. si sapias; nam mihi iam minu' minusque obtemperat.
CH. quid tu? ecquid de illo quod dudum tecum egi egisti, Syre, aut 595
repperisti tibi quod placeat an non[dum etiam]? SY. de fallacia
dicis?

CH. It will be done. SY. If you are wise; for he now obeys me less and less.
CH. And you? Have you done anything about that matter which I was just now urging on you, Syrus, or 595
have you found something that pleases you for yourself, or not[yet even]? SY. You mean the trick?

est: inveni nuper quandam. CH. frugi es. cedo quid est?
SY. dicam, verum ut aliud ex alio incidit.

it is: I recently found a certain one. CH. you’re a frugal fellow. come, what is it?
SY. I’ll say, but—as one thing falls out of another.

CH. quidnam, Syre?
SY. pessuma haec est meretrix. CH. ita videtur.

CH. what then, Syrus?
SY. this meretrix is the worst. CH. so it seems.

SY. immo si scias.
vah vide quod inceptet facinu'. f<ui>t quaedam anu' Corinthia 600
hic: huic drachumarum haec argenti mille dederat mutuom.
CH. quid tum?

SY. indeed, if you knew.
ugh, look what deed she is setting about. there was a certain Corinthian old woman 600
here: to this one she had given a thousand silver drachmas on loan.
CH. what then?

SY. ea mortuast: reliquit filiam adulescentulam.
ea relicta huic arraboni est pro illo argento. CH. intellego.

SY. she is dead: she left a young daughter.
the girl left behind stands to this man as an arrabon for that silver. CH. I understand.

SY. hanc secum huc adduxit, ea quae est nunc apud uxorem tuam.
CH. quid tum? SY. Cliniam orat sibi uti [id] nunc det: illam illi tamen 605
post daturum: mille nummum poscit.

SY. he has brought this girl here with him, she who is now with your wife.
CH. what then? SY. he begs Clinia to give [it] to him now for himself:
that girl to him, however, he will give afterward; 605
he asks for a thousand in coin.

CH. et poscit quidem? SY. hui,
dubium id est? ego sic putavi.

CH. and he indeed demands it? SY.
pshaw,
is that doubtful? I thought so.

CH. quid nunc facere cogitas?
SY. egon? ad Menedemum ibo: dicam hanc esse captam ex Caria
ditem et nobilem; si redimat magnum inesse in ea lucrum.

CH. what do you now intend to do?
SY. I? I will go to Menedemus: I will say that this one is a captive from Caria, wealthy and noble; if he redeems her, that there is great lucre in her.

CH. erras. SY. quid ita? CH. pro Menedemo nunc tibi ego respondeo 610
"non emo": quid ages?

CH. you err. SY. why so? CH. in Menedemus’s stead now I answer you 610
"I am not buying": what will you do?

SY. optata loquere. CH. qui? SY. non est opus.

SY. speak your wishes. CH. how? SY. there is no need.

CH. non opus est? SY. non hercle vero. CH. qui istuc, miror.

CH. there is no need? SY. no, by Hercules, indeed. CH. how is that, I wonder.

SY. iam scies.
CH. mane, mane, quid est quod tam a nobis graviter crepuerunt fores?

SY. you’ll know at once.
CH. wait, wait, what is it that the doors have creaked so heavily on our side?

ACTVS IV

ACT 4

Sostrata Chremes Nvtrix Syrvs

Sostrata Chremes Nurse Syrus

IV.i
SO. Nisi me animu' fallit, hic profectost anulus quem ego suspicor,
is quicum expositast gnata. CH. quid volt sibi, Syre, haec oratio? 615
SO. quid est? isne tibi videtur?

4.i
SO. Unless my mind deceives me, this is indeed the ring which I suspect—he is the one with whom the daughter was exposed. CH. What does this speech mean, Syrus? 615
SO. What is it? Does it seem so to you?

NV. dixi equidem, ubi mi ostendisti, ilico
eum esse. SO. at ut sati' contemplata modo sis, mea nutrix. NV. satis.

NV. I did indeed say, when you
showed me, straightway that it was he. SO. But see that you have contemplated him enough just now, my nurse. NV.
Enough.

SO. abi nunciam intro atque illa si iam laverit mihi nuntia.
hic ego virum interea opperibor. SY. te volt: videas quid velit.

SO. go now inside and, if she has now washed, announce to me.
here I, meanwhile, will await the man. SY. he wants you: see what he wishes.

nescioquid tristis est: non temerest: timeo quid sit. CH. quid siet? 620
ne ista hercle magno iam conatu magnas nugas dixerit.
SO. ehem mi vir.

He’s somewhat gloomy: it’s not without cause: I fear what it may be. CH. what might it be? 620
that woman, by Hercules, may just now, with great effort, have spoken great nonsense. SO. ahem, my husband.

CH. ehem mea uxor. SO. te ipsum quaero. CH. loquere
quid velis.

CH. ahem, my wife. SO. I am looking for you yourself. CH. speak
what you wish.

SO. primum hoc te oro, nequid credas me advorsum edictum tuom
facere esse ausam. CH. vin me istuc tibi, etsi incredibilest, credere?
credo.

SO. first this I beg you, that you not believe that I have dared to do anything contrary to your edict.
CH. Do you want me, even though it is incredible,
to believe that?
I believe.

SY. nescioquid peccati portat haec purgatio. 625
SO. meministin me ess(e) gravidam et mihi te maxumo opere edicere,
si puellam parerem, nolle tolli? CH. scio quid feceris:
sustulisti. SY. sic est factum: dom(i)na ego, eru' damno auctus est.

SY. this purgation carries I-know-not-what of sin. 625
SO. do you remember that I was pregnan(t) and that you most earnestly enjoined me,
if I should bear a girl, not to be taken up? CH. I know what you did:
you took her up. SY. so it was done: I the mistres(s); the maste(r) has been increased by loss.

SO. minime; sed erat hic Corinthia anus haud inpura: <ei> dedi
exponendam. CH. o Iuppiter, tantam esse in animo inscitiam! 630
SO. perii: quid ego feci? CH. rogitas?

SO. by no means; but there was here a Corinthian old woman not impure: <ei> I gave
to be exposed. CH. O Jupiter, that there should be such ignorance in your mind! 630
SO. I am undone: what have I done? CH. you ask?

SO. si peccavi, mi Chreme,
insciens feci. CH. id equidem ego, si tu neges, certo scio,
te inscientem atque inprudentem dicere ac facere omnia:
tot peccata in hac re ostendi'. nam iam primum, si meum
imperium exsequi voluisses, interemptam oportuit, 635
non simulare mortem verbis, re ipsa spem vitae dare.
at id omitto: misericordia, animu' maternus: sino.

SO. if I have sinned, my Chremes,
unknowing I did it. CH. That indeed I, even if you deny it, know for certain,
that you, unknowing and imprudent, say and do everything:
so many faults in this matter you have shown. For now first, if you had wished
to execute my command, she ought to have been slain, 635
not to simulate death in words, and in the reality itself to give hope of life.
but I pass that over: compassion, a maternal spirit: I allow it.

quam bene vero abs te prospectumst quod voluisti cogita:
nempe anui illi prodita abs te filiast planissume,
per te vel uti quaestum faceret vel uti veniret palam. 640
credo, id cogitasti: "quidvis satis est dum vivat modo."
quid cum illis agas qui neque ius neque bonum atque aequom sciunt,
meliu' peiu', prosit obsit, nil vident nisi quod lubet?
SO. mi Chreme, peccavi, fateor: vincor. nunc hoc te obsecro,
quanto tuos est animu' natu gravior, ignoscentior, 645
ut meae stultitiae in iustitia tua sit aliquid praesidi.

how well indeed provision has been made by you for what you wanted, consider:
surely the daughter has been most plainly betrayed by you to that old woman,
through you either that she might make gain or that she might be sold openly. 640
I believe you thought this: "anything is enough, provided only that she live."
what are you to do with those who know neither law nor the good and the equitable,
better, worse, whether it profit or harm, they see nothing except what pleases?
SO. my Chremes, I have sinned, I confess: I am conquered. Now this I beseech you,
inasmuch as your spirit is older by birth, more forgiving, 645
that for my stupidity there may be some safeguard in your justice.

CH. scilicet equidem istuc factum ignoscam; verum, Sostrata,
male docet te mea facilitas multa. sed istuc quidquid est
qua hoc occeptumst causa loquere. SO. ut stultae et misere omnes sumus
religiosae, quom exponendam do illi, de digito anulum 650
detraho et eum dico ut una cum puella exponeret:
si moreretur, ne expers partis esset de nostris bonis.

CH. of course indeed I should pardon that deed; but, Sostrata,
my indulgence ill-instructs you in many things. But whatever that is,
say for what cause this was undertaken. SO. how foolish and miserably we all
are scrupulous, when I give her to that woman to be exposed, from my finger a ring 650
I pull off and tell her to expose it together with the girl:
so that, if she should die, she might not be without a share of our goods.

CH. istuc recte: conservasti te atque illam. SO. is hic est anulus.
CH. unde habes?

CH. That is right: you have saved yourself and her. SO. Here is the ring.
CH. Where did you get it?

SO. quam Bacchi' secum adduxit adulescentulam, SY. hem.
CH. quid illa narrat? SO. ea lavatum dum it, servandum mihi dedit. 655
animum non advorti primum; sed postquam aspexi ilico
cognovi, ad te exsilui.

SO. the young girl whom Bacchis brought along with her, SY. hm.
CH. what does she say? SO. while she was going to wash, she gave it to me to keep. 655
I did not notice at first; but after I looked at it, immediately I recognized it, I sprang out to you.

CH. quid nunc suspicare aut invenis
de illa? SO. nescio nisi ex ipsa quaeras unde hunc habuerit,
si potis est reperiri. SY. interii: plus sp<ei> video quam volo:
nostrast, si itast.

CH. what now do you suspect or discover
about her? SO. I don’t know unless you ask her herself where she got this,
if it can be found out. SY. I’m undone: I see more sp<ei> than I want:
she’s ours, if it’s so.

CH. vivitne illa quoi tu dederas? SO. nescio. 660
CH. quid renuntiavit olim? SO. fecisse id quod iusseram.

CH. Does she live, the one to whom you had given her? SO. I do not know. 660
CH. What did she report formerly? SO. That she had done what I had ordered.

CH. nomen mulieri' cedo quid sit, ut quaeratur. SO. Philterae.
SY. ipsast.

CH. Tell me what the woman’s name is, so that she may be sought out. SO. Philtera.
SY. She’s the very one.

mirum ni illa salvast et ego perii. CH. Sostrata,
sequere me intro hac. SO. ut praeter spem evenit!

Likely she is safe and I am done for. CH. Sostrata,
follow me in here. SO. how beyond hope it has turned out!

quam timui male
ne nunc animo ita esses duro ut olim in tollendo, Chreme! 665
CH. non licet hominem esse saepe ita ut volt, si res non sinit.
nunc ita tempus est mi ut cupiam filiam: olim nil minus.

how badly I feared lest now you would be so hard in spirit as once at the taking up, Chremes! 665
CH. a man is not allowed to be often just as he wishes, if the situation does not permit.
now the time is such for me that I desire a daughter: formerly, anything but.

Syrvs

Syrus

IV.ii
SY. Nisi me animu' fallit multum, haud multum a me aberit infortunium:
ita hac re in angustum oppido nunc m<eae> coguntur copiae;
nisi aliquid video ne esse amicam hanc gnati resciscat senex. 670
nam quod de argento sperem aut posse postulem me fallere
nil est; triumpho si licet me latere tecto abscedere.
crucior bolum tantum mi ereptum tam desubito e faucibus.
quid agam?

IV.ii
SY. unless my mind deceives me much, ill-fortune will not be far from me by much:
so by this affair my forces are now indeed driven into a narrow place;
unless I contrive something, lest the old man find out that this woman is the sweetheart of the son. 670
for, as to the silver, that I should hope or insist I can cheat—
there is nothing; I count it a triumph if I am allowed to withdraw hidden under a roof.
I am racked that so great a bolus has been snatched so suddenly from my jaws.
what am I to do?

aut quid comminiscar? ratio de integro ineundast mihi.
nil tam difficilest quin quaerendo investigari possiet. 675
quid si hoc nunc sic incipiam?

or what shall I contrive? a plan must be entered upon anew by me.
nothing is so difficult that by searching it cannot be investigated. 675
what if I should begin thus now?

nilst. quid si sic? tantundem egero.

it’s nothing. what if thus? i shall have done just as much.

at sic opinor: non potest. immo optume. euge habeo optumam.

but thus, I opine: it cannot be. nay, excellent. bravo, I have the best one.

retraham hercle opinor ad me
idem ego illuc hodie fugitivom argentum tamen. 678a

By Hercules, I suppose I will draw back to me;
likewise I myself will today, nevertheless, bring back that fugitive silver thither. 678a

Clinia Syrvs

Clinia Syrus

IV.iii
CL. Nulla mihi res posthac potest iam intervenire tanta
quae mi aegritudinem adferat: tanta haec laetitia obortast.
dedo patri me nunciam ut frugalior sim quam volt.
SY. nil me fefellit: cognitast, quantum audio huiu' verba.

4.3
CL. Nothing henceforth can now intervene so great
as to bring me grief: so great a joy has arisen.
I hand myself over to my father now, to be more frugal than he wants.
SY. I was not mistaken: it has been recognized, as far as I hear this fellow’s words.

istuc tibi ex sententia tua obtigisse laetor.
CL. o mi Syre, audisti obsecro? SY. quidni?

I am glad that that has fallen to you to your satisfaction.
CL. O my Syrus, did you hear, I beseech you? SY. Why not?

qui usque una adfuerim.
CL. quoi aeque audisti commode quicquam evenisse? SY. nulli. 685
CL. atque ita me di ament ut ego nunc non tam meapte causa
laetor quam illiu'; quam ego scio esse honore quovis dignam.

since I have been there together all along.
CL. to whom have you heard anything to have turned out equally commodiously? SY. to no one. 685
CL. and so may the gods love me, that I now rejoice not so much for my own sake
as for hers; whom I know to be worthy of any honor whatsoever.

SY. ita credo. sed nunc, Clinia, age, da te mihi vicissim;
nam amici quoque res est videnda in tutum ut conlocetur,
nequid de amica nunc senex. CL. o Iuppiter!

SY. so I believe. but now, Clinia, come, give yourself to me in turn;
for the affair of your friend too must be looked to, that it may be placed in safety,
lest the old man now do anything about the girlfriend. CL. O Jupiter!

SY. quiesce. 690
CL. Antiphila mea nubet mihi. SY. sicin mi interloquere?
CL. quid faciam?

SY. be quiet. 690
CL. My Antiphila will marry me. SY. Do you interrupt me so?
CL. What am I to do?

Syre mi, gaudeo: fer me. SY. fero hercle vero.
CL. deorum vitam apti sumus. SY. frustra operam opino[r] hanc sumo.

My Syrus, I rejoice: bear with me. SY. I do bear, by Hercules, indeed.
CL. We are apt for the life of the gods. SY. I think I am taking this effort in vain.

CL. loquere: audio. SY. at iam hoc non ages. CL. agam.

CL. speak: I hear. SY. but now you will not do this. CL.
I will do it.

SY.
videndumst, inquam,
amici quoque res, Clinia, t<ui> in tuto ut conlocetur. 695
nam si nunc a nobis abis et Bacchidem hic relinquis,
senex resciscet ilico esse amicam hanc Clitiphonis;
si abduxeris, celabitur, itidem ut celata adhuc est.
CL. at enim istoc nil est mage, Syre, m<ii>s nuptiis advorsum.
nam quo ore appellabo patrem?

SY.
we must see to it, I say,
that a friend’s interests also, Clinia, yours, be placed in safekeeping. 695
for if now you go away from us and leave Bacchis here,
the old man will find out on the spot that this woman is Clitipho’s girlfriend;
if you take her away, it will be kept hidden, just as it has been hidden up to now.
CL. but indeed by that course there is nothing more against my marriage, Syrus.
for with what face shall I address my father?

tenes quid dicam? SY. quidni? 700
CL. quid dicam? quam causam adferam?

do you get what I mean? SY. why not? 700
CL. what shall I say? what pretext shall I bring forward?

SY. qui nolo mentiare:
aperte ita ut res sese habet narrato. CL. quid ais? SY. iubeo:
illam te amare et velle uxorem, hanc esse Clitiphonis.

SY. since I do not want you to lie:
openly narrate it just as the matter stands. CL. what do you say? SY. I bid:
that you love that one and wish her as a wife, that this one is Clitipho’s.

CL. bonam atque iustam rem oppido imperas et factu facilem.
et scilicet iam me hoc voles patrem exorare ut celet 705
senem vostrum? SY. immo ut recta via rem narret ordine omnem.

CL. You command a good and just thing indeed, and easy to do.
And of course now you will want me to prevail upon my father to conceal it 705
from your old man? SY. No; rather that he narrate the matter straight out, the whole of it in order.

CL. hem
sati' sanus es et sobrius? tuquidem illum plane perdis.
nam qui ille poterit esse in tuto, dic mihi?

CL. ah!
are you quite sane and sober? you indeed plainly are ruining him.
for how will he be in safety, tell me?

SY. huic equidem consilio palmam do: hic me magnifice ecfero,
qui vim tantam in me et potestatem habeam tantae astutiae 710
vera dicendo ut eos ambos fallam: ut quom narret senex
voster nostro istam esse amicam gnati, non credat tamen.
CL. at enim spem istoc pacto rursum nuptiarum omnem eripis;
nam dum amicam hanc m<ea>m esse credet, non committet filiam.
tu fors quid me fiat parvi pendi', dum illi consulas. 715
SY. quid, malum, me aetatem censes velle id adsimularier?

SY. To this counsel indeed I give the palm: here I magnificently extol myself,
that I have such force in me and the power of so great astuteness 710
that by speaking truths I may deceive them both: so that when the old man
of yours relates to ours that that girl is the sweetheart of the son, he nevertheless does not believe it.
CL. But indeed by that plan you snatch away again all hope of the nuptials;
for so long as he believes this girl to be m<ea>my, he will not entrust his daughter.
Perhaps you reckon what becomes of me as of little worth, so long as you look out for him. 715
SY. What the devil—do you think that at my age I want that to be pretended?

unus est dies dum argentum eripio: pax: nil amplius.
CL. tantum sat habes? quid tum quaeso si hoc pater resciverit?

it is one day while I snatch the silver: peace: nothing more.
CL. is that enough for you? what then, I pray, if father finds this out?

SY. quid si redeo ad illos qui aiunt "quid si nunc caelum ruat?"
CL. metuo quid agam. SY. metui'? quasi non ea potestas sit tua 720
quo velis in tempore ut te exsolvas, rem facias palam.
CL. age age, transducatur Bacchis.

SY. what if I go back to those who say, "what if now the sky should fall?"
CL. I fear what I should do. SY. You’re afraid? as if that power were not yours 720
to free yourself at whatever time you wish, to make the matter manifest.
CL. come, come, let Bacchis be brought over.

SY. optume ipsa exit foras.

SY. Excellent, she herself is coming out
outside.

Bacchis Clinia Syrvs Dromo Phrygia

Bacchis Clinia Syrus Dromo Phrygia

IV.iv
BA. Sati' pol proterve me Syri promissa huc induxerunt,
decem minas quas mihi dare pollicitust. quodsi nunc me
deceperit saepe obsecrans me ut veniam, frustra veniet; 725
aut quom venturam dixero et constituero, quom is certe
renuntiarit, Clitipho quom in spe pendebit animi,
decipiam ac non veniam, Syrus mihi tergo poenas pendet.
CL. sati' scite promittit tibi.

IV.iv
BA. Quite, by Pollux, impudently have Syrus’s promises led me here,
the ten minae which he promised to give me. But if now he
deceives me, often beseeching me to come, he will come in vain; 725
or when I have said and fixed that I will come, when he has surely
sent word back, when Clitipho is hanging in hope, in suspense of mind,
I’ll deceive and not come; Syrus will pay me penalties on his back.
CL. quite cleverly he promises you.

SY. atqui tu hanc iocari credis?
faciet nisi caveo. BA. dormiunt: ego pol istos commovebo. 730
mea Phrygia, audisti modo iste homo quam villam demonstravit
Charini?

SY. and yet do you believe this woman is joking?
she will do it unless I take care. BA. they’re asleep: by Pollux, I will rouse those fellows. 730
my Phrygia, did you just hear which villa that fellow pointed out as Charinus’s?

PH. audivi. BA. proxumam esse huic fundo ad dextram? PH. memini.

PH. I heard. BA. that it is the nearest to this estate on the right? PH. I remember.

BA. curriculo percurre: apud eum miles Dionysia agitat:
SY. quid inceptat? BA. dic me hic oppido esse invitam atque adservari,
verum aliquo pacto verba me his daturam esse et venturam. 735
SY. perii hercle. Bacchi', mane, mane: quo mittis istanc quaeso?

BA. run at a run: at his place the soldier is celebrating the Dionysia:
SY. what does he undertake? BA. say that I am here in town unwilling and being kept under guard,
but that somehow I will give these people the words and will come. 735
SY. I’m undone, by Hercules. Bacchis, wait, wait: where are you sending that one, pray?

iube maneat. BA. i. SY. quin est paratum argentum. BA. quin ego maneo.

bid her stay. BA. yes. SY. why, the silver is ready. BA. why, I am staying.

SY. atqui iam dabitur. BA. ut lubet. num ego insto?

SY. but indeed it will be given at once. BA. as you please. am I pressing you?

SY. at scin quid sodes?
BA. quid? SY. transeundumst nunc tibi ad Menedemum et tua pompa
<eo> transducendast.

SY. But do you know what, please?
BA. What? SY. You must now cross over to Menedemus, and your pomp
<thither> must be led across.

BA. quam rem agis, scelus? SY. egon? argentum cudo 740
quod tibi dem.

BA. what are you doing, villain? SY. I? I coin silver 740
that I may give it to you.

BA. dignam me putas quam inludas? SY. non est temere.
BA. etiamne tecum hic res mihist?

BA. Do you think me someone fit to mock? SY. it is not done lightly.
BA. Have I still business here with you?

SY. minime: tuom tibi reddo.
BA. eatur. SY. sequere hac.

SY. not at all: I return your own to you.
BA. let’s go. SY. follow this way.

heus, Dromo. DR. quis me volt? SY. Syru'.
DR. quid est r<ei>?
SY. ancillas omnis Bacchidis tra<ns>duce huc ad vos propere.

hey, Dromo. DR. who wants me? SY. Syrus.
DR. what is the matter?
SY. lead all Bacchis’s maidservants over here to your place, quickly.

DR. quam ob rem? SY. ne quaeras: ecferant quae secum huc attulerunt. 745
sperabit sumptum sibi senex levatum esse harunc abitu:
ne ille haud scit hoc paullum lucri quantum ei damnum adportet.
tu nescis id quod scis, Dromo, si sapies.

DR. For what reason? SY. Do not ask: let them carry out what they brought here with them. 745
he will hope that the expense has been lightened for himself by the departure of these women:
indeed, he does not at all know how much damage this little bit of profit brings him.
you do not know what you know, Dromo, if you will be wise.

DR. mutum dices.

DR. You will call me mute.

Chremes Syrvs IV.v
CH. Ita me di amabunt ut nunc Menedemi vicem
miseret me tantum devenisse ad eum mali. 750
illancin mulierem alere cum illa familia!
etsi scio, hosce aliquot dies non sentiet,
ita magno desiderio fuit <ei> filius;
verum ubi videbit tantos sibi sumptus domi
cotidianos fieri nec fieri modum, 755
optabit rursum ut abeat ab se filius.
Syrum optume eccum.

Chremes Syrvs 4.5
CH. So may the gods love me, as now I pity Menedemus’s plight,
that so much ill has come down upon him. 750
To maintain that woman along with that household!
even though I know, for these next several days he will not perceive it,
so great a desire he had for his son;
but when he sees such great expenses for himself being made at home
day by day, and no limit being set, 755
he will wish again that his son go away from him.
Here’s excellent Syrus.

SY. cesso hunc adoriri? CH. Syre. SY. hem.

SY. Do I delay to accost this man? CH. Syrus. SY. eh.

CH. quid est? SY. te mihi ipsum iamdudum optabam dari.
CH. videre egisse iam nescioquid cum sene.

CH. What is it? SY. I had for quite some time been wishing that you yourself be given to me.
CH. I see you have already transacted I-know-not-what with the old man.

SY. de illo quod dudum? dictum [ac] factum reddidi. 760
CH. bonan fide? SY. bona hercle.

SY. about that matter just now? I delivered it—said [and] done. 760
CH. in good faith? SY. good, by Hercules.

CH. non possum pati
quin tibi caput demulceam; accede huc, Syre:
faciam boni tibi aliquid pro ista re ac lubens.
SY. at si scias quam scite in mentem venerit.
CH. vah gloriare evenisse ex sententia? 765
SY. non hercle vero: verum dico.

CH. I cannot endure
but that I stroke your head; come here, Syrus:
I will do you some good for that matter, and gladly.
SY. But if you knew how cleverly it came into my mind.
CH. Bah, do you glory that it turned out according to your intention? 765
SY. Not, by Hercules, indeed: I tell the truth.

CH. dic quid est?
SY. t<ui> Clitiphonis esse amicam hanc Bacchidem
Menedemo dixit Clinia, et ea gratia
secum adduxisse ne tu id persentisceres.
CH. probe.

CH. say, what is it?
SY. Clinia told Menedemus that this Bacchis is the girlfriend of your Clitipho, and for that reason he brought her with him so that you might not perceive it.
CH. good.

SY. dic sodes. CH. nimium, inquam. SY. immo si scias.

SY. tell me, please. CH. too much, I say. SY.
no indeed—if you knew.

770
sed porro ausculta quod superest fallaciae:
sese ipse dicit t<ua>m vidisse filiam;
ei(u)s sibi conplacitam formam, postquam aspexerit;
hanc cupere uxorem. CH. modone quae inventast? SY. eam:
et quidem iubebit posci.

770
but further, listen to what remains of the fallacy:
he himself says he has seen your daughter;
that her form pleased him, after he has looked upon her;
that he desires this one as wife. CH. the one just now found? SY. her:
and indeed he will order her to be asked for in marriage.

CH. quam ob rem istuc, Syre? 775
nam prorsum nil intellego. SY. vah tardus es.
CH. fortasse. SY. argentum dabitur ei ad nuptias,
aurum atque vestem qui . . tenesne?

CH. why that, Syrus? 775
for I understand nothing at all. SY. bah, you’re slow.
CH. perhaps. SY. silver will be given to him for the nuptials,
gold and raiment who . . do you get it?

CH. comparet?
SY. id ipsum. CH. at ego illi neque do neque despondeo.

CH. that he provide them?
SY. that very thing. CH. but I neither give her to him nor betroth her.

SY. non? quam ob rem? CH. quam ob rem?

SY. not? for what reason? CH. for what reason?

me rogas? homini . . ? SY. 780
ut lubet.
non ego dicebam in perpetuom ut illam illi dares,
verum ut simulares.

Are you asking me? for the man . . ? SY. 780
as you please.
I was not saying that you should give her to him in perpetuity,
but that you should simulate.

CH. non meast simulatio;
ita tu istaec tua misceto ne me admisceas.
egon quoi daturu' non sum, ut <ei> despondeam?
SY. credebam.

CH. It is no simulation of mine;
so you mix those things of yours, do not admix me.
I—to whom I am not going to give her—should I pledge her to him?
SY. I thought so.

CH. minime. SY. scite poterat fieri; 785
et ego hoc, quia dudum tu tanto opere iusseras,
<eo> coepi. CH. credo.

CH. not at all. SY. neatly it could have been done; 785
and I, since a while ago you had ordered it so earnestly,
for that reason I commenced. CH. I believe it.

SY. ceterum equidem istuc, Chreme,
aequi bonique facio. CH. atqui quam maxume
volo te dare operam ut fiat, verum alia via.
SY. fiat, quaeratur aliquid.

SY. but as for that, Chremes,
I take it as fair and good. CH. but indeed, as much as possible,
I want you to take pains that it be done, but by another way.
SY. let it be done; let something be sought out.

sed illud quod tibi 790
dixi de argento quod ista debet Bacchidi,
id nunc reddendumst illi: neque tu scilicet
illuc confugies: "quid mea? num mihi datumst?
num iussi?

but that which to you 790
I said about the silver which that woman owes to Bacchis,
that must now be paid back to her: nor, of course, will you
take refuge in that: "What’s it to me? Was it given to me?
did I order it?"

num illa oppignerare filiam
meam me invito potuit?" verum illuc, Chreme, 795
dicunt: "ius summum saepe summast malitia."
CH. haud faciam. SY. immo aliis si licet, tibi non licet:
~omnes te in lauta et bene acta parte putant.~
CH. quin egomet iam ad eam deferam. SY. immo filium
iube potiu'. CH. quam ob rem?

could she pledge my daughter in pawn
with me unwilling?" but on that point, Chremes, 795
they say: "supreme right is often supreme malice."
CH. I will not do it. SY. Nay, if it is permitted to others, it is not permitted to you:
~everyone thinks you on the lavish and well-conducted side.~
CH. Why, I myself will now carry it to her. SY. Rather, order your son instead.
CH. For what reason?

SY. quia enim in eum suspiciost 800
translata amori'. CH. quid tum? SY. quia videbitur
mage veri simile id esse, quom hic illi dabit;
et simul conficiam facilius ego quod volo.
ipse adeo adest: abi, ecfer argentum.

SY. since, in fact, the suspicion of the love has been transferred onto him 800
CH. what then? SY. because it will seem more likely to be true, when he gives it to her;
and at the same time I shall more easily accomplish what I want. he himself, indeed, is here: go, bring out the silver.

CH. ecfero.

CH. I’m bringing it out.

Clitipho Syrvs

Clitipho Syrus

IV.vi
CL. Nullast tam facili' res quin difficilis siet, 805
quam invitu' facias. vel me haec d<ea>mbulatio,
quam non laboriosa, ad languorem dedit.
nec quicquam mage nunc metuo quam ne denuo
miser aliquo extrudar hinc, ne accedam ad Bacchidem.

4.6
CL. There is no thing so easy but that it be difficult, 805
if you do it unwillingly. Indeed, even this ambulation,
which is not laborious, has given me over to languor.
Nor do I fear anything more now than that again
poor wretch, I be thrust out from here somewhere, lest I approach Bacchis.

ut te quidem omnes di deae[que] quantumst, Syre, 810
cum istoc invento cumque incepto perduint!
huiu' modi mihi res semper comminiscere
ubi me excarnufices. SY. is tu hinc quo dignus es?
quam paene tua me perdidit protervitas!

so may indeed all the gods and goddesses, as many as there are, destroy you, Syrus, 810
along with that invention and with that inception!
you are always contriving affairs of this sort for me
where you flay me alive. SY. be off from here to where you deserve!
how nearly your insolence ruined me!

CL. vellem hercle factum, ita meritu's. SY. meritu'? quo modo? 815
ne me istuc ex te prius audisse gaudeo
quam argentum haberes quod daturu' iam fui.
CL. quid igitur dicam tibi vis? abi<i>sti; mihi
amicam adduxti quam non licitumst tangere.

CL. I wish, by Hercules, it were done; so have you merited. SY. Merited? In what way? 815
I am glad to have heard that from you before you had the silver which I was just about to give. CL. What then do you want me to say to you? You went away; you brought me a mistress whom it is not licit to touch.

SY. iam non sum iratu'. sed scin ubi sit nunc tibi 820
tua Bacchis? CL. apud nos. SY. non.

SY. I am not angry now. But do you know where your Bacchis is now 820
for you? CL. with us. SY. No.

CL. ubi ergo? SY. apud Cliniam.
CL. perii.

CL. where then? SY. at Clinia’s.
CL. I have perished.

SY. bono animo es: iam argentum ad eam deferes
quod <ei> pollicitu's. CL. garris. unde? SY. a t<uo> patre.

SY. Be of good cheer: now you will carry silver to her which you promised her. CL. You prattle. From where? SY. From your father.

CL. ludis fortasse me? SY. ipsa re experibere.
CL. ne ego sum homo fortunatu': deamo te, Syre. 825
SY. sed pater egreditur. cave quicquam admiratu' sis
qua causa id fiat; obsecundato in loco;
quod imperabit facito; loquitor paucula.

CL. are you perhaps playing me? SY. you will experience it by the thing itself.
CL. indeed I am a fortunate man: I dote on you, Syre. 825
SY. but your father is coming out. take care you be surprised at nothing as to the cause why this is happening; be obsequious on the spot; see that you do what he will command; speak few words.

Chremes Clitipho Syrvs

Chremes Clitipho Syrus

IV.vii
CH. Vbi Clitipho hic est? SY. "eccum me" inque. CL. eccum hic tibi.

4.7
CH. Where is Clitipho here? SY. "here I am," says he. CL. here he is for you, right here.

CH. quid r<ei> esset dixti[n] huic? SY. dixi pleraque omnia. 830
CH. cape hoc argentum ac defer. SY. i: quid stas, lapis?

CH. did you tell this man what the matter was? SY. I told almost everything. 830
CH. take this silver and deliver it. SY. go! why are you standing, stone?

quin accipis? CL. cedo sane. SY. sequere hac me ocius.

why don’t you accept it? CL. hand it over, by all means. SY. follow me this way more quickly.

tu hic nos dum eximus interea opperibere;
nam nil est illic quod moremur diutius.--
CH. minas quidem iam decem habet a me filia, 835
quas hortamentis esse nunc duco datas;
hasce ornamentis consequentur alterae;
porro haec talenta dotis adposcunt duo.
quam multa iniusta ac prava fiunt moribus!
mihi nunc relictis rebus inveniundus est 840
aliquis, labore inventa mea quoi dem bona.

you will wait here for us meanwhile while we go out;
for there is nothing there on account of which we should delay longer.--
CH. my daughter already has ten minas from me, 835
which I now reckon to have been given as encouragements;
these will be followed by others for adornments;
further, these call for two talents of dowry.
how many unjust and depraved things are done by mores!
I must now, my affairs set aside, find 840
someone, to whom indeed my goods found by toil shall go.

Menedemvs Chremes

Menedemus Chremes

IV.viii
ME. Multo omnium nunc me fortunatissimum
factum puto esse quom te, gnate, intellego
resipisse. CH. ut errat! ME. te ipsum quaerebam, Chreme:
serva, quod in te est, filium, me ac familiam. 845
CH. cedo quid vis faciam?

4.8
ME. Now I think myself, of all, made by far the most fortunate, since I understand you, son, to have come back to your senses. CH. How he is mistaken! ME. You yourself I was seeking, Chremes: save, so far as lies in you, my son, me, and the household. 845
CH. Come then, what do you want me to do?

ME. invenisti hodie filiam.
CH. quid tum? ME. hanc uxorem sibi dari volt Clinia.

ME. you have found your daughter today.
CH. what then? ME. Clinia wants this one to be given to himself as a wife.

CH. quaeso quid tu homini's? ME. quid est? CH. iamne oblitus es
inter nos quid sit dictum de fallacia,
ut ea via abs te argentum auferretur? ME. scio. 850
CH. ea res nunc agitur ipsa.

CH. please, what are you to the man? ME. what is it? CH.
have you already forgotten what was said between us about the stratagem,
that by that way money might be carried off from you? ME. I know. 850
CH. that very matter is now being transacted.

ME. quid narras, Chreme?
erravi? actast res?

ME. what are you saying, Chreme?
have I erred? is the matter done for?

quanta de spe decidi! 851a
immo haec quidem quae apud me est Clitiphonis est
amica: ita aiunt. CH. et tu credis omnia.

From how great a hope I have fallen! 851a
Nay rather, this girl who is with me is Clitipho’s mistress:
so they say. CH. And you believe everything.

et illum aiunt velle uxorem ut, quom desponderis,
des qui aurum ac vestem atque alia quae opu' sunt comparet. 855
ME. id est profecto: id amicae dabitur. CH. scilicet
daturum. ME. [v]ah frustra sum igitur gavisus miser.

and they say that he wants a wife so that, when you have betrothed her,
you may give someone to procure gold and clothing and other things which are needed. 855
ME. that is indeed so: that will be given to the girlfriend. CH. of course
he will be giving it. ME. [v]ah, I have therefore rejoiced in vain, poor wretch.

quidvis tamen iam malo quam hunc amittere.
quid nunc renuntiem abs te responsum, Chreme,
ne sentiat me sensisse atque aegre ferat? 860
CH. aegre? nimium illi, Menedeme, indulges.

Nevertheless now I would rather anything than lose him.
What response am I now to report back from you, Chremes,
so that he may not sense that I have sensed it and take it hard? 860
CH. Take it hard? You indulge him too much, Menedemus.

ME. sine:
inceptumst: perfice hoc mi perpetuo, Chreme.
CH. dic convenisse, egisse te de nuptiis.
ME. dicam.

ME. let it be:
it has been begun: perfect this for me for good, Chremes.
CH. say that an agreement has been reached, that you have transacted about the nuptials.
ME. I will say.

quid deinde? CH. me facturum esse omnia,
generum placere; postremo etiam, si voles, 865
desponsam quoque esse dicito. ME. em istuc volueram.

what then? CH. that I will do everything,
that the son-in-law is acceptable; finally even, if you wish, 865
say also that she is betrothed. ME. there—that was what I had wanted.

CH. tanto ocius te ut poscat et tu, id quod cupis,
quam ocissime ut des. ME. cupio. CH. ne tu propediem,
ut istanc rem video, istius obsaturabere.

CH. so much the quicker that he should ask you, and that you, what you desire, should give as most swiftly as possible. ME. I desire it. CH. ay, before long, as I see this matter, you will be satiated with that fellow.

sed ut uti istaec sunt, cautim et paulatim dabis 870
si sapies. ME. faciam. CH. abi intro: vide quid postulet.

but as these things are, you will give cautiously and little by little 870
if you are wise. ME. I will do so. CH. go inside: see what he asks for.

ego domi ero siquid me voles. ME. sane volo;
nam te scientem faciam quidquid egero.

I will be at home if you want anything of me. ME. certainly I do;
for I will make you cognizant of whatever I shall have done.

ACTVS V

ACT 5

Menedemvs Chremes

Menedemus Chremes

V.i
ME. Ego me non tam astutum neque ita perspicacem esse id scio;
sed hic adiutor meus et monitor et praemonstrator Chremes 875
hoc mihi praestat: in me quidvis harum rerum convenit
quae sunt dicta in stulto, caudex stipes asinu' plumbeus;
in illum nil potest: exsuperat ei(u)s stultitia haec omnia.
CH. ohe iam desine deos, uxor, gratulando obtundere
t<ua>m esse inventam gnatam, nisi illos ex tuo ingenio iudicas 880
ut nil credas intellegere nisi idem dictumst centiens.
sed interim quid illic iamdudum gnatu' cessat cum Syro?

V.i
ME. I know this, that I am not so astute nor so perspicacious;
but this helper of mine and monitor and praemonstrator, Chremes, 875
affords me this: in me whatever you please of these things said about a fool fits—
blockhead, post, leaden ass;
in him nothing can: his stupidity surpasses all these.
CH. Oh, now stop, wife, battering the gods with congratulations
that your daughter has been found, unless you judge them by your own disposition, 880
so that you believe they understand nothing unless the same thing has been said a hundred times.
but meanwhile, why does the son over there delay so long with Syrus?

ME. quos ais homines, Chreme, cessare? CH. ehem, Menedeme, advenis?
dic mihi, Cliniae quae dixi nuntiastin?

ME. Which men do you say, Chremes, are idling? CH. Ahem, Menedemus, you arrive?
tell me, to Clinia have you announced what I said?

ME. omnia.
CH. quid ait? ME. gaudere adeo coepit quasi qui cupiunt nuptias. 885
CH. hahahae.

ME. everything.
CH. what does he say? ME. he began to rejoice to such a degree as those who desire nuptials. 885
CH. ha-ha-ha!

ME. quid risisti? CH. servi venere in mentem Syri
calliditates. ME. itane?

ME. why did you laugh? CH. there came to mind of the slave Syrus
the cunning tricks. ME. is that so?

CH. voltu' quoque hominum fingit scelus.
ME. gnatu' quod se adsimulat laetum, id dicis? CH. id. ME. idem istuc mihi
venit in mentem.

CH. the face, too, of men crime fashions
ME. you mean that the son is simulating gladness? CH. that. ME. the same thing
came into my mind.

CH. veterator. ME. mage, si mage noris, putes
ita rem esse. CH. <ai>n tu? ME. quin tu ausculta.

CH. a veteran trickster. ME. all the more—if you knew more, you would think
the matter to be so. CH. do you say so? ME. just listen.

CH. mane; hoc 890
priu' scire expeto,
quid perdideris. nam ubi desponsam nuntiasti filio,
continuo iniecisse verba tibi Dromonem scilicet,
sponsae vestem aurum atque ancillas opus esse: argentum ut dares.
ME. non.

CH. wait; this 890
first I seek to know,
what you have lost. For when you announced a betrothed for your son,
immediately Dromon, of course, deceived you with words,
that the bride needed a dress, gold, and handmaids: that you should give silver.
ME. no.

CH. quid? non? ME. non inquam.

CH. what? no? ME. no, I say.

CH. neque ipse gnatu'? ME.
nil prorsum, Chreme.
magis unum etiam instare ut hodie conficiantur nuptiae. 895
CH. mira narras. quid Syru' meu'? ne is quidem quicquam?

CH. nor your son himself? ME.
nil at all, Chremes.
rather this one thing even presses, that the nuptials be consummated today. 895
CH. you tell marvels. what of my Syrus? not even he anything?

ME. nihil.
CH. quam ob rem, nescio. ME. equidem miror, qui alia tam plane scias.

ME. nothing.
CH. why, I do not know. ME. indeed I marvel, how you know other things so plainly.

sed ille t<uo>m quoque Syrus idem mire finxit filium,
ut ne paullulum quidem subolat esse amicam hanc Cliniae.
CH. quid agit? ME. mitto iam osculari atque amplexari: id nil puto. 900
CH. quid est quod ampliu' simuletur?

but that same Syrus of yours likewise has marvelously made out your son,
so that not even the least whiff suggests that this girl is Clinia’s mistress. CH. what is he doing? ME. I pass over the kissing and the embracing: I count that as nothing. 900
CH. what more is there that could be simulated?

ME. vah. CH. quid est? ME. audi modo.

ME. ugh. CH. what is it? ME. just listen.

est mihi ultimis conclave in aedibus quoddam retro:
huc est intro latu' lectu', vestimentis stratus est.
CH. quid postquam hoc est factum? ME. dictum factum huc abiit Clitipho.

I have a certain chamber at the very back in the house, in the furthest part: hither within a bed has been carried in; it is spread with garments.
CH. what after this was done? ME. no-sooner-said-than-done, Clitipho went in here.

CH. solu'? ME. solu'. CH. timeo. ME. Bacchi' consecutast ilico. 905
CH. sola? ME. sola.

CH. alone? ME. alone. CH. I’m afraid. ME. Bacchis has followed immediately. 905
CH. alone? ME. alone.

CH. perii. ME. ubi abiere intro, operuere ostium. CH. hem
Clinia haec fieri videbat?

CH. I have perished. ME. when
they went in, they closed the door. CH. ah!
Did Clinia see these things happening?

ME. quidni? mecum una simul.
CH. fili est amica Bacchi': Menedeme, occidi.

ME. why not? together with me at the same time.
CH. son, she is a friend of Bacchus: Menedemus, I am slain.

ME. quam ob rem? CH. decem dierum vix mi est familia.
ME. quid istuc times quod ille operam amico dat suo? 910
CH. immo quod amicae.

ME. Why so? CH. I scarcely have provisions for ten days.
ME. Why do you fear this, that he gives his service to his friend? 910
CH. No—because it is to his mistress.

ME. si dat. CH. an dubium id tibist?
quemquamne animo tam com[mun]i esse aut leni putas
qui se vidente amicam patiatur suam . . ? ME. ah
quidni?

ME. if he gives. CH. is that a doubt
to you?
do you think anyone to be of so complaisant or lenient a spirit
as to allow his mistress, with himself seeing, to . . ? ME. ah
why not?

quo verba facilius dentur mihi.
CH. derides merito. mihi nunc ego suscenseo: 915
quot res dedere ubi possem persentiscere,
ni essem lapis!

that words may be more easily given to me.
CH. you mock, deservedly. Now I am angry with myself: 915
how many things have given occasions where I could fully sense it,
if I were not a stone!

quae vidi! vae misero mihi!
at ne illud haud inultum, si vivo, ferent!

What things I have seen! Woe to wretched me!
But they shall not bear that unavenged, if I live!

nam iam . . ME. non tu te cohibes? non te respicis?
non tibi ego exempli sati' sum?

for now . . ME. do you not restrain yourself? do you not regard yourself?
am I not enough of an example for you?

CH. prae iracundia, 920
Menedeme, non sum apud me. ME. tene istuc loqui!
nonne id flagitiumst te aliis consilium dare,
foris sapere, tibi non posse te auxiliarier?
CH. quid faciam?

CH. from anger, 920
Menedemus, I am not myself. ME. For you to say that!
Is it not a disgrace that you give counsel to others,
are wise abroad, and cannot aid yourself? CH. What am I to do?

ME. id quod me fecisse aiebas parum.
fac te patrem esse sentiat; fac ut audeat 925
tibi credere omnia, abs te petere et poscere,
nequam aliam quaerat copiam ac te deserat.
CH. immo abeat multo malo quovis gentium
quam hic per flagitium ad inopiam redigat patrem.

ME. Do that which you were saying I had done too little.
make him perceive that you are a father; make it so that he dare 925
to entrust everything to you, to seek and to demand from you,
so that he may not look for any other resource and abandon you.
CH. No; rather let him go off to whatever far worse ill in the world
than that here, through disgrace, he reduce his father to indigence.

nam si illi pergo suppeditare sumptibus, 930
Menedeme, mihi illaec vere ad rastros res redit.
ME. quot incommoditates in hac re capies, nisi caves!
difficilem te esse ostendes et ignosces tamen
post, et id ingratum.

for if I go on supplying him with expenses, 930
Menedemus, this business truly returns to the hoes for me.
ME. how many incommodities in this matter you will incur, unless you beware!
you will show yourself to be difficult and yet you will forgive
afterwards, and that is thankless.

CH. ah nescis quam doleam. ME. ut lubet.
quid hoc quod rogo, ut illa nubat nostro?

CH. ah, you do not know how I grieve. ME. as you please.
what of this that I ask, that she marry our man?

nisi quid est 935
quod mage vis. CH. immo et gener et adfines placent.
ME. quid doti' dicam te dixisse filio?

unless there is something you want more. 935
CH. no indeed, both the son-in-law and the in-laws please me.
ME. what dowry shall I say you have named to the son?

quid obticuisti? CH. dotis? ME. ita dico.

why have you fallen silent? CH. the dowry? ME. that’s what I say.

CH. ah. ME. Chreme,
nequid vereare, si minu': nil nos dos movet.
CH. duo talenta pro re nostra ego esse decrevi satis; 940
sed ita dictu opus est, si me vis salvom esse et rem et filium,
me mea omnia bona doti dixisse illi. ME. quam rem agis?

CH. ah. ME. Chremes,
do not fear at all, if I lessen it: the dowry moves us not at all.
CH. two talents for our affair I have decreed to be enough; 940
but it needs to be said thus, if you want me safe, and my estate and my son,
that I have assigned all my goods to her as dowry. ME. what are you about?

CH. id mirari te simulato et illum hoc rogitato simul
quam ob rem id faciam. ME. quin ego vero quam ob rem id facias nescio.
CH. egone?

CH. pretend to marvel at that, and at the same time ask him this,
for what reason I do that. ME. nay indeed, I truly do not know for what reason you do that.
CH. I?

ut eius animum, qui nunc luxuria et lascivia 945
diffluit, retundam redigam, ut quo se vortat nesciat.
ME. quid agi'? CH. mitte: sine me in hac re gerere mihi morem. ME. sino:
itane vis?

so that I may blunt and bring back his mind, who now is diffusing in luxury and lasciviousness 945
so that he may not know whither to turn himself. ME. What are you doing? CH. Let it be: allow me in this matter to have my way. ME. I allow it:
is that what you want?

CH. ita. ME. fiat. CH. ac iam uxorem ut accersat paret.

CH. Yes. ME. Let it be done. CH. And now he complies to summon his wife.

hic ita ut liberos est aequom dictis confutabitur;
sed Syrum . . ME. quid eum? CH. egone si vivo adeo exornatum dabo, 950
adeo depexum ut dum vivat meminerit semper mei;
qui sibi me pro deridiculo ac delectamento putat.
non, ita me di ament, auderet facere haec viduae mulieri
quae in me fecit.

here he will be confuted with words, as is equitable for freeborn children;
but Syrus . . ME. what of him? CH. I—if I live—will have him so decked out, 950
so combed down that, as long as he lives, he will always remember me;
who takes me for derision and delectation.
no, so may the gods love me, he would not dare to do these things to a widowed woman
that he has done to me.

Clitipho Menedemvs Chremes Syrvs

Clitipho Menedemus Chremes Syrus

V.ii
CL. Itane tandem quaeso, Menedeme? ut pater
tam in brevi spatio omnem de me eiecerit animum patris? 955
quodnam ob facinu'? quid ego tantum sceleris admisi miser?
volgo faciunt.

5.2
CL. Really so then, I pray, Menedemus?—that my father
in so brief a span has cast out all fatherly feeling toward me? 955
For what deed? What so great a crime have I, wretch, committed?
people do it commonly.

ME. scio tibi esse hoc graviu' multo ac durius,
quoi fit; verum ego haud minus aegre patior, id qui nescio
nec rationem capio, nisi quod tibi bene ex animo volo.
CL. hic patrem astare aibas. ME. eccum.

ME. I know this is much more grievous and harder for you, to whom it befalls;
but I suffer no less painfully, I who do not know it nor grasp the reason,
except that I wish you well from my heart.
CL. You said father was standing here. ME. Here he is.

CH. quid me incusas, Clitipho? 960
quidquid ego huiu' feci, tibi prospexi et stultitiae tuae.
ubi te vidi animo esse omisso et suavia in praesentia
quae essent prima habere neque consulere in longitudinem:
cepi rationem ut neque egeres neque ut haec posses perdere.
ubi quoi decuit primo, tibi non licuit per te mihi dare, 965
abii ad proxumum tibi qui erat; <ei> commisi et credidi:
ibi tuae stultitiae semper erit praesidium, Clitipho,
victu' vestitus quo in tectum te receptes.

CH. Why do you accuse me, Clitipho? 960
Whatever I did in this matter, I looked out for you and for your folly.
When I saw you had let your spirit lapse and were holding the present sweets as first things and not taking counsel for the long term:
I took thought that you might neither be in want nor be able to lose these things.
When, to him to whom it was proper at the start, it was not permitted for you, on your own, to give it for me, 965
I went to the one who was next to you; <ei> I entrusted and confided it to him:
there there will always be a protection for your folly, Clitipho, victuals and clothing with which to take refuge under a roof.

CL. ei mihi!
CH. satius est quam te ipso herede haec possidere Bacchidem.
SY. disperii: scelestu' quantas turbas concivi insciens! 970
CL. emori cupio.

CL. Alas for me!
CH. It is better that Bacchis possess these things than that you yourself, as heir, possess them.
SY. I am undone: wicked wretch, what tumults I have stirred up unwittingly! 970
CL. I long to die.

CH. priu' quaeso disce quid sit vivere.
ubi scies, si displicebit vita, tum istoc utitor.
SY. ere, licetne?

CH. First, I pray, learn what it is to live.
When you know, if life shall displease you, then make use of that.
SY. Master, is it permitted?

CH. loquere. SY. at tuto. CH. loquere.

CH. speak. SY. but safely. CH.
speak.

SY. quae
istast pravitas
quaeve amentiast, quod peccavi ego, id obesse huic? CH. ilicet.
ne te admisce: nemo accusat, Syre, te: nec tu aram tibi 975
nec precatorem pararis.

SY. what
is this perversity
or what insanity, that what I have sinned should harm him? CH. you may be off.
do not mix yourself in: no one accuses you, Syrus; nor are you to get ready for yourself an altar 975
nor an intercessor.

SY. quid agi'? CH. nil suscenseo
neque tibi nec tibi; nec vos est aequom quod facio mihi.--

SY. what is being done? CH. I am not incensed
neither at you nor at you; nor is it equitable for you to do to yourselves what I do to myself.--

Clitipho Syrvs

Clitipho Syrus

V.iii
SY. Abiit? vah, rogasse vellem . . CL. quid? SY. und' mihi peterem cibum:
ita nos alienavit.

5.3
SY. Has he gone? Bah, I wish I had asked . . CL. what? SY. from where I might ask for food for myself: so he has alienated us.

tibi iam esse ad sororem intellego.
CL. adeon rem redi<i>sse ut periclum etiam a fame mihi sit, Syre! 980
SY. modo liceat vivere, est spes . . CL. quae? SY. nos esurituros satis.

I understand that your board is now at your sister’s.
CL. Has the affair come back to such a point that I am even in danger from hunger, Syrus! 980
SY. So long as it is permitted to live, there is hope . . CL. What? SY. that we will be hungry enough.

CL. inrides in re tanta neque me consilio quicquam adiuvas?
SY. immo et ibi nunc sum et usque id egi dudum dum loquitur pater;
et quantum ego intellegere possum . . CL. quid? SY. non aberit longius.

CL. you mock in so great a matter, and you do not aid me at all with counsel?
SY. on the contrary, I am at it even now, and I have been at it all along just now while father is speaking;
and so far as I am able to understand . . CL. what? SY. it will not be much longer.

CL. quid id ergo? SY. sic est: non esse horum te arbitror. CL. quid istuc, Syre? 985
satin sanus es? SY. ego dicam quod mi in mentemst: tu diiudica.

CL. what then is that? SY. so it is: I reckon you are not one of these. CL. what’s that, Syrus? 985
are you quite sane? SY. I will say what comes to my mind: you adjudge.

dum istis f<ui>sti solu', dum nulla alia delectatio
quae propior esset, te indulgebant, tibi dabant; nunc filia
postquamst inventa vera, inventast causa qui te expellerent.
CL. est veri simile. SY. an tu ob peccatum hoc esse illum iratum putas? 990
CL. non arbitror.

so long as with those folks you were the only one, while there was no other delight that was nearer, they indulged you, they gave to you; now that the daughter has been found to be the true one, a pretext has been found for them to drive you out.
CL. it is likely. SY. do you think that on account of this sin he is angry? 990
CL. I do not think so.

SY. nunc aliud specta: matres omnes filiis
in peccato adiutrices, auxilio in paterna iniuria
solent esse: id non fit. CL. verum dici'. quid ergo nunc faciam, Syre?
SY. suspicionem istanc ex illis quaere, rem profer palam.

SY. now look at another thing: mothers all, for their sons,
are wont to be auxiliaries in sin, a help in paternal injury: that is not happening. CL. you speak true. what then shall I do now, Syrus?
SY. seek that suspicion from them; bring the matter forth openly.

si non est verum, ad misericordiam ambos adduces cito, 995
aut scibi' quoiu' [sis]. CL. recte suades: faciam.-- SY. sat recte hoc mihi
in mentem venit; nam quam maxume huic visa haec suspicio
erit <vera>, quamque adulescens maxume quam in minima spe situs 997a
erit, tam facillume patri' pacem in leges conficiet suas.
etiam haud scio anne uxorem ducat: ac Syro nil gratiae!
quid hoc autem?

if it is not true, you will quickly bring both to compassion, 995
or you will find out whose [you are]. CL. you advise rightly: I will do it.-- SY. quite rightly enough this came into my mind;
for the more this suspicion shall have seemed <true> to him, and the more the young man shall be placed in the least hope 997a
so much the more easily will he conclude peace with his father on his own terms.
also I do not know but that he may even take a wife; and for Syrus no thanks!
but what’s this now?

senex exit foras: ego fugio. adhuc quod factumst, 1000
miror non continuo adripi iusse: ad Menedemum hunc pergam.
<eu>m mihi precatorem paro: seni nostro fide nil habeo.

the old man goes out: I flee. as for what has been done thus far, 1000
I marvel that I was not immediately ordered to be seized: I will go to this Menedemus.
I am getting him as an intercessor for myself: I have no trust in our old man.

Sostrata Chremes

V.iv
SO. Profecto nisi caves tu homo, aliquid gnato conficies mali;
idque adeo miror, quo modo
tam ineptum quicquam tibi venire in mentem, mi vir, potuerit. 1005
CH. oh pergin mulier esse? nullamne ego rem umquam in vita mea
volui quin tu in ea re mi fueris advorsatrix, Sostrata!
at si rogem iam quid est quod peccem aut quam ob rem hoc facias, nescias;
in qua re nunc tam confidenter restas, stulta.

5.4
SO. Indeed, unless you take care, you, man, you will bring about some harm for your son; and this moreover I marvel at, how so inept a thing could have come into your mind, my husband. 1005
CH. oh, will you go on being a woman? Has there ever been any thing I wanted in all my life without you in that matter having been my adversary to me, Sostrata! But if I were to ask now what it is that I do wrong or for what reason you do this, you would not know; in which matter now you stand so confidently, fool.

SO. ego nescio?
CH. immo scis, potius quam quidem redeat ad integrum eadem oratio. 1010
SO. oh
iniquos es qui me tacere de re tanta postules.
CH. non postulo iam: loquere: nihilo minus ego hoc faciam tamen.

SO. I don’t know?
CH. On the contrary, you do know—better so than to have this same speech, indeed, return to its original state. 1010
SO. oh
you are unjust, you who demand that I be silent about so great a matter.
CH. I do not demand it now: speak: nonetheless I will do this all the same.

SO. facies? CH. verum. SO. non vides quantum mali ex <ea> re excites?

SO. will you do it? CH. true. SO. do you not see how much harm you excite from that matter?

subditum se suspicatur. CH. "subditum" <ai>n tu? SO. sic erit,
mi vir. CH. confitere?

He suspects himself to be supposititious. CH. "supposititious" do you say? SO. so it will be,
my husband. CH. do you confess?

SO. au te obsecro, istuc inimicis siet. 1015
egon confitear m<eu>m non esse filium, qui sit meus?
CH. quid? metui' ne non, quom velis, convincas esse illum tuom?

SO. ah, I beseech you, let that be for enemies. 1015
am I to confess that my son is not my son, who is mine?
CH. what? do you fear that you will not, when you wish, convince that that one is yours?

SO. quod filia est inventa? CH. non: sed, quo mage credundum siet,
id quod consimilest moribus
convinces facile ex te natum; nam tui similest probe; 1020
nam illi nil vitist relictum quin siet itidem tibi;
tum praeterea talem nisi tu nulla pareret filium.
sed ipse egreditur, quam severu'! rem, quom videas, censeas.

SO. Because the daughter has been found? CH. No: but, so that it may be the more to be believed,
that which is similar in morals
you will easily convince to have been born from you; for he is thoroughly like you; 1020
for there is no vice left to him which is not likewise yours;
then, besides, except for you, no one would have begotten such a son.
But he himself is coming out—how severe! When you see the thing, you will reckon it so.

Clitipho Sostrata Chremes

V.v
CL. Si umquam ullum f<ui>t tempu', mater, quom ego voluptati tibi
fuerim, dictu' filiu' tuo' vostra voluntate, obsecro 1025
ei(u)s ut memineris atque inopi' nunc te miserescat mei,
quod peto aut quod volo, parentes m<eo>s ut conmonstres mihi.
SO. obsecro, mi gnate, ne istuc in animum inducas tuom
alienum esse te. CL. sum. SO. miseram me, hoccin quaesisti, obsecro?

V.v
CL. If ever there was any time, mother, when I was a delight to you,
declared your son by your own will, I beseech you, 1025
to remember that, and now to take pity on me in my need;
what I ask or what I wish—that you point out my parents to me. SO. I beseech you, my son, do not bring this into your mind,
that you are alien to us. CL. I am. SO. Poor me—was this what you sought, I beseech you?

ita mihi atque huic sis superstes ut ex me atque ex hoc natus es; 1030
et cave posthac, si me amas, umquam istuc verbum ex te audiam.
CH. at ego, si me metui', mores cave in te esse istos sentiam.
CL. quos?

so may you outlive me and this man, as you were born from me and from this man; 1030
and take care hereafter, if you love me, that I never hear that word from you again.
CH. but I, if you fear me, take care that I do not perceive those ways in you.
CL. which?

CH. si scire vis, ego dicam: gerro iners fraus helluo
ganeo's damnosu': crede, et nostrum te esse credito.
CL. non sunt haec parenti' dicta. CH. non, si ex capite sis meo 1035
natus, item ut aiunt Minervam esse ex Iove, <ea> causa magis
patiar, Clitipho, flagitiis t<ui>s me infamem fieri.

CH. if you want to know, I’ll say: a babbler, inert, a fraud,
a glutton, you are a gourmand, ruinous: believe it, and believe yourself to be one of ours.
CL. these are not words for a parent. CH. no—not if you were from my head 1035
born, just as they say Minerva was from Jove; for that cause I would not the more
endure, Clitipho, to be made infamous by your disgraces.

SO. di istaec prohibeant! CH. deos nescio: ego, quod potero, sedulo.
quaeris id quod habes, parentes; quod abest non quaeris, patri
quo modo obsequare et ut serves quod labore invenerit. 1040
non mihi per fallacias adducere ante oculos . . pudet
dicere hac praesente verbum turpe; at te id nullo modo
facere puduit.

SO. may the gods prohibit that! CH. as for the gods, I know not: I, for my part, will, what I can, sedulously.
you seek what you have—parents; what is lacking you do not seek—how you may obey your father and how you may preserve what he has won by labor. 1040
to bring before my eyes by deceits a — . . I am ashamed to say the foul word with this woman present; but you were in no way ashamed to do it.

CL. eheu quam nunc totu' displiceo mihi,
quam pudet! neque quod principium incipiam ad placandum scio.

CL. alas, how now I altogether displease myself, how ashamed I am! nor do I know with what beginning to begin to placate.

Menedemvs Chremes Sostrata Clitipho

Menedemus Chremes Sostrata Clitipho

V.vi
ME. Enimvero Chreme<s> nimi' graviter cruciat adulescentulum 1045
nimi'que inhumane: exeo ergo ut pacem conciliem. optume
ipsos video. CH. ehem, Menedeme, quor non accersi iubes
filiam et quod doti' dixi firmas?

5.6
ME. Indeed, Chremes torments the young fellow far too grievously, 1045
and far too inhumanely: I’ll go out then to reconcile peace. Excellent—
I see them themselves. CH. Ahem, Menedemus, why don’t you order
your daughter to be summoned, and do you confirm what I said about the dowry?

SO. mi vir, te obsecro
ne facias. CL. pater, obsecro mi ignoscas. ME. da veniam, Chreme:
sine te exorem.

SO. my husband, I beseech you,
do not do it. CL. father, I beseech you, pardon me. ME. grant pardon, Chremes:
allow me to prevail upon you.

CH. egon mea bona ut dem Bacchidi dono sciens? 1050
non faciam. ME. at id nos non sinemu'. CL. si me vivom vis, pater,
ignosce. SO. age, Chreme mi. ME. age quaeso, ne tam offirma te, Chreme.

CH. That I, then, should knowingly give my goods to Bacchis as a gift? 1050
I will not do it. ME. But we will not allow that. CL. If you wish me alive, father,
forgive me. SO. Come now, my Chremes. ME. Come, I beg, do not make yourself so hard,
Chremes.

CH. quid istic? video non licere ut coeperam hoc pertendere.
ME. facis ut te decet.

CH. What then? I see it is not permitted to press this as I had begun.
ME. You do as befits you.

CH. <ea> lege hoc adeo faciam, si facit
quod ego hunc aequom censeo. CL. pater, omnia faciam: impera. 1055
CH. uxorem ut ducas. CL. pater . . ! CH. nil audio.

CH. on that condition I will indeed do this, if he does what I deem equitable. CL. father, I will do everything: command. 1055
CH. that you take a wife. CL. father . . ! CH. I will hear nothing.

SO. ad me recipio:
faciet. CH. nil etiam audio ipsum. CL. perii!

SO. I take it upon myself:
he will do it. CH. I still hear nothing from him himself. CL. I have perished!

SO. an dubitas, Clitipho?
CH. immo utrum volt. SO. faciet omnia.

SO. do you doubt, Clitipho?
CH. nay, whichever he wants. SO. he will do everything.

ME. haec dum incipias, gravia sunt,
dumque ignores; ubi cognori', facilia. CL. faciam, pater.
SO. gnate mi, ego pol tibi dabo illam lepidam, quam tu facile ames, 1060
filiam Phanocratae nostri.

ME. these things
while you begin, are grave,
and while you are ignorant; when once known, facile. CL. I will do it, father.
SO. my son, by Pollux, I will give you that charming girl, whom you will easily love, 1060
the daughter of our Phanocrates.

CL. rufamne illam virginem,
caesiam, sparso ore, adunco naso? non possum, pater.
CH. heia ut elegans est!

CL. that red-haired maiden,
gray-eyed, with a freckled face, with a hooked nose? I cannot, father. CH. hey, how elegant she is!

credas animum ibi esse. SO. aliam dabo.
CL. immo, quandoquidem ducendast, egomet habeo propemodum
quam volo.

you’d think there were a spirit in there. SO. I will give another.
CL. rather, since, seeing that she must be led home in marriage, I myself pretty nearly have
the one I want.

CH. nunc laudo, gnate. CL. Archonidi huiu' filiam. 1065
SO. perplacet. CL. pater, hoc nunc restat.

CH. now I laud you, son. CL. the daughter of this Archonides. 1065
SO. it pleases perfectly. CL. father, this now remains.

CH. quid? CL. Syro
ignoscas volo
quae m<ea> causa fecit. CH. fiat.

CH. what? CL. For Syrus
I want you to forgive
what he did on my account. CH. let it be done.

CANTOR. vos valete et plaudite!

CANTOR. Fare well, and applaud!