- Source
- Terence. Publii Terentii Comoediae Sex. Parry, Edward St. John, editor. London: Whittaker and Co.; George Bell, 1857.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0134.phi002.humanitext-lat2:960b..-1013c..
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
Chremes tells Clitipho that he has decided to transfer his entire estate to the in-laws' family on account of Clitipho's folly. Syrus plants a suspicion in Clitipho that he might not be the actual son of Chremes and Sostrata, urging him to question them, after which Chremes and Sostrata appear arguing.
Eccum.
There he is.
Quid me incusas, Clitipho?
[Chremes] Why do you accuse me, Clitipho?
Quicquid ego huius1 feci, tibi prospexi et stultitiae tuae.
Whatever I have done of this, I provided for you and for your folly.
Ubi te vidi animo esse omisso, et suavia in praesentiaQuae essent prima habere, neque consulere in longitudinem,
When I saw that you were of a negligent mind, and held those things as first which were sweet at present, and did not plan for the long term,
Cepi rationem ut neque egeres, neque ut haec posses perdere.
I took measures so that you would neither lack, nor be able to ruin these things.
Ubi cui decuit primo tibi non licuit per te mihi dare,
When, because of your own conduct, it was not permitted for me to give it to you first, to whom it was fitting,
Abii ad proximos qui erant tibi; eis commisi et credidi:
I went to those who were nearest to you; to them I committed and entrusted it.
Ibi tuae stultitiae semper erit praesidium, Clitipho;
There, Clitipho, there will always be a safeguard for your folly:
Victus, vestitus, quo in tectum te receptes.2
Food, clothing, and a roof where you may shelter yourself.
Hei mihi!
[Clitipho] Woe is me!
Satius est quam te ipso herede3 haec possidere Bacchidem.
It is better than Bacchis possessing these things with you yourself as heir.
Disperii: scelestus quantas turbas concivi insciens!
I am utterly ruined! Wretched as I am, how great troubles have I unwittingly stirred up!
Emori cupio.
I desire to die.
Prius quaeso disce quid sit vivere:
[Chremes] First, I pray, learn what it is to live.
Ubi scies, si displicebit vita, tum istoc utitor.
When you know, if life displeases you, then use that.
Here, licetne?
[Syrus] Master, is it permitted?
Loquere.
[Chremes] Speak.
At tuto?
[Syrus] But safely?
Loquere.
[Chremes] Speak.
Quae ista est pravitas,
[Syrus] What perversity is that,
Quaeve amentia est, quod peccavi ego id obesse huic?4
or what madness is it, that the fact that I sinned should harm him?
Ilicet.
[Chremes] Be gone.
Ne te admisce: nemo accusat, Syre, te; nec tu aram tibiNec precatorem pararis.
Do not interfere: no one accuses you, Syrus; neither prepare an altar for yourself, nor an intercessor.
Quid agis?
[Clitipho] What are you doing?
Nihil succenseo,
[Chremes] I am not angry at all,
Nec tibi nec huic: nec vos est aequum quod facio mihi.
neither at you nor at him: nor is it fair that you be angry at me for what I do.
Abiit; vah, rogasse vellem.
[Syrus] He has gone; alas, I wish I had asked him!
Quid?
[Clitipho] What?
Unde mihi peterem cibum:
[Syrus] Where I should look for food:
Ita nos alienavit: tibi iam esse ad sororem intelligo.
he has so cast us off: I understand that you must now be with your sister.
Adeon rem rediisse ut periculum etiam fame mihi sit, Syre?
[Clitipho] Has the matter come to this, Syrus, that there is danger even of hunger for me?
Modo liceat vivere, est spes—
[Syrus] Provided only we may live, there is hope—
Quae?
[Clitipho] What?
nos esurituros satis.
[Syrus]...that we shall be hungry enough.
Irrides in re tanta, neque me quicquam consilio adiuvas?
[Clitipho] Do you mock in so great a matter, and not help me at all with advice?
Immo et ibi nunc sum, et usque id egi dudum, dum loquitur pater;
[Syrus] Nay, indeed I am on that now, and I was constantly doing that just now while your father was speaking;
Et, quantum ego intelligere possum—
And, as far as I can understand—
Quid?
[Clitipho] What?
non aberit longius.
[Syrus]...it is not very far off.
Quid id ergo?
[Clitipho] What is it then?
Sic est, non esse horum te arbitror.
[Syrus] It is this: I do not think you are theirs.
Quid istuc, Syre?
[Clitipho] What is that, Syrus?
Satin sanus es?
Are you quite in your right mind?
Ego dicam quod mihi in mentem: tu diiudica.
[Syrus] I will say what comes into my mind: you judge.
Dum istis fuisti solus, dum nulla alia delectatioQuae propior esset, te indulgebant, tibi dabant: nunc filiaPostquam est inventa vera, inventa est causa qua te expellerent.
While you were the only one to them, while there was no other pleasure that was closer, they indulged you, they gave to you: now, after the true daughter has been found, a reason has been found by which they might expel you.
Est verisimile.
[Clitipho] It is likely.
An tu ob peccatum hoc esse illum iratum putas?
[Syrus] Or do you think he is angry on account of this transgression?
Non arbitror.
[Clitipho] I do not think so.
Nunc aliud specta: matres omnes filiisIn peccato adiutrices, auxilio in paterna iniuriaSolent esse: id non fit.
[Syrus] Now look at another thing: all mothers are accustomed to be helpers to their sons in their transgressions, and a support against a father’s injustice: that is not happening.
Verum dicis: quid nunc faciam, Syre?
[Clitipho] You say the truth: what shall I do now, Syrus?
Suspicionem istanc ex illis quaere; rem profer palam:
[Syrus] Question them about that suspicion; bring the matter out openly:
Si non est verum, ad misericordiam ambos adduces cito, autScibis cuius sis.
if it is not true, you will quickly bring them both to pity, or you will know whose son you are.
Recte suades; faciam.
[Clitipho] You advise well; I will do so.
Sat recte hoc mihiIn mentem venit: namque adolescens quam minima in spe situs eritTam facillime5 patris pacem in leges conficiet suas.
[Syrus] This came into my mind quite opportunely: for the less hope the young man is placed in, the more easily he will make peace with his father on his terms.
Etiam haud scio an uxorem ducat; ac Syro nihil gratiae.
Moreover, I shouldn’t be surprised if he even marries; and no thanks to Syrus!
Quid hoc autem? senex exit foras: ego fugio: adhuc quod factum estMiror, continuo non iussisse abripi me. Ad Menedemum hunc pergam:Eum mihi precatorem paro: seni nostro fidei nihil habeo.
But what is this? The old man is coming out: I am off. I wonder at what has been done so far, that he did not immediately order me to be dragged away. I will go to Menedemus here: I will make him my intercessor; I have no trust in our old man.
Profecto nisi caves tu homo, aliquid gnato conficies mali:
[Sostrata] Truly, unless you are careful, man, you will bring some harm upon your son:
Idque adeo miror quomodoTam ineptum quicquam tibi in mentem venire, mi vir, potuerit.
and indeed I wonder how anything so foolish could have come into your mind, my husband.
Oh, pergin mulier esse? Nullamne ego rem unquam in vita meaVolui quin tu in ea re mihi fueris adversatrix, Sostrata?
[Chremes] Oh, do you go on being a woman? Have I ever in my life wished for any single thing, Sostrata, without your being an opponent to me in that matter?
At si rogitem iam, quid est quod peccem, aut quamobrem hoc faciam, nescias:
But if I were to ask you now, what my mistake is, or why I am doing this, you wouldn’t know:
In qua re nunc tam confidenter restas, stulta.
in which matter you now so confidently resist, foolish woman.
Ego nescio?
[Sostrata] I don’t know?
Immo scis, potius quam quidem redeat ad integrum haec eadem oratio.
[Chremes] Nay, you do know, rather than indeed that this same speech should start all over again.
Oh, iniquus es, qui me tacere de re tanta postules.
[Sostrata] Oh, you are unjust, who require me to be silent on so great a matter.
Non postulo: iam loquere: nihilo minus ego hoc faciam tamen.
[Chremes] I don’t require it: speak now; nevertheless I will do this anyway.
Facies?
[Sostrata] Will you do it?
Verum.
[Chremes] Indeed.
Non vides quantum mali ex ea re excites?
[Sostrata] Don’t you see how much evil you are stirring up from that matter?
- 961..huius
Genitive singular of the neuter pronoun hoc, functioning as a partitive genitive modified by the preceding relative pronoun Quicquid ("whatever of this").
- 968..receptes
Present subjunctive in a relative clause introduced by the relative pronoun quo (agreeing with tectum), expressing purpose or characteristic ("a roof in which you may shelter yourself").
- 969..te ipso herede
An ablative absolute formed by the pronoun te and the noun herede ("you yourself being the heir"). The following phrase haec possidere Bacchidem is an accusative with infinitive construction (with Bacchidem as the subject, possidere as the infinitive, and haec as the object), serving as the object of comparison after satius est quam ("it is better than...").
- 974..quod peccavi ego id obesse huic
quod peccavi ego is a noun clause introduced by quod ("the fact that I have sinned"), which is recapitulated by the pronoun id. obesse is an infinitive, and the entire phrase functions as an accusative with infinitive clause (or an infinitive of exclamation) explaining the nature of pravitas or amentia.
- 997..quam minima in spe... tam facillime
A correlative comparison expressing proportion. While typically expressed with quo... eo... ("the more... the more..."), here quam and tam are used with superlatives (minima, facillime), meaning "the less hope he has, the more easily he will yield to his father's terms."