- 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.phi004.humanitext-lat2:258-326
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Demipho rejects the explanations offered by Phaedria and Geta, leaving for his house and the forum to gather support. Meanwhile, the parasite Phormio arrives and devises a scheme to take all of Demipho's anger upon himself in order to save Antipho.
Bonas, me absente, hic confecistis nuptias.
”You have made a fine marriage here in my absence.”
Eho, an id succenses nunc illi?
”Oh, are you angry with him for that now?”
O. artificem probum.
”(Aside) Oh, what an excellent actor!”
Egone illi non succenseam? Ipsum gestio
”Should I not be angry with him? I am longing for him
Dari mihi in conspectum,1 nunc sua culpa ut sciat
to be brought into my sight, so that he may now know through his own fault
Lenem patrem illum factum me esse acerrimum.
that I, once that gentle father, have been turned into a most severe one.”
Atqui nihil fecit, patrue, quod succenseas.
”But he has done nothing, uncle, for which you should be angry.”
Ecce autem similia omnia; omnes congruunt;
”Look at that, all of them are alike; they all agree;
Unum cognoris, omnes noris.
if you know one, you know them all.”
Haud ita est.
”It is not so.”
Hic in noxa est: ille ad defendendam causam adest.
”This one is in trouble; that one is there to defend his cause.
Quum ille est, praesto hic est: tradunt operas mutuas.
When he is there, this one is at hand: they play into each other’s hands.”
Probe horum facta imprudens depinxit senex.
”(Aside) The old man has unwittingly painted their behavior to the life.”
Nam ni haec ita essent, cum illo haud stares, Phaedria.
”For unless things were so, you would not be standing by him, Phaedria.”
Si est, patrue, culpam ut Antipho in se admiserit,
”If it is the case, uncle, that Antipho has committed a fault,
Ex qua re minus rei foret aut famae temperans;
by which he was too little careful of his estate or reputation,
Non causam dico quin quod meritus sit ferat.2
I make no objection to his suffering what he has deserved.
Sed si quis forte, malitia fretus sua,
But if someone, relying on his own malice,
Insidias nostrae fecit adolescentiae,
laid a snare for our youth,
Ac vicit; nostrane ea culpa est an iudicum,
and won; is that our fault or that of the judges,
Qui saepe propter invidiam adimunt diviti,
who often, out of envy, take from the rich,
Aut propter misericordiam addunt pauperi?
or out of pity, give to the poor?”
Ni nossem causam, crederem vera hunc loqui.
”(Aside) If I didn’t know the case, I should believe he is telling the truth.
An quisquam iudex est qui possit noscere
But is there any judge who could understand
Tua iusta, ubi tute verbum non respondeas,
your rights, when you yourself do not answer a word,
Ita ut ille fecit?
just as he did?”
Functus adolescentuli est
”He performed the part of a well-bred
Officium liberalis. Postquam ad iudices
young man. After he had to go
Ventura est, non potuit cogitata proloqui:
before the judges, he could not speak out his thoughts:
Ita eum tum timidum ibi obstupefecit pudor.
so did bashfulness then strike him dumb, timid as he was.”
Laudo hunc; sed cesso adire quamprimum senem?
”(Aside) I praise him; but why do I delay to go up to the old man at once?
Here, salve: salvum te advenisse gaudeo.
Master, greetings: I am glad you have arrived safe.”
Oh,
”Oh,
Bone custos, salve, columen vero familiae,
my good guardian, greetings, the very pillar of my house,
Cui commendavi filium hinc abiens meum.
to whom I entrusted my son when leaving here.”
Iam dudum te omnes nos accusare audio
”For a long time now I have been hearing you accuse us all
Immerito, et me horunc omnium immeritissimo.
undeservedly, and me most undeservedly of all.
Nam quid me in hac re facere voluisti tibi?
For what did you want me to do for you in this matter?
Servum hominem causam orare leges non sinunt:
The laws do not permit a slave to plead a cause;
Neque testimoni dictio est.
nor is there any giving of testimony.”
Mitto omnia.
”I pass over all that.
Addo istuc; imprudens timuit adolescens: sino.
I grant that; the youth was inexperienced and afraid: I allow it.
Tu servus: verum, si cognata est maxime,
You are a slave; but, even if she was most closely related,
Non fuit necesse habere: sed, id quod lex iubet,
it was not necessary to marry her: but, as the law commands,
Dotem daretis; quæreret alium virum.
you should have given her a dowry; let her seek another husband.
Qua ratione inopem potius ducebat domum?
On what reasoning did he rather bring a penniless girl home?”
Non ratio, verum argentum deerat.
”Not reasoning, but money was lacking.”
Sumeret
”He should have borrowed it
Alicunde.
from somewhere.”
Alicunde? nihil est dictu facilius.
”From somewhere? Nothing is easier to say.”
Postremo, si nullo alio pacto, foenore.
”Lastly, if in no other way, at interest.”
Hui, dixti pulchre: siquidem quisquam crederet
”Oh, you speak beautifully; if only anyone would have lent it,
Te vivo.3
while you were alive.”
Non, non sic futurum est: non potest.
”No, it shall not be so; it cannot be.
Egone illam cum illo ut patiar nuptam unum diem?4
Am I to suffer her to be married to him for a single day?
Nihil suave meritum est. Hominem commonstrarier
They deserve no mercy. I want that man to be shown
Mihi istum volo, aut ubi habitet demonstrarier.
to me, or where he lives to be pointed out.”
Nempe Phormionem?
”You mean Phormio?”
Istum patronum mulieris.
”That patron of the woman.”
Iam faxo hic aderit.
”I’ll see that he is here directly.”
Antipho ubi nunc est?
”Where is Antipho now?”
Foris.
”Out.”
Abi, Phaedria: eum require atque adduce huc.
”Go, Phaedria; look for him and bring him here.”
Eo
”I am going,
Recta via equidem illuc.
straight there indeed.”
Nempe ad Pamphilam.
”(Aside) To Pamphila, of course.”
At ego Deos Penates hinc salutatum domum
”But I will turn aside home to salute the household gods;
Devertar; inde ibo ad forum, atque aliquot mihi
thence I will go to the forum, and call some
Amicos advocabo ad hanc rem qui assient,
friends to assist me in this matter,
Ut ne imparatus sim, si adveniat Phormio.
so that I may not be unprepared, if Phormio should come.”
ITANE patris ais conspectum veritum hinc abisse?
”Do you say then that he went away from here in fear of his father’s presence?”
Admodum.
”Yes.”
Phanium relictam solam?
”Phanium left alone?”
Sic.
”Yes.”
Et iratum senem?
”And the old man angry?”
Oppido.
”Extremely.”
Ad te summa solum, Phormio, rerum redit.
”The whole burden of this business, Phormio, falls on you alone.
Tute hoc intristi: tibi omne est exedendum. Accingere.
You have mixed this mess yourself; you must eat it all up. Gird yourself up.”
Obsecro te—
”I beseech you—“
Si rogabit?
”If he should ask?”
In te spes est—
”The hope is in you—“
Eccere.
”Look at that.”
Quid si reddet?
”What if he returns her?”
Tu impulisti—
”You urged it on—“
Sic opinor.
”So I think.”
Subveni.
”Help us.”
Cedo senem: iam instructa sunt mihi in corde consilia omnia.
”Bring on the old man: all my plans are already marshaled in my mind.”
Quid ages?
”What will you do?”
Quid vis nisi uti maneat Phanium, atque ex crimine hoc
”What do you want, except that Phanium should remain, and that from this charge
Antiphonem eripiam, atque in me omnem iram derivem senis?
I should rescue Antipho, and turn all the old man’s anger onto myself?”
O vir fortis, atque amicus. Verum hoc saepe, Phormio,
”O brave man, and a true friend! But, Phormio, I often
Vereor, ne istaec fortitudo in nervum erumpat denique.
fear lest that courage of yours should end in the stocks at last.”
Ah,
”Ah,
Non ita est: factum est periclum: iam pedum visa est via.
it is not so: the trial has been made: by now the path is clear to my feet.”
- 261Dari mihi in conspectum
An infinitive construction depending on the verb gestio (to long for). The passive infinitive dari is used, literally meaning 'I long for him to be given into my sight', which highlights Demipho's extreme irritation and desire to have his son brought before him.
- 272Non causam dico quin quod meritus sit ferat
The phrase non causam dico quin (I make no objection to...) followed by the subjunctive ferat. This construction serves to show the young men's rhetorical stance of accepting a fair punishment while shifting the actual blame.
- 303Te vivo
An ablative absolute consisting of the pronoun te and the adjective vivo ('while you are alive'). Combined with the imperfect subjunctive crederet in a counterfactual condition, it reflects the Roman social and legal context where no one would lend money to a son still under his father's patriarchal power (patria potestas).
- 304Egone illam cum illo ut patiar nuptam unum diem?
An indignant subjunctive (or repudiating question) introduced by ut with the subjunctive patiar. Lacking a main verb, this independent clause expresses Demipho's vehement rejection and outrage at the idea of tolerating the marriage even for a single day.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 1