- 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-lat2:327-391
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Phormio boasts of his immune lifestyle as a parasite and prepares to confront the angry Demipho. When Demipho arrives, Phormio stages a scene accusing him of greed for abandoning his relative, eventually naming the girl's father as Stilpho with Geta's secret help.
Quot me censes homines iam deverberasse usque ad necem,
”How many men do you think I have already beaten to death,”
Hospites, tun cives? quo magis novi, tanto saepius.
”strangers as well as citizens? The more I knew them, the more often I did it.”
Cedodum, en unquam iniuriarum audisti mihi scriptam dicam?
”Tell me, did you ever hear of an action for damages being brought against me?”
Qui istuc?
”How so?”
Quia non rete accipitri tenditur neque miluo,
”Because a net is not spread for a hawk or a kite,”
Qui male faciunt nobis: illis qui nihil faciunt tenditur.
”who do us harm; it is spread for those who do none.”
Quia enim in illis fructus est; in illis opera luditur.
”For in the latter there is profit; with the former, labor is lost.”
Aliis aliunde est periclum unde aliquid abradi potest:
”Different people face danger from different sources, from where something can be scraped off;”
Mihi sciunt nihil esse. Dices, "Ducent damnatum domum:"
”they know I have nothing. You will say, ‘They will take you home, condemned:’”
Alere nolunt hominem edacem; et sapiunt, mea quidem sententia,
”they don’t want to feed a voracious man; and they are wise, in my opinion indeed,”
Pro maleficio si beneficium summum nolunt reddere.
”if they do not want to return a supreme benefit for an injury.”
Non potest satis pro merito ab illo tibi referri gratia.
”No sufficient thanks can be returned to you by him according to your merit.”
Immo enim nemo satis pro merito gratiam regi refert.
”Nay, indeed, no one returns sufficient thanks to his patron.”
Tene asymbolum venire,1 unctum atque lautum e balneis,
”That you should come without paying your share, anointed and clean from the baths,”
Otiosum ab animo, quum ille et cura et sumtu absumitur
”easy in mind, while he is consumed by both care and expense”
Dum tibi sit quod placeat; ille ringitur, tu rideas;
”so that you may have what pleases you; he snarls, while you may laugh;”
Prior bibas, prior decumbas; coena dubia apponitur.
”you drink first, you recline first; a doubtful dinner is served.”
Quid istuc verbi est?
”What is the meaning of that word?”
Ubi tu dubites quid sumas potissimum.
”Where you would doubt what you should choose above all.”
Haec cum rationem ineas2 quam sint suavia et quam cara sint,
”When you enter into a calculation of how sweet and how dear these things are,”
Ea qui praebet non tu hunc habeas plane praesentem Deum?
”should you not regard him who provides them as clearly a manifest God?”
Senex adest: vide quid agas: prima coitio est acerrima.
”The old man is here; watch what you do: the first encounter is the sharpest.”
Si eam sustinueris, postilla iam, ut libet, ludas licet.
”If you withstand that, after that you may play as you please.”
En unquam cuiquam contumeliosius
”Did you ever hear of a more insulting injury done to anyone”
Audistis factam iniuriam quam haec est mihi?
”than this which has been done to me?”
Adeste, quaeso.
”Be present, I beg.”
Iratus est.
”He is angry.”
Quin tu hoc age: st!
”Just pay attention to this: hush!”
Iam ego hunc agitabo. Pro Deum immortalium!
”Now I’ll play him. In the name of the immortal Gods!”
Negat Phanium esse hanc sibi cognatam Demipho?
”Does Demipho deny that Phanium is his relative?”
Hanc Demipho negat esse cognatam?
”Does Demipho deny that she is his relative?”
Negat.
”He denies it.”
Neque eius patrem se scire qui fuerit?
”And that he knows who her father was?”
Negat.
”He denies it.”
Ipsum esse opinor de quo agebam. Sequimini.
”(Aside) I think it is the very man I was talking about. Follow me.”
Nec Stilphonem ipsum scire qui fuerit?
”And that he does not know who Stilpho himself was?”
Negat.
”He denies it.”
Quia egens relicta est misera, ignoratur parens,
”Because the poor girl was left in poverty, her father is ignored,”
Negligitur ipsa: vide avaritia quid facit.
”she herself is neglected; see what avarice does.”
Si herum insimulabis avaritiae, male audies.
”If you charge my master with avarice, you will hear bad things.”
O audaciam! etiam me ultro accusatum advenit?
”O what audacity! Does he even come to accuse me first?”
Nam iam adolescenti nihil est quod succenseam,
”For now I have no reason to be angry with the young man,”
Si illum minus norat: quippe homo iam grandior,
”if he knew him but little; since he was already an elderly man,”
Pauper, cui opera vita erat, ruri fere
”poor, whose life was labor, and who kept himself mostly”
Se continebat: ibi agrum de nostro patre
”in the country; there he had land from my father”
Colendum habebat. Saepe interea mihi senex
”to cultivate. Meanwhile, the old man often used to tell me”
Narrabat se hunc negligere cognatum suum:
”that he neglected this relative of his;”
At quem virum! quem ego viderim in vita optimum.
”but what a man! The best I have ever seen in my life.”
Videas te atque illum ut narras.
”May you see yourself and him as you describe him.”
I in malam crucem.
”Go to the gallows.”
Nam nisi ita eum existimassem, nunquam tam graves
”For if I had not thought so of him, I should never have taken up such heavy”
Ob hanc inimicitias caperem in vestram familiam,
”enmities against your family on her account,”
Quam is aspernatur nunc tam illiberaliter.
”whom he now rejects so ungenerously.”
Pergin hero absenti male loqui, impurissime?
”Do you go on speaking ill of my absent master, you most filthy fellow?”
Dignum autem hoc illo est.
”But this is worthy of him.”
Ain tandem, career?
”Do you really say so, jailbird?”
Geta.
”Geta.”
Bonorum extortor, legum contortor.
”Extorter of property, twister of laws.”
Geta.
”Geta.”
Responde.
”Answer.”
Quis homo est? ehem!
”Who is it? Oh!”
Tace.
”Be silent.”
Absenti tibi
”In your absence,”
Te indignas, seque dignas,3 contumelias
”insults unworthy of you, but worthy of himself,”
Nunquam cessavit dicere hodie.
”he has never ceased to utter today.”
Ohe, desine.
”Oh, stop.”
Adolescens, primum abs te hoc bona venia peto,
”Young man, first I ask this of you with your good leave,”
Si tibi placere potis est, mihi ut respondeas:
”if it is possible for you to please to answer me:”
Quem amicum tuum ais fuisse istum? explana mihi:
”Who do you say that friend of yours was? Explain to me;”
Et qui cognatum me sibi esse diceret.
”and how he said I was related to him.”
Proinde expiscare, quasi non nosses.
”Just fish for it, as if you didn’t know.”
Nossem?
”That I knew?”
Ita.
”Yes.”
Ego me nego: tu qui ais redige in memoriam.
”I deny that I know; you who say so, bring it back to my memory.”
Eho, tu sobrinum tuum non noras?
”What, did you not know your cousin?”
Enicas:
”You plague me:”
Dic nomen.
”Tell me the name.”
Nomen?
”The name?”
Maxime. Quid nunc taces?
”Yes, exactly. Why are you silent now?”
Perii hercle: nomen perdidi.
”(Aside) I’m ruined, by Hercules: I’ve lost the name.”
Hem, quid ais?
”Eh, what do you say?”
Geta.
”Geta.”
Si meministi id quod olim dictum est, subiice. Hem,
”If you remember what was said before, suggest it. Well,”
Non dico: quasi non noris, tentatum advenis.
”I won’t say it: as if you didn’t know, you come to test me.”
Egone autem tento?
”Am I testing you?”
Stilpho.
”Stilpho.”
Atque adeo quid mea?
”And indeed, what does it matter to me?”
Stilpho est.
”It is Stilpho.”
Quem dixti?
”Whom did you say?”
Stilphonem, inquam, noveras?
”Stilpho, I say, did you know him?”
Neque ego illum noram; neque mihi cognatus fuit
”I didn’t know him, nor was he any relation to me.”
- 339Tene asymbolum venire
This accusative with infinitive phrase (with the subject accusative te) is used as an exclamatory infinitive, expressing surprise or indignation: "To think that you should come without contributing your share!"
- 344rationem ineas
The subjunctive ineas (2nd person singular of inire) is used in the cum clause expressing a general condition or temporal-concessive relation ("when you enter into a calculation"), which leads to the main verb habeas in §345.
- 376Te indignas, seque dignas
The ablatives te and se are governed by the adjectives indignas ("unworthy of") and dignas ("worthy of"), respectively. They modify contumelias, meaning "insults unworthy of you, but worthy of himself."