- 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-lat2:568-636b
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Having returned from Lemnos, Chremes worries about his secret daughter's arrival while fearing his wife's reactions, and discusses countermeasures with Demipho. Meanwhile, Geta approaches them and begins to execute a deceptive plan with Phormio to extract money from both old men to help Phaedria.
Adduxtin tecum filiam?
Demipho: Did you bring your daughter with you?
Non.
Chremes: No.
Quid ita non?
Demipho: Why not?
Postquam videt me eius mater esse hic diutius,
Chremes: After her mother saw that I was staying here longer,
Simul autem non manebat aetas virginis
and at the same time the age of the maiden could not wait,
Neam negligentiam, ipsam cum omni familia
they said that she herself, with all the household, blaming my neglect,
Ad me profectam esse aibant.1
had set out to find me.
Quid illic tam diu,
Demipho: Why then, pray,
Quaeso, igitur commorabare, ubi id audiveras?
did you linger there so long after you had heard that?
Pol me detinuit morbus.
Chremes: By Pollux, illness detained me.
Unde? aut qui?
Demipho: From where? Or what kind?
Rogas?
Chremes: Do you ask?
Senectus ipsa est morbus; sed venisse eas
Old age itself is an illness; but that they have arrived
Salvas audivi ex nauta qui illas vexerat.
safe, I heard from the sailor who had carried them.
Quid gnato obtigerit me absente audistin, Chreme?
Demipho: Have you heard, Chremes, what has happened to my son while I was away?
Quod quidem me factum consili incertum2 facit;
Chremes: Indeed, it is that very thing that makes me uncertain of my plan;
Nam hanc conditionem si cui tulero extrario,
for if I offer this marriage-match to any stranger,
Quo pacto aut unde mihi sit dicendum ordine est.
I must explain in order how and from where she is mine.
Te mihi fidelem ess aeque atque egomet sum mihi
I knew that you were as faithful to me as I am to myself;
Scibam: ille, si me alienus affinem volet,
but a stranger, if he wishes to become my relative,
Tacebit dum intercedet familiaritas;
will keep silent as long as the intimacy lasts;
Sin spreverit me, plus quam opus est scito sciet:
but if he scorns me, know that he will know more than is necessary.
Vereorque ne uxor aliqua hoc resciscat mea;
And I fear lest my wife should find out about this somehow;
Quod si fit, ut me excutiam atque egrediar domo
if that happens, nothing remains for me but to clear out
Id restat; nam ego meorum solus sum meus.3
and leave the house; for I am the only one of my family who belongs to myself.
Scio ita esse; et istaec mihi res sollicitudini est:
Demipho: I know it is so, and that matter is a cause of anxiety to me;
Neque defetiscar usque adeo experirier,
nor will I ever tire of trying,
Donec tibi id quod pollicitus sum effecero.
until I have accomplished for you what I promised.
Ego hominem callidiorem vidi neminem
Geta: (Aside) I have seen no man more clever
Quam Phormionem: venio ad hominem ut dicerem
than Phormio. I went to the fellow to tell him
Argentum opus esse, et id quo pacto fieret:
that money was needed, and how it might be done;
Vixdum dimidium dixeram, intellexerat;
scarcely had I spoken half, and he had understood;
Gaudebat; me laudabat; quaerebat senem;
he was delighted; he praised me; he was looking for the old man;
Dis gratias agebat, tempus sibi dari
he thanked the gods that an opportunity was given to him
Ubi Phaedriae esse ostenderet nihilo minus
to show that he was no less a friend to Phaedria
Amicum sese quam Antiphoni: hominem ad forum
than to Antipho. I ordered the man to wait at the forum;
Iussi operiri; eo me esse adducturum senem.
and said that I would bring the old man there.
Sed eccum ipsum: quis est ulterior? atat, Phaedriae
But look, there he is himself. Who is the other further off? Ha! Phaedria’s
Pater venit: sed quid pertimui autem, bellua?
father is coming. But why did I fear, beast that I am?
An quia quos fallam pro uno duo sunt mihi dati?
Because two are given to me to deceive instead of one?
Commodius esse opinor duplici spe utier.
I think it is more advantageous to make use of a double hope.
Petam hinc unde a primo institui: is si dat, sat est:
I will seek from where I first intended; if he gives, that is enough;
Si ab eo nihil fiet, tum hunc adoriar hospitem.
if nothing comes from him, then I will attack this new guest.
Exspecto quam mox recipiat huc sese Geta:
Antipho: (Aside) I am waiting to see how soon Geta returns here;
Sed patruum video cum patre adstantem. Hei mihi,
but I see my uncle standing with my father. Ah, wretched me,
Quam timeo adventus huius quo impellat patrem.
how I fear where the arrival of this man may drive my father.
Adibo hosce, O noster Chreme.
Geta: I will go up to them. Oh, our Chremes!
Salve, Geta.
Chremes: Greetings, Geta.
Venire salvum volupe est.
Geta: It is a pleasure that you have arrived safe.
Credo.
Chremes: I believe you.
Quid agitur?
What is going on?
Multa advenienti, ut fit, nova hic compluria.
Geta: Many things, as usual when one arrives, many new things here.
Ita: de Antiphone audistin quae facta?
Chremes: Yes; have you heard what was done about Antipho?
Omnia.
Geta: Everything.
Tun dixeras huic? facinus indignum, Chreme,
(To Demipho) Did you tell him? It is a shameful deed, Chremes,
Sic circumiri.
to be so cheated.
Id cum hoc agebam commodum.
Chremes: I was just discussing that very thing with him.
Nam hercle ego quoque id quidem agitans mecum sedulo
Geta: By Hercules, I also, thinking carefully about this by myself,
Inveni, opinor, remedium huic rei.
have found, I think, a remedy for this matter.
Quid, Geta?
Demipho: What, Geta?
Quod remedium?
Chremes: What remedy?
Ut abii abs te, fit forte obviam
Geta: As I went away from you, I happened to meet
Mihi Phormio.
Phormio.
Qui Phormio?
Chremes: Which Phormio?
Is qui istam.
Demipho: The one who married that girl...
Scio.
Chremes: I know.
Visum est mihi ut eius tentarem sententiam.
Geta: It seemed best to me to sound out his mind.
Prendo hominem solum:"Cur non," inquam, "Phormio,
I caught the man alone: “Why, Phormio,” I said, “do you not
Vides inter nos sic haec potius cum bona
see to it that this matter is settled between us on good terms
Ut componantur gratia quam cum mala?
rather than on bad?
Herus liberalis est, et fugitans litium:
My master is generous, and avoids lawsuits;
Nam caeteri quidem hercle amici omnes modo
for indeed, all his other friends just now,
Uno ore auctores fuere ut praecipitem hanc daret."
with one voice, were advising him to turn her out headlong.”
Quid hic coeptat? aut quo evadet hodie?
Antipho: (Aside) What is he starting? Or where will he end up today?
"An legibus
Geta: “‘“Will you say that he will suffer punishment under the laws if he turns her out?”
Daturum poenas dices, si illam eiecerit?
“‘“That has already been looked into. Ah, you will sweat enough,”’
Iam id exploratum est. Heia, sudabis satis,
“‘“if you begin a contest with that man; such is his eloquence!”’
Si cum illo inceptas homine: ea eloquentia est.
“‘“But suppose he is defeated; yet in the end,”’
Verum pone esse victum eum: at tandem tamen
“‘“it is not his life that is at stake, but his money.”’”
Non capitis eius res agitur, sed pecuniae."
After I felt that the man was being softened by these words:
Postquam hominem his verbis sentio mollirier,
”‘“We are alone here now,” I said; “come, tell me, what do you want to be given”
"Soli sumus nunc hic," inquam; "eho dic, quid velis dari
“‘“into your hand, so that my master may desist from these lawsuits,”’
Tibi in manum, ut herus his desistat litibus;
“‘“she may clear out of here, and you may not be troublesome?”’”
Haec hinc facessat; tu molestus ne sies."Satin illi Di sunt propitii?4
Demipho: Are the gods sufficiently favorable to him?
"Nam sat scio,
Geta: “‘“For I know well enough,”’
- 572aibant
aibant is a syncopated form of aiebant (third-person plural imperfect of aio, 'to say'). Here it represents an indefinite hearsay, 'they said' or 'people were saying'.
- 578consili incertum
consili is a genitive of relation or respect governed by the adjective incertum ('uncertain, doubtful'). It expresses being 'uncertain of one's plan' or 'at a loss what to do'.
- 587meorum solus sum meus
Literally, 'of my own people, I alone am my own.' meorum is a partitive genitive. This is a humorous expression indicating that Chremes's wife controls all the household and property, leaving Chremes with ownership of nothing but his own person.
- 636Satin illi Di sunt propitii
Satin is a shortened form of satisne. Literally, 'Are the gods sufficiently favorable to him?', which is an idiomatic Latin expression meaning 'Is he in his right mind?' or 'Is he mad?' It expresses Demipho's astonishment at Phormio's unreasonable demands.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 2