Phormio's Demands and Chremes' Offer of Payment — Terence, Phormio, lines 637–708, Latin & English

637

Si tu aliquam partem aequi bonique¹ dixeris,

Geta: “If you suggest any share of what is fair and reasonable,

Ut est ille bonus vir, tria non commutabitis

since he is such an honest man, you two will not exchange three

Verba hodie inter vos."

words today.”

Quis te istaec iussit loqui?

Demipho: Who ordered you to say such things?

640

Immo non potuit melius pervenirier²

Geta: On the contrary, it was impossible to arrive more successfully

Eo quo nos volumus.

at the point where we want to be.

Occidi.

Antipho: (Aside) I am ruined.

Perge eloqui.

Chremes: Go on, tell us.

A primo homo insanibat.

Geta: At first, the fellow was stark mad.

Cedo, quid postulat?

Chremes: Tell me, what does he demand?

Quid? nimium quantum libuit.

Geta: What? As much as ever he pleased, excessively.

Die.

Demipho: Tell me.

Si quis daret

Geta: “If anyone would give,”

Talentum magnum.

”a great talent.”

Immo malum hercle: ut nihil pudet.

Demipho: No, a plague on him indeed! How he has no shame.

645

Quod dixi adeo ei. "Quaeso quid si filiam

Geta: That is why I said to him, “Pray, what if he were portioning out

Suam unicam locaret? parvi retulit³

his only daughter? It was of little consequence

Non suscepisse: inventa est quae dotem petat."

not to have brought her up, since one has been found to demand a dowry.”

Ad pauca ut redeam, ac mittam illius ineptias;

To be brief, and to pass over his silly talk,

Haec denique eius fuit postrema oratio:

this was in short his final proposal:

650

"Ego," inquit, "iam a principio amici filiam,

”I,” he said, “from the very beginning wanted to marry my friend’s daughter,

Ita ut acquum fuerat, volui uxorem ducere:

as was indeed just;

Nam mihi veniebat in mentem eius incommodum,

for I kept thinking of her misfortune, in being given

In servitutem pauperem ad ditem dari:

poor to a rich husband, into slavery.

Sed mihi opus crat, ut aperte tibi nunc fabuler,

But I had need, to speak openly to you now,

655

Aliquantulum quae afferret qui⁴ dissolverem

of a wife who would bring a little something with which to pay what I owe;

Quae debeo; et etiam nunc, si vult Demipho

and even now, if Demipho wishes

Dare quantum ab hac accipio quae sponsa est mihi,

to give as much as I am receiving with this one who is betrothed to me,

Nullam mihi malim quam istanc, uxorem dari."

I would prefer to have no wife given to me rather than her.”

Utrum stultitia facere ego hunc an malitia

Antipho: (Aside) Whether he is doing this out of folly or malice,

660

Dicam, scientem an imprudentem, incertus sum.

I am uncertain; whether knowingly or unknowingly.

Quid si animam debet?

Demipho: What if he owes his very soul?

"Ager oppositus est pignori,

Geta: “My land is mortgaged,”

Ob decem minas," inquit.

he said, “for ten minae.”

Age, age; iam ducat: dabo.

Demipho: Well, well; let him marry her now; I will give it.

"Aediculae item sunt ob decem alias."

Geta: “A small house likewise is mortgaged for another ten.”

Oi! hui!

Demipho: Oh! Alas!

Nimium est.

Chremes: It is too much.

Ne clama: petito hasce a me decem.

Demipho: Do not cry out; you may demand these ten from me.

665

"Uxori emenda ancillula est: tum pluscula

Geta: “A little maidservant must be bought for my wife; then a little more

Supellectile opus est: opus est sumtu ad nuptias:

furniture is needed; there must be expense for the wedding.

His rebus sane pone," inquit, "decem minas."

For these things, set down surely,” he said, “ten minae.”

Sexcentas proinde scribito iam mihi dicas.⁵

Demipho: Then let him bring six hundred lawsuits against me now.

Nihil do: impuratus me ille ut etiam irrideat?

I will give nothing; is that scoundrel to laugh at me as well?

670

Quaeso, ego dabo, quiesce: tu modo filius

Chremes: Pray, I will give it, be quiet; do you only make your son

Fac ut illam ducat nos quam volumus.

marry her whom we wish.

Hei mihi,

Antipho: (Aside) Ah, wretched me,

Geta, occidisti me tuis fallaciis.

Geta, you have ruined me with your deceits.

Mea causa eiicitur: me hoc est aequum amittere.⁶

She is cast out for my sake; it is fair for me to lose this.

"Quantum potest me certiorem," inquit, "face;

Geta: “Let me know for certain as soon as possible,” he said,

675

Si illam dant, hanc ut mittam; ne incertus siem;

”so that if they give her, I may dismiss this other; lest I be in uncertainty;

Nam illi mihi dotem iam constituerunt dare."

for they have already resolved to give me the dowry.”

Iam accipiat; illis repudium renuntiet;

Chremes: Let him receive it now; let him send back a divorce to them;

Hanc ducat.

let him marry this one.

Quae quidem illi res vertat male.

Demipho: And may this matter turn out ill for him!

Opportune adeo argentum nunc mecum attuli,

Chremes: Quite opportunely, I have just now brought money with me,

680

Fructum quem Lemni uxoris reddunt praedia:

the rent which my wife’s estates at Lemnos bring in;

Id sumam: uxori tibi opus esse dixero.

I will take that; I will tell my wife that you had need of it.

Geta.

Antipho: Geta!

Hem.

Geta: Oh!

Quid egisti?

Antipho: What have you done?

Emunxi argento senes.

Geta: I have cleaned the old men out of their money.

Satin est id?

Antipho: Is that enough?

Nescio hercle: tantum iussus sum.

Geta: By Hercules, I do not know; I was only ordered to get so much.

Eho, verbero, aliud mihi respondes ac rogo?

Antipho: Ho, scoundrel, do you answer me something else than what I ask?

685

Quid ergo narras?

Geta: What do you mean then?

Quid ego narrem? opera tua

Antipho: What should I say? Thanks to your doing,

Ad restim mihi quidem res rediit⁷ planissime.

matters have indeed come most clearly to the halter for me.

Ut te quidem omnes Di, Deaeque, Superi, Inferi,

May all the gods and goddesses, above and below,

Malis exemplis perdant. Hem, si quid velis,

destroy you with a wretched end. Look, if you want anything,

Huic mandes, qui te ad scopulum e tranquillo auferat.

you should entrust it to this fellow, who may carry you from a calm into a reef.

690

Quid minus utibile fuit quam hoc ulcus tangere,

What was less useful than to touch this sore,

Aut nominare uxorem? iniecta est spes patri

or to name my wife? Hope has been inspired in my father

Posse illam extrudi. Cedo nunc porro, Phormio

that she can be thrust out. Tell me now furthermore, if Phormio

Dotem si accipiet, uxor ducenda est domum:

receives the dowry, he must take her home as his wife;

Quid fiet?

what will happen?

Non enim ducet.

Geta: But he will not marry her.

Novi: caeterum,

Antipho: I know; but,

695

Quum argentum repetent, nostra causa scilicet

when they demand the money back, for our sake, of course,

In nervum potius ibit.

he will go to prison rather than refund it.

Nihil est, Antipho,

Geta: There is nothing, Antipho,

Quin male narrando possit depravarier.

that cannot be made worse by telling it badly.

Tu id quod boni est excerpis; dicis quod mali est.

You leave out what is good, and speak of what is bad.

Audi nunc contra iam: si argentum acceperit,

Now listen to the other side: if he receives the money,

700

Ducenda est uxor, ut ais: concedo tibi.

he must marry her, as you say; I grant you that.

Spatium quidem tandem apparandis nuptiis,

Yet, after all, some little time will be given for preparing the wedding,

Vocandi, sacrificandi dabitur paululum.

for inviting, and for sacrificing.

Interea amici quod polliciti sunt dabunt:

Meanwhile, his friends will give what they have promised;

Inde istis reddet.

out of that he will refund it to them.

Quamobrem? aut quid dicet?

Antipho: For what reason? Or what will he say?

Rogas?

Geta: Do you ask?

705

"Quot res postilla monstra evenerunt mihi!

”How many portents have happened to me since then!

Introiit in aedes ater alienus canis;

A strange black dog entered into my house;

Anguis per impluvium decidit de tegulis;

a snake fell down from the tiles through the impluvium;

Gallina cecinit; interdixit hariolus;

a hen crowed; a soothsayer forbade it;”

Syntax notes7 items

637aequi bonique
aequi bonique are neuter genitives of quality or partitive genitives modifying aliquam partem (literally, "some part of what is fair and good"). The expression tria non commutabitis verba ("you will not exchange three words") is an idiomatic exaggeration meaning they will reach an agreement quickly with very few words.
640pervenirier
An archaic form of the present passive infinitive (equivalent to the standard perveniri), used here with non potuit in an impersonal passive construction. Literally, "it could not have been arrived at more successfully," meaning they could not have reached their desired goal any better.
646parvi retulit
The perfect tense retulit of the impersonal verb refert ("it matters, is of importance") combined with parvi, a genitive of value or importance. The phrase parvi retulit means "it was of little consequence" or "it mattered little," taking the following infinitive clause non suscepisse ("not to have brought up/acknowledged the child") as its subject.
655qui
An old ablative or adverbial form (equivalent to quo or quibus), functioning as a relative adverb of means or purpose. Here it introduces the relative clause of purpose qui dissolverem... with the imperfect subjunctive dissolverem ("by which I might pay off..."), modifying the implied portion or dowry (aliquantulum).
668scribito iam mihi dicas
A legal idiom combining dicas, the accusative plural of dica (borrowed from Greek δίκη, meaning "lawsuit"), and scribito, the future imperative of scribere ("to write down lawsuits/indictments"). Sexcentas ("six hundred") is a conventional Latin exaggeration for an indefinitely large number, expressing Demipho's angry refusal: "Then let him bring countless lawsuits against me now."
673me hoc est aequum amittere
An accusative and infinitive construction me... amittere serving as the subject of the impersonal phrase aequum est ("it is fair/just"). hoc (losing his wife) is the direct object of amittere, forming Antipho's bitter and self-deprecating aside.
686Ad restim mihi quidem res rediit
res redit ad restim (literally, "the matter has returned to the rope/halter") is a colloquial Latin idiom expressing extreme despair, meaning "things have come to such a pass that I might as well hang myself." It highlights Antipho's utter desperation at the prospect of losing his wife due to Geta's schemes.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0134.phi004.humanitext-lat2:637-708