- 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-lat2:933c-1001
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Phormio turns the tables by threatening to expose Chremes's secret family in Lemnos to his wife, and eventually summons Nausistrata despite the old men's desperate attempts to stop him.
Ut filius
”That your son
Cum illa habitet apud te; hoc vestrum consilium fuit.
should live with her at your house; this was your plan.”
Quaeso, quid narras?
Demipho: “Please, what are you saying?”
Quin tu mihi argentum cedo.
”Rather, hand over the money to me.”
Immo vero uxorem tu cedo.
Phormio: “Nay, indeed, you hand over the wife.”
In ius ambula.
Demipho: “Walk to court.”
In ius? enimvero si porro esse odiosi pergitis—
Phormio: “To court? Indeed, if you continue to be troublesome further—“
Quid facies?
Demipho: “What will you do?”
Egone? Vos me indotatis modo
Phormio: “I? Perhaps you think that I only
Patrocinari fortasse arbitramini:
patronize dowryless women:
Etiam dotatis soleo.
I am accustomed to defend those with dowries as well.”
Quid id nostra?1
Chremes: “What is that to us?”
Nihil.
Phormio: “Nothing.”
Hic quandam noram cuius vir uxorem —
”I knew a certain woman here, whose husband—“
Hem.
Chremes: “Ah!”
Quid est?
Demipho: “What is it?”
Lemni habuit aliam:—
Phormio: “had another wife in Lemnos:—“
Nullus sum.
Chremes: “I am ruined.”
ex qua filiam
Phormio: “by whom
Suscepit; et eam clam educat.
he had a daughter; and he is bringing her up secretly.”
Sepultus sum.
Chremes: “I am buried.”
Haec adeo ego illi iam denarrabo.
Phormio: “These very things indeed I will now tell her completely.”
Obsecro,
Chremes: “I beseech you,
Ne facias.
do not do it.”
Oh, tune is eras? Ut ludos facit.
Phormio: “Oh, was it you? How he makes sport.”
Missum te facimus.
Demipho: “We let you go.”
Fabulae.
Phormio: “Nonsense.”
Quid vis tibi?
Demipho: “What do you want?”
Argentum quod habes condonamus te.2
”The money which you have, we grant to you.”
Audio.
Phormio: “I hear.”
Quid vos, malum, ergo me sic ludificamini,
”Why then, plague on it, do you mock me so,
Inepti, vestra puerili sententia?
fools, with your childish opinion?”
"Nolo, volo: volo, nolo rursum: cedo, cape.
”’I don’t want it, I want it; I want it, I don’t want it again; give it, take it.’”
Quod dictum, indictum est: quod modo erat ratum, irritum est."
”’What was said is unsaid; what was just now settled is undone.’”
Quo pacto aut unde haec hic rescivit?
Chremes: “In what way or from where did this fellow find this out?”
Nescio;
Demipho: “I don’t know;
Nisi me dixisse nemini id certo scio.
except that I know for certain that I told it to no one.”
Monstri, ita me Di ament, simile.
Chremes: “It is like a miracle, so love me the gods.”
Inieci scrupulum.
Phormio: “I have injected a doubt.”
Hem.
Chremes: “Ah!”
Hicine ut3 a nobis hoc tantum argenti auferat,
Demipho: “Is this fellow to carry off so much money from us,
Tam aperte irridens? Emori hercle satius est.
mocking us so openly? By Hercules, it is better to die.”
Animo virili praesentique ut sis para:
”Prepare yourself to be of a manly and resolute spirit:”
Vides tuum peccatum esse clatum foras;
”you see that your sin has been published abroad;”
Neque iam id celare posse te uxorem tuam.
”and that you can no longer hide it from your wife.”
Nunc quod ipsa ex aliis auditura sit, Chreme,
”Now, Chremes, since she is about to hear it from others,
Id nosmet ipsos indicare placabilius est.
it is better for us to confess it ourselves.”
Tum hunc impuratum poterimus nostro modo
”Then we will be able to punish this filthy fellow in our
Ulcisci.
own way.”
Atat, nisi inihi prospicio, haereo.
Phormio: “Aha, unless I look out for myself, I am stuck.”
Hi gladiatorio animo ad me affectant viam.
”These men are directing their way toward me with a gladiatorial spirit.”
At vereor ut placari possit.
Chremes: “But I fear that she cannot be appeased.”
Bono animo es.
Demipho: “Be of good courage.”
Ego redigam vos in gratiam, hoc fretus, Chreme,
”I will restore you to her favor, relying on this, Chremes,
Quum e medio excessit unde haec suscepta est tibi.
since she from whom you had this daughter has departed from this world.”
Itane agitis mecum? Satis astute aggredimini.
Phormio: “Are you acting with me thus? You approach quite craftily.”
Non hercle ex re istius me instigasti, Demipho.
”By Hercules, Demipho, you have not urged me on to that man’s advantage.”
Ain tu? Ubi quae libitum fuerit peregre feceris,
”Do you say so? When you have done abroad what pleased you,
Neque huius sis veritus feminae primariae,
and have not respected this noble lady,
Quin novo modo ei faceres contumeliam,
but have offered her an insult in a novel manner,
Venias4 mihi precibus lautum peccatum tuum?
do you come to me to wash away your sin with prayers?”
Hisce ego illlam dictis ita tibi incensam dabo5
”By these words I will render her so inflamed against you
Ut ne restinguas lacrimis si exstillaveris.
that you cannot extinguish her even if you dissolve into tears.”
Malum quod isti Di Deaeque omnes duiut.
Demipho: “May all the gods and goddesses send ruin on that fellow.”
Tantane affectum quenquam esse hominem audacia?
”That any human being should be possessed of such audacity!”
Non hoc publicitus scelus hinc deportarier
”Should not this scoundrel be banished from here publicly
In solas terras?
into solitary lands?”
In id redactus sum loci
Chremes: “I have been reduced to such a pass
Ut quid agam cum illo nesciam prorsum.
that I do not know at all what to do with him.”
Ego scio:
Demipho: “I know:”
In ius eamus.
”let us go to court.”
In ius? huc, si quid libet.
Phormio: “To court? Here, if you please.”
Assequere ac retine, dum ego huc servos evoco.
Demipho: “Follow and hold him, while I call out the servants here.”
Enim solus nequeo: accurre huc.
Chremes: “But I cannot alone: run here!”
Una iniuria est
Phormio: “There is one lawsuit with you,
Tecum.
with you.”
Lege agito ergo.
Demipho: “Sue then by law.”
Altera est tecum, Chreme.
Phormio: “There is another with you, Chremes.”
Rape hunc.
Demipho: “Seize him.”
Itane agitis? enimvero voce est opus.
Phormio: “Are you acting so? Then indeed there is need of my voice.”
Nausistrata, exi.
”Nausistrata, come out!”
Os opprime.
Demipho: “Stop his mouth.”
Impurum vide,
”See how strong this filthy
Quantum valet.
fellow is.”
Nausistrata, inquam.
Phormio: “Nausistrata, I say!”
Non taces?
Chremes: “Will you not be silent?”
Taceam?
Phormio: “I, be silent?”
Nisi sequitur, pugnos in ventrem ingere.
Demipho: “Unless he follows, plant your fists in his belly.”
Vel oculum exclude: est ubi vos ulciscar probe.
Phormio: “Or even knock out an eye; there is a place where I shall avenge myself on you handsomely.”
Quis nominat me?
Nausistrata: “Who calls me?”
Hem.
Chremes: “Ah!”
Quid istuc turbae est, obsecro,
Nausistrata: “What is that crowd, pray,
Mi vir?
my husband?”
Ehem, quid nunc obstipuisti?
Phormio: “Aha! Why have you now become dumbfounded?”
Quis hic homo est?
Nausistrata: “Who is this man?”
Non mihi respondes?
”Do you not answer me?”
Hicine ut tibi respondeat,
Phormio: “Is this fellow to answer you,
Qui hercle ubi sit nescit?
who, by Hercules, does not know where he is?”
Cave isti quicquam creduas.
Chremes: “Beware of believing anything he says.”
Abi, tange: si non totus friget, me enica.
Phormio: “Go, touch him: if he is not cold all over, kill me.”
Nihil est.
Chremes: “It is nothing.”
Quid ergo est? quid istic narrat?
Nausistrata: “What is it then? What is that fellow telling?”
Iam scies:
Phormio: “You will soon know:
Ausculta.
listen.”
Pergin credere?
Chremes: “Do you go on believing him?”
Quid ego, obsecro,
Nausistrata: “What, pray,
Huic credam qui nihil dixit?
should I believe from this man who has said nothing?”
Delirat miser
Chremes: “The miserable wretch is raving
Timore.
from fear.”
Non pol temere est quod tu tam times.
Nausistrata: “By Pollux, it is not without cause that you are so afraid.”
Ego timeo?
Chremes: “I, afraid?”
Recte sane: quando nihil times,
Phormio: “Quite right indeed: since you fear nothing,
Et hoc nihil est quod ego dico, tu narra.
and this is nothing which I say, you tell it.”
Scelus!
Demipho: “Scoundrel!”
Tibi narret?
Chremes: “Tell you?”
- 940bnostra
Ellipsis of the verb refert (or interest). The word nostra is the feminine singular ablative of the possessive pronoun, used with refert or interest to indicate 'our concern'. Thus, quid id nostra [refert]? means 'what is that to us?'.
- 947condonamus te
The verb condonare (to grant, pardon) in classical prose usually takes the dative of person and accusative of thing (aliquid alicui condonare). Here, it shows an archaic/early Latin usage, taking a double accusative: the person te (accusative) and the thing quod habes (represented by the relative clause).
- 955Hicine ut
The combination of the interrogative enclitic -ne with ut and the subjunctive (auferat) is used in independent clauses to express indignation, disbelief, or a strong rhetorical question ('Is this fellow to carry off...?').
- 970Ubi ... venias
The skeleton of this long rhetorical sentence consists of the main verb venias (present subjunctive in a repelling/indignant question, 'do you come...?') preceded by the subordinate clauses Ubi ... feceris (perfect subjunctive of time/circumstance, 'when you have done...') and neque ... sis veritus (perfect subjunctive, 'and have not feared...'). The latter is further followed by quin ... faceres (subjunctive expressing 'but that you offered insult').
- 974incensam dabo
The construction of dare with a perfect passive participle (incensam) functions as an emphatic future active verb (equivalent to incendam), stressing the complete and decisive execution of the action or its resulting state. This periphrasis is typical of early Latin and conversational comedy.