- 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.phi005.humanitext-lat2:208b-259
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Laches fiercely accuses his wife Sostrata of ruining their son's marriage, while she protests her innocence. When the daughter-in-law's father, Phidippus, appears, Laches firmly demands an explanation from him.
Scio.
I know.
Te immerito? an quicquam pro istis factis dignum te dici potest,
You undeservedly? Or can anything be said that is worthy of you in return for those deeds of yours,
Quae me et te et familiam dedecoras, filio luctum paras?
who disgrace me and yourself and the household, and prepare grief for our son?
Tum autem ex amicis inimici ut sint nobis affines facis;
Furthermore, you make it so that our relatives become our enemies instead of friends;
Qui illum decrerunt dignum suos cui liberos committerent.
they who had judged him worthy to whom they should entrust their children.
Tu sola exorere quae perturbes haec tua impudentia.
You alone stand forth to ruin all this by your impudence.
Egone?
I?
Tu, inquam, mulier, quae me omnino lapidem non hominem putas.
You, I say, woman, who think me to be entirely a stone, not a man.
An, quia ruri crebro esse soleo, nescire arbitramini
Or, because I am accustomed to be in the country frequently, do you (all) think I do not know
Quo quisque pacto hic vitam vestrarum exigat?
in what manner each of you women passes her life here?
Multo melius hic quae fiunt quam illic ubi sum assidue scio:
I know what is done here much better than what is done there where I am constantly;
Ideo, quia, ut vos mihi domi eritis, proinde ego ero fama foris.
for this reason, because, just as you will be to me at home, so shall I be in reputation abroad.
Iampridem equidem audivi cepisse odium tui Philumenam;
For a long time indeed, I have heard that Philumena has taken a hatred of you;
Minimeque adeo mirum; et ni id fecisset magis mirum foret.
and that is not at all surprising; and if she had not done so, it would be more surprising.
Sed non credidi adeo ut etiam totam hanc odisset domum:
But I did not believe it to such an extent that she even hated this whole household;
Quod si scissem, illa hic maneret potius, tu hinc isses foras.1
but if I had known this, she would be staying here instead, and you would have gone out from here.
At vide quam immerito aegritudo haec oritur mihi abs te, Sostrata.
But see, Sostrata, how undeservedly this vexation arises to me from you.
Rus habitatum abii, concedens vobis et rei serviens;
I went to live in the country, yielding to you and serving our property;
Sumtus vestros otiumque ut nostra res posset pati,
so that our estate could support your expenses and leisure,
Meo labori haud parcens, praeter aequum atque aetatem meam.
not sparing my own labor, beyond what is fair and beyond my age.
Non te pro his curasse rebus2 ne quid aegre esset mihi?
To think that you did not care in return for these things, lest anything should be a source of grief to me!
Non mea opera neque pol culpa evenit.Immo maxime.
It did not happen by my agency, nor, by Pollux, by my fault.
Sola hic fuisti; in te omnis haeret culpa sola Sostrata.
Nay, indeed, most of all.
Quae hic erant curares,3 quum ego vos solvi curis caeteris.
You alone were here; upon you alone, Sostrata, clings all the blame.
Cum puella anum suscepisse inimicitias non pudet?
Are you not ashamed, an old woman, to have taken up enmities with a young girl?
Illius dices culpa factum.
You will say it was done by her fault.
Haud equidem dico, mi Lache.
Indeed, I do not say so, my Laches.
Gaudeo, ita me Di ament, gnati causa; nam de te quidem
I am glad of it, so help me gods, for our son’s sake; for as for you indeed,
Satis scio peccando detrimenti nihil fieri potest.
I know well enough that no further damage can be done by your erring.
Qui scis an ea causa, mi vir, me odisse assimulaverit
How do you know, my husband, whether she pretended to hate me for this reason,
Ut cum matre plus una esset?
so that she might be together with her mother more?
Quid ais? non signi hoc sat est,
What do you say? Is this not a sufficient sign,
Quod heri nemo voluit visentem ad eam te intro admittere?
that yesterday no one wished to admit you inside when you went to visit her?
Enim lassam oppido tum esse aibant: eo ad eam non admissa sum.
Indeed, they said then that she was completely exhausted; therefore I was not admitted to her.
Tuos esse ego illi mores morbum magis quam ullam aliam rem arbitror;
I think your behavior is a disease to her more than any other thing;
Et merito adeo; nam vestrarum nulla est quin gnatum velit
and indeed with good reason; for there is none of you women who does not wish her son
Ducere uxorem; et quae vobis placita est conditio datur.
to take a wife; and the match which has pleased you is given.
Ubi duxere impulsu vestro, vestro impulsu easdem exigunt.
When they have married by your instigation, by your instigation they drive those same wives out.
Etsi scio ego, Philumena, meum ius esse ut te cogam
Although I know, Philumena, that it is my right to compel you
Quae ego imperem facere; ego tamen patrio animo victus faciam
to do what I command; yet, overcome by my fatherly affection, I will so act as
Ut tibi concedam; neque tuae libidini adversabor.
to yield to you; nor will I oppose your desire.
Atque eccum Phidippum optime video: ex hoc iam scibo quid sit.
And look, I see Phidippus in good time; from him I shall soon know what it is.
Phidippe, etsi ego meis me omnibus scio esse apprime obsequentem,
Phidippus, although I know that I am exceedingly indulgent to all my people,
Sed non adeo ut mea facilitas corrumpat illorum animos:
yet not so much so that my easy-going nature should corrupt their minds;
Quod tu si idem faceres, magis in rem et nostram et vestram id esset.
which if you did the same, it would be more to the advantage of both our household and yours.
Nunc video in illarum potestate esse te.
Now I see that you are in the power of those women.
Heia vero!
Oh, indeed!
Adii te heri de filia: ut veni itidem incertum amisti.
I went to you yesterday about your daughter; you dismissed me just as unresolved as I came.
Haud ita decet, si perpetuam vis esse affinitatem hanc,
It is not at all fitting, if you wish this relationship to be permanent,
Celare te iras. Si quid est peccatum a nobis, profer:
to hide your anger. If any offense has been committed by us, bring it forward;
Aut ea refellendo aut purgando vobis corrigemus,
we will correct it for you either by refuting it or by explaining it,
Te iudice ipso. Sin ea est causa retinendi apud vos
with yourself as judge. But if this is the cause of keeping her with you,
Quia aegra est, te mihi iniuriam facere arbitror, Phidippe,
because she is ill, I think you do me an injury, Phidippus,
Si metuis satis ut4 meae domi curetur diligenter.
if you fear that she will not be cared for diligently enough at my house.
At, ita me Di ament, haud tibi hoc concedo, etsi illi pater es,
But, so help me gods, I do not yield this to you, although you are her father,
Ut tu illam salvam magis velis quam ego: id adeo gnati causa,
that you should wish her well more than I do; and that indeed for the sake of my son,
- 222maneret potius, tu hinc isses foras
In the apodosis of the contrary-to-fact condition following 'si scissem', the imperfect subjunctive 'maneret' (expressing a continuous state in the present) and the pluperfect subjunctive 'isses' (expressing a past completed action or past obligation) are juxtaposed to distinguish the different time frames of the two counterfactual situations.
- 227Non te pro his curasse rebus
An accusative with infinitive of exclamation ('te curasse'), which, combined with the negative 'non', expresses Laches' intense indignation and reproach: 'To think that you did not care...!'
- 230curares
The imperfect subjunctive 'curares' is used independently to express past obligation or jussive force for the past, conveying a strong reproach: 'you ought to have cared for... (but you did not)'.
- 257metuis satis ut
After verbs of fearing like 'metuo', the conjunction 'ut' introduces a clause expressing fear that something will not happen. Here, 'satis ut... curetur' means 'fearing that she will not be cared for sufficiently'.