- 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-lat2:426-486
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Pamphilus sends Parmeno away on an errand and struggles between concealing the birth and his filial duty. When his father Laches and father-in-law Phidippus arrive, Pamphilus refuses to take his wife back, using his duty to his mother as the reason.
Olim quidem te causae impellebant leves
Parmeno: Formerly, indeed, slight reasons urged you, Sosia,
Quod nunc minitare facere ut faceres,1 Sosia.
To do what you now threaten to do.
Sed Pamphilum ipsum video stare ante ostium.
But I see Pamphilus himself standing before the door.
Ite intro: ego hunc adibo si quid me velit.
Go inside; I will approach him to see if he wants anything from me.
Here, etiam tu hic stas?
Master, are you still standing here?
Et quidem te exspecto.
Pamphilus: Yes, indeed, I am waiting for you.
Quid est?
Parmeno: What is it?
In arcem transcurso opus est.
Pamphilus: There is need of a run to the citadel.
Cui homini?
Parmeno: For whom?
Tibi.
Pamphilus: For you.
In arcem? quid eo?
Parmeno: To the citadel? Why there?
Callidemidem hospitem
Pamphilus: Meet Callidemides, my guest
Myconium, qui mecum una advectus est, conveni.
from Myconos, who arrived together with me.
Perii! vovisse hunc dicam, si salvus domum
Parmeno: I am ruined! I would say he made a vow, if he ever
Redisset unquam, ut me ambulando rumperet.2
returned home safe, to wear me out with walking.
Quid cessas?
Pamphilus: Why do you hesitate?
Quid vis dicam? an conveniam modo?
Parmeno: What do you want me to say? Or shall I just meet him?
Immo, quod constitui me hodie conventurum eum
Pamphilus: No, rather that I cannot meet him today
Non posse; ne me frustra illic exspectet: vola.
as I had agreed, so that he may not wait for me there in vain; fly!
At non novi hominis faciem.
Parmeno: But I do not know the man’s face.
At faciam ut noveris.
Pamphilus: But I will make you know it.
Magnus, rubicundus, crispus, crassus, caesius,
He is tall, ruddy, curly-haired, stout, blue-eyed,
Cadaverosa facie.
with a face like a corpse.
Di illum perduint.
Parmeno: May the gods destroy him!
Quid si non veniet? maneamne usque ad vesperum?
What if he does not come? Should I wait even until evening?
Maneto: curre.
Pamphilus: Wait; run.
Non queo; ita defessus sum.
Parmeno: I cannot; I am so tired.
Ille abiit: quid agam infelix? prorsus nescio
Pamphilus: He is gone. What shall I do, unhappy man? I do not know at all
Quo pacto hoc celem quod me oravit Myrrhina,
how to conceal this which Myrrhina entreated of me,
Suae gnatae partum; nam me miseret mulieris.
the birth of her daughter; for I pity the woman.
Quod potero faciam, tamen ut pietatem colam;3
I will do what I can, yet so as to observe my duty;
Nam me parenti potius quam amori obsequi
for it is proper for me to obey my parent rather than my love.
Oportet. Atat eccum Phidippum et patrem
But look, I see Phidippus and my father;
Video: horsum pergunt. Quid dicam hisce incertus sum.
they are coming this way. I am uncertain what to say to them.
Dixtin dudum illam dixisse se exspectare filium?
Laches: Did you not say just now that she said she was waiting for my son?
Factum.
Phidippus: I did.
Venisse aiunt: redeat.
Laches: They say he has arrived; let her return.
Quam causam dicam patri
Pamphilus: What reason I shall give my father
Quamobrem non reducam nescio.
for not bringing her back, I do not know.
Quem ego hic audivi loqui?
Laches: Whose voice did I hear speaking here?
Certum offirmare est viam me quam decrevi persequi.
Pamphilus: It is certain that I must firmly pursue the way I have resolved upon.
Ipsus est de quo hic agebam tecum.
Laches: It is the very man of whom I was speaking with you.
Salve, mi pater.
Pamphilus: Greetings, my father.
Gnate mi, salve.
Laches: Greetings, my son.
Bene factum te advenisse, Pamphile;
Phidippus: Well done that you have arrived, Pamphilus;
Atque adeo, quod maximum est, salvum atque validum.
and indeed, what is greatest, safe and healthy.
Creditur.
Pamphilus: So it is believed.
Advenis modo?
Laches: Have you just arrived?
Admodum.
Pamphilus: Just now.
Cedo, quid reliquit Phania
Laches: Tell me, what did Phania,
Consobrinus noster?
our cousin, leave?
Sane hercle homo voluptati obsequens
Pamphilus: Indeed, by Hercules, he was a man devoted to pleasure
Fuit dum vixit; et qui sic sunt haud multum heredem iuvant:
while he lived; and those who are so do not help their heir much;
Sibi vero hanc laudem relinquunt: "Vixit, dum vixit, bene."
but for themselves they leave this praise: “He lived well while he lived.”
Tum tu igitur nihil attulisti huc plus una sententia?
Laches: So then, you have brought back nothing more than a single maxim?
Quicquid est id quod reliquit profuit.
Pamphilus: Whatever it is that he left, it was beneficial.
Immo obfuit;
Laches: No, rather it was harmful;
Nam illum vivum et salvum vellem.
for I would wish him alive and safe.
Impune optare istuc licet:
Pamphilus: You may wish that with impunity;
Ille reviviscet iam nunquam; et tamen utrum malis scio.
he will never come to life again; and yet I know which you would prefer.
Heri Philumenam ad se arcessi hic iussit: dic iussisse te.
Laches: Yesterday this man ordered Philumena to be summoned to his house; say that you ordered it.
Noli fodere: iussi.
Phidippus: Do not nudge me; I ordered it.
Sed eam iam remittet.
Laches: But he will send her back now.
Scilicet.
Phidippus: Of course.
Omnem rem scio ut sit gesta: adveniens audivi omnia.
Pamphilus: I know how the whole matter was done; on arriving I heard everything.
At istos invidos Di perdant qui haec libenter nuntiant.
Laches: But may the gods destroy those envious people who gladly report these things.
Ego me scio cavisse ne ulla merito contumelia
Pamphilus: I know that I have been careful that no insult could deservedly
Fieri a vobis posset: idque si nunc memorare hic velim,
be offered by you; and if I wished to mention here now
Quam fideli animo et benigno in illam et clementi fui,
how faithful, kind, and gentle a mind I had toward her,
Vere possum; ni te ex ipsa haec magis velim resciscere;4
I truly could; unless I would rather you learn this from herself;
Namque eo pacto maxime apud te meo erit ingenio fides,
for in that way especially will there be trust in my character with you,
Quum illa quae nunc in me iniqua est aequa de me dixerit:
when she, who is now unjust to me, speaks justly of me;
Neque mea culpa hoc discidium evenisse, id testor Deos.
and that this separation did not happen through my fault, I call the gods to witness.
Sed quando sese esse indignam deputat matri meae
But since she thinks herself unworthy to yield to my mother,
Quae concedat, cuiusque mores toleret sua modestia,
and to tolerate her ways with her own modesty,
Neque alio pacto componi potest inter eas gratia,
and since peace cannot be restored between them in any other way,
Segreganda aut mater a me est, Phidippe, aut Philumena:
either my mother must be separated from me, Phidippus, or Philumena;
Nunc me pietas matris potius commodum suadet sequi.
now my duty to my mother persuades me rather to consult her convenience.
Pamphile, haud invito ad aures sermo mihi accessit tuus,
Laches: Pamphilus, your speech has come to my ears not unwelcome,
Quum te postputasse omnes res prae parente intelligo.
since I understand that you have put all things after your parent.
Verum vide ne impulsus ita prave insistas, Pamphile.
But see to it, Pamphilus, lest, driven by passion, you persist in a wrong course.
Quibus iris impulsus nunc in illam iniquus siem?
Pamphilus: Driven by what anger should I now be unjust to her,
Quae nunquam quicquam erga me commerita est, pater,
who has never deserved anything bad from me, father?
- 427quod nunc minitare facere ut faceres
ut faceres is a purpose clause (subjunctive imperfect) introduced by the main verb impellebant ("were impelling"). The relative pronoun quod functions as the object of the infinitive facere within that clause, carrying the meaning of "that which you now threaten to do".
- 434vovisse hunc dicam ... ut me ambulando rumperet
The subject accusative of the infinitive vovisse in indirect speech is hunc (Pamphilus), and the ut clause (imperfect subjunctive rumperet) expresses the content of the vow. The ablative gerund ambulando denotes the means, meaning "by walking me to death (bursting me)".
- 447tamen ut pietatem colam
tamen ut (with the present subjunctive colam) modifies the preceding faciam ("I will do"), expressing a restriction, purpose, or manner ("yet in such a way as to respect my duty"). It reflects Pamphilus's struggle to keep his promise to his wife's mother while not violating his filial duty (pietas).
- 471idque si nunc memorare hic velim ... vere possum; ni te ex ipsa haec magis velim resciscere
A mixed conditional sentence consisting of the present subjunctive velim in the protasis and the present indicative possum in the apodosis, asserting as a fact the actual ability to do something ("if I should wish..., I am truly able"). The clause introduced by ni (nisi) adds a negative qualification ("unless I should prefer...").
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)
- 2026-09-22 AI review — source 1