- 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-lat2:722-773
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Phidippus leaves to find a nurse, and Laches confronts Bacchis, his son's former mistress. Bacchis solemnly swears she has had no relations with Pamphilus since his marriage and agrees to testify before the women to clear his name.
Iamdudum dixi, idemque nunc dico, Lache;
”Phidippus: I have said so for a long time, and I say the same now, Laches;”
Manere affinitatem hanc inter nos volo,
”I want this alliance to remain between us,”
Si ullo modo est ut possit, quod spero fore.
”if there is any way it can be, which I hope will be the case.”
Sed visne adesse me una, dum istam convenis?
”But do you want me to be present with you, while you meet her?”
Immo vero abi: aliquam puero nutricem para.
”Laches: On the contrary, go: find some nurse for the child.”
Non hoc de nihilo est quod Laches me nunc conventam esse expetit;
”Bacchis: (To herself) It is not for nothing that Laches now desires to meet with me;”
Nec pol me multum fallit quin quod suspicor sit quod velit.1
”nor indeed does my suspicion deceive me much but that what he wants is what I suspect.”
Videndum est ne minus propter iram hanc impetrem quam possiem;
”I must take care lest on account of this anger I obtain less than I might;”
Aut ne quid faciam plus quod post me minus fecisse satius sit.
”or lest I do something more which afterwards I would rather have done less.”
Aggrediar. Bacchis, salve.
”Laches: I will approach. Greetings, Bacchis.”
Salve, Lache.b Edepol credo te nonnihil mirari, Bacchis,
”Bacchis: Greetings, Laches.” “Laches: By Pollux, I believe you wonder not a little, Bacchis,”
Quid sit quapropter te huc foras puerum evocare iussi.
”what it is why I ordered the boy to call you out here.”
Ego pol quoque etiam timida sum, quum venit mihi in mentem quae sim,
”Bacchis: By Pollux, I too am even fearful, when it comes to my mind who I am,”
Ne nomen mihi quaesti2 obsiet; nam mores facile tutor.
”lest the reputation of my trade should stand in my way; for my character I easily defend.”
Si vera dicis, nihil tibi est a me pericli, mulier;
”Laches: If you speak the truth, there is no danger to you from me, woman;”
Nam aetate iam ea sum ut non siet peccato mihi ignosci aequum:
”for I am now of that age that it is not right for my fault to be pardoned:”
Quo magis omnes res cautius ne temere faciam accuro:
”wherefore I take the more care to do all things more cautiously, not rashly:”
Nam si id facis facturave es bonas quod par est facere,
”for if you do or are going to do what is fair for good women to do,”
Inscitum offerre iniuriam tibi immerenti iniquum est.
”it is foolish and unjust to offer injury to you who do not deserve it.”
Est magna ecastor gratia de istac re quam tibi habeam:
”Bacchis: By Castor, I have great gratitude to you for that matter;”
Nam qui post factam iniuriam se expurget, parum mihi prosit.
”for he who clears himself after doing an injury would profit me little.”
Sed quid istuc est?b Meum receptas filium ad te Pamphilum.c Ah!
”But what is that matter?” “Laches: You receive my son Pamphilus back to yourself.” “Bacchis: Ah!”
Sine dicam. Uxorem hanc prius quam duxit, vestrum amorem pertuli.
”Laches: Let me speak. Before he married this wife, I tolerated your love.”
Mane: nondum etiam dixi id quod volui. Hic nunc uxorem habet:
”Wait: I have not yet said what I wanted. He now has a wife:”
Quaere alium tibi firmiorem, dum tibi tempus consulendi est;
”look for another more reliable partner for yourself, while you have time to consult your interest;”
Nam neque ille hoc animo erit aetatem, neque pol tu eadem istac aetate.
”for neither will he be of this mind all his life, nor indeed will you be of that same age.”
Quis id ait?b Socrus.c Mene?d Te ipsam; et filiam abduxit suam;
”Bacchis: Who says that?” “Laches: His mother-in-law.” “Bacchis: Me?” “Laches: You yourself; and she has taken away her daughter;”
Puerumque ob eam rem clam voluit natus qui est extinguere.
”and for that reason she wanted to destroy the child who was born secretly.”
Aliud si scirem qui firmare meam apud vos possem fidem
”Bacchis: If I knew anything else by which I could confirm my credit with you”
Sanctius quam iusiurandum, id pollicerer tibi, Lache,
”more sacredly than an oath, I would promise it to you, Laches,”
segregatum habuisse,3 uxorem ut duxit, a me Pamphilum.
”that Pamphilus has been kept apart from me since he married his wife.”
Lepida es; sed scin quid volo potius sodes facias?b Quid? cedo.
”Laches: You are delightful; but do you know what I would rather have you do, please?” “Bacchis: What? Tell me.”
Eas ad mulieres huc intro, atque istuc iusiurandum idem
”Laches: Go in here to the women, and promise them that same oath;”
Polliceare illis: exple animum iis, teque hoc crimine expedi.
”satisfy their minds, and clear yourself of this accusation.”
Faciam; quod pol, si esset alia ex hoc quaestu, haud faceret scio,
”Bacchis: I will do so; though, by Pollux, if there were another woman of this trade, I know she would not do it,”
Ut de tali causa nuptae mulieri se ostenderet.
”to present herself to a married woman for such a cause.”
Sed nolo falsa fama esse gnatum suspectum tuum,
”But I do not want your son to be suspected on account of a false rumor,”
Nec leviorem vobis, quibus est minime aequum, viderier4
”nor to appear more frivolous to you, to whom it is least fitting,”
Immerito; nam meritus de me est quod queam illi ut commodem.
”undeservedly; for he has deserved of me that I should do him a favor as far as I can.”
Facilem benevolumque lingua tua iam tibi me reddidit;
”Laches: Your tongue has already rendered me easy and well-disposed to you;”
Nam non sunt solae arbitratae hae: ego quoque etiam credidi.
”for not only did those women think so: I also believed it too.”
Nunc quum ego te esse praeter nostram opinionem comperi,
”Now, since I have found you to be contrary to our expectation,”
Fac eadem ut sis porro; nostra utere amicitia ut voles.
”see to it that you continue to be the same hereafter; use our friendship as you wish.”
Aliter si facias — sed reprimam me, ne aegre quicquam ex me audias.
”If you should do otherwise — but I will restrain myself, lest you hear anything painful from me.”
Verum te hoc moneo unum: amicus qualis sim aut quid possiem
”But this one thing I advise you: make trial of what kind of friend I am or what I can do”
Potius quam inimicus periclum facias.b Nihil apud me tibi
”rather than of an enemy.” “Laches: On my part, I will suffer nothing”
Defieri patiar quin quod opus sit benigne praebeatur.
”to be lacking to you, but what is necessary will be kindly supplied.”
Sed quum tu satura atque ebria eris, puer ut satur sit facito.
”Laches: But when you are full and tipsy, see to it that the child is full.”
Noster socer, video, venit: puero nutricem adduxit.
”Our father-in-law, I see, is coming: he has brought a nurse for the child.”
Phidippe, Bacchis deierat persancte.b Haecine ea est?c Haec est.
”Phidippus, Bacchis swears most sacredly.” “Phidippus: Is this she?” “Laches: This is she.”
Nec pol istae metuunt Deos; neque has respicere Deos opinor.
”Phidippus: By Pollux, those women do not fear the gods, nor do I think the gods care for them.”
Ancillas dedo: quolibet cruciatu per me exquire.
”Bacchis: I hand over my maidservants: examine them by any torture you please on my account.”
- 728quin quod suspicor sit quod velit
A complex clause introduced by quin after a negated verb of doubting/deceiving (non multum fallit quin...). Here, quod suspicor (what I suspect) is the subject of the subjunctive verb sit, and quod velit (what he wants) is its predicate.
- 735quaesti
An archaic genitive singular form of the fourth-declension noun quaestus (trade, occupation), which in classical Latin is usually quaestūs. She is referring to her own trade as a courtesan.
- 752segregatum habuisse
A periphrastic perfect infinitive construction combining the perfect participle segregatum and the infinitive habuisse (here acting as segregavisse). Compared to a simple perfect active infinitive, it emphasizes the continuing state resulting from the action (keeping him separated).
- 759viderier
An archaic form of the passive infinitive videri (to seem / to appear), frequently found in early Latin literature such as Terence.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1