- 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.phi006.humanitext-lat2:312-366b
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Geta, in a rage, misinforms Sostrata that Aeschinus has abandoned their family for another woman. Meanwhile, Demea is devastated to hear that his other son, Ctesipho, was involved in the abduction, and approaches Syrus.
Ut ego iram hanc in eos evomam omnem1 dum aegritudo haec est recens:
That I might vomit all this anger of mine onto them while this grief is still fresh!
Satis mihi id habeam supplici,2 dum illos ulciscar modo.
I would consider that a sufficient punishment for myself, provided only I might take revenge on them.
Seni animam primum extinguerem3 ipsi qui illud produxit scelus.
First I would extinguish the breath of the old man himself who produced that monster.
Tum autem Syrum impulsorem, vah, quibus illum lacerarem modis!
Then Syrus, the instigator, oh, in what ways I would tear him to pieces!
Sublimem medium arriperem, et capite pronum in terram statuerem,
I would seize him by the waist high in the air, and dash him head first to the ground,
Ut cerebro dispergat viam.
so that he would scatter his brains along the road.
Adolescenti ipsi eriperem oculos; posthaec praecipitem darem;
I would pluck out the eyes of the young man himself; after that I would hurl him headlong;
Caeteros ruerem, agerem, raperem, tunderem, et prosternerem.
the rest I would overthrow, drive, snatch, beat, and prostrate.
Sed cesso heram hoc malo impertiri propere?4
But why do I delay to impart this misfortune to my mistress quickly?
Revocemus. Geta.
Let us call him back. Geta!
Hem, quisquis es, sine me.
Ah, whoever you are, leave me alone.
Ego sum Sostrata.
It is I, Sostrata.
Ubi ea est? te ipsam quaerito,
Where is she? I am looking for you yourself,
Te expecto: oppido opportune te obtulisti mihi obviam,
I am waiting for you: you have met me quite opportunely,
Hera.
mistress.
Quid est? quid trepidas?
What is it? Why are you trembling?
Hei mihi!
Ah, me!
Quid festinas, mi Geta?
Why are you hurrying, my Geta?
Animam recipe.
Recover your breath.
Prorsus—
Completely—
Quid istuc prorsus ergo est.
What is that “completely” then?
Periimus:
We are ruined:
Actum est.
it is all over.
Eloquere ergo, obsecro te, quid sit.
Tell me then, I beseech you, what it is.
Iam—
Already—
Quid iam, Geta?
What already, Geta?
Aeschinus—
Aeschinus—
Quid is ergo?
What of him then?
alienus est ab nostra familia.
is estranged from our family.
Hem,
Ah!
Perii: quare?
I am ruined: why?
Amare occepit aliam.
He has begun to love another.
Vae miserae mihi!
Woe to miserable me!
Neque id occulte fert: ab lenone ipsus eripuit palam.
Nor does he carry it on in secret: he himself openly carried her off from the pimp.
Satin hoc certum est?
Is this quite certain?
Certum: hisce oculis egomet vidi, Sostrata.
Certain: I saw it myself with these eyes, Sostrata.
Ah,
Ah,
Me miseram! quid credas iam? aut cui credas? Nostrumne Aeschinum;
miserable me! What can you believe now? Or whom can you trust? Our Aeschinus;
Nostram vitam omnium, in quo nostrae spes omnesque opes sitae
our very life, in whom all our hopes and all our resources were placed;
Erant; qui sine hac iurabat se unum nunquam victurum diem;
who used to swear that he would never live a single day without her;
Qui se in sui gremio positurum puerum dicebat patris;
who said he would place the child in his father’s lap;
Ita obsecraturum ut liceret sibi hanc uxorem ducere?
and would beg him in such a way that he would be allowed to marry her?
Hera, lacrimas mitte, ac potius quod ad hanc rem opus est porro consule;
Mistress, cease your tears, and rather consult what must be done in this matter henceforth;
Patiamurne, an narremus cuipiam?
shall we endure it, or shall we tell it to someone?
Au, mi homo, sanusne es?
Oh, my dear man, are you in your right mind?
An hoc proferendum tibi videtur usquam esse?
Or does it seem to you that this should be made public anywhere?
Mihi quidem non placet.
Indeed, it does not please me.
Iam primum illum alieno animo a nobis esse res ipsa indicat.
Now first of all, the fact itself indicates that his heart is estranged from us.
Nunc si hoc palam proferimus ille infitias ibit, sat scio.
Now if we make this public, he will deny it, I know well.
Tua fama et gnatae vita in dubium veniet. Tum si maxime
Your reputation and your daughter’s life will be put in danger. Then, even if he should fully
Fateatur, quum amet aliam, non est utile hanc illi dari:
confess, since he loves another, it is not useful for her to be given to him:
Quapropter quoquo pacto tacito est opus.
therefore, by all means, there is need for silence.
Ah, minime gentium:
Ah, least of all in the world:
Non faciam.
I will not do it.
Quid ages?
What will you do?
Proferam.
I will make it public.
Hem, mea Sostrata, vide quam rem agas.
Oh, my Sostrata, see what you are doing.
Peiore res loco non potest esse quam in quo nunc sita est.
The matter cannot be in a worse position than it is now.
Primum indotata est: tum praeterea quae secunda ei dos erat
First, she has no dowry: then besides, what was her second dowry
Periit: pro virgine dari nuptum non potest. Hoc reliquum est:
is lost: she cannot be given in marriage as a virgin. This is what remains:
Si infitias ibit, testis mecum est annulus quem amiserat.
if he denies it, the ring which he lost is my witness.
Postremo, quando ego conscia mihi sum a me culpam esse hanc procul,
Finally, since I am conscious that this fault is far from me,
Neque pretium neque rem ullam intercessisse illa aut me indignam, Geta,
and that no money or any matter unworthy of her or me has intervened, Geta,
Experiar.
I will take legal action.
Quid ista? accedo, ut melius dicas.
What do you say? I agree, I must say that you speak for the better.
Tu, quantum potes,
You, as fast as you can,
Abi, atque Hegioni cognato huius rem omnem narrato ordine;
go, and tell the whole matter in order to Hegio, her relative;
Nam is nostro Simulo fuit summus, et nos coluit maxime.
for he was a very close friend of our Simulus, and respected us highly.
Nam hercle alius nemo respicit nos.
For, by Hercules, no other person respects us.
Propera tu, mea Canthara,
You hurry, my Canthara,
Curre: obstetricem arcesse, ut cum opus sit ne in mora nobis siet.
run: fetch the midwife, so that she may not cause us delay when there is need.
Disperii! Ctesiphonem audivi filium
I am utterly ruined! I heard that my son Ctesipho
Una affuisse in raptione cum Aeschino.
was present together with Aeschinus in that abduction.
Id misero restat mihi mali, si illum potest
This remaining evil is left for miserable me, if he can
Qui alicui rei est etiam eum ad nequitiam abducere.
lead even him, who is of some worth, away to wickedness.
Ubi ego illum quaeram? credo abductum in ganeum
Where shall I look for him? I believe he has been led off to some brothel
Aliquo: persuasit ille impurus, sat scio.
somewhere: that vile fellow persuaded him, I know well.
Sed eccum Syrum ire video: hinc scibo iam ubi siet;
But look, I see Syrus coming: from him I shall now know where he is;
Atque hercle hic de grege illo est: si me senserit
and indeed, by Hercules, he is of that pack: if he perceives that I
Eum quaeritare, nunquam dicet carnifex.
am looking for him, the scoundrel will never tell.
Non ostendam me id velle.
I will not show that I want that.
Omnem rem modo seni
Just now we told the old man the whole matter
Quo pacto se haberet enarramus ordine:
in order, how it stood:
Nihil vidi quicquam laetius.
I never saw anything more joyful.
Pro Iupiter,
By Jupiter,
- 312Ut ego iram hanc in eos evomam omnem
The conjunction ut with the subjunctive (evomam) in an independent clause expresses a strong optative or exclamatory desire, often with indignation. Here, it is interpreted as a passionate wish: 'Would that I might vomit...'
- 313Satis mihi id habeam supplici
The form supplici is the genitive singular of the neuter noun supplicium (punishment), featuring an archaic single -i ending. It functions as a partitive genitive dependent on the adverbial noun satis ('enough of punishment'). habeam is a present subjunctive of concession or wish.
- 314extinguerem
The imperfect subjunctives (extinguerem, lacerarem, arriperem, etc.) express unfulfilled actions in past time, or potential/unreal actions in the present context ('I would extinguish...', 'I would tear...'), depicting Geta's furious but unexecuted desires.
- 320Sed cesso heram hoc malo impertiri propere?
The infinitive impertiri is a passive form of impertio (to share, impart), used here deponently with active meaning. It governs the accusative heram as the direct object and the ablative hoc malo as the ablative of means or content ('to present the mistress with this bad news'). cesso with the infinitive means 'to hesitate to' do something.