- 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-lat2:367-437
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Syrus boasts about tricking Micio into giving him money, and when Demea appears, Syrus flatters his strict parenting style, falsely reporting that Ctesipho severely scolded Aeschinus in public, which delights Demea.
Hominis stultitiam!1
The folly of the man!
Collaudavit filium:
He highly praised his son:
Mihi qui id dedissem consilium egit gratias.
he thanked me, who had given that advice.
Disrumpor.
I am bursting.
Argentum annumeravit ilico:
He paid out the money on the spot:
Dedit praeterea in sumtum dimidium minae:
besides, he gave half a mina for expenses:
Id distributum sane est ex sententia.
that indeed was distributed entirely to my satisfaction.
Hem!
Ha!
Huic mandes, si quid recte curatum velis.
Entrust a matter to this man, if you want anything properly taken care of.
Hem, Demea, haud aspexeram te. Quid agitur?
Oh, Demea, I hadn’t seen you. What’s going on?
Quid agatur? Vestram nequeo mirari satis
What’s going on? I cannot sufficiently wonder at your
Rationem.
way of life.
Est hercle inepta, ne dicam dolo,2
By Hercules, it is foolish, not to speak deceitfully,
Atque absurda. Pisces ceteros purga, Dromo:
and absurd. Clean the rest of the fish, Dromo:
Congrum istum maximum in aqua sinito ludere
let that very large conger play in the water
Paulisper: ubi ego venero, exossabitur;
for a little while: when I return, it shall be boned;
Prius nolo.
I don’t want it done before.
Haecine flagitia!
Such scandalous deeds!
Mihi quidem non placent;
Indeed, they do not please me;
Et clamo saepe. Salsamenta haec, Stephanio,
and I often cry out. Stephanio, make sure these salt fish
Fac macerentur pulchre.
are beautifully soaked.
Di vestram fidem,
Heavens,
Utrum studione id sibi habet, an laudi putat
is he doing this on purpose, or does he think it will be to his credit
Fore si perdiderit gnatum? Vae misero mihi!
if he ruins his son? Woe to miserable me!
Videre videor iam diem illum quum hinc egens
I seem already to see that day when, needy,
Profugiet aliquo militatum.
he will flee from here somewhere to serve as a soldier.
O Demea,
Oh Demea,
Istuc est sapere, non quod ante pedes modo est
that is wisdom—not only to see what is right before your feet,
Videre, sed etiam illa quae futura sunt
but also to look forward to
Prospicere.
those things which are to come.
Quid? istaec iam penes vos psaltria est?
What? Is that music-girl already at your house?
Ellam intus.
She is inside.
Eho an domi est habiturus?
Oh, is he going to keep her at home?
Credo, ut est
I believe so, such is
Dementia.
his madness.
Haecine fieri!
That such things should be done!
Inepta lenitas
The foolish leniency
Patris et facilitas prava.
of the father and his perverse easygoing nature.
Fratris me quidem
Indeed, I am ashamed and grieved
Pudet pigetque.3
by my brother.
Nimium inter vos, Demea, ac
There is too much difference between you, Demea, and—
Non quia ades praesens dico hoc, pernimium interest.
I do not say this because you are present—there is an immense difference.
Tu quantus quantus es nihil nisi sapientia es:
You, through and through, are nothing but wisdom;
Ille somnium. Sineres vero tu illum tuum
he is a mere dream. Would you indeed allow your son
Facere haec?
to do these things?
Sinerem illum?4 an non sex totis mensibus
Would I allow him? Would I not have scented it out
Prius olfecissem quam ille quicquam coeperit?
six whole months before he began anything?
Vigilantiam tuam tu mihi narras?
You tell me of your vigilance?
Sic siet
I only pray
Modo ut nunc est quaeso.
that it may remain as it is now.
Ut quisque suum vult esse, ita est.
As each man wants his son to be, so he is.
Quid eum? vidistine hodie?
What about him? Have you seen him today?
Tuumne filium?
Your son?
Abigam hunc rus. Iamdudum aliquid ruri agere arbitror.
I will drive him to the country. I believe he has been doing something in the country for some time.
Satin scis ibi esse?
Do you know for sure that he is there?
Oh, qui egomet produxi.
Oh, since I myself saw him off.
Optime est.
That is excellent.
Metui ne haereret hic.
I was afraid he was lingering here.
Atque iratum admodum.
And he was quite angry too.
Quid autem?
What about?
Adortus iurgio fratrem apud forum
He attacked his brother in the forum with a quarrel
De psaltria istac.
about that music-girl.
Ain vero?
Did he really?
Vah, nihil reticuit.
Oh, he held nothing back.
Nam ut numerabatur forte argentum intervenit
For as the money happened to be being counted,
Homo de improviso: coepit clamare, "O Aeschine!
the man arrived unexpectedly: he began to shout, “O Aeschinus!
Haecine flagitia facere te! haec te admittere
That you should do such scandalous deeds! That you should commit these things,
Indigna genere nostro!"
unworthy of our family!”
Oh! lacrimo gaudio.
Oh! I weep with joy.
"Non tu hoc argentum perdis sed vitam tuam."
”You are not losing this money, but your life.”
Salvus sit, spero: est similis maiorum suum.5
May he be safe, I hope: he is like his ancestors.
Hui.
Oh.
Syre, praeceptorum plenus istorum ille.
Syrus, he is full of those precepts.
Phy.
Oh.
Domi habuit unde disceret.
He had someone at home from whom to learn.
Fit sedulo.
It is done diligently.
Nihil praetermitto: consuefacio: denique
I omit nothing: I accustom him: in short,
Inspicere tanquam in speculum in vitas omnium
I bid him look into the lives of all as if into a mirror,
Iubeo, atque ex aliis sumere exemplum sibi.
and to take an example for himself from others.
"Hoc facito."
”Do this.”
Recte sane.
Quite right indeed.
"Hoc fugito."
”Avoid this.”
Callide.
Cleverly.
"Hoc laudi est."
”This is praiseworthy.”
Istaec res est.
That’s the thing.
"Hoc vitio datur."
”This is considered a fault.”
Probissime.
Most excellent.
Porro autem—
Furthermore—
Non hercle otium est
By Hercules, I have no leisure
Nunc mihi auscultandi. Pisces ex sententia
now to listen. I have got fish
Nactus sum: hi mihi ne corrumpantur cautio est:
to my liking: I must take care that they are not spoiled:
Nam id nobis tam flagitium est quam illa, Demea,
for that is as much a scandal to us, Demea, as
Non facere vobis quae modo dixti: et, quod queo,
for you not to do those things which you just said: and, as far as I can,
Conservis ad eundem istunc praecipio modum:
I instruct my fellow-servants in that very same manner:
"(Hoc salsum est; hoc adustum est; hoc lautum est parum,
”(This is too salty; this is burnt; this is not washed enough;
Illud recte: iterum sic memento:" sedulo
that one is right: remember to do it so again:)” diligently
Moneo quae possum pro mea sapientia.
I advise them as best I can according to my wisdom.
Postremo tanquam in speculum in patinas, Demea,
Finally, I bid them look into the dishes as if into a mirror, Demea,
Inspicere iubeo, et moneo quid facto usus siet.
and I advise them what needs to be done.
Inepta haec esse nos quae facimus sentio:
I perceive that these things we do are foolish:
Verum quid facias? ut homo est, ita morem geras.
but what can you do? As a man is, so you must humor him.
Numquid vis?
Do you want anything?
Mentem vobis meliorem dari.
That a better mind be given to you.
Tu rus hinc abis?
Are you going from here to the country?
Recta.
Straight away.
Nam quid tu hic agas,
For what would you do here,
Ubi si quid bene praecipias nemo obtemperet?
where if you give any good advice, no one obeys?
Ego vero hinc abeo, quando is quamobrem huc veneram
Indeed, I am leaving here, since he for whose sake I had come here
Rus abiit: illum curo unum: ille ad me attinet.
has gone to the country: I care for him alone: he belongs to me.
Quando ita vult frater, de istoc ipse viderit.
Since my brother wishes it so, let him see to that other one himself.
- 367Hominis stultitiam!
Accusative of exclamation. Used without a verb to express strong emotion or surprise.
- 375bne dicam dolo
An idiomatic expression derived from a subjunctive clause of purpose. Literally 'lest I speak with deceit (dolo),' meaning 'to speak plainly' or 'honestly speaking.'
- 391bFratris me quidem pudet pigetque.
The construction of impersonal verbs pudet and piget. The person feeling shame or annoyance is in the accusative (me), while the cause of the feeling is in the genitive (fratris).
- 396bSinerem illum?
Subjunctive used for an unfulfilled past action or potential. Expresses a counterfactual question: 'Would I have allowed him? (No, I certainly would not have).'
- 411similis maiorum suum
The adjective similis takes the genitive (maiorum) to mean 'similar to.' 'suum' is an archaic contracted form of 'suorum' (genitive plural of the possessive pronoun), modifying 'maiorum.'