- 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-lat2:623-684
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Aeschinus, attempting to explain himself at Pamphila's house, encounters Micio, who tests him with a fabricated story about Pamphila being carried away by a relative, but ultimately comforts and forgives his weeping son after revealing he knows the truth.
Satis diu dedisti verba; sat adhuc tua nos frustrata est fides."
”You have deceived us with words long enough; your promise has sufficiently disappointed us up to now.”
"Hem, quid istuc obsecro," inquam, "est?" "Valeas; habeas illam quae placet."
”’Ah, what is that, I beseech you?’ I said. ‘Farewell; keep her who pleases you.’”
Sensi ilico id illas suspicari: sed me reprehendi tamen
I perceived immediately that they suspected that; but I restrained myself nevertheless,
Ne quid de fratre garrulae illi dicerem, ac fieret palam.
lest I should say anything about my brother to that chatterbox, and it should become public.
Nunc quid faciam? Dicam fratris esse? Id quidem minime est opus
Now, what shall I do? Shall I say it is my brother’s? That indeed is by no means necessary
Usquam efferri. Ac mitto: fieri potis est ut ne qua exeat.
to be blabbed abroad. And I let it pass; it is possible that it may not get out anywhere.
Ipsum id metuo ut credant;1 tot concurrunt verisimilia.
I fear that very thing, that they will not believe it; so many probabilities concur.
Egomet rapui; ipse egomet solvi argentum; ad me abducta est domum.
I myself carried her off; I myself paid the money; she was brought to my house.
Haec adeo mea culpa fateor fieri. Non me hanc rem patri
These things, indeed, I confess are happening through my own fault. Why did I not make this matter known to my father,
Ut ut erat gesta indicasse? Exorassem2 ut eam ducerem.
however it had been done? I should have persuaded him to let me marry her.
Cessatum usque adhuc est: nunc porro, Aeschine, expergiscere!
Up to now there has been delay; now henceforth, Aeschinus, wake up!
Nunc hoc primum est: ad illas ibo ut purgem me; accedam ad fores.
Now, this is the first thing: I will go to them to clear myself; I will approach the door.
Perii! horresco semper ubi pultare hasce occipio miser.
I am ruined! I always shudder when I begin to knock at this door, wretch that I am.
Heus, heus: Aeschinus ego sum: aperite aliquis actutum ostium.
Ho, ho! I am Aeschinus; someone open the door immediately.
Prodit nescio quis: concedam huc.
Someone is coming out; I will step aside here.
Ita uti dixi, Sostrata,
Micio: Sostrata, do as I told you;
Facite: ego Aeschinum conveniam, ut quomodo acta haec sint sciat.
I will meet Aeschinus, so that he may know how these matters have been managed.
Sed quis ostium hoc pultavit?
But who knocked at this door?
Pater hercle est: perii.
Aeschinus: By Hercules, it’s my father! I am ruined.
Aeschine.
Micio: Aeschinus!
Quid huic hic negoti est?
Aeschinus: What business has he here?
Tune has pepulisti fores?
Micio: Did you knock at this door?
Tacet. Cur non ludo hunc aliquantisper? Melius est,
He is silent. Why shouldn’t I tease him for a little while? It is better,
Quandoquidem hoc nunquam mihi ipse voluit credere.
since he himself was never willing to trust me with this matter.
Nihil mihi respondes?
Do you answer me nothing?
Non equidem istas quod sciam.
Aeschinus: Not indeed those doors, as far as I know.
Ita? nam mirabar quid hic negoti esset tibi.
Micio: Is it so? For I was wondering what business you had here.
Erubuit: salva res est.
He blushed; all is well.
Dic sodes, pater,
Aeschinus: Tell me, please, father,
Tibi vero quid istic est rei?
what business, indeed, have you there?
Nihil mihi quidem:
Micio: Nothing indeed to me.
Amicus quidam me a foro abduxit modo
A friend of mine just now brought me from the forum
Huc advocatum sibi.
here to be his advocate.
Quid?
Aeschinus: What is it?
Ego dicam tibi:
Micio: I will tell you:
Habitant hic quaedam mulieres pauperculae,
There live here certain poor women,
Ut opinor; has non nosse te et certo scio;
as I suppose; I am sure also that you do not know them;
Neque enim diu huc commigrarunt.
for they have not moved here long ago.
Quid tum postea?
Aeschinus: What then?
Virgo est cum matre.
Micio: There is a maiden with her mother.
Perge.
Aeschinus: Go on.
Haec virgo orba est patre:
Micio: This maiden is fatherless;
Hic meus amicus illi genere est proximus:
this friend of mine is her nearest relation;
Huic leges cogunt nubere hanc.
the laws compel her to marry him.
Perii.
Aeschinus: I am ruined!
Quid est?
Micio: What is the matter?
Nihil: recte: perge.
Aeschinus: Nothing; it’s all right; go on.
Is venit ut secum avehat;
Micio: He has come to carry her away with him;
Nam habitat Mileti.
for he lives at Miletus.
Hem, virginem ut secum avehat?
Aeschinus: What? To carry the maiden away with him?
Sic est.
Micio: So it is.
Miletum usque obsecro?
Aeschinus: All the way to Miletus, pray?
Ita.
Micio: Yes.
Animo male est.
Aeschinus: I feel sick at heart.
Quid ipsae? quid aiunt?
What about themselves? What do they say?
Quid illas censes? nihil enim.
Micio: What do you think they say? Nothing indeed.
Commenta mater est esse ex alio viro
The mother has fabricated that a child was born
Nescio quo puerum natum; neque eum nominat;
by some other man, she does not know who; and she does not name him;
Priorem esse illum; non oportere huic dari.
she says that he was the prior one; that she ought not to be given to this man.
Eho, nonne haec iusta tibi videntur postea?
Well, do these things seem just to you after all?
Non.
Aeschinus: No.
Obsecro, non? an illam hinc abducet, pater?
Pray, not? Is he going to carry her away from here, father?
Quid illam ni abducat?
Micio: Why shouldn’t he carry her away?
Factum a vobis duriter
Aeschinus: It is acted harshly by you,
Immisericorditerque; atque etiam, si est, pater,
and unmercifully; and even, if it must, father,
Dicendum magis aperte, illiberaliter.
be spoken more openly, ungenerously.
Quamobrem?
Micio: Why so?
Rogas me? quid illi tandem creditis
Aeschinus: Do you ask me? What, pray, do you think will be the feelings of that wretched man
Fore animi misero quicum illa consuevit prius,
who was intimate with her before,
Qui infelix haud scio an3 illam misere nunc amat,
who, unhappy man, is likely now desperately in love with her,
Quum hanc sibi videbit praesens praesenti eripi,
when he shall see her snatched away from him before his very eyes,
Abduci ab oculis? Facinus indignum, pater.
carried off from his sight? A shameful deed, father!
Qua ratione istuc? quis despondit? quis dedit?
Micio: On what ground is that? Who betrothed her? Who gave her?
Cui, quando nupsit? auctor his rebus quis est?
To whom, when did she marry? Who is the authorizer of these matters?
Cur duxit alienam?
Why did he take another man’s property?
An sedere oportuit
Aeschinus: Was she to sit
Domi virginem tam grandem, dum cognatus hinc
at home, a maiden of such an age, waiting till a relation should come
Illinc veniret exspectantem? Haec, mi pater,
from some quarter or other? This, my father,
Te dicere aequum fuit, et id defendere.
it was right for you to say, and to defend.
Ridiculum: adversumne illum causam dicerem
Micio: Ridiculous! Was I to plead a cause against him
Cui veneram advocatus? sed, quid ista, Aeschine,
for whom I had come as an advocate? But, Aeschinus, what are those things
Nostra? aut quid nobis cum illis? abeamus. Quid est?
to us? Or what have we to do with them? Let’s go. What is it?
Quid lacrimas?
Why do you weep?
Pater obsecro ausculta.
Aeschinus: Father, I beseech you, listen.
Aeschine, audivi omnia
Micio: Aeschinus, I have heard all,
Et scio; nam te amo; quo magis quae agis curae sunt mihi.
and I know it; for I love you; and therefore your actions are the more a care to me.
Ita velim me promerentem ames dum vivas mi pater,
Aeschinus: So may you love me as I deserve, my father, as long as you live,
Ut me hoc delictum admisisse in me id mihi vehementer dolet,4
as it deeply grieves me to have committed this fault.
- 629ut credant
The conjunction ut introducing the subjunctive clause after a verb of fearing (metuo) expresses a negative fear ("I fear that they will NOT believe"), in contrast with ne, which introduces a positive fear ("I fear that they will"). Here Aeschinus fears that the women will not believe his explanation.
- 632Exorassem
The pluperfect subjunctive exorassem is used independently to express a past unfulfilled possibility or potential as the apodosis of an implied conditional sentence ("I should have persuaded [my father, if I had told him]").
- 669haud scio an
The idiomatic adverbial expression haud scio an (literally "I do not know whether... or not") is used in classical Latin to express a strong probability or mild affirmation ("probably", "perhaps", "I suspect that").
- 683Ita velim me promerentem ames... ut me hoc delictum admisisse in me id mihi vehementer dolet
A correlative ita... ut... construction used in an oath or a solemn wish. The strength of the wish in the subjunctive (velim... ames) is contrasted with and sworn by the truth of the fact in the indicative (dolet) in the ut-clause, meaning "May you love me as I deserve, just as truly as it deeply grieves me to have committed this fault."