- 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-lat2:746-817
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Demea is outraged by Micio's lenient upbringing and the decision to keep the music-girl in the house. Upon entering Micio's house, Demea discovers his other son, Ctesipho, carousing there, leading to a fierce confrontation with Micio, who calmly reasons with him about shared responsibility and financial calculations.
Aliquo abiicienda est, si non pretio at gratiis.
Demea: She must be cast off somewhere, if not for a price, then for nothing.
Neque est, neque illam sane studeo vendere.
Micio: There is no need, nor indeed am I eager to sell her.
Quid igitur facies?
Demea: What will you do then?
Domi erit.
Micio: She will be at home.
Pro Divum fidem!
Demea: By the faith of the Gods!
Meretrix et materfamilias una in domo?
A courtesan and a mistress of the house in one home?
Cur non?
Micio: Why not?
Sanum te credis esse?
Demea: Do you believe you are sane?
Equidem arbitror.
Micio: I certainly think so.
Ita me Di ament, ut1 video ego tuam ineptiam,
Demea: So may the Gods love me, as I see your folly,
Facturum credo ut habeas quicum cantites.
I believe you will make it that you have someone to sing with.
Cur non?
Micio: Why not?
Et nova nupta eadem haece discet?
Demea: And will the new bride learn these same things?
Scilicet.
Micio: To be sure.
Tu inter eas restim ductans saltabis.
Demea: You will dance between them, holding hands in a circle.
Probe.
Micio: Perfectly.
Probe?
Demea: Perfectly?
Et tu nobiscum una, si opus sit.
Micio: And you with us as well, if there be need.
Hei mihi!
Demea: Woe to me!
Non te haec pudent?
Are you not ashamed of these things?
Iam vero omitte, Demea,
Micio: Now indeed dismiss, Demea,
Tuam istanc iracundiam; atque ita uti decet
that anger of yours; and as is fitting,
Hilarum ac libentem fac te gnati in nuptiis.
make yourself cheerful and pleasant at your son’s wedding.
Ego hos conveniam: post huc redeo.
I will go meet these people: afterwards I will return here.
O Iupiter!
Demea: O Jupiter!
Hancine vitam? hoscine mores? hanc dementiam?
Such a life? Such morals? Such madness?
Uxor sine dote veniet; intus psaltria est:
A wife will come without a dowry; inside is a music-girl;
Domus sumtuosa; adolescens luxu perditus;
a house of luxury; a youth ruined by extravagance;
Senex delirans. Ipsa si cupiat Salus
a crazy old man. Even if Salvation herself should wish it,
Servare prorsus non potest hanc familiam.
she cannot possibly save this household.
Edepol, Syrisce, te curasti molliter,
Syrus: By Pollux, Syrus, you have cared for yourself softly,
Lauteque munus administrasti tuum.
and elegantly conducted your office.
Abi. Sed postquam intus sum omnium rerum satur,
Go on. But since inside I am full of all things,
Prodeambulare huc libitum est.
I felt like taking a little walk out here.
Illud sis vide
Demea: Look at that,
Exemplum disciplinae.
an example of discipline.
Ecce autem hic adest
Syrus: But behold, here is
Senex noster. Quid fit? quid tu es tristis?
our old man. What’s happening? Why are you sad?
Oh scelus.
Demea: Oh, you scoundrel.
Ohe, iam tu verba fundis hic, sapientia?
Syrus: Oh, are you pouring out words here, wisdom?
Tu si meus esses2—
Demea: If you were mine—
dis quidem esses, Demea,
Syrus: You would indeed be among the gods, Demea,
Ac tuam rem constabilisses.
and have secured your fortune.
exemplum omnibus
Demea: —I would have made sure
Curarem ut esses.
you were an example to everyone.
Quamobrem? quid feci?
Syrus: Why? What did I do?
Rogas?
Demea: You ask?
In ipsa turba, atque in peccato maximo,
In the midst of the confusion, and in the greatest offense,
Quod vix sedatum satis est, potasti scelus,
which is scarcely settled, you have been drinking, you scoundrel,
Quasi re bene gesta.
as if indeed things were well done.
Sane nollem huc exitum.
Syrus: Really, I wish I hadn’t come out here.
Heus, Syre; rogat te Ctesipho ut redeas.
Dromo: Hey, Syrus; Ctesipho asks you to return.
Abi.
Syrus: Go away.
Quid Ctesiphonem hic narrat?
Demea: What is he saying about Ctesipho?
Nihil.
Syrus: Nothing.
Eho carnifex,
Demea: Hey, you gallows-bird,
Est Ctesipho intus?
is Ctesipho inside?
Non est.
Syrus: He is not.
Cur hic nominat?
Demea: Why does he mention him here?
Est alius quidam, parasitaster parvulus:
Syrus: There is another, a certain little parasite;
Nostin?
do you know him?
Iam scibo.
Demea: I shall soon know.
Quid agis? quo abis?
Syrus: What are you doing? Where are you going?
Mitte me.
Demea: Let me go.
Noli inquam.
Syrus: Don’t, I say.
Non manum abstines, mastigia?
Demea: Keep your hands off, whip-rascal!
An tibi iam mavis cerebrum dispergi hic?
Or would you rather have your brains scattered here?
Abit.
Syrus: He is gone.
Edepol comissatorem haud sane commodum,
By Pollux, a guest by no means convenient,
Praesertim Ctesiphoni. Quid ego nunc agam
especially for Ctesipho. What shall I do now
Nisi, dum hae silescunt turbae, interea in angulum
except, while these troubles quiet down, meanwhile into some corner
Aliquo abeam, atque edormiscam hoc villi?3 Sic agam.
I go, and sleep off this wine? I will do so.
Parata a nobis sunt, ut dixi, Sostrata,
Micio: Things are prepared by us, Sostrata, as I said,
Ubi vis. Quisnam a me pepulit tam graviter fores?
whenever you wish. Who knocked so heavily on my door?
Hei mihi, quid faciam? quid agam? quid clamem aut querar?
Demea: Woe to me, what shall I do? What shall I act? What shall I cry out or complain of?
O coelum, O terra, O maria Neptuni!
O heaven, O earth, O seas of Neptune!
Em tibi:
Micio: Look at that:
Rescivit omnem rem; id nunc clamat scilicet:
he has found out the whole matter; that is why he cries out now:
Paratae lites; succurrendum est.
lawsuits are ready; I must run to help.
Eccum adest
Demea: Behold, here is
Communis corruptela nostrum liberum.
the common ruin of our children.
Tandem reprime iracundiam, atque ad te redi.
Micio: Calm your anger at last, and return to yourself.
Repressi, redii: mitto maledicta omnia:
Demea: I have calmed it, I have returned; I dismiss all curses;
Rem ipsam putemus: dictum hoc inter nos fuit,
let us consider the matter itself: this was agreed between us,
Ex te adeo est ortum, ne tu curares meum,
and indeed it started from you, that you should not care for mine,
Neve ego tuum?4 responde.
nor I for yours? Answer me.
Factum est; non nego.
Micio: It was so; I do not deny it.
Cur nunc apud te potat? cur recipis meum?
Demea: Why now is he drinking at your house? Why do you welcome mine?
Cur emis amicam Micio? Numqui minus
Why do you buy him a mistress, Micio? Is it any less
Mihi idem ius aequum est esse quod mecum est tibi?
just that I should have the same right with you as you have with me?
Quando ego tuum non euro, ne cura meum.
Since I do not care for yours, do not care for mine.
Non aequum dicis; non; nam vetus verbum hoc quidem est;
Micio: You do not speak justly; no; for indeed this is an old saying:
Communia esse amicorum inter se omnia.
all things are common among friends.
Facete! nunc demum istaec nata oratio est.
Demea: Witty! Now at last that speech is born.
Ausculta paucis, nisi molestum est, Demea.
Micio: Listen to a few words, if it is not troublesome, Demea.
Principio, si id te mordet, sumtum filii
First, if the expense of your sons
Quem faciunt, quaeso facito haec tecum cogites:
which they make bites you, please make sure you reflect on this with yourself:
Tu illos duos olim pro re tollebas tua,
you once were bringing up those two according to your means,
Quod satis putabas tua bona ambobus fore,
because you thought your own property would be enough for both,
Et me tum uxorem credidisti, scilicet,
and you believed then that I, of course,
Ducturum: eandem illam rationem antiquam obtine:
would marry: keep that same old calculation:
Conserva, quaere, parce: fac quam plurimum
save, seek, spare: make sure you leave as much as possible
Illis relinquas: gloriam tu istam obtine.
to them: keep that glory of yours.
Mea, quae praeter spem evenere, utantur sine.
Let them use my property, which has come beyond expectation.
- 751Ita me Di ament, ut
An idiomatic formula of oath. Literally, "so may the Gods love me, as...", it is used to express a strong assertion or affirmation ("by the Gods," "assuredly").
- 772Tu si meus esses— / dis quidem esses
Interruption and wordplay. Demea begins a conditional clause "If you were mine [slave]—", which Syrus interrupts by hijacking the verb esses with dis esses ("you would have been among the gods," implying either "you would have been dead and deified under your harsh rule" or "you would have been as rich as a god").
- 788villi
The contracted genitive of the diminutive form vinulum (from vinum, wine). It acts as a partitive genitive with the preceding demonstrative hoc, meaning "this (little bit of) wine."
- 799meum... tuum
Accusative possessive pronouns. The noun filium (son) is understood from the context and omitted, meaning "my son" and "your son" respectively.