But I will neither return her nor let you go today, unless you give attention to what I wish to speak with you.
§465Pótin ut mihi molestus ne sis?
Can you not be troublesome to me?
Nay, that is my name, all mortals call me Troublesome.
§467obsecro.
I beseech you.
§467bAt frustra obsecras.
But you beseech in vain.
§469quia sine omni
for without any...
§469bDabo
I will give...
§470ius iurandum.
an oath.
§471At ego nunc ab illo mihi caveo iure iurando tuo; §472similest ius iurandum amantum quasi ius confusicium.
But I now guard myself against that oath of yours; the oath of lovers is like a mixed-up soup.
§473Nescia
Ignorant...
§474bnugas agis.
you are talking nonsense.
§477Supplicium dabo
I will pay the penalty...
§478quo modo ego
how I...
because you have found a new one, as if you knew nothing about certain things.
§481bDi deaeque illam perdant † pariter.
May the gods and goddesses ruin her likewise!
§482umquam, si hoc fallo.
...ever, if I break this oath.
§482bNil moror
I care nothing.
§483falsum fallis, eo te ignorat fides.
you deceive with falsehood, therefore Faith ignores you.
§484postremo, si mihi dedisses verba, deis numquam dares.
after all, even if you had deceived me with words, you would never have deceived the gods.
§485Quin equidem illam ducam uxorem.
But indeed I will take her as my wife.
§485bDucas, si
You may marry her, if...
§486nunc hoc si tibi commodumst, quae
if this is convenient for you now, which...
§487Instruxi illi aurum atque vestem.
I provided gold and clothing for her.
§488siquidem amabas, illi instrui.
if indeed you loved her, you should have had them provided for her.
§489sed sino.
But I let that pass.
iam hoc mihi responde quod ego te rogavero: §490instruxisti
Now answer me this which I shall ask you: did you provide...
§491tibi ita ut voluisti
for yourself just as you wished?
§491bquod volo.
what I want.
§492Eo facetu's quia tibi aliast sponsa locuples Lemnia.
You are witty for this reason, because you have another wealthy Lemnian fiancée.
§493habeas.
Keep her.
neque nos factione tanta quanta tu sumus §494neque opes nostrae tam sunt validae quam tuae; verum tamen §495hau metuo ne ius iurandum nostrum quisquam culpitet: §496tu iam, si quid tibi dolebit, scies qua doleat gratia.
We are neither of such a great faction as you, nor is our wealth as strong as yours; but nevertheless, I do not fear at all that anyone will blame our oath: you now, if anything hurts you, will know for what reason it hurts.
May the gods ruin me— Whatever you pray for, I would wish to happen to you.
§498Si illam uxorem duxero umquam, mihi quam despondit pater.
If I ever marry that woman whom my father betrothed to me!
§499Et me, si umquam tibi uxorem filiam dedero meam.
And me too, if I ever give my daughter to you as a wife.
§500Patierin me periurare?
Will you allow me to perjure myself?
By Pollux, you much more easily, than that I and my property perish and my daughter be mocked.
§502alibi quaere ubi iuri iurando tuo satis sit subsidi: §503hic apud nós iam, Alcesimarche, confregisti tesseram.
seek elsewhere where there is enough support for your oath: here with us now, Alcesimarchus, you have broken the hospitality token.
§504Face semel periclum.
Make a trial just once.
§504bFeci saepe, quod factum queror.
I have made it often, which having done I regret.
§505Redde mi illam.
Return her to me.
§505bInter novam rem verbum usurpabo vetus: §506quod dedi datum non vellem, quod relicuomst non dabo. §507Non remissura es mihi illam?
Amidst a new situation, I will use an old saying: 'I would wish that what I gave had not been given, and what is left I will not give.' Are you not going to send her back to me?
§507bPro me responsas tibi.
You answer yourself on my behalf.
§508Non remittes?
Will you not send her back?
§508bScis iam dudum omnem meam sententiam.
You have long known my entire decision.
§509Satin istuc tibi in corde certumst?
Is that sufficiently fixed in your heart?
§509bQuin ego commentor quidem.
Nay, indeed I have meditated upon it.
§510Non edepol ego istaec tua dicta nunc in auris recipio.
By Pollux, I do not receive those words of yours into my ears now.
§511Non? hem, quid agis igitur? animum advorte iam, ut quid agas scias.
No? Well, what are you doing then? Pay attention now, so that you may know what you are doing.
§512At ita me di deaeque, superi atque inferi et medioxumi, §513itaque me Iuno regina et Iovis supremi filia §514itaque me Saturnus eius patruos— §514bEcastor pater.
But may the gods and goddesses, celestial, infernal, and intermediate, so [ruin] me, and so may queen Juno and the daughter of supreme Jupiter, and so may Saturn, his uncle— By Castor, father!
And so may rich Ops, his grandmother— Nay, mother indeed!
Daughter Juno, and uncle Saturn, and supreme Jupiter— you bewilder me, because of you I make these mistakes.
§517bPerge dicere.
Go on speaking.
§518Anne etiam, ut quid consultura sis sciam, pérgis eloqui?
Do you still go on speaking, so that I may know what you are going to decide?
§519Non remittam.
I will not send her back.
definitumst.
It is determined.
But indeed, so may Jupiter, and so may Juno, and so may Janus, so—I do not know what to say.
§521iam scio.
Now I know.
immo, mulier, audi, meam ut scias sententiam.
Nay, woman, listen, so that you may know my decision.
§522di me omnes, magni minuti, ét etiam patellarii §523faxint, ne ego dem vivae vivos savium Selenio, §524nisi ego teque tuamque † filiam meque hodie obtruncavero, §525poste autem cum primo luci cras nisi ambo occidero, §526et equidem hercle nisi pedatu tertio † omnis efflixero, §527nisi tu illam remittis ad me.
may all the gods, great, small, and even of the dishes, grant that I, alive, may not give a kiss to Selenio, who is alive, unless I slaughter both you and your daughter and myself today, and afterwards, tomorrow at daybreak, unless I kill both of us, and indeed, by Hercules, unless I destroy everyone in a third attack, unless you send her back to me.
dixi quae volui.
I have said what I wished.
vale. —
Farewell.
§528Abiit intro iratus.
He has gone inside angry.
quid ego nunc agam? si redierit
What shall I do now?
§529illa ad hunc, ibidem loci res erit: ubi odium occeperit, §530illam extrudet, tum hanc uxorem Lemniam ducet domum.
If she returns to him, the matter will be in the same position: when he conceives hatred, he will drive her out, then he will bring home this Lemnian wife.
§531sed tamen ibo et persequar: amens ne quid faciat, cauto opust.
but nevertheless I will go and follow him: care is needed lest he do something in his madness.
§532postremo, quando aequa lege pauperi cum divite
after all, since on equal terms a poor man with a rich...