Terence · Heauton Timorumenos §657..-709..

Recognition of Antiphila and Syrus's New Scheme

Passage 14 of 20 · Latin

Summary

Through the ring verified by Sostrata, the young girl accompanied by Bacchis is revealed to be their biological daughter, Antiphila. Syrus calms the ecstatic Clinia and proposes a new plan to keep Clitipho's love affair hidden from the old man.

§657..Cognovi: ad te exsilui.

[Sostrata] I recognized it: I rushed out to you.

§657b..Quid nunc suspicare, aut invenis §658..De illa?

[Chremes] What do you suspect now, or what have you found out about her?

§658b..Nescio; nisi ut ex ipsa quaeras unde hunc habuerit,

[Sostrata] I do not know; except that you should ask her herself where she got this, if it can be discovered.

§659..Si potis est reperiri. §659b..Interii: plus spei video quam volo.

[Syrus] I am ruined: I see more hope than I want.

§660..Nostra est, si ita est.

[Chremes] She is ours, if it is so.

§660b..Vivitne illa cui tu dederas?

Is she alive, the woman to whom you had given her?

§660c..Nescio.

[Sostrata] I do not know.

§661..Quid renuntiavit olim?

[Chremes] What did she report back then?

§661b..Fecisse id quod iusseram.

[Sostrata] That she had done what I had ordered.

§662..Nomen mulieris cedo quod sit, ut quaeratur.

[Chremes] Tell me the name of the woman, what it is, so that she may be sought.

§662b..Philtere.

[Sostrata] Philtera.

§663..Ipsa est: mirum ni illa salva est, et ego perii.

[Syrus] That's her: it'll be a wonder if she isn't safe, and I am ruined.

§663b..Sostrata, §664..Sequere me intro hac.

[Chremes] Sostrata, follow me inside this way.

§664b..Ut praeter spem evenit.

[Sostrata] How beyond expectation it has turned out!

Quam timui male §665..Ne nunc animo ita esses duro ut olim in tollenda, Chreme!

How wretchedly I feared lest you should be of so hard a mind now, Chremes, as formerly about rearing her!

§666..Non licet hominem esse saepe ita ut volt, si res non sinit.

[Chremes] It is often not allowed for a man to be as he wishes, if circumstances do not permit.

§667..Nunc ita tempus est mihi ut cupiam filiam; olim nihil minus.

Now the times are such for me that I desire a daughter; formerly nothing less.

§668..Nisi me animus fallit, haud permultum a me aberit infortunium: §669..Ita hac re in angustum oppido nunc meae coguntur copiae; §670..Nisi aliquid video ne esse amicam hanc gnati resciscat senex.

[Syrus] Unless my mind deceives me, misfortune will not be very far from me: so entirely now are my forces driven into a narrow strait by this business; unless I see some way to prevent the old man from finding out that this girl is his son's mistress.

§671..Nam quod de argento sperem, aut posse postulem me fallere, §672..Nihil est: triumpho si licet me latere tecto abscedere.

For as to expecting anything concerning the money, or demanding that I can deceive, there is nothing in it: I triumph if I am allowed to escape with a covered flank.

§673..Crucior, bolum tantum mihi ereptum tam de subito e faucibus.

I am tormented that such a great morsel has been snatched so suddenly from my jaws.

§674..Quid agam? aut quid comminiscar? ratio de integro ineunda est mihi.

What shall I do? or what shall I devise? A plan must be formed by me anew.

§675..Nihil tam difficile est quin quaerendo investigari possiet.

Nothing is so difficult but that it can be tracked out by searching.

§676..Quid si hoc nunc sic incipiam? Nihil est.

What if I now begin this in this way? It is nothing.

Quid si sic? Tantundem egero.

What if in this way? I shall have done just as much.

§677..At sic opinor.

But in this way, I think.

Non potest.

It cannot be.

Immo optime.

Nay, best of all!

Euge, habeo optimam.

Well done, I have the best!

§678..Retraham hercle opinor ad me idem illud fugitivum argentum tamen.

By Hercules, I think I shall yet drag back to me that same runaway money.

§679..Nulla mihi res posthac potest iam intervenire tanta §680..Quae mihi aegritudinem afferat: tanta haec laetitia oborta est.

[Clinia] No event can happen to me hereafter so great as to bring me sorrow: so great is this joy that has arisen.

§681..Dedo patri me nunc iam ut frugalior sim quam vult.

I surrender myself to my father now already, so that I may be more frugal than he wishes.

§682..Nihil me fefellit: cognita est, quantum audio huius verba.

[Syrus] Nothing has deceived me: she has been recognized, as far as I hear his words.

§683..Istuc tibi ex sententia tua obtigisse laetor.

I rejoice that this has happened to you according to your wish.

§684..O mi Syre, audistine obsecro?

[Clinia] O my Syrus, did you hear, pray?

§684b..Quidni, qui usque una adfuerim?

[Syrus] Why not, when I have been present together all the while?

§685..Cuiquam aeque audisti commodius quicquam evenisse?

[Clinia] Did you ever hear of anything turning out more conveniently for anyone?

§685b..Nulli.

[Syrus] To no one.

§686..Atque ita me Di ament ut ego nunc non tam meapte causa §687..Laetor quam illius quam ego scio esse honore quovis dignam.

[Clinia] And so may the Gods love me, as I do not now rejoice so much on my own account as for her, whom I know to be worthy of any honor.

§688..Ita credo: sed nunc, Clinia, age, da te mihi vicissim:

[Syrus] I believe so: but now, Clinia, come, give yourself to me in turn:

§689..Nam amici quoque res est videnda in tuto ut collocetur; §690..Ne quid de amica nunc senex.

For your friend's business also must be seen to, that it may be placed in safety; lest the old man now concerning his mistress...

§690b..O Iupiter!

[Clinia] O Jupiter!

§690c..Quiesce.

[Syrus] Quiet.

§691..Antiphila mea nubet mihi.

[Clinia] My Antiphila will marry me.

§691b..Sicine mihi interloquere?

[Syrus] Do you interrupt me in this way?

§692..Quid faciam, Syre mi? gaudeo: fer me.

[Clinia] What shall I do, my Syrus? I rejoice: bear with me.

§692b..Fero hercle vero.

[Syrus] I do bear indeed, by Hercules.

§693..Deorum vitam apti sumus.

[Clinia] We have obtained the life of the Gods.

§693b..Frustra operam, opinor, sumo.

[Syrus] I am spending my labor in vain, I think.

§694..Loquere; audio.

[Clinia] Speak; I am listening.

§694b..At iam hoc non ages.

[Syrus] But now you will not attend to this.

§694c..Agam.

[Clinia] I will.

§694d..Videndum est, inquam, §695..Amici quoque res, Clinia, tui in tuto ut collocetur:

[Syrus] We must see to it, I say, that your friend's business also, Clinia, be placed in safety:

§696..Nam si nunc a nobis abis, et Bacchidem hic relinquis, §697..Noster resciscet ilico esse amicam hanc Clitiphonis: §698..Si abduxeris, celabitur itidem ut celata adhuc est.

For if you now depart from us, and leave Bacchis here, our old man will find out immediately that she is Clitipho's mistress: if you take her away, it will be concealed just as it has been concealed up to now.

§699..At enim istoc nihil est magis, Syre, meis nuptiis adversum:

[Clinia] But indeed, Syrus, nothing is more contrary to my marriage than that:

§700..Nam quo ore appellabo patrem? Tenes quid dicam?

For with what face shall I address my father? Do you understand what I say?

§700b..Quidni?

[Syrus] Why not?

§701..Quid dicam? quam causam afferam?

[Clinia] What shall I say? What reason shall I bring?

§701b..Quin nolo mentiare.

[Syrus] Nay, I do not want you to lie.

§702..Aperte ita ut res sese habet narrato.

Tell the story openly just as the matter stands.

§702b..Quid ais?

[Clinia] What do you say?

§702c..Iubeo; §703..Illam te amare et velle uxorem: hanc esse Clitiphonis.

[Syrus] I bid you; that you love her and want her as your wife; and that this one is Clitipho's.

§704..Bonam atque iustam rem oppido imperas, et factu facilem; §705..Et scilicet iam me hoc voles patrem exorare ut celet §706..Senem vestrum.

[Clinia] You command an altogether good and just thing, and easy to do; and to be sure, you will now want me to persuade my father to hide this from your old man.

§706b..Immo, ut recta via rem narret ordine omnem.

[Syrus] Nay, rather that he tell the whole matter directly in order.

§706c..Hem,

[Clinia] Ah!

§707..Satin sanus es, aut sobrius? tu quidem illum plane prodis.

Are you quite sane or sober? You indeed plainly betray him.

§708..Nam qui ille poterit esse in tuto? dic mihi.

For how will he be able to be in safety? Tell me.

§709..Huic equidem consilio palmam do: hic me magnifice effero,

[Syrus] To this plan indeed I give the palm: here I extol myself magnificently,

Notes

658bnisi ut ex ipsa quaeras unde hunc habuerit — The clause nisi ut... serves as a noun clause showing an exception to the preceding nescio, where ut quaeras (present subjunctive second-person singular) carries a mild jussive or advisory force ('except that you should ask her herself').
663mirum ni — The phrase mirum ni (literally 'it is a wonder if... not') is a colloquial idiom expressing a strong positive assumption, meaning 'it is highly probable that' or 'surely' she is safe.
671quod de argento sperem — The clause introduced by quod functions as a noun clause of respect ('as to what I might hope concerning the money'), with sperem in the subjunctive of potentiality/uncertainty. Both this and postulem depend on the main clause nihil est in line 672.
675quin — A relative conjunction (equivalent to ut non) introducing a result clause after the negative main clause (nihil tam difficile est), meaning 'nothing is so difficult that it cannot...'. possiet is an archaic third-person singular present subjunctive of posse.
686ita me Di ament ut — A formulaic oath: 'so may the Gods love me, as [I rejoice...]'. The ita... ut construction expresses a solemn oath, conditioning the gods' favor on the truth of the subsequent statement.
701bquin nolo mentiare — The particle quin acts as a corrective or corroborative adverb ('nay, indeed'). nolo is directly followed by the subjunctive mentiare (second-person singular present subjunctive of the deponent mentior) without ut, expressing strong volition ('I don't want you to lie').

Cite this passage

Terence, Heauton Timorumenos §657..-709... Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0134.phi002.humanitext-lat2:657..-709..

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