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Terence · Eunuchus §853b-922

Thais Forgiving Chaerea and Pythias Planning Revenge

Passage 17 of 20 · Latin

Summary

Chaerea's misdeed is revealed to Thais, but he begs for forgiveness by professing his love for her, which Thais accepts. While Pythias protests, she guides Chremes and the nurse inside and vows to take revenge on Parmeno.

§853bNon.
No.
§853cQuid igitur?
What then?
§854Hanc metui ne me criminaretur tibi.
I feared her, lest she should accuse me to you.
§855Quid feceras?
What had you done?
§855bPaulum quiddam.
A very little thing.
§855cEho, paulum, impudens?
Oh, a little thing, impudent fellow?
§856An paulum hoc esse tibi videtur, virginem §857Vitiare civem?
Does it seem a little thing to you to violate a virgin citizen?
§857bConservam esse credidi.
I believed her to be a fellow slave.
§858Conservam? Vix me contineo quin involem in §859Capillum.
A fellow slave? I can hardly contain myself from flying at his hair.
Monstrum etiam ultro derisum advenit.
The monster has even come of his own accord to mock us!
§860Abin hinc, insana?
Won't you get away from here, you madwoman?
§860bQuid ita vero? debeam,
Why so, indeed?
§861Credo, isti quicquam furcifero, si id fecerim; §862Praesertim cium se servum fateatur tuum.
I should owe, I suppose, something to that scoundrel, if I were to do that; especially since he confesses himself to be your slave.
§863Missa haec faciamus.
Let us let this pass.
Non te lignum, Chaerea, §864Fecisti; nam etsi ego digna hac contumelia §865Sum maxime, at tu indignius qui faceres tamen.
You have not acted in a manner worthy of yourself, Chaerea; for even if I am most worthy of this insult, yet you were too unworthy to do it.
§866Neque edepol quid nunc consili capiam scio §867De virgine istac: ita conturbasti mihi §868Rationes omnes, ut eam non possim suis, §869Ita ut aequum fuerat atque ut studui, tradere, §870Ut solidum parerem hoc mihi beneficium, Chaerea.
By Pollux, I do not know what plan to take now concerning that girl: you have so disordered all my plans that I cannot deliver her to her friends, just as would have been fair and as I desired, so that I might obtain this favor as a solid one for myself, Chaerea.
§871At nunc dehinc spero aeternam inter nos gratiam §872Fore, Thais.
But now from this time, Thais, I hope there will be eternal friendship between us.
Saepe ex huiusmodi re quapiam et §873Malo principio magna familiaritas §874Conflata est.
Often from some such circumstance and a bad beginning, a great intimacy has been forged.
Quid si hoc quispiam voluit Deus?
What if some god has willed this?
§875Equidem pol in eam partem accipioque et volo.
Indeed, by Pollux, I both accept it in that light and wish for it.
§876Immo ita quaeso.
Nay, so I pray.
Unum hoc scito; contumeliae §877Non me fecisse causa sed amoris.
Know this one thing: I did not do this for the sake of insult, but of love.
§877bScio; §878Et pol propterea magis nunc ignosco tibi.
I know; and by Pollux, for that reason I now forgive you the more.
§879Non adeo inhumano ingenio sum, Chaerea, §880Neque ita imperita ut quid amor valeat nesciam.
I am not of so unfeeling a disposition, Chaerea, nor so inexperienced as not to know what power love has.
§881Te quoque iam, Thais, ita me Di bene ament, amo.
I also now, Thais, so may the gods love me, love you.
§882Tum pol tibi ab istoc, hera, cavendum intelligo.
Then indeed, mistress, I understand that you must be on your guard against that fellow.
§883Non ausim.
I would not dare.
§883bNihil tibi quicquam credo.
I don't believe you in anything.
§883cDesinas.
Stop it.
§884Nunc ego te in hac re mihi oro ut adiutrix sies: §885Ego me tuae commendo et committo fidei; §886Te mihi patronam capio, Thais; te obsecro.
Now I beg you to be my helper in this matter: I commend and commit myself to your keeping; I take you as my patroness, Thais; I beseech you.
§887Emoriar si non hanc uxorem duxero.
I shall die if I do not marry her.
§888Tamen si pater—.
But if your father—.
§888bQuid? ah volet, certo scio; §889Civis modo haec sit.
What? Ah, he will wish it, I know for certain; provided only she be a citizen.
§889bPaululum opperirier §890Si vis, iam frater ipse hic aderit virginis: §891Nutricem arcessitum it quae illam aluit parvulam.
If you wish to wait a little while, soon the brother himself of the girl will be here: he has gone to fetch the nurse who brought her up when she was a little child.
§892In cognoscendo tute ipse aderis, Chaerea.
You yourself, Chaerea, shall be present at the recognition.
§893Ego vero maneo.
I certainly will stay.
§893bVin interea, dum is venit, §894Domi opperiamur potius quam hic ante ostium?
Would you like us, meanwhile, while he is coming, to wait in the house rather than here before the door?
§895Immo percupio.
Nay, I desire it very much.
§895bQuam tu rem actura obsecro es?
Mistress, what, pray, are you going to do?
§896Nam quid ita?
Why so, pray?
§896bRogitas? hunc tu in aedes cogitas §897Recipere posthac?
Do you ask? Do you think of receiving him into your house after this?
§897bCur non?
Why not?
§897cCrede hoc meae fidei; §898Dabit hic aliquam pugnam denuo.
Trust my word for this; he will cause some trouble here again.
§898bAu tace obsecro.
Ah, be silent, pray.
§899Parum perspexisse eius videre audaciam.
You seem to have understood too little of his boldness.
§900Non faciam, Pythias.
I will do nothing, Pythias.
§900bNon pol credo, Chaerea, §901Nisi si commissum non erit.
Indeed, by Pollux, I do not believe you, Chaerea, unless nothing is entrusted to you.
§901bQuin Pythias, §902Tu me servato.
Nay, Pythias, you keep guard over me.
§902bNeque pol servandum tibi §903Quicquam dare ausim, neque te servare: apage te.
Indeed, by Pollux, I would not dare to give you anything to be kept, nor to keep guard over you: away with you.
§904Adest optime ipse frater.
Most opportunely the brother himself is here.
§904bPerii hercle: obsecro, §905Abeamus intro Thais: nolo me in via §906Cum hac veste videat.
By Hercules, I am ruined: I pray you, let us go inside, Thais: I do not want him to see me in the street with this dress.
§906bQuamobrem tandem? an quia pudet?
Why, pray?
§907Id ipsum.
Is it because you are ashamed?
§907bId ipsum? Virgo vero.
Just so. "Just so"? A virgin indeed.
§907cI prae; sequor.
Go on ahead; I follow.
§908Tu istic mane, ut Chremem introducas, Pythias.
You stay here, Pythias, to bring Chremes in.
§909Quid? quid venire in mentem nunc possit mihi?
What? What can now come into my mind?
§910Quidnam qui referam illi sacrilego gratiam §911Qui hunc supposuit nobis?
How indeed shall I return the favor to that scoundrel who substituted this fellow for us?
§911bMove vero ocius §912Te nutrix.
Move indeed more quickly, nurse.
§912bMoveo.
I am moving.
§912cVideo; sed nihil promoves.
I see; but you make no progress.
§913Iamne ostendisti signa nutrici?
Have you already shown the tokens to the nurse?
§913bOmnia.
All of them.
§914Amabo quid ait? cognoscitne?
Please, what does she say? Does she recognize them?
§914bAc memoriter.
And from memory.
§915Bene edepol narras; nam illi faveo virgini.
By Pollux, you tell good news; for I favor that girl.
§916Ite intro: iamdudum hera vos exspectat domi.
Go inside: for a long time my mistress has been expecting you at home.
§917Virum bonum eccum Parmenonem incedere §918Video.
Look, I see Parmeno, that worthy man, walking along.
Vide ut otiosus it si Dis placet.
Look how leisurely he goes, if it please the gods.
§919Spero me habere qui hunc meo excruciem modo.
I hope I have a way to torment him in my own fashion.
§920Ibo intro de cognitione ut certum sciam: §921Post exibo atque hunc perterrebo sacrilegum.
I will go inside to know for certain about the recognition: afterwards I will come out and terrify this scoundrel.
§922Reviso quidnam Chaerea hic rerum gerat.
I am returning to see what business Chaerea is doing here.

Notes

  1. §854Hanc metui ne — The pronoun hanc is a case of prolepsis (anticipation), where the pronoun that should function as the subject of the subordinate clause is placed early as the accusative object of the main verb. The phrase metui ne introduces a clause of fearing with the subjunctive ("I feared lest...").
  2. §858Vix me contineo quin — The conjunction quin with the subjunctive is used after verbs of preventing or refraining when they are accompanied by a negative or virtual negative (here, vix contineo, "I can scarcely contain myself"), meaning "I can scarcely restrain myself from...".
  3. §864indignius qui faceres — The clause qui faceres is a relative clause with the imperfect subjunctive, depending on the comparative indignius (used adverbially or in place of indignior, "more unworthily"), expressing a characteristic or restriction ("too unworthy to do it").
  4. §910qui — The word qui here is not the relative pronoun, but the old adverbial ablative functioning as an interrogative adverb meaning "how" or "by what means" (quonam modo), introducing the deliberative subjunctive referam ("how indeed should I return...").

Cite this passage

Terence, Eunuchus §853b-922. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0134.phi003.humanitext-lat2:853b-922

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