./data/phi0134/phi002/phi0134.phi002.perseus-lat2.xml
P. Terentius Afer
Sostrata the     wife of Chremes had an infant daughter, which her husband refused to bring up, and     ordered to be exposed  She gave it to an old woman for that purpose, attaching to     its dress a ring, from a superstitious feeling that the child ought not to be     entirely disinherited  The old woman, instead of exposing the child, brought her     up as her own daughter, and named her Antiphila  When she grew up she attracted     the attention of Clinia  son of Menedemus  Their attachment continued for some     time before it came to the knowledge of Clinia's father  As soon as he discovered     it he began to persecute his son about the affair, till at last the young man, to     put an end to the dispute, went to Asia, and there entered the service of the king  No sooner had he     gone than his father repented his severity; and finding that his son was past     recall, he determined, as the only amends he could make, to inflict upon himself a     continual penance  He sold his house, and all his servants except a few to work     upon a farm which he purchased  There he kept himself at work from morning to     night  Three months passed in this way, and at the end of that time, Clinia, who     could not support any longer his absence from his mistress, returns and is     received into the house of Chremes, whose son Clitipho had been his friend from     his childhood  No sooner has he arrived than his servant Dromo is sent with Syrus,     Clitipho's slave, to bring Antiphila to her lover  Syrus discharges his errand     more cleverly than was intended; he found Antiphila alone, for her reputed mother,     Philtere, had died in the interval, and in circumstances which shewed that she was     still faithful to Clinia  Thinking besides to do a stroke of business for his own     master, he brings at the same time Bacchis, Clitipho's mistress, a very different     character from Antiphila: and that Chremes may have no suspicion of this     connection of his son's, it is arranged that Bacchis shall pass for Clinia's     mistress, and Antiphila for one of her servants  While this is going on, Chremes     and Menedemus have been talking together; Chremes remonstrating with Menedemus     upon his unintelligible conduct in working himself to death instead of     superintending his slaves, and Menedemus explaining his reasons by an account of     what led to his son's departure, and his consequent determination to punish     himself till his return  Chremes being unable to shake his friend's determination,     returns to keep the festival of Bacchus     at his own house  There he finds the party assembled, and what with Bacchis and     the young men they make a pretty night of it, nearly emptying his cellar, and     turning the house upside down  Early next morning Chremes, who has a strong head     for an old man, goes to meet his friend Menedemus as he comes out to his work, and     informs him of his son's return  He advises him to be cautious in receiving him,     tells him what sort of a life he has to expect, and recommends him to do any thing     rather than openly encourage his son in such debauchery  Menedemus begs him to do     any thing he can to bring about a reunion with his son, even if it be to encourage     the young man and Syrus to cheat him in any imaginable way  Chremes enters into     the plan: and encourages Syrus to devise some scheme for making Menedemus supply     Clinia with the means of indulgence  Syrus has already some such scheme on foot;     but it is to be directed against Chremes, for he has promised Bacchis ten minae     for her share in the night's amusements, and intends to get it out of his master      So he at once explains to his master a plausible scheme that he has, namely, to     induce Menedemus to buy Antiphila from Bacchis, to whom she has been left in pawn     by Philtere, on the representation that she is a captive from Caria whom her     friends are sure to ransom very handsomely  Meanwhile Sostrata has discovered,     through the medium of the aforesaid ring, that Antiphila is her own daughter  This     disconcerts Syrus, who now springs a new mine; he sends Bacchis off to Menedemus'     house, and explains to Chremes that the only way to deceive Menedemus now, is to     pretend that she is Clitipho's mistress, and at the same time to get Clinia to     profess an attachment to Antiphila, and desire his father to demand her in     marriage, for then the old man would have to supply him with money for the     marriage, which of course would go to his mistress Bacchis  At the same time     Chremes is persuaded to release his daughter from her pledge to Bacchis; and the     money is given to Clitipho to carry to Bacchis for the purpose forsooth of more     fully persuading Menedemus that she is his mistress  At this point the     dénouement takes place  Clitipho acts his part of Bacchis' lover a     little too well, and all the circumstances are discovered by Menedemus, who     proceeds to inform Chremes of the real state of the case  Now the two old men     change places, Chremes is enraged beyond measure at having been made the dupe of     his dissolute son, and Menedemus has to urge upon him the same maxims of     forbearance which Chremes had used to him  Clitipho has to undergo a complete     humiliation; but is ultimately received into favour by his father upon his     promising to settle and lead a respectable life