signedly_) Aha! Your son has made a Bellerophon[J] of
me: I myself brought the letter to have myself tied up.
(_dangerously_) Very well!

[Footnote J: Who carried a letter which was to be his
own death warrant]

_Nic._

Propterea hoc facio, ut suadeas gnato meo
ut pergraecetur tecum, tervenefice.

(_ironically_)) I do this merely to make you persuade my son
to join you in riotous living, you soulless villain.

_Chrys._

O stulte, stulte, nescis nunc venire te;
atque in eopse adstas lapide, ut praeco praedicat.

Oh, you poor poor fool, you don't know you're being sold
this moment; and here you are standing on the very block
with the crier crying you!

_Nic._

Responde: quis me vendit?

(_mystified_) Answer! Who is selling me?

_Chrys._

Quem di diligunt
adulescens moritur, dum valet sentit sapit.
hunc si ullus deus amaret, plus annis decem,
plus iam viginti mortuom esse oportuit:
terrai odium ambulat, iam nil sapit 820
nec sentit, tantist quantist fungus putidus.

(_sneeringly_) He whom the gods love dies young, while he
has his strength and senses and wits. If any god loved this
fellow, (_indicating Nicobulus_) it's more than ten years,
more than twenty years ago, he ought to have died. He
ambles along encumbering the earth, absolutely witless
and senseless already, worth about as much as a mushroom--
a rotten one.

_Nic._

Tun terrae me odium esse autumas? abducite hunc
intro atque adstringite ad columnam fortiter.
numquam auferes hinc aurum.

(_furious_) So I encumber the earth, do I, according to you?
(_to Artamo and slaves_) March him off inside! yes, and tie
him to a pillar--tight! (_to Chrysalus_) You shall never
take that gold away from me.

_Chrys._

At qui iam dabis.

(_mysteriously_) However, you'll soon give it away.

_Nic._

Dabo?

I give it away?

_Chrys._

Atque orabis me quidem ultro ut auferam,
cum illum rescisces criminatorem meum
quanto in periclo et quanta in pernicie siet.
tum libertatem Chrysalo largibere;
ego adeo numquam accipiam.

Yes, and beg me, beg me of your own accord, to take it away,
when you learn about that accuser of mine and what danger,
what deadly danger, he's in. Then you'll be all for
liberating Chrysalus;