HOME | Phaedrus: Previous Page - Next Page

III.11. Eunuchus ad Improbum

Parallels: For parallel versions, see Perry 502.

Eunuchus litigabat cum quodam improbo,

qui super obscena dicta et petulans iurgium

damnum insectatus est amissi corporis.

"En" ait "hoc unum est cur laborem ualidius,

integritatis testes quia desunt mihi.

Sed quid Fortunae, stulte, delictum arguis?

Id demum est homini turpe quod meruit pati."

Here is the poem in a more prose-like word order for easy reading:

Not yet available.

Here is the poem with meter marks:

Not yet available.

Translation:

A eunuch was involved in a legal dispute with an extremely unpleasant person who made rude and cutting remarks, and even insulted the eunuch for the loss he had suffered in his bodily parts. The eunuch responded: 'I admit that this is the one thing that puts me in considerable difficulty: I don't have testi-mony, so to speak, in support of my good character. But you are a fool to denounce me for something that is merely a matter of fate!'

The only thing that can really bring shame on a man is a punishment that he has justly deserved.

Illustration:

Not yet available.