Scene 10.

(_Half an hour has elapsed_)

ENTER _Philoxenus_.

_Phil._

Quam magis in pectore meo foveo quas meus filius turbas turbet, quam se ad vitam et quos ad mores praecipitem inscitus capessat, magis curae est magisque adformido, ne is pereat neu corrumpatur. scio, fui ego illa aetate et feci illa omnia, sed more modesto; neque placitant mores quibus video volgo in gnatos esse parentes:[29] 1080

The more I ponder over the capers my son is cutting, and the life and habits the thoughtless lad is plunging headlong into, the more worried, and the more fearful I get at the danger of his becoming an irreclaimable rake. I know, I was young once myself, and did all those things, but I showed some self-restraint. The attitude I see in the general run of parents toward their sons doesn’t suit me.

ego dare me meo gnato institui, ut animo obsequium sumere possit; (1082) aequom esse puto, sed nimis nolo desidiae ei dare ludum. nunc Mnesilochum, quod mandavi, viso ecquid eum ad virtutem aut ad frugem opera sua compulerit, sic ut eum, si convenit, scio fecisse: cost ingenio natus.

I’ve made a practice of being liberal to my son, so that he may follow his inclinations; I think it’s the fair way; at the same time, I don’t want to give too much play to his dawdling. Now I’m going to see Mnesilochus about that commission of mine, and find out if he has driven the boy over to the path of virtue and sobriety by his efforts--as I know he has, if he found occasion: that is his natural disposition. (_goes toward Bacchis’s door_)

ACTVS V