Source edition
Terence. Publii Terentii Comoediae Sex. Parry, Edward St. John, editor. London: Whittaker and Co.; George Bell, 1857.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This classical comedy depicts the human drama surrounding Menedemus, an elderly father who inflicts harsh physical labor upon himself out of remorse for driving his son away through his severity. His well-meaning neighbor, Chremes, attempts to intervene, unaware that Menedemus's son, Clinia, has secretly returned and is staying with Chremes's own son, Clitipho. Clitipho is also entangled in his own troubles, struggling to fund his relationship with the extravagant courtesan Bacchis, leading the clever slave Syrus to devise a series of complex schemes. As the plot unfolds, it is discovered that Clinia's lover, Antiphila, is actually Chremes's long-lost daughter, and Chremes realizes that he himself has been the dupe of his own slave's trickery. Ultimately, all deceptions are unraveled, and a reconciliation is achieved as Clitipho agrees to reform and marry, restoring peace to both households.