Tam ego fui ante liber quam gnatus tuos, 310 tam mihi quam illi libertatem hostilis eripuit manus. tam ille apud nos servit, quam ego nunc his apud te servio. est profecto deus, qui quae nos gerimus auditque et videt: is, uti tu me his habueris, proinde illum illic curaverit; bene merenti bene profuerit, male merenti par erit. quam tu filium tuom, tam pater me meus desiderat. Once I was free as your son; an enemy’s success deprived me of my liberty as he was deprived of his; he is a slave in my country as I am here with you. There surely is a God who hears and sees what we do: and according to your treatment of me here, so will he look after your son there. He will reward the deserving and requite the undeserving. Just as you long for your son, so does my father long for me. _Hegio_ Memini ego istuc. sed faterin eadem quae hic fassust mihi? I know all that--but do you admit the truth of what this fellow has told me? _Tynd._ Ego patri meo esse fateor summas divitias domi meque summo genere gnatum. sed te optestor, Hegio, ne tuom animum avariorem faxint divitiae meae: 320 ne patri, tam etsi sum unicus, decere videatur magis, me saturum servire apud te sumptu et vestitu tuo potius quam illi, ubi minime honestumst, mendicantem vivere.[11] (323) I do admit that my father is a very wealthy man at home and that I do come of very good family. But, Hegio, I beseech you, don’t let my wealth make your demands too exorbitant: for my father, even though I am his only son, might feel that it was better for me to remain your slave, well fed and clothed at your expense, than to come to beggary there at home where it would disgrace us most. _Hegio_ Non ego omnino lucrum omne esse utile homini existimo (325) scio ego, multos iam lucrum lutulentos homines reddidit, est etiam ubi profecto damnum praestet facere quam lucrum. odi ego aurum: multa multis saepe suasit perperam. I am not a man who regards each and every acquisition of money as a blessing: plenty of people have been tainted before now by this money getting, I know that. There are even times when it certainly is more profitable to lose money than to make it. Gold! I despise it: it has led many a man into many a wrong course. nunc hoc animum advorte, ut ea quae sentio pariter scias. filius meus illic apud vos servit captus Alide: 330 eum si reddis mihi, praeterea unum nummum ne duis; et te et hunc amittam hinc. alio pacto abire non potes.