Cael. 16.1Redeō nunc ad tē, Caelī, vicissim ac mihi auctōritātem patriam sevēritātemque suscipiō.I return now to you, Caelius, in my turn, and I take upon myself a father's authority and strictness. Cael. 16.1Sed dubitō quem patrem potissimum sūmam, Caeciliānumne aliquem vehementem atque dūrum: " Nunc enim dēmum mī animus ārdet, nunc meum cor cumulātur īrā" aut illum: "Ō īnfēlīx, ō sceleste!"But I am unsure which father I should best adopt — some fierce and harsh one from Caecilius: 'Now at last my mind is ablaze, now my heart is heaped with anger', or that one: 'O wretched boy, O wicked boy!' Cael. 16.1Ferreī sunt istī patrēs: " Egone quid dīcam, quid velim?Iron-hearted are those fathers: 'What am I to say, what am I to wish? Cael. 16.1quae tū omnia Tuīs foedīs factīs facis ut nēquīquam velim," vix ferendī.all of which wishes you, by your foul deeds, make me wish in vain' — they are scarcely to be borne. Cael. 16.1Dīceret tālis pater: "Cūr tē in istam vīcīnitātem meretrīciam contulistī?Such a father would say: 'Why did you betake yourself into that neighbourhood of harlots?
Cael. 16.1cūr inlecebrīs cognitīs nōn refūgistī?"why, once you had recognised its allurements, did you not flee from them?' Cael. 16.1" Cūr aliēnam ūllam mulierem nōstī?'Why have you come to know any woman who belongs to another? Cael. 16.1Dīde ac dissice;Scatter and squander; Cael. 16.1Per mē tibi licet.you may, for all I care. Cael. 16.1Sī egēbis, tibi dolēbit, nōn mihi .If you are in want, it will hurt you, not me. Cael. 16.1Mihi sat est quī aetātis quod relicuom est oblectem meae.It is enough for me to have the means to delight what remains of my life.' Cael. 16.1" Huic trīstī ac dērēctō senī respondēret Caelius sē nūllā cupiditāte inductum dē viā dēcessisse.To this gloomy and strait-laced old man Caelius would answer that he had not strayed from the path through being led on by any passion. Cael. 16.38Quid signī?What sign of it is there? Cael. 16.38Nūllī sūmptūs, nūlla iactūra, nūlla versūra.No expenses, no losses, no borrowing to pay off debts. Cael. 16.38At fuit fāma.But there was talk. Cael. 16.38Quotus quisque istam effugere potest, praesertim in tam maledicā cīvitāte?How few can escape that, especially in so slanderous a city?
Cael. 16.38Vīcīnum eius mulieris mīrāris male audīsse cuius frāter germānus sermōnēs inīquōrum effugere nōn potuit?Are you surprised that the neighbour of that woman got a bad name, when her own brother could not escape the gossip of malicious people? Cael. 16.38Lēnī vērō et clēmentī patre cuius modī ille est: " Forēs ecfrēgit, restituentur;But with a gentle and indulgent father, of the sort who says: 'He has broken down the doors? They will be repaired; Cael. 16.38discidit Vestem, resarciētur, " Caelī causa est expedītissima.he has torn the clothing? It will be mended', Caelius' case is very easily made. Cael. 16.38Quid enim esset in quō sē nōn facile dēfenderet?For what is there on which he could not easily defend himself? Cael. 16.38Nihil iam in istam mulierem dīcō;I say nothing now against that woman; Cael. 16.38sed, sī esset aliqua dissimilis istīus quae sē omnibus pervolgāret, quae habēret palam dēcrētum semper aliquem, cuius in hortōs, domum, Bāiās iūre suō libīdinēs omnium commeārent, quae etiam aleret adulēscentīs et parsimōniam patrum suīs sūmptibus sustinēret;but if there were some woman, unlike her, who made herself common to all, who always had some lover openly marked out, into whose gardens, house and Baiae the lusts of all men freely came and went as of right, who even kept young men and supported the stinginess of their fathers at her own expense; Cael. 16.38sī vidua līberē, proterva petulanter, dīves effūsē, libīdinōsa meretrīciō mōre vīveret, adulterum ego putārem sī quis hanc paulō līberius salūtāsset?if she lived freely as a widow, shamelessly as a wanton, extravagantly as a rich woman, and in the manner of a harlot as a lustful one, should I think a man an adulterer if he had greeted her a little too freely?