Cicero: A Family Matter

nihil vidi tam mite,

I have never seen anything so mild,

nihil tam placidum

nothing so calm

quam meus frater illo die erat

as my brother was on that day

in sororem tuam.

towards your sister.

si offensio fuerat

If there had been any offence [caused]

ex ratione sumptus,

by the checking of expenditure,

non appareret.

it was not apparent.

postridie Arpino profecti sumus

On the next day we set out from Arpinum

et prandimus in Arcano.

and we lunched at Arcanum.

humanissime

Very politely,

Quintus ... inquit,

Quintus said,

'Pomponia, tu invita mulieres,'

"Pomponia, you call the women,"

'ego viros arcessam.'

"I will summon the men."

nihil potuit dulcius

Nothing could have been sweeter,

non modo verbis

not only in [his] words

sed etiam animo ac vultu.

but also in [his] attitude and expression.

at illa, audientibus nobis,

But she, with us listening,

'ego ipsa sum' inquit, 'hic hospita';

said "I am [only] a guest here myself";

id ex hac causa,

simply for the reason,

ut opinor

I think,

quod antecesserat Statius

that Statius had gone ahead

ut prandium nobis videret!

to see to lunch for us!

tum Quintus ... inquit mihi

Then Quintus said to me,

'en, ... haec ego patior cotidie.'

"You see what I endure every day."

id me valde commovit;

This really upset me;

sic illa absurde et aspere ... responderat.

she had responded so unreasonably and harshly,

verbis vultuque

in [both her] words and look.

itaque discubuimus omnes praeter illam.

So we all reclined to eat except her.

Quintus ei aliquid de mensa misit,

Quintus sent her something from the table,

quod tamen illa reiecit.

which she just sent back.

quid multa?

What more [can I say]?

mihi visa est

There seemed to me

nihil meo fratre lenius

nothing milder than my brother,

nihil asperius tua sorore

nothing harsher than your sister.

et multa similia praetereo.

And I am passing over many similar [events].