terence

What unjust judges fathers are of all
Young men! They think it only right that we
Should be born old men, instantly, as boys,
Not privy to what adolescense brings.
They govern as their passion now dictates,
Not as it used to be. If I ever do have
A son, he'll have an easygoing father,
I swear; allowance made for his straying,
An understanding of it, and forgiveness.
Not like my father, who points out to me
His own views through another. (432)

Terence. The Self-Tormentor. Trans. Palmer Bovie. Classical Comedy: Greek and Roman. Ed. Robert W. Corrigan. New York: Applause, 1987. 421-484.