Many other scenes must have lent themselves to this representation of feeling by lively gesture, accompanied sometimes by some kind of mimic dance: of this kind, for instance, is the vigorous recitative of Ballio on his first appearance on the stage, the scene in which Ergasilus tells Hegio of the return of his son, the appearance of Pseudolus when well drunken after celebrating his triumph over Ballio,—

His temptation was to exaggerate in this, as in other elements of the dramatist's art; and this is what is probably meant by the word percurrat in the criticism of Horace, which has been already quoted. But this tendency to exaggerate is merely the defect of his superabundant share of the vigorous Italian qualities.

It is characteristic of the liveliness of Plautus' temperament, that the lyrical and recitative parts of his plays occupy a place altogether out of proportion to that occupied by the unimpassioned monologue or dialogue expressed in senarian iambics. The 'Cantica,' or purely lyrical monologues, are much more frequent and much longer in his comedies than in those of Terence. They were sung to a musical accompaniment, and were composed chiefly in bacchiac, anapaestic, or cretic metres, rapidly interchanging with trochaic lines. The bacchiac metre is employed in passages expressive of some sedate or laboured thought, as, for instance, the opening part of the 'Canticum' of Lysiteles in the Trinummus,—

The anapaestic metre was less suited to Latin, and is rarely met with either in the comic poets, or in the fragments of the tragedians. On the other hand, cretic and trochaic metres, from their affinity to the old Saturnian, came most easily to the early dramatists, and are largely employed by Plautus to express lively emotion. As an instance of the first we may take the following song of a lover, addressed to the bolts which barred his mistress's door,—

These early efforts of the Italian lyrical muse do not approach the smoothness and ease of the Glyconics and Phalaecians of Catullus, nor the dignity of the Alcaics and Asclepiadeans of Horace: but they do, in a rude kind of way, show facility and native power in finding a rhythmical vehicle for the emotion or sentiment of the moment. In the longer passages in which they occur, these metres are generally combined with some form of trochaic verse, which again is often exchanged for septenarian or octonarian iambics. Of the rapid transitions with which Plautus passes from one metre to another in the expression of strong excitement of feeling, we have a striking example in the long recitative of Ballio⁸⁸, in which trochaics, septenarian, octonarian, and dimeter, are continually varied by the introduction now of one, now of several, octonarian or septenarian iambics. He thus claims much greater freedom than Terence in the combination of his metres. He exercises also greater license, in substituting two short for one long syllable (in his cretics and trochaics), and in deviating from the laws of position and hiatus accepted by later poets. It is impossible for a modern reader to reproduce the rhythmical flow of passages which must have depended a good deal for their effect on the musical accompaniment, and on the pronunciation of the actor. Yet even though it requires some effort to recognise the legitimate beat of the rhythm 'digito et aure,' it is equally impossible not to recognise the vigour and vehemence of movement of such passages as these—

Terence has a more artistic mastery than Plautus of the ordinary metre of comic dialogue: but the latter has the more original poetic gift of adapting and varying his 'numeri innumeri' to the animated moods and lively fancies of his characters.

But the gift for which Plautus is pre-eminent above all the earlier, and in which he is not surpassed by any of the later poets, is the exuberant vigour and spontaneous flow of his diction. No Roman poet shows more rapidity of conception, or greater variety of illustration: and words and phrases are never wanting to body forth and convey with immediate force and freshness the intuitive discernment of his common sense, the quick play of his wit, the riotous exaggerations of his fancy, his vivid observation of facts and of the outward peculiarities of men, his inexhaustible resources of genial vituperation and execration, or bantering endearment. The mannerisms of his style, already mentioned as indicative of the originality with which he deviates from his Greek models, are not laboured efforts, but the spontaneous products of a rich and comparatively neglected soil. His burlesque invention of proper names, even in its wildest exaggeration, as in the high-sounding title assumed by Sagaristio in the Persa—

is a Rabelaisian ebullition, stimulated by the novel contact with the Greek language, of the formative energy which he displays more legitimately in the creation of new Latin words and phrases. In the freedom with which he uses, without vulgarising, popular modes of speech, in the idiomatic verve of his Latin, employed in an age when inflexions still retained their original virtue, and had not been limited by the labours of grammarians to a fixed standard, he has no equal among Latin writers. It is one of the great charms of the Letters to Atticus, and of the shorter poems of Catullus, that they give us back the flavour of this homely native idiom. Where there is difficulty in interpreting Plautus, this arises either from the uncertainty of the reading, or from the wealth of his vocabulary. He saw clearly and realised strongly what he meant to say, and his words and phrases appeared in rapid, close, and orderly movement to his summons. He describes his personages,—Pseudolus for instance,

Ballio,

Plesidippus, in the Rudens,

Harpax, in the same play,

in such a way as to show how real they were to his imagination in their outward semblance as well as in the inward springs of their actions. Or he brings before us some peculiarity in the dress or manner of his personages by some graphic touch, as that of the disguised sycophant of the Trinummus,—

and later—

He tells an imaginary story or adventure, such as that which Chrysalus invents of the pursuit of his vessel by a piratical craft—

or the account which Curculio gives of his encounter with the soldier⁹³, tersely, rapidly, and vividly, as if he were recalling some scene within his own recent experience. He imitates the style of tragedy—as in the imaginary speech of the Ghost in the Mostellaria—in such a manner as to show that he might have rivalled Ennius in the art of tragic rhythm and expression, if his genius had allowed him to pass beyond the province which was peculiarly his own. His plays abound in pithy sayings which have anticipated popular proverbs, or the happy hits of popular poets in modern times, such as the 'nudo detrahere vestimenta,' in the Asinaria, and the 'virtute formae id evenit te ut deceat quidquid habeas⁹⁴,' in the Mostellaria. He writes letters with the forms of courtesy, and with the ease and simplicity characteristic of the best epistles of a later age. His resources of language are never wanting for any call which he may make upon them. In a few descriptive passages he shows a command of the language of forcible poetic imagination. But he does not often betray a sense of beauty in action, character, or Nature: and thus if his style altogether wants the peculiar charm of the later Latin poets, and the tenderness and urbanity of Terence, the explanation of this defect is perhaps to be sought rather in the limited play which he allowed to his finer sensibilities, than in any inability to avail himself of the full capabilities of his native language.

Whether the deficiency in the sense of beauty should deny to him the name of a great poet, is to be answered only when agreement has been attained as to the definition of a poet. He was certainly a true and prodigally creative genius. He is also thoroughly representative of his race—not of the gravity and dignity superinduced on the natural Italian temperament by the strict discipline of Roman life, and by the sense of superiority which arises among the governing men of an imperial state—but of the strong and healthy vitality which enabled the Italian to play his part in history, and of the quick observation and ready resource, the lively emotional and social temperament, the keen enjoyment of life, which are the accompaniment of that original endowment.

¹   Prologue to Casina, 18, 19.

²   Prologue to Amphitryo, 52.

³   Licinius and Atilius are placed before Terence in the Canon of Volcatius Sedigitus.

⁴   E.g. Pseudolus, 1081:—

Cf. also Captivi, 778.

⁵   The influence of Plautus may be traced in the style of Catullus, and perhaps in the sentiment of the passage in Lucretius, iv. 1121, etc.; and that of Terence also in Catullus, and in the Satires, Epistles, and some of the Odes of Horace.

⁶   Fundanius, the friend of Horace, appears to have made an attempt to produce an artistic revival of the old comedy in the Augustan age, as Pollio, Varius, Ovid and others did of the old tragic drama, but with no permanent success.

⁷   E.g. the dance of Pseudolus. Pseud. 1246, etc.

⁸   Cic. Brut. 15. 60; De Senec. 14. 50.

⁹   Cf. Cicero's testimony to the purity of the style of Naevius and Plautus with his criticism on the style of Caecilius and Pacuvius. Terence was the only foreigner who attained perfect idiomatic purity of speech, but he must have been brought to Rome when quite a child.

¹⁰   'Puplicisne adfinis fuit an maritumis negotiis?'—Trinum. 331.

¹¹   See the paper by Professor H. F. West, reprinted from the American Journal of Philology, referred to supra page 54.

¹²   Cf. the line at the end of the Prologue to the Cistellaria (Act. i. Sc. 3)—

The 'Didascalia' to the Stichus is one of the few preserved. From it we learn that the play was acted P. Sulpicio, C. Aurelio, Cos., i.e. 200 b.c.

¹³   This is shown in some cases by reference to seats in the theatre, which were not introduced till 155 b.c. In the Prologue to the Casina it is said that only the older men present could remember the first production of that play in the life-time of the poet. The Prologues to the Aulularia, Trinummus, and Rudens, are probably genuine, and also the speech of Auxilium in the Cistellaria.

¹⁴   Cf. Rudens, 1249:—

¹⁵   Pseud. 687.

¹⁶   E.g. Rudens, 986.

¹⁷   Quid? Sarsinatis ecquast, si Umbram non habes.—Mostel. 757.

¹⁸   Post Ephesi sum natus, noenum in Apulis, noenum Aminulae.—Mil. Glor. 653.

Quid tu per barbaricas urbes iuras?   Erg. Quia enim item asperae Sunt ut tuum victum autumabas esse.—Captiv. 884-5.

¹⁹   Capt. 879; Trinum. 609; Truc. iii. 2. 23; Bacch. 24.

²⁰  

²¹   Vol. ii, p. 440; Eng. Trans.

²²   Cf. Trinum. 820, etc.; Menaechmi, 228, etc.; Stichus, 402, etc.

²³  

²⁴   E.g. Rudens, 906; Trinum. 820.

²⁵   'I shall trade in big ships: at the courts of princes I shall be styled a prince. Afterwards for my amusement I shall build a ship and imitate Stratonicus; I shall visit towns in my voyages: when I shall have become famous, I'll build a big town, and call it Gripus.'—Rudens, 931-5.

²⁶   Pseud. 166.

²⁷  

²⁸  

²⁹   Pseud. 1229, etc.

³⁰   Stichus, 682, etc.

³¹   Cf. Pseud. 720:—

³²   Pseud. 401-2.

³³   Bacchid. 214.

³⁴   De Senec. 14.

³⁵   E.g. graphicus, doulice, euscheme, morus, logos, techinae, prothyme, basilicus, etc., etc.

³⁶   Truculentus, 55-57. Weise condemns the passage as spurious. But whether written by Plautus or not it is in the spirit of the Plautine comedy. In a passage of the Poenulus (Act iii. 1. 21) another reference is made to the sense of security enjoyed since their victory:—

³⁷   Cp. the remark of the parasite in the Persa, 75, 76:—

and that of the parasite in the Captivi, 'that only those who were unable to procure invitations to luncheon should be expected to attend public meetings and elections'; and such jokes as 'Plebiscitum non est scitius.'

³⁸   The Comedy of Terence, which represents that of Menander, is completely non-political.

³⁹   Cf. Epidicus, 30, etc., and Captivi, 262.

⁴⁰   The advocati in the Poenulus, who are evidently clients, show a certain spirit of independence. Cf. Act iii. 6. 13:—

⁴¹   Livy, xxxix. 9, etc.

⁴²  

Cf. also the play on Chrysalus and Crucisalus; and the following may serve as a specimen of his perpetual puns:—

⁴³   Alliterations and assonances:—Vi veneris vinctus. Cottabi crebri crepent. Laetus, lubens, laudes ago. Collus collari caret.

Asyndeta:—

These are not occasional, but constantly recurring characteristics of his style. The thought and matter they express must, in a great measure, be due to his own invention.

⁴⁴   Roman formulae:—Quae res bene vortat. Conceptis verbis. Quod bonum, felix, faustum, fortunatumque sit. Ut gesserit rempublicam ductu, imperio, auspicio suo, etc., etc.

⁴⁵   Proverbs:—Sarta tecta. Sine sacris haereditas. Inter saxum et sacra. Vae victis. Ad incitas redactust, etc., etc.

⁴⁶   Expressions of courtesy:—Tam gratiast. Benigne. Num quid vis? etc.

⁴⁷   E.g. Pistoria, Placentia, Praeneste, Sutrium, Sarsina, etc.

⁴⁸   E.g. Vicus Tuscus, Velabrum, Macellum, Porta Trigemina, Porta Metia; and compare the long passage in the Curculio (462), which directly refers to Rome.

⁴⁹  

⁵⁰   Mancupio dare, stipulatio, antestatio, sponsio, ubi res prolatae sunt.

⁵¹   Bacchid. 120.

⁵²   Captivi, 888.

⁵³   Trinummus, 545-6.

⁵⁴   Non omnes possunt olere unguenta exotica.—Mostell. 42.

⁵⁵   Cf. Bacch. 1072;—

⁵⁶   Mil. Glor. 164, 6. Cf. Hor. Od. iii. 24. 58: Seu malis vetita legibus alea.

⁵⁷   Casina, iii. 3. 22.

⁵⁸   Livy, xxiv. 2.

⁵⁹   'Do you see that the enemy is close upon you, and that your back will soon be invested? Quick! seize some help and succour: it must be done speedily, not quietly. Get before them somehow; lead round your forces by some pass or other. Invest the enemy; bring relief to our own troops; cut off the enemy's supplies; make a road for yourself, by which provisions or supplies may reach yourself or your legions safely: give your whole heart to the business—it is a sudden emergency.'—Mil. Glor. 219-225.

This is the 'patriotic passage' which Mr. West discusses in the paper previously referred to. He holds that 'The passage, keeping steadily within the limits so rigidly imposed by Roman Stage-censorship, is written from the stand-point of sympathy with the plebs in favour of Scipio's assuming command against Hannibal, and reflects very brightly and completely those features of the Second Punic War which were prominent and recent in 205 b.c.'

The end of many of the prologues also shows that they were addressed to a people constantly engaged in war.

⁶⁰   Menaech. 590.

⁶¹   Cf. such expressions and lines as:—Salva sumes indidem (Mil. Glor. 234); locare argentum; fenerato.

⁶²   For a list of these cp. the edition of the Mostellaria by the late Professor Ramsay.

⁶³   E.g. Mellitus, ocelle, mea anima, medullitus amare.

⁶⁴   'Don't threaten me; I know that the cross will be my tomb: there lie my ancestors, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather: but your threats can't dig these eyes out of my head.'—Mil. Glor. 372-5.

⁶⁵   The conclusion of the Aulularia is lost, but the play seems to have ended with the old man's consigning his treasure into the hands of his son-in-law and daughter.

⁶⁶   'The Gods only are rich: great wealth and high connexions are for the Gods; but we, poor creatures, are but a tiny spark of life, and so soon as that is gone, the beggar and the richest man, when dead, are rated alike by the shores of Acheron.'—Trin. 490-4.

⁶⁷

⁶⁸   Cf.

⁶⁹   9-12.

⁷⁰   280, 1.

⁷¹   694, etc.

⁷²   'O Gripus, Gripus! in the life of man are laid many snares, by which they are trapped; and for the most part a bait is laid on them, and whoso in his greed greedily craves for it, by reason of his greed he is caught in the trap. But whoso warily, wisely, craftily takes heed, to him it is given long to enjoy what has been well earned. That prize of yours, I fancy, will be so made prize of, as to bring a larger dower in going from us than when it came to us. To fancy that I should be capable of keeping secret possession of what I know to be another's property! Far will that be from our friend Daemones. It is the absolute duty of a wise man to be on his guard against ever being privy to any wrong done by his own people. I never would care for any gain, except when I am in the game.'—Rudens, 1235-48.

⁷³   'Provided it be not for wrong done, let me perish, I care not. If I shall perish here, while he returns not, as he promised, yet even after death this will be a memorable act, that I restored my master from captivity and his enemies to his father and his home, and chose rather to emperil my own life here than that he should perish.'—Captivi, 682-8.

⁷⁴   'So it befell my mistress this day: for when she calls the powers of travail to her aid, lo! there ensues a rumbling, rattling noise, loud uproar and a peal of thunder—all of a sudden how fast, how mightily it thundered! At the crash each one fell on the spot where he stood. Then some one, I know not who, exclaims in a loud voice, "Alcmena, be not afraid; help is at hand: the dweller in the skies draweth nigh with kindly intent to thee and thine. Arise ye who from the dread inspired by me have fallen down in alarm." As I lay, I rose up: methought the house was all on fire, so brightly did it shine.'—Amphitruo, 1060-67.

⁷⁵   'I call not that which is named my dower, my true dower, but chastity and modesty, and passion subdued, fear of the Gods, affection to my parents, amity with my kinsmen, a will to yield to thee, to be bountiful to the good, of service to the worthy.'—Amphitruo, 839-42.

⁷⁶   86.

⁷⁷   Captivi, 280.

⁷⁸   Pseud. 666.

⁷⁹   Captivi, 310.

⁸⁰   Pseud. 677.

⁸¹   Cf. Aul. iii. 5. 4-8:—

⁸²   Curculio, 33-8.

⁸³   'I was a fine gentleman, a nice fellow—a good or respectable man I never was nor will be.'—Capt. 956-7.

⁸⁴   Cp. the winding up of the Mostellaria, Casina, Cistellaria.

⁸⁵   'Look there, if you please, how he has taken up his post, with serious brow pondering, meditating; now he taps his breast with his fingers. I fancy he is going to summon his heart outside: look, he turns away; now his left hand is leaning on his left thigh; with his right hand he is making a calculation on his fingers; his right thigh burns, such a violent blow he has struck it; his scheme does not come easily to him:—he cracks his fingers: he is at a loss; he often changes his position: look, there he nods his head: he does not like this new idea. Whatever it is, he will not bring it out till it is ready: he'll serve it up well done. Look again, he is busy building: he props up his chin with a pillar. Away with it! I don't like that kind of building: for I have heard that a foreign poet has his face thus pillared, beside whom two sentinels are every hour on watch. Bravo! by Hercules, now he is in a fine attitude, like a slave, or a man in a play.—Mil. Glor. 201-14.

⁸⁶   Pseud. 1246.

⁸⁷   'Hear me, ye bolts, ye bolts, gladly I greet you, I love you, I am fond of you; I beg you, I beseech you, most amiably now comply with the desire of me a lover. For my sake become like foreign dancers; spring up, I beseech you, and send her forth, who now is drinking up the life-blood of me her lover. Mark how these vilest bolts are still asleep, and do not stir one whit on my account.'—Curculio, 147-154.

⁸⁸   Pseud. 132-238.

⁸⁹   'See that when I return from the Forum, I find everything ready, the floor swept, sprinkled, polished, the couches covered; the plate all clean and arranged: for this is my birthday: this you must all join in keeping: I want to entertain some great people sumptuously, that they may think I am well to do.'—Pseud. 159-62.

⁹⁰   'A red-haired fellow, pot-bellied, with thick legs, darkish, with a big head, keen eyes, a red face, and enormous feet.'

⁹¹   'By Pollux he is of the mushroom sort: he hides himself with his head: he looks like an Illyrian: he is got up like one;'—

'I should be surprised if he be not either some dreaming fellow (?al. house-breaker) or a cutpurse: he takes a good look of the ground, gazes about him, takes note of the house.'—Trinum. 850-862.

⁹²   Bacchid. 289.

⁹³   Curculio, 337, etc.

⁹⁴   Cp. the proverbial 'taking the breeches off a Highlander,' and the lines in one of Burns' earliest songs—