The poet cares not; they must only dance,
dance, dance!
Persistent moralizers, such as Megaronides in the _Trin._, who serve but
as a foil from whom the revelry "sticks fiery off," descend themselves at
moments to bandying the merriest quips (Scene I.). In _Ep._ 382 ff., the
moralizing of Periphanes is counterfeit coinage. Gilded youths such as
Calidorus of the _Ps._ begin by asking (290 f.): "Could I by any chance
trip up father, who is such a wide-awake old boy?", and end by rolling
their eyes upward with: "And besides, if I could, filial piety prevents."
The Menaechmi twins are eminently respectable, but they cheerfully purloin
mantles, bracelets and purses. Hanno of the _Poen._ should according to
specifications be a staid _pater familias_, but Plautus imputes to him a
layer of the _Punica fides_ that he knew his public would take delight in
"booing." And the old gentleman enters into a plot (1090) to chaff
elaborately his newly-found long-lost daughters, whom he has spent a
lifetime in seeking, before disclosing his identity to them (1211 ff.).
Saturio's daughter in the _Per._ is at one time the very model of maidenly
modesty and wisdom (336 ff.), at others an accomplished intriguante and
demi-mondaine (549 ff., esp. 607 ff.). When the plot of the _Ep._ is
getting hopelessly tangled, of a sudden it is magically resolved as by a
deus ex machina and everybody decides to "shake and make up.
Pages:
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91