THE DRAMATIC VALUES IN PLAUTUS

hearts dressed up in clothes. The milites gloriosi are all cartoons ;57
and the perpetually moralizing pedagogue Lydus of the Bac.
becomes funny, instead of egregiously tedious, if acted as a broad
burlesque.
The panders58 are all manifest caricatures, too, especially the
famous Ballio of the Ps., whom even Lorenz properly describes as
"der Einbegriff aller Schlechtigkeit," though he dep ecates the
part as "eine etwas zu grell and zu breit angefuhrte Schilderung."59
"Ego scelestus," says BaHio himself.60 He calmly and unctuously
pleads guilty to every charge of "liar, thief, perjurer," etc., and can
never be induced to lend an ear until the cabalistic charm
"Lucrum !" is pronounced (264).
The famous miser Euclio has given rise to an inordinate amount
of unnecessary comment. Lamarre61 is at great pains to defend
Plautus from "Ie reproche d'avoir introduit dans la peinture de
son principal personnage des traits outres et hors de
nature." Indeed, he possesses few traits in accord with normal
human nature. But curiously enough, as we learn from the
argumenta (in view of the loss of the genuine end of the Aul.),
Euclio at the denouement professes himself amply content to bid an
everlasting farewell to his stolen hoard, and bestows his health and
blessing on "the happy pair." This apparent conversion, with
absolutely nothing dramatic to furnish an introduction or pretext
for it, has caused Langen to depart from his usual judicious scholarship.
After much hair-splitting he solemnly pronounces it "psychologically
possible."62 LeGrand points out63 that his change of
heart is not a conversion, but merely a professed reconciliation to
the loss. But there is no need for all this pother. The simple
truth is that Plautus was through with his humorous complication
and was ready to top it off with a happy ending. It is the forerunner
of modern musical comedy, where the grouchy millionaire
papa is propitiated at the last moment (perhaps by the pleadings
57Pyrgopolinices in Mil., Therapontigonus in Cur., the miles in Ep., Anthemonides
in Paen. ; Stratophanes in True. is not so violent.
58Cappadox in Cur., Dordalus in Per., Lycus in Paen., Labrax in Rud.
Similarly the lenae.
59Introd. to ed. of Ps.
6°355· Cf. 360 ff., 974 ff.
61Hist. de La lit. lat. Bk. II, Ch. III., Sec. 4, p. 307.
62Plaut. Stud., p. 105. 63Daas, pp. 557 f. Cf. 218 f.
61