THE DRAMATIC VALUES IN PLAUTUS

Omnia istaec scimus iam nos, si hi spectatores sciant.
Horunc hic nunc causa haec agitur spectatorum fabula :
Hos te satius est docere ut, quando agas, quid agas sciant.
Nos tu ne curassis : scimus rem omnem, quippe omnes simul.
Didicimus tecum una, ut respondere possimus tibi.77
This is the final degeneration into the realm of pure foolery. It
is a patent declaration : "This is only a play ; laugh and we are
content." Once more we venture to point a parallel on the modern
stage, in the vaudeville comedian who interlards his dancing with
comments such as : "I hate to do this, but it's the only way I can
ea·ving."
6. Use of stock plots and characters.
e must touch finally, but very lightly, on the commonplaces of
stock plots and characters. The whole array of puppets is familiar
to us all : the cunning slave, the fond or licentious papa, the spendthrift
son and their inevitable confreres appear in play after play
with relentless regularity. The close correspondence of many
plots is also too familiar to need discussion.78 The glimmering of
originality in the plot of the Cap. called for special advertisement.79
In the light of the foregoing evidence, the pertinence of these facts
for us, we reiterate, is that Plautus merely adopted the New
Comedy form as his comic medium, and, while leaving his originals
in the main untouched, took what liberties he desired with them,
with the single-minded purpose of making his public laugh. 80
77Cf. Amph. 861 ff., As. 174 f., Cap. 778, Cur. 464, Mer. 160, Poen. 1224.
7sCf. Daos, Part I, Chap. III: Les personnages, and p. 303 ff. ; Momnisen,
Hist. pp. 1 4 1 ff.
79Prol., 53 ff.
sOFor a discussion of the relation of Plautus to his originals, v. Schuster,
Quomodo Plautus Attica exemplaria transtulerit; LeGrand, Daos, passim ;
Ostermayer, de hist. Jab. in com. Pl.; Ritschl, Par. 271, etc. The efforts to
distinguish Plautus from his models have so far been fragmentary and abortive
and will not advance appreciably until a complete play that he adapted has
been found. At any rate, the discussion has no real bearing on our subject,
since we can consider only the plays as actually transmitte