Edward Adolf Sonnenschein

“ Where he varies his plot on lines of his own by amalgamating the plots of two distinct Greek comedies (e.g. in the Miles and the Poenulus) the result is generally not happy; and the romanization of the plays by way of allusions to towns in Italy, to the streets, gates and markets of Rome, to Roman magistrates and their duties, to Roman laws and the business of Roman law-courts, banks, comitia and senate, &c., involves the poet in all the difficulties of attempting to blend two different civilizations. ”

“ The dates of the rest of the extant plays, here given in alphabetical order, are quite uncertain, namely, Amphitruo, Aulularia, Bacchides, Captivi, Casina, Curculio, Epidicus, Menaechmi, Mercator (probably later than the Rudens, as shown by F. Marx) , Mostellaria, Persa, Poenulus, Rudens, Trinummus (later than 194 B.C.; cf. novi aediles in l. 990) . Of the Vidularia we possess only the fragments contained in the Codex Ambrosianus.
The plays of Plautus are all based on Greek originals. ”

“ Varro's statement (in Priscian ix. 32) , deinde ad Siculos se applicavit. It is possible that Plautus may have been working on the lines of the old comedy in the tell-tale names which he is so fond of inventing for his characters, such as Polymachaeroplagides (Pseud. 988) , Pyrgopolinices (Mil. 56) , Thensaurochrysonicochrysides (Capt. 285) —names which stand in remarkable contrast to the more commonplace Greek names employed by Terence. ”

“ In the middle ages Plautus was little regarded, and twelve of his plays (Bacchides–Truculentus) disappeared from view until they were discovered (in the MS. called D) by Nicholas of Treves in the year 1429. Apparently some early archetype had been divided into two volumes, of which only the first (containing eight plays, Amphitruo–Epidicus) had escaped oblivion or destruction. After the revival of learning Plautus was reinstated, and took rank as one of the great dramatists of antiquity; cf. Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1. ii. 420, where Polonius says, “The best actors in the world ... ”

“ De oratore, iii. 12, 45) ; though from the lips of slaves and other low persons in the plays we no doubt hear expressions which, while they are quite in keeping with the characters to whom they are allotted, would have shocked the ears of polite society in the 2nd century B.C. The characters in his plays are the stock characters of the new comedy of Athens, and they remind us also of the standing figures of the Fabulae atellanae (Maccus, Bucco, Dossennus, &c.) ”

“ D, now in the Vatican, containing the Amphitruo, Asinaria, Aulularia half of the Captivi and the last twelve plays: to the same family belong the following less important MSS.: E (at Milan) , V (at Leiden) , J (in the British Museum) , O (in the Vatican) .
Editions.—The editio princeps, based mainly on a transcript of D, was printed at Venice, 1472: the first scientific text, based on B, C and D, was that of Camerarius, completed 1552, in whose steps followed Lambinus (with a commentary which is still useful) , 1576; Taubmann, 1605-1621; Pareus (a meritorious edition) , 1619 and 1623 ”

“ And the careful reader will take note of occasional touches of serious thought, as in the enumeration of the ten deadly political sins (Persa, 5 55 seq.) and allusions to ethical philosophy (Pseud. 972 seq.; Stich. 124; Trin. 305 sqq., 320 sqq., 363 seq., 447; Rud. 767, 1235-1248, &c.) . ”