January Conference 1999
THEATRE
: ANCIENT & MODERN
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The
Language of Plautus's Parasites
Robert
Maltby, University of Leeds, U.K.
The parasite, or
flatterer, has a long tradition in Graeco-Roman comedy, going
back ultimately to Epicharmus.[1]
All parasites, both Greek and Roman, share in varying degrees
certain comic characteristics - impudence, wit and, especially
in the Roman variety, a keen interest in food. In Greek New
Comedy their role often overlaps with that of the professional
flatterer or kÒlax. Certain Roman parasites, such as
Artotrogus in Miles Gloriosus, Cleomachus' parasite in
Bacchides and Gnatho in Terence's Eunuchus, are
closely related to this Greek tradition. Others, like Plautus's
Curculio and Terence's Phormio, play a leading role in the plot,
which resembles that of a servus callidus, such as Epidicus
or Pseudolus. Forming a third, perhaps more interesting, group
of Plautine parasites are four who appear to have had their
roles enlarged and enriched by the addition of elements from
the real-life tradition of the professional jester. These are
Peniculus (in Menaechmi), Ergasilus (in Captivi),
Saturio (in Persa) and Gelasimus (in Stichus).
Their monologues are often developed beyond the strict requirements
of the plot and are rich in puns, etymological word-play, Roman
references and parodies of other official and literary styles
of language. The main focus of the paper will be on the use
of these parasites in the opening scenes almost as stand-up
comedians to get the audience 'warmed up' with a few good jokes
before the play proper begins.
But first: to what
extent is it legitimate to single out the four parasites in
question as professional jesters rather than amateur flatterers
and hangers on? One interesting characteristic shared by Ergasilus,
Saturio and Gelasimus is their reliance to some extent on a
professional comedian's joke book, liber, from which
they could cull various witticisms and clever sayings for use
when entertaining their patrons, a sort of Roman equivalent
of the tome Bob Monkhouse notoriously left on the train. At
Stichus 400, when Gelasimus hears that his young master
has brought back with him from abroad some extremely witty parasites,
parasitos ridiculissimos, he decides to go inside to
his books and learn some of his best jokes in order to get the
better of the newcomers: ibo intro ad libros et discam de
dictis melioribus 'I'll go inside to my books and learn
some of my best jokes'. In a similar form of words at
Captivi 482 the parasite Ergasilus mentions jokes which
used to get him fed for a month: dico unum ridiculum dictum
de dictis melioribus, / quibus solebam menstruales epulas ante
adipiscier 'I told them one of my best jokes, which in the
past would have kept me fed for a month'. When Gelasimus returns
at Stichus 454-5, he has had a chance to look at his
books, and is confident he can win back his patron:libros
inspexi; tam confido quam potis, / me meum optenturum regem
ridiculis meis 'I've looked at my books; I'm absolutely
certain I can win back my patron with my jokes'Similarly in
the Persa the parasite Saturio has his book of jests,
which he promises to give his daughter as a dowry 392-5 : librorum
eccillum habeo plenum soracum .../ dabuntur dotis tibi inde
sescenti logi, / atque Attici omnes; nullum Siculum acceperis
'Look here I have a whole hamper full of books...I'll give
you six hundred jokes out of them as a dowry, and all Attic
ones; you'll not get a single Sicilian one'. The reference to
Attic and Sicilian here suggests that a similar joke book tradition
existed also among the Greek parasites, and that those from
Magna Graecia (the home of the Sicilian Epicharmus) were held
to be inferior to their Attic counterparts. The same point is
made by Caesar in Cicero's De Oratore, who speaks of
Greek joke books from Sicily, Rhodes, and Byzantium, but singles
out those from Athens for special mention.[2]
No Greek comic parasite makes reference to joke books in the
surviving fragments of Middle or New Comedy, but the collection
of anecdotes or cre‹ai by the third century comic poet
Machon[3] and the much later prosecompilation
of humorous stories which goes under the name of Philogelos[4]
probably preserve material from this genre. In 1956 the papyrus
remains of just such a Hellenistic joke book were discovered
by Rudolf Kassel.[5] The text is
very fragmentary but seems to contain a list of jokes based
on mild personal insults (bald men), animal comparisons, and
riddles. The idea of joke books is treated in Plautus as familiar
to his contemporary Roman audience, and there is evidence in
Quintilian for the existence of joke books at Rome. In his section
on humour at Inst. 6.3.57ff. Quintilian discusses the
use of nicknames based on animal and other comparisons, and
various riddles and puns.[6] He
goes on interestingly at 65 to say he is not going to fill his
work with these or it would become similem...eis qui risus
gratia componuntur 'similar to those which are composed
as joke-books.'
The contents of
the books are referred to variously as dicta (Stichus
400 Gelasimus, Captivi 482 Ergasilus), as verba
(Captivi 472 Ergasilus), and by the Greek loan-word logi
(Stichus 221, 383, 393 Gelasimus, Persa 394
Saturio), a technical term which perhaps again suggests a Greek
origin for the practice. We are never actually treated to real
examples of such dicta or logi, perhaps because
they were a closely guarded professional secret. The nearest
we get is Gelasimus's description when he puts them up for auction
at Stichus 228- 9 as cavillationes, adsentatiunculas
/ ac perieratiunculas parasiticas 'polite leg-pulling, trivial
flattery and parasitical travesties of the truth'. I would argue
nevertheless that the type of verbal humour we find concentrated
in our four parasites' monologues reflects this joke book tradition.
The animal comparisons and plays on proper names discussed by
Quintilian are exactly what we find in the speeches of these
characters.
One adjective which
keeps cropping up in relation to these jokes is ridiculus
(so Captivi 482 Ergasilus ridiculum dictum, Stichus
221Gelasimus logos ridiculos, 455 Gelasimus ridiculis
meis).As Ritschl was the first to show,[7]
in the context of this type of parasite the adjective in Plautus
has the positive connotations of witty, intentionally provoking
laughter, rather than our more negative one of unintentionally
laughable, ridiculous, a meaning not attested in Latin until
after Plautus. It seems likely, as Corbett argues,[8]
that ridiculus was used substantively almost as a technical
term for the kind of parasite we are dealing with, whose stock
in trade was ridicula dicta. So Gelasimus, whose Greek
name, as Arnott points out,[9]
is exactly translated by the Latin ridiculus, offers
himself for sale at Stichus 171-2 as a ridiculum hominem,
a professional funny man, just as at Rudens 535 the leno
Labrax offers to hire himself out for the games as the masked
figure Manducus. Gelasimus goes on to explain in 174-6 that
he got his name Gelasimus 'Funny man' because it was clear to
his father from his early boyhood that he was a ridiculus.
We seem then to be dealing with a specific kind of parasite
whose speciality was verbal humour, the parasitus ridiculus,
a term actually used by Pinacium at Stichus 388-9 of
the parasites that Epignonus is bringing back with him from
abroad: poste autem advexit parasitos secum .../ ridiculissimos
'Besides, he has brought back some parasites with him ...
and very witty ones too'. There is some indication, then,
that this type of parasite, whether or nor he had an exact equivalent
in the Greek world, was a recognisable type in the Rome of Plautus's
time, although, as Corbett points out,[10]
his livelihood seems to have been under threat. Both Ergasilus
in Captivi and Gelasimus in Stichus refer to the
difficulties of their profession and the fact that the youths
no longer support them as they did in days gone by.[11]
These statements could of course be nothing more than general
comic reflections on the difficulties of life and the declining
standards of contemporary mores, such as can be found
in Greek and Roman comedy of almost any period, but it may be
significant that the only mention of the parasitus ridiculus
in Terence comes in just such a context. In Eunuchus
act 2 scene 2 the parasite Gnatho tells of a meeting in the
street with a fellow down-and-out. Gnatho suggests the man should
take up a similar way of life to his own. The man replies that
he cannot be a ridiculus or suffer blows 244-5 at
ego infelix neque ridiculus esse neque plagas / pati possum
'Poor wretch that I am I can neither be a funny man nor
suffer blows'; in other words, he cannot be a stand-up comedian
or a slapstick clown. Gnatho goes on to explain that that way
of making one's living died out in the last generation. The
new type of parasite must simply be a flatterer, who laughs
at his patron's jokes rather than making his patron laugh, and
agrees with him on all matters. Certainly there is no clear
example of the parasitus ridiculus in Terence and it
is possible that the type died out both in literature and in
real life after the time of Plautus. The irony is of course
that what Gnatho refers to as a new type of parasite is in fact
the traditional old flatterer, as found in Terence's Greek model,
Menander's Kolax, and in such figures as Artotrogus,
the soldier's flatterer, in Plautus's Miles Gloriosus.
What I intend to
do in the remainder of the paper is to examine the use made
of the parasitus ridiculus by Plautus, concentrating
in particular on the entrance monologues of the four characters
in question. Both Menaechmi and Captivi open after
the prologue with an entrance monologue by a parasite. It was
long ago noted that these opening monologues by Peniculus and
Ergasilus are remarkably similar in form and content.[12]
Both introduce themselves by referring to the nickname bestowed
upon them by the youths (Menaechmi 77-8, Captivi
69-70 - quoted below). Both praise the lavish treatment they
received in the past from their respective adulescentes,
Menaechmus in the case of Peniculus, and Philopolemus in the
case of Ergasilus (Men. 100-101, Capt. 105-6)
and both lament the fact that recently they have been unable
to enjoy their patrons' favours. Both speeches end with a similar
formula as they approach the door of their patrons' houses (Menaechmi
108 nunc ad eum inviso. sed aperitur ostium, 'Now I'll
go and see him, but the door is opening', Captivi 108
nunc ad eum pergam. sed aperitur ostium 'Now I'll go
to him, but the door is opening'). Finally, the invention
of the verb domitus/domatus from the locative domi
in the phrase domi domitus (domatus Linds.)
sum 'I have homed it at home' at Menaechmi 105 can
be parallelled at Captivi 84 by the verb rurant
from rus in the phrase dum ruri rurant homines
'while men country it in the country'. Perhaps less striking,
but still symptomatic of the closeness of the two passages,
is the repetition of the phrase homines captivos in the
same sedes in Menaechmi 79 homines captivos
qui catenis vinciunt 'Men who bind prisoners of war with
chains' and Captivi 100 homines captivos commercatur
'He's buying up prisoners of war'. Although there is some
evidence that the role of Peniculus has been amplified somewhat
by Plautus to include a greater emphasis on his appetite and
interest in food,[13] his role
seems to be more integral to the plot than that of Ergasilus
in Captivi, in which there is considerably more evidence
of Plautine elaboration.[14]
The similarities
between the two opening speeches are then perhaps best explained
if Ergasilus's speech has been amplified by the addition of
elements found in that of Peniculus. We have no firm dates for
either play, but the best estimates based on style and Roman
reference suggest that Menaechmi came first. In fact,
as we shall see later, there are a number of instances where
lines or half lines from one parasite monologue reappear in
another. I take these as evidence for Plautine elaboration of
the roles, using a traditional stock of material.
The nickname formula
with which both speeches begin has its origins firmly in Greek
New Comedy. As Arnott has shown, what we are dealing with here
is the regular formula for introducing a parasite to the audience
by his nickname.[15] The speaker
can either be the parasite himself or, as in the case of the
Anaxippus and Alexis fragments, a third party; but in all cases
the parasite is introduced by an imaginative nickname given
to him by the youths. The Alexis fragment is particularly interesting
as here the nickname is actually Parasitos. As Arnott
suggests,[16]before this date
the name of the character-type would simply have been kÒlax,
'flatterer'. Parasitos was originally a religious term,
referring to a temple acolyte (particularly in shrines of Heracles)
who would have received free food and meals in return for services.
After Alexis's kÒlax had been given this nickname it
seemed so appropriate that it came to be used alongside kÒlax
to designate the character type. The nickname formula does not
originate in comedy but, as with most things, is found first
in Homer. At the beginning of Odyssey 18 we are told
how the Ithacan beggar Arnaeus was given the nickname Irus (derived
from that of the gods' messenger Iris) by the young men, as
he used to run errands for anyone who asked him (Od.
18.6-7). Arnaeus is clearly a prototype parasite. He was known
for his greedy belly, eating and drinking without end, and made
his living running errands for people (Od. 18.1-6).
We do not know whether it was Alexis or some other playwright
who first adapted this formula from its Homeric source, but
it clearly became well established in the Greek and Roman New
Comic tradition.
Plautus's use of
the formula at the beginning of his parasite entrance monologues
serves to introduce the characters as stand-up comedians. Much
of the humour in Plautus's adaptation of the formula derives
from the fact that the names Peniculus and Scortum suggest something
far more salacious than is provided by the explanations which
follow. Peniculus explains he was given his name 'Little Brush'
because when he eats he sweeps the table clean: Menaechmi
77-8 iuventus nomen fecit Peniculo mihi, / ideo quia mensam,
quando edo, detergeo 'The youths call me Little Brush because
when I eat I sweep the table clean'. But of course, Peniculus
is also the diminutive of penis, and no doubt the actor
would have paused significantly at the end of line 77 to allow
free rein for the audience's titters, before providing them
with the innocent explanation of line 78 (a technique many of
us will be familiar with from modern stand-up comedians such
as Frankie Howerd). Ergasilus, at the beginning of Captivi,
combines this technique with some clever word play only possible
in Latin:
Capt. 69-76 iuventus
nomen indidit Scorto mihi,
eo quia invocatus
soleo esse in convivio.
scio absurde dictum
hoc derisores dicere,
at ego aio recte.
nam scortum in convivio
sibi amator, talos
cum iacit, scortum invocat.
estne invocatum
an non est? est planissume;
verum hercle vero
nos parasiti planius,
quos numquam quisquam
neque vocat neque invocat.
quasi mures semper
edimus alienum cibum.
The opening line
'The young men have given me the nickname of "Whore"'
is followed by a pause for titters; then the explanation eo
quia invocatus soleo esse in convivio. The audience's reaction
here would probably be puzzled bemusement: a couple of the words
are capable of more than one interpretation. Invocatus
could be 'uninvited' a[klhto~ in Greek, commonly applied
to parasites as uninvited guests), but in Latin it could also
mean 'called-upon', 'invoked' or even 'invited', and the infinitive esse could mean either 'to eat' or 'to be'. Ergasilus
then is setting a riddle for his audience: they cannot be expected
to grasp the meaning of 70 immediately. As with all good comedy,
everything is in the timing and Ergasilus is in no hurry to
enlighten them. He keeps them on tenterhooks. 'I know the wags
say this is a stupid nickname. But I say it is a good one'.
At last we get the explanation: nam scortum in convivio /
sibi amator, talos cum iacit, scortum invocat. But notice
how even here the puzzling word invocat is carefully
delayed until the end. Literally 'for a whore at a feast, the
lover, when he's playing dice, well, the whore, he calls upon
her'. Finally the penny drops. He is talking about the Roman
custom of 'calling upon' one's mistress's name for good luck
when playing dice.[17] The audience
can release their pent-up laughter. And Ergasilus, like a good
comedian, can now take advantage of this and milk it for all
it is worth: 74 estne invocatum an non est? est planissime. But again the puns still operate. 'Is she called upon or isn't
she?' but also 'does she eat (est) uninvited (invocatum)
or doesn't she eat? / She most certainly does'. Similarly the
parasites in the next couplet, although not invited or called
upon (neque vocat neque invocat), eat (edimus)
other people's food (alienum cibum). Here then in the
opening of Ergasilus's monologue we have a wonderful example
of a Roman stand-up comedian at work. The initial nickname formula
may be Greek, but the rest of it, the salacious suggestiveness
of the Latin scortum, the riddle technique of line 70
and, in particular, the word play on invocatus and esse possible only in Latin, is pure Roman. Before leaving this topic
of the parasite's nickname, one or two further points need to
be clarified. First Peniculus and Scortum are unusual in being
Latin-based names. Usually the parasite or flatterer is given
a Greek nickname. One thinks of Harpax 'Snatcher', the soldier's
messanger in Pseudolus, for example, the origin of whose
name is explained at Pseud. 655 hostis vivos rapere
soleo ex acie: ex hoc nomen mihi est, 'I'm used to snatching
the enemy live from the battlefield: that's how I got my name'
or of Gnatho 'Jaws' in Terence's Eunuch. At Stichus 174-7
Gelasimo nomen
mi indidit parvo pater
quia inde iam a
pausillo puero ridiculus fui;
propter pauperiem
hoc adeo nomen repperi,
eo quia paupertas
fecit ridiculus forem.
'My father named
me Gelasimus when I was little, because ever since I
was a small boy
I've been a comic. Besides I got the name from being
poor, since poverty
turned me into a comic'.
Gelasimus, using
a very similar formula to the one found in Captivi and
Menaechmi, tells us how his father gave him the name
Gelasimus 'Funny-Man' because from a very early age it was clear
that he was a ridiculus. The nickname, as we saw above,
is a Greek equivalent of the Latin ridiculus. In the
same way it is possible that Ergasilus could be a Greek equivalent
of scortum, if Corbett is right in his suggestion that
Ergasilus is based on the Greek ejrgavsimo~ , an adjective
applied to working prostitutes.[18]
Later on in the play, in a conversation with the maid Crocotium,
Gelasimus tells her how he has changed his name from Gelasimus
to Miccotrogus, again a Greek name although the mikko-element, meaning 'crumbs', suggests Greek of South Italian rather
than Attic origin.
Stichus
239-42 CROC. Gelasime, salve.
GEL. non id est
nomen mihi.
CROC. Certo mecastor
id fuit nomen tibi.
GEL. Fuit disertim,
verum id usu perdidi:
nunc Miccotrogus
nomine e vero vocor.
'CROC. Gelasimus,
good morning. GEL.That's not my name. CROC. Well it
certainly used
to be. GEL. Indeed it was. But I lost it out through over-use.
Now
from the true facts
I am called Miccotrogus'.
His new name Miccotrogus
'Crumb-nibbler' reminds us of the soldier's parasite Artotrogus
in Miles Gloriosus, Greek for 'Bread-nibbler'. In 241
usu perdidi is a legal joke. In Roman law the use of
something, usus, gave you a right to its possession.
Here the opposite is the case. By using it Gelasimus has lost
his name. The phrase e vero (242 ) occurs frequently
in etymologising contexts in Latin,[19]
referring to the belief that an etymology gives the true reason
(Greek e[tumo~ lovgo~) why a thing is so called. In
fact it is remarkable how in all three of the nickname passages
so far discussed, the formula for introducing the name, nomen
indidit or nomen fecit, followed by an explanatory quia clause, is exactly that found in the later grammatical
tradition of etymological discourse from Varro on. Of course
Plautus will have found examples of this formula, which goes
back ultimately, as we have seen, to Homer, already present
in his Greek originals. But he, perhaps along with the early
Latin adapters of Greek tragedy, must have played a pioneering
role in devising its Latin counterpart. Our fourth parasitus
ridiculus, Saturio in Persa, shares this interest
in names and naming. In his entrance monologue he describes
how he comes from a long line of parasites who could not be
outdone in voracity. Lines 59-60 as they stand in the MSS read
as follows: neque edacitate eos quisquam poterat vincere
/ neque is cognomentum erat duris Capitonibus 'No one could
beat them in voracity; they were never called hard Bigheads'.
Of course Capito 'Big Head' was a common Roman cognomen.
But it is difficult to see here what not being called hard Big
Heads has to do with greed. A simple, though rather lame, explanation
is that they were always well fed by their patrons and never
had to put up with having their heads beaten. An attractive
suggestion by Woytek[20] is that capitonibus here should be written with a small c referring
to a type of fish, the kestreuv~, in Greek (also known
as kevfalo~ big head) which was proverbial for going hungry
and was frequently used as a nickname for parasites.[21]
Saturio's statement that his ancestors were never known as viris
capitonibus would mean they never had the starving fish
nickname, i.e. never went hungry. viris for duris
is palaeographically defensible and the phrase viris capitonibus
would be the equivalent of the Greek phrase a[ndre~ kesrtei'~
found e.g. in Aristophanes frg. 159 (156K). There must, however,
remain some doubt as to whether a Roman audience would have
appreciated and understood such a thoroughly Greek reference.
Comparisons between
themselves and animals seem to have been another stock in trade
of parasites both Greek and Roman and, as we have seen from
Quintilian, they were also a feature of the jester's books.
In Greek the uninvited guest was referred to as a fly, mu‹a,[22]and
at Captivi 77 parasites are described as mice who eat
other men's food, quasi mures semper edimus alienum cibum.
This verse is a good illustration of the way in which the same
material occurs in a number of parasites' speeches in Plautus,
for at Persa 58 the parasite Saturio describes how his
parasitical ancestors quasi mures semper edere alienum cibum.
There is no exact parallel for parasites as mice in Greek
comedy, but Lindsay on Captivi 77 aptly compares the
anecdote Diogenes Laertius (6.40) tells of Diogenes the Cynic
who, when he saw some mice creeping onto his table, said 'Look,
even Diogenes feeds parasites'. The animal comparisons continue
in Ergasilus's speech at Captivi 80ff. where parasites
are compared to snails quasi, cum caletur, cocleae in occulto
latent, / suo sibi suco vivont, ros si non cadit, / item parasiti
rebus prolatis latent / in occulto miseri, victitant suco suo
'Just as, when it's hot, snails hide away and live on their
own juices if there's no dew falling, so too parasites in the
holidays hide away, poor things, and subsist on their own juices'.
Then at 85ff. they are compared to different types of dog: prolatis
rebus parasiti venatici / sumus, quando res redierunt, Molossici
/ Odiosicique et multum Incommodestici 'During the holidays
we parasites are hunting dogs, but when business starts again
we are guard dogs, bore-hounds and very much trouble-terriers'.
Ergasilus starts with true hunting dogs venatici,
and then goes on to include comic coinages of increasing improbability:
Molossici, based on Molossi, famous Roman watch
dogs; Odiosici and Incommodestici, based on the
adjectives odiosus and incommodus 'odious' and
'troublesome'.
Neither Saturio
nor Ergasilus chooses to open his entrance monologue with the
nickname formula, but in each case what we get in its place
is equally striking and perhaps even more Roman in inspiration.
Saturio opens with the proud statement that as a parasite he
is continuing the noble tradition of his ancestors:
Persa 53-58
veterem atque antiquom quaestum maiorum meum
servo atque obtineo
et magna cum cura colo.
nam numquam quisquam
meorum maiorum fuit,
quin parasitando
paverint ventres suos:
pater, avos, proavos,
abavos, atavos, tritavos
quasi mures semper
edere alienum cibum.
'I continue, follow
and cultivate with the greatest care the ancient and venerable
profession of my
ancestors. For there was not one of my ancestors who did not
provide for his
belly through the parasite's calling. My father, grandfather,
great-
grandfather, great-great-grandfather,
great-great-great-grandfather and his father
too always ate
other people's food, just like mice.'
Ancestral tradition
is of course a concept which would have struck a chord with
the Romans, but the joke of a lowly parasite making such an
appeal is not entirely absent from Greek comedy, as the example
of the sycophant from Aristophanes Birds 1452 shows: pappw'o~ oJ bio~ sukofantei'n 'I am following in a tradition of sycophancy in our family
going back to our grandfathers' time'. Nevetheless, this type
of humorous reference must have appealed particularly to Plautus
who uses it a number of times in his slave monologues.[23]
The list of ancestors going back to tritavos in line
57 has exact parallels in Roman legal texts (e.g. Dig.
38.10.10), as Woytek shows in his commentary, and could not
have been taken word for word from the Greek in which such terms
do not exist beyond great-grandfather.
Gelasimus opens
his monologue at Stichus 155ff. in a similar genealogical
vein, in this case claiming descent from a personified Hunger
Fames, who he claims was his mother: Famem ego fuisse
suspicor matrem mihi, / nam postquam natus sum, satur numquam
fui 'I suspect Hunger was my mother, for since the day I
was born I've never been full'. She carried him for only ten
months while he has been going round with her in his belly for
over ten years.[24] As Fraenkel
points out, [25] neither pe‹na
nor limÒj could have been personified in this way in
the Greek, and the closest parallels come from the Roman comic
tradition.[26]
In fact, instant
personifications of this kind, discussed by Fraenkel as typically
Plautine,[27] turn out to be
another characteristic feature of the language of our four parasites.
At Persa 77-9 Saturio ends his entrance monologue by
approaching Toxilus's house with the intention of visiting last
night's leftovers to see if they had slept well and were in
good health: nunc huc intro ibo, visam hesternas reliquias,
/ quierintne recte necne, num afuerit febris, / opertaen fuerint,
ne quis obreptaverit 'Now I'll go inside here and visit
yesterday's left-overs, to see if they have had a good night
or not and to make sure they have no fever and have been well
covered up and that no one has crept up upon them'. This
of course is a parody of the morning visit of the client to
his patron (the mane salutatio), as described by the
old man Periplectomenos at Miles Gloriosus 709: prius
quam lucet adsunt, rogitant noctu ut somnum ceperim 'Before
it's light they're here, asking if I've had a good night's sleep'.
At Menaechmi 106-7 Peniculus similarly addresses the
food he has bought as his dear ones: nam neque edo neque
emo nisi quod est carissimum. / id quoque iam, cari qui instruontur
deserunt 'I don't eat or buy a thing which isn't most dear.
And another point, these dear ones, as soon as they are marshalled,
desert me'. As Gratwick points out in his commentary,[28]
the verbal humour here and particularly the military metaphor
of instruontur and deserunt in 107 would need
to be accompanied by some visual stage business to bring it
to life: perhaps rubbing his belly on 'except what is dear'
and bringing a piece of food out before instruontur and
eating it before deserunt. At Captivi 464 Ergasilus,
again with plenty of supporting stage business, threatens to
knock the eyes out of a bad day: nam hercle ego huic die,
si liceat, oculos effodiam libens. Similarly at Stichus
191 Gelasimus would like to see the phrase 'I'd ask you to dine
but I am dining out myself' have its legs smashed: ei hercle
verbo lumbos diffractos velim. This is a particularly gruesome
Roman form of execution, referred to again by Plautus at Asinaria
474 crura hercle diffringentur 'Your legs will be smashed
to pieces'. Finally at Stichus 211-12 Gelasimus laments
for all the dead meals he has never received over the last three
years: potationes plurimae demortuae, / quot adeo cenae,
quas deflevi, mortuae
'Those numerous
drinks, quite dead and gone, and all those dead dinners I've
lamented'.
Enough has been
said to show that in the opening monologues of the particular
parasites under discussion Plautus has expanded the roles far
beyond the requirements of the plot. The scope of this paper
does not extend to cover the Roman allusions in these passages,
but their presence at key points[29]
is another definite indication of Plautine expansion. It is
clearly the author's intention in these plays to grab the audience's
interest, and, above all, to make them laugh from the very opening
words, and what better character to achieve this purpose than
the traditional Roman stand-up comedian?
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Endnotes
[1]
The best ancient source on parasites and flatterers is Athenaeus
6.234c-262b. See further O. Ribbeck, 'Kolax: eine Ethologische
Studie', Abh. sä chs. Ges. Wiss. 9 (1884), A.Giese,
De Parasiti Persona Capita Selecta (Diss. Kiel. 1908),
E.Wü st and A.Hug Parasitus in RE XVIII 1381,
J.O.Lofberg, 'The sycophant-parasite', CP 15 (1920) 61-72,
J.M.Brinkhoeff, 'De Parasiet op het romeinsche Tooneel', Neophilologus
32 (1948) 127ff., J.C.B.Lowe, 'Plautus's parasites and the Atellana'
in Studien zur vorliterarischen Periode im frü hen Rom,
ed. G. Vogt-Spira, Tü bingen (1989) 161-170, P.G.McC.
Brown, 'Menander, fragments 745 and 746 K-T, Menander's Kolax
and parasites and flatterers in Greek comedy', ZPE 92
(1992) 91-107. On particular parasites in Roman comedy see W.G.Arnott,
'Phormio parasitus: a study in dramatic methods of characterisation',
G&R 17 (1970) 32-57 and by the same 'Targets, Techniques
and Tradition in Plautus's Stichus', BICS 19 (1972) 64-79
on Gelasimus.
[2]
Cic. De Orat. 2.217 itaque cum quosdam Graecos inscriptos libros
esse vidissem 'de ridiculis', nonnullam in spem veneram posse
me ex eis aliquid discere; inveni autem ridicula et salsa multa
Graecorum; nam et Siculi in eo genere et Rhodii et Byzantii
et praeter ceteros Attici excellunt 'And so when I saw some
Greek books entitled 'On Jokes' I came to hope that I could
learn something from them. I found many jokes and witticisms
of the Greeks, for the Sicilans are expert in that genre, as
are the Rhodians and the Byzantines and especially those from
Attica.'
[3]
For the cre‹ai of Machon see A.S.F. Gow, Machon the
Fragments, Cambridge (1965).
[4]
On Philogelos see A. Thierfelder, Philogelos der Lachfreund
von Hierokles und Philagrios, Mü nchen (1968).
[5]
R. Kassel, RhM 99 (1956) 242-5.
[6]
Quint. Inst. 6.3.57 sed ea non ab hominibus modo petitur
verum etiam ab animalibus, ut nobis pueris Iunius Bassus, homo
imprimis dicax, asinus albus vocabatur; et Sarmentus Messium
Cicirrum equo fero comparavit. ducitur et ab inanimis sicut
P. Blaesius Iulium, hominem nigrum et macrum et pandum, fibulam
ferream dixit 'But such comparisons are drawn not only from
the names of men, but also from animals; as for example, when
we were boys, with Junius Bassus, an extremely witty man, who
was nicknamed the white ass. So Sarmentus compared Messius Cicirrus
to a wild horse. The comparison may also be drawn from inanimate
objects: for example, Publius Blessius called a certain Julius,
who was dark, lean and bent, the iron buckle.
[7]
F.Ritschl, Opuscula II 411 ridiculus Plauto non est,
qui risum movet invitus, sed qui iocis et facetiis risum dedita
opera captat 'ridiculus in Plautus is not someone who unwittingly
causes laughter, but one who on purpose incites laughter through
his jokes and witticisms'.
[8]
P.B. Corbett, The Scurra, Edinburgh (1986) 11-26.
[9]
W.G.Arnott, op. cit. (1972) 66.
[10]
P.B.Corbett, op. cit. (1986) 18-22.
[11]
Ergasilus: Capt. 470 ita iuventus iam ridiculos inopesque
ab se segregat 'So the young men nowadays keep clear of
comics and poor men'.Capt. 477 neque ridiculos iam
terrunci faciunt. sese omnes amant 'They don't care a damn
for comics. They love only themselves'(cf. 104 nam nulla
est spes iuventutis, sese omnes amant 'There's nothing to
hope for from the youths, they love only themselves'. Gelasimus:
Stich. 637 viden ridiculos nihili fieri 'You see
how comics are despised'.
[12]
W.M.Lindsay, The Captivi of Plautus, Cambridge (1900,
repr. 1961) 138-9.
[13]
J.C.B.Lowe, op.cit. (1989) 167.
[14]
E.Fraenkel, Elementi Plautini in Plauto, Florence (1960)
101-2, J.C.B.Lowe, op. cit. (1989) 164.
[15]
W.G.Arnott, Alexis - the fragments: a commentary, Cambridge
(1996) 543-4. Greek comic examples at: Alexis Parasitos
183 (178 K) 1-2
kalau'si d j aujto;n pavnte~ oi newvteroi / Paravsiton uJpokovrisma 'all the youth call him by the nickname "Parasite"';
Antiphanes Progonoi 193 (195 K) 10-11 kai; kalou'si m j oiJ newvteroi / dia; tau'ta pavnta Skhptovn 'and on account of all the youth call me "Thunderbolt"';
Anaxippus Keraunos 3.3-4 tou'ton oi fivloi kalou'si soi / nuni; di j ajndreivan keraunovn
'your friends now call him "Thunderbolt" on account
of his bravery'; Aristophon 5.(4.).2-3 a[n ti~ eJstia'i, pavreimi prw'to~ w{st j h}dh pavlai / ...Zemo;\\\\\# kslou;msi 'if anyone is giving a party,
I turn up first, so that for a long time now I have been called
"Soup"'.
[16]
W.G.Arnott, 'Studies in comedy, I: Alexis and the parasite's
name', GRBS 9 (1968) 161-168.
[17]
Cf. Asinaria 904-5 ARG. Iace, pater, talos ... DEM. Maxime
te, Philaenium, mihi atque uxoris mortem. ARG. Throw the dice,
father ... DEM. I call upon you Philaenium and my wife's death
Curculio 355-6 CURC. provocat me in aleam ... / ... invocat
Planesium. CURC. He challenges me to a game of dice... and calls
upon Planesium.
[18]
P.B.Corbett, op. cit. (1986) 16.
[19]
Cf. Hor. Serm. 2.2.56 cui Canis ex vero dictum cognomen
adhaeret 'Who got the nickname Dog from the truth of the matter'.
Ov. Fast. 2.859 ex vero positum permansit Equirria nomen.
'And the truth gave it the lasting name of Equirria'.
[20]
E.Woytek, 'Viri capitones', WS 7 (1973) 65-74.
[21]
Examples in Woytek (1973) op. cit. 73; Arnott op.
cit. (1996) 723.
[22]E.g.
Antiphanes frg. 193.7 (195.7K) deipnei'n a[klhto~ mui'a 'to dine as an uninvited fly'; cf. Linsday on Captivi
70.
[23]
Cf. Plaut. Mil. 372-3 (Sceledrus) scio crucem futuram
mihi sepulcrum; ibi mei sunt maiores siti, pater, avos, proavos,
abavos 'I know the cross will be my tomb; that's where my
ancestors are, my father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather'.
Cas. 418 (Olympio) pietate factum est mea atque maiorum
meum 'It comes from my pious ways and from those of my ancestors'.
[24]
See W.G.Arnott, op. cit. (1972) 71 for an illuminating
discussion of the full comic implications of this image.
[25]
E. Fraenkel, op. cit. (1960) 278-9.
[26]
Cf. Afranius Com. 298 R Usus me genuit, Mater peperit
Memoria. 'Custom was my father, the mother who bore me was
Memory'.
[27]
E.Fraenkel, op. cit. (1960) 110ff.
[28]
A.S.Gratwick, Plautus Menaechmi, Cambridge (1993) 146.
[29]
For Roman allusions in parasites' speeches, cf. Capt.
90 (Ergasilus) ire extra portam Trigeminam ad saccum licet
'He can go outside the Trigemina gate and pick up a porter's
bag'. Persa 62 (Saturio) neque quadrupulari me volo
'I don't want to be an informer'. Stichus (Gelasimus)
mime of Roman auction at 171-2 and 209-215.
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Classical Receptions in Drama and Poetry in English