The Dramatic Values in Plautus | Page 4

"Abhandlung von dem Leben und den
Werken des M. Accius Plautus" Lessing deprecates the harsh judgment
of Horace and later detractors of our poet in modern times. Lessing
idealizes him as the matchless comic poet. That the Captivi is "das
vortrefflichste Stück, welches jemals auf den Schauplatz gekommen
ist," as Lessing declares in the Preface to his translation of the play, is
an utterance that leaves us gasping.
[Sidenote: Dacier] But Lessing's idea of the purpose of comedy is a
combination of Aristotelian and mid-Victorian ideals: "die Sitten der
Zuschauer zu bilden und zu bessern, ... wenn sie nämlich das Laster
allezeit unglücklich und die Tugend am Ende glücklich sein lässt."[22]
It is on the basis of this premise that he awards the comic crown to the
Cap.[23] His extravagant encomium called forth from a contemporary
a long controversial letter which Lessing published in the second
edition with a reply so feeble that he distinctly leaves his adversary the
honors of the field. How much better the diagnosis of Madame Dacier,
who is quoted by Lessing! In the introduction to her translations of the
Amphitruo, Rudens and Epidicus (issued in 1683), she apologizes for
Plautus on the ground that he had to win approval for his comedies
from an audience used to the ribaldry of the Saturae.
[Sidenote: Lorenz] Lorenz in his introductions to editions of the Most.
and Pseud. is another who seems to be carried away by the unrestrained
enthusiasm that often affects scholars oversteeped in the lore of their
author. Faults are dismissed as merely "Kleine
Unwahrscheinlichkeiten" (Introd. Ps., p. 26, N. 25.) "Jeder Leser," says
he, " darin beistimmen, dass ... der erste Act Pseudolus> eine so gelungene Exposition darbietet, wie sie die
dramatische Poesie nur aufweisen kann." Such a statement must fall, by
weight of exaggeration. In appreciation of the portrayal of the
name-part he continues: "Mit welch' überwältigender Herrschaft tritt

hier gleich die meisterhaft geschilderte Hauptperson hervor! Welche
packende Kraft, welche hinreissende verve liegt in dem reichen Dialoge,
der wie beseelt von der feurigen Energie des begabten Menschen, der
ihn lenkt, fröhlich rauschend dahin eilt, übersprudelnd von einer Fulle
erheiternder Scherze und schillernder Spielereien!"
In curious contrast to this fulsome outpouring stands the expressed
belief of Lamarre[24] that the character of Ballio overshadows that of
Pseudolus. In support of this view he cites Cicero (Pro Ros. Com. 7.20),
who mentions that Roscius chose to play Ballio.
Lorenz in his enthusiasm exalts the Epid. to an ideal of comic
excellence (Introd. Ps. p. 27). He even goes so far as to contend that
Plautus lives up to the following characterization:[25] "Nicht blos
durch naturgetreue and lebhafte Charakterschilderungen und durch eine
komisch gehaltene, aber die Grenzen des Wahrscheinlichen und des
Graziösen nicht überschreitende Zeichnung des täglichen Lebens soll
der Dichter des Lustspiels seine Zuschauer interessiren und ihr heiteres
Gelächter hervorrufen, sondern auch so reiche Anwendung zu geben,
durch die es in den Dienst einer sittlichen Idee tritt, und so gleichsam
die moralische Atmosphäre ... zu reinigen."
Such emotional superlatives merely create in the reader a cachinnatory
revulsion. Yes, Plautus was great, but he was great in a far different
way. He approached the Rabelaisian. It is doubtful if "die Grenzen des
Graziösen" lay within his purview at all.
[Sidenote: Lamarre] The treatment of Lamarre cited above contains[26]
a highly meritorious analysis of the Plautine characters, discussed
largely as a reflection of the times and people, both of New Comedy
and of Plautus, without imputing to our poet too serious motives of
subtle portrayal. But he too ascribes to Plautus a latent moral purpose:
"En faisant rire, il veut corriger"![27]
[Sidenote: Naudet] This sounds ominously like an echo from
Naudet[28] who, in the course of lauding Plautus' infinite invention and
variety of embroidery, would translate him into a zealous social
reformer by saying: "L'auteur se proposait de faire beaucoup rire les

spectateurs, mais il voulait aussi qu'ils se corrigeassent en riant." All
this is disappointing. We should have expected Gallic esprit to rise
superior to such banality.
[Sidenote: LeGrand] The celebrity of French criticism is somewhat
redeemed by LeGrand in his monumental work entitled Daos Tableau
de la comedie grecque pendant la periode dite nouvelle (Annales de
l'Université de Lyon, 1910), in the conclusion to the chapter on
'Intentions didactiques et valeur morale' (
Part III, Chap. I, page 583): "Tout compte
fait, au
point de vue moral, la {~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK
SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH TONOS~}{~GREEK SMALL
LETTER ALPHA~} dut être inoffensive (en son temps)." This is the
culmination of a calm, dispassionate discussion and analysis of the
extant remains of New Comedy and Palliatae.
Even Ritschl fails to escape the taint of degrading Plautus to the status
of a petty moralizer[29]. In particular, he lauds the Aul unreservedly as
a chef d'oeuvre of character