amerasinghe - the part of the slave in terence's drama (art)

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The Part of the Slave in Terence's Drama

Author(s): C. W. AmerasingheSource: Greece & Rome, Vol. 19, No. 56 (Jun., 1950), pp. 62-72Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/641094

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THE PART

OF

THE SLAVE

IN TERENCE'S

DRAMA

By c. w. AMERASINGHE

nNE of the more nteresting

eatures f Terenee's

dramatie

work

\_Jis the

evidenee n

it of frequenteonflietbetween

he dramatist

and the dramatieonventions

f his

day. To someinstanees f

this

eonfliet, epresented

y

eritieisms, xplieitor implieit,

of eonvention,

attention

as been drawnby Sir Gilbert

Norwood

n his bookon The

Art of Terence.

But even

he has perhapsnot followed

up the

fuller

implieationsf Terenee's

ritieal ttitude

n determininghe nature

of

his drama.

My purposen this artiele

s to show

that therewasone

eonvention

gainstwhieh, bove llothers,

Terenee onsistentlyebelled,

namely, he

convention

f the slavewho manages

he aetion;

and I

wouldevengo so far as

to suggest hat

his sueeessas a dramatie

rtist

is, to a large

extent,dependent pon

the way in

whiehhe solved he

problem

f the slave.

The problem

s, briefly,

his. Plautine rama resents

ou, n general,

with a world

whosehero

s the slave. Freemen either

makea mess

of

thingsandrequirea slaveto extrieatehem from t, or they fall into

a messbeeause f the villainous

maehinations

f aslave. There

are,of

eourse, xceptions,

ut

the general mpressionreated

s that heaetion

is largely

dominated y a slave, or example,

y Palaestrio

n theMiles.

It is obvious

hat,artistieally,

ueh a eonventions

bad. It eneourages

eareless lot

eonstruetion

nddoesnothelpto produee

nything

etter

thanfaree.

Yourdramatistan run

riot in complicating

is plot,and

yet not turn

a hairbeeause he whole

eomplieationan arbitrarily

e

unravelledy a deus x

machinan thepersonof the

slave. The

con-

vention uitedPlautus,whowasnot somucheoncerned ithobserving

Aristotelian

anons of

probability nd necessity

as with givinghis

audieneewhatwasgood

enough orthem-and

theywerecertainly

asy

to satisfy.

But Terenee,

whether ortunately r

unfortunately,

ad

artistic cruples bout

panderingo his audienee s

well as about

em-

ployingartifieial

idsto plot construction.

He was

besidespossessed f

too serious

a turn of mind

and of toomuch eeling

or humandignity

to be able

to aceepta classifieation

f humanbeings

into thesetwo

categoriesf abjeetly elplessmasters ndvillainouslyompetentlaves.

The wholeof his work

eonsequently

evealsa eonstant ndeavour

o

dispense

with the eonvention,

nd, by doingso, to

liberatehimself

as

artist n sueha way hat

he eanmake

human etion hesignifieant

esult



THE PART OF THE SLAVE IN TERENCE'S

DRAMA 63

of character nd situation ather han the mere

sportof slaves. The

processwas gradual.Beginningwith a half-heartedcceptance f the

convention,which being half-heartedesults n a conflict,he moves

forwardo a position n whichhe seemsdesirous f

banishinghe slave

entirely rom the stage,but ends, for reasonswhichI shall indicate,

with a compromiseetween onvention nddesign.

I givebelowa briefreviewof Terence's lays,withspecial eference

to thetreatmentf the slave,arranginghem n the

traditionallyccepted

orderof theircomposition.

I.

The'Andria'

This,Terence'sirstplay,presents lear vidence f aconflict etween

convention nd the artist. In this play Simo s worried bouthis son

Pamphilus'ttachmento a courtesan. n order oforcehis sonto come

out into the open,he pretends o arrange marriage

etweenhim and

his friendChremes's aughter.At the beginning f this play you are

givento expect hat he villainof the piece s Pamphilus'slaveDavus.

Listen o old Simo n Act I, Sc. i (w.

I59

ff.):

et nunc id operam do, ut per falsas nuptias

vera obiurgandicausa sit, si deneget;

simul sceleratus Davus, si quid consili

habet, ut consumat nunc quom nihil obsint doli;

quem ego credo manibus pedibusque obnixe omnia

facturum,magis id adeo mihi ut

incommodet

quam ut obsequaturgnato.

Davus,too, takeshimselfquite seriously s being

responsibleor his

youngmaster's appinessvideAct I, Sc. iii, w. 205ff.). He is worried

about he turnhis master's ffairs ave aken. The

courtesans to have

a baby, and his fool of a masteractually ntends o acknowledget.

He will haveto go and tell his masterabouthis

father'splansto get

him married.

So faryou have he conventionallave. Butsoon

hingsappearo go

wrong.The slave,whilemaking greatbusiness f

doing hings, ctually

achieves othing. Sometimes e doesnot evenappearo knowwhathe

wants; tothers,whathe achievess notwhathe

intended,hought turns

outwell orhim. I woulddraw pecial ttentiono the

following oints:

(a) ThoughDavus etsout n

I. iii

to inform is

master f his father's

plans,his masters actuallynformedn I. V by hisfatherhimself.This

mightbe dismissed s beingmerelya piece of carelessness erethere

not evidence n whatfollowsof an intention o reduce he importance

of the slave.



64

THE

PART

OF THE

SLAVE

IN

TERENCE'S

DRAMA

(b) When

hismaster

sks

Davus

or

advice

n

II.

iii,

he

advises

him

to consent

o the

proposed

marriage

merely

o humour

his father

and

gain

ime:

sed

si te

aequo nimo

erre ccipiet,

eglegentem

eceris;

aliam tiosus

uaeret;

nterealiquid

cciderit

oni.

This

is strange

behaviour

ora

deus

ex machina.

YourPlautine

lave

does not

wait

for things

to turn

up, he

sees to

it that

they

do

turnup.

(c)

In III.

i a

child

is born

to

the courtesan.

Old

Simohappens

o

be there

when

hemidwife

rrives.

Hesuspects

hishas

all

beenstage-

managed

or

hisbenefit,

o

make

himdrop

his

ideaof

getting

his

son

married.

When,

n III. ii,

he accuses

Davusof beingat the bottomof

it,

Davusaccepts

he suggestion,

nd

even

goes

so far

as to

tell

him

that

theywill

soon

be leaving

a baby

on

his door-step.

Now

Davus'

behaviour

s

perplexing.

n

the long

run

it does

not

helphis

master.

On thecontrary,

t leaves

himno

excuse

orbacking

utof the

proposed

marriage.

What,then,

could

Davus

have

hoped

o gain

except

more

time'for

something

oodto turn

up'?

(d) In IV.

iii Davus,

presumably

o prove

his

honesty

o

Simo,brings

thenew-born abyoutofthehouse,puts t into hearms fthehorrified

nurse,

and

nstructs

erto leave

t

on Simo's

door-step.

Before

he

can

explain

his purpose

o

her,Chremes,

he

would-be

ather-in-law,

urns

up.

Davus,

announcing

changen

his

plans, anishes

ora

few

seconds.

He

returns

while

Chremes

s

interrogating

he nurse

about he

baby,

and

drivesher

frantic

by

disclaiming

llknowledge

f it,

until

he suc-

ceeds

n conveying

o her

that

hewants

herto

speak

hetruth.

To the

mystified

nurse's

complaint

hat

he should

havetold

her

his plans

beforehand

e makes

herevealing

nswer

paulum

nteresse

enses

x

animo

mnia

ut fertnatura

acias, n

de industria

In other

words,

Davus

has

no coherent

lanof

action.

His

policy

s to

turn

eachsituation

s it

arises

o his

advantage

nd

so gain

time.

His

intention

n

bringing

ut

the

baby whatever

t was)

was

notachieved;

butthe

accidental

rrival

f Chremes

nabled

him

to help

his master

for

the moment

by

putting

Chremes

off the

contemplated

marriage

between

is

daughter

nd

Pamphilus.

f Davus

hadplanned

hearrival

of Chremes t the momentwhenhe intendedo bringthe babyout,

the

scenewould

have

made

more

sense,

hough

perhaps

ess

fun.

(e) The

final

denouement,

hen

t

comes, omes

not

through

Davus's

management

ut

by thefortuitous

rrival

f thestranger

Crito,

a friend



THE PART

OF

THE SLAVE

IN

TERENCE'S

DRAMA

65

of the

courtesan's

amily,

whoproves

hatshe

is notonly

free-born ut

alsothe

long-lost

daughter

f our

Chremes.

lWIostf

these

pointswhich I

have

drawn

attention o have

been

criticized s defects n structure.Thus Sir GilbertNorwoodt om-

ments,

the

wholeofthe

partof

Davushimself

s

otiose fviewed

trictly

fromthe

standpoint

f

construction'.

This is

indeed rueif you

look

at

plot

construction

bjectively s

Aristotle

wouldhaveyou

do. But if

you

allow or

a dramatic

dea

whichmay

affectplot

construction,

hen

there s

significance

n the

very act hat

Davus'part s

otiose.

Terence

admitshe

conventionallave nto

theaction,

but

will notlet him

play

the

conventional

art. The

defects n

structure re

the result

of this

unresolved iscord.Davus ookedasthoughheweregoing o manage

the

play, but

actually he

play,and

Davus

himself,are

managed y

accident.

Accident

s, of course,

not

the best

substitute

or a

deus ex

machina:

but

then,

his sonly

Terence'sirst

attempt

oliberate

imself

froma

conventionwhich

he

found rksome.

2.

The'Heauton

Timoroumenos'

Here

Terence,not

satisfied

with his

solutionof

the problem

n the

Andria,

appearso

revert o the

convention.The

slaveSyrushas

taken

theinitiative

II. iii. 3IO

ff.)in attemptingo extricate isyoungmaster

Clitipho

rom

inancial nd

amatory

mbarrassments.

pointof

some

significance,owever,

sthat he

master

oesnot

submit o

management

without

a struggle.

He protests

igorously

hoc

vide: in

mea vita tibi

tu

laudem is

quaesitum,scelus ?

This is

followedby a

heated

argument,t the

end of

which he

master

succumbs.It

wouldbe

easy to dismiss

he

incidentas

being

merely

a

pleasant

ivertissement;ut may

it not

be an

attemptby

Terence o

givegreater erisimilitudeo a situationwhichhe did not fancy? If

a

slavemust

manage

his master's

ffairs, t any rate

the

mastermust

not be a mere

cipher. He

remains

masterby

exercising is

rightto

adoptor

reject

heplans

made or

him.

One

otherpoint n

this

playarrests

ttention.

Menedemusn

III. i,

repenting is

sternness,wishes o

indulge he

prodigalon

returned y

giving

him allhe

asks or.

ButChremes

warnshim(w.

466 ff.)

si certumst

tibi

sic

facere,

permagni llud

re ferre

arbitror,

ut ne

scientem

sentiat te id

sibi dare....

per

alium

quemvisut des,

falli te

sinas

techinis per

servolum;

I TheArt

of

Terence.

337In56

F



66 THE

PART

OF THE SLAVE

IN TERENCE'S

DRAMA

Then,

havingobtained

is consent,he

proceeds

o temptSyrus,

much

to

his astonishment,

o

swindle

his master.

Thus a

situationwhich

s

elsewhere

onventional

s

heregivena

special

dramaticignificance.

3. The 'Eunuchus'

TheEunuchus

resents ou

withthe

strange henomenon

f a slave,

Parmeno,

ho s

actually

ukewarmn his

master's

ause.In

the opening

sceneParmeno

rges

Phaedria

o giveup his

affair

withThais,reading

himan impressive

ecture

n the

generalaithlessness

f women.Phae-

dria

s almostpersuaded,

specially

when

he remembers

hat

Thaishas

recently

beentoo

much

in the company

f

the soldierThraso.

But

Thais,arrivingntime

I. ii),

protests erfidelity, ssures haedriahat

she

is only

usingthe soldier

o

servea secret

purpose, nd

promises

him

that if he will

keepaway rom

her

for threedays

she

will get rid

of

the soldierand

be his

for evermore.

Phaedria,

hough

reluctant,

consents nd

withdraws

othe country,

eaving is slave

Parmeno

ehind

to watch

his interests

n general

nd in particular

o

convey o Thais'

house

a eunuch

he has

purchaseds a

gift for

her. In the

subsequent

development

f the

story

t is interesting

o see

that heonly

significant

action

aken

by Parmeno

s

(I)

accidental,nd(2)

action

whichnearly

ruinshismaster'sove affair.

In II. iii

Parmeno,

while hanging

aroundwatching

Thais'

house,

meetshis

master's

rother,Chaerea,

llworked

p

abouta young

girl

he

sawatthe harbour

nd

ell in love

withat

sight:hewas racking

er

when

an old

borebuttonholed

im on the way,

andhe

lostsightof

her.

Parmeno

nformshim that

a girlanswering

o

his description

as

just

beenescorted

nto

Thais'house

as a gift

fromThraso.

Says

Chaerea:

CH.: obsecro

hercle, Parmeno,

fac ut potiar.

PA.: faciam

sedulo;

dabo

operam,adiuvabo:num quid me aliud?

ThatParmeno

as

no intention

f helping

s made

clearboth by

the

exaggerated

xpression

f willingness

besides

he does

not approve

f

young

men

hangingaround

women)and by

Chaerea'suo

nunc is?

which ollows.

WhenParmeno

nswers

home: o take

heslaveacross

to Thais:

yourbrother's

rders',

Chaerea

xclaims:

o fortunatum

stum eunuchum

qui quidem

in hanc

deturdomum

PA.: quid ita ?

CH.: rogitas

? summaforma

semper

conservam

domi

videbit, conloquetur,aderituna in unis aedibus;

cibum nonnunquam

capietcum ea:

interdum

propterdormiet.

Whereupon

armeno

roceeds

o tease

himwiththe

suggestionhat

he

could

easily

enjoy he same

uck

by disguising

imself

as the eunuch



THE PART OF THE SLAVE IN TERENCE'S DRAMA

67

and takinghis place. Chaereaumps at the suggestion, ut Parmeno

is takenaback:he was only oking

iocabar quidem

'Nonsense', ays

Chaerea, nd dragsoff the protesting armenoo help him effect he

. .

c .lsgulse.

The point to rlote n this incident s the fact that the initiative as

passedoverfrom he slave whoby conventionakes he initiative)o

the master.Parmeno, oistwith his own cleverness,hus becomes he

unwilling ccomplicef one of his masters,Chaerea.His othermaster,

Phaedria, e doesnot help at all. In facthis unfortunateuggestiono

Chaerea,with the consequentubstitution f Chaereaor the eunuch,

leads o the rapeof the girlby Chaerea-an incidentwhichverynearly

causesa breach etweenThaisandPhaedria:hough,of course, hings

areset rightby Chaerea'smarryinghe girl.

4. The'Phormio'

In this playTerenceattempts newmethodof liquidatinghe slave.

If in the

Eunuchus

he slave s an unwilling ccomplice,n the

Phormio

Geta s useless. Geta'smasterhas gone abroad,eavingGetato look

afterhis son Antipho.Antipho alls nto the usualsortof trouble, nd

by all the rulesGetashould avehim. But our Geta s a helplesskind

of creature.Askedby a friendDavus

I. ii. I36

ff.) what he will do

when he old master eturns,Getaanswers:

nescio ercle: numhocscio

quod ors eret eremus equo nimo.

Well might Plautushave complainedhat slaveswere not what they

were n his day Butthere s worse o come. In

III. iii.

539ff. Antipho,

whenhis cousinPhaedria eedsmoney o liberate he girl he's in love

with, approaches eta:

AN.: age ergo, solus servare hunc potes.

GE.: quid faciam? AN.: invenias argentum. GE.: cupio; sed id unde

edoce.

AN.: pater adest hic. GE.: scio; sed quid tum ? AN.: ah, dictum sapienti

sat est.

GE: itane ais ? AN.: ita. GE.: sane hercle pulchre suades: etiam tu hinc

abis ?

non triumpho, ex nuptiis tuis si nil nanciscormali,

ni etiam nunc me huius causs quaerere n malo iubeas crucem?

Geta s certainly ot helpful. AftermoreargumentGeta's inalanswe

is (v. 560) hathe needsPhormio's elp. Phormion this play s a para-

site with brains,and throughout he play Getasssolution o every

problem s 'consultPhormio'.It is everltually hormiowho helpsto



68 THE PART OF THE SLAVE

IN TERENCE'SDRAMA

bring hings o ahappy onclusion. n

otherwords, parasite

as aken

the place of the

conventionallave. The substitutions

not a happy

solution o the problem, incethe parasites merelya roseby another

name. But what s interestings Terence's

bviousdesire

o get away

from he slavewho manageshe action.

It is alsoworthnoting hatat

the beginning f

this playTerencedrawspointedattention

o the in-

justicedone o slaves

by masterswhopalm heirburdens ff

on them. I

refer n particularoI. i. 40 ff., where

Davusgrumbles bout

masterswho

usetheir laves'meagreavingswhen

heyneedmoney, nd . ii.

70 ff.:

GE.: abeuntes mbehic tum senes

me filiis

relinquont uasimagistrum.

DA.:OGeta,provinciam

.

.

ceplstlc uram.... etc.

5. The Hecyra'

The Hecyra s by far the most interesting

or my purposeof all

Terence'splays.

A synopsisof the actioncan be given

withoutany

referenceo the

slaveParmenowho figures

n it.

Pamphilus,o

pleasehis father,gaveup the courtesan

Bacchisand

married he daughter

f Phidippus nd Myrrina.Being

still in love

with Bacchishe treatedhis wife as wife only in name. He was just

beginning o be won over by her

when his fathersent

him abroad.

During his absence

his wife, who

had been living with his mother

Sostrata, eaves

her house and goes back to her parents.

Everyone

believes herehas

beena quarrel.WhenPamphiluseturns

hey magine

all will be well. ButPamphilus iscovers

hathis wife s to

havea child

who couldnot

be his. He infuriates

is fatherLachesby refusing o

takeher back.

The child s thenborn. Myrrina ttempts

o get rid of

it to hide her daughter's isgrace.

She is caught n the

act by her

husbandPhidippus,who suspectshiswife of wanting o breakup the

marriage.Laches,

nformed f the birth, s sure hatnow

at lastPam-

philusandhis wife

will be reconciled.

When, o his utterastonishment

Pamphilus efuses

o take her back,

he jumps to the conclusionhat

Bacchismustbe

the cause. He sends or Bacchis ndcharges

erwith

standing n the

way of his son's happiness.VVhenhe

denieshaving

haddealingswithPamphilusincehis

marriage e bids her

tell this to

Pamphilus' ife. Sheconsents, ndat

the interviewMyrrina

ecognizes

a ring on Bacchis'ingeras havingoncebelonged o herdaughter. t

transpireshatBacchis ot the ringfrom

Pamphilus.Pamphilus

must

then havebeenthe man who ravished

Myrrina's aughter

eforeher

marriage.Thus

the child is proved o be Pamphilus'

nd all ends

happily.



69

HE PART OF THE SLAVE IN TERENCE'S DRAMA

It will be seen fromthis synopsis hat the mainactionof the play

can go on without he ministrationsf the slaveParmeno.For what

purpose hen is Parmeno dmitted nto the play? The answer s, I

think, hatParmenos admitted nly n order o showhowunnecessary

he is. His treatments expressly esigned o convey his fact. He is

brought n at the mostcriticalmoments nlyto be sentpacking.You

meet him at the beginning f the playtakinghimselfveryseriously s

his youngmaster's uardian.It is from him you hearof Pamphilus'

affairwith Bacchisand of his unhappymarriedife. He pretends is

masterhas takenhim into his confidence boutallthis; forexample,n

.ii.l3off.hesays:

ubiquomque datum erat spatium solitudinis

ut conloqui meeum una posset: 'Parmeno,

perii, quid ego egi in quod me eonieei malum.' ete.

That this is merepretences provedby the facfthatPamphilusn the

courseof the actionneveronce takesParmenonto his confidence. t

is fromParmeno,oo, thatyouhearof the quarrel etweenPamphilus'

wife and his motherSostrata, nd whenyou firstmeet him in

I. ii

he

is on his wayto the harbouro meethis master n his returnandgive

him newsof the quarrel.In short,you aregiven o expect hathe will

play the conventional art of the slave. Yet everythinghat happens

to him thereafters unexpected.He arriveswith Pamphilusrom he

harbour.WhenPamphilus oes in to see his wife, Parmeno, howing

a delicacy f feelingrare n a slave,waitsoutside

III. j.

327ff.):

non usus factost mihi nune hune intro sequi;

nam invisos omnis nos esse illis sentio.

WhenPamphilus omesout you wouldexpecthim to confide n Par-

meno. Instead, he only noticePamphilusakesof Parmenos

(III. ii.

359) to send him off to the harbour o fetch his slavesand baggage.

Parmeno's rotest, quid?non sciunt psi viam domumqua veniant?'

speaks or itself.

WhenParmeno eturns rom he harbour ndhis master reetshim

(III. iV.

430) with the wordsequideme exspecto, is hopes rise im-

mediately, nlyto be blasted gain. To hishopeful uid st?Pamphilus

replies n arcem ranscursopus st. Parmeno an hardlybelieve t:

PAR.:quoi homini? PAM.: ibi.

PAR.: n areem? quid eo ? PAM.:Callidemidemhospitem

Myeonium, qui meeum una veetust, eonveni.

PAR.:perii. vovisse hune dieam, si salvos domum

rediisset unquam, ut me ambulandorumperet?



70

THE PART

OF THE SLAVE

IN TERENCE'S

DRAMA

It is whilehe is

awayon this

mission hatthe

most mportant

evelop-

ments

occur n

this play:the argument

etween

atherand son,

the

birthof the child,the sending or Bacchis,Bacchis' isitto the wife.

He returns

ustin time o

meetBacchis

oming ut of the

wife'shouse.

His first

ew words v. iii.

799ff.) make

t quiteclear hat

he has been

senton

a wild-goosehase.

Callidemides

oesnot exist.

Whenhe sees

Bacchis is curiosity

s roused.

Butthis is Parmeno's

nluckyday:

BA.:

Parmeno pportune

e offers:propere

urread Pamphilum.

PAR.:

quid eo? BA.:dic

me orareut

veniat.

PAR.:

ad te?

BA.: immo

ad

Philumenam.

PAR.:

quid rei

est?

BA.:

tua quodnihil

refert,

percontari esinas.

The only nformation

e gets

is thatMyrrina ecognized

s herdaugh-

ter's he

ringthat

PamphilusaveBacchis.

In answer o

Bacchis'

uid

cessas e leaves

grumbling:

minime

quidem:namhodie

mihi

potestas

hauddatast:

ita cursando

tque

ambulandootumhunc

contrividiem.

You

nextsee

himreturnirlgithPamphilus,

uiteat a lossto under-

standhis master'sapturousratitudeo him (v. iv. 849ff.):

PAM.:

eho tu pro hoc te nuntio

qui

donem qui? qui? nescio.

PAR.:

at ego scio. PAM.:

qui?

PAR.:

nihiloenim

namneque

n nuntio

neque n me ipso tibi

boni quidsit scio.

PAM.:

egon qui

ab orcomortuom

me reducemn

lucem eceris

inam ine

munerea me abire

But their

conversations

interrupted

y Bacchis.While

Bacchis

and

Pamphilus

onverse

side,Parmenories

o figure

hingsout; andwhen

they have

donehe approaches

is master

v. iv. 873):

PAR.:

ere, licetne

cireex te hodiequid

sit quod

feci boni?

aut quid

istuc est

quod vos agitis? PAM.:

non licet. PAR.:

amen

suspicor:

ego hunc'ab orco

mortuom' uo

pacto.... PAM.:nescis,

Parmeno,

quantum odie profueris

mihi

et ex quanta erumna

xtraxeris

PAR.:

immo vero

scio, neque

hoc imprudenseci.

PAM.:

ego istuc satis

scio. PAR.:

ah,

temerequicquam

armeno

raetereat uod

factousus

sit ?

PAM.:

equere

me introParmeno.PAR.:

equor.

equidem

plus hodieboni

feci impmdensquam ciensantehuncdiemunquam.

It is

surelyno

mere accident hat the

play ends

with this very illu-

minating

emark.Sir Gilbert

NorwoodIites he

use made

of the slave

I

The Art of Terence.



THE PART OF

THE SLAVE IN TERENCE'S DRAMA

7I

in this playas an example

f the way in whichTerence

uses CSomuch

of the conventionalcenic

happenings s provesuseful and natural'.

I wouldgo farther han

hat. So farfromusinga convention, erence

has herepointedly ejectedt. This is the goaltowards

whichhe had

been movinthe liberation

f the action rom hedeus x machinao

thatmenandwomenare

no longerpuppets ut beings

capable f signi-

ficantaction:a condition

which s the sinequanonof seriousdrama.

The next logical tep

wouldhavebeen the completedisappearance

of the slavefromTerence'sdrama,or his retention

merelyas one of

those extras' ometimes

equiredo fetch he wine

or carry message.

Butrather urprisingly

e makes come-backn the

Adelphoi.Onecan

only surmisewhathashappened.The Hecyra s known,on Terence's

own admission, o have

been the least successful f his plays. The

reason or its failure

was its seriousness, seriousnessncongenialo

the crudeand immature

astesof an audience ed largelyon Attellan

farceandPlautine xtravaganza.ow in the Plautine

lay he verysoul

of the farce ies in the

part of the slave. With

his suppressionhe

element f farcedisappears.

This is whatmade heHecyra nsuccess-

ful. Sinceno artist njoysbeingunsuccessful, erence

attemptsn the

Adelphoio effecta compromiseetween isartistic

cruples ndpopular

taste. This is achievedby presenting he slaveSyrus in a different

relationshipo each of

his two masters-the brothersCtesiphoand

Pamphilus.One, brought

up in the countryby a

sternand repressive

father, s weakandfurtiven character.The other,

who is the product

of a liberal too liberal)upbringing y an indulgent

bacheloruncle,

showsself-reliancend

initiative.It is interestingo see that Syrus n

this play s, in his dealings

withPamphilus,lways he

servant, bedient

to and executing he will

of his masterwithoutattemptingo manage

him: while n his dealingswith the weaklingCtesipho e is trueto the

conventional atternof

the slave who manages

his master'saffairs.

When n

III. iii

Demea omes o town ooking orhis

goodson Ctesipho,

it is Syruswho sends

him back o the countrywith

the cock-and-bull

storythat Ctesiphohas

gone away n disgustat his brother'sway of

life. WhenDemea, inding

himself ricked, omes

backagain n a rage

in

IV. iV,

Syrushas onceagain o save Ctesipho y

sendingDemeaon

a wild-goose haseround

he town in searchof his

brotherMicio. In

general, he elementof

farce n this play is providedby the slave's

teasing f the old man rom he country.Thus oneof the mostamusing

moments n the play is

in

III. iii. 4IO

ff. whereDemeaexpatiateso

Syruson his methodof

bringing p his son and Syrusreplieswith an

excellentparody f his

sermon.



72 THE PART OF THE SLAVE IN TERENCE'S DRAMA

The Adelphois usually onsidered erence's est play. Technically

it is certainly he most finished,and it may well havebeen the most

successful.Terencehas resolved he conflictbetween he exigencies f

creative rtandpopularaste,between onvention nddesign. Never-

theless, t still remains matter or regret hatthe artistwas driven o

compromise.While Terence'splays in general ndicatea growing

interest n socialproblems, he Hecyra,morethan any other,showed

promise f the developmentf a serious ocialdrama.Such develop-

ment dependedn a largemeasure n the dramatist's illingness nd

ability o breakaway rom the limitationsmposedby the particular

conventionwhichhas been the subjectof this article. Terence,when

he wrote he Hecyra, toodon the very hreshold f this liberation,ut

he withdrew efeated y his public. If one viewsTerence'swork rom

this angle,one maywell find oneselfwondering hether he Adelphoi,

his mostsuccessful lay,maynot have o be regarded s a tragic vent

in the historyof Roman iterature.

THE PERFECT WOMAN

THE ollowing extract from the FragmentaMoralia Pythagoreorum,reserved

in the Florilegium f Stobaeus, s attributed o Perictione,a lady about whom

nothing is known except that she wrote a book De MulierisConcinnitate.

By

some she has been iaentified with Plato's mother, but the evidence for this is

slight. Her excellentadvicewas doubtless nspiredby the luxuryand artificiality

of her own Greek city-state.

EK9VOS 8? ay?1V XPn Op?S p?Tpa wVG10S, TpO9nS T? 7?pl, Kai ipC zi@V, Kai XOUTp@V,

Kai i?19i@V, Kai TplXXV ?C10S Kai T@V OKOCa ?S KOC"OV ?CTi XpV:OU Kai Aii@V.

OKonsat yap

VOAVT?X?= WaVTa ?CiiOUCl Kai WivouCt Kai ap7?XOVTat K=i wOp?0V:t

yVValK?S, ?S apApTinV ?TOtpAt KaKinS CU"7aCnSs ?S T? Ta ?X?a Kai ?S Ta aSSa aSoKo-

Trpny?ES. ttpOV aV

Kai siwav ?taK?Caiat 6?1

pOUVOV, KnV ?K T@V ?UT?X?@V ?9, K=i

plyos KnV VaKOS KnV Gtp. BpxTnpas? EiV5l T@V TO?V

P

T@V WOOU 7X?0-

p?V@V n T@V ?V6Ot@V, KaKin oai plKpn ?9al. H"laCiAl 8 ?1"a ?7Ta

XinV

Kai

lTOIKi?tC

alTo

EaBa:virlS avJJIosO\J KOXAOU P a?<XnsP?S woXuT?X?oS,Xpin

TroX7irl. 2 Ki]vos yap ?e?X?1 pn ply??1V p8? yUVOV ?lvat xapiv ?Uwp?w?i9S, aou 6

OU6?VOS Xpni3?l, soga

6?

avepwQv

p?Ta ap=tinS ?S Ta KEV?a T? Kai 7?pl:CC l?Tal.

(1)CJT OUT? XpUGOV aEuttricT?Tal P Aieov iV6IKOV P X@pnS ?0VTC aXns, OU6? 7X?iETal

rroXuT?xvincrlpiXaSus &X?i9?Tal &papinS oslli]s?>7V?0VTC, OU8? XpiC?TCl EpO-

CCA)7OV AEuKaivouCa P ?puepAivouCa TOUTO n p?aivouCa opuaS T? Kai o9tapouS

Kai TnV WOAInV

TpiXa pa9nCt

T?XV?Xp?Vn, OU8?

XouC?Tal tapova. H yap TauTa

3nT?0UCa nnTnpa 3nT??1

aKpaCins ywatKnins. Kaos

yap TO ?K pOVC10S,

oUKi

6? TO ?K TOUT@V

avsav?l TCt

y?VOp?V9Ct ?U.

amerasinghe - the part of the slave in terence's drama (art)

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