yields the following: Horum caussa haec agitur spectatorum fabula (720);
hanc fabulam dum transigam (562) and following speech; verba quae in
comoediis solent lenoni dici (1081-2); quam in aliis comoediis fit (1240);
quin vocas spectatores simul? (1332). In _St._ 715 ff., the action of the
play is interrupted while the boisterous slaves give the musician a drink.
From the _Poen._ comes a gem that will bear quoting at length (550 ff.):

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.[186]

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 earn a living."


6. Use of stock plots and characters.

We 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 confrA"res appear in play after play with relentless
regularity. The close correspondence of many plots is also too familiar to
need discussion.[187] The glimmering of originality in the plot of the
_Cap._ called for special advertisement.[188] In the light of the
foregoing evidence, the pertinence of these facts for us, we reiterate, is