[Sidenote: The extant plays of Plautus.] The _Amphitruo_, bringing the “Father of gods and men” into comic confusion with a mortal, and under very suspicious circumstances at that, is a burlesque, full of rather broad fun and amusing situations, perhaps the most interesting of all Latin comedies. In the _Asinaria_, the _Casina_, and the _Mercator_, father and son are rivals for the affection of the same girl. Of these three, the _Casina_ is the worst in its indecency, while the other two lack interest. These plays, however, like all the comedies of Plautus, are full of animal spirits, plays on words, and clever dialogue. The _Aulularia_, or _Pot of Gold_, has a plot of little interest, but is famous for the brilliant and lifelike presentation of the chief character, the old miser Euclio. The _Captivi_, one of the best of the plays, has for its subject the friendship between a master and his slave. There are no female characters, and the piece is entirely free from the coarseness and immorality which disfigure most of the others. The _Trinummus_, or _Three-penny Piece_, has also friendship, not love, as its leading motive, though it ends with a betrothal. This play also is free from coarseness, and gives an attractive picture of the good old days when friend was true to friend. The _Curculio_ is interesting chiefly through the cleverness of the parasite, who succeeds in making the rival of his employer furnish the money needed to obtain the girl. The _Epidicus_, the _Mostellaria_, and the _Persa_, also owe their interest to the tricks and rascalities of the parasite or the valet. The _Cistellaria_, only part of which is preserved, contains a love affair, but has for its chief interest the recognition between a father and his long-lost daughter. The _Vidularia_, too, which exists only in fragments, leads up to a recognition, this time between a father and his son. The _Miles Gloriosus_, a play of very ordinary plot, is distinguished for the somewhat exaggerated and farcical portrait of the braggart soldier. So the _Pseudolus_ is a piece of character drawing, in which the perjured go-between, Ballio, is the one important figure. In the _Bacchides_ the plot is more intricate and interesting, and the execution more brilliant, but the life depicted is that of loose women and immoral men. The _Stichus_ has little plot, but several attractive scenes. Two women, whose husbands have disappeared, remain faithful to them, and are rewarded by having them return with great wealth. The _Pœnulus_ is chiefly interesting on account of passages in the Carthaginian language, which have for centuries attracted the attention of linguists. In the _Truculentus_, a countryman comes to the city and changes his rustic manners for city polish. The scenes are witty and effective, but the plot is weak. In the _Menæchmi_, twin brothers come to the town of Epidamnum, and their likeness to each other causes most laughable confusion. This is the original of