“Juravistine te illam nulli venditurum nisi mihi? _Ballio._ Fateor. _Cal._ Nempe conceptis verbis. _Bal._ Etiam consultis quoque. _Cal._ Perjuravisti, sceleste. _Bal._ At argentum intro condidi: Ego scelestus nunc argentum promere possum domo.” M. Dacier, however, is of a different opinion with regard to the merit of this character. He thinks that the _Pseudolus_, though mentioned by Cato in Cicero’s Dialogue _De Senectute_, as a finished piece which greatly delighted its author(259), and though called, by one of his commentators, _Ocellus Fabularum Plauti_(260) was chiefly in Horace’s view when he spoke, in his _Epistles_, of Plautus’ want of success in the characters of a young passionate lover, a parsimonious father, and a cunning pimp,— —— “Aspice, Plautus Quo pacto partes tutetur amantis ephebi, Ut patris attenti, lenonis ut insidiosi.” These three characters all occur in this comedy; and Dacier maintains that they are very poorly supported by the poet.—Calidorus is a young lover, but his character (says the critic,) is so cold and lifeless, that he hardly deserves the name. His father, Simo, corresponds as little to the part of the _Patris attenti_; for he encourages the slave to deceive himself, and promises him a recompense if he succeed in over-reaching the slave-merchant, and placing in the hands of his son the girl on whom he doated. Ballio, the slave-dealer, so far from sustaining the character _lenonis insidiosi_, who should deceive every one, very foolishly becomes the dupe of a lying valet(261).