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P. Terentius Afer
But the most admirable feature is the manner inwhich some of the subordinate parts are worked out  The bye-playbetween Pythias and Parmeno is admirable  The character of theParasite as drawn in Act II  scene ii  is admirable, and striking fromits novelty after the hackneyed ideal which is presented to us in allthe plays of Plautus  No less admirable is the Braggadocio of ActIII  scene i , the features of the character being the same as thoseof the Miles Gloriosus of Plautus, except that Terencewith greater humour makes Thraso prouder of his wit than of hismilitary exploits  The scene in which Thraso is represented asattacking Thais in her house (Act IV  scene vii ) is highlyridiculous, and reminds one more strongly than any passage of Terenceof the free humour of Aristophanes  We cannot wonder that the Eunuchusshould have been the most popular of all Terence's plays: for herethere is the nearest approach to the "Plautini sales," which were thetrue Roman comedy  It is said to have been purchased by the Aedilesfor the sum of 8000 sesterces (above 64 £ 10 s  sterling), thelargest sum which had been given for any play  The leading incident ofthe plot makes it unfit for the modern stage: but when we say this wesay all that can be said against the play  The execution is highlydelicate, even in the famous scene which describes the successfulissue of Chaerea's scheme  The play is said by the author of the Lifeof Terence to have been acted twice in one day: and no doubt it wasacted on more than one occasion