(_Raising his voice._) For I'm determined not to marry her off
without a dowry.

ST. Won't you clear out?

LES. (_Still louder._) And I won't let her suffer harm by reason.----

ST. Get out, I say!

LES. (_Shouts._)--of my carelessness.

ST. Clear out!

LES. It seems right that my own sins--

ST. Clear out!

LES.--should affect me alone.

ST. Clear out!

LES. (_Mock heroically._) Oh father, shall I ever behold you again?

ST. Out, out, out! (_With a final shove._) (_Exit Lesbonicus._) At last, I
've got him away! (_Breathes hard._)"

The fun, if fun there be, lies in the hammer-like repetition of "I modo,"
a sort of verbal buffoonery. A clever actor could din this with telling
effect. The device is employed several times. In _Most._ 974 ff. the word
is _aio_, in _Per._ 482 ff. _credo_, in _Poen._ 731 ff. _quippini_, in
_Ps._ 484 ff. {~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH TONOS~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}, in _Rud._ 1212 ff. _licet_ and 1269 ff.
_censeo_. The last two examples are the lengthiest.[123]

The third of these motives is the introduction of clearly unnatural
dialogue, wholly incidental and foreign to the action, for the sake of
lugging in a joke. The _As._ (38 ff.) yields the following conversation
between Demaenetus _senex_ and his slave Libanus:

"LI. By all that's holy, as a favor to me, spit out the words you have
uttered.

DE. All right, I'll be glad to oblige you. (_Coughs._)

LI. Now, now, get it right up! (_Pats him on the back._)

DE. More? (_Coughs._)

LI. Gad, yes, please! Right from the bottom of your throat: more still!
(_Pats._)

DE. Well, how far down then?

LI. (_Unguardedly._) Down to Hades is my wish!

DE. I say, look out for trouble!

LI. (_Diplomatically._) For your wife, I mean, not for you.

DE. For that speech I bestow upon you freedom from punishment."[124]

The childish bandying of words in _Truc._ 858 ff. is egregiously tiresome
in the reading, but in action could have been made to produce a modicum of
amusement if presented in the broad burlesque spirit that we believe was
almost invariably employed. This gives us a clue to the next topic.

B. _Devices absurd and inexplicable unless interpreted in a broad farcical
spirit._

This includes peculiarities that have usually been commented on as
weaknesses or conventions, or else been given up as hope