Trinummus home Plautus (Dramata)

TRINUMMUS

Author: Titus Maccius Plautus
Date: c.188 B.C.
Model: Philemon Thesauros (or Treasure)
Adaptations: none known

Texts and Commentaries

Latin text on-line at the Perseus Project (Leo 1895)
Lindsay, W.M. 1904-1905. T. Macci Plauti Comoediae. 2 vols. Clarendon: Oxford.
Fairclough, H.R. 1909. The Trinummus of Plautus. New York: The Macmillan Co.
Nixon, Paul. 1916-38. Plautus. 5 vols. Loeb Classical Library 328. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 5:97-221.
Ernout, Alfred. 1932. Plaute. 7 vols. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. 7:7-89.

English Translations Available

Riley, Henry Thomas. 1912. The Comedies of Plautus. 2 vols. London: G. Bell and Sons. 2:351-418.

translation on-line at the Perseus Project

Nixon, Paul. 1916-38. Plautus. 5 vols. Loeb Classical Library 260. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 4:287-435.
Duckworth, George E. 1942. The Complete Roman Drama. 2 vols. New York: Random House. 2:39-90.
Watling, E. F. 1964. Plautus: The Rope and Other Plays. New York: Penguin. 157-219.
Epstein, Daniel Mark. 1995. Plautus: The Comedies, eds. David R. Slavitt and Palmer Bovie. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press. 3:161-242.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

LUXURIA - Luxury
INOPIA - Poverty
MEGARONIDES - clever friend of Charmides
CALLICLES - loyal friend of Charmides
LYSITELES - honorable son of Philto, friend to Lesbonicus
PHILTO - wealthy, honorable Athenian
LESBONICUS - wild, dimwitted son of Charmides
STASIMUS - resourceful servant of Charmides and Lesbonicus
CHARMIDES - Athenian merchant, father of Lesbonicus
SYCOPHANTA - a sharper (a swindler)

Act and Scene	Lines	Characters	Action
Prologue	1-22	Luxuria, Inopia	Luxury sends her daughter, Poverty, into the house of Charmides since Lesbonicus has squandered his father’s fortune and can no longer afford luxury. She encourages the audience to listen closely to this play by Philemon that Plautus has recreated.
I.i	23-38	Megaronides	Megaronides states he is going to reprimand his good friend, Callicles, for his apparent lack of morals and character.
I.ii	39-222	Callicles, Megaronides	Megaronides reproaches Callicles for betraying his friend, Charmides, who entrusted his house and family to him while he was away. He states that Callicles should never have bought Charmides's house from his wild son, Lesbonicus, since he was only encouraging his reckless behavior and stealing from his friend. Callicles reveals that Charmides begged him to keep a secret treasure buried in the house, consisting of 3000 gold pieces, hidden from his dissolute son. Thus, when Lesbonicus desired to sell the house to settle debts, he purchased it from him in order to preserve Charmides's fortune and his daughter's dowry. Megaronides, impressed with Callicles's honorable intentions, agrees to help him in this task.
II.i	223-275a	Lysiteles	Lysiteles, after debating within himself whether to devote his time to love or to self-advancement, concludes that love drains men of their substance and character. He then vows to avoid love at all costs to preserve his honorable character.
II.ii	276-391	Philo, Lysiteles	Lysiteles convinces his father, Philto, to allow him to help his good-natured but wild friend, Lesbonicus. He intends to do this by marrying Lesbonicus’s sister without accepting a dowry, so as to aid Lesbonicus in settling his debts, while at the same time demonstrating the honor of his own generous family.
II.iii	392-401	Philto	Philto reluctantly approaches Lesbonicus to propose this match for his son’s happiness.
II.iv	402-601	Lesbonicus, Stasimus, Philto	Lesbonicus and Stasimus humorously bemoan the fact that they are broke when Philto approaches them and makes his generous offer. Lesbonicus, however, is determined to give something as his sister's portion, so he offers his remaining small plot of land. Stasimus, fearful for his own welfare, takes Philto aside and dramatically convinces him that the land is wretchedly cursed and he ought not to accept it.
III.i	602-626	Callicles, Stasimus	Stasimus tells of the arranged marriage to a disbelieving Callicles, who then seeks out Megaronides so as to figure out a means of giving the hidden dowry to this respectable family.
III.ii	627-728	Lysiteles, Lesbonicus, Stasimus	Lysiteles criticizes Lesbonicus for squandering away the wealth of his forefathers so carelessly. Lesbonicus thinks that on account of Lysiteles's behavior, he appears to be a dishonorable man and his sister a concubine. Lysiteles says he will not allow Lesbonicus to leave town since it will appear that he hustled him out of the city in his greed. Stasimus breaks up the argument and wails over his bleak future as a servant to Lesbonicus.
III.iii	729-819	Megaronides, Callicles	Callicles and Megaronides cleverly contrive a plan that will keep the location of the treasure secret from Lesbonicus and still allow him to give a portion of it as his sister's dowry. They agree that Megaronides will find a swindler in the forum who will arrive at the house with fake letters from Charmides, stating that he will send a dowry for his daughter. Callicles will empty the house of the servants, remove this gold from the treasure, and give it to Lesbonicus before the wedding occurs.
IV.i	820-842a	Charmides	Charmides catches sight of the flamboyant swindler on his journey home after his voyage.
IV.ii	843-1007	Sharper, Charmides	Charmides inquires after the swindler’s business and learns that he means to deliver letters to both Callicles and Lesbonicus along with 1000 gold coins allegedly from Charmides. Charmides, in a humorous exchange with the swindler, tricks him into exposing himself as a fraud since he does not realize he is, in fact, speaking with Charmides. The swindler then runs off.
IV.iii	1008-1092	Stasimus, Charmides	Stasimus, moaning over his lost ring and unfortunate situation in life, encounters Charmides on the road and informs him that Callicles has bought the house from Lesbonicus for forty minae. Charmides is heartbroken.
IV.iv	1093-1114	Callicles, Charmides, Stasimus	Charmides arrives in the house and chastises Callicles. Callicles then informs him of his clever aid to him and Charmides is ashamed that he did not have faith in his good friend. They then send Stasimus to the ship to get Charmides’s things.
V.i	1115-1124	Lysiteles	Lysiteles, having been informed by Stasimus of Charmides’s arrival, hurries out to meet with him to confirm his engagement to Charmides's daughter.
V.ii	1125-1189	Charmides, Callicles, Lysiteles, Lesbonicus	Charmides thanks Callicles once again for keeping his property and family safe for him while he was away. Lysiteles encounters Charmides and Callicles, and it is agreed upon that he will marry Charmides's daughter and accept the 1000 gold pieces as her dowry. Callicles then offers his daughter in marriage to Lesbonicus, who also accepts this as a show of obedience to his father.