Maschera tragica e maschera comica
mosaico romano, III d. C., Roma, Musei Capitolini
mosaico romano, III d. C., Roma, Musei Capitolini
Portrait of Plautus
Postquam est mortem aptus Plautus, Comoedia luget,
scaena est deserta, dein Risus, Ludus, Iocusque
et Numeri innumeri simul omnes conlacrimarunt.
Since Plautus is dead, Comedy mourns,
Deserted is the stage; then Laughter, Jest and Wit,
And Melody's countless numbers all together wept.
(A. Gellius, Noctes Atticae, I, 24)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plautus
Plaute. Comédies, volumes I-VII
Texte établi et traduit par A. Ernout
Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1932-1947, 2003
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Ernout