A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

PLAUTUS. PLEIADES. 411
Milan, which is as old as the fifth century, but plays, of which Lessing's excellent translation of
most of them were executed at the revival of learn- the Captivi deserves to be particularly mentioned.
ing, and evidently betray their modern origin. There is likewise a translation in German of the
See the essay of Niebuhr on this subject, entitled complete works by Kuffner, Vienna, 1806-1807,'" Ueber die als untergeschoben bezeichneten Scenen 5 vols. 8vo., of nine of the plays by Kopke, Berlin.
im Plautus," in his "Kleine Schriften," vol. i. 1809-20, 2 vols. 8vo, and of eight by Rapp,
p. 159, &c. The corruptions of the text are owing Stuttgart, 1838-46.
to the fact that all the existing manuscripts of The most important works on the life and works
Plautus, with the exception of the Milan Palimp- of Plautus are the following: -- Lessing, Von dean
sest, are derived from one common source. The Leben und den Werken des Plautus, in the 3rd voeditors of Plautus, however, have not founded the lume of his collected works, Berlin, 1838; Osann,
text upon the best existing manuscripts. These Analecta critica, &c.; insunt Plauti FIagmenta ab
are the Codex vetus and decurtatus, which must, Ang. JMaio nuper reperta, Berlin, 1816; Gepin connection with the Palimpsest manuscript of pert, Ueber den Codex Amnbrosianus, und seinen EinMilan, form the basis with any future editor for a fluss auf die Plautinische Kritik, Leipzig, 1847; and
restoration of the genuine text. (See Ritschl, Ueber above all Ritschl, Parergon Plautinorurn Terendie Kritik des Plautus, in the Rheinisches Museumn, tianorumque, Leipzig, 1845, containing the followvol. iv. p. 153, &c.) It appears that the comedies ing valuable dissertations in relation to Plautus:
of Plautus were, at an early time, divided into two 1. De Plauti Poetae Nominibus; 2. De Ae/ate
parts, the first containing eight plays (Amphitruo Plauti; 3. Die Fabulae Varronianae des Plautus;
- Epidicus), the second the remaining twelve 4. Die Plautinischen Didaskalien; 5. De Actae
(Bacchides- Truculentus.) The last twelve plays Trinummi Tenmpore; 6. De Veteribus Plauti Interwere at first unknown in Italy at the revival of pretibus; 7. De Plauti Bacchidibus; 8. De turlearning: they were discovered in Germany about bato Scenaruna Ordine Mostellariae Plautinae; 9.
1430, and from thence conveyed to Italy. It may De Inteepolatione Trinummi Plautinae.
be mentioned in passing, that this division of the PLAUTUS, C. RUBE'LLIUS, was the son of
plays into two parts accounts for the loss of the Rubellius Blandus [BLANDUS] and of Julia, the
beginning of the Bacchides, which was the first daughter of Drusus, the son of the emperor Tibeplay of the volume, and the commencement of rius. Plautus was thus the great-grandson of
which might therefore have been easily torn away. Tiberius, and the great-great-grandson of Augustus,
The editio princeps of the complete works of in consequence of Tiberius having been adopted by
Plautus was published at Venice, by Georgius Me- Augustus. Descended thus from the founder of the
rula, in 1472. There was a still earlier edition of Roman empire, Plautus incurred the jealousy of
the first eight plays of Plautus (Almphlitruo- Epi- Nero. He was involved in the accusations which
dicus), printed at Venice, without date, of which Junia Silana brought against Agrippina in A. D.
probably only one copy is now in existence, pre- 55, whom she accused of a design of marrying
served in the public library at Venice. Niebuhr Plautus, and raising him to the imperial throne.
called attention to this edition (Kleine Schriften, Five years afterwards, A. D. 60, a comet appeared,
vol. i. p. 176, &c.), but it had been previously which, according to the popular opinion, was
noticed by Harles (Supplem. ad Brev. Notit. Lit. thought to forebode a change in the empire. The
Rnom. part ii. p. 483). Of the other earlier editions people thereupon were set thinking who would be
the best are those by Camerarius, Basel, 1558; Nero's successor; and no one appeared to themr
by Lambinus, Paris, 1576; by Taubmann, Wit- so fit as Rubellius Plautus. Although the latter
tenberg, 1605; by Pareus, Frankfort, 1610; by lived in the most quiet manner, avoiding the
Gruter, with Taubmann's commentary, Wittenberg, popular notice, and harbouring no traitorous de1621; by J. Fr. Gronovius, Leyden, 1664, re- signs, Nero wrote to him, recommending him to
printed at the same place in 1669, at Amsterdam withdraw from the city to his estates in Asia.
in 1684, and again at Leipzig, under the care of Such advice was, of course, equivalent to a comJ. A. Ernesti, in 1760. The best modern editions mand; Plautus accordingly retired to Asia with
of the complete works of Plautus are by Bothe, his wife Antistia, the daughter of L. Antistius
Berlin, 1809- 1811, 4 vols. 8vo., again at Stutt- Vetus, and employed himself in his exile in the
gardt, 1829, 4 vols. 8vo., and lastly at Leipzig, study of the Stoic philosophy. But even in this
1834, 2 vols. 8vo.; and by Weise, Quedlinburg, retreat he was not safe; for Tigellinus having
1837-1838, 2 vols. 8vo. There are some editions again excited the fears of Nero in A. D. 62 against
of the separate plays of Plautus which deserve parti- Plautus, he was murdered in Asia by command of
cular recommendation. These are the Captivi, lMiles, the emperor. Many of his friends advised him to
and Trinummus, by Lindemann, Leipzig, 1844, take up arms to resist his executioners, and his
2d edition; the Bacchides, by Ritschl, Halle, 1835; father-in-law Antistius Vetus wrote to him to the
and the Trinummus by Hermann, Leipzig, 1800. same effect; but Plautus preferred death to an
Plautus has been translated into almost all the uncertain struggle for the empire. (Tac. Ann.
European languages. In English some of the plays xiii. 19, xiv. 22, 57, 59; Dion Cass. lxii. 14;
were translated by Echard in 1716, by Cooke in Juv. viii. 39.)
1754, and by Cotter in 1827; and there is a PLEIADES (IlAeda'es or rlsAelzaes), the
translation in English of all the works of Plautus Pleiads, are called daughters of Atlas by Pleione
by Thornton and Warner, 1767-1774, 5 vols. (or by the Oceanid Aethra, Eustath. ad Iloan.
8vo. In French we have the translations of the p. 1155), of Erechtheus (Serv. ad Aena. i. 744),
Amphitruo, Epidicus, and Rudens, by Madame of Cadmus (Theon, ad Arat. p. 22), or of the
Dacier, 1683, and of the complete works by Li- queen of the Amazons. (Schol. ad Theocrit. xiii.
rniers, Amsterdam, 1719, 10 vols. 8vo, and by 25.) They were the sisters of the Hyades, and
(Guendeville, Leydenl, 1719, 10 vols. 8vo. In seven in number, six of whom are described as
Glermuan there are several translations of single visible, and the seventh as invisible. Some call