Persa ("The Persian") is a comedic Latin play by the early Roman playwright Titus Maccius Plautus. Unusually in this play, the lover is not a wealthy young man helped by a cunning slave, but the cunning slave himself. In order to repay the money he has borrowed to buy his girlfriend from the pimp Dordalus who owns her, Toxilus persuades his friend Sagaristio to dress up as a Persian, in order to trick the pimp Dordalus into paying a large sum to buy a girl who is dressed as an Arabian captive, but who is in fact free. The girl's father Saturio then appears and reclaims his daughter.
The play is set in a street in Athens. Facing the audience are two houses, one belonging to Toxilus's absent master, and the other to the pimp Dordalus.
Persa is believed to be one of Plautus's later plays. Among other indications is a reference in lines 99–100 to the "banquet of Jupiter", a custom instituted in 196 BC; another indication is the large number of polymetric .de Melo, W. (2011): Plautus, (Loeb Classical Library), vol. 3, p. 448. Unlike some other Plautus plays, it has been rarely if ever imitated in later literature, perhaps because of the somewhat coarse elements in its plot.de Melo, W. (2011): Plautus, (Loeb Classical Library), vol. 3, p. 444.
Plot The slave Toxilus is taking care of his master's house while he is away. Toxilus is in love with a girl, Lemniselenis, who is owned by the procurer (pimp) Dordalus. He asks his friend Sagaristio to lend him the money required to buy her freedom. Sagaristio does not have the required sum, but promises to try to obtain some from elsewhere. Toxilus intends to get the money back from Dordalus after it is paid.
First Toxilus persuades Saturio, a parasitus, who has a pretty and clever daughter, to allow Sagaristio sell this girl to Dordalus, even though she is not a slave. Saturio, who will do anything for a meal, agrees. Meanwhile, Toxilus sends a cheeky young slave boy, Paegnium, with a letter to Lemniselenis. Paegnium meets Lemniselenis's messenger, the maid Sophoclidisca, coming the other way and they exchange insults and banter.
Then Toxilus receives Sagaristio's money (money which was entrusted to Sagaristio by his owner to make a purchase) and takes it to Dordalus to buy Lemniselenis's freedom.
While Dordalus is having the money tested in the forum, Sagaristio dresses up as a Persian. Aided by Toxilus, he sells Saturio's daughter, pretending that she was captured in Arabia, to Dordalus for a huge sum. Immediately afterwards Saturio enters and reclaims his daughter, on the grounds that she is an Athenian citizen, and drags Dordalus off to court. The play concludes with Toxilus and Sagaristio feasting to celebrate Dordalus' misfortune.
Metrical structure
Plautus's plays are traditionally divided into five acts; these are referred to below for convenience, since many editions make use of them. However, it is not thought that they go back to Plautus's time. One way in which Plautus himself articulated the different parts of the play is by changes in the metre.
In Plautus's plays a common pattern is to begin each section with iambic senarii (which were spoken without music), then a scene of music in various metres, and finally a scene in trochaic septenarii, which were apparently recited to the accompaniment of (a pair of reed pipes). Moore calls this the "ABC succession", where A = iambic senarii, B = other metres, C = trochaic septenarii.Moore, Timothy J. (2012), Music in Roman Comedy. Cambridge University Press, pp. 237-42, 253-8, 305-8, 367-71. However, the ABC order is sometimes varied.
The Persa only partly follows the ABC scheme. The play begins with music, rather than the usual unaccompanied iambic senarii.Apart from this play only Cistellaria, Epidicus, and Stichus begin with music. The following two sections also have music preceding the iambic senarii. The final scene, instead of being in pure trochaic septenarii, consists of trochaic septenarii mixed with anapaestic and other metres, perhaps reflecting the carnivalesque nature of the scene. If a metrical section is considered as ending with trochaic septenarii, the overall scheme may be seen as follows: BABC, BBAC, BACAC, ABBCBC
C. W. Marshall (2006), however, sees the metrical sections (or "arcs") as always starting with iambic senarii (excepting the two paragraphs where the forged letter is being read aloud).Marshall, C. W. (2006). The Stagecraft of Roman Comedy (Cambridge University Press), p. 215. He therefore divides the play as follows: BB, ABCBB, ACBACAC, ABBCBC
As Timothy Moore points out in an analysis of the music of the play, the more emotional scenes tend to be accompanied by music, whereas more serious or "matter-of-fact" passages, such as the letter which Dordalus reads out (501–512, 520–527), are unaccompanied. Another point is that the slave characters have most or all of their words accompanied by music, whereas Saturio speaks all of his.T. J. Moore (2001), "Music in Persa", in Studien zu Plautus' Persa, ed. Stefan Faller (Tübingen, Gunther Narr, pp. 255–272.
Toxilus seeks help from his friends Act 1.1 (lines 1–52): polymetric song (iambic, cretic, trochaic metres, ending ia7) (52 lines)For details of the metres used, see the Database by Timothy J. Moore of The Meters of Roman Comedy Washington University in St Louis. The slave Toxilus enters and sings how unhappy he is because he is love but can't find enough money. On the other side of the stage Sagaristio (a slave from another family, and friend of Toxilus) is complaining that he does not get on well with his master. After they greet each other, Sagaristio explains to Toxilus that he has been punished by being made to work in a flour mill for more than a year. Toxilus explains that his master is away but that he has been wounded by love. He needs to borrow 600 coins to buy his beloved's freedom. Sagaristio says he can't help now but he will get back to Toxilus if he finds something. The two slaves depart separately.
Act 1.2–1.3 (lines 53–167): iambic senarii (116 lines) The parasiteA parasite is a dinner-cadger, one of the stock figures of Roman comedy. Saturio enters and explains that his profession, like that of his ancestors, is to dine at other people's expense. He claims this is better than informing on wrongdoers for a reward. – Toxilus comes out of his master's house, and pretending not to see Saturio, he gives orders through the door for other slaves to start warming up an elaborate meal. Having thus whetted Saturio's appetite, before he allows him to eat anything, Toxilus makes a strange request: he wants to borrow Saturio's daughter to sell her to the slave-dealer. He commands Saturio to go and dress up his daughter and instruct her what to say. Toxilus suggests it will be possible to obtain a suitable costume from the theatre-producer.
Act 2.1 (168–182): anapaestic metres (15 lines) From the slave-dealer's house, an old female attendant, Sophoclidisca, comes out. It appears that Lemniselenis has instructed Sophoclidisca to carry a message to Toxilus. Sophoclidisca (probably through the doorway) reassures her and begs her not to go on about it so much.
Act 2.1 (cont.) (182a–202): various trochaic metres (21 lines) Meanwhile on the other side of the stage, Toxilus has given a letter to a cheeky young boy-slave called Paegnium and is instructing him to carry it to Lemniselenis. Toxilus goes indoors.
Act 2.1 (cont.) (203–250): trochaic septenarii (48 lines) Paegnium and Sophoclidisca cross paths and exchange insults and banter.
Lemiselenis is freed Act 2.3–2.4 (251–279): polymetric song (29 lines) The slave Sagaristio enters, singing delightedly that some money has "fallen from heaven" into his hands. His master has given him some cash to buy oxen in Eretria; he will tell the master that there were no oxen and use the money to lend to Toxilus instead. Now he sees Paegnium returning home and asks him where Toxilus is. Paegnium answers him insolently.
Act 2.4 (cont.)–2.5 (280–328): iambic septenarii (50 lines) Sagaristio tells Paegnium not to be rude to his elders, but Paegnium continues to be cheeky. When Paegnium has gone inside, Toxilus comes out with Sophoclidisca, and sends her off with a message for Lemniselenis. When she has gone, Sagaristio gives him a purse with money in it. Sagaristio goes into Toxilus's house to wait.
Act 3.1–4.2 (329–469): iambic senarii (141 lines) Saturio arrives with his daughter, who is dressed as an Arabian captive; he instructs her how she is to behave. She is clearly reluctant to be sold but promises to obey her father's wish. They go into the house to wait. – Dordalus the slave-dealer now comes out from his own house, wondering whether Toxilus will bring the cash to buy his girlfriend. He sees Toxilus and heaps him with insults, to which Toxilus replies in kind. Toxilus gives him the money. He makes a request that when Dordalus goes to have the coins assessed in the market, he should leave his house by the back door, and that he should send Lemniselenis over to his own house by the same door, out of sight of the public. Dordalus goes inside. – Toxilus, after saying he is confident the trick will go well, calls Sagaristio. Sagaristio comes out with Saturio's daughter. Sagaristio is dressed as a Persian, wearing a tall "tiara" (Persian hat). Toxilus praises their costume and tells them to go and wait further up the street, out of sight.
Act 4.3 (470–489): trochaic septenarii mixed with octonarii (20 lines) Dordalus comes out, congratulating himself on the profit he has made. Toxilus approaches; Dordalus reassures him that he has officially freed the girl and delivered her to Toxilus's house.
Dordalus is tricked Act 4.3. (cont.) (491–500): anapaestic octonarii mixed with anapaestic septenarii (10 lines) Toxilus thanks Dordalus and tells him that he has a business deal for him. He shows him a letter supposedly written by Toxilus's absent master.
Act 4.3 (cont.) (501–512): iambic senarii (12 lines) Dordalus reads the letter aloud. In the letter the master orders Toxilus to extend hospitality to a certain Persian visitor.
Act 4.3 (cont.) (513–519): trochaic septenarii (7 lines) Dordalus is puzzled, but Toxilus tells him to continue reading.
Act 4.3 (cont.) (520–527): iambic senarii (8 lines) The letter goes on to say that the Persian is bringing a female captive from Arabia to sell, but that it won't be possible for him to give a guarantee.
Act 4.3 (cont.)–4.4 (528–672): trochaic septenarii (145 lines) Dordalus expresses disquiet about the idea of buying a slave without a warranty, but Toxilus reassures him. Sagaristio and the girl now approach. The girl is talking in a clever way. Toxilus assures Dordalus that he will be able to make a lot of money out of her. He advises him to interrogate the girl before making an offer. Dordalus questions the girl about her parents and home country; she replies cleverly and evasively. Dordalus bargains with Sagaristio, and they agree a high price of 60 minae (three times the usual price for a slave). Dordalus goes inside to fetch the money.
Victory over Dordalus Act 4.5–4.9 (673–752): iambic senarii (80 lines) While Dordalus is inside, Toxilus praises the girl for her performance and instructs Sagaristio what to do next. Dordalus comes out with the money, meanly deducting two coins for the purse. Sagaristio thanks him and says he must hurry off to deliver letters and to redeem his twin brother, who has been enslaved. When Dordalus asks Sagaristio's name, Sagaristio invents a comically long 55-syllable name. He departs. – Dordalus thanks Toxilus for his help, and goes inside for a moment leaving Toxilus to watch over the girl. While Dordalus has gone, Toxilus calls Saturio out from his own house and tells him to wait up the street out of sight. When Dordalus returns, Toxilus takes his leave and goes into his own house. Suddenly Saturio returns to reclaim his daughter. He drags Dordalus off to a magistrate.