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It is said that this play being once rehearsed before Terence and some of his most intimate acquaintance, Ambivius, who acted the part of Phormio, came in drunk, which threw the author into a violent passion: but Ambivius had scarce repeated a few lines, stammering, and scratching his head, before Terence became pacified, declaring that when he was writing those very lines, he absolutely had just such a Parasite, as Ambivius then represented, in his thoughts. Donatus.

In this scene Terence exhibits the lower order of Parasites, who ingratiated themselves by Sharping and Roguery; as in the Eunuch he describes the Parasites of a higher rank, and of a newer species, who obtained their ends by Flattery. Donatus.

In nervum erumpat denique. Several interpretations are given of these words. By some in nervum erumpere is supposed to allude to the drawing of a bow till the string break: but the phrase is more generally supposed in this place to imply some corporal punishment inflicted on malefactors. Quia sæpe in nervum conjiciebantur, ex aliquo maleficio in carcerem missi, says Donatus. Westerhovius explains this passage thus. Est autem Nervus vinculi lignei genus, in quod pedes conjecti arctantur; which is a pretty exact description of the stocks.

Ducent damnatum domum. Literally, they will lead me condemned home. For, as Donatus observes on this passage, Insolvent Debtors were by the Law made over as slaves to their Creditors.

This passage is not taken from Apollodorus, but from the sixth book of the satires of Ennius.

Cœna dubia. Phormio explains this expression himself. Horace, who takes frequent opportunities of imitating our author, has adopted this phrase.

In the Trinummus of Plautus, where a sharper is employed, like Phormio, to carry on an imposture, He in like manner forgets the name of the person from whom he pretends to come; and what renders the circumstance still more pleasant is, that he happens to be engaged in conversation with the very person himself. The Trinummus, taken all together, is, I think, inferior to this play of our author; but there are in it some scenes of uncommon pleasantry.

Quandoquidem solus regnas. An invidious sneer; because in Athens, where the people were tenacious of liberty and the laws, arbitrary acts were particularly odious. Thus Sannio in the Brothers; Regnumne, Æschine, hic tu possides? “Do you reign King here, Æschinus?” Donatus.

I believe there is no scene of Comedy more highly seasoned with the Ridiculous than this before us. The idea is truly comick, and it is worked up with all that simplicity and chastity, so peculiar to the manner of Terence. An ordinary writer would have indulged himself in twenty little conceits on this occasion; but the dry gravity of Terence infinitely surpasses, as true humour, all the drolleries, which perhaps even those great Masters of Comedy, Plautus or Moliere, might have been tempted to throw out. It is the highest art of a Dramatick Author on some occasions to leave a good deal to the Actor: it has been remarked by Heinsius and others, that Terence was particularly attentive to this circumstance; and Donatus in his preface to this Comedy says, that it is tota diverbiis facetissimis, & gestum desiderantibus scenicum.

Sed eccum ipsum video in tempore huc se recipere. Here in all the common books ends the second act; and the scenes that make up the residue of it here, in them compose the third. Madam Dacier saw the absurdity, but follows the old division, arbitrarily omitting the above line, in order to break the palpable continuity of the scenes; and make the stage appear to be vacant. But the line in question is in all the copies: nor is it likely that in so busy a play, the Author would have devoted a whole act to the Episode of Phædria and his Musick-Girl. The division of the acts in this play is so extremely confused in all the books I have seen, that I have varied from them all. I have endeavoured to find out the natural rests or pauses in the action, and to divide the acts in such a manner, as to assign a particular business to each. See the first note to Act V.

Ab suâ palæstrâ.—Palæstra was properly the School of Gymnastick Exercises for the Græcian youth. Geta therefore, in allusion to that, pleasantly calls the Procurer's house the palæstra of Phædria, much in the same vein of humour that he used in talking of him at the opening of the play.

Metuo lenonem, nequid suo suat capiti. This passage has much puzzled the Commentators. I have followed Madam Dacier, though I do not think that her interpretation of the passage, or any other comment that I have seen, makes very good sense of it.

Auribus teneo lupum. A proverb; the meaning of which is explained in the next line.

After this in some books is inserted a speech of Phædria; Abi, dic, præsto ut sit domi. “Go, tell him to be at home.” But it confounds the sense in this place, and it is plain that Phædria and Geta go out together.