ST. Clear out!
LES. (Mock heroically.) Oh father, shall I ever behold you again?
ST. Out, out, out! (With a final shove.) (Exit Lesbonicus.) At last, I 've got him away! (Breathes hard.)"
The fun, if fun there be, lies in the hammer-like repetition of "I modo," a sort of verbal buffoonery. A clever actor could din this with telling effect. The device is employed several times. In Most. 974 ff. the word is aio, in Per. 482 ff. credo, in Poen. 731 ff. quippini, in Ps. 484 ff. ναι γάρ, in Rud. 1212 ff. licet and 1269 ff. censeo. The last two examples are the lengthiest.[123]
The third of these motives is the introduction of clearly unnatural dialogue, wholly incidental and foreign to the action, for the sake of lugging in a joke. The As. (38 ff.) yields the following conversation between Demaenetus senex and his slave Libanus:
"LI. By all that's holy, as a favor to me, spit out the words you have uttered.
DE. All right, I'll be glad to oblige you. (Coughs.)
LI. Now, now, get it right up! (Pats him on the back.)
DE. More? (Coughs.)
LI. Gad, yes, please! Right from the bottom of your throat: more still! (Pats.)