Plautus
T. MACCIUS, a Roman comic poet; born in Umbria, probably about 255 B. C. He spent the greater part of his life at Rome, where at one time he is said to have been reduced to the necessity of grinding_corn with a handmill for a baker. He began to write plays about 220, and gained immense popularity with his countrymen by his numerous comedies. Twenty of his comedies are still extant out of the 21 pronounced genuine by Varro. One hundred and thirty were current under his name. His plays were still acted in the reign of Domitian, and some of them have been imitated by modern dramatists. He died 184 B. C.