What Happens

A new character appears in Act 4 named Strobilus. Strobilus is the servant of Lyconides, who is Megadorus’s nephew, Eunomia’s son, and the young man who, while drunk, got Phaedria pregnant. Lyconides has sent Strobilus to keep an eye on Euclio’s home and Phaedria as he tries to figure out what to do about the situation.

Euclio does not see Strobilus as he hides the money in the temple of Faith and tells the goddess, “I’ve trusted my gold to your good faith.” Strobilus sees and hears him, however, and immediately decides to steal the gold and pay for his freedom. But Euclio hears a raven croak, takes it as a sign of danger, and runs as fast as possible to save his gold. He catches Strobilus before the young man finds the gold, and Strobilus can honestly assert that he has not stolen a thing.

Euclio has to let Strobilus go, and he hurries to get his gold. He will hide it in the grove of Silvanus, but of course, Strobilus is watching the whole time. Meanwhile, Lyconides confesses his misdeeds to his mother, who thinks that Megadorus will break his engagement in favor of his nephew. They hear Phaedria crying out in labor.

Strobilus steals the pot of gold, and when Euclio realizes it is gone, he goes nearly crazy and appeals to the audience to point out the thief. Lyconides enters and is shocked by Euclio’s behavior. The young man proceeds to confess an “outrage” against Euclio, who automatically assumes that he is talking about the gold. The two talk at cross purposes for some time, neither one understanding the other.

Lyconides claims that his actions came about “because of drink . . . and . . . love, sir.” He will take responsibility for his actions: “Well, now that I did venture to act so, I have no objection to holding to it, sir.” In other words, he will marry Phaedria, but Euclio thinks he means that he will keep the money.

Finally, Lyconides realizes that he and Euclio are talking about different things. The young man explains the reality of the situation with Phaedria, and Euclio goes in to check. Strobilus enters and tells Lyconides that he has found a pot of gold.

Here, the play breaks off, but scholars have reconstructed a possible ending from fragments of the final act. Lyconides and Phaedria marry, and Euclio gets his pot of gold back. But in a surprise gesture, he gives the treasure to the newlyweds, finally realizing that it is more trouble than it is worth.

Why It Matters

Even though the play is technically incomplete, the scholarly reconstruction brings it to a satisfying resolution that makes it a true comedy, which means that, even apart from its humor, it has a happy ending. However, the humor remains prominent in this section of the play as well, as Euclio and Lyconides converse about two very different topics, neither realizing what the other means. The audience knows, however, and laughs at the double entendres and hilarious misunderstandings between the two men.

Many characters in The Pot of Gold learn important lessons through their experiences. Lyconides learns that he must own up to and take responsibility for his actions. Since he loves Phaedria, this may not seem too difficult to him, but readers might wonder, appropriately, what Phaedria will think of a match with Lyconides. He may have to work rather hard to convince her of his love.

Megadorus, perhaps, rediscovers what he likely knew all along. Marriage is not for him. He seems all...