'Disputes, arguments, and misunderstandings are an intrinsic element of ancient comedy, and the legal aspects of New Comedy have been studied before, notably by the eminent Italian scholar Ugo Enrico Paoli. But Adele Scafuro goes further than anyone before her. She discusses not just the plays' allusions to law, and not just the vexed question whether it is Athenian law or Roman law which is in question in Plautus and Terence; she finds that many scenes and speeches in which law is not mentioned explicitly are based on the assumptions and the rhetoric of the Athenian courts. (...) Her emphasis is on the law in practice, rather than on legal theory, and she begins with a good discussion of threats, blackmail, compromise, and other ways of settling a dispute without going to court. In chapters 3 and 4 there is a thorough examination of the procedures of arbitration and reconciliation in Athens and in Rome, and of the use made of them in comedy. (...) In chapters 5 and 6 Scafuro considers sexual offences. Athenian law about rape and seduction has received much attention in recent years, and some parts of it remain uncertain and controversial. Scafuro proceed cautiously through this minefield; she does not offer any substantially new suggestions, but she succeeds in giving a very fair description of the various opinions and uncertainties. (...) The last two chapters are (...) concerned with marriage, and especially with the position of the 'epikleros' or heiress. Scafuro shows that arguments used by families in New Comedy are similar to those use by litigants in real-life courts. (...) Her approach can make interesting contributions to the understanding of comedy as well as of law.' (DOUGLAS M. MacDOWELL in Greece and Rome, 1998, pp.227-228). From the library of Prof. Carl Deroux.