To defend Luscius Lanuvinus against Terence’s and Donatus’s criticisms, we must first shift perspectives. Terence attacked Luscius from a standard of strict palliata realism, but Roman theater—especially the native fabula togata (Roman-dressed comedy)—operated under its own laws of legal theater, local flavor, and quick-witted pacing.

Below are three reconstructed, four-move conversations in Latin with English translations (\(Tr.\,E\)). They simulate how Luscius wrote his scenes, how the 4th-century commentator Aelius Donatus wanted them written, and finally, how Luscius justifies his art by appealing to the rules of togata over Greek imports.

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Dialogue 1: The Legal Logic in Thesaurus (The Treasure)

Terence mocked Luscius because, in his adaptation of Menander's Thesaurus, an old man claims a treasure buried in a monument before the opposing party has even stated their counter-claim.

Move A: As Luscius Wrote It (Fast-Paced Comic Pleading)

• SENEX (Old Man): Hic thesaurus meus est! Monumentum avitum effodi!
  (This treasure is mine! I have dug up my grandfather’s tomb!)
• ADVOCATUS (Advocate): At prior ius dicit qui prior aurum possidet!
  (But he who possesses the gold first speaks the law first!)

Move B: As Donatus Would Have Preferred (Strict Roman Procedure)

• DONATUS: Immo, prius audiendus est qui agrum defendit.
  (Nay, he who defends the land must be heard first.)
• DONATUS: Nemo rem vindicat antequam adversarius litem intendat!
  (No one claims ownership before the adversary has even brought the suit!)

Move C: Luscius's Defense (The Rules of Togata)

• LUSCIUS: In togata nostra, populus spectat actionem, non iurisconsultos!
  (In our native comedy, the people watch for action, not legal consultants!)
• LUSCIUS: Si senex tacet dum alter loquitur, tota fabula dormit.
  (If the old man stays quiet while the other speaks, the whole play goes to sleep.)

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Dialogue 2: The Premature Courtroom Scene in Phasma (The Apparition)

Donatus and Terence complained that in Phasma, Luscius bungled the legal sequence by having a defendant plead his entire case before the magistrate had formally opened the court or granted a hearing.

Move A: As Luscius Wrote It (The Melodramatic Outburst)

• REUS (Defendant): Innocens sum! Monstrum in pariete vidi, iuro!
  (I am innocent! I saw a ghost in the wall, I swear it!)
• REUS: Iudex, audi me antequam me damnes aut audias alterum!
  (Judge, hear me before you condemn me or hear the other party!)

Move B: As Donatus Would Have Preferred (Methodical Procedure)

• DONATUS: Primum praetor postulationem recipere debet.
  (First, the magistrate must formally receive the petition.)
• DONATUS: Deinde reus dicit, ordine servato, non clamore.
  (Then the defendant speaks, keeping order, not shouting out of turn.)

Move C: Luscius's Defense (The Local Italian Spirit)

• LUSCIUS: Italicum acumen non expectat lentas formulas urbanas!
  (Italian wit does not wait for slow, city-slicker legal formulas!)
• LUSCIUS: Clamor rei populo placet; nos veram vitam vicorum agimus.
  (The defendant's shouting pleases the crowd; we enact the true life of the neighborhoods.)

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Dialogue 3: Why the Criticisms are Unfair (Togata vs. Palliata)

In this final exchange, Luscius turns directly to Donatus to explain why applying Greek rules (palliata) to an Italian-style performance (togata) is a fundamental misunderstanding of his art.

• Move 1 (Donatus's Critique):
  DONATUS: Graeca exemplaria corrumpis, Lusci; Menander ordinem docet, tu turbas.
  (You ruin the Greek models, Luscius; Menander teaches order, you bring confusion.)
• Move 2 (Luscius's First Strike):
  LUSCIUS: Terentius tuus Graecis verbis servit; ego Latinis civibus fabulas pango.
  (Your beloved Terence is a slave to Greek words; I fashion plays for Latin citizens.)
• Move 3 (Donatus's Counter):
  DONATUS: At ars exigit ut leges fori et iustitiae in scaena serventur.
  (But art demands that the laws of the forum and justice be preserved on the stage.)
• Move 4 (Luscius's Defiant Conclusion):
  LUSCIUS: In togata libertas est! Lanuvium iura sua habet, nec Romae serviliter obedit; plus valet risus noster quam omnes regulae Athenarum.
  (In native comedy there is freedom! Lanuvium has its own laws and does not slavishly obey Rome; our laughter is worth more than all the strict rules of Athens.)

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If you would like to expand on this, we can draft a formal prologue in the style of a fabula togata where Luscius addresses the Roman audience directly before the play begins to trash Terence's Greek patrons. Would you like to see how that opening speech would look?