"It's not easy being pious for both of us, you know," Pliny advises.
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Line 20 Vulgarized:
"Pardon my brother, Pitt. He's a randy little devil. Which means I have to bear the cross of prudish behavior enough for two young boys, quite the difficult task," Pliny explains through the fourth wall and gives an exaggerated wink.
Subtext:
I don't really think Pliny is speaking to the reader here (although it's possible. Did you see who the author is?) but this line sounds too much like a line Bugs Bunny might deliver while looking directly at the viewer.
I suppose the real subtext is that I don't really know what subtext is because I just want to explain the literal meaning of this text: Pliny wants everybody to believe he's the less licentious Twin ("licentious" in all definitions, probably less so the sexual (and more popular) definition (which might make you question why I didn't choose another word), being the Twins are so young). Is he though? Or is he just vocally and performatively so? Is Pliny the Eddie Haskell of the 1780s?
Interesting enough (to me, at least), an archaic definition of "licentious" is "disregarding accepted rules or conventions, especially in grammar or literary style." So that should answer the question as to why I didn't choose a different word. That might not describe Pliny but it does describe somebody associated with Mason & Dixon, if you think about it for a little bit.
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