Maurus (or Marius) Servius Honoratius, Roman grammarian and commentator on Virgil, flourished at the end of the 4th century AD. Grammar is the study of the rules governing the use of a language. ... For other uses see Virgil (disambiguation). ... (3rd century - 4th century - 5th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ...

He is one of the interlocutors in the Saturnalia of Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius, and allusions in that work and a letter from Quintus Aurelius Symmachus to Servius show that he was a pagan. He was one of the most favourable examples of the Roman "grammatici" and the most learned man of his time. Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius, Roman grammarian and philosopher, flourished during the reigns of Honorius and Arcadius (395-423). ... Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, c. ... Within a European Christian context, paganism is a catch-all term which has come to connote a broad set of not necessarily compatible religious beliefs and practices (see Cult (religion)) of a natural religion (as opposed to a revealed religion of a text), which are usually, but not necessarily, characterized...

He is chiefly known for his commentary on Virgil, which has come down to us in two distinct forms. The first is a comparatively short commentary, definitely attributed to Servius in the superscription in the manuscripts and by other evidence. A second class of manuscripts (all going back to the 9th and 10th centuries) presents a much expanded commentary, in which the first is embedded; but these manuscripts differ very much in the amount and character of the additions they make to the original.

The added matter is undoubtedly ancient, dating from a time but little removed from that of Servius, and is founded to a large extent on historical and antiquarian literature which is now lost. The writer has been identified as Aelius Donatus since E. K. Rand's essay in 1916. A third class of manuscripts, written for the most part in Italy and of late date, repeats the text of the first class, with numerous interpolated scholia of quite recent origin and little or no value. Aelius Donatus (flourished late 4th century CE) was a Roman grammarian and teacher of rhetoric. ...

It is constructed very much on the principle of a modern edition, and is partly founded on the extensive Virgilian literature of preceding times, much of which is known only from the fragments and facts preserved in the commentary. The notices of Virgil's text, though seldom or never authoritative in face of the existing manuscripts, which go back to, or even beyond, the times of Servius, yet supply valuable information concerning the ancient recensions and textual criticism of Virgil. In the grammatical interpretation of his author's language, Servius does not rise above the stiff and overwrought subtleties of his time; while his etymologies, as is natural, violate every law of sound and sense. As a literary critic the shortcomings of Servius, judged by a modern standard, are, great, but he shines in comparison with his contemporaries. Etymology is the study of the origins of words. ...

In particular, he deserves credit for setting his face against the prevalent allegorical methods of exposition. But the abiding value of his work lies in his preservation of facts in Roman history, religion, antiquities and language, which but for him might have perished. Not a little of the laborious erudition of Varro and other ancient scholars has survived in his pages. Besides the Virgilian commentary, other works of Servius are extant: a collection of notes on the grammar (Ars) of Aelius Donatus; a treatise on metrical endings (De finalibus); and a tract on the different metres (De centum metris). Marcus Terentius Varro ([[116 BC]–27 BC), also known as Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his contemporary Varro Atacinus, was a Roman scholar and writer, who the Romans came to call the most learned of all the Romans. ...

Bibliography:

Editions of the Virgilian commentary by Georg Fabricius (1551); Pierre Daniel, who first published the enlarged commentary (1600); and G Thilo and H Hagen (1878 - 1902) which is the only editon of the whole of Servius' work. Currently in development is the Harvard Servius (Servianorum in Vergili Carmina Commentariorum Editio Harvardiana). Georg Fabricius (1516- Meissen July 17, 1571), Protestant German poet, historian and archaeologist, was born at Chemnitz in upper Saxony on April 23 1516, and educated at Leipzig. ...

The Essai sur Servius by E Thomas (1880) remains an elaborate and valuable examination of all matters connected with Servius; many points are treated also by O Ribbeck in his Prolegomena to Virgil; see also a review of Thilo's edition by H Nettleship in Journal of Philology, 10 (1882). For Donatus' authorship of the supplimentary material see E. K. Rand, "Is Donatus's Commentary on Virgil Lost?" Classical Quarterly 10 (1916), 158-164. J. J. Savage provides a complete listing of the manuscripts of the Virgilian commentary in two separate articles: "The Manuscripts of the Commentary of Servius Danielis on Virgil", Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 43 (1932), 77-121; "The Manuscripts of Servius's Commentary on Virgil", Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 45 (1934), 157-204. Johann Carl Otto Ribbeck (July 23, 1827 - July 18, 1898), was a German classical scholar. ... Henry Nettleship (May 5, 1839 - July 10, 1893) was an English classical scholar. ...

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...