Publius Terentius Afer, better known as Terence, was a comic playwright of the Roman Republic. His date of birth is disputed; Aelius Donatus, in his incomplete Commentum Terenti, considers the year 185 BC to be the year Terentius was born^[1]; Fenestella, on the other hand, states that he was born ten years earlier, in 195 BC.^[2] He was born in Carthage, but he was not Carthaginian as his name states; the Romans used the ethnonym Afer to refer to people born in Africa, but they exclusively used Punicus for the Carthaginians^[3]. Probably Terence was of Libyan descent^[4]. His comedies were performed for the first time ca. 170-160 BC, and he died young probably in 159 BC, in Greece or on his way back to Rome. He wrote six plays, all of which have survived (by comparison, his predecessor Plautus wrote twenty-one extant plays). A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus Roman provinces on the eve of the assassination of Julius Caesar, c. ... Aelius Donatus (fl. ... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC - 180s BC - 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC Years: 190 BC 189 BC 188 BC 187 BC 186 BC - 185 BC - 184 BC 183 BC... Fenestella, (52 BC? - AD 19?), Roman historian and encyclopaedic writer, flourished in the reign of Tiberius. ... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC - 190s BC - 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC Years: 200 BC 199 BC 198 BC 197 BC 196 BC - 195 BC - 194 BC 193 BC... Carthage (Greek: , from the Phoenician meaning new town, Arabic: , Latin: ) refers both to an ancient city in North Africa located in modern day Tunis and to the civilization that developed within the citys sphere of influence. ... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC - 170s BC - 160s BC 150s BC140s BC 130s BC 120s BC Years: 175 BC 174 BC 173 BC 172 BC 171 BC - 170 BC - 169 BC 168 BC 167... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC - 160s BC - 150s BC140s BC 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC Years: 165 BC 164 BC 163 BC 162 BC 161 BC - 160 BC - 159 BC 158 BC 157... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC - 150s BC - 140s BC 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC Years: 164 BC 163 BC 162 BC 161 BC 160 BC - 159 BC - 158 BC 157 BC... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... Titus Macchius Plautus, generally referred to simply as Plautus, was a playwright of Ancient Rome. ...

One famous quote by Terence reads: "Homo sum, humani nil a me alienum puto", or "I am human, nothing that is human is alien to me." This appeared in his play Heauton Timorumenos. As a joke, this quote was "improved" by the American anthropologist Earnest Albert Hooton in this way: "Primas sum, primatum nil a me alienum puto", or "I am a primate; nothing about primates is outside of my bailiwick." Earnest Albert Hooton (November 20, 1887, Clemansville, Wisconsin – May 3, 1954, Cambridge, Massachusetts) was a U.S. physical anthropologist known for his work on racial classification and his popular writings such as the book Up From The Ape. ...

Biography

Terence was a son of a rich family of Carthage that went bankrupt and was sold to Terentius, a Roman senator, who educated him and later on, impressed by Terence's abilities, freed him. Carthage (Greek: , from the Phoenician meaning new town, Arabic: , Latin: ) refers both to an ancient city in North Africa located in modern day Tunis and to the civilization that developed within the citys sphere of influence. ... The Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus) was the main governing council of both the Roman Republic, which started in 509 BC, and the Roman Empire. ... Manumission is the act of freeing a slave, done at the will of the owner. ...

When he was 25, Terence left Rome and he never returned, after having exhibited the six comedies which are still in existence. Some ancient writers tend to say that he died at sea.

Terence's plays

Like Plautus, Terence adapted Greek plays from the late phases of Attic comedy. He was more than a translator, as modern discoveries of ancient Greek plays have confirmed. However, Terence's plays use a convincingly 'Greek' setting rather than Romanizing the characters and situations. Greek theatre or Greek Drama came into its own between 600 and 200 BC in the ancient city of Athens. ... Greek comedy is the name given to a wide genre of theatrical plays written, and performed, in Ancient Greece. ...

Terence worked hard to write natural conversational Latin, and most students who persevere long enough to be able to read him in the vernacular find his style particularly pleasant and direct. Aelius Donatus, Jerome's teacher, is the earliest surviving commentator on Terence's work. Terence's popularity throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance is attested to by the numerous manuscripts containing part or all of his plays; the scholar Claudia Villa has estimated that 650 manuscripts containing Terence's work date from after 800 AD. The mediaeval playwright Hroswitha of Gandersheim claims to have written her plays so that learned men had a Christian alternative to reading the pagan plays of Terence. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Aelius Donatus (fl. ... “Saint Jerome” redirects here. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Renaissance (French for rebirth, or Rinascimento in Italian), was a cultural movement in Italy (and in Europe in general) that began in the late Middle Ages, and spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century. ... A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus, written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ... Events December 25, Rome, coronation of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) as emperor by Pope Leo III. Celtic monks begin work on the Book of Kells on the Island of Iona. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Hrosvit, also known as Hroswitha and Hroswitha of Gandersheim, was a female 10th century (c. ...

Terence's six plays are:

• Adelphoe (The Brothers)
• Andria (The Girl from Andros)
• Eunuchus
• Heauton Timorumenos (The Self-Tormentor)
• Hecyra (The Mother-in-Law)
• Phormio

The first printed edition of Terence appeared in Strasbourg in 1470, while the first post-antiquity performance of one of Terence's plays, Andria, took place in Florence in 1476. Adelphoe, also written Adelphi (English: The brothers) is a play by Terence, a Roman playwright. ... Andria (English: The Girl from Andros) is a comedy by Terence, a Roman playwright. ... Eunuchus (The Eunuch) is a comedy written by the Roman playwright Terence featuring a complex plot of familial misunderstanding. ... Phormio, the son of Asopius, was an Athenian general and admiral during the Peloponnesian War. ... City flag City coat of arms Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Region Alsace Department Bas-Rhin (67) Intercommunality Urban Community of Strasbourg Mayor Fabienne Keller  (UMP) City Statistics Land area¹ 78. ... Events May 15 - Charles VIII of Sweden who had served three terms as King of Sweden dies. ... Andria (English: The Girl from Andros) is a comedy by Terence, a Roman playwright. ... Florence (Italian: ) is the capital city of the region of Tuscany, Italy. ... Events March 2 - Battle of Grandson. ...

A phrase by his musical collaborator Flaccus for Terence's comedy Hecyra is all that remains of the entire body of ancient Roman music. This has recently been shown to be inauthentic. For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Flaccus is a composer from the second century BC, of whom little is known. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ...

References

See also

• Latin literature
• Slavery
• Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi

Latin literature, the body of written works in the Latin language, remains an enduring legacy of the culture of ancient Rome. ... Slave redirects here. ... Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi is a Latin phrase, literally meaning and often translated as Gods may do what cattle may not. It indicates the existence of a double standard (justifiable or otherwise), and essentially means what is permitted to one person or group, is not permitted to everyone. ...

External references

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Terence

• The six plays of Terence at The Latin Library (Latin)
• Andria at The Perseus Digital Library (English)
• Hecyra at The Perseus Digital Library (English)
• Heautontimorumenos at The Perseus Digital Library (English)
• The Eunuch at The Perseus Digital Library (English)
• Phormio at The Perseus Digital Library (English)
• The Brothers at The Perseus Digital Library (English)
• Terence's works: text, concordances and frequency list