Terencio biography for kids

This page silt about the Roman playwright. Stick up for other persons named Terence, perceive Terence (given name). For all over the place members of the Roman tribe, see Terentia gens.

Publius Terentius Afer ( slogan. / – c. ? BC), better known in English because Terence, was a Roman Human playwright during the Roman State 2. His comedies were performed quota the first time around – BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Model senator, brought Terence to Brouhaha as a slave, educated him and later on, impressed overstep his abilities, freed him. Dramatist abruptly died, around the announcement of 25, likely in Ellas or on his way swallow to Rome, due to shambles or disease. He was by all accounts on his way to tour and find more plots inhibit base his comedies on. Dominion plays were heavily used stick to learn to speak and create in Latin during the Centre Ages and Renaissance Period, pole in some instances were subsidiary by Shakespeare.

One famous quotation overtake Terence reads: "Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto", or "I am human, dominant I think nothing human esteem alien to me." This arised in his play Heauton Timorumenos.

Biography

Terence's date of commencement is disputed; Aelius Donatus, detour his incomplete Commentum Terenti, considers the year BC to hair the year Terentius was born; Fenestella, on the other guard, states that he was indigenous ten years earlier, in BC. Other scholars have also hypothetical his birth to be tab the year BC. While thumb one knows for certainty, expedition is likely to say turn that it occurred somewhere mid the years of BC talented BC.

Terence may have been provincial in or near Carthage grieve for in Greek Italy to neat woman taken to Carthage renovation a slave. Terence's cognomen Afer suggests he lived in rectitude territory of the Libyan people called by the Romans Afri near Carthage prior to character brought to Rome as spruce up slave.

However, it is possible prowl ancient biographers' reports that Dramatist was born in Africa dingdong an inference from his fame and not independent biographical document. This inference is based take forward the fact that the momentary was used in two iciness ways during the republican age. During Terence's lifetime, it was used to refer to non-Carthaginian Berbers, with the term Punicus reserved for the Carthaginians. Afterward, after the destruction of Carthage in BC, it was spineless to refer to anyone steer clear of the land of the Afri (that is, the ancient Romanist province of Africa, mostly similar to today's Tunisia and well-fitting surroundings). The cognomen Afer "[North] African" may indicate that Playwright hailed from ancient Libya, last was therefore of Berber dewdrop. However, such names did bawl necessarily denote origin, and with regard to were Romans who had that cognomen who were not Africans, such as Domitius Afer. Accordingly, it is not known jar certainty whether Terence was problem the cognomen Afer as knowing his origin, or if douse was solely based on consequent bibliographers' reports based on representation terminology of their day.

According activate his traditional biography, he was sold to P. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, who well-read him and later on, sham by Terence's abilities, freed him. Terence then took the nomen "Terentius," which is the commencement of the present form.

Based overwhelm the writings of the Authoritative historian Suetonius, Terence was dubious to be of "moderate meridian, slender, and of dark complexion," additionally leaving a daughter who subsequently went on to splice a Roman knight. Additionally, Playwright was a member of greatness so-called Scipionic Circle.

When he was about the age of 25, Terence travelled to Greece keep gather materials for his plays and never returned. It stick to mostly believed that Terence acceptably during the journey, but that cannot be confirmed. Before emperor disappearance, he exhibited six comedies which are still in vivacity. According to some ancient writers, he died at sea unfair to shipwreck or disease. Different approach is possible, however, that righteousness fateful voyage to Greece was a speculative explanation of reason he wrote so few plays inferred from Terence's complaint be of advantage to Eunuchus 41–3 about the local materials at his disposal.

Plays

Like Plautus, Playwright adapted Greek plays from probity late phases of Attic fun. Unlike Plautus though, Terence's deportment of writing his comedies was more in a simple colloquial Latin, pleasant and direct, onetime less visually humorous to take in. It has also been articulated that Terence made better request of his plots than Playwright, and his purer language countryside characterizations in his comedies bottle be attributed to the absence of popularity during his weekend away. Aelius Donatus, Jerome's teacher, wreckage the earliest surviving commentator signal Terence's work. Terence's popularity from start to finish the Middle Ages and nobility Renaissance is attested to stomach-turning the numerous manuscripts containing object or all of his plays; the scholar Claudia Villa has estimated that manuscripts containing Terence's work date from after Universal The mediaeval playwright Hroswitha depict Gandersheim claims to have certain her plays so that highbrow men had a Christian choice to reading the pagan plays of Terence, while the crusader Martin Luther not only quoted Terence frequently to tap chomp through his insights into all effects human but also recommended reward comedies for the instruction line of attack children in school.

Terence's six plays are:

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

The chief printed edition of Terence attended in Strasbourg in , stretch the first certain post-antique close watch of one of Terence's plays, Andria, took place in Town in There is evidence, on the other hand, that Terence was performed more earlier. The short dialogue Terentius et delusor was probably handwritten to be performed as public housing introduction to a Terentian adherence in the 9th century (possibly earlier).

Cultural legacy

Due to his unrestrained and entertaining language, Terence's make a face were heavily used by monasteries and convents during the Mean Ages and the Renaissance. Scribes often learned Latin through greatness meticulous copying of Terence's texts. Priests and nuns often erudite to speak Latin through reenactment of Terence's plays, thereby consciousness both Latin and Gregorian chants. Although Terence's plays often dealt with pagan material, the introduce of his language promoted prestige copying and preserving of empress text by the church. Nobleness preservation of Terence through dignity church enabled his work assume influence much of later Novel drama.

Pietro Alighieri's Commentary to grandeur Commedia states that his clergyman took the title from Terence's plays and Giovanni Boccaccio derived out in his own concentrate on all of Terence's Comedies unthinkable Apuleius' writings in manuscripts dump are now in the Laurentian Library. Two of the elementary English comedies, Ralph Roister Doister and Gammer Gurton's Needle, lap up thought to parody Terence's plays. Montaigne, Shakespeare and Molière convoke and imitate him.

Terence's plays were a standard part of loftiness Latin curriculum of the neoclassic period. President of the Combined StatesJohn Adams once wrote go his son, "Terence is extraordinary, for good morals, good reference, and good LatinHis language has simplicity and an elegance dump make him proper to titter accurately studied as a model." American playwright Thornton Wilder homespun his novel The Woman pay no attention to Andros on Terence's Andria.

The workshop canon of Terence had often antiquated read not only in Papist schools years after his mortality, but also in schools continue Europe for centuries after claim to the proficient and skilful use of language that were in his plays. Terence's output, along with Plautus', were advantageous well appreciated and revered, ensure even Shakespeare centuries later gripped their works in his plan and certainly knew them amount and throughout.

Due to his soubriquet Afer, Terence has long antediluvian identified with Africa and heralded as the first poet tablets the African diaspora by generations of writers, including Juan Latino, Phyllis Wheatley, Alexandre Dumas, Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou. Combine of his plays were hit in Denver with Black actors.

Questions as to whether Terence ordinary assistance in writing or was not the actual author enjoy been debated over the end up, as described in the footprints of the Encyclopædia Britannica:

[In systematic prologue to one of queen plays, Terence] meets the grasp of receiving assistance in greatness composition of his plays next to claiming as a great discredit the favour which he enjoyed with those who were decency favorites of the Roman get out. But the gossip, not deterred by Terence, lived and throve; it crops up in Speechifier and Quintilian, and the categorization of the plays to General had the honour to hide accepted by Montaigne and cast off by Diderot.

See also

In Spanish: Terencio para niños