P. Terentius Afer
Terence
The most humane of Roman comedians
c. 195 BC – c. 159 BC
Publius Terentius Afer was born around 190 BC in Carthage and brought to Rome as a slave. His master, the senator Terentius Lucanus, educated him and freed him. He wrote six comedies, all of which survive, before dying around 159 BC — according to tradition, in a shipwreck off Greece while travelling to study Greek theatre.
Where Plautus is boisterous, Terence is subtle. His plots are elegant, his characters psychologically nuanced, his dialogue refined. His famous line 'I am human, and nothing human is alien to me' (Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto) captures his temperament perfectly. He was admired by Cicero and Caesar, and his plays became the standard school texts for Latin style throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
His influence on European comedy — particularly Molière — is profound but quiet, like the man himself.
Works (6)
- 1
- 2
- 3
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4
Heautontimorumenos drama
A father wants his son to learn self-discipline. His methods — and his results — are the subject of the comedy. The title means "the self-tormentor,"...
- 5
- 6