century; P = cod. Parisinus Lat. 11308 (formerly mus; = = = cod. Blandinianus Vetustissicod. Parisinus, 7974, tenth century; cod. Parisinus, 7971, tenth century; F = & and ; λ = Parisinus, 7972, tenth century; p Parisinus Lat. 8214, twelfth century; s = mss. which contain the Life in a abridged form; see note 6, p. 484. = = = For Tibulus: A cod. Ambrosianus, R 26 sup., fourteenth century; V cod. Vaticanus, 3270; g= cod. Guelferbytanus, Ms. Aug. 82, 6 fol., both of the fifteenth century; For Aulus Persius Flaccus: A lanus, 212, tenth century; B = other mss. or the Itali. = = cod. Montepessucod. Vaticanus, tab. basil. Vat., H. 36, ninth century; P pessulanus, 125, formerly Pithoeanus. = cod. Monte For Lucan: M = cod. Montepessulanus, H. 113; B = cod. Bernensis, 45; P = cod. Parisinus, 7502, formerly Colbertinus, all of the tenth century. GG 2 DE POETIS VITA TERENTI 2 I. PUBLIUS TERENTIUS AFER, Carthagine natus, serviit Romae Terentio Lucano senatori, a quo ob ingenium et formam non institutus modo liberaliter sed et mature manumissus est. Quidam captum esse existimant, quod fieri nullo modo potuisse Fenestella docet, cum inter finem secundi Punici belli et initium tertii natus sit et1 mortuus; nec si a Numidis et Gaetulis captus sit, ad ducem 2 Romanum pervenire potuisse, nullo commercio inter Italicos et Afros nisi post deletam Carthaginem coepto. Hic cum multis nobilibus familiariter vixit, sed maxime cum Scipione Africano et C.3 Laelio. Quibus etiam corporis gratia conciliatus existimatur, quod et ipsum Fenestella arguit, contendens utroque maiorem natu fuisse, quamvis et Nepos aequales omnes fuisse tradat et Porcius suspicionem de consuetudine per haec faciat: 1 natus sit et, Ald. ; et natus sit et, Ritschl; natus est et, mss. 2 ad ducem, mss. ; ad dominum, J. Gronov (Reiff., Dz.). 3 C., AF; the other mss. have cum. ON POETS THE LIFE OF TERENCE I. PUBLIUS TERENTIUS AFER, born at Carthage, was the slave at Rome of Terentius Lucanus, a senator, who because of the young man's talent and good looks not only gave him a liberal education, but soon set him free. Some think that he was taken in war, but Fenestella shows that that could not possibly be, since Terence was born and died between the end of the second Punic war and the beginning of the third; 201-149 and even if he had been taken by the Numidians and B.C. Gaetulians, he could not have come into the hands of a Roman general, since commerce between the Italic and the African races did not begin until after the destruction of Carthage. He lived on 146 B.C. intimate terms with many men of high rank, in particular with Scipio Africanus and Gaius Laelius. It is even thought that he won the favour of these two men by his youthful beauty, but Fenestella denies this too, maintaining that he was older than either of them. Nepos, however, writes that they were all three of an age, and Porcius rouses suspicion of too great intimacy in the following words: a "Dum lasciviam nobilium et laudes fucosas petit, Dum Africani vocem divinam inhiat1 avidis auribus, Dum ad Philum 2 se cenitare et Laelium pulchrum putat, Dum in Albanum crebro rapitur 3 ob florem aetatis suae: Post sublatis rebus ad summam inopiam redactus est. Itaque e conspectu omnium abit Graeciam in terram ultimam, Mortuust Stymphali, Arcadiae in 5 oppido. Nil Publius 6 Scipio profuit, nil illi Laelius, nil Furius, Tres per id tempus qui agitabant nobiles facillime. Eorum ille opera ne domum quidem habuit conducticiam, Saltem ut esset quo referret obitum domini servulus." II. Scripsit comoedias sex, ex quibus primam "Andriam cum aedilibus daret, iussus ante Caecilio recitare, ad cenantem cum venisset, dictus est initium quidem fabulae, quod erat contemptiore vestitu, subsellio iuxta lectulum residens legisse, post paucos vero versus invitatus ut accumberet cenasse una, dein cetera percucurrisse non sine magna Caecilii 8 admiratione. Et hanc autem et 1 vocem divinam inhiat, Muretus; vocē dum et inhuius et, A; the other mss. have voce divina inhiat. 2 Philum, Roth; fixu, A ; the other mss. have furium. 3 The reading of Ritschl; A has dum se amari ab his credat crebro in Albanum rapitur; the other mss., dum . . . credit rapi. 4 Stymphali, Ritschl; mortuus est in falo, A, with similar readings in the other mss.; Stymphalo, Roth. 5 in, added by Roth. Publio, E (Ritschl). 66 Though he courted the wantonness of great men and their counterfeit a praise, though with greedy ears he drank in the divine voice of Africanus, though he thought it fine to frequent the tables of Philus and Laelius, though he was often taken to the Alban villa because of his youthful charms, he later found himself stripped of his all and reduced to utmost want. So he withdrew from the sight of men to a remote part of Greece and died at Stymphalus, a town of Arcady. Naught availed him Publius Scipio, naught Laelius, naught Furius, the three wealthiest nobles of that time. Their help did not give him even a rented house, to provide at least a place where his slave might announce his master's death." II. He wrote six comedies, and when he offered the first of these, the " Andria,” to the aediles, they bade him first read it to Caecilius. Having come to the poet's house when he was dining, and being meanly clad, Terence is said to have read the beginning of his play sitting on a bench near the great man's couch. But after a few lines he was invited to take his place at table, and after dining with Caecilius, he ran through the rest to his host's 7 caerio, AB; cenam, G; the other mss. have cerio. 8 caerii, A ; eorum, G ; the other mss. have cerii (cerrii, cerei). : a Cf. Hor. Epist. 1. 10. 26 ff. Non qui Sidonio contendere callidus ostro Nescit Aquinatem potantia vellera fucum, Certius accipiet damnum propiusve medullis, Quam qui non poterit vero distinguere falsum. facillime agitare means to live most comfortably," or, "most free from care"; cf. Ter. Adelph. 501, and the Greek peîa (@vres. In an opposite sense we have difficultate nummaria, Tib. xlviii. 1. |