Terence, Volume 2: Phormio, The Mother-In-Law, The Brothers

by Terence, John Sargeaunt (Translator)

Terence brought to the Roman stage a bright comic voice and a refined sense of style. His six comedies--first produced in the half dozen years before his premature death in 159 BCE--were imaginatively reformulated in Latin plays written by Greek playwrights, especially Menander. For this new Loeb Classical Library edition of Terence, John Barsby gives us a faithful and lively translation with full explanatory notes, facing a freshly edited Latin text.

Volume I contains a substantial introduction and three plays: "The Woman of Andros," a romantic comedy; "The Self-Tormentor," which looks at contrasting father-son relationships; and "The Eunuch," whose characters include the most sympathetically drawn courtesan in Roman comedy. The other three plays are in Volume II: "Phormio," a comedy of intrigue with an engaging trickster; "The Mother-in-Law," unique among Terence's plays in that the female characters are the admirable ones; and "The Brothers," which explores contrasting approaches to parental education of sons.

The Romans highly praised Terence--"whose speech can charm, whose every word delights," in Cicero's words. This new edition of his plays, which replaces the now outdated Loeb translation by John Sargeaunt (first published in 1912), succeeds in capturing his polished style and appeal.

Genres: Plays

Hardcover

First published January 1, 161

About the author

Publius Terentius Afer (c. 195/185–159 BC), better known in English as Terence, was a playwright of the Roman Republic, of North African descent. His comedies were performed for the first time around 170–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought Terence to Rome as a slave, educated him and, later on, impressed by his abilities, freed him. Terence, apparently, died young, probably in Greece or on his way back to Rome. His six verse comedies, that were long regarded as models of pure Latin, form the basis of the modern comedy of manners.

One famous quotation by Terence reads: "Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto", or "I am a human being, I consider nothing that is human alien to me." This appeared in his play, Heauton Timorumenos.

Reviews

[Alessandro Speciale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adelphoe

[MC · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great translation and I like the facing Latin. Some of the Loebs can be pretty outdated and prudish (here's looking at you, translators who put things they deem "inappropriate" in French or cut out completely). This one is definitely what you want if you need both translation and text