Publius Sextus Terentius (Terenzio) - Comoediae omnes -
Venetiis (Venise), apud Hieronymum Scotum, . Folio [pp., later binding in full stiff parchment of the eighteenth century, framed gold title with a gilded frieze, some soiling, brown stains on the higher margins of both covers, signature in blue ink on the top margin of the first cover Two column text, many historiated initials, very nice publisher mark engraved on the title page, small engraved vignettes, beautiful oval colophon engraving, fresh inside, speckled red edges, nice copy Publius Sextus Terentius Afer (the African), who was born in Carthage around 185 BC and died 159 BC, was a latin writer of Berber origin. He wrote only six comedies. These were enormously influenced by Greek comedy, as for example the piece "The eunuchus" (the eunuch) based on two works by Menander. The plays are of constant length, between 800 and verses, they are mainly psychological, and mostly apolitical, in opposition to plays of Aristophanes. They are the torments of heart and soul. Terence was one of the first Latin writers to introduce the concept of humanitas in his varied works. His works influenced many authors such as Racine, Molière, La Fontaine. Read More