Terence

Horace was legislating for future poets, not describing the drama that actually surrounded him.

The Roman comedies that he grew up watching, plays by Plautus and Terence, which themselves would later have an impact on Shakespeare, these plays don't observe his rule at all.

As the philologist Otto Skutch pointed out, Plautus and Terence abandoned the Greek chorus interlude convention entirely.

There is no trace in the early Latin manuscripts of anything corresponding to those Greek koru markers.

But that didn't stop later scholars from trying to impose this structure retroactively.

Ancient commentators, chief among them a man called Donatus, attempted to carve Terence's plays into five acts after the fact.

Scutch notes that this attempt was prompted by convention but doomed to failure, which is why Donatus's own commentary on where the act breaks full is confused and inconsistent.

Terence didn't write in five acts.

What time the ancient kings had perished all, excepting one contrite in cloth of grey.

I found me grasping in my hands the reign of the realm's government, and so great power of new quests, and so with friends abounding, that to the widowed diadem promoted, the head of mine own offspring was, from whom the consecrated bones of these began.

So long as the great dowry of Provence out of my blood took not the sense of shame, twas little worth, but still it did no harm.

Then it began with falsehood and with force, its rapine and thereafter for amends took Ponthieu, Normandy, and Gascony.

And more coruscant with slower steps the sun Was holding the meridian circle, which With the point of view shifts here and there when halted, As he cometh to a halt who goes before A squadron as its escort, if something new He find upon his way.

The ladies seven At a dark shadow's edge, such as, beneath Green leaves and branches black, the Alp upon Its frigid border wears.

In front of them The Tigris and Euphrates methought I saw Forth issue from one fountain, and slowly part Like friends from one another.

O light! O glory of the human race, What stream is this, which here unfolds itself From out one source, and from itself withdraws? For such a prayer 'twas said unto me, Pray Matilda that she tell thee.

Goes into his house and exit Clitifo.

End of Act One Act Two of He Out and Timor Ruminus, The Self-Tormentor, by Terence Translated by Henry Thomas Riley This is a LibriVox recording.

All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.

For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. act the second scene one enter clitipho to himself

certainly not i faith

how so i wonder you shall soon know stop stop what is the reason that there is such a great noise at our door

they retire out of sight act Act IV of He Out and Timor Ruminus, The Self-Tormentor, by Terence.

Translated by Henry Thomas Riley.

And this habit of sanitizing the past extends deeply into Roman comedy as well.

She looks at the playwrights Plautus and Terence and traces the incredibly popular clever slave trope all the way up through history to P.G. Wodehouse's famous character, Jeeves.

Wait, J-Jeeves and Wooster.

So Jeeves is a descendant of the ancient clever slave.

We obviously like Alvarez offensively.

Terenz, I mean, right up there if not the premier defensive catcher in all of baseball.

Which, when you have that balance, you can play situations.

And by the way, I'm not giving Terenz enough credit, who's been on one of the all-time heaters at catcher for the Mets.

I mean, it's, it's sanity at this point.

It, it is like a John Buck level catching heater right now.

And for those of you that got that reference immediately, shout out to you.

You've been in the trenches with, you know, with this team.

On the fifth circle I had come forth, people I saw upon it who were weeping, stretched prone upon the ground, all downward turned.

adhesit pavimento anima mea i heard them say with sighing so profound that hardly could the words be understood o ye elect of god whose sufferings justice and hope both render less severe direct ye us toward the highest sense if ye are come secure from this prostration and wish to find the way most speedily let your right hands be evermore outside thus did the poet ask and thus was answered by them somewhat in front of us whence i in what is spoken divined the rest concealed and unto my lord's eyes mine eyes i turned whence he assented with a cheerful sign to what the sight of my desire implored when of myself i could dispose at will above that creature did i draw myself whose words before had caused me to take note saying o spirit in whom weeping ripens that without which to god we cannot turn suspend a while for me thy greater care who wast thou and why are your backs turned upwards tell me and if thou wouldst that i procure thee anything there whence living i departed and he to me wherefore our backs the heaven turned to itself know shalt thou but beforehand scius quod ego fui successor petrae between siestri and chiaveri descends a river beautiful and of its name the title of my blood its summit makes a month and little more said i how weighs the great cloak on him from ire who keeps it for all the other burdens seemed a feather tardy ah woe is me was my conversion but when the roman shepherd i was made then i discovered life to be a lie i saw that there the heart was not at rest nor farther in that life could one ascend whereby the love of this was kindled in me until that time a wretched soul and parted from god was i and wholly avaricious now as thou seest i here am punished for it what avarice does is here made manifest in the purgation of these souls converted and no more bitter pain than the mountain has even as our eye did not uplift itself aloft being fastened upon earthly things so justice here has merged it in earth as avarice had extinguished our affection for every good whereby was action lost so justice here doth hold us in restraint bound and imprisoned by the feet and hands and so long as it pleases the just lord shall we remain immovable and prostrate i on my knees had fallen and wished to speak but even as i began and he was ware only by listening of my reverence what cause he says has downward bent thee thus and i to him for your own dignity standing my conscience stung me with remorse straighten thy legs and upward raise thee brother he answered err not fellow-servant am i with thee and with the others to one power if ever that holy evangelic sound which saith nec nubent thou hast heard well canst thou see why in this wise i speak now go no longer will i have thee linger because thy stay doth incommode my weeping with which i ripen that which thou hast said on earth i have a grandchild named alogia good in herself unless indeed our house malevolent may make her by example and she alone remains to me on earth end of canto nineteen canto twenty ill strives the will against a better will therefore to pleasure him against my pleasure i drew the sponge not saturated from water onward i moved and onward moved my leader through vacant places skirting still the rock as on a wall close to the battlements for they that through their eyes pour drop by drop the melody which all the world pervades on the other side too near the verge approach accursed mayst thou be thou old she-wolf more than all the other beasts hast prey because of hunger infinitely hollow o heaven in whose gyration some appear to think conditions here below are changed when will he come through whom she shall depart onward we went with footsteps slow and scarce and i attentive to the shades i heard piteously weeping and bemoaning them and i by peradventure heard sweet mary uttered in front of us amid the weeping even as a woman does who is in childbirth and in continuance how poor thou wast is manifested by that hostelry where thou didst lay thy sacred burden down there afterward i heard o good fabricus virtue with poverty didst thou prefer to the possession of great wealth with vice so pleasurable were these words to me that i drew farther onward to have knowledge touching that spirit whence they seemed to come he furthermore was speaking of the largesse which nicholas unto the maidens gave in order to conduct their youth to honor o soul that dost so excellently speak tell me who wast thou said i and why only thou dost renew these praises well deserved not without recompense shall be thy word if i return to finish the short journey of that life which is flying to its end and he i tell thee not for any comfort i may expect from earth but that so much grace shines in thee or ever thou art dead i was the root of that malignant plant which overshadows all the christian world so that good fruit is seldom gathered from it but if douay and ghent and le lim brugs had power soon vengeance would be taken on it and this i pray of him who judges all hugh capet was i called upon the earth from me were born the louises and phillips by whom in later days has france been governed i was the son of a parisian butcher what time the ancient kings had perished all excepting one contrite in cloth of grey I found me grasping in my hands the reign of the realm's government, and so great power of new quests, and so with friends abounding, that to the widowed diadem promoted the head of mine own offspring was, from whom the consecrated bones of these began.

So long as the great dowry of province out of my blood took not the sense of shame, 'twas little worth, but still it did no harm.

Then it began with falsehood and with force its repeat, and thereafter for amends took Pontiu, Normandy, and Gascony.

And more coruscant with slower steps the sun was holding the meridian circle, which with the point of view shifts here and there when halted, as he cometh to a halt who goes before a squadron as its escort, if something new he find upon his way.

The ladies seven at a dark shadow's edge, such as, beneath green leaves and branches black, the Alp upon its frigid border wears.

In front of them the Tigris and Euphrates methought I saw forth issue from one fountain, and slowly part like friends from one another.

O light, O glory of the human race, what stream is this which here unfolds itself from out one source and from itself withdraws? For such a prayer twas said unto me, Pray Matilda that she tell thee, and here answered as one does who doth free himself from blame, the beautiful lady.