Publius Terentius Afer ( / t ə ˈ r ɛ n ʃ i ə s , - ʃ ə s / ; c. 195/185 – c. 159 BC ), better known in English as Terence ( / ˈ t ɛr ə n s / ), was a playwright during the Roman Republic . He was the author of six comedies based on Greek originals by Menander or Apollodorus of Carystus . All six of Terence's plays survive complete and were originally produced between 166–160 BC.
113-737: For the Roman playwright, see Terence . [REDACTED] Look up Terrance in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Terrance is a given name . Notable people with the name include: People [ edit ] Terrance Brennan , American chef and restaurateur Terrance Carroll (born 1969), American lawyer, minister, Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives Terrance Cauthen (born 1976), American boxer Terrance Christopher , OMM, LVO, CD, retired Canadian Naval Officer, former Usher of
226-541: A denarius , a coin containing a much larger quantity of silver, so that the price paid for the Eunuchus was really 32,000 sesterces. When he was about the age of 25 (or, according to some manuscripts, 35), Terence travelled to Greece or Asia and never returned. Suetonius' sources disagree about the motive and destination of Terence's voyage, as well as about whether he died of illness in Greece, or died by shipwreck on
339-477: A power law distribution . Since about 1800 in England and Wales and in the U.S., the popularity distribution of given names has been shifting so that the most popular names are losing popularity. For example, in England and Wales, the most popular female and male names given to babies born in 1800 were Mary and John, with 24% of female babies and 22% of male babies receiving those names, respectively. In contrast,
452-536: A Simplicity and an elegance, that makes him proper to be accurately studied, as A Model." This was declined, as John Quincy believed his teacher would not like him to have a translation "because when I shall translate him he would desire that I might do it without help." John Quincy eventually read the Andria over three evenings in February 1786, and was not impressed with the pace of his Harvard class, which finished
565-858: A Terentian performance in the 9th century (possibly earlier). Beatus Rhenanus writes that Erasmus , gifted in his youth with a tenacious memory, held Terence's comedies as closely as his fingers and toes. In the De ratione studii (1511), a central text for European curricula, Erasmus wrote, "among Latin authors, who is more useful for learning to speak than Terence? He is pure, concise, and near to everyday conversation, and pleasant to youth as well for his genre of plot." Martin Luther wrote that "I love Terence" and considered his comedies useful not only to help schoolboys improve their language skills, but also to teach them about society, because Terence "saw how it goes with people"; even if there were some "obscene" passages in
678-427: A better text than Σ, which has a number of changes designed perhaps to make Terence easier to read in schools. Both A and the now lost Σ are believed to be derived from an even earlier archetype known as Φ ( phi ), the date of which is unknown. In addition to these manuscripts there are also certain commentaries, glossaries, and quotations in ancient writers and grammarians which sometimes assist editors in establishing
791-611: A character from the movie Splash . Lara and Larissa were rare in America before the appearance of Doctor Zhivago , and have become fairly common since. Songs can influence the naming of children. Jude jumped from 814th most popular male name in 1968 to 668th in 1969, following the release of the Beatles ' " Hey Jude ". Similarly, Layla charted as 969th most popular in 1972 after the Eric Clapton song. It had not been in
904-531: A character in the 1985 American adventure comedy film Pee-wee's Big Adventure Terrance Henry Stoot , Canadian surgeon and comedian from Toronto in the American animated sitcom South Park See also [ edit ] Terance , given name Terence (given name) [REDACTED] Name list This page or section lists people that share the same given name . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to
1017-471: A common surname . The term given name refers to a name usually bestowed at or close to the time of birth, usually by the parents of the newborn. A Christian name is the first name which is given at baptism , in Christian custom. In informal situations, given names are often used in a familiar and friendly manner. In more formal situations, a person's surname is more commonly used. The idioms ' on
1130-567: A comprehensive study of Norwegian first name datasets shows that the main factors that govern first name dynamics are endogenous . Monitoring the popularity of 1,000 names over 130 years, the authors have identified only five cases of exogenous effects, three of them are connected to the names given to the babies of the Norwegian royal family. Since the civil rights movement of 1950–1970, African-American names given to children have strongly mirrored sociopolitical movements and philosophies in
1243-434: A core school author while other Republican authors were displaced from the curriculum by Vergil and other Augustan poets. By the late 4th Century AD, Terence had become one of the four main canonical school authors (the others being Cicero , Sallust , and Vergil ), canonised in a celebrated work by Arusianus Messius , and later referred to by Cassiodorus as "Messius' quadriga ." St Jerome , St Augustine of Hippo , and
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#17327874532791356-623: A cornerback in many teams Terrance Simien (born 1965), American zydeco musician, vocalist and songwriter Terrance Simmons (born 1976), former American football defensive tackle Terrance Taylor (American football) (born 1986), American football defensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts Terrance Thomas (born 1980), American professional basketball player Terrance Zdunich , American actor, writer, composer, and storyboard artist Fictional characters [ edit ] Terrance "Terry" Hawthorne,
1469-426: A crown or entering a religious order; such a person then typically becomes known chiefly by that name. The order given name – family name , commonly known as Western name order , is used throughout most European countries and in countries that have cultures predominantly influenced by European culture, including North and South America ; North , East , Central and West India ; Australia , New Zealand , and
1582-737: A daughter who later married a Roman knight, and was said to have left 20 acres of gardens on the Appian Way, a report contradicted by another of Suetonius' sources who says that Terence died poor. Ancient biographers' reports that Terence was born in Africa may be an inference from his name and not independent biographical information. His cognomen Afer ("the [North] African") may indicate that Terence hailed from ancient Libya . However, such names did not necessarily denote origin, and there were Romans who had this cognomen who were not Africans, such as Domitius Afer . It has often been asserted on
1695-404: A detrimental influence on students' morals, but praised his father's project, writing, "You have indeed skimmed the cream of Terence and sent it to my boys—I trust they will preserve it and that it will aid them in drawing all the solid benefit from the amanuensis of Laelius and Scipio, which he can afford to their future lives." When Adams sent his grandson Charles Francis Adams his excerpts from
1808-495: A family in the manner of American English Seniors, Juniors , III , etc. Similarly, it is considered disadvantageous for the child to bear a name already made famous by someone else through romanizations , where a common name like Liu Xiang may be borne by tens of thousands. Korean names and Vietnamese names are often simply conventions derived from Classical Chinese counterparts. Many female Japanese names end in -ko ( 子 ), usually meaning "child" on its own. However,
1921-404: A first-name basis ' and 'being on first-name terms' refer to the familiarity inherent in addressing someone by their given name. By contrast, a surname (also known as a family name, last name, or gentile name ) is normally inherited and shared with other members of one's immediate family. Regnal names and religious or monastic names are special given names bestowed upon someone receiving
2034-482: A hyphenated style like Bengt-Arne . A middle name might be part of a compound given name or might be, instead, a maiden name , a patronymic , or a baptismal name . In England, it was unusual for a person to have more than one given name until the seventeenth century when Charles James Stuart ( King Charles I ) was baptised with two names. That was a French fashion, which spread to the English aristocracy, following
2147-455: A limited repertoire of names that sometimes vary by orthography . The most familiar example of this, to Western readers, is the use of Biblical and saints' names in most of the Christian countries (with Ethiopia, in which names were often ideals or abstractions—Haile Selassie, "power of the Trinity"; Haile Miriam, "power of Mary"—as the most conspicuous exception). However, the name Jesus
2260-427: A man entering a brothel disguised as a lover in order to win a woman to repentance and a life of continence. Robert Talbot reads Hrotsvit's plays as a Christian allegorisation of Terence designed to rehabilitate the comedies themselves, as Hrotsvit's reconfiguration of the genre to demonstrate the superiority of heavenly love to earthly love will enable readers to read Terence in a new way, with their minds directed from
2373-605: A manuscript that is now in the Laurentian Library . The first printed edition of Terence appeared in Strasbourg in 1470, while the first certain post-antique performance of one of Terence's plays, Andria , took place in Florence in 1476. There is evidence, however, that Terence was performed much earlier. The short dialogue Terentius et delusor was probably written to be performed as an introduction to
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#17327874532792486-404: A month-long project to go through the plays excerpting approximately 140 passages that he considered illustrative of human nature as it is the same in all ages and countries, adding translations and comments explaining the moral lessons his grandsons should draw from the texts. John Quincy believed the manners and plots of Terence's plays were too remote from modern life for there to be a danger of
2599-480: A name because of its meaning. This may be a personal or familial meaning, such as giving a child the name of an admired person, or it may be an example of nominative determinism , in which the parents give the child a name that they believe will be lucky or favourable for the child. Given names most often derive from the following categories: In many cultures, given names are reused, especially to commemorate ancestors or those who are particularly admired, resulting in
2712-458: A pair of young men in love (in the Hecyra there is only one young man, who is already married, but who suspects his wife of infidelity). In all the plays there are two girls involved, one a citizen woman, the other a prostitute. In four of the plays a recognition ( anagnorisis or anagnorismos ) occurs which proves that one of the girls is the long-lost daughter of a respectable citizen, thus making
2825-416: A pivotal character in his epic prose work, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia ; Jessica , created by William Shakespeare in his play The Merchant of Venice ; Vanessa , created by Jonathan Swift ; Fiona , a character from James Macpherson 's spurious cycle of Ossian poems; Wendy , an obscure name popularised by J. M. Barrie in his play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up ; and Madison ,
2938-552: A place as one of the four authors taught to all grammar pupils in the Western Roman Empire , and retained a central place in the European school curriculum until the 19th Century, exercising a formative influence on authors such as William Shakespeare and Molière . The manuscripts of Terence's plays contain didascaliae , or production notices, recording the dates, occasions, and personnel of early productions of
3051-503: A practice adopted from Greek paedagogy, and Terence was a rich source of such sententiae. Scores of Terentian maxims enjoyed such currency in late antiquity that they often lost nominal association with their author, with those who quoted Terence qualifying his words as a common proverb. Through the Middle Ages, Terence was frequently quoted as an authority on human nature and the mores of men, without regard for which character spoke
3164-466: A rival poet as "old" ( Hau. 23), that Terence was young when he wrote his plays in the 160s. Suetonius' statement that Terence died at about the age of 25 in 159 BC would imply that he was born in 184 BC, the same year as the death of Plautus , and was only 18 years old when he produced his first play. The variant reading that Terence was in his 30s when he died suggests instead that he was born ten years earlier in 194, which would appear to be supported by
3277-539: A separate, shorter work on the same subject which in some manuscripts begins with the heading De comoedia. Friedrich Lindenbrog [ de ] was able to identify the De fabula as the work of an earlier commentator on Terence named Evanthius (probably identical with the grammarian Evanthius said in Jerome's Chronicon to have died at Constantinople in AD 358) because the grammarian Rufinus of Antioch (5th cent. AD), in
3390-511: A slave, where he gained an education and his freedom; around the age of 25, Terence is said to have made a voyage to the east in search of inspiration for his plays, where he died either of disease in Greece, or by shipwreck on the return voyage. However, Terence's traditional biography is often thought to consist of speculation by ancient scholars who lived too long after Terence to have access to reliable facts about his life. Terence's plays quickly became standard school texts. He ultimately secured
3503-411: A style of play-writing that Terence considered old-fashioned rather than to advanced age. Terence's judgement of Luscius' work is that "by translating them well and writing them badly, he has made good Greek plays into Latin ones that aren't good" ( Eu. 7–8), and that Luscius' theatrical successes were due more to the efforts of the actors than of the author. ( Ph. 9–11) According to Suetonius, Terence
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3616-455: A suspiciously similar story is told about the tragedians Accius and Pacuvius ; and Jerome 's statement that Caecilius died the year after Ennius implies that Caecilius died two years before Andria was produced. However, Thomas Carney argues that Jerome's dating of Caecilius' death is not above suspicion, and besides, a delay of several years between this meeting and production is entirely plausible, as Caecilius may have been impressed by
3729-630: A typical schoolboy at the age of 9 would begin to memorise a great part, if not all, of Terence. A quote from the Eunuchus in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew is not taken direct from the play, but quoted in a form in which it is found in William Lily 's Latin Grammar and Nicholas Udall 's Floures for Latine spekynge, with the syntax adapted to form an independent sentence. However,
3842-412: A woman is taken by the girl who triumphs by resisting all advances (or a prostitute who abandons her former life), and a happy ending lies not in the consummation of the young couple's marriage, but in a figurative marriage to Christ. Whereas in the Eunuchus, Chaerea entered a courtesan's home disguised as a eunuch to gain access to his beloved, two of Hrotsvit's plays ( Abraham and Paphnutius ) feature
3955-624: A work On the Metres of Terence, quotes the De fabula and ascribes it to Evanthius. Evanthius' work is otherwise lost. The De comoedia has continued to be considered the work of Donatus. The manuscripts of Terence can be divided into two main groups. One group has just one representative, the Codex Bembinus (known as A), dating to the 4th or early 5th century AD, and kept in the Vatican library. This book, written in rustic capitals,
4068-534: Is attributed to one Eugraphius, of whom nothing is known but his authorship of this commentary. Donatus' commentary on the Heauton timorumenos is lacking, but his references to this play in his commentary on other parts of the corpus and Eugraphius' commentary help to make up the gap. In its extant form, Donatus' commentary is prefaced by Suetonius' Vita Terenti, a short essay on the genre of comedy and its differences from tragedy now commonly called De fabula, and
4181-499: Is considered taboo or sacrilegious in some parts of the Christian world , though this taboo does not extend to the cognate Joshua or related forms which are common in many languages even among Christians. In some Spanish-speaking countries, the name Jesus is considered a normal given name. Similarly, the name Mary , now popular among Christians, particularly Roman Catholics , was considered too holy for secular use until about
4294-412: Is considered offensive, or if it is deemed impractical. In France, the agency can refer the case to a local judge. Some jurisdictions, such as Sweden, restrict the spelling of names. In Denmark, one does not need to register a given name for the child until the child is six months old, and in some cases, one can even wait a little longer than this before the child gets an official name. Parents may choose
4407-406: Is improbable that Terence worked at such a rate after having previously finished less than one play a year, and some editors delete the number, supposing that the numeral CVIII is simply a double copying of the preposition CVM, subsequently rationalised as a number. Terence was said to have been of "moderate height, slender, and of dark complexion." Suetonius' description of Terence's complexion
4520-437: Is known of this individual. They date from the 9th century onwards and are written in minuscule letters. This group can be subdivided into three classes. The first class, known as γ ( gamma ), dates to the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries and includes manuscripts P (Parisinus), C (Vaticanus), and possibly F (Ambrosianus), and E (Riccardianus) among others. They have the plays in the order An., Eu., Hau., Ad., Hec., Ph. . Manuscript C
4633-406: Is likely an inference from his supposed African origin, and his description of the poet's physique may have originated as a metaphor for the "lightness" of his verse style, just as the poet Philitas of Cos was said to have weighted his shoes with lead lest he blow away in the wind. Likenesses of Terence found in medieval manuscripts have no authenticity. Suetonius says that Terence was survived by
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4746-722: Is named after him) Terrance Lindall (born 1944), American artist who was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota Terrance Odean , professor of banking and finance at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley Terrance Parks (born 1990), American football player Terrance Pennington (born 1983), American football guard and offensive tackle for the New York Giants Terrance Roberson (born 1976), American professional basketball player Terrance Shaw (born 1973), played as
4859-461: Is one of the earliest surviving manuscripts of any Latin writer. It has the plays in the order An., Eu., Hau., Ph., Hec., Ad. Three small fragments of similar antiquity survive as well. Approximately 650 manuscripts exist of later date. These are often known as the "Calliopian" manuscripts, based on subscriptions to the plays found in several of the earlier manuscripts indicating the text had been corrected by someone named Calliopius; nothing further
4972-940: Is predominant. Also, a particular spelling is often more common for either men or women, even if the pronunciation is the same. Many culture groups, past and present, did not or do not gender their names strongly; thus, many or all of their names are unisex. On the other hand, in many languages including most Indo-European languages (but not English), gender is inherent in the grammar. Some countries have laws preventing unisex names , requiring parents to give their children sex-specific names. Names may have different gender connotations from country to country or language to language. Within anthroponymic classification, names of human males are called andronyms (from Ancient Greek ἀνήρ / man, and ὄνυμα [ὄνομα] / name), while names of human females are called gynonyms (from Ancient Greek γυνή / woman, and ὄνυμα [ὄνομα] / name). The popularity (frequency) distribution of given names typically follows
5085-597: Is the Baby Name Game that uses the Elo rating system to rank parents preferred names and help them select one. Popular culture appears to have an influence on naming trends, at least in the United States and United Kingdom. Newly famous celebrities and public figures may influence the popularity of names. For example, in 2004, the names "Keira" and "Kiera" (anglicisation of Irish name Ciara) respectively became
5198-402: Is the famous Codex Vaticanus Latinus 3868 , which has illustrations which seem to be copied from originals dating in style to the mid-third century. Another group, known as δ ( delta ), has the plays in alphabetical order: An., Ad., Eu., Ph. (=F), Hau., Hec. This consists of 3 or 4 10th-century manuscripts: D (Victorianus), G (Decurtatus), p (Parisinus), and perhaps also L (Lipsiensis). All
5311-546: Is the official naming order used in Arabic countries (for example Saudi Arabia , Iraq and United Arab Emirates ). In many Western cultures , people often have multiple given names. Most often the first one in sequence is the one that a person goes by, although exceptions are not uncommon, such as in the cases of John Edgar Hoover (J. Edgar) and Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland (Barbara). The given name might also be used in compound form, as in, for example, John Paul or
5424-514: The Confessions about his school days, he quotes the scene from the Eunuchus where Chaerea recounts how he and Pamphila looked together at a painting of Zeus intruding in the home of Danaë , after which Chaerea, emboldened by the example of the pagan god, took the opportunity to rape Pamphila. Augustine argues that it is not necessary for students to be exposed to such "vileness" ( turpitudo ) merely to learn vocabulary and eloquence. In
5537-588: The Adelphoe. According to the didascaliae, each of Terence's plays was originally produced by the acting company of Lucius Ambivius Turpio , and musical accompaniment for each of the plays was provided by a tibicen named Flaccus, a slave in the service of a certain Claudius. The traditional and generally accepted chronology of the plays established according to the didascaliae is as follows: The didascalia for each play also identifies its position in
5650-933: The Philippines . The order family name – given name , commonly known as Eastern name order , is primarily used in East Asia (for example in China , Japan , Korea , Taiwan , Singapore , and Vietnam , among others, and by Malaysian Chinese ), as well as in Southern and North-Eastern parts of India , and as a standard in Hungary . This order is also used to various degrees and in specific contexts in other European countries, such as Austria and adjacent areas of Germany (that is, Bavaria ), and in France , Switzerland , Belgium , Greece and Italy , possibly because of
5763-666: The Phormio, he remarked, "in these Plays of Terence ... Are not the Slaves Superior Beings to the Citizens? Every Smart Expression; every brilliant Image, every Moral Sentiment is in the Mouth of a Slave." In 1834, when Charles read the works of Terence, copying in his grandfather's comments and making other notes, he responded, "In returning to answer these questions, I must disagree with the sentiment. I cannot overlook
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#17327874532795876-479: The Southern United States . Double names are also common among Vietnamese names to make repeated name in the family. For example, Đặng Vũ Minh Anh and Đặng Vũ Minh Ánh, are two sisters with the given names Minh Anh and Minh Ánh. Sometimes, a given name is used as just an initial, especially in combination with the middle initial (such as with H. G. Wells ), and more rarely as an initial while
5989-475: The Vita attributes the claim to Q. Cosconius that Terence died by shipwreck while returning from Greece "cum C et VIII fabulis conversis a Menandro," an expression interpreted by some to refer to 108 new plays that Terence had adapted from Menander, but by Carney as "108 stories dramatised by Menander," who is credited with having written exactly this number of plays. If this number refers to new Terentian plays, it
6102-442: The aediles , they bade him first read it to Caecilius . Terence, shabbily dressed, went to the older poet's house when he was dining, and when Caecilius had heard only a few lines, he invited the young man to join him for the meal. The historicity of this meeting has been doubted on the grounds that it is improbable Terence, with his aristocratic patrons, would have been unable to dress himself decently for such an important interview;
6215-457: The unity of time or other ancient dramatic conventions, it has been argued that Terence's influence on Hrotsvit is superficial, and the only similarity between them is that they each wrote six plays. Hrotsvit's indebtedness to Terence lies rather in situations and subject matter, transposed to invert the Terentian plot and its values; the place of the Terentian hero who successfully pursues
6328-420: The 10th Century, Hrotsvit of Gandersheim wrote six plays based on the lives of Christian saints, on the model of the six comedies of Terence. In a preface explaining her purpose in writing, Hrotsvit takes up Augustine's critique of the moral influence of the comedies, saying that many Christians attracted by Terence's style find themselves corrupted by his subject matter, and she has undertaken to write works in
6441-694: The 12th century. In countries that particularly venerated Mary, this remained the case much longer; in Poland, until the arrival in the 17th century of French queens named Marie. Most common given names in English (and many other European languages) can be grouped into broad categories based on their origin: Frequently, a given name has versions in many languages. For example, the biblical name Susanna also occurs in its original biblical Hebrew version, Shoshannah , its Spanish and Portuguese version Susana , its French version, Suzanne , its Polish version, Zuzanna , or its Hungarian version, Zsuzsanna . Despite
6554-425: The 2nd Century BC, Terence had been established as a literary "classic" and a standard school text. Cicero (born 106 BC) recalls that when he was a boy, his education in rhetoric included an assignment to recount Simo's narrative from the first scene of the Andria in his own words. Throughout the imperial period, Terence was second only to Vergil as the most widely known and read of Latin poets, and he remained
6667-875: The 38th and current Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate Terrance Hayes (born 1971), prize-winning poet, born in Columbia, South Carolina Terrance Hobbs (born 1970), lead guitarist in the New York Death Metal band Suffocation Terrance Jamison , American football coach and former player Terrance Knighton (born 1986), American football defensive tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars Terrance B. Lettsome (1935–2007), politician (main British Virgin Islands airport
6780-479: The 51st and 92nd most popular girls' names in the UK, following the rise in popularity of British actress Keira Knightley . In 2001, the use of Colby as a boys' name for babies in the United States jumped from 233rd place to 99th, just after Colby Donaldson was the runner-up on Survivor: The Australian Outback . Also, the female name "Miley" which before was not in the top 1000 was 278th most popular in 2007, following
6893-761: The Black Rod for the Senate of Canada Terrance Copper (born 1982), American football wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs Terrance John Cox , also known as TJ Cox (born 1963), American engineer and politician Terrance Dean Black American Writer Terrance Dicks (1935–2019), English writer, best known for his work in TV and children's books Terrance Dotsy (born 1981), American football player Terrance T. Etnyre , United States Vice Admiral Terrance W. Gainer (born 1947),
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#17327874532797006-526: The Italiote Greek population enslaved by Hannibal, as this would explain his proficiency in Latin and Greek. F. H. Sandbach notes that in the modern world, it is rare, but not entirely unknown, for an author to achieve literary distinction in a second language. Terence's date of birth is uncertain, though Sesto Prete infers from Terence's characterisation of himself as a "new" writer ( Eu. 43), and of
7119-670: The Roman calendar ran some two and a half months ahead of the Sun in the 160s, Terence's plays that premiered at the Megalensia, though officially scheduled in April, would actually have premiered in late January. There was no permanent theatre in Rome until the construction of the Theatre of Pompey in 55 BC, and Terence's plays would have been performed on temporary wooden stages constructed for
7232-576: The basis of the name that Terence was of Berber descent, as the Romans distinguished between Berbers, called Afri in Latin, and Carthaginians, called Poeni. However, lexicographic evidence does not support the validity of this distinction during Terence's lifetime. If Terence was born as a slave in Carthage, it is possible his mother was an ethnic Italian brought there as a war captive by Hannibal . Carney argues that Terence must have been born from
7345-738: The character when used in given names can have a feminine (adult) connotation. In many Westernised Asian locations, many Asians also have an unofficial or even registered Western (typically English) given name, in addition to their Asian given name. This is also true for Asian students at colleges in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia as well as among international businesspeople. Most names in English are traditionally masculine (Hugo, James, Harold) or feminine (Daphne, Charlotte, Jane), but there are unisex names as well, such as Jordan , Jamie , Jesse , Morgan , Leslie/ Lesley , Joe / Jo , Jackie , Pat , Dana, Alex, Chris / Kris , Randy / Randi , Lee , etc. Often, use for one gender
7458-604: The characters of Menedemus and Chremes, of Micio and Demea which contain more moral sentiment than all the Slaves in the six Plays." American playwright Thornton Wilder based his novel The Woman of Andros on Terence's Andria . Due to his cognomen Afer, Terence has long been identified with Africa and heralded as the first poet of the African diaspora by generations of writers, including Juan Latino , Alexandre Dumas , Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou . Phyllis Wheatley ,
7571-504: The comedies, Luther insisted that they were no less appropriate for young people to read without censorship than the Bible, which "contains amatory things everywhere." The indexes of the Weimar edition of Martin Luther's works note nearly 200 references to Terence and his plays. The preservation of Terence through the church enabled his work to influence much of later Western drama. Two of
7684-485: The consuls in 106 BC, which would be the last attested production of Terence before the Renaissance, though the consuls of 141 BC had similar names. The Greek plays which provided the Roman comedians with their material typically had a prologue which either preceded the play, or interrupted the first act after one or two scenes. In the plays of Plautus, the prologue usually, but not invariably, provides exposition of
7797-454: The corpus by chronological order. The didascaliae state that Eunuchus was the second play ( facta II ), and Heauton timorumenos was the third ( facta III ), testimony seemingly contradicted by the dates of production, as well as by Donatus' statement that the Eunuchus was "published third" ( edita tertium ). Some scholars have explained the discrepancy by positing an unsuccessful production of Eunuchus in 165 or 164 BC, or by interpreting
7910-676: The corresponding statistics for England and Wales in 1994 were Emily and James, with 3% and 4% of names, respectively. Not only have Mary and John gone out of favour in the English-speaking world, but the overall distribution of names has also changed significantly over the last 100 years for females, but not for males. This has led to an increasing amount of diversity for female names. Education, ethnicity, religion, class and political ideology affect parents' choice of names. Politically conservative parents choose common and traditional names, while politically liberal parents may choose
8023-493: The darkest ages of learning," a remark approved by E. K. Chambers , but Paul Theiner takes issue with this, suggesting that it is more appropriate to attribute "a charmed life" to authors who survived the Middle Ages by chance in a few manuscripts found in isolated libraries, whereas the broad and constant popularity of Terence "rendered elfin administrations quite unnecessary." Roman students learning to write would regularly be assigned to copy edifying sententiae, or "maxims,"
8136-409: The earliest English comedies, the 16th-century Ralph Roister Doister and Gammer Gurton's Needle , are thought to parody Terence's plays. Montaigne and Molière cite and imitate him. Based on what is known about a typical curriculum at a grammar school such as William Shakespeare went to, it may be considered certain that Shakespeare must have studied Terence as a boy. In Shakespeare's day,
8249-506: The examples above—the two characters together may mean nothing at all. Instead, they may be selected to include particular sounds, tones , or radicals ; to balance the Chinese elements of a child's birth chart ; or to honor a generation poem handed down through the family for centuries. Traditionally, it is considered an affront , not an honor, to have a newborn named after an older relative and so full names are rarely passed down through
8362-515: The families of both parents. The order given name – mother's family name – father's family name is commonly used in Portuguese -speaking countries to acknowledge the families of both parents. Today, people in Spain and Uruguay can rearrange the order of their names legally to this order. The order given name - father's given name - grandfather's given name (often referred to as triple name )
8475-524: The first published African-American poet, asked why the Muses had inspired "one alone of Afric's sable race." Thomas Jefferson , on the other hand, in an attempt to prove that African-Americans were naturally incapable of poetry, claimed that Terence had been "of the race of whites." Two of his plays were produced in Denver with black actors. Questions as to whether Terence received assistance in writing or
8588-401: The foundations for his art. Terence's plays were a standard part of the Latin curriculum of the neoclassical period. In a letter prescribing a course of education for his nephew Peter Carr , Thomas Jefferson listed Terence among classical poets Carr already had read or would read at school. Jefferson copied four extracts from the Andria into his literary commonplace book , seemingly in
8701-591: The indebtedness of the character of Armado in Love's Labour's Lost to Thraso in the Eunuchus points to Shakespeare's familiarity with the play as a whole. Chaerea's exultation upon coming out of Thais' house after the rape, declaring himself content to die in that blissful moment, also seems to be echoed in Othello II.1 and The Merry Wives of Windsor III.3. Shakespeare's encounter with Terence in grammar school introduced him to comedy and scenic structure, laying
8814-447: The influence of bureaucracy, which commonly puts the family name before the given name. In China and Korea, part of the given name may be shared among all members of a given generation within a family and extended family or families, in order to differentiate those generations from other generations. The order given name – father's family name – mother's family name is commonly used in several Spanish -speaking countries to acknowledge
8927-458: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Terrance&oldid=1219248784 " Category : Given names Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata All set index articles Terence According to ancient authors, Terence was born in Carthage and was brought to Rome as
9040-454: The late 1760s and 1770s, and the presence of three different editions of Terence in the carefully selected second Monticello library is a clear indication that Terence formed a part of Jefferson's retirement reading. In 1781, John Adams offered his son John Quincy Adams a copy of Anne Dacier 's edition of Terence with a parallel French translation, writing, "Terence is remarkable, for good Morals, good Taste and good Latin—his Language has
9153-456: The line or the original dramatic context, as long as the quotation was sententious in itself when separated from the rest of the play. Augustine was a lifelong admirer of Terence's observations on the human condition, and 38 quotations from 28 distinct passages of Terence have been identified in Augustine's works. Notwithstanding his respect for Terence's moralising, when Augustine writes in
9266-435: The middle name is not one (such as with L. Ron Hubbard ). A child's given name or names are usually chosen by the parents soon after birth. If a name is not assigned at birth, one may be given at a naming ceremony , with family and friends in attendance. In most jurisdictions, a child's name at birth is a matter of public record, inscribed on a birth certificate , or its equivalent. In Western cultures, people normally retain
9379-505: The names of literary characters or other relatively obscure cultural figures. Devout members of religions often choose names from their religious scriptures. For example, Hindu parents may name a daughter Saanvi after the goddess, Jewish parents may name a boy Isaac after one of the earliest ancestral figures, and Muslim parents may name a boy Mohammed after the prophet Mohammed . There are many tools parents can use to choose names, including books, websites and applications. An example
9492-692: The narrative given by Suetonius' sources is often construed as conjecture based on the play texts and didascaliae. In the 2nd Century BC, plays were regular features of four annual Roman festivals: the Ludi Romani (September), the Ludi Plebeii (November), the Ludi Apollinares (July), and the Ludi Megalenses (April); plays would also be staged at votive games, triumphs , and the more elaborate aristocratic funerals. Because
9605-582: The notes in order to reconstitute the commentary as a separate book, incorporating extraneous material in the process, assigning notes to verses where they did not originally belong, or including material that had been otherwise changed in the course of transmission. Citations from Donatus' commentary which are not found in the extant redaction occur in Priscian and in scholia to the Codex Bembinus and Codex Victorianus. Another ancient commentary
9718-455: The novice playwright's work even while the discussion showed Terence the need for revision. R. C. Flickinger argues that the reported state of Terence's clothing shows that he had not yet become acquainted with his rich and influential patrons at the time of this meeting, and it was precisely Caecilius' death shortly thereafter, and the consequent loss of his support, which caused a two-year delay in production. All six of Terence's plays pleased
9831-435: The numbering in reference to the order of composition rather than the order of production. The didascalic numbering, seemingly discounting the unsuccessful productions of Hecyra, reckons it the fifth play. The didascaliae also appear to record some information about revival performances at least as late as the 140s. Patrick Tansey has argued that the didascalia to Phormio in the codex Bembinus contains garbled names of
9944-405: The occasion. The limited space available would probably have accommodated an audience of less than 2,000 persons at a given performance. Admission was free to the entire population, seemingly on a first-come-first-served basis, except for the reservation of seats for members of the Senate after 194 BC; descriptions of 2nd Century theatre audiences refer to the presence of women, children, slaves, and
10057-534: The original reading. The best known of these is the Commentum Terenti , a commentary by the 4th-century grammarian Aelius Donatus , which is often helpful, although the part dealing with the Heauton Timorumenos is missing. At a relatively early date, Terence's play texts began to circulate as literary works for a reading public, as opposed to scripts for the use of actors. By the end of
10170-434: The people; the Eunuchus earned 8,000 nummi, the highest price that had ever been paid for a comedy at Rome, and was acted twice in the same day. Donatus, who appears to understand that Terence himself received this entire amount, interprets the price that Suetonius says was paid for the Eunuchus as 8,000 sesterces . However, Dwora Gilula argues that the term nummus, inscribed on the title page in 161 BC, would refer to
10283-545: The play three months later. He recorded in his diary that "The Play is interesting, and many of the Sentiments are fine", and though he found the plot highly improbable, "the Critic can never find Perfection, and the person that is willing to be pleased with what he reads, is happier than he who is always looking for faults." In 1816, John Quincy's son George Washington Adams performed in a school production of Andria in
10396-574: The plays, and identifying the author of the Greek original. Other traditional information about the life of Terence derives from the Vita Terenti, a biography preserved in Aelius Donatus ' commentary, and attributed by him to Suetonius . However, it is not likely that Terence's contemporaries would have considered a dramatist important enough to write down his biography for posterity, and
10509-474: The plot; Terence abandons the traditional expository function of the prologue entirely and uses it to provide a different kind of entertainment centring on replies to criticism of his work. Terence particularly refers the "slanders" he has suffered to a certain "old" and "spiteful" poet. Because Terence says this man was the translator of Menander's Phasma and Thesaurus ( Eu. 9–10), Donatus (or an earlier commentator from whom Donatus gleaned this information)
10622-471: The pupils of a "grammarian" friend of St Sidonius Apollinaris were all set to read the Eunuchus in school, and in another of his letters, Sidonius describes reading the Hecyra together with his son at home. Terence was one of the few canonical classical authors to maintain a continuous presence in medieval literacy, and the large number of surviving manuscripts bears witness to his great popularity. Adolphus Ward said that Terence led "a charmed life in
10735-468: The remaining manuscripts belong to the "mixed" group and contain readings copied from both γ and δ, and so are of little value in establishing the text. It is thought that the γ group and the δ group go back to two archetypes, both now lost, called Γ ( Gamma ) and Δ ( Delta ), and that both of these were copied from a single archetype, also now lost, known as Σ ( sigma ). According to A. J. Brothers, manuscript A, although it contains some errors, generally has
10848-401: The return voyage. Suetonius places Terence's death "in the consulship of Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella and Marcus Fulvius Nobilior," i.e., in 159 BC. It is possible that the fateful voyage to Greece was a speculative explanation of why he wrote so few plays inferred from Terence's complaint in Eunuchus 41–3 about the limited materials at his disposal. As transmitted in the manuscript tradition,
10961-596: The rise to fame of singer-actress Miley Cyrus (who was named Destiny at birth). Characters from fiction also seem to influence naming. After the name Kayla was used for a character on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives , the name's popularity increased greatly. The name Tammy , and the related Tamara became popular after the movie Tammy and the Bachelor came out in 1957. Some names were established or spread by being used in literature. Notable examples include Pamela , invented by Sir Philip Sidney for
11074-562: The role of the old man Crito, to the relief of the family, who had worried he might be given a less "respectable" part. George's grandmother Abigail Adams , having read the play, took exception to "the manners and morals". Grandfather John, after rereading all six of Terence's comedies, also expressed apprehension about whether they were fit to be taught or exhibited to impressionable youths, who lacked sufficient life experience to recognise certain characters and their deeds as morally repugnant and react appropriately. Accordingly, Adams undertook
11187-416: The royal example, then spread to the general population and became common by the end of the eighteenth century. Some double-given names for women were used at the start of the eighteenth century but were used together as a unit: Anna Maria, Mary Anne and Sarah Jane. Those became stereotyped as the typical names of servants and so became unfashionable in the nineteenth century. Double names remain popular in
11300-460: The same genre so that the literary form once used "to describe the shameless acts of licentious women" might be repurposed to glorify the chastity of holy virgins. As Terence's subject matter is trivial while Hrotsvit's is important, his plays are in verse while hers are in prose, her plays are written in the same style as other medieval literature and lack verbal reminiscences of Terence apart from some oaths and interjections, and she does not respect
11413-409: The same given name throughout their lives. However, in some cases these names may be changed by following legal processes or by repute. People may also change their names when immigrating from one country to another with different naming conventions. In certain jurisdictions, a government-appointed registrar of births may refuse to register a name for the reasons that it may cause a child harm, that it
11526-791: The sinful content to a higher Christian meaning. Hrotsvit did not exercise a significant influence on European literature before her works were rediscovered and printed in 1501. In the Divine Comedy , Dante 's guide Vergil tells him that Terence is in Limbo among the virtuous pagans ( Purg. XXII, 94–105), and shows him Thais, the character from the Eunuchus, in the eighth circle of hell where flatterers are punished. ( Inf. XVIII, 133–5) It has been claimed that Dante did not know Terence directly, and his references to Terence are derived from citations in Cicero or medieval florilegia. However, Terence
11639-437: The statement attributed to Fenestella that Terence was older than Scipio and Laelius. Jerome 's Chronicon places Terence's death in 158 BC. Like Plautus , Terence adapted Greek plays from the late phases of Attic comedy . Unlike Plautus though, Terence's way of writing his comedies was more in a simple conversational Latin, pleasant and direct, while less visually humorous to watch. Five of Terence's plays are about
11752-529: The top 1,000 before. Kayleigh became a particularly popular name in the United Kingdom following the release of a song by the British rock group Marillion . Government statistics in 2005 revealed that 96% of Kayleighs were born after 1985, the year in which Marillion released " Kayleigh ". Popular culture figures need not be admirable in order to influence naming trends. For example, Peyton came into
11865-478: The top 1000 as a female given name for babies in the United States for the first time in 1992 (at #583), immediately after it was featured as the name of an evil nanny in the film The Hand That Rocks the Cradle . On the other hand, historical events can influence child-naming. For example, the given name Adolf has fallen out of use since the end of World War II in 1945. In contrast with this anecdotal evidence,
11978-757: The uniformity of Chinese surnames , some Chinese given names are fairly original because Chinese characters can be combined extensively. Unlike European languages, with their Biblical and Greco-Roman heritage, the Chinese language does not have a particular set of words reserved for given names: any combination of Chinese characters can theoretically be used as a given name. Nonetheless, a number of popular characters commonly recur, including "Strong" ( 伟 , Wěi ), "Learned" ( 文 , Wén ), "Peaceful" ( 安 , Ān ), and "Beautiful" ( 美 , Měi ). Despite China's increasing urbanization, several names such as "Pine" ( 松 , Sōng ) or " Plum " ( 梅 , Méi ) also still reference nature. Most Chinese given names are two characters long and—despite
12091-525: The urban poor. In Greek New Comedy, from which the Roman comic tradition derived, actors wore masks which were conventionally associated with stock character types. Ancient authors make conflicting statements on whether Roman actors also wore masks in the time of Terence. For a time, Christian Hoffer's 1877 dissertation On the Use of Masks in Publius Terentius' Comedies won universal acceptance for
12204-402: The view that masks were not worn at the original performances of the plays of Terence. However, most more recent authorities consider it highly likely that Roman actors of Terence's time did wear masks when performing this kind of play, and "hard to believe" or even "inconceivable" that they did not. Donatus states that the actors wore masks in the original productions of the Eunuchus and
12317-492: The way free for her marriage. Terence's six plays are: Saint Jerome mentions in Contra Rufinum I.16 that "my teacher Donatus " had written a commentary on the comedies of Terence. Donatus' commentary does not survive in the form in which he originally wrote it. It is commonly believed that an unknown medieval scribe, using two or more manuscripts of Terence containing marginal notes excerpted from Donatus, copied
12430-475: Was able to identify him as Luscius Lanuvinus, although no names are used in the prologues. Nothing survives of Luscius' work save two lines of the Thesaurus quoted by Donatus, nor is anything known about Luscius independently of Terence's prologues except that Volcacius Sedigitus rated Luscius the ninth-best Latin comic poet (and Terence the sixth-best). Terence's description of Luscius as "old" may refer to
12543-435: Was born in Carthage . He came to Rome as a slave in the household of an otherwise unknown senator named P. Terentius Lucanus, who educated him and freed him because of his talent and good looks. Terence then took the nomen "Terentius" from his patron. Possibly winning noblemen's favour by his youthful beauty, Terence became a member of the so-called Scipionic Circle . When Terence offered his first play, Andria, to
12656-495: Was not the actual author have been debated over the ages, as described in the 1911 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica : Given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name ) is the part of a personal name that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a family or clan ) who have
12769-457: Was one of the most commonly read authors in the 14th Century, and Joseph Russo argues that considering the access Dante would have had to manuscripts of Terence and the desire he would have had to read Terence, the logical conclusion is that "Dante must have known Terence." Renaissance humanists delighted in Terence. Giovanni Boccaccio copied out in his own hand all of Terence's comedies in
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