The Quotations of Republican Drama in Priscian’s Treatise De Metris Fabularum Terentii

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to draw attention to an unnoticed feature of the arrangement of Priscian’s treatise De metris fabularum Terentii and to speculate upon the origin of the quotations of republican drama contained in this treatise.Priscianus of Caesarea in Mauretania taught Latin at Constantinople during the reign of Anastasius (491-518), a period when literary culture was in steep decline throughout the Latin-speaking Western Mediterranean. The mass of the population of Constantinople was probably Greek, at least in language, from the time of the city’s foundation but Constantine intended its public institutions to be Roman, and the emperors of the fifth and sixth centuries, most of whom either came from Latin-speaking communities or had received their principal education in Latin, jealously preserved the formal links with old Roman tradition. The Latin language remained in regular use in the army and the civil service until the time of Justinian. The latter even published his codification of the law in this language, although he issued most of his nouellae in Greek. Latin maintained itself longest on the coinage. Theodosius II made careful provision for the teaching of Latin grammar and rhetoric when he organized a state university in 425. The royal library, which lost 120,000 volumes in the fire of 475, possessed Latin as well as Greek works. At least three noted Latin grammarians, Euanthius, Charisius and Cledonius, taught at Constantinople before Priscian’s time.