Terence (Publius Terentius Afer). Comedies.
1651, Leiden: Franciscus Hackius (Frans Hacke), a renowned publisher and bookseller.

Description: 961 pages (pages in the preface and index are not paginated). 12º. 192 x 115 mm. Thin brownish paper with a watermark (unidentified, a portion visible at the top center). Contains indexes of authors, rare words, verbs, etc., compiled by Cornelis Schrevel (1608–1664), a renowned Dutch physician and scholar.

Text area: 140 x 85 mm. Main text in 1 column, printed in slanted typeface; commentary by the 4th-century grammarian and rhetorician Aelius Donatus, along with other authors, in 2 columns, printed in slanted typeface and in roman typeface. Printed in black ink. Paginated. Catchwords on every page, bottom right. Signatures: A-Z, Aa-Zz, Aaa-Kkk.

Ornamentation: Full-page engraved title page. At the top, there is a portrait of Terence, adorned with a laurel wreath. Below, from left to right, are three figures. According to the inscriptions, they represent Veritas, depicted as a man holding a torch; Simulatio, shown wearing a mask; and Prudentia, depicted as a woman, removing the mask from Simulatio with one hand and holding a mirror in the other, in which the three aforementioned figures are reflected. Simulatio is already reflected as an old man with the mask removed. Printed decorative initials 5-40 mm, some decorative borders and emblem printed in black.

Binding: 195 x 120 mm. Original dark red calf, partly worn, over cardboards. Sewn on 5 double thongs. 2 and 4 flyleaves on each side. Spine gilt-ruled, compartments decorated with gilt floral motifs; in the second compartment: Terentius. Comediae. Provenance, inscriptions, and librarian marks: Partly erazed inscription at the front pastedown: … 1804; at the rear pastedown appears: 9#, in brown ink. At the top of the title page blind embossing appears: D.D. (Dono Dedit ?).

Condition: One page with a torn edge, but the text is unaffected. Some foxing. Otherwise, in very good condition.

Contents: Contains all 6 comedies of Terence: Andria (The Girl from Andros); Eunuchus (The Eunuch); Heauton Timorumenos (The Self-Tormentor); Adelphoe (The Brothers); Hecyra (The Mother-in-Law), Phormio. Publius Terentius Afer (circa 195/185 – 159 BCE) was a Roman playwright who played a significant role in ancient Roman comedy. Likely born in Carthage and possibly of African or Libyan descent, as suggested by his cognomen "Afer" (meaning "African"), Terence was brought to Rome as a slave. His owner, Senator Publius Terentius Lucanus, recognized his exceptional abilities, provided him with a solid education, and eventually granted him freedom. Terence’s talent allowed him to gain entry into the elite circles of Roman society, particularly the group surrounding Scipio the Younger and his friend Laelius. Encouraged by his influential supporters, Terence dedicated himself to writing comedies. While he drew heavily from Greek playwrights like Menander, he was not merely a translator; instead, he adapted and combined scenes from various Greek authors, including Apollodorus. Terence became known for his mastery of "contamination"—the technique of skillfully merging elements from different works or reworking parts of a single author to create his plays.

Description by Dr. Ilya Dines