Terence Afer - African Roman playright

Publius Terentius Afer, ( c. 195/185 – c. 159? BC), also known as Terence, was an African Roman playwright during the Roman Republic. He was brought to Rome as a slave by Terentius Lucanus, who later educated and freed him. Terence's comedies were heavily used to learn Latin during the Middle Ages and Renaissance Period, and in some instances were imitated by William Shakespeare. His clear and entertaining language made his plays popular among monasteries and convents, and his works were copied and preserved by the church.

Terence's plays were heavily used by priests and nuns, and his works were often used to teach Latin. The preservation of Terence through the church allowed his work to influence much of later Western drama. Two of the earliest English comedies, Ralph Roister Doister and Gammer Gurton's Needle, are thought to parody Terence's plays. Montaigne, Shakespeare, and Molière cite and imitate him.

Terence's plays were a standard part of the Latin curriculum of the neoclassical period, and his language has been praised by President John Adams and American playwright Thornton Wilder. Terence has been identified with Africa and heralded as the first poet of the African diaspora by generations of writers. Two of his plays were produced in Denver with black actors.

Terence manuscripts can be divided into two main groups: the earliest surviving Latin writer's codex Bembinus (A), dating to the 4th or early 5th century AD, and the "Calliopian" group, which dates from the 9th century onwards and is written in minuscule letters. The first class, known as γ (gamma), includes manuscripts from the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries, including Parisinus, Vaticananus, Ambrosianus, and Riccardianus. The second class, known as δ (delta), has plays in alphabetical order, including 10th-century manuscripts like Victorianus, Decurtatus, and Parisinus.

The remaining manuscripts belong to the "mixed" group, which contains readings copied from both γ and δ, making them of little value in establishing the text. The γ and δ groups are thought to be derived from two archetypes, Γ (Gamma) and Δ (Delta), both of which are now lost. The Commentum Terenti, a commentary by Aelius Donatus, is the best known of these manuscripts, which sometimes assist editors in establishing the original reading.

His works were entertaining and clear. The plots in his plays were absorbing