CLA233H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Catullus, Catamite, Lucretius
Document Summary
Terence responds to his contemporary critics and poetic rivals in particular, luscius of lavinium, a prominent comedic playwright at rome whose heyday had been several years before terence"s. Luscius felt that translating accurately, rather than interpreting or adapting (which was the method used by. Plautus and naevius, the two largest names in roman theatre up to that point) was of paramount importance. Terence followed plautus" approach to writing plays that is to say, he freely adapted from greek originals. If there"s anyone (i. e. , luscius) who believes that he has been attacked with undue harshness, let him also believe that this is a response, not an attack: he struck the first blow. By translating well but at the same time writing poorly he has made bat latin plays out of good greek ones. The remaining trojan heroes, after taking up greek arms to launch surprise attacks on their enemies, meet their end.
