Within a century of his death, Terence's plays had become school texts; and they have continued to be so for as long
as we know Latin to have been studied in Europe, holding a central place in the school curriculum until the
nineteenth century. He has been admired for his style and for his moral sentiments, which can be made to sound
more uplifting than Terence intended by being quoted out of context: the most famous of all, 'Homo sum: humani nil
a me alienum puto' ('I am a man: I regard all that concerns men as concerning me') comes in the mouth of a tedious
old busybody who has been asked why he is poking his nose into his neighbour's affairs. Its effect in context is to
make him look pompous and ridiculous. But Terence has not been much praised for his humour, partly no doubt
because it depends for its effect on the context created by the plot of the play. In the following passage from
Adelphoe (413 ff.) the old man Demea boasts to the slave Syrus (who has just returned from buying fish in the
market) about the method he has used in bringing up his son to be well behaved. Demea believes his method to have
been effective, whereas Syrus and the audience know that the son (now an adolescent) is living a much wilder life
than Demea imagines. It is clear that Syrus is mocking Demea in the second half of the passage, but the absurdity of
Demea's boasting is much more comic if we bear in mind how wrong he is about the effectiveness of his method of
upbringing:
D. I take a lot of trouble over it; I don't let anything slip; I train him. In fact I tell him to look into the lives of others,
as into a mirror, and to learn from their example. 'Do this', I say.
S. Quite right!
D. 'Don't do that.'
S. Clever!
D. 'This is praiseworthy.'
S. Just the thing!
D. 'This is blameworthy.'
S. Excellent!
D. Furthermore -
S. Well, look, I really haven't got time to listen now. I've got the fish I wanted; I must make sure nothing goes wrong
with them. ... To the best of my ability I give instructions to my fellow slaves just like the instructions you give: 'This
is over-salted; this is burnt; this one hasn't been properly washed. That one's right: remember to do it like that next
time.' I take a lot of trouble to teach them as well as my wits allow. In fact I tell them to look into the dishes, Demea,
as if into a mirror, and I tell them what needs to be done.
Adelphoe is Terence's masterpiece. It was his last play and is the one that provokes most thought about a subject of
perennial importance. But there is reason to think that he has distorted the balance of the play by striving for comic
effect in its closing scenes. The thought-provoking theme is the question of what the relationship should be between
a father and his adolescent son. We have just seen Demea being mocked for his misplaced confidence in a strict,
didactic method of upbringing. His views are contrasted with those of his brother Micio, who believes that