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Search - List of Books by Aelius Donatus

Aelius Donatus (fl. mid 4th century AD) was a Roman grammarian and teacher of rhetoric. The only fact known regarding his life is that he was the tutor of St. Jerome.

He was the author of a number of professional works, of which several are still extant:

  • A partly incomplete commentary on the playwright Terence compiled from other commentaries, but probably not in its original form;
  • His Life of Virgil is thought to be based on a lost Vita by Suetonius, together with the preface and introduction of his commentary on Virgil's works. A greatly expanded version of Servius' commentary exists, however, which is supplemented with frequent and extensive extracts from what is thought to be Donatus' commentary on Virgil.
* Life of Virgil text (English translation by David Scott)


  • His Ars grammatica, especially the section on the eight parts of speech, though possessing little claim to originality, and evidently based on the same authorities which were used by the grammarians Charisius and Diomedes, attained such popularity as a schoolbook that, in the Middle Ages, he became the eponym for a rudimentary treatise of any sort, called a donet. When books came to be printed in the 15th century, editions of the little book were multiplied to an enormous extent. It is also the only purely textual work to be printed in blockbook form (cut like a woodcut, not using movable type). It is in the form of an Ars Minor, which only treats of the parts of speech, and an Ars Major, which deals with grammar in general at greater length.
Donatus was a proponent of an early system of punctuation, consisting of dots placed in three successively higher positions to indicate successively longer pauses, roughly equivalent to the modern comma, colon, and full stop. This system remained current through the seventh century, when a more refined system due to Isidore of Seville gained prominence.

Donatus invented the system whereby a play is made up of three separate parts: protasis, epitasis, and catastasis.

Aelius Donatus should not be confused with Tiberius Claudius Donatus, also the author of a commentary (Interpretationes) on the Aeneid, who lived about fifty years later.

Bibliography   more

This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Aelius Donatus", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
Total Books: 14
P Terentii Afri Comoediae Sex Adelphi
2010 - P Terentii Afri Comoediae Sex Adelphi [Latin Edition] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781143901898
ISBN-10: 1143901894
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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P Terentii Afri Comoediae Sex Andria
2010 - P Terentii Afri Comoediae Sex Andria [Latin Edition] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781143271571
ISBN-10: 1143271572
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Die Beiden ltesten Provenzalischen Grammatiken Lo Donatz Proensals Und Los Rasos De Trobar  Nebst Einem ProvenzalItal Glossar Herausg Von E Stengel
Commenti Donatiani ad Terenti Fabulas Scholia Genuina et Spuria Probabiliter Separe Conatus est
2009 - Commenti Donatiani Ad Terenti Fabulas Scholia Genuina Et Spuria Probabiliter Separe Conatus Est [Latin Edition] (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781113661906
ISBN-10: 1113661909
Genre: Nonfiction
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Commenti Donatiani ad Terenti Fabulas Scholia Genuina et Spuria Probabiliter Separe Conatus est
2009 - Commenti Donatiani Ad Terenti Fabulas Scholia Genuina Et Spuria Probabiliter Separe Conatus Est [Latin Edition] (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781113661937
ISBN-10: 1113661933
Genre: Nonfiction
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Commenti Donatiani ad Terenti Fabulas Scholia Genuina et Spuria Probabiliter Separe Conatus est
Commenti Donatiani ad Terenti Fabulas Scholia Genuina et Spuria Probabiliter Separe Conatus est
Commenti Donatiani ad Terenti Fabulas Scholia Genuina et Spuria Probabiliter Separe Conatus est
Commenti Donatiani ad Terenti Fabulas Scholia Genuina et Spuria Probabiliter Separe Conatus est
Terentius In Singulas Scenas
2009 - Terentius in Singulas Scenas [1540 - Latin Edition] (Paperback)Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781104907891
ISBN-10: 1104907895
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Terentius In Singulas Scenas
2009 - Terentius in Singulas Scenas [1540 - Latin Edition] (Hardcover)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781104964276
ISBN-10: 1104964279
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Habes Hic Amice Lector P Terentii Comoedias
2009 - Habes Hic Amice Lector P Terentii Comoedias [1532 - Latin Edition] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781104758332
ISBN-10: 1104758334
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Aelii Donati Vetustissimi Grammatici Elementa
2009 - Aelii Donati Vetustissimi Grammatici Elementa [1768 - Latin Edition] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781104608033
ISBN-10: 1104608030
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Donatus Ortigraphus Ars grammatica
Donatus Ortigraphus Ars Grammatica [Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaeualis, 40D / Grammatici Hibernici Carolini Aevi, Part 4 - Latin Edition] (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9782503034096
ISBN-10: 2503034098
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