Talk:Charisius

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CHARISIUS, FLA'VIUS SOSI'PATER, a Latin grammarian, author of a treatise in five books, drawn up for the use of his son, entitled Institutiones Grammaticae, which has come down to us in a very imperfect state, a considerable por­tion of the first and fifth books being entirely wanting, as we at once discover by comparing the table of contents presented in the prooemium with what actually remains. It is a careful compilation from preceding writers upon the same subject, such as Flavius Caper, Velius Longus, Terentius Scau-rus, and above all Comminianus and Julius Ro-manus, from whom whole chapters are cited, and is particularly valuable on account of the number of quotations, apparently very accurate, from lost works. We can detect a close correspondence with many passages in the Ars Grammatica of Diomedes, but Charisius is so scrupulous in refer­ring to his authorities, that we are led to conclude, since he makes no mention of Diomedes, that the latter was the borrower. Comminianus is known to have flourished after Donatus and before Servius [comminianus], therefore Charisius, be­ing mentioned by Priscian, must belong to some period between the middle of the fourth and the end of the fifth centuries. Osann, who has in­vestigated this question with great care, decides that he ought to be placed about the year a. d. 400, in which case he probably enjoyed the advantage of consulting the great libraries of the metropolis, before they were pillaged by the Goths. We gather from his own words that he was a native of Campania, in religion a Christian, by profession a grammarian, following his occupation at Rome. The Editio Princeps of Charisius was published by J. Pierius Cyminius, a pupil of Janus Parrha-sius, who first discovered the work, at Naples, fol. 1532; the second, superintended by G, Fabricius Chemnicensis, was printed by Frobenius at Basle, 8vo., 1551, and contains many corrections and improvements, but likewise many interpolations, since the editor was not assisted by any MS.;

since the scaned text is disclaimed as may contains errors is good to chek it before suplementation of art. Here is (c) expired 1870 edition. http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0697.html