CHARISIUS

charisius, flavius sosipater, latin grammarian, flourished about the middle of the 4th century a.d. he was probably an african by birth, summoned to constantinople to take the place of euanthius, a learned commentator on terence. the _ars grammatica_ of charisius, in five books, addressed to his son (not a roman, as the preface shows), has come down to us in a mutilated condition, the beginning of the first, part of the fourth, and the greater part of the fifth book having been lost. the work, which is merely a compilation, is valuable as containing excerpts from the earlier writers on grammar, who are in many cases mentioned by name--q. remmius palaemon, c. julius romanus, cominianus. the best edition is by h. keil, _grammatici latini_, i. (1857); see also article by g. gotz in pauly-wissowa's _realencyclopadie_, iii. 2 (1899); teuffel-schwabe, _hist. of roman literature_ (eng. trans.), s 419, i. 2; frohde, in _jahr. f. philol._, 18 suppl. (1892), 567-672.