Priscianus

, an eminent grammarian of antiquity, was born at Caesarea, and afterwards went to Constantinople, where he taught the principles of his art, and was in the highest reputation about the year 525. Donatus, Servius, and Priscian, are called triumviri in “Re Grammatica,” by Laurentius Valla, who thinks them all excellent, and that none oF the ancients, who wrote after them upon the Latin language, are fit to be mentioned with them. Priscian composed a work “De Arte Grammatica,” which was first printed by Aldus, at Venice, in 1476 it is addressed to Julian, not the emperor, as some have erroneously supposed, but the consul. He wrote a book “De NaturalibusQusestionibus,” which he dedicated to Chosroes, king of Persia. He translated “Dionysius’s Description of the World,” into Latin verse: this is printed with the edition of that author, at Oxford, 1697, in 8vo. Some have pretended that this grammarian! was first a Christian, and afterwards a Pagan but there is no foundation for this opinion. Hadrian Valesius relates, that his name, in a very ancient and correct manuscript, is written Pracscianus, A person who writes false Latin is proverbially said to break Priscian’s head." ²