De arte grammatica

De arte grammatica is a section of a larger work by Martianus Minneus Felix Capella, an advocate from North Africa who flourished in the 5th century AD. His major work, possibly written around 400 AD, is often titled De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii for its first two books, with the subsequent seven books covering various liberal arts, including De arte grammatica.1

This work served as an introduction to the liberal arts and was highly influential through the Middle Ages. The section on grammar, De arte grammatica, is one of seven treatises within Capella's larger work, each dedicated to a specific liberal art. The prose style of Capella's work is often described as dry but can be influenced by the mannered style of Apuleius. The study of grammar in antiquity, particularly in Greece and Rome, evolved from philosophical inquiry and literary criticism, distinguishing between language as natural or conventional, and laying groundwork for theories of inflection and syntax.12