Terentianus Maurus

Terentianus, known as 'Maurus' indicating his North African Berber origin, lived in Mauretania Caesariensis (the central coastal region of modern Algeria) during the late second century AD. He achieved continental fame for his ingenious educational didactic poem 'De Litteris, de Syllabis, de Metris' (On Letters, On Syllables, On Metres).

Terentianus demonstrated every poetic meter by composing verses strictly within that exact metric structure. He is universally renowned in world literature for coining the famous Latin maxim: 'Pro captu lectoris habent sua fata libelli' ('According to the capabilities of the reader, books have their destiny'), one of the most enduring reflections on reader reception in literary theory.