Abstract

The paper examines the roles of fear in Niccolò Machiavelli’s translation of Terence’s Andria. More specifically, the paper focuses on the lexical level and its conceptual implications; it analyzes those passages containing the verb temere, the word paura, and their synonyms such as dubitare, sbigottire, and timore. By doing so, the paper sheds light on fear’s ubiquitous presence in the text, as well as on its connection with other emotions and psychological factors. Moreover, the paper shows that fear affects the characters’ behaviors and decision-making processes.