PHÆDRUS, an ancient Latin writer, who composed five books of fables, in iambic verse. He was a
Thracian; and was born, as there is reason to conclude, some years before Julius Caesar made himself master of the Roman empire. How he came into the service of Augustus is not known: but his being called Augustus's freedman in the title of the book, shews that he had been that emperor's slave. The fables of Phædrus are valued for their wit and good sense, expressed in very pure and elegant language; and it is remarkable that they remained buried in libraries altogether unknown to the public, until they were discovered and published by Peter Pithou, or Pithœus, a learned French gentleman, toward the close of the 16th century.