Latinius Pacatus Drepanius''PLRE'' I, p. 272 ( 389–393), one of the Latin

panegyrist A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of grc, ...

s, flourished at the end of the 4th century AD.

Life

He probably came from

Aginnum The commune of Agen (, ; ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. Geography The city of Agen lies in the southwestern department ...

(

Agen The commune of Agen (, ; ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. Geography The city of Agen lies in the southwestern department ...

), in the south of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, in the territory of the Nitiobriges, and received his education in the rhetorical school of

Burdigala Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

(

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

). He was the contemporary and intimate friend of

Ausonius Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; – c. 395) was a Roman poet and teacher of rhetoric from Burdigala in Aquitaine, modern Bordeaux, France. For a time he was tutor to the future emperor Gratian, who afterwards bestowed the consulship on him ...

, who dedicated two of his minor works to Pacatus, and describes him as the greatest Latin poet after

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

. Pacatus was probably a professor of rhetoric at Bordeaux.Nixon and Rodgers, ''In Praise of Later Roman Emperors'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994), 7. Pacatus attained the rank of

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

(390) and held a confidential position at the imperial court. He is the author of an extant speech (ed. R.A.B. Mynors, ''XII Panegyrici Latini'', Oxford 1964, No. 2; English translation in C.E.V. Nixon / Barbara Rodgers, ''In Praise of Later Roman Emperors'', Berkeley 1994) delivered in the senate house at Rome (389) in honor of

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

. It contains an account of the life and deeds of the emperor, the special subject of congratulation being the complete defeat of the usurper

Maximus Maximus (Hellenised as Maximos) is the Latin term for "greatest" or "largest". In this connection it may refer to: * Circus Maximus (disambiguation) * Pontifex maximus, the highest priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome People Roman h ...

. The speech is one of the best of its kind. Though not altogether free from exaggeration and flattery, it is marked by considerable dignity and self-restraint, and is thus more important as a historical document than similar productions. The style is vivid, the language elegant but comparatively simple, exhibiting familiarity with the best classical literature. He is attested as ''

comes rerum privatarum In the Roman Empire during late antiquity, the ''comes rerum privatarum'' ( gr, κόμης τῆς ἰδικῆς παρουσίας, ''kómēs tēs idikēs parousías''), literally "count of the private fortune", was the official charged with admin ...

'' in 393. The writer of the panegyric must be distinguished from

Drepanius Florus Latinius Pacatus Drepanius''PLRE'' I, p. 272 ( 389–393), one of the Latin panegyrists, flourished at the end of the 4th century AD. Life He probably came from Aginnum (Agen), in the south of France, in the territory of the Nitiobriges, and rec ...

, deacon of Lyons c. 850, author of some Christian poems and prose theological works.

Notes

References

* Anne-Marie Turcan-Verkerk, ''Un poète Latin chrétien redécouvert: Latinius Pacatus Drepanius, panégyriste de Théodose'' (Brussels: Éditions Latomus, 2003) *

Martin Schanz Martin Schanz (12 June 1842 – 15 December 1914) was a German classicist and Plato scholar. He was a Dozent and Professor at the University of Würzburg from 1867 to 1912, and is especially known for his history of Roman literature and his grou ...

, ''Geschichte der romischen Litteratur'' (1904), iv. i. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Drepanius, Latinius Pacatus 4th-century Latin writers Comites rerum privatarum Latin panegyrists Roman governors of Africa