DRACONTIUS
153
DRANE
xii, 43), when Judas sends 12,000 drachmas to Jeru-
salem that sacrifices may be offered for the dead. In
the New Testament (Luke, xv, 8, 9), Christ used the
word in the parable of the woman that has ten
drachmas (D. V. "groats") and loses one.
RiEHM. HandworUrbuch; Beurlier in ViG.. Did. de la Bible, 8. V. Drachmf: Babington in Did. Christ. Antiq., s. v. Money: Kennedy in Hast., Z>ic(. of the Bible s.v. Money: \VE7c,Mi'lrologie grecque et romaine (Paris, 1S86).
C. Van Den Biesen.
Dracontius, Blossids ^Emilius, a Christian poet of the liftli century. Dracontius belonged to a distin- guished family of Carthage and was the pupil of a noted grammarian named Felicianus. He was called clarissimiis (most illustrious), won the favour of the proconsul Pacideius, and led a prosperous life by means of inherited riches and the income of his law practice until he incurred the ill will of the Vandal king, Gunthamund. The cause of this misfortune seems to have been the expression of sentiments of Romano-Byzantine patriotism; for these utterances Dracontius suffered a long imprisonment. Nothing more is kno'mi of his history except that he was still alive when Thrasamund ascended the throne in 496.
His works are the " Romulea", three books on God (De laudibus Dei), and a poem entitled "Satisfactio". The latter two were written in prison; the first-men- tioned is a collection of pieces composed at various times and written in the style of rhetorical school- exercises. Thus, one of these poems represents a rich man and a poor man as enemies; as a reward for the exjjlnits of the rich man his statue is erected in the public square and accorded the right of sanctuary. Later, in recompense for additional services, the rich man asks for the head of the poor one, whereupon the latter flees to the statue for safety and a formal process ensues. In another poem Achilles deliberates as to whether or not he shall sell the body of Hector. When Dracontius deals with themes of his own day, as in the eulogy on his former teacher, and the "Epithalamia" for two couples who were friends, his style is occasion- ally less conventional. The writings forming the " Romulea ' ' contain but little suggestion of a Christian poet; on the other hand, the "Satisfactio" and the " De laudibus Dei " manifest an ardent and sometimes eloquent faith. The "Satisfactio", written about 490, was intended to be instrumental in obtaining the royal pardon; the "De laudibus Dei", produced be- tween 486 and 496, is a recital of God's benefits. The first book of the "De laudibus Dei" has for its main contents a description of the creation; the chief theme of the second is the Incarnation and the Redemp- tion, it also contains vehement attacks on Arianism; the third compares, by appropriate examples, the hope of the Christian who denies himself in order to love God with the cheerless prospect of the pagan who counts on no future reward. This poem, like the others, is full of ideas taken from other sources; the episodes drawn from the Bible, profane history, and mythology are as varied as the textual reminiscences of the Latin poets, both Christian and pagan. How- ever, the excellent pupil of Felicianus was not a thorough master of Latin diction and prosody; his writings give frequent evidence in their form of the surrounding barbarism.
The collection named "Romulea" is incomplete. Probably it should also contain two small poems, one on the months and the other on the origin of the rose; perhaps, further, the "Orestis tragoedia", which is called a tragedy, though in reality it is an epic poem of some thousand verses, wherein the author follows a unique ancient version of the myth; finally, though with less certainty, the "jEgritudo Perdicse" (Per- dica's Malady). The subject of this little poem of 290 hexameters is interesting from the point of view of folk-lore. Perdica, a student of Athens, has neglected the v/orship of Venus and by way of revenge this god-
dess inspires him with a guilty love for his mother,
Castalia. Perdica falls into a decline and his physi-
cians are unable to understand his ailment, but Hippo-
crates, who ascertains that Perdica's heart beats more
violently when Castalia approaches, recognizes the
real nature of the malady. There is no remedy for the
trouble and Perdica hangs himself (see Rohde, Der grie-
chisch. Roman, p. 54). The works of Dracontius were
not known in their real form until 1791 and 1873. His
Christian poems were very popular in the sixth and
seventh centuries. They were revised by Eugenius,
Bishop of Toledo (d. 657), but these revisions made
great changes in the author's statements. What Eu-
genius failed to understand he altered; moreover, he
corrected the doctrine of Dracontius. The latter had
said that God deliberately created good and evil at the
same time (Satisfactio, 15); Eugenius made him say
that God tolerated e\'il. It; was in this recension that
both the Christian poems were known until 1791. The
larger part of the secular poems of Dracontius were
first published in 1873.
VoLLMER in Pauly-Wissowa. RealencyH. d. class. Alter- tumswiss. (Stuttgart, 1905). s. v. Dracontius: first edition of Christian poems in original form, Arevalo ed. (Rome, 1791), reprinted in P. L., LX; first edition of secular poems, ed. von DuHN (Leipzig, 1873), best edition by Vollmer in Mon. Germ. Hist. (Berlin, 1905), exeeptf or .lEgritudo Perdicce, which is edited by JiAnnENB in Poetwlatiniminores (Leipzig, 1883), V, 112. Paul Lejay.
Drane, Augusta Theodosia, in religion Mother Francis Raphael, O.S.D.; b. at Bromley near Lon- don, in 1823; d. at Stone, Staffordshire, 29 April, 1894. Her parents were both Protestants, her fa- ther being managing partner in an East India mer- cantile house. Her remarkable natural gifts were developed by wide reading at a very early age. In 1837 she moved with her family to Babbicorabe, Devonshire, where she read much of the early litera- ture of the Oxford Movement. Burnet's " History of the Reformation", she declared, was the real cause of her conversion. It was not, however, till 1847 that she grew uneasy as to her religious beliefs, whereupon she consulted Keble and Pusey, but without satisfac- tion. The influence of Maskell, then Vicar of St. Mary Church, helped her more and she confided to him a scheme called "Ideal of a Religious Order". He told her that such an order existed in the Catholic Church, naming the Third Order of St. Dominic. This made a profound impression on her mind and gradually she was drawn to the Church. She was re- ceived at Tiverton, 3 July, 1850, and in 1852 entered the Third Order of St. Dominic at Clifton. On 8 Dec, 1853, she was professed at the new convent of Stone, Staffordshire, and was there employed in teaching and in writing various books, meanwhile making great spiritual progress. In 1860 she was appointed mis- tress of novices, but in 1863 became mistress of studies instead, thus obtaining more leisure for writing. In 1872 she became prioress under her friend. Mother Imelda Poole, and on the death of the latter in 1881 succeeded her as provincial (25 Nov., 1881), thus tak- ing charge of the whole congregation and the convents of Stoke-on-Trent, Bow, and St. Mary Church. Her character was well summed up by Bishop Ullathorne when he described her as "one of those many-sided characters who can WTite a book, draw a picture, rule an Ortler, guide other souls, superintend a building, lay out grounds, or give wise and practical advice with equal facility and success." She continued to grow in remarkable sanctity till her death, which took place a fortnight after she had ceased to be provincial.
Her works include: "The Morality of Tractari- anism" (1850), published anonymou.sly ; "Catholic Legends and Stories" (1855); "Life of St. Dominic" (1857); "Knightsof St. John" (1858); "ThreeChan- cellors, Wykeham, Waynfleto and More" (18.59); "Historical Tales" (1862); "Tales and Traditions'* (1862); "History of England for Family Use" (1864);
