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    "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911)",
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    "chunk_id": "1911:dionysius exiguus:9ddaf9612309",
    "title": "DIONYSIUS EXIGUUS",
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    "verified_text": "dionysius exiguus, one of the most learned men of the 6th century, and especially distinguished as a chronologist, was, according to the statement of his friend cassiodorus, a scythian by birth, \"_scytha natione_.\" this may mean only that he was a native of the region bordering on the black sea, and does not necessarily imply that he was not of greek origin. such origin is indicated by his name and by his thorough familiarity with the greek language. his surname \"exiguus\" is usually translated \"the little,\" but he probably assumed it out of humility. he was living at rome in the first half of the 6th century, and is usually spoken of as abbot of a roman monastery. cassiodorus, however, calls him simply \"monk,\" while bede calls him \"abbot.\" but as it was not unusual to apply the latter term to distinguished monks who were not heads of their houses, it is uncertain whether dionysius was abbot in fact or only by courtesy. he was in high repute as a learned theologian, was profoundly versed in the holy scriptures and in canon law, and was also an accomplished mathematician and astronomer. we owe to him a collection of 401 ecclesiastical canons, including the apostolical canons and the decrees of the councils of nicaea, constantinople, chalcedon and sardis, and also a collection of the decretals of the popes from siricius (385) to anastasius ii. (498). these collections, which had great authority in the west (see canon law), were published by justel in 1628. dionysius did good service to his contemporaries by his translations of many greek works into latin; and by these translations some works, the originals of which have perished, have been handed down to us. his name, however, is now perhaps chiefly remembered for his chronological labours. it was dionysius who introduced the method of reckoning the christian era which we now use (see chronology). his friend cassiodorus depicts in glowing terms the character of dionysius as a saintly ascetic, and praises his wisdom and simplicity, his accomplishments and his lowly-mindedness, his power of eloquent speech and his capacity of silence. he died at rome, some time before a.d. 550. his works have been published in migne, _patrologia latina_, tome 67; see especially a. tardif, _histoire des sources du droit canonique_ (paris, 1887), and d. pitra, _analecta novissima, spicilegii solesmensis continuatio_, vol. i. p. 36 (paris, 1885). dionysius halicarnassensis (\"of halicarnassus\"), greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, flourished during the reign of augustus. he went to rome after the termination of the civil wars, and spent twenty-two years in studying the latin language and literature and preparing materials for his history. during this period he gave lessons in rhetoric, and enjoyed the society of many distinguished men. the date of his death is unknown. his great work, entitled [greek: romaike archaiologia] (roman antiquities), embraced the history of rome from the mythical period to the beginning of the first punic war. it was divided into twenty books,--of which the first nine remain entire, the tenth and eleventh are nearly complete, and the remaining books exist in fragments in the excerpts of constantine porphyrogenitus and an epitome discovered by angelo mai in a milan ms. the first three books of appian, and plutarch's _life of camillus_ also embody much of dionysius. his chief object was to reconcile the greeks to the rule of rome, by dilating upon the good qualities of their conquerors. according to him, history is philosophy teaching by examples, and this idea he has carried out from the point of view of the greek rhetorician. but he has carefully consulted the best authorities, and his work and that of livy are the only connected and detailed extant accounts of early roman history. dionysius was also the author of several rhetorical treatises, in which he shows that he has thoroughly studied the best attic models:--_the art of rhetoric_ (which is rather a collection of essays on the theory of rhetoric), incomplete, and certainly not all his work; _the arrangement of words_ ([greek: peri syntheseos onomaton]), treating of the combination of words according to the different styles of oratory; _on imitation_ ([greek: peri mimeseos]), on the best models in the different kinds of literature and the way in which they are to be imitated--a fragmentary work; _commentaries on the attic orators_ ([greek: peri ton archaion rhetoron hypomnematismoi]), which, however, only deal with lysias, isaeus, isocrates and (by way of supplement) dinarchus; _on the admirable style of demosthenes_ ([greek: peri tes lektikes demosthenous deinotetos]); and _on the character of thucydides_ ([greek: peri tou thoukydidou charakteros]), a detailed but on the whole an unfair estimate. these two treatises are supplemented by letters to cn. pompeius and ammaeus (two). complete edition by j. j. reiske (1774-1777); of the _archaeologia_ by a. kiessling and v. prou (1886) and c. jacoby (1885-1891); opuscula by usener and radermacher (1899); eng. translation by e. spelman (1758). a full bibliography of the rhetorical works is given in w. rhys roberts's edition of the three literary letters (1901); the same author published an edition of the _de compositione verborum_ (1910, with trans.); see also m. egger, _denys d'halicarnasse_ (1902), a very useful treatise. on the sources of dionysius see o. bocksch, \"de fontibus dion. halicarnassensis\" in _leipziger studien_, xvii. (1895). cf. also j. e. sandys, _hist. of class. schol._ i. (1906).",
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