999 



THEODORIC. 



THEODORUS PRISCIANUS. 



1000 



violence against the AlcmannL (His letter is contained in Cassiodorusj 

 ' Variar.,' ii. 41.) Meanwhile a war had broken out between Clovis 

 and Alaric II., king of the Visi-Goths. Alaric fell in the battle of 

 Vouglo" in 507, in consequence of which the greater part of the 

 dominions of the Visi-Goths in Gaul came into the hands of the 

 Franks. Alaric's only legitimate son was a child named Amalaric, 

 whom he had by his wife Theodichusa. As there was danger of all 

 Spain being invaded by the Franks, the Visi-Goths intrusted the 

 guardianship of their young king to Theodoric, who thus became the 

 ruler over the Ostro-Goths and the Visi-Goths, or over Spain, southern 

 Gaul, Italy with the dependent province of Illyricum, and parts of 

 Rhsotia, Noricum, and Pannonia. Theodoric had previously sent an 

 army into Gaul, commanded by Iba, who delivered Aries, which was 

 besieged by the Franks (508) ; and the same general made a prisoner 

 of Gesalic, the natural son of Alaric II., who was a dangerous rival of 

 young Amalaric. Clovis was compelled to content himself with the 

 northern and larger part of the Visi-Gothic dominions in Gaul. From 

 this year, 511, is dated the regency of Theodoric in the kingdom of 

 the Visi-Goths, who however styled himself king, and the councils 

 which were held during his government are dated according to the 

 yeara of his reign. He took possession of the cities of Provence, 

 perhaps under the pretext of the expenses which he had been put to 

 in saving the Visi-Gothic kingdom. He appointed Liberius his 

 lieutenant in Gaul, and Theudis in Spain. 



The relation between Theodoric and the emperors of Constantinople 

 was maintained to the satisfaction of both parties, until Justin pub- 

 lished a severe edict against all who were not of the Catholic Church 

 (523), and soon after deprived the Arians of their churches. About 

 the same time this emperor had engaged with some members of the 

 Roman Senate in designs against the Gothic dominion in Italy. 

 Bocthius, then one of the first men in Italy, was charged with being 

 a principal conspirator. He was imprisoned in 522, and during his 

 captivity he wrote his Treatise on the Consolation of Philosophy. 

 The conspiracy proved abortive, Boethius was put to death in 524, 

 and Symmachus, his father-in-law, shared the same fate in the follow- 

 ing year at Ravenna. With regard to religious affairs, Theodoric, 

 who was an Arian, like all the Goths, ordered Pope John with several 

 bishops to go to Constantinople and to obtain better conditions for 

 the Arians iu the Eastern empire. The pope reluctantly obeyed, but 

 it seems that in Constantinople he spoke rather according to his con- 

 science than in favour of the Arians ; for he was imprisoned at his 

 return, by order of Theodoric, and died not many days after, on the 

 18th of May 526. On Theodoric's recommendation, Felix was elected 

 pope, and his election was confirmed by Atbalaric, the successor of 

 Theodoric. This fact proves the great influence which Theodoric had 

 in the affairs of his time. Not having obtained favourable conditions 

 for the Ariaus in the East, Theodoric was about to retaliate on the 

 Catholics in his dominions, when he died suddenly on the 26th of 

 August 526, in the 72nd year of his age. His contemporaries have 

 invented many fables about the sudden death of this great king. 

 Procopius ('De Bello Gothico,' i. 1) says that the head of a large fish 

 being served up at table, he fancied it to be the head of Symrnachus, 

 whom he had put to death, and whose participation in the conspiracy 

 against Theodoric had not been proved ; it is added that he was so 

 terrified by his imagination, that he fell into a fever and shortly after- 

 wards died. Others pretend that his death was the consequence of a 

 divine judgment, because he had deposed and imprisoned Pope John : 

 this story savours of its origin. Others dreamt that the ghost of 

 Pope John and Symmachus had cast the soul of Theodoric into the 

 burning crater of a volcano. The ashes of Theodoric were deposited 

 in a porphyry urn, which still exists in the wall of the castle of 

 Ravenna, and under it is an inscription on marble, bearing the date 

 563, which states that the urn once contained his remains. Theodoric 

 having left no male issue, Athalaric, the son of his daughter Amalas- 

 winth, succeeded him on the throne of Italy, and Amalaric became 

 king of the Visi-Goths. 



Theodoric generally kept his court at Ravenna, as the Roman 

 emperors had done after the time of Honorius, and thus Ravenna 

 became a centre of the arts and sciences, of no less importance than 

 Rome. Among the high officers of Theodoric there were several very 

 distinguished men, such as Cassiodorus, who was his private secretary; 

 and Ennodius, who has written a eulogy of his master, which how 

 ever is far from containing all the truth. He was celebrated as a hero 

 in the old Teutonic songs, and in the 'Niebelungen-Lied' he appears 

 as Diederich of Bern, that is, Verona. 



Theodoric was not only a conqueror ; he was also a legislator. It is 

 his greatest glory that he was a friend of peace, of toleration, and o: 

 justice ; a glory however which is somewhat obscured by some acts o 

 rashness and violence. Whenever a war between Teutonic kings was 

 threatening, he tried to prevent it by mediation ; a fact which is provec 

 by his letters to the kings of the Franks, of the Visi-Goths, of the 

 Thuringians, of the Burgundians, of the Heruli, and of the Warni 

 He always reminded them that they were of one common origin, an< 

 that they ought to maintain peace and friendly intercourse. Theodori 

 was especially vigilant in preventing Clovis from invading the state 

 of his neighbours; he protected the Thuringians and the remnan 

 of the Alemanni, and he saved the kingdom of the Visi-Qoths from 

 destruction. 



(Ennodius, Panegyricus Reyts Thcodorici, ed. Chr. Cellarius, 8vo, 



703; and also in his Opera, ed. Jac. Sirmondus, Paris, 8vo, 1611; 



ornandes, De Rebus Qothicis ; Isidorus, Chronicon Gothorum, dec. ; Pro- 



opius, De Bello Gothico ; Cochlaeus, Vita Theodorici Reg. Ostrogoth., 



d. Peringskjold, Stockholm, 4to, 1699. Cochlseus has written without 



my just criticism ; and Peringskjold has shown no historical ability 



n his additions, which however contain very interesting matter 



elative to the language and the antiquities of the Goths. Manso's 



seschichte des Ost-Gothischen Reiches in Italien, Breslau, 8vo, 1824, is 



a very valuable work.) 



THEODORIC, a bishop and celebrated surgeon of the 13th century, 

 was a pupil of Hugo of Lucca. He at first belonged to the order of 

 he Preaching Friars (Frfcres Pre"cheurs) ; afterwards he became chap- 

 ain to the Bishop of Valentia, and penitentiary to Pope Innocent IV. ; 

 .ud he was at last made bishop of Bitonti and Cervia successively. 

 Towards the end of his life he settled at Bologna, where he died in 

 1298. He was especially distinguished from his contemporaries by 

 not resting content with imitating his predecessors ; on the contrary, 

 appears to have carefully studied the cases that presented them- 

 selves to his notice, and to have recorded in a great measure the 

 results of his own observations. He also introduced several useful 

 nnovations in the practice of surgery, and was the first person who 

 ventured to lay aside the cumbrous and frightful machines which had 

 litherto been used in the reduction of fractures and luxations. He 

 eft behind him a surgical work, entitled ' Chirurgia Secundum Medi- 

 cationem Hugonis de Luca,' which was published at Venice in 1490 

 and 1519, in folio. (Haller, Biblioth, Chirury. ; Sprengel, Hist, de la, 

 Med. ; Biographic Medicale.) 



THEODO'RUS (e6$wpos), a native of Cyrene, was a philosopher of 

 ;he Cyrenaic school, who lived towards the end of the 4th century 

 B.C. He was a pupil of Arete, the daughter of Aristippus, and after- 

 wards became the successor of Anniceris. His philosophical system, 

 which was a kind of medium between that of Aristippus and Anuiceris, 

 appeared so dangerous to his fellow-citizens, among whom he had 

 seen held in very high esteem, that they banished him from their city. 

 Theodorus went to Athens, where he would have experienced worse 

 treatment if Demetrius Phalereus had not interposed and saved him ; 

 for here too his doctrines soon came into disrepute, and a public 

 accusation was brought against him of moral and religious indifference. 

 After the fall of Demetrius Phalereus, Theodorus thought it advisable 

 to withdraw from Athens, and he went to Egypt, where he soon gained 

 the confidence of Ptolemaeus Soter, who, on one occasion, sent him as 

 tus ambassador to Lysimachus. On this mission Theodorus is said to 

 tiave shown much courage and a strong feeling of independence 

 towards Lysimachus, who taunted him for having been obliged to 

 leave Athens. The time of his death is unknown. 



We do not possess a complete view of the philosophical system of 

 Theodorus, but he appeai-s to have been one of the forerunners of 

 Epicurus. His ideas of the deity were explained in a book which he 

 wrote on the gods (wepl 6fu>v), and which earned him the name of 

 atheist, though it is doubtful whether this opprobrious name was 

 pven him because he really denied the existence of gods, or merely 

 because he was above the common prejudices of his countrymen. 

 The following doctrines are especially mentioned as characterising his 

 views of human affairs: wisdom and justice are desirable, because 

 they procure us the enjoyment of pleasure : friendship, on the other 

 hand, has no real existence ; for, in a person who is not wise, it ceases 

 as soon as he ceases to feel the want of it, and a wise man is iu want 

 of nothing beyond himself. Patriotism is not a duty, because it 

 would be absurd to make it incumbent upon a wise mau to sacrifice 

 himself for the ignorant, who form by far the majority of a state. 

 His followers, who constituted one of the three branches into which 

 the Cyrenaic school was divided, were called Theodorians. 



(Diogenes Laert., ii. 86 ; vi. 97; Cicero, Tusculan., i. 43 ; v. 40 ; De 

 Natura Deorum, i. 1, 23, 43 ; Suidas, s. v. &e65wpos.) 



From the philosopher Theodorus of Cyrene we must distinguish 

 Theodorus the mathematician, who was a native of the same place, 

 and is mentioned among the teachers of Plato. (Xenophon, Memorab., 

 iv. 2, 10; Maximus Tyrius, Disscrtat., 22.) 



THEODO'RUS PRISCIA'NUS, the author of a Latin medical 

 work, which is still extant, and which sometimes goes under the name 

 of 'Octavius Horatianus.' He was a pupil of Vindicianus, and is 

 supposed to have lived at the court of the emperors of Constantinople 

 in the fourth century after Christ. He belonged to the sect of the 

 Empirici, but appears to have also mixed up some opinions of the 

 Methodici, and even of the Dogmatici. His work, which is not of 

 much value, is entitled 'Reruin Medicaruin Libri Quatuor,' and is 

 written in a barbarous Latin style. The first book treats of external 

 disorders, the second of internal, the third of female diseases, and the 

 fourth of physiology, &c. It was first published in 1532, fol., at Stras- 

 burg, and also in the same year at Basel, 4to ; of these two editions, 

 the former is the more complete, the latter the more correctly printed. 

 A new edition was undertaken by J. M. Bernhold, of which the first 

 volume was published in 8vo, without place or date, at Ansbach iu 

 1791 ; but which, in consequence of the editor's death, has never been 

 completed. Another work, entitled 'Diaeta, seu de Salutaribus Rebus 

 Liber,' has been attributed to Theodorus Priscianus, but (as Choulant 

 thinks) incorrectly. It was first published together with ' Hildegardis 



