LATINUS PACATUS DREPANIUS (or LATINIUS)  , one of the Latin panegyrists, flourished at the end of the 4th century A.D . He probably came from Aginnum (Agen), in the south of France, in the territory of the Nitiobriges, and received his education in the rhetorical school of Burdigala (Bordeaux) . He was the contemporary and intimate friend of Ausonius, who dedicated two of his minor works to Pacatus, and describes him as the greatest Latin poet after Virgil . Pacatus attained the rank of proconsul of Africa (A.D . 390) and held a confidential position at the imperial court . He is the author of an extant speech (ed . E . Bahrens in Panegyrici latini, 1874, No . 12) delivered in the senate house at Rome (38g) in honour of Theodosius I . 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 . 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exaggeration and flattery, it is marked by considerable dignity and self-restraint, and is thus more important as an historical document than similar productions .

The

style is vivid, the language elegant but comparatively simple, exhibiting familiarity with the best classical literature . The writer of the panegyric must be distinguished from Drepanius Florus, deacon of Lyons (c . 85o), author of some Christian poems and prose theological works . See M . Schanz Geschichte der romischen Litteratur (1904), iv. i .