Page:The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages.djvu/300

282 time of Charlemagne, as well as in the later Middle Ages.

The closing years of the fifth century saw the production of the thoughtful and interesting poem of Dracontius, entitled De Deo. Its subject is God's mercy (pietas) which led Him to create and then re- deem mankind, and which leads Him always to direct human affairs for good, despite the wickedness of men. The poem served as an argumentative consolation to the author, cast into prison by the Vandal King Gunthamund. The first book celebrates God's mercy as revealed in the creation of the world. It is a spirited and poetic account of the six days' creation, and was reproduced by itself, under the title of Hexaemeron, before the seventh century. As a narrative, it was the best part of the work, and continued widely read, while the other two books of the poem were neglected, filled as they were with expression of the poet's feeling and thoughts springing from his sad lot. They contain disconnected narratives, passing from the miseries of the poet's time to the salvation brought by Christ, and again to the heroes of pagan antiquity.

Contemporary with Dracontius lived Avitus in Gaul, his life extending through the first quarter of the sixth century. He died as bishop of Vienna in Auvergne. His poem, the most original of the early Latin poems based on Biblical story, was called De spiritalis historiae gestis; its special divisions received the following titles: De origine mundi, De originali peccato, De sententia dei, De diluvio mundi, De transitu maris rubri. The first three constitute a veritable poem, having a definite subject imaginatively treated