Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/312

* DIONTTSITJS. 266 DIONYSIUSs. bv Clement of Konie into Uiiul (Paris), where hi died a luartvr ou Monlinartre Iliere is evi- dent confusion between the real DionvMus and Saint Denis Iq.v.), patron saint ol l' '•^"'^'''•/^ l"' according to tJrc^'ory of Tours, founded the Church fn Paris in the third century. 1-or tins confusion the abbot Hilduin is largely responsible. In the si.Kth century we meet with a bo.ly of writings which bear the name of Dionysius Ar- copa-ita. Koclosiastical tradition ascribed them to I'.aul-s Athenian convert, but it is certain that they are the «ork of a Christian Xeo-Platomst of the sixth century. The first of these works entitled The Celestial Hierarchy, deals «;ith the nine orders of angelic beings; the second, Thejc- clesiaslical Uierarchy. with their nine earthly counterparts. Heaven and earth are thus vo%en together into one grand structure of corresponden- cies su-'esting the later system worked out by SwedenbSrg (q.v.). Through these graded hierarchies God communicates Himself to man. The treatise on Divine yamcs inquires what the names which have been given to the Deity can teach us respecting His nature and attribute^. In the Mystic Theology the author transcends the .vsteniofsvmbols which he has hitherto em- ploved, and sets forth an intuitive mysticism, the" soul's rapture to the divine. It is here especiallv that, through the pseudo-Dionysus, Neo-Platonic and Christian mystics are brought into one line of historical development, for it ciin be sho«Ti that our author drew largely from Plotinus and Proclus. The pseudo-Dionvsiac writings were probably produced in the East. Syria and Egypt have Len conjectured to have ,eon tl'e.r lion^ T e,r inlluence appears in the system of the great doc^ tor of the Eastern Church, John of Damascus. In the West they are not found prior to ^-''P'O- H'^ Great (sixth century), but throughout the Mid- dle "es they exerted a vast influence upon the thought of Christian Europe. In the ninth cen- tur^■ Hilduin, abbot of Saint-Den.s. wrote a life of Dionysius which gained wide "'"ency :.nd not lens afterwards, in the re.gn of Charles the Ril 1, the learned John Scotus Erigena translated his supposed works into Latin. In tins more acces- sible form they furnished a prolific soun-e of inspiration to the schohistic theologians, e,pe- ciallv Hugues de Saint-Victor ""'IJ ;«™»^,-^X nas ■ The I-lorentine Platonists of the fifteenth eenturv studied them with ardor, as did the Eng- lish Humanists. Colet and t^roej-n Ihe.r inllu- ence is plainly traceable in Thinte's C'"_"'« J^°»', edu Laurentius Valla and Erasmus east doubt upon the prevalent belief that these writings ^. ere from the pen of the Athenian Dionysius. but iherr authenticity was stoutly defended by n.any writers, and is still maintained here anJ/l"-"'- in spite of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. j-» j i,„ The works of pseudo-Dionysius were edited by Corderius. and reprinted in Migne. Patrol. Cr^. I'ii. and iv. (piris. IS.^7). -An edition of the nr C.rh>,li sn, Anqeliea flirrarchia appeared at Freiburg 1002. For an English translation, con- sult J Parker. The ^Vnrl.■s of nioxysuis the Arr- opantle (London. 1897) : also, i" P"}*-"'- ,{^f article "Dionysius." in Smith and Y„'^''. lionarii of ChriKlinn nioyrnphy (London. 1H(/- 87 "• and nu"o Knrh, VsrudoDionysuiH Areopa- qita in xrineu rieziehnnnm :um Seuplntomsmus und Mystericmcesen (Mainz, 1900). DIONYSIUS TiiK ELUtii (U.c. 4,31-307). Ty- rant ol Sviiiciise. He was born in a jirivatc sU- tion, and" began life as a clerk in a public ofBec. He fought with distinction against the Carlhagin- ians, with whom the Syraeusans had Iwen at war since 11.C. 410. After the loss of Agngentum through the failure of the Syracusan generals to relieve the town, he came forward as the accuser of the commanders, and succeeded in securing the appointment of other ollicers. of whom he was himself one. He soon. how.'Ver, supplanted his collea-nies. and made himself tyrant of the city. This was in it.c. 400. He had already provided himself with a bodvguard of 1000 men, and he now strengthened his position by ninrrjing the daughter of Hermocrates, the leader of the aris- toerTitic party. The time from this latter event to BC 3'.)7. when the next war with Carthage be"an, he emploved in still further strengthening and extending liis power in Sicily. In the new war with Carthage he was at first successful in his operations, but when, in n.c. ,390 fresh troops were sent to the island, he found himself blockaded in Svracuse and in serious danger of being deprived "of his power. Hut, a pestilence breaking out in the Carthaginian fleet, the tyrant seized the opportunity to surprise the enemy a licet and army. He was shrewd enough, how- ever not to push his advantage too far. and turn'ed his attention next to those tireeks. espe- ciallv the Greeks in lower Italy, who were still indei-endent. In B.C. 302 he was interrupted in his plans bv a renewal of hostilities on the part of the Carthaginians, but this struggle was soon terminated bv a peace, in which Carthage recog- nized the tvrant as ruler of a large part of eastern Sicily. He now once more turned to lower Italy, and in n.c. 387, after " '■■^'K'- "' eleven months, captured Pvhegiura. Thus the whole southern corner of Italy came under his rule. In n.c. 383. and ag-ain in n.c. 3.0, he found himself in his last conflict with the Carthaginians, who on both occasions tried to attack him by way of lo^^-^L I^-'l?'- /,^"".' '''J time till his death in n.c. 30,, he ruled «.t lou opposition. His influence was great throughout the Grecian world. In n.c. 373 he assisted the Spartans against the Athenians, in B.C. 3(.0 he supported the Thebans. who ^;;'-<' '."'.'"'"""'i: the Peloponnesus, and in n.c. 308 his troops took m It in the Teariess Battle on the sule of Sparta. s a ruler. Dionvsius was eniel and unscnipu- ious. He did milch, however, for the n,a enni prosperitv of Syracuse, which under his rule 1*^ came the most brilliant of Grecian cities. Ho sent deputies to the Clympie games. ""^ him- self contended for the prize of trag.-dy at Athens receiving in n.c. 307 the first prize for « tr"?'"1.; called The Ransom of Hector. He aimed al^o to have a literarv court, and attrae ed thereto at lilTerent timei the lyric V<;oVuo:.cnn^J» philosopher Aristippus. and Plato. Consist. Holm, fleschichte Sieiliens. vol. 11. (Uip^^. 1874); Grole. History of « rrrce ( vols. X.. XI. London lS.-,-2-.'-,3) : and Freeman. History of Ste- ,7„ (vol.. iii. iv.. Oxford, 1891-941. DIONYSIUS THE VoiNGF.n. Tyrant of Svno°^ .f.er the death of his father Dionr sius th.. Elder, in n.c. 307. He '-eg:. n Ins rule peacefullv. at the age of twenty-eight. "'*• '"J^: n" been' from motives of jealousy negleete.l bv h"; father, he was entirely unfit te,l for his pos. tion. His kinsman, Dion, conceived the idea of