64. PRODROMUS (2), or, as he is sometimes called in the MSS.,
Theodorus Ptochoprodromus, a monk who lived in the first half of the twelfth century. On
entering upon the monastic life he received the name of Hilarion. He was held in great repute
by his contemporaries as a scholar and philosopher, and received the appellation of
He wrote upon a variety of subjects, -- philosophy, grammar, theology, history, and astronomy, and in particular was a somewhat prolific poet. Several of his compositions have come down to us, and some have been published. The following are extant :
It is written in iambic metre, and exhibits no great ability. The reader would look in
vain for any thing like a natural progress in the action, or unity in the characters. Not
only are we introduced at once in medias res, but instead of narrating
on suitable opportunities what had preceded, Dosicles is made to tell what had gone before,
beginning at the end, and interweaving the preceding parts of the narrative into his
story.
Poor as the poem is, however, it found an imitator. There is extant an iambic poem, also in nine books, on the loves of Drosilla and Charicles, by Nicetas Eugenianus, which has been erroneously ascribed to Theodorus Prodromus.
in iambic verse, on " the battle of the mice and cat," in imitation of the Homeric Batrachomyomachia. Victory declares itself on the side of the mice, the cat being killed by the fall of a beam.
a poem in iambic senarii. Friendship relates how Human Life, to whom she had been married, had repudiated her by the advice of his slave Folly, and given his hand to Enmity. After a long conversation, depicting the operation of Friendship in the upshot is that Friendship marries the stranger to whom her narrative is addressed.
A poem of above 1000 lines, divided into two books, in which Theodorus complains to the emperor Manuel Comnenus (who reigned from 1143 to 1180) of his extreme poverty, and begs him to withdraw his from the misery which he had to endure in his convent, while those placed over him indulged in debaucheries. About forty lines at the beginning and end of each book are written in old Greek, the remainder in a dialect resembling the modern Greek.
a dialogue in prose.
Notices et Extraits, vol. 8.1810).
being an invective against the saying
described more fully as
elegiac verses, in which he addresses the Apostle Paul, Gregorius Theologus, Basil, Chrysostom, Gregorius of Nyssa, and Nicolaus.
a poem on Providence.
against a man of the name of Barys, who had attempted to brand him as a heretic.
(In imaginem vitae); some verses of a political kind.
(iambi ad Invidos).
without any heading (in hortum).
A piece consisting of 102 senarii, erroneously ascribed by Birger Thorlacius to Manuel Philes.
Manueli Philae duo carmina anecdota
(Copenhagen, 1813), and Opuscula Academica, vol. iii. p. 65. (ibid.
1815.)
17.
18. An epitome of the commentaries of Theodoretus on the Psalms.
19.
20. A lexicon, a treatise on the grammar of Moschopulus, and some other grammatical notes
and treatises (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vi. p. 350).
21. An astronomical poem, addressed to the Sebastocratorissa Irene.
22. A poem of 128 hexameters, addressed to the emperor Joannes Comnenus, on the conquest of Kastamon (Germanicopolis) in Paphlagonia.
23. One hundred and eighteen hexameters, in which he sues for the favour of Anna Comnena (the wife of Nicephorus Bryennius).
24. A poem consisting of 100 lines
25. A description of the entry of Joannes Comnenus into Constantinople after the conquest of Kastamon, in 230 heroic verses.
26. A poem of 296 hexameters, addressed to Joannes Comnenus, on the reconquest of Kastamon, and the occupation of Gaugra.
27. A piece consisting of 50 hexameters, in which Theodorus, on his departure from
Constantinople, complains of having met with no reward for his labours. (Nos. 20-26 are not
mentioned by Fabricius. They exist in MS. at Paris. See La Porte du Theil, Notices et Extraits des MSS. de la Bibl. &c. vol. viii. pt. ii.)
28. In posteriora Analytica Aristotelis, and
29. De pauco et multo, magno et parvo, quod non sint relativa sed
contraria.
30. Various essays on matters of theology and ecclesiastical discipline.
Fabricius, l.c. ; Schöll, Geschichte der Griech.
Litteratur, vol. iii. p. 81, &c.