He 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 described him as the greatest Latin poet after
Virgil. Pacatus was probably a professor of rhetoric at Bordeaux. Pacatus attained the rank of
proconsul of
Africa (390) and held a confidential position at the imperial court. He was the author of an
extant speech (ed. R.A.B. Mynors,
XII Panegyrici Latini, Oxford 1964, No. 2; English translation in C.E.V. Nixon / Barbara Rodgers,
In Praise of Later Roman Emperors, Berkeley 1994) delivered in the senate house at Rome (389) in honor 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exaggeration and flattery, it is marked by considerable dignity and self-restraint, and is thus more important as a historical document than similar productions. The style is vivid, the language elegant but comparatively simple, exhibiting familiarity with the best classical literature. He is attested as
comes rerum privatarum in 393. The writer of the panegyric must be distinguished from
Drepanius Florus, deacon of Lyons c. 850, author of some Christian poems and prose theological works. == Notes==