BE MONTS
5*9
DENIS
Scotia, in Jan., 1880, where he held the post of professor of history and rhetoric in Del-housie College. Besides a number of books for boys, he wrote Helena's Household, a tale of Rome in the first century; The Dodge Club, a story of a party of Americans traveling in Italy; The Living Link; and other works.
De Monts, Pierre du Quast, Sieur, was the companion of Champlain in 1604, a Calvinist and patentee under the king of the country of Acadie", which he sailed from France to colonize. They wintered on the island of St. Croix, where they suffered greatly from illness and cold, explored the Atlantic coast as far south as Cape Cod the following summer, and returned to France. De Monts was also patron of the colony on the St. Lawrence in 1608.
Demosthenes (de-mosfthe-nez), the greatest orator of Athens and Greece, was born about 383 B. C. His father died when he was seven years old, leaving him well-off; but his guardians cheated him out of his property. When he came of age, he brought suit against them. Most of the property was lost, but the suit was useful to Demosthenes; it forced him to study law, gave him the doggedness and strength of will that marked him through life, and by making him poor drove him to the pursuit of law as a means of livelihood. At Athens the parties to a suit were made to plead their cause themselves; but they often had their speeches written by a speechr writer. Demosthenes became a speech-writer, and soon had a large practice. By the time he was 30, he was rich enough to devote the remainder of his life to politics. At this time danger threatened Greece from the north—from Macedonia, a country which the Greeks thought half-savage and held of no account in Greek politics, but which, in the lifetime of Demosthenes, destroyed the liberties of Greece. Demosthenes' fame as a statesman rests on the fact that from the outset he foresaw the danger threatened by Philip of Macedon. Had his advice been adopted, Athens and Greece might have been saved. He wanted the rich to allow themselves to be taxed for war-purposes, the poor to agree that less public money should be spent on the great national festivals, and that rich and poor alike should serve in the army, instead of employing hired soldiers. Demosthenes failed to convince his fellow Athenians, and only when it was too late was his policy adopted. When Philip attacked the state of Olynthus, the orator delivered his speeches known as the Olynthiacs, which with the orations against Philip, the Philippics, are the greatest efforts of Demosthenes. During the next few years (346-340), he was engaged in forming an anti-Macedonian party, but the fatal battle of Chaeronea (338), in which Philip completely
triumphed, put an end to these efforts. In 330 he made his famous speech On the Crown, which was a defense of his whole political career. In 324 the treasurer of Alexander the Great decamped to Athens with a large sum of money. This money was placed in the state-treasury in charge of Demosthenes and others, and when Alexander demanded it, half of it was missing. Demosthenes was accused and condemned, but escaped into exile. He was not guilty of the theft, but was condemned by his political enemies. When Alexander died, Demosthenes was recalled from exile to lead an attempt to throw off the Macedonian yoke. The battle of Cran-non put an end to the revolt. Demosthenes fled, and, on being captured, poisoned himself, 322 B. C.
As a boy Demosthenes was nervous, timid and rather girlish, and his mother allowed him to shirk the gymnastic training and out-door-life in which all young Athenians took part. He further was troubled with hesitation in speaking and with shortness of breath, but his will-power overcame all these weaknesses. It is said that he forced himself to speak with a pebble in his mouth; and, to get used to talking amid the noise of the popular assembly, he would speak as he walked up and down the seashore with the waves roaring in his ears as they beat upon the rock. His hard work [and great capacity for taking pains are seen in the high finish of his speeches, as distinguished above those of every orator. The dignity, pathos, might, majesty and power of his speeches rank them with those of any orator that has ever lived.
Dena'rius (Latin deni, ten each; from decent, ten), the chief Roman silver coin, first minted as early as 269 B. C. and equal in value to ten of the copper coins called as. As the latter became reduced in size and value, the Denarius in the second century, B. C. equalled about 16 of the copper or bronze coins known as as; though finally the silver coin dropped out of use about the third century of our era. In Nero's time the denarius had a value, in English money, ranging from 7^d to 9^d or about 17 cents of our decimal currency. It is the coin referred to as a penny in the New Testament.
Denis, Saint, the patron-saint of France, was sent from Rome about 250 A. D. to preach the Gospel to the Gauls. At Paris he made many converts. The Roman governor of this part of Gaul ordered Denis, with two other Christians, to be brought before him. As they kept firm in their faith in spite of threats, they were cruelly tortured and afterward beheaded. It is stated that the bodies of the three martyrs were thrown into the Seine, but were recovered and buried by a Christian woman. In 636 King Dagobert founded on the site.<<
