DARRAS
636
DATES
cell., (XXII, 16, 4) locate it in Pentapolis. It became
the civil and later the religious metropolis of Libya Se-
cunda, or Inferior, i.e. Marmarica (Hierocles, "Synec-
demus", 734, 3; Lequien, "Oriens. christ. ", II, 631;
Gelzer, "Georgii Cyprii descriptio orb is Romani",
142). Darne is another form of the name; Dardanis
is due to an error. Only three, perhaps four, bishops
are known, from the fourth or sixth century to about
600. The city is now known as Demeh or Demah,
Terneh or Ternah, and is a little port at the end of a
bay fonned by the Mediterranean, where the French
admiral Gantheaume landed in 1799. It is situated
east of Benghasi in the vilayet of that name (Tripoli-
tana), and has 2000 inhabitants, who live by fishing
and the coasting trade.
S. Petkides.
Darras, JcsEPn-EpiPHANE, church historian, b. at Troyes, Franco, 1825; d. at Paris, Nov. 8, 1878. He completed his cla.ssical training and his theological studies in the Petit Seminaire and the Grand S^mi- naire of Troyes, in the former of which he became a teacher after his ordination to the priesthood, but had to resign apropos of a panegyric on the Bishop of Troyes7 Etienne-Antoine de Boulogne (1809-1825), disgraced by Napoleon I, for his firm attitude on the occasion of the assembly of the French bishops in 1811. He then became tutor of Prince Eugene de Bauffremont, devoted himself to historical studies, and after the education of his pupil continued to live with the de Bauffremont family. He was a zealous antagonist of Gallicanism and devoted to the honour and the rights of the Holy See. He was at Rome during the Vatican Council as secretary to the meet- ings of the French bishojis. His first literary work was the translation of Pallavicino's "Storia del Con- cilio Tridentino" for the Migne collection. To the same period belongs the " Legende de Notre-Dame ' ' (Paris, 1848), written under the influence of Montal- embert. The early theological studies of Darrar did not include a good foundation in ecclesiastical history; this defect he sought to make good by private stvulies. His "Histoire generale de I'Eglise" in four volumes appeared at Paris in 1854 (14th ed., 1890). It follows the reigns of the popes, but betrays in the author a lack of methodical training and critical skill, defects noticeable also in his other works. In the following years Darras published a "Histoire de St. Denis I'Areopagite, premier dvccjue de Paris" (Paris, 1863); a "Histoire de Notre Seigneur Jesus-Christ" (Paris, 1864), two volumes, and a "Notice biographique de Mgr. Jager" (Paris, 1868). He collaborated with Collin in the "Grande Vie des Saints" (Paris, 1873-75) twenty-five volumes. In the meantime he had pre- pared the material for his chief work: "Histoire de I'Eglise depuis la creation", the first twenty-five vol- umes of which appeared before his death (Paris, 1875- 77). They brought the narrative down to the twelfth centurj'. 'After his death, J. Bareille continued the work to the pontificate of Clement VII (volumes XXVI-XXXII, Paris, 1879-84). It was completed by J. Fevre to the pontificate of Leo XIII, inclusive (volumes XXXIII-XLIV, Paris, 1884-1907, with two volumes of Index). This work discloses the defects mentioned above. For a sharp criticism of it by the Bollandist Charles de Smedt, S. J., see the latter's "Principes de la critique historique" (Liege, 1885), 137 sqq., 285.
Polybiblion (Paris, 1879). XXV, SO; Hurter, Nomcndator, III, 1325, 1396; Darras-B.ireille-Fevre, Histoire de I'Eglise (Paris, 1S8S), XLII, 376 sqq.
J. P. KiRSCH.
Darrell, William, theologian, b. 1651, in Bucking- hamshire, England; d. 28 Feb., 1721, at St. Omer's, France. He was a member of the ancient Catholic family of Darrell of Scotney Castle, Sussex, being the only son of Thomas Darrell and his wife, Thomassing
Marcham. He joined the Society of Jesus on 7 Sept.,
1671, was professed 25 March, 1689. He wrote: "A
Vindication of St. Ignatius from Phanaticism and of
the Jesuits from the calumnies laid to their charge in
a late book (by Henry Wharton) entitled The Enthu-
siasm of theChurch of Rome" (London, 1688); "Moral
Reflections on the Epistles and Gospels of every Sun-
day throughout the Year" (London, 1711, and fre-
quently reprinted); "Tlie Gentleman Instructed in
the conduct of a virtuous and happy life" (10th ed.,
London, 1732; frequently reprinted and translated
into Italian and Hungarian); "Tlieses Tlieologica; "
(Liege, 1702); "The Case Reviewed" in answer to
Leslie's "Case Stated" (2nd ed., London, 1717); " \
Treatise of the Real Presence" (London, 1721). He
translated " Discourses of Cleander and Eudoxus upon
the Provincial Letters from the French" (1701).
Jones in his edition of Peck's "Popery Tracts"(18.50),
also attributes to F.ather Darrell: "A Letter on King
James the Second's most gracious Letter of Indul-
gence" (1687); "The Layman's Opinion sent . . . tn
a considerable Di\'ine in the Church of England"
(1687); "A Letter to a Lady" (1688); "Tlie Vanity
of Human Respects" (1688).
Foley, Records Eng. Prov. S. J. {London, 1878), III. 477. VII, i, 196; "PY^CK.Catalogueof Popery Tracts (J~'i;i).ed. iosts (Chetham Society. 1859); Gillow, Bibl. Did. Eng. Calh. (London. 1886), II; Cooper in Diet. Nat. Biog. (London, 1888), XIV.
Edwin Burton.
Darwinism. See Evolution.
Dates and Dating. — In classical Latin even before the time of Christ it was usual for correspondents to indicate when and where their letters were written. This was commonly done by such words as dabam RonuB ante tliem. quartum Kalendas Januarias, i. e. I gave or delivered this at Rome on December 29th. For this the later formula was dala Ramm (given at Rome). Hence data, the first word of the formula, came to be used for the time and place therein speci- fied. The principle that imperial decrees and char- ters must be "dated" as a condition of validity, i. e. that they must bear upon them the indication of the day and year when they were delivered, may be traced back to the time of Constantine. In the course of the Middle Ages this principle was generally admitted, and we find, for example, that at Cologne in the twelfth century the validity of a certain instrument was contested because it lacked a date. "Those who have seen it say that the document which John brought does not bear the day or the indiction . . . now the Roman decrees lay down that letters which lack the day and the indiction have no binding force." (Westdeutsche Zeitschrift fiir Geschichte, I, 377.) But although this principle was recognized in theory it was not always carried out in practice. Even down to the beginning of the twelfth century not only royal and imperial letters but even charters (Urkunden), properly so called, were occasionally through the care- lessness of officials sent out without a date. (Bress- lau, Handbuch, I, 891.) In this matter the Italian chancery officials seem to have been much more care- ful than those of the rest of Europe. The same is true with regard to the correctness of the dates which do appear in official documents, especially those of the early Middle Ages. As a rule the charters emanating from the cliancery of the Western Emperors are much more liable to this form of error than those of the Holy See (Bresslau, ib., 844). But even the bulls of such a pontiff as Innocent III are not imfrequently at fault, and as Leopold Delisle has shown, an erroneous calcu- lation of the indiction may be perpetuated through a whole series of authentic documents (Bib. de I'Ecole des chartes, 1858, p. 55). In any case it remains certain and is admitted by all serious writers upon diplomatics that the mere fact that an erroneous date occurs in a document, especially when we are
