Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/633

DACIA DACIER 629 m streams frequented by brook trout, and is frequently taken by fly-fishers for the latter species ; it is often eaten in the British prov- inces, and is in the best condition in May. This genus is synonymous with hypsolepis (Bd.), and contains six other described species. The golden and flat dace belong to the genus luxilus (Raf.), and species L. Americanus (Lac6p.) and L. compressus (Raf.) ; five other species are described ; no barbels on the head. The lake dace is semotilus atromaculatus (Mitch.), about 10 in. long; four other species are described. The northwest dace is mylo- cheilus caurinus (Rich.), about a foot long, discovered in Columbia river ; it has a maxil- lary barbel ; there are two other species. The Columbia river dace is ptychocheilus Orego- nensis (Rich.); it is more than a foot long, brownish above, silvery white below ; there are four other species. The shining dace of Lake Champlain is ~hy~bognatJius nitidus (De Kay), 2 in. long ; there are four other species. Storer's dace, a western species, about 8 in. long, is Jiy~bopsis Storerianus (Kirtland) ; there is also a southern species (H. WincJielli, Gir.). The common dace of Europe is the leuciscus vulgaris (Cuv.), inhabiting the deep and still water of the streams of Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy; it rarely exceeds 10 in. in length ; the prevailing color is dusky blue above, becoming paler on the sides, and white on the abdomen ; cheeks silvery ; dorsal and caudal fins pale brown; the other fins nearly white, tinged with pale red. They are gregarious, swimming in shoals, and spawning in June ; they feed on worms and insects, but will rise at an artificial fly. The flesh is not much esteemed, and it is principally used as a bait for pike-trolling, on account of its silvery brightness. The shining scales of the roach and other dace are employed in manufacturing artificial pearls. DACIA, a province of the Roman empire, bounded N". by the Carpathian mountains, which separated it from Sarmatia, S. by the Danube (Ister, Danubius), which separated it from Mcesia, E. by the Pruth (Hierasus) and the Euxine, and W. by the Theiss (Tibiscus, Tysia). It comprised part of Hungary, Tran- sylvania, and Roumania. According to some, it included N. E. the Bukowina, and E. Bes- sarabia. Before the Roman conquest it was the habitation of the Daci, probably of Thra- cian origin, called by historians the most war- like of men, and according to some identical with the Getae. who at the time of Darius' s Scythian expedition lived between the Balkan and the Danube. Strabo speaks of the Geta3 as living in the E. and the Daci in the W. part of the country. In the reign of Augustus they crossed the Danube, plundered the allies of the Romans, and spread terror even among the latter, but were finally driven back. Un- der their king Decebalus they compelled Do- niitian, after a protracted struggle, to purchase peace by an annual tribute. The emperor, however, decorated himself with the title of Dacicus. Trajan refused to pay the tribute, and renewed the war. Decebalus ended the struggle only with his life (A. D. 106), after exhausting every resource of valor and policy. The new province was colonized by inhabi- tants from all parts of the empire, with whom originated the Romanic language of the mod- ern Wallachs, both in Transylvania and Rou- mania. Notwithstanding the resolution of the successors of Trajan to contract the limits of the empire, Dacia remained one of its provinces. In the 3d century it was invaded by the Goths, and resigned to them by the emperor Aurelian, who removed the Roman inhabitants to Moesia, giving the name of Dacia to that part of it in which they settled. DACIER. I. Andre, a French scholar, born at Castres in 1651, died in Paris, Sept. 18, 1722. He was an industrious editor and translator of classical authors. Among his translations were the works of Marcus Aurelius, Plutarch's "Lives," Aristotle's "Poetics," the "CEdipus" and " Electra " of " Sophocles, the works of Hippocrates and Horace, and some of Plato's dialogues. He was one of the scholars en- gaged in editing the celebrated classical series ad usum delphini, ordered by Louis XIV. ; but his only contribution to it was an edi- tion of Poraponius Festus and Valerius Flac- cus. He was keeper of the library of tho Louvre, and a member of the French academy, of which he became perpetual secretary in 1713. II. Anne (LEFEVRE), a French scholar, wife of the preceding, born in Saumur in March, 1654, died in Paris, Aug. 17, 1720. She was the daughter of the distinguished scholar Tanneguy-Lef^vre, and acquired her first instruction from overhearing his lessons to her brother. Lefevre, amazed at the extent of the information thus obtained, devoted himself to her education ; and at his death, in 1672, she was one of the most accomplished scholars in Europe. In that year she went to reside in Paris, where hi 1674 she published an edition of Callimachus. The reputation acquired by this work procured her an invi- tation to assist in preparing the Delphin edi- tions of the classics. In the discharge of this duty she prepared editions of Florus, Eutropius. Aurelius Victor, Dictys Cretensis, and Dares Phrygius. In 1683 she was married to Andre" Dacier, a favorite of her father, under whom they had for many years been fellow pupils. This union was called " the marriage of Greek and Latin." Two years afterward they both abjured Protestantism, and received from the king a pension of 2,000 livres. Mme. Dacier thenceforth continued to devote herself no less assiduously to literary pursuits, and produced translations of several plays of Plautus, the whole of Terence, the Iliad and Odyssey of Ho- mer, the " Plutus " and " Clouds " of Aristo- phanes, and the whole of Anacreon and Sappho. The translations from Homer involved her in a controversy with M. de la Motte and others