[1] Sophisticated Druses still sometimes claim connexion with
Rosicrucians, and a special relation to Scottish freemasons.
DRUSIUS (or VAN DEN DRIESCHE), JOHANNES (1550-1616), Protestant divine,
distinguished specially as an Orientalist and exegete, was born at
Oudenarde, in Flanders, on the 28th of June 1550. Being designed for the
church, he studied Greek and Latin at Ghent, and philosophy at Louvain;
but his father having been outlawed for his religion, and deprived of
his estate, retired to England, where the son followed him in 1567. He
found an admirable teacher of Hebrew in Chevalier, the celebrated
Orientalist, with whom he resided for some time at Cambridge. In 1572 he
became professor of Oriental languages at Oxford. Upon the pacification
of Ghent (1576) he returned with his father to their own country, and
was appointed professor of Oriental languages at Leiden in the following
year. In 1585 he removed to Friesland, and was admitted professor of
Hebrew in the university of Franeker, an office which he discharged with
great honour till his death, which happened in February 1616. He
acquired so extended a reputation as a professor that his class was
frequented by students from all the Protestant countries in Europe. His
works prove him to have been well skilled in Hebrew and in Jewish
antiquities; and in 1600 the states-general employed him, at a salary of
400 florins a year, to write notes on the most difficult passages in the
Old Testament; but this work was not published until after his death. As
the friend of Arminius, he was charged by the orthodox and dominant
party with unfairness in the execution of the task, and the last sixteen
years of his life were therefore somewhat embittered by controversy. He
carried on an extensive correspondence with the learned in different
countries; for, besides letters in Hebrew, Greek and other languages,
there were found amongst his papers upwards of 2000 written in Latin. He
had a son, John, who died in England at the age of twenty-one, and was
accounted a prodigy of learning. He had mastered Hebrew at the age of
nine, and Scaliger said that he was a better Hebrew scholar than his
father. He wrote a large number of letters in Hebrew, besides notes on
the Proverbs of Solomon and other works.
Paquot states the number of the printed works and treatises of the
elder Drusius at forty-eight, and of the unprinted at upwards of
twenty. Of the former more than two-thirds were inserted in the
collection entitled _Critici sacri, sive annolata doctissimorum
virorum in Vetus et Novum Testamentum_ (Amsterdam, 1698, in 9 vols.
folio, or London, 1660, in 10 vols. folio). Amongst the works of
Drusius not to be found in this collection may be mentioned--(1)
_Alphabetum Hebraicum vetus_ (1584, 4to); (2) _Tabulae in grammaticam
Chaldaicam ad usum juventutis_ (1602, 8vo); (3) An edition of
Sulpicius Severus (Franeker, 1807, 12mo); (4) _Opuscula quae ad
grammaticam spectant omnia_ (1609, 4to); (5) _Lacrymae in obitum J.
Scaligeri_ (1609, 4to); and (6) _Grammatica linguae sanctae nova_
(1612, 4to).
DRUSUS, MARCUS LIVIUS, Roman statesman, was colleague of Gaius Gracchus
in the tribuneship, 122 B.C. The proposal of Gracchus (q.v.) to confer
the full franchise on the Latins had been opposed not only by the
senate, but also by the mob, who imagined that their own privileges
would thereby be diminished. Drusus threatened to veto the proposal.
Encouraged by this, the senatorial party put up Drusus to outbid
Gracchus. Gracchus had proposed to found colonies outside Italy; Drusus
provided twelve in Italy, to each of which 3000 citizens were to be
sent. Gracchus had proposed to distribute allotments to the poorer
citizens subject to a state rent-charge; Drusus promised them free of
all charge, and further that they should be inalienable. In addition to
the franchise, immunity from corporal punishment (even in the field) was
promised the Latins. The absence of Gracchus, and the inefficiency of
his representative at Rome, led to the acceptance of these proposals,
which were never intended to be carried. Drusus himself declined all
responsibility in connexion with carrying them out. He was rewarded for
his services by the consulship (112), and the title of _patronus
senatus_. He received Macedonia for his province, where he distinguished
himself in a campaign against the Scordisci, whom he drove across the
Danube, being the first Roman general who reached that river. It is
possible that he is the Drusus mentioned by Plutarch as having died in
109, the year of his censorship.
Appian, _Bell. Civ._ i. 23; Plutarch, _Gaius Gracchus_, 8-11; Florus
iii. 4; A. H. J. Greenidge, _Hist. of Rome_, vol. i. (1904).
His son, MARCUS LIVIUS DRUSUS, became tribune of the people in 91 B.C.
He was a thoroughgoing conservative, wealthy and generous, and a man of
high integrity. With some of the more intelligent members of his party
(such as Marcus Scaurus and L. Licinius Crassus the orator) he
recognized the need of reform. At that time an agitation was going on
for the transfer of the judicial functions from the equites to the
senate; Drusus proposed as a compromise a measure which restored to the
senate the office of judices, while its numbers were doubled by the
admission of 300 equites. Further, a special commission was to be
appointed to try and sentence all judices guilty of taking bribes. But
the senate was lukewarm, and the equites, whose occupation was
threatened, offered the most violent opposition. In order, therefore, to
catch the popular votes, Drusus proposed the establishment of colonies
in Italy and Sicily, and an increased distribution of corn at a reduced
rate. By help of these riders the bill was carried. Drusus now sought a
closer alliance with the Italians, promising them the long-coveted boon
of the Roman franchise. The senate broke out into open opposition. His
laws were abrogated as informal, and each party armed its adherents for
the civil struggle which was now inevitable. Drusus was stabbed one
evening as he was returning home. His assassin was never discovered.
See Rome: _History_, ii. "The Republic" (Period C); also Appian,
_Bell. Civ._ i. 35; Florus iii. 17; Diod. Sic. xxxvii. 10; Livy,
_Epit._ 70; Vell. Pat. ii. 13.
DRUSUS, NERO[1] CLAUDIUS (38-9 B.C.) Roman general, son of Tiberius
Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla, stepson of Augustus and younger
brother of the emperor Tiberius. Having held the office of quaestor and
acted as praetor for his brother during the latter's absence in Gaul, he
began (in 15 B.C.) the military career which has made his name famous.
In conjunction with Tiberius, he carried on a successful campaign
against the Raeti and Vindelici, who, although repulsed from Italy,
continued to threaten the frontiers of Gaul. The credit of the decisive
victory, however, must be assigned to Tiberius. Two of the _Odes_ of
Horace (iv. 4 and 14) were written to glorify the exploits of the
brothers. In 13 Drusus was sent as governor to the newly organized
province of the three Gauls, where considerable discontent had been
aroused by the exactions of the Roman governor Licinius. Drusus made a
fresh assessment for taxation purposes, and summoned the Gallic
representatives to a meeting at Lugdunum to discuss their grievances. It
was of great importance to pacify the Gauls, in order to have his hands
free to deal with the German tribes, one of which, the Sugambri, on the
right bank of the Rhine, had seized the opportunity, during the absence
of Augustus, to cross the river (12). Drusus drove them back and pursued
them through the island of the Batavi and the land of the Usipetes
(Usipes, Usipii) to their own territory, which he devastated. Sailing
down the Rhine, he subdued the Frisii and, in order to facilitate
operations against the Chauci, dug a canal (Fossa Drusiana) leading from
the Rhenus (Rhine) to the Isala (Yssel)[2] into the lacus Flevus
(Zuidersee) and the German Ocean. Making his way along the Frisian
coast, he conquered the island of Burchanis (_Borkum_), defeated the
Bructeri in a naval engagement on the Amisia (_Ems_), and went on to the
mouth of the Visurgis (_Weser_) to attack the Chauci. On the way back
his vessels grounded on the shallows, and were only got off with the
assistance of the Frisii. Winter being close at hand, the campaign was
abandoned till the following spring, and Drusus returned to Rome with
the honour of having been the first Roman general to reach the German
Ocean.
In his second campaign (11), Drusus defeated the Usipetes, threw a
bridge over the Luppia (_Lippe_), attacked the Sugambri, and advanced
through their territory and that of the Tencteri and Chatti as far as
the Weser, where he gained a victory over the Cherusci. Lack of
provisions, the approach of winter, and an inauspicious portent
prevented him from crossing the Weser. While making his way back to the
Rhine he fell into an ambuscade, but the carelessness of the enemy
enabled him to inflict a crushing defeat upon them. In view of future
operations, he built two castles, one at the junction of the Luppia and
Aliso (_Alme_), the other in the territory of the Chatti on the Taunus,
near Moguntiacum (_Mainz_).
The third campaign (10) was of little importance. The Chatti had joined
the Sugambri in revolt; and, after some insignificant successes, Drusus
returned with Augustus and Tiberius to Rome, and was elected consul for
the following year. In spite of unfavourable portents at Rome, he
determined to enter upon his fourth and last campaign (9) without delay.
He attacked and defeated the Chatti, Suebi, Marcomanni and Cherusci,
crossed the Weser and penetrated as far as the Albis (_Elbe_). Here
trophies were set up to mark the farthest point ever reached by a Roman
army. Various measures were taken to secure the possession of the
conquered territory: fortresses were erected along the Elbe, Weser and
Maas (_Meuse_, _Mosa_); a flotilla was placed upon the Rhine and a dam
built upon the right arm of its estuary to increase the flow of water
into the canal mentioned above. Drusus was said to have been deterred
from crossing the Elbe by the sudden appearance of a woman of
supernatural size, who predicted his approaching end. On his return,
probably between the Elbe and the Saale (_Sala_), his horse stumbled and
threw him. His leg was fractured and he died thirty days after the
accident, on the 14th of September. Suetonius mentions an absurd rumour
that he had been poisoned by order of Augustus, because he had refused
to obey the order for his recall. The body was carried to the winter
quarters of the army, whence it was escorted by Tiberius to Rome, the
procession being joined by Augustus at Ticinum (Pavia). Tiberius
delivered an oration over the remains in the Forum, whence they were
conveyed to the Campus Martius and cremated, and ashes being deposited
in the mausoleum of Augustus.
Drusus was one of the most distinguished men of his time. His agreeable
manners, handsome person and brilliant military talents gained him the
affection of the troops, while his sympathy with republican principles,
endeared him to the people. It is not too much to say that, had he and
his son lived long enough, they might have brought about the abolition
of the monarchy. Although the successes of Drusus, resulting in the
subjection of the German tribes from the Rhine to the Elbe, were too
rapid to be lasting, they brought home the fact of the existence of the
Romans to many who had never heard their name. For his victories he
received the title of Germanicus. He married Antonia, the daughter of
Marcus Antonius the triumvir, by whom he had three children: Germanicus,
adopted by Tiberius; Claudius, afterwards emperor; and a daughter
Livilla.
The chief ancient authorities for the life of Drusus are Dio Cassius,
the epitomes of Livy, Suetonius (_Claudius_), Tacitus (portions of the
_Annals_), Florus (whose chief source is Livy), Velleius Paterculus,
and the _Consolatio ad Liviam_. The German campaigns were described in
the last books of Livy and the lost _Bella Germaniae_ of the elder
Pliny. As would naturally be expected, they have produced an extensive
literature in Germany, J. Asbach's "Die Feldzuge des Nero Claudius
Drusus" (_Rhein. Jahrb._ lxxxv. 14-30) being especially recommended;
see also Mommsen's _History of the Roman Provinces_, i.; Merivale,
_History of the Romans under the Empire_, ch. 36; A. Stein in
Pauly-Wissowa's _Realencyclopadie_ (1899), where other authorities are
given; J. C. Tarver, _Tiberius the Tyrant_ (1902).