A Suidas is
mentioned
by merous, but the names of the writers are frequently
Strabo (p.
Strabo (p.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - c
on to produce them by legal process (ne cogantur
290 ; Sil. Ital. xiii. 568. ) When one of the gods ad exhibendum formulam accipere). In a letter
was to take an oath by Styx, Iris fetched a cup to Trajanus (x. 95) Plinius commends to the em-
full of water from the Styx, and the god, while peror the integrity and learning of Suetonius, who
taking the oath, poured out the water. (Hes. Theog had become his intimate friend, and he says that
775. ) Zeus became by her the father of Per- he liked him the better, the more he knew him :
sephone (Apollod. i. 3. $ 1), and Peiras the father he requested the emperor to grant Suetonius the
of Echidna. (Paus. viii. 18. § 1. ) [L. S. ] jus trium liberorum, for though Suetonius was mar-
SUADA, the Roman personification of persua- ried he had no children, or at least had not the
sion, the Greek Peitho (Lleida). She is also called number of three, which was necessary to relieve
by the diminutive Suadela. (Horat. Epist. i. 6. 38 ; him from various legal disabilities. The emperor
Cic. Brut. 15, Cat. Maj. 11. )
[L. S. ] granted the privilege to Suetonius.
SU'BRIUS FLAVIUS or FLAVUS. (FLA- Suetonius became Magister Epistolarum to Ha-
Vus. ]
drianus, a situation which would give him the oppor-
SÚBULO, P. DE/CIUS, was one of the tri- tunity of seeing many important documents relating
umvirs for settling new colonists at Aquileia, in to the emperors. In a passage in the life of
B. c. 169; and he is probably the same as the P. Augustus (c. 7) Suetonius makes mention of his
Decius, who was sent to Rome in the following having given to the Princeps a bronze bust which
year by the praetor L. Anicius, to announce his represented Augustus when a boy. The critics
victory over the Illyrians and his capture of king generally assume that the Princeps was Hadrianus;
Gentins. (Liv. xliii. 17, xlv. 3. )
but it is immaterial whether it was Hadrianus or
SUEʻDIÙS CLEMENS, was with two others Trajanus, so far as concerns the biography of
placed by Otho over the troops who were to attack Suetonius. Hadrianus, who was apparently of a
Gallia Narbonensis. (Tac. Hist. i. 87, ii. 12. ) jealous disposition, deprived of their offices at the
L. SUE'TIUS, one of the witnesses against same time, Septicius Clarus, who was Praefectus
## p. 931 (#947) ############################################
SUETONIUS.
SUFENAS.
931
Praetorio, Suetonius Tranquillus, and many others, | suppress those anecdotes which he believed to be
on the ground of associating with Sabina the true, that is no imputation on his veracity. As a
emperor's wife, without his permission, and ap- great collection of facts of all kinds, the work on
parently during the emperor's absence in Britain, the Caesars is invaluable for the historian of this
on terms of more familiarity than was consistent period. His judginent and his honesty have both
with respect to the imperial household. (Spartian. been attacked by some modern critics ; but we
Hadrian. c. 11).
are of the same opinion as Krause that on both
Suetonius wrote many works, a list of which is grounds a careful study of his work will justify
given in Suidas (s. v. Tpágkuados), De Ludis him. The friendship of the younger Plinius is
Graecorum, lib. i. ; De Spectaculis et Certamini. evidence in favour of the integrity of Suetonius,
bus Romanorum, libri ii. ; De Anno Romano, lib. i. ; and Vopiscus, no great authority, it is true, calls
De Notis, on the notae or marks used in writing, him a most accurate and impartial writer (Flav.
which may have been a treatise on the Roman short Vopisc. l'irmus, c. 1; compare the Life of Probus,
hand ; De Ciceronis Republica ; De Nominibus c. 2). Those who attack the credit of Suetonius
propriis et de Generibus Vestium ; De Vocibus mali must conduct the assault with more ability and
ominis; De Roma ejusque Institutis et Moribus, judgment than H. Heisen in his absurd essay,
libri ii. ; Historiae Caesarum, libri Octo; Stem entitled “Dissertatio de Imperatoria majestate a
ma illustrium Romanorum. He also wrote some primis Historiae Augustne conditoribus indignis-
other works of which fragments have been dis- sime habita. ” (Symbol. Litt. Bremen. tom. ii. iii. )
covered : De Regibus, libri iii. ; De Institutione The treatise De Illustribus Grammaticis and
Officiorum ; De Rebus Variis ; and others. There that De Claris Rhetoribus are probably only parts
are still extant, and attributed to Suetonius, Vitae of a larger work, for Hieronymus says in a letter
Duodecim Caesarum, or the twelve Imperators, of to Desiderius," I have written a treatise on illus.
whom the first is C. Julius Caesar and the last is trious men from the time of the Apostles to our
Domitian ; Liber de illustribus Grammaticis; and own age, imitating therein Tranquillus and the
Liber de claris Rhetoribus ; neither of which is Greek Apollonius. ' (Casaubou’s note on the
contained in the list of Suidas ; Vita Terentii, Ho- title of the work De Illustribus Grammaticis. )
ratii, Persii, Lucani, Juvenalis, Plinii Majoris, These two treatises contain a few biographical and
which also are not included in the catalogue of other notices, that are occasionally useful. It has
Suidas.
been conjectured that the few scanty lives of the
The chief work of Suetonius is his lives of the Latin poets, already enumerated, belonged to a
Caesars which, as it appears, were sometimes distri- larger work De Poetis. If this conjecture be true,
buted in eight books, as they are in some manuscripts. the short notice of the elder Plinius may not be by
The authorities which he followed for the sereral Suetonius, and Casaubon will not allow it to be
lives have beer diligently examined by Augustus his. But the opinion as to the book De Poetis is
Krause (De Suetonii Tranquilli Fontibus et Auctori- merely a conjecture. A work entitled De Viris
tate, Berlin, 1841). Krause gives some reasons Illustribus, which has been attributed both to
for supposing that Suetonius consulted the historical Suetonius and the younger Plinius, is now unani-
writings of Tacitus, and he argues, that as Tacitus mously assigned to Aurelius Victor.
did not write his annals before A. D. 117, in which The editions of Suetonius are very numerous.
year Hadrian succeeded Trajan, Suetonius did not Before A. D. 1500, fifteen editions bad appeared,
write the lives of the Caesars before A. D. 120. . a proof that the Lives of the Caesars were favourite
This is not very satisfactory, though it must be ad- reading. The oldest edition with a date is that of
mitted that there are many expressions in Suetonius, Rome, 1470, folio. The best of the early editions
which closely resemble the expressions in Tacitus ; is that of I. Casaubon, Geneva, 1595, and Paris,
and Suetonius, a grammarian (grammaticus), was 1610. A small edition by J. Schild, Leiden,
likely enough to copy particular phrases. Indeed 1647, contains a selection of useful notes. One of
Suetonius often quotes Senatusconsulta and other the most useful editions is that by P. Burmann,
documentary evidence in the very words, which Amsterdam, 1736, 2 vols. 4to. , with a selection of
Tacitus as a general rule did not These lives of notes from the principal commentators, the fragments
Suetonius are not and do not affect to be historical: of Suetonius, inscriptions relating to the Caesars,
they are rather anecdotical, and in the nature of tables of the coins of the Caesars, and a copious
Mémoires pour servir. His authorities are the index. One of the latest editions is that of Baum-
writings of the Roman emperors themselves and garten-Crusius, Leipzig, 1816, 3 vols. 8vo. , which
those of their freedmen, Epistolae, Orationes, Testa- was again edited by C. B. Hase, Paris, 1828, 2
ments, and other documents of that kind ; public vols. 8vo.
documents, as Senatusconsulta, Fasti, inscriptions, There is an English translation of the Twelve
and the Acta of the Senate and the people ; also Caesars by the industrious translator, Philemon
the Greek and Roman writers on Roman history. Holland, London, 1606, folio. Besides these there
He also learned much from conversation with those are four other English translations, the last of which
who were older than himself, and he would know is by A. Thomson, London, 1796, 8vo. , “with
something of Titus and Domitian at least, as he annotations and a review of the government and
was a young man during their reign. Suetonius literature of the different periods. " There are trans-
does not follow the chronological order in his Lives, lations in Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch, German,
but he groups together many things of the same and Danish.
kind, as he says himself (Augustus, c. 9). His Bähr's Geschichte der Römischen Literatur con-
language is very brief and precise, sometimes obtains the chief references for the literature of Sue-
scure, without any affectation of ornament. He tonius.
[G. L. )
certainly tells a prodigious number of scandalous SUFE'NAS, M, NONIUS, was tribune of
anecdotes about the Caesars, but there was plenty the plebs in B. C. 56, and in conjunction with his
to tell about them; and if he did not choose to colleagues C. Cato and Procilius, prevented the
3 0 2
1
## p. 932 (#948) ############################################
932
SUIDAS.
SUIDAS.
3
1
Sen
EX-NO01
consular comitia from being held, in consequence | Iater date (ε. το. Γηώρος ; Δέρτρου ; Ηγήτορες),
of which an interregnum ensued and thus Pompey for Michael Psellus is quoted, and Psellus lived at
and Crassus were elected consuls. On account of the close of the eleventh century A. D. (See the
their violent conduct in their tribunate Sufenas and notes on these words in Gaisford's edition. )
his colleagues were brought to trial in B. C. 54 ; The Lexicon of Suidas is a dictionary of words
Procilius was condemned, but Sufenas and Cato arranged in alphabetical order, with some few
were acquitted through the influence of Pompey. peculiarities of arrangement ; but it contains both
Sufenas was propraetor in B. c. 51, in one of the pro- words which are found in dictionaries of languages,
vinces in the neighbourhood of Cilicia, and on the and also names of persons and places, with extracts
breaking out of the civil war two years afterwards, from ancient Greek writers, grammarians, scholiasts,
he is mentioned as one of Pompey's generals. and lexicographers, and some extracts from later
(Cic. ad Att. iv. 15. § 4, vi. 1. § 13, viii. 15. 9 3. ) Greek writers. The names of persons comprehend
He appears to be the same as the Nonius, who was both persons who are mentioned in sacred and in
present at the battle of Pharsalia, and who sought profane history, which shows that if the work is
to encourage his party after their defeat by remark- by one hand, it is by a Christian ; but there is no
ing that seven eagles were left in the camp of inconsistency in supposing that the original of the
Pompey; when Čicero replied, " It would be Lexicon which now goes under the name of Suidas,
very well if we were fighting with jack-daws. " is a work of earlier date even than the time of
(Plut. Cic. 38. )
Stephanus of Byzantium, and that it received large
There are coins of one Sex. Nonius Sufenas, a accessions from some various hands. No well
specimen of which is subjoined. On the obverse is conceived plan has been the basis of this work: it
the head of Saturn and on the reverse a woman is incomplete as to the number of articles, and ex-
Beated whom Victory is in the act of crowning. On ceedingly irregular and unequal in the execution.
the reverse we read sex. NONI. PR. L. V. P. F; Some articles are pretty complete, others contain
the latter letters are interpreted either praelor or no information at all. As to the biographical no-
primus ludos votivos publicos fecit. (Eckhel, vol. v. tices it has been conjectured that Suidas or the
pp. 261, 262. )
compiler got them all from one source, which, it is
further supposed, may be the Onomatologos or
Pinax of Hesychius of Miletus ; for it is said in
Suidas (s. v. 'Hoúxios), “ of which this book is an
epitome ;” but it is an incorrect interpretation to
conclude that Suidas means to say that his work
is an epitome of the Onomatologos (or rivas Tv
έν παιδεία ονομαστών), which would be manifestly
false: he means to say that the work in use at the
time when he wrote was an epitome of the Ono-
matologos.
The scholiast on Aristophanes has been freely
SUIDAS (Soutdas). A Greek Lexicon is ex- used in the compilation of this Lexicon. The
tant under the name of Suidas, but nothing is extracts from ancient Greek writers are very nu-
known of the compiler.
A Suidas is mentioned by merous, but the names of the writers are frequently
Strabo (p. 329, ed. Casaub. ) as the author of a omitted. These extracts have sometimes no refer-
history of Thessaly, and this work is also cited by ence to the title of the article, and have no appli-
the scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, and by Ste- cation to it; a circumstance probably owing to
phanus of Byzantium (s. vv. Aurpos, Awdúvn, numerous interpolations made in the manuscript
Frag. Steph. ). It is not likely that this Suidas is copies of the Lexicon. A want of criticism per.
the author of the Lexicon ; but no certain conclu- vades the whole work, or rather excessive careless-
sion as to the age of the compiler can be derived ness, as in the case of the name Severus (Lebñpos,
from passages in the work, which undoubtedly and Küster's note). The article Alyattes ('Ala
were written long after the time of Stephanus of étons) is another instance, and there are others of
Byzantium, for the work may have received nu- a like kind.
merous interpolations and additions. Eustathius, There is prefixed to the editions of Suidas the
who lived about the end of the twelfth century following notice :-Td uir tapòv Bebaſov Soutda,
A. D. , quotes the Lexicon of Suidas. The article oi d ouvrašauévoi TOÛTO Evopes cópoi
, which is
Adam (Adán) contains a chronological epitome, followed by a list of twelve names. As to this
which ends with the emperor Joannes Zimisces, title, see the remarks of Harles.
who died A. D. 974 ; and in the article Constan- The Lexicon of Suidas, though without merit as to
tinople (RwvotaVTIVOÚTORIs) are mentioned Basi- its execution, is valuable both for the literary history
silius the second, and Constantins, who succeeded of antiquity, for the explanation of words, and for
Joannes Zimisces. A remark under the article the citations from many ancient writers; and a pro-
Polyeuctus (nonúeuktos) shows that the writer of digious amount of critical labour has been bestowed
that remark was contemporaneous with the Patri- upon it. Many emendations have been made on
arch Polyeuctus (&yéveto kal kal juâs Tolveuk- the text by Toup and others.
Tos, &c. ) who succeeded Theophylactus, A. D. 956 The first edition of Suidas was by Demetrius
(note of Reinesius); but the date 936 is given by Chalcondylas, Milan, 1499, fol. , without a Latin
other authorities. This passage which Reinesius version. The second, by the elder Aldus, Venice,
assumes to prove the period of the author of the 1514, fol. , is also without a Latin version : this
Lexicon, merely proves the period of the writer edition was reprinted by Froben, Bâle, 1544, fol. ,
who made the remark ; and he may be either the with some corrections. The first Latin translation
author of the Lexicon or an interpolator. But there of Suidas was made by Hieron. Wolf, Bâle, 1564,
ere passages in the Lexicon which refer even to a | 1581, fol. The first edition, which contained both
COIN OF SEX, NONIUS SUFENAS.
## p. 933 (#949) ############################################
SULLA.
923
SULLA.
the Greek text and a Latin version, was by Aemi. | the dictator received the name of Sulla in con-
hus Portus, Geneva, 1619, 2 vols. fol. , and 1630, sequence of his face being spotted with rough red
with a new title. The Latin version is said to be blotches interspersed with the white. Macrobius
better than Wolf's.
(Sat, i. 17) gives quite a different explanation, and
The edition of I. . Küster appeared at Cambridge, derives the word from Sibylla, which he says was
1705, 3 vols. folio. The basis of this edition is given to P. Cornelius Rufinus, because he was the
not the Editio Princeps, but that of Portus. Küster Hrst to introduce the celebration of the Ludi Apol-
corrected the text with the aid of the MSS. , added linares in accordance with the commands of the
numerous good notes, and improved the version of Sibylline books, and that this surname Sibylla was
Portus. But he dealt with the Greek text rather afterwards shortened into Sylla. This explanation
in an arbitrary way, and rejected all that he con of the word is repeated by Charisius (Inst. Gram.
sidered to be interpolated. J. Gronovius made an i. 20); but, independent of other objections, it
attack on Küster's edition, to which Kister re- must be rejected on the authority of Quintilian (i.
plied. The preface of Küster contaics a disserta- 4. $ 25), who classes Sulla with other cognomens,
tion on Suidas.
which owed their origin to certain bodily pecu-
The edition of Suidas by T. Gaisford, in three liarities. Some modern writers, such as Cortius
handsome volumes folio, appeared at Oxford in (ad Sall. Catil. 5), regard Sulla as a diminutive of
1834. The first two volumes contain the text Sura, which was a cognomen in several Roman
without a Latin version, and the notes, which are gentes (SURA), and we are disposed to accept this as
chiefly selected from Küster and others. The third the most probable explanation of the word. It would
volume contains “ Index Kusterianus Rerum et be formed from Sura on the same analogy as puella
Nominum Propriorum quae extra seriem suam in from puera, and tenellus from tener (comp. Schnei-
Suidae Lexico occurrunt; " " Index Glossarum Per- der, Elementarlelire der lateinischen Sprache, vol. i.
Bonarum Verborumque notatu digniorum ;” and p. 47, &c. ). There is no authority for writing the
“ Index Scriptorum a Suida citatorum. " In his word Sylla, as is done by many modern writers.
preface Gaisford states, that he used nearly the On coins and inscriptions we always find Sula or
same MSS. as Küster, but that Küster was care. Sulla, never Sylla.
Jess in noting the readings of the MSS. Gaisford 1. P. Cornelius (RUFINUS) SULLA, the great-
has given the various readings of the best MS. , grandfather of the dictator Sulta, and the grandson
and those of the edition of Chalcondylas. Küster of P. Cornelius Rufinus, who was twice consul in
adopted many of the emendations of Portus with the Samnite wars. [RUFINUS, Cornelius, No. 2. )
out acknowledgment, and he is accused generally His father is not mentioned. He was, as has been
of borrowing without owning where he got his already mentioned, the first of the family who
matter froin.
bore the surname of Sulla. He was flamen dialis,
The edition of G. Bernhardy, 4to. Halle, 1834, and likewise praetor urbanus and peregrinus in
contains a Latin version. It is founded on the R C. 212. The praetor of the preceding year, M.
edition of Gaisford, as appears from the title – Attilius, had handed over to him certain sacred
“ Gr. & Lat. ad fidem optimorum librorum exactum, verses of the seer Marcius, partly referring to the
post Th. Gaisford recens. et adnot. critic, instruxit past and partly to the future, and which com-
Gdf. Bernhards. "
manded the Romans, among other things, to insti-
There are said to be two unpublished extracts tute an annual festival in honour of Apollo. Upon
from an epitome of Suidas, by Thomas of Crete, this the senate ordered the decemviri to consult
and by Macarius Hieromonachus, the brother of the Sibylline books, and as these gave the same
Nicephorus Gregoras. As to the Latin translation command, Sulla presided over the first Ludi Apol-
of Suidas, said to have been made by Robert Gros- linares, which were celebrated this year in the
tete, bishop of Lincoln, who died in 1253, see circus maximus. (Liv. xxv. 2, 3, 12, 15, 32, 41. )
Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vi. p. 402. [G. L. ) 2. P. CORNELIUS SULLA, the son of No. 1, and
SUI’LLIUS CAESONI'NUS. (CAESONINUs. ] the grandfather of the dictator Sulla, was praetor
SUI'LLIUS NERULI'NUS. (NERULINUS. ] in B. C. 186, when he obtained Sicily as his pro-
SUI'LLIUS RUFUS. [RUFUS. )
vince. (Liv. xxxix. 6, 8. )
SULCA, Q. BAE'BIUS, one of the Roman 3. SER. CORNELIUS SULLA, the brother of No.
ambassadors, sent to Ptolemy in Egypt, in B. C. 2, was one of the ten commissioners, who was sent
173. (Liv. xli. 6. )
by the senate into Macedonia, in B. c. 167, after
SULLA, the name of a patrician family of the the conquest of Perseus, in order to arrange the
Cornelia gens.
This family was originally called affairs of that country, in conjunction with L.
Rufinus [RUFINUS), and the first member of it Aemilius Paulus. (Liv. xlv. 17. )
who obtained the name of Sulla was P. Cornelius 4. L. CORNELIUS SULLA, the son of No. 2, and
Sulla, who was flamen dialis and praetor in the the father of the dictator Sulla, lived in obscurity,
second Punic war. [See below, No. 1. ) This was and left his son only a slender fortune. (Plut.
stated by the dictator Sulla, in the second book of Sull. 1).
his Commentaries (Gell. i. 12), and is corroborated 5. L. CORNELIUS SULLA FELIX, the dictator,
by Livy and other authorities. Plutarch there was born in B. c. 138. Like most other great
fore has made a mistake in saying that the dic- men, he was the architect of his own fortunes.
tator Sulla had this name given to him from a He possessed neither of the two great advantages
personal peculiarity. (Plut. Sull. 2. ) The origin of which secured for the Roman nobles easy access
the name is uncertain. Drumann, and most mo- to the honours of the commonwealth, an illustrious
dern writers, suppose that it is a word of the same ancestry and hereditary wealth. Ilis father had
signification as Rufus or Rutinus, and refers simply left him so small a property that he paid for his
to the red colour of the hair or the complexion ; lodgings very little more than a freedman who
and Platarch appears to have understood the word lived in the same house with him. But still his
to have this meaning, since he relates (l. c. ) that means were sufficient to secure for him a good
3 0 3
## p. 934 (#950) ############################################
934
SULLA.
SULLA.
STEMMA SULLARUM.
1, P. Cornelius (Rufinus) Sulla, pr. B. c. 212.
2. P. Cornelius Sulla,
3. Ser. Cornelius Sulla,
leg. B. C.
290 ; Sil. Ital. xiii. 568. ) When one of the gods ad exhibendum formulam accipere). In a letter
was to take an oath by Styx, Iris fetched a cup to Trajanus (x. 95) Plinius commends to the em-
full of water from the Styx, and the god, while peror the integrity and learning of Suetonius, who
taking the oath, poured out the water. (Hes. Theog had become his intimate friend, and he says that
775. ) Zeus became by her the father of Per- he liked him the better, the more he knew him :
sephone (Apollod. i. 3. $ 1), and Peiras the father he requested the emperor to grant Suetonius the
of Echidna. (Paus. viii. 18. § 1. ) [L. S. ] jus trium liberorum, for though Suetonius was mar-
SUADA, the Roman personification of persua- ried he had no children, or at least had not the
sion, the Greek Peitho (Lleida). She is also called number of three, which was necessary to relieve
by the diminutive Suadela. (Horat. Epist. i. 6. 38 ; him from various legal disabilities. The emperor
Cic. Brut. 15, Cat. Maj. 11. )
[L. S. ] granted the privilege to Suetonius.
SU'BRIUS FLAVIUS or FLAVUS. (FLA- Suetonius became Magister Epistolarum to Ha-
Vus. ]
drianus, a situation which would give him the oppor-
SÚBULO, P. DE/CIUS, was one of the tri- tunity of seeing many important documents relating
umvirs for settling new colonists at Aquileia, in to the emperors. In a passage in the life of
B. c. 169; and he is probably the same as the P. Augustus (c. 7) Suetonius makes mention of his
Decius, who was sent to Rome in the following having given to the Princeps a bronze bust which
year by the praetor L. Anicius, to announce his represented Augustus when a boy. The critics
victory over the Illyrians and his capture of king generally assume that the Princeps was Hadrianus;
Gentins. (Liv. xliii. 17, xlv. 3. )
but it is immaterial whether it was Hadrianus or
SUEʻDIÙS CLEMENS, was with two others Trajanus, so far as concerns the biography of
placed by Otho over the troops who were to attack Suetonius. Hadrianus, who was apparently of a
Gallia Narbonensis. (Tac. Hist. i. 87, ii. 12. ) jealous disposition, deprived of their offices at the
L. SUE'TIUS, one of the witnesses against same time, Septicius Clarus, who was Praefectus
## p. 931 (#947) ############################################
SUETONIUS.
SUFENAS.
931
Praetorio, Suetonius Tranquillus, and many others, | suppress those anecdotes which he believed to be
on the ground of associating with Sabina the true, that is no imputation on his veracity. As a
emperor's wife, without his permission, and ap- great collection of facts of all kinds, the work on
parently during the emperor's absence in Britain, the Caesars is invaluable for the historian of this
on terms of more familiarity than was consistent period. His judginent and his honesty have both
with respect to the imperial household. (Spartian. been attacked by some modern critics ; but we
Hadrian. c. 11).
are of the same opinion as Krause that on both
Suetonius wrote many works, a list of which is grounds a careful study of his work will justify
given in Suidas (s. v. Tpágkuados), De Ludis him. The friendship of the younger Plinius is
Graecorum, lib. i. ; De Spectaculis et Certamini. evidence in favour of the integrity of Suetonius,
bus Romanorum, libri ii. ; De Anno Romano, lib. i. ; and Vopiscus, no great authority, it is true, calls
De Notis, on the notae or marks used in writing, him a most accurate and impartial writer (Flav.
which may have been a treatise on the Roman short Vopisc. l'irmus, c. 1; compare the Life of Probus,
hand ; De Ciceronis Republica ; De Nominibus c. 2). Those who attack the credit of Suetonius
propriis et de Generibus Vestium ; De Vocibus mali must conduct the assault with more ability and
ominis; De Roma ejusque Institutis et Moribus, judgment than H. Heisen in his absurd essay,
libri ii. ; Historiae Caesarum, libri Octo; Stem entitled “Dissertatio de Imperatoria majestate a
ma illustrium Romanorum. He also wrote some primis Historiae Augustne conditoribus indignis-
other works of which fragments have been dis- sime habita. ” (Symbol. Litt. Bremen. tom. ii. iii. )
covered : De Regibus, libri iii. ; De Institutione The treatise De Illustribus Grammaticis and
Officiorum ; De Rebus Variis ; and others. There that De Claris Rhetoribus are probably only parts
are still extant, and attributed to Suetonius, Vitae of a larger work, for Hieronymus says in a letter
Duodecim Caesarum, or the twelve Imperators, of to Desiderius," I have written a treatise on illus.
whom the first is C. Julius Caesar and the last is trious men from the time of the Apostles to our
Domitian ; Liber de illustribus Grammaticis; and own age, imitating therein Tranquillus and the
Liber de claris Rhetoribus ; neither of which is Greek Apollonius. ' (Casaubou’s note on the
contained in the list of Suidas ; Vita Terentii, Ho- title of the work De Illustribus Grammaticis. )
ratii, Persii, Lucani, Juvenalis, Plinii Majoris, These two treatises contain a few biographical and
which also are not included in the catalogue of other notices, that are occasionally useful. It has
Suidas.
been conjectured that the few scanty lives of the
The chief work of Suetonius is his lives of the Latin poets, already enumerated, belonged to a
Caesars which, as it appears, were sometimes distri- larger work De Poetis. If this conjecture be true,
buted in eight books, as they are in some manuscripts. the short notice of the elder Plinius may not be by
The authorities which he followed for the sereral Suetonius, and Casaubon will not allow it to be
lives have beer diligently examined by Augustus his. But the opinion as to the book De Poetis is
Krause (De Suetonii Tranquilli Fontibus et Auctori- merely a conjecture. A work entitled De Viris
tate, Berlin, 1841). Krause gives some reasons Illustribus, which has been attributed both to
for supposing that Suetonius consulted the historical Suetonius and the younger Plinius, is now unani-
writings of Tacitus, and he argues, that as Tacitus mously assigned to Aurelius Victor.
did not write his annals before A. D. 117, in which The editions of Suetonius are very numerous.
year Hadrian succeeded Trajan, Suetonius did not Before A. D. 1500, fifteen editions bad appeared,
write the lives of the Caesars before A. D. 120. . a proof that the Lives of the Caesars were favourite
This is not very satisfactory, though it must be ad- reading. The oldest edition with a date is that of
mitted that there are many expressions in Suetonius, Rome, 1470, folio. The best of the early editions
which closely resemble the expressions in Tacitus ; is that of I. Casaubon, Geneva, 1595, and Paris,
and Suetonius, a grammarian (grammaticus), was 1610. A small edition by J. Schild, Leiden,
likely enough to copy particular phrases. Indeed 1647, contains a selection of useful notes. One of
Suetonius often quotes Senatusconsulta and other the most useful editions is that by P. Burmann,
documentary evidence in the very words, which Amsterdam, 1736, 2 vols. 4to. , with a selection of
Tacitus as a general rule did not These lives of notes from the principal commentators, the fragments
Suetonius are not and do not affect to be historical: of Suetonius, inscriptions relating to the Caesars,
they are rather anecdotical, and in the nature of tables of the coins of the Caesars, and a copious
Mémoires pour servir. His authorities are the index. One of the latest editions is that of Baum-
writings of the Roman emperors themselves and garten-Crusius, Leipzig, 1816, 3 vols. 8vo. , which
those of their freedmen, Epistolae, Orationes, Testa- was again edited by C. B. Hase, Paris, 1828, 2
ments, and other documents of that kind ; public vols. 8vo.
documents, as Senatusconsulta, Fasti, inscriptions, There is an English translation of the Twelve
and the Acta of the Senate and the people ; also Caesars by the industrious translator, Philemon
the Greek and Roman writers on Roman history. Holland, London, 1606, folio. Besides these there
He also learned much from conversation with those are four other English translations, the last of which
who were older than himself, and he would know is by A. Thomson, London, 1796, 8vo. , “with
something of Titus and Domitian at least, as he annotations and a review of the government and
was a young man during their reign. Suetonius literature of the different periods. " There are trans-
does not follow the chronological order in his Lives, lations in Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch, German,
but he groups together many things of the same and Danish.
kind, as he says himself (Augustus, c. 9). His Bähr's Geschichte der Römischen Literatur con-
language is very brief and precise, sometimes obtains the chief references for the literature of Sue-
scure, without any affectation of ornament. He tonius.
[G. L. )
certainly tells a prodigious number of scandalous SUFE'NAS, M, NONIUS, was tribune of
anecdotes about the Caesars, but there was plenty the plebs in B. C. 56, and in conjunction with his
to tell about them; and if he did not choose to colleagues C. Cato and Procilius, prevented the
3 0 2
1
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932
SUIDAS.
SUIDAS.
3
1
Sen
EX-NO01
consular comitia from being held, in consequence | Iater date (ε. το. Γηώρος ; Δέρτρου ; Ηγήτορες),
of which an interregnum ensued and thus Pompey for Michael Psellus is quoted, and Psellus lived at
and Crassus were elected consuls. On account of the close of the eleventh century A. D. (See the
their violent conduct in their tribunate Sufenas and notes on these words in Gaisford's edition. )
his colleagues were brought to trial in B. C. 54 ; The Lexicon of Suidas is a dictionary of words
Procilius was condemned, but Sufenas and Cato arranged in alphabetical order, with some few
were acquitted through the influence of Pompey. peculiarities of arrangement ; but it contains both
Sufenas was propraetor in B. c. 51, in one of the pro- words which are found in dictionaries of languages,
vinces in the neighbourhood of Cilicia, and on the and also names of persons and places, with extracts
breaking out of the civil war two years afterwards, from ancient Greek writers, grammarians, scholiasts,
he is mentioned as one of Pompey's generals. and lexicographers, and some extracts from later
(Cic. ad Att. iv. 15. § 4, vi. 1. § 13, viii. 15. 9 3. ) Greek writers. The names of persons comprehend
He appears to be the same as the Nonius, who was both persons who are mentioned in sacred and in
present at the battle of Pharsalia, and who sought profane history, which shows that if the work is
to encourage his party after their defeat by remark- by one hand, it is by a Christian ; but there is no
ing that seven eagles were left in the camp of inconsistency in supposing that the original of the
Pompey; when Čicero replied, " It would be Lexicon which now goes under the name of Suidas,
very well if we were fighting with jack-daws. " is a work of earlier date even than the time of
(Plut. Cic. 38. )
Stephanus of Byzantium, and that it received large
There are coins of one Sex. Nonius Sufenas, a accessions from some various hands. No well
specimen of which is subjoined. On the obverse is conceived plan has been the basis of this work: it
the head of Saturn and on the reverse a woman is incomplete as to the number of articles, and ex-
Beated whom Victory is in the act of crowning. On ceedingly irregular and unequal in the execution.
the reverse we read sex. NONI. PR. L. V. P. F; Some articles are pretty complete, others contain
the latter letters are interpreted either praelor or no information at all. As to the biographical no-
primus ludos votivos publicos fecit. (Eckhel, vol. v. tices it has been conjectured that Suidas or the
pp. 261, 262. )
compiler got them all from one source, which, it is
further supposed, may be the Onomatologos or
Pinax of Hesychius of Miletus ; for it is said in
Suidas (s. v. 'Hoúxios), “ of which this book is an
epitome ;” but it is an incorrect interpretation to
conclude that Suidas means to say that his work
is an epitome of the Onomatologos (or rivas Tv
έν παιδεία ονομαστών), which would be manifestly
false: he means to say that the work in use at the
time when he wrote was an epitome of the Ono-
matologos.
The scholiast on Aristophanes has been freely
SUIDAS (Soutdas). A Greek Lexicon is ex- used in the compilation of this Lexicon. The
tant under the name of Suidas, but nothing is extracts from ancient Greek writers are very nu-
known of the compiler.
A Suidas is mentioned by merous, but the names of the writers are frequently
Strabo (p. 329, ed. Casaub. ) as the author of a omitted. These extracts have sometimes no refer-
history of Thessaly, and this work is also cited by ence to the title of the article, and have no appli-
the scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, and by Ste- cation to it; a circumstance probably owing to
phanus of Byzantium (s. vv. Aurpos, Awdúvn, numerous interpolations made in the manuscript
Frag. Steph. ). It is not likely that this Suidas is copies of the Lexicon. A want of criticism per.
the author of the Lexicon ; but no certain conclu- vades the whole work, or rather excessive careless-
sion as to the age of the compiler can be derived ness, as in the case of the name Severus (Lebñpos,
from passages in the work, which undoubtedly and Küster's note). The article Alyattes ('Ala
were written long after the time of Stephanus of étons) is another instance, and there are others of
Byzantium, for the work may have received nu- a like kind.
merous interpolations and additions. Eustathius, There is prefixed to the editions of Suidas the
who lived about the end of the twelfth century following notice :-Td uir tapòv Bebaſov Soutda,
A. D. , quotes the Lexicon of Suidas. The article oi d ouvrašauévoi TOÛTO Evopes cópoi
, which is
Adam (Adán) contains a chronological epitome, followed by a list of twelve names. As to this
which ends with the emperor Joannes Zimisces, title, see the remarks of Harles.
who died A. D. 974 ; and in the article Constan- The Lexicon of Suidas, though without merit as to
tinople (RwvotaVTIVOÚTORIs) are mentioned Basi- its execution, is valuable both for the literary history
silius the second, and Constantins, who succeeded of antiquity, for the explanation of words, and for
Joannes Zimisces. A remark under the article the citations from many ancient writers; and a pro-
Polyeuctus (nonúeuktos) shows that the writer of digious amount of critical labour has been bestowed
that remark was contemporaneous with the Patri- upon it. Many emendations have been made on
arch Polyeuctus (&yéveto kal kal juâs Tolveuk- the text by Toup and others.
Tos, &c. ) who succeeded Theophylactus, A. D. 956 The first edition of Suidas was by Demetrius
(note of Reinesius); but the date 936 is given by Chalcondylas, Milan, 1499, fol. , without a Latin
other authorities. This passage which Reinesius version. The second, by the elder Aldus, Venice,
assumes to prove the period of the author of the 1514, fol. , is also without a Latin version : this
Lexicon, merely proves the period of the writer edition was reprinted by Froben, Bâle, 1544, fol. ,
who made the remark ; and he may be either the with some corrections. The first Latin translation
author of the Lexicon or an interpolator. But there of Suidas was made by Hieron. Wolf, Bâle, 1564,
ere passages in the Lexicon which refer even to a | 1581, fol. The first edition, which contained both
COIN OF SEX, NONIUS SUFENAS.
## p. 933 (#949) ############################################
SULLA.
923
SULLA.
the Greek text and a Latin version, was by Aemi. | the dictator received the name of Sulla in con-
hus Portus, Geneva, 1619, 2 vols. fol. , and 1630, sequence of his face being spotted with rough red
with a new title. The Latin version is said to be blotches interspersed with the white. Macrobius
better than Wolf's.
(Sat, i. 17) gives quite a different explanation, and
The edition of I. . Küster appeared at Cambridge, derives the word from Sibylla, which he says was
1705, 3 vols. folio. The basis of this edition is given to P. Cornelius Rufinus, because he was the
not the Editio Princeps, but that of Portus. Küster Hrst to introduce the celebration of the Ludi Apol-
corrected the text with the aid of the MSS. , added linares in accordance with the commands of the
numerous good notes, and improved the version of Sibylline books, and that this surname Sibylla was
Portus. But he dealt with the Greek text rather afterwards shortened into Sylla. This explanation
in an arbitrary way, and rejected all that he con of the word is repeated by Charisius (Inst. Gram.
sidered to be interpolated. J. Gronovius made an i. 20); but, independent of other objections, it
attack on Küster's edition, to which Kister re- must be rejected on the authority of Quintilian (i.
plied. The preface of Küster contaics a disserta- 4. $ 25), who classes Sulla with other cognomens,
tion on Suidas.
which owed their origin to certain bodily pecu-
The edition of Suidas by T. Gaisford, in three liarities. Some modern writers, such as Cortius
handsome volumes folio, appeared at Oxford in (ad Sall. Catil. 5), regard Sulla as a diminutive of
1834. The first two volumes contain the text Sura, which was a cognomen in several Roman
without a Latin version, and the notes, which are gentes (SURA), and we are disposed to accept this as
chiefly selected from Küster and others. The third the most probable explanation of the word. It would
volume contains “ Index Kusterianus Rerum et be formed from Sura on the same analogy as puella
Nominum Propriorum quae extra seriem suam in from puera, and tenellus from tener (comp. Schnei-
Suidae Lexico occurrunt; " " Index Glossarum Per- der, Elementarlelire der lateinischen Sprache, vol. i.
Bonarum Verborumque notatu digniorum ;” and p. 47, &c. ). There is no authority for writing the
“ Index Scriptorum a Suida citatorum. " In his word Sylla, as is done by many modern writers.
preface Gaisford states, that he used nearly the On coins and inscriptions we always find Sula or
same MSS. as Küster, but that Küster was care. Sulla, never Sylla.
Jess in noting the readings of the MSS. Gaisford 1. P. Cornelius (RUFINUS) SULLA, the great-
has given the various readings of the best MS. , grandfather of the dictator Sulta, and the grandson
and those of the edition of Chalcondylas. Küster of P. Cornelius Rufinus, who was twice consul in
adopted many of the emendations of Portus with the Samnite wars. [RUFINUS, Cornelius, No. 2. )
out acknowledgment, and he is accused generally His father is not mentioned. He was, as has been
of borrowing without owning where he got his already mentioned, the first of the family who
matter froin.
bore the surname of Sulla. He was flamen dialis,
The edition of G. Bernhardy, 4to. Halle, 1834, and likewise praetor urbanus and peregrinus in
contains a Latin version. It is founded on the R C. 212. The praetor of the preceding year, M.
edition of Gaisford, as appears from the title – Attilius, had handed over to him certain sacred
“ Gr. & Lat. ad fidem optimorum librorum exactum, verses of the seer Marcius, partly referring to the
post Th. Gaisford recens. et adnot. critic, instruxit past and partly to the future, and which com-
Gdf. Bernhards. "
manded the Romans, among other things, to insti-
There are said to be two unpublished extracts tute an annual festival in honour of Apollo. Upon
from an epitome of Suidas, by Thomas of Crete, this the senate ordered the decemviri to consult
and by Macarius Hieromonachus, the brother of the Sibylline books, and as these gave the same
Nicephorus Gregoras. As to the Latin translation command, Sulla presided over the first Ludi Apol-
of Suidas, said to have been made by Robert Gros- linares, which were celebrated this year in the
tete, bishop of Lincoln, who died in 1253, see circus maximus. (Liv. xxv. 2, 3, 12, 15, 32, 41. )
Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vi. p. 402. [G. L. ) 2. P. CORNELIUS SULLA, the son of No. 1, and
SUI’LLIUS CAESONI'NUS. (CAESONINUs. ] the grandfather of the dictator Sulla, was praetor
SUI'LLIUS NERULI'NUS. (NERULINUS. ] in B. C. 186, when he obtained Sicily as his pro-
SUI'LLIUS RUFUS. [RUFUS. )
vince. (Liv. xxxix. 6, 8. )
SULCA, Q. BAE'BIUS, one of the Roman 3. SER. CORNELIUS SULLA, the brother of No.
ambassadors, sent to Ptolemy in Egypt, in B. C. 2, was one of the ten commissioners, who was sent
173. (Liv. xli. 6. )
by the senate into Macedonia, in B. c. 167, after
SULLA, the name of a patrician family of the the conquest of Perseus, in order to arrange the
Cornelia gens.
This family was originally called affairs of that country, in conjunction with L.
Rufinus [RUFINUS), and the first member of it Aemilius Paulus. (Liv. xlv. 17. )
who obtained the name of Sulla was P. Cornelius 4. L. CORNELIUS SULLA, the son of No. 2, and
Sulla, who was flamen dialis and praetor in the the father of the dictator Sulla, lived in obscurity,
second Punic war. [See below, No. 1. ) This was and left his son only a slender fortune. (Plut.
stated by the dictator Sulla, in the second book of Sull. 1).
his Commentaries (Gell. i. 12), and is corroborated 5. L. CORNELIUS SULLA FELIX, the dictator,
by Livy and other authorities. Plutarch there was born in B. c. 138. Like most other great
fore has made a mistake in saying that the dic- men, he was the architect of his own fortunes.
tator Sulla had this name given to him from a He possessed neither of the two great advantages
personal peculiarity. (Plut. Sull. 2. ) The origin of which secured for the Roman nobles easy access
the name is uncertain. Drumann, and most mo- to the honours of the commonwealth, an illustrious
dern writers, suppose that it is a word of the same ancestry and hereditary wealth. Ilis father had
signification as Rufus or Rutinus, and refers simply left him so small a property that he paid for his
to the red colour of the hair or the complexion ; lodgings very little more than a freedman who
and Platarch appears to have understood the word lived in the same house with him. But still his
to have this meaning, since he relates (l. c. ) that means were sufficient to secure for him a good
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## p. 934 (#950) ############################################
934
SULLA.
SULLA.
STEMMA SULLARUM.
1, P. Cornelius (Rufinus) Sulla, pr. B. c. 212.
2. P. Cornelius Sulla,
3. Ser. Cornelius Sulla,
leg. B. C.
