in the
possession
of Beroaldus,
the most profound and eloquent scholar of his age.
the most profound and eloquent scholar of his age.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - a
The subject proves that it cannot be ear-
[Avienus. ] But, independent of the circumstance lier than the end of the fifth century. (Burmann,
that no fact except this resemblance of name can Antholog. Add. i. p. 738, or Ep. n. 553, ed. Meyer. ;
be adduced in support of such an opinion, the ar- Barth. Adversar. xviii. 21. )
(W. R. ]
CAESAR
کده
COIN OF AUGUSTUS.
## p. 432 (#452) ############################################
432
AVIENUS.
AVIENUS.
AVIA'NUS PHILO'XENUS. [PHILOXE- | distracted with discussions on localities and objects
yus. )
totally foreign to the matter in hand. Moreover,
AVI'DIUS CA'SSIUS. (Cassius. )
the different nations and districts are distinguished
AVI'DIUS FLACCUS. [Flaccus. )
by their ancient and forgotten names, instead of
C. AVIE'NUS, tribune of the soldiers of the those by which they were actually known at the
tenth legion, was ignominiously dismissed from the time when this guide book was composed, and all
army, on account of misconduci in the African war, the old and exploded fantasies of half mythical
B. C. 46. (Hirt. B. Afr. 46. )
geography revived and gravely propounded. We
AVIEŠNUS, RUFUS FESTUS. The fol- are led almost irresistibly to the conclusion, that
lowing poems are ascribed to an author bearing Avienus, possessing no practical or scientitic ac-
this name :-
quaintance with his subject, had read a number of
1. Descriptio Orbis Terrae, or, as it is variously conflicting accounts of the countries in question,
entitled in different editions and MSS. , Metaphrasis written in former times by persons who were as
Perigescos Dionysii--Situs Orbis-- Ambitus Orbis - ignorant as himself, and had combined and pieced
in 1394 hexameter lines, derived directly from the them together in the hope of elaborating a consistent
Trepinnnois of Dionysius, and containing a succinct whole, - neglecting with strange perversity the
account of the most remarkable objects in the numerous sources of accurate information opened
physical and political geography of the known up by the wars so long waged and the dominion
world. It adheres too closely in some places, and 80 long exercised by his countrymen in those
departs too widely in others, from the text of the regions.
Alexandrian, to be called with propriety a trans- 3. Aratea Phaenomena, and Aratea Prog-
Jation, or even a paraphrase, and still less does it nostica, both in Hexameter verse, the first con-
deserve to be regarded as an independent work, taining 1325, the second 552 lines. They bear
but approaches more nearly to our modern idea of exactly the same relation to the well known works
a new edition compressed in certain passages, en- of Aratus as the Descriptio Orbis Terrae does
larged in others, and altered throughout. These to that of Dionysius. The general arrangement of
changes can hardly be considered as improvements, the Greek original is followed throughout, and
for not unfrequently the anxiety of the writer to several passages are translated more closely than
expand and embellish his original has made him in the versions of Cicero and Germanicus, but on
wander into extravagance and error, while on the the other hand many of the mythical legends are
other hand the fear of becoming prolix and tedious expanded, new tales are introduced, and extracts
has led to injudicious curtailments, and induced from the works of celebrated astronomers, scraps
him to omit the names of nations and districts of Pythagorean philosophy, and fragments of
which ought not to have been passed over. Nor Aegyptian superstition, are combined and worked
does he attempt to correct the mistakes of his pre- up with the materials of the old fabric. The re-
decessor, por to take advantage of those stores of sult is much more successful than in the two efforts
knowledge which must have been available at the previously examined. Here there was more room
period when he lived; but the blunders and follies for the imagination to disport itself unencumbered
of the old Greek poets, who were profoundly with dry details and stubborn facts, and accord-
ignorant of all the regions to the West and North ingly the interest is well sustained and the flowing
of their own cowtry, are implicitly followed, and and spirited style of the poet appears to great
many things set down which every well-informed advantage.
man under the empire must have known to be 4. Three short fugitire pieces, the first addressed
absurd. There is, however, a considerable energy to a friend, Flavianus Myrmecius, V. C. , requesting
and liveliness of style, which animates the inherent a gift of some pomegranates from his estates in
dulness of the undertaking and carries the reader Africa, in order to remove an attack of bile and
lightly on, while much ingenuity is displayed in indigestion ; the second, De Cantu Sirenum, or
varying the expression of constantly-recurring Sirenum Allegoria, on the allurements of the daugh-
ideas.
ters of Achelous and the device by which Ulysses
2. Ora Maritima, a fragment in 703 lambic escaped their wiles ; the third, Ad Amicos de Agro,
trimeters. The plan comprehended a full delinea- enumerating the various occupations which by
tion of the shores of the Mediterranean, together turns occupied the time and engaged the attention
with those of the Euxine and sea of Asov, and a of the writer each day when living in country re-
portion of the Atlantic without the pillars of tirement.
Hercules ; but we know not if this design was We must remark, that while we can scarcely
ever fully carried out, for the portion which has entertain a doubt that the two Geographical Essays
been preserved is confined almost entirely to the are from the same pen, especially since in the
coast stretching from Marseilles to Cadiz. The second (1. 71) we find a direct reference to the
author professes to have commenced the essay in first, we have no external evidence connecting
order to satisfy the intelligent inquiries of a youth them with the others, except the fact, that the
named Probus, to whom it is addressed, with re- same name is prefixed in all MSS. to the whole,
gard to the geography of the Pontus and the with the exception of the 2nd and 3rd epigrams.
Maeotic Gulf; but if intended for the purposes But, on the other hand, the style, manner, and
of instruction, it is impossible to imagine any task phraseology of the Aratean poems correspond so
executed in a less satisfactory manner. There is exactly with what we observe in the rest, that
an absence of all order and arrangement. Instead scholars in general have acquiesced in the arrange-
of advancing steadily in a given direction, we are ment which assigns the whole to one person. They
carried backwards and forwards, transported evidently belong to an epoch when Latin litera-
abruptly from one spot to another at a great dis- ture, although fast verging to old age, was still
tance, and brought again and again to the same fresh and hale, and far from being paralyzed by
point without completing any circuit, besides being infirmities ;-we still perceive with pleasure a
## p. 433 (#453) ############################################
AVIENUS.
433
AVIENUS.
force and freedom of expression in strong contrast | appointments are in this way determined. 3. The
with the inflated fcebleness and uneasy stiffness words " carmina multa serens” point out a simi-
which marked the last period of decay.
larity of taste and occupation. 4. Lastly, in the
Assuming that the astronomical Avienus is the epitaph by Placidus we detect an expression,
same with the geographical Avienus, we can at " Jupiter aethram (Pandit, Feste tibi)," which
once determine approximately the age to which he seems to allude directly to the second line of the
belongs ; for Jerome, in his commentary on the Phaenomena, “excelsum rescrat Jupiter aethram,"
Epistle of St. Paul to Titus, mentions that the although this may be merely an accidental resem-
quotation by the Apostle, in the xvii. chapter of blance. It will be seen that the evidence requires
the Acts, Toù gap kal yéros douév, is to be found a good deal of hypothetical patching to enable it to
in the Phaenomena of Aratus,“ quem Cicero in hang together at all, and by no means justiñes the
Latinum sermonem transtulit, et Germanicus Cae- undoubting confidence of Wernsdorf ; but, at the
sar, et nuper Avicnus. ” Now Jerome died in 420; same time, we can scarcely refuse to acknowledge
therefore, allowing all fair latitude to the somewhat that the coincidences are remarkable.
indefinite nuper, we may with tolerable certainty We need scarcely notice the opinion of some
place Avienus in the latter half of the fourth cen- early critics, that Avienus was a Spaniard, since it
tury, under Valens, the Valentinians, Gratian, avowedly rests upon the consideration, that the
and Theodosius, or even somewhat earlier, under fragment of the Ora Maritima which has been
Constantine and Julian. Our next step leads us preserved is devoted chiefly to the coast of Spain,
upon ground much less firm, but we may venture and contains quotations from the works of Himilco
yet a little further. An inscription, discovered and the Carthaginian annalists with regard to that
originally, we are told, in the church of St. Nicholas, country and the shores of the Atlantic. To refute
of the Furbishers, at Rome, and afterwards de- such arguments would be almost as idle as to
posited in the Villa Caesarina, has been published invent them. Nor need we treat with greater
by Fabretti and others, and will be found in Bur- respect the assertion that he was a Christian. Not
mann's Anthologia. (i. 79, or Ep. n. 278, ed. Meyer. ) a line can be quoted which would appear to any
It bears as a title R. FESTUS V. C. DE SE AD reasonable man favourable to such a notion ; but, on
Dean Norteam, and begins in the first person, the contrary, wherever he speaks of the Pagan
Festus Musoni soboles prolesque Avieni, after gods we find that he expresses in very unequivocal
which follows an announcement on the part of this language a marked reverence for their worship.
individual, that he was born at Vulsinii, that he There is little to be said either for or against the
dwelt at Rome, taat he had twice been elevated to idea, that he is the young Avienus introduced by
the office of proconsul, that he was the happy Macrobius in the Saturnalia as talking with Sym-
husband of a lady named Placida, the proud father machus. So far as dates are concerned there is no.
of a numerous offspring, and the author of many anachronism involved, but the name was very
poems (carmina multa serens), then follows a sort common, and we have no clue to guide us to any
of epitaph in four lines, inscribed by Placidus, ap- conclusion.
parently the son of the above personage, to the Servius, in his commentary on Virgil (x. 388),
sacred memory of his sire. Wernsdorf and others speaks of an Avienus who had turned the whole of
have at once pronounced without hesitation, that Virgil and Liry into lambics (qui totum Virgilium
the Festus who here calls himself descendant of et Livium iambis scripsit), and refers to him again
Musonius and son of Avienus, for such is undoubt. (x. 272) as the person " qui iambis scripsit Vir-
edly the true meaning of the words, must be the gilii fabulas. " We cannot doubt that Livy the
same with our Rufus Festus Avienus. The proof historian must be indicated here, for he was by so
adduced, when carefully sifted, amounts to this:- much the most celebrated of all authors bearing
1. It is probable that the ancestor here referred to that appellation, that a grammarian like Servius
may be C. Musonius Rufus, the celebrated Stoic would scarcely have failed to add a distinguishing
and intimate friend of Apollonius of Tyana. He epithet had any other Livy been meant. There
was exiled by Nero, patronized by Vespasian, and is no difficulty in believing the operation to have
is frequently mentioned by the writers who treat been performed upon Virgil, for we know that
of this period. This idea receives confirmation such conversions were common exercises during
from the circumstance that Tacitus and Philostratus the decline of literature, and Suidas tells us in
both represent Musonius as a Tuscan, and Suidas particular of a certain Marianus, in the reign of the
expressly asserts that he was a native of Vulsinii
. emperor Anastasius, who turned the dactylics of
We thus fully establish an identity of name be- Theocritus, Apollonius, Callimachus, and others,
tween the writer of the inscription and our into iambic measures.
Avienus, and can explain satisfactorily how the ap- Lastly, all scholars now admit that there are no
pellation Rufus came into the family. 2. From grounds for supposing, that the prose treatise
two laws in the Codex of Justinian (see Gotho- “ Breviarium de Victoriis ac Provinciis Populi Ro-
fred, Prosopogr. Cod. Theod. ), it appears that a mani ad Valentinianum Augustum," ascribed to a
certain Festus was proconsul of Africa in the Sextus Rufus or Rufus Festus, and the topographi-
years 366 and 367, which agrees with the age we cal compendium“ Sexti Rufi de Regionibus Urbis
have assigned to our Avienus from St. Jerome, Romae," belong to Arienus, as was at one time
and an inscription is extant (Boeckh, Inscr. Graec. maintained ; while the poem * De Urbibus His-
i. p. 436) commemorating the gratitude of the paniae Mediterraneis," quoted as his work by
Athenians towards 'Poúpios añotos, proconsul of several Spaniards, is now known to be a forgery,
Greece. Now the editor of Dionysius and Aratus executed in all probability by a certain Hieronymus
must have been a Greek scholar, and we gather Romanus, a Jesuit of Toledo, who was notorious
from some lines in the Descriptio that he bad re- for such frauds.
peatedly visited Delphi in person ; thus he may be The Editio Princeps of Avienus was printed at
this very 'Poúpios añotos, and the two proconsular / Venice in Roman characters, by Antonius de
2 F
## p. 434 (#454) ############################################
434
AVITUS.
AVITUS.
rous.
Strata, under the care of Victor Pisanus, in 4to. , | bellians, and Pelagians, and was peculiarly success-
and bears the date of 25th October (8 Kal. Nor. ), ful in gaining over a number of Jews who had set-
1488. It contains the Descriptio Orbis Terrae, tled in his diocese. By pope Hormisda he was
the Ora Muritima, the Aralea, and the epigram appointed vicar apostolic Gaul, in the year 517
addressed to Flavianus Myrmecius ; besides which presided at the council of Epaune (cmcilium Epua
we find in the same volume the translation of nense), died on the 5th of February, 5:23, was
Aratus by Cicero and Germanicus, and the verses buried in the monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul,
of Q. Serenus Samonicus on the cure of diseases. where he had passed so many years of his early
The most useful edition is to be found in the life, and in the fulness of time received the honours
second part of the fifth volume of the Poetae of canonization.
Latini Minores of Wernsdorf, which, however, The works of Avitus are
does not include the Aratea, Wernsdorf not having 1. Sacrorum Poematum libri quinque, dedicated
lived to complete his work. But this last piece to his brother, Apollinaris, bishop of Valentia, a
also, which was carefully edited by Buhle and renowned worker of miracles. This collection cor
placed at the end of his Aratus, is given in the sists of five distinct pieces, all in hexameter verse,
French reprint of Wernsdorf (1825), which forms extending to upwards of 2500 lines, De Initio Mun
a portion of the collection of Latin classics pub- di, De Peccato Originali, De Sententia Dei, De Di-
lished at Paris by Lemaire.
[W. R. ) luvio Mundi, De Transitu Maris Rubri.
AVI’OLA, the name of a family of the Acilia 2. De consolatoria Castitatis Laude, in 666 hexa-
gens, which is not mentioned till the very end of meters, addressed to his sister Fuscina, a nun.
the republic.
These productions display much imagination and
1. M'. ACILIUS Aviola, consul suffectus in B. C. great fiuency; the plan of the different portions is
33, from the 1st of July, is probably the same well conceived and skilfully executed, and both in
Aviola who is said to have come to life again on versification and expression they deserve the mode-
the funeral pile, when it was supposed that he was rate praise of being much better than could have
dead, but to have been nevertheless burnt to death, been expected, belonging as they do to what Func-
because the flames could not be extinguished. cius has quaintly termed the “ Iners ac decrepita
(Plin. H. N. vii. 52. 5. 53; Val. Max. i. 8. & 12. ) senectus" of the Latin language. Barthius is of
2. Acilius Aviola, legate of Gallia Lugdunensis opinion that we are prevented from estimating them
under Tiberius, put down an outbreak of the Ande fairly, in consequence of the numerous depravations
cavi and Turonii, in A. D. 21. (Tac. Ann. iii. 41. ) and interpolations which he believes them to have
3. M'. Acilius Aviola, consul in the last year suffered from the monks in ages still more barba-
of the reign of Claudius, A. D. 54. (Tac. Ann. xii. Besides his effusions in verse, Avitus is
64 ; Suet. Claud. 45. )
known to have published nine books of epistles,
AVITIA'NUS, son of Julius Ausonius and and a great number of homilies; but of these the
Aemilia Aeonia, was a young man of great pro- following only are extant :
mise, who was being brought up to follow his fa- 3. Eighty-seven letters to and from various per-
ther's profession as a physician, but died at an sons of distinction in church and state.
early age, in the fourth century after Christ. He 4. A homily “De Festo Rogationum et prima
was a younger brother of the poet Ausonius, who ejus Institutione. "
in one of his poems (Parent. xiii. ) laments his pre- 5. Eight fragments of homilies.
mature death, and gives the above particulars of 6. Fragments of opuscula.
his life.
(W. A. G. ] These remains shew that he was well versed in
AVI'TUS, A’LCIMUS ECDI'CIUS (or ECDI'. scripture and in theology, and that he possessed
DIUS), son of Isicius, archbishop of Vienne, was some knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, and they
born about the middle of the 5th century. From his contain curious and valuable information on various
earliest years he is said to have devoted himself to points of ecclesiastical history, discipline, and doc-
literature, and to have given promise of that eru-
trine.
dition which subsequently gained for him, among The poems were first printed at Strasburg in
his countrymen at least, the reputation of being 1507 from a MS.
in the possession of Beroaldus,
the most profound and eloquent scholar of his age. and are given in the Corpus Poetarum Latinorum
After bestowing an ample inheritance on the poor, of Maittaire and similar compilations.
he retired into the monastery of St. Peter and St. The whole works of Avitus were published col-
Paul, close to the walls of bis native city, and re | lectively with notes by Père Sirmond, at Paris,
mained in the seclusion of the cloister until the 1643, 8vo. , in the second volume of his Opuscula
death of his father (in a. D. 490), whom he suc- of the fathers and other ecclesiastical writers, and
ceeded in the archiepiscopal dignity. His fame as also in the works of Sirmond published by Père la
a pious and charitable priest and a powerful con- Baume, Paris, 1690, fol. , and reprinted at Venice,
troversialist now rose very high. He took part in 1729, fol. Since that period, a new homily has
the celebrated conference at Lyons between the been discovered, and is included in the fifth vol. of
Arians and the Catholic bishops, held in the pre- the Thesaur. Anecdot. by Dom. Martenne. (W. R. )
sence of the Burgundian king, where, as we are AVI'TUS, A'LPHIUS. The Latin poet quoted
told, he silenced the heretics and brought back under this name is believed to have flourished dur-
many waverers to the bosom of the church. Gun ing the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. Many
debald himself is said to have yielded to his argu- suppose him to be the same person with Alfius
ments, although from political motives he refused Flavus—the precocious pupil of Cestius and con-
to recant his errors openly; and all agree, that temporary with Seneca, who while yet a bor was
after his death his son Sigismund publicly declared so famed for his eloquence, that crowds flocked to
his adherence to the true faith. Avitus, at the listen to his orations (Senec. Controv. i. 1)--and with
request of his royal admirers, published treatises Flavius Alfius, referred to by Pliny (K. N. ix. 8),
in confutation of the Nestorians, Eutychians, Sa- as an authority for a story about dolphins. Hence
## p. 435 (#455) ############################################
AVITUS.
435
AURELIA.
Vossius conjectures, that his designation at full vergne, and there died, or at least was buried.
length and properly arranged may have been Fla- (A. D. 456. )
vus Alfius Avitus. All this is very ingenious and His private life is chiefly known from the Pane-
very uncertain. We know from Terentianus Mau- vyric of his son-in-law, Sidonius Apollinarus ; his
rus (1. 2448), that Alphius Avitus composed a public life from Gregor. Turon. ii. 11, and Idatius,
work upon Illustrious Men, in iambic dimeters, Chronicon.
(A. P. S. )
extending to several books; and eight lines are The annexed coin of Avitus has on the obverse
cited by Priscian from the second book, forming a the head of Avitus crowned with a diadem of
part of the legend of the Faliscan schoolmaster who pearls, and the inscription D. M. Avitus Perp. F.
betrayed his pupils to Camillus; besides which, Aug. , and on the reverse the emperor wearing the
three lines more from the first book are contained paludamentum, and standing with one foot npon a
in some MSS. of the same grammarinn. (Priscian, barbarian ; in the right hand he holds the cross,
vol. i. pp. 410, 553, vol. ii. p. 131, ed. Krehl, or pp. and in the left a small figure of Victory.
823, 947, 1136, ed. Putsch. ) These fragments are
given in the Anthologia Latina of Burmann, ii. p.
267, and Add ii. p. 730, or Ep. n. 125, ed. Meyer.
There is also an “Alpheus philologus," from
whom Priscian adduces five words (vol. i. p. 370,
ed. Kr. , or p. 792, ed. Putsch), and an Alfius whose
work on the Trojan war is mentioned by Festus,
8. 0. Mamertini. (Wernsdorf, Poett. Latt. Minn.
vol. iii. p. xxxi. , vol. iv. pars ii. p. 826. ) [W. R. ]
AVI'TUS, GALLO'NIUS, was legate over the
provinces of Thrace under Aurelian, and a letter AULANUS EVANDER. [EVANDER. )
addressed to him by that emperor is quoted by AULESTES, a Tyrrhenian ally of Aeneas in
Vopiscus in tho life of Bonosus. Some critics have Italy, is called a son of Tiberis and the nymph
supposed, that he was the author of an " allocutio Manto, and brother of Ocnus. He was slain by
sponsalis,” in five hexameters, preserved among the Messapus, and was regarded as the founder of
" fragmenta epithalamiorum veterum," and that the Perusia. (Virg. Aen. X. 207, xi. 290. )
[L. S. )
little poem itself was one of the hundred nuptial AUʻLIA GENS, probably plebeian. Persons
lays which were composed and recited when Gal- of this name rarely occur, though one member of
lienus celebrated the marriages of his nephews. the gens, Q. Aulius Cerretanus, obtained the con-
(Pollio, Gall. 11. ) Wernsdorf, however, considers sulship twice in the Samnite war, in B. C. 323 and
that the lines belong to Alcimus Avitus Alethius. 319. The name is derived from the praenomen
(Alethius. ] (Wernsdorf, Poett. Latt. Minn. vol. Aulus, as Sextius from Sextus, Marcius from Mar-
iv. pars ii. p. 501 ; Burmann, Antholog. iii. 259, or cus, and Quintius from Quintus. The only cogno-
Ep. n. 259, ed. Meyer. )
(W. R. ] men belonging to this gens is CERRETANUS.
AVI'TUS, JU'LIÚS, the husband of Julia AULIS (Aủais), a daughter of Ogygus and
Maesa, brother-in-law of Julia Domna and Septi- Thebe, from whom the Boeotian town of Aulis was
mius Severus, uncle by marriage of Caracalla, father believed to have derived its name. (Paus. ix. 19.
of Julia Soemias and Julia Mamaea, and maternal $ 5. ) Other traditions called her a daughter of
grandfather of Elagabalus and Alexander Severus. Euonymus, the son of Cephissus. (Steph. Byz.
He was of consular rank, and, as we gather from s. v. Avaís. ) She was one of the goddesses who
the fragments of Dion Cassius, governed in succes- watched over oaths under the name of apačiola.
sion Asia, Mesopotamia, and Cyprus. From him (ALALCOMENIA. ]
(L. S. )
Elagabalus inherited the name of Avitus-an ap- M'. AU’LIUS, praefect of the allies, was killed
pellation by which ancient historians frequently in the battle in which Marcellus was defeated by
distinguish that emperor. (Dion Cass. lxxxviii
. 30, Hannibal, B. c. 208. (Liv. xxvii. 26, 27. )
Ixxix. 16; Herodian, v. 3. & 2; see also the genea- AULOʻNIUS (Aúnávios), a surname of Ascle-
logical table under CARACALLA. ) [W. R. ] pius, derived from a temple he had in Aulon, a val-
AVI'TUS, M. MAECI'LIUS, emperor of the ley in Messenia. (Paus. iv. 36. $ 5. ) [L. S. )
West, was descended from a noble family in Au- AURA (Aŭpa), a daughter of Lelas and Peri-
vergne, and spent the first thirty years of his life boen, was one of the swift-footed companions of
in the pursuits of literature, field-sports, jurispru- Artemis. She was beloved by Dionysus, but filed
dence, and arms. The first public office to which from him, until Aphrodite, at the request of Dio-
he was promoted was the praetorian praefecture of nysus, inspired her with lore for the god. She
Gaul, and whilst in retirement in his villa near accordingly became by him the mother of twins,
Clermont, he was appointed master of the armies but at the moment of their birth she was seized
of Gaul. During this period, he twice went as with madness, tore one of her children to pieces,
ambassador to the Visigothic court, first in A. D. 450 and then threw herself into the sea. (Nonnus,
to Theodoric I. , to secure his alliance on the invasion Dionys. 260. ) Aura also occurs as the name of a
of Attila ; secondly in A. D. 456, to Theodoric II. , race-horse and of one of Actaeon's dogs. (Paus. vi.
on which last occasion, having received the news | 13. $ 5; Hygin. Fab. 181. )
[L. S. )
of the death of Maximus, and of the sack of Rome AURELIA, the wife of C. Julius Caesar, by
by the Vandals, he was, by the assistance of the whom she became the mother of C. Julius Caesar,
Visigoths, raised to the vacant throne; but, after a the dictator, and of two daughters.
[Avienus. ] But, independent of the circumstance lier than the end of the fifth century. (Burmann,
that no fact except this resemblance of name can Antholog. Add. i. p. 738, or Ep. n. 553, ed. Meyer. ;
be adduced in support of such an opinion, the ar- Barth. Adversar. xviii. 21. )
(W. R. ]
CAESAR
کده
COIN OF AUGUSTUS.
## p. 432 (#452) ############################################
432
AVIENUS.
AVIENUS.
AVIA'NUS PHILO'XENUS. [PHILOXE- | distracted with discussions on localities and objects
yus. )
totally foreign to the matter in hand. Moreover,
AVI'DIUS CA'SSIUS. (Cassius. )
the different nations and districts are distinguished
AVI'DIUS FLACCUS. [Flaccus. )
by their ancient and forgotten names, instead of
C. AVIE'NUS, tribune of the soldiers of the those by which they were actually known at the
tenth legion, was ignominiously dismissed from the time when this guide book was composed, and all
army, on account of misconduci in the African war, the old and exploded fantasies of half mythical
B. C. 46. (Hirt. B. Afr. 46. )
geography revived and gravely propounded. We
AVIEŠNUS, RUFUS FESTUS. The fol- are led almost irresistibly to the conclusion, that
lowing poems are ascribed to an author bearing Avienus, possessing no practical or scientitic ac-
this name :-
quaintance with his subject, had read a number of
1. Descriptio Orbis Terrae, or, as it is variously conflicting accounts of the countries in question,
entitled in different editions and MSS. , Metaphrasis written in former times by persons who were as
Perigescos Dionysii--Situs Orbis-- Ambitus Orbis - ignorant as himself, and had combined and pieced
in 1394 hexameter lines, derived directly from the them together in the hope of elaborating a consistent
Trepinnnois of Dionysius, and containing a succinct whole, - neglecting with strange perversity the
account of the most remarkable objects in the numerous sources of accurate information opened
physical and political geography of the known up by the wars so long waged and the dominion
world. It adheres too closely in some places, and 80 long exercised by his countrymen in those
departs too widely in others, from the text of the regions.
Alexandrian, to be called with propriety a trans- 3. Aratea Phaenomena, and Aratea Prog-
Jation, or even a paraphrase, and still less does it nostica, both in Hexameter verse, the first con-
deserve to be regarded as an independent work, taining 1325, the second 552 lines. They bear
but approaches more nearly to our modern idea of exactly the same relation to the well known works
a new edition compressed in certain passages, en- of Aratus as the Descriptio Orbis Terrae does
larged in others, and altered throughout. These to that of Dionysius. The general arrangement of
changes can hardly be considered as improvements, the Greek original is followed throughout, and
for not unfrequently the anxiety of the writer to several passages are translated more closely than
expand and embellish his original has made him in the versions of Cicero and Germanicus, but on
wander into extravagance and error, while on the the other hand many of the mythical legends are
other hand the fear of becoming prolix and tedious expanded, new tales are introduced, and extracts
has led to injudicious curtailments, and induced from the works of celebrated astronomers, scraps
him to omit the names of nations and districts of Pythagorean philosophy, and fragments of
which ought not to have been passed over. Nor Aegyptian superstition, are combined and worked
does he attempt to correct the mistakes of his pre- up with the materials of the old fabric. The re-
decessor, por to take advantage of those stores of sult is much more successful than in the two efforts
knowledge which must have been available at the previously examined. Here there was more room
period when he lived; but the blunders and follies for the imagination to disport itself unencumbered
of the old Greek poets, who were profoundly with dry details and stubborn facts, and accord-
ignorant of all the regions to the West and North ingly the interest is well sustained and the flowing
of their own cowtry, are implicitly followed, and and spirited style of the poet appears to great
many things set down which every well-informed advantage.
man under the empire must have known to be 4. Three short fugitire pieces, the first addressed
absurd. There is, however, a considerable energy to a friend, Flavianus Myrmecius, V. C. , requesting
and liveliness of style, which animates the inherent a gift of some pomegranates from his estates in
dulness of the undertaking and carries the reader Africa, in order to remove an attack of bile and
lightly on, while much ingenuity is displayed in indigestion ; the second, De Cantu Sirenum, or
varying the expression of constantly-recurring Sirenum Allegoria, on the allurements of the daugh-
ideas.
ters of Achelous and the device by which Ulysses
2. Ora Maritima, a fragment in 703 lambic escaped their wiles ; the third, Ad Amicos de Agro,
trimeters. The plan comprehended a full delinea- enumerating the various occupations which by
tion of the shores of the Mediterranean, together turns occupied the time and engaged the attention
with those of the Euxine and sea of Asov, and a of the writer each day when living in country re-
portion of the Atlantic without the pillars of tirement.
Hercules ; but we know not if this design was We must remark, that while we can scarcely
ever fully carried out, for the portion which has entertain a doubt that the two Geographical Essays
been preserved is confined almost entirely to the are from the same pen, especially since in the
coast stretching from Marseilles to Cadiz. The second (1. 71) we find a direct reference to the
author professes to have commenced the essay in first, we have no external evidence connecting
order to satisfy the intelligent inquiries of a youth them with the others, except the fact, that the
named Probus, to whom it is addressed, with re- same name is prefixed in all MSS. to the whole,
gard to the geography of the Pontus and the with the exception of the 2nd and 3rd epigrams.
Maeotic Gulf; but if intended for the purposes But, on the other hand, the style, manner, and
of instruction, it is impossible to imagine any task phraseology of the Aratean poems correspond so
executed in a less satisfactory manner. There is exactly with what we observe in the rest, that
an absence of all order and arrangement. Instead scholars in general have acquiesced in the arrange-
of advancing steadily in a given direction, we are ment which assigns the whole to one person. They
carried backwards and forwards, transported evidently belong to an epoch when Latin litera-
abruptly from one spot to another at a great dis- ture, although fast verging to old age, was still
tance, and brought again and again to the same fresh and hale, and far from being paralyzed by
point without completing any circuit, besides being infirmities ;-we still perceive with pleasure a
## p. 433 (#453) ############################################
AVIENUS.
433
AVIENUS.
force and freedom of expression in strong contrast | appointments are in this way determined. 3. The
with the inflated fcebleness and uneasy stiffness words " carmina multa serens” point out a simi-
which marked the last period of decay.
larity of taste and occupation. 4. Lastly, in the
Assuming that the astronomical Avienus is the epitaph by Placidus we detect an expression,
same with the geographical Avienus, we can at " Jupiter aethram (Pandit, Feste tibi)," which
once determine approximately the age to which he seems to allude directly to the second line of the
belongs ; for Jerome, in his commentary on the Phaenomena, “excelsum rescrat Jupiter aethram,"
Epistle of St. Paul to Titus, mentions that the although this may be merely an accidental resem-
quotation by the Apostle, in the xvii. chapter of blance. It will be seen that the evidence requires
the Acts, Toù gap kal yéros douév, is to be found a good deal of hypothetical patching to enable it to
in the Phaenomena of Aratus,“ quem Cicero in hang together at all, and by no means justiñes the
Latinum sermonem transtulit, et Germanicus Cae- undoubting confidence of Wernsdorf ; but, at the
sar, et nuper Avicnus. ” Now Jerome died in 420; same time, we can scarcely refuse to acknowledge
therefore, allowing all fair latitude to the somewhat that the coincidences are remarkable.
indefinite nuper, we may with tolerable certainty We need scarcely notice the opinion of some
place Avienus in the latter half of the fourth cen- early critics, that Avienus was a Spaniard, since it
tury, under Valens, the Valentinians, Gratian, avowedly rests upon the consideration, that the
and Theodosius, or even somewhat earlier, under fragment of the Ora Maritima which has been
Constantine and Julian. Our next step leads us preserved is devoted chiefly to the coast of Spain,
upon ground much less firm, but we may venture and contains quotations from the works of Himilco
yet a little further. An inscription, discovered and the Carthaginian annalists with regard to that
originally, we are told, in the church of St. Nicholas, country and the shores of the Atlantic. To refute
of the Furbishers, at Rome, and afterwards de- such arguments would be almost as idle as to
posited in the Villa Caesarina, has been published invent them. Nor need we treat with greater
by Fabretti and others, and will be found in Bur- respect the assertion that he was a Christian. Not
mann's Anthologia. (i. 79, or Ep. n. 278, ed. Meyer. ) a line can be quoted which would appear to any
It bears as a title R. FESTUS V. C. DE SE AD reasonable man favourable to such a notion ; but, on
Dean Norteam, and begins in the first person, the contrary, wherever he speaks of the Pagan
Festus Musoni soboles prolesque Avieni, after gods we find that he expresses in very unequivocal
which follows an announcement on the part of this language a marked reverence for their worship.
individual, that he was born at Vulsinii, that he There is little to be said either for or against the
dwelt at Rome, taat he had twice been elevated to idea, that he is the young Avienus introduced by
the office of proconsul, that he was the happy Macrobius in the Saturnalia as talking with Sym-
husband of a lady named Placida, the proud father machus. So far as dates are concerned there is no.
of a numerous offspring, and the author of many anachronism involved, but the name was very
poems (carmina multa serens), then follows a sort common, and we have no clue to guide us to any
of epitaph in four lines, inscribed by Placidus, ap- conclusion.
parently the son of the above personage, to the Servius, in his commentary on Virgil (x. 388),
sacred memory of his sire. Wernsdorf and others speaks of an Avienus who had turned the whole of
have at once pronounced without hesitation, that Virgil and Liry into lambics (qui totum Virgilium
the Festus who here calls himself descendant of et Livium iambis scripsit), and refers to him again
Musonius and son of Avienus, for such is undoubt. (x. 272) as the person " qui iambis scripsit Vir-
edly the true meaning of the words, must be the gilii fabulas. " We cannot doubt that Livy the
same with our Rufus Festus Avienus. The proof historian must be indicated here, for he was by so
adduced, when carefully sifted, amounts to this:- much the most celebrated of all authors bearing
1. It is probable that the ancestor here referred to that appellation, that a grammarian like Servius
may be C. Musonius Rufus, the celebrated Stoic would scarcely have failed to add a distinguishing
and intimate friend of Apollonius of Tyana. He epithet had any other Livy been meant. There
was exiled by Nero, patronized by Vespasian, and is no difficulty in believing the operation to have
is frequently mentioned by the writers who treat been performed upon Virgil, for we know that
of this period. This idea receives confirmation such conversions were common exercises during
from the circumstance that Tacitus and Philostratus the decline of literature, and Suidas tells us in
both represent Musonius as a Tuscan, and Suidas particular of a certain Marianus, in the reign of the
expressly asserts that he was a native of Vulsinii
. emperor Anastasius, who turned the dactylics of
We thus fully establish an identity of name be- Theocritus, Apollonius, Callimachus, and others,
tween the writer of the inscription and our into iambic measures.
Avienus, and can explain satisfactorily how the ap- Lastly, all scholars now admit that there are no
pellation Rufus came into the family. 2. From grounds for supposing, that the prose treatise
two laws in the Codex of Justinian (see Gotho- “ Breviarium de Victoriis ac Provinciis Populi Ro-
fred, Prosopogr. Cod. Theod. ), it appears that a mani ad Valentinianum Augustum," ascribed to a
certain Festus was proconsul of Africa in the Sextus Rufus or Rufus Festus, and the topographi-
years 366 and 367, which agrees with the age we cal compendium“ Sexti Rufi de Regionibus Urbis
have assigned to our Avienus from St. Jerome, Romae," belong to Arienus, as was at one time
and an inscription is extant (Boeckh, Inscr. Graec. maintained ; while the poem * De Urbibus His-
i. p. 436) commemorating the gratitude of the paniae Mediterraneis," quoted as his work by
Athenians towards 'Poúpios añotos, proconsul of several Spaniards, is now known to be a forgery,
Greece. Now the editor of Dionysius and Aratus executed in all probability by a certain Hieronymus
must have been a Greek scholar, and we gather Romanus, a Jesuit of Toledo, who was notorious
from some lines in the Descriptio that he bad re- for such frauds.
peatedly visited Delphi in person ; thus he may be The Editio Princeps of Avienus was printed at
this very 'Poúpios añotos, and the two proconsular / Venice in Roman characters, by Antonius de
2 F
## p. 434 (#454) ############################################
434
AVITUS.
AVITUS.
rous.
Strata, under the care of Victor Pisanus, in 4to. , | bellians, and Pelagians, and was peculiarly success-
and bears the date of 25th October (8 Kal. Nor. ), ful in gaining over a number of Jews who had set-
1488. It contains the Descriptio Orbis Terrae, tled in his diocese. By pope Hormisda he was
the Ora Muritima, the Aralea, and the epigram appointed vicar apostolic Gaul, in the year 517
addressed to Flavianus Myrmecius ; besides which presided at the council of Epaune (cmcilium Epua
we find in the same volume the translation of nense), died on the 5th of February, 5:23, was
Aratus by Cicero and Germanicus, and the verses buried in the monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul,
of Q. Serenus Samonicus on the cure of diseases. where he had passed so many years of his early
The most useful edition is to be found in the life, and in the fulness of time received the honours
second part of the fifth volume of the Poetae of canonization.
Latini Minores of Wernsdorf, which, however, The works of Avitus are
does not include the Aratea, Wernsdorf not having 1. Sacrorum Poematum libri quinque, dedicated
lived to complete his work. But this last piece to his brother, Apollinaris, bishop of Valentia, a
also, which was carefully edited by Buhle and renowned worker of miracles. This collection cor
placed at the end of his Aratus, is given in the sists of five distinct pieces, all in hexameter verse,
French reprint of Wernsdorf (1825), which forms extending to upwards of 2500 lines, De Initio Mun
a portion of the collection of Latin classics pub- di, De Peccato Originali, De Sententia Dei, De Di-
lished at Paris by Lemaire.
[W. R. ) luvio Mundi, De Transitu Maris Rubri.
AVI’OLA, the name of a family of the Acilia 2. De consolatoria Castitatis Laude, in 666 hexa-
gens, which is not mentioned till the very end of meters, addressed to his sister Fuscina, a nun.
the republic.
These productions display much imagination and
1. M'. ACILIUS Aviola, consul suffectus in B. C. great fiuency; the plan of the different portions is
33, from the 1st of July, is probably the same well conceived and skilfully executed, and both in
Aviola who is said to have come to life again on versification and expression they deserve the mode-
the funeral pile, when it was supposed that he was rate praise of being much better than could have
dead, but to have been nevertheless burnt to death, been expected, belonging as they do to what Func-
because the flames could not be extinguished. cius has quaintly termed the “ Iners ac decrepita
(Plin. H. N. vii. 52. 5. 53; Val. Max. i. 8. & 12. ) senectus" of the Latin language. Barthius is of
2. Acilius Aviola, legate of Gallia Lugdunensis opinion that we are prevented from estimating them
under Tiberius, put down an outbreak of the Ande fairly, in consequence of the numerous depravations
cavi and Turonii, in A. D. 21. (Tac. Ann. iii. 41. ) and interpolations which he believes them to have
3. M'. Acilius Aviola, consul in the last year suffered from the monks in ages still more barba-
of the reign of Claudius, A. D. 54. (Tac. Ann. xii. Besides his effusions in verse, Avitus is
64 ; Suet. Claud. 45. )
known to have published nine books of epistles,
AVITIA'NUS, son of Julius Ausonius and and a great number of homilies; but of these the
Aemilia Aeonia, was a young man of great pro- following only are extant :
mise, who was being brought up to follow his fa- 3. Eighty-seven letters to and from various per-
ther's profession as a physician, but died at an sons of distinction in church and state.
early age, in the fourth century after Christ. He 4. A homily “De Festo Rogationum et prima
was a younger brother of the poet Ausonius, who ejus Institutione. "
in one of his poems (Parent. xiii. ) laments his pre- 5. Eight fragments of homilies.
mature death, and gives the above particulars of 6. Fragments of opuscula.
his life.
(W. A. G. ] These remains shew that he was well versed in
AVI'TUS, A’LCIMUS ECDI'CIUS (or ECDI'. scripture and in theology, and that he possessed
DIUS), son of Isicius, archbishop of Vienne, was some knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, and they
born about the middle of the 5th century. From his contain curious and valuable information on various
earliest years he is said to have devoted himself to points of ecclesiastical history, discipline, and doc-
literature, and to have given promise of that eru-
trine.
dition which subsequently gained for him, among The poems were first printed at Strasburg in
his countrymen at least, the reputation of being 1507 from a MS.
in the possession of Beroaldus,
the most profound and eloquent scholar of his age. and are given in the Corpus Poetarum Latinorum
After bestowing an ample inheritance on the poor, of Maittaire and similar compilations.
he retired into the monastery of St. Peter and St. The whole works of Avitus were published col-
Paul, close to the walls of bis native city, and re | lectively with notes by Père Sirmond, at Paris,
mained in the seclusion of the cloister until the 1643, 8vo. , in the second volume of his Opuscula
death of his father (in a. D. 490), whom he suc- of the fathers and other ecclesiastical writers, and
ceeded in the archiepiscopal dignity. His fame as also in the works of Sirmond published by Père la
a pious and charitable priest and a powerful con- Baume, Paris, 1690, fol. , and reprinted at Venice,
troversialist now rose very high. He took part in 1729, fol. Since that period, a new homily has
the celebrated conference at Lyons between the been discovered, and is included in the fifth vol. of
Arians and the Catholic bishops, held in the pre- the Thesaur. Anecdot. by Dom. Martenne. (W. R. )
sence of the Burgundian king, where, as we are AVI'TUS, A'LPHIUS. The Latin poet quoted
told, he silenced the heretics and brought back under this name is believed to have flourished dur-
many waverers to the bosom of the church. Gun ing the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. Many
debald himself is said to have yielded to his argu- suppose him to be the same person with Alfius
ments, although from political motives he refused Flavus—the precocious pupil of Cestius and con-
to recant his errors openly; and all agree, that temporary with Seneca, who while yet a bor was
after his death his son Sigismund publicly declared so famed for his eloquence, that crowds flocked to
his adherence to the true faith. Avitus, at the listen to his orations (Senec. Controv. i. 1)--and with
request of his royal admirers, published treatises Flavius Alfius, referred to by Pliny (K. N. ix. 8),
in confutation of the Nestorians, Eutychians, Sa- as an authority for a story about dolphins. Hence
## p. 435 (#455) ############################################
AVITUS.
435
AURELIA.
Vossius conjectures, that his designation at full vergne, and there died, or at least was buried.
length and properly arranged may have been Fla- (A. D. 456. )
vus Alfius Avitus. All this is very ingenious and His private life is chiefly known from the Pane-
very uncertain. We know from Terentianus Mau- vyric of his son-in-law, Sidonius Apollinarus ; his
rus (1. 2448), that Alphius Avitus composed a public life from Gregor. Turon. ii. 11, and Idatius,
work upon Illustrious Men, in iambic dimeters, Chronicon.
(A. P. S. )
extending to several books; and eight lines are The annexed coin of Avitus has on the obverse
cited by Priscian from the second book, forming a the head of Avitus crowned with a diadem of
part of the legend of the Faliscan schoolmaster who pearls, and the inscription D. M. Avitus Perp. F.
betrayed his pupils to Camillus; besides which, Aug. , and on the reverse the emperor wearing the
three lines more from the first book are contained paludamentum, and standing with one foot npon a
in some MSS. of the same grammarinn. (Priscian, barbarian ; in the right hand he holds the cross,
vol. i. pp. 410, 553, vol. ii. p. 131, ed. Krehl, or pp. and in the left a small figure of Victory.
823, 947, 1136, ed. Putsch. ) These fragments are
given in the Anthologia Latina of Burmann, ii. p.
267, and Add ii. p. 730, or Ep. n. 125, ed. Meyer.
There is also an “Alpheus philologus," from
whom Priscian adduces five words (vol. i. p. 370,
ed. Kr. , or p. 792, ed. Putsch), and an Alfius whose
work on the Trojan war is mentioned by Festus,
8. 0. Mamertini. (Wernsdorf, Poett. Latt. Minn.
vol. iii. p. xxxi. , vol. iv. pars ii. p. 826. ) [W. R. ]
AVI'TUS, GALLO'NIUS, was legate over the
provinces of Thrace under Aurelian, and a letter AULANUS EVANDER. [EVANDER. )
addressed to him by that emperor is quoted by AULESTES, a Tyrrhenian ally of Aeneas in
Vopiscus in tho life of Bonosus. Some critics have Italy, is called a son of Tiberis and the nymph
supposed, that he was the author of an " allocutio Manto, and brother of Ocnus. He was slain by
sponsalis,” in five hexameters, preserved among the Messapus, and was regarded as the founder of
" fragmenta epithalamiorum veterum," and that the Perusia. (Virg. Aen. X. 207, xi. 290. )
[L. S. )
little poem itself was one of the hundred nuptial AUʻLIA GENS, probably plebeian. Persons
lays which were composed and recited when Gal- of this name rarely occur, though one member of
lienus celebrated the marriages of his nephews. the gens, Q. Aulius Cerretanus, obtained the con-
(Pollio, Gall. 11. ) Wernsdorf, however, considers sulship twice in the Samnite war, in B. C. 323 and
that the lines belong to Alcimus Avitus Alethius. 319. The name is derived from the praenomen
(Alethius. ] (Wernsdorf, Poett. Latt. Minn. vol. Aulus, as Sextius from Sextus, Marcius from Mar-
iv. pars ii. p. 501 ; Burmann, Antholog. iii. 259, or cus, and Quintius from Quintus. The only cogno-
Ep. n. 259, ed. Meyer. )
(W. R. ] men belonging to this gens is CERRETANUS.
AVI'TUS, JU'LIÚS, the husband of Julia AULIS (Aủais), a daughter of Ogygus and
Maesa, brother-in-law of Julia Domna and Septi- Thebe, from whom the Boeotian town of Aulis was
mius Severus, uncle by marriage of Caracalla, father believed to have derived its name. (Paus. ix. 19.
of Julia Soemias and Julia Mamaea, and maternal $ 5. ) Other traditions called her a daughter of
grandfather of Elagabalus and Alexander Severus. Euonymus, the son of Cephissus. (Steph. Byz.
He was of consular rank, and, as we gather from s. v. Avaís. ) She was one of the goddesses who
the fragments of Dion Cassius, governed in succes- watched over oaths under the name of apačiola.
sion Asia, Mesopotamia, and Cyprus. From him (ALALCOMENIA. ]
(L. S. )
Elagabalus inherited the name of Avitus-an ap- M'. AU’LIUS, praefect of the allies, was killed
pellation by which ancient historians frequently in the battle in which Marcellus was defeated by
distinguish that emperor. (Dion Cass. lxxxviii
. 30, Hannibal, B. c. 208. (Liv. xxvii. 26, 27. )
Ixxix. 16; Herodian, v. 3. & 2; see also the genea- AULOʻNIUS (Aúnávios), a surname of Ascle-
logical table under CARACALLA. ) [W. R. ] pius, derived from a temple he had in Aulon, a val-
AVI'TUS, M. MAECI'LIUS, emperor of the ley in Messenia. (Paus. iv. 36. $ 5. ) [L. S. )
West, was descended from a noble family in Au- AURA (Aŭpa), a daughter of Lelas and Peri-
vergne, and spent the first thirty years of his life boen, was one of the swift-footed companions of
in the pursuits of literature, field-sports, jurispru- Artemis. She was beloved by Dionysus, but filed
dence, and arms. The first public office to which from him, until Aphrodite, at the request of Dio-
he was promoted was the praetorian praefecture of nysus, inspired her with lore for the god. She
Gaul, and whilst in retirement in his villa near accordingly became by him the mother of twins,
Clermont, he was appointed master of the armies but at the moment of their birth she was seized
of Gaul. During this period, he twice went as with madness, tore one of her children to pieces,
ambassador to the Visigothic court, first in A. D. 450 and then threw herself into the sea. (Nonnus,
to Theodoric I. , to secure his alliance on the invasion Dionys. 260. ) Aura also occurs as the name of a
of Attila ; secondly in A. D. 456, to Theodoric II. , race-horse and of one of Actaeon's dogs. (Paus. vi.
on which last occasion, having received the news | 13. $ 5; Hygin. Fab. 181. )
[L. S. )
of the death of Maximus, and of the sack of Rome AURELIA, the wife of C. Julius Caesar, by
by the Vandals, he was, by the assistance of the whom she became the mother of C. Julius Caesar,
Visigoths, raised to the vacant throne; but, after a the dictator, and of two daughters.
