No More Learning

(PLINIUS)
SEDIGITUS, VOLCA'TIUS, is described by
SECUNDUS, POMPOʻNIUS. 1. A distin- Pliny (H. N. xi. 43) as “illustrem in Poëtica. "
guished poet in the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, A. Gellius (av. 24) has preserved from his work
and Claudius. He was one of the friends of de Poëtis, which appears to have been a sort of
Sejanus, and on the fall of that minister in a. D. metrical Didascalia, thirteen lambic senarians, in
31 was thrown into prison, where he remained till which the principal Latin comic dramatists are
the accession of Caligula in A. D. 37, by whom he enumerated in the order of merit. In this “Canon,"
was released, and who raised him to the consul- as it has been termed, the first place is assigned to
ship in A. D. 41. Dion Cassius says (lix. 6), Caecilius Statius, the second to Plautus, the third
that he had been consul seven years before the to Naevius, the fourth to Licinius, the fifth to Atti-
accession of Caligula ; but his name does not occur lius, the sixth to Terentius, the seventh to Turpi-
in the Fasti. In the reign of Claudius he was lius, the eighth to Trabea, the ninth to Luscius,
appointed the emperor's legatus in Germany, and the tenth, “ causa antiquitatis," to Ennius. In
in a. D. 50 defeated the Chatti, and obtained addition to these verses, two fragments, probably
the honour of the triumphal ornaments. Secun- from the same piece with the above, one a single
dus was an intimate friend of the elder Pliny, line, the other extending to three, and both re-
who showed his affection for him by writing his ferring to Terence, are quoted in the life of that
life in two books. Tacitus speaks of him (Ann. writer ascribed to Suetonius. (Burmann, Anthol.
v. 8) as a man “ multa morum elegantia et ingenio Lat ii. 223, or No. 140, ed. Meyer ; Osann, Anal.
illustri. ” It was by his tragedies that Secundus Crit. p. 3; Ludewig, Veber den Canon des Vulca-
obtained the most celebrity. They are spoken of in tius Sedigitus, Programm zu Neustrelitz, 4to. 1812 ;
the highest terms by Tacitus, Quintilian, and the Klussmann, de Nuevio poëta. ) [W. R. ]
younger Pliny, and were read even in a much SEDU'LIUS, COELIUS, a Christian poet,
later age, as one of them is quoted by the gram- who is termed a presbyter by Isidorus of Seville
marian Charisius (Tac. Ann. v. 8, vi. 18 ; Dion (de Script. Eccles. c. 7), and by Honorius of Autun
Cass, lix, 6, 29; Tac. Ann. xi. 13, xii. 27, 28 ; (de S. E. iii. 7). By the writer known as Anony-
Dial. de Orat. 13 ; Quintil. x. I. $ 98 ; Plin. mus Mellicensis (c. 35, in the Bibl. Eccles. of
H. N. vii. 19, xiii. 12. 8. 26, xiv. 4. 8. 6 ; Plin. Fabricius) he is called an Antistes, a title confirmed
Ep. iii. 5, vii. 17; Charisius, ap. Bothe, Poet. by two acrostic panegyrics to be found in the
Scer. Lat. Fragm. vol. ii. p. 279). The prae- edition of Cellarius, while by Sigebertus of Gem-
nomen of Pomponius Secundus is doubtful. In bloux (de S. E. 6), and by Trithemius (de S. E.
one passage Tacitus calls him Publius (Ann. xi. 142) he is designated as a bishop—to which an
13), and in another Lucius (Ann. xii. 27), while tistes is frequently equivalent — but no one has pre-
Dion Cassius (lix. 6) names him Quintus. Tacitus, tended to discover the see over which he presided.
however, call his brother Quintus. [No. 2. ) We cannot determine with absolute precision the
2. Q. POMPONIUS SECUNDUS, the brother of the date either of his birth or of his death, but the
preceding, a man of abandoned character, accused period when he fourished may be defined within
Sancia and others towards the end of the reign of narrow limits. He refers (Epist. ad Maced. ) to the
Tiberius, under the pretext of warding off dangers commentaries of Jerome, who died A. V. 420, and is
from his brother by acquiring the favour of the himself praised by Cassiodorus (de Instit. div. let
emperor. He subsequently revolted against the 27 ; comp. Venant. Fortunat. Carn. viii, 1 ; Fit.
emperor Claudius. (Tac. Ann. vi. 18, xin. 43. ) S. Martin. i. 15), who was born A. D. 468, and by
POPPAEUS, Q. SECUNDUS, consul suf- Pope Gelasius, who presided over the Roman
fectus A. D. 9, with M. Papius Mutilus. These Church from A. D. 492 to A. D. 496. Moreover,
consuls gave their names to the celebrated Papia his works were collected after his death and pub-
Poppaea lex, frequently called Julia et Papia Poplished by Asterius, as we learn from a short intro-
paea. (Dion Cass. lvi. 10; Dict. of Antiq. p. 691, ductory epigram, to which is added, in some MSS. ,
2d ed. )
the note “ Hoc opus Sedulius inter chartulas dis-
SECUNDUS, SA'TRIUS, a dependant of Se- persum reliquit: quod recollectum adornatumque
janus, accused Cremutius Cordus in a. D. 25. He ad omnem elegantiam divulgatum est a Turcio
afterwards betrayed his master, and gave informa- Rufio Asterio V. C. consule ordinario atque pa.
tion to Tiberius of the conspiracy which Sejanus tricio. ” Upon turning to the Fasti we discover
had formed against him. Josephus relates (Ant. that an Asterius was consul along with Protogenes
xviii. 6) that Antonia informed Tiberius of the in A. D. 449, and that Turcius Rufus Apronianus
conspiracy of Sejanus ; and hence it has been con- Asterius was consul along with Praesidius in A. D.
jectured that Secundus, unwilling or unable to 496. Combining these facts little doubt can be
have an interview with the emperor, had acquainted entertained that the latter is the person indicated
Antonia with the plot. Secundus was married to above, and that we may fix the epoch of Sedulius
the notorious Albucilla. (Tac. Ann. iv. 34, vi, 8, about A. D. 450. Of his personal history we know
47 ; Senec. Consol. ad Marciam, 22. )
nothing whatsoever. By Trithemius (1. c. ) indeed
SECUNDUS, VI’BIUS, a Roman eques, was he is said to have been a Scot, the disciple of
accused of malversation (repetundae) in Mauritania, archbishop Hildebert ; but this and similar state
and condemned, A. D. 60. He was banished from ments arose, it would appear, from confounding
Italy, and escaped a heavier punishment through three different persons, all ecclesiastics, who bore
the influence of his brother Vibius Crispus. (Tac. the same name :- 1. Sedulius, the poet, who be
Ann. xive 28. )
longs, as we have proved, to the fifth century.
a


## p. 765 (#781) ############################################

SEDULIUS.
765
SEDULIUS.
16
9
2. Sed ilius, who, in attaching his signature to the of the hexameter, in each couplet, recurs as the
Acts of the Council of Rome, held in A. D. 721, last penthemimer of the pentameter: thus
describes himself as Episcopus Britanniae de
Primus ad ima ruit magna de luce superbus ;
genere Scotorum. " 3. Sedulius, an Irish Scot, who
Sic homo cum tumuit primus ad ima ruit ;
lived some hundred years later, and compiled from
the works of Origen, Eusebius, Jerome, and other a derice to which grammarians have given the
celebrated fathers, a commentary upon St. Paul name of émaványs.
still extant under the title “ Sedulii Scoti Hiber- III. Hymnus de Christo, a succinct account of
niensis in omnes epistolas Pauli Collectaneum. ” the life and miracles of Christ, from the Incarnation
The following pieces by the first of these indi- to the Ascension, in Sambic dimeters. The first
viduals have descended to us.
line begins with the letter A, the fifth line with
1. Paschale Carmen 8. Mirabilium Divinorum the letter B, the ninth with C, the thirteenth
Libri V.
, in heroic mensure ; to which is prefixed with D, and so on at intervals of four lines until
in some MSS. a “ Praefatio," in eight elegiac a complete alphabet has been finished, the whole
couplets, addressed to the reader, and a “ Dedicatio being wound up by a sort of epilogue in two elegiac
ad 'Theodosium Augustum,” in fifteen hexameters, distichs.
If the inscription of the latter be genuine, it could IV. De Verbi Incarnatione, a Cento Virgilianus,
not have been written after a. D. 450, for in that first published in the collection of Martene and
year the younger Theodosius died. There is also Durand from a MS. belonging to the monastery of
an introductory epistle addressed to the Abbot Corvey on the Weser.
Macedonius, at whose request Sedulius had exe- V. The authenticity of the epigram entitled
cuted a proge version of the above poem. This “De tabula orbis terrarum jussu Theodosii Junioris
prose version has been preserved and was published Imperatoris facta” is more than doubtful. It is
at Paris in 1585 by F. Juret, from a MS. the to be found in Burmann's Anthologia Latina, v.
property of P. Pithou. Sigebertus (l. c. ) main. 115, or No. 274, ed. Meyer ; comp. Wernsdorf,
tains that the work was first composed in prose Poël. Lat. Min. vol. iv. p. 499.
and afterwards versified. But this account is di- The merits of Sedulius are altogether of a nega-
rectly at variance with the words of the letter. tive character. Every one admits that he was not
There is some doubt as to the number of books destitute of talent. With the exception of several
into which the Paschale Carmen ought to be di- mistakes in quantity, his verse is by no means
vided. Although the MSS. vary, all the best rough nor inharmonious, and his language, formed
distribute it into five : the Anonymus Mellicensis upon the model of Virgil, is not devoid of a certain
(l. c. ) states that it consists of two ; Isidorus and degree of elegance, and cannot be pronounced im-
Honorius (Il. cc. ) agree that there are three, one pure ; his descriptions are not coarse nor exagge-
being devoted to the signs and wonders comme- rated. His prose, however, presents a singular
morated in the Old Testament, two to the Sacra- contrast, the style being in the highest degree
ments and Miracles of Christ. Trithemius (l. c. ) harsh and affected, the phraseology and syntax alike
expressly names four, and this seems to have been barbarous. Such inconsistencies are by no means
the arrangement contemplated by the author, who uncommon among the writers of that epoch, and
thus (Epist
. ad Maced. ) explains the nature, ob- admit of easy explanation. In verse composition
ject, and extent of his undertaking: Quatuor they confined themselves exclusively to the words
mirabilium divinorum libellos, quos, et pluribus and expressions which had been stamped by the
pauca complexus, usque ad Passionem et Resur- authority of the poets in the Augustan age, accord-
rectionem Ascensionemque Domini Nostri Jesu ing to the system pursued in the school exercises
Christi, quatuor Evangelistarum dicta congregans, of modern times, while their prose represented the
ordinavi, contra omnes aemulos tuae defensioni ordinary language of their own day.
commendo. Huic autem operi, favente Deo, Pas- We have already observed that Sedulius was
chalis Carminis nomen imposui quia Pascha nos commended by Pope Gelasius, who couched his
trum immolatus est Christus. ” The most easy praise in the following terms (Distinct. xv. 3. $ 25):
solution of the difficulty is to be found in the sup- i Venerabilis viri Sedulii Paschale Opus, quod he-
position which assigns the disposition of the parts, roicis descripsit versibus, insigni laude proferimus. "
as they are now exhibited, to the first editor in transcribing the document the word haereticis
Asterius, who would probably give that form to was accidentally substituted for heroicis, and the
the scattered papers of the deceased which to him error passed undetected in some of the authorised
appeared most appropriate, while transcribers, fol- collections of Canons. Hence it came to pass that,
lowing their own judgment, may have thought fit for a considerable period, zealous churchmen, and
to introduce changes, and thus have caused the among them Pope Paulus II. and Pope Hadrianus
discrepancies and contradictions which we meet VI. , moved by the authority of one so holy, were
with in the historians of ecclesiastical literature. It in the habit of anathematising poets in general,
is not improbable that Sedulius may, at one time, and of declaring that all who meddled with verse,
have intended the Miracles of the Old Testament even although the theme might relate to holy
to constitute a separate work, and it may even be things, were heretics and accursed.
urged that the words quoted above apply to the The Editio Princeps of Sedulius is a quarto
New Testament exclusively.
volume, printed at Paris by Badius Ascensius, but
II. Veteris et Novi Testamenti Collatio, a sort of without a date ; the second edition was published
hymn containing a collection of texts from the Old along with Juvencus and others by Aldus, 4to.
and New Testaments, arranged in such a manner Venet. 1502. The most elaborate editions are
as to enable the reader to compare the two dispen- those of Cellarius, 8vo. Hal. 1704 and 1739 ; of
bations. The metre employed is the elegiac distich Artzenius, 4to Leovard. 1761; and of Arevalus,
and the expressions are arranged with laborions 4to. Rom. 1794. The different pieces will be
ingenuity in such a way that the first penthemimer found in “ Poëtarum veterum ecclesiastica. Opera


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766
SEGIMERUS.
SEJANUS.
:
Christiana” of G. Fabricius, fol. Basil
. 1564 ; in leader's remains. . (Tac. Ann i. 71 ; Strat. vii. p.
the Bibliotheca l'altum Max, fol Lugd. 1677, vol. 293 ; Dion Cass. Ivi. 19. )
(W. L. D. )
vi. p. 458 ; in the Corpus Poëtarum Lat. of Mat- SÉGIMUNDUS, the son of Segestes, vas ap
taire, vol. ii. p. 1060; and in the fifth volume of pointed priest of an altar in the neighbourhood of
the Collectio Pisaurensis.
(W. R. ] Cologne, probably the altar raised to Augustus
SEGESTA (Peyeonn). The Trojan Phoeno Caesar. He afterwards rejoined his tribe, the Che-
damas (others call him Hippotes, Ippoteus or Ip- ruscans. In A. D. 14 Sigimundus was one of the
bostratus) had three daughters. When he was envoys whom Segestes sent to Germanicus, when
to be compelled by Laomedon to expose one of the Cheruscans were besieging him in his own
them to the marine monster which was ravaging house. Germanicus pardoned the previous defection
the country, he called the people together and in. of Sigimundus, and allowed him to share his father's
duced them to compel Laomedon, whose guilt had exile in Narbonne. (Segestes. ] (Tac. Ann. i.
brought the monster into the country, to expose 57, 58 ; Strab. vii. p. 291. ) (W. B. D. )
his own daughter Hesione. Laomedon then took SEGONAX, one of the kings of Cantiurn in
vengeance by causing some sailors to convey the Britain, who joined Cassivellaunus to oppose Caesar.
three daughters of Phoenodamas to a desert part (Caes. B. G. v. 22. )
of the coast of Sicily (some say Libya). One of SEGU'LIUS, an artist in gold (aurufex, sic),
these maidens was Segesta or Egesta, with whom whose pame is found in a Latin inscription (Gruter,
the river god Crimissus, in the shape of a bear or p. dcxxxix. 1), in which his full name is D. Segulius
a dog, begot Aegestus, Egestus or Acestes, by Alcrsa (sic). The last word, in this case, as in
whom Egesta in Sicily was built. (Tzetz. ad Ly- the names of Aulus and Quintus Alexa (QUINTUS),
coph. 471, 953; Serv. ad Aen. i. 550, v. 30; is commonly supposed to be an abbreviation of the
Dionys. i. 52. )
(L. S. ) genitive Alexandri or of Alezas ; but Raoul-Ro-
SEGESTES, a Cheruscan chieſtain, the oppo- chette thinks that it is a distinct cognomen. (Lettre
nent of Arminius. He was alternately the con- à M. Schorn, pp. 125, 401, 2d ed. ) [P. S. ]
queror and the captive of his great rival. Private SEGU'LIUS LA'BEO, a friend of Octavianus,
injuries embittered their political feud, for Arminius B. C. 43, is called by Cicero, “homo nequissimus. "
carried off and forcibly married the daughter of (Cic. ad Fam. xi. 20, 21. )
Segestes. In A. D. 9 Segestes warned Quintilius SEJA'NUS, A E'LIUS.
Dion Cassius says
Varus of the conspiracy of Arminius, Sigimer that his praenomen was Lucius. Tacitus (Ann.
and other Cheruscan chiefs against him, and coun- iv. 1, &c. ) is our chief authority for the history of
selled him to arrest them ere the revolt broke out this infamous instrument of Tiberius. Sejanus was
His warning was disregarded, and Varus perished. born at Vulsinii, in Etruria : he was the son of
In A. D. 14 Segestes was forced by his tribesmen Seius Strabo, a Roman eques, who was commander
into a war with Rome ; but he still corresponded of the praetorian troops at the close of the reign of
with the enemy, and sent to Germanicus informa- Augustus and the commencement of that of Ti-
tion of the plans and movements of the Cheruscans. berius. Velleius Paterculus (ii. 127) says that he
His treachery was probably discovered, since the was of illustrious descent on the maternal side ;
Cheruscans attacked Segestes in his own house, and Lipsius conjectures that his mother was of the
and he was rescued with difficulty by a detachment Junia Gens, because Junius Blaesus, proconsul of
sent by Germanicus. Segestes was accompanied Africa, was the maternal uncle of Sejanus (Tacit.
to the Roman camp by his children, his slaves, and Ann. iii. 72). Rumour accused him of selling
clients. He extenuated his part in the war by himself, when a young man, to the lust of Apicius,
pleading his services to Augustus, who had granted a rich debauchee (Dion Cass. lvii. 19). Sejanus
him the Roman franchise, and he offered to nego- ultimately gained such influence over Tiberius,
tiate peace with the insurgent Germans. Germa- that this suspicious man, who was close and re
nicus assigned Segestes a secure dwelling-place in served to all mankind, opened his bosom to Seja-
Narbonne, and pardoned his son Sigimundus, who nus, and made him his confidant. Sejanus had a
had revolted. The daughter of Segestes, although body capable of enduring fatigue, and a mind
clinging rather to the cause of her husband, Armi- capable of the boldest designs : he concealed his
nius, than to her father's, was sent with her own thoughts, and was a calumniator of others;
infant son to Ravenna. (Tac. Ann. i. 55—59; he could fawn and crouch to power, though he was
Vell. Pat. ii. 118; Flor. iv. 12. ) [W. B. D.