quillity in
seclusion
and holy exercises.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - c
He declared Clodius Albinus, whose
of Weitzius and Seberus, 8vo. Lug. Bat. 1715 rivalry he dreaded, Caesar, - celebrated the obse-
and 1745; by Richter, 4to. Hamb. 1747 ; and quies of Pertinax with the utmost splendor, - dis-
by Piper, 8vo. Gott. 1835. A dissertation on tributed an enormous donative to his soldiers,
Severus Sanctus is contained in Wernsdorf, Puët. amounting we are told to 30,000 sesterces for each
Lut. Min. vol. ii. p. 53, seqq. , comp. vol. iv. pt. 2. man, and having arranged all matters connected
pp. 806, 812, vol. v. pt. 3. p. 1449; and in the with the internal government of the state, quitted
edition of Piper.
[W. R. ] Rome within thirty days after his triumphal entry,
SEVE'RUS, L. SEPTI'MIUS, Roman empe- and hurried to the East in order to prosecute the
ror A. N. 193—211, was born on the llth of war against Niger. While he marched direct
April, a. D. 146, near Leptis in Africa, and it has towards Syria at the head of a portion of his forces,
been remarked, that he was the only Roman em- he despatched some legions into Africa, lest the
peror who was a native of that continent. His enemy passing through Egypt, or along the coast,
family was of equestrian rank ; the name of his might gain possession of the great granary of the
father was Geta, of his mother Fulvia Pia, and empire and starve the metropolis. So eagerly did
from the correspondence of appellation and country he watch over this department of the public ser-
we may fairly conjecture that he was a descendant vice in after life, that when he died the store
of the Septimius Severus of Leptis to whom Statius houses of Rome were found to contain a stock of
addresses a graceful poem. Ile devoted himself corn sufficient for the consumption of seven years,
eagerly when a boy to the study of Greek and and as much oil as would have supplied the wants
Latin literature, and became a proficient in these of all Italy for five.
languages. Having removed to Rome he entered The progress of the campaign, which was termi-
upon a public career, and at the age of thirty-two nated by the capture of Niger after the battle of
was made praetor elect by M. Aurelius, his ambi- Issus, A. D. 194, need not be recapitulated (NIGER,
tious views having been effectually promoted by PESCENNIUS). But Severus was not yet satisfied.
the influence of his kinsman Septimius Severus, Some of the border tribes still refusing to acknow-
who had been raised to the consulship. From ledge his authority, he crossed the Euphrates in
this time forward the progress of Severus was the following year (A. D. 195), wasted their lands,
steady and rapid. He successively commanded captured their cities, forced all whom he encoun-
the fourth legion then stationed near Marseilles tered to submit, and won for himself the titles of
-governed, with high reputation for impar- adiabenicus, Arabicus, and Parthicus. In A. D. 196
tiality and integrity, the province of Gallia Lug. Byzantium, after an obstinate resistance, protracted
dunensis was legate of Pannonia, proconsul of for nearly three years, was taken, to the great joy
Sicily, and consul suffectus in A. D. 185, along of the emperor, who treated the vanquished with
with Apuleius Rufinus, being one of the twenty- little moderation. Its famous walls were levelled
five who in that year purchased the office from with the earth, its soldiers and magistrates were
Cleander (CLEANDER). He was subsequently put to death, the property of the citizens was con-
commander-in-chief of the army in Pannonia and fiscated, and the town itself, deprived of all its
Illyria, and upon the death of Commodus ten- political privileges, made over to the Perinthians.
dered his allegiance to Pertinax, but after the Meanwhile Clodius Albinus, who, although created
murder of the latter, and the shameful elevation Caesar, found that after the destruction of Niger
of Julianus, which excited universal indignation he was treated with little consideration, had
throughout the provinces, he was himself pro-accepted the imperial dignity proffered by the
claimed emperor by the troops at Carnutum. Al- troops in Gaul. Severus being thus compelled to
though he consented with reluctance to receive return to Europe, endeavoured, in the first in-
this honour, yet, when his decision was once made stance, to remove his antagonist by treachery, but
he acted with the greatest promptitude and energy. his schemes having been baffled, he procured a
While Pescennius Niger, who had been saluted as decree of the Senate, pronouncing him a public
Augustus by the eastern legions, was loiteriug enemy, and then hastened on to Gaul to prosecute
at Antioch, Severus marched straight upon Rome, the war. On the nineteenth of February, A. D.
and disregarding the threats, the assassins, and the 197, the contending hosts encountered near Lyons,
peaceful overtures of Julianus, as well as the reso- the rivals commanding in person, each at the head
lutions of the senate, in terms of which he had of 150,000 men. The battle was fiercely con-
been declared a public enemy, he pressed onwards tested, and for a time fortune seemed to waver.
with great rapidity, announcing himself every Severus, when rallying his men, lost his horse and
where as the avenger of Pertinax, whose name he narrowly escaped being slain ; but eventually his
assumed, and from that time forward constantly superior skill and experience prevailed. The loss
retained among his titles. His arrival before the upon both sides was terrible. The whole plain
city on the 1st or 2d of June, A. D. 193, was the was covered with the dead and wounded, and
signal for the death of Julianus [JULIANUS], and streams of blood mingled with the waters of the
the practorians having submitted, his first exercise (Rhone. Albinus took refugo in a house near the
.
## p. 807 (#823) ############################################
SEVERUS.
807
SEVERUS.
river ; but find ng himself hotly pursued and his retraced their steps, worn out with hardships of
retreat cut off, perished by his own hand. The every description, without having accomplished
conqueror, after feasting upon the spectacle of his any great object, or secured any permanent ad-
enemy's corpse, ordered the head to be cut off vantage. In this expedition incalculable misery
and despatched to Rome, whither be quickly was inflicted ; the prince lost fifty thousand men,
collowed, and put to death many senators sus- and gained the title of Britannicus.
That no
pected of having been in correspondence with the moral impression even was made is evident from
fo. Games were exhibited, and largesses be the fact that, scarcely had the legions withdrawn
stewed on the people ; but as soon as the first towards the south, and commenced the famous
excitement of success had passed away Severus, wall which still bears the name of their com-
stil thirsting for military renown, resolved to mander, when a fresh insurrection broke out
return to Asia, and again assail the Parthians, among the Meatae and the Caledonians. Enraged
who, taking advantage of the civil strife in the by this audacity, Severus declared his resolution
West, had spread over Mesopotamia. Accordingly to exterminate the whole race, and instantly began
he æt forth accompanied by his sons Caracalla to make preparations for a new campaign. But
and Geta, crossed the Euphrates carly in the year his designs were cut short by death. lle was
A. D. 198, and commenced a series of operations attacked by a violent disease in the joints, and
which were attended with the most brilliant re expired at York, on the 4th of February, A. D. 211,
sults. Seleucia and Babylon were evacuated by in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and the eighteenth
the enemy; and Ctesiphon, at that time their of his reign. His ashes were conveyed to Rome,
royal city, was taken and plundered after a short and deposited in the tomb of M. Aurelius. As a
siege. The campaign against the Arabs, who had matter of course, his apotheosis was decreed by the
espoused the cause of Niger, was less glorious. senate, and Herodian has preserved a detailed
The emperor twice assailed their chief town Atra, account of the ceremonies performed.
and twice was compelled to retire with great loss. Although the character of Severus appears in a
The next three years were spent in the East. most favourable light when viewed in contrast
Severus entered upon his third consulship in Syria with those rulers who immediately preceded and
(1. D. 202), Caracalla being his colleague ; visited followed him, there is in it not much to admire,
Arabia, Palestine, and Egypt; and having made all and nothing to love. He was, it must be ad-
the necessary arrangements in these countries, remitted, a stranger to their brutal vices; he was
turned to Rome in the same year, in order to offer free from all capricious tyranny; under ordinary
the decennial vows, and to celebrate the marriage circumstances he governed the state with integrity,
of his eldest son with Plautilla The shows in and did all that might best promote the interests
honour of the return of the prince, of the comple- of the community at large. He devoted himself
tion of the tenth year of his reign, of his victories, with great zeal to the administration of justice,
and of the royal nuptials, were unparalleled in and to the reform of public abuses : he was, morc-
magnificence; that is to say, the bloodshed and over, an admirable general ; and the strict dis-
butchery of men and animals were greater than cipline maintained by him among the troops,
On one occasion, four hundred wild beasts effectually repressed, for a season, military insolence
were let loose in the amphitheatre at one moment, and excess. Nor can we refuse to acknowledge
and seven hundred, at the rate of a hundred that he possessed a large, keen, and vigorous
for each day, were slaughtered during the course intellect, such as might well befit the ruler of such
At this time, also, each citi- an empire in such unhappy times. But he was
zen whose poverty entitled him to obtain corn utterly devoid of all high moral principle, totally
from the public store, and each of the praetorians destitute of gentleness and generosity of temper.
received ten aurei ; a largess which consumed When he had once resolved to gain an object, he
about sixteen millions and a half sterling, the entertained no scruples with regard to the means
greatest sum which had ever been bestowed in by which his purpose was to be accomplished; and
such a manner on any one occasion.
although not naturally cruel, was perfectly indif-
For seven years Septimius remained tranquilly ferent to human suffering and life. Nor did
at Rome; but in A. D. 207, either because a success soften this hardness of heart, or qualify
rebellion in northern Britain had assumed an the bitter resentment which he cherished against
aspect so serious that his presence was deemed all who in any way opposed or thwarted his
requisite, or for the purpose of giving active designs. Not content with victory, he ever sought
employment to his sons, who were leading a life to glut his vengeance on his fallen foes, and was
of profligacy, and to the legions, whose discipline always most odious in the hour of triumph. In
had become relaxed, he determined again to take private life it is said that he was a warm friend,
the field. Accordingly, passing through Gaul, simple and domestic in his habits, and fond of
he reached his destination, early in A. D. 208. literary pursuits.
Marching at once to the disturbed districts, he Although undoubtedly possessed of a masculine
entered Caledonia, and penetrated, we are told, tone of mind, we find one singular trait of weak-
to the very extremity of the island, the inha-ness, 60 much at variance with his shrewdness,
bitants offering no steady or formidable opposition, sagacity, and strong sense in other matters, that
but rather luring the invaders onward, in the we must regard it as a most remarkable example
expectation that they might be destroyed in detail, of the paralysing influence of vanity. He en-
by want and misery. Nor do these anticipations deavoured to establish a connection between himself
appear to bave been altogether disappointed : and his predecessors in the purple, and most pre-
after having endured excessive toil in transport- posterously announced that he was the adopted son
ing supplies over barren pathless mountains, in of M. Aurelius, fifteen years after the death of that
raising causeways across swampy plains, and in prince. In this manner he set up a claim to a long
throwing bridges over unfordable rivers, the troops I line of imperial ancestors, which he formally and
ever.
of the games.
TH
3 F 4
## p. 808 (#824) ############################################
{08
SEVERUS.
SEVERUS.
82XC@
pompously enunciated in many inscriptions still of the seventh century, and contemporary with
extant, where he is styled son of M. Aurelius, Gregory of Tours, who dedicated to him his tract
brother of Commodus, and, mounting up through on the Seven Sleepers.
Pius, Hadrian, and Trajan, great-great-great- The extant works of Severus are,
grandson of Nerva. (Dion Cass. lxxiv. Ixxv. Ixxvi. ; I. Vita S. Martini Turonensis, drawn up to-
Herodian ; Spartian. Sever. ; Eutrop. viii. 10; Aurel. wards the end of A. D. 400, soon after the death
Vict. Caes. xx ; Oros. vii. 17. ) [W. R. ] of the holy man, whose virtues and miracles it
commemorates.
JI. Tres Epistolae. These three letters are in-
mediately connected with the preceding biography,
being severally entitled, 1. Ad Eusebium Pres-
byterum contra aemulos virtutum beati Marini.
2. Ad Aurelium Diaconum de obitu et appariione
ejusdem. 3. Ad Bussulam socrum suam de trans-
itu illius (sc. B. Martini) ex hac vita ad imunor-
talem.
III. Historia Sacra. An epitome of sacred
COIN OF SEPTIMIUS SEVER US.
history, extending from the creation of the world
to the consulship of Stilicho and Aurelianus, A. D.
SEVE'RUS, T. STATI'LIUS, consul A. D. 400. It was concluded about A. D. 403.
171 with L. Alfidius Herennianus. (Fasti. ) IV. Dialogi duo, generally divided into three,
SEVE'RUS, SULPICIUS, chiefly celebrated although that termed the second forms in reality
as an ecclesiastical historian, was a native of Aquitaine a portion of the first. They contain a temperate
(Dialog. i. 20), and flourished towards the close of review of the bitter discussions and dissensions
the fourth century under Arcadius and Honorius, which had arisen among ecclesiastics in the East
being a few years younger than his friend Pau- regarding the tendency of the works of Origen.
linus of Nola, to whose letters, of which fourteen Composed about A. D. 405.
are addressed to Severus, we are principally in- V. Epistolae Sex. 1. Ad Claudiam Sororem —
debted for any information we possess regarding on the last judgment. 2. Ad eandem — on vir.
his career. Descended from a noble family he ginity. 3. Ad Paulinum Episcopum. 4. To the
was carefully trained in all the learning of the age magistrates (decuriones) of a town which he does
and country to which he belonged, distinguished not name. 5. Ad Salvium. 6. A note, without
himself as an orator at the bar, and married early address, extending to a few lines only.
in life a high-born and very wealthy bride. The Several letters to Paulinus and others have
untimely death of this lady produced so deep an been lost, as we gather from the words of Gen-
impression on his mind that, while yet in the nadius.
flower of his years, he resolved to abandon the A letter addressed to Paulinus, and published
pursuit of worldly pleasures and honours, and in along with those of Severus in the collection of
company with a few pious friends, to seek tran- Dacherius is by some other hand.
quillity in seclusion and holy exercises. To this Sulpicius Severus was greatly admired by his
determination he steadfastly adhered notwith contemporaries, and his fame stood high with all
standing the opposition of his father, by whom he classes of readers in the middle ages. Their esti-
was in consequence disinberited, a misfortune mate of his merits was far too favourable, for none
compensated, however, to a great extent by the of his productions exhibit much strength of mind
liberality of his mother-in-law Bassula. He even- or critical sagacity, nor do they furnish matter
tually became a presbyter of the church, and possessing any particular interest. His history,
attached himself closely to St. Martin of Tours, moreover, abounds with chronological errors and
whom he ever cultivated with peculiar reverence, blunders of all kinds, copied from the old chro-
imbibing from him many wild and fantastic notions nicles, whose mistakes he adopted with unsuspect-
respecting dreams, visions, miraculous manifes- ing confidence. But, notwithstanding these grave
tations, and the millennium, which in some mea- defects, the polished terseness of his style, and the
sure sullied the brightness of his orthodoxy. Gen- general purity of his language, have served to
nadius, in a passage, whose authenticity has been maintain his reputation even in modern times.
somewhat unreasonably disputed, positively asserts From the general characteristics of his phraseology
that Severus, towards the close of his life, was he has been termed the Christian Sallust, and the
tainted with the Pelagian heresy, but that having resemblance is unquestionable. He has, however,
become sensible of his error, and feeling convinced judiciously avoided the obscurity and affectation
that he had been betrayed by a too great love of which so often deform the pages of his model,
speaking, maintained silence ever afterwards as an while on the other hand he not unfrequently
appropriate atonement for his sin. The precise permits himself to employ the ordinary jargon of
date of his birth and of his death are alike ecclesiastical Latinity, instead of seeking for more
unknown. The former has been referred to a. D. graceful and classical forms of expression.
363, the latter variously to A. D. 410, 420, 422, 432, The life of St. Martin, the three epistles con-
an argument in favour of the earliest of these epochs nected with it, and the Dialogues, were first
being derived from the fact that he is never men- printed at Milan about 1480 by Boninus Mom.
tioned by Paulinus subsequent to that year. His britius in the second volume of his Vitae Sane-
retirement from the world took place about A. D. torum, from whence they were transferred into the
392. We must carefully avoid confounding this collection of Christian poets published by Aldus
Sulpicius Severus with another ecclesiastical writer. Manutius, 4to. Venet. 1502, and reprinted at
Sulpicius Severus, surnamed Pius, who was the Paris in 1511. But so completely had these
twenty-seventh bishop of Bourges, in the middle tracts been overlooked and forgotten, that when
## p. 809 (#825) ############################################
SEUTIIES.
EC9
SEUTHES.
found by Wolfgang Lazius, in a MS. belonging to the death of Sitalces ; but this is wholly at variance
the Imperial Library at Vienna, be gave them to with the account given by Thucydides (SITALCES).
the world as a new discovery in his collection, From the sanie passage we learn that he main-
Diversorum auctorum apocryphorum de vita Christi tained friendly relations with the Athenian people,
e Apostolorum (fol. . Basil. 1551), and his mistake by whom he was admitted to the privileges of
was not discovered for two centuries.
citizenship:
The Historia Sacra was first printed at Baslo 2. Another Odrysian prince, a son of Maesades,
(8vo. 1556) by Matthaeus Flaccius. Among the who had reigned over the tribes of the Melan-
numerous editions which have appeared from time ditae, Thyni, and Tranipsae, but had been expelled
to time the most notable are those with the com- from his kingdom before his death, on which ac-
mentary of Sigonius (8vo. Bonon. 1561, 1581), count Seuthes was brought up at the court of Me-
and with that of Drusius. (8vo. Arnhem. 1907. ) docus, or Amadocus, king of the Odrysians (Xen.
The Epistolae were collected from various Anab, vii. 2. § 32). He was, however, admitted
sources at different times. Two were first printed to a certain amount of independent power, and we
in the Lectiones Antiquae of Canisius, vol. v. p. 5-10, find him in B. C. 405 joining with Amadocus, in
4to. Ingolds. 1604 ; two, with others of doubtful promising his support to Alcibiades, to carry on
authenticity in the Spicilegium Veterum Scriptorum the war against the Lacedaemonians (Diod. xiji.
of Dacherius, vol. v. p. 532, 4to. Paris, 1661, and 105). In B. C. 400, when Xenophon with the re-
the two to Claudia in the Miscelluncu of Baluzius, mains of the ten thousand Greeks that had accom-
fol. Paris. 1678.
panied Cyrus, arrived at Chrysopolis, Seuthes ap-
The collected works were first printed at Basle plied to him for the assistance of the force under
(16mo. 1563), but the first impression with any his command to reinstate him in his dominions.
pretensions to critical accuracy was that of Victor His proposals were at first rejected ; but he renewed
Giselinus, 8vo. Ant. 1574, accompanied by notes, them again when the Greeks had been expelled
and an elaborate life of Sulpicius. Considerable from Byzantium, and found themselves at Perin-
improvements were introduced by Hornius, 8vo. thus without the means of crossing into Asia ; and
Lug. Bat. 1647; by Vorstius, 12mo. Berol. 1668; they were now induced, principally by Xenophon
and Lips. 1703, by Mercierus, 8vo. Paris, 1675 ; himself, to accept the offers of the Thracian prince.
by far the most complete and satisfactory edition By the assistance of these new auxiliaries, Seuthes
is that of Hieronymus de Prato, 4to. 2 vols
. Veron. obtained an easy victory over the mountain tribes,
1741–1754, which has always, since its appear and recovered the whole of his father's dominions.
ance, been regarded as the standard, although not But when it came to the question of paying the ser-
absolutely complete, since the six epistles are vices of the Greeks, great disputes arose, and Seu-
omitted. It was reprinted, with the addition of thes, at the instigation of Heracleides, endeavoured
the epistles, by Galland, in his Bibliotheca Patrum, by every subterfuge to elude his obligations. He was
vol. viii
. fol. Venet. 1772. (Gennad. de Viris at length, however, compelled to pay the stipulated
Ilust. 19; Honorius Augustod. de Script. Eccles. sum, and the Greeks thereupon crossed into Asia
iii. 19; Trithemius, de Script. Eccles. 113; Gregor. (Xen. Anal. vii. 1. § 5, 2–7). Not long after-
Turon. de Mirac. S. Mart. i. ; Histor. Franc. I. wards, B. C. 399, we find him sending an auxiliary
31 ; Paulin. Nol. Ep. v. 1, xi. 5, xxiii. 3, &c. ; force to the Spartan general, Dercyllidas, in Bi-
Hieronym. Comment. in Ezech. 36 ; Augustin. thynia (Id. Hellen. iii. 2. & 2). At a subsequent
Ep. 205. )
(W. R. ] period (B. C. 393), he was engaged in hostilities
SEVE'RUS, VERULANUS, a legatus of with his former patron Amadocus; but the quarrel
Corbulo, under whom he served in the East, in between them was terminated by the intervention
A. D. 60-62 (Tac. Ann. xiv. 26, xv. 3). The of Thrasybulus; and Seuthes, at the suggestion of
L. Verulanus Severus, who was consul suffectus that general, concluded an alliance with Athens.
under Trajan in A. D. 108, was perhaps a son of (Ibid. iv. 8. § 26 ; Diod. xiv. 94. )
the preceding.
3. A king of Thrace, or more properly of the
SEUTHES (Zevons). 1. A king of the Thracian Odrysians, contemporary with Alexander the Great,
tribe of the Odrysians, was a son of Sparadocus or to whom he was tributary. But in B. C. 325, 20-
Spardacus, and nephew of Sitalces, king of the pyrion, who had been left by the Macedonian king
Odrysians, whom he accompanied on his great ex- as governor in Thrace, having fallen in an ex-
pedition into Macedonia, B. c. 429. On that oc- pedition against the Getae, Seuthes raised the
casion he was gained over by Perdiccas, king of standard of revolt (Curt. x. 1. $ 45). He appears
Macedonia, who promised bim his sister Stratonice to have been for the time repressed by Antipater ;
in marriage ; and in consequence exerted all his but after the death of Alexander (B. c. 323), we
influence with Sitalces to induce him to withdraw find him again in arms, and opposing Lysimachus,
his army from Macedonia. His efforts were suc- the new governor of Thrace, with an army of
cessful, and after his return to Thrace, he was 20,000 foot and 8000 horse. An obstinate struggle
married to Stratonice according to the agreement ensued, without any decisive result ; and both
(Thuc. ii. 101). In B. C. 424 he succeeded Sitalces parties withdrew, we are told, to prepare for a
on the throne, and during a long reign raised his renewal of the contest. (Diod. xviii. 14. ) No
kingdom to a height of power and prosperity further account of this has been transmitted to us,
which it had never previously attained, so that his but it is clear that Seuthes was ultimately com-
regular revenues amounted to the annual sum of pelled to acknowledge the authority of Lysimachus.
400 talents, in addition to contributions of gold In B. c. 313, however, he took advantage of the
and silver in the form of presents to a nearly equal war between the Thracian king and Antigonus to
amount (Thuc. ii. 97, iv. 101. ). From a passage declare in favour of the latter, and occupied the
in the letter of Philip to the Athenian people (ap. passes of Mount Haemus with an army, but was
Demosth. p. 161, ed. Reiske) it would appear that once more defeated by Lysimachus, and finally re.
Seuthes was accused of having had some hand in | duced to submission. (Id. xix. 73. ) [E. H.
of Weitzius and Seberus, 8vo. Lug. Bat. 1715 rivalry he dreaded, Caesar, - celebrated the obse-
and 1745; by Richter, 4to. Hamb. 1747 ; and quies of Pertinax with the utmost splendor, - dis-
by Piper, 8vo. Gott. 1835. A dissertation on tributed an enormous donative to his soldiers,
Severus Sanctus is contained in Wernsdorf, Puët. amounting we are told to 30,000 sesterces for each
Lut. Min. vol. ii. p. 53, seqq. , comp. vol. iv. pt. 2. man, and having arranged all matters connected
pp. 806, 812, vol. v. pt. 3. p. 1449; and in the with the internal government of the state, quitted
edition of Piper.
[W. R. ] Rome within thirty days after his triumphal entry,
SEVE'RUS, L. SEPTI'MIUS, Roman empe- and hurried to the East in order to prosecute the
ror A. N. 193—211, was born on the llth of war against Niger. While he marched direct
April, a. D. 146, near Leptis in Africa, and it has towards Syria at the head of a portion of his forces,
been remarked, that he was the only Roman em- he despatched some legions into Africa, lest the
peror who was a native of that continent. His enemy passing through Egypt, or along the coast,
family was of equestrian rank ; the name of his might gain possession of the great granary of the
father was Geta, of his mother Fulvia Pia, and empire and starve the metropolis. So eagerly did
from the correspondence of appellation and country he watch over this department of the public ser-
we may fairly conjecture that he was a descendant vice in after life, that when he died the store
of the Septimius Severus of Leptis to whom Statius houses of Rome were found to contain a stock of
addresses a graceful poem. Ile devoted himself corn sufficient for the consumption of seven years,
eagerly when a boy to the study of Greek and and as much oil as would have supplied the wants
Latin literature, and became a proficient in these of all Italy for five.
languages. Having removed to Rome he entered The progress of the campaign, which was termi-
upon a public career, and at the age of thirty-two nated by the capture of Niger after the battle of
was made praetor elect by M. Aurelius, his ambi- Issus, A. D. 194, need not be recapitulated (NIGER,
tious views having been effectually promoted by PESCENNIUS). But Severus was not yet satisfied.
the influence of his kinsman Septimius Severus, Some of the border tribes still refusing to acknow-
who had been raised to the consulship. From ledge his authority, he crossed the Euphrates in
this time forward the progress of Severus was the following year (A. D. 195), wasted their lands,
steady and rapid. He successively commanded captured their cities, forced all whom he encoun-
the fourth legion then stationed near Marseilles tered to submit, and won for himself the titles of
-governed, with high reputation for impar- adiabenicus, Arabicus, and Parthicus. In A. D. 196
tiality and integrity, the province of Gallia Lug. Byzantium, after an obstinate resistance, protracted
dunensis was legate of Pannonia, proconsul of for nearly three years, was taken, to the great joy
Sicily, and consul suffectus in A. D. 185, along of the emperor, who treated the vanquished with
with Apuleius Rufinus, being one of the twenty- little moderation. Its famous walls were levelled
five who in that year purchased the office from with the earth, its soldiers and magistrates were
Cleander (CLEANDER). He was subsequently put to death, the property of the citizens was con-
commander-in-chief of the army in Pannonia and fiscated, and the town itself, deprived of all its
Illyria, and upon the death of Commodus ten- political privileges, made over to the Perinthians.
dered his allegiance to Pertinax, but after the Meanwhile Clodius Albinus, who, although created
murder of the latter, and the shameful elevation Caesar, found that after the destruction of Niger
of Julianus, which excited universal indignation he was treated with little consideration, had
throughout the provinces, he was himself pro-accepted the imperial dignity proffered by the
claimed emperor by the troops at Carnutum. Al- troops in Gaul. Severus being thus compelled to
though he consented with reluctance to receive return to Europe, endeavoured, in the first in-
this honour, yet, when his decision was once made stance, to remove his antagonist by treachery, but
he acted with the greatest promptitude and energy. his schemes having been baffled, he procured a
While Pescennius Niger, who had been saluted as decree of the Senate, pronouncing him a public
Augustus by the eastern legions, was loiteriug enemy, and then hastened on to Gaul to prosecute
at Antioch, Severus marched straight upon Rome, the war. On the nineteenth of February, A. D.
and disregarding the threats, the assassins, and the 197, the contending hosts encountered near Lyons,
peaceful overtures of Julianus, as well as the reso- the rivals commanding in person, each at the head
lutions of the senate, in terms of which he had of 150,000 men. The battle was fiercely con-
been declared a public enemy, he pressed onwards tested, and for a time fortune seemed to waver.
with great rapidity, announcing himself every Severus, when rallying his men, lost his horse and
where as the avenger of Pertinax, whose name he narrowly escaped being slain ; but eventually his
assumed, and from that time forward constantly superior skill and experience prevailed. The loss
retained among his titles. His arrival before the upon both sides was terrible. The whole plain
city on the 1st or 2d of June, A. D. 193, was the was covered with the dead and wounded, and
signal for the death of Julianus [JULIANUS], and streams of blood mingled with the waters of the
the practorians having submitted, his first exercise (Rhone. Albinus took refugo in a house near the
.
## p. 807 (#823) ############################################
SEVERUS.
807
SEVERUS.
river ; but find ng himself hotly pursued and his retraced their steps, worn out with hardships of
retreat cut off, perished by his own hand. The every description, without having accomplished
conqueror, after feasting upon the spectacle of his any great object, or secured any permanent ad-
enemy's corpse, ordered the head to be cut off vantage. In this expedition incalculable misery
and despatched to Rome, whither be quickly was inflicted ; the prince lost fifty thousand men,
collowed, and put to death many senators sus- and gained the title of Britannicus.
That no
pected of having been in correspondence with the moral impression even was made is evident from
fo. Games were exhibited, and largesses be the fact that, scarcely had the legions withdrawn
stewed on the people ; but as soon as the first towards the south, and commenced the famous
excitement of success had passed away Severus, wall which still bears the name of their com-
stil thirsting for military renown, resolved to mander, when a fresh insurrection broke out
return to Asia, and again assail the Parthians, among the Meatae and the Caledonians. Enraged
who, taking advantage of the civil strife in the by this audacity, Severus declared his resolution
West, had spread over Mesopotamia. Accordingly to exterminate the whole race, and instantly began
he æt forth accompanied by his sons Caracalla to make preparations for a new campaign. But
and Geta, crossed the Euphrates carly in the year his designs were cut short by death. lle was
A. D. 198, and commenced a series of operations attacked by a violent disease in the joints, and
which were attended with the most brilliant re expired at York, on the 4th of February, A. D. 211,
sults. Seleucia and Babylon were evacuated by in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and the eighteenth
the enemy; and Ctesiphon, at that time their of his reign. His ashes were conveyed to Rome,
royal city, was taken and plundered after a short and deposited in the tomb of M. Aurelius. As a
siege. The campaign against the Arabs, who had matter of course, his apotheosis was decreed by the
espoused the cause of Niger, was less glorious. senate, and Herodian has preserved a detailed
The emperor twice assailed their chief town Atra, account of the ceremonies performed.
and twice was compelled to retire with great loss. Although the character of Severus appears in a
The next three years were spent in the East. most favourable light when viewed in contrast
Severus entered upon his third consulship in Syria with those rulers who immediately preceded and
(1. D. 202), Caracalla being his colleague ; visited followed him, there is in it not much to admire,
Arabia, Palestine, and Egypt; and having made all and nothing to love. He was, it must be ad-
the necessary arrangements in these countries, remitted, a stranger to their brutal vices; he was
turned to Rome in the same year, in order to offer free from all capricious tyranny; under ordinary
the decennial vows, and to celebrate the marriage circumstances he governed the state with integrity,
of his eldest son with Plautilla The shows in and did all that might best promote the interests
honour of the return of the prince, of the comple- of the community at large. He devoted himself
tion of the tenth year of his reign, of his victories, with great zeal to the administration of justice,
and of the royal nuptials, were unparalleled in and to the reform of public abuses : he was, morc-
magnificence; that is to say, the bloodshed and over, an admirable general ; and the strict dis-
butchery of men and animals were greater than cipline maintained by him among the troops,
On one occasion, four hundred wild beasts effectually repressed, for a season, military insolence
were let loose in the amphitheatre at one moment, and excess. Nor can we refuse to acknowledge
and seven hundred, at the rate of a hundred that he possessed a large, keen, and vigorous
for each day, were slaughtered during the course intellect, such as might well befit the ruler of such
At this time, also, each citi- an empire in such unhappy times. But he was
zen whose poverty entitled him to obtain corn utterly devoid of all high moral principle, totally
from the public store, and each of the praetorians destitute of gentleness and generosity of temper.
received ten aurei ; a largess which consumed When he had once resolved to gain an object, he
about sixteen millions and a half sterling, the entertained no scruples with regard to the means
greatest sum which had ever been bestowed in by which his purpose was to be accomplished; and
such a manner on any one occasion.
although not naturally cruel, was perfectly indif-
For seven years Septimius remained tranquilly ferent to human suffering and life. Nor did
at Rome; but in A. D. 207, either because a success soften this hardness of heart, or qualify
rebellion in northern Britain had assumed an the bitter resentment which he cherished against
aspect so serious that his presence was deemed all who in any way opposed or thwarted his
requisite, or for the purpose of giving active designs. Not content with victory, he ever sought
employment to his sons, who were leading a life to glut his vengeance on his fallen foes, and was
of profligacy, and to the legions, whose discipline always most odious in the hour of triumph. In
had become relaxed, he determined again to take private life it is said that he was a warm friend,
the field. Accordingly, passing through Gaul, simple and domestic in his habits, and fond of
he reached his destination, early in A. D. 208. literary pursuits.
Marching at once to the disturbed districts, he Although undoubtedly possessed of a masculine
entered Caledonia, and penetrated, we are told, tone of mind, we find one singular trait of weak-
to the very extremity of the island, the inha-ness, 60 much at variance with his shrewdness,
bitants offering no steady or formidable opposition, sagacity, and strong sense in other matters, that
but rather luring the invaders onward, in the we must regard it as a most remarkable example
expectation that they might be destroyed in detail, of the paralysing influence of vanity. He en-
by want and misery. Nor do these anticipations deavoured to establish a connection between himself
appear to bave been altogether disappointed : and his predecessors in the purple, and most pre-
after having endured excessive toil in transport- posterously announced that he was the adopted son
ing supplies over barren pathless mountains, in of M. Aurelius, fifteen years after the death of that
raising causeways across swampy plains, and in prince. In this manner he set up a claim to a long
throwing bridges over unfordable rivers, the troops I line of imperial ancestors, which he formally and
ever.
of the games.
TH
3 F 4
## p. 808 (#824) ############################################
{08
SEVERUS.
SEVERUS.
82XC@
pompously enunciated in many inscriptions still of the seventh century, and contemporary with
extant, where he is styled son of M. Aurelius, Gregory of Tours, who dedicated to him his tract
brother of Commodus, and, mounting up through on the Seven Sleepers.
Pius, Hadrian, and Trajan, great-great-great- The extant works of Severus are,
grandson of Nerva. (Dion Cass. lxxiv. Ixxv. Ixxvi. ; I. Vita S. Martini Turonensis, drawn up to-
Herodian ; Spartian. Sever. ; Eutrop. viii. 10; Aurel. wards the end of A. D. 400, soon after the death
Vict. Caes. xx ; Oros. vii. 17. ) [W. R. ] of the holy man, whose virtues and miracles it
commemorates.
JI. Tres Epistolae. These three letters are in-
mediately connected with the preceding biography,
being severally entitled, 1. Ad Eusebium Pres-
byterum contra aemulos virtutum beati Marini.
2. Ad Aurelium Diaconum de obitu et appariione
ejusdem. 3. Ad Bussulam socrum suam de trans-
itu illius (sc. B. Martini) ex hac vita ad imunor-
talem.
III. Historia Sacra. An epitome of sacred
COIN OF SEPTIMIUS SEVER US.
history, extending from the creation of the world
to the consulship of Stilicho and Aurelianus, A. D.
SEVE'RUS, T. STATI'LIUS, consul A. D. 400. It was concluded about A. D. 403.
171 with L. Alfidius Herennianus. (Fasti. ) IV. Dialogi duo, generally divided into three,
SEVE'RUS, SULPICIUS, chiefly celebrated although that termed the second forms in reality
as an ecclesiastical historian, was a native of Aquitaine a portion of the first. They contain a temperate
(Dialog. i. 20), and flourished towards the close of review of the bitter discussions and dissensions
the fourth century under Arcadius and Honorius, which had arisen among ecclesiastics in the East
being a few years younger than his friend Pau- regarding the tendency of the works of Origen.
linus of Nola, to whose letters, of which fourteen Composed about A. D. 405.
are addressed to Severus, we are principally in- V. Epistolae Sex. 1. Ad Claudiam Sororem —
debted for any information we possess regarding on the last judgment. 2. Ad eandem — on vir.
his career. Descended from a noble family he ginity. 3. Ad Paulinum Episcopum. 4. To the
was carefully trained in all the learning of the age magistrates (decuriones) of a town which he does
and country to which he belonged, distinguished not name. 5. Ad Salvium. 6. A note, without
himself as an orator at the bar, and married early address, extending to a few lines only.
in life a high-born and very wealthy bride. The Several letters to Paulinus and others have
untimely death of this lady produced so deep an been lost, as we gather from the words of Gen-
impression on his mind that, while yet in the nadius.
flower of his years, he resolved to abandon the A letter addressed to Paulinus, and published
pursuit of worldly pleasures and honours, and in along with those of Severus in the collection of
company with a few pious friends, to seek tran- Dacherius is by some other hand.
quillity in seclusion and holy exercises. To this Sulpicius Severus was greatly admired by his
determination he steadfastly adhered notwith contemporaries, and his fame stood high with all
standing the opposition of his father, by whom he classes of readers in the middle ages. Their esti-
was in consequence disinberited, a misfortune mate of his merits was far too favourable, for none
compensated, however, to a great extent by the of his productions exhibit much strength of mind
liberality of his mother-in-law Bassula. He even- or critical sagacity, nor do they furnish matter
tually became a presbyter of the church, and possessing any particular interest. His history,
attached himself closely to St. Martin of Tours, moreover, abounds with chronological errors and
whom he ever cultivated with peculiar reverence, blunders of all kinds, copied from the old chro-
imbibing from him many wild and fantastic notions nicles, whose mistakes he adopted with unsuspect-
respecting dreams, visions, miraculous manifes- ing confidence. But, notwithstanding these grave
tations, and the millennium, which in some mea- defects, the polished terseness of his style, and the
sure sullied the brightness of his orthodoxy. Gen- general purity of his language, have served to
nadius, in a passage, whose authenticity has been maintain his reputation even in modern times.
somewhat unreasonably disputed, positively asserts From the general characteristics of his phraseology
that Severus, towards the close of his life, was he has been termed the Christian Sallust, and the
tainted with the Pelagian heresy, but that having resemblance is unquestionable. He has, however,
become sensible of his error, and feeling convinced judiciously avoided the obscurity and affectation
that he had been betrayed by a too great love of which so often deform the pages of his model,
speaking, maintained silence ever afterwards as an while on the other hand he not unfrequently
appropriate atonement for his sin. The precise permits himself to employ the ordinary jargon of
date of his birth and of his death are alike ecclesiastical Latinity, instead of seeking for more
unknown. The former has been referred to a. D. graceful and classical forms of expression.
363, the latter variously to A. D. 410, 420, 422, 432, The life of St. Martin, the three epistles con-
an argument in favour of the earliest of these epochs nected with it, and the Dialogues, were first
being derived from the fact that he is never men- printed at Milan about 1480 by Boninus Mom.
tioned by Paulinus subsequent to that year. His britius in the second volume of his Vitae Sane-
retirement from the world took place about A. D. torum, from whence they were transferred into the
392. We must carefully avoid confounding this collection of Christian poets published by Aldus
Sulpicius Severus with another ecclesiastical writer. Manutius, 4to. Venet. 1502, and reprinted at
Sulpicius Severus, surnamed Pius, who was the Paris in 1511. But so completely had these
twenty-seventh bishop of Bourges, in the middle tracts been overlooked and forgotten, that when
## p. 809 (#825) ############################################
SEUTIIES.
EC9
SEUTHES.
found by Wolfgang Lazius, in a MS. belonging to the death of Sitalces ; but this is wholly at variance
the Imperial Library at Vienna, be gave them to with the account given by Thucydides (SITALCES).
the world as a new discovery in his collection, From the sanie passage we learn that he main-
Diversorum auctorum apocryphorum de vita Christi tained friendly relations with the Athenian people,
e Apostolorum (fol. . Basil. 1551), and his mistake by whom he was admitted to the privileges of
was not discovered for two centuries.
citizenship:
The Historia Sacra was first printed at Baslo 2. Another Odrysian prince, a son of Maesades,
(8vo. 1556) by Matthaeus Flaccius. Among the who had reigned over the tribes of the Melan-
numerous editions which have appeared from time ditae, Thyni, and Tranipsae, but had been expelled
to time the most notable are those with the com- from his kingdom before his death, on which ac-
mentary of Sigonius (8vo. Bonon. 1561, 1581), count Seuthes was brought up at the court of Me-
and with that of Drusius. (8vo. Arnhem. 1907. ) docus, or Amadocus, king of the Odrysians (Xen.
The Epistolae were collected from various Anab, vii. 2. § 32). He was, however, admitted
sources at different times. Two were first printed to a certain amount of independent power, and we
in the Lectiones Antiquae of Canisius, vol. v. p. 5-10, find him in B. C. 405 joining with Amadocus, in
4to. Ingolds. 1604 ; two, with others of doubtful promising his support to Alcibiades, to carry on
authenticity in the Spicilegium Veterum Scriptorum the war against the Lacedaemonians (Diod. xiji.
of Dacherius, vol. v. p. 532, 4to. Paris, 1661, and 105). In B. C. 400, when Xenophon with the re-
the two to Claudia in the Miscelluncu of Baluzius, mains of the ten thousand Greeks that had accom-
fol. Paris. 1678.
panied Cyrus, arrived at Chrysopolis, Seuthes ap-
The collected works were first printed at Basle plied to him for the assistance of the force under
(16mo. 1563), but the first impression with any his command to reinstate him in his dominions.
pretensions to critical accuracy was that of Victor His proposals were at first rejected ; but he renewed
Giselinus, 8vo. Ant. 1574, accompanied by notes, them again when the Greeks had been expelled
and an elaborate life of Sulpicius. Considerable from Byzantium, and found themselves at Perin-
improvements were introduced by Hornius, 8vo. thus without the means of crossing into Asia ; and
Lug. Bat. 1647; by Vorstius, 12mo. Berol. 1668; they were now induced, principally by Xenophon
and Lips. 1703, by Mercierus, 8vo. Paris, 1675 ; himself, to accept the offers of the Thracian prince.
by far the most complete and satisfactory edition By the assistance of these new auxiliaries, Seuthes
is that of Hieronymus de Prato, 4to. 2 vols
. Veron. obtained an easy victory over the mountain tribes,
1741–1754, which has always, since its appear and recovered the whole of his father's dominions.
ance, been regarded as the standard, although not But when it came to the question of paying the ser-
absolutely complete, since the six epistles are vices of the Greeks, great disputes arose, and Seu-
omitted. It was reprinted, with the addition of thes, at the instigation of Heracleides, endeavoured
the epistles, by Galland, in his Bibliotheca Patrum, by every subterfuge to elude his obligations. He was
vol. viii
. fol. Venet. 1772. (Gennad. de Viris at length, however, compelled to pay the stipulated
Ilust. 19; Honorius Augustod. de Script. Eccles. sum, and the Greeks thereupon crossed into Asia
iii. 19; Trithemius, de Script. Eccles. 113; Gregor. (Xen. Anal. vii. 1. § 5, 2–7). Not long after-
Turon. de Mirac. S. Mart. i. ; Histor. Franc. I. wards, B. C. 399, we find him sending an auxiliary
31 ; Paulin. Nol. Ep. v. 1, xi. 5, xxiii. 3, &c. ; force to the Spartan general, Dercyllidas, in Bi-
Hieronym. Comment. in Ezech. 36 ; Augustin. thynia (Id. Hellen. iii. 2. & 2). At a subsequent
Ep. 205. )
(W. R. ] period (B. C. 393), he was engaged in hostilities
SEVE'RUS, VERULANUS, a legatus of with his former patron Amadocus; but the quarrel
Corbulo, under whom he served in the East, in between them was terminated by the intervention
A. D. 60-62 (Tac. Ann. xiv. 26, xv. 3). The of Thrasybulus; and Seuthes, at the suggestion of
L. Verulanus Severus, who was consul suffectus that general, concluded an alliance with Athens.
under Trajan in A. D. 108, was perhaps a son of (Ibid. iv. 8. § 26 ; Diod. xiv. 94. )
the preceding.
3. A king of Thrace, or more properly of the
SEUTHES (Zevons). 1. A king of the Thracian Odrysians, contemporary with Alexander the Great,
tribe of the Odrysians, was a son of Sparadocus or to whom he was tributary. But in B. C. 325, 20-
Spardacus, and nephew of Sitalces, king of the pyrion, who had been left by the Macedonian king
Odrysians, whom he accompanied on his great ex- as governor in Thrace, having fallen in an ex-
pedition into Macedonia, B. c. 429. On that oc- pedition against the Getae, Seuthes raised the
casion he was gained over by Perdiccas, king of standard of revolt (Curt. x. 1. $ 45). He appears
Macedonia, who promised bim his sister Stratonice to have been for the time repressed by Antipater ;
in marriage ; and in consequence exerted all his but after the death of Alexander (B. c. 323), we
influence with Sitalces to induce him to withdraw find him again in arms, and opposing Lysimachus,
his army from Macedonia. His efforts were suc- the new governor of Thrace, with an army of
cessful, and after his return to Thrace, he was 20,000 foot and 8000 horse. An obstinate struggle
married to Stratonice according to the agreement ensued, without any decisive result ; and both
(Thuc. ii. 101). In B. C. 424 he succeeded Sitalces parties withdrew, we are told, to prepare for a
on the throne, and during a long reign raised his renewal of the contest. (Diod. xviii. 14. ) No
kingdom to a height of power and prosperity further account of this has been transmitted to us,
which it had never previously attained, so that his but it is clear that Seuthes was ultimately com-
regular revenues amounted to the annual sum of pelled to acknowledge the authority of Lysimachus.
400 talents, in addition to contributions of gold In B. c. 313, however, he took advantage of the
and silver in the form of presents to a nearly equal war between the Thracian king and Antigonus to
amount (Thuc. ii. 97, iv. 101. ). From a passage declare in favour of the latter, and occupied the
in the letter of Philip to the Athenian people (ap. passes of Mount Haemus with an army, but was
Demosth. p. 161, ed. Reiske) it would appear that once more defeated by Lysimachus, and finally re.
Seuthes was accused of having had some hand in | duced to submission. (Id. xix. 73. ) [E. H.
