Cicero is diffuse in his
description
of this an-
cient edifice, which, though spared bv Marcellus, was
stripped to the bare walls of all its splendid ornaments
fcv >h<< infamous Verres Upon the summit of its roof
mere was elevated an enormous gilded shield, that
was consecrated to Minerva.
cient edifice, which, though spared bv Marcellus, was
stripped to the bare walls of all its splendid ornaments
fcv >h<< infamous Verres Upon the summit of its roof
mere was elevated an enormous gilded shield, that
was consecrated to Minerva.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
hathitrust.
org/access_use#pd-google
? SYL
SYLLA.
? xect kind. That of the well of Syet. i is nu. among
:he number of these last, and can give us no assistance
in ascertaining the position of the tropic thirty centu-
ries ago, as some respectable men of science seem to
have believed. --Nature presents a peculiar spectacle
around Sycne. Here are the terraces of reddish gran-
ite cf a particular character, hence called Syenite; a
te;m"applied to those rocks which differ from granite
in containing particles of hornblende. These mighty
lerraces, shaped into peaks, cross the bed of the Nile,
and ovei them the river rolls majestically its impetu-
ous and foaming waves. Here are the quarries from
which the obelisks and colossal statues of the Egyp-
tian temples were dug. An obelisk, partially formed
and still remaining attached to the native rock, bears
testimony to the laborious and patient efforts of human
art. (Malte-Brun, vol. 4, p. 89, seqq. . Am. ed. )
Svkxnesis, a satrap, or, rather, tributary monarch
of Cilicia, when Cyrus the Younger made war upon
his brother Artaxerxes. The name Syennesis appears,
in fact, to have been a common appellation for the na-
tive princes of this country. (Consult B'ahr, ad He-
rod. , I, 64. --Kriiger, ad Xen. , Anab. , 1, 2, 12. --
Slanl. , ad ? sch, Ikrt. , 326. )
Sylla, Lucius Cornelius, was born at Rome
V. U. C. 616,B. C. 138, in the consulship of M. jEmilius
Lepidus and C. Hostilius Mancinus, four years before
'he death of Tiberius Gracchus. Sylla was a patrician
? iy birth; his father, however, did nothing to promote
either the honour or the wealth of his family, and his
son was born with no very flattering prospects either
of rank or fortune. We know not by whom his edu-
cation was superintended ; but he acquired, either
from his instructers, or by his own exertions in after
life, an unusual portion of knowledge; and he had the
character of being very profoundly versed in the liter-
ature of both his own country and Greece. (Sallust,
Bell. Jug. , 95. ) But intellectual superiority affords
no security for the moral principles of its possessor;
and Sylla, from his earliest youth, was notorious for
gross sensuality, and for his keen enjoyment of low
and profligate society. He is said to have merely oc-
cupied lodgings at Home, and to have lived in a way
which seems to have been reckoned disgraceful to a
man of patrician family, and to have incurred great in-
digence. For his first advancement in life he was in-
debted to the fondness of a prostitute, who had ac-
qaired a large sum of money, and left it all to him by
ber will; and he also inherited the property of his
mother-in-law, who regarded him as her own son. Syl-
la was chosen one of the quxstors A. U. C. 646, and
joined the army of Marius, who was then in his first
consulship, and carrying on the war against Jugurtha
in Africa. Here his services were of great impor-
tance, since it was to him flat Jugurtha was at last sur-
rendered by Bocchus, king of Mauritania. This latter
circumstance excited, as is said, the jealousy of Ma-
rius; but Sylla nevertheless served under him as one
of his lieutenants in the war with the Cimbri, where
he again greatly distinguished himself. Finding, how-
ever, the ill will of his general daily increasing, he left
him, and served in the army of Lutatius Catulus, the
colleague of Marius: and in this situation, being
charged with the duty of supplying the soldiers with
provisions, he performed it so well, that the army of
Catulus was in the midst of abundance, while that of
Marius was labouring under severe privations. This
? ? a'ill farther inflamed the animosity with which Marius
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? SYLLA
SYLLA.
;iioscr;tii'd Mariais, his son, and bis chief adhe-
rents, reestablished t>e power of the senate, and ap-
pointed his friend Oclavius and his enemy Cinna to
the consulship, set out against Mithradates. The re-
lief of Greece was the first object of Sylla; and this
he accomplished after taking Athena by storm, and
defeating the armies of Mithradates in two great bat-
tles. Weakened and dispirited by these reverses, the
King of Pontus readily concluded a treaty with the
Roman general, who, on his part, was equally desi-
rous of a peace, that he might return to Rome, where
the Marian faction had regained the ascendancy. Syl-
la had probably expected to produce a comparative
equilibrium at Rome by the appointment to the con-
sulship of one from each of the contending factions.
Here, however, his policy failed, probably from beiug
too refined, or from his not taking into consideration
the new element which had been introduced by the
admission of the Italian states to the citizenship. He
had, in a great measure, exterminated the democratic
party in Rome itself, and restored the power of the
senate; but Cinna perceived the means of raising a
powerful body of new adherents, by proposing to
throw open all the tribes to the Italian stales, which
would have given them a preponderance in every pop-
ular assembly. This the other consul, Octavius, op-
posed; and Cinna was compelled to withdraw to the
country, where he soon mustered a powerful army of
the disaffected allies. Marius, who had fled to Africa,
being informed of the turn which affairs had taken at
Rome, conceived hopes of recovering his power, and
immediately returned to Italy, joined Cinna, and, at
the head of an immense horde of robbers and semi-
barbarians, the very dregs of the populace of all Italy,
who flocked to his standard from all quarters, advan-
ced against the city. At his approach Rome was
thrown into consternation; and there not being any
forces sufficient to oppose, him, the senate offered to
capitulate, on condition that the lives of the opposite
party should be spared. During the progress of these
negotiations, Marius entered the city at the head of
his armed and barbarous adherents, secured the gates
that none might escape, and gave the signal for
slaughter. On rushed his barbarians like wolves,
sparing neither age nor sex, while Marius gazed on
the horrid scene with grim and savage delight. Du-
ring ? ->c days and five nights the hideous massacre
was continued with relentless ferocity, while the streets
were deluged with blood, and the heads of the mur-
dered victims were exhibited in the forum, or laid be-
fore the monster himself for his peculiar gratification.
At length Cinna grew sick of the protracted butchery;
but the barbarians of Marius could not be restrained
till they weie themselves surrounded and cut to pieces
by Cinna's soldiers. Having gratified his revenge by
this bloody butchery, Marius nominated himself consul
for the seventh time, and chose Cinna to be his col-
league. This he did without the formalities of a pub-
lic assembly, as if to consummate his triumph over
the liberties of his country, thus trampled upon by an
act at once of violation and of insult. But a short time
did he enjoy his triumph and revenge. In the seven-
teenth day of his seventh consulate, and in the sev-
entieth year of his age, he expired, leaving behind him
the character of having been one of the most suc-
cessful genera's and most pernicious citizens of Rome.
Sylla, having concluded a treaty with Mithradates, re-
? ? turned at the head of his victorious army, prepared
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? SYN
s yp
institutions; that she was tolterir. g on the very brink
of a complete and final revolution, leading with fatal
certainty to a military despotism; and the only ques-
tion was, whether her despotic ruler should be a
Marius or a Sylla j whether he should spring from
among the democratic populace or the aristocratic no-
bility: a question not long to be left in doubt. Many
of the laws enacted by Sylla were of a wise and bene-
ficial character, though their general aim was too man-
ifestly the restoration of aristocratic power to the
? Mate. What effect his personal influence, had his
lit - been prolonged, might have had in consolidating
hit political reforms, cannot certainly be known, though
it may very safely be conjectured that not even his
power could long have prevented new convulsions.
The malady lay too deep to be reached by any merely
Dolitical measurea of a remedial nature. It had its
essence in the degeneracy and moral turpitude of the
entire body of the republic, both nobles and people,
which there was nothing in their external circumstan-
ces to prevent, or in their national religion to heal.
Besides, as, in the recent wars and revolutions, almost
all property had experienced a change of possessors,
there were vast numbers throughout all Italy eager for.
a counter revolution. Several young men also of abil-
ities and ambition were prepared to emulate the career
of Marius or of Sylla, which could not be done without
a renewal of that contest, the heavings of which had
not yet wholly subsided. Of these, the chief were
Lcpidus, Crassus, Pompey, and Scrtorius, and perhaps
Lucnllus. (Hetherington's Hist. Rome, p. 141, scaq.
Eneyclop. Melropol. , div. 3, vol. 2, p. 113. )
Svmmachus, a Roman senator of the fourth cen-
tury, who became prefect of Rome, pontiff, augur,
and proconsul of Africa. He vigorously resisted the
changes that were made in the national religion by
th* triumphs of Christianity, and headed a deputation
from the senate to the Emperor Valentinian II. , re-
questing the re-establishment of priests and vestals,
and of the altar of Victory. This application was re-
sisted by St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, who composed
an answer to the petition of Symmachus, as did also
tfcj poet Prudentius. Symmachus lost his cause, and
for some reason was banished by Valentinian or Theo-
dosius, the latter nf whom recalled him, and raised
him to the consulship, A. D. 391. The petition above
mentioned is preserved in the ten books of Symma-
chus's epistles, still extant. His oratory was of that
kind which characterized the declino of Roman litera-
ture. "The luxuriance of Symmachus," says Gib-
bon, " consists of barren leaves without fruit, and even
without flowers. Few facts and few sentiments can
he' extracted from his verbose correspondence. " Of
these epistles, the best edition is that of Scioppius,
Mogunl. . 1608, 4to. (Sckbll, Hist. Lit. Rom. , vol. 3,
p. 200, seqq. )
Symplkqaoes, two islsnds or rocks at the entrance
>>f the Euxine Sea. (Vid. Cyaneae. )
? Svscei. i. us, one of the Dyzantine historians, who
derived his name from his being Syncellus, or Con-
stant Resident, with Tarasius, patriarch of Constanti-
nople. Syncellus lived in the time of Charlemagne,
and began to write hia history in 792, but was pre-
vented by death from extending it beyond the times
-if Maximian and Maximin. Notwithstanding its many
defects, the work of Syncellus forms a valuable addi-
tion to the stud#of ancient chronology. Since the
? ? f. rst book of the Chronicle of Eusebius was discov-
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? s jr R
SYRACUSE
married Sophonisba, the daughter of Asdrubal, and
forsook the alliance of the Romans to join himself to
the interest of his father-in-law and of Carthage.
Encamping his army apart from that of Asdrubal, both
camps were in the night surprised and burned by
Scipio. Afterward, in a general engagement, the
united Carthaginian and Numidian armies were de-
feated. Syphax, upon this, hastened back lo bis own
country; but, being pursued by I. a-lms and Masinissa,
he, together with his son Vermina, was taken pris-
oner, and brought back to Scipio. The conqueror
carried him to Rome, where he adorned his triumph,
tlyphai died at Tibur, B. C. 201, and was honoured
with a public funeral. His possessions were given to
Masinissa. (Liv. , 24, 48, scqq. --Id. , 29, 23, seqq. --
Id. , 30, 5, seqq. -- Id. , 30, 45. )--This proper name
has the penult in the oblique cases always long, ex-
cept in a single instance in Claudian (15, 91), where
we find Syphacem. The context (haurire venena
compulimus) cannot by any possibility apply to Sy-
phax, and therefore Barthe conjectures Hannibalem
for Syphacem, in the passage, of Claudian just referred
to, an emendation which is now very generally re- ^Syracuse was invoked by Pindar as 'The Fane 'of
ceived. Artaud, however (in Lemaire's edition), re-
tains the old reading.
Syracuse, a celebrated city of Sicily, founded
about 732 years before the Christian era, by Archias,
a Corinthian, and one of the Heraclidae. (Thucyd. , 6,
3. )--The parts of the city were five in number: Or-
tygia, Achradina, Tyca, Neapolis, and Epipolte. The
first was that originally colonized and fortified by the
Corinthians under Archias; and being then an island,
and most of it rocky and of difficult approach, it must
. save been very strong. It is now about two miles in
circumference, and probably obtained its name from
the abundance of quails there, (oprof, "a quaiV'). In
process of time the city extended to the continent,
and a suburb vas added, called Achradina, probably
from the rockiness of tho ground. This, in time, oc-
cupied all the lower part of that peninsula between the
Portus Laccius and the Portus Trogitiorum, and was,
next to Ortygia, the best peopled, though not, perhaps,
in proportion to its extent. A wall was then drawn in
a straight line from the Portus Trogiliornm to tho
docks at Syracuse, and this was for some lime the lim-
its of the city. Afterward, however, were added no
less than three suburbs, Tyca, Temenites (subsequent-
ly Neapolis), and Epipolas. Temenites and Tyca were
so called from the temples of Apollo and of Fortune sit-
uated there, and of which the rfftevn, or sacred closes,
no doubt, originally occupied a great part of their sites.
Tvxn was probably Syracusan for rixi ("fortune").
Neapolis was of later foundation, and occupied the site
of Temenites. These several parts were all gradual-
ly surrounded by walls, and included in the city; and
thus, in the end, Syracuse became one of the most ex-
tensive cities in Europe. Ortygia, being the original
city, was called the citadel, or the city, xar' l^oxnv.
The Epipolae, which was north of Temenites and Tyca,
and of a triangular figure, derived its name from its
elevated site, now called Behedtre; the highest parts
of which were occupied by the Syracusan castles of
Euryalus and Labdalum. (Compare Gollcr, de situ
st origine Syracusarum, Lips. , 1818, 8vo. --Bloom-
Held ad Thucyd. , 6, 75; vol. 3, p. 118, in notis. )--
Syracuse had two harbours, formed by the island of
Ortygia: one called the smaller harbour, and also
? ? Portus Laccius, between the upper side of Ortygia
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? SY R
Ic admit of passages into the side aisles, which consist
jf the north and south porticoes of the ancient peri-
ityle.
Cicero is diffuse in his description of this an-
cient edifice, which, though spared bv Marcellus, was
stripped to the bare walls of all its splendid ornaments
fcv >h<< infamous Verres Upon the summit of its roof
mere was elevated an enormous gilded shield, that
was consecrated to Minerva. This object, which was
risible a great way nil in the reflection of the sun,
was beheld with religious respect; and the mariner at
tea made an offering when he took leave of its last
glimmerings. In that quarter of the city which was
called Achradina there are also vestiges of the walls
once defended by the genius of Archimedes. Here
and there the rock itself is chiselled into battlements;
and, wherever there are remains of gateways, they are
found so placed that they must have obliged the as-
sailant to approach them for a great length of way with
his unshielded right side unprotected. The Hexapy-
lon of Syracuse was not, as many commentators on
Livy have supposed, a mere part of the wall, but a
noble fortress, constructed with such consummate
sk'ill as to have excited the admiration of the beJf
modern judges of military architecture. Its ruins still
exhibit the size and extent of its subterranean passa-
ges, whence both infantry and cavalry might make
their sallies, and retreat again under protection of the
fort; the huge, square towers of its solid masonry are
still to be traced; and the ground is strewn with the
vast blocks of parapets, which are bored with grooves
for pouring melted pitch and lead on the heads of the
assailants. Such was ancient Syracuse. The fullest
? ympathy need not prevent our repeating a doubt as
to the vast population of old ascribed to it. True,
the circuit of its walls was twenty-two miles; and
Thucydides, long before its-era of prosperity under
Dionysius, allows that it was equal to Athens; but
the increase of its population after Thucydides' time
is merely conjectured, and the inhabitants of all At-
tica scarcely exceeded half a million/'
SYRIA, a country of Asia, bounded on the east by
the Euphrates and a small portion of Arabia, north by
the range of Taurus, west by the Mediterranean, and
south by Arabia. The name Syria has been trans-
mitted to us from the Greeks. Pococke conjectures
that it might possibly come from Sur, the ancient name
of Tyre, the chief city of the whole country. It is
more natural, however, to suppose that the name
Syria is a corruption or abridgment of Assyria, and
that the form in. question was first adopted by the
lonians, who frequented these coasts after the Assyri-
ans of Nineveh had made this country a part of their
empire, about 750 B. C. (Afannert, Geogr. , vol. C, pt.
1, p. 432, ? ? >? "/'/)--It was divided into several districts
and provinces, including, besides Syria Proper, Phceni-
cia, Palestine, and, according to Pliny, Mesopotamia
and Babylonia. Syria is called in Scripture Aram,
and the inhabitants Aramaeans, a name derived from
Aram, the fifth son of Shem, the father of the Syrians
Mesopotamia is also called Aram in the sacred text;
but the appellation Naharim, i. e. , between the rivers,
is always added, for distinction' sake, to the latter.
The name transmitted to us by the Greeks is, as
above stated, a corruption or abridgment of Assyria.
The Greeks, however, were not unacquainted with the
term Aramaeans, but they gave it a wide appellation,
making it comprehend the Syrians, the inhabitants of
Mesopotamia, the Assyrians, and the White Syrians,
? ? or Leuco-Syrii, as far as Pontus, because they saw
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? TA B
T AC
neighbourhood of Damascus and Mo'um Libanus. The
Arabic predominates both in the country and the
towns. A corrupt mixture of Syriac and Chaldee is
spoken in aome parts by the peasantry, while the Turk-
ish is spoken by the Osmanlis and the nomade hordes
of the north. These various nations and tribes will
come more particularly under our notice in describing
the districts to which they respectively belong. The
most natural division of the country is that which cor-
responds to its present political distribution into pa-
shalics, to which we shall accordingly adhere. The
coast from Akka to Djebail. with the mountains in-
habited by the Druses, is comprehended under the
pashalic of Seidc and Akka. Near Djebail, the pa-
shalic of Tarabolos (Tripoli) begins, a/id extends along
the coast to Latikia. The north ol Syria, from the
Levant to the Euphrates, is includod within that of
Haleb (Aleppo). The remainder of the country, in-
cluding by far the largest territory, is the viceroyalty
of the Pacha of Sham (Damascus). {Mod. Trav. , pt.
3, p. 1. )
SYRINX, a nymph of Arcadia, daughter of the river
Ladon. (Kid. 'Pan, page 967, col. 2. )
SYROS, an island in the yEgean Sea, one of the Cyc-
ladcs, situate between Cythnus and Khenea. It was
celebrated for having given birth to Pherecydes, the
philosopher, a disciple of Pittacus. (Diog. Laert. , 1,
119. -- Strabo, 487. ) It is singular that Strabo should
affirm that the first syllable of the word Syros is pro-
nounced long, whereas Horncr, in the passage which
he quotes, has made it short. (Od. , 15, 402. ) Syros,
now Syra, is said by Pliny to be twenty miles in cir-
cumference. (Pliny, 4, 12. -- Cramer's Anc. Greece,
Yol. 3, p. 409. )
SYRTBS, two gulfs on the northern coast of Africa,
One called Syrtis Minor, on the coast of Byzaciurn, and
now the Gulf of Cabcs; the other called Syrtis Ma-
jor, on the coast of Cyrena'ica, now the Gulf of Sidra.
The former is supposed to derive its modern name
from the city of Tacapc, which was at the head of it.
The latter is called by the natives Syrle-al-KMer, i.
>>. , " The great Syrtis," which the sailors have cor-
rupted into Sidra. The Syrtis Minor is about 45
geographical miles in breadth, and runs up into the
continent about 75 miles. It is still an object of ap-
prehension to sailors, in consequence of the variations
and uncertainties of the tides on a flat and shelvy
coast. The Syrtis Major is about 180 geographical
miles between the two capes, and penetrates 100 miles
into the land. The name Syr/is is generally derived
I'rom the Greek <ri>pu, " to drag," in allusion to the agi-
tation of the sand by the force of the tides. (Com-
pare Satlust, Bell. Jug. , c. 78. ) It is more than prob-
able, however, that the appellation is to be deduced
from the term Scrt, which still exists in Arabic as the
name for a desert trect or region: for the term Syrtis
does not appear to have been confined to the mere
gulfs themselves, but to have been extended also to
the desert country adjacent, which is still, at the pres-
ent day, called Sert. (Ritler, Erdkunde, vol. 1, p.
929. 2d til )
T.
. TiiiKi. r. Asi/K LEGES, laws passed at various times
for the purpose of enabling the Roman commons to
rote by ballot, and no longer viva voce. The object of
jhese laws was to diminish the power of the nobility.
Voting by ballot was allowed by the Gabinian law,
? ? A. U. C. 614, in conferring honours; two years after,
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? TACITUS.
TACITUS.
be ascertained; but as Pliny the Younger informs us
;hat he and Tacitus wero nearly of the same age, it is
? supposed that Tacitus was born A. U. C. 809 or 810,
about the sixth year of Nero's reign. The place of his
nativity is nowhere mentioned, but it is generally
tnought to have been Interamna (now Terni), in Um-
bria. He was the son of Cornelius Tacitus, a procu-
rator appointed by the prince to manage the imperial
revenue and govern a province in Belgic Gaul. The
person so employed was, by virtue of his office, of
equestrian rank. The place where Tacitus received
his education, Massilia, now Marseille, was at that
time the seat of literature and polished manners.
Agricola was trained up there; hut there is no reason
to think that Tacitus formed and enlarged his mind at
the same place, since, when he relates the fact about
his father-in-law, he is silent respecting himself. If
be was educated at Rome, we may be sure that it
was a method very different from the fashion then in
vogue. Tacitus, it is evident, did not imbibe the
smallest tincture of that frivolous science and that
vicious eloquence that debased the Roman genius.
He most probably had the good fortune to be formed
upon the plan adopted in the time of the republic ; and
with the help of a sound scheme of home discipline,
and the best domestic example, he grew up, in a course
of virtue, to that vigour of mind which gives such an-
imation to his writings. It is reasonable to suppose
that he attended the lectures of Quintilian, who, in op-
position to the sophists of Greece, taught for more
than twenty years the rules of that manly eloquence
which is so nobly displayed in his Institutes. Some
critics have applied to Tacitus the passage in which
Quintilian, after enumerating the writers who flourish-
ed in that period, says, "There is another person who
gives additional lustre to the age; a man who will de-
serve the admiration of posterity. I do not mention
bira at present: his name will be known hereafter" (10,
1). -- If this passage relates to Tacitus, the prediction
has been fully verified. When Quintilian published his
great work, in the reign of Domitian, Tacitus had not
then written his Annals or his History. Those im-
mortal compositions were published in the time of Tra-
jan. --The infancy of Tacitus kept him untainted by
the vices of Nero's court. He was about twelve
years old when that emperor finished his career of guilt
and folly; and in the tempestuous times that ensued, he
was still secured by hi<< tender years. Vespasian re-
stored the public tranquillity, revived the liberal arts,
and gave encouragement to men of genius. Our au-
thor's first ambition was to distinguish himself at the
bar. --Agricola was joint consul with Domitian, A. U. C.
830, for the latter part of the year. Tacitus, though
not quite twenty, had given such an earnest of his fu-
ture fame, that Agricola chose him for his son-in-law.
Thus distinguished, our author began the career of
civil preferment. Vespasian had a just discern-
ment of men, and was the friend of rising merit.
Rome at length was governed by a prince who bad
the good sense and virtue to consider himself as the
chief magistrate, whose duty it was to redress all
grievances, restore good order, and give energy to the
laws. In such times, the early genius of Tacitus at-
tracted the notice of the emperor. The foundation of
bis fortune was laid by Vespasian. Tacitus does not
ten tue particulars, but it is probable that he began
with the functions of the Vigintivirate; a body of
? ? tweaty men commissioned to execute an inferior ju-
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? TACITUS.
TACITUS
? ecr. r. d consulship of Trajan 's mentioned ii. tin; tract
(c. 37), snd that was A. U. C. 851, iu conjunction with
iVerva, who died before the end of January. It is
therefore certain that the description of Germany saw
the light in the course of that year. --In this treatise
bu'. little reliance can be placed on the geographical
net'ecs of Tacitus, which are very defective. His re-
marks on the manners, usagbs, and political institu-
tions of this people are, on the other hand, peculiarly
valuable. The historian is supposed by the best crit-
ics to have derived his principal information relative
to the Germans from persons who had served against
them, and, in particular, from Virginius Rufiis, who,
as we learn from the Letters of Pliny, was the friend
of Tacitus. The great work, also, of the elder Pliny
on Germany, now lost, must have been an important
aid. As to the object of the historian in composing
this work, some have even gone so far as to suppose
teat his sole intention was to satirize the corrupt mor-
n's of his contemporaries, by holding forth to view an
ideal and highly-coloured picture of barbarian virtue.
According to these same writers, his object was to bring
back his countrymen to their ancient simplicity of man-
ners, and thus oppose an effectual barrier to those en-
emies who menaced the safety of their descendants.
But a perusal of the. work in question destroys all this
facciful hypothesis. The analogy between many of
the rude manners oS the early Germans and those of
the aborigines of North America at once stamps the
work with the seal of truth. What if Tacitus dwells
with a certain predilection upon the simple manners
of Germany 1 It surely is natural in one who had be-
come disgusted with the excesses of Italy. We are
not to suppose, however, that this work of Tacitus is
free from errors. The very manner in which he ac-
quired his information on this subject must have led
to misconceptions and mistakes. Religious prejudi-
ce! also served occasionally to mislead the historian,
wito beheld the traces of Greek and Roman my t hoi*
gy even in the North. --The friendship that subsisted
between Tacitus and the younger Pliny is well known.
It was founded on the consonance of their studies and
their virtues. They were both convinced that a stri-
king picture of former tyranny ought to be placed in
contrast to the felicity of the times that succeeded.
Pliny acted up to his own idea of this in the panegyric
on Trajan, where we find a vein of satire against Domi-
tian running throughout the whole piece. It appears
in his letters that he had some thoughts of writing a
history on the same principle ; but he had not resolu-
tion to undertake that arduous task. Tacitus had
more vigour of mind; he thought more intensely, and
with deeper penetration than his friend. We find
that he had formed, at an early period, the plan of his
History, and resolved to execute it in order to show
the horrors of slavery, and the debasement of the Ro-
man people through the whole of Domitian'a reign.
(Vit. Agr. , c. 3. ) He did not, however, though em-
ployed in a great and important work, renounce im-
mediately all his practice in the forum, but continued
to be employed there until the trial of Marius Priscus,
who had been proconsul of Africa, and stood im-
peached before the senate at the suit of the province.
Priscus had presented a memorial, praying to be tried
by a commission of select judges. Tacitus and Pliny,
by the special appointment of the fathers, were advo-
cates on the part of the Africans. They thought it
? ? their duty to inform the house that the crimes alleged
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? TACITUS
. omperate: every phrase ia a maiim; the narra-
tive goes on with rapidity; the author ia sparing of
words, and prodigal of sentiment; the characters are
ilrawn with a profound knowledge of human natuh:,
and when we see them figuring on the stage of public
business, we perceive the internal spring of their ac-
tions; we see their motives at work, and, of course,
are prepared to judge of their conduct. The Annals,
as well as the History, have suffered by the barbarous
rage and more barbarous ignorance of the tribes that
overturned the Roman empire. Of the sixteen books
which originally composed the Annals, the following
are lost: % part of the fifth, from the seventh to the
tenth both inclusive, the beginning of the eleventh, and
the end of the sixteenth. We miss, therefore, three
years of Tiberius, the entire four years of Caligula, the
first six of Claudius, and the last two of Nero. And,
on the other hand, we have the history of the reign of
Tiberius, with the exception of the three years just
mentioned, the latter years of Claudius, and the his-
tory of Nero down to AD. 67.
? SYL
SYLLA.
? xect kind. That of the well of Syet. i is nu. among
:he number of these last, and can give us no assistance
in ascertaining the position of the tropic thirty centu-
ries ago, as some respectable men of science seem to
have believed. --Nature presents a peculiar spectacle
around Sycne. Here are the terraces of reddish gran-
ite cf a particular character, hence called Syenite; a
te;m"applied to those rocks which differ from granite
in containing particles of hornblende. These mighty
lerraces, shaped into peaks, cross the bed of the Nile,
and ovei them the river rolls majestically its impetu-
ous and foaming waves. Here are the quarries from
which the obelisks and colossal statues of the Egyp-
tian temples were dug. An obelisk, partially formed
and still remaining attached to the native rock, bears
testimony to the laborious and patient efforts of human
art. (Malte-Brun, vol. 4, p. 89, seqq. . Am. ed. )
Svkxnesis, a satrap, or, rather, tributary monarch
of Cilicia, when Cyrus the Younger made war upon
his brother Artaxerxes. The name Syennesis appears,
in fact, to have been a common appellation for the na-
tive princes of this country. (Consult B'ahr, ad He-
rod. , I, 64. --Kriiger, ad Xen. , Anab. , 1, 2, 12. --
Slanl. , ad ? sch, Ikrt. , 326. )
Sylla, Lucius Cornelius, was born at Rome
V. U. C. 616,B. C. 138, in the consulship of M. jEmilius
Lepidus and C. Hostilius Mancinus, four years before
'he death of Tiberius Gracchus. Sylla was a patrician
? iy birth; his father, however, did nothing to promote
either the honour or the wealth of his family, and his
son was born with no very flattering prospects either
of rank or fortune. We know not by whom his edu-
cation was superintended ; but he acquired, either
from his instructers, or by his own exertions in after
life, an unusual portion of knowledge; and he had the
character of being very profoundly versed in the liter-
ature of both his own country and Greece. (Sallust,
Bell. Jug. , 95. ) But intellectual superiority affords
no security for the moral principles of its possessor;
and Sylla, from his earliest youth, was notorious for
gross sensuality, and for his keen enjoyment of low
and profligate society. He is said to have merely oc-
cupied lodgings at Home, and to have lived in a way
which seems to have been reckoned disgraceful to a
man of patrician family, and to have incurred great in-
digence. For his first advancement in life he was in-
debted to the fondness of a prostitute, who had ac-
qaired a large sum of money, and left it all to him by
ber will; and he also inherited the property of his
mother-in-law, who regarded him as her own son. Syl-
la was chosen one of the quxstors A. U. C. 646, and
joined the army of Marius, who was then in his first
consulship, and carrying on the war against Jugurtha
in Africa. Here his services were of great impor-
tance, since it was to him flat Jugurtha was at last sur-
rendered by Bocchus, king of Mauritania. This latter
circumstance excited, as is said, the jealousy of Ma-
rius; but Sylla nevertheless served under him as one
of his lieutenants in the war with the Cimbri, where
he again greatly distinguished himself. Finding, how-
ever, the ill will of his general daily increasing, he left
him, and served in the army of Lutatius Catulus, the
colleague of Marius: and in this situation, being
charged with the duty of supplying the soldiers with
provisions, he performed it so well, that the army of
Catulus was in the midst of abundance, while that of
Marius was labouring under severe privations. This
? ? a'ill farther inflamed the animosity with which Marius
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? SYLLA
SYLLA.
;iioscr;tii'd Mariais, his son, and bis chief adhe-
rents, reestablished t>e power of the senate, and ap-
pointed his friend Oclavius and his enemy Cinna to
the consulship, set out against Mithradates. The re-
lief of Greece was the first object of Sylla; and this
he accomplished after taking Athena by storm, and
defeating the armies of Mithradates in two great bat-
tles. Weakened and dispirited by these reverses, the
King of Pontus readily concluded a treaty with the
Roman general, who, on his part, was equally desi-
rous of a peace, that he might return to Rome, where
the Marian faction had regained the ascendancy. Syl-
la had probably expected to produce a comparative
equilibrium at Rome by the appointment to the con-
sulship of one from each of the contending factions.
Here, however, his policy failed, probably from beiug
too refined, or from his not taking into consideration
the new element which had been introduced by the
admission of the Italian states to the citizenship. He
had, in a great measure, exterminated the democratic
party in Rome itself, and restored the power of the
senate; but Cinna perceived the means of raising a
powerful body of new adherents, by proposing to
throw open all the tribes to the Italian stales, which
would have given them a preponderance in every pop-
ular assembly. This the other consul, Octavius, op-
posed; and Cinna was compelled to withdraw to the
country, where he soon mustered a powerful army of
the disaffected allies. Marius, who had fled to Africa,
being informed of the turn which affairs had taken at
Rome, conceived hopes of recovering his power, and
immediately returned to Italy, joined Cinna, and, at
the head of an immense horde of robbers and semi-
barbarians, the very dregs of the populace of all Italy,
who flocked to his standard from all quarters, advan-
ced against the city. At his approach Rome was
thrown into consternation; and there not being any
forces sufficient to oppose, him, the senate offered to
capitulate, on condition that the lives of the opposite
party should be spared. During the progress of these
negotiations, Marius entered the city at the head of
his armed and barbarous adherents, secured the gates
that none might escape, and gave the signal for
slaughter. On rushed his barbarians like wolves,
sparing neither age nor sex, while Marius gazed on
the horrid scene with grim and savage delight. Du-
ring ? ->c days and five nights the hideous massacre
was continued with relentless ferocity, while the streets
were deluged with blood, and the heads of the mur-
dered victims were exhibited in the forum, or laid be-
fore the monster himself for his peculiar gratification.
At length Cinna grew sick of the protracted butchery;
but the barbarians of Marius could not be restrained
till they weie themselves surrounded and cut to pieces
by Cinna's soldiers. Having gratified his revenge by
this bloody butchery, Marius nominated himself consul
for the seventh time, and chose Cinna to be his col-
league. This he did without the formalities of a pub-
lic assembly, as if to consummate his triumph over
the liberties of his country, thus trampled upon by an
act at once of violation and of insult. But a short time
did he enjoy his triumph and revenge. In the seven-
teenth day of his seventh consulate, and in the sev-
entieth year of his age, he expired, leaving behind him
the character of having been one of the most suc-
cessful genera's and most pernicious citizens of Rome.
Sylla, having concluded a treaty with Mithradates, re-
? ? turned at the head of his victorious army, prepared
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? SYN
s yp
institutions; that she was tolterir. g on the very brink
of a complete and final revolution, leading with fatal
certainty to a military despotism; and the only ques-
tion was, whether her despotic ruler should be a
Marius or a Sylla j whether he should spring from
among the democratic populace or the aristocratic no-
bility: a question not long to be left in doubt. Many
of the laws enacted by Sylla were of a wise and bene-
ficial character, though their general aim was too man-
ifestly the restoration of aristocratic power to the
? Mate. What effect his personal influence, had his
lit - been prolonged, might have had in consolidating
hit political reforms, cannot certainly be known, though
it may very safely be conjectured that not even his
power could long have prevented new convulsions.
The malady lay too deep to be reached by any merely
Dolitical measurea of a remedial nature. It had its
essence in the degeneracy and moral turpitude of the
entire body of the republic, both nobles and people,
which there was nothing in their external circumstan-
ces to prevent, or in their national religion to heal.
Besides, as, in the recent wars and revolutions, almost
all property had experienced a change of possessors,
there were vast numbers throughout all Italy eager for.
a counter revolution. Several young men also of abil-
ities and ambition were prepared to emulate the career
of Marius or of Sylla, which could not be done without
a renewal of that contest, the heavings of which had
not yet wholly subsided. Of these, the chief were
Lcpidus, Crassus, Pompey, and Scrtorius, and perhaps
Lucnllus. (Hetherington's Hist. Rome, p. 141, scaq.
Eneyclop. Melropol. , div. 3, vol. 2, p. 113. )
Svmmachus, a Roman senator of the fourth cen-
tury, who became prefect of Rome, pontiff, augur,
and proconsul of Africa. He vigorously resisted the
changes that were made in the national religion by
th* triumphs of Christianity, and headed a deputation
from the senate to the Emperor Valentinian II. , re-
questing the re-establishment of priests and vestals,
and of the altar of Victory. This application was re-
sisted by St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, who composed
an answer to the petition of Symmachus, as did also
tfcj poet Prudentius. Symmachus lost his cause, and
for some reason was banished by Valentinian or Theo-
dosius, the latter nf whom recalled him, and raised
him to the consulship, A. D. 391. The petition above
mentioned is preserved in the ten books of Symma-
chus's epistles, still extant. His oratory was of that
kind which characterized the declino of Roman litera-
ture. "The luxuriance of Symmachus," says Gib-
bon, " consists of barren leaves without fruit, and even
without flowers. Few facts and few sentiments can
he' extracted from his verbose correspondence. " Of
these epistles, the best edition is that of Scioppius,
Mogunl. . 1608, 4to. (Sckbll, Hist. Lit. Rom. , vol. 3,
p. 200, seqq. )
Symplkqaoes, two islsnds or rocks at the entrance
>>f the Euxine Sea. (Vid. Cyaneae. )
? Svscei. i. us, one of the Dyzantine historians, who
derived his name from his being Syncellus, or Con-
stant Resident, with Tarasius, patriarch of Constanti-
nople. Syncellus lived in the time of Charlemagne,
and began to write hia history in 792, but was pre-
vented by death from extending it beyond the times
-if Maximian and Maximin. Notwithstanding its many
defects, the work of Syncellus forms a valuable addi-
tion to the stud#of ancient chronology. Since the
? ? f. rst book of the Chronicle of Eusebius was discov-
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? s jr R
SYRACUSE
married Sophonisba, the daughter of Asdrubal, and
forsook the alliance of the Romans to join himself to
the interest of his father-in-law and of Carthage.
Encamping his army apart from that of Asdrubal, both
camps were in the night surprised and burned by
Scipio. Afterward, in a general engagement, the
united Carthaginian and Numidian armies were de-
feated. Syphax, upon this, hastened back lo bis own
country; but, being pursued by I. a-lms and Masinissa,
he, together with his son Vermina, was taken pris-
oner, and brought back to Scipio. The conqueror
carried him to Rome, where he adorned his triumph,
tlyphai died at Tibur, B. C. 201, and was honoured
with a public funeral. His possessions were given to
Masinissa. (Liv. , 24, 48, scqq. --Id. , 29, 23, seqq. --
Id. , 30, 5, seqq. -- Id. , 30, 45. )--This proper name
has the penult in the oblique cases always long, ex-
cept in a single instance in Claudian (15, 91), where
we find Syphacem. The context (haurire venena
compulimus) cannot by any possibility apply to Sy-
phax, and therefore Barthe conjectures Hannibalem
for Syphacem, in the passage, of Claudian just referred
to, an emendation which is now very generally re- ^Syracuse was invoked by Pindar as 'The Fane 'of
ceived. Artaud, however (in Lemaire's edition), re-
tains the old reading.
Syracuse, a celebrated city of Sicily, founded
about 732 years before the Christian era, by Archias,
a Corinthian, and one of the Heraclidae. (Thucyd. , 6,
3. )--The parts of the city were five in number: Or-
tygia, Achradina, Tyca, Neapolis, and Epipolte. The
first was that originally colonized and fortified by the
Corinthians under Archias; and being then an island,
and most of it rocky and of difficult approach, it must
. save been very strong. It is now about two miles in
circumference, and probably obtained its name from
the abundance of quails there, (oprof, "a quaiV'). In
process of time the city extended to the continent,
and a suburb vas added, called Achradina, probably
from the rockiness of tho ground. This, in time, oc-
cupied all the lower part of that peninsula between the
Portus Laccius and the Portus Trogitiorum, and was,
next to Ortygia, the best peopled, though not, perhaps,
in proportion to its extent. A wall was then drawn in
a straight line from the Portus Trogiliornm to tho
docks at Syracuse, and this was for some lime the lim-
its of the city. Afterward, however, were added no
less than three suburbs, Tyca, Temenites (subsequent-
ly Neapolis), and Epipolas. Temenites and Tyca were
so called from the temples of Apollo and of Fortune sit-
uated there, and of which the rfftevn, or sacred closes,
no doubt, originally occupied a great part of their sites.
Tvxn was probably Syracusan for rixi ("fortune").
Neapolis was of later foundation, and occupied the site
of Temenites. These several parts were all gradual-
ly surrounded by walls, and included in the city; and
thus, in the end, Syracuse became one of the most ex-
tensive cities in Europe. Ortygia, being the original
city, was called the citadel, or the city, xar' l^oxnv.
The Epipolae, which was north of Temenites and Tyca,
and of a triangular figure, derived its name from its
elevated site, now called Behedtre; the highest parts
of which were occupied by the Syracusan castles of
Euryalus and Labdalum. (Compare Gollcr, de situ
st origine Syracusarum, Lips. , 1818, 8vo. --Bloom-
Held ad Thucyd. , 6, 75; vol. 3, p. 118, in notis. )--
Syracuse had two harbours, formed by the island of
Ortygia: one called the smaller harbour, and also
? ? Portus Laccius, between the upper side of Ortygia
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? SY R
Ic admit of passages into the side aisles, which consist
jf the north and south porticoes of the ancient peri-
ityle.
Cicero is diffuse in his description of this an-
cient edifice, which, though spared bv Marcellus, was
stripped to the bare walls of all its splendid ornaments
fcv >h<< infamous Verres Upon the summit of its roof
mere was elevated an enormous gilded shield, that
was consecrated to Minerva. This object, which was
risible a great way nil in the reflection of the sun,
was beheld with religious respect; and the mariner at
tea made an offering when he took leave of its last
glimmerings. In that quarter of the city which was
called Achradina there are also vestiges of the walls
once defended by the genius of Archimedes. Here
and there the rock itself is chiselled into battlements;
and, wherever there are remains of gateways, they are
found so placed that they must have obliged the as-
sailant to approach them for a great length of way with
his unshielded right side unprotected. The Hexapy-
lon of Syracuse was not, as many commentators on
Livy have supposed, a mere part of the wall, but a
noble fortress, constructed with such consummate
sk'ill as to have excited the admiration of the beJf
modern judges of military architecture. Its ruins still
exhibit the size and extent of its subterranean passa-
ges, whence both infantry and cavalry might make
their sallies, and retreat again under protection of the
fort; the huge, square towers of its solid masonry are
still to be traced; and the ground is strewn with the
vast blocks of parapets, which are bored with grooves
for pouring melted pitch and lead on the heads of the
assailants. Such was ancient Syracuse. The fullest
? ympathy need not prevent our repeating a doubt as
to the vast population of old ascribed to it. True,
the circuit of its walls was twenty-two miles; and
Thucydides, long before its-era of prosperity under
Dionysius, allows that it was equal to Athens; but
the increase of its population after Thucydides' time
is merely conjectured, and the inhabitants of all At-
tica scarcely exceeded half a million/'
SYRIA, a country of Asia, bounded on the east by
the Euphrates and a small portion of Arabia, north by
the range of Taurus, west by the Mediterranean, and
south by Arabia. The name Syria has been trans-
mitted to us from the Greeks. Pococke conjectures
that it might possibly come from Sur, the ancient name
of Tyre, the chief city of the whole country. It is
more natural, however, to suppose that the name
Syria is a corruption or abridgment of Assyria, and
that the form in. question was first adopted by the
lonians, who frequented these coasts after the Assyri-
ans of Nineveh had made this country a part of their
empire, about 750 B. C. (Afannert, Geogr. , vol. C, pt.
1, p. 432, ? ? >? "/'/)--It was divided into several districts
and provinces, including, besides Syria Proper, Phceni-
cia, Palestine, and, according to Pliny, Mesopotamia
and Babylonia. Syria is called in Scripture Aram,
and the inhabitants Aramaeans, a name derived from
Aram, the fifth son of Shem, the father of the Syrians
Mesopotamia is also called Aram in the sacred text;
but the appellation Naharim, i. e. , between the rivers,
is always added, for distinction' sake, to the latter.
The name transmitted to us by the Greeks is, as
above stated, a corruption or abridgment of Assyria.
The Greeks, however, were not unacquainted with the
term Aramaeans, but they gave it a wide appellation,
making it comprehend the Syrians, the inhabitants of
Mesopotamia, the Assyrians, and the White Syrians,
? ? or Leuco-Syrii, as far as Pontus, because they saw
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? TA B
T AC
neighbourhood of Damascus and Mo'um Libanus. The
Arabic predominates both in the country and the
towns. A corrupt mixture of Syriac and Chaldee is
spoken in aome parts by the peasantry, while the Turk-
ish is spoken by the Osmanlis and the nomade hordes
of the north. These various nations and tribes will
come more particularly under our notice in describing
the districts to which they respectively belong. The
most natural division of the country is that which cor-
responds to its present political distribution into pa-
shalics, to which we shall accordingly adhere. The
coast from Akka to Djebail. with the mountains in-
habited by the Druses, is comprehended under the
pashalic of Seidc and Akka. Near Djebail, the pa-
shalic of Tarabolos (Tripoli) begins, a/id extends along
the coast to Latikia. The north ol Syria, from the
Levant to the Euphrates, is includod within that of
Haleb (Aleppo). The remainder of the country, in-
cluding by far the largest territory, is the viceroyalty
of the Pacha of Sham (Damascus). {Mod. Trav. , pt.
3, p. 1. )
SYRINX, a nymph of Arcadia, daughter of the river
Ladon. (Kid. 'Pan, page 967, col. 2. )
SYROS, an island in the yEgean Sea, one of the Cyc-
ladcs, situate between Cythnus and Khenea. It was
celebrated for having given birth to Pherecydes, the
philosopher, a disciple of Pittacus. (Diog. Laert. , 1,
119. -- Strabo, 487. ) It is singular that Strabo should
affirm that the first syllable of the word Syros is pro-
nounced long, whereas Horncr, in the passage which
he quotes, has made it short. (Od. , 15, 402. ) Syros,
now Syra, is said by Pliny to be twenty miles in cir-
cumference. (Pliny, 4, 12. -- Cramer's Anc. Greece,
Yol. 3, p. 409. )
SYRTBS, two gulfs on the northern coast of Africa,
One called Syrtis Minor, on the coast of Byzaciurn, and
now the Gulf of Cabcs; the other called Syrtis Ma-
jor, on the coast of Cyrena'ica, now the Gulf of Sidra.
The former is supposed to derive its modern name
from the city of Tacapc, which was at the head of it.
The latter is called by the natives Syrle-al-KMer, i.
>>. , " The great Syrtis," which the sailors have cor-
rupted into Sidra. The Syrtis Minor is about 45
geographical miles in breadth, and runs up into the
continent about 75 miles. It is still an object of ap-
prehension to sailors, in consequence of the variations
and uncertainties of the tides on a flat and shelvy
coast. The Syrtis Major is about 180 geographical
miles between the two capes, and penetrates 100 miles
into the land. The name Syr/is is generally derived
I'rom the Greek <ri>pu, " to drag," in allusion to the agi-
tation of the sand by the force of the tides. (Com-
pare Satlust, Bell. Jug. , c. 78. ) It is more than prob-
able, however, that the appellation is to be deduced
from the term Scrt, which still exists in Arabic as the
name for a desert trect or region: for the term Syrtis
does not appear to have been confined to the mere
gulfs themselves, but to have been extended also to
the desert country adjacent, which is still, at the pres-
ent day, called Sert. (Ritler, Erdkunde, vol. 1, p.
929. 2d til )
T.
. TiiiKi. r. Asi/K LEGES, laws passed at various times
for the purpose of enabling the Roman commons to
rote by ballot, and no longer viva voce. The object of
jhese laws was to diminish the power of the nobility.
Voting by ballot was allowed by the Gabinian law,
? ? A. U. C. 614, in conferring honours; two years after,
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? TACITUS.
TACITUS.
be ascertained; but as Pliny the Younger informs us
;hat he and Tacitus wero nearly of the same age, it is
? supposed that Tacitus was born A. U. C. 809 or 810,
about the sixth year of Nero's reign. The place of his
nativity is nowhere mentioned, but it is generally
tnought to have been Interamna (now Terni), in Um-
bria. He was the son of Cornelius Tacitus, a procu-
rator appointed by the prince to manage the imperial
revenue and govern a province in Belgic Gaul. The
person so employed was, by virtue of his office, of
equestrian rank. The place where Tacitus received
his education, Massilia, now Marseille, was at that
time the seat of literature and polished manners.
Agricola was trained up there; hut there is no reason
to think that Tacitus formed and enlarged his mind at
the same place, since, when he relates the fact about
his father-in-law, he is silent respecting himself. If
be was educated at Rome, we may be sure that it
was a method very different from the fashion then in
vogue. Tacitus, it is evident, did not imbibe the
smallest tincture of that frivolous science and that
vicious eloquence that debased the Roman genius.
He most probably had the good fortune to be formed
upon the plan adopted in the time of the republic ; and
with the help of a sound scheme of home discipline,
and the best domestic example, he grew up, in a course
of virtue, to that vigour of mind which gives such an-
imation to his writings. It is reasonable to suppose
that he attended the lectures of Quintilian, who, in op-
position to the sophists of Greece, taught for more
than twenty years the rules of that manly eloquence
which is so nobly displayed in his Institutes. Some
critics have applied to Tacitus the passage in which
Quintilian, after enumerating the writers who flourish-
ed in that period, says, "There is another person who
gives additional lustre to the age; a man who will de-
serve the admiration of posterity. I do not mention
bira at present: his name will be known hereafter" (10,
1). -- If this passage relates to Tacitus, the prediction
has been fully verified. When Quintilian published his
great work, in the reign of Domitian, Tacitus had not
then written his Annals or his History. Those im-
mortal compositions were published in the time of Tra-
jan. --The infancy of Tacitus kept him untainted by
the vices of Nero's court. He was about twelve
years old when that emperor finished his career of guilt
and folly; and in the tempestuous times that ensued, he
was still secured by hi<< tender years. Vespasian re-
stored the public tranquillity, revived the liberal arts,
and gave encouragement to men of genius. Our au-
thor's first ambition was to distinguish himself at the
bar. --Agricola was joint consul with Domitian, A. U. C.
830, for the latter part of the year. Tacitus, though
not quite twenty, had given such an earnest of his fu-
ture fame, that Agricola chose him for his son-in-law.
Thus distinguished, our author began the career of
civil preferment. Vespasian had a just discern-
ment of men, and was the friend of rising merit.
Rome at length was governed by a prince who bad
the good sense and virtue to consider himself as the
chief magistrate, whose duty it was to redress all
grievances, restore good order, and give energy to the
laws. In such times, the early genius of Tacitus at-
tracted the notice of the emperor. The foundation of
bis fortune was laid by Vespasian. Tacitus does not
ten tue particulars, but it is probable that he began
with the functions of the Vigintivirate; a body of
? ? tweaty men commissioned to execute an inferior ju-
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? TACITUS.
TACITUS
? ecr. r. d consulship of Trajan 's mentioned ii. tin; tract
(c. 37), snd that was A. U. C. 851, iu conjunction with
iVerva, who died before the end of January. It is
therefore certain that the description of Germany saw
the light in the course of that year. --In this treatise
bu'. little reliance can be placed on the geographical
net'ecs of Tacitus, which are very defective. His re-
marks on the manners, usagbs, and political institu-
tions of this people are, on the other hand, peculiarly
valuable. The historian is supposed by the best crit-
ics to have derived his principal information relative
to the Germans from persons who had served against
them, and, in particular, from Virginius Rufiis, who,
as we learn from the Letters of Pliny, was the friend
of Tacitus. The great work, also, of the elder Pliny
on Germany, now lost, must have been an important
aid. As to the object of the historian in composing
this work, some have even gone so far as to suppose
teat his sole intention was to satirize the corrupt mor-
n's of his contemporaries, by holding forth to view an
ideal and highly-coloured picture of barbarian virtue.
According to these same writers, his object was to bring
back his countrymen to their ancient simplicity of man-
ners, and thus oppose an effectual barrier to those en-
emies who menaced the safety of their descendants.
But a perusal of the. work in question destroys all this
facciful hypothesis. The analogy between many of
the rude manners oS the early Germans and those of
the aborigines of North America at once stamps the
work with the seal of truth. What if Tacitus dwells
with a certain predilection upon the simple manners
of Germany 1 It surely is natural in one who had be-
come disgusted with the excesses of Italy. We are
not to suppose, however, that this work of Tacitus is
free from errors. The very manner in which he ac-
quired his information on this subject must have led
to misconceptions and mistakes. Religious prejudi-
ce! also served occasionally to mislead the historian,
wito beheld the traces of Greek and Roman my t hoi*
gy even in the North. --The friendship that subsisted
between Tacitus and the younger Pliny is well known.
It was founded on the consonance of their studies and
their virtues. They were both convinced that a stri-
king picture of former tyranny ought to be placed in
contrast to the felicity of the times that succeeded.
Pliny acted up to his own idea of this in the panegyric
on Trajan, where we find a vein of satire against Domi-
tian running throughout the whole piece. It appears
in his letters that he had some thoughts of writing a
history on the same principle ; but he had not resolu-
tion to undertake that arduous task. Tacitus had
more vigour of mind; he thought more intensely, and
with deeper penetration than his friend. We find
that he had formed, at an early period, the plan of his
History, and resolved to execute it in order to show
the horrors of slavery, and the debasement of the Ro-
man people through the whole of Domitian'a reign.
(Vit. Agr. , c. 3. ) He did not, however, though em-
ployed in a great and important work, renounce im-
mediately all his practice in the forum, but continued
to be employed there until the trial of Marius Priscus,
who had been proconsul of Africa, and stood im-
peached before the senate at the suit of the province.
Priscus had presented a memorial, praying to be tried
by a commission of select judges. Tacitus and Pliny,
by the special appointment of the fathers, were advo-
cates on the part of the Africans. They thought it
? ? their duty to inform the house that the crimes alleged
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? TACITUS
. omperate: every phrase ia a maiim; the narra-
tive goes on with rapidity; the author ia sparing of
words, and prodigal of sentiment; the characters are
ilrawn with a profound knowledge of human natuh:,
and when we see them figuring on the stage of public
business, we perceive the internal spring of their ac-
tions; we see their motives at work, and, of course,
are prepared to judge of their conduct. The Annals,
as well as the History, have suffered by the barbarous
rage and more barbarous ignorance of the tribes that
overturned the Roman empire. Of the sixteen books
which originally composed the Annals, the following
are lost: % part of the fifth, from the seventh to the
tenth both inclusive, the beginning of the eleventh, and
the end of the sixteenth. We miss, therefore, three
years of Tiberius, the entire four years of Caligula, the
first six of Claudius, and the last two of Nero. And,
on the other hand, we have the history of the reign of
Tiberius, with the exception of the three years just
mentioned, the latter years of Claudius, and the his-
tory of Nero down to AD. 67.
