non sibi sed toti	Classics Teaching Resources

Lempriere's Classical Dictionary From time to time I intend to add pages from this standard, if dated, work of reference. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Sardinia to Saturnus; Sciathos to Scipio; Semele to Servilia Sardinia from Sardus, a son of Hercules, who settled there with a colony which he had brought with him from Libya. Other colonies, under Aristaeus, Norax, and Iolas, also settled there. The Carthaginians were long masters of it, and were dispossessed by the Romans in the Punic wars, B.C. 231. Some call it, with Sicily, one of the granaries of Rome. The air was very unwholesome, though the soil was fertile, in corn, in wine, and oil. Neither wolves nor serpents are found in Sardinia, nor any poisonous herb, except one, which, when eaten, contracts the nerves, and is attended with a paroxysm of laughter, the forerunner of death ; hence risus Sardonicus, Sardous. Cic. Fam. 7, c. 25. --Servius ad Virg. 7, ecl. 41. — Tacit, Ann. 2, c. 85. — Mela, 3, c. 7.—Strab. 2 & 5. ic pro Manil. Ad Q. Frat. 2, ep. 3.—Plin. 3, c. 7. Paus. 10, c. 17.—Varro, de R. R.— Val. Max. 7. c. 6. Sardica, a town of Thrace, at the north of mount Haemus. Sardis, or Sardes, now Sart, a town of Asia Minor, the capital of the kingdom of Lydia, situate at the foot of mount Tmolus, on the banks of the Pactolus. It is celebrated for the many sieges it sustained against the Cimmerians, Persians, Medes, Macedonians, Ionians, and Athenians, and for the battle in which, B.C. 262, Antiochus Soter was defeated by Eumenes king of Pergamus. It was destroyed by an earthquake in the reign of Tiberius, who ordered it to be rebuilt. It fell into the hands of Cyrus, B.C. 548, and was burnt by the Athenians, B.C. 504, which became the cause of the invasion of Attica by Darius. Plut. in Alex.—Ovid. Met. 11. v, 137, 152, &c.—Strab. 13.—Herodot. I, c. 7, &c. Sardones, the people of Roussilon in France, at the foot of the Pyrenees. Plin. 3, c. 4. Sardus, a son of Hercules, who led a colony to Sardinia and gave it his name. Sarephta, a town of Phoenicia between Tyre and Sidon, now Sarfand. Sariaster, a son of Tigranes kingof Armenia, who conspired against his father, &c. Val. Max., 9, c. 11. Sariphi, mountains at the east of the Caspian Sarmatae, or Sauromatae, the inhabitants of Sarmatia. Vid. Sarmatia. Sarmatia, an extensive country at the north of Europe and Asia, divided into European and Asiatic. The European was bounded by the ocean on the north, Germany and the Vistula on the west, the Jazygae on the south, and the Tanais on the east. The Asiatic was bounded by Hyrcania, the Tanais, and the Euxine sea. The former contains the modern kingdoms of Russia, Poland, Lithuania, and Little Tartary; and the latter, Great Tartary, Circassia, and the neighbouring country. The Sarmatians were a savage uncivilized nation, often confounded with the Scythians, naturally warlike, and famous for painting their bodies to appear more terrible in the field of battle. They were well known for their lewdness, and they passed among the Greeks and Latins by the name of barbarians. In the time of the emperors they became very powerful, and disturbed the peace of Rome by their frequent incursions; till at last, increased by the savage hordes of Scythia, under the barbarous names of Huns, Vandals, Goths, Alans, &c., they successfully invaded and ruined the empire in the third and fourth centuries of the Christian era. They generally lived on the mountains without any habitation, except their chariots, whence they have been called Hamaxobii. They lived upon plunder, and fed upon milk mixed with the blood of horses. Strabo 7 etc. - Mela 2, c. 4. - Diod. 2 - Flor. 4. c. 12 - Lucan 1 etc. - Juvenal 2. - Ovid Tristia 3, etc. Sarmaticum mare, A name given to the Euxine sea, because on the coast of Sarmatia. Ovi 4, ex Pont. ep. 10, v, jl. Sarmentus, a scurrillous person. Horat. i, Sat. 5, v. 56. Sarnius, a river of Picenum, dividing it from Campania, and falling into the Tuscan Sea. Stat. Sylv. 2, v. 265.— Virgil Aeneid 7, v. 738. Strab 5 Saron, a king of Troezene, unusually fond of hunting. He was drowned in the sea, where he had swum for some miles in pursuit of a stag. He was made a sea god by Neptune, and divine honours were paid to him by the Troezenians. It was customary for sailors to offer him sacrifices before they embarked. That ppart of the sea where he was drowned was called Saronicus sinus, on the coast of Achaia, near the isthmus of Corinth. Saron built a temple to Diana at Troezene, and instituted festivals to her honour, called from himself Saronia. Paus. 2, c. 30.—Mela, 2, c. 3. Strab 8 Saronicus Sinus, now the gulf of Engia, a bay of the Aegean sea, lying at the south of Attica, and on the north of the Peloponnesus. The entrance into it is between the promontory of Sunium and that of Scyllaeum. Some suppose that this part of the sea received its name from Saron, who was drowned there, or from a small river which discharged itself on the coast, or from a small harbour of the same name. The Saronic bay is about 62 miles in circumference, 23 miles in its broadest, and 25 in its longest part, according to modern calculation. Sarpedon, a son of Jupiter by Europa the daughter of Agenor. He banished himself from Crete, after he had in vain attempted to make himself king in preference to his elder brother Minos, and he retired to Caria, where he built the town of Miletus. He went to the Trojan war to assist Priam against the Greeks, where he was attended by his friend and companion Glaucus. He was at last killed by Patroclus, after he had made a great slaughter of the enemy, and his body, by order of Jupiter, was conveyed to Lycia by Apollo, where his friends and relations paid him funeral honours, and raised a monument to perpetuate his valour. According to some mythologists, the brother of king Minos, and the prince who assisted Priam, were two different persons. This last was king of Lycia, and son of Jupiter by Laodamia the daughter of Bellerophon, and lived about 100 years after the age of the son of Europa. Apollod. 3, c. i.—Herodot, i, c. 173.—Strab. 12. — Homer. II. 16. ——A son of Neptune, killed by Hercules for his barbarous treatment of strangers. ——A learned preceptor of Cato of Utica. Plut. in Cat. ——A town of Cilicia, famous for a temple sacred to Apollo and Diana. ——Also a promontory of the same name in Cilicia, beyond which Antiocnus was not permitted to sail by a treaty of peace which he had made with the Romans. Liv. 38, c. 38.—Mela, i, c. 13. ——A promontory of Thrace. ——A Syrian general who flourished B.C. 143. Sarra, a town of Phoenicia. It receives its name from a small shell-fish of the same name which was found in the neighbourhood and with whose blood garments were dyed. Hence came the epithet of sarranus, so often applied to Tyrian colours, as well as to the inhabitants of the colonies of the Tyrians, particularly Carthage. Sil. 6. v. 662 l 13, v. 205 - Virgil G. 2. v. 506 - Festus de V. Sig. Sarrastes, a people of Campania on the Sarnus, who assisted Turnus against Aeneas. Virg. Aen. 7, v. 738. Sarron, a king of the Celtae, so famous for his learning, that from him philosophers were called Sarronida. Diod. 6, c. 9. Sara, a town of Spain, near cape Finisterre. Sarsina, an ancient town of Umbria, where the poet Plautus was born. The inhabitants are called Sarsinates. Martial. 9, r/. 59.—Plin. 3, c. 14.— Jtal. 8, v. 462. Sarus, a river of Cappadocia. Liv. 33, c. 41. Sasanda, a town of Caria. Diod. 14.' Sason, an island at the entrance of the Adriatic sea, lying between Brundusium and Aulon on the coast of Greece. It is barren and inhospitable. Strab. 6.—Lucan. 2, v. 627, & 5, v. 650.—Sil. It. 7, v. 480. ——A river falling into the Adriatic. Satarchae. a people near the Palus Maeotis. Mela, 9, c. t.—Flacc. 6, v, 144. Sataspes a Persian hung on a cross by order of Xerxes, for offering violence to the daughter of Megabyzus. HU father's name was Theaspes. Herodot. 4. Satibarzanes, a Persian made satrap of the Arians by Alexander; from whom he afterwards revolted, Curt, 6 & 7, Saticula and Saticulus, a town near Capua. Virgil Aeneid 7, v, 729, Livy 9, c.21, 23 c. 39. Satis, a town of Macedonia. Satrae, a people of Thrace.Herodotus 7, c. 111. Satrapeni, a people of Media, under Tigranes. Plut. Satricum, a town of Italy, taken by Camillus. Liv. 6, c. 8. Satropaces, an officer in the army of Darius, &c. Curt. 4, c. 9. Satura, a lake of Latium, forming part of the Pontine lakes. Sil. 8, v. 382.—Virg. Aen. 7, v. 801. Satureium, or Satureum, a town of Calabria, near Tarentum, with famous pastures and horses, whence the epithet of satureianus in Horat. x, sat. 6. Satureius, one of Domitian's murderers. Saturnalia, festivals in honour of Saturn, celebrated the 16th or the 17th, or, according to others, the 18th of December. They were instituted long before the foundation of Rome, in commemoration of the freedom and equality which prevailed on earth in the golden reign of Saturn. Some, however, suppose that the Saturnalia were first observed at Rome in the reign of Tullus Hostilius, after a victory obtained over the Sabines: while others support that Janus first instituted them in gratitude to Saturn, from whom he had learnt agriculture. Others suppose that they were first celebrated in the year of Rome 257, after a victory obtained over the Latins by the dictator Posthumius. The Saturnalia were originally celebrated only for one day, but afterwards the solemnity continued for three, four, five, and at last for seven days. The celebration was remarkable for the liberty which universally prevailed. The slaves were permitted to ridicule their masters, and to speak with freedom upon every subject. It was usual for friends to make presents one to another; all animosity ceased, no criminals were executed, schools were shut, war was never declared, but all was mirth, riot, and debauchery. In the sacrifices the priests made their offerings with their heads uncovered, a custom which was never observed at other festivals. Senec. ep. 18.— Cato de R. R. 57. —Sueton. in Vesp. 19.—Cic. ad Attic. 5, ep. 20. Saturnia, a name given to Italy, because Saturn had reigned there during the golden age. Virg. G. 2, v. 173. ——A name given to Juno, as being the daughter of Saturn, virg. G. a, v. 173. /En. 3, v. 80. ——An ancient town of Italy, supposed to be built by Saturn, on the Tarpeian rock. Virg. /En. 8, v. 358. ——A colony of Etruria. Liv. 39. c. 55- Saturninus P. Sempronius, a general of Valerian, proclaimed emperor in Egypt by his troops after he had rendered himself celebrated by his victories over the barbarians. His integrity, his complaisance and affability, had gained him the affection of the people, but his fondness for ancient discipline provoked his soldiers, who wantonly murdered him in the 43rd year of his age, A.D. 262. ——Sextius Julius, a Gaul, intimate with Aurelian. The emperor esteemed him greatly, not only for his virtues, but for his abilities as a general, and for the victories which he had obtained in different parts of the empire. He was saluted emperor at Alexandria, and compelled by the clamorous army to accept of the purple, which he rejected with disdain and horror. Probus, who was then emperor, marched his forces against him, and besieged him in Apumea, where he destroyed himself when unable to make head against his powerful adversary. — - Appuleius, a tribune of the people who raised a sedition at Rome, intimidated the senate, and tyrannized for thrue years. Meeting at last with opposition, he seized the capitol, but being induced by the hopes of a reconciliation to trust himself amidst the people, he was suddenly torn to pieces. His sedition has received the name of Appuleiana in the Roman annals. Flor. ——Lucius, a seditious tribune, who supported the oppression of Marius. He was at last put to death on account of his tumultuous disposition. Plut, in Mario.—Flor. 3, c. 16. ——An officer in the court of Theodosius, murdered for obeying the emperor's orders, &c. ——Pompeius, a writer in the reign of Trajan. He was greatly esteemed by Pliny, who speaks of him with great warmth and approbation, as an historian, a poet, and an orator. Pliny always consulted the opinion of Saturninus before he published his compositions. ——Sentius, a friend of Augustus and Tiberius. He succeeded Agrippa in the government of the provinces of Syria and Phoenicia. ——Vitellius, an officer among the friends of the emperor Otho. Saturnius, a name given to Jupiter, Pluto, and Neptune, as being the sons of Saturn. Saturnus, a son of Coclus, or Uranus, by Terra, called also Titea, Thea, or Titheia. He was naturally artful, and by means of his mother, he revenged himself on his father, whose cruelty to his children had provoked the anger of Thea. The mother armed her son with a scythe, which was fabricated with the metals drawn from her bowels, and as Coelus was going to unite himself to Thea, Saturn mutilated him, and for ever prevented him from increasing the number of his children, whom he treated with unkindness, and confined in the infernal regions. After this the sons of Coelus were restored to liberty, and Saturn obtained his father's kingdom by the consent of his brother, provided he did not bring up any male children. Pursuant to this agreement, Saturn always devoured his sons.as soon as born, because, as some observe, he dreaded Scena , a town on the confines of Babylon. Strab. 16 .——A river of Ireland, now the Shannon. Orosius, i, c. 2. Scenitae , Arabians who live in tents. Plin. 5, c. ii. Scepsis , a town of Troas, where the works of Theophrastus and Aristotle were long concealed underground, and damaged by the wet, &c. Strab. 10. Schedia , a small village of Egypt, with a dockyard between the western mouths of the Nile and Alexandria. Strab. Schedius , one of Helen's suitors. Pans. 10, c. 4. 1. 30. f / Scheria , an ancient name of Corcyra. Pans. 2, c. 5.— Plin. 4, c. 12. Schoeneus , a son of Athamas. ——The father of Atalanta. Schoenus, or Scheno, a port of Peloponnesus, on the Saronicus sinus. ——A village near Thebes, with a river of the same name. ——A river of Arcadia. ——Another near Athens. Sciastes, a surname of Apollo at Lacedaemon, from the village Scias where he was particularly worshipped. Lycoph. 562. — Tzetzes loco. Sciathis, a mountain of Arcadia. Paus. 8, c. 14. Sciathos, an island in thq /Egean sea, opposite mount Pelion, on the coast of Thessaly. Val. Flacc. 2. Scidros, a town of Magna Graecia. Scillus, a town of Peloponnesus, near Olympia, where Xenophon wrote his history. Scillurus, a king of Scythia, who had 80 sons. Vid. Scylurus. Scinis, a cruel robber who tied men to the boughs of trees, which he had forcibly brought together, and which he afterwards unloosed, so that their limbs were torn in an instant from their body. Ovid. Met. 7, v. 440. Scinthi, a people of Germany. Scione, a town of Thrace, in the possession of the Athenians. It revolted and passed into the hands of the Lacedaemonians during the Peloponnesian war. It was built by a Grecian colony on their return from the Trojan war. Thucyd. 4.— Mela, 2, c. 2.—Plin. 4, c. 10. Scipiadae, a name applied to the two Scipios, who obtained the surname of Africanus, from the conquest of Carthage. Virg. AEn. 6, v. 843. Scipio, a celebrated family at Rome, who obtained the greatest honours in the republic. The name seems to be derived from scipio, which signifies a stick, because one of the family had conducted his blind father, and had been to him as a stick. The Scipios were a branch of the Cornelian family. The most illustrious were : —P. Corn., a man made master of horse by Camillus, &c. ——A Roman dictator. ——L. Cornel., a consul, A.U.C. 456, who defeated the Etrurians near Volaterra. ——Another consul, A.U.C. 495. ——Cn., surnamed Asina, was consul A.U.C. 494 and 500. He was conquered in his first consulship in a naval battle, and lost 17 ships. The following year he took Aleria, in Corsica, and defeated Hanno the Carthaginian general, in Sardinia. He also took 200 of the enemy's ships, and the city of Panormum in Sicily. He was father to Publius and Cneus Scipio. Publius, in the beginning of the second Punic war, was sent with an army to Spain to oppose Annibal; but when he heard that his enemy had passed over into Italy, he attempted by his quick marches and secret evolutions to stop his progress. He was conquered by Annibal near the Ticinus, where he nearly lost his life, had not his son, who was afterwards surnamed Africanus, courageously defended him. He again passed into Spain, where he obtained some memorable victories over the Carthaginians, and the habitants of the country. His brother Cneus shared the supreme command with him, but their great confidence proved their ruin. They separated their armies, and soon after Publius was furiously attacked by the two Asdrubals and Mago, who commanded the Carthaginian armies. The forces of Publius were too few to resist with success the three Carthaginian generals. The Romans were cut to pieces, and their commander was left on the field of battle. No sooner had the enemy obtained this victory than they immediately marched to meet Cneus Scipio, whom the revolt of 30,000 Celtiberians had weakened and alarmed. The general, who was already apprised of his brother's death, secured an eminence, where he was soon surrounded on all sides. After desperate acts of valour he was left among the slain, or, according to some, he fled into a tower, where he was burnt with some of his friends by the victorious enemy. Liv. 21, etc, Polyb. 4. — Flor. 2, c. 6, &.c.— Eutrop. 3, c. 8 etc. Scipio Africanus ——Publius Cornelius, surnamed Africanus, was son of Publius Scipio, who was killed in Spain. He first distinguished himself at the battle of Ticinus, where he saved his father's life by deeds of unexampled valour and boldness. The battle of Cannae, which proved so fatal to the Roman arms, instead of disheartening Scipio, raised his expectation, and he no sooner heard that some of his desperate countrymen wished to abandon Italy, and to fly from the insolence of the conqueror, than with his sword in his hand, and by his firmness and example, he obliged them to swear eternal fidelity to Rome, and to put to immediate death the first man who attempted to retire from his country. In his 21st year, Scipio was made an edile, an honourable office which was never given but to such as had reached their 27th year. Some time after, the Romans were alarmed by the intelligence that the commanders of their forces in Spain, Publius and Cneus Scipio, had been slaughtered, and immediately young Scipio was appointed to avenge the death of his father and of his uncle, and to vindicate the military honour of the republic. It was soon known how able he was to be at the head of an army; the various nations of Spain were conquered, and in four years the Carthaginians were banished from that part of the continent. The whole province became tributary to Rome; New Carthage submitted in one day, and in a battle 54,000 of the enemy were left dead on the field. After these signal victories Scipio was recalled to Rome, which still trembled at the continual alarms of Annibal, who was at her gates. The conqueror of the Carthaginians in Spain was looked upon as a proper general to encounter Annibal in Italy; but Scipio opposed the measures which his countrymen wished to pursue: and he declared in the senate that if Annibal was to be conquered he must be conquered in Africa. These bold measures were immediately adopted, though opposed by the eloquence, age, and experience of the great Fabius, and Scipio was empowered to conduct the war on the coasts of Africa. With the dignity of consul he embarked for Carthage. Success attended his arms; his conquests were here as rapid as in Spain; the Carthaginian armies were routed, the camp of the crafty Asdrubal was set on fire during the night, and his troops totally defeated in a drawn battle. These repeated losses alarmed Carthage; Annibal, who was victorious at the gates of Rome, was instantly recalled to defend the walls of his country, and the two greatest generals of the age met each other in the field. Terms of accommodation were proposed; but in the parley which the two commanders had together, nothing satisfactory was offered, and while the one enlarged on the vicissitudes of human affairs, the other wished to dictate like a conqueror, and recommended the decision of the controversy to the sword. The celebrated battle was fought near Zama, and both generals displayed their military knowledge in drawing up their armies and in choosing their ground. Their courage and intrepidity were not less conspicuous in charging the enemy; a thousand acts of valour were performed on both sides, and though the Carthaginians fought in their own defence, and the Romans for fame and glory, yet the conqueror of Italy was vanquished. About 20,000 Carthaginians were slain, and the same number made prisoners of war, B.C. 202. Only 2000 of the Romans were killed. This battle was decisive ; the Carthaginians sued for peace, which Scipio at last granted on the most severe and humiliating terms. The conqueror after this returned to Rome, where he was received with the most unbounded applause, honoured with a triumph, and dignified with the appellation of Africanus. Here he enjoyed for some time the tranquillity and the honours which his exploits merited, but in him also, as in other great men, fortune showed herself inconstant. Scipio offended the populace in wishing to distinguish the Senators from the rest of the people at the public exhibitions ; and when he canvassed for the consulship for two of his friends, he had the mortification to see his application slighted, and the honours which he claimed bestowed on a man of no character, and recommended by neither abilities nor meritorious actions. He retired from Rome no longer to be a spectator of the ingratitude of his countrymen, and in the capacity of lieutenant he accompanied his brother against Antiochus king of Syria. In this expedition his arms were attended with usual success, and the Asiatic monarch submitted to the conditions which the conquerors dictated. At his return to Rome, Africanus found the malevolence of his enemies still unabated. Cato, his inveterate rival, raised seditions against him, and the Petilli two tribunes of the people, accused the conqueror of Annibal of extortion in the provinces of Asia and of living in an indolent and luxurious manner. Scipio condescended to answer to the accusation of his calumniators; the first day was spent in hearing the different charges, but when he again appearec on the second day of his trial, the accused interrupted his judges, and exclaimed, "Tribunes and fellow-citizens, on this day, this very day, did I conquer Annibal and the Carthaginians: come therefore, with me, Romans; let us go to the capitol, and there return our thanks to the immortal gods for the victories which have attended our arms." These words had the desired effect; the tribes and all the assembly followed Scipio, the court was deserted, and the tribunes were left alone in the seat of judgment. Yet when this memorable day was past and forgotten, Africanus was a third time summoned to appear ; but he had fled before the impending storm, and retired to his country house at Liternum. The accusation was therefore stopped, and the accusers silenced, when one of the tribunes, formerly distinguished for his malevolence against Scipio, rose to defend him, and declared, in the assembly, that it reflected the highest disgrace on the Roman people, that the conqueror of Annibal should become the sport of the populace, and be exposed to the malice and envy of disappointed ambition. Some time after Scipio died in the place of his retreat, about 184 years before Christ, in the 48th year of his age ; and so great an aversion did he express, as he expired, for the depravity of the Romans, and the ingratitude of their senators, that he ordered his bones not to be conveyed to Rome. They were accordingly inhumated at Liternum, where his wife AEmilia the daughter of Paulus Aemilius, who fell at the battle of Cannae, raised a mausoleum on his tomb, and placed upon it his statue, with that of the poet Ennius, who had been the companion of his peace and of his retirement. If Scipio was robbed during his lifetime of the honours which belonged to him as the conqueror of Africa, he was not forgotten when dead. The Romans viewed his character with reverence,; with raptures they read of his warlike actions, and Africanus was regarded in the following ages as a pattern of virtue, of innocence, courage, and liberality. As general, the fame and the greatness of his conquests explain his character: and indeed we hear that Annibal declared himself inferior to no general that ever lived except Alexander the Great, and Pyrrhus king of Epirus ; and when Scipio asked him what rank he would claim, if he had conquered him, the Carthaginian general answered, " If I had conquered you, Scipio. I would call myself greater than the conqueror of Darius and the ally of the Tarentines." As an instance of Scipio's continence, ancient authors have faithfully recorded that the conqueror of Spain refused to see a beautiful princess that had fallen into his hands after the taking of New Carthage, and that he not only restored her inviolate to her parents, but also added immense presents for the person to whom she was betrothed. It was to the artful complaisance of Africanus that the Romans owed their alliance with Masinissa king of Numidia, and also that with king Syphax. The friendship of Scipio and Laelius is well known. Polyb. 6.—Plut.—Flor. 2, c. 6.-— '/V. in Brut.* &c—Eutrop .——Lucius Cornelius, surnamed Asiaticus, accompanied his brother Africanus in his expeditions in Spain and Africa. He was rewarded with the consulship, A.U.C. 564, for his services to the state, and he was empowered o attack Antiochus king of Syria, who had declared war against the Romans. Lucius was accompanied in this campaign by his brother Africanus; and by his own valour, and the advice of the conqueror of Annibal, he soon routed the enemy, and in a battle near the city of Sardes he killed 50,000 foot and 4000 horse. Peace was soon after settled by the submission of Antiochus, and the conqueror, at his return home, obtained a triumph, and the surname of Asiaticus. He did not, however, long enjoy his prosperity; Cato, after the death of Africanus, turned his fury against Asiaticus, and the two Petilli, his devoted favourites, presented a petition to the people, in which they prayed that an inquiry might be made to know what money had been received from Antiochus and his allies. The petition was instantly received, and Asiaticus, charged to have suffered himself to be corrupted by Antiochus, was summoned to appear before the tribunal of Terentius Culeo, who was on this occasion created pretor. The judge, who was an inveterate enemy to the family of the Scipios, soon found Asiaticus, with his two lieutenants and his questor, guilty of having received, the first 6000 pounds weight of gold, and 480 pounds weight of silver, and the others nearly an equal sum, from the monarch against whom, in the name of the Roman people, they were enjoined to make war. Immediately they were condemned to pay large fines; but while the others gave security, Scipio declared that he had accounted to the public for all the money which he had brought from Asia, and therefore that h'e was innocent. For this obstinacy fildpio was dragged to prison, but his cousin Nasica pleaded his cause before the people, and the pretor instantly ordered the goods of the prisoner to be seized and confiscated. The sentence was executed, but the effects of Scipio were insufficient to pay the fine, and it was the greatest justification of his innocence, that whatever was found in his house had never been in the possession of Antiochus or his subjects. This, however, did not totally liberate him; he was reduced to poverty, and refused to accept the offer of his friends and of his clients. Some time after he was appointed to settle the disputes between Eumenes and Seleucus, and at his return the Romans, ashamed of their severity towards him, rewarded his merit with such uncommon liberality, that Asiaticus, was enabled to celebrate games in honour of his victory over Antiochus, for 10 successive days, at his own expense. Liv. 38, c. 55, &c.—Eutrop. 4. ——Nasica, was son of Cneus Scipip, and cousin to Scipio Africanus. He was refused the consulship, though supported by the interest and the fame of the conqueror of Annibal; but he afterwards obtained it, and in that honourable office conquered the Boii, and gained a triumph. He was also successful in an expedition which he undertook in Spain. When the statue of Cybele was brought to Rome from Phrygia, the Roman senate delegated one of their body, who was the most remarkable for the purity of his manners and the innocence of his life, to go and meet the goddess in the harbour of Ostia. Nasica was the object of their choice, and as such he was enjoined to bring the statue of the goddess to Rome with the greatest pomp and solemnity. Nasica also distinguished himself by the active part which he took in confuting the accusations laid against the two Scipios, Africanus and Asiaticus.——There was also another of the same name, who distinguished himself by his enmity against the Gracchi, to whom he was nearly related. Paterc. 2, c. i, &c.—Flor. 2, c. 15,—Liv. 29, c. 14, &c. ——Publ. AEmilianus, son ofA. Paulus the conqueror of Perseus, was adopted by the son of Scipio Africanus. He received the same surname as his grandfather, and was called Africanus the younger, on account of his victories over Carthage. AEmilianus first appeared in the Roman armies under his father, and afterwards distinguished himself as a legionary tribune in the Spanish provinces, where he killed a Spaniard of gigantic stature, and he obtained a mural crown at the siege of Intercata. He passed into Africa to demand a reinforcement from king Masinissa the ally of Rome, and he was the spectator of a long and bloody battle which was fought between that monarch and the Carthaginians, and which soon produced the third Punic war. Some time after AEmilianus was made edile, and next appointed consul, though under the age required for that important office. The surname which he had received from his grandfather, he was doomed lawfully to claim as his own. He was empowered to finish the war with Carthage, and as he was permitted by the senate to choose his colleague, he took with him his friend Laelius, whose father of the same name had formerly enjoyed the confidence and shared the victories of the first Africanus. The siege of Carthage was already begun, but the operations of the Romans were not continued with vigour. Scipio had no sooner appeared before the walls of the enemy, than every communication with the land was cut off, and that they might not have the command of the sea, a stupendous mole was thrown across the harbour with immense labour and expense. This, which might have disheartened the most active enemy, rendered the Carthaginians more eager in the cause of freedom and independence ; all the inhabitants, without distinction of rank, age, or sex, employed themselves without cessation to dig another harbour, and to build and equip another fleet. In a short time, in spite of their vigilance and activity of AEmilianus, the Romans were astonished to see another harbour formed, and 50 galleys suddenly issuing under sail, ready for the engagement. This unexpected fleet, immediately attacking the Roman ships, might have gained the victory, but the delay of the Carthaginians proved fatal to their cause, and the enemy had sufficient time to prepare themselves. Scipio soon got the possession of a small eminence in the harbour, and, by the success of his subsequent operations, he broke open one of the gates of the city and entered the streets, where he made his way by fire and sword. The surrender of above 50,000 men was followed by the reduction of the citadel, and the total submission of Carthage, B. C. 147. The captive city was set on fire, and though Scipio was obliged to demolish its very walls to obey the orders of the Romans, yet he wept bitterly over the melancholy and tragical scene ; and in bewailing the miseries of Carthage, he expressed his fears lest Rome, in her turn, in some future age, should exhibit such a dreadful conflagration. The return of AEmilianus to Rome was that of another conqueror of Annibal, and, like him, he was honoured with a magnificent triumph, and received the surname of Africanus. He was not long left in the enjoyment of his glory, before he was called to obtain fresh honours. He was chosen consul a second time, and appointed to finish the war which the Romans had hitherto carried on without success or vigorous exertions against Numantia. The fall of Numantia was more noble than that of the capital of Africa, and the conqueror of Carthage obtained the victory only when the enemies had been consumed by famine or by self-destruction, B.C. 133. From his conquests in Spain, AEmilianus was honoured with a second triumph, and with the surname of Numantinus. Yet his popularity was short, and, by telling the people that the murder of their favourite, his brother-in-law Gracchus, was lawful, since he was turbulent and inimical to the peace of the republic, Scipio incurred the displeasure of the tribunes, and was received with hisses. His authority for a moment quelled their sedition, when he reproached them for their own cowardice, and exclaimed, " Factious wretches, do you think your clamours can intimidate me; me, whom the fury of your enemies never daunted? Is this the gratitude that you owe to my father Paulus who conquered Macedonia, and to me? Without my family you were slaves. Is this the respect you owe to your deliverers? Is this your affection? " This firmness silenced the murmurs of the assembly, and some time after Scipio retired from the clamours of Rome to Caieta, where, with his friend Laelius, he passed the rest of his time in innocent pleasure and amusement, in diversions which had pleased them when children; and the two greatest men that ruled the state, were often seen on the sea-shore "picking up light pebbles, and throwing them on the Smooth surface of the waters. Though fond of retirement and literary ease, yet Scipio often interested himself in the affairs of the state. His enemies accused him of aspiring to the dictatorship, and the clamours were most loud against him, when he had opposed the Sempronian law, and declared himself the patron of the inhabitants of the provinces of Italy. This active part of Scipio was seen with pleasure by the friends of the republic, and not only the senate, but also the citizens, the Latins, and neighbouring states conducted their illustrious friend and patron to his house. It seemed also the universal wish that the troubles might be quieted by the election of Scipio to the dictatorship, and many presumed that that honour would be on the morrow conferred upon him. In this, however, the expectations of Rome were frustrated. Scipio was found dead in his bed, to the astonishment of the world; and those who inquired for the causes of this sudden death, perceived violent marks on his neck, and concluded that he had been strangled, B.C. 128. This assassination, as it was then generally believed, was committed by the triumvirs, Papirius Carbo, C. Gracchus, and Fulvius Flaecus, who supported the Sempronian law, and by his wife Sempronia, who is charged with having introduced the murderers into his room. No inquiries were made after the authors of his death ; Gracchus was the favourite of the mob, and the only atonement which the populace made for the death of Scipio was to attend his funeral, and to show their concern by their cries and loud lamentations. The second Africanus has often been compared to the first of that name; they seemed to be equally great and equally meritorious, and the Romans were unable to distinguish which of the two was entitled to a greater share of their regard and admiration. AEmilianus, like his grandfather, was fond of literature, and he saved from the flames of Carthage many valuable compositions, written by Phoenician and Punic authors. In the midst of his greatness he died poor, and his nephew Q. Fabius Maximus, who inherited his estate, scarce found in his house 32 pounds weight of silver, and two and a half of gold. His liberality to his brother and to his sisters deserves the greatest commendations, and, indeed, no higher encomium can be passed upon his character, private as well as public, than the words of his rival Metellus, who told his sons, at the death of Scipio, to go and attend the funeral of the greatest man that ever lived or should live in Rome. Liv. 44, &c.—Cic. tic Settee. Of at. in Brut., &c. —Polyb.—Appian.—Paterc. i, c. 12, &c.—Flor. ——-A son of the first Africanus, taken captive by Antiochus king of Syria, and restored to his father without a ransom. He adopted as his son young AEmilianus the son of Paulus Aemilius, who was afterwards surnamed Africanus. Like his father Scipio, he distinguished himself by his fondness for literature, and his valour in the Roman armies. —— Metellus, the father-in-law of Pompey, appointed commander in Macedonia. He was present at the battle of Pharsalia, and afterwards retired to Africa with Cato. He was defeated by Caesar at Thapsus. Plut. ——Salutio, a mean person in Caesar's army in Africa. The general appointed him his chief commander, either to ridicule him, or because there was an ancient oracle that declared that the Scipios would ever be victorious in Africa. Plut. -——L. Cornelius, a consul who opposed Sylla. He was at last deserted by his army, and proscribed. ——The commander of a cohort in the reign of Vitellius. Scira, an annual solemnity observed at Athens in honour of Minerva, or, according to others, of Ceres and Proserpine. It received its name either from Sciras, a small town of Attica, or from a native "of Eleusis, called Scirus. Sciradium, a promontory of Attica, on the Saronicus sinus. Sciras, a name of Aegina. Minerva was also called Sciras. Strab. 9. Sciressa, a mountain of Arcadia. Plin. 4, c. 5. Sciron, a celebrated thief in Attica, who plundered the inhabitants of the country, and threw them down from the highest rocks into the sea, after he had obliged them to wait upon him and to wash his feet. Theseus attacked him, and treated him. as he treated travellers. According to Ovid, the earth as well as the sea refused to receive the bones of Sciron, which remained for some time suspended in the air, till they were changed into large rocks called Scironia Saxa, situate between Megara and Corinth. There was a road near them which bore the name of Sciron, naturally small and narrow, but afterwards enlarged by the emperor Adrian. Some suppose that Ino threw herself into the sea, f these rocks. Sciron had married the N. I rum one oi inese rouit.i. OL.UUU n.»v* ........„„ __ daughter of C'y< Innis, a king of Salamis. He was brother-in-law to Telamon the son of /Kacus. Ovid1. 7, fl/t'f, v. 444. J/cf<>i/<> Scirus, a village of Arcadia, of which the inhabitants are called Scirittr. —— A plain and river of Attica, near Megara. Paus, i, c. 36. Scissis, a town of Spain. Liv. 21, c. 60. Scodra, a town of Illyricum, where Gentius resided. Liv. 43, c. 20. Scolus, a mountain of Boeotia. ——A town of Macedonia, near Olynthus. Strab. Scombrus, a mountain of Thrace, near Rhodope. Scopas, an architect and sculptor of Ephesus, for some time employed in making the mausoleum rhich Artemisia raised to her husband, and which was reckoned one of the seven wonders of the world. One of his statues of Venus was among the antiquities with which Rome was adorned. Scopas lived about 450 years before Christ. Pans, i, c. 43, c.—Horat. 4, od. 8.—Vitr. 9, c. q.—Plin. 34, ^. 8. 1. 36, c. 5. ——An ./Etolian who raised some forces to assist Ptolemy Epiphanes king of Egypt, against his enemies Antiochus and his allies. He afterwards conspired against the Egyptian monarch, and was put to death, B.C. 196. --An ambassador to the court of the emperor Domitian. Scopium, a town of Thessaly. Scordisci and Scordiscae, a people of Panonia and Thrace, well known during the reign of the Roman emperors for their barbarity and uncivilized manners. They were fond of drinking human blood, and they generally sacrificed their captive enemies to their gods. Liv. 41, c. 19.—Strab. 7.— Flor. 3, c. 4. Scoti, the ancient inhabitants of Scotland, mentioned as different from the Picts. Claudian. de Hon. 3, Cons. v. 54. Scotinus, a surname of Heraclitus. Strab. Scotussa, a town of Thessaly at the north of Larissa and of the Peneus, destroyed by Alexander Semele to Servilia From time to time I intend to add pages from this standard, if dated, work of reference. At the moment I offer pages 558 to 561. rest of the time which he ought to have been in his mother's womb. This child was called Bacchus, or Dionysius. Semele immediately after death was honoured with immortality under the name of Thyone. Some, however, suppose that she remained in the infernal regions till Bacchus her son was permitted to bring her back. There were in the temple of Diana, at Troezene, two altars raised to the infernal gods, one of which was over an aperture, through which, as Pausanias reports, Bacchus returned from hell with his mother. Semele was particularly worshipped at Brasiae in Laconia. where, according to a certain tradition, she had been driven by the winds with her son, after Cadmus had exposed her on the sea on account of her incontinent amour with Jupiter. The mother of Bacchus, though she received divine honours, had no temples; she had a statue in a temple of Ceres, at Thebes, in Boeotia. Pans. 3, c. 24. 1. 9, c. 5.— Hesiod. Theog.—Homer. 1L 14, v. 323.—Orpheus, Hymn.—Eurip. in Bacch.—Apollod. 3, c. 4.— Ovid. Met. 3, v. 254. Fast. 3, v. 715.—Diod. 3 & 4 Semigermani, a name given to the Helvetii, a people of Germany. Liv. 21, c. 38. Semigruntus, a general of the Cherusci, taken prisoner by Germanicus, &c. Strab. 7. Semiramis, a celebrated queen of Assyria, daughter of the goddess Derceto by a young Assyrian. She was exposed in a desert, but her life was preserved by doves for one whole year, till Simmas, one of the shepherds of Ninus, found her, and brought her up as his own child. Semiramis, when grown up, married Menones the governor of Nineveh, and accompanied him to the siege of Bactra, where, by her advice and prudent directions, she hastened the king's operations and took the city. These eminent services, but chiefly her uncommon beauty, endeared her to Ninus. The monarch asked her of her husband, and offered him instead, his daughter Sosana; but Menones, who tenderly loved Semiramis, refused, and when Ninus had added threats to entreaties, he hung himself. No sooner was Menones dead than Semiramis, who was of an aspiring soul, married Ninus, by whom she had a son called Ninyas. Ninus was so fond of Semiramis, that at her request he resigned the crown to her, and commanded her to be proclaimed queen and sole empress of Assyria. Of this, however, he had cause to repent; Semiramis put him to death, the better to establish herself on the throne, and when she had no enemies to fear at home, she began to repair the capital of her empire, and by her means Babylon became the most superb and magnificent city in the world. She visited every part of her dominions, and left everywhere immortal monuments of her greatness and benevolence. To render the roads passable and communication easy, she hollowed mountains and filled up valleys; and water was conveyed at a great expense, by large and convenient aqueducts, to barren deserts and unfruitful plains. She was not less distinguished as a warrior. Many of the neighbouring nations were conquered ; and when Semiramis was once told, as she was dressing her hair, that Babylon had revolted, she left her toilette with precipitation, and though only half dressed, she refused to have the rest of her head adorned before the sedition was quelled and tranquillity re-established. Semiramis has been accused of licentiousness, and some authors have observed that she regularly called the strongest and stoutest men in her army to her arms, and afterwards put them to death, that they might not be living witnesses of her incontinence. Her passion for her son was also unnatural, and it was this criminal propensity which induced Ninyas to destroy his mother with his own hands. Some say that Semiramis was changed into a dove after death, and received immortal honours in Assyria. It is supposed that she lived about 1965 years before the Christian era, and that she died in the 62nd year of her age, and the 25th of her reign. Many fabulous reports have been propagated about Semiramis, and some have declared that for some time she disguised herself and passed for her son Ninyas. Val. Max. 9, c. 3.—Herodot. i, c. 184.— Diod. 2.—Mela, i, c. 3.—Strabo. 3,— Paterc. i, c. 6. — Justin. i, c. i, &c. — Propert. 3, el. 11, v. 21.— Plut. de Fort., &c. —Ovid. Amor. I, el. 5, v. 11. Met. 4, v. 58. — Marcell. 14, c. 6, Semnones, a people of Italy, on the borders of Umbria. —— Of Germany, on the Elbe and Oder Semones, inferior deities of Rome, that were not in the number of the 12 great gods. Among these were Faunus, the Satyrs, Priapus, Vertumnus, Janus, Pan, Silenus, and all such illustrious heroes as had received divine honours after death. This word seems to be the same as semi homines, because they were inferior to the supreme gods and superior to men. Ovid. Fast. 6, v. 213. Semosanctus, one of the gods of the Romans among the Indigetes, or such as were born and educated in their country. Sempronia, a Roman matron, mother of the two Gracchi, celebrated for her learning, and her private as well as public virtues. —— Also a sister of the Gracchi, who is accused of having assisted the triumvirs Carbo, Gracchus and Flaccus to murder her husband Scipio Africanus the younger. The name of Sempronia was common to the female descendants ofthe family of the Sempronii, Gracchi, and Scipios. Sempronia lex, de magistratibus, by Sempronius Gracchus the tribune. A.U.C. 630, ordained that no person who had bepn legally deprived of a magistracy for misdemeanours should be capable of bearing an office again. This law was afterwards repealed by the author. —— Another, de civitate, by the same, A.U.C. 630. It ordained that no capital judgment should be passed over a Roman citizen without the concurrence and authority of the senate. There were also some other regulations, included in this law. —— Another, de comitiis, by the same, A.U.C. 635. It ordained that, in giving their votes, the centuries should bechosen by lot, and not give it according to the order of their classes. —— Another, de comitiis. by the same, the same year, which granted to the Latin allies of Rome the privilege of giving votes at elections, as if they were Roman citizens. — Another, de provinciis, by the same, A.U.C. 630. It enacted that the senators should be permitted before the assembly of the consular comitia to determine as they pleased the particular provinces which should be proposed to the consuls, to be divided by lot, and that the tribunes should be deprived of the power of interposing against a decree of the senate. ——Another, called agraria prima, by T. Sempronius Gracchus the tribune. A.U.C. 620. It confirmed the lex agraria Licinia, and enacted that all such as were in possession of more lands than that law allowed, should immediately resign it to be divided among the poor citizens. Three commissioners were appointed to put this laW into execution; and its consequences were so violent, as it was directly made against the nobles and the senators, that it cost the author his life. —— Another, called agraria altera, by the same. It required that all the ready money which was found in the treasury of Attalus king of Pergamus, who had left the Romans his heirs, should be divided among the poorer citizens of Rome, to supply them with all the various instruments requisite in husbandry, and that the lands of that monarch should be farmed by the Roman censors, and the money drawn from thence should be divided among the people. —— Another, frumentaria, by C. Sempronius Gracchus. It required that a certain quantity of corn should be distributed among the people, so much to every individual, for which it was required that they should only pay the trifling sum of a semissis, and a triens. —— Another, de usura, by M. Sempronius the tribune, A.U.C. 560. It ordained that, in lending money to the Latins and the allies of Rome, the Roman laws should be observed as well as among the citizens. —— Another, de judicibus, by the tribune C. Sempronius, A.U.C. 630. It required that the right of judging, which had been assigned to the Senatorian order by Romulus, should be transferred from them to the Roman knights. —— Another, militaris, by the same A.U.C. 630. It enacted that the soldiers should be clothed at the public expense, without any diminution of their usual pay. It also ordered that no person should be obliged to serve In the army before the age of 17. Sempronius A. Atratinus, a senator who opposed the Agrarian law, which was proposed by the consul Cassius, soon after the election of the tribunes. —— L. Atratinus, a consul A.U.C. 310. He was one of the first censors with his colleague in the consulship, Papirius. —— Caius, a consul summoned before an assembly of the people because he had fought with ill success against the Volsci. —— Blaesus, a consul who obtained a triumph for some victories gained in Sicily. —— Sophus, a consul against the Aequi. He also fought against the Picentes, and during the engagement there was a dreadful earthquake. The soldiers were terrified, but Sophus encouraged them, and observed that the earth trembled only for fear of changing its old masters. —— A man who proposed a law that no person should dedicate a temple or altar, without the previous approbation of the magistrates, A.U.C. 449. He repudiated his wife because she had gone to see a spectacle without his permission or knowledge. —— Rufus, a senator, banished from the senate, because he had killed a crane to serve him as food. —— Tuditanus, a man sent against Sardinia by the Romans. —— A legionary tribune, who led away from Cannae the remaining part ofthe soldiers who had not been killed by the Carthaginians. He was afterwards consul, and fought in the field against Annibal with great success. He was killed in Spain. —— Tiberius Longus, a Roman consul defeated by the Carthaginians in an engagement which he had begun against the approbation of his colleague C. Scipio. He afterwards obtained victories over Hanno and the Gauls. —— Tiberius Gracchus, a consul who defeated the Carthaginians and the Campanians. He was afterwards betrayed by Fulvius, a Lucanian, into the hands of the Carthaginians, and was killed, after he had made a long and bloody resistance against the enemy. Annibal showed great honour to his remains ; a funeral pile was raised at the head of the camp, and the enemy's cavalry walked round it in solemn procession. —— Gracchus, a man who had debauched Julia. Vid. Gracchus. —— A eunuch, made governor of Rome by Caracalla. ——Densus, a centurion of a pretorian cohort who defended the person of Galba against his assassins. He was killed in the attempt. ——The father of the Gracchi. Vid. Gracchus. ——A censor, who was also sent as ambassador to the court of Egypt. ——A tribune of the people, &c. Tacit. — Flor. — Livy.- Plut. Caes.— Appian. ——An emperor. Vid. Saturninus. Semurium, a place near Rome, where Apollo had a temple. Cic. Phil. 6, 6. Sena, or Senogallia, a town of Umbria in Italy, on the Adriatic, built by the Senones, after they had made an irruption into Italy, A.U.C. 396; and on that account called Gallica. There was also a small river in the neighbourhood which bore the name of Sena. It was near it that Asdrubal was defeated by Cl. Nero. C. Nep. in C atone.— Sil 8, v. 454.— Liv. 27, c. 46.— Cic. Brut. 18. Senatus, the chief council of the state among the Romans. The members of this body, called senatores on account of their age, and patres on account of their authority, were of the greatest consequence in the republic. The senate was first instituted by Romulus to govern the city, and to preside over the affairs of the state during his absence. This was continued by his successors; but Tarquin II disdained to consult them, and by having his own council chosen from his favourites, and from men who were totally devoted to his interest, he diminished the authority and the consequence of the senators, and slighted the concurrence of the people. The senators whom Romulus created were 100, to whom he afterwards added the same number when the Sabines had migrated to Rome. Tarquin the ancient made the senate consist of 300, and this number remained fixed for a long time. After the expulsion of the last Tarquin, whose tyranny had thinned the patricians as well as the plebeians, 164 new senators were chosen to complete the 300; and as they were called conscripts, the senate ever afterwards consisted of members who were denominated patres and conscripti. The number continued to fluctuate during the times of the republic, but gradually increased to 700, and afterwards to 900 under Julius Caesar, who filled the senate with men of every rank and order. Under Augustus, the senators amounted to 1000, but this number was reduced to 300, which being the cause of complaints, induced the emperor to limit the number to 600. The place of a senator was always bestowed upon merit; the monarchs had the privilege of choosing the members, and after the expulsion of the Tarquins, it was one of the rights of the consuls, till the election of the censors, who from their office seemed most capable of making choice of men whose character was irreproachable, whose morals were pure, and relations honourable. Sometimes the assembly of the people elected senators, but it was only upon some extraordinary occasions; there was also a dictator chosen to fill up the number of the senate after the battle of Cannae. Only particular families were admitted into the senate ; and when the plebeians were permitted to share the honours ofthe state, it was then required that they should be born of free citizens. It was also required that the candidates should be knights before their admission into the senate. They were to be above the age of 25, and to have previously passed through the inferior offices of questor, tribune of the people, edile, pretor, and consul. Some, however, suppose that the senators whom Romulus chose were all old men ; yet his successors neglected this, and often men who were below the age of 25 were admitted by courtesy into the senate. The dignity of a senator could not be supported without the possession of 80,000 sesterces, or about 7000 l. English money; and therefore such as squandered away their money, and whose fortune was reduced below this sum, were generally struck out of the list of senators. This regulation was not made in the first ages of the republic, when the Romans boasted of their poverty. The senators were not permitted to be of any trade or profession. They were distinguished from the rest of the people by their dress; they wore the laticlave, half boots of a black colour, with a crescent or silver buckle in the form of a C ; but this last honour was confined only to the descendants of those 100 senators who had been elected by Romulus, as the letter C seems to imply. They had the sole right of feasting publicly in the capitol in ceremonial habits ; they sat in curule chairs, and at the representation of plays and public spectacles, they were honoured with particular seats. Whenever they travelled abroad, even on their own business, they were maintained at the public expense, and always found provisions for themselves and their attendants ready prepared on the road; a privilege that was generally termed free legation. On public festivals they wore the praetexta, or long white robe, with purple borders. The right of convoking the senate belonged only to the monarchs; and after the expulsion of the Tarquins, to the consuls, the dictator, master of the horse, governor of Rome, and tribunes of the people; but no magistrate could exercise this privilege except in the absence of a superior officer, the tribunes excepted. The time of meeting was generally three times a month, on the calends, nones, and ides. Under Augustus they were not assembled on the nones. It was requisite that the place where they assembled should have been previously consecrated by the augur. This was generally in the temple of Concord, of Jupiter Capitolinus, Apollo, Castor and Pollux, &c., or in the Curiae called Hostilia, Julia, Pompeia, &c. When audience was given to foreign ambassadors, the senators assembled without the walls of the city, either in the temples of Bellona or of Apollo; and the same ceremony as to their meeting was also observed when they transacted business with their generals, as the ambassadors of foreign nations, and the commanders of armies, while in commission, were not permitted to appear within the walls of the city. To render their decrees valid and authentic, a certain number of members was requisite, and such as were absent without some proper cause, were always fined. In the reign of Augustus, 400 senators were requisite to make a senate. Nothing was transacted before sunrise, or after sunset. In their office the senators were the guardians of religion; they disposed of the provinces as they pleased, they prorogued the assemblies of the people, they appointed thanksgivings, nominated their ambassadors, distributed the public money, and, in short, had the management of everything political or civil in the republic, except the Creating of the magistrates, the enacting of laws, and the declarations of war or peace, which were confined to the assemblies of the people. Rank was always regarded in their meetings ; the chief magistrates of the state, such as the consuls, the pretors, and censors, sat first; after these the inferior magistrates, such as the ediles and questors, and last of all, those that then exercised no office in the state. Their opinions were originally collected, each according to his age; but when the office of censor was instituted, the opinion of the princeps senatus, or the person whose name stood first on the censor's list, was first consulted, and afterwards those who were of consular dignity, each in their respective order. In the age of Cicero the consuls elect were first consulted ; and in the age of Caesar, he was permitted to speak first till the end of the year, on whom the consul had originally conferred that honour. Under the emperors the same rules were observed, but the consuls were generally consulted before all others. When any public matter was introduced into the senate, which was always called referre ad senatum, any senator whose opinion was asked, was permitted to speak upon it as long as he pleased ; and on that account it was often usual for the senators to protract their speeches till it was too late to determine. When the question was put, they passed to the side of that speaker whose opinion they approved, and a majority of votes was easily collected, without the trouble of counting the numbers. This mode of proceeding was called pedibus in alicuius sententiam ire; and therefore, on that account, the senators who had not the privilege of speaking, but only the right of giving a silent vote, such as bore some curule honours, and on that account were permitted to sit in the senate, but not to deliberate, were denominated pedarii senatores. After the majority had been known, the matter was determined, and a senatus consultum was immediately written by the clerks of the house, at the feet of the chief magistrates, and it was signed by all the principal members of the house. When there was not a sufficient number of members to make a senate, the decision was called senatus autoritas; but it was of no consequence if it did not afterwards pass into a senatus consultum. The tribunes of the people, by the word veto, could stop the debates, and the decrees of the assembled senate, as also any one who was of equal authority with him who had proposed the matter. The senatus consulta were left in the custody of the consuls, who could suppress or preserve them ; but about the year of Rome 304, they were always deposited in the temple of Ceres, and afterwards in the treasury, by the ediles of the people. The degradation of the senators was made by the censor, by omitting their names when he called over the list of the senate. This was called praeterire. A senator could be again introduced into the senate if he could repair his character or fortune, which had been the causes why the censor had lawfully called him unqualified, and had challenged his opposition. The meeting of the senate was often sudden, except the particular times already mentioned, upon any emergency. After the death of J. Caesar, they were not permitted to meet on the ides of March, which were called parricidium because on that day the dictator had been assassinated. The sons of senators, after they had put on the toga virilis, were permitted to come into the senate, but this was afterwards limited. Vid. Papirius. The rank and authority of the senator, which were so conspicuous in the first ages of the republic, and which caused the minister of Pyrrhus to declare that the Roman senate was a very assembly of kings, dwindled into nothing the emperors. Men of the lowest character were admitted into the senate; the emperors took pleasure in robbing this illustrious body of their privileges and authority, and the senators themselves, by their manners and servility, contributed as much as the tyranny of the sovereign to diminish their own consequence ; and by applauding the follies of 559 a Nero, and the cruelties of a Domitian, they convinced the world that they no longer possessed sufficient prudence or authority to be consulted on matters of weight and importance. In the election of successors to the imperial purple after Augustus, the approbation of the senate was consulted, but it was only a matter of courtesy, and the concurrence of a body of men was little regarded who were without power, and under the control of a mercenary army. The title of Clarissimus was given to the senators under the emperors, and, indeed, this was the only distinction which they had in compensation for the loss of their independence. The senate was abolished by Justinian, 13 centuries after its first institution by Romulus. Seneca M. Annaeus, a native of Corduba in Spain, who married Helvia, a woman of Spain, by whom he had three sons, Seneca the philosopher, Annaeus Novatus, and Annaeus Mela, the father of the poet Lucan. Seneca made himself known by some declamations, of which he made a collection from the most celebrated orators of the age ; and from that circumstance, and for distinction, he obtained the appellation of declamator. He left Corduba, and went to Rome, where he became a Roman knight. His son L. Annaeus Seneca, who was born about six years before Christ, was early distinguished by his extraordinary talents, He was taught eloquence by his father, and received lessons in philosophy from the best and most celebrated stoics of the age. As one of the followers of the Pythagorean doctrines, Seneca observed the most reserved abstinence, and in his meals never ate the flesh of animals ; but this he abandoned at the representation of his father, when Tiberius " threatened to punish some Jews and Egyptians, who abstained from certain meats. In the character of a pleader, Seneca appeared with great advantage, but the fear of Caligula, who aspired to the name of an eloquent speaker, and who consequently was jealous of his fame, deterred him from pursuing his favourite study, and he sought a safer employment in canvassing for the honours and offices of the state. He was made questor, but the aspersions which were thrown upon him on account of a shameful amour with Julia Livilla, removed him from Rome, and the emperor banished him for some time into Corsica. During his banishment, the philosopher wrote some spirited epistles to his mother, remarkable for elegance of language and for sublimity; but he soon forgot his philosophy and disgraced himself by his flatteries to the emperor, and in .wishing to be recalled, even at the expense of his innocence and character. The disgrace of Messalina at Rome, and the marriage of Agrippina with Claudius, proved favourable to Seneca; and after he had remained five years in Corsica, he was recalled by the empress to take care of the education of her son Nero, who was destined to succeed to the empire. In the honourable duty of preceptor, Seneca gained applause ; and as long as Nero followed his advice, Rome enjoyed tranquillity, and believed herself safe and happy under the administration of the son of Agrippina. Some, however, are clamorous against the philosopher, and observe that Seneca initiated his pupil in those unnatural vices and abominable indulgences which disgraced him as a monarch and as a man. This may be the language of malevolence, or the insinuation of jealousy. In the corrupted age of Nero, the preceptor had to withstand the clamours of many wicked and profligate ministers ; and if he had been the favourite of the emperor, and shared his pleasures, his debauchery and extravagance, Nero would not perhaps have been so anxious of destroying a man whose example, from vicious inclinations, he could not follow, and whose salutary precepts his licentious associates forbade him to obey. Seneca was too well acquainted with the natural disposition of Nero to think himself secure ; he had been accused of having amassed the most ample riches, and of having built sumptuous houses, and adorned beautiful gardens, during the four years in which he had attended Nero as a preceptor, and therefore he desired his imperial pupil to accept of the riches, and the possessions which his attendance on his person had procured, and to permit him to retire to solitude and study. Nero refused with artful duplicity, and Seneca, to avoid further suspicions, kept himself at home for some time as if labouring under a disease. In the conspiracy of Piso, which happened some time after, and in which some of the most noble of the Roman senators were concerned, Seneca's name was mentioned by Natalis, and Nero, who was glad of an opportunity of sacrificing him to his secret jealousy, ordered him to destroy himself. Seneca very probably was not accessary to the conspiracy, and the only thing which could be produced against him as a crimination, was trivial and unsatisfactory, Piso, as Natalis declared, had complained that he never saw Seneca, and the philosopher had observed in answer, that it was not proper or conducive to their common interest to see one another often. He further pleaded indisposition, and said that his own life depended upon the safety of Piso's person. Seneca was at table with his wife Paulina and two of his friends, when the messenger from Nero arrived. He heard the words which commanded him to destroy himself, with philosophical firmness, and even with joy; and observed, that such a mandate might have long been expected from a man who had murdered his own mother, and assassinated all his friends. He wished to dispose of his possessions as he pleased, but this was refused ; and when he heard this, he turned to his friends who were weeping at his melancholy fate, and told them, that since he could not leave them what he believed his own, he would leave them at least his own life for an example, an innocent conduct which they might imitate, and by which they might acquire immortal fame. Against their tears and wailings he exclaimed with firmness, and asked them whether they had not learnt better to withstand the attacks of fortune, and the violence of tyranny? As for his wife, he attempted to calm her emotions, and when she seemed resolved to die with him, he said he was glad to find his example followed with so much constancy. Their veins were opened at the same moment, but the life of Paulina was preserved, and Nero, who was partial to her ordered the blood to be stopped; and from that moment, according to some authors, the philosopher's wife seemed to rejoice that she could still enjoy the comforts of life. Seneca's veins bled but slowly, and it has been observed, that the sensible and animated conversation of his dying moments was collected by his friends, and that it has been preserved among his works. To hasten his death he drank a dose of poison, but it had no effect, and therefore he ordered himself to be carried into a hot bath, to accelerate the operation of the draught, and to make the blood flow more freely. This was attended with no better success; and as the soldiers were clamorous, he was carried into a stove, and suffocated by the steam, on the 12th of April, in the 65th year of the Christian era, in his 53rd year. His body was burnt- without pomp or funeral ceremony, according to his will, which he had made when he enjoyed the most unbounded favours of Nero. The compositions of Seneca are numerous, and chiefly on moral subjects. He is so much admired for his refined sentiments and virtuous precepts, for his morality, his constancy, and his innocence of manners, that St. Jerome has not hesitated to rank him among Christian writers. His style is nervous, it abounds with ornament, and seems well suited to the taste of the age in which he lived. The desire of recommending himself and his writings to the world, obliged him too often to depreciate the merit of the ancients, and to sink into obscurity. His treatises are de ira, de consolatione, de Providentid, de tranquillitate animi, de clementia, de sapientis constantia, de otio sapientis, de brevitate vitae. de beneficiis, de vita beata, besides his naturales quaestiones, ludus in Claudium, moral letters, &c. There are also some tragedies ascribed to Seneca. Quintilian supposes that the Medea is his composition, and according to others, the Troas and the Hippolytus were also written by him, and the Agamemnon, Hercules Furens, Thyestes & Hercules in Oeta by his father, Seneca the declaimer. The best editions of Seneca are those of Antwerp, fol. 1615, and of Gronovius, 3 vols. Amst. 1672; and those of his tragedies, are that of Schroder's, 4to, Delph. 1728, and the 8vo of Gronovius, L. Bat. 1682. Tacit. Ann. 12, &c.—Dio.—Sueton. in Ner., &c.—Quintil. Claudius Senecio, one of Nero's favourites, and the associate of his pleasures and debauchery. ——Tullius, a man who conspired against Nero, and was put to death though he turned informer against the rest of the conspirators. ——A man put to death by Domitian, for writing an account of the life of Helvidius, one of the emperor's enemies. —— One of Constantine's enemies. ——A man who from a restless and aspiring disposition acquired the surname of Grandio. Seneca, Suas. i. Senia, a town of Liburnia, now Segna. Plin. 3, c. 21. Senna, or Sena, a river of Umbria. Vid. Sena. Lucan. 2, v. 4.07. Senones, an uncivilized nation of Gallia Transalpina, who left their native possessions, and under the conduct of Brennus, invaded Italy and pillaged Rome. They afterwards united with the Umbri, Latins, and Etrurians to make war against the Romans, till they were totally destroyed by Dolabella. The chief of their towns in that part of Italy where they settled near Umbria, and which from them was called Senogallia, were Fanum Fortunae, Sena, Pisaurum, and Armininum. Vid. Cimbri. Lucan. i, v. 254.—Sil. 8, v. 454.— Liv. 5, c. 35, &c.—Flor .——A people of Germany near the Suevi. Sentia lex, de senatu, by C. Sentius the consul, A.U.C. 734, enacted the choosing of proper persons to fill up the number of senators. Sentinum, a town of Umbria. Liv. 10, c. 27 & 30. Sentius Cn., a governor of Syria, under the emperors. ——A governor of Macedonia. ——Septimius, one of the soldiers of Pompey, who assisted the Egyptians in murdering him. —— A Roman emperor. Vid. Severus. ——A writer in the reign of the emperor Alexander, of whose life he wrote an account in Latin, or, according to others, in Greek. Sepias, a cape of Magnesia in Thessaly, at the north of Euboea, now St. George. Seplasia, a place of Capua, where ointments were sold. Cic. Pis. 7 & 11. Septem aquae, a portion of the lake near Reate. Cic. 4, Att. 15. ——Fratres, a mountain of Mauritania, now Gebel-Mousa. Strab. 17 .—— Maria, the entrance of the seven mouths of the Po. Septempeda, a town of Picenum. Septerion, a festival observed once in nine years at Delphi, in honour of Apollo. It .was a representation of the pursuit of Python by Apollo, and of the victory obtained by the god. Tit. Septimius, a Roman knight distinguished by his poetical compositions both lyric and tragic. He was intimate with Augustus as well as Horace, who has addressed the sixth of his second lib. of Odes to him. ——A centurion put to death, &c. Tacit. A. i, c. 32. ——A native of Africa, who distinguished himself at Rome as a poet. He wrote, among other things, a hymn in praise of Janus. Only 11 of his verses are preserved. M. Terent. - Crinitus in Vita. L. Septimuleius, a friend of C. Gracchus. He suffered himself to be bribed by Opimius, and had the meanness to carry his friend's head fixed to a pole through the streets of Rome. Sepyra, a town of Cilicia, taken by Cicero when he presided over that province. Cic. ad Div, 15. c. 4. Sequana, a river of Gaul, which separates the territories of the Belgae and the Celtae, and is now called la Seine. Strab. 4.—Mela, 3, c. 2.—Lucan i, v, 425. Sequani, a people of Gaul near the territories of the AEdui, between the Soane and mount Jura. famous for their wars against Rome, &c. Vid. AEdui. The country which they inhabited is now called Franche Compte, or Upper Burgundy. Caes. Bell. G. Sequinius, a native of Alba, who married one of his daughters to Curiatius of Alba, and the other to Horatius, a citizen of Rome. The two daughters were brought to bed on the same day, each of three male children. Serapio, a surname given to one of the Scipios, because he resembled a swineherd of that name. ——A Greek poet who flourished in the age of Trajan. He was intimate with Plutarch. ——An Egyptian put to death by Achillas, when he came at the head of an embassy from Ptolemy, who was a prisoner in the hands of J. Caesar. ——A painter, Plin. 35, c. 10. Serapis, one of the Egyptian deities, supposed to be the same as Osiris. He had a magnificent temple at Memphis, another very rich at Alexandria, and a third at Canopus. The worship of Serapis was introduced at Rome, by the emperor Antoninus Pius, A.D. 146, and the mysteries celebrated on the 6th of May, but with so much licentiousness that the senate were soon after obliged to abolish them. Herodotus, who speaks in a very circumstantial manner of the deities, and of the religion of the Egyptians, makes no mention of the god Serapis. Apollodorus says it is the same as the bull Apis. Paus. i, c. 18. L 2, c. 34. Tacit. Hist. 4, c. 83.— Strab. 17.— Martial 9, ep. 30. Serbonis, a lake between Egypt and Palestine. Serena, a daughter of Theodosius, who married Stilicho. She was put to death, &c. Claudian Serenianus, a favourite of Gallus the brother of Julian. He was put to death. Serenus Samonicus, a physician in the age of the emperor Severus and Caracalla. There remains a poem of his composition on medicine, the last edition of which is that of 1706, in 8vo, Amst. —— Vibius, a governor of Spain, accused of cruelty in the government of his province, and put to death by order of Tiberius. Seres, a nation of Asia, according to Ptolemy, between the Ganges and the eastern ocean in the modern Thibet. They were naturally of a meek disposition. Silk, of which the fabrication was unknown to the ancients, who imagined that the materials were collected from the leaves of trees, was brought to Rome from their country, and on that account it received the name of Sericum, and thence a garment or dress of silk is called serica vestis. Heliogobalus the Roman emperor was the first who wore a silk dress, which at that time was sold for its weight in gold. It afterwards became very cheap, and consequently was the common dress among the Romans. Some suppose that the Seres are the same as the Chinese. Ptol. 6, c. 16. — Horat. i, od. 20,, v. 9.— Lucan. i, v. 19. I. 19, v. 142 & 292. — Ovid. Am. i, 14, v. 6. — Virg. G.2, V. 121. Sergestus, a sailor in the fleet of Aeneas, from whom the family of the Sergii at Rome were descended. Virg. Aen. 5, v. 121. Sergia, a Roman matron, She conspired with others to poison their husbands. The plot was uncovered, and Sergia, with some of her accomplices, drank poison and died. Sergius, one of the names of Catiline. —— A military tribune at the siege of Veii. The family of the Sergii was patrician, and branched out into the several families of the Fidenates, Sili, Catilinae, Nattae, Ocellae, and Planci. Sergius and Sergiolus, a deformed youth, greatly admired by the Roman ladies in Juvenal's age. Juv. 6, v. 105 et seq. Seriphus, an island in the .Aegean sea, about 36 miles in circumference, according to Pliny only 12, very barren, and uncultivated. The Romans generally sent their criminals there in banishment, and it was there that Cassius Severus the orator was exiled, and there he died. According to Aelian, the frogs of this island never croaked, but when they were removed from the island to another place, they were more noisy and clamorous than others ; hence the proverb of seriphia rana applied to a man who neither speaks nor sings. This, however, is found to be a mistake by modern travellers. It was on the coast of Seriphos that the chest was discovered in which Acrisius had exposed his daughter Danae and her son Perseus. Strab. 10. — Aelian. Anim. 3, c. 37. — Mela, 2, c. 7. — Apollod. i, c. 9. — Tacit. Ann. 4, c. 21. — Ovid. Met. 5, v, 242. I. 7, v. 65. Sermyla, a town of Macedonia. Herodot. 7, c. 122. Seron, a general of Antiochus Epiphanes. Serranus, a surname given to Cincinnatus, because he was found sowing his fields when told that he had been elected dictator. Some, however, suppose that Serranus was a different person from Cincinnatus. Plin. 18, c. 3. — Liv. 3, c. 26. — Virg. Aen. 6, v. 844. —— One of the auxiliaries of Turnus, killed in the night by Nisus. Virg. Aen. 9, v. 335. —— A poet of some merit in Domitian's reign. Juv. 7, v. 80. Serrheum, a fortified place of Thrace. Liv. 31, c. 16. Quintus Sertorius, a Roman general, son of Quintus and Rhea, born at Nursia. His first campaign was under the great Marius, against the Teutones and Cimbri. He visited the enemy's camp as a spy, and had the misfortune to lose one eye in the first battle he fought. When Marius and Cinna entered Rome and slaughtered all their enemies, Sertorius accompanied them, but he expressed his sorrow and concern at the melancholy death of so many of his countrymen. He afterwards fled for safety into Spain, when Sylla had proscribed him, and in this distant province he behaved himself with so much address and valour that he was looked upon as the prince of the country. The Lusitanians universally revered and loved him, and the Roman general did not show himself less attentive to their interest, by establishing public schools, and educating the children of the country in the polite arts, and the literature of Greece and Rome. He had established a senate, over which he presided with consular authority, and the Romans, who followed his standard, paid equal reverence to his person. They were experimentally convinced of his valour and magnamimity as a general, and the artful manner in which he imposed upon the credulity of his adherents in the garb of religion, did not diminish his reputation. He pretended to hold commerce with heaven by means of a white hind which he had tamed with great success, and which followed him everywhere, even in the field of battle. The success of Sertorius in Spain, and his popularity among the natives, alarmed the Romans. They sent some troops to oppose him, hut with little success. Four armies were found insufficient to crush or even hurt Sertorius ; and Pompey and Metellus, who never engaged an enemy without obtaining the victory, were driven with dishonour from the field. But the favourite of the Lusitanians was exposed to the dangers which usually attend greatness. Perpenna, one of his officers who was jealous of his fame and tired of a superior, conspired against him. At a banquet the conspirators began to open their intentions by speaking with freedom and licentiousness in the presence of Sertorius, whose age and character had hitherto claimed deference from others. Perpenna overturned a glass of wine, as a signal for the rest of the conspirators, and immediately Antonius, one of his officers, stabbed Sertorius, and the example was followed by all the rest, 73 years before Christ. Sertorius has been commended for his love of justice and moderation. The flattering description which he heard of the Fortunate Islands when he passed into the west of Africa, almost tempted him to bid adieu to the world, and perhaps he would have retired from the noise of war, and the clamours of envy, to end his days in the bosom of a peaceful and solitary island, had not the stronger calls of ambition and the love of fame prevailed over the intruding reflections of a moment. It has been observed that in his latter days Sertorious became indolent, and fond of luxury and wanton cruelty; yet we must confess that in affability, clemency, complaisance, generosity, and military valour, he not only surpassed his contemporaries, but the rest of the Romans. Plut. in Vita. —Paterc, 2, c. 30, &c.—Flor. 3, c. 21, &c.—Appian. de Civ.—Val. Max. i, c. 2. 1. 7, c. 3.—Eutrop.— Aul. Cell. 15, c. 22. Servaeus, a man accused by Tiberius of being privy to the conspiracy of Sejanus. Tacit. A. 6, c. 7. Servianus, a consul in the reign of Adrian. He was a great favourite of the emperor Trajan. Servilia, a sister of Cato of Utica, greatly enamoured of J. Caesar, though her brother was