Servæus, a man accused by Tiberius of being privy to the conspiracy of Sejanus. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 6, ch. 7.

Serviānus, 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 Julius Cæsar, though her brother was one of the most inveterate enemies of her lover. To convince Cæsar of her affection, she sent him a letter filled with the most tender expressions of regard for his person. The letter was delivered to Cæsar in the senate-house, while they were debating about punishing the associates of Catiline’s conspiracy; and when Cato saw it, he exclaimed that it was a letter from the conspirators, and insisted immediately on its being made public. Upon this Cæsar gave it to Cato, and the stern senator had no sooner read its contents, than he threw it back, with the words of “Take it, drunkard.” From the intimacy which existed between Servilia and Cæsar, some have supposed that the dictator was the father of Marcus Brutus. Plutarch, Cæsar.—Cornelius Nepos, Atticus.——Another sister of Cato, who married Silanus. Cornelius Nepos, Atticus.——A daughter of Thrasea, put to death by order of Nero with her father. Her crime was the consulting of magicians only to know what would happen in her family.

Servilia lex, de pecuniis repetundis, by Caius Servilius the pretor, A.U.C. 653. It punished severely such as were guilty of peculation and extortion in the provinces. Its particulars are not precisely known.——Another, de judicibus, by Quintus Servilius Cæpio the consul, A.U.C. 648. It divided the right of judging between the senators and the equites, a privilege which, though originally belonging to the senators, had been taken from them and given to the equites.——Another, de civitate, by Caius Servilius, ordained that if a Latin accused a Roman senator, so that he was condemned, the accuser should be honoured with the name and the privileges of a Roman citizen.——Another, agraria, by Publius Servilius Rullus the tribune, A.U.C. 690. It required the immediate sale of certain houses and lands which belonged to the people, for the purchase of others in a different part of Italy. It required that 10 commissioners should be appointed to see it carried into execution, but Cicero prevented its passing into a law by the three orations which he pronounced against it.

Serviliānus, a Roman consul defeated by Viriathus, in Spain, &c.

Servilius Quintus, a Roman who in his dictatorship defeated the Æqui.——Publius, a consul who supported the cause of the people against the nobles, and obtained a triumph in spite of the opposition of the senate, after defeating the Volsci. He afterwards changed his opinions, and very violently opposed the people because they had illiberally treated him.——A proconsul killed at the battle of Cannæ by Annibal.——Ahala, a master of horse to the dictator Cincinnatus. When Mælius refused to appear before the dictator to answer the accusations which were brought against him on suspicion of his aspiring to tyranny, Ahala slew him in the midst of the people whose protection he claimed. Ahala was accused for this murder and banished, but his sentence was afterwards repealed. He was raised to the dictatorship.——Marcus, a man who pleaded in favour of Paulus Æmilius, &c.——An augur prosecuted by Lucullus for his inattention in his office. He was acquitted.——A pretor ordered by the senate to forbid Sylla to approach Rome. He was ridiculed and insulted by the conqueror’s soldiers.——A man appointed to guard the sea-coast of Pontus by Pompey.——Publius, a proconsul of Asia during the age of Mithridates. He conquered Isauria, for which service he was surnamed Isauricus, and rewarded with a triumph.——A Roman general who defeated an army of Etrurians.——An informer in the court of Tiberius.——A favourite of Augustus.——Geminus, a Roman consul who opposed Annibal with success.——Nonianus, a Latin historian, who wrote a history of Rome, in the reign of Nero. There were more than one writer of this name, as Pliny speaks of a Servilius remarkable for his eloquence and learning; and Quintilian mentions another also illustrious for his genius and literary merit.——Casca, one of Cæsar’s murderers.——The family of the Servilii was of patrician rank, and came to settle at Rome after the destruction of Alba, where they were promoted to the highest offices of the state. To the several branches of this family were attached the different surnames of Ahala, Axilla, Priscas, Cæpio, Structus, Geminus, Pulex, Vatia, Casca, Fidenas, Longus, and Tucca.——Lacus, a lake near Rome. Cicero, For Sextus Roscius of Ameria, ch. 32.

Servius Tullius, the sixth king of Rome, was son of Ocrisia, a slave of Corniculum, by Tullius, a man slain in the defence of his country against the Romans. Ocrisia was given by Tarquin to Tanaquil his wife, and she brought up her son in the king’s family, and added the name of Servius to that which he had inherited from his father, to denote his slavery. Young Servius was educated in the palace of the monarch with great care, and though originally a slave, he raised himself so much to consequence, that Tarquin gave him his daughter in marriage. His own private merit and virtues recommended him to notice not less than the royal favours, and Servius, become the favourite of the people and the darling of the soldiers, by his liberality and complaisance, was easily raised to the throne on the death of his father-in-law. Rome had no reason to repent of her choice. Servius endeared himself still more as a warrior and as a legislator. He defeated the Veientes and the Tuscans, and by a proper act of policy he established the census, which told him that Rome contained about 84,000 inhabitants. He increased the number of the tribes, he beautified and adorned the city, and enlarged its boundaries by taking within its walls the hills Quirinalis, Viminalis, and Esquilinus. He also divided the Roman people into tribes, and that he might not seem to neglect the worship of the gods, he built several temples to the goddess of fortune, to whom he deemed himself particularly indebted for obtaining the kingdom. He also built a temple to Diana on mount Aventine, and raised himself a palace on the hill Esquilinus. Servius married his two daughters to the grandsons of his father-in-law; the elder to Tarquin, and the younger to Aruns. This union, as might be supposed, tended to ensure the peace of his family; but if such were his expectations, he was unhappily deceived. The wife of Aruns, naturally fierce and impetuous, murdered her own husband to unite herself to Tarquin, who had likewise assassinated his wife. These bloody measures were no sooner pursued than Servius was murdered by his own son-in-law, and his daughter Tullia showed herself so inimical to filial gratitude and piety, that she ordered her chariot to be driven over the mangled body of her father, B.C. 534. His death was universally lamented, and the slaves annually celebrated a festival in his honour, in the temple of Diana on mount Aventine, the day that he was murdered. Tarquinia, his wife, buried his remains privately, and died the following day. Livy, bk. 1, ch. 41.—Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 4.—Florus, bk. 1, ch. 6.—Cicero, Letters to his Friends, bk. 1, ch. 53.—Valerius Maximus, bk. 1, ch. 6.—Ovid, Fasti, bk. 6, li. 601.——Galba, a seditious person who wished to refuse a triumph to Paulus Æmylius after the conquest of Macedonia.——Claudius, a grammarian. Suetonius, Lives of the Grammarians.——A friend of Sylla, who applied for the consulship to no purpose.——Cornelius, a consul in the first ages of the republic, &c.——Sulpitius, an orator in the age of Cicero and Hortensius. He was sent as ambassador to Marcus Antony, and died before his return. Cicero obtained a statue for him from the senate and the Roman people, which was raised in the Campus Martius. Besides orations he wrote verses, which were highly censured for their indelicacy. His works are lost. Cicero, Brutus, Philippics, &c.—Pliny, bk. 5, ltr. 3.——A despicable informer in the Augustan age. Horace, bk. 2, satire 1, li. 47.——Honoratus Maurus, a learned grammarian in the age of young Theodosius. He wrote Latin commentaries upon Virgil, still extant.

Sesara, a daughter of Celeus king of Eleusis, sister of Triptolemus. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 38.

Sesostris, a celebrated king of Egypt some ages before the Trojan war. His father ordered all the children in his dominions who were born on the same day with him to be publicly educated, and to pass their youth in the company of his son. This succeeded in the highest degree, and Sesostris had the pleasure to find himself surrounded by a number of faithful ministers and active warriors, whose education and intimacy with their prince rendered them inseparably devoted to his interest. When Sesostris had succeeded on his father’s throne, he became ambitious of military fame, and after he had divided his kingdom into 36 different districts, he marched at the head of a numerous army to make the conquest of the world. Libya, Æthiopia, Arabia, with all the islands of the Red sea, were conquered, and the victorious monarch marched through Asia, and penetrated further into the east than the conqueror Darius. He also invaded Europe, and subdued the Thracians; and that the fame of his conquests might long survive him, he placed columns in the several provinces he had subdued; and many ages after, this pompous inscription was read in many parts of Asia: “Sesostris the king of kings has conquered this territory by his arms.” At his return home the monarch employed his time in encouraging the fine arts, and in improving the revenues of his kingdom. He erected 100 temples to the gods for the victories which he had obtained, and mounds of earth were heaped up in several parts of Egypt, where cities were built for the reception of the inhabitants during the inundations of the Nile. Some canals were also dug near Memphis to facilitate navigation, and the communication of one province with another. In his old age Sesostris, grown infirm and blind, destroyed himself, after a reign of 44 years, according to some. His mildness towards the conquered has been admired, while some have upbraided him for his cruelty and insolence in causing his chariot to be drawn by some of the monarchs whom he had conquered. The age of Sesostris is so remote from every authentic record, that many have supported that the actions and conquests ascribed to this monarch are uncertain and totally fabulous. Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 102, &c.—Diodorus, bk. 1.—Valerius Flaccus, bk. 5, li. 419.—Pliny, bk. 33, ch. 3.—Lucan, bk. 10, li. 276.—Strabo, bk. 16.

Sessites, now Sessia, a river of Cisalpine Gaul, falling into the Po. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 16.

Sestias, a name applied to Hero, as born at Sestos. Statius, bk. 6, Thebaid, li. 547.

Sestius, a friend of Brutus, with whom he fought at the battle of Philippi. Augustus resigned the consulship in his favour, though he still continued to reverence the memory of Brutus.——A governor of Syria.

Sestos, or Sestus, a town of Thrace on the shores of the Hellespont, exactly opposite Abydos on the Asiatic side. It is celebrated for the bridge which Xerxes built there across the Hellespont, as also for being the seat of the amours of Hero and Leander. Mela, bk. 2, ch. 2.—Strabo, bk. 13.—Musæus, Hero & Leander.—Virgil, Georgics, bk. 3, li. 258.—Ovid, Heroides, poem 18, ltr. 2.

Sesuvii, a people of Celtic Gaul. Cæsar, Gallic War.

Setăbis, a town of Spain between New Carthage and Saguntum, famous for the manufacture of linen. There was also a small river of the same name in the neighbourhood. Silius Italicus, bk. 16, li. 474.—Strabo, bk. 2.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 6.—Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 3; bk. 19, ch. 1.

Sethon, a priest of Vulcan, who made himself king of Egypt after the death of Anysis. He was attacked by the Assyrians and delivered from this powerful enemy by an immense number of rats, which in one night gnawed their bow-strings and thongs, so that on the morrow their arms were found to be useless. From this wonderful circumstance Sethon had a statue which represented him with a rat in his hand, with the inscription of, “Whoever fixes his eyes upon me, let him be pious.” Herodotus, bk. 4, ch. 141.

Setia, a town of Latium above the Pontine marshes, celebrated for its wines, which Augustus is said to have preferred to all others. Pliny, bk. 14, ch. 6.—Juvenal, satire 5, li. 34; satire 10, li. 27.—Martial, bk. 13, ltr. 112.

Sevēra Julia Aquilia, a Roman lady, whom the emperor Heliogabalus married. She was soon after repudiated, though possessed of all the charms of the mind and body which could captivate the most virtuous.——Valeria, the wife of Valentinian, and the mother of Gratian, was well known for her avarice and ambition. The emperor, her husband, repudiated her and afterwards took her again. Her prudent advice at last ensured her son Gratian on the imperial throne.——The wife of Philip the Roman emperor.

Severiānus, a governor of Macedonia, father-in-law to the emperor Philip.——A general of the Roman armies in the reign of Valentinian, defeated by the Germans.——A son of the emperor Severus.

Sevērus Lucius Septimius, a Roman emperor born at Leptis in Africa, of a noble family. He gradually exercised all the offices of the state, and recommended himself to the notice of the world by an ambitious mind and a restless activity, that could, for the gratification of avarice, endure the most complicated hardships. After the murder of Pertinax, Severus resolved to remove Didius Julianus, who had bought the imperial purple when exposed to sale by the licentiousness of the pretorians, and therefore he proclaimed himself emperor on the borders of Illyricum, where he was stationed against the barbarians. To support himself in this bold measure, he took as his partner in the empire Albinus, who was at the head of the Roman forces in Britain, and immediately marched towards Rome, to crush ♦Didius and all his partisans. He was received as he advanced through the country with universal acclamations, and Julianus himself was soon deserted by his favourites, and assassinated by his own soldiers. The reception of Severus at Rome was sufficient to gratify his pride; the streets were strewed with flowers, and the submissive senate were ever ready to grant whatever honours or titles the conqueror claimed. In professing that he had assumed the purple only to revenge the death of the virtuous Pertinax, Severus gained many adherents, and was enabled not only to disarm, but to banish the pretorians, whose insolence and avarice were become alarming not only to the citizens, but to the emperor. But while he was victorious at Rome, Severus did not forget that there was another competitor for the imperial purple. Pescennius Niger was in the east at the head of a powerful army, and with the name and ensigns of Augustus. Many obstinate battles were fought between the troops and officers of the imperial rivals, till on the plains of Issus, which had been above five centuries before covered with the blood of the Persian soldiers of Darius, Niger was totally ruined by the loss of 20,000 men. The head of Niger was cut off and sent to the conqueror, who punished in a most cruel manner all the partisans of his unfortunate rival. Severus afterwards pillaged Byzantium, which had shut her gates against him; and after he had conquered several nations in the east, he returned to Rome, resolved to destroy Albinus, with whom he had hitherto reluctantly shared the imperial power. He attempted to assassinate him by his emissaries; but when this had failed of success, Severus had recourse to arms, and the fate of the empire was again decided on the plains of Gaul. Albinus was defeated, and the conqueror was so elated with the recollection that he had now no longer a competitor for the purple, that he insulted the dead body of his rival, and ordered it to be thrown into the Rhone, after he had suffered it to putrefy before the door of his tent, and to be torn to pieces by his dogs. The family and the adherents of ♠Albinus shared his fate; and the return of Severus to the capital exhibited the bloody triumphs of Marius and Sylla. The richest of the citizens were sacrificed, and their money became the property of the emperor. The wicked Commodus received divine honours, and his murderers were punished in the most wanton manner. Tired of the inactive life which he led in Rome, Severus marched into the east, with his two sons Caracalla and Geta, and with uncommon success made himself master of Seleucia, Babylon, and Ctesiphon; and advanced without opposition far into the Parthian territories. From Parthia the emperor marched towards the more southern provinces of Asia: after he had visited the tomb of Pompey the Great, he entered Alexandria; and after he had granted a senate to that celebrated city, he viewed with the most criticizing and inquisitive curiosity the several monuments and ruins which that ancient kingdom contains. The revolt of Britain recalled him from the east. After he had reduced it under his power, he built a wall across the northern part of the island, to defend it against the frequent invasions of the Caledonians. Hitherto successful against his enemies, Severus now found the peace of his family disturbed. Caracalla attempted to murder his father as he was concluding a treaty of peace with the Britons; and the emperor was so shocked at the undutifulness of his son, that on his return home he called him into his presence, and after he had upbraided him for his ingratitude and perfidy, he offered him a drawn sword, adding, “If you are so ambitious of reigning alone, now imbrue your hands in the blood of your father, and let not the eyes of the world be witnesses of your want of filial tenderness.” If these words checked Caracalla, yet he did not show himself concerned, and Severus, worn out with infirmities which the gout and the uneasiness of his mind increased, soon after died, exclaiming he had been everything man could wish, but that he was then nothing. Some say that he wished to poison himself, but that when this was denied, he ate to great excess, and soon after expired at York on the 4th of February, in the 211th year of the christian era, in the 66th year of his age, after a reign of 17 years, eight months, and three days. Severus has been so much admired for his military talents, that some have called him the most warlike of the Roman emperors. As a monarch he was cruel, and it has been observed that he never did an act of humanity or forgave a fault. In his diet he was temperate, and he always showed himself an open enemy to pomp and splendour. He loved the appellation of a man of letters, and he even composed a history of his own reign, which some have praised for its correctness and veracity. However cruel Severus may appear in his punishments and in his revenge, many have endeavoured to exculpate him, and observed that there was need of severity in an empire whose morals were so corrupted, and where no less than 3000 persons were accused of adultery during the space of 17 years. Of him, as of Augustus, some were found to say, that it would have been better for the world if he had never been born, or had never died. Dio Cassius.—Herodian.—Aurelius Victor., &c.——Alexander Marcus Aurelius, a native of Phœnicia, adopted by Heliogabalus. His father’s name was Genesius Marcianus, and his mother’s Julia Mammæa, and he received the surname of Alexander, because he was born in a temple sacred to Alexander the Great. He was carefully educated, and his mother, by paying particular attention to his morals, and the character of his preceptors, preserved him from those infirmities and that licentiousness which old age too often attributes to the depravity of youth. At the death of Heliogabalus, who had been jealous of his virtues, Alexander, though only in the 14th year of his age, was proclaimed emperor, and his nomination was approved by the universal shouts of the army, and the congratulations of the senate. He had not long been on the throne before the peace of the empire was disturbed by the incursions of the Persians. Alexander marched into the east without delay, and soon obtained a decisive victory over the barbarians. At his return to Rome he was honoured with a triumph, but the revolt of the Germans soon after called him away from the indolence of the capital. His expedition in Germany was attended with some success, but the virtues and the amiable qualities of Alexander were forgotten in the stern and sullen strictness of the disciplinarian. His soldiers, fond of repose, murmured against his severity; their clamours were fomented by the artifice of Maximinus, and Alexander was murdered in his tent, in the midst of his camp, after a reign of 13 years and nine days, on the 18th of March, A.D. 235. His mother Mammæa shared his fate with all his friends; but this was no sooner known than the soldiers punished with immediate death all such as had been concerned in the murder except Maximinus. Alexander has been admired for his many virtues, and every historian, except Herodian, is bold to assert, that if he had lived, the Roman empire might soon have been freed from those tumults and abuses which continually disturbed her peace, and kept the lives of her emperors and senators in perpetual alarms. His severity in punishing offences was great, and such as had robbed the public, were they even the most intimate friends of the emperor, were indiscriminately sacrificed to the tranquillity of the state, which they had violated. The great offices of the state, which had before his reign been exposed to sale, and occupied by favourites, were now bestowed upon merit, and Alexander could boast that all his officers were men of trust and abilities. He was a patron of literature, and he dedicated the hours of relaxation to the study of the best Greek and Latin historians, orators, and poets; and in the public schools which his liberality and the desire of encouraging learning had founded, he often heard with pleasure and satisfaction the eloquent speeches and declamations of his subjects. The provinces were well supplied with provisions, and Rome was embellished with many stately buildings and magnificent porticoes. Alexander Polyhistor, Lives.—Herodian.—Zosim.—Aurelius Victor.——Flavius Valerius, a native of Illyricum, nominated Cæsar by Galerius. He was put to death by Maximianus, A.D. 307.——Julius, a governor of Britain under Adrian.——A general of Valens.——Libius, a man proclaimed emperor of the west, at Ravenna, after the death of Majorianus. He was soon after poisoned.——Lucius Cornelius, a Latin poet in the age of Augustus, for some time employed in the judicial proceedings of the forum.——Cassius, an orator banished into the island of Crete by Augustus, for his illiberal language. He was banished 17 years, and died in Seriphos. He is commended as an able orator, yet declaiming with more warmth than prudence. His writings were destroyed by order of the senate. Suetonius, Octavian Augustus.—Quintilian.——Sulpitius, an ecclesiastical historian, who died A.D. 420. The best of his works is his Historia Sacra, from the creation of the world to the consulship of Stilicho, of which the style is elegant, and superior to that of the age in which he lived. The best edition is in 2 vols., 4to, Patavii, 1741.——An officer under the emperor Julian.——Aquilius, a native of Spain, who wrote an account of his own life in the reign of the emperor Valens.——An officer of Valentinian, &c.——A prefect of Rome, &c.——A celebrated architect employed in building Nero’s golden palace at Rome after the burning of that city.——A mountain of Italy, near the Fabaris. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 713.

Sevo, a ridge of mountains between Norway and Sweden, now called Fiell, or Dofre. Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 15.

Seuthes, a man who dethroned his monarch, &c.——A friend of Perdiccas, one of Alexander’s generals.——A Thracian king, who encouraged his countrymen to revolt, &c. This name is common to several of the Thracian princes.

Sextia, a woman celebrated for her virtue and her constancy, put to death by Nero. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 16, ch. 10.

Sextia Licinia lex, de Magistratibus, by Caius Licinius and Lucius Sextius the tribunes, A.U.C. 386. It ordained that one of the consuls should be elected from among the plebeians.——Another, de religione, by the same, A.U.C. 385. It enacted that a decemvirate should be chosen from the patricians and plebeians instead of the decemviri sacris faciundis.

Sextiæ Aquæ, now Aix, a place of Cisalpine Gaul, where the Cimbri were defeated by Marius. It was built by Caius Sextius, and is famous for its cold and hot springs. Livy, bk. 61.—Velleius Paterculus, bk. 1, ch. 15.

Sextilia, the wife of Vitellius. She became mother of two children. Suetonius, Lives.——Another in the same family. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 2, ch. 64.

Sextilius, a governor of Africa, who ordered Marius, when he landed there, to depart immediately from his province. Marius heard this with some concern, and said to the messengers, “Go and tell your master that you have seen the exiled Marius sitting on the ruins of Carthage.” Plutarch, Caius Marius.——A Roman preceptor, who was seized and carried away by pirates, &c.——One of the officers of Lucullus.——Hæna, a poet. See: ♦Hæna.——An officer sent to Germany, &c. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 3, ch. 7.

♦ No matching reference

Sextius, a lieutenant of Cæsar in Gaul.——A seditious tribune in the first ages of the republic.——Lucius was remarkable for his friendship with Brutus; he gained the confidence of Augustus, and was consul. Horace, who was in the number of his friends, dedicated bk. 1, ode 4, to him.——The first plebeian consul.——A dictator.——One of the sons of Tarquin. See: Tarquinius.

Sextus, a prænomen given to the sixth son of a family.——A son of Pompey the Great. See: Pompeius.——A stoic philosopher, born at Cheronæa in Bœotia. Some suppose that he was Plutarch’s nephew. He was preceptor to Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.——A governor of Syria.——A philosopher in the age of Antoninus. He was one of the followers of the doctrines of Pyrrho. Some of his works are still extant. The best edition of the treatise of Sextus Pompeis Festus, Lexicon of Festus, is that of Amsterdam, 4to, 1669.

Sibæ, a people of India. Strabo.

Sibaris. See: Sybaris.

Sibīni, a people near the Suevi.

Siburtius, a satrap of Arachosia, in the age of Alexander, &c.

Sibyllæ, certain women inspired by heaven, who flourished in different parts of the world. Their number is unknown. Plato speaks of one, others of two, Pliny of three, Ælian of four, and Varro of 10, an opinion which is universally adopted by the learned. These 10 Sibyls generally resided in the following places: Persia, Libya, Delphi, Cumæ in Italy, Erythræa, Samos, Cumæ in Æolia, Marpessa on the Hellespont, Ancyra in Phrygia, and Tiburtis. The most celebrated of the Sibyls is that of Cumæ in Italy, whom some have called by the different names of Amalthæa, Demophile, Herophile, Daphne, Manto, Phemonoe, and Deiphobe. It is said that Apollo became enamoured of her, and that, to make her sensible of his passion, he offered to give her whatever she should ask. The Sibyl demanded to live as many years as she had grains of sand in her hand, but unfortunately forgot to ask for the enjoyment of the health, vigour, and bloom, of which she was then in possession. The god granted her her request, but she refused to gratify the passion of her lover, though he offered her perpetual youth and beauty. Some time after she became old and decrepit, her form decayed, and melancholy paleness and haggard looks succeeded to bloom and cheerfulness. She had already lived about 700 years when Æneas came to Italy, and, as some have imagined, she had three centuries more to live before her years were as numerous as the grains of sand which she had in her hand. She gave Æneas instructions how to find his father in the infernal regions, and even conducted him to the entrance of hell. It was usual for the Sibyl to write her prophecies on leaves which she placed at the entrance of her cave, and it required particular care in such as consulted her to take up those leaves before they were dispersed by the wind, as their meaning then became incomprehensible. According to the most authentic historians of the Roman republic, one of the Sibyls came to the palace of Tarquin II., with nine volumes, which she offered to sell for a very high price. The monarch disregarded her, and she immediately disappeared, and soon after returned, when she had burned three of the volumes. She asked the same price for the remaining six books; and when Tarquin refused to buy them, she burned three more, and still persisted in demanding the same sum of money for the three that were left. This extraordinary behaviour astonished Tarquin; he bought the books, and the Sibyl instantly vanished, and never after appeared to the world. These books were preserved with great care by the monarch, and called the Sibylline verses. A college of priests was appointed to have the care of them; and such reverence did the Romans entertain for these prophetic books, that they were consulted with the greatest solemnity, and only when the state seemed to be in danger. When the capitol was burnt in the troubles of Sylla, the Sibylline verses, which were deposited there, perished in the conflagration; and to repair the loss which the republic seemed to have sustained, commissioners were immediately sent to different parts of Greece, to collect whatever verses could be found of the inspired writings of the Sibyls. The fate of the Sibylline verses, which were collected after the conflagration of the capitol, is unknown. There are now eight books of Sibylline verses extant, but they are universally reckoned spurious. They speak so plainly of our Saviour, of his sufferings, and of his death, as even to surpass far the sublime prediction of Isaiah in description, and therefore from this very circumstance, it is evident that they were composed in the second century, by some of the followers of christianity, who wished to convince the heathens of their error, by assisting the cause of truth with the arms of pious artifice. The word Sibyl seems to be derived from σιου, Æolice for Διος, Jovis, and βουλη, consilium. Plato, Phædras.—Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 12, ch. 35.—Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 12, &c.—Diodorus, bk. 4.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 14, lis. 109 & 140.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 445; bk. 6, li. 36.—Lucan, bk. 1, li. 564.—Pliny, bk. 13, ch. 13.—Florus, bk. 4, ch. 1.—Sallust.—Cicero, Against Catiline, ch. 3.—Valerius Maximus, bk. 1, ch. 1; bk. 8, ch. 15, &c.

Sica, a man who showed much attention to Cicero in his banishment. Some suppose that he is the same as the Vibius Siculus mentioned by Plutarch, Cicero.—Cicero, Letters to Atticus, bk. 8, ltr. 12; Letters to his Friends, bk. 14, chs. 4, 15.

Sĭcambri, or Sicambria, a people of Germany, conquered by the Romans. They revolted against Augustus, who marched against them, but did not totally reduce them. Drusus conquered them, and they were carried away from their native country to inhabit some of the more westerly provinces of Gaul. Dio Cassius, bk. 54.—Strabo, bk. 4.—Horace, bk. 4, ode 2, li. 36; ode 14, li. 51.—Tacitus, bk. 2, Annals, ch. 26.

Sicambria, the country of the Sicambri, formed the modern provinces of Guelderland. Claudian, Against Eutropius, bk. 1, li. 383.

Sĭcāni, a people of Spain, who left their native country and passed into Italy, and afterwards into Sicily, which they called Sicania. They inhabited the neighbourhood of mount Ætna, where they built some cities and villages. Some reckoned them the next inhabitants of the island after the Cyclops. They were afterwards driven from their ancient possessions by the Siculi, and retired into the western parts of the island. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 1.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bks. 5 & 13.—Virgil, Eclogues, poem 10; Æneid, bk. 7, li. 795.—Diodorus, bk. 5.—Horace, epode 17, li. 32.

Sĭcānia and Sīcănia, an ancient name of Italy, which it received from the Sicani, or from Sicanus their king, or from Sicanus, a small river in Spain, in the territory where they lived, as some suppose. The name was more generally given to Sicily. See: Sicani.

Sicca, a town of Numidia at the west of Carthage. Sallust, Jugurthine War, ch. 56.

Sicĕlis (Sīcĕlĭdes, plural), an epithet applied to the inhabitants of Sicily. The Muses are called Sicelides by Virgil, because Theocritus was a native of Sicily, whom the Latin poet, as a writer of Bucolic poetry, professed to imitate. Virgil, Eclogues, poem 4.

Sichæus, called also Sicharbas and Acerbas, was a priest of the temple of Hercules in Phœnicia. His father’s name was Plisthenes. He married Elisa the daughter of Belus, and sister to king Pygmalion, better known by the name of Dido. He was so extremely rich, that his brother-in-law murdered him to obtain his possessions. This murder Pygmalion concealed from his sister Dido; and he amused her by telling her that her husband had gone upon an affair of importance, and that he would soon return. This would have perhaps succeeded had not the shades of Sichæus appeared to Dido, and related to her the cruelty of Pygmalion, and advised her to fly from Tyre, after she had previously secured some treasures, which, as he mentioned, were concealed in an obscure and unknown place. According to Justin, Acerbas was the uncle of Dido. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, li. 347, &c.—Paterculus, bk. 1, ch. 6.—Justin, bk. 18, ch. 4.

Sicĭlia, the largest and most celebrated island in the Mediterranean sea, at the bottom of Italy. It was anciently called Sicania, Trinacria, and Triquetra. It is of a triangular form, and has three celebrated promontories, one looking towards Africa, called Lilybæum; Pachynum looking towards Greece; and Pelorum towards Italy. Sicily is about 600 miles in circumference, celebrated for its fertility, so much that it was called one of the granaries of Rome, and Pliny says that it rewards the husbandman an hundredfold. Its most famous cities were Syracuse, Messana, Leontini, Lilybæum, Agrigentum, Gela, Drepanum, Eryx, &c. The highest and most famous mountain in the island is Ætna, whose frequent eruptions are dangerous, and often fatal to the country and its inhabitants, from which circumstance the ancients supposed that the forges of Vulcan and the Cyclops were placed there. The poets feign that the Cyclops were the original inhabitants of this island, and that after them it came into the possession of the Sicani, a people of Spain, and at last of the Siculi, a nation of Italy. See: Siculi. The plains of Enna are well known for their excellent honey; and, according to Diodorus, the hounds lost their scent in hunting on account of the many odoriferous plants that profusely perfumed the air. Ceres and Proserpine were the chief deities of the place, and it was there, according to poetical tradition, that the latter was carried away by Pluto. The Phœnicians and Greeks settled some colonies there, and at last the Carthaginians became masters of the whole island till they were dispossessed of it by the Romans in the Punic wars. Some authors suppose that Sicily was originally joined to the continent, and that it was separated from Italy by an earthquake, and that the straits of the Charybdis were formed. The inhabitants of Sicily were so fond of luxury, that Siculæ mensæ became proverbial. The rights of citizens of Rome were extended to them by Marcus Antony. Cicero, bk. 14, Letters to Atticus, ltr. 12; Against Verres, bk. 2, ch. 13.—Homer, Odyssey, bk. 9, &c.—Justin, bk. 4, ch. 1, &c.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 414, &c.—Silius Italicus, bk. 14, li. 11, &c.—Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 8, &c.——The island of Naxos in the Ægean, was called Little Sicily on account of its fruitfulness.

Lucius Sicinius Dentātus, a tribune of Rome, celebrated for his valour and the honours he obtained in the field of battle, during the period of 40 years, in which he was engaged in the Roman armies. He was present in 121 battles: he obtained 14 civic crowns, three mural crowns, eight crowns of gold, 83 golden collars, 60 bracelets, 18 lances, 23 horses with all their ornaments, and all as the reward of his uncommon services. He could show the scars of 45 wounds, which he had received all in his breast, particularly in opposing the Sabines when they took the capitol. The popularity of Sicinius became odious to Appius Claudius, who wished to make himself absolute at Rome, and therefore, to remove him from the capital, he sent him to the army, by which, soon after his arrival, he was attacked and murdered. Of 100 men who were ordered to fall upon him, Sicinius killed 15, and wounded 30; and, according to Dionysius, the surviving number had recourse to artifice to overpower him, by killing him with a shower of stones and darts thrown at a distance, about 405 years before the christian era. For his uncommon courage Sicinius has been called the Roman Achilles. Valerius Maximus, bk. 3, ch. 2.—Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 8.——Vellutus, one of the first tribunes in Rome. He raised cabals against Coriolanus, and was one of his accusers. Plutarch, Coriolanus.——Sabinus, a Roman general who defeated the Volsci.

Sicīnus, a man privately sent by Themistocles to deceive Xerxes, and to advise him to attack the combined forces of the Greeks. He had been preceptor to Themistocles. Plutarch.——An island, &c.

Sicŏrus, now Segre, a river of Hispania Tarraconensis, rising in the Pyrenean mountains, and falling into the Iberus, a little above its mouth. It was near this city that Julius Cæsar conquered Afranius and Petreius, the partisans of Pompey. Lucan, bk. 4, lis. 14, 130, &c.—Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 3.

Sicŭli, a people of Italy, driven from their possessions by the Opici. They fled into Sicania, or Sicily, where they settled in the territories which the Sicani inhabited. They soon extended their borders, and after they had conquered their neighbours the Sicani, they gave their name to the island. This, as some suppose, happened about 300 years before Greek colonies settled in the island, or about 1059 years before the christian era. Diodorus, bk. 5.—Dionysius of Halicarnassus.—Strabo.

Sicŭlum fretum, the sea which separates Sicily from Italy, is 15 miles long, but in some places so narrow, that the barking of dogs can be heard from shore to shore. This strait is supposed to have been formed by an earthquake, which separated the island from the continent. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 8.

Sicyon, now Basilico, a town of Peloponnesus, the capital of Sicyonia. It is celebrated as being the most ancient kingdom of Greece, which began B.C. 2089, and ended B.C. 1088, under a succession of monarchs of whom little is known, except the names. Ægialeus was the first king. Some time after, Agamemnon made himself master of the place, and afterwards it fell into the hands of the Heraclidæ. It became very powerful in the time of the Achæan league, which it joined B.C. 251, at the persuasion of Aratus. The inhabitants of Sicyon are mentioned by some authors as dissolute and fond of luxury, hence the Sicyonian shoes, which were once very celebrated, were deemed marks of effeminacy. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 5.—Lucretius, bk. 1, li. 1118.—Livy, bk. 32, ch. 16; bk. 33, ch. 15.—Strabo, bk. 8.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 3.—Plutarch, Demosthenes.—Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 1, &c.—Cicero, On Oratory, bk. 1, ch. 54.—Virgil, Georgics, bk. 2, li. 519.

Sicyonia, a province of Peloponnesus, on the bay of Corinth, of which Sicyon was the capital. It is the most eminent kingdom of Greece, and in its flourishing situation, not only its dependent states, but also the whole Peloponnesus, were called Sicyonia. The territory is said to abound with corn, wine, and olives, and also with iron mines. It produced many celebrated men, particularly artists. See: Sicyon.

Side, the wife of Orion, thrown into hell by Juno, for boasting herself fairer than the goddess. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 4.——A daughter of Belus.——A daughter of Danaus.——A town of Pamphylia. Livy, bk. 37, ch. 23.—Cicero, bk. 3, Letters to his Friends, ltr. 6.

Sidēro, the stepmother of Tyro, killed by Pelias.

Sidicīnum, a town of Campania, called also Teanum. See: Teanum. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 727.

Sidon, an ancient city of Phœnicia, the capital of the country, with a famous harbour, now called Said. It is situate on the shores of the Mediterranean, at the distance of about 50 miles from Damascus and 24 from Tyre. The people of Sidon were well known for their industry, their skill in arithmetic, in astronomy, and commercial affairs, and in sea voyages. They, however, had the character of being very dishonest. Their women were peculiarly happy in working embroidery. The invention of glass, of linen, and of a beautiful purple dye, is attributed to them. The city of Sidon was taken by Ochus king of Persia, after the inhabitants had burnt themselves and the city, B.C. 351; but it was afterwards rebuilt by its inhabitants. Lucan, bk. 3, li. 217; bk. 10, li. 141.—Diodorus, bk. 16.—Justin, bk. 11, ch. 10.—Pliny, bk. 36, ch. 26.—Homer, Odyssey, bk. 15, li. 411.—Mela, bk. 1, ch. 12.

Sidoniorum insulæ, islands in the Persian gulf. Strabo, bk. 16.

Sidōnis, is the country of which Sidon was the capital, situate at the west of Syria, on the coast of the Mediterranean. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 2, fable 19.——Dido, as a native of the country, is often called Sidonis. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 14, li. 80.

Sidonius Caius Sollius Apollinaris, a christian writer, born A.D. 430. He died in the 52nd year of his age. There are remaining of his compositions, some letters and different poems, consisting chiefly of panegyrics on the great men of his time, written in heroic verse, and occasionally in other metre, of which the best edition is that of Labbæus, Paris, 4to, 1652.——The epithet of Sidonius is applied not only to the natives of Sidon, but it is used to express the excellence of anything, especially embroidery or dyed garments. Carthage is called Sidonia urbs, because built by Sidonians. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, li. 682.

Siena Julia, a town of Etruria. Cicero, Brutus, ch. 18.—Tacitus, bk. 4, Histories, ch. 45.

♦Siga, now Ned-Roma, a town of Numidia, famous as the residence of Syphax. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 11.

♦ ‘Sida’ replaced with ‘Siga’

Sigæum, or Sigēum, now cape Incihisari, a town of Troas, on a promontory of the same name, where the Scamander falls into the sea, extending six miles along the shore. It was near Sigæum that the greatest part of the battles between the Greeks and Trojans were fought, as Homer mentions, and there Achilles was buried. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 2, li. 312; bk. 7, li. 294.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 71.—Lucan, bk. 9, li. 962.—Mela, bk. 1, ch. 18.—Strabo, bk. 13.—Dictys Cretensis, bk. 5, ch. 12.

Signia, an ancient town of Latium, whose inhabitants were called Signini. The wine of Signia was used by the ancients for medicinal purposes. Martial, bk. 13, ltr. 116.——A mountain of Phrygia. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 29.

Sigovessus, a prince among the Celtæ, in the reign of Tarquin. Livy, bk. 5, ch. 34.

Sigȳni, Sigunæ, or Sigynnæ, a nation of European Scythia, beyond the Danube. Herodotus, bk. 5, ch. 9.

Sila, or Syla, a large wood in the country of the Brutii near the Apennines, abounding in much pitch. Strabo, bk. 6.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 12, li. 713.

Silāna Julia, a woman at the court of Nero, remarkable for her licentiousness and impurities. She married Caius Julius, by whom she was divorced.

Decimus Silānus, a son of Titus Manlius Torquatus, accused of extortion in the management of the province of Macedonia. The father himself desired to hear the complaints laid against his son, and after he had spent two days in examining the charges of the Macedonians, he pronounced on the third day his son guilty of extortion, and unworthy to be called a citizen of Rome. He also banished him from his presence, and so struck was the son at the severity of his father, that he hanged himself on the following night. Livy, bk. 54.—Cicero, de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum.—Valerius Maximus, bk. 5, ch. 8.——Caius Junius, a consul under Tiberius, accused of extortion, and banished to the island of Cythere. Tacitus.——Marcus, a lieutenant of Cæsar’s armies in Gaul.——The father-in-law of Caligula. Suetonius, Caligula, ch. 22.——A propretor in Spain, who routed the Carthaginian forces there, while Annibal was in Italy.——Turpilius, a lieutenant of Metellus against Jugurtha. He was accused by Marius, though totally innocent, and condemned by the malice of his judges.——Torquatus, a man put to death by Nero.——Lucius, a man betrothed to Octavia the daughter of Claudius. Nero took Octavia away from him, and on the day of her nuptials, ♦Silanus killed himself.——An augur in the army of the 10,000 Greeks, at their return from Cunaxa.

♦ ‘Salinus’ replaced with ‘Silanus’

Sĭlărus, a river of Picenum, rising in the Apennine mountains, and falling into the Tyrrhene sea. Its waters, as it is reported, petrified all leaves that fell into it. Strabo, bk. 5.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 4.—Virgil, Georgics, bk. 3, li. 146.—Pliny, bk. 2, ch. 103.—Silius Italicus, bk. 2, li. 582.

Silēni, a people on the banks of the Indus. Pliny, bk. 6, ch. 20.

Silēnus, a demi-god, who became the nurse, the preceptor, and attendant of the god Bacchus. He was, as some suppose, son of Pan, or, according to others, of Mercury, or of Terra. Malea in Lesbos was the place of his birth. After death he received divine honours, and had a temple in Elis. Silenus is generally represented as a fat and jolly old man, riding on an ass, crowned with flowers, and always intoxicated. He was once found by some peasants in Phrygia, after he had lost his way, and could not follow Bacchus, and he was carried to king Midas, who received him with great attention. He detained him for 10 days, and afterwards restored him to Bacchus, for which he was rewarded with the power of turning into gold whatever he touched. Some authors assert that Silenus was a philosopher, who accompanied Bacchus in his Indian expedition, and assisted him by the soundness of his counsels. From this circumstance, therefore, he is often introduced speaking with all the gravity of a philosopher concerning the formation of the world, and the nature of things. The Fauns in general, and the Satyrs, are often called Sileni. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 25; bk. 6, ch. 24.—Philostratus, bk. 23.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 4.—Hyginus, fable 191.—Diodorus, bk. 3, &c.—Cicero, Tusculanæ Disputationes, bk. 1, ch. 48.—Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 3, ch. 18.—Virgil, Eclogues, poem 6, li. 13.——A Carthaginian historian who wrote an account of the affairs of his country in the Greek language.——An historian who wrote an account of Sicily.

Silicense, a river of Spain.

Silicis mons, a town near Padua.

Silis, a river of Venetia in Italy, falling into the Adriatic. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 18.

Catius Silius Italĭcus, a Latin poet, who was originally at the bar, where he for some time distinguished himself, till he retired from Rome more particularly to consecrate his time to study. He was consul the year that Nero was murdered. Pliny has observed, that when Trajan was invested with the imperial purple, Silius refused to come to Rome and congratulate him like the rest of his fellow-citizens, a neglect which was never resented by the emperor, or insolently mentioned by the poet. ♦Silius was in possession of a house where Cicero had lived, and another in which was the tomb of Virgil, and it has been justly remarked, that he looked upon no temple with greater reverence than upon the sepulchre of the immortal poet, whose steps he followed, but whose fame he could not equal. The birthday of Virgil was yearly celebrated with unusual pomp and solemnity by Silius; and for his partiality, not only to the memory, but to the compositions of the Mantuan poet, he has been called the ape of Virgil. Silius starved himself when labouring under an imposthume which his physicians were unable to remove, in the beginning of Trajan’s reign, about the 75th year of his age. There remains a poem of Italicus, on the second Punic war, divided into 17 books, greatly commended by Martial. The moderns have not been so favourable in their opinions concerning its merit. The poetry is weak and inelegant, yet the author deserves to be commended for his purity, the authenticity of his narrations, and his interesting descriptions. He has everywhere imitated Virgil, but with little success. ♦Silius was a great collector of antiquities. His son was honoured with the consulship during his lifetime. The best editions of Italicus will be found to be Drakenborch’s in 4to, Utrecht, 1717, and that of Cellarius, 8vo, Lipscomb, 1695. Martial, bk. 11, ltr. 49, &c.——Caius, a man of consular dignity, greatly beloved by Messalina for his comely appearance and elegant address. Messalina obliged him to divorce his wife, that she might enjoy his company without intermission. Silius was forced to comply, though with reluctance, and he was at last put to death for the adulteries which the empress obliged him to commit. Tacitus.—Suetonius.—Dio Cassius.——A tribune in Cæsar’s legions in Gaul.——A commander in Germany, put to death by Sejanus. Tacitus, Annals, bks. ♠3 & 4.