Vacatione (lex de), was enacted concerning the exemption from military service, and contained this very remarkable clause, nisi bellum Gallicum exoriatur, in which case the priests themselves were not exempted from service. This can intimate how apprehensive the Romans were of the Gauls, by whom their city had once been taken.
Vacca, a town of Numidia. Sallust, Jugurthine War.——A river of Spain.
Vaccæi, a people at the north of Spain. Livy, bk. 21, ch. 5; bk. 35, ch. 7; bk. 46, ch. 47.
Vaccus, a general, &c. Livy, bk. 8, ch. 19.
Vacūna, a goddess at Rome, who presided over repose and leisure, as the word indicates (vacare). Her festivals were observed in the month of December. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 6, li. 307.—Horace, bk. 1, ltr. 10, li. 49.
Vadimōnis lacus, now Bassano, a lake of Etruria, whose waters were sulphureous. The Etrurians were defeated there by the Romans, and the Gauls by Dolabella. Livy, bk. 9, ch. 39.—Florus, bk. 1, ch. 13.—Pliny, bk. 8, ltr. 20.
Vaga, a town of Africa. Silius Italicus, bk. 3, li. 259.
Vagedrūsa, a river of Sicily between the towns of Camarina and Gela. Silius Italicus, bk. 14, li. 229.
Vagellius, an obscene lawyer of Mutina. Juvenal, satire 16, li. 23.
Vagēni, or Vagienni, a people of Liguria, at the sources of the Po, whose capital was called Augusta Vagiennorum. Silius Italicus, bk. 8, li. 606.
Vahālis, a river of modern Holland, now called the Waal. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 2, ch. 6.
Vala Caius Numonius, a friend of Horace, to whom the poet addressed bk. 1, ltr. 15.
Valens Flavius, a son of Gratian, born in Pannonia. His brother Valentinian took him as his colleague on the throne, and appointed him over the eastern parts of the Roman empire. The bold measures and the threats of the rebel Procopius frightened the new emperor; and if his friends had not interfered, he would have willingly resigned all his pretensions to the empire which his brother had entrusted to his care. By perseverance, however, Valens was enabled to destroy his rival, and to distinguish himself in his wars against the northern barbarians. But his lenity to these savage intruders proved fatal to the Roman power; and by permitting some of the Goths to settle in the provinces of Thrace, and to have free access to every part of the country, Valens encouraged them to make depredations on his subjects, and to disturb their tranquillity. His eyes were opened too late; he attempted to repel them, but he failed in the attempt. A bloody battle was fought, in which the barbarians obtained some advantage, and Valens was hurried away by the obscurity of the night, and the affection of the soldiers for his person, into a lonely house, which the Goths set on fire. Valens, unable to make his escape, was burnt alive in the 50th year of his age, after a reign of 13 years, A.D. 378. He has been blamed for his superstition and cruelty, in putting to death all such of his subjects whose name began by Theod, because he had been informed by his favourite astrologers that his crown would devolve upon the head of an officer whose name began with these letters. Valens did not possess any of the great qualities which distinguish a good and powerful monarch. He was illiterate, and of a disposition naturally indolent and inactive. Yet though timorous in the highest degree, he was warlike; and though fond of ease, he was acquainted with the character of his officers, and preferred none but such as possessed merit. He was a great friend to discipline, a pattern of chastity and temperance, and he showed himself always ready to listen to the just complaints of his subjects, though he gave an attentive ear to flattery and malevolent informations. Ammianus, &c.——Valerius, a proconsul of Achaia, who proclaimed himself emperor of Rome, when Marcian, who had been invested with the purple in the east, attempted to assassinate him. He reigned only six months, and was murdered by his soldiers, A.D. 261.——Fabius, a friend of Vitellius, whom he saluted emperor, in opposition to Otho. He was greatly honoured by Vitellius, &c.——A general of the emperor Honorius.——The name of the second Mercury mentioned by Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 3, ch. 22, but considered as more properly belonging to Jupiter.
Valentia, one of the ancient names of Rome.——A town of Spain, a little below Saguntum, founded by Julius Brutus, and for some time known by the name of Julia Collonia.——A town of Italy.——Another, in Sardinia.
Valentiniānus I., a son of Gratian, raised to the imperial throne by his merit and valour. He kept the western part of the empire for himself, and appointed over the east his brother Valens. He gave the most convincing proof of his military valour in the victories which he obtained over the barbarians in the provinces of Gaul, the deserts of Africa, and on the banks of the Rhine and the Danube. The insolence of the Quadi he punished with great severity; and when these desperate and indigent barbarians had deprecated the conqueror’s mercy, Valentinian treated them with contempt, and upbraided them with every mark of resentment. While he spoke with such warmth, he broke a blood-vessel, and fell lifeless on the ground. He was conveyed into his palace by his attendants, and soon after died, after suffering the greatest agonies, from violent fits and contortions of his limbs, on the 17th of November, A.D. 375. He was then in the 55th year of his age, and had reigned 12 years. He has been represented by some as cruel and covetous in the highest degree. He was naturally of an irascible disposition, and he gratified his pride in expressing a contempt for those who were his equals in military abilities, or who shone for gracefulness or elegance of address. Ammianus.
Valentinianus II., second son of Valentinian I., was proclaimed emperor about six days after his father’s death, though only five years old. He succeeded his brother, Gratian, A.D. 383, but his youth seemed to favour dissension, and the attempts and the usurpations of rebels. He was robbed of his throne by Maximus, four years after the death of Gratian; and in this helpless situation he had recourse to Theodosius, who was then emperor of the east. He was successful in his applications; Maximus was conquered by Theodosius, and Valentinian entered Rome in triumph, accompanied by his benefactor. He was some time after strangled by one of his officers, a native of Gaul, called Arbogastes, in whom he had placed too much confidence, and from whom he expected more deference than the ambition of a barbarian could pay. Valentinian reigned nine years. This happened the 15th of May, A.D. 392, at Vienne, one of the modern towns of France. He has been commended for his many virtues, and the applause which the populace bestowed upon him was bestowed upon real merit. He abolished the greatest part of the taxes; and because his subjects complained that he was too fond of the amusements of the circus, he ordered all such festivals to be abolished, and all the wild beasts that were kept for the entertainment of the people to be slain. He was remarkable for his benevolence and clemency, not only to his friends, but even to such as had conspired against his life; and he used to say that tyrants alone are suspicious. He was fond of imitating the virtues and exemplary life of his friend and patron Theodosius, and if he had lived longer, the Romans might have enjoyed peace and security.
Valentinianus III., was son of Constantius and Placidia the daughter of Theodosius the Great, and therefore, as related to the imperial family, he was saluted emperor in his youth, and publicly acknowledged as such at Rome, the 3rd of October, A.D. 423, about the sixth year of his age. He was at first governed by his mother, and the intrigues of his generals and courtiers; and when he came to years of discretion, he disgraced himself by violence, oppression, and incontinence. He was murdered in the midst of Rome, A.D. 454, in the 36th year of his age, and 31st of his reign, by Petronius Maximus, to whose wife he had offered violence. The vices of Valentinian III. were conspicuous; every passion he wished to gratify at the expense of his honour, his health, and character; and as he lived without one single act of benevolence or kindness, he died lamented by none, though pitied for his imprudence and vicious propensities. He was the last of the family of Theodosius.
Valentinianus, a son of the emperor Gratian, who died when very young.
Valeria, a sister of Publicola, who advised the Roman matrons to go and deprecate the resentment of Coriolanus. Plutarch, Coriolanus.——A daughter of Publicola, given as a hostage to Porsenna by the Romans. She fled from the enemy’s country with Clœlia, and swam across the Tiber. Plutarch, de Mulierum Virtutibus.——A daughter of Messala, sister to Hortensius, who married Sylla.——The wife of the emperor Valentinian.——The wife of the emperor Galerius, &c.——A road in Sicily, which led from Messana to Lilybæum.——A town of Spain. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 3.
Valeria lex, de provocatione, by Publius Valerius Poplicola the sole consul, A.U.C. 245. It permitted the appeal from a magistrate to the people, and forbade the magistrate to punish a citizen for making the appeal. It further made it a capital crime for a citizen to aspire to the sovereignty of Rome, or to exercise any office without the choice and approbation of the people. Valerius Maximus, bk. 4, ch. 1.—Livy, bk. 2, ch. 8.—Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 4.——Another, de debitoribus, by Valerius Flaccus. It required that all creditors should discharge their debtors, on receiving a fourth part of the whole sum.——Another, by Marcus Valerius Corvinus, A.U.C. 453, which confirmed the first Valerian law, enacted by Poplicola.——Another, called also Horatia, by Lucius Valerius and Marcus Horatius the consuls, A.U.C. 305. It revived the first Valerian law, which, under the triumvirate, had lost its force.——Another, de magistratibus, by Publius Valerius Poplicola sole consul, A.U.C. 245. It created two questors to take care of the public treasure, which was for the future to be kept in the temple of Saturn. Plutarch, Publicola.—Livy, bk. 2.
Valeriānus Publius Licinius, a Roman, proclaimed emperor by the armies in Rhætia, A.D. 254. The virtues which shone in him when a private man, were lost when he ascended the throne. Formerly distinguished for his temperance, moderation, and many virtues, which fixed the uninfluenced choice of all Rome upon him, Valerian, invested with the purple, displayed inability and meanness. He was cowardly in his operations, and though acquainted with war, and the patron of science, he seldom acted with prudence, or favoured men of true genius and merit. He took his son Gallienus as his colleague in the empire, and showed the malevolence of his heart by persecuting the christians whom he had for a while tolerated. He also made war against the Goths and Scythians; but in an expedition which he undertook against Sapor king of Persia, his arms were attended with ill success. He was conquered in Mesopotamia, and when he wished to have a private conference with Sapor, the conqueror seized his person, and carried him in triumph to his capital, where he exposed him, and in all the cities of his empire, to the ridicule and insolence of his subjects. When the Persian monarch mounted on horseback, Valerian served as a footstool, and the many other insults which he suffered excited indignation even among the courtiers of Sapor. The monarch at last ordered him to be flayed alive, and salt to be thrown over his mangled body, so that he died in the greatest torments. His skin was tanned, and painted in red; and that the ignominy of the Roman empire might be lasting, it was nailed in one of the temples of Persia. Valerian died in the 71st year of his age, A.D. 260, after a reign of seven years.——A grandson of Valerian the emperor. He was put to death when his father, the emperor Gallienus, was killed.——One of the generals of the usurper Niger.——A worthy senator, put to death by Heliogabalus.
Valerius Publius, a celebrated Roman surnamed Poplicola, from his popularity. He was very active in assisting Brutus to expel the Tarquins, and he was the first that took an oath to support the liberty and independence of his country. Though he had been refused the consulship, and had retired with great dissatisfaction from the direction of affairs, yet he regarded the public opinion; and when the jealousy of the Romans inveighed against the towering appearance of his house, he acknowledged the reproof, and in making it lower, he showed his wish to be on a level with his fellow-citizens, and not to erect what might be considered as a citadel for the oppression of his country. He was afterwards honoured with the consulship, on the expulsion of Collatinus, and he triumphed over the Etrurians, after he had gained the victory in the battle in which Brutus and the sons of Tarquin had fallen. Valerius died after he had been four times consul, and enjoyed the popularity, and received the thanks and the gratitude, which people redeemed from slavery and oppression usually pay to their patrons and deliverers. He was so poor, that his body was buried at the public expense. The Roman matrons mourned his death a whole year. Plutarch, Lives.—Florus, bk. 1, ch. 9.—Livy, bk. 3, ch. 8, &c.——Corvinus, a tribune of the soldiers under Camillus. When the Roman army were challenged by one of the Senones, remarkable for his strength and stature, Valerius undertook to engage him, and obtained an easy victory, by means of a crow that assisted him, and attacked the face of the Gaul, whence his surname of Corvinus. Valerius triumphed over the Etrurians, and the neighbouring states that made war against Rome, and was six times honoured with the consulship. He died in the 100th year of his age, admired and regretted for many public and private virtues. Valerius Maximus, bk. 8, ch. 13.—Livy, bk. 7, ch. 27, &c.—Plutarch, Caius Marius.—Cicero, Against Catiline.——Antias, an excellent Roman historian often quoted, and particularly by Livy.——Marcus Corvinus Messala, a Roman, made consul with Augustus. He distinguished himself by his learning as well as military virtues. He lost his memory about two years before his death, and according to some, he was even ignorant of his own name. Suetonius, Augustus.—Cicero, Brutus.——Soranus, a Latin poet in the age of Julius Cæsar, put to death for betraying a secret. He acknowledged no god, but the soul of the universe.——Maximus, a brother of Poplicola.——A Latin historian who carried arms under the sons of Pompey. He dedicated his time to study, and wrote an account of all the most celebrated sayings and actions of the Romans, and other illustrious persons, which is still extant, and divided into nine books. It is dedicated to Tiberius. Some have supposed that he lived after the age of Tiberius, from the want of purity and elegance which so conspicuously appear in his writings, unworthy of the correctness of the golden age of the Roman literature. The best editions of Valerius are those of Torrenius, 4to, Leiden, 1726, and of Vorstius, 8vo, Berlin, 1672.——Marcus, a brother of Poplicola, who defeated the army of the Sabines in two battles. He was honoured with a triumph, and the Romans, to show the sense of his great merit, built him a house on mount Palatine, at the public expense.——Potitus, a general who stirred up the people and army against the decemvirs, and Appius Claudius in particular. He was chosen consul, and conquered the Volsci and Æqui.——Flaccus, a Roman, intimate with Cato the censor, whose friendship he honourably shared. He was consul with him, and cut off an army of 10,000 of the Insubres and Boii in Gaul, in one battle. He was also chosen censor, and prince of the senate, &c.——A Latin poet who flourished under Vespasian. He wrote a poem in eight books on the Argonautic expedition, but it remained unfinished on account of his premature death. The Argonauts were there left on the sea in their return home. Some critics have been lavish in their praises upon Flaccus, and have called him the second poet of Rome, after Virgil. His poetry, however, is deemed by some frigid and languishing, and his style uncouth and inelegant. The best editions of Flaccus are those of Burman, Leiden, 1724, and 12mo, Utrecht, 1702.——Asiaticus, a celebrated Roman, accused of having murdered one of the relations of the emperor Claudius. He was condemned by the intrigues of Messalina, though innocent, and he opened his veins, and bled to death. Tacitus, Annals.——A friend of Vitellius.——Fabianus, a youth condemned under Nero, for counterfeiting the will of one of his friends, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 14, ch. 42.——Lævinus, a consul who fought against Pyrrhus during the Tarentine war. See: Lævinus.——Præconius, a lieutenant of Cæsar’s army in Gaul, slain in a skirmish.——Paulinus, a friend of Vespasian, &c.
Valerus, a friend of Turnus against Æneas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 752.
Valgius Rufus, a Roman poet in the Augustan age, celebrated for his writings. He was very intimate with Horace. Tibullus, ♦bk. 1, li. 180.—Horace, bk. 1, satire 10, li. 82.
♦ removed extraneous ‘3’
Vandalii, a people of Germany. Tacitus, Germania, ch. 3.
Vangiŏnes, a people of Germany. Their capital, Borbetomagus, is now called Worms. Lucan, bk. 1, li. 431.—Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 1, ch. 51.
Vannia, a town of Italy, north of the Po, now called Civita.
Vannius, a king of the Suevi, banished under Claudius, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 12, ch. 29.
Vapineum, a town of Gaul.
Varanes, a name common to some of the Persian monarchs, in the age of the Roman emperors.
Vardæi, a people of Dalmatia. Cicero, Letters to his Friends, bk. 5, ltr. 9.
Varia, a town of Latium.
Varia lex, de majestate, by the tribune ♦Quintus Varius, A.U.C. 662. It ordained that all such as had assisted the confederates in their war against Rome, should be publicly tried.——Another, de civiate, by Quintus Varius Hybrida. It punished all such as were suspected of having assisted or supported the people of Italy in their petition to become free citizens of Rome. Cicero, For Milo, ch. 36; Brutus, chs. 56, 88, &c.
♦ ‘L. Varrus’ replaced with ‘Quintus Varius’
Varīni, a people of Germany. Tacitus, Germania, ch. 40.
Varisti, a people of Germany.
Lucius Varius, or Varus, a tragic poet intimate with Horace and Virgil. He was one of those whom Augustus appointed to revise Virgil’s Æneid. Some fragments of his poetry are still extant. Besides tragedies, he wrote a panegyric on the emperor. Quintilian says, bk. 10, that his Thyestes was equal to any composition of the Greek poets. Horace, bk. 1, satire 5, li. 40.——A man who raised his reputation by the power of his oratory. Cicero, On Oratory, bk. 1, ch. 25.——One of the friends of Antony, surnamed Cotylon.——A man in the reign of Otho, punished for his adulteries, &c.
Varro Marcus Terentius, a Roman consul defeated at Cannæ, by Annibal. See: Terentius. A Latin writer, celebrated for his great learning. He wrote no less than 500 different volumes, which are all now lost, except a treatise de Re Rusticâ, and another de Linguâ Latinâ, in five books, written in his 80th year, and dedicated to the orator Cicero. He was Pompey’s lieutenant in his piratical wars, and obtained a naval crown. In the civil wars he was taken by Cæsar and proscribed, but he escaped. He has been greatly commended by Cicero for his erudition, and St. Augustin says that it cannot but be wondered how Varro, who read such a number of books, could find time to compose so many volumes; and how he who composed so many volumes, could be at leisure to peruse such a variety of books, and gain so much literary information. He died B.C. 28, in the 88th year of his age. The best edition of Varro is that of Dordrac, 8vo, 1619. Cicero, Academica, &c.—Quintilian.——Atacinus, a native of Gaul, in the age of Julius Cæsar. He translated into Latin verse the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius, with great correctness and elegance. He also wrote a poem entitled de Bello Sequanico, besides epigrams and elegies. Some fragments of his poetry are still extant. He failed in his attempt to write satire. Horace, bk. 1, satire 10, li. 46.—Ovid, Amores, bk. 1, li. 15.—Quintilian, bk. 10, ch. 1.
Varrōnis villa, now Vicovaro, was situate on the Anio, in the country of the Sabines. Cicero, Philippics, bk. 2, ltr. 41.
Varus Quintilius, a Roman proconsul, descended from an illustrious family. He was appointed governor of Syria, and afterwards made commander of the armies in Germany. He was surprised by the enemy, under Arminius, a crafty and dissimulating chief, and his army was cut to pieces. When he saw that everything was lost, he killed himself, A.D. 10, and his example was followed by some of his officers. His head was afterwards sent to Augustus at Rome, by one of the barbarian chiefs, as also his body; and so great was the influence of this defeat upon the emperor, that he continued for whole months to show all the marks of dejection, and of deep sorrow, often exclaiming, “O Varus, restore me my legions!” The bodies of the slain were left in the field of battle, where they were found six years after by Germanicus, and buried with great pomp. Varus has been taxed with indolence and cowardice, and some have intimated, that if he had not trusted too much to the insinuations of the barbarian chiefs, he might have not only escaped ruin, but awed the Germans to their duty. His avarice was also conspicuous; he went poor to Syria, whence he returned loaded with riches. Horace, bk. 1, ode 24.—Paterculus, bk. 2, ch. 117.—Florus, bk. 4, ch. 12.—Virgil, Eclogues, poem 6.——A son of Varus, who married a daughter of Germanicus. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 4, ch. 6.——The father and grandfather of Varus, who was killed in Germany, slew themselves with their own swords, the one after the battle of Philippi, and the other in the plains of Pharsalia.——Quintilius, a friend of Horace, and other great men in the Augustan age. He was a good judge of poetry, and a great critic, as Horace, Art of Poetry, li. 438, seems to insinuate. The poet has addressed the 18th ode of his first book to him, and in the 24th he mourns pathetically his death. Some suppose this Varus to be the person killed in Germany, while others believe him to be a man who devoted his time more to the muses than to war. See: Varius.——Lucius, an epicurean philosopher, intimate with Julius Cæsar. Some suppose that it was to him that Virgil inscribed his sixth eclogue. He is commended by Quintilian, bk. 6, chs. 3, 78.——Alfrenus, a Roman, who, though originally a shoemaker, became consul, and distinguished himself by his abilities as an orator. He was buried at the public expense, an honour granted to few, and only to persons of merit. Horace, bk. 1, satire 3.——Accius, one of the friends of Cato in Africa, &c.——A river which falls into the Mediterranean, to the west of Nice, after separating Liguria from Gallia Narbonensis. Lucan, bk. 1, li. 404.
Vasates, a people of Gaul.
Vascŏnes, a people of Spain, on the Pyrenees. They were so reduced by a famine by Metellus, that they fed on human flesh. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 3.—Ausonius, bk. 2, li. 100.—Juvenal, satire 15, li. 93.
Vasio, a town of Gaul in modern Provence. Cicero, Letters to his Friends, bk. 10, ltr. 34.
Vaticānus, a hill at Rome, near the Tiber and the Janiculum, which produced wine of no great esteem. It was disregarded by the Romans on account of the unwholesomeness of the air, and the continual stench of the filth that was there, and of stagnated waters. Heliogabalus was the first who cleared it of all disagreeable nuisances. It is now admired for ancient monuments and pillars, for a celebrated public library, and for the palace of the pope. Horace, bk. 1, ode 20.
Vătiēnus, now Saterno, a river rising in the Alps and falling into the Po. Martial, bk. 3, ltr. 67.—Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 16.
Vātinia lex, de provinciis, by the tribune Publius Vatinius, A.U.C. 694. It appointed Cæsar governor of Gallia Cisalpina and Illyricum, for five years, without a decree of the senate, or the usual custom of casting lots. Some persons were also appointed to attend him as lieutenants without the interference of the senate. His army was to be paid out of the public treasury, and he was empowered to plant a Roman colony in the town of Novocomum in Gaul.——Another by Publius Vatinius the tribune, A.U.C. 694, de repetundis, for the better management of the trial of those who were accused of extortion.
Vatinius, an intimate friend of Cicero, once distinguished for his enmity to the orator. He hated the people of Rome for their great vices and corruption, whence excessive hatred became proverbial in the words Vatinianum odium. Catullus, bk. 14, li. 3.——A shoemaker, ridiculed for his deformities, and the oddity of his character. He was one of Nero’s favourites, and he surpassed the rest of the courtiers in flattery, and in the commission of every impious deed. Large cups, of no value, are called Vatiniana from him, because he used one which was both ill-shaped and uncouth. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 13, ch. 34.—Juvenal.—Martial, bk. 14, ltr. 96.
Ubii, a people of Germany near the Rhine, transported across the river by Agrippa, who gave them the name of Agrippinenses, from his daughter Agrippina, who had been born in the country. Their chief town, Ubiorum oppidum, is now Cologne. Tacitus, Germania, ch. 28; Annals, bk. 12, ch. 27.—Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 17.—Cæsar, bk. 4, ch. 30.
Ucălĕgon, a Trojan chief, remarkable for his great age, and praised for the soundness of his counsels and his good intentions, though accused by some of betraying his country to the enemy. His house was first set on fire by the Greeks. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 2, li. 312.—Homer, Iliad, bk. 3, li. 148.
Ucetia, a town of Gaul.
Ucubis, now Lucubi, a town of Spain. Hirtius.
Udina, or Vedĭnum, now Udino, a town of Italy.
Vectis, the isle of Wight, south of Britain. Suetonius, Claudius, ch. 5.
Vectius, a rhetorician, &c. Juvenal, satire 7, li. 150.
Vectones. See: Vettones.
Vedius Pollio, a friend of Augustus, very cruel to his servants, &c. See: Pollio.——Aquila, an officer at the battle of Bebriacum, &c. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 2, ch. 44.
Vegetius, a Latin writer, who flourished B.C. 386. The best edition of his treatise de Re Militari, together with Modestus, is that of Paris, 4to, 1607.
Vegia, an island on the coast of Dalmatia.
Veia, a sorceress, in the age of Horace, epode 5, li. 29.
Veianus, a gladiator, in the age of Horace, bk. 1, ltr. 1, li. 4.
Veientes, the inhabitants of Veii. They were carried to Rome, where the tribe they composed was called Veientina. See: Veii.
Veiento Fabricius, a Roman, as arrogant as he was satirical. Nero banished him for his libellous writings. Juvenal, satire 3, li. 185.
Veii, a powerful city of Etruria, at the distance of about 12 miles from Rome. It sustained many long wars against the Romans, and was at last taken and destroyed by Camillus, after a siege of 10 years. At the time of its destruction, Veii was larger and far more magnificent than the city of Rome. Its situation was so eligible, that the Romans, after the burning of the city by the Gauls, were long inclined to migrate there, and totally abandon their native home; and this would have been carried into execution, if not opposed by the authority and eloquence of Camillus. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 2, li. 195.—Cicero, De Divinatione, bk. 1, ch. 44.—Horace, bk. 2, satire 3, li. 143.—Livy, bk. 5, ch. 21, &c.
Vejŏvis, or Vejupĭter, a deity of ill omen at Rome. He had a temple on the Capitoline hill built by Romulus. Some suppose that he was the same as Jupiter the infant, or in the cradle, because he was represented without thunder, or a sceptre, and had only by his side the goat Amalthæa, and the Cretan nymph who fed him when young. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 3, li. 430.
Velabrum, a marshy piece of ground on the side of the Tiber, between the Aventine, Palatine, and Capitoline hills, which Augustus drained, and where he built houses. The place was frequented as a market, where oil, cheese, and other commodities were exposed to sale. Horace, bk. 2, satire 3, li. 229.—Ovid, Fasti, bk. 6, li. 401.—Tibullus, bk. 2, poem 5, li. 33.—Plautus, bk. 3, Captivi, ch. 1, li. 29.
Velanius, one of Cæsar’s officers in Gaul, &c.
Velauni, a people of Gaul.
Velia, a maritime town of Lucania, founded by a colony of Phoceans, about 600 years after the coming of Æneas into Italy. The port in its neighbourhood was called Velinus portus. Strabo, bk. 6.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 4.—Cicero, Philippics, bk. 10, ch. 4.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 366.——An eminence near the Roman forum, where Poplicola built himself a house. Livy, bk. 2, ch. 6.—Cicero, bk. 7, Letters to Atticus, ltr. 15.
Velica, or Vellica, a town of the Cantabri.
Velīna, a part of the city of Rome, adjoining mount Palatine. It was also one of the Roman tribes. Horace, bk. 1, ltr. 6, li. 52.—Cicero, bk. 4, Letters to Atticus, ltr. 15.
Velīnus, a lake in the country of the Sabines, formed by the stagnant waters of the Velinus, between some hills near Reate. The river Velinus rises in the Apennines, and after it has formed the lake, it falls into the Nar, near Spoletium. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 517.—Cicero, De Divinatione, bk. 1, ch. 36.
Veliocassi, a people of Gaul.
Veliterna, or Velitræ, an ancient town of Latium on the Appian road, 20 miles at the east of Rome. The inhabitants were called Veliterni. It became a Roman colony. Livy, bk. 8, ch. 12, &c.—Suetonius Augustus.—Silius Italicus, bk. 8, li. 378, &c.
Vellari, a people of Gaul.
Vellaunodūnum, a town of the Senones, now Beaune. Cæsar, ♦Gallic War, bk. 7, ch. 11.
♦ Book name omitted from text.
Velleda, a woman famous among the Germans, in the age of Vespasian, and worshipped as a deity. Tacitus, Germania, ch. 8.
Velleius Paterculus, a Roman historian, descended from an equestrian family of Campania. He was at first a military tribune in the Roman armies, and for nine years served under Tiberius in the various expeditions which he undertook in Gaul and Germany. Velleius wrote an epitome of the history of Greece, and of Rome, and of other nations of the most remote antiquity, but of this authentic composition there remain only fragments of the history of Greece and Rome from the conquest of Perseus, by Paulus, to the 17th year of the reign of Tiberius, in two books. It is a judicious account of celebrated men and illustrious cities; the historian is happy in his descriptions, and accurate in his dates; his pictures are true, and his narrations lively and interesting. The whole is candid and impartial, but only till the reign of the Cæsars, when the writer began to be influenced by the presence of the emperor, or the power of his favourites. Paterculus is deservedly censured for his invectives against Cicero and Pompey, and his encomiums on the cruel Tiberius, and the unfortunate Sejanus. Some suppose that he was involved in the ruin of this disappointed courtier, whom he had extolled as a pattern of virtue and morality. The best editions of Paterculus are those of Ruhnkenius, 8vo, 2 vols., Leiden, 1779; of Barbou, Paris, 12mo, 1777; and of Burman, 8vo, Leiden, 1719.——Caius, the grandfather of the historian of that name, was one of the friends of Livia. He killed himself when old and unable to accompany Livia in her flight.
Velocasses, the people of Vexin, in Normandy. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 2, ch. 4.
Venāfrum, a town of Campania near Arpinum, abounding in olive trees. It became a Roman colony. It had been founded by Diomedes. Horace, bk. 2, ode 6, li. 16.—Martial, bk. 13, ltr. 98.—Juvenal, satire 5, li. 86.—Strabo, bk. 5.—Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 5.
Venedi, a people of Germany, near the mouth of the Vistula, or gulf of Dantzic. Tacitus, Germania, ch. 46.—Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 13.
Veneli, a people of Gallia Celtica.
Venĕti, a people of Italy in Cisalpine Gaul, near the mouth of the Po. They were descended from a nation of Paphlagonia, who settled there under Antenor some time after the Trojan war. The Venetians, who have been long a powerful and commercial nation, were originally very poor, whence a writer in the age of the Roman emperors said, they had no other fence against the waves of the sea but hurdles, no food but fish, no wealth besides their fishing-boats, and no merchandise but salt. Strabo, bk. 4, &c.—Livy, bk. 1, ch. 1.—Mela, bk. 1, ch. 2; bk. 2, ch. 4.—Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 3, ch. 8.—Lucan, bk. 4, li. 134.—Silius Italicus, bk. 8, li. 605.——A nation of Gaul, at the south of Armorica, on the western coast, powerful by sea. Their chief city is now called Vannes. Cæsar, bk. 3, Gallic War, ch. 8.
Venĕtia, a part of Gaul, on the mouths of the Po. See: Veneti.
Venetus Paulus, a centurion who conspired against Nero with Piso, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 15, ch. 50.——A lake through which the Rhine passes, now Bodensee or Constance. Mela, bk. 3, ch. 2.
Vĕnīlia, a nymph, sister to Amata, and mother of Turnus by Daunus. Amphitrite the sea goddess is also called Venilia. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 76.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 14, li. 334.—Varro, de Lingua Latina, bk. 4, ch. 10.
Vennones, a people of the Rhæetian Alps.
Venonius, an historian mentioned by Cicero, Letters to Atticus, bk. 12, ltr. 3, &c.
Venta Belgarum, a town of Britain, now Winchester.——Silurum, a town of Britain, now Caerwent, in Monmouthshire.——Icenorum, now Norwich.
Venti. The ancients, and especially the Athenians, paid particular attention to the winds, and offered them sacrifices as to deities, intent upon the destruction of mankind, by continually causing storms, tempests, and earthquakes. The winds were represented in different attitudes and forms. The four principal winds were Eurus, the south-east, who is represented as a young man flying with great impetuosity, and often appearing in a playsome and wanton humour. Auster, the south wind, appeared generally as an old man with grey hair, a gloomy countenance, a head covered with clouds, a sable vesture, and dusky wings. He is the dispenser of rain, and of all heavy showers. Zephyrus is represented as the mildest of all the winds. He is young and gentle, and his lap is filled with vernal flowers. He married Flora the goddess, with whom he enjoyed the most perfect felicity. Boreas, or the north wind, appears always rough and shivering. He is the father of rain, snow, hail, and tempests, and is always represented as surrounded with impenetrable clouds. Those of inferior note were Solanus, whose name is seldom mentioned. He appeared as a young man holding fruit in his lap, such as peaches, oranges, &c. Africus, or south-west, is represented with black wings, and a melancholy countenance. Corus, or north-west, drives clouds of snow before him, and Aquilo, the north-east, is equally dreadful in appearance. The winds, according to some mythologists, were confined in a large cave, of which Æolus had the management; and without this necessary precaution, they would have overturned the earth, and reduced everything to its original chaos. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, li. 57, &c.
Ventĭdius Bassus, a native of Picenum, born of an obscure family. When Asculum was taken, he was carried before the triumphant chariot of Pompeius Strabo, hanging on his mother’s breast. A bold, aspiring soul, aided by the patronage of the family of Cæsar, raised him from the mean occupation of a chairman and muleteer to dignity in the state. He displayed valour in the Roman armies, and gradually arose to the offices of tribune, pretor, high priest, and consul. He made war against the Parthians, and conquered them in three great battles, B.C. 39. He was the first Roman ever honoured with a triumph over Parthia. He died greatly lamented by all the Roman people, and was buried at the public expense. Plutarch, Antonius.—Juvenal, satire 7, li. 199.——Cumanus, governor of Palestine, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 13, ch. 54.——Two brothers in the age of Pompey, who favoured Carbo’s interest, &c. Plutarch.
Venŭleius, a writer in the age of the emperor Alexander.——A friend of Verres. Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 3, ch. 42.
Venŭlus, one of the Latin elders sent into Magna Græcia to demand the assistance of Diomedes, &c. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 8, li. 9.
Vĕnus, one of the most celebrated deities of the ancients. She was the goddess of beauty, the mother of love, the queen of laughter, the mistress of the graces and of pleasures, and the patroness of courtesans. Some mythologists speak of more than one Venus. Plato mentions two, Venus Urania the daughter of Uranus, and Venus Popularia the daughter of Jupiter and Dione. Cicero speaks of four, a daughter of Cœlus and Light, one sprung from the froth of the sea, a third, daughter of Jupiter and the Nereid Dione, and a fourth born at Tyre, and the same as the Astarte of the Syrians. Of these, however, the Venus sprung from the froth of the sea, after the mutilated part of the body of Uranus had been thrown there by Saturn, is the most known, and of her in particular ancient mythologists, as well as painters, make mention. She arose from the sea near the island of Cyprus, or, according to Hesiod, of Cythera, whither she was wafted by the zephyrs, and received on the sea-shore by the seasons, daughters of Jupiter and Themis. She was soon after carried to heaven, where all the gods admired her beauty, and all the goddesses became jealous of her personal charms. Jupiter attempted to gain her affections and even wished to offer her violence, but Venus refused, and the god, to punish her obstinacy, gave her in marriage to his ugly and deformed son Vulcan. This marriage did not prevent the goddess of Love from gratifying her favourite passions, and she defiled her husband’s bed by her amours with the gods. Her intrigue with Mars is the most celebrated. She was caught in her lover’s arms, and exposed to the ridicule and laughter of all the gods. See: Alectryon. Venus became mother of Hermione, Cupid, and Anteros by Mars; by Mercury she had Hermaphroditus; by Bacchus, Priapus; and by Neptune, Eryx. Her great partiality for Adonis made her abandon the seats of Olympus [See: Adonis], and her regard for Anchises obliged her often to visit the woods and solitary retreats of mount Ida. See: Anchises, Æneas. The power of Venus over the heart was supported and assisted by a celebrated girdle, called zone by the Greeks, and cestus by the Latins. This mysterious girdle gave beauty, grace, and elegance, when worn even by the most deformed; and it excited love and rekindled extinguished flames. Juno herself was indebted to this powerful ornament to gain the favours of Jupiter, and Venus, though herself possessed of every charm, no sooner put on her cestus, than Vulcan, unable to resist the influence of love, forgot all the intrigues and infidelities of his wife, and fabricated arms even for her illegitimate children. The contest of Venus for the golden apple of Discord is well known. She gained the prize over Pallas and Juno [See: Paris, Discordia], and rewarded her impartial judge with the hand of the fairest woman in the world. The worship of Venus was universally established; statues and temples were erected to her in every kingdom, and the ancients were fond of paying homage to a divinity who presided over generation, and by whose influence alone mankind existed. In her sacrifices and in the festivals celebrated in her honour, too much licentiousness prevailed, and public prostitution was often part of the ceremony. Victims were seldom offered to her, or her altars stained with blood, though we find Aspasia making repeated sacrifices. No pigs, however, or male animals were deemed acceptable. The rose, the myrtle, and the apple, were sacred to Venus; and among birds, the dove, the swan, and the sparrow, were her favourites; and among fishes, those called the aphya and the lycostomus. The goddess of beauty was represented among the ancients in different forms. At Elis she appeared seated on a goat, with one foot resting on a tortoise. At Sparta and Cythera, she was represented armed like Minerva, and sometimes wearing chains on her feet. In the temple of Jupiter Olympius, she was represented by Phidias, as rising from the sea, received by love, and crowned by the goddess of persuasion. At Cnidos her statue, made by Praxiteles, represented her naked, with one hand hiding what modesty keeps concealed. Her statue at Elephantis was the same, with only a naked Cupid by her side. In Sicyon she held a poppy in one hand, and in the other an apple, while on her head she had a crown, which terminated in a point, to intimate the pole. She is generally represented with her son Cupid, on a chariot drawn by doves, or at other times by swans and sparrows. The surnames of the goddess are numerous, and only show how well established her worship was all over the earth. She was called Cypria, because particularly worshipped in the island of Cyprus, and in that character she was often represented with a beard, and the male parts of generation, with a sceptre in her hand, and the body and dress of a female, whence she is called duplex Amathusia by Catullus. She received the name of Paphia, because worshipped at Paphos, where she had a temple with an altar, on which rain never fell, though exposed in the open air. Some of the ancients called her Apostrophia or Epistrophia, as also Venus Urania, and Venus Pandemos. The first of these she received as presiding over wantonness and incestuous enjoyments; the second because she patronized pure love, and chaste and moderate gratifications; and the third because she favoured the propensities of the vulgar, and was fond of sensual pleasures. The Cnidians raised her temples under the name of Venus Acræa, of Doris, and of Euploea. In her temple under the name of Euploea, at Cnidos, was the most celebrated of her statues, being the most perfect piece of Praxiteles. It was made with white marble, and appeared so engaging, and so much like life, that, according to some historians, a youth of the place introduced himself in the night into her temple, and attempted to gratify his passions on the lifeless image. Venus was also surnamed Cytheræa, because she was the chief deity of Cythera; Exopolis, because her statue was without the city of Athens; Phallommeda, from her affection for the phallus; Philommedis, because the queen of laughter; Telessigama, because she presided over marriage; Caliada, Colotis, or Colias, because worshipped on a promontory of the same name in Attica; Area, because armed like Mars; Verticordia, because she could turn the hearts of women to cultivate chastity; Apaturia, because she deceived; Calva, because she was represented bald; Ericyna, because worshipped at Eryx; Etaira, because the patroness of courtesans; Acidalia, because of a fountain of Orchomenos: Basilea, because the queen of love; Myrtea, because the myrtle was sacred to her; Libertina, from her inclinations to gratify lust; Mechanitis, in allusion to the many artifices practised in love, &c., &c. As goddess of the sea, because born in the bosom of the waters, Venus was called Pontia, Marina, Limnesia, Epipontia, Pelagia, Saligenia, Pontogenia, Aligena, Thalassia, &c., and as rising from the sea, the name of Anadyomene is applied to her, and rendered immortal by the celebrated painting of Apelles, which represented her as issuing from the bosom of the waves, and wringing her tresses on her shoulder. See: Anadyomene. Cicero de Natura Deorum, bk. 2, ch. 27; bk. 3, ch. 23.—Orpheus, Hymn 54.—Hesiod, Theogony.—Sappho.—Homer, Hymn to Aphrodite, &c.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 5, li. 800, &c.—Ovid, Heroides, poems 15, 16, 19, &c.; Metamorphoses, bk. 4, fable 5, &c.—Diodorus, bks. 1 & 5.—Hyginus, fables 94, 271.—Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 1; bk. 4, ch. 30; bk. 5, ch. 18.—Martial, bk. 6, ltr. 13.—Euripides, Helen, Iphigeneia in Taurus.—Plutarch, Amatorius.—Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 12, ch. 1.—Athenæus, bk. 12, &c.—Catullus.—Lactantius, de Falsa Religione.—Quintus Calaber [Smyrnæus], bk. 11.—Lucian, Dialogi, &c.—Strabo, bk. 14.—Tacitus, Annals, bk. 3, &c.—Valerius Maximus, bk. 8, ch. 11.—Pliny, bk. 36.—Horace, bk. 3, ode 26; bk. 4, ode 11, &c.——A planet called by the Greeks Phosphorus, and by the Latins Lucifer, when it rises before the sun, but when it follows it, Hesperus or Vesper. Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 2, ch. 20; Somnium Scipionis.
Venus Pyrenæa, a town of Spain near the borders of Gaul.
Venŭsia, or Venŭsium, a town of Apulia, where Horace was born. Part of the Roman army fled thither after the defeat at Cannæ. The town, though in ruins, contains still many pieces of antiquity, especially a marble bust preserved in the great square, and said falsely to be an original representation of Horace. Venusia was on the confines of Lucania, whence the poet said Lucanus an Apulus anceps, and it was founded by Diomedes, who called it Venusia or Aphrodisia, after Venus, whose divinity he wished to appease. Strabo, bks. 5 & 6.—Horace, bk. 2, satire 1, li. 35.—Livy, bk. 22, ch. 54.—Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 11.
Veragri, a people between the Alps and the Allobroges. Livy, bk. 21, ch. 38.—Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 3, ch. 1.
Verania, the wife of Piso Licinianus, whom Galba adopted.
Veranius, a governor of Britain under Nero. He succeeded Didius Gallus. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 14.
Verbānus lacus, now Majora, a lake of Italy, from which the Ticinus flows. It is in the modern duchy of Milan, and extends 50 miles in length from south to north, and five or six in breadth. Strabo, bk. 4.
Verbigenus, a village in the country of the Celtæ.
Verbinum, a town in the north of Gaul.
Vercellæ, a town on the borders of Insubria, where Marius defeated the Cimbri. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 17.—Cicero, Letters to his Friends, bk. 11, ltr. 19.—Silius Italicus, bk. 8, li. 598.
Vercingetŏrix, a chief of the Gauls, in the time of Cæsar. He was conquered and led in triumph, &c. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 7, ch. 4.—Florus, bk. 3, ch. 10.
Veresis, a small river of Latium falling into the Anio.
Vergasillaunus, one of the generals and friends of Vercingetorix. Cæsar, Gallic War.
Vergæ, a town of the Brutii. Livy, bk. 30, ch. 19.
Vergellus, a small river near Cannæ, falling into the Aufidus, over which Annibal made a bridge with the slaughtered bodies of the Romans. Florus, bk. 2, ch. 6.—Valerius Maximus, bk. 9, ch. 11.
Vergilia, the wife of Coriolanus, &c.
Vergilia, a town of Spain, supposed to be Murcia.
Vergiliæ, seven stars, called also Pleiades. When they set, the ancients began to sow their corn. They received their name from the spring, quia vere oriantur. Propertius, bk. 1, poem 8, li. 18.—Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 2, ch. 44.
Verginius, one of the officers of the Roman troops in Germany, who refused the absolute power which his soldiers offered to him. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 1, ch. 8.——A rhetorician in the age of Nero, banished on account of his great fame. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 15, ch. 71.
Vergium, a town of Spain.
Vergobretus, one of the chiefs of the Ædui, in the age of Cæsar, &c. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 1, ch. 16.
Verĭtas (truth), was not only personified by the ancients, but also made a deity, and called the daughter of Saturn and the mother of Virtue. She was represented like a young virgin, dressed in white apparel, with all the marks of youthful diffidence and modesty. Democritus used to say that she hid herself at the bottom of a well, to intimate the difficulty with which she is found.
Verodoctius, one of the Helvetii. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 1, ch. 7.
Veromandui, a people of Gaul, the modern Vermandois. The capital is now St. Quintin. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 2.
Vērōna, a town of Venetia, on the Athesis, in Italy, founded, as some suppose, by Brennus the leader of the Gauls. Cornelius Nepos, Catullus, and Pliny the elder were born there. It was adorned with a circus and an amphitheatre by the Roman emperors, which still exist, and it still preserves its ancient name. Pliny, bk. 9, ch. 22.—Strabo, bk. 5.—Ovid, Amores, bk. 3, poem 15, li. 7.
Verōnes, a people of Hispania Tarraconensis. Silius Italicus, bk. 3, li. 578.
Verrecīnum, a town in the country of the Volsci. Livy, bk. 4, ch. 1, &c.—Valerius Maximus, bk. 6, ch. 5.
Caius Verres, a Roman who governed the province of Sicily as pretor. The oppression and rapine of which he was guilty, while in office, so offended the Sicilians, that they brought an accusation against him before the Roman senate. Cicero undertook the cause of the Sicilians, and pronounced those celebrated orations which are still extant. Verres was defended by Hortensius, but as he despaired of the success of his defence, he left Rome without waiting for his sentence, and lived in great affluence in one of the provinces. He was at last killed by the soldiers of Antony the triumvir, about 26 years after his voluntary exile from the capital. Cicero, Against Verres.—Pliny, bk. 34, ch. 2.—Lactantius, bk. 2, ch. 4.
Verritus, a general of the Frisii in the age of Nero, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 13, ch. 54.
Verrius Flaccus, a freedman and grammarian famous for his powers in instructing. He was appointed over the grandchildren of Augustus, and also distinguished himself by his writings. Aulus Gellius, bk. 4, ch. 5.—Suetonius, Lives of the Grammarians.——A Latin critic, B.C. 4, whose works have been edited with Dacier’s and Clerk’s notes, 4to, Amsterdam, 1699.
Verrūgo, a town in the country of the Volsci. Livy, bk. 4, ch. 1.
Vertico, one of the Nervii who deserted to Cæsar’s army, &c. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 6, ch. 45.
Verticordia, one of the surnames of Venus, the same as the Apostrophia of the Greeks, because her assistance was implored to turn the hearts of the Roman matrons, and teach them to follow virtue and modesty. Valerius Maximus, bk. 8.
Vertiscus, one of the Rhemi, who commanded a troop of horse in Cæsar’s army. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 8, ch. 12.
Vertumnus, a deity among the Romans, who presided over the spring and over orchards. He endeavoured to gain the affections of the goddess Pomona; and to effect this, he assumed the shape and dress of a fisherman, of a soldier, a peasant, a reaper, &c., but all to no purpose, till, under the form of an old woman, he prevailed upon his mistress and married her. He is generally represented as a young man crowned with flowers, covered up to the waist, and holding in his right hand fruit, and a crown of plenty in his left. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 14, li. 642, &c.—Propertius, bk. 4, poem 2, li. 2.—Horace, bk. 2, satire 7, li. 14.
Verulæ, a town of the Hernici. Livy, bk. 9, ch. 42.
Verulānus, a lieutenant under Corbulo, who drove away Tiridates from Media, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 14, ch. 26.
Verus Lucius Ceionius Commodus, a Roman emperor, son of Ælius and Domitia Lucilla. He was adopted in the 7th year of his age by Marcus Aurelius, at the request of Adrian, and he married Lucilia the daughter of his adopted father, who also took him as his colleague on the throne. He was sent by Marcus Aurelius to oppose the barbarians in the east. His arms were attended with success, and he obtained a victory over the Parthians. He was honoured with a triumph at his return home, and soon after he marched with his imperial colleague against the Marcomanni in Germany. He died in this expedition of an apoplexy, in the 39th year of his age, after a reign of eight years and some months. His body was brought back to Rome, and buried by Marcus Aurelius with great pomp and solemnity. Verus has been greatly censured for his debaucheries, which appeared more enormous and disgusting, when compared with the temperance, meekness, and popularity of Aurelius. The example of his father did not influence him, and he often retired from the frugal and moderate repast of Aurelius, to the profuse banquets of his own palace, where the night was spent in riot and debauchery, with the meanest of the populace, with stage-dancers, buffoons, and lascivious courtesans. At one entertainment alone, where there were no more than 12 guests, the emperor spent no less than six millions of sesterces, or about 32,200l. sterling. But it is to be observed, that whatever was most scarce and costly was there; the guests never drank twice out of the same cup; and whatever vessels they had touched, they received as a present from the emperor when they left the palace. In his Parthian expedition, Verus did not check his vicious propensities; for four years he left the care of the war to his officers, while he retired to the voluptuous retreats of Daphne, and the luxurious banquets of Antioch. His fondness for a horse has been faithfully recorded. The animal had a statue of gold, he was fed with almonds and raisins by the hand of the emperor, he was clad in purple, and kept in the most splendid of the halls of the palace, and when dead, the emperor, to express his sorrow, raised him a magnificent monument on mount Vatican. Some have suspected Marcus Aurelius of despatching Verus to rid the world of his debaucheries and guilty actions, but this seems to be the report of malevolence.——Lucius Annæus, a son of the emperor Aurelius, who died in Palestine.——The father of the emperor Verus. He was adopted by the emperor Adrian, but like his son he disgraced himself by his debaucheries and extravagance. He died before Adrian.
Vesbius, or Vesubius. See: Vesuvius.
Vescia, a town of Campania. Livy, bk. 8, ch. 11.
Vescianum, a country house of Cicero in Campania, between Capua and Nola. Cicero bk. 15, Letters to Atticus, ltr. 2.
Flaccus Vescularius, a Roman knight intimate with Tiberius, &c. Tacitus, Annals.
♦Vesontio, a town of Gaul, now Besancon. Cæsar, Gallic War, ♠bk. 1, ch. 38.