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.