Vesta, as their name indicates. This office was very ancient, as the
mother of Romulus was one of the vestals. Æneas is supposed to have
first chosen the vestals. Numa first appointed four, to which number
Tarquin added two. They were always chosen by the monarchs, but after
the expulsion of the Tarquins, the high priest was entrusted with
the care of them. As they were to be virgins, they were chosen young,
from the age of six to ten; and if there was not a sufficient number
that presented themselves as candidates for the office, 20 virgins
were selected, and they upon whom the lot fell were obliged to
become priestesses. Plebeians as well as patricians were permitted
to propose themselves, but it was required that they should be born
of a good family, and be without blemish or deformity, in every
part of their body. For 30 years they were to remain in the greatest
continence; the 10 first years were spent in learning the duties of
the order; the 10 following were employed in discharging them with
fidelity and sanctity, and the 10 last in instructing such as had
entered the noviciate. When the 30 years were elapsed, they were
permitted to marry, or if they still preferred celibacy, they waited
upon the rest of the vestals. As soon as a vestal was initiated,
her head was shaved, to intimate the liberty of her person, as
she was then free from the shackles of parental authority, and she
was permitted to dispose of her possessions as she pleased. The
employment of the vestals was to take care that the sacred fire of
Vesta was not extinguished, for if it ever happened, it was deemed
the prognostic of great calamities to the state; the offender was
punished for her negligence, and severely scourged by the high priest.
In such a case all was consternation at Rome, and the fire was
again kindled by glasses with the rays of the sun. Another equally
particular charge of the vestals was to keep a sacred pledge, on
which depended the very existence of Rome, which, according to some,
was the palladium of Troy, or some of the mysteries of the gods
of Samothrace. The privileges of the vestals were great; they had
the most honourable seats at public games and festivals; a lictor
with the fasces always preceded them when they walked in public;
they were carried in chariots when they pleased; and they had the
power of pardoning criminals when led to execution, if they declared
that their meeting was accidental. Their declarations in trials
were received without the formality of an oath; they were chosen
as arbiters in causes of moment and in the execution of wills, and
so great was the deference paid them by the magistrates, as well as
by the people, that the consuls themselves made way for them, and
bowed their fasces when they passed before them. To insult them was
a capital crime, and whoever attempted to violate their chastity, was
beaten to death with scourges. If any of them died while in office,
their body was buried within the walls of the city, an honour granted
to few. Such of the vestals as proved incontinent were punished
in the most rigorous manner. Numa ordered them to be stoned, but
Tarquin the elder dug a large hole under the earth, where a bed
was placed with a little bread, wine, water, and oil, and a lighted
lamp, and the guilty vestal was stripped of the habit of her order,
and compelled to descend into the subterraneous cavity, which was
immediately shut, and she was left to die through hunger. Few of
the vestals were guilty of incontinence, and for the space of 1000
years, during which the order continued established from the reign
of Numa, only 18 were punished for the violation of their vow. The
vestals were abolished by Theodosius the Great, and the fire of
Vesta extinguished. The dress of the vestals was peculiar; they
wore a white vest with purple borders, a white linen surplice called
_linteum supernum_, above which was a great purple mantle which
flowed to the ground, and which was tucked up when they offered
sacrifices. They had a close covering on their head, called _infula_,
from which hung ribands, or _vitta_. Their manner of living was
sumptuous, as they were maintained at the public expense, and though
originally satisfied with the simple diet of the Romans, their tables
soon after displayed the luxuries and the superfluities of the great
and opulent. _Livy_, 2, &c.――_Plutarch_, _Numa_, &c.――_Valerius
Maximus_, bk. 1, ch. 1.――_Cicero_, _de Natura Deorum_, bk. 3, ch. 30.
――_Florus_, bk. 1.――_Propertius_, bk. 4, poem 11.――_Tacitus_, bk. 4,
ch. 10.
=Vestālia=, festival in honour of Vesta, observed at Rome on the 9th
of June. Banquets were then prepared before the houses, and meat
was sent to the vestals to be offered to the gods; millstones were
decked with garlands, and the asses that turned them were led round
the city covered with garlands. The ladies walked in the procession
bare-footed to the temple of the goddess, and an altar was erected
to Jupiter surnamed Pistor. _Ovid_, _Fasti_, bk. 6, li. 305.
=Vestalium Mater=, a title given by the senate to Livia the mother
of Tiberius, with the permission to sit among the vestal virgins at
plays. _Tacitus_, bk. 4, _Annals_, ch. 16.
=Vestia Oppia=, a common prostitute of Capua.
=Vesticius Spurina=, an officer sent by Otho to the borders of the Po,
&c. _Tacitus._
=Vestilius Sextus=, a pretorian disgraced by Tiberius, because he was
esteemed by Drusus. He killed himself. _Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 4,
ch. 16.
=Vestilla=, a matron of a patrician family, who declared publicly
before the magistrates that she was a common prostitute. She was
banished to the island of Seriphos for her immodesty.
=Vestīni=, a people of Italy near the Sabines, famous for the making of
cheese. _Pliny_, bk. 3, ch. 5.――_Martial_, bk. 13, ltr. 31.――_Strabo_,
bk. 5.
=Lucius Vestīnus=, a Roman knight appointed by Vespasian to repair the
capitol, &c. _Tacitus_, _Histories_, bk. 4, ch. 53.――_Livy_, bk. 8,
ch. 29.――――A consul put to death by Nero in the time of Piso’s
conspiracy.
=Vesvius.= _See:_ Vesuvius.
=Vesŭlus=, now _Viso_, a large mountain of Liguria, near the Alps,
where the Po takes its rise. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 10, li. 708.
――_Pliny_, bk. 3, ch. 19.
=Vesŭvius=, a mountain of Campania, about six miles at the east of
Naples, celebrated for its volcano, and now called _Mount Soma_.
The ancients, particularly the writers of the Augustan age, spoke of
Vesuvius as a place covered with orchards and vineyards, of which the
middle was dry and barren. The first eruption of this volcano was in
the 79th year of the christian era under Titus. It was accompanied
by an earthquake, which overturned several cities of Campania,
particularly Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the burning ashes which it
threw up were carried not only over the neighbouring country, but as
far as the shores of Egypt, Libya, and Syria. This eruption proved
fatal to Pliny the naturalist. From that time the eruptions have
been frequent. Vesuvius continually throws up a smoke, and sometimes
ashes and flames. The perpendicular height of this mountain is 3780
feet. _Dio Cassius_, bk. 46.――_Varro_, _de Re Rustica_, bk. 1, ch. 6.
――_Livy_, bk. 23, ch. 39.――_Strabo_, bk. 5.――_Tacitus_, _Histories_,
bk. 1, ch. 2.――_Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 4.――_Pliny_, bk. 6, ltr. 16.
――_Silius Italicus_, bk. 12, li. 152, &c.――_Virgil_, _Georgics_,
bk. 2, li. 224.――_Martial_, bk. 4, ltrs. 43 & 44.
=Vetera castra=, a Roman encampment in Germany, which became a town,
now _Sanlen_, near Cleves. _Tacitus_, _Histories_, bk. 4, ch. 18;
_Annals_, bk. 1, ch. 45.
=Vettius Spurius=, a Roman senator who was made interrex at the death
of Romulus, till the election of another king. He nominated Numa, and
resigned his office. _Plutarch_, _Numa_.――――A man who accused Cæsar
of being concerned in Catiline’s conspiracy.――――Cato, one of the
officers of the allies in the Marsian war. He defeated the Romans,
and was at last betrayed and murdered.――――A Roman knight who became
enamoured of a young female at Capua, and raised a tumult among
the slaves who proclaimed him king. He was betrayed by one of his
adherents, upon which he laid violent hands upon himself.
=Vettona=, a town of Umbria. _Pliny_, bk. 3, ch. 14.
=Vettōnes=, =Vetones=, or =Vectones=, an ancient nation of Spain.
_Silius Italicus_, bk. 3, li. 378.――_Pliny_, bk. 25, ch. 8.
=Vetulōnia=, one of the chief cities of Etruria, whose hot waters
were famous. The Romans were said to derive the badges of their
magisterial offices from thence. _Pliny_, bk. 2, ch. 103; bk. 3,
ch. 3.――_Silius Italicus_, bk. 8, li. 484.
=Vetūria=, one of the Roman tribes, divided into two branches of the
Junii and Senii. It received its name from the _Veturian_ family,
which was originally called _Vetusian_. _Livy_, bk. 36.――――The mother
of Coriolanus. She was solicited by all the Roman matrons to go
to her son with her daughter-in-law, and entreat him not to make
war against his country. She went and prevailed over Coriolanus,
and for her services to the state, the Roman senate offered to
reward her as she pleased. She only asked to raise a temple to the
goddess of female fortune, which was done on the very spot where
she had pacified her son. _Livy_, bk. 2, ch. 40.――_Dionysius of
Halicarnassus_, bk. 7, &c.
=Veturius=, a Roman artist who made shields for Numa. _See:_ Mamurius.
――――Caius, a Roman consul, accused before the people, and fined
because he had acted with imprudence while in office.――――A Roman who
conspired against Galba. _Tacitus_, _Histories_, bk. 1, ch. 25.――――A
consul appointed one of the decemvirs.――――Another consul defeated by
the Samnites, and obliged to pass under the yoke with great ignominy.
――――A tribune of the people, &c.
=Lucius Vetus=, a Roman who proposed to open a communication between
the Mediterranean and the German ocean by means of a canal. He was
put to death by order of Nero.――――A man accused of adultery, &c.
=Ufens=, a river of Italy near Tarracina. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 7,
li. 892.――――Another river of Picenum. _Livy_, bk. 5, ch. 35.――――A
prince who assisted Turnus against Æneas. The Trojan monarch made
a vow to sacrifice his four sons to appease the manes of his friend
Pallas, in the same manner as Achilles is represented killing some
Trojan youths on the tomb of Patroclus. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 7,
li. 745; bk. 10, li. 518. He was afterwards killed by Gyas. _Virgil_,
_Æneid_, bk. 12, li. 460.
=Ufentina=, a Roman tribe first created A.U.C. 435, with the tribe
_Falerina_, in consequence of the great increase of population at
Rome. _Livy_, bk. 9, ch. 20.――_Festus._
=Via Æmylia=, a celebrated road, made by the consul Marcus Æmylius
Lepidus, A.U.C. 567. It led with the Flaminian road to Aquileia.
There was also another of the same name in Etruria, which led from
Pisæ to Dertona.――――Appia, was made by the censor Appius, and led
from Rome to Capua, and from Capua to Brundusium, to the distance
of 350 miles, which the Romans call a five days’ journey. It passed
successively through the towns and stages of Aricia, Forum Appii,
Tarracina, Fundi, Minturnæ, Sinuessa, Capua, Caudium, Beneventum,
Equotuticum, Herdonia, Canusium, Barium, Egnatia, to Brundusium.
It was called, by way of eminence, _regina viarum_, made so strong,
and the stones so well cemented together, that it remained entire
for many hundred years. Some parts of it are still to be seen in the
neighbourhood of Naples. Appius carried it only 130 miles, as far
as Capua, A.U.C. 442, and it was finished as far as Brundusium by
Augustus.――――There was also another road called Minucia or Numicia,
which led to Brundusium, but by what places is now uncertain.
――――Flaminia, was made by the censor Flaminius, A.U.C. 533. It led
from the Campus Martius to the modern town of Rimini, on the Adriatic,
through the country of the Osci and Etrurians, at the distance
of about 360 miles.――――Lata, one of the ancient streets of Rome.
――――Valeria, led from Rome to the country of the Marsi, through
the territories of the Sabines. There were, besides, many streets
and roads of inferior note, such as the Aurelia, Cassia, Campania,
Ardentina, Labicana, Domitiana, Ostiensis, Prænestina, &c., all of
which were made and constantly kept in repair at the public expense.
=Viadrus=, the classical name of the Oder, which rises in Moravia, and
falls by three mouths into the Baltic. _Ptolemy._
=Vibidia=, one of the vestal virgins in the favour of Messalina, &c.
_Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 11, ch. 32.
=Vibidius=, a friend of Mæcenas. _Horace_, bk. 2, satire 8, li. 22.
=Vibius=, a Roman who refused to pay any attention to Cicero when
banished, though he had received from him the most unbounded favours.
――――Siculus. _See:_ Sica.――――A proconsul of Spain, banished for
ill conduct.――――A Roman knight accused of extortion in Africa, and
banished.――――A man who poisoned himself at Capua.――――Sequester, a
Latin writer, whose treatise _de Fluminibus_, &c., is best edited by
Oberlin, 8vo, Strasbourg, 1778.
=Vibo=, a town of Lucania, anciently called _Hipponium_ and _Hippo_.
_Cicero_. _Letters to Atticus_, bk. 3, ch. 3.――_Pliny_, bk. 3, ch. 5.
――――A town of Spain,――――of the Brutii.
=Vibulēnus Agrippa=, a Roman knight accused of treason. He attempted
to poison himself, and was strangled in prison, though almost dead.
_Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 6, ch. 40.――――A mutinous soldier in the army
of Germanicus, &c.
=Vibullius Rufus=, a friend of Pompey, taken by Cæsar, &c. _Plutarch._
――_Cicero_, _Letters_.――――A pretor in Nero’s reign.
=Vica Pota=, a goddess at Rome, who presided over victory (à _vincere_
et _potiri_). _Livy_, bk. 2, ch. 7.
=Vicellius=, a friend of Galba, who brought him news of Nero’s death.
=Vicentia=, or =Vicetia=, a town of Cisalpine Gaul, at the north-west
of the Adriatic. _Tacitus_, _Histories_, bk. 3.
=Victor Sextus Aurelius=, a writer in the age of Constantius. He gave
the world a concise history of the Roman emperors, from the age of
Augustus to his own time, or A.D. 360. He also wrote an abridgment of
the Roman history before the age of Julius Cæsar, which is now extant,
and ascribed by different authors to Cornelius Nepos, to Tacitus,
Suetonius, Pliny, &c. Victor was greatly esteemed by the emperors,
and honoured with the consulship. The best editions of Victor are
that of Pitiscus, 8vo, Utrecht, 1696; and that of Artnzenius, 4to,
Amsterdam, 1733.
=Victōria=, one of the deities of the Romans, called by the Greeks
_Nice_, supposed to be the daughter of the giant Pallas, or of Titan
and Styx. The goddess of victory was sister to Strength and Valour,
and was one of the attendants of Jupiter. She was greatly honoured
by the Greeks, particularly at Athens. Sylla raised her a temple at
Rome, and instituted festivals in her honour. She was represented
with wings, crowned with laurel, and holding the branch of a palm
tree in her hand. A golden statue of this goddess, weighing 320
pounds, was presented to the Romans by Hiero king of Syracuse,
and deposited in the temple of Jupiter, on the Capitoline hill.
_Livy_, bk. 22.――_Varro_, _de Lingua Latina_.――_Hesiod_, _Theogony_.
――_Hyginus_, preface to fables.――_Suetonius._
=Victoriæ mons=, a place of Spain at the mouth of the Iberus. _Livy_,
bk. 24, ch. 41.
=Victōrius=, a man of Aquitain, who, A.D. 463, invented the paschal
cycle of 532 years.
=Victorīna=, a celebrated matron who placed herself at the head of the
Roman armies, and made war against the emperor Gallienus. Her son
Victorinus, and her grandson of the same name, were declared emperors,
but when they were assassinated, Victorina invested with the imperial
purple one of her favourites called Tetricus. She was some time after
poisoned, A.D. 269, and according to some by Tetricus himself.
=Victorīnus=, a christian writer, who composed a worthless epic poem
on the death of the seven children mentioned in the Maccabees, and
distinguished himself more by the active part he took in his writings
against the Arians.
=Victumviæ=, a small town of Insubria near Placentia. _Livy_, bk. 21,
ch. 45.
=Vicus longus=, a street at Rome, where an altar was raised to the
goddess Pudicitia, or the modesty of the plebeians. _Livy_, bk. 10,
ch. 23.――――Cyprius, a place on the Esquiline hill, where the Sabines
dwelt.
=Viducasses=, a people of Normandy. _Pliny_, bk. 4, ch. 18.
=Vienna=, a town of Gallia Narbonensis on the Rhone, below Lyons.
_Strabo_, bk. 1.――_Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bk. 7, ch. 9.
=Villia lex=, _annalis_ or _annaria_, by Lucius Villius the tribune,
A.U.C. 574, defined the proper age required for exercising the office
of a magistrate, 25 years for the questorship, 27 or 28 for the
edileship or tribuneship, for the office of pretor 30, and for that
of consul 43. _Livy_, bk. 11, ch. 44.
=Villius=, a tribune of the people, author of the Villian law, and
thence called _Annalis_, a surname borne by his family. _Livy_,
bk. 11, ch. 44.――――Publius, a Roman ambassador sent to Antiochus. He
held a conference with Annibal, who was at that monarch’s court.――――A
man who disgraced himself by his criminal amours with the daughter of
Sylla. _Horace_, bk. 1, satire 2, li. 64.
=Viminālis=, one of the seven hills on which Rome was built, so called
from the number of osiers (_vimines_) which grew there. Servius
Tullius first made it part of the city. Jupiter had a temple there,
whence he was called Viminalis. _Livy_, bk. 1, ch. 44.――_Varro_, _de
Lingua Latina_, bk. 4, ch. 8.
=Vinalia=, festivals at Rome in honour of Jupiter and Venus.
♦=Vincentius=, one of the christian fathers, A.D. 434, whose works are
best edited by Baluzius, Paris, 1669.
♦ ‘Vicentius’ replaced with ‘Vincentius’
=Vincius=, a Roman knight, condemned under Nero. _Tacitus_, _Annals_,
bk. 14, ch. 40.――――An officer in Germany.
=Vindalius=, a writer in the reign of Constantius, who wrote 10 books
on agriculture.
=Vindelĭci=, an ancient people of Germany, between the heads of the
Rhine and the Danube. Their country, which was called _Vindelicia_,
forms now part of Swabia and Bavaria, and their chief town, _Augusta
Vindelicorum_, is now ♦Augsburg. _Horace_, bk. 4, ode 4, li. 18.
♦ ‘Ausburg’ replaced with ‘Augsburg’
=Vindemiātor=, a constellation that rose about the nones of March.
_Ovid_, _Fasti_, bk. 3, li. 407.――_Pliny_, bk. 18, ch. 13.
=Vindex Julius=, a governor of Gaul, who revolted against Nero, and
determined to deliver the Roman empire from his tyranny. He was
followed by a numerous army, but at last defeated by one of the
emperor’s generals. When he perceived that all was lost he laid
violent hands upon himself, 68 A.D. _Seutonius_, _Galba_.――_Tacitus_,
_Histories_, bk. 1, ch. 51.――_Pliny_, bk. 9, ltr. 19.
=Vindicius=, a slave who discovered the conspiracy which some of the
most noble of the Roman citizens had formed to restore Tarquin to
his throne. He was amply rewarded and made a citizen of Rome. _Livy_,
bk. 2, ch. 5.――_Plutarch_, _Publicola_.
=Vindili=, a nation of Germany. _Pliny_, bk. 4, ch. 14.
=Vindonissa=, now _Wendish_, a town of the Helvetii on the Aar, in the
territory of Berne. _Tacitus_, bk. 4, _Histories_, chs. 61 & 70.
=Vinicius=, a Roman consul poisoned by Messalina, &c.――――A man who
conspired against Nero, &c.
=Vinidius=, a miser mentioned by Horace, bk. 1, satire 1, li. 95. Some
manuscripts read Numidius and Umidius.
=Titus Vinius=, a commander in the pretorian guards, intimate with
Galba, of whom he became the first minister. He was honoured with
the consulship, and some time after murdered. _Tacitus_, _Histories_,
bk. 1, chs. 11, 42 & 48.――_Plutarch._――――A man who revolted from Nero.
=Vinnius Asella=, a servant of Horace, to whom ltr. 13 is addressed, as
injunctions how to deliver to Augustus some poems from his master.
=Vipsania=, a daughter of Marcus Agrippa, mother of Drusus. She was
the only one of Agrippa’s daughters who died a natural death. She
was married to Tiberius when a private man, and when she had been
repudiated, she married Asinius Gallus. _Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 1,
ch. 12; bk. 3, ch. 19.
=Virbius= (qui inter _viros bis_ fuit), a name given to Hippolytus,
after he had been brought back to life by Æsculapius, at the instance
of Diana, who pitied his unfortunate end. Virgil makes him son of
Hippolytus. _Æneid_, bk. 7, li. 762.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 15,
li. 544.――_Hyginus_, fable 251.
=Publius Virgĭlius Marco=, called _the prince of the Latin poets_, was
born at Andes, a village near Mantua, about 70 years before Christ,
on the 15th of October. His first years were spent at Cremona, where
his taste was formed, and his rising talents first exercised. The
distribution of the lands of Cremona to the soldiers of Augustus,
after the battle of Philippi, nearly proved fatal to the poet, and
when he attempted to dispute the possession of his fields with a
soldier, Virgil was obliged to save his life from the resentment
of the lawless veteran, by swimming across a river. This was the
beginning of his greatness; he with his father repaired to Rome,
where he soon formed an acquaintance with Mecænas, and recommended
himself to the favours of Augustus. The emperor restored his lands
to the poet, whose modest muse knew so well how to pay the tribute of
gratitude, and his first _bucolic_ was written to thank the patron,
as well as to tell the world that his favours were not unworthily
bestowed. The 10 bucolics were written in about three years. The poet
showed his countrymen that he could write with graceful simplicity,
with elegance, delicacy of sentiments, and with purity of language.
Some time after, Virgil undertook the _Georgics_, a poem the most
perfect and finished of all Latin compositions. The _Æneid_ was
begun, as some suppose, at the particular request of Augustus, and
the poet, while he attempted to prove that the Julian family was
lineally descended from the founder of Lavinium, visibly described in
the pious and benevolent character of his hero the amiable qualities
of his imperial patron. The great merit of this poem is well known,
and it will ever remain undecided which of the two poets, either
Homer or Virgil, is more entitled to our praise, our applause, and
our admiration. The writer of the Iliad stood as a pattern to the
favourite of Augustus. The voyage of Æneas is copied from the Odyssey;
and for his battles, Virgil found a model in the wars of Troy, and
the animated descriptions of the Iliad. The poet died before he had
revised this immortal work, which had already engaged his time for
11 successive years. He had attempted to attend his patron in the
east, but he was detained at Naples on account of his ill health.
He, however, went to Athens, where he met Augustus in his return, but
he soon after fell sick at Megara, and though indisposed, he ordered
himself to be removed to Italy. He landed at Brundusium, where a few
days after he expired, the 22nd of September, in the 51st year of his
age, B.C. 19. He left the greatest part of his immense possessions
to his friends, particularly to Mecænas, Tucca, and Augustus, and
he ordered, as his last will, his unfinished poem to be burnt. These
last injunctions were disobeyed; and according to the words of an
ancient poet, Augustus saved his favourite Troy from a second and
more dismal conflagration. The poem was delivered by the emperor
to three of his literary friends. They were ordered to revise and
to expunge whatever they deemed improper; but they were strictly
enjoined not to make any additions, and hence, as some suppose, the
causes that so many lines of the Æneid are unfinished, particularly
in the last books. The body of the poet, according to his own
directions, was conveyed to Naples, and interred with much solemnity
in a monument, erected on the road that leads from Naples to Puteoli.
The following modest distich was engraved on the tomb, written by the
poet some few moments before he expired:
_Mantua me genuit; Calabri rapuere; tenet nunc
Parthenope: cecini pascua, rura, duces._