Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 2.djvu/1000

986 MAXIMUS. MA'XIMUS AEGIENSIS (o Alyt^is), of Aegae in Cilicia, a writer contemporary with Apol- lonius of Tyana [Apollonius Tvanaeus], of some of whose transactions he Avrote an account, which was part of the materials emploj'ed by Phi- lostratus [Philostratus] in his biography of that philosopher. (Philostr. Apollon. Vit. i. 3 ; Euseb. In Ilierodem, c. 2, 3 ; Tzetzes, Chilias. II. Hist. 60, vs. 974, Chilias. IX. Hist. 291, vs. 865 ; Voss. De Hist. Graec. ii. 10.) [J. C. M.] MA'XIMUS ALEXANDRrNUS,known also as the cynic philosopher ( Kvvlkos (piKoaocpos), was a native of Alexandria, the son of Christian parents of rank, who had suffered on account of their religion ; but whether from Pagan or Arian violence is not clear. Maximus united the faith of an orthodox be- liever with the garb and deportment of a cynic philo- sopher, and was held in great respect by the leading theologians of the orthodox party. Athanasius, in a letter written about A. d. 371 {Epist. ad Maxim, ridlosoph. 0pp. vol. i. p. 917, &c. ed. Benedict.), pays him several compliments on a work written in defence of the orthodox faith. Tillemont and the Benedictine editor of the works of Gregory Nazianzen {Monitum ad Orat. xxv.), misled by the virulent invectives of that father, attempt to distin- guish between our Maximus and the one to whom Athanasius wrote, on the ground that Athanasius could never have spoken so well of so worthless a character. They also distinguish him from the Maximus to whom Basil the Great addressed a letter {Ep. 41, editt. vett. 9, ed. Benedict, vol. iii. p. 90, ejusd. edit. p. 127, ed. Benedict, alterae, Paris, 1839) in terms of the highest respect, dis- cussing some doctrinal questions, and soliciting a visit from him ; but they are not successful in either case. However, the Maximus Scholasticus, to whom Basil also wrote {Ep. 42, editt. vett. 277, ed. Benedict.), was a different person. In a. d. 374, during the reign of the emperor Valens, in the per- secution carried on by Lucius, Arian patriarch of Alexandria [Lucius, No. 2], Maximus was cruelly scourged, and banished to the Oasis, on account of his zeal for orthodoxy and the promptitude with which he succoured those who suffered in the same cause (Gregor. Nazianz. Orat. xxv. c. 13, 14). He obtained his release in about four years {lb.), probably on the death of Valens ; and it was perhaps soon after his release that he presented to the emperor Gratian at Mediolanum (Milan), his work JJepl rrjs iriaTews, De Fide, written against the Arians (comp, Hieron. De Viris Illustr. c. 127). Tillemont, however, thinks that the work was pre- sented to the emperor when Maximus was in Italy, A. D. 382, after the council of Constantinople. He wrote also against other heretics, but whether in the same work or in another is not clear (Greg. Naz. ih.) ; and disputed ably against the heathens (76.). Apparently on his return from Milan he Tisited Constantinople, where Gregory Nazianzen had just been appointed to the patriarchate (a. d. »S79). Gregory received him with the highest honour ; and pronounced an -oration in his praise {Orat. xxv.), compared with which the sober commendations of Athanasius and Basil are cold and tame. He received him at his table, and treated him with the greatest confidence and regard. He was, however, grievously disappointed in him. Whether the events which followed were the results solely of the ambition of Maximus, or whetlver Maximus was himself the tool of others, MAXIMUS. is not clear. Taking advantage of the sickness of Gregory, and supported by some Egyptian eccle- siastics, sent by Peter, patriarch of Alexandria, under whose directions they professed to act, Max- imus was ordained, during the night, patriarch of Constantinople, in the place of Gregory, whose election had not been perfectly canonical. This au- dacious proceeding excited the greatest indignation among the people, with whom Gregory was popular. Nor did the emperor Theodosius, then at Thessa- lonica, to whom the usurper applied, show them any favour. Maximus therefore withdrew to Alex- andria, from which he was in a short time expelled by his patron, Peter. (Gregor. Nazian. Carmen de Vita sua, vss. 730—1029.) The resignation of Gregory, who was succeeded in the patriarchate of Constantinople by Nectarius, did not benefit Maximus. His election was de- clared null by the second general (first Constanti- nopolitan) council, and the presbyters whom he had ordained were declared not to be presbyters. (Co?ici/. CPulit. can. 3. 'sec. Dionys. Exiguum ; Capital. 6. sec. Isidor. Mercat. ; apud Concil. vol. i. col. 809, 810, ed. Hardouin.) He attempted even after this to assert his claims to the patriarchate ; but though the Italian bishops for a while seemed disposed to support him, he met with no success. The invectives of Gregory Nazianzen against Maximus {Carmina, sc. De Vita sua, 1. c. ; In Invidos, vs. 1 6, &c. ; In Maaimum) were written after their struggle for the patriarchate, and con- trast singularly with the praises of his twenty-fifth Oration, to which some of Gregory's admirers, to conceal the inconsistency, prefixed the name of Heron or Hero, Ets 'Hpwj/a, In Lavdem Ileronis (Hieron. De Viris Illustr. 1. c), which it still bears. The work of Maximus, De Fide, which is well spoken of by Jerome, is lost. (Athanas., Basil., Gregor. Nazianz., Hieronym. II. cc. ; Sozo- men, //. E. vii. 9. cum not. Vales. ; Tillemont, Memoires, vol. ix. p. 443, &c. ; Cave, Hist. Liit. ad ann. 380, vol. i. p. 276, ed. Oxford, 1740—42 ; Fabric. Dibl. Graec. vol. iii. p. 520.) [J. C. M.] MA'XIMUS, L. ATPIUS, a distingvashed Roman general in the reigns of Domitian and Tra- jan. In A. D. 91 Maximus quelled the revolt of Antonius in Germany, and at the same time had the magnanimity to burn all the letters of tho latter, that they might not expose others to the vengeance of Domitian. In A. D. 101 he fought with success under Trajan in the Dacian war against Decebalus. In a. d. 115 he was one of Trajan's generals in the Parthian Avar ; but here his good fortune failed him, for he was defeated and perished in this year. We learn from the Fasti that he was consiU in A. D. 103. (Dion Cass. Ixvii. 11, Ixviii. 9, 30 ) There is some doubt about the exact form of his name. Dion Cassias names him simply L. Maximus ; but Domitian, in a letter contained among those of Pliny (x. QQ), and the Fasti call him L. Appius Maximus, which is the form we have adopted. But Martial (ix. 85), «nd Aurelius Victor {Epit. II. § 10), give to the con- queror of Antonius the name of Appius Norbanus. These statements can only be reconciled by sup- posing that his full name was L. Appius Maximus Norbanus. MA'XIMUS BYZA'NTIUS. [Maximus Epirota.] MA'XIMUS CAESAR, whose full name was C. Julius Vkrus Maximus, was the son of Max-