Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/971

SYMMACHUS. pression that the original was lost, retranslated from Arabic into Greek. This letter was written by Sy- nieon Thaumaturgus to another Symeon designated Enclistiis, who derived his lineage from one of the emperors or Caesars : 'ETrtaToKri rod dylov Su- /uewv Tov &auiJ.aTovpjou t^v OTreo-TetAe irpos Tiva Tov HTTo "yevovs Kaiaapos eyKAenrrov fiev yeyevr]- fihov, Epistola S. Symeonis Tluxumaturgi quam misit ad quendam Enclistum genus trahentem a Caesare. There is some reason to conjecture that Symeon Thaumaturgus is identical with the younger Symeon the Stylite [No. 32]. (Allatius, De Sy- meon. Scriplis, p. 179 ; Fabricius, Biblioth. Graec. vol. xi. p. 299.) 35. Theologus Junior s. Novus Theolo- Gus (o veos ^eokoyos). [No. 16.] 36. Of Thessalonica. Little is known of the personal history of Symeon, archbishop of Thessa- lonica, except that he lived in the first half of the fifteenth century, and held his see for between five and six years, dying Sept. a. D. 1429, about six months before Thessalonica was taken by the Turks under Amurath. Joannes Anagnostes, in his De Thessalo7iicensi Excidio Narratio (c. 3), has noticed the death of Symeon, who was generally lamented ; and relates a curious dream, by which his decease and the subsequent ruin of the city were supposed to be portended. Symeon was the author of several theo- logical works much esteemed in the Greek Church. They were published under the care of Dositheus, patriarch of Jerusalem, folio, Jassy, 1683. A Romaic version of the whole was published, 4to. Leipsic, 1791. Some of the works have been also published separately. (Allatius, De Symeon. Scriptis, pp. 185 — 194 ; Fabric. Biblioth. Graec. vol. xi. p. 328, &c. ; Cave, Hist. Litt. Appendix by Wharton a7id Gery, ad annos 1410, 1418, vol. ii. pp. 113, 114 ; Le Quien, Oriens Christianas^ vol. ii. col. 58; Oudin, Commentarius de Scriptorib. Ecchs. vol. iii. col. 2242, &c.) 37. Venerabilis. [No. 24.] 38. Xylockrcinus. [No. 16.] [J. C. M.] SY'MMACHUS. 1. Symmachus, proconsul of Achaia, to whom two law^s of Constantino the Great were sent in a. d. 319 (Cod. Theod. 2. tit. 4, ss. 1, 15), was probably the father of 2. L. AuRELius AviANius Symmachus, who flourished about the middle of the fourth century, and is described by Ammianus Marcellinus (xxvii. 3. § 3), as worthy of being ranked among the brightest models of learning and virtue. From an inscription formerly preserved in the Capitol, and now in the vestibule of the Vatican Library, we learn that he enjoyed at various periods the digni- ties of praefect of the city (a. d. 364), an office in which he was the successor of Apronianus (Amm. Marc. I. c. of consul (suffect. a. d. 376 ?), of pro- praefect of the praetorium at Rome and propraefect of the neighbouring provinces, of praefectus an- nonae, of pontifex major, and of quindecemvir 5. F. In a. d. 360, he was despatched on an em- bassy to the emperor Constantius, at that time in the East (Amm. Marc. xxi. 12. § 24), and at diiferent periods executed various diplomatic mis- sions, to the entire satisfiiction of the nobility. As a tribute to his wisdom, influence, and eloquence, he was usually called upon to deliver his opinion first in deliberations of the senate, and that body, with the consent and approbation of the emperors Valens and Valentinianus, passed a vote that a gilded statue should be erected in honour of him, SYMMACHUS. 959 which was dedicated on the 29th of April t^ d. 377 in the consulship of Gratianus Augustus (IV.) and Merobaudes. By his wife, the daughter of Acyndinus, he was the father of 3. Q. AuRELius Symmachus, who flourished towards the close of the fourth century, and stood foremost among his contemporaries as a scholar, a statesman, and an orator. Educated in Gaul (Symmach. Ep. ix. 83), apparently at Bour- deaux or Toulouse, in that age the most renowned seminaries in the world, in early life he became devoted to the liberal arts. By his example and authority he, at a subsequent period, inspired for a time new life and vigour into the literature of his country, which had long been wasting b}' gradual decay, and seemed now to be fast approaching the hour of dissolution. Having discharged the func- tions of quaestor and praetor, he was afterwards appointed (a. d. 365, Cod. Theod. 8. tit. 5. s. 25) Corrector of Lucania and the Bruttii ; in a. d. 373 (Cod. Theod. 12. tit. 1. s. 73 ; comp. Symmach. Ep. viii. 10, X. 3) he was proconsul of Africa, and became, probably about the same time, a member of the pontifical college. His zeal for the ancient faith of Rome, which exercised throughout life a marked influence on his character, checked for a while the prosperous current of his fortunes, and involved him in danger and disgrace. For having been chosen by the senate on account of his sur- passing eloquence to remonstrate with Gratian on the removal of the altar of victory (a. d. 382) from their council hall, and on the curtailment of the sums annually allowed for the maintenance of the Vestal Virgins, and for the public celebration of sacred rites, he was ordered by the indignant emperor to quit the presence, and to withdraw himself to a distance of one hundred miles from Rome. Nothing daunted by this repulse, when appointed praefect of the city (a. d. 384) after the death of his persecutor, he addressed an elaborate epistle to Valentinianus again urging the restora- tion of the pagan deities to their former honours. The application was again unsuccessful, but did not upon this occasion prove personally injurious to the promoter, who was, however, soon exposed to a hazard still more perilous than any which he had previously encountered. In consequence of the hostile feelings which he naturally cherished against Gratian, he had always sym.pathised with Maximus, by whom that prince had been conquered and slain. When the pretender was threatening (a. d. 387) to invade Italy his cause was openly ad- vocated by Symmachus, who upon the arrival o7 Theodosius was impeached of treason, and forced to take refuge in a sanctuary. Having been speedily pardoned through the intercession of numerous and powerful friends he expressed his contrition and gratitude in an apologetic address to the conqueror, by whom he was not only freely forgiven, but was received into favour and elevated to the consulship in A. D. 391, and during the remainder of his life he appears to have taken an active part in public aifairs. The date of his death is unknown, but one of his letters (vii. 50) was written as late as A. D. 402, and he was certainly alive when the poem of Pru- dentius, usually assigned to A. D. 404, was pub- lished. His personal character seems to have been unimpeachable, as he performed the duties of the high offices which he filled in succession with a degree of mildness, firmness, and integrity, seldom found among statesmen in that corrupt age. The