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SCAEVOLA

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Originally appearing in Volume V24, Page 279 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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SCAEVOLA , the name of a famous See also:

FAMILY

family of See also:

ancient See also:

Rome, the most important members of which were: I. Gm us Mums SCAEVOLA, a legendary See also:

hero, who volunteered to assassinate Lars See also:

PORSENA (or PORSENNA), LARS

Porsena when he was besieging Rome. Making his way through the enemy's lines to the royal See also:

TENT

tent,but not knowing Porsena by sight, he slew his secretary by See also:

MISTAKE (i.e. take amiss)

mistake. Before the royal tribunal Mucius declared that he was one of 300 See also:

NOBLE, SIR ANDREW (1832- )

noble youths who had sworn to take the See also:

king's See also:

LIFE

life, and that he had been chosen by See also:

lot to make the See also:

ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt first. Threatened with See also:

DEATH

death or See also:

TORTURE (from Lat. torquere, to twist)

torture, Mucius thrust his right See also:

hand into the See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire blazing upon an See also:

ALTAR (Lat. altare, from alias, high; some ancient etymological guesses are recorded by St Isidore of Seville in Etymologiae xv. 4)

altar, and held it there until it was consumed. The king, deeply impressed and dreading a further attempt upon his life, ordered Mucius to be liberated, made See also:

peace with the See also:

Romans and withdrew his forces. Mucius was rewarded with a See also:

grant of See also:

LAND

land beyond the See also:

TIBER (anc. Tiberis; Ital. Tevere)

Tiber, known as the "Mucia Prata " in the See also:

time of See also:

Dionysius of See also:

HALICARNASSUS (mod. Budrum)

Halicarnassus, and received the name of Scaevola (" See also:

LEFT

left-handed "). Dionysius says nothing of the incident of the fire, and attributes Porsena's alarm partly to the loss of a See also:

BAND

band of marauders in an ambuscade. The See also:

story is presumably an attempt to explain the name Scaevola, coloured by See also:

NATIONAL

national and family vanity (See also:

LIVY [Thus L1v1us] (59 B.C.—A.D: 17)

Livy ii. 12; See also:

DION

Dion. Halic. v. 27-30).

The Mucius of the See also:

LEGEND (through the French from the med. Lat. legenda, things to be read, from legere, to read)

legend is described as a patrician; the following were undoubtedly plebeians. 2. PUBLIUS MUCIUS SCAEVOLA, See also:

ROMAN

Roman orator and jurist, See also:

consul 133 B.C. during the time of the Gracchan disturbances. He was not opposed to moderate reforms, and refused to use violence against Tiberius See also:

GRACCHUS

Gracchus, although called upon in the See also:

SENATE (Lat. senatus, from root sen-, as in senex, old; the root is the Sanskrit sana, cf. Gr. 'vos; the same element appears in senor, seigneur, seneschal)

senate " to protect the See also:

state and put down the See also:

TYRANT (Gr. r6pavvos, master, ruler)

tyrant." After the See also:

MURDER

murder of Gracchus, however, he expressed his approval of the See also:

ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act. He was an opponent of the younger Scipio See also:

AFRICANUS, SEXTUS JULIUS

Africanus, for which he was attacked by the satirist See also:

LUCILIUS, GAIUS (c. 18o–ro3 B.C.)

Lucilius (See also:

PERSIUS

Persius i. 115; See also:

JUVENAL (DECIMUS JUNIUS JUVENALIS) (c. 60-140)

Juvenal i. 154). In 130 he succeeded his See also:

BROTHER

brother See also:

MUCIANUS, LICINIUS

Mucianus as See also:

PONTIFEX

pontifex See also:

maximus. During his See also:

TENURE (Fr. tenure, from Lat. tenere, to hold)

tenure of See also:

OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office he published a See also:

DIGEST

digest in 8o books of the See also:

OFFICIAL (Late Lat. QJicialis, for class. Lat. apparitor, from officium, office, duty)

official See also:

ANNALS (Annales, from annus, a year)

annals kept by himself and his predecessors, which were afterwards discontinued as unnecessary, their See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place being taken by the See also:

WORKS

works of private See also:

ANNALISTS (from Lat. annas, year; hence annales, sc. libri, annual records)

annalists. He was chiefly distinguished for his knowledge of See also:

law, which he held to be indispensable to a successful pontifex. See also:

CICERO

Cicero frequently mentions him as a lawyer of repute, and he is cited several times by the jurists whose works were used in the compilation of the Digest. He was also a famous player at See also:

ball and the See also:

GAME

game called Duodecim Scripta; after he had lost a game, he was able to recall the moves and throws in their See also:

order).

See A. H. J. Greenidge, See also:

HISTORY

History of Rome. 3. See also:

QUINTUS

QUINTUS MUCIUS SCAEVOLA, son of (2), usually called " Pontifex Maximus," to distinguish him from (4),consul in 95 B.C. with his friend L. See also:

LICINIUS

Licinius See also:

CRASSUS (literally " dense," " thick," " fat ")

Crassus the orator. He and his colleague brought forward the lex Licinia Mucia de civibus regundis, whereby any non-See also:

burgess who was convicted of having usurped the rights of citizenship was to be expelled from Rome, and any non-burgess was forbidden under See also:

pain of a heavy See also:

PENALTY (Lat. poena, punishment)

penalty to apply for the citizenship. Its See also:

OBJECT

object was undoubtedly to purify the elections and to prevent the undue See also:

INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence of the Italians in the See also:

COMITIA

comitia. The indignation aroused by it was one of the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief causes of the Social See also:

War (see See also:

MOMMSEN, THEODOR (1817–1903)

Mommsen's Hist. of Rome). After his consulship Scaevola was See also:

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

governor of the See also:

province of See also:

ASIA

Asia, in which capacity he distinguished himself by his just dealing and his severe See also:

MEASURES

measures against the unscrupulous farmers of taxes (See also:

PUBLICANI

publicani). The latter, finding themselves unable to See also:

TOUCH (derived through Fr. toucher from a common Teutonic and Indo-Germanic root, cf. " tug," " tuck," O. H. Ger. zucchen, to twitch or draw)

touch Mucius, attacked him in the See also:

PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person of his See also:

legate, Publius Rutilius See also:

Rufus (q.v.).

In See also:

HONOUR (Lat. honos or lwnor, honoris; in English the word was spelled with or without the u indifferently until the 17th century, but during the 18th century it became fashion-able to spell the word " honor "; Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries stereoty

honour of his memory the Greeks of Asia set aside a See also:

day for the celebration of festivities and See also:

GAMES, CLASSICAL

games called Mucia. He was subsequently appointed Pontifex Maximus, and, in accordance with a See also:

CUSTOM (from O. Fr. costume, costume or coustume; Low Lat. costuma, a shortened form of consuetudo)

custom that had prevailed since the first plebeian See also:

APPOINTMENT, POWER OF

appointment to that office (about 150 years before), was always ready to give gratuitous legal See also:

ADVICE (Fr. avis, from Lat. ad, to, and visum, viewed)

advice. His antechamber was thronged, and even the chief men of the state and such distinguished orators as Servius Sulpicius consulted him. He kept a See also:

FIRM

firm hand over the priestly colleges and insisted upon the strict observance of definite regulations, although he was by no means bigoted in his views. He held that there were two kinds of See also:

religion, philosophical and traditional. The second was to be preferred for the See also:

SAKE

sake of the unreasoning multitude, who ought to be taught to set a higher 1 Some authorities hold that See also:

QUINTILIAN [MARCUS FABIUS QUINTILIANUS] (C. A.D. 35-95)

Quintilian(Inst. Orat. xi. 2, 38) refers to Scaevola (3). value upon the gods, while See also:

PEOPLE

people of See also:

INTELLECT (Lat. intellectus, from intelligere, to understand)

intellect had no need of religion at all. He was proscribed by the Marian party, and in 82, when the younger See also:

MARIUS, GAIUS (r55–86 B.c.)

Marius, after his defeat by See also:

SULLA, LUCIUS CORNELIUS (138–78 B.C.)

Sulla at Sacriportus, gave orders for the evacuation of Rome and the See also:

MASSACRE

massacre of the chief men of the opposite party, Scaevola, while attempting to reconcile the opposing factions, was slain at the altar of See also:

VESTA (Gr. 'Errata)

Vesta and his See also:

BODY

body thrown into the Tiber. He had already escaped an attempt made upon his life by See also:

GAIUS

Gaius See also:

FIMBRIA, GAIUS FLAVIUS (d. 84 B.C.)

Fimbria at the funeral of the See also:

elder Marius in 86. Scaevola was the founder of the scientific study of Roman law and the author of a systematic See also:

TREATISE

treatise on the subject, in eighteen books, frequently quoted and followed by subsequent writers.

It was a compilation of legislative enactments, judicial precedents and authorities, from older collections, partly also from oral tradition. A small handbook called "Opoc (See also:

DEFINITIONS

Definitions) is the See also:

OLDEST

oldest See also:

WORK

work from which any excerpts are made in the Digest, and the first example of a See also:

SPECIAL

special See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of judicial literature (libri definitionum or regularum). It consisted of See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short rules of law and explanations of legal terms and phrases. A number of speeches by him, praised by Cicero for their elegance of diction, were in existence in ancient times. 4. QUINTUS MUCIUS SCAEVOLA (C. 159—88 B.C.), See also:

UNCLE

uncle of (3), from whom he is distinguished by the appellation of " Augur." He was instructed in law by his See also:

FATHER

father, and in See also:

PHILOSOPHY (Gr. gthos, fond of, and vo4 (a, wisdom)

philosophy by the famous Stoic See also:

PANAETIUS (c. 185-18o to I10-108 B.C.)

Panaetius of See also:

Rhodes. In 121 he was governor of Asia. Accused of See also:

EXTORTION (Lat. extorsio, from extorquere, to twist out, to take away by force)

extortion on his return, he defended himself and, though no orator, secured his acquittal by his legal know-ledge and See also:

COMMON

common sense. In 117 he was consul. He did not take a prominent See also:

PART

part in the Senate, but his brief, unpolished remarks sometimes made a See also:

GREAT

great impression. He was a great authority on law, and at an advanced See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age he gave instruction to Cicero and See also:

ATTICUS, TITUS POMPONIUS (109–32 B.c.)

Atticus.

He had a high appreciation of Marius, and when Sulla assembled the senate, to obtain from it a See also:

DECLARATION (from Lat. declarare, to make fully clear, clams)

declaration that Marius was the enemy of his See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country, Scaevola refused his assent. He married Laelia (the daughter of Gaius See also:

LAELIUS

Laelius, the friend of the younger Scipio), by whom he had a son and two daughters, one of whom became the wife of Licinius Crassus the orator. Scaevola is one of the interlocutors in Cicero's De oratore, De amicitia and De republica. For the legal importance of the Scaevolas, see A. See also:

Schneider, See also:

Die drei Scaevola Ciceros (See also:

MUNICH (Ger. Munchen)

Munich, 1879), with full references to ancient and See also:

MODERN

modern authorities.

End of Article: SCAEVOLA

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