A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

LONGINUS. LONGINUS. 799
and Marcia, while they condemned one, Aemilia. of consular rank unheard, and while he was absent
Longinus condemned not only Licinia and Marcia, on the service of the state. In B. c. 154 Cassius
but also several other persons; but the extreme was censor with M. Valerius Messalla. (Liv.
severity with which he acted on this occasion was xlii. 4, 28, 32, xliii. 1, 5; Oros. iv. 20; Plin. HI.
generally reprobated by public opinion. rLIcINIA, N. vii. 3. s. 4; Cic. pro Dom. 50, 53; Plin. H. N.
No. 2.] (Cic. pro S. Rose. 30; Ascon. in Mlilon. xvii. 25. s. 38.) A theatre, which these censors
12, p. 46, ed. Orelli; Dion Cas. Fr. 92; Oros. v. had contracted to have built, was pulled down by
15; Liv. Epit. 63; Obsequ. 97; Plut. Quaest. order of the senate, at the suggestion of P. Scipio
Rorn. p. 284, b.) Nasica, as useless. and injurious to public morals.
Ernesti (Clavis 6Cc.) and Orelli (Oorinz. Tall.) (Liv. Epit. 48; Veil. Pat. i. 15; Val. Max. ii. 4;
regard th6 tribune of B. C. 137, who proposed the ~.2; Oros. iv, 21; Augustin, de Civ. Dei, i. 31,
tabellaria lex, as the father of the consul of B. c. Appian, B. C. 1, 28, who erroneously calls Cassius
127, and of the censor of B. c. 125. It is, however, Lucius, and'places the event at too late a period.)
yery improbable that a tribune of the plebs should Cassius accused M. Cato in his extreme old age:
be the father of a person who' was consul ten years the speech of the latter, which he delivered in his
afterwards; and their identity is strongly supported defence, was extant in the time of Gellius. (Gell.
by the character which Cicero (Brat. 25) gives of x. 14; comp. Liv. xxxix. 40; Val. Max. viii. 7.
the tribune, which is quite in accordance with the ~ 1; Plut. Cat. 15; Meyer, Orat. Rom-. Prag.
well-known severity of the judex and the censor. p. Ill, 2d. ed.)
5. L. CAssIus Q. F. Q. N. LONGINUS, son of 9. C. CAssIUs, C. P. C. N. LONGINUS, son of.No. 3, was praetor B. C. 111, and was sent to Nu- No. 8, was consul B. C. 124, with C. Sextius Calmidia to bring Jugurtha to Rome, under promise vinus. (Fast. Sic.; Cassiod..; Veil. Pat.' i. 15.)
of a safe conduct. Cassius also pledged his own Eutropius (iv. 22) says that the colleague of Lon.
word to Jugurtha for his security; and so high ginus was C. Domitius Calvinus, and that he carwas the reputation of Cassius, that the Numidian ried on war with him against Bituitus; but both
king valued this as much as the public promise. statements are erroneous. [BITUITUS.] ObseIn B. C. 107 he was consul with C. Marius, and quens (c. 91) calls the other consul Sextilius.
received as his province Xarbonese Gaul, in order 10. C. CAssIus LONGINUS VARUS, of uncertain
to oppose the Cimbri and their allies; but in the descent, was consul B.c. 73, with M. Terentins
course of the same year he was defeated and killed Varro Lucullus. In order to quiet the people, the
by the Tigurini in the territory of the Allobroges. consuls of this year brought forward' a law (lea
(Sall. Jug. 32; Liv. Epit. 65; Oros. v. 15; Caes. Terentia Cassia) by which corn was to be purt
B. G. i. 7; Tac. Germ. 37.) chased and then sold in Rome at a small price.
6. L. CAssIus LONGINUS, described as L. F. by (Cic. Verr. i. 23, iii. 41.) In the following year
Asconius (in Cornel. p. 78, ed. Orelli), son of No. 4, Longinus commanded as proconsul in Cisalpine
was tribune of the plebs B. C. 104; and being a Gaul, and was defeated by Spartacus near Mutina,
warm opponent of the aristocratical party, he but was not killed in the battle, as Orosius states.
1 rought forward many laws to diminish their (Liv. Epit. 96; Flor. iii. 20; Plut. Crass. 9;
power.. Among them was one which enacted that Oros. v. 24.) In B. c. 66 he supported the Manino one should be a senator whom the people had lian law for giving the command of the Mithridatic
condemned, or who had been deprived of their war to Pompey. (Cic. pro Leg. Man. 23.) He must
iinperium: this law was levelled against his per- have lived to a very advanced age: the consular
sonal enemy, Q. Servilius Caepio, who had been de- Varus, who was proscribed and killed at Miinprived of his inlperium on account of his defeat by turnae in B. c. 43, can have been no other than the
the Cimbri. (Ascon. 1. c.) subject of this article, as we find no other consul
7. C. CAssius L. F. Q. N. LONGINUS, brother of with this surname from B. c. 73. (Appian, B. C.
No. 6, was consul B. C. 96, with Cn. Domitius iv. 28.)
Ahenobarbus. He is mentioned by Cicero as one 11. C. CAssIUS LONGINUS, the murderer of
of those persons who were elected consuls notwith- Julius Caesar, is sometimes represented as the son
standing their having failed to obtain the aedile- of the preceding [No. 10], but this is quite uncership. (Cic. pro Plane. 21.) tain. He first appears in history as the quaestor
8. C. CAssIUs, C. F. C. N. LONGINUS, of un- of Crassus in his unfortunate campaign against the
certain descent. He was chosen in B. C. 173 as Parthians in B. C. 53, in which he greatly distinone of the decemviri for distributing a portion of the guished himself by his prudence and military skill
Ligurian land; and two years afterwards, B. c. 171, and if his advice had been followed by Crassus,
was consul with P. Licinins Crassus. He obtained the result of the campaign would probably have
as his province Italy and Cisalpine Gaul; but anx- been very different. Indeed at first he attempted
ious to distinguish himself in the war which had to dissuade Crassus from invading the country of
now commenced against Macedonia, he attempted the Parthians at all, and recommended him to take
to reach Macedonia by marching through Illyricum; up a strong position on the Euphrates. In the
he was obliged, however, to relinquish his design, fatal battle of Carrhae Cassius commanded one of,
and return to Italy. In the following year, while the wings of the Roman army, and recommended the
he was serving as legate in Macedonia under the Roman general to extend his line, in order to preconsul A. Hostilius Mancinus, he was accused be- vent the; enemy from attacking them on their flank'
fore the senate by ambassadors of the Gallic king, and likewise to distribute cavalry on the wings; but
Cincibilus, as well as by ambassadors of the Carni, here again his advice-was not followed. After the
Istri and' Iapydes, who complained that Cassius had defeat of the Roman army, Cassius and the legate,
treated them as enemies in his attempt to penetrate Octavius, conducted the remnants of it back to
into Macedonia in the previous year. The senate Carrhae, as Crassus had entirely lost all.presence
intimated their disapproval of the' conduct of Cas- of mind, and was incapable of giving any orders.
sius, but stated that thet could not condemn a man So highly was Cassius:thought of by the Roman