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

CASSIODORUS.
9. " De Institutione Divinarum Literarum," an
introduction to the profitable reading of the Holy
Scriptures, intended for the use of the monks.
This is perhaps the most pleasing of all our author's
works. His profound and varied knowledge is
here displayed to the best advantage, his instructions are conveyed in more plain and simple phraseology than he elsewhere employs, while a truly
Christian tone and spirit pervades the whole.
10. " Expositio in Psalmos sive Commenta
Psalterii," extracted chiefly from the " Enarrationes" of St. Augustin, although we gather from
internal evidence that the exegetical treatises of
Hilarius, Ambrosius, Hieronymus, and others upon
the same subject, had been carefully consulted.
As a matter of course we detect in the copy the
same features which distinguish the original, the
same love of overstrained allegorical interpretation,
the same determination to wring from the plainest
and least ambiguous precepts some mystical and
esoteric doctrine.
11. The " Expositio in Cantica Canticorum,"
although breathing a spirit similar to the commentary just described, and set down in all MSS. as
the production of Cassiodorus, is throughout so
different in style and language from all his other
dissertations, that its authenticity has with good
reason been called in question.
12. " Complexiones in Epistolas Apostolorum,
in Acta et in Apocalypsim." Short illustrations of
the apostolic Epistles, the Acts, and Revelations,
first brought to light by Scipio Maffei, published
by him at Florence from a Verona MS. in 1721,
and reprinted at London with the notes of Chandler in 1722, and at Rotterdam in 1723, all in 8vo.
These annotations are not considered by theologians of any particular value.
In addition to the above we frequently find two
tracts included among the writings of Cassiodorus,
one a rhetorical essay entitled " De Schematibus
et Tropis," and the other " De Amicitia Liber." Of
these the former is now generally ascribed to the
venerable Bede, while the latter is believed to have
been composed by Petrus Blesensis, archdeacon of
London, an ecclesiastic of the twelfth century.
Among his lost works we may name, 1. " Libri
XII De Rebus Gestis Gothorum," known to us
only through the abridgement of Jornandes; 2.
" Liber Titulorum s. Memorialis," short abstracts,
apparently, of chapters in holy writ; 3. " Expositio Epistolae ad Romanos," in which the Pelagian
heresy was attacked and confuted. The last two,
together with the " Complexiones" and several
other treatises already mentioned, are enumerated
in the preface to the " De Orthographia Liber."
The first edition of the collected works of Cassiodorus is that published at Paris in 1584, 4to.,
with the notes of Fornerius; the best and most
complete is that published by D. Garet at Rouen,
1679, 2 vols. fol., and reprinted at Venice in 1729.
On his life we have Vita Cassiodori, prefixed to
the edition of Garet; La Vie de Cassidore avec un
Abrege de l'-Iistoire des Princes qu'il a servi et des
Remarques sur ses Ouvrages, by F. D. de Sainte
Marthe, Paris, 1694, 8vo.; and Leben Cassiodor's,
by De Buat, in the first volume of the transactions
of the Royal Academy of Munich, p. 79. There
is frequently much confusion in biographical disquisitions between Cassiodorus the father and Cassiodorus the son, the former having been supposed
by many to be thie individual who held office under

CASSIUS. 625

Odoacer, and the latter not to have been born until
479. But the question seems to be set at rest by
the 4th epistle of the 1st book of the Variarum,
where the father and son are clearly distinguished
from each other; and since the latter unquestionably enjoyed a place of trust under Odoacer, whose
downfall took place in 490, the young secretary,
although still " adolescens," could not by any possibility have been born so late as 479. Some remarks upon this point will be found in Osann,
Beitr'ige zur Gr. und Rom. Literatur Geschichte,
vol. ii. p. 160, Cassel. 1839. The different dignities with which he was invested are enumerated,
and their nature fully explained, in Manso, Geschlichte des Ostgotlischen Reichs. [W. R.]
CASSI'PHONE (KaIo-,o vn), a daughter of
Odysseus by Circe, and sister of Telegonus. After
Odysseus had been restored to life by Circe, when
he had been killed by Telegonus, he gave Cassiphone in marriage to Telemachus, whom, however,
she killed, because he had put to death her mother
Circe. (Schol. ad Lycoph. 795, &c.) [L. S.]
CASSIVELAUNUS, a British chief, who
fought against Caesar in his second campaign
against Britain, B. c. 54. He ruled over the
country north of the river Tamesis (Thames), and
as by his perpetual wars with his neighbours he
had acquired the reputation of a great warrior, the
Britons gave him the supreme command against
the Romans. After the Britons and Romans had
fought in several engagements, the former abstained from attacking the Romans with their whole
forces, which emboldened Caesar to march into the
dominions of Cassivelaunus: he crossed the
Thames, though its passage had been rendered
almost impossible by artificial means, and put the
enemy to flight; but he continued to be much
harassed by the sallies of the Britons from their
forests. The Trinobantes, however, with whom
Cassivelaunus had been at war, and some other
tribes submitted to the Romans. Through themn
Caesar became acquainted with the site of the
capital of Cassivelaunus, which was not far off,
and surrounded by forests and marshes. Caesar
forthwith made an attack upon the place and took
it. Cassivelaunus escaped, but as one or two
attacks which he made on the naval camp of the
Romans were unsuccessful, he sued for peace,
which was granted to him on condition of his paying a yearly tribute and giving hostages. (Caes.
B. G. v. 11-23; Dion Cass. xl. 2, 3; Polyaen.
Strat. viii. Caes. 5; Beda, Eccles. Hist. Gent. Anyl.
i. 2.) [L. S.]
CA'SSIUS. 1. C. CAssims, tribune of the
soldiers, B. c. 168, to whose custody the Illyrian
king Gentius was entrusted by the praetor Anicius, when he fell into the hands of the latter in
the Illyrian war. (Liv. xliv. 31.)
2. L. CAssIUS, proconsul in Asia in B. c. 90,
which province he probably received after his
praetorship with the title of proconsul, as we
know that he never obtained the consulship itself.
In conjunction with M'. Aquillius he restored
Ariobarzanes to Cappadocia, and Nicomedes to
Bithynia; but when Ariobarzanes was again
driven out of his kingdom by Mithridates in the
following year, Cassius made preparations to carry
on war against the latter. He was, however,
obliged to retire before Mithridates, and fled to
Rhodes, where he was when Mithridates laid
siege to the place. He afterwards fell into the
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