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

1118 MUCIANUS. MUCIANUS.
wife of C. Sulpicius Galba, the son of Serv. Sul- the oath of allegiance to Otho; but when the civil
picius Galba, consul B. c. 144. (Cic. Brut. 26, war broke out between him and Vitellius, Vespa33.) *The younger Licinia was the wife of C. sian resolved to seize the imperial throne. In this
Sempronius Gracchus (Plut. Tib. Gracchus, 21; resolution he was warmly encouraged by Mucianus,
Dig. 24. tit. 3. s. 66), according to Plutarch, whose who hoped to have a great share in the exercise of
opinion is supported by the passage in the Digest. the imperial power while Vespasian bore the name.
Crassus was both an orator and a lawyer. As When Vespasian at length, after great hesitation,
an orator, however, he is considered by Cicero to assumed the imperial title, Mucianus immediately
have been inferior to his contemporary P. Sulpicius administered to his own soldiers the oath of allegiGalba. He was, however, a distinguished speaker, ance to the new emperor; and it was resolved that
an eminent jurist (Cic. de Orat. i. 37, 56, Brut. 26), he should march into Europe against Vitellius, while
and a man of exemplary industry, which is shown Vespasian and Titus remained behind in Asia.
by the fact of his mastering the various dialects of Mucianus used great efforts to provide his army
Greek, when he was in Asia, so completely, as to with everything that was necessary; he liberally
be able to make his decrees in the dialect which contributed from his own purse, and unmercifully
the suitor had adopted. (Val. Max. viii. 7. ~ 6.) plundered the provincials to obtain a sufficient
No legal work of his is mentioned. supply of money. However, there was little occaCrassus is mentioned by Pomponius (Dig. 1. tit. sion for his services, for the Vitellians were en2. s. 2. ~ 40, &c.) in the following terms: - tirely defeated by Antonius Primus [PRIMUS], of
" Etiam Lucius Crassus, frater Publii Mucii, qui whom, in consequence, Mucianus became very
Mucianus dictus est. Hunc Cicero ait juriscon- jealous. Mucianus marched through Phrygia and
sultorum disertissimum." Grotius considers the Cappadocia, and arrived in Europe just in time to
words "frater... dictus est," to be an interpola- repress a rising of the Dacians, who had seized
tion, and that the L. Crassus is not Mucianus, both banks of the Danube. Primus had entered
because he is called Lucius, and because the Rome before Mucianus; but on the arrival of the
description does not suit him. But it is remarked latter he had to surrender all the power into his
by Zimmern that Cicero calls Mucianus in numero hands. Domitian, the son of Vespasian, was nomidisertissimorum" (De Orat. i. 56), and he says nally at the head of affairs; but Mucianus was
the same in substance in another passage (Brut. the real sovereign, and lived in almost regal
26). Besides this, L.-Crassus, who must be taken splendour. Still, although he boasted haughtily of
to be Crassus the orator, if the reading of Grotius the services he had rendered to Vespasian, his
is right, was not a jurist. The criticism of Grotius fidelity never seems to have wavered; and all his
is therefore groundless. The authorities for the life various measures were calculated to support and
of Mucianus are contained in Drumann, Geschiclhte strengthen the new dynasty. When Vespasian
Roms, Licinii Crassi, No. 21. [G. L.] was on his way to Italy, Mucianus went to BrunMUCIA'NUS, LICI'NIUS, three times consul disium to meet him, accompanied by the principal
in A. D. 52, 70, and 75 respectively, must have Roman nobles. The services of Mucianus had
passed by adoption from the Mucian to the Licinian been so great, that Vespasian continued to show
gens. His character is drawn in a few strokes by him his favour, although his patience was not a
the masterly hand of Tacitus. (Hi:t. i. 10.) He little tried by the arrogance of his subject. The
was alike distinguished for good and for evil, for last circumstance recorded of Mucianus is that he
luxurious indulgence and energetic work, for affa- persuaded Vespasian to banish the philosophers
bility and haughtiness; when he had nothing to from Rome. He seems to have died in the reign
attend to, he revelled in excessive pleasures; but of Vespasian, as his name does not occur either
when business required his attention, he displayed under Titus or Domitian.
great abilities. Thus his public conduct deserved Mucianus was not only a general and a statespraise, his private condemnation. As a youth, he man, but an orator and an historian. His powers
courted with assiduity the favour of the powerful, of oratory are greatly praised by Tacitus, who tells
and succeeded in obtaining the consulship in the us that Mucianus could address an auditory even
reign of Claudius, A. D. 52; but having squandered in Greek with great effect. He made a collection
his property, and becoming likewise an object of of the speeches of the republican period, which he
suspicion to Claudius, he went into retirement in arranged and published in eleven books of Acta
Asia, and there lived, says Tacitus, as near to the and three of Epistolae. The subject of his history
condition of an exile as afterwards to that of an is not mentioned; but, judging from the references
emperor. We gather from Pliny (H. N. xii. 1. s. which Pliny makes to it, it appears to have treated
5) that the place of his retirement was Lycia, into chiefly of the East, and to have contained considerwhich he was sent as legatus by Claudius, as a able information on all geographical subjects. (Tac.
kind of honourable banishment. Under Nero he Hist. i. 10, 76, ii. 4, 5, 76 —84, iii. 8, 46, 53, 78,
was again received into the favour of the imperial iv. 4, 11, 39, 80, 85; Suet. Vesp. 6, 13; Dion
court; and at the death of that emperor, A. D. 68, Cass. lxv. 8, 9, 22, lxvi. 2, 9, 13; Joseph. B. J.
he had the command of the province of Syria, with iv. 10, 11; Plin. H. N. xii. 1. s. 5, xxviii. 2. s. 5,
four legions, while Vespasian was in the neigh- xxxiv. 7. s. 17, et passim; Vossius, De Hist. Lat.
bouring country of Judaea, at the head of three. i. 27, p. 140, Lug. Bat. 1651; Westermann, Gescl.
Up to Nero's death Mucianus and Vespasian had d. Romisclhen Beredtsamkeit, ~ 82, n. 19.)
not been on good terms; but after that event they MUCIA'NUS, M. NO'NIUS A'RRIUS,
were induced, by the interposition of friends, to consul A. D. 201, in the reign of Septimius Severus.
become reconciled to one another, and to act (Fasti.)
together for their mutual advantage; and their MUCIA'NUS or MUTIA'NUS, surnamed
reconciliation was rendered real and lasting by the SCHOLA'STICUS, lived in the middle of the
mediation of Titus, to whom Mucianus became sixth century of our aera, and translated into
much attached. Mucianus and Vespasian both took Latin, at the request of Cassiodorus, the thirty-four