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

1158 NEPOS. NEPOS.
many minor controversies to which they have given true reading of the Codex is Nepotianus or Nepos,
rise, all of which will be found stated in the works and even the determination of the reading would
noted down at the end of this article, we may re- not settle the point, as Theophanes (C/ronographi(,
mark that the third hypothesis, under one form or ad A. M. 5965) gives to the emperor himself the
other, will, if properly applied, tend to remove name of Nepotianus, and adds that he was a native
many of the difficulties, and explain many of the of Dalmatia. It is not improbable that the family
anomalies by which the subject is embarrassed of Marcellinus preserved, after his death in A. D.
more effectually than either of the two others. It 468, a portion of the power which he had possessed
will enable us to account for the purity of the in Illyricum, and that this was the motive which
language, and for the graceful unaffected ease of induced the Eastern emperor Leo [LEo I.] to give
the clauses, when taken singly, and at the same to Nepos his niece (or, more accurately, the niece of
time to understand the harsh and abrupt transi- his wife the empress Verina) in marriage, and to
tions which so frequently occur in passing from one declare him, by his officer Domitianus, at Ravenna,
sentence or from one paragraph to another. But Augustus (Jornandes incorrectly says Caesar) of
while we may safely admit that we hold in our the Western empire. (Jornand. de Regnor. Success.)
hands the abridgment of some writer of the The actual emperor, at the time when Nepos was
Augustan age, we must bear in mind that the evi- thus exalted, was Glycerius [GLYCERIuTS], who
dence adduced to prove that writer to be Cornelius was regarded at Constantinople as an usurper.
Nepos is miserably defective, an exception being Nepos marched against his competitor, took hinm
always made in respect of the life of Atticus, which prisoner at Portus at the mouth of the Tiber, and
is expressly assigned to him in at least two of the obliged him to become a priest. These events
best MSS. took place, according to the more numerous and
These biographies have, almost ever since their better authorities, in A. D. 474, but Theophanes, by
first appearance, been a favourite school-book, and contracting the reign of Glycerius to five months
hence editions have been multiplied without end. [GLYCERIUS], brings his deposition within the
We have already described the earliest. After year 473. The elevation of Nepos is placed by
the labours of Lambinus, we may particularly the C/lronicon of an anonymous author, published
notice those of Schottus, fol. Francf. 1609, of Geb- by Caspinianus (No. viii. in the Vetustior. Latinor.
hardus, 12mo. Amst. 1644, of Boeclerus, 8vo. CTironica of Roncallius), on the 24th of June, which
Argentor. 1648, of Bosius, 8vo. Jen. 1675, of Van date, if correct, must refer to his victory over GlyStaveren, 8vo. Lug. Bat. 1734, 1755, 1773, the cerius, for his proclamation as emperor at Ravenna
last being the best, of Heusinger, 8vo. Krug. 1747, must have been antecedent to the death of Leo
of Fischer, 8vo. Lips. 1759, of Harles, Hal. 1773, (which occurred in January 474), at least anteceLips. 1806, of Paufler, with useful notes written in dent to the intelligence of Leo's death reaching
German, 8vo. Lips. 1804, of Tzschucke, 8vo. Ravenna. If we suppose the proclamation of Nepos
Gotting. 1804, with an excellent commentary in a as emperor to have occurred in August 473, a supseparate volume, of Titze, 8vo. Prag. 1813, of position to which we see no objection, the date
Bremi, 8vo. Zurich, 1820, of Bardili, 2 vols. given by Theophanes, who, as a Byzantine, would
8vo. Stuttgard, 1820, of Daehne, 12mo. Lips. compute the reign of Nepos from his accession de
1827, of Roth, who has brought back Aemilius jure, may be reconciled with that of the Latin
Probus on his title page, Basil, 8vo. 1841, and chroniclers, who date from the time of his becoming
of Benecke, 8vo. Berol. 1843, which is purely cri- emperor defacto, and on this supposition the intical. The editions of Van Staveren, 1773, of terval from August 473 to June 474 must have
Tzschucke, 1804, of Bremi, 1820, contain every been occupied in preparing his armament or exething that the student requires, and perhaps no cuting his march against Glycerius.
single edition will be found more serviceable than From hints in the letters of Sidonius Apollinaris
that of Lemaire, 8vo. Paris, 1820. The disserta- (E_. v. 16, viii. 7, ed. Sirmond) it may be ga.
tion prefixed to the editions of Lambinus, Titze, thered that Nepos had, before his accession, acquired
Bardili, Daehne, Roth, and Benecke, will yield some reputation both for warlike ability and for
full information on the controversy. The trans- general goodness of character, and that during his
lations into different languages are countless; the brief reign his conduct was answerable to his prefirst into English is, "The Lives of illustrious vious character. But the condition of the empire
Men, written in Latin by Cornelius Nepos, done was past remedy. The Visigoths, settled in Aquiinto English by several [twelve] gentlemen of the tania, were eagerly striving, under their king Euric,
University of Oxford, Lound. 1684," and frequently to expel the Romans from the territories of the
reprinted. Sir Matthew Hale had previously Arverni, the modern Auvergne, the last part of the
translated " The Life of Atticus, with moral and province which remained to its ancient masters,
political Observations," 8vo. Lond. 1677. [W. R.] and which was bravely defended by its inhabitants
NEPOS, HERE'NNIUS, an illustrious man, under the conduct of Ecdicius (Jornandes calls him
slain by the emperor Severus. (Spartian. Sever. Decius), brother-in-law of Sidonius Apollinaris.
13.) The Goths besieged the town of Arverni or ClerNEPOS, JU'LIUS, the last emperor but one mont, in the summer of 474, but Epiphanius, bishop
of the Western Empire, A. D. 474-475. He was of Ticinum (Pavia), being sent by Nepos, conthie son of Nepotianus, by a sister of that Marcel- cluded a peace (Ennod. Vita Epiphan.), which,
linus who established a temporary independent however, Euric soon broke, and Nepos was obliged,
principality in Illyricum, about the middle of the in a second treaty, in which the quaestor Licififth century. [MARCELLINUS.] A law of the nianus was his negotiator, to cede the disputed
Codex of Justinian mentions a Nepotianus as gene- territory to its assailants. (Sirmond, Not. ad Sidon.
ral of the army in Dalmatia in A. D. 471, but it is Ep. iii. 1.) Tillemont makes the embassy of Lidoubtful whether this was the emperor's father or cinianus unavailing, and considers that of Epipha-.
the emperor himself, as it is not clear whether the nius to have been consequent on its failure; but