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

PATERCULUS. PATRICIUS. 135
life of Paterculus, for there is no reason to believe tained the use of a copy of the original manuscript
that the P. Velleius or Vellaeus mentioned by as is mentioned below. The edition of Rhenanus
Tacitus under A. D. 21 (Ann. iii. 39) is the same was reprinted at Basel in 1546, and the most imas the historian. Paterculus was alive in A. D. 30, portant subsequent editions are those of Lipsius,
as he drew up his history in that year for the use Lugd. Bat. 1591, reprinted 1607; of Gruter,
of M. Vinicius, who was then consul; and it is Francf. 1607; of Ger. Vossius, Lugd. Bat. 1639;
conjectured by Dodwell, not without probability, of Boeclerus, Argent. 1642; of Thysius, Lugd.
that he perished in the following year (A. D. 31), Bat. 1653; of Heinsius, Amstel. 1678; of Hudalong with the other friends of Sejanus. The son, Oxon. 1693;ofP. Burmann, Lugd. Bat. 1719;
favourable manner in which he had so recently and of Ruhnken, Lugd. Bat. 1789, which is the
spoken in his history of this powerful minister most valuable edition on account of the excellent
would be sufficient to ensure his condemnation on notes of the editor. This edition was reprinted by
the fall of the latter. Frotscher, Lips. 1830-1839. Of the editions after
The work of Velleius Paterculus which is come Ruhnken's we may mention Jani and Krause's,
down to us, and which is apparently the only one Lips. 1800; Cludius's, Hannov. 1815; Lemaire's,
that he ever wrote, is abrief historical compendium Paris, 1822; Orelli's, Lips. 1835; Kreyssig's,
in two books, and bears the title C. Velleii Pater- 1836; and Bothe's, Turici, 1837. Orelli collated
culi Historiae Romanae ad M. Viniciumn Cos. Libri for his edition a manuscript of Velleius, preserved
II., which was probably prefixed by some gram- in the public library of Basel, which was copied
marian. The work was not only dedicated to M. by Amerbachius, a pupil of Rhenanus, from the
Vinicius, who was consul in A. D. 30, but it ap- manuscript belonging to the monastery of Murbach.
pears also to have been written in the same year, By means of this codex Orelli was able to introduce
as has been already remarked. The beginning of a few improvements into the text; but the text
the work is wanting, and there is also a portion is still very corrupt, as the original manuscript
lost after the eighth chapter of the first book. The abounded with errors, and was so faulty that Rheobject of this compendium was to give a brief view nanus tells us that he could take his oath that the
of universal history, but more especially of the copyist did not understand a word of the language.
events connected with Rome, the history of which In illustration, see Dodwell, Annales Velleiani,
occupies the main portion of the book. It com- Oxon. 1698, prefixed to most of the editions of the
menced apparently with the destruction of Troy, historian; Morgenstern, de Fide Hist. Velleii Pat.
and ended with the year A.D. 30. In the exe- Gedani, 1798.
cution of his work, Velleius has shown great skill PATERNUS. 1. An orator mentioned by the
and judgment, and has adopted the only plan by elder Seneca. (Controv. v. Praef.)
which an historical abridgement can be rendered 2. A friend of the younger Pliny, who has ad
either interesting or instructive. He does not at- dressed three letters to him. (Ep. i. 21, iv. 14,
tempt to give a consecutive account of all the events viii. 16.) He may perhaps be the Paternus, whom
of history; he omits entirely a vast number of Martial (xii. 53) satirizes as a miser.
facts, and seizes only upon a few of the more pro- 3. Paternus also occurs in the Fasti as the name
minent occurrences, which he describes at sufficient of several consuls, namely, in A.D. 233, 2672 268,
length to leave them impressed upon the recollec- 269, 279, and 443.
tion of his hearers. He also exhibits great tact in PATERNUS, TARRUNTE'NUS, a jurist,
the manner in which he passes from one subject to is probably the same person who was praefectus
another; his reflections are striking and apposite; praetorio under Commodus (Lamprid. Conlmod. 4;
and his style, which is a close imitation of Sallust's, Dion Cass. lxxii. 5), and was put to death by the
is characterised by clearness, conciseness, and emperor on a charge of treason. He was the auenergy, but at the same time exhibits some of the thor of a work in four books, entitled De Re lfilifaults of the writers of his age in a fondness for tari or Militaoriurn, from which there are two
strange and out-of-the-way expressions. As an excerpts in the Digest. He is also mentioned by
historian Velleius is entitled to no mean rank; in Vegetius (De Re 2Ivilitari, i. 8), who calls hint
his narrative he displays impartiality and love of " Diligentissimus assertorjuris militaris." Paternus
truth, and in his estimate of the characters of the is cited by Macer (Dig. 49. tit. 16. s. 7), who
leading actors in Roman history he generally ex- wrote under Alexander Severus. [G. L.]
hibits,both discrimination and judgment. But the PATISCUS, is first mentioned during Cicero's
case is different when he comes to speak of Augus- government of Cilicia (B. C. 51-50), where he extus and Tiberius. Upon them, and especially upon erted himself in procuring panthers for the shows of
the latter, he lavishes the most indiscriminate the aediles at Rome (Cic. ad Farn. ii. 11, viii. 9,
praises and fulsome flattery. There is, however, ~ 3). His name next occurs as one of those persome extenuation for his conduct in the fact that sons who joined the murderers of Caesar after the
Tiberius had been his patron, and had advanced assassination, wishing to share in the glory of the
him to the honours he had enjoyed, and also from deed; and in the following year, B. c. 43, he served
the circumstance that it would have been danger- as proquaestor in Asia in the republican army.
ous for a writer at that time to have expressed (Appian, B. C. ii. 119; Cic. ad Farm. xii. 13, 15.)
himself with frankness and sincerity. Q. PATI'SIUS, was sent by Cn. Domitius CalThe editio princeps of the history of Paterculus vinus into Cilicia in B. c. 48, in order to fetch
was printed at Basel, in 1520, under the editorship auxiliary troops (Hirt. B. Alex. 34). It is not
of Beatus Rhenanus, from a manuscript which he impossible that he may be the same person as the
discovered in the monastery of Murbach. This is Patiscus mentioned above.
the only manuscript of Paterculus which has come PATIZEITHES. [SMERDIS.]
down to us; and as this manuscript itself afterwards PATRI'CIUS (1IarpiKCos), the second son of
disappeared, all subsequent editions were neces- the patrician Aspar, so powerful in the reign of
sarily taken from that of Rhenanus. till Orelli ob- the emperor Leo I. [LEo- I.], who owed his elevaK4