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

SPURINNA. SPUR1NNA. 897
SPORUS was a beautiful youth of servile submission, and was rewarded by the senate, on
origin, who bore a striking resemblance to Poppaea the motion of the prince himself, with a triumphal
Sabina, the wife of Nero. On the death of Sabina effigy in bronze (Plin. Ep. ii. 7). His wife was
ill A. D. 63, Nero became passionately fond of this named Cottia, and by her he had a son Cottius, a
youth, had him castrated, dressed as a woman, and youth of the highest promise, who died at an early
called by the name of Sabina. He carried this age, and a statue to his memory was decreed at
disgusting folly so far as to marry Sporus publicly the public expense, partly on account of his own
in Greece, in A. D. 67, with all the forms and merits, and partly as a tribute to his father, who
ceremonies of a legal marriage. Sporus returned was at that time absent in Germany (Plin. Ep. 1. c.
with Nero to Rome in the following year, fled iii. 8, comp. v. 17). From the younger Pliny,
with him from the city when the insurrection who lived upon terms of the closest friendship with
broke out against the tyrant, and was present Spurinna, and ever speaks of him with, the warmest
with him at his death. Otho, who had been respect, we learn that he was alive at the age of
one of the companions of Nero in his debauch- 77, in the full enjoyment of his faculties, mental
eries, lived on intimate terms with Sporus after and bodily, and a very interesting letter (Plin.
his accession to the throne; but Vitellius having Ep. iii. 1, al. 2) is devoted to an account of the
commanded Sporus to appear as a girl upon the happy manner in which the old man was wont
stage in the most degrading circumstances, he to pass his time. Among other occupations we are
put an end to his life to escape from the indignity told, " Scribit.... et quidem utraque lingua,
(Dion Cass. lxii. 28, lxiii. 12, 13, 27, lxiv. 8, lxv. lyrica doctissime. Mirabilis dulcedo, mira suavitas,
10; Suet. Ner. 28, 46, 48, 49; Aurel. Vict. Caes. mira hilaritas, cujus gratiam cumulat sanctitas
5, Epit. 5; Dion Chrysost. Orat. xxi; Suidas, s. v. scribentis.".Srodpos). The name of Sporus is familiar to mo- In the year 1613, Caspar Barthius published at
dern readers by Pope's infamous satire upon Lord the end of his " Venatici et Bucolici poetae LaHervey. tini "four odes, or rather fragments of odes, in
SPURI'LIA GENS, only known from coins, Choriambic measure, extending to nearly 70 lines,
for the Spurilius, whose name occurs as a tribune which he had found in the leaves of a MS. lying
in some' editions of Livy (iv. 42), is in all the neglected among the rubbish of a library at Marmore modern editions Sp. Icilius. The annexed burg. This Codex contained several other pieces
coin has on the obverse the head of Pallas, and on copied at different periods, and these he describes.
the reverse the Moon driving a biga, with the The odes il question were not divided into lines,
legend A. SPVRI. and ROMA (Eckliel, vol. v. p. but were written continuously like prose, the title
315.) prefixed being Incipit fesprucius Spurinna de contentlu saeculi ad Martiorn. Barthius republished
them in his Adversaria (xiv. 5), and then for the
first time declared his belief that they were the
// 3 X ig work of the Vestritius Spurinna, so well known to
the readers of the younger Pliny. The opinions
entertained by scholars touching these productions
are very various. Some have pronounced them to
be forgeries by Barthius, suggested by the epistle
from which we have quoted above, and they urge
COIN OF THE SPURaLIA GENS. strongly that the words of Pliny do not prove that
Spurinna ever published any thing, while the
SPURINNA, VESTRI'TIUS, the haruspex absolute silence of the grammarians, who could
who warned Caesar to beware of the Ides of scarcely have failed to notice the works of a lyric
March. It is related that, as Caesar was going to bard, the number of whom is so small, affords a
the senate-house on the fatal day, he said to strong presumption that nothing of the kind was
Spurinna in jest, " Well, the Ides of March are in existence. This hypothesis, however, is by no
come," upon which the seer replied, "Yes, they means probable, for not only does the finder
are come, but they are not past." (Val. Max. describe most minutely, and in such a manner as
viii. 11. ~ 2; Suet. Caes. 81; Plut. Caes. 63; to court inquiry, the place where and the circunlcomp. Cic. de Div. i. 52, ad Fam. ix. 24.) stances under which he became possessed of these
SPURINNA, VESTRI'TIUS, a Roman ge- remains as well as the contents of the volume in
neral, who played a distinguished part in the war which they were included, but, the verses themof succession which followed the death of Nero. selves are so mutilated and confused that no one
Having espoused the cause of Otho, he received, could expect to derive any credit or any gratificaalong with Annius Gallus, the command of the tion, directly or indirectly, from such a piece of
forces upon the Po, destined to oppose the invasion dishonesty. Moreover, Barthius does not appear
of the Vitellians from the North. Upon the ap- to have attached any importance to his discovery;
proach of Caecina he threw himself into Placentia, he speaks very doubtfully of the merit of the
which he defended with so much gallantry and lines, he does not attempt to correct the errors nor
resolution, that the besiegers were compelled, after to supply the blanks, and professes himself unable
a desperate assault, to retire (Tacit. Hist. ii. 11, to determine the age to which they belong, but
18, &c., 36). Even after the hopes of his party infers from the title, De Contemtu Saeculi, that they
had been crushed by the battle of Bedriacum, proceeded from a Christian pen. Nor was it until
Spurinna remained steadfast in his loyalty, but we they were published for the second time that he
hear little more of him until he re-appears upon the assigned them to an historical personage.
stage in the reign of Trajan, under whom he Others have supposed that they were the proachieved great fame by a bloodless victory over the duction of some monk of the middle ages, who
savage tribe of the Bructeri, whom he reduced to desired to place in the mouth of a heathen those
voL, rI.