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

SUMMANTUS. SURA. 947
speeches and his responsa were free from all oh- p. 75; Fest. s. v. provorsum, p. 229, ed. Miiller.)
scurity; and this clearness was the result of a Varro (De Ling. Lat. v. 74) describes the god as
careful separation of a thing into all its parts, an of Sabine origin; but the ancients themselves on
exact definition of all that was by implication this as on many other points connected with their
contained in it, and the removal of all obscurity by earliest religion, were in great uncertainty both in
just interpretation. As to what was ambiguous, regard to the nature and the origin of Summanus -
his first care was to ascertain the ambiguity, and and some connecting the name with sub and manes
then to separate it from every thing else; he regarded him as a deity of the lower world, an
applied a correct judgment to the estimate of truth opinion which is totally at variance with the atand falsehood, and he deduced his conclusions from tributes given him by most writers, and there is
his premises with logical precision. To these ample reason for regarding him as the Jupiter of
qualities were added a profound knowledge of the night. He had a temple at Rome near the Circus
Jus Civile, a perfect apprehension of the universal Maximus (Plin. H. N. xxix. 14; Liv. xxxii. 29;
principles of the Jus Naturale, and a power of ex- Ov. Fast. vi. 731). There was a representation
pression in which no man surpassed him. Perhaps of Summanus in the pediment of the Capitoline
of all the men of his age, or of any age, he was, temple (Cic. de Div. i. 10; comp. Miiller, Etrusk.
as an orator, a jurist, and an advocate, without an vol. ii. pp. 60, 167; Hartung, Die Relig. der Rum.
equal or a rival. His friend Cicero has recorded vol. ii. p. 59, &c.) [L. S.]
the excellence of his moral character. Servius SU'PERA, CORNE'LIA. A few medals, both
left about one hundred and eighty treatises, or parts Roman and Greek, are extant bearing the above
or sections of treatises (libri), among which were name, with the addition of Augusta or CEBACTH.
criticisms on the responsa of Scaevola the ponti- Antiqurians differ in opinion as to the reign to
fex. -(Gell. iv. 1; Dig. 17. tit. 2. s. 30.) Several which they belong, but from the date upon a coin
of these treatises were extant in the time of of Aegae in Cilicia, which bears her name, it
Pomponius, and Servius is often cited by the seems almost certain that she must have been the
jurists whose writings are excerpted in the Digest; wife either of Trebonianus Gallus, or of Aemiliabut there is no excerpt directly from Servius in nus, while other circumstances make it highly
the Digest. Servius had numerous pupils, the probable that the latter was her husband. (Eckhel,
most distinguished of whom were A. Ofilius and vol. vii. p. 374.) [W. R.]
Alfenus Varus. From the writings of eight of the
pupils of Servius, Aufidius Namusa, who was one
of them, compiled a large treatise in 140 parts; A
and it is to this work that later jurists refer, when
they cite " Servii auditores " as a collective term.
He was probably the author of a commentary on
the Twelve Tables; and he wrote also Ad Edictum,
and Notae ad Mucium, which have been already
referred to. He was also the author of a treatise
De Dotibus (Gell. iv. 3; Dig. 12. tit. 4. s. 8), and
of several books De Sacris Detestandis (Gell. vi. COIN OF CORNELIA SUPERA.
121); and there are fragments or short notices of
various other works of his (Cic. Top. 8; Macrob. SUPERBUS, TARQUI'NIUS. [TARQITISaturn. 3), and of his orations. Quintilian speaks NIUS.]
of three Orationes of Servius as being extant in SUPERIA'NUS (eov7repzavo's), a sophist at
his time (Inst. Or. x. I and 7); one of these was Athens, of whom an account is preserved by
his speech against L. Licinius Murena, who was Suidas (s. v.).
accused of ambitus, B. C. 63; and the other was a SURA, a cognomen in many Roman gentes,
speech Pro Aufidia, or Contra Aufidiamn, it is doubt- signifies "the calf of the leg," and is one of the
ful which, delivered probably ill B. C. 44 or 43. many cognomens which took their origin from some
(Meyer, Oratorum Romanorum Frag. p. 398, 2d bodily peculiarity in the person to whom it was
ed.) first given.
There are extant in the collection of Cicero's SURA, A'CCIUS, for whom the younger Pliny
Epistles (ad Faim. iv.), two letters from Sulpicius to begs the praetorship from the emperor Trajan.
Cicero, one of which is the well-known letter of (Plin. Ep. x. 7. s. 9.)
consolation on the death of Tullia, the daughter of SURA, AEMI'LIUS, the author of a work
the orator. The same book contains several letters De Annis Populi Romani, an extract from which
from Cicero to Sulpicius. He is also said to have is inserted in the present text of Velleius Paterwritten some erotic poetry. (Ovid, Trist. ii. 1. culus (i. 6), but evidently not by Paterculus
141; Plin. Epist. v. 3.) [G. L.] himself.
SULPI'CIUS SEVE'RUS. [SEvERus.] SURA, BRU'TTIUS, legatus of C. Sentius
SULPI'CIUS TERTULLUS. [TERTULLUS.] Saturninus, praetor in Macedonia in B. c. 88, was
SULPI'CIUS VICTOR. [VICTOR.] sent against Metrophanes, the general of Mithridates,
SUMMA'NUS, a derivative form from summus, whom he defeated in a naval engagement, and comthe highest, an ancient Roman or Etruscan divi- pelled to take to flight. He followed up his victory
nity, who was equal or even of higher rank than by taking the island of Sciathus, where the enemy
Jupiter; in fact, it would seem that as Jupiter had deposited their plunder. Hie next advanced
was the god of heaven in the bright day, so Sum- into Boeotia, to oppose Archelaus, with whom he
manus was the god of the nocturnal heaven, and fought for three days in succession. Plutarch relightnings plying in the night were regarded as lates that he gained a brilliant victory, but Appian
the work of Summanus (Augustin, De Civ. Dei, says that the two armies parted on equal terms.
iv. 23; Plin. II. N. ii. 53; Paul Diac. s.'v. Dium, On the approach of Sulla, who had been appointed
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