690 



M ARIL'S MARK. 



bassy, requesting a grant of territory in which they 

 might rt-Milr. Hut Marius scornfully announced to 

 thrm the total destruction of their allies. Exasper- 

 ated by this news, the Cimbri advanced to meet 

 him. Bojorix, their king, called upon Marius, to fix 

 upon a time and place for a decisive engagement. 

 He selected a plain called Campi Raudii, not far 

 from Vercelli, which would not allow the Cimbrian 

 army (300,000 foot and 15,000 horse) to avail them- 

 selves fully of their superiority of numbers. The 

 Roman army was 52,000 strong. Marius reserved 

 to himself the chief attack, but the battle was decided 

 by Lutatius and Sylla. The defeat of the barbarians 

 was complete : 150,000 fell, 60,000 surrendered, and 

 the remainder preferred a voluntary death to slavery 

 (B. C. 101). Marius and Lutatius entered the city 

 in triumph. 



The victorious general was appointed consul for 

 the sixth time, although the noble Metellus Numidi- 

 cus was his rival. He now entered into a combina- 

 tion with the tribunes of the preceding year : Apu- 

 leius Saturninus and the prastor Servilius Glaucia, 

 and, in connexion with them, employed every means 

 to gain the people, and deprive the patricians of their 

 privileges. This was effected chiefly by the law, 

 that every order of the people should be confirmed by 

 the senate, within five days after its promulgation. 

 The senators were compelled to swear obedience to 

 this law ; and Metellus, refusing to do it, was pun- 

 ished with exile. In the mean time, Marius had 

 become an object of suspicion to both parties, by his 

 ambiguous conduct, and on the next consular election, 

 he was not rechosen. Saturninus and Glaucia were 

 the victims of popular fury. 



Chagrined at the recall of his enemy Metellus, 

 Marius went to Asia, under pretence of perform- 

 ing a vow to Cybele, but, in reality, to gain new 

 importance by kindling a new war. On his return, 

 he was astonished to find himself almost entirely for- 

 gotten, and Sylla the favourite of the people. His 

 hatred was excited, and a civil war would have been 

 the consequence, if the consuls, had not checked it in 

 its commencement. Soon after this, the social war 

 broke out. Marius gained a few victories in an in- 

 ferior command, but acquired less reputation than 

 might have been anticipated. His strength was brok- 

 en by age and sickness, and, in the midst of the war, 

 he resigned his office. This dangerous contest was 

 hardly closed, when the civil war broke out between 

 Marius and Sylla. They were both candidates for 

 the command against Mithridates. The consuls 

 favoured Sylla. P. Sulpitius, tribune of the people, 

 who favoured Marius, attacked them sword in hand, 

 and drove Sylla from Rome. Marius received the 

 chief command ; but the army marched to Rome 

 under his rival, where Marius was committing the 

 greatest violences against the friends of Sylla. Sylla 

 entered the city without resistance. Marius and his 

 son fled, and were proscribed. Separated from his 

 son, Marius wandered about on the coasts of Italy, 

 and, after escaping several times the pursuit of 

 his enemies, was found by some horsemen in a 

 marsh. He was conducted naked to Minturnae, 

 where the magistrate, after some deliberation, re- 

 solved to obey the orders of the senate, and of Sylla. 

 But the Cimbrian slave, to whom the execution was 

 intrusted, awed by the look and words of Marius, 

 dropped his sword, and the people of Minturnse, 

 moved with compassion, conducted him to the coast, 

 whence a vessel conveyed him to Africa. He landed 

 amid the ruins of Carthage, and joined his son, who 

 had sought assistance in Numidia in vain. They 

 spent the winter together in the island of Cercina. 

 When they received information that their party had 

 once more triumphed in Italy, by means of Cinna, 



Marins hastened to return. He declined the hon- 

 ours offered him, and united himself with Cinna and 

 Sertorius. They resolved to attack the city, which 

 was defended by Octavius. Provisions and soldiers 

 failing in the city, the senate, therefore, offered to 

 throw open the gates, on condition that no Roman 

 should be put to death without trial. This was 

 granted. Marius was at first unwilling to en- 

 ter the city, till the act of proscription against him 

 was repealed. But while the citizens were assem- 

 bled to rescind the act, he entered with his infu- 

 riated followers, and in violation of the conditions, a 

 dreadful massacre took place, to which Sertorius 

 and Cinna finally put an end. He had given orders 

 for the death of every one whose salutation he did 

 not return. Almost all the senators, who were 

 opposed to the popular party, were put to death, and 

 their estates confiscated. When the term of Cinna's 

 consulship was completed, he declared himself and 

 Marius consuls. Marius was now seventy years of 

 age, and enjoyed this dignity for the seventh time ; 

 but seventeen days after he died (B. C. 86), ex- 

 hausted by his preceding sufferings, and by the 

 anxiety which the threats of Sylla occasioned. 



MAR1VAUX, PIERRE CARLET DE CHAMBLAIN 

 DE ; a novelist and dramatic writer, born in 

 Paris, 1688. He was led by his inclinations to 

 write for the theatre j and, thinking that nothing 

 new was to be done in the way of character pieces, 

 he wrote comedies of intrigue. At the time of their 

 appearance, his dramas were popular ; but a few 

 only have remained on the stage. His characters 

 want life, his plots variety. 1'he development of 

 the intrigue is so simple, that the denouement is dis- 

 coverable from the beginning. He is so far-fetched 

 and affected, that the French have given his name to 

 a conceit and affectation of manner or expression 

 (marivaudage) . Among his other productions, the 

 best is his Vie de Marianne, which abounds in 

 interesting situations, faithful delineations, and ten- 

 derness of sentiment ; Le Paysan parvenu ; Le 

 Philosophe indigent, &c., are not ot much merit. 

 The same forced and conceited style that disfigures 

 his theatrical productions, prevails in these romances. 

 He became a member of the French academy in 

 1743, and died in 1763. 



MARJORUM (origanum] ; a genus of labiate 

 plants, two or three species of which are cultivated 

 in gardens, and used for culinary purposes. They 

 are very agreeable aromatics, and diffuse a sweet 

 and pleasant odour. 



MARK, COUNTY OF, in the former circle of West- 

 phalia, at present in the Prussian province of West- 

 phalia, government of Minden, contains 657 square 

 miles. Part of it is extremely fertile, part moun- 

 tainous. It affords much iron-ore and coals, which 

 furnish fuel for the many manufactories in all kinds 

 of wares of metal. About 5000 people are here 

 engaged in manufacturing. In 1801, the inhabitants 

 amounted to 133,000. In 1807, the county of Mark 

 was added to the grand duchy of Berg, and formed 

 the greater part of the department of the Buhr. In 

 1813, it reverted to Prussia. 



MARK. See Marches. 



MARK ANTONY. See Antonim. 



MARK, THE EVANGELIST ; according to the 

 old ecclesiastical writers, the person known in the 

 Acts of the Apostles by the name of John Mark, who 

 was, for many years, the companion of Paul and 

 Peter on their journeys. His mother Mary was 

 generally in the train of Jesus, and his house at 

 Jerusalem was open constantly for the reception of 

 the apostles. He was himself present at a part of 

 the events which he relates, and received his infor- 

 mation partly from eye-witnesses. His gospel is 



