SCIPIO 



5255 



SCORPION 



SCIPIO , sip ' i o, the name of an aristocratic 

 Roman family, two members of which achieved 

 distinction in the wars against Carthage. 



Publius Cornelius Scipio (237 B.C.-185 B.C.), 

 called AFRICANUS MAJOR, is regarded as the 

 greatest Roman general before Julius Caesar. 

 He came into prominence when Rome was 

 fighting the army of the great Carthaginian 

 leader, Hannibal, in the Second Punic War. 

 In 205 B.C. he was elected to the consulship 

 and a year later invaded Africa with a large 

 army. At Zama, in the year 202, he inflicted 

 a decisive defeat on the Carthaginians, and 

 brought the war to a close. Scipio returned to 

 Rome a popular hero, was accorded a triumph 

 and received the surname Africanus. (Major, 

 meaning elder, was added to distinguish him 

 from a younger member of the family [see be- 

 low] who also won the surname Ajricanus.) 

 Towards the close of his life Scipio became 

 involved in a political conspiracy, but on the 

 day set for the trial he delivered an eloquent 

 speech in which he reminded the people of the 

 victory at Zama, of which that day was the 

 anniversary. This stopped further proceedings 

 against him, and he then retired to his country 

 seat in Campania, where he died. 



Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus I (185 

 B. C.-129 B.C.), surnamed AFRICANUS MINOR (the 

 Younger), was a grandson of the Elder Scipio 

 by adoption. During the memorable siege of 

 Carthage, the surrender of which ended the 

 Third Punic War, he was elected to the con- 

 sulship and given supreme command of the 

 army in Africa. On the fall of the city, in 146 

 B. c., he returned to Rome, where he later held 

 the office of censor. In 134 B. c., having been 

 reflected consul, he reduced the city of Nu- 

 mantia, in Spain, after the conquest of the 

 Numantines had been attempted in vain by 

 several consuls. Thereafter he devoted himself 

 to political affairs, being one of the leaders of 

 the aristocratic party. Scipio was the brother- 

 in-law of Tiberius Gracchus. He was a man of 

 culture and refinement and a loyal patriot. 



Related Subjects. The following articles in 

 these volumes will make clear the references in 

 the above discussion : 



Carthage Gracchus 



Censors Hannibal 



Consul, subhead The Punic Wars 



Roman Consul 



SCISSORBILL, siz'erbill, or SKIM'MER, 



a bird of the Atlantic region, related to the 

 gulls and terns, having a thin, bladelike bill 

 with the lower mandible much longer than the 



upper. The bird obtains its food by skimming 

 rapidly along the surface of the water with its 

 beak opened wide and the lower mandible 

 thrust below the surface, thus scooping up in- 

 sects, small fish, shrimps, etc. Its wings are 

 short, and in flying the body is held at an angle 

 to keep them from touching the water. The 

 plumage is black above, with a good deal of 

 white tipping the feathers, and is pure white 

 underneath. The nest is a depression in the 

 sand, and the eggs, three or four in number, 

 are white or buffy white in color, heavily 

 blotched with chocolate. 



SCORPIO, skawr'pio, THE SCORPION, one of 

 the signs of the zodiac, a constellation consid- 

 ered by astrologers to exercise a most harmful 

 influence on .human destinies. According to 

 Greek mythology, the scorpion killed Orion; 

 the latter boasted that he would kill every 

 poisonous reptile on earth, so Diana sent the 

 scorpion to sting him, and he died. The scor- 

 pion also frightened the horses of the sun when 

 Phaethon, the son of Helios, endeavored to 

 drive them, causing the incautious driver to be 

 thrown out of the chariot and killed by Jupiter 

 in vengeance for having driven the sun too 

 near to the earth. 



Antares, the brightest star in the constella- 

 tion, is of the first magnitude, with a compan- 

 ion of the "seventh magnitude. Aries is the 

 second sign of the zodiac. The name of this 

 beautiful star, Antares, shining with a deep red 

 light, shows that it is anti-Aries, meaning op- 

 posed to or opposite Aries. In this constella- 

 tion, according to Ptolemy, there are twenty- 

 four stars. Scorpio and Orion both appear in 

 the heavens as bright constellations. Scorpio 

 is easily recognized. It looks much like a boy's 

 kite, with a very long tail. 



Related Subjects. The reader is referred to 

 the following articles in these volumes : 

 Aries Orion 



Astronomy, page 444 Zodiac 



SCORPION, skawr'piun, a group of animals 

 belonging to the same class as the spiders, 

 mites and ticks (see ARACHNIDA), found in 

 warm countries in most parts of the world. 

 In the United States, in which Nebraska is the 

 northern limit of their range, there are about 

 twenty species. A scorpion is dreaded by man 

 because of its poisonous sting, dealt from a 

 curving organ on the last segment of the tail. 

 Two glands at the base of the segment secrete 

 a poisonous fluid that flows out of two pores, 

 and the wound inflicted by the animal is ex- 

 ceedingly painful, though not usually fatal. 



