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Avranches, controvef sy among the commentators and critics, who 

 Aurelian. are by no means agreed, whether he ought to be 

 ranked among the writers of the silver or the brazen 

 age. Without pretending to enter into the merits of 

 this learned controversy, or to detract from the epi- 

 thets lucu/eiilus, nitidis, elegantimmm, latinissimus, 

 bestowed upon this author by many eminent and ju- 

 dicious critics, we shall only observe, that the reader 

 of the Nodes AttictB will occasionally remark some 

 of those peculiarities which characterise the style of 

 the later Roman writers. Those who are desirous 

 of obtaining farther information upon this subject, 

 may consult the preface to Mr Bcloe's translation, 

 and the authorities therein referred to ; particularly, 

 Falsterns, De Vita et Rebus A. Gellii, and Fabricius, 

 Bibliolh. Lat. vol. i. and ii. 



The Nodes Atticie were first printed at Rome, by 

 Conrad Sweinheim, and Arnold Pamiartz, in 1469. 

 The editor was John Andreas, the learned bishop of 

 Aleria. The most valuable of the subsequent edi- 

 tions are. 1. The edition of Jenson ; Venice, 1472. 

 2. The edition of Aldus ; ibid. 1515. 3. The edi- 

 tion of Henry Stephen; Paris, 1585. 4. The El- 

 zivir edition ; Amsterdam, 1651. 5. Cum notis va- 

 riorum; Leijdcn, 1666. 6. In usum Delphini ; 1681. 



7. The edition of the Gronovii; Leyden, 1706. 



8. Of Conradus; Leipsick, 1762. 

 Mr Beloe's translation, with critical and explana- 

 tory notes, was published in 1795; and will be of 

 essential service to the student, besides being valuable 

 to such as are deprived of the advantage of being 

 able to peruse the original, (z) 



AVRANCHES, the Abricantcc of the ancients, 

 a very old town of France, in the department of the 

 Channel. The cathedral, which stands on a hill, and 

 the ruins of the castle, which are very extensive, arc 

 the only objects deserving of particular notice. Po- 

 pulation 5413. W. Long. 1 22 38", N. Lat. 48 

 41' 18". (j) 



AURELIAN, one of the Roman emperors, was 

 the son of a peasant, and a native of Sirmium in Pan- 

 nonia. He entered the army as a common soldier, 

 and was so distinguished by his extraordinary strength 

 and courage, that he rose successively to the rank of 

 a centurian, a tribune, the praefect of a legion, the in- 

 spector of the camp, the general of a frontier, and, 

 at length, to the important office of commander in 

 chief of the cavalry. He was invested with the con- 

 sulship by the influence of the emperor Valerian ; and 

 married the daughter of Ulpius Crinitus, a senator of 

 the highest rank and merit. At the death erf Clau- 

 dius II., who recommended him as his successor, he 

 was saluted emperor by the army, A. D. 270; and 

 their election was soon confirmed by the voice of the 

 senate. Aurelian continued to reign only four years 

 and nine months ; but every instant of that short 

 period was marked by some memorable achievement. 

 In the course of the year 270, he put an end to the 

 war with the Goths; and repeatedly routed the Ger- 

 mans who had invaded Italy. Returning to Rome, 

 where some disturbances had taken place during his 

 absence, he put to death several of the senators, who 



had been suspected of exciting these commotions; Aurelian. 

 and by the severity of his conduct in this instance, 

 estranged from himself, in a great degree, the affections 

 of the people. After having repaired and extended 

 the walls of the city, in the beginning of the year 

 271, he recovered Gaul, Spain, and Britain from the 

 usurpation of Tebricus, governor of Aquitaine. In 

 272 he turned his arms against Zenobia, the cele- 

 brated queen of Palmyra, who had established a mo- 

 narchy upon the ruins of the.empire in the east, and 

 had maintained her authority during the space of five 

 or six years. He gained possession of Tyana in 

 Gappadocia, after an obstinate resistance ; and treat- 

 ed the inhabitants with the utmost lenity, from re- 

 spect to the memory of their countryman Apollonius. 

 Having defeated the forces of Zenobia in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Antioch, he entered that place in tri- 

 umph, and conciliated the citizens by the mildness of 

 his measures. He gained a second victory near the 

 city of Emesa ; advanced, through all the obstacles 

 of the sandy desert and plundering Arabs, to the 

 siege of Palmyra; cut off the succours, which were 

 sent from Persia for its relief; and at length intercepted 

 the queen, when attempting to make her escape from 

 the 'city. Her capital surrendered very soon after, 

 upon condition that the lives of the inhabitants should 

 be spared ; but a few of the queen's ablest counsel- 

 lors, among whom was the celebrated Longinus, were 

 afterwards sacrificed at Emesa to the vengeance of 

 the conqueror. A short time after his departure, the 

 Palmyreans broke out into open rebellion ; massacred 

 the governor and garrison, left in their city ; and pro- 

 claimed a kinsman of Zenobia their sovereign. But 

 the avenging conqueror, naturally severe, and now 

 roused into fury by the presumption of this revolt, 

 and the slaughter of his troops, was soon at their 

 gates, entered the city without opposition, put the 

 inhabitants to the sword without distinction, and re*- 

 duced that short-lived metropolis to a state of ruin, 

 from which it never recovered. After having sup- 

 pressed an insurrection, which had been excited at 

 Alexandria by an adventurer named Firmus, whom 

 he caused to be tortured and put to death, he return- 

 ed to Rome in 274, and was honoured with a more 

 splendid triumph than had ever been witnessed even 

 ^jn that city of triumphs. * On this occasion, he made 

 his captives subservient to his military glory, but after- 

 wards treated them with the greatest humanity and 

 kindness. He gave to Zenobia lands and possessions 

 in the neighbourhood of Tivoli ; and appointed Tetri- 

 cus governor of Lucania. Out of the spoils of his vic- 

 tories he built a magnificent temple to the sun, in 

 whose service his mother had been an inferior priestess, 

 and for whose worship he always professed a peculiar 

 veneration v He applied himself with the utmost ac- 

 tivity, during this short period of peace, to the sup- 

 pression of various abuses, the prevention of crimes, 

 and the general reformation of manners. He remit- 

 ted all the debts, which had become due, in the 

 course of the year, from private persons to the pub- 

 lic treasury ; and, at the same time, published an act 

 of oblivion, with respect to all crimes committed 



* For a particular account of Aurdian's triumph, see Vopiscus Hist. Aug- 220; Gibbon's Rum. Hist, vol.ii. p. 46.; and 

 Ana Un. Hut. vol. xv. p. 458. 



