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denote the capital town of its particular diftrift. Accord- 

 jug to fime account-?, the city was built, and a Roman 

 colony founded, by Vefpafian ; but with greater probability, 

 according to others, it was only repaired and beautified by 

 Vefpafian, after it had been laid walle and almoft ruined 

 by Cscina, one of the lieutenants of ViteUius, when many 

 thoufands were (lain, and many thoufands fold for fi^.vcs. 

 It was afterwards taken and pillaged by the Burgundians ; 

 and reduced to a heap of ruins by Attila. Withont doubt 

 it was formerly a very confiderable town, and fubjetl to the 

 dominion of the Romans, as we may conclude not only from 

 feveral mile ftones found in many parts of the Pays de V^aud, 

 inoft of which are numbered from Avcnticum, as the prin- 

 cipal place of reference, and more particularly from the 

 prefent ruinB. The ancient walls appear to have inclofed a 

 fpace near five miles in circumference ; of which the prefent 

 tov>'n occupies but a very fmall fpot ; the remainder beniT 

 covered with corn fields and meadows. In an adjoining field 

 is a mofaic pavement, which was the floor of an ancient 

 bath, about fixty feet long, and forty broad ; coj. filling of 

 three compartments, in which are rcprefented human figures 

 in various attitudes, but chiefly bacchanals. From a glory 

 that furrounds the head of Bacchus in this Mofaic, it has 

 been inferred that it was wrought during fome part of the 

 intervening age between Vefpafian and Marcus Aurelius ; 

 becaufe that mark of divinity is not ufual upon monuments 

 of Roman antiquity before that period. Befides, the htad- 

 drefs of a Bacchanalian woman rcprciented in this Mofaic, 

 refembles the head-drefs on the medals of the cmprenes 

 Plotina and Sabina. The ancient amphitheatre appears, 

 from the ruins that remain, to have had an arena of about 80 

 yards in diameter ; and under a tower is a cell from which 

 the animals were probably let loofe upon the arena. On 

 the outfide, remains of five dens are viiible ; and the walls 

 are adorned with feveral pieces of rude fculpture dilapidated. 

 Not far from thefe ruins ftands a column of white marble 

 about fifty feet high, compofed of large maffes neatly joined 

 without cement ; and near it lies a confiderable fragment of 

 defaced fculpture, which feems once to have formed part 

 of the portal belonging to a magnificent temple. There 

 are alfo feveral other relics of the ancient extent and gran- 

 deur of this place. Coxe's Travels in Switzerland, vol. ii. 

 p. 175, S:c. Avenche is fituated at the fouth end of the 

 lake iVIorat, 16 miles fouth-weft of Bern. N. lat, 46° 50' 

 E. long 7° 7'. 



AVENIA Folia, in Botany, denote leaves which have 

 no vifible veins. 



AVENIO, now ylvignon, in Anaeiit Geography, a town 

 of Gallia Narbonnenfis, upon the left bank of the Rhone. 

 See Avignon. 



AVENOR, in jlnt'tqu'ity, an officer under the mafl;er of 

 the horfe, who by order or warrant from him, made up the 

 accounts of the (lables, and iffucd debentures for paying 

 the officers and fervants. 



In a flat. Car. II. we find the avenor mentioned as an 

 officer who provides oats for the ftables. In the Rot. 

 Pari. Edw. III. we alfo read of avenor of the queen, of the 

 prince, &c. 



AVENPACE, in Biography, a philofopher among the 

 Spanifh Saracens, who flourifhed about the middle of the 

 twelfth century, and was a follower of Ariftotle. He wrote 

 a commentary upon Euclid, as well as phllofophical and 

 theological epiUles. He was intimately converfaiit with the 

 Peripatetic philofophy, and applied it to the illuftration of 

 the Iflamic fyftem of theology, and to tlie explanation of 

 the Koran; and on this account he was fufpeded of herefy, 

 and thrown into piifoa at Corduba. Il is faid that he was 



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polfoned at Fez, Intlieyearof theHegira 533, A.D. ii^S; 

 or, according to others, 535, A.D. 1130. Pococke Spec. 

 Hid. Arab. p. 373. Gen. Dicl. Among the Arabian writers 

 he is commonly known by the name of Ebn alSaycgh; and 

 was born in Spain, of Jewifli anccllors. 

 AVEN6, in Botany. See Geum. 



AvENS, in /Indent Geography, a river of Italy, in the 

 Sabine territory, which difcharged itfelf into the Tiber, and 

 which is fuppofcd to have given the name of Ager Aven- 

 tinus to the neighbouring diltri<fl. 



AVENTIA, now A-vcnra, a river of Italy, in Etruria. 

 AVENTINE, John, in Biography, a German hiftorian, 

 was the fon of an inn-keeper at Abenfperg in Bavaria, and 

 born in 1466. Having (ludied at Ingoldftadt and Paris, he 

 gave private leclurcs on eloqut ice and poetry at Vienna, in 

 1503, and in 1507 taught the Greek language at Cracow in 

 Poland. After fpending fome time at Ratifbon, upon his 

 return to Germany, lie removed to Ingoldftadt, in 1509, 

 and explained fome books of Cicero; and in 15 12, he was 

 fentto Munich to undertake tlie office of preceptor to prince 

 Lewis and prince Ernell. His remaining time was princi- 

 pally devoted to the coHeftion and compilation of materials 

 for the work, intitled, " Annales Boiorum," or " Annals 

 of the Bavarians," by which he gained great reputation. 

 This work, which was not publiihcd till the year 1554, 

 feveral years after his death, contained fome fevere ftriclures 

 on the conduft of the Roaiifh clergy, and portions of fecrct 

 clerical hiftory, which Zieglerus, the firft editor, chofe to 

 fupprefs, but which were afterwards publiflicd from an un- 

 mutilated MS. by Cifner, at Bafil, in 1580. In the year 

 1529, Aventine, for fome reafon now unknown, was com- 

 mitted to prifon, but he was foon releafed by the duke of 

 Bavaria; and after a celibacy of fixty-four years, he formed 

 an imprudent matrimonial connection, which difturbed the 

 tranquillity of his latter days. He died in the year 1534. 

 The catholics charged him with being fecretly a protellant ; 

 but though he correfponded with fome of the reformers, 

 and difapproved fome of the popifli doftrines, it does not 

 appear that he ever abandoned the Romifli church. On 

 the contrary, his adherence to it may be inferred from his 

 having been buried at Ratifbon, in the monafl;ery of St. 

 Hemeran, with the ufual popilh ceremonies. Like Eraf- 

 mus, he feems to have been v.'ell inclined to the reformation; 

 but he contented hirafelf with ferving it within the pale of 

 the church, by lafliing the vices of the monks and clergy. 

 Another curious work of Aventine, intitled, " Nunierandi 

 per digitos manufque, &c." was publiflied in 1532, at Ratif- 

 bon, together with heads of a plan for a large work on the 

 antiquities of Germany. His " Annals of Bavaria" were 

 reprinted in folio, in 1710. Gen. Dift. Nouv. Dicl. Hill:. 

 AVENTINUS MoNS, in Ancient Geography, one of the 

 feven hills which formed the fite of ancient Rome, and the 

 fourteenth region of the city. The origin of the name is 

 uncertain; but fome have derived it from Avens, the river 

 which watered the dillridl, whofe inhabitants were afterwards 

 tranfplanted thither. It was alfo called " Murcius," from 

 Mureia, the goddefs of floth, who had a little chapel there ; 

 and " CoUis Dianw," from the temple of Diana; and alfo 

 " Remuria," from the time when Remus refolved to build 

 the city there. But Dionyfius of Halicarnaflus fpeaks of 

 mount Aventine and Remuria as two different places; and 

 Stephanus fays, that Remuria was a city in the neighbour- 

 hood of Rome. The Aventine mount was taken within the 

 compafs of the city by Ancus Martius, who, thinking it 

 might ferve as a place of defence againft furprife, furrounded 

 it with a wall and a ditch. To the eaft, it had the city 

 walls; to the fouth the campus Figulinus; to the weft, the 



Tiber ; 



