5 t MAC 
up to the bar, and was admitted an advocate of the par¬ 
liament of Paris ; but, a conflitutional weaknefs not per¬ 
mitting him to plead, he devoted liimfelf to literary la¬ 
bours. His works were, i. Abrege Chronologique de 
1 ’Hiltoire Ecclefiallique, 3 vols. 3 vo. 2. Anna'les Ro- 
maines, 8vo. 1765; a!fo a chronological abridgment, in 
which the author has inferred all the beft pieces of St. 
Evremond, St. Real, Montefquieu, and Mably, concern¬ 
ing the Romans. 3. Abrege Chronologique de I’Hiftoire 
d’Efpagne et de Portugal, 2 vols. 8vo. 1759-1765. This 
work was begun by Hefnault; and the author was aflifted 
in it by Lacombe. Macquer had alfo a !hare in the Dic- 
tionnairedes Arts et Metiers, and in Lacombe’s tranflation 
of the Syphilis of Fracaftorius. All-his writings are ac¬ 
counted exaft and judicious, though fomewhat dry. He 
died in 1770, leaving the charafter of a modeft, indultri- 
cus, upright, and unaffefted, man. Gen. Biog. 
MA'CRA, in ancient geography, a river flowing from 
the Apennines, and dividing Liguria from Etruria, 
MA'jCRI, or Maca'ri, a town of Afiatic Turkey, in 
Natolia, (ituated in a bay of the Mediterranean, called the 
Gulf of Macri, and anciently Glaucus Sinus. It is feventy 
mile.s fouth-weft of Satalia, and 125 fouth-eafl: of Smyrna. 
■Lat. 36. 58. N. Ion. 29. 30. E. 
MACRIA'NUS (Titus Fulvius Julius), an Egyptian 
of obfcure birth, who, from a private loldier, rofe to the 
liighelt command in the army, and proclaimed liimfelf 
emperor when Valerian had been made prifoner by the 
Perfians, A. D. 260. His liberality fupported his ufur- 
pation ; his two fens Macrianus and Quietus were invelled 
with the imperial purple, and the enemies of Rome were 
feverally defeated either by the emperors or their gene¬ 
rals. When he had fupported his dignity for a year in 
the ealtern parts of the world, Macrianus marched to¬ 
wards Rome, to crufh Gallienus, who had been pro¬ 
claimed emperor. He was defeated in Illyricum by the 
lieutenant of Gallienus, and put to death with his fon, at 
his own requelf, A. D. 262. 
MACRI'NUS (Opilus), one of the fhort-lived mailers 
of the Roman empire, was a native of Casfarea in Af¬ 
rica. He is faid to have been a Have, and to have ex¬ 
hibited in public fhows in the charafter of a gladiator; 
which fafts have been doubted, becaufe he raifed hirn- 
felf to reputation as a pleader in the courts. He be-. 
came the (leward of Plautianus, the minilter of Severus; 
and on his difgrace and fall he narrowly efcaped with his 
life, and was lianifhed to Africa, where he maintained 
himfelf by the united profeflions of rhetorician, pleader, 
and counfellor. After fome abfence he was recalled from 
his exile by Severus, who made him poll-mailer on the 
Flaminian way. Caracalla afterwards created him a 
Roman knight ; and he rofe through different employ¬ 
ments to the high office of pretorian-prefeft, an office 
which he filled with honour and integrity. He at length 
became an object of the emperor’s fufpicions; and faw, or 
imagined, that his own fafety entirely depended upon 
Itriking the .firft blow ; and accordingly engaged a dif- 
contented foldier to (tab the tyrant, which he effefted. 
He immediately fucceeded to the vacant throne, by an 
eleftion of the foldiers, in the year 217 ; and the fenate 
-confirmed the choice of the military. Macrinus was not 
deilitute of qualities and principles worthy of his high 
ilation ; and by the punilhment of informers, and the re- 
fpeft which he himfelf paid, and which he cauled others 
to pay, to the laws, he rellored tranquillity to his country. 
Thefe promifing appearances did not long continue: the 
timidity which he betrayed in buying a peace of Arta- 
banus the Parthian, rendered him odious to his fubjefts; 
and, while he affetted to imitate the virtuous Aurelius, 
without polfelling the good qualities of his heart, he be¬ 
came contemptible and inlignificant. Bafianus was pro¬ 
duced as the natural fon of Caracalla, and was declared 
emperor by the army. Macrinus, at firlt, was refolved to 
oppofe his competitor: the two armies met, and a bloody 
battle enfued ; the fortune of the day remained fome time 
MAC 
very dubious, when Macrinus, who might probably have 
been viftorious had he been firm and Heady, lhamefully 
fled, leaving his enemies in pofleflion of the field, and 
eventually of the crown. He pafled through Antioch, 
eroded Lefler Afia in difguife, and arrived at Chalcedonia 
with the intention of palling over into Europe ; but, be¬ 
ing there recognifed, he was feized and conveyed towards 
Cappadocia. On the road, news was brought him that 
his fon had been taken prifoner and put to death ; which 
fo enraged him, that he leaped from the chariot, and in 
the fall broke his arm ; the guards, dreading the lofs of 
their captive, inllantly difpatched him, and carried his 
head to his rival. This circumftance happened in the 
month of June, A. D. 218, after a reign of fourteen months. 
Hiltorians mention, to the honour of this emperor, that 
he meditated a great reform in jurifprudence, by abolilh- 
ing all thofe imperial referipts which had obtained the 
authority of laws, though often iffiied on particular occa- 
fions, and diftated by the caprice of the prince on the 
throne ; but the fhortnefs of his reign prevented the exe¬ 
cution of this and other plans which he had deviled for 
the public good. Gibbon. 
MACRI'NUS SALMO'NIUS, a modern Latin poet, 
whofe proper name was John Salmon, was born at Lou- 
dun, and flourilhed in the iixteenth century. He difplayed 
fuch a facility in compofing Latin verfe, efpecially of the 
lyric clafs, that he was called the Horace of his time. It 
is fuppofed that he aflumed the name of Macrinus on ac¬ 
count of his extenuated form. He was made preceptor 
of the two fons of Rene of Sayoy ; and acquitted himfelf 
fo well in this employment, that he was received at court, 
where he acquired the friendlhip of many diltinguilhed 
perfons. He wrote a great number of verfes, of which 
fome of the moll elteemed are addrelftd to his wife under 
the name of Gelonis. He died at Loudun in 1557. Se¬ 
veral of the poems of this writer are contained in the fe- 
cond volume of the Driicise Poetarum Gallicorum. A 
collection of his feleft hymns was printed by R. Stephens, 
8 vo. 154.0. 
Charles, or Charilaus, Macrinus, fon of the pre¬ 
ceding, was alfo a good Latin poet and a learned man. 
He was preceptor to Catharine of Navarre, filter to Hen¬ 
ry IV. and perilhed in the maflacre of St. Bartholomew’s. 
Moreri. 
MA'CRIS, [Hebrew.J A man’s name, 
MAC'RITUDE, f. \_macritudo , Lat.] Leannefs. Not 
ujed. 
MA'CRO, a favourite of the emperor Tiberius, cele¬ 
brated for his intrigues, perfidy, and cruelty. He de- 
Itroyed Sejanus, and raifed himfelf upon the ruins of that 
unfortunate favourite. He was acceifary to the murder 
of Tiberius ; and conciliated the good opinion of Caligula 
by proftituting to him his own wife called Ennia. He 
foon after became unpopular; and was obliged by Cali¬ 
gula to kill himfelf, together with his wife, A. D. 38. 
MACRO'BII, a people of ./Ethiopia, celebrated for 
their jullice and the innocence of their manners. They 
generally lived to their 120th year; and indeed from their 
longevity they obtained their name (^.axgo; |3ios ; long life), 
to diftinguilh them more particularly from the other inha¬ 
bitants of ./Ethiopia. Herodotus. 
MACRO'BIUS (Aurelius Theodofius), an ancient 
grammarian or philologift, flouriflied towards the clofe of 
the fourth century. The place of his birth is unknown ; 
for, although he is claimed by the people of Parma, who 
fliow his tomb, he himfelf fpeaks of being born in a coun¬ 
try where the Latin tongue was net vernacular. He un¬ 
doubtedly lived at Rome; but whether he was the fame 
Macrobius who was great-chamberlain under Honorius 
and Theodofius II. is uncertain. The luppofition that 
he held that office has probably been the only ground for 
imagining him to have been a Chriftian, lince the lan¬ 
guage of his writings and the interlocutors in his dia¬ 
logue are entirely heathen. The extant works of this au¬ 
thor are a imall piece on grammar, inlerted in the collec¬ 
tion 
