Page:Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature (1911).djvu/936

 other interpretations on the Scriptures, from one Juliana, who had received them from Symmachus himself. A later writer, Palladius (c. 420), adds that this Juliana was a virgin who lived in Caesarea of Cappadocia, and gave refuge to Origen for two years during a persecution, adducing as his authority an entry which he found in Origen's own hand "This book I found in the house of Juliana the virgin in Caesarea, when I was hiding there; who said that she had received it from Symmachus himself, the interpreter of the Jews" (Hist. Laus. 147). Heut (Origeniana, libb. I. iii. 2; III. iv. 2) is probably right in assigning the sojourn of Origen in this lady's house to the time of Maximin's persecutions ( 238–241). Eusebius speaks of the version of Symmachus (vi. 16) as being, like those of Aquila and Theodotion, in common use in Origen's day, in contrast with the obscure "Fifth" and "Sixth" versions, which Origen brought to light; and Origen's extant remains shew that he knew and used Symmachus's version long before the time of Maximin (236–239).

Palladius, by his incidental statement, coming almost direct from Origen himself and resting on the testimony of a lady who had known Symmachus personally, powerfully confirms Eusebius, and makes it clear that Symmachus was a Christian (or "semi-Christian" as Jerome expresses it) of the Nazareo-Ebionite sect. Epiphanius's account is therefore to be rejected; and with it the theory of Geiger, who seeks to identify him with the Jew Symmachus, son of Joseph. The authority of Epiphanius has, however, been commonly accepted for placing the date of Symmachus under the reign of Severus (193–211)—e.g. by the compiler of the Chronicon Paschale (s.a. 202), Cave (Hist. Lit. s.a. 201), etc. The extract from Palladius roughly fixes limits for the possible date of Symmachus, by shewing that he was an elder contemporary of Juliana, who was contemporary with Origen, but that he had died before Origen's sojourn in her house.

Symmachus's object in his version seems to have been to imitate Aquila in following the Hebrew exclusively, but to avoid his barbarous diction and to commend his work to Greek readers by purity of style. Thus, his renderings are externally dissimilar to Aquila's, but (frequently) internally akin. Remarkable cases of identity of translation between these two versions occur, e.g. Dan. ix. 26, 27, which appears to have been borrowed by Symmachus verbally from Aquila. Of his other writings nothing is known.

[J.GW.]

Symmachus (3) Q. Aurelius, the last eminent champion of paganism at Rome, son of L. Aurelius Avianus Symmachus, who was prefect of the city in 364, consul suffect and pretorian prefect in 376, and one of the envoys sent by Julian to Constantius (Ammian. xxi. 12, 24). He was educated at Bordeaux (Epp. ix. 88), where he and Ausonius became firm friends (Auson. Id. 11, in Migne, Patr. Lat. xix. 895; Symm. Epp. i. 13–43). After being questor and praetor, he became corrector of Lucania and Bruttium in 365 and proconsul of Africa in 373 (Cod. Theod. viii. tit. v. 25; xii. tit. i. 73). Being again in Gaul c. 369, he delivered his first panegyric on Valentinian as he witnessed the construction of his fortifications on the Rhine (Laud. in Valent. Sen. ii. 6). He was appointed prefect of the city at the end of 383 or the beginning of 384. He bore himself modestly in that office, which had been conferred on him unsolicited, declining the silver chariot which his predecessors had permission to use (Epp. x. 24, 40) and the title of "Magnificence" (Epp. iv. 42). In 382 he headed a deputation in the name of the majority of the senate, to the emperor Gratian, to request the replacement of the altar of Victory in the senate house and the restoration of their endowments to the vestals and the colleges of priests. The Christian senators, who, according to St. Ambrose, were really the majority, forwarded through pope Damasus a counter-petition, and by the influence of St. Ambrose the efforts of Symmachus were defeated, as again in 384, after Gratian's death (S. Ambi. Epp. 17, 18, 57, in Patr. Lat. xvi. 961, 972, 1175; Symm. Epp. x. 61. He probably took part in the missions for the same purpose sent by the senate by Theodosius after the fall of Maximus, and to Valentinian II. in 392 (S. Ambr. Ep. 57); and again suffered the same disappointment. In 393 the pagan party had a momentary triumph. Eugenius, at the instigation of Flavian and Arbogast, who had placed him on the throne, restored the altar of Victory and the endowments of the priests (Paulin. Vita S. Amb.. in ''Patr. Lat.'' xvi. 30), but they were again abolished by Theodosius after the defeat of Eugenius and Arbogast. Symmachus appears to have made a final attempt in 403 or 404; at least such is the natural inference from the two books of Prudentius, contra Symmachum, written after Pollentia and consequently c. 404.

Though a champion of the pagan cause, Symmachus was on excellent terms with the Christian leaders. He was a friend of pope Damasus and apparently of St. Ambrose himself, whom Cardinal Mai considers to be the Ambrose to whom seven of his letters are addressed (Epp. iii. 31–37), of St. Ambrose's brother Satyrus (S. Ambr. de Excessu Fratris, i. 32, in Patr. Lat. xvi. 1300), and of Mallius Theodorus, to whom St. Augustine (Retr. i. 2, in Patr. Lat. xxxii. 588) dedicated one of his works. When prefect, he sent St. Augustine as a teacher of rhetoric to Milan (Conf. v. 19, in Patr. Lat. xxxii. 717), and was thus the unconscious instrument of his conversion. His Christian opponents always speak in high terms of his character and abilities. He was a member of the college of pontiffs, and as such exercised a strict supervision over the vestal virgins. In the case of one of the Alban vestals, who had broken her vow of chastity, he demanded the enforcement of the ancient penalty against her and her paramour (Epp. ix. 128, 129), and sternly refused the request of another to be released from her vows before her time of service ended (Epp. ix. 108).

The letters of Symmachus give a remarkable picture of the circumstances and life of a Roman noble just before the final break-up of the empire. His wealth, though not above that of an average senator (Olymp. ap. Not.), was very great. He had a mansion on the Coelian near S. Stefano Rotondo and other houses in Rome (Epp. iii. 14), and numerous