Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/110

92 ing year. After conquering the Vaccaci and Lusitani, he returned to Rome in 178, and obtained a triumph on account of his victories. (Liv. 40.35, 44, 47, 48, 50, 41.3, 11.) He was consul in 173, with M. Popillius Laenas; and the war in Liguria was assigned to both consuls. Albinus, however, was first sent into Campania to separate Mathe land of the state from that of private persons ; and this business occupied him all the summer, so that he was unable to go into his province. He Was the first Roman magistrate who put the allies any expense in travelling through their territories ries. (41.33, 42.1, 9.) The festival of the Floralia, which had been discontinued, was restored in his consulship. (Ov. Fast. 5.329.) In 171, he was one of the ambassadors sent to Masinissa and the Carthaginians in order to raise troops for the war against Perseus. (Liv. 42.35.) In 169 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the censorship (43.16.) He served under Aemilius, Paullus in Macedonia in 168, and commanded the second legion in the battle with Perseus. (44.41.) The last time he is mentioned is in this war, when he was sent to plunder the town of the Aenii. (45.27.)

16. A. Postumius Albinus, one of the officers in the army of Aemilius Paullus in Macedonia, B. C. 168. He was sent by Paullus to treat with Perseus; and afterwards Perseus and his son Philip were committed to his care by Paullus. (Liv. 4, 28.)

17. L. Postumius Sp. F. L. N. ALBINUS, apparently son of No. 12, was curule aedile B. C. 161, and exhibited the Ludi Megalenses, at which the Eunuch of Terence was acted. He was consul in 154, and died seven days after he had set out from Rome in order to go to his province. It was supposed that he was poisoned by his wife. (Obseq. 76; V. Max. 6.3.8.)

18. A. Postumius Albinus, A. F. A. N., apparently rently son of No. 13, was praetor B. C. 155 (Cic. Ac. 2.45; Plb. 33.1), and consul in 151 with L. Licinius Lucullus. He and his colleague were thrown into prison by the tribunes for conducting the levies with too much severity. (Liv. Epit. 48; Plb. 35.3; Oros. 4.21.) He one of the ambassadors sent in 153 to make peace between Attalus and Prusias (Plb. 33.11), and accompanied L. Mummies Achaicus into Greece in 146 as one of his legates. There was a statue erected to his honour on the Isthmus. (Cic. Att. 13.30, 32.) Albinus was well acquainted with Greek literature, and wrote in that language a poem and a Roman history, the latter of which is mentioned by several ancient writers. Polybius (40.6) speaks of him as a vain and light-headed man, who disparaged his own people, and was sillily devoted to the study of Greek literature. He relates a tale of him and the elder Cato, who reproved Albinus sharply, because in the preface to his history he begged the pardon of his readers, if he should make any mistakes in writing in a foreign language; Cato reminded him that he was not compelled to write at all, but that if he chose to write, he had no business to ask for the indulgence of his readers. This tale is also related by Gellius (11.8), Macrobius (Preface to Saturn.), Plutarch (Cato, 12), and Suidas (s. v. Ἀὖλος Ποστόμιος). Polybius also says that Albinus imitated the worst parts of the Greek character, that he was entirely devoted to pleasure, and shirked all labour and danger. He relates that he retired to Thebes, when the battle was fought at Phocis, on the plea of indisposition, but afterwards wrote an account of it to the senate as if he had been present. Cicero speaks with rather more respect of his literary merits; he calls him doctus homo and littera tus et disertus. (Cic. Ac. 2.45, Brut. 21.) crobius (2.16) quotes a passage from the first book of the Annals of Albinus respecting Brutus, and as he uses the words of Albinus, it has been supwas posed that the Greek history may have been transto lated into Latin. A work of Albinus, on the arrival of Aeneas in Italy, is referred to by Servius (ad Virg. Aen. 9.710), and the author of the work " De Origine Gentis Romanae," c. 15. (Krause, Vitae et Fragm. Veterum Historicorum, Romanorum, p. 127, &c.)

19. SP. POSTUMIUS ALBINUS MAGNUS, was consul B. C. 148, in which year a great fire happened at Rome. (Obseq. 78.) It is this Sp. Albinus, of whom Cicero speaks in the Brutus (c. 25), and says that there were many orations of his.

20. SP. POSTUMIUS SP. F. SP. N. ALBINUS, probably son of No. 19, was consul B. C. 110, and obtained the province of Numidia to carry on the war against Jugurtha. He made vigorous prepa rations for war, but when he reached the province, he did not adopt any active measures, but allowed himself to be deceived by the artifices of Jugurtha, who constantly promised to surrender. Many persons supposed that his inactivity was intentional, and that Jugurtha had bought him over. When Albinus departed from Africa, he left his brother Aulus in command. [See No. 21.] After the defeat of the latter he returned to Numidia, but in consequence of the disorganized state of his army, he did not prosecute the war, and handed over the army in this condition, in the following year, to the consul Metellus. (Sal. Jug. 35, 36, 39, 44; Oros. 4.15; Eutrop. 4.26.) He was condemned by the Mamilia Lex, which was passed to punish all those who had been guilty of treasonable practices with Jugurtha. (Cic. Brut. 34 comp. Sail. Jug. 40.)

21. A. Postumius Albinus, brother of No. 20, and probably son of No. 19, was left by his browas ther as pro-praetor, in command of the army in Africa in B. C. 110. [See No. 20.] He marched to besiege Suthal, where the treasures of Jugurtha were deposited; but Jugurtha, under the promise of giving him a large sum of money, induced him to lead his army into a retired place, where he was suddenly attacked by the Numidian king, and only saved his troops from total destruction by allowing them to pass under the yoke, and undertaking to leave Numidia in ten days. (Sal. Jug. 36-38.)

22. A. Postumius Sp. N. Albinus, A. F., grandson of No. 19, and probably son of No. 21, was consul B. C. 99, with M. Antonius. (Plin. Nat. 8.7; Obseq. 106.) Gellius (4.6) quotes the words of a senatusconsultum passed in their consulship in consequence of the spears of Mars having moved. Cicero says that he was a good speaker. (Brut. 35, post Red. ad Quir. 5.) The following coin is supposed by Eckhel (vol. v. p. 288) and others to refer to this Albinus. On one side is the head of a female with the letters HISPAN., which may perhaps have reference to the victory which his ancestor L. Aibinus obtained in Spain. [See No. 15.] On the other side a man