Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/369

Rh ARRTANUS. from tlic similarity of his connexion with Epicte- t;is, to that which existed between Xenophon and Socrates. (Photius, p. 17, b. ed. Bekker ; Suidas, .V. V. 'A^piafSs.) In A. D. ]'24, he gained the i'riendship of the emperor Hadrian during his stay 'M Greece, and he received from the emperor's own luls the broad purple, a distinction which con- nod upon him not only the Roman citizenship, but the right to hold any of the great offices of Btiite in the Roman empire. From this time Ar- rian assumed the praenomen Flavius. In A. D. ] 3, he was appointed praefect of Cappadocia, Avhich was invaded, the year after, by the Alani or Massjigetae. He defeated them in a decisive battle, and added to his reputation of a philoso- jilier that of a brave and skilful general. (Dion lass. Ixix. 15.) Under Antoninus Pius, the suc- cessor of Hadrian, Arrian was promoted to the consulship, a. d. 146. In his later years he ap- })cars to have withdrawn from public life, and riom about a. d. 150, he lived in his native town of Nicomedeia, as priest of Demeter and Persephone (Phot. p. 73, b.), devoting himself entirely to study and the composition of historical works. He died at an advanced age in the reign of M. Aurelius. Dion Cassius is said to have written a life of Arrian shortly after his death, but no part of it has come down to us. (Suid. s. v. Aiuv.) Arrian was one of the most active and best writers of his time. He seems to have perceived from the commencement of his literary career a resemblance between his own relation to Epictetus and that of Xenophon to Socrates ; it was his endea- vour for a long time to carry out that resemblance, and to be to Epictetus what Xenophon had been to Socrates. With this view he published I. the philosophical lectures of his master (Amrpigai 'Ettikttjtou) in eight books (Phot. p. 17, b.), the first half of which is still extant. They were first printed by Trincavelli, 1535, and afterwards together with the Encheiridion of Epictetus and Simplicius's commentarj', with a Latin translation, by H. Wolf, Basel, 1560. The best editions are in Schweighauser's Epicteteae Philosopkiae Monu- vieriki, vol. iii., and in Coraes' Uapepya 'EhT]v. Bi€iod. vol. viii. II. His familiar conversations with Epictetus {'OfuMai. 'ETriKXT^Tou), in twelve books. (Phot /. c) This work is lost with the exception of a few fragments preserved in Stobaeus. III. An abstract of the practical philosophy of Epic- tetus ('E7xetpi'Sto»' E7ri/cT7}Tou), which is still ex- tant. This celebrated work, which seems to have been regarded even in antiquity as a suitable manual of practical philosophy, maintained its au- thority for many centuries, both with Christians and Pagans. About A. D. 550, Simplicius wrote a commentary upon it, and two Christian writers, Nilus and an anonymous author wrote paraphrases of it, adapted for Christians, in the first half of the fifth century of our era. The Encheiridion was first published in a Latin translation by Politianus, Rome, 1493, and in 149b", by Beroaldus, at Bo- logna. The Greek original, with the commentary of Simplicius, appeared first at Venice, 1528, 4to. This edition was soon followed by numerous others, as the work was gradually regarded and used as a school book. The best among the subsequent editions are those of Haloander (Niimberg, 1529, Ovo.), Trincavelli (Venice, 1535, 8vo.), Nao- gcorgius (Strassburg, 1554, Bvo.), Berkel (Levden, IG70, Bvo.), Schroeder (Frankfurt, 1723, 8vo.), ARRIANUS. 351 and Heyne (Dresden and Leipzig, 1756 and 1776). The best among the recent editions are those of Schweighauser and Coraes, in the collections above referred to. In connexion with Epictetus, we may also mention, IV. A life of this philosopher by Arrian, which is now lost. Although the greater part of these philosophical works of Arrian has perished, yet the portion still extant, especially the SiaTpi§al^ is the best and most perfect system of the ethical views of the Stoics, that has come down to us. In the case of the Starpigo/, Arrian is only the editor, and his conscientiousness in pre- serving his master's statements and expressions is so great, that he even retains historical inaccuracies which Epictetus had fallen into, and which Arriau himself was well aware of. Another work in which Arrian likewise follow- ed Xenophon as his guide is, V. A treatise on the chase {KwrrynriKSs). It is so closely connected with the treatise of Xenophon on the same sub- ject, that not only is its style an imitation of the latter's, but it forms a kind of supplement to Xeno- phon's work, in as much as he treats only of such points as he found omitted in Xenophon. It was first published with a Latin translation by L. Hol- stenius (Paris, 1644, 4to,) ; it is also contained in Zeune's Opuscula minora of Xenophon, and in Schneider's edition of Xenophon, vol. vi. The most important among the works in which he took Xenophon as his model, is VI. His account of the Asiatic expedition of Alex- ander the Great {'laropiai auaSdaews 'AKe^dvSpoVy or simply 'AvaSacris 'AAe^ai/Spou), in seven books, which we possess complete, with the exception of a gap in the 12th chapter of the seventh book, which unfortunately exists in all the MSS. This great work reminds the reader of Xenophon's Anabasis, not only by its title, but also by the ease and clearness of its style. The work is not, indeed, equal to the Anabasis in point of composi- tion : it does not possess either the thorough equality and noble simplicity, or the vividness of Xeno- phon; but Arrian is, nevertheless, in this work one of the most excellent writers of his time, above which he is raised by his simplicity and his un- biassed judgment. Great as his merits thus are as an historian, they are yet surpassed by his ex- cellences as an historical critic. His Anabasis is based upon the most trustworthy historians among the contemporaries of Alexander, whose works are lost, such as Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, Aristobu- lus, the son of Aristobulus, which two he chiefly followed, Diodotus of Erythrae, Eumenes of Car- dia, Nearchus of Crete, and Megasthenes ; and his sound judgment as to who deserved credit, justly led him to reject the accounts of such authors as Onesicritus, Callisthenes, and others. No one at all acquainted with this work of Arrian can refuse his assent to the opinion of Photius (p. 73, a.; comp. Lucian, Alex. 2), that Arrian was the best among the immerous historians of Alexander. The work begins with the death of Philip, and after giving a brief account of the occur- rences which followed that event, he proceeds in the eleventh chapter to relate the history of that gigantic expedition, which he continues down to the death of Alexander. One of the great merits of the work, independent of those already men- tioned, is the clearness and distinctness with which he describes all military movements and operations, the drawing up of the armies for bat-