Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/527

Rh BRUTUS. 13.* M. Junius Brutus, an eminent Roman jurist, who, judging from his praenomen and the time in which he is said to have lived, was pro- bably a son of No. 1 2. He is mentioned by Pom- ponius (Dig. 1. tit. 2. s. 39), along with P. Mucins and Manilius, as one of the three founders of civil law ; and it may be inferred from Pomponius, that though he was praetor, he never attained the rank of consul. The passage of Pomponius, according to tlie reading which has been suggested, is as follows : — Post Iios fuerunt P. Mucius et Manilius et Brutus [vulg. et Brutus et Manilius], qui fundaveruntjus civile. Ex his P. Mucius etiam decern libellos relupiitj septem Afanilius, Brutus tres [vulg. Brutus septem, Manilius tres]. lUi duo consulares /ueru7ti, Brutus praetoriusy P. autem Mucius etiam pontifex maaeimus. The transposition of the names Brutus and Manilius makes the clause Ilii duo consu- lares fuerunty Brutus praetorius, consistent with the former part of the sentence. It also makes the testimony of Pomponius consistent with that of Cicero, who reports, on the authority of Scaevola, that Brutus left no more than three genuine books de jure civile. {De Orat. ii. 55.) That more, how- ever, was attributed to Brutus than he really wrote may be inferred from the particularity of Cicero's statement. Brutus is frequently referred to as a high authority on points of law in ancient classical and legal authors (e. g. compare Cic. de Fin. i. 4, and Dig. 7. tit. 1. s. 68, pr.; again, com- pare Cic. ad Fain. vii. 22, and Gell. xvii. 7). In the books of Brutus are contained some of the responsa which he gave to clients, and he and Cato are censured by Cicero for publishing the actual names of the persons, male and female, who consulted them, as if, in law, there were anything in a name. {De Orat. ii. 32.) From the frag- ments we possess {de Orat. ii. 55), Brutus certainly appears to enter into unlawyer-like details, giving us the very names of the villas where he happened to be. Whether Ser-ius Sulpicius commented upon Brutus is a much disputed question. Ulpian (Dig. 14. tit. 3. 8. 5. § 1) cites Servius libro primo ad Bruium, and Pomponius (Dig. 1. tit. 2. s. 2. § 44) asserts that Sereins duos lil/ros ad Brutum perquam brevissimos ad Edictum subscriptos reliquit. It is commonly supposed that Servius, instead of com- menting on the work of the jurisconsult, dedicated his short notes on the Edict to M. Junius Bnitus, the assassin of Julius Caesar, or else to the father of the so-called tyrannicide. (Zimmem, B. M. G. § 75 ; Majansius, vol. i. pp. 127 — 140.) 14. M. Junius Brutus, a son of the pre- ceding, studied law like his father, but, instead of seeking magistracies of distinction, became so noto- rious for the vehemence and harshness of his prosecutions, that he was named Aceusator. (Cic. de Off. ii. 14.) He did not spare the highest rank, for among the objects of his attack was M. Aemilius Scaurus. (Cic. pro Font. 13.) He was a warm and impassioned orator, though his oratory was not in good taste. It should be rem.irked that all we know of the son is derived from the unfavour- able representations of Cicero, who belonged to the opposite political party. Brutus, the father, was a man of considerable wealth, possessing baths and three country seats, which were all sold to support the extravagance of the son. Brutus, the son, in are written by J. T. G. BRUTUS. 509 the accusation of On. Plancus, made some charges of inconsistency against L. Licinius Crassus, the orator ; and Cicero twice {de Orat. ii. 55, pro Cluent. 51) relates the bons mots {bene dicia) of Crassus, recriminating upon the extravagance of the accuser. 15. D. Junius M. f. M. n. Brutus Gallae- cus (Callaecus) or Callaicus, son of No. 12 and brother of No, 1 3, was a contemporary of the Grac- chi, and one of the most celebrated generals of his age. He belonged to the aristocratical party, and in his consulship with P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica, in B. c. 138, distinguished himself by his opposition to the tribunes. He refused to bring before the senate a proposition for the purchase of com for the people ; and when the tribunes wished to have the power of exempting ten persons apiece from the military levies, he and his colleague refused to allow them this privilege. In consequence of this they were committed to prison by the tribune C. Curiatius. (Val. Max. iii. 7. § 3 ; Li v. Epit. 55 ; Cic. de Leg. iii. 9.) The province of Further Spain was assign- ed to Brutus, whither he proceeded in the same year. In order to pacify the province, he assigned lands to those who had served under Viriathus, and founded the town of Valentia. But as Lusi- tania continued to be overmn with parties of marauders, he laid waste the country in every direction, took numerous towns, and advanced aa far as the river Lethe or Oblivio, as the Romans translated the name of the river, which was also called Limaea, Limia or Belion, now Lima. (Strab. iii. p. 153 ; Mela, iii. 1 ; Plin. H. N. iv. 22, s. 35.) Here the soldiers at first refused to march further; but when Brutus seized the standard from the standard-bearer, and began to cross the river alone, they immediately followed him. From thence they advanced to the Minius (Minho), which he crossed and continued his march till he arrived at the ocean, where the Romans saw with astonishment the sun set in its waters. In this country he sub- dued various tribes, among whom the Bracari are mentioned as the most warlike. He also conquered the Gallaeci, who had come to the assistance of their neighbours with an army of 60,000 men, and it was from his victory over them that he obtained the surname of Gallaecus. The work of subjuga- tion, however, proceeded but slowly, as many towns after submission again revolted, among which Ta- labriga is particularly mentioned. In the midst of his successes, he was recalled into Nearer Spain by his relation, Aemilius Lepidus (Appian, HisjK 80), and from thence he proceeded to Rome, where he celebrated a splendid triumph, b. c. 1 36, for his victories over the Lusitanians and Gallaeci. Dru- mann {Gesch. Boms, vol. iv, p. 8), misled apparently by a passage in Eutropius (iv. 19), places his tri- umph in the same year as that of Scipio's over Numantia, namely, in b, c, 132, (Liv. Epit. 55, 56; Appian, //isp. 71—73; Flor. U. 17. § 12; Oros. V. 5 ; Veil. Pat. ii. 5 ; Cic. pro Bath. 17 ; Plut. Quae^st. Bom. 34, TV, Gracch. 21 ; Val, Max, vi. 4, extern, 1,) With the booty obtained in Spain, Brutus erected temples and other public buildings, for which the poet L. Accius wrote inscriptions in verse. (Cic. pro Arch. 1 1 ; Plin. xxxvi, 4. s, 5, § 7; Val. Max. viii, 14, § 2.) The last time we hear of Brutus is in b. c. 129, when he served under C, Sempronius Tuditjvnus against the Japydes, and by ills niiliuiry skill giiined a victory for the consul.
 * Nos. 13, 14, 19, 20, being reckoned jurists,