Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/845

Rh CONSIDIUS. wA large deficiencies. Another work by the same writer, entitled "Ars de Barbarismis et Metaplas- mis," was recently discovered by Cramer in a Regensburg MS. now at Munich, and was pub- lished at Berlin, in 1817, by Buttmann. It is of considerable value on account of the fragments quoted from lost productions, and of the view which it affords of the state of the language and of gram- matical studies at the period when it was com- posed. In the " de Barbarismis" we find a refer- ence to a third essay on the structure of periods, "de Structuranim Ratione," which, if ever pub- lished, is no longer extant. Consentius is commonly believed to have flou- rished at Constantinople in the middle of the fifth century, on the supposition that he was one or other of the following individuals. 1. Consentius, a poet violently bepraised by Sidonius Apollinaris. {Ckinn. xxiii., Epist. viii. 4.) He married a daughter of the consul Jovianus, by whom he had a son, namely 2. CoNSKNTius, who rose to high honour under Valentinian III., by whom he was named Comes Palatii and despatched upon an important mission to Theodosius. He also had a son, namely 3. Consentius, who devoted himself to literary leisure and the enjoyments of a rural life, and is celebrated as well as his grandfather by Sidonius. Fabricius {Bibl. Lat. vol. iii. p. 745) tells us, that in some MSS. the grammarian is styled not only vir c/arissimus, the ordinary appellation of learned men at that period, but also quintm consu- laris quinque civitatum^ which might perhaps lead as to identify him with the second of the above personages. [W. R.] CONSE'VIUS or CONSI'VIUS, the propa- gator, occurs as the siumame of Jantis and Ops. (Macrob. Sat. i. 9, iii. 9 ; Fest. s.v. Opima.) [L. S.] CONSI'DIA GENS, plebeian. None of its members ever obtained any higher office in the state than the praetorship, and are, with once ex- ception, mentioned only in the last century of the republic. The cognomens of this gens are Gallus., Longiis^ Nonianus, and Foetus, the last two of which also occur on coins ; but as there is some confusion between some of the members of the gens, an account of all of them is given under CoNSiDlus, and not under the cognomens. CONSl'DIUS. 1. Q. CoNsiDius, tribune of the plebs, b. c. 476, united with his colleague T. Genucius in bringing forward the agrarian law again, and also in accusing T. Menenius Lanatus, the consul of the preceding year, because it was supposed that the Fabii had perished at Cremera through his neglect. (Liv. ii. 52 ; Dionys. ix. 27.) 2. CoNSiDius, a fanner of the public taxes {pitblicanus), brought an action against L. Sergius Grata, who was praetor in b. c. 98, on account of his illegal appropriation of the waters of the Lu- crine sea. Grata was defended by L. Crassus, who was a friend of Considius. (Val. Max. ix. 1. $ 1.) 3. L. Considius, conducted, in conjunction with Sex. Saltius, a colony to Capua, which was formed by M. Brutus, the father of the so-called tyranni- cide, in his tribunate, B. c. 83. [Brutus, No. 20 ] Considius and Saltius are ridiculed by Cicero for the arrogance which they displayed, and for calling themselves praetors instead of duumvirs. (Cic. cte Leg. Agr. ii. 34.) 4. Q. Considius, a senator and one of the indices, is praised by Cicero for his integrity and CONSIDIUS. «27 uprightness as a judge both in B. c 70 {in Verr. i. 7) and in b. c. 66. {Pro Cluent. 38.) Considius is spoken of as quite an old man in Caesar's con- sulship, b. c. 59, and it is related of him, that when very few senators came to the house, on one occasion, he told Caesar, that the reason of their absence was their fear of his arms and soldiers ; and that when Caesar thereupon asked him why he also did not stop at home, he replied, that old age had deprived him of all fear. (Plut. Caes. 14; Cic. ad Att. ii. 24.) 5. Q. Considius, the usurer, may perhaps be the same as the preceding, especially as the anec- dote related of him is in accordance with the character which Cicero gives of the senator. It is related of this Considius, that, when in the Catili- narian conspiracy, B. c. 63, the value of all property had been so much depreciated that it was impos- sible even for the wealthy to pay their creditors^ he did not call in the principal or interest of anj of the sums due to him, although he had 15 mil- lions of sesterces out at interest, endeavouring by this indulgence to mitigate, as far as he could, the general alarm. (Val. Max. iv. 8. § 3; comp. Cic. ad Att. i. 12.) 6. Q. Considius Gallus, one of the heirs of Q. Turius in b. c. 43, was perhaps a son of No. 4. (Cic. ad Fam. xii. 26.) 7. P. Considius, served under Caesar in his first campaign in Gaul, b. c. 58, and is spoken of as an experienced soldier, who had served under L. Sulla and afterwards under M. Crassus. (Caes. B. G. i. 21.) 8. M. Considius Nonianus, praetor in b. c. 52. He is spoken of in 49 as the intended successor of Caesar in the province of Nearer Gaul, and he as- sisted Pompey in the same year in conducting his preparations at Capua. (Ascon. in Cic. Mil. p. 55, ed. Orelli ; Cic. ad Fam. xvi. 12, ad A U. viii. 1 1, «.) The name of C. Considius Nonianus occurs on coins. (Eckhel, v. p. 177.) 9. C. Considius Longus, propraetor in Africa, left his province shortly before the breaking out of the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, in order to go to Rome to become a candidate for the consulship, entrusting the government to Q. Liga- rius. (Cic. pro Ligar. 1 ; Schol. Gronov. in Ligar. p. 414, ed. Orelli.) When the civil war broke out in B. c. 49, Considius espoused Pompey's party, and returned to Africa, where he held Adrumetum with one legion. (Caes. B. C. ii. 23.) He still had possession of Adrumetum two years after- wards, B. c. 47, when Caesar came into Africa; and when a letter was sent him by the hands of a captive, Considius caused the unfortunate bearer to be put to death, because he said he had brought it from the imperator Caesar, declaring at the same time himself, that Scipio was the only imperator of the Roman people at that time. Shortly after- wards Considius made an unsuccessful attempt upon Achilla, a free town in Caesar's interest, and was obliged to retire to Adrumetum. We next hear of Considius in possession of the strongly- fortified town of Tisdra; but after the defeat of Scipio at Thapsus, and when he heard that Cn. Domitius Calvinus was advancing against the town, he secretly withdrew from it, accompanied by a few Gaetulians and laden with money, intending to fly into Mauretania. But he waa murdered on the joumev by the Gaetidians, who coveted his treasures. (Hirt. B. Afr. 3, 4, 33, 43, 76,86, 93.)