Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/1271

Rh VICTORINUS. rather than deny his religion. The history of his conversion is detailed at length, upon the authority of Simplicianus, bishop of Milan, in the Confessions of St. Augustine, who glories not a little in so distinguished a proselyte. The following works ascribed to this author are still extant. I. Commentarius s. Eocpositio in Ciceronis libros de Invenlione. First printed at Milan by Zarotus fol. 1474, again by Aldus, 8vo. Venet. 1522, along with the Annotations of Asconius upon the Ora- tions of Cicero ; and again by R. Stephens, 4to. Par. 1537. It will be found in the Antiqui Rhe- tores Latini of Pithou, 4to. Par. 1599, pp. 79— 239 ; and in the same collection as re-edited by Caperonnier, 4to. Argentor. 1756, pp. 102 — 255. It is likewise included in the fifth volume of Orelli's edition of Cicero. II. Ars Grammaticade OrtJiographid et RatiOhe Metrorum^ a complete and voluminous treatise upon metres in four books, first printed by Ulric. Mor- Lard in the collection of Latin grammarians, pub- lished under the inspection of Jo. Camerarius, 4to. Tubing. 1537. It will be found in the Gram- maticae Latinae Audores ^n^iy?^^ of Putschius, 4to. Hanov. 1605, pp. 2450 — 2622. The translations from Plato mentioned by St. Augustine (Confess, viii. 2) have perished. III. De Trinitate contra Arium LibrilV., finished it would appear about a. d. 365. IV. De bfxoovaicp recipiendo^ an abridgment of the foregoing. V. Hymni tres de Trinitate. The three last mentioned pieces were first printed at Basle, fol. 1528, in the Anti- doium contra omnes Huereses, and will be found also jn the Bibliutheca Patrum Max. fol. Lugdun. 1677, vol. iv. p. 253 and p. 294 ; and in the Bibliotheca Fatrum of Galland, vol. viii. fol. Venet. 1772. VI. De Generatione Verbi Divini s. Confutato- rium Candidi Ariani ad eumdem. First printed at Biisle, fol. 1528 in the Conceptiones in Ge7iesim et Exodum of Ziegler along with a fragment of the tract by Candidus [Candidus] De Generatione Divina^ to which it is a reply. Both will be found in the Orthodoxographa of Heroldus, fol. Bas. 1555, p. 461, in the Haeresiologia oi Heroldus, fol. Bas. 1556, p. 186, in the Analeda Vetera of Mabillon, fol. Par. 1685, vol. iv. p. 155 ; and in the Biblio- theca Patrum of Galland, vol. viii. as above. VII. Ad Judinum Manichaeum contra duo Prin- dpia Manichaeorum et de vera Came Christi. VIII. De Verbis Scripturae " Factum est Vespere et Mane Dies Unus." The two last mentioned pieces were first published by Sirmond and inserted in his Opera Dogmatica Vetera^ 8vo. Par. 1630. They will be found also in his collected works, fol. Par. 1 Q9^^ vol. i. ; and in the Bibliotheca Patrum of Galland, vol. viii. The titles were fabricated by the editor, none having been found in his Codex. IX. Commentarius in Epistolam Pauli ad Gala- tas, in two books. X. Commentarius in Epistolam Pauli ad Philippenses, in one book. XI. Com- mejitarius in Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, in two books. XII. De Physicis^ composed for the pur- pose of defending religion against those philosophers who attacked the Mosaic account of the Creation. The four last mentioned pieces have only recently been brought to light. St. Jerome twice refers to the commentaries of Victorinus upon the epistles of Paul ; and although we learn from Sirmond {Opera, vol. i. p. 345), that the MS. from which he de- rived the Opuscula which we have marked VII. VIII. contained also commentaries upon the epistles VICTORIUS. 1259 of Paul by the same author, yet, for some reason not known, he did not publish the latter which were altogether lost sight of, until no less than three MSS. of them were discovered in the library of the Vatican by Angelo Mai, by whom they were included in the third volume of the Scriptorum Veterum Nova Collectio ex Vaticanis codicibus edita,4to. Rom. 1828. Whether Victorinus wrote commentaries upon all the epistles of Paul is left in doubt by the words of St. Jerome, and cannot now be determined. The De Physicis is found in all the three Vatican MSS. subjoined to the com- mentary on the Ephesians ; and although not actually inscribed with the name of Victorinus seems to be alluded to by himself {Ad Ephes. lib. ii. p. 126) ; and bears strong external evidence of his manner. In addition to all these a descriptive epic in seven books, entitled De Fratribus VII. Maccabaeis inter- fectis ab Antiocho Epiphane, has been ascribed sometimes to Victorinus of Pettaw, sometimes to Victorinus Afer, and sometimes to Hilarius of Aries. If it belongs to any one of these three personages, the last is probably the rightful owner. The fame enjoyed by Victorinus as a public instructor does not gain any accession from his theological works. In style, weak, cramped, and involved, in phraseology often barbarous, sustained by no depth of learning and relieved by no bril- liancy of illustration, they merit the severe criticism of St. Jerome, who pronounces their author to be both obscure and ignorant. The exposition of the essay De Inventione is more difficult to comprehend than the text which it professes to explain, the hymns are destitute of all poetical spirit, and set the laws of prosody and metre so completely at defiance that they could scarcely have proceeded from the compiler of the grammatical treatise which displays much research and contains many valuable observations. (Hieronym. rfe Viris 111. 101; Prooem. in Epit. ad Galat., Chronic, ad A.D. 360, Jofw. Rufin. vol. iv. p. 367, ed. Bened. ; Augustin. Con- fess, viii. 2, 4, 5 ; Trithem. 71 ; Honor, i. 102 ; Lardner, Credibility of Gospel History, c. xciv. ; Gal- land, Biblioth. Fatrum, vol. viii., Proleg. c. iv. p. vii. ; Schoenemann, Bibl. Fatrum Lat. vol. i. c. 4. § 13.) 3. Maximus Victorinus. We possess three short tracts — 1. De Re Grammatica; 2. De Car- mine Heroico ; 3. De Ratione Metrorum, all ap- parently the work of the same author and usually ascribed in MSS. to a Maximus Victorinus ; but whether we ought to consider him the same with the rhetorician who floujished under Constantius or as an independent personage it is impossible to decide. They were first printed in the collection of ancient grammarians published by Adamus Petri, 8vo. Bas. 1 527, where the two former are assigned to Marius Victorinus Afer and the third to Maximus Victorinus; they will be found also in the Gram- maticae Latinae Auctores Antiqui oi VxiXichms, 4to. Hannov. 1605, pp. 1938—1:^74 ; and imder a greatly improved form in the Corpus Grammaticorum Latinorum Veterum of Lindemann, vol. i. 4to. Lips. 1831, pp. 267—304. Both Putschius and Linde- mann prefix the name of Maximus Victorinus to the whole three. [ W. R.] Q. VICTO'RIUS, primi pill centurio, distin- guished himself by his bravery, b. c. 194. (Liv xxxiv. 46.) VICTO'RIUS MARCELLUS.[MARCKLLr;s.]