Page:St Augustine Of the Citie of God.pdf/121

 whose contrary is Dispendium, Excesse or Superfluity. (c) Metellus.] Ualerius, lib. 7. and Pli∣ny lib. 7. Q. Metellis Macedonicus was iudged of all men the most happy, as a man endowed * with all good qualities of body and minde. Hee was Consul, he was Censor, hee managed great warres with happy successe, he attained the glory of a triumph: hee left foure sonnes, three of thē were Consuls, two of which triumphed: one of which was Censor: his fourth was Prae∣tor, & prickt for the Consulship, and (as Uelleius saith) hee attained it: Besides hee had three daughters all married to Noble and mighty houses, whose children he him-selfe liued to see; and by this illustrious company, all sprung from his owne loines (beeing of exceeding age) he was borne forth to his funerall. (d) Fiue Consuls to his sonnes] [This history is depraued by some smattering fellow: For I do not thinke that Saint ← Augustine → left it so. Vnlesse you will take Quin{que} filios Consulares, for Fiue sonnes worthy to be Consuls: as my fine Commentator ob∣serued most acutely: which hee had not done vnlesse his skill in Logike had beene so excellent * as it was: so hee findes it to be Consulares quasi Consulabiles, or Consulificabiles, that is (in the magisteriall phrase) in potentia to become Consuls.] (e) And Cateline] The life and conditions of L. Sergius Cateline, are well knowne because Salust him-selfe the author that reporteth them, is so well knowne. It is said that amongst other reasons, pouerty was one of the cheefe, * that set him into the conspiracy against his countrey, for he was one whose excessiue spending exceeded all sufficient meanes for a man of his ranke. In Syllas time he got much by rapine, and gaue Sylla many guifts; who vsed his help in the murder of M. Marius, & many others. (f) I omit to relate that Marius] C. Marius hauing escaped alone out of the first battell of the ciuill wars, fled to Minturnae a town of Campania. The Minturnians to do Sylla a pleasure sent a fel∣low to cut his throat: but the fellow being terrified by the words, and maiesty of the man, and * running away as one-wholy affrighted, the Minturnians turned their mallice to reuerence, and began to thinke now that Marius was one whome the goddes had a meseriall care of: so that they brought him into the holy Wood which was consecrated to Marica, a little without the towne, and then they sette him free to go whether hee would: Plutarch in the life of Marius. Velleius saith they brought him to the marish of Marica: She that was first called Circe (saith Lactantius) after her deifying, was enstiled Marica. Seruius (in Aenaeid. lib. 8.) saith, Marica* was the wife of Faunus, and that she was goddesse of the Minturnians shores, neare the riuer Ly•…: H•…race:

〈◊〉 Maricae litterribus tenuisse Lyrim, Held Lyris swimming neare Maricas, shores. But if we make her the wife of Faunus, it cannot be so: for the Topicall Gods, that is, the local gods of such and such places, do neuer change their habitations, nor go they into other coun∣tries: But Poeticall licence might call her Marica of Laurentum, when indeed she was Marica of Minturnum. Some saie that by Marica should be vnderstood Uenus: who had a Chappel neere vnto Marica wherin was written 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the Temple of Venus. Hesiod saith that Latinus was the sonne of Ulisses and Cyrce: which Virgill toucheth, when hee calles him His gransires forme, the sonnes: Solis aui specimen. But because the times do not agree, therefore we must take the opinion of Iginius touching this point, who affirmes that there were many that were called by the names of Latinus: and that therefore the Poet wresteth the concordance of the name, to his owne purpose. Thus much saith Seruius. Of the Actes of Sylla, wherein the Deuils shewed them-selues his maine helpers and furtherers. CHAP. 24. NOw as for (a) Sylla him-selfe, who brought all to such a passe, as that the times before (whereof he professed him-selfe a reformer) in respect of those that hee brought forth, were wished for againe and againe; when he first of all set forward against Marius towardes Rome, Liuie writes that the entrailes in the sacrifices were so fortunate, that (b) Posthumius the Sooth-sayer would needes haue him-selfe to bee kept vnder guard, with an vrgent and willing proffer to loose his head, if all Syllas intents sorted not (by the assistance of the goddes) vnto