Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/589

 CICOGNA CID 577 scribes the peculiarities of old age, and shows that they should be looked upon without un- charitableness, as it is the lot of all who outlive friends and kindred ; it is mostly a soliloquy, and so charming that we are almost persuaded to long for old age as the most enviable portion of human life. De Amicitia, addressed also to Atticus, was composed soon after; Lselius is the chief character, and gives utterance to the most exalted sentiments. De Officiis libri tres, written in 44 to his son Marcus, abounds in noble sentiments, although not quite coming up to the theoretical morality of modern times. Paradoxa Stoica, in six books, addressed to Brutus, treats of the dogmas of the Stoics. Cicero wrote several other philosophical works, wholly or nearly lost; he himself alludes to several, as : a Latin paraphrase of the Timceus of Plato; De Gloria libri duo, addressed to Atticus, of which we have a few fragments; there is a report that Petrarch had a MS. of this work ; Economicorum libri duo, in imita- tion of Xenophon, laying down the duties of the master of a family ; Columella made some use of this ; it was written when he was very young, about 84 B. 0. ; a translation of the works of Protagoras, a follower of Democritus; Laus Catonis, in praise of Cato Uticensis, in 46; this was received with such approbation that Csesar, fearing its influence, wrote Anti Cato, in answer to it; only a few fragments are preserved; De Philosophia, in which he recommends the study of philosophy, and de- fends it against several objections ; Consolatio, written on the death of his daughter Tullia; Liber de suis Consiliis, written in the year of his consulship, 63 B. G. ; Chorographia, a geo- graphical work. Cicero was also a didactic poet ; he translated the Phenomena of Aratus, a part of which has come down to us. There have been many lives of Cicero; there was one written by his freedman Tiro, and one by Nepos, which are lost; we have one by Aure- lius Victor, and another by Plutarch, besides many facts and data collected from his own writings, especially his letters. Among modern biographies that of Middleton (London, 1741 ; Bonn's edition, 1854) has gained much fame; but it is a panegyric of such extravagance as to make a large proportion of its statements un- trustworthy. Forsyth's " Life of Cicero " (London, 1864) is an excellent work; and a very good biography of Cicero is to be found in vol. v. of Drumann's Geschichte Horns. Mommsen, in his Eijmuche Geschichte, handles him very severely. A good English translation of the works of Cicero (with the exception of the " Letters") is published in Bonn's " Classi- cal Library." The " Letters " have been trans- lated by Melmoth and Heberden. CICOGNA, Emmanuel Antonio, an Italian his- torian, born in Venice, Jan. 17, 1789, died there, Feb. 22, 1868. He published numerous works relating to the history of Venice, the most important of which is Delle inscrizioni Veneziane raccolte ed illustrate (21 parts). CICBTA, a deadly genus of plants belonging to the natural order umbellifer, with dissected leaves, white flowers, and subglobose fruit con- tracted at the sides. C. maculata (water hem- lock, spotted cowbane, musquash root, or beaver poison) is common in swamps in the United States. The root, which somewhat re- sembles a parsnip in taste and smell, has given rise to cases of fatal poisoning. The seeds con- tain an alkaloid, supposed to be identical with conia. It has been used in the treatment of nervous headaches. Poisoning by it should be treated with emetics and stimulants. A full account of the plant may be found in Bigelow's "Medical Botany," i., 125, and an analysis of its seeds in the " American Journal of Phar- macy," vol. xxvii., p. 294. C. virosa (cowbane or water hemlock), the European species, an acid narcotic, produces tetanic convulsions, and has proved fatal to both men and animals. It has little or no use in medicine. (See CONIUM.) CID, The, or Cid Campeador (lord champion), a popular hero of Spain, whose real name was RUY or RODRIGO DIAZ, born at the castle of Bivar, near Burgos, about 1040, died at Valencia in 1099. He figures prominently in early Spanish literature, but his genuine ex- ploits are so mixed up with fictions that it is impossible to ascertain his real history. According to the most consistent accounts, he belonged to a powerful family, and be- came standard-bearer and commander of the royal troops to Sancho II., king of Leon and Castile. At the siege of Zamora the king was treacherously slain, and his brother Alfonso, the next heir to the throne, was suspected of having been privy to the deed. Diaz com- pelled Alfonso to declare his innocence by an oath, with terrible maledictions in case of falsehood, before he would permit him to oc- cupy the throne. His life was spent in com- bat with the Moors, to whom he became a terror on account of his constant success. The designation el Seid, corrupted to Cid in Spanish, was given to him by the Moors in acknowledgment of his prowess, while the Spaniards whom he protected and avenged called him el Campeador, the champion ; and finally the two epithets combined were almost universally applied to him. He captured Va- lencia about five years before his death, and established himself as its ruler. His wife held the place about three years after he died, and was then forced to fly to Castile, where she died in 1104. He had a son, who was killed by the Moors in battle, and two daughters, one of whom was married to the count of Barce- lona and the other to the prince of Navarre. The exploits of the Cid soon became the subject of poetry and romance, and he became in the popular mind the pattern of a Christian war- rior, invincible in battle and unblemished in character. Fictions were mingled with his actual achievements, until his identity was well nigh lost; and some writers have even contended that he was only a myth. The