Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/59

 FABER FABIUS 51 sions" (1851); "All for Jesus" (1854); "Growth in Holiness" (1855) ; u The Blessed Sacrament" (1856); "The Creator and the Creature " (1857) ; " The Foot of the Cross, or the Sorrows of Mary," "Sir Lancelot" (being his former poem rewritten), and " Ethel's Story Book " (1858) ; and " Spiritual Conferences " (1859). Several years before his death he be- came superior of the Oratory at Brompton. SeeBowden's "Life of F. W. Faber " (1869). FABER, George Stanley, an English theological writer, uncle of the preceding, born Oct. 25, 1773, died near Durham, Jan. 27, 1854. He studied at the university of Oxford, where he became a fellow and tutor of Lincoln college, was appointed Bampton lecturer in 1801, and in the same year published his discourses under the title of Horce Mosaic (2d ed. enlarged, 1818). He took the degree of B.D. in 1803, married, gave up his fellowship, and for two years assisted his father, the rector of Calver- ley in York, as curate. He subsequently oc- cupied various vicarages, in 1831 was made prebendary of Salisbury, and in 1832 appoint- ed master of Sherburn hospital. He wrote a large number of works, most .of which, par- ticularly those on prophecy, in which he holds that the inspired predictions apply not to in- dividuals but to governments and nations, have had a wide popularity. Among the most im- portant are: "Dissertation on the Mysteries of the Cabiri, or the Great Gods of Phoenicia " (2 vols. 8vo, Oxford, 1803) ; " The Origin of Pagan Idolatry" (3 vols. 8vo, 1816); "Diffi- culties of Romanism" (8vo, 1826); "The Sacred Calendar of Prophecy " (3 vols.. 1828); "Papal Infallibility" (8vo, 1851); and "The Revival of the French Emperorship antici- pated from the Necessity of Prophecy " (12mo, 1853 ; New York, 1859). FABIUS, the name of an ancient Roman gens, which claimed to be descended from Hercules and the daughter of the Arcadian Evander. Of the various families which belonged to the gens Fabia, the most ancient was that of the Vibulani, three brothers of which were consuls for seven years in succession (485-479 B. C.). These brothers rendered themselves odious to the common soldiers by refusing to divide among them the booty gained in war, and by their opposition to the agrarian law, but after- ward became popular by their courage in a battle fought with the Veientes in the consul- ship of Marcus Fabius, in 480. In this bat- tle Quintus Fabius was killed, and his brothers Marcus the consul and Cseso were foremost in the fight. The soldiers bravely supported them, and after the battle the Fabii espoused the cause of the plebeians and were regarded by the patricians as apostates. They gained high honor by offering to undertake alone the war against the Veientes. The whole family, with the exception of a single member, to the num- ber of more than 300, left Rome with their followers, fortified themselves upon the banks of the Cremera, and prosecuted the war with great energy. But in the consulship of Hora- tius (477) Pulvillus and T. Menenius Lanatus they were all, after heroic resistance, over- whelmed and destroyed. The only member of the family who survived was Quintus, son of Marcus, who had remained at Rome, and from him were descended the Fabii who after- ward became famous in Roman history. Among them, Quintus Fabius Rullianus is commonly considered the first who had the cognomen Maximus. In 325, as master of the horse, he gave battle to the Samnites, contrary to the express orders of the dictator L. Papirius Cursor, and obtained a signal victory. After other brilliant victories, in 295, being consul for the fifth time, he was in command at the great battle of Sentinum, and defeated the combined armies of the Samnites, Gauls, Etruscans, and Umbrians. He is reputed among the most eminent of the Roman gen- erals, but the principal authorities in regard to this period belonged to the Fabian house, and it is probable that his military achieve- ments have been much exaggerated. Accord- ing to Polybius, it was not Q. Fabius Rul- lianus upon whom the cognomen of Maximus was originally conferred, but his great-grand- son, Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, who by his prudent generalship in the second Punic war saved- the Roman commonwealth from impending ruin. Having been appointed pro- dictator after the defeat of Lake Thrasyme- nus, in 217, he perceived that it was impos- sible with raw and disheartened troops to oppose successfully a veteran army flushed with victory. He therefore avoided- pitched battles and moved his camp from highland to highland, where Hannibal's Numidian horse and Spanish infantry could not follow him. He thus tired them out with marches and counter- marches. This policy gained for him the title of Cunctator, delayer. It was admirably suited to the position of affairs, but the Roman senate and people were impatient under it, and divided the command between Fabius and Minucius, his master of the horse. Minucius made a rash advance, was surrounded by the enemy, and would have been destroyed had he not been rescued by Fabius. Varro, one of the consuls who assumed the command after the expiration of Fabius's dictatorship, disregarded his coun- sels and suffered a severe defeat at Cannae (216). After this Fabius suggested the measures of defence which were adopted by the senate. He was made consul for the fifth time in 209, and became princeps senatus. During this year he inflicted a severe blow upon the Carthagin- ians by the recapture of Tarentum. Toward the end of the war the more energetic plan of action proposed by Scipio prevailed over the advice of Fabius. He died at an advanced age in 203, when Hannibal was about leaving Italy. Caius Fabius Pictor painted a battle piece for the temple of Salus which was dedicated in 302 B. 0., the earliest Roman painting of which there is any record. It was preserved till the