Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/186

 MARIUS had joined the army destined to act against Mith'ridutes, incited it to resistance, marched to Rome, and compelled Marius and his friends to fly, they having no force to send against him. Marius vainly endeavored to raise an army by offering freedom to all slaves who should join him. He then sought to reach Africa, but was compelled by bad weather and want of provisions to land in Italy, near which he was coasting. Taking refuge in a wood, and suffering from cold and hunger, he predicted that he should yet receive a seventh consulship. He told his compan- ions that in his childhood a nest with seven eaglets in it had fallen into his lap, and that the soothsayers had prophesied to his pa- rents that he should seven times enjoy su- preme power. Flying from immediate pur- suit, he and his company were forced to swim to two merchant vessels, the crews of which refused to give them up, but afterward made them land at the mouth of the Liris. Here, while concealed in a marsh, Marius was found by his pursuers, and imprisoned at MinturnaB. A Cimbric soldier was ordered to despatch him, but was so affected by the old man's look and language that he lost courage, and declared that he could not kill Caius Marius. The people of the town rose in his favor, and furnished him with a vessel, in which he sailed to Africa, meeting with many dangers on the way. He landed at Carthage, where a message was sent him by the Roman prrotor, ordering him to leave the country. His answer was : " Tell the prtor that you have seen Caius Marius a fugitive sitting on the ruins of Carthage;" a reply, says Plutarch, in which he not inaptly compared the fate of that city and his own changed fortunes. He was soon com- pelled to leave, and went with his son to the island of Cercina. Meantime a revolution had taken place in Italy, where the consul Cinna, who was of the Marian party, had placed him- self in opposition to the Sullan faction, head- ed by his colleague Octavius. The latter, after a severe struggle, expelled Cinna from Rome, who raised a large army, composed of the new citizens. Marius, on hearing of this, returned to Italy, and on landing proclaimed freedom to the slaves, and sent to Cinna, offering to obey him as consul. Cinna accepted the offer, and named him proconsul. This office Marius would not accept, saying its title and insignia were not suited to one in his state. One idea, that of vengeance, alone had possession of his mind. Rome was soon compelled to surrender to the army headed by Cinna and Marius. The foriiior was disposed to proceed mildly, but Marius had other intentions. At first he re- fused to enter the city until the comitia repealed the law under which he had been banished ; but wliiK- the voting for that purpose was go- ing on, he entered at the head of his guards, who were composed of the slaves by whom he had been joined, and an immediate massacre of the anti-Marians was begun. The slaughter MARJORAM was continued for several days, and among its victims were many of the noblest of the Ro- mans. Cinna and Marius declared themselves consuls for the next year, 86. But though Marius had thus irregularly obtained his seventh consulship, he did not long enjoy it, dying on its 18th day, from illness brought on by age, fatigue, and care. The statement that his mind was disordered by fear of Sulla's return is probably one of the libels of the Sullan party. After the triumph of Sulla, the ashes of Marius were thrown into the Anio, by order of the victor. The representative and leader, though perhaps not in strictness the founder, of the party which bears his name in the subsequent history of the Roman republic, and which he was clearly incompetent to conduct to success, his character has probably suffered, like that of other party chiefs, at the hands of his ene- mies. No Roman ever rendered greater ser- vices to the state, and no Roman ever rose so high, to fall so low, with the single exception of Pompey, who in the next generation headed the opposite party. MARIVAIIX, Pierre Carlet de Chainblain do, a French author, born in Paris in 1688, died there, Feb. 12, 1763. He wrote about 30 comedies, the greater part for the Italian thea- tre, and now seldom performed. Among the best are Le jeu de V amour et du hasard, the author's dramatic masterpiece, and Lesfawses confidences. He is now known chiefly by his romances, La me de Mariane and Le paysan parvenu. He also wrote Le spectateur fran- fois and Le philosophe indigent, distinguished by an eccentric and affected style, called after him marivaudage. He was elected a member of the French academy in 1743, Voltaire being a rival candidate. MARJORAM, the common name of plants of the genus origanum, in the natural order la- fiiatce, having nearly entire leaves and purplish or whitish flowers crowded in cylindrical or oblong spikes, which are imbricated with fre- quently colored bracts. About 25 species are enumerated, of which the most common in the gardens is the sweet marjoram (0. majorand), native of Barbary and middle Asia. It is a clean, pretty, low, bushy plant, usually treated as an annual, but properly a perennial. The fragrant leaves and buds, being carefully dried, are pulverized by rubbing them in the hands, and are employed by cooks as a seasoning for forced-meat balls, stuffing, soups, &c. On ac- count of the compact clusters or heads, it is in some localities known as knotted marjoram. The wild marjoram (0. vulgare) has become sparingly naturalized in the United States, ad- ventitiously introduced from Europe. It can be found occasionally upon dry banks and sunny slopes. Its flowers are very pretty, appearing in the months of July and August. Essential oils may be extracted from either of the spe- cies mentioned above, but the oil which is now known in commerce as oil of origanum has been shown to be really derived from the thymus