Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/14

CLAUDIANUS. feoble conteniporiiiies; and placed himself, after Hii interval of 300 years, among tlie poets of aniieiit Home." His poems brought him into sueh re|)Ute that, at the request of the Senate, the emperors Arcadius and Honorius erected a statue in his honor in the Forum of Trajan. The productions of Claudianus that have come down to us consist of two epic poems — The Rape vf I'roseriiine, and the incomjdete Uiilllr of the iiiantx. besides panegyrics on Honorius. idyls, epigrams, ami occasional poems. Claudianus displays a brilliant fancy and rich coloring, with variety and distinctness in his pictures; but he is often deficient in taste and gracefulness. There are several manuscripts of The Rape of I'losperinr. of which two. from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, are in the Laurentine Li- brarv at Florence. The best editions arc h' Birt (Berlin. 18il2) and Koch (Leipzig. 180.3). A poor Knglish translation was executed by Haw- kins ( London, 1817 ). Consult Hodgkin. f'/nHdian; The Last of the Roman Poets (London, 1875).

CLAUDIANUS MAMER'TUS (?c.474). A ('iirislian poet and philo>ophcr. A younger brother of Saint Mamertus, Bishop of Vienne. he was consecrated by the latter to the priesthood, and became his assistant. He systematized the liturgy, and was the author of the hymns known as the Small Liturgies, sometimes heard in Catholic churches during the services preceding Ascension Day. The hymns Contra Poetas 'arios and Pange lingua gloriosi lauream cer- taminis have also been ascribed to him. In his famous philosophical treatise, De i^tatu Animw (published by Mosellanus, Basel. 1.520. and. with notes, by C. Earth, Zwickau, Itio.l). he shows that "thought is inseparable from the essence of the soul, and that its spiritual activity is in- destructible" (Neander. History of Dogmas). His complete works were edited by Engelbreeht. and published in Corpus Scriptorum Ecelesias- ticorum Latinorum, vol. xi. (Vienna. 1885). Consult Engelbreeht. Vntersuehungen iiber die Spraclie des Claudianus Mamertus (ib., 1885).

CLAU'DIA QUIN'TA. A Roman woman who disproved the charge of unchasteness brought against her, when the ship carrying the image of Cybele was brought to Rome from Pessimus in B.C. 204. The vessel grounded on a shoal at the mouth of the Tiber, and when the soothsayers declared that it could be moved only by a pure woman, Claudia came forward and, seizing the rope, towed the ship to Rome.

CLAU'DIO. ( 1 ) In Shakespeare's .1/hc7i Ado Ahoiit Xothing, a young Florentine lord. He is in love with Hero: but his affection is not strong enough to prevent his believing the scan- dal against her. (2) In Shakespeare's Measure for Mrasurr. the lover of Juliet.

CLAU'DIUS. (1) In Shakespeare's Hamlet. the King of Denmark, who poisons his brother, Hamlet's father, and marries the widow. He is slain by Hamlet, Mhen the Queen, by mistake, drinks the poisoned wine. (2) A servant whom Brutus accuses of calling out in his sleep, after the appearance of the glinst of Caesar, in Shake- speare's tragedy .Julius Cwsar.

CLAUDIUS I. (TiBERirs CL.Kvmvfi Nero Drisis: ctKcially Ti. Claudu-.s Cesar Au- Gr.STAvus Cermaxicus) (B.C. 10-A.D. 54.3' Ro- man Emperor ( a.d. 41-54) . He was the youngest son of Xero Claudius Drusus. stepson of the Emperor Augustus, and was born at Lugdunum (Lyons), B.C. 10. Being naturally sickly and inlirm, his education was neglected, or left to be cared for by women and freedmcn. His sup- ])oscd ind)ecility saved him from the cruelty of Caligula ; but Claudius, in his privacy, had made considerable i)rogress in the study of his- tory, and wrote in Latin and Greek several ex- tensive works now lost. After the assassination of Caligula. Claudius was found by the .soldiers in a corner of the palace, where, in dread, he had concealed himself. The Pretorians carried him forth, proclaimed him Emperor, and compelled his recognition by the Senate and many citizens who had hoped to restore the Republic. By his payment of the troops, who had raised him to the throne, Claudius I. gave the first example of the baneful practice which subjected Rome to a mili- tary despotism under the succeeding emperors. The first acts of his reign seemed to give promise of mild and just government : but in the year 42, when a conspiracy against his life was detected, liis timidity led him to yield himself entirely to the guidance of his infamous wife, Messalina, who, in concert with the freedmen Pallas and Xarcissus, practiced cruelties and extortions without restraint. Claudius meanwhile lived in retirement, partly occupied in studies, and ex- pended enormous sums in building, especially in the construction of the famous (I'laudian Aque- duct, Aqua Claudia. This great work occupied 30.000 laborers during 11 years. Abroad, the armies of Claudius were victorious. Mauretania was made a Roman province, the conquest of Britain was commenced under the personal com- mand of the Emperor, and some progress was made in GJermany. After the execution of Mes- salina, Claudius married his niece, Agrippina (q.v. ), who exercised as unlimited influence over him as had his former wife. Under her inspira- tion he deprived his son Britannieus of the suc- cession to the Imperial power and adopted Domitius Ahenobarbus Nero, the son of Agrip- pina by Gna-us Domitius Ahenobarbus. When Claudius showed some inclination to deprive Nero of the succession Agrippina caused him to be poisoned with a dish of mushrooms. After his death, Claudius was deified, giving occasion to Seneca's bitter satire, Apocolocyntosis, or Gourdificatioyt.

CLAUDIUS II. (Marcus Aireuus Clau- dius, better known as Claudius Gothicus) (214- 270), Roman Emperor (268-270). He had been Governor of Illyria, and, after the death of Cial- lienus, in 208. was proclaimed Emperor by the soldiers. In the same year he overthrew his rival. Aureolus, and conquered the Alemanni; in the following year he defeated a great host of Goths that menaced Moesia, and 50.000 of them perished in battle, whence the title Gothicus. Claudius died of the pest, at Sirmium. April, 270. CLAUDIUS, Arch of. A triumphal arch at Rome, erected in a.d. 43 on the Via Lata, to com- memorate the victories of Claudiiis in Britain. It was destroved iji the seventeenth centurv.

CLAUDIUS, (1740-1815)." A Ger- man poet and author, knovn as 'Asmus.' or 'Der Wandsbecker Bote,' born at Reinfeld, Holstein. He studied from 1759 to 1703 at the University of .Jena; from 1771 to 1775 was editor, under the name of 'Asmus,' of the newly established Wandsbecker Bote (whence his sur- names), and in 1776 of the Landzeitung. at Darinstadt. In the following year he returned