Africanus

[Scipio.]

(Ἀφρικανός), a writer on veterinary surgery, whose date is not certainly known, but who may very probably be the same person as Sex. Julius Africanus. Works Κεστοί

Sex. Julius Africanus' work entitled Κεστοί contained information upon medical subjects. [Africanus, Sex. Julius.] Editions

His remains were published in the Collection of writers on Veterinary Medicine, first in a Latin translation by J. Ruellius, Par. 1530, fol., and afterwards in Greek, Bas. 1537, 4to. edited by Grynaeus. [W.A.G]

a classical Roman jurisconsult, who lived under Antoninus Pius. He was probably a pupil of Salvius Julianus, the celebrated reformer of the Edict under Hadrian. [Julianus, Salvius.] He consulted Julian on legal subjects (Dig. 25. tit. 3. s. 3.4). Works

There is a controverted passage in the Digest (Africanus libro vicesimo Epistolarum apud Julianum quaerit, &c. Dig. 30. tit. i. s. 39), which has been explained in various ways; either that he published a legal correspondence which passed between him and Julianus, or that he commented upon the epistolary opinions given by Julianus in answer to the letters of clients, or that he wrote a commentary upon Julianus in the form of letters. On the other hand, Julianus "ex Sexto" is quoted by Gaius (2.218), which shews that Julianus annotated Sextus, the formula "ex Sexto" being synonymous with "ad Sextum." (Neuber, die jurist. Klassiker, 8. 9.) Who was Sextus but Africanus ? Africanus was the author of " Libri IX Quaestionum," from which many pure extracts are made in the Digest, as may be seen in Hommel's "Palingenesia Pandectarum," where the extracts from each jurist are brought together, and those that are taken from Africanus occupy 26 out of about 1800 pages.

From his remains, thus preserved in the Digest, it is evident that he was intimately acquainted with the opinions of Julianus, who is the person alluded to when, without any expressed nominative, he uses the words ait, caistimarit, negarit, putavit, inquit, respondit, placet, notat. This is proved by Cujas from a comparison of some Greek scholia on the Basilica with parallel extracts from Africanus in the Digest. Paullus and Ulpian have done Africanus the honour of citing his authority. He was fond of antiquarian lore (Dig. 7. tit. 7. s. l, pr. where the true reading is S. Caccilius, not S. Aelius), and his "Libri IX Quaestionum," from the conciseness of the style, the great subtlety of the reasoning, and the knottiness of the points discussed, so puzzled the old glossators, that when they came to an extract from Africanus, they were wont to exclaim Africani lex, id est difficilis. (Heinecc. Hist. Jur. Rom. § cccvi. n.) Mascovius (de Sectis Jur. 4.3) supposes that Africanus belonged to the legal sect of the Sabiniani [Capito], and as our author was a steady follower of Salvius Julianus, who was a Sabinian (Gaius, 2.217, 218), this supposition may be regarded as established. In the time of Antoninus Pius, the distinction of schools or sects had not yet worn out. Date

Among the writers of the lives of ancient lawyers (Pancirollus, Jo. Bertrandus, Grotius, &c.) much dispute has arisen as to the time when Africanus wrote, in consequence of a corrupt or erroneous passage in Lampridius (Lamp. Alex. Sev. 68), which would make him a friend of Severus Alexander and a disciple of Papinian. Cujas ingeniously and satisfactorily disposes of this anachronism by referring to the internal evidence of an extract from Africanus (Dig. 30. tit. 1. s. 109), which, assumes the validity of a legal maxim that was no longer in force when Papinian wrote. Sextus Caecilius Africanus and the jurist mentioned in the Digest as Caecilius

For reasons which it would be tedious to detail, we hold, contrary to the opinion of Ménage (Amoen. Jur. c. 23), that our Sextus Caecilius Africanus is identical with the jurist sometimes mentioned in the Digest by the name Caecilius or S. Caecilius. and also with that S. Caecilius whose dispute with Favorinus forms an amusing and interesting chapter in the Noctes Atticae. (Gel. 20.1.) Gellius perhaps draws to some extent upon his own invention, but, at all events, the lawyer's defence of the XI I Tables against the attacks of the philosopher is "ben trovato." There is something humorously cruel in the concluding stroke of the conversation, in the pedantic way in which our jurisconsult vindicates the decemviral law against debtors--partis secanto, &c.--by the example of Metius Fufetius, and the harsh sentiment of Virgil: At tu dictis, Albane, maneres. Editions

The remains of Africanus have been admirably expounded by Cujas (ad Africanum tractatus IX. in Cujac. Opp. vol. 1), and have also been annotated by Scipio Gentili. (Scip. Gentilis, Diss. I-IX ad Africanum 4to. Altdorf. 1602-7.) Further Information

Strauchius, Vitae aliquot veterum jurisconsultorum, 8vo. Jen. 1723; I. Zimmern, Röm. Rechtsgeschichte, § 94. [J.T.G]

a celebrated orator in the reign of Nero, seems to have been the son of Julius Africanus. of the Gallic state of the Santoni, who was condemned by Tiberius, A. D. 32. (Tac. Ann. 6.7.) Quintilian, who had heard Julius Africanus, speaks of him and Domitius Afer as the best orators of their time. The eloquence of Africanus was chiefly characterized by vehemence and energy. (Quint. Inst. 10.1.118, 12.10.11, comp. 8.5.15; Dial. de Orat. 15.) Pliny mentions a grandson of this Julius Africanus, who was also an advocate and was opposed to him upon one occasion. (Ep. 7.6.) He was consul suffectus in A. D. 108.

a Christian writer at the beginning of the third century, is called by Suidas a Libyan (s. v. Ἀφρικανός), but passed the greater part of his life at Emmaus in Palestine, where, according to some, he was born. (Jerome, de Vir. Ill. 63.) When Emmaus was destroyed by fire, Africanus was sent to Elagabalus to solicit its restoration, in which mission he succeeded: the new town was called Nicopolis. (A. D. 221, Eusebius, Chron. sub anno; Syncellus, p. 359b.) Africanus subsequently went to Alexandria to hear the philosopher Heraclas, who was afterwards bishop of Alexandria. The later Syrian writers state, that he was subsequently made bishop. He was one of the most learned of the early Christian writers. Socrates (Hist. Eccl. 2.35) classes him with Origen and Clement; and it appears from his letter on the History of Susanna, that he was acquainted with Hebrew. Works Chronicon

The chief work of Africanus was a Chronicon in five books (πεντάβιβλιον χρονολογικόν), from the creation of the world, which he placed in 5499 B. C. to A. D. 221, the fourth year of the reign of Elagabalus. This work is lost, but a considerable part of it is extracted by Eusebius in his " Chronicon," and many fragments of it are also preserved by Georgius Syncellus, Cedrenus, and in the Paschale Chronicon. (See Ideler, Handbuch d. Chronol. vol. ii. p. 456, &c.) Editions

The fragments of this work are given by Gallandi (Bibl. Pat.), and Routh (Reliquiae Sacrae). Letter to Origen

Africanus wrote a letter to Origen impugning the authority of the book of Susanna, to which Origen replied. Editions

This letter is extant, and has been published, together with Origen's answer, by Wetstein, Basle, 1674, 4to. It is also contained in De la Rue's edition of Origen. Letter to Aristeides

Africanus also wrote a letter to Aristeides on the genealogies of Christ in Matthew and Luke (Phot. Bibl. 34 ; Euseb. Hist. Eccl. 6.23), of which some extracts are given by Eusebius. (1.7.) Κεστοί

There is another work attributed to Africanus, entitled Κεστοί, that is, embroidered girdles, so called from the celebrated κεστός of Aphrodite. Some modern writers suppose this work to have been written by some one else, but it can scarcely he doubted that it was written by the same Africanus, since it is expressly mentioned among his other writings by Photius (l.c.), Suidas (l.c.), Syncellus (l.c.), and Eusebius. (6.23.) The number of books of which it consisted, is stated variously. Suidas mentions twenty-four, Photius fourteen, and Syncellus nine. It treated of a vast variety of subjects--medicine, agriculture, natural history, the military art, &c., and seems to have been a kind of common-place book, in which the author entered the results of his reading Some of the books are said to exist still in manuscript. (Fabricius, Bibl. Graec. vol. iv. pp. 240, &c.) Editions

Some extracts from them are published by Thevenot in the " Mathematici Veteres," Paris, 1693, fo., and also in the Geoponica of Cassianus Bassus. (Needham, Prolegom. ad Geopon.) Translations

The part relating to the military art was translated into French by Guichard in the third volume of " Mémoires crit. et hist. sur plusieurs Points d'Antiquités militaires," Berl. 1774. Further Information

Compare Dureau de la Malle, " Poliorcétique des Anciens," Paris, 1819, 8vo.

a Roman of noble rank, was deterred by Agrippina from marrying Silana. In A. D. 62, he took the census in the provinces of Gaul, together with Q. Volusius and Trebellius Maximus. (Tac. Ann. 13.19, 14.46.) His name occurs in a fragment of the Fratres Arvales. (Gruter, p. 119.) There was a T. Sextius Africanus consul with Trajan in A. D. 112, who was probably a descendant of the one mentioned above.

• Africa, of Africa, African: bellum: possessiones, N.— Plurf. as subst., arum (sc. ferae), panthers, L.

(1) A name given to several of the Scipios for their victories over the Carthaginians. See Scipio.

(2) See Sextus Iulius.