third time since the foundation of Rome) the temple of Janus, B. C. 10. But this peace was interrupted, A. D. 9, by the defeat of Varus, who lost three legions in an engagement with the Germans, under Arminius, and killed himself in despair. The information of this misfortune greatly agitated A. He let his beard and hair grow, and often cried out, in the deepest grief, "O Varus, restore me my legions!" Meanwhile the Germans were held in check by Tiberius. During the peace, A. had issued many useful decrees, and abolished abuses in the government. He gave a new form to the senate, employed himself in improving the manners of the people, particularly by promoting marriage, enacted laws for the suppression of luxury, introduced discipline into the armies, and order into the games of the circus. He adorned Rome in such a manner, that it was truly said, "He found it of brick, and left it of marble." He also made journeys, as Velleius says, every where, to increase the blessings of peace: he went to Sicily and Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Gaul, &c. in several places he founded cities and colonies. The people erected altars to him, and, by a decree of the senate, the month Sextilis was called August. Two conspiracies, which threatened his life, miscarried. Cæpio, Murena and Egnatius were punished with death: Cinna was more fortunate, receiving pardon from the emperor. This magnanimity increased the love of the Romans, and diminished the number of the disaffected; so that the master of Rome would have had nothing to wish for, if his family had been as obedient as the world. The debauchery of his daughter Julia gave him great pain; and he showed himself more severe against those who destroyed the honor of his family, than against those who threatened his life. History says, that, in his old age, he was ruled by Livia, the only person, perhaps, whom he truly loved. He had no sons, and lost by death his sister's son, Marcellus, and his daughter's sons, Caius and Lucius, whom he had appointed his successors. Also, Drusus, his son-in-law, whom he loved, died early; and Tiberius, the brother of the latter, whom he hated, on account of his bad qualities, alone survived. These numerous calamities, together with his continually-increasing infirmities, gave him a strong desire of repose. He undertook a journey to Campania, from whose purer air he hoped for relief; but disease fixed upon him, and he died, at Nola (August 19, A. D. 14), in the 76th year of his age,

and 45th of his reign. When he felt his death approaching, he is said to have called for a mirror, arranged his hair, and demanded of the by-standers, "Have I played my part well?" and, an answer being returned in the affirmative, "Then," added he, using the form of the players, "farewell, and applaud" (valete, et plaudite). If this last passage in the life of A. is true, it is certainly indicative of his character, his policy, and even of his fortune. It is certain, that his conduct was always measured and determined beforehand, and that he had a great power of remaining cool and unmoved amid the cares and agitations of government. Studiously concealing his own plans, he made use of the passions, as well as the talents, of others, to further them. He conquered Brutus by means of Antony, and Antony by means of Agrippa. He several times changed his party, but never his purposes, and knew how to cause power to be offered, and pressed upon him, while it was, in fact, the object of all his exertions. It cannot be denied that he used his power with wisdom, and became the benefactor of his country, which he had previously plunged into the horrors of civil war. His taste and active mind led him to favor and protect the learned; and he even exercised the art of the poet himself; so that he was not unworthy of giving his name to an age distinguished for intellectual creations. His death plunged the empire into the greatest grief. He was numbered among the gods, and temples and altars were erected to him.

AUGUSTUS II, Frederic, elector of Saxony and king of Poland, second son of John George III, elector of Saxony, born at Dresden, in 1670, was remarkable for his bodily strength and activity. To his residence in France he owed that taste for luxury and the fine arts, which afterwards made the Saxon court inferior in splendor to none in Europe, except that of Louis XIV. In 1691, he visited Vienna, where he contracted a friendship with the archduke Joseph, afterwards Joseph I. By the death of his elder brother, John George IV, in 1694, he became elector. The Polish throne having became vacant, in 1696, by the death of John Sobiesky, A. presented himself as a candidate for it. The abbé de Polignac, the French ambassador at Warsaw, supported the pretensions of the prince of Conti, whom the Polish nobility preferred; but A. had an army on the frontiers, obtained votes by bribery, and publicly embraced the Catholic religion. June 27th, 1697, the election took place. A. strengthened his party by

marching 10,000 Saxons into Poland. Bribery and intimidation obtained him the victory. After he had ascended the throne, a treaty was concluded between Denmark, Poland and the czar Peter I, against Charles XII of Sweden, in which the object was the conquest of Livonia. (See Oliva.) But Charles, having defeated the Danes under the walls of Copenhagen, and the Russians at Narva, was now ready to advance into Poland, and A. was obliged to provide for the defence of his own dominions. Thus commenced the celebrated northern war, which lasted twenty years, in which A., with his faithful Saxons, had to withstand the opposition of the Poles, as well as the valor of the Swedes. Charles declared him a usurper, and thus separated the cause of the republic from that of the king, who obtained but little assistance from the Poles. The Swedes advanced to Clissow, between Warsaw and Cracow. A. had 24,000 men, Charles only half the number; but the Poles gave way in the beginning of the engagement, and Charles gained a complete victory, July 20, 1702. May 1, 1703, the Saxon army was defeated again at Pultusk. The diet assembled at Warsaw declared A., Feb. 14, 1704, incapable of wearing the crown of Poland, and Stanislaus Lesczinsky, way wode of Posen, was chosen king, July 12, 1704. Charles, victorious on every side, advanced into Saxony, and A. found himself obliged to conclude a secret peace, at Altranstädt (q. v.), Sept. 24, 1706. Meanwhile the Russians, ignorant of these transactions, obliged A. to attack the Swedish general Mardefeld. He gained a signal victory at Kalisch, and entered Warsaw in triumph, at the time that the proposals of Charles were brought to him. However much he might desire to take advantage of his good fortune, it was too late. Saxony lay at the mercy of the Swedes. He signed the treaty, and, December 18, 1706, visited Charles in his camp at Altranstädt. To complete his mortification, Charles compelled him to send to Stanislaus the jewels and archives of the crown, with a letter of congratulation. He returned to Dresden, where he soon after received an unexpected visit from Charles. Count Flemming, his first minister, advised him to make himself master of the person of his dreaded enemy; but he rejected the unjust proposal. He now devoted himself to the domestic affairs of Saxony. His love of splendor had involved him in many expenses, by which the finances of his

kingdom were disordered. In 1708, he served, under an assumed name, in a campaign against the French, in the Netherlands. In 1709, after the defeat of Charles at Pultawa, the Poles recalled A., who united himself anew with Peter. These two monarchs, in alliance with Denmark, sent troops into Pomerania. Notwithstanding the exhausted state of Sweden, the Swedish general Steinbock gained a splendid victory over the allies at Gadebusch, Dec. 20, 1712, which compelled them to raise the siege of Wismar and Stralsund. Charles XII, having afterwards returned from his residence in Turkey, and made known his determination to prosecute the war with vigor, an alliance, at the head of which was A., was formed against him; but his death put an end to the war, and A. concluded a peace with Sweden. A confederation was now formed in Poland against the Saxon troops, at the head of which was a nobleman, named Ledekuski. The Saxons were attacked on all sides, and were obliged to surrender. At length, through the mediation of Peter, an arrangement was concluded at Warsaw, 1716, between A. and the republic. The Saxon troops were removed from the kingdom, and A., says a celebrated historian, renouncing the idea of subduing it by force, sought to attain his end by other means. He gave himself wholly up to voluptuousness and a life of pleasure. His court was one of the most splendid and polished in Europe. The Poles yielded but too readily to the example of their king, and the last years of his reign were characterized by boundless luxury and corruption of manners. We read with astonishment, even at this day, the descriptions of the entertainments given by him. It is related that he gave a regiment of dragoons to king Frederic William of Prussia for 12 porcelain vases. He was not disliked by his subjects, and filled with dignity his station among the European powers. In his character generous ideas were united with despotic feelings, a taste for pleasure with the cares of ambition, and the restlessness of a warlike spirit with the effeminacy of a luxurious life. Death surprised him in the midst of his pleasures and projects. On his journey to Warsaw to attend the diet, a small wound in his knee becoming inflamed, he died, Feb. 1, 1733, and was buried in CraCOW. His wife, Christine Eberhardine, left him one son. By his mistresses he had many children. The countess of Königsmark bore him the celebrated Maurice of Saxony. (See Cosel, countess of.)

AUGUSTUS III, Frederic, elector of Saxony and king_of Poland, son of Augustus II, born at Dresden, 1696, succeeded his father as elector, in 1733. Towards the end of this year, Louis XV endeavored to replace Stanislaus Lesczinsky, whose daughter he had married, on the throne of Poland; but France was too far distant to send troops enough to Poland to support him. A part of the Polish nobility separated from the diet, and, supported by a Russian army, chose A. king; and, in 1736, he was first generally recognised as such by the congress assembled at Warsaw to conclude a peace. Although without the great and amiable qualities of his father, in other respects he closely followed his example, distinguishing himself by the splendor of his feasts and the extravagance of his court. He squandered immense sums on pictures and musicians. Hunting was his passion. The cares of government he gave up to his favorite and prime minis ter, count Brühl (q. v.), who was artful enough to persuade a monarch, weak, but proud and jealous of his dignity, that he alone exercised the supreme power. His system of politics consisted in entire dependence upon Russia. He preferred Dresden to Warsaw, and, through his long absence from Poland, the government sunk into entire inactivity. Never were the annual diets more turbulent, and never were they so inefficient from the unbending obstinacy of the members, who continually opposed each other, under the most trivial pretexts. A. was satisfied if he could remain in his beloved Saxony, and thus the great kingdom of Poland was almost entirely without a government for 30 years. In the midst of this confusion, the Poles appeared to be satisfied and happy; but, when Frederic II had conquered Silesia, A., disturbed by the rapidly-increasing power of Prussia, united himself with the queen of Hungary, by the treaties of Dec. 1742, May 13, 1744, and by that of Leipsic, May 18, 1745. He pledged himself, by means of the money which England and Holland were to pay him, to furnish her with 30,000 auxiliary troops, which he sent into Silesia, where they were united with the Austrian army, but were entirely defeated at Hohenfriedberg, June 4, 1745. Frederic now attacked Saxony itself, and prince Leopold of Dessau defeated the Saxon army once more, Dec. 15, 1745, at Kesselsdorf, under the walls of Dresden. A. deserted his capital, and preserved his pictures and porcelain, but lost the ar

chives of the state, which fell into the hands of the victors. By the peace of Dresden, Dec. 25, 1745, he was reinstated in the possession of Saxony, in the next year. In 1756, he saw himself involved anew in a war against Prussia. When Frederic declined his proposal of neutrality, he left Dresden, Sept. 10, and entered the camp at Pirna, where 17,000 Saxon troops were assembled. Frederic surrounded the Saxons, who were obliged to surrender, October 14. A. fled to Königstein, and afterwards to Poland. His authority in this country had always been inconsiderable, and, after the loss of Saxony, became still more insignificant. The ascension of Catharine to the Russian throne was a new source of disquietude to him, for the great empress sought, in every way, to deprive the Saxon princes, who were allies of France, of the Polish throne. The peace of Hubertsburg, therefore, was hardly concluded, when A. returned from Warsaw to Dresden, where he was seized, Oct. 5, 1763, with a fit of the gout, which attacked his stomach, and put an end to his life. He had, like his father, before his ascension to the Polish throne (1712), embraced the Catholic religion at Bologna. His son Frederic Christian succeeded him as elector of Saxony, and Stanislaus Poniatowsky as king of Poland.

AULIC (from the Latin aula, used for court); an epithet given to a council in the ci-devant German empire, the Reichshofrath. The aulic council was one of the two supreme courts of the German empire, which first received a distinct form, after the estates had obliged the emperor, in 1495, to establish the court of the imperial chamber (das Reichs-Kammergericht). After the erection of this court, the emperor still had, as before, officers who decided all disputes brought to him from his hereditary dominions, and from the empire at large. He, of course, would not allow the estates the same influence, in the appointment of these officers, which they exercised in the appointment of the members of the other court above-mentioned. But, as his officers composing the aulic council took cognizance of judicial processes, the estates frequently complained of it, after 1502. They were not able, however, to attain any thing, except more precision in its organization, in 1559 and 1654. In the peace of Westphalia, it was acknowledged as a supreme court of the empire, equal to the court of the imperial chamber. It consisted of a president, a vice-president, and 18 counsellors, a part of whom, at least, were to

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be taken, not from Austria, but the other states of the empire. Six were to be Protestants: all were appointed and paid by the emperor. If the Protestant counsellors were unanimous, the votes of the rest could not prevail against them. The counsellors were divided into a bench of counts and lords, and a bench of learned men (Gelehrte), with no distinction, except that the latter, who generally were raised to the rank of nobles, had a higher salary. The vice-chancellor of the empire, also, appointed, by the archbishop, elector of Mayence, had a seat in the aulic council, and a vote after the president. This court had not only concurrent jurisdiction with the court of the imperial chamber, but, in many cases, exclusive jurisdiction; in all feudal processes, and in criminal affairs, over the immediate feudatories of the emperor, and in affairs which concerned the imperial government. The right of appeal, possessed by the estates, existed also in regard to the judicial decisions of the aulic court. With the death of an emperor this court ceased, and the next emperor established a new one. In the mean time, the regents of the empire constituted vice-aulic councils, which ceased again with the beginning of the new imperial government. The archives of this court, which were separated from those of the Austrian house as late as 1740, are in Vienna. Justice was, perhaps, never more slowly administered than by the two imperial courts. An epigram of the mathematician Kästner ascribes divine power to these bodies, because they gave immortality to legal processes; and a German expression, still in use, to shove any thing on the long bench, meaning, to delay something indefinitely, is said to be derived from the protracted processes of these courts. But the rota at Rome, and some other courts, have, perhaps, equally good claims to this divine power.

AULIS, in ancient geography; a seaport in Boeotia, on the strait called Euripus, between Boeotia and Euboea. Agamemnon (q. v.) assembled here the Greek fleet intended to sail against Troy. (See, also, Iphigenia.)

AUNOY (Marie Catherine Jumelle de Berneville), countess of, born 1650, and died 1705, was the author of Contes des Fées (Fairy Tales), which, in their day, met with great success in France. Her style was easy and agreeable, but verbose. Her tales are often founded on fact. The critic cannot pardon the insipid gallantry of many of her heroes. But that was the fashion of the time. She was fond of de

veloping her plots philosophically. Her husband was accused of treason by three of his tenants, was imprisoned, and subjected to a severe examination, and in danger of being condemned to death, when a mortal disease seized upon one of his accusers, who, to obtain absolution, confessed the falsehood of the whole accusation.

AURELIAN, an emperor of Rome, distinguished for his military abilities and stern severity of character, was the son of a peasant of Illyricum. He gradually rose, under Valerian II, to the highest honors in his profession, and even to the consulate; which good fortune was further favored by a wealthy marriage. Claudius II, on his death-bed, recommended A. to the choice of the troops of Illyricum, who readily acceded to his wishes. He delivered Italy from the barbarians, reduced Tetricus, who had been unwillingly made to assume the purple in Gaul, and conquered the famous Zenobia, queen of Palmyra. Owing to the ungenerous excuse of the queen, that she had waged war by the advice of her ministers, her secretary, the celebrated Longinus, was put to death by the victor; but, after having graced his triumphal entry, Zenobia herself was presented with a villa on the Tiber, and allowed to spend the remainder of her days as a Roman matron. A. followed up his victories by the reformation of abuses, and the restoration throughout the empire of order and regularity, but tarnished his good intentions by the general severity of his measures, and the sacrifice of the senatorian order to his slightest suspicions. He had planned a great expedition against Persia, and was waiting in Thrace for an opportunity to cross the straits, when he lost his life, A. D. 125, by assassination, the result of a conspiracy excited by a secretary whom he intended to call to account for peculation. A. was a wise, able and active prince, and very useful in the declining state of the empire; but the austerity of his character caused him to be very little regretted. It is said that he meditated a severe persecution of the Christians, when he was so suddenly cut off, after a distinguished and eventful reign of only five years.

AURENG-ŽEBE (ornament of the throne), born Oct. 20, 1619, received this title from his grandfather, Jehan-Guyr, who at that time was sovereign of Hindostan. When he was nine years old, his weak and unfortunate father, Shah Jehan, succeeded to the throne. Aureng-Zebe was distinguished, when a youth, for his serious

look, his frequent prayers, his love of solitude, his profound hypocrisy, and his deep plans. He caused himself to be received among the fakirs, wore their habit, and wished to visit the tomb of the great prophet at Medina. But in his 20th year, he laid aside the Koran, which he had hitherto carried in his bosom, raised a body of troops by his address and good fortune, and obtained the government of the Deccan. Here,wishing to give the fakirs a proof of his love and friendship, he invited them to a feast, and compelled them, notwithstanding their resistance, to put on new and decent clothing. He burnt the old clothes, and found therein a quantity of gold and silver pieces, which did him good service when he came to carry on war with his brother. He stirred up dissensions between his brothers, made use of the assistance of one against the other, and finally shut his father up in his harem, where he kept him prisoner. He then murdered his relatives, one after the other, and, in 1659, ascended the throne of Hindostan, and took the name of Aalem Guyr. Notwithstanding the means by which he had got possession of power, he governed with much wisdom, consulted the welfare of his people, watched over the preservation of justice, and the purity of manners, and sought to confirm his own power. Two of his sons, who endeavored to form a party in their own favor, he caused to be arrested and put to death by slow poison. He carried on many wars, conquered Golconda and Visiapour, and drove out, by degrees, the Mahrattas from their country. Aurungabad, once his residence, now desolate, Seely has described in his Wonders of Elora (London, 1824). After his death, the Mogul empire declined, wars immediately broke out between his sons, and several conquered provinces sought to make themselves independent.

AUREUS, or AUREUS NUMMUS; the first gold coin which was coined in Rome, 546 A. U., in the second Punic war. It weighed two denarii and one quinarius, and was worth 25 denarii, or 100 sesterces (Suet. Oth. 4; Tacit. Hist. i. 24). In later times, it was called solidus, but had diminished in value. At first, 40 aurei were made out of a pound; under Nero, 45; under Constantine, 72. It was about as much as a ducat.

AURICULAR CONFESSION. (See Confession.)

AURIGA, in astronomy; the Wagoner (víoxos); a constellation of the northern hemisphere, containing 66 stars, according to the British catalogue.

AURORA (Greek, hos); daughter of Hyperion and Thia, and sister of Sol and Luna. She was one of the ancient goddesses of the race of the Titans, but retained her rank among the later race of gods. To the Titan Astræus, son of Crius, she bore the Winds, Zephyrus, Boreas, and Notus, the Morning-star, and the Constellations. She rises from the ocean, drawn by the celestial horses Lampus and Phaëton, and, with rosy fingers, raises the veil of night, shedding light upon the world, until she flies from the splendor of day. Among the mortals whose beauty captivated the goddess, poets mention Orion, Tithonus and Cephalus.

AURORA AUSTRALIS. (See Aurora Borealis.)

AURORA BOREALIS (French, aurore boréale; German, Nordlicht); northern light. We often see in the north, near the horizon, usually a short time after sunset, a dark segment of a circle, surrounded by a brilliant arch of white or fiery light; and this arch is often separated into several concentric arches, leaving the dark segment visible between them. From these arches, and from the dark segment itself, in high latitudes, columns of light, of the most variegated and beautiful colors, shoot up towards the zenith, and, sometimes, masses like sheaves of light are scattered in all directions. The appearance is then splendid; and its increasing beauty is announced by a general undulation of the masses of light. A kind of fiery coronet is afterwards formed about the zenith, by the meeting of all the columns of light, resembling the knob of a tent. At this moment, the spectacle is magnificent, both for the multiplicity and beauty of the columns which the aurora presents. (Compare Maupertuis De la Figure de la Terre, Paris, 1738.) The light, after this, grows fainter and more tranquil. This faintness and tranquillity, however, are only temporary, for the phenomena are soon repeated in all their beauty-the oscillation of the columns of light, the formation of the corona, and the like, though with a thousand variations. At length, the motion wholly ceases, the light is collected about the northern horizon, the dark segment vanishes, and nothing is left but a strong brightness in the north, which is lost in the dawning day. These brilliant appearances are also attended, in high latitudes, with loud noises, described as resembling the hissing and crackling of fire-works. This appearance has received the name of northern light, because, on account of our position on the