PRISCUS SENE'CIO, Q. SO'SIUS, consul
A. D. IG9^ with P. Coelius Apollinaris (Fasti).
PRISCUS, STA'TIUS, consul A. d. 159, with
Plautius Quintillus, two years before the death of
the emperor Antoninus (Fasti). He was one of
the generals sent by his successor, M. Aurelius, to
conduct the war against the Parthians, a. d. 1G2 —
165. He took Artaxata, the capital of Armenia, and
rescued the whole of that country from the Parthian
power. (Capitolin. Anion. Phil. 9, Verus^ 7 ; Dion
Cass. Ixxi. Fragm. p. 1201, ed. Reimarus.)
PRISCUS, TARQUPNIUS. [Tarquinius.]
PRISCUS, TARQUI'TIUS, had been a legate
of Statilius Taurus, in Africa, whom he accused, in
order to gratify Agrippina, the wife of the emperor
Claudius, who was anxious to obtain possession of
his pleasure grounds. Taurus put an end to his
life before sentence was pronounced ; and the
senate expelled Priscus from its body as an informer.
He was restored, however, to his former rank by
Nero, and appointed governor of Bithynia ; but
was condemned in a. D. 61, on account of extortion
in his province, to the great delight of the senate.
(Tac. Ann. xii. 59, xiv. 46.)
PRISCUS, M. TREBA'TI US, consul suffectus
in A. D. 109. (Fasti.)
PRISCUS, L. VALE'RIUS MESSA'LA
THRA'SEA, was distinguished alike by his birth
and wisdom during the reign of Septimius Severus.
He was consul in a. D. 196, and about seventeen
years afterwards fell a victim to the cruelty of
Caracalla. (Dion Cass. Ixxvii. 5.)
PRISCUS, VE'CTIUS, a person mentioned
by the younger Pliny. (Plin. Ep. vi. 12.)
PRIVERNAS, an agnomen given to L. Aemi-
lius Mamercinus, from his taking Privernura in
B. c. 329. [Mamercinus, No. 9.]
PROAE'RESIUS (npoa£/)eo-ios),a distinguished
teacher of rhetoric, was a native of Armenia, bom
about A. D. 276, of good connections, though poor.
He came to Antioch to study under the rhetorician
Ulpian. Having soon risen to high distinction in
his school, he removed to Athens, where he placed
himself under Julian, then seated in the chair of
rhetoric. There came along with him from An-
tioch his friend Hephaestion. A fact told by
Eunapius in his life of Proaeresius ( Vit. Soph. vol.
i. p. 73, ed. Boissonade), illustrates both the po-
verty and the zeal of these youths. They had be-
tween them but one change of raiment (IfidTiov koL
rpLSooviou)^ and three thin, faded blankets {aTpoi-
fiara). When Proaeresius went forth to the pub-
lic schools, his friend lay in bed working his exer-
cises, and this they did alternately. Proaeresius
soon acquired a high place in his master's esteem,
of which, as well as his own merit, a singular proof
is given by Eunapius {ibid. p. 71, &c.). On the
death of Julian (according to Clinton, Fast. Rom.
p. 401, in A. D. 340), who left Proaeresius his
house (Eunap. ibid. p. 69), it was determined no
longer to confine the chair of rhetoric to one, but to
extend this honour to many, (Eunap. ibid. p. 79.)
Epiphanius, Diophantus, Sopolis, Parnasius, and
Hephaestion were cliosen from among a crowd of
competitors ; but Hephaestion left Athens, dread-
ing competition with Proaeresius. The students,
generally, betook themselves to their professors,
according to their nations ; and there attached
themselves to Proaeresius the students coming
from the district south from Pontus inclusive, as
far as Egypt and Lybia. . His great success excited
VOL. m.
PROAERESIUS. 529
the jealousy of the others, who combined against
him. Through the intervention of a corrupt pro-
consul, he was driven from Athens. A new pro-
consul not only restored him, but, after a public
trial, bestowed on him public marks of approbation,
and placed him at once at the head of all the
teachers of rhetoric in Athens. The fresh attempts
of his enemies to supplant him by splendid enter-
tainments, at which they endeavoured to win over
men of power, were rendered nugatory by the ar-
rival in Athens of Anatolius, the praefect of Illy-
rium. It is probable that the favour with which
that accomplished man regarded Proaeresius, at-
tracted to the latter the attention of the emperor
Constans, who sent for him to Gaul, about a. d.
342. Constans detained him for more than one
year (if we may found upon the expression x^'M*^
vas, Eunap. ibid. p. 89), and then sent him to
Rome. Here he was highly esteemed, and having
written or delivered a eulogy on the city, was
honoured in return with a life-size statue of bronze,
bearing this inscription, "The Queen of Cities to the Prince of Eloquence." On his departure from
Rome, he obtained for Athens a tributary supply
of provisions from several islands — a grant which
was confirmed by the eparch of Athens at the soli-
citation of Anatolius — and he himself was honoured
with the title of aTpaToireSdpxvs. When tlie
emperor Julian (a. d. 362) had promulgated the
decree, for which he is so strongly censured, even
by his eulogist Ammianus Marcellinus (xx. 10,
XXV. 4), forbidding teachers belonging to the Chris-
tian religion to practise their art, we are told
(Hieron. in Chronic. An. 2378), that Proaeresius
was expressly exempted from its operation, but
that he refused any immunity not enjoyed by his
brethren. To this partial suspension of his rheto-
rical functions, Eunapius also alludes, but, dis-
tracted by his love of the man, and his hatred of
his religion, says doubtingly, " he seemed to be a
Christian" {ibid. p. 92). Eunapius says that it
was about this very time he himself arrived at
Athens, and found in Proaeresius all the kindness
of a father. It is probable, then, that this' was in
the year 363, when Julian was in the East, and
we may suppose the edict less rigidly enforced.
Proaeresius was then in his 87th year. Eunapius
remained at Athens for five years, and states that
his friend and teacher died not many days after his
departure. Proaeresius had married Amphicleia
of Tralles, and by her he had several daughters, all
of whom died in the bloom of youth, and on whom
Milesius wrote him consolatory verses. His rival
Diophantus pronounced his funeral oration (Eunap.
ibid. p. 94), and his epitaph, written by his pupil
Gregory Nazianzen, is given by Fabricius {BiU,
Grace, vol. vi. p. 137).
From the account given of him by Eunapius, who had the best means of information, we learn that he was of gigantic stature (Casaubon and Wyttenbach, ad Eunap. vol. ii. p. 285, conjecture that he was nine feet high !), and of stately bear- ing, so vigorous in his old age, that it was impos- sible to suppose him other than in the prime of life. His constitution was of iron strength ((Greek characters)), braving the winter colds of Gaul without shoes, and in light clothing, and drinking unwanned the water of the Rhine when almost frozen. His style of eloquence seems to have been flowing, and graced with allusions to classic times. He had great powers of extemporaneous speaking, and a