Licinius

Lĭcĭnĭus, a,

• name of a Roman gens.
• • • 1 The tribune C. Licinius Crassus, Varr. R. R. 1, 2, 9; Cic. Lael. 25, 96.—
    • 2 The triumvir M. Licinius Crassus, Cic. Div. 2, 9, 22; Ov. F. 6, 465.—
    • 3 L. Licinius Crassus, the famous orator, Cic. de Or. 3, 20, 74; Tac. Dial. 34.—In fem.: Lĭcĭnĭa, ae, a daughter of the orator L. Licinius Crassus, Cic. Brut. 58, 211.—Also, a vestal, Cic. Brut. 43, 160.—
• II Hence,
• • A Lĭcĭnĭus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to a Licinius, Licinian: lex, of various kinds, esp. the lex de sodaliciis, Cic. Planc. 15, 36; cf. the Index legum, Orell. Cic. Opera, vol. viii. p. 199 sq.: lex Licinia et Mucia de civibus redigundis, Cic. Cornel. Fragm. 10, vol. xi. p. 11 B. and K.: lex de modo agrorum, Liv. 34, 4; cf. Varr. R. R. 1, 2, 9 al.: atria, named after L. Licinius Crassus, auction-halls, Cic. Quint. 3, 12; 6, 25.—
  • B Lĭcĭnĭānus, a, um, adj., Licinian: olea, introduced by a Licinius, Cato R. R. 6, 2: jugera, the lands distributed to the plebeians by C. Licinius Stolo, Col. 1, 3, 10; id. Arb. 17.—
  • • 2 Lĭcĭ-nĭāni, ōrum, m., a surname of the sons and descendants of Cato the Censor, by his first wife, Licinia; to distinguish them from those by the second, who where called Salonii or Saloniani, Plin. 7, 14, 12, § 62.

Licinius, a, um, Name einer röm. gens, aus der am bekanntesten C. Licinius Crassus, Volkstribun, Varro r. r. 1, 2, 9. Cic. de amic. 96, u. dessen Tochter Licinia, eine Vestalin, Cic. de dom. 136. Cic. Brut. 160. – ferner L. Licinius Crassus, ausgezeichneter Redner, Cic. Brut. 143 sqq.; de or. 3, 74. Tac. dial. 34, u. dessen Töchter (die eine von Mucia, der Tochter des Q. Mucius Scävola Augur, die andere von Lälia, der Tochter des C. Lälius Sapiens), Cic. Brut. 211. – u. M. Licinius Crassus, der Triumvir, Cic. de div. 2, 22. Ov. fast. 6, 465 sqq. Flor. 3, 11, 1 sqq.; 4, 9. 1. Val. Max. 1, 6, 11: ders. dives Crassus, Varro sat. Men. 36 u. Crassus, Apul. apol. 20. – Adi. licinisch, lex, Varro, Cic. u.a. – Dav. Liciniānus, a, um, licinianisch, Cato u. Colum. – subst., Liciniānī, ōrum, m., die Nachkommen des Cato Censorius von seiner Gattin Licinia, die Licinianer, Plin.

Lĭcĭnĭus, (9) ĭī, m. , nom dʼune famille romaine où lʼon distingue lʼorateur C. Licinius Crassus et le triumvir M. Licinius Crassus : Varro R. 1, 2, 9 ; Cic. Br. 143 ; Læl. 96 ; Div. 2, 22 ; Ov. F. 6, 465 || -ĭus, a, um, de Licinius : Cic. Planc. 36 ; Liv. 34, 4.

Licinius

(1) C. Licinius Calvus, surnamed Stolo, a name said to be derived from the care with which he dug up the shoots (stolones) from the roots of his vines. He brought the contest between the patricians and plebeians to a happy termination, and thus became the founder of Rome's greatness. He was tribune of the people from B.C. 376 to 367, and was faithfully supported in his exertions by his colleague, L. Sextius. The laws which he proposed were: (a) That in future no more consular tribunes should be appointed, but that consuls should be elected, one of whom should always be a plebeian. (b) That no one should possess more than 500 iugera of the public land, or keep upon it more than 100 head of large, and 500 of small cattle. (c) A law regulating the affairs between debtor and creditor. (d) That the Sibylline Books should be intrusted to a college of ten men (decemviri), half of whom should be plebeians. These rogations were passed after a vehement opposition on the part of the patricians, and L. Sextius was the first plebeian who obtained the consulship, 366. Licinius himself was elected twice to the consulship, 364 and 361. Some years later he was accused by M. Popilius Laenas of having transgressed his own law respecting the amount of public land which a person might possess. He was condemned and sentenced to pay a heavy fine (Livy, vi. 35; vii. 1, 9, 16; Val. Max. viii. 6, 3).

(2) C. Licinius Macer , an annalist and orator, who was impeached of extortion by Cicero, and, finding that the verdict was against him, committed suicide, B.C. 66.

(3) C. Licinius Macer Calvus, son of the last, a distinguished orator and poet, was born B.C. 82, and died about 47 or 46, in his thirty-fifth or thirty-sixth year. His most celebrated oration was delivered against Vatinius, who was defended by Cicero, when he was only twenty-seven years of age. His elegies were very warmly extolled by Catullus, Propertius, and Ovid. All his works are lost. He was very short of stature, so that Catullus calls him (53) Salaputium disertum, “the eloquent Tom Thumb.” (Cf. Quint. x. 1, 115.)

(4) A Roman emperor, ruling A.D. 307-324. He was a Dacian peasant by birth, and was raised to the rank of Augustus by the emperor Galerius. He afterwards had the dominion of the East. He carried on war first with Maximinus II., whom he defeated A.D. 314, and subsequently with Constantine, by whom he was in his turn defeated, 315. A second war broke out between Licinius and Constantine in 323, in which Licinius was not only defeated, but deprived of his throne. In the following year he was put to death by Constantine, 324. See Constantinus.