Cras's us, Marcus

LICINIUS, a celebrated Roman consul and triumvir, immensely rich and pa ionately fond of money, took part with Sulla in the civil war. As prætor, in B. c. 74, he was sent against the insurgent gladiators under Sparticus, and totally defeated them near Rhegium. The next year he was consul with Pompey, and made an extraordinary display of his wealth and hospitality. Pompey and C. were, however, personal enemies, and it needed the powerful influence of Cæsar to effect a formal reconciliation between them, which took place in B. C. 60, the first triumvirate being then formed. Consul again five years later, C. had Syria for his province, and made war on the Parthians. He was defeated by them with immense slaughter, and was put to death, B. C. 53. It is said that Orodes, king of Parthia, had melted gold poured into the dead mouth, with the taunt "Sate thyself now with that metal, of which in life thou wert so greedy." Cratægus, (kra- te'gus ,) n. (Bot.) A genus of plants, order Rosacece . They are trees or shrubs, small, decidnous, sometimes evergreen; mostly natives of Europe and N. America, and some of them of Asia and the N. of Africa. The species all flower and fruit freely: and the wood of all of them is hard and durable, and the plants are of considerable longevity. Almost all the flowers are white, and the fruit is generally red; though in some sorts it is yellow, purple, black, or green. The species C. coccinea , or White Thorn, is a thorny shrub or small tree, 10-20 feet high, found in thickets through out the U. States. - C. crus-gall i, the Cock-spur Thorn, the flowers of which are fragrant, is rare in this country. C. azarolus is a deciduous shrub, 15 feet high, native of Italy, and very ornamental. C. oxy acantha is the hawthorn, whitethorn, or May, so well known for the beauty + Fig . 713.-THE WHITE THORN. (Cratægus coccinea.) and fragrance of its flowers, and for being the best hedge plant in Europe. Some varieties of this species are highly ornamental, producing double pink or scarlet blo oms. To this genus belongs also C. terminal is , the Che -apple or Wild Service, chiefly found in the United States. Its fruit, pleasant to the taste, ripens in June. Cratch, n. [Fr. crèche ; Lat. crates .] A crib or palisaded frame for containing hay in a horse's manger. "In simple cratch , wrapt in a wad of hay." -Spenser. Cratch'-cradle, n. Same as CAT'S-CRADLE, q. v. Crate, n. [Lat. crates . See CRADLE.] A kind of large square hamper or basket of wickerwork, ., used for the transportation of earthenware, . Cra'ter, n. [Lat.; Gr. krater , from kerannūmi , to mix.] A cup-shaped cavity; specifically, the circular cavity or mouth of a volcano, through which the lava, stones, scoria, . are for the most part ejected. See VOLCANO. (Astronom.) A constellation allied to HYDRA, 9. v. Crater'iform, a. Having the for in of a crater. Cra'terous, a. Resembling a crater, Crat'erus, one of Alexander the Great's generals, conspicuous for his literary abilities as well as for his valor. He received as his share of Alexander's kingdom, Greece and Epirus, and wrote the history of his great commander. Killed in a battle against Eumenes, 321 в. с. Crates, ( kraites .) a philosopher of Bœotia, celebrated for his eccentricities. In the summer he would clothe himself as warm as po ible, but in the winter his garments were uncommonly thin. Lived in the 4th cent. B.C. Crathis, ( krai'this .) ( Myt . ) A river in Magna Græcia, distinguished for giving a yellow color to the hair and beard of those who drank its waters. CRATER OF THE VOLCANO OF ANTUCO. (South America.) Crati'nus, an A then i an poet, to whom the invention of satirical comedy is attributed. His powers of sarcasm are said to have been unrivalled. Although a very intemperate man, he attained the age of 96. Died в. с. 422. Cratip'pus, a celebrated Peripatetic philosopher, B. at Mytilene, and a contemporary of Cicero. He appears to have been held in the highest estimation by the great men of his age. Cicero calls him the prince of all the philosophers whom he had known. Pompey visited him after his defeat at Pharsalia, and received at his hands the consolations of philosophy; and Brutus went to Athens, to which city C. had latterly betaken himself, to listen to his prelections, even while making preparations to meet Octavius and Antony. Nothing that C. wrote has survived. taleza. Cra'to, a town of Brazil, prov. Ceara, 180 m. S. of Por Craunch, Cranch, ( kranch .) v. a. [D. schransen, to eat greedily. See CRUNCH.] To crush or bruise with the teeth; to crunch; to masticate with violence or noise.