Mutius

, the father-in-law of Caius Marius.――A Roman who saved the life of young Marius by conveying him away from the pursuit of his enemies in a load of straw.――A friend of Tiberius Gracchus, by whose means he was raised to the office of a tribune.――Caius Scævola, surnamed Cordus , became famous for his courage and intrepidity. When Porsenna king of Etruria had besieged Rome to reinstate Tarquin in all his rights and privileges, Mutius determined to deliver his country from so dangerous an enemy. He disguised himself in the habit of a Tuscan, and as he could fluently speak the language, he gained an easy introduction into the camp, and soon into the royal tent. Porsenna sat alone with his secretary when Mutius entered. The Roman rushed upon the secretary and stabbed him to the heart, mistaking him for his royal master. This occasioned a noise, and Mutius, unable to escape, was seized and brought before the king. He gave no answer to the inquiries of the courtiers, and only told them that he was a Roman; and to give them a proof of his fortitude, he laid his right hand on an altar of burning coals, and sternly looking at the king, and without uttering a groan, he boldly told him that 300 young Romans like himself had conspired against his life, and entered the camp in disguise, determined either to destroy him or perish in the attempt. This extraordinary confe ion astonished Porsenna; he made peace with the Romans, and retired from their city. Mutius obtained the surname of Scævola , because he had lost the use of his right hand by burning it in the presence of the Etrurian king. Plutarch , Parallel a minor a .— Florus , bk. 1 , ch. 10 .— Livy , bk. 2 , ch. 12 .――Quintus Scævola, a Roman consul. He obtained a victory over the Dalmatians, and signalized himself greatly in the Marsian war. He is highly commended by Cicero, whom he instructed in the study of civil law. Cicero. — Plutarch. ――Another, appointed proconsul of Asia, which he governed with so much popularity, that he was generally proposed to others as a pattern of equity and moderation. Cicero speaks of him as eloquent, learned, and ingenious, equally eminent as an orator and as a lawyer. He was murdered in the temple of Vesta, during the civil war of Marius and Sylla, 82 years before Christ. Plutarch. — Cicero , On Oratory , bk. 1 , ch. 48 .— Paterculus , bk. 2 , ch. 22 .