Adultery is the voluntary sexual intercourse of a married person with any other than the offender's husband or wife; when committed between two married persons, the offence is called double, and when between a married and single person, single adultery. The Mosaic, Greek, and early Roman law only recognized the offence when a married woman was the offender. By the Jewish law it was punished with death. In Greece the laws against it were severe. By the laws of Draco and Solon adulterers, when caught in the act, were at the mercy of the injured party. In early Rome the punishment was left to the discretion of the husband and parents of the adulteress. The punishment assigned by the LexJulia, under Augustus, was banishment or a heavy tine. Under Constantius and Constans, adulterers were burned or sewed in sacks and thrown into the sea; under Justinian the wife was to be scourged, lose her dower, and be shut up in a monastery; at the expiration of two years the husband might take her again; if he refused she was shaven and made a nun for life. By the ancient laws of France this crime was punishable with death. In Spain personal mutilation was frequently the punishment adopted. In several European countries adultery was regarded as a criminal offence, but in none did the punishment exceed imprisonment for a short period, accompanied by a fine. In England formerly it was punishable with fine and imprisonment, and in Scotland it was frequently made a capital offence. In the United States the punishment of adultery has varied materially at different times. It has, however, very seldom been punished criminally in the States. Research Adultery
The Aldobrandini marriage is an ancient fresco painting belonging probably to the time of Augustus, discovered in 1606, and acquired by CardinalAldobrandini, nephew of Clement VIII, now in the Vatican. It represents a marriage scene in which ten persons are portrayed, and is considered one of the most precious relics of ancient art. Research Aldobrandini Marriage
The month of august was the sixthmonth of the Roman calendar and was originally called Sextilis, by a decree of the senate it received its present name in honour of Augustus Caesar in 8 BC.
Augustus II or Frederick-Augustus I was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. He was born in 1670 at Dresden and died in 1733. He was the second son of John George III, elector of Saxony. He succeeded his brother in the electorate in 1694, and the Polish throne having become vacant, in 1696, by the death of John Sobieski, Augustus presented himself as a candidate for it and was successful. He joined with Peter the Great in the war against Charles XII of Sweden, invaded Livonia, but was defeated by Charles near Riga, and at Clissow, between Warsaw and Cracow. In 1704 he was deposed, and two years later formally resigned the crown to Stanislaus I, now devoting himself to his Saxon dominions. In 1709, after the defeat of Charles at Pultowa, the Poles recalled Augustus, who united himself anew with Peter. The two monarchs, in alliance with Denmark, sent troops into Pomerania, but the Swedish general Steinbock defeated the allies at Gadebusch, on December the 20th, 1712. The death of Charles XII put an end to the war, and Augustus concluded a peace with Sweden. A confederation was now formed in Poland against the Saxon troops, but through the mediation of Peter an arrangement was concluded by which the Saxon troops were removed from the kingdom. Augustus now 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. His wife left him one son. The Countess of Konigsmark bore him the celebrated commander Marshal Saxe (Maurice of Saxony). Research Augustus II
Augustus III or Frederick-Augustus II was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. He was born in 1696 at Dresden and died in 1763. He was the son of Augustus II and succeeded his father as elector in 1733, and was chosen King of Poland through the influence of Austria and Russia. He closely followed the example of his father, distinguishing himself by the splendour of his feasts and the extravagance of his court. He preferred Dresden to Warsaw, and through his long absence from Poland the government sank into entire inactivity. During the first Silesian war he formed a secret alliance with Austria. The consequence was that during the second Silesian war Frederick the Great of Prussia pushed on into Saxony, and occupied the capital, from which Augustus fled. By the peace of Dresden, on December the 25th 1745, he was reinstated in the possession of Saxony. In 1756 he was involved anew in a war against Prussia. When Frederick declined his proposal of neutrality he left Dresden, and entered the camp at Pirna, where 17,000 Saxon troops were assembled. Frederick surrounded the Saxons, who were obliged to surrender, and Augustus fled to Poland. On the threat of invasion by Russia he returned to Dresden, where he died in 1763. His son, Frederick Christian, succeeded him as Elector of Saxony, and Stanislaus Poniatowski as King of Poland. Research Augustus III
February (named from the Roman Februa a festival of expiation or purification) is the second month of the year, having twenty-eight days, except in leap-year, when it has twenty-nine. This latter number of days it had originally among the Romans, until the senate decreed that the seventhmonth should bear the name of Augustus, when a day was taken from February and added to August to make it equal to July in number of days. Research February
The Order of St George was a military order instituted in Russia in 1769 by the Empress Catharine II as a reward of military achievements. It consisted of four classes to which a fifth, intended for non-commissioned officers and privates, was added in 1807.
The Oredr of St George is an order instituted in Bavaria by the Emperor Charles VII. (Charles Albert) in 1729, and reorganized by King Louis II in 1871. Since the re-organisation the order, which had previously been a mere decoration for the nobility, it devoted itself to such services as the care of the wounded on battlefields, etc.
The Order of St George is a Sicilian military order, instituted by Joseph Napoleon on the 24th of February, 1808, and remodelled by King Ferdinand IV in 1819. Research Order of St George
A Quaestor was an ancient Roman magistrate. The earliest quaestors had judicial powers, but as the finances of Rome increased in complexity, two quaestors were appointed by the consuls to control the public treasury. After 447 BC the quaestors were elected annually by the legislative body known as the comitia tributa. In 421 BC the office was opened to the plebs and the number of quaestors was raised to four. As the Roman Republic gained control of Italy and more provinces were acquired, additional quaestors were elected as financial assistants to the military commanders and provincial governors. Under Julius Caesar in the 1st century BC, there were 40 quaestors. The Emperor Augustus later reduced the number to 20, which was the usual number for the duration of the Roman Empire. Research Quaestor
Annaeus Florus was a Roman historian. He was probably a native of Spain or Gaul. He is variously styled in the manuscripts in some L, Annaeus Florus, in others A. Julius Florus, in others L. Annaeus Seneca, and in one simply L. Annaeus. He lived in the beginning of the second century after Christ, and wrote an epitome of Roman history in four books, from the foundation of the city to the first time of closing the temple of Janus, in the reign of Augustus. Research Annaeus Florus
Appian was a Roman historian of the second century. He was a native of Alexandria, was governor and manager of the imperial revenues under Hadrian, Trajan, and Antoninus Pius, in Rome. He compiled in Greek a Roman history, from the earliest times to those of Augustus, in twenty-four books, of which only eleven have come down to us. Research Appian
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Adultery
