Auray (ō-rā), a seaport of North-West France, department Morbihan, with a deaf and dumb institute, and within 2 miles of St. Anne of Auray, a famous place of pilgrimage. Pop. 6653.
Aure´lian, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus, Emperor of Rome, of humble origin, was born about A.D. 212, rose to the highest rank in the army, and on the death of Claudius II (270) was chosen emperor. He delivered Italy from the barbarians (Alemanni and Marcomanni), and conquered the famous Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra. He followed up his victories by the reformation of abuses, and the restoration throughout the Empire of order and regularity. He lost his life, A.D. 275, by assassination, when heading an expedition against the Persians.
Aure´lius Antoni´nus, Marcus, often called simply Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and philosopher, son-in-law, adopted son, and successor of Antoninus Pius, born A.D. 121, succeeded to the throne 161, died 180. His name originally was Marcus Annius Verus. He voluntarily shared the government with Lucius Verus, whom Antoninus Pius had also adopted. Brought up and instructed by Plutarch's nephew, Sextus, the orator Herodes Atticus, and L. Volusius Mecianus, the jurist, he had become acquainted with learned men, and formed a particular love for the Stoic philosophy. A war with Parthia broke out in the year of his accession, and did not terminate till 166. A confederacy of the northern tribes now threatened Italy, while a frightful pestilence, brought from the East with the army, raged in Rome itself. Both emperors set out in person against the rebellious tribes. In 169 Verus died, and the sole command of the war devolved on Marcus Aurelius, who prosecuted it with the utmost rigour, and nearly exterminated the Marcomanni. His victory over the Quadi (174) is connected with a famous legend. Dion Cassius tells us that the twelfth legion of the Roman army was shut up in a defile, and reduced to great straits for want of water, when a body of Christians enrolled in the legion prayed for relief. Not only was rain sent, which enabled the Romans to quench their thirst, but a fierce storm of hail beat upon the enemy, accompanied by thunder and lightning, which so terrified them that a complete victory was obtained, and the legion was ever after called The Thundering Legion (Legio Fulminatrix). After this victory the Marcomanni, the Quadi, as well as the rest of the barbarians, sued for peace. The sedition of the Syrian governor Avidius Cassius, with whom Faustina, the empress, was in treasonable communication, called off the emperor from his conquests, but before he reached Asia the rebel was assassinated. Aurelius returned to Rome, after visiting Egypt and Greece, but soon new incursions of the Marcomanni compelled him once more to take the field. He defeated the enemy several times, but was taken sick at Sirmium, and died at Vindobona (Vienna) in 180. His only extant work is the Meditations, written in Greek. It has been translated into most modern languages (into English first by George Long in 1862, and by J. Jackson in 1906). This may be regarded as a manual of practical morality, in which wisdom, gentleness, and benevolence are combined in the most fascinating manner. Many believe it to have been intended for the instruction of his son Commodus. Aurelius was one of the best emperors Rome ever saw, although his philosophy and the magnanimity of his character did not restrain him from the persecution of the Christians, whose religious doctrines he was led to believe were subversive of good government, and whom he charged, therefore, with obstinacy, the greatest social crime in the eyes of Roman authority. Marcus Aurelius was not so much a philosopher as a seeker after righteousness.—Bibliography: P. B. Watson, M. Aurelius Antoninus; Sir Samuel Dill, Roman Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius; Translations of the Meditations by G. H. Kendall, and J. Jackson.
Aurengzebe. See Aurangzib.
Aure´ola, or Au´reole, in paintings, an illumination surrounding the whole figure of a holy person, as Christ, a saint, or a martyr, intended to represent a luminous cloud or haze emanating from him. It is generally of an oval shape, or may be nearly or quite circular, and is of similar character with the nimbus surrounding the heads of sacred personages.
Au´rĕus, the first gold coin which was coined at Rome, 207 B.C. Its value varied at different times, from about 12s. to £1, 4s. See Numismatics.
Aurich (ou´rēh), a German town, province of Hanover. Pop. 6070.
Au´ricle. See Heart.
Auric´ula, a garden flower derived from the yellow Primŭla Auricŭla, found native in the Swiss Alps, and sometimes called bear's-ear from the shape of its leaves. It has for over three centuries been an object of cultivation by florists, who have succeeded in raising from seed a great number of beautiful varieties. Its leaves are obovate, entire or serrated, and fleshy, varying, however, in form in the numerous varieties. The flowers are borne on an erect umbel and central scape with involucre. The original colours of the corolla are yellow, purple, and
variegated, and there is a mealy covering on the surface. There are auricula clubs and societies in the north of England.