and the intrigues of the court brought about its division into two synods. The West met at Ariminum; the East at Seleucia in Isauria, A.D. 359. The latter separated without any definite conclusion. "The Arians, semi-Arians, and Anomoeans, mingled in tumultuous strife, and hurled anathemas at one another" (Milman, Hist. Christ. iii. c. 8). Whatever triumph was gained rested with the opponents of the Aetians, who appealed to the emperor and the court, and a second general council was summoned to meet at Constantinople (Athan. de Synod. § 10, 12). Of this council Acacius was the leading spirit, but a split occurred among the Anomoean followers of Aetius. The party triumphed, but its founder was sent into banishment, first to Mopsuestia, then to Amblada in Pisidia. Here he gained the goodwill of the savage inhabitants by his prayers having, as they supposed, averted a pestilence (Theod. ii. 23; Soz. iv. 23, 24; Philost. iv. 12; Greg. Nys. u.s. p. 301).
The death of Constantius, A.D. 361, put an end to Aetius's exile. Julian recalled all the banished bishops, and invited Aetius to his court (Ep. Juliani, 31, p. 52, ed. Boisson; Soz. v. 5), and at the instance of Eudoxius (Philost. ix. 4) presented him with an estate in the island of Lesbos. The ecclesiastical censure was taken off Aetius by Euzoius, the Arian bp. of Antioch (ib. vii. 5), who, with the bishop of his party, compiled a defence of his doctrines (ib. viii. 2). According to Epiphanius (Haer. u.s.), he was consecrated bishop at Constantinople, though not to any particular see; and he and Eunomius consecrated bishops for his own party (Philost. viii. 2). On the death of Jovian, A.D. 364, Valens shewed special favour to Eudoxius, between whom and Aetius and Eunomius a schism had arisen. Aetius in disgust retired to his farm in Lesbos (ib. ix. 4). The revolt of Procopius once more endangered his life. He was accused to the governor, whom Procopius had placed in the island, of favouring the cause of Valens, A.D. 365‒366 (ib. ix. 6). Aetius returned to Constantinople. He was the author of several letters to Constantius and others, filled with subtle disquisition on the nature of the Deity (Socr. ii. 35), and of 300 heretical propositions, of which Epiphanius has preserved 47 (Haer. lxxvi. § 10), with a refutation of each. Hefele, Konz. Gesch. Bd. i.
[E.V.]
Africanus, Julius (Ἀφρικανός), a Christian writer at the beginning of the 3rd cent. A great part of his life was passed at Emmaus in Palestine—not, however, the Emmaus of St. Luke (xxiv. 16), as assumed by the ancient authorities (Soz. H. E. v. 21; Hieron. in libro de Locis Hebraicis, s.v. Ἐμμαοῦς, ii. p. 439; et in Epitaph. Paulae, iv. p. 673); but, as Reland has shewn in his Palaestina, pp. 427, 758 (see also Smith's Dict. of Geogr. s.v. Emmaus), the Emmaus in the plain (1 Macc. Iii. 40), 22 Roman miles (=176 stadia) from Jerusalem. He may have been born A.D. 170 or a little earlier, and died A.D. 240 or a little later. There seems to be no ancient authority for dating his death A.D. 232.
Africanus ranks with Clement and Origen as among the most learned of the ante-Nicene fathers (Socr. H. E. ii. 35; Hieron. Ep. ad Magnum, 83, vol. iv. p. 656). His great work, a comparative view of sacred and profane history from the creation of the world, demanded extensive reading; and the fragments that remain refer to the works of a considerable number of historical writers. His only work now extant in a complete state is his letter to Origen referred to by many authors (Eus. H. E. vi. 31; Hieron. de Vir. Ill. c. 63; Photius, Cod. 34; Suidas, s.v. Ἀφρικανός; Niceph. Call. H. E. v. 21, and others). The correspondence originated in a discussion between Origen and a certain Bassus, at which Africanus was present, and in which Origen appealed to the authority of that part of the Book of Daniel which contains the story of Susanna. Africanus afterwards wrote a short letter to Origen urging several objections to the authenticity of this part of the book; among others, that the style is different from that of the genuine book, that this section is not in the book as received by the Jews, and that it contains a play on Gk. words which shews that, unlike other O.T. books, it was originally written in Gk. and not in Heb. Origen replied at greater length. That Africanus had any intimate knowledge of Heb. must not be regarded as proved by this letter. The date of the correspondence is limited by the facts that Origen writes from Nicomedia, having previously visited Palestine, and refers to his labours in a comparison of the Gk. and Heb. text, indicating that he had already published the Hexapla. These conditions are best satisfied by a date c. 238.
Not less celebrated is the letter of Africanus to Aristides on the discrepancy in our Saviour's genealogies as given by St. Matthew and St. Luke. A considerable portion of this has been preserved by Eusebius (H. E. i. 7), and Routh (Rel. Sac. ii. 228) has published this together with a fragment not previously edited. A compressed version of the letter is given also in Eusebii ad Stephanum, Quaest. iv. (Mai, Script. Vet. Nov. Coll. vol. i.). Africanus begins by rejecting a previous explanation that the genealogies are fictitious lists, designed to establish our Lord's claim to be both king and priest by tracing His descent in one Gospel from Solomon, in the other from Nathan, who was assumed to be Nathan the prophet. Africanus argues the necessity of maintaining the literal truth of the Gospel narrative, and against drawing dogmatic consequences from any statements not founded on historical fact. He then gives his own explanation, founded on the levirate law of the Jews, and professing to be traditionally derived from the Desposyni (or descendants of the kindred of our Lord), who dwelt near the villages of Nazareth and Cochaba. According to this view Matthew gives the natural, Luke the legal, descent of our Lord. Matthan, it is said, of the house of Solomon, and Melchi of the house of Nathan, married the same woman, whose name is given as Estha. Heli the son of Melchi (the names Matthat and Levi found in our present copies of St. Luke are omitted by Africanus) having died childless, his uterine brother Jacob, Matthan's son, took his wife and raised up seed to him; so that the offspring Joseph was legally Heli's son as stated by St. Luke, but naturally Jacob's son as stated by St. Matthew. For a critical examination and defence of this solution, which is adopted by St.
