scriptoribus ecclesiasticis, and Pope Gelasius in De libris recipiendis et non recipiendis, in which his works are classed as Apocryphi, probably on account of certain heterodox statements contained in them. Commodianus is supposed to have been an African. As he himself tells us, he was originally a heathen, but was converted to Christianity when advanced in years, and felt called upon to instruct the ignorant in the truth. He was the author of two extant Latin poems, Instructiones and Carmen apologeticum (first published in 1852 by J. B. Pitra in the Spicilegium Solesmense, from a MS. in the Middlehill collection, now at Cheltenham, supposed to have been brought from the monastery of Bobbio). The Instructiones consist of 80 poems, each of which is an acrostic (with the exception of 60, where the initial letters are in alphabetical order). The initials of 80, read backwards, give Commodianus Mendicus Christi. The Apologeticum, undoubtedly by Commodianus, although the name of the author (as well as the title) is absent from the MS., is free from the acrostic restriction. The first part of the Instructiones is addressed to the heathens and Jews, and ridicules the divinities of classical mythology; the second contains reflections on Antichrist, the end of the world, the Resurrection, and advice to Christians, penitents and the clergy. In the Apologeticum all mankind are exhorted to repent, in view of the approaching end of the world. The appearance of Antichrist, identified with Nero and the Man from the East, is expected at an early date. Although they display fiery dogmatic zeal, the poems cannot be considered quite orthodox. To the classical scholar the metre alone is of interest. Although they are professedly written in hexameters, the rules of quantity are sacrificed to accent. The first four lines of the Instructiones may be quoted by way of illustration:
“Praefatio nostra viam erranti demonstrat,
Respectumque bonum, cum venerit saeculi meta,
Aeternum fieri, quod discredunt inscia corda:
Ego similiter erravi tempore multo.”
These versus politici (as they are called) show that the change was already passing over Latin which resulted in the formation of the Romance languages. The use of cases and genders, the construction of verbs and prepositions, and the verbal forms exhibit striking irregularities. The author, however, shows an acquaintance with Latin poets—Horace, Virgil, Lucretius.
The best edition of the text is by B. Dombart (Vienna, 1887), and a good account of the poems will be found in M. Manitius, Geschichte der christlich-lateinischen Poesie (1891), with bibliography, to which may be added G. Boissier, “Commodien,” in the Mélanges Renier (1887); H. Brewer, Kommodian von Gaza (Paderborn, 1906); L. Vernier, “La Versification latine populaire en Afrique,” in Revue de philologie, xv. (1891); and C. E. Freppel, Commodien, Arnobe, Lactance (1893). Teuffel-Schwabe, Hist. of Roman Literature (Eng. trans., 384), should also be consulted.
COMMODORE (a form of “commander”; in the 17th century
the term “commandore” is used), a temporary rank in the
British navy for an officer in command of a squadron. There are
two kinds, one with and the other without a captain below him in
his ship, the first holding the temporary rank, pay, &c., of a rear-admiral,
the other that of captain. It is also given as a courtesy
title to the senior officer of a squadron of more than three vessels.
In the United States navy “commodore” was a courtesy title
given to captains who had been in command of a squadron. In
1862 it was made a commissioned rank, but was abolished in 1899.
The name is given to the president of a yacht club, as of the
Royal Yacht Squadron, and to the senior captain of a fleet of
merchant vessels.
COMMODUS, LUCIUS AELIUS AURELIUS (161–192), also
called Marcus Antoninus, emperor of Rome, son of Marcus
Aurelius and Faustina, was born at Lanuvium on the 31st of
August 161. In spite of a careful education he soon showed a
fondness for low society and amusement. At the age of fifteen he
was associated by his father in the government. On the death of
Aurelius, whom he had accompanied in the war against the Quadi
and Marcomanni, he hastily concluded peace and hurried back
to Rome (180). The first years of his reign were uneventful, but in
183 he was attacked by an assassin at the instigation of his sister
Lucilla and many members of the senate, which felt deeply
insulted by the contemptuous manner in which Commodus
treated it. From this time he became tyrannical. Many
distinguished Romans were put to death as implicated in the
conspiracy, and others were executed for no reason at all. The
treasury was exhausted by lavish expenditure on gladiatorial and
wild beast combats and on the soldiery, and the property of the
wealthy was confiscated. At the same time Commodus, proud
of his bodily strength and dexterity, exhibited himself in the
arena, slew wild animals and fought with gladiators, and commanded
that he should be worshipped as the Roman Hercules.
Plots against his life naturally began to spring up. That of his
favourite Perennis, praefect of the praetorian guard, was discovered
in time. The next danger was from the people, who were
infuriated by the dearth of corn. The mob repelled the praetorian
guard, but the execution of the hated minister Cleander quieted
the tumult. The attempt also of the daring highwayman
Maternus to seize the empire was betrayed; but at last Eclectus
the emperor’s chamberlain, Laetus the praefect of the praetorians,
and his mistress Marcia, finding their names on the list of those
doomed to death, united to destroy him. He was poisoned, and
then strangled by a wrestler named Narcissus, on the 31st of
December 192. During his reign unimportant wars were successfully
carried on by his generals Clodius Albinus, Pescennius
Niger and Ulpius Marcellus. The frontier of Dacia was successfully
defended against the Scythians and Sarmatians, and a tract
of territory reconquered in north Britain. In 1874 a statue of
Commodus was dug up at Rome, in which he is represented as
Hercules—a lion’s skin on his head, a club in his right and the
apples of the Hesperides in his left hand.
See Aelius Lampridius, Herodian, and fragments in Dio Cassius; H. Schiller, Geschichte der römischen Kaiserzeit; J. Zürcher, “Commodus” (1868, in Büdinger’s Untersuchungen zur römischen Kaisergeschichte, a criticism of Herodian’s account); Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopädie, ii. 2464 ff. (von Rohden); Heer, “Der historische Wert des Vita Commodi” (Philologus, Supplementband ix.).
COMMON LAW, like “civil law,” a phrase with many shades of
meaning, and probably best defined with reference to the various
things to which it is opposed. It is contrasted with statute law,
as law not promulgated by the sovereign body; with equity, as
the law prevailing between man and man, unless when the court
of chancery assumed jurisdiction; and with local or customary
law, as the general law for the whole realm, tolerating variations
in certain districts and under certain conditions. It is also
sometimes contrasted with civil, or canon, or international law,
which are foreign systems recognized in certain special courts
only and within limits defined by the common law. As against
all these contrasted kinds of law, it may be described broadly as
the universal law of the realm, which applies wherever they have
not been introduced, and which is supposed to have a principle
for every possible case. Occasionally, it would appear to be used
in a sense which would exclude the law developed by at all events
the more modern decisions of the courts.
Blackstone divides the civil law of England into lex scripta or statute law, and lex non scripta or common law. The latter, he says, consists of (1) general customs, which are the common law strictly so called, (2) particular customs prevailing in certain districts, and (3) laws used in particular courts. The first is the law by which “proceedings and determinations in the king’s ordinary courts of justice are guided and directed.” That the eldest son alone is heir to his ancestor, that a deed is of no validity unless sealed and delivered, that wills shall be construed more favourably and deeds more strictly, are examples of common law doctrines, “not set down in any written statute or ordinance, but depending on immemorial usage for their support.” The validity of these usages is to be determined by the judges—“the depositaries of the law, the living oracles who must decide in all cases of doubt, and who are bound by an oath to decide according to the law of the land.” Their judgments are preserved as records, and “it is an established rule to abide by former precedents where the same points come again in litigation.” The extraordinary deference paid to precedents is the source of the most striking peculiarities of the English common law. There
