ARRIA, the heroic wife of Cæcina Pætus, who, when her husband was ordered by the Emperor Claudius to destroy himself and hesitated to do so, stabbed herself; and presented the dagger to him with these words—"Pæte, non dolet"—(Pætus, it does not pain me).—Plin. Ep. iii. Dion Cass. ix.
ARRIAN (Ἀρριανός), a distinguished Greek historian and philosopher, who lived in the time of the Emperors Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. He was a native of Nicomedia, born about the end of the first century of our era, and was one of the most distinguished disciples of the famous Epictetus. In A.D. 124, he lived at Athens, where he made the acquaintance of the Emperor Hadrian, who was so much struck with his practical wisdom as to raise him to several high offices; and under Antoninus he obtained even the consulship. The only other event of his life of which we know anything is, that he was appointed governor of Cappadocia. Arrian himself proudly disdains giving us any information of himself; and his life, written by Dion Cassius, is lost.
History and philosophy are greatly indebted to Arrian; for, being a disciple of Epictetus, who himself did not write any work, Arrian determined to be to him what Xenophon had been to Socrates, and published his philosophical lectures in eight books, of which only the first half is extant; but the portion which has come down to us gives us a most exalted view of the ethical philosophy of Epictetus and the Stoics generally. The work bears the title Διατριβὰι Ἐπικτήτου, and is contained in Schweighäuser's Philosophia Epictetea Monumenta, vol. iii. A second work, by which Arrian testified his attachment to his great master,
bears the title Ἑξαιρέσεων Ἐπικτήτου, a short manual of moral philosophy, compiled from the lectures of Epictetus, which for many centuries was regarded both by Pagans and Christians as the best book on the subject. It has been published in a great many editions; the best is in the collection of Schweighäuser, mentioned above.
Among Arrian's own original works, the first and foremost is his account of the expedition of Alexander the Great in seven books. It contains the best and most authentic account of that conqueror's career, being based upon the lost works of Aristobulus and Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, both of whom accompanied the king during the expedition. The best editions of this work are those by J. Gronovius, Lugd. Bat. 1704, fol.; Schmieder, Lipsiae, 1798, 8vo; and Krieger, Berlin, 1839 and 1848, 2 vols. 8vo. Connected with this is a treatise on India, in the Ionic dialect, which he wrote separately, in order not to be obliged to interrupt the history of Alexander. Besides these works, we have by him a work on the chase, a periplus of the Black Sea, and a manual of tactics; but many other works, which are ascribed to him by the ancients, have not come down to us; certain descriptions of the coasts of the Sea of Azov and the Red Sea, which are ascribed to him, are probably the productions of a later period.
Arrian's style is simple, lucid, and manly; and his imitation of Xenophon is visible, not only in his style and diction, but even in the subjects on which he wrote. His language, though pure Attic, presents some peculiarities which are not found in the works of his great model. (L. S.)