CAIUS VALERIUS, an ancient Latin poet, of whom personally but little is known. He is supposed to have been born at Setia, a town of Campania, now Sezzo, whence he has derived the surname of Settius. But Martial, his contemporary and friend, seems to intimate that he was a native of Padua, or at least lived there. He died when he was about thirty years of age, in the year 98 or 94 of our era, before he had put the finishing hand to the poem on which his reputation entirely rests. The subject which he selected as deserving of celebration was the history of the Argonautic expedition; but of the ten books into which he intended to divide it, he lived only to compose seven and part of the eighth. This poem, which is addressed to the emperor Vespasian, whom the poet compliments on account of his conquest of Judea, whilst Domitian is at the same time praised for his poetical talents, is an imitation rather than a translation of the Argonautics of Apollonius; and Flaccus has evidently been most successful in those parts where he had not the Greek poet immediately in his view. The model upon which he formed himself was Virgil; and, notwithstanding Horace's sneer at the serenum pecus, it is surprising how closely the imitator sometimes approaches to the great original. Quintilian's opinion of his merit may be easily gathered from the brief but expressive eulogium, Multum in Valerio Flacco super amicitias. The best editions of this poet are that of Nicolas Heinsius, published at Amsterdam, 1680, in 8vo, reprinted of the same size in 1702; and that cum notis integris variorum et Petri Burmanni, which appeared at Leyden, 1734, in 4to. It is proper to add, that Baptista Pius, an Italian poet, completed the eighth book of the Argonautics, which Flaccus had left unfinished, and added two more from Apollonius; a supplement which was first printed by Aldus in 1523, and which has been subjoined to most, if not all, of the subsequent editions. (Vossius de Poet. Lat.; Fabricius, Bibl. Lat.; and Moreri.)

FLAGS, in the army, are small banners of distinction stuck in the baggage waggons, to distinguish the baggage of one brigade or battalion from that of another, in order that they may be marshalled by the waggon-master-general, so as to avoid the confusion that might otherwise ensue.