A U I A R I U S

This is a drawing of what Ruskin saw - transcribed as A U I A R U S in the Ruskin Library Transcript T7A, and as (OCT)AVIANUS in Works. The reference is to Octavian, the Emperor Augustus, who, at least in theory, brought peace to the Roman Empire; hence ‘mundus pacis’. The birth of a child from heaven is mentioned in Virgil's fourth Eclogue, and was taken by Christians as a prophecy of the birth of Christ in the time of Augustus.

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[Version 0.05: May 2008]