affability and clemency toward the populace, strength- ened the supremacy which Augustus, uniting in his own person the highest offices of the republic, main- tained with imperial power, but without a regal title. To Herod, who had attached himself to the party of Antony, he was unexpectedly gracious, instated him as king of Judaea (" rex Judaeorum," Joseph. Ant, xv,
7, 3), raising also somewhat later his brother Pheroras to the tetrarchate (Joseph. Ant. xv, 10, 3). In thank- fulness for these favors, Herod built him a marble tem- ple near the source of the Jordan (Joseph. Ant. xv, 10, 3), and remained during his whole life a firm adherent of the imperial family. After the death of Herod (A.D. 4) his dominions, almost in exact accordance with the will which he left, were divided among his sons (Joseph. Ant. xvii, 11, 4) by Augustus, who was soon compelled, however (A.D. 6), to exile one of them, Archelaus, and to join his territory of Judaea and Samaria to the province of Syria (Joseph. Ant. xxii, 13, '_')• Augustus died in the 7Cth year of his age at Nola in Campania, August 19, in the year of Rome 767 (see Wurm, in Bengel's Archiv. ii, 8 sq.), or A.D. 14 (Suet. Octav. 99 sq. ; Dio Cass, lvi, 29 sq. ; Joseph. Ant. xviii, 3, 2; War, ii, 9, 1), having some time previously nominated Tiberius as his associate (Suet. Tib. xxi; Tacit. Annal. i, 3). The kindness of Augustus toward the Herods, and the Jews through them (Philo, ii, 588, 591, 592), was founded, not upon any regard for the Jewish people themselves (as the contrary appears to have been the case with all the Roman emperors, Suet. Octav. 93), but upon political considerations, and, as it would seem, a personal esteem for Herod. Augustus not only procured the crown of Judaea for Herod, whom he loaded with honors and riches, but was pleased also to undertake the education of Alexander and Aristobulus, his sons, to whom he gave apartments in his palace. When he came into Syria, Zenodorus and the Gadarenes waited on him with complaints against Herod ; but he cleared him- self of the accusations, and Augustus added to his hon- ors and kingdom the tetrarchy of Zenodorus. He also examined into the quarrels between Herod and his sons, and reconciled them. See Herod. Syllaeus, minister to Obodas, king of the Nabathaeans, having accused Herod of invading Arabia, and destroying many people there, Augustus, in anger, wrote to Herod about it ; but he so well justified his conduct that the emperor restored him to favor, and continued it ever after. He disapproved, however, of the rigor exer- cised by Herod toward his sons, Alexander, Aristo- bulus, and Antipater : and when they were executed he is said to have observed "that it were better a great deal to be Herod's swine than his son" (Macrob. Saturn, ii. 4). It was through the warm attachment of Augustus for M. Vipsanius Agrippa that the latter
Coin of Augustus with the Head of M. Vipsanius Agrippa. was enabled to exercise a strong influence in favor of the Jews. See Agrippa. After the death of Lepi- dus, Augustus assumed the office of high-priest, a dig- nity which gave him the inspection over ceremonies and religious concerns. ( hie of his first proceedings was an examination of the Sibyls' books, many of which he burnt, and placed the others in two gold boxes under the pedestal of Apollo's statue, whose temple was within the enclosure of the palace. This is worthy of note, if these prophecies had excited a general expectation of some great person about that time to be born, as there is reason to suppose was the fact. It should be remembered, also, that Augustus had the honor to shut the temple of Janus, in token of universal peace, at the time when the Prince of Peace was born. This is remarkable, .because that temple was shut but a very few times. For further details of the life of Augustus, see Smith's D'ct. of Biog. s. v. ( m the question whether this emperor had 1 any knowledge respecting Christ, there are treatises
AUNT
549 AURICULAR CONFESSION
by Hasse (Reborn. 1S05), Hering (Stettin, 1727), Kober (Gerl. 1669), Sperling (Viteb. 170:!), Ziebich (Gera, 1718, and in his Verm. Beitr. i, 3), Zorn (Opusc. ii, 481 sq.).
AUGUSTUS' BAND (piretpr) 2f)8a<rr^, the Augus- tan cohort), the title of the body of Roman imperial troops to which the centurion who had charge of Paul on his voyage to Rome belonged (Acts xxvii, 1). See Cohort.
Aunt (iTlifr, dodali, fem. of "HI, a friend, hence uncle), one's father's sister (Exod. vi, 20), also an un- cle's wife (Lev. xviii, 14; xx, 20). See Affinity.
Aurandt. John Dietrich, a minister of the Ger- man Reformed Church, was born on Maiden Creek, Berks county, Pa., 1760, and in his youth was appren- ticed to a miller. In 1778 he enlisted as a soldier in the brigade of the Pennsylvania Regulars under Gen. Wayne. He continued in the army till 1781, when he received an honorable discharge. He now resumed his business as a miller, but after several years turned his attention to farming. Meanwhile his mind had been strongly turned toward the holy ministry. He began by exhorting in meetings for prayer, studying privately as best he could. He was licensed to preach in 1806, and ordained in 1809. He settled in Hunting- ton county, Pa. His field of labor extended east and west sixty miles, north and south from forty to fifty miles. Here he labored with apostolic zeal as a pio- neer, laying the foundation of numerous and flourish- ing congregations. His travelling over these moun- tain regions of Pennsylvania was done on horseback. This was his first and also his last field of labor. His health failed toward the last, and sometimes for a short period his labors were interrupted; but he continued his work, though often amid much suffering, till near his end. He preached his last sermon the latter part of the summer of 1830, and died April 24th, 1831, in the 71st year of his age. Mr. Aurandt's power of use- fulness lay in extraordinary natural gifts, deep and earnest piety, rather than in acquired learning or in- tellectual polish. He was gifted with a good memory, quick perception, a ready flow of language, and a clear enunciation. He preached only in the German lan- guage.