60. From this can be said also nominare ‘to call by name,’ because when novae ‘new’ things were brought into use, they set nomina ‘names’ on them, by which they novissent ‘might know’ them. From this, nuncupare ‘to pronounce vows publicly,’ because then nova ‘new’ vows are undertaken for the state. That nuncupare is the same as nominare, is evident in the laws, where sums of money are written down as nuncupatae ‘bequeathed by name’; likewise in the Chorus, in which there is:
Aeneas! — Who is this who calls me by my name? And likewise in the Medus:
Who are you, woman, who have called me by an unaccustomed name?
61. Dico ‘I say’ has a Greek origin, that which the Greeks call δεικνύω ‘I show.’ From this moreover comes dicare ‘to show, dedicate,’ as Ennius says:
I say this circus shows six little turning-posts.
From this, iudicare ‘to judge,’ because then ius ‘right’ dicitur ’is spoken’; from this, index ‘judge,’ because he ius dicat ‘speaks the decision’ after receiving the power to do so; from this, dedicat ‘he dedicates,’ that is, he finishes the matter by dicendo ‘saying’ certain fixed words: for thus a temple of a god dedicatur ’is dedicated’ by the magistrate, by dicendo ‘saying’ the formulas after the pontiff. From this, that is from dicere, comes indicium ‘information’; from this, the following: indicit ‘he declares’ war, indixit ‘he has invited to’ a funeral, prodixit ‘he has postponed’ the day, addixit ‘he has awarded’ the decision; from this was named a dictum ‘bon mot’ in a farce, and dictiosus ‘witty person’; from this, in the companies of soldiers in camp, the dicta ‘orders’ of the leaders; from this, the dictata ‘dictation exercises’ in the school; from this, the dictator ‘dictator,’ as master of the people, because he must dici ‘be appointed’ by the consul; from this, those old phrases addici nummo ‘to be made over to somebody for a shilling,’ and dicis causa ‘for the sake of judicial form,’ and addictus ‘bound over’ to somebody.
62. If I dico ‘say’ something that I know to one who does not know it, because I trado ‘hand over’ to him what he was ignorant of, from this is derived doceo ‘I teach,’ or else because when we docemus ‘teach’ we dicimus ‘say,’ or else because those who docentur ‘are taught’ inducuntur ‘are led on’ to that which they docentur ‘are taught.’ From this fact, that he knows how ducere ‘to lead,’ is named the one who is dux ‘guide’ or ductor ‘leader’; from this, doctor ‘teacher,’ who so inducit ‘leads on’ that he docet ‘teaches.’ From ducere ‘to lead,’ come docere ‘to teach,’ disciplina ‘instruction,’ discere ‘to learn,’ by the change of a few letters. From the same original element comes documenta ‘instructive examples,’ which are said as models for the purpose of teaching.
63. Disputatio ‘discussion’ and computatio ‘reckoning,’ from the general idea of putare, which means to make purum ‘clean’; for the ancients used putum to mean purum. Therefore putator ‘trimmer’, because he makes trees clean; therefore a business account is said putari ‘to be adjusted,’ in which the sum is pura ‘net.’ So also that discourse in which the words are arranged pure ‘neatly,’ that it may not be confused and that it may be transparent of meaning, is said disputare ‘to discuss’ a problem or question.
64. Our word disserit is used in a figurative meaning as well as in relation to the fields: for as the kitchen-gardener disserit ‘distributes’ the things of each kind upon his garden plots, so he who does the like in speaking is disertus ‘skilful.’ Sermo ‘conversation,’ I think, is from series ‘succession,’ whence serta ‘garlands’; and moreover in the case of a garment sartum ‘patched,’ because it is held together: for sermo ‘conversation’ cannot be where one man is alone, but where his speech is joined with another’s. So we are said conserere manum ‘to join hand-to-hand fight’ with an enemy; so to call for manum consertum ‘a laying on of hands’ according to law; from this, adserere manu in libertatem ‘to claim that so-and-so is free,’ when we lay hold of him. So the augurs say:
If you authorize me to take in my hand the sacred bough, then name my colleagues (consortes).
65. From this, moreover, sors ‘lot,’ from which the consortes ‘colleagues’ themselves are named; from this, further, sortes ‘lots,’ because in them time-ideas are joined with men and things; from these, the sortilegi ‘lot-pickers, fortune-tellers’; from this, the money which is at interest is the sors ‘principal, because it joins one expense to another.
66. Legere ‘to pick or read,’ because the letters leguntur ‘are picked’ with the eyes; therefore also legati ‘envoys,’ because they leguntur ‘are chosen’ to be sent on behalf of the state. Likewise, from legere ‘to pick,’ the leguli ‘pickers,’ who legunt ‘gather’ the olives or the grapes; from this, the legumina ‘beans’ of various kinds; moreover, the leges ‘laws,’ which are lectae ‘chosen’ and brought before the people for them to observe. From this, legitima ‘lawful things’; and collegae ‘colleagues,’ who have been lecti ‘chosen’ together, and those who have been put into their places, are sublecti ‘substitutes’; those added are allecti ‘chosen in addition,’ and things which have been lecta ‘gathered’ from several places into one, are collecta ‘collected.’ Prom legere ‘to gather’ comes also ligna ‘firewood,’ because the wood that had fallen was gathered in the field, to be used on the fireplace. From the same source, legere ‘to gather,’ came legio ‘legion,’ and diligens ‘careful,’ and dilectus ‘military levy.’
67. From likeness to the sound, he is said murmurari ‘to murmur,’ who speaks so softly that he seems more as the result of the sound to be doing it, than to be doing it for the purpose of being understood. From this, moreover, the poets say Murmuring sea-shore.
Likewise, fremere ‘to roar,’ gemere ‘to groan,’ clamare ‘to shout,’ crepare ‘to rattle’ are said from the likeness of the sound of the word to that which it denotes. From this, that passage:
Arms are resounding, a roar doth arise.
From this, also, By your rebuking you alarm me not.
68. Close to these are quiritare ‘to shriek,’ iubilare ‘to call joyfully.’ He is said quiritare, who shouts and implores the protection of the Quirites. The Quirites were named from the Curenses ‘men of Cures’; from that place they came with King Tatius to receive a share in the Roman state. As quiritare is a word of city people, so iubilare is a word of the countrymen; thus in imitation of them Aprissius says:
Oho, Fat-Face! — Who is calling me? — Your neighbour of long standing.
So triumphare ‘to triumph’ was said, because the soldiers shout “Oho, triumph!” as they come back with the general through the City and he is going up to the Capitol; this is perhaps derived from θρίαμβος, as a Greek surname of Liber.
69. Spondere is to say spondeo ‘I solemnly promise,’ from sponte ‘of one’s own inclination’: for this has the same meaning as from voluntas ‘personal desire.’ Therefore Lucilius writes of the Cretan woman, that when she had come of her own desire to his house to lie with him, she was of her own sponte ‘inclination’ led to throw back her tunic and other garments. The same voluntas ‘personal desire’ is what Terence means when he says that it is better Of one’s own inclination right to do, Than merely by the fear of other folk.
From the same sponte from which spondere is said, are derived despondet ‘he pledges’ and respondet ‘he promises in return, answers,’ and desponsor ‘promiser’ and sponsa ‘promised bride,’ and likewise others in the same fashion. For he spondet ‘solemnly promises’ who says of his own sponte ‘inclination’ spondeo ‘I promise’; he who spopondit ‘has promised’ is a sponsor ‘surety’; he who is by sponsus ‘formal promise’ bound to do the same thing as the other party, is a consponsus ‘co-surety.’
70. This is what Naevius means when he says consponsi. If money or a daughter spondebatur ‘was promised’ in connexion with a marriage, both the money and the girl who had been desponsa ‘pledged’ were called sponsa ‘prom
ised, pledged’; the money which had been asked under the sponsus ‘engagement’ for their mutual protection against the breaking of the agreement, was called a sponsio ‘guarantee deposit’; the man to whom the money or the girl was desponsa ‘pledged,’ was called sponsus ‘betrothed’; the day on which the engagement was made, was called sponsalis ‘betrothal day.’
71. He who spoponderat ‘had promised’ his daughter, they said, despondisse ‘had promised her away,’ because she had gone out of the power of his sponte ‘inclination,’ that is, from the control of his voluntas ‘desire’: for even if he wished not to give her, still he gave her, because he was bound by his sponsus ‘formal promise’: for you see it said, as in comedies:
Do you now promise your daughter to my son as wife?
This was at that time considered a principle established by the praetors to supplement the statutes, and a decision of the censors for the sake of fairness. So a person is said despondisse animum ‘to have promised his spirit away, to have become despondent,’ just as he is said despondisse filiam ‘to have promised his daughter away,’ because he had fixed an end of the power of his sponte ‘inclination.’
72. Since spondere was said from sua sponte dicere ‘to say of one’s own inclination,’ they said also respondere ‘to answer,’ when they responderunt ‘promised in return’ to the other party’s spontem, ‘inclination,’ that is, to the desire of the asker. Therefore he who says “no” to that which is asked, does not respondere, just as he does not spondere who has immediately said spondeo, if he said it for a joke, nor can legal action be taken against him as a result of such a sponsus ‘promise.’ Thus he to whom someone says in a comedy, Do you recall you pledged your daughter unto me?
which he had said without his sponte ‘inclination,’ cannot be proceeded against under his sponsus.
73. Spes ‘hope’ is perhaps also derived from sponte ‘inclination,’ because a person then sperat ‘hopes,’ when he thinks that what he wishes is coming true; for if he thinks that what he does not wish is coming true, he fears, not hopes. Therefore these also who speak in the Astraba of Plautus:
Follow now closely, Polybadiscus, I wish to overtake my hope. — Heavens I surely do: I’m glad to overtake her whom I hope:
because they speak without sponte ‘feeling of success,’ the youth who speaks does not truly ‘hope,’ nor does the girl who is ‘hoped for.’
74. Sponsor and praes and vas are not the same thing, nor are the matters identical from which these terms come; but they develop out of similar situations. Thus a praes is one who is asked by the magistrate that he praestat ‘make a guarantee’ to the state; from which, also when he answers, he says, “I am your praes.” He was called a vas ‘bondsman’ who promised bond for another. It was the custom, that when a party in a suit was not considered capable of fulfilling his engagements, he should give another as bondsman for him; from which they later began to provide by law against those who should sell their real estate, that they should not offer themselves as bondsmen. From this, they began to add the provision in the law about the transfer of properties, that “they should not demand a bondsman, nor will a bondsman be given.”
75. Canere ‘to sing,’ accanit ‘he sings to’ something, and succanit ‘he sings a second part,’ like canto ‘I sing’ and cantatio ‘song,’ from Camena ‘Muse,’ with N substituted for M. From the fact that a person sings once, he canit; if he sings more often, he cantat. From this, cantitat ‘he sings repeatedly,’ and likewise other words; nor without canere ‘singing, playing’ are the tubicines ‘trumpeters,’ named, and the liticines ‘cornetists,’ cornicines ‘horn-blowers,’ tibicines ‘pipes-players’: for canere ‘playing’ on some special instrument belongs to all these. The bucinator ‘trumpeter’ also was named from the likeness of the sound and the cantus ‘playing.’
76. Oro ‘I beseech’ was so called from os ‘mouth,’ and so were perorat ‘he ends his speech’ and exorat ‘he gains by pleading,’ and oralio ‘speech’ and orator ‘speaker’ and osculum ‘kiss.’ From the same, omen ‘presage’ and ornamentum ‘ornament’: because the former was first uttered from the os ‘mouth,’ it was called osmen; the latter is now commonly used in the singular with the general idea of ornament, but as formerly most of the scenic poets use it in the plural. From this, oscines ‘singing birds’ are spoken of among the augurs, which indicate their premonitions by the os ‘mouth.’
77. The third stage of action is, they say, that in which they faciunt ‘make’ something: in this, on account of the likeness among agere ‘to act’ and facere ‘to make’ and gerere ‘to carry or carry on,’ a certain error is committed by those who think that it is only one thing. For a person can facere something and not agere it, as a poet facit ‘makes’ a play and does not act it, and on the other hand the actor agit ‘acts’ it and does not make it, and so a play fit ’is made’ by the poet, not acted, and agitur ’is acted’ by the actor, not made. On the other hand, the general, in that he is said to gerere ‘carry on’ affairs, in this neither facit ‘makes’ nor agit ‘acts,’ but gerit ‘carries on,’ that is, supports, a meaning transferred from those who gerunt ‘carry’ burdens, because they support them.
78. In its literal sense facere ‘to make’ is from facies ‘external appearance’: he is said facere ‘to make’ a thing, who puts a facies ‘external appearance’ on the thing which he facit ‘makes.’ As the fictor ‘image-maker,’ when he says “Fingo ‘I shape,’” puts a figura ‘shape’ on the object, and when he says “Formo ‘I form,’” puts a forma ‘form’ on it, so when he says “Facio ‘I make,’” he puts a, facies ‘external appearance’ on it; by this external appearance there comes a distinction, so that one thing can be said to be a garment, another a dish, and likewise the various things that are made by the carpenters, the image-makers, and other workers. He who furnishes a service, whose work does not stand out in concrete form so as to come under the observation of our physical senses, is, from his agitatus ‘action, motion,’ as I have said, thought rather agere ‘to act’ than facere ‘to make’ something; but because general practice has used these words indiscriminately rather than with care, we use them in transferred meanings; for he who dicit ‘says’ something, we say facere ‘makes’ words, and he who agit ‘acts’ something, we say is not inficiens ‘failing to do’ something.
79. And he who lights a faculam ‘torch,’ is said to facere ‘make’ a light. Lucere ‘to shine,’ from luere ‘to loose,’ because it is also by the light that the shades of night dissolvuntur ‘are loosed apart’; from lux ‘light’ comes Noctiluca ‘Shiner of the Night,’ because this worship was instituted on account of the loss of the daylight. Acquirere ‘to acquire’ is ad ‘in addition’ and quaerere ‘to seek’; quaerere itself is from this, that attention is given to quae res ‘what thing’ is to be got back; from quaerere comes quaestio ‘question’; then from these, quaestor ‘investigator, treasurer.’
80. Video ‘I see,’ from visus ‘sight,’ this from vis ‘strength’; for the greatest of the five senses is in the eyes. For while no one of the senses can feel that which is a mile away, the strength of the sense of the eyes reaches even to the stars. From this:
They watch for what is to be seen, but hate to stay awake.
Also the verse of Accius: When that he violated with his eyes, Who looked upon what ought not to be seen From which moreover they used to say violavit ‘he did violence to’ a girl instead of vitiavit ‘ruined’ her; and similarly, with the same modesty, they used to say rather that a man fuit ‘was’ with a woman, than that he concubuit ‘lay’ with her.
81. Cerno has the same meaning; therefore Ennius uses it for video:
I see light in the sky — can it be dawn?
Cassius says:
I see that in her limbs there’s feeling still and motion.
Cerno ‘I see’ is said from cereo, that is, creo ‘I create’; it is said from this fact, that when something has been created, then finally it is seen. Fr
om this, the boundary-lines of the parted hair, because a boundary-line is seen, got the name discrimen ‘separation’; and the cernito ‘let him decide,’ which is in a will, that is, make them see that you are heir: therefore in the cretio ‘decision’ they direct that the heir bring witnesses. From the same is that which Medea says:
I’d rather thrice decide, in battle wild, My life or death, than bear but once a child.
Because, when they decernunt ‘decide’ about life at that time, the end of many persons’ lives is seen.
82. Spectare ‘to see’ is said from the old word specere, which in fact Ennius used:
After Epulo saw them, and because in the taking of the auspices there is a division into those who have the spectio ‘watch-duty’ and those who have not; and because in the taking of the auguries even now the augurs say specere ‘to watch’ a bird. Common practice even now keeps the compounds made with prefixes, as aspicio ‘I look at,’ conspicio ‘I observe,’ respicio ‘I look back at,’ suspicio ‘I look up at,’ despicio ‘I look down upon,’ and similarly others; in which group is also expecto ‘I look for, expect’ that which I wish spectare ‘to see.’ From this, speculor ‘I watch’; from this, speculum ‘mirror,’ because in it we specimus ‘see’ our image. Specula ‘look-out,’ that from which we prospicimus ‘look forth.’ Speculator ‘scout,’ whom we send ahead, that he respiciat ‘may look attentively’ at what we wish. From this, the instrument with which we anoint our eyes by which we specimus ‘see,’ is called a specillum ‘eye-spatula.’
Delphi Complete Works of Varro Page 48
