on official duty

offĭcĭum, ii, n. [for opificium, opus and facio], qs. that which one does for another, a service, whether of free will or of (external or moral) necessity (class.; cf.: studium, beneficium, meritum, munus).

A voluntary service, a kindness, favor, courtesy, rendered to one whose claim to it is recognized;

while beneficium is a service rendered where there is no claim: officium esse filii, uxoris, earum personarum, quas necessitudo suscitat et ferre opem jubet,

Sen. Ben. 3, 18, 1.

In gen.:

altera sententia est, quae definit amicitiam paribus officiis ac voluntatibus,

Cic. Lael. 16, 58:

odiosum sane genus hominum officia exprobrantium,

id. ib. 20, 71:

nihil est vicissitudine studiorum officiorumque jucundius,

id. ib. 14, 49: filicem cum officio vicini decidere, so as to do him a service, Col. 2, 14, 6:

summo officio praeditus homo,

exceedingly obliging, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 51, § 135. —

In partic.

A ceremonial observance, ceremony, attendance (on a festive or solemn occasion;

mostly post-Aug.): officio togae virilis interfui,

Plin. Ep. 1, 9, 2:

sine solenni officio,

Suet. Claud. 2:

per sollenne nuptiarum celeberrimo officio deductum ad se,

id. Ner. 28; cf. id. Claud. 26:

ad officium venire,

id. Calig. 25:

relicto statim novorum consulum officio,

id. Caes. 50:

in officio salutationis,

id. Aug. 27:

vitans praeter navigantium officia,

id. Tib. 12:

officia prosequentium,

id. Caes. 71:

quod supremis in matrem officiis defuisset,

at the payment of the last offices, at the funeral, Tac. A. 5, 2:

officium cras Primo sole mihi peragendum in valle Quirini,

a ceremonial visit, Juv. 2, 133 sq.; 3, 239.—

In mal. part., compliance, favor, Prop. 3, 15, 24; Ov. Am. 1, 10, 46; 3, 7, 24; cf.

virile,

Theod. Prisc. 2, 11:

puerile,

Plaut. Cist. 4, 1, 5; Petr. 140.—

In gen., an obligatory service, an obligation, duty, function, part, office (so most freq. in prose and poetry of all periods):

nulla vitae pars neque publicis neque privatis neque forensibus neque domesticis in rebus, neque si tecum agas quid, neque, si cum altero contrahas, vacare oflicio potest: in eoque et colendo sita vitae est honestas omnis et in neglegendo turpitudo, etc.,

Cic. Off. 1, 2, 4 sq.: perfectum officium rectum opinor vocemus, quod Graeci katorthôma: hoc autem commune kathêkon vocant, id. ib. 1, 3, 8;

an id doles, quia illi suum officium non colunt, quom tu tuum facis?

Plaut. Stich. 1, 1, 34; id. ib. 1, 1, 39; id. Pers. 4, 4, 66:

meminisse officium suum,

to remember one's duty, id. Trin. 3, 2, 71.—Also, subject., a sense of duty:

si quis aegre ferat nihil in se esse virtutis, nihil officii, etc.,

Cic. Tusc. 4, 28, 61:

quicquid in eum judicii officiique contuleris,

id. Fam. 10, 1 fin.:

intellegere, utrum apud eos pudor atque officium an timor valeret,

Caes. B. G. 1, 40, 14:

suum facere,

to do one's duty, Ter. Ad. 1, 1, 44:

omnibus officiis amicitiae servatis,

observe all the obligations of friendship, Cic. Fam. 5, 17, 3:

exsequi,

id. Att. 3, 15, 4:

fungi officio,

id. Fam. 3, 8, 3:

satisfacere officio,

to perform, id. Div. in Caecil. 14, 47:

officium suum deserere,

to disregard one's duty, not perform it, id. Off. 1, 9, 28:

discedere ab officio,

id. ib. 1, 10, 32:

deesse officio suo,

id. Fam. 7, 3, 1:

officii duxit,

considered it his duty, Suet. Tib. 11.—Of animals:

canes funguntur officiis luporum,

act the part of, Auct. Her. 4, 34, 46.—Of things:

neque pes neque mens satis suum officium facit,

Ter. Eun. 4, 5, 3: officium corporis, the function or property of a body, Lucr. 1, 336 and 362.—

In partic.

Lit., an official duty, a service, employment, business (class.):

toti officio maritimo M. Bibulus praepositus cuncta administrabat,

naval service, Caes. B. C. 3, 5 fin.; 3, 8:

celeriter equitatus ad cotidianum itineris officium revertitur,

id. ib. 1, 80:

confecto legationis officio,

id. ib. 3, 103:

destringor officio,

Plin. Ep. 7, 15, 1:

officium (scribae),

Nep. Eum. 1, 5.—

Transf., an office, appointment (post-Aug.).

Laboriosissimum et maximum, office, Plin. Pan. 91:

nova officia excogitavit,

Suet. Aug. 37; cf.:

novum officium instituit a voluptatibus,

id. Tib. 42:

obligationes, quae non propriis viribus consistunt, neque officio judicis, neque praetoris imperio neque legis potestate confirmantur,

Dig. 44, 7, 27:

qui ex officio pro aliis interveniunt,

by virtue of their office, ib. 21, 1, 31, § 14:

ministerii,

Vulg. Exod. 28, 35:

sacerdotum,

id. Num. 7, 8.—

Transf., in concr.

The officials or attendants on a magistrate = officialium corpus (post-class.):

sub praetextu adventus officiorum vel militum,

Dig. 1, 18, 6; 21, 2, 74:

deponere aliquid apud officium,

ib. 2, 4. 17: officia palatina, officers at the imperial court, Treb. Poll. Gall. 17, 8.—

An office or court of a magistrate:

ipse me Regulus convenit in praetoris officio,

Plin. Ep. 1, 5, 11.

* * *

* * *

sors, tis (nom. sortis, Plaut. Cas. 2, 6, 28; abl. sorti. C. I. L. 198, 54; 200, 16; Plaut. Cas. 2, 7, 5; Liv. 4, 37, 6; 28, 45, 11; 29, 20, 4; cf. Neue, Formenl. 1, 241; but sorti is dat., Verg. G. 4, 165 Forbig. ad loc.; Sil. 7, 3, 65), f. [2. sero; cf.: fors, fero], any thing used to determine chances.

Lit., a lot:

aut populna sors aut abiegna,

Plaut. Cas. 2, 6, 32:

coniciam sortes in sitellam,

id. ib. 2, 5, 34 sq.:

tot in hydriam sortes conicerentur,

Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 51, § 127:

ponere in sitellam,

Liv. 41, 18, 8;

and simply conicere,

Plaut. Cas. 2, 6, 34 sq.; Cic. Lig. 7, 21:

deicere,

Caes. B. C. 1, 6 fin.; Verg. A. 5, 490; cf.:

cum dejecta in id sors esset,

lots were cast for it, Liv. 21, 42:

miscere,

Cic. Div. 2, 41, 86:

ducere,

id. ib. 2, 41, 86; id. Verr. 2, 4, 64, § 143:

cum de consularibus mea prima sors exisset,

id. Att. 1, 19, 3:

ut cujusque sors exciderat,

Liv. 21, 42, 3:

sortem in sitellam latam,

id. 41, 18, 8 Weissenb.:

et Caere sortes extenuatas (creditum est), as an omen of ill,

id. 21, 62, 5 and 8:

sortes suā sponte adtenuatas,

id. 22, 1, 11.—Of chances or tickets in a lottery, Suet. Aug. 75 fin.; Lampr. Heliog. 21 fin. —

Transf.

Abstr., a casting or drawing of lots, decision by lot, lot:

quaestor quem sors dedit,

Cic. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 3, § 11:

res revocatur ad sortem,

id. Verr. 2, 2, 51, § 127:

sorti sum victus,

Plaut. Cas. 2, 7, 5:

ei sorte provincia Sicilia obvenit,

Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 6, § 17; cf.:

cui Sicilia provincia sorte evenisset,

Liv. 29, 20;

for which: cui ea provincia sorti evenit,

id. 4, 37, 6:

Q. Caecilio sorte evenit, ut in Bruttiis adversum Hannibalem bellum gereret,

id. 28, 45, 11:

sorte ductus,

Cic. Rep. 1, 34, 51; Sall. Fragm. ap. Serv. Verg. A. 2, 201:

sorte ducti e primoribus civitatis unus et viginti,

Tac. A. 1, 54; 13, 29: sorte in provinciam proficisci, S. C. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 8, 8:

sorte agros legionibus assignare, Brut. ib., 11, 20, 3 et saep.: de se ter sortibus consultum dicebat,

Caes. B. G. 1, 53 fin.:

jubet extra sortem Theomnastum renuntiari,

Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 51, § 127:

extra sortem agrum Campanum dividere,

Suet. Caes. 20. —

A lot, share, the duty assigned by lot, esp. of the prætors, who divided by lot the duties of their office:

praetores, Q. Fulvius Flaccus urbanam, M. Valerius Laevinus peregrinam sortem in juris dictione habuit,

Liv. 23, 30, 18; 22, 35, 5; cf.:

urbana, peregrina (sc. sors),

id. 27, 36, 10; 28, 10, 9 al.:

urbana et peregrina (provinciae), quae duorum ante sors fuerat,

id. 25, 3, 2; 24, 44, 2; [p. 1733] cf. id. 35, 41, 6:

comitia suae sortis esse,

i.e. had by lot been assigned to him, id. 35, 6, 2;

hence, numquam ex urbe afuit nisi sorte,

i.e. on official duty, Cic. Planc. 27, 67.—

In gen., an oracular response (which was often written on a little tablet or lot), a prophecy (cf. responsum):

cum (Spartiatae) oraculum ab Jove Dodonaeo petivissent legatique illud, in quo inerant sortes, collocavissent: simia et sortis ipsas et cetera quae erant ad sortem parata, disturbavit,

Cic. Div. 1, 34, 76:

ut interpres egeat interprete et sors ipsa ad sortis referenda sit,

id. ib. 2, 56, 115:

Italiam Lyciae jussere capessere sortes,

i.e. the oracles of the Lycian Apollo, Verg. A. 4, 346; 4, 377; so,

Phoebeae,

Ov. M. 3, 130:

faticinae,

id. ib. 15, 436:

sacrae,

id. ib. 1, 368;

11, 412: edita oraculo,

Curt. 3, 1, 16; 5, 4, 11; 6, 9, 18; Val. Max. 1, 6, 3:

neque responsa sortium ulli alii committere ausus,

Liv. 1, 56: conjecturam postulat, ut se edoceret, Quo sese vertant tantae sortes somniūm, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 21, 42 (Trag. v. 64 Vahl.).—

In partic., oracular sayings, verses, or sentences at the opening of a book, selected for the purpose:

sortes Vergilii or Vergilianae,

Lampr. Alex. Sev. 14, 5; Spart. Had. 2, 8:

sacrae,

Tib. 1, 3, 11:

sanctorum,

Isid. Orig. 8, 9, 28:

sortes tollere,

Tib. 1. 1.:

ducere,

Juv. 6, 583:

de paginis poëtae cujusdam sortem consulere,

Aug. Conf. 4, 3:

de paginis evangelicis sortes legere,

id. Ep. 119.—

In gen., like the Engl. lot, for fate, destiny, chance, fortune, condition, share, part (esp. freq. after the Aug. per.; cf.

fors, casus, fortuna): nescia mens hominum fati sortisque futurae,

Verg. A. 10, 501:

ferrea sors vitae,

Ov. Tr. 5, 3, 28:

vires ultra sortemque senectae,

Verg. A. 6, 114:

iniqua,

id. ib. 6, 332; Liv. 38, 23:

qui fit, ut nemo, quam sibi sortem Seu ratio dederit seu fors objecerit, illa Contentus vivat,

Hor. S. 1, 1, 1:

sperat infestis, metuit secundis Alteram sortem,

id. C. 2, 10, 14:

sors mea fuit irrequieta,

Ov. M. 2, 386:

sors querenda, Non celanda foret,

id. ib. 3, 551:

aliena,

Liv. 21, 43, 2:

sunt quibus ad portas cecidit custodia sorti,

to whose lot, Verg. G. 4, 165; Sil. 7, 368:

homines ultimae sortis,

Suet. Aug. 19; cf.: non tuae sortis juvenem, of your rank or condition, Hor. C. 4, 11, 22:

sors tua mortalis,

Ov. M. 2, 56:

nec cedit nisi sorte mihi,

id. ib. 5, 529:

dilectos inter sors prima sodales,

id. Tr. 4, 5, 1:

huic sortem concede priorem,

id. A. A. 1, 581:

quattuor ille quidem juvenes totidemque crearat Femineae sortis,

i. e. of the female sex, id. M. 6, 680; so,

feminea,

id. ib. 13, 651:

altera,

id. ib. 9, 676; cf. id. ib. 3, 329:

Saturni sors ego prima fui,

i. e. the first child, id. F. 6, 30:

suae sortis oblitus,

Curt. 3, 2, 11:

ultima,

id. 9, 2, 6:

nec pars nec sors in sermone isto,

Vulg. Act. 8, 21.—With gen.:

cujus mali sors incidit Remis,

Hirt. B. G. 8, 12, 3:

incommodi,

id. ib. 8, 1 fin.:

nobis quoniam prima animi ingenique negata sors est, secundam ac mediam teneamus,

Liv. 22, 29, 9:

puer post avi mortem in nullam sortem bonorum natus (opp. omnium heredi bonorum),

to no share of the property, id. 1, 34, 3:

praedae mala sors,

Ov. M. 13, 485:

utrius vitae sortem legant,

Just. 1, 6, 6:

servitutis,

id. 6, 5, 1.—

In partic., in mercant. lang. (prop. fortune, money; hence), capital bearing interest, principal:

et sors et fenus,

Plaut. Most. 3, 1, 122; 5, 2, 38; 3, 1, 34; 3, 1, 64; 3, 1, 70; 3, 1, 84; Ter. Ad. 2, 2, 35; Cic. Att. 6, 1, 3; Liv. 6, 14; 6, 15; Plin. praef. § 23; Mart. 5, 42, 3; Dig. 33, 2, 24; Inscr. Orell. 4405; cf. Varr. L. L. 6, § 65, and id. ib. 5, § 183 Müll.—

A rank, class, order (late Lat.):

ex turbā imae sortis,

Amm. 14, 6, 25.

prōvincĭa, ae (old gen. PROVINCIAI, Inscr. Grut. 376, 6) [etym. dub.; perh. contr. for pro-noventia (cf. nuntius), the charge or government of a legate].

A province, i. e. a territory out of Italy, acquired by the Romans (chiefly by conquest), and brought under Roman government; freq., also, to be rendered provincial administration, employment, etc.:

Sicilia prima omnium provincia est appellata,

Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 1, § 2:

defendo provinciam Siciliam,

id. Div. in Caecil. 2, 5:

provincia Syria,

id. Fam. 15, 2, 1:

Asia provincia,

id. Fl. 34, 85:

provincia Gallia,

id. Font. 1, 2:

praeponere, praeficere aliquem provinciae,

id. Fam. 2, 15, 4:

tradere alicui provinciam,

id. ib. 3, 3, 1:

in provinciam cum imperio proficisci,

id. ib. 3, 2, 1:

administrare provinciam,

id. ib. 15, 4, 1:

provinciam consulari imperio obtinere,

id. Fl. 34, 85; cf. id. Phil. 1, 8, 19:

de provinciā decedere,

to retire from the administration of a province, id. Fam. 2, 15, 4:

provinciam Lentulus deposuit,

gave up, resigned, id. Pis. 21, 50: provincia consularis, governed by a former consul (proconsul), id. Verr. 2, 1, 13, § 34:

praetoria,

governed by a former prœtor, id. Phil. 1, 8, 19.—

In gen., a province, division of a kingdom or empire:

Judaea,

Vulg. 1 Esdr. 5, 8:

Babylonis,

id. Dan. 2, 48.—

Transf., in gen., official duty, office, business, charge, province (class.):

parasitorum,

Plaut. Capt. 3, 1, 14:

hanc tibi impero provinciam,

id. Mil. 4, 4, 23:

abi in tuam provinciam,

id. Cas. 1, 15:

duram capere provinciam,

Ter. Phorm. 1, 2, 22:

sibi provinciam depoposcit, ut me in meo lectulo trucidaret,

Cic. Sull. 18, 52:

qui eam provinciam susceperint, ut in balneas contruderentur,

id. Cael. 26, 63:

Sicinio Volsci, Aquilio Hernici provincia evenit,

i. e. were given into his charge, were assigned to him to be subdued, Liv. 2, 40 fin.:

cum ambo consules Appuliam provinciam haberent,

id. 26, 22.—In plur., Plaut. Ps. 1, 2, 15:

ipsi inter se provincias partiuntur,

Hirt. B. G. 8, 35.

offĭcĭālis, e, adj. [officium], of or belonging to duty, office, or service, official (post-class.).

Adj.:

libri officiales,

which treat of duties, Lact. 6, 11, 9; 6, 18, 15:

operae,

official performances, Dig. 38, 1, 6.—

Subst.: offĭcĭālis, is, m., a magistrate's servant or attendant, an official (for the class. apparitor), App. M. 1, p. 113 fin.:

praefecti,

Dig. 36, 4, 5; Paul. Sent. 5, 12, 6: universi officiales diversorum officiorum, Cod. Th. 8, 7, 2; Inscr. Orell. 2952.—

In gen., a servant, attendant:

aemulationi occurrant necesse est officiales suae, ira, discordia, odium,

Tert. adv. Marc. 1, 25.

actĭo, ōnis, f. [ago], a doing, performing, acting, action, act.

In gen.:

non modo deos spoliat motu et actione divina, sed etiam homines inertes efficit,

Cic. N. D. 1, 37; 2, 16;

virtutis laus omnis in actione consistit,

id. Off. 1, 6; id. Fin. 5, 19, 54.—With subject. gen.:

ad eas res parandas, quibus actio vitae continetur,

active, practical life, id. Off. 1, 5:

corporis,

id. Div. 1, 32:

mentis,

id. N. D. 1, 17; and with object. gen.: itaque nec actio rerum illarum ( the public performance of those things) apertā petulantiā vacat, id. ib. 1, 35, 127; ib. 1, 43:

actio ullius rei,

id. Ac. 2, 33, 108; and so plur.: periculosae rerum actiones sunt, Off. 1, 2, 4;

hence: actio gratiarum,

the giving of thanks, id. Fam. 10, 19 (cf.: gratias agere).—

Esp.

Public functions, civil acts, proceedings, or duties.

In gen., Cic. Fam. 9, 8:

tribunorum,

their official duties, Liv. 5, 11; so,

consularis,

id. 4, 55 al.:

actiones nostras scriptis mandamus,

Cic. Off. 2, 1; Caes. B. C. 1, 5.—Hence negotiation, deliberation:

discessu consulum actio de pace sublata est,

Cic. Att. 9. 9.—Esp.

Of judicial proceedings.

An action, suit, process ( in abstr.), with a gen. more precisely defining it, e. g. actio furti, injuriarum; also with de:

actio de repetundis, de arboribus succisis, etc.: actionem alicui intendere,

Cic. Mil. 14:

instituere,

to bring an action against one, id. Mur. 9: multis actiones ( processes, suits) et res ( the property in suit) peribant, Liv. 39, 18 al.—

The accusation ( in concr.), the statement of the crime, the indictment, charge, accusation:

Inde illa actio, OPE CONSILIOQVE TVO FVRTVM AIO FACTVM ESSE,

Cic. N. D. 3, 30, 74; cf. id. Caecin. 3; id. de Or. 1, 36, 167.—Hence, in gen., judicial forms (the omission of which rendered a suit null and void): actiones Manilianae, forms relative to purchase and sale; cf. Cic. de Or. 1, 58, 246:

Hostilianae,

ib. 1, 57, 245.—Hence,

A pleading of a case (spoken or written); so Cic. calls his Orats. against Verres, actiones, pleas, simply dividing them into actio prima and actio secunda:

actio causae,

Cic. Caecin. 2, 4;

actiones litium,

id. Phil. 9, 5, 11; so,

Suet. continuae actiones, Ner. 15: in prima parte actionis,

Quint. 10, 1, 20 al. —

Permission for a suit:

dare alicui actionem (which was the right or duty of the praetor or judge),

Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 27.—

The judicial management of a suit, the trial, the day of trial:

prima, altera, tertia,

Cic. Verr. 1, 30; 2, 2, 6.—

Of an orator; the exterior air or bearing, the action, delivery: Demosthenem ferunt ei qui quaesivisset quid primum esset in dicendo, actionem;

quid secundum, idem et idem tertium respondisse,

Cic. Brut. 38; cf. id. de Or. 1, 18;

so that it often includes even the voice: actio ejus (Pompeii) habebat et in voce magnum splendorem et in motu summam dignitatem,

id. Brut. 68; cf. id. Or. 17:

est actio quasi sermo corporis,

id. de Or. 3, 59; cf. ib. 2, 17 al.—Hence, also —

Of an actor, action:

in quo tanta commoveri actio non posset,

id. de Or. 3, 26.—

In dramatic lang., the action, the connection or series of events, the plot, in a play:

habet enim (fabula) varios actus multasque actiones et consiliorum et temporum,

Cic. Fam. 5, 12, 6.

dē-cēdo, cessi, cessum, 3 ( inf. sync. decesse, Ter. Heaut. prol. 32; Cic. Fam. 7, 1, 2; Neue Formenl. 2, 536. The part. perf. decessus perh. only Rutil. Nam. 1, 313), v. n., to go away, depart, withdraw. (For syn. cf.: linquo, relinquo, desero, destituo, deficio, discedo, excedo. Often opp. to accedo, maneo; freq. and class.)—Constr. absol. with de, ex, or merely the abl.; rarely with ab.

Lit.

In gen.:

decedamus,

Plaut. Bac. 1, 1, 74:

de altera parte (agri) decedere,

Caes. B. G. 1, 31, 10:

decedit ex Gallia Romam Naevius,

Cic. Quint. 4, 16:

e pastu,

Verg. G. 1, 381; cf.:

e pastu decedere campis,

id. ib. 4, 186:

ex aequore domum,

id. ib. 2, 205;

Italiā,

Sall. J. 28, 2:

Numidiā,

id. ib. 38, 9:

Africā,

id. ib. 20, 1;

23, 1: pugnā,

Liv. 34, 47:

praesidio,

id. 4, 29 (cf.:

de praesidio,

Cic. de Sen. 20, 73):

quae naves paullulum suo cursu decesserint,

i. e. had gone out of their course, Caes. B. C. 3, 112, 3; so,

cum luminibus exstinctis decessisset viā,

had gone out of the way, Suet. Caes. 31:

pantherae constituisse dicuntur in Cariam ex nostra provincia decedere,

Cic. Fam. 2, 11, 2.

Esp.

t. t.

In milit. lang., to retire, withdraw from a former position:

qui nisi decedat atque exercitum deducat ex his regionibus,

Caes. B. G. 1, 44, 19;

so,

absol., id. ib. 1, 44 fin.; Hirt. B. G. 8, 50:

de colle,

Caes. B. C. 1, 71, 3:

de vallo,

id. B. G. 5, 43, 4:

inde,

id. B. C. 1, 71 fin.:

loco superiore,

Hirt. B. G. 8, 9; so with abl., Auct. B. Alex. 34; 35 (twice); 70 al.—

In official lang.: de provincia, ex provincia, provinciā, or absol. (cf. Cic. Planc. 26, 65), to retire from the province on the expiration of a term of office:

de provincia decessit,

Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 20;

so,

id. Att. 7, 3, 5; id. Fam. 2, 15 (twice); Liv. 29, 19 Drak.:

decedens ex Syria,

Cic. Tusc. 2, 25, 61; so,

e Cilicia,

id. Brut. 1:

ex Africa,

Nep. Cato, 1, 4:

ex Asia,

id. Att. 4, 1:

ex ea provincia,

Cic. Div. in Caecil. 1 Zumpt N. cr.:

ut decedens Considius provinciā,

Cic. Lig. 1, 2; Liv. 39, 3; 41, 10:

te antea, quam tibi successum esset, decessurum fuisse,

Cic. Fam. 3, 6; so absol., id. Planc. 26, 65 al.:

Albinus Romam decessit,

Sall. J. 36 fin.; cf.:

Romam ad triumphum,

Liv. 8, 13; 9, 16. —Rarely with a:

cui cum respondissem, me a provincia decedere: etiam mehercule, inquit, ut opinor, ex Africa,

Cic. Planc. 26 fin.

Decedere de viā; also viā, in viā alicui, alicui, or absol., to get out of the way, to give place, make way for one (as a mark of respect or of abhorrence):

concedite atque abscedite omnes: de via decedite,

Plaut. Am. 3, 4, 1; cf.:

decedam ego illi de via, de semita,

id. Trin. 2, 4, 80 (Cic. Clu. 59. [p. 517] 163; cf. II. B infra); cf.:

qui fecit servo currenti in viā decesse populum,

Ter. Heaut. prol. 32:

censorem L. Plancum via sibi decedere aedilis coegit,

Suet. Ner. 4; cf. id. Tib. 31:

sanctis divis, Catul. 62, 268: nocti,

Verg. Ec. 8, 88:

peritis,

Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 216 (cf.:

cedere nocti,

Liv. 3, 60, 7).—Also, to get out of the way of, avoid:

decedere canibus de via,

Cic. Rep. 1, 43, 67; cf.:

hi numero impiorum habentur, his omnes decedunt, aditum defugiunt, etc.,

Caes. B. G. 6, 13, 7.—By zeugma, in the pass.:

salutari, appeti, decedi, assurgi, deduci, reduci, etc.,

Cic. de Sen. 18, 63.

Pregn., to depart, disappear (cf.: cedo, concedo).

Of living beings, to decease, to die:

si eos, qui jam de vita decesserunt,

Cic. Rab. Perd. 11:

vitā,

Dig. 7, 1, 57, § 1; Vulg. 2 Mac. 6, 31; but commonly absol.:

pater nobis decessit a. d. VIII. Kal. Dec.,

id. Att. 1, 6:

cum paterfamiliae decessit,

Caes. B. G. 6, 19, 3; Nep. Arist. 3, 2, and 3; id. Cim. 1; id. Ages. 8, 6; Liv. 1, 34; 9, 17; Quint. 3, 6, 96 et saep.:

cruditate contracta,

id. 7, 3, 33:

morbo aquae intercutis,

Suet. Ner. 5 fin.:

paralysi,

id. Vit. 3:

ex ingratorum hominum conspectu morte decedere,

Nep. Timol. 1, 6.—

Of inanimate things, to depart, go off; to abate, subside, cease:

corpore febres,

Lucr. 2, 34:

febres,

Nep. Att. 22, 3; Cels. 3, 3; cf.:

quartana,

Cic. Att. 7, 2 (opp. accedere):

decessisse inde aquam,

run off, fallen, Liv. 30, 38 fin.; cf.:

decedere aestum,

id. 26, 45; 9, 26 al.:

de summa nihil decedet,

to be wanting, to fail, Ter. Ad. 5, 3, 30; Cic. Clu. 60, 167; cf.:

quicquid libertati plebis caveretur, id suis decedere opibus credebant,

Liv. 3, 55:

decedet jam ira haec, etsi merito iratus est,

Ter. Hec. 3, 5, 55 (for which ib. 5, 2, 15: cito ab eo haec ira abscedet):

postquam invidia decesserat,

Sall. J. 88, 1; Liv. 33, 31 fin.; Tac. A. 15, 16 al.:

priusquam ea cura decederet patribus,

Liv. 9, 29; so with dat., id. 2, 31; 23, 26; Tac. A. 15, 20; 44.— Poet.:

incipit et longo Scyros decedere ponto,

i. e. seems to flee before them, Stat. Ach. 2, 308.—In the Aug. poets sometimes of the heavenly bodies, to go down, set:

et sol crescentes decedens duplicat umbras,

Verg. E. 2, 67; so id. G. 1, 222; Ov. M. 4, 91; hence also of the day, to depart:

te veniente die, te decedente canebat,

Verg. G. 4, 466;

also of the moon,

to wane, Gell. 20, 8, 7.

Trop.

De possessione, jure, sententia, fide, etc. (and since the Aug. per. with abl. alone;

the reading ex jure suo,

Liv. 3, 33, 10, is very doubtful), to depart from; to give up, resign, forego; to yield, to swerve from one's possession, station, duty, right, opinion, faith, etc.

With de:

cogere aliquem de suis bonis decedere,

Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 17 fin.; cf.:

de hypothecis,

id. Fam. 13, 56, 2;

and de possessione,

id. Agr. 2, 26;

de suo jure,

id. Rosc. Am. 27; id. Att. 16, 2:

qui de civitate decedere quam de sententia maluit,

id. Balb. 5:

de officio ac dignitate,

id. Verr. 1, 10:

de foro decedere,

to retire from public life, Nep. Att. 10, 2:

de scena,

to retire from the stage, Cic. Fam. 7, 1, 2; cf. impers.:

de officio decessum,

Liv. 8, 25 fin. —

With abl. alone (so usually in Liv.):

jure suo,

Liv. 3, 33 fin.:

sententiā,

Tac. A. 14, 49:

instituto vestro,

Liv. 37, 54:

officio (opp. in fide atque officio pristino fore),

id. 27, 10; 36, 22:

fide,

id. 31, 5 fin.; 34, 11; 45, 19 al.:

poema... si paulum summo decessit, vergit ad imum,

Hor. A. P. 378.—

Very rarely with ab:

cum (senatus) nihil a superioribus continuorum annorum decretis decesserit,

Cic. Fl. 12.—

Absol.: si quos equites decedentis nactus sum, supplicio adfeci, Asin. Pol. ap. C. Fam. 10, 32, 5.

De via, to depart, deviate from the right way:

se nulla cupiditate inductum de via decessisse,

Cic. Cael. 16, 38:

moleste ferre se de via decessisse,

id. Clu. 59, 163; so,

viā dicendi,

Quint. 4, 5, 3.

(acc. to no. I. B. 2) To give way, yield to another (i. e. to his will or superior advantages—very rare):

vivere si recte nescis, decede peritis,

Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 213:

ubi non Hymetto Mella decedunt,

are not inferior, id. Od. 2, 6, 15.

( poet.) To avoid, shun, escape from (cf. I. B. 2 supra): nec serae meminit decedere nocti, to avoid the late night, i. e. the coldness of night, Varius ap. Macr. S. 6, 2, 20; Verg. Ecl. 8, 88; id. G. 3, 467:

calori,

id. ib. 4, 23.

To fall short of, degenerate from:

de generis nobilitate,

Pall. 3, 25, 2: a rebus gestis ejus et gloriae splendore, Justin. 6, 3, 8.

For the simple verb (v. cedo, no. I. 2), to go off, turn out, result in any manner:

prospere decedentibus rebus,

Suet. Caes. 24.

lictor (pronounced līctor, Gell. 12, 3, 4), ōris, m. [1. ligo; cf. Gell. 12, 3, 1 sqq.], a lictor, i. e. an attendant granted to a magistrate, as a sign of official dignity. The Romans adopted this custom from the Etrurians:

Romulus cum cetero habitu se augustiorem tum maxime lictoribus duodecim sumptis (a finitima Etruria) fecit,

Liv. 1, 8. The lictors bore a bundle of rods, from which an axe projected. Their duty was to walk before the magistrate in a line, one after the other; to call out to the people to make way (submovere turbam);

and to remind them of paying their respects to him (animadvertere, v. h. v.). The foremost one was called primus lictor: apud quem primus quievit lictor,

Cic. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 7, § 21;

the last and nearest to the consul, proximus lictor,

Liv. 24, 44 fin. The lictors had also to execute sentences of judgment, to bind criminals to a stake, to scourge them, and to behead them, Liv. 1, 26; 8, 7; 38;

26, 16.—It was necessary that lictors should be freeborn: not till the time of Tacitus were freedmen also appointed to the office. They were united into a company, and formed the decuriae apparitorum (public servants). In Rome they wore the toga, in the field the sagum, in triumphal processions a purple mantle and fasces wreathed with laurel: togulae lictoribus ad portam praesto fuerunt, quibus illi acceptis, sagula rejecerunt et catervam imperatori suo novam praebuerunt,

Cic. Pis. 23, 55. Only those magistrates who had potestatem cum imperio had lictors. In the earliest times the king had twelve; immediately after the expulsion of the kings, each of the two consuls had twelve;

but it was soon decreed that the consuls should be preceded for a month alternately by twelve lictors,

Liv. 2, 1;

a regulation which appears to have been afterwards, although not always, observed,

Liv. 22, 41;

Cæsar was the first who restored the old custom,

Suet. Caes. 20.—The decemvirs had, in their first year of office, twelve lictors each one day alternately, Liv. 3, 33;

in their second year each had twelve lictors to himself,

id. 3, 36.—

The military tribunes with consular power had also twelve lictors,

Liv. 4, 7;

and likewise the interrex,

id. 1, 17.—The dictator had twenty-four, Dio, 54, 1; Polyb. 3, 87; Plut. Fab. 4;

the magister equitum only six, Dio, 42, 27. The praetor urbanus had, in the earlier times, two lictors,

Censor. de Die Natal. 24: at enim unum a praetura tua, Epidice, abest. Ep. Quidnam? Th. Scies. Lictores duo, duo viminei fasces virgarum, Plaut. Ep. 1, 1, 26; in the provinces he had six;

but in the later times the praetor had in the city, as well as in the province, six lictors, Polyb. 3, 40: cum praetor lictorem impellat et ire praecipitem jubeat,

Juv. 3, 128. The quaestor had lictors only in the province, when he, in consequence of the praetor's absence or death, performed the functions of propraetor, Sall. C. 19; Cic. Planc. 41, 98. Moreover, the flamen dialis, the vestals, and the magistri vicorum had lictors;

these, however, appear to have had no fasces, which was also the case with the thirty lictores curiati (who summoned the curiae to vote),

Cic. Agr. 2, 12, 81; Gell. 15, 27, 2; Inscr. Grut. 33, 4; 630, 9.—

Transf.:

lictorem feminae in publico unionem esse,

a lady's mark of distinction, Plin. 9, 35, 56, § 114.

offĭcĭōsus, a, um, adj. [officium].

Full of courtcousness or complaisance, obliging, ready to serve (esp. towards one's superiors; class.;

syn. studiosus): homo,

Cic. Fam. 13, 21, 2:

amicitia,

id. Planc. 19, 46:

sedulitas,

Hor. Ep. 1, 7, 8:

voluntas,

Ov. P. 3, 2, 17.— Comp.:

estne quisquam, qui tibi officiosior, liberaliorque videatur?

Cic. Rosc. Com. 6, 18; id. Att. 13, 45, 3.— Sup.:

officiosissima natio candidatorum,

Cic. Pis. 23, 55; for which with summe:

homines Lampsaceni summe in omnes cives Romanos officiosi,

id. Verr. 2, 1, 24, § 63.—

Dutiful, in accordance with duty:

dolor,

Cic. Tusc. 3, 28, 70:

labores,

id. Mil. 5, 12:

pietas,

Sen. Ep. 99, 18.—

Subst.: offĭcĭō-sus, i, m., an official or attendant at a bath, Petr. 92.—Hence, adv.: offĭcĭōsē, courteously, obligingly (class.):

officiose et amice factum,

Cic. Lael. 20, 81: aliquid facere, Afran. ap. Charis. p. 247 P.:

scribere,

Cic. Att. 1, 20, 1.— Comp.:

gratum etiam Pilia (fecit), sed illa officiosius, quod, etc.,

Cic. Att. 6, 1, 22.— Sup.:

officiosissime venit ad me,

Plin. Ep. 10, 21 (32) init.

scrība, ae, m. [scribo], a public or official writer, a clerk, secretary, scribe (whereas librarius or scriba librarius denotes a private secretary or amanuensis;

notarius, a short-hand writer): scribas proprio nomine antiqui et librarios et poëtas vocabant. At nunc dicuntur scribae quidem librarii, qui rationes publicas scribunt in tabulis, etc.,

Fest. p. 333 Müll.:

(scribarum) ordo est honestus, quod eorum hominum fidei tabellae publicae periculaque magistratuum committuntur, etc.,

Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 79, § 183; cf. id. ib. 2, 3, 78, § 182; 2, 3, 80, § 184 sq.; 2, 3, 80, § 187; id. Pis. 25, 61; id. Clu. 45, 126; id. Agr. 2, 13, 32 (distinguished from librarii):

meus,

id. Fam. 5, 20, 2; Liv. 2, 12; 22, 57; 40, 29; Suet. Claud. 1; 38; id. Vesp. 3; Hor. S. 1, 5, 35; 2, 5, 56; id. Ep. 1, 8, 2 et saep.; cf.

also: SCRIBA AB EPISTOLIS LATINIS,

Inscr. Orell. 41; 2437; and:

SCRIBA LIBRARIVS,

ib. 1621; 2950 al.—

(Eccl. Lat.) A doctor of the Jewish law, one whose duty it was to guard and expound the sacred text, Vulg. 2 Reg. 8, 17; id. Matt. 23, 2 et saep.