philosophical literature

littĕra (less correctly lītĕra), ae, f. [lino, q. v.], a letter, a written sign or mark signifying a sound.

Lit.:

cubitum hercle longis litteris signabo jam usquequaque, si quis, etc.,

Plaut. Rud. 5, 2, 7:

quid hae locuntur litterae?

id. Bacch. 4, 7, 3; cf.: quid istae narrant? Tox. Perconctare ex ipsis;

ipsae tibi narrabunt,

id. Pers. 4, 3, 29:

sus rostro si humi A litteram impresserit,

Cic. Div. 1, 13, 23:

priscarum litterarum notae,

id. ib. 2, 41, 85:

maximis litteris incisum,

id. Verr. 2, 2, 63, § 154 fin.:

lenis appellatio litterarum,

id. Brut. 74, 159:

suavis appellatio litterarum,

Quint. 11, 3, 35:

quae si nostris litteris scribantur,

id. 12, 10, 28 litterarum ordine, in alphabetical order, Plin. 37, 9, 54, § 138:

verba primis litteris notare, Prob. de Not. Signif. 1 Huschke: digerere in litteram,

to arrange alphabetically, Sen. Ep. 68, 18: scire litteras, [p. 1072] to be able to read and write, Plaut. Truc. 4, 2, 23; Vitr. 1, 1, 14:

nescire litteras,

not to be able to read and write, id. Clem. 2, 1, 2; Suet. Ner. 10:

scribere aureis litteris,

Gai. Inst. 2, 77:

scientia litterarum,

the art of writing, Dig. 29, 2, 93:

facere litteram or litteras,

to write, Plaut. As. 4, 1, 22; Cic. Ac. 2, 2, 6.—In the language of comedy:

homo trium litterarum, i. e. fur,

a thief, Plaut. Aul. 2, 4, 46: litteram ex se longam facere, i. e. to make an I by hanging perpendicularly, to hang one's self:

neque quicquam meliust mihi, ut opinor, quam ex me ut faciam litteram longam, meum laqueo collum quando obstrinxero,

id. ib. 1, 1, 37:

littera salutaris, i. e. A. (absolvo) and tristis, i. e. C. (condemno), which were put on the voting-tablets,

Cic. Mil. 6, 15.—

Transf.

A word, a line:

ad me litteram numquam misit,

Cic. Fam. 2, 17, 6: ad litteram, word for word, literally:

locum ad litteram subjeci,

Quint. 9, 1, 15.—

A handwriting:

Alexidis manum amabam, quod tam prope accedebat ad similitudinem tuae litterae,

Cic. Att. 7, 2, 3; cf.:

arguit ipsorum quos littera,

Juv. 13, 138 (v. also infra B. 1. fin.).—

Usually plur.

Littĕrae, ārum, f., a letter, epistle: litteras resignare, to unseal or open a letter, Plaut. Trin. 3, 3, 65:

ut litterarum ego harum sermonem audio,

id. Ps. 1, 1, 97; Cic. Att. 1, 13, 1:

dare alicui litteras ad aliquem,

id. Cat. 3, 4, 9:

litteras mittere,

id. Att. 5, 21, 2:

reddere alicui,

id. ib. 5, 21, 4:

accipere,

id. ib. 5, 21, 7:

remittere,

id. ib. 11, 16, 4:

nullas iis praeterquam ad te et ad Brutum dedi litteras,

id. Fam. 3, 7, 1:

queri apud aliquem per litteras,

id. Att. 5, 21, 13: invitare aliquem perlitteras id. ib. 13, 2, 2:

civitatum animos litteris temptare,

Caes. B. C. 1, 40, 1: litterae missae, a letter sent by a person: litterae allatae, a letter received: hence, liber litterarum missarum et allatarum, a letter-book:

L. M. (i. e. litterae missae)... L. A. (i. e. litterae allatae), etc.,

Cic. Font. 4, 8; id. Verr. 2, 3, 71, § 167.—In poets also sometimes in sing.:

quam legis a rapta Briseide littera venit,

Ov. H. 3, 1; 5, 2; id. M. 9, 515; Tib. 3, 2, 27; Mart. 10, 73 al.—

A writing, document, paper:

litterae publicae,

Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 63, § 140; 2, 4, 16, § 35; esp. a written acknowledgment:

littera poscetur,

Ov. A. A. 1, 428.—

An account-book:

ratio omnis et litterae,

Cic. Quint. 11, 37; id. Verr. 2, 4, 12, § 27.—

An edict, ordinance:

praetoris litterae,

Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 22, § 56:

litteras revocavit,

letter of appointment, commission, Suet. Vesp. 8. —

Written monuments, records, literature:

abest historia litteris nostris,

is wanting in our literature, Cic. Leg. 1, 2, 5:

Graecae de philosophia litterae,

philosophical literature, id. Div. 2, 2, 5:

genus hoc scriptionis nondum satis Latinis litteris illustratae,

id. Brut. 64, 228; id. Tusc. 1, 1, 1; id. Fin. 1, 2, 4:

Graecis litteris studere,

id. Brut. 20, 78:

damnum Hortensii interitu Latinae litterae fecerunt,

id. ib. 33, 125:

nullam artem litteris sine interprete et sine aliqua exercitatione percipi posse,

merely from books, id. Fam. 7, 19:

quod litteris exstet, Pherecydes primum dixit animos hominum esse sempiternos,

id. Tusc. 1, 16, 38:

parvae et rarae per eadem tempora litterae fuere,

Liv. 6, 1, 2; 7, 3, 6:

Etruscae,

id. 9, 36, 3:

paucissimos adhuc eloquentes litterae Romanae tulerunt,

Quint. 10, 1, 123: amor litterarum, id. prooem. 6.—

History, inasmuch as it is derived from written monuments:

cupidissimus litterarum fuit,

Nep. Cat. 3, 1; id. Pelop. 1:

parvae et rarae per eadem tempora litterae fuere,

Liv. 6, 1.—

Literary labor, composition:

omnis varietas litterarum mearum,

Cic. Fam. 15, 4, 12:

non nihil temporis tribuit litteris,

Nep. Hann. 13, 2.—

An inscription, Ov. M. 11, 706.—

Learning, the sciences, liberal education, scholarship, letters:

sit mihi orator tinctus litteris: audierit aliquid, legerit,

Cic. de Or. 2, 20, 85:

erant in eo plurimae litterae,

id. Brut. 76, 265:

homo communium litterarum, et politioris humanitatis non expers,

id. de Or. 2, 7, 28:

homo sine ingenio, sine litteris,

id. Verr. 2, 4, 44, § 98:

fuit in illo ingenium, ratio, memoria, litterae, cura, cogitatio, diligentia,

id. Phil. 2, 45, 116:

mihi nihil libri, nihil litterae, nihil doctrina prodest,

id. Att. 9, 10, 2:

litterarum scientia,

id. Brut. 42, 153:

litterarum coguitio,

id. de Or. 3, 32, 127: nescire litteras, to be without a liberal education, id. Brut. 74, 259:

altiores litterae,

magic, Plin. 14, 4, 5, § 51.—Comically of the art of love: Litteras didicisti;

quando scis, sine alios discere,

Plaut. Truc. 4, 2, 22.

littĕra (less correctly lītĕra), ae, f. [lino, q. v.], a letter, a written sign or mark signifying a sound.

Lit.:

cubitum hercle longis litteris signabo jam usquequaque, si quis, etc.,

Plaut. Rud. 5, 2, 7:

quid hae locuntur litterae?

id. Bacch. 4, 7, 3; cf.: quid istae narrant? Tox. Perconctare ex ipsis;

ipsae tibi narrabunt,

id. Pers. 4, 3, 29:

sus rostro si humi A litteram impresserit,

Cic. Div. 1, 13, 23:

priscarum litterarum notae,

id. ib. 2, 41, 85:

maximis litteris incisum,

id. Verr. 2, 2, 63, § 154 fin.:

lenis appellatio litterarum,

id. Brut. 74, 159:

suavis appellatio litterarum,

Quint. 11, 3, 35:

quae si nostris litteris scribantur,

id. 12, 10, 28 litterarum ordine, in alphabetical order, Plin. 37, 9, 54, § 138:

verba primis litteris notare, Prob. de Not. Signif. 1 Huschke: digerere in litteram,

to arrange alphabetically, Sen. Ep. 68, 18: scire litteras, [p. 1072] to be able to read and write, Plaut. Truc. 4, 2, 23; Vitr. 1, 1, 14:

nescire litteras,

not to be able to read and write, id. Clem. 2, 1, 2; Suet. Ner. 10:

scribere aureis litteris,

Gai. Inst. 2, 77:

scientia litterarum,

the art of writing, Dig. 29, 2, 93:

facere litteram or litteras,

to write, Plaut. As. 4, 1, 22; Cic. Ac. 2, 2, 6.—In the language of comedy:

homo trium litterarum, i. e. fur,

a thief, Plaut. Aul. 2, 4, 46: litteram ex se longam facere, i. e. to make an I by hanging perpendicularly, to hang one's self:

neque quicquam meliust mihi, ut opinor, quam ex me ut faciam litteram longam, meum laqueo collum quando obstrinxero,

id. ib. 1, 1, 37:

littera salutaris, i. e. A. (absolvo) and tristis, i. e. C. (condemno), which were put on the voting-tablets,

Cic. Mil. 6, 15.—

Transf.

A word, a line:

ad me litteram numquam misit,

Cic. Fam. 2, 17, 6: ad litteram, word for word, literally:

locum ad litteram subjeci,

Quint. 9, 1, 15.—

A handwriting:

Alexidis manum amabam, quod tam prope accedebat ad similitudinem tuae litterae,

Cic. Att. 7, 2, 3; cf.:

arguit ipsorum quos littera,

Juv. 13, 138 (v. also infra B. 1. fin.).—

Usually plur.

Littĕrae, ārum, f., a letter, epistle: litteras resignare, to unseal or open a letter, Plaut. Trin. 3, 3, 65:

ut litterarum ego harum sermonem audio,

id. Ps. 1, 1, 97; Cic. Att. 1, 13, 1:

dare alicui litteras ad aliquem,

id. Cat. 3, 4, 9:

litteras mittere,

id. Att. 5, 21, 2:

reddere alicui,

id. ib. 5, 21, 4:

accipere,

id. ib. 5, 21, 7:

remittere,

id. ib. 11, 16, 4:

nullas iis praeterquam ad te et ad Brutum dedi litteras,

id. Fam. 3, 7, 1:

queri apud aliquem per litteras,

id. Att. 5, 21, 13: invitare aliquem perlitteras id. ib. 13, 2, 2:

civitatum animos litteris temptare,

Caes. B. C. 1, 40, 1: litterae missae, a letter sent by a person: litterae allatae, a letter received: hence, liber litterarum missarum et allatarum, a letter-book:

L. M. (i. e. litterae missae)... L. A. (i. e. litterae allatae), etc.,

Cic. Font. 4, 8; id. Verr. 2, 3, 71, § 167.—In poets also sometimes in sing.:

quam legis a rapta Briseide littera venit,

Ov. H. 3, 1; 5, 2; id. M. 9, 515; Tib. 3, 2, 27; Mart. 10, 73 al.—

A writing, document, paper:

litterae publicae,

Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 63, § 140; 2, 4, 16, § 35; esp. a written acknowledgment:

littera poscetur,

Ov. A. A. 1, 428.—

An account-book:

ratio omnis et litterae,

Cic. Quint. 11, 37; id. Verr. 2, 4, 12, § 27.—

An edict, ordinance:

praetoris litterae,

Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 22, § 56:

litteras revocavit,

letter of appointment, commission, Suet. Vesp. 8. —

Written monuments, records, literature:

abest historia litteris nostris,

is wanting in our literature, Cic. Leg. 1, 2, 5:

Graecae de philosophia litterae,

philosophical literature, id. Div. 2, 2, 5:

genus hoc scriptionis nondum satis Latinis litteris illustratae,

id. Brut. 64, 228; id. Tusc. 1, 1, 1; id. Fin. 1, 2, 4:

Graecis litteris studere,

id. Brut. 20, 78:

damnum Hortensii interitu Latinae litterae fecerunt,

id. ib. 33, 125:

nullam artem litteris sine interprete et sine aliqua exercitatione percipi posse,

merely from books, id. Fam. 7, 19:

quod litteris exstet, Pherecydes primum dixit animos hominum esse sempiternos,

id. Tusc. 1, 16, 38:

parvae et rarae per eadem tempora litterae fuere,

Liv. 6, 1, 2; 7, 3, 6:

Etruscae,

id. 9, 36, 3:

paucissimos adhuc eloquentes litterae Romanae tulerunt,

Quint. 10, 1, 123: amor litterarum, id. prooem. 6.—

History, inasmuch as it is derived from written monuments:

cupidissimus litterarum fuit,

Nep. Cat. 3, 1; id. Pelop. 1:

parvae et rarae per eadem tempora litterae fuere,

Liv. 6, 1.—

Literary labor, composition:

omnis varietas litterarum mearum,

Cic. Fam. 15, 4, 12:

non nihil temporis tribuit litteris,

Nep. Hann. 13, 2.—

An inscription, Ov. M. 11, 706.—

Learning, the sciences, liberal education, scholarship, letters:

sit mihi orator tinctus litteris: audierit aliquid, legerit,

Cic. de Or. 2, 20, 85:

erant in eo plurimae litterae,

id. Brut. 76, 265:

homo communium litterarum, et politioris humanitatis non expers,

id. de Or. 2, 7, 28:

homo sine ingenio, sine litteris,

id. Verr. 2, 4, 44, § 98:

fuit in illo ingenium, ratio, memoria, litterae, cura, cogitatio, diligentia,

id. Phil. 2, 45, 116:

mihi nihil libri, nihil litterae, nihil doctrina prodest,

id. Att. 9, 10, 2:

litterarum scientia,

id. Brut. 42, 153:

litterarum coguitio,

id. de Or. 3, 32, 127: nescire litteras, to be without a liberal education, id. Brut. 74, 259:

altiores litterae,

magic, Plin. 14, 4, 5, § 51.—Comically of the art of love: Litteras didicisti;

quando scis, sine alios discere,

Plaut. Truc. 4, 2, 22.

annālis, e, adj. [annus].

Continuing a year, annual:

tempus, cursus,

Varr. R. R. 1, 27, 1; so Dig. 14, 2, 1; 38, 17, 6.—

A.. Relating to the year or the age: Lex Villia Annalis, the law passed B. C. 180 by L. Villius, which determined the age necessary for election to an office of state (for the quæstorship, 31; for the office of ædile, 37; for the praetorship, 40;

and for the consulship, 43 years): legibus annalibus grandiorem aetatem ad consulatum constituebant,

Cic. Phil. 5, 17; cf.:

eo anno (573 A. U. C.) rogatio primum lata est ab L. Villio tribuno plebis, quot annos nati quemque magistratum peterent caperentque. Inde cognomen familiae inditum, ut annales appellarentur,

Liv. 40, 44; cf. also Cic. de Or. 2, 65.—

annālis, is (abl. reg. annali, Cic. Brut. 15, 58; Nep. Hann. 13, 1; but annalei, Varr. ap. Charis. 1, 17, p. 97:

annale,

Ascon. ad Cic. Pis. 22, 52; v. Neue, Formenl. I. p. 224), subst. m. (sc. liber), most freq. in plur.: an-nāles, ium (sc. libri), an historical work, in which the occurrences of the year are chronologically recorded, chronicles, annals (diff. from historia, a philosophical narration. following the internal relation of events, Ver. Fl. ap. Gell. 5, 18; cf. Cic. Or. 20).

Spec., from the most ancient per. down to the time of the Gracchi, when a literature had been formed, each pontifex maximus wrote down the occurrences of his year on tablets, which were hung up in his dwelling for the information of the public. Such tablets, accordingly, received the name of Annales Maximi (not to be confounded with the Libri Pontificales sive Pontificii, which contained instructions and liturgies for the holy rites). See the class. passages, Cic. de Or. 2, 12, 51; id. Rep. 1, 16; Fest. s. v. maximi, and cf. Creuz. ad Cic. N. D. 1, 30; id. Leg. 1, 2; Niebuhr, Rom. Hist. 1, 277 sq. From these sources the Rom. histt. drew, and hence called their works, in gen., Annales. The most renowned among the annalists of the ancient period are Q. Fabius Pictor, M. Porcius Cato, and L. Calpurnius Piso (cf. Cic. de Or. 2, 12, 51); in the time of the emperors, Tacitus named one of his hist. works Annales, since in it the history of Rome, from the death of Aug. until the time of Nero, was given acc. to the annual succession of events; cf. Bähr, Lit. Gesch. p. 255 sq.; 301 sq.; 313 sq.; Teuffel, Rom. Lit. § 333, 1.—Annalis in sing., Cic. Att. 12, 23; id. Brut. 15; Nep. Hann. 13, 1; Plin. 7, 28, 29, § 101.—Adj., with liber, Ver. Fl. in the above-cited passage, and Quint. 6, 3, 68.—

In gen., records, archives, history:

carminibus antiquis, quod unum apud illos memoriae et annalium genus est,

Tac. G. 2:

annalibus traditum (est) coram rege,

Vulg. Esth. 2, 23:

annales priorum temporum,

ib. ib. 6, 1.—

annālia, ium, n., a festival observed at the beginning of the year, Inscr. Grut. 116, 2.

annālis, e, adj. [annus].

Continuing a year, annual:

tempus, cursus,

Varr. R. R. 1, 27, 1; so Dig. 14, 2, 1; 38, 17, 6.—

A.. Relating to the year or the age: Lex Villia Annalis, the law passed B. C. 180 by L. Villius, which determined the age necessary for election to an office of state (for the quæstorship, 31; for the office of ædile, 37; for the praetorship, 40;

and for the consulship, 43 years): legibus annalibus grandiorem aetatem ad consulatum constituebant,

Cic. Phil. 5, 17; cf.:

eo anno (573 A. U. C.) rogatio primum lata est ab L. Villio tribuno plebis, quot annos nati quemque magistratum peterent caperentque. Inde cognomen familiae inditum, ut annales appellarentur,

Liv. 40, 44; cf. also Cic. de Or. 2, 65.—

annālis, is (abl. reg. annali, Cic. Brut. 15, 58; Nep. Hann. 13, 1; but annalei, Varr. ap. Charis. 1, 17, p. 97:

annale,

Ascon. ad Cic. Pis. 22, 52; v. Neue, Formenl. I. p. 224), subst. m. (sc. liber), most freq. in plur.: an-nāles, ium (sc. libri), an historical work, in which the occurrences of the year are chronologically recorded, chronicles, annals (diff. from historia, a philosophical narration. following the internal relation of events, Ver. Fl. ap. Gell. 5, 18; cf. Cic. Or. 20).

Spec., from the most ancient per. down to the time of the Gracchi, when a literature had been formed, each pontifex maximus wrote down the occurrences of his year on tablets, which were hung up in his dwelling for the information of the public. Such tablets, accordingly, received the name of Annales Maximi (not to be confounded with the Libri Pontificales sive Pontificii, which contained instructions and liturgies for the holy rites). See the class. passages, Cic. de Or. 2, 12, 51; id. Rep. 1, 16; Fest. s. v. maximi, and cf. Creuz. ad Cic. N. D. 1, 30; id. Leg. 1, 2; Niebuhr, Rom. Hist. 1, 277 sq. From these sources the Rom. histt. drew, and hence called their works, in gen., Annales. The most renowned among the annalists of the ancient period are Q. Fabius Pictor, M. Porcius Cato, and L. Calpurnius Piso (cf. Cic. de Or. 2, 12, 51); in the time of the emperors, Tacitus named one of his hist. works Annales, since in it the history of Rome, from the death of Aug. until the time of Nero, was given acc. to the annual succession of events; cf. Bähr, Lit. Gesch. p. 255 sq.; 301 sq.; 313 sq.; Teuffel, Rom. Lit. § 333, 1.—Annalis in sing., Cic. Att. 12, 23; id. Brut. 15; Nep. Hann. 13, 1; Plin. 7, 28, 29, § 101.—Adj., with liber, Ver. Fl. in the above-cited passage, and Quint. 6, 3, 68.—

In gen., records, archives, history:

carminibus antiquis, quod unum apud illos memoriae et annalium genus est,

Tac. G. 2:

annalibus traditum (est) coram rege,

Vulg. Esth. 2, 23:

annales priorum temporum,

ib. ib. 6, 1.—

annālia, ium, n., a festival observed at the beginning of the year, Inscr. Grut. 116, 2.

annālis, e, adj. [annus].

Continuing a year, annual:

tempus, cursus,

Varr. R. R. 1, 27, 1; so Dig. 14, 2, 1; 38, 17, 6.—

A.. Relating to the year or the age: Lex Villia Annalis, the law passed B. C. 180 by L. Villius, which determined the age necessary for election to an office of state (for the quæstorship, 31; for the office of ædile, 37; for the praetorship, 40;

and for the consulship, 43 years): legibus annalibus grandiorem aetatem ad consulatum constituebant,

Cic. Phil. 5, 17; cf.:

eo anno (573 A. U. C.) rogatio primum lata est ab L. Villio tribuno plebis, quot annos nati quemque magistratum peterent caperentque. Inde cognomen familiae inditum, ut annales appellarentur,

Liv. 40, 44; cf. also Cic. de Or. 2, 65.—

annālis, is (abl. reg. annali, Cic. Brut. 15, 58; Nep. Hann. 13, 1; but annalei, Varr. ap. Charis. 1, 17, p. 97:

annale,

Ascon. ad Cic. Pis. 22, 52; v. Neue, Formenl. I. p. 224), subst. m. (sc. liber), most freq. in plur.: an-nāles, ium (sc. libri), an historical work, in which the occurrences of the year are chronologically recorded, chronicles, annals (diff. from historia, a philosophical narration. following the internal relation of events, Ver. Fl. ap. Gell. 5, 18; cf. Cic. Or. 20).

Spec., from the most ancient per. down to the time of the Gracchi, when a literature had been formed, each pontifex maximus wrote down the occurrences of his year on tablets, which were hung up in his dwelling for the information of the public. Such tablets, accordingly, received the name of Annales Maximi (not to be confounded with the Libri Pontificales sive Pontificii, which contained instructions and liturgies for the holy rites). See the class. passages, Cic. de Or. 2, 12, 51; id. Rep. 1, 16; Fest. s. v. maximi, and cf. Creuz. ad Cic. N. D. 1, 30; id. Leg. 1, 2; Niebuhr, Rom. Hist. 1, 277 sq. From these sources the Rom. histt. drew, and hence called their works, in gen., Annales. The most renowned among the annalists of the ancient period are Q. Fabius Pictor, M. Porcius Cato, and L. Calpurnius Piso (cf. Cic. de Or. 2, 12, 51); in the time of the emperors, Tacitus named one of his hist. works Annales, since in it the history of Rome, from the death of Aug. until the time of Nero, was given acc. to the annual succession of events; cf. Bähr, Lit. Gesch. p. 255 sq.; 301 sq.; 313 sq.; Teuffel, Rom. Lit. § 333, 1.—Annalis in sing., Cic. Att. 12, 23; id. Brut. 15; Nep. Hann. 13, 1; Plin. 7, 28, 29, § 101.—Adj., with liber, Ver. Fl. in the above-cited passage, and Quint. 6, 3, 68.—

In gen., records, archives, history:

carminibus antiquis, quod unum apud illos memoriae et annalium genus est,

Tac. G. 2:

annalibus traditum (est) coram rege,

Vulg. Esth. 2, 23:

annales priorum temporum,

ib. ib. 6, 1.—

annālia, ium, n., a festival observed at the beginning of the year, Inscr. Grut. 116, 2.