Into the midst of things

• Into the midst of things

inter, adv., and prep. with acc. [kindred to in, intra; Sanscr. antar; Goth. undar; Germ. unter; Engl. under].

Adv., in the midst, in between ( poet. and rare):

dumque pii petit ora patris stetit arduus inter pontus,

Val. Fl. 5, 337:

tot montibus inter diviso,

id. 6, 220; 8, 382. —

Prep., with acc., between, belwixt, among, amid, surrounded by.

Lit., in space.

Of position only.

Referring to two places or objects, between:

qui (mons Jura) est inter Sequanos et Helvetios,

Caes. B. G. 1, 2:

cum inter me et Brundisium Caesar esset,

Cic. Att. 9, 2:

inter Padum atque Alpes,

Liv. 5, 35:

ager Tarquiniorum, qui inter urbem ac Tiberim fuit,

id. 2, 5:

locus inter duos lucos,

id. 1, 8, 5:

apud Artemisium inter Euboeam continentemque terram,

id. 2, 5, 2; so,

inter haec maria Asia,

Curt. 3, 1, 13.—

Referring to more than two places or objects, among, in the midst of:

inter hostium tela versari,

Cic. de Or. 1, 46:

inter multos saucios spe incertae vitae relictus,

Liv. 2, 17, 4:

rex inter primos constiterat,

Curt. 5, 3, 9:

inter multitudinem,

Liv. 22, 13, 2:

inter lignarios,

id. 35, 41, 10:

repertae inter spolia catenae,

Tac. A. 2, 18:

vicos aut inter vias manere,

Suet. Caes. 39:

inter ingentes solitudines,

Sall. J 89, 4:

inter deserta ferarum Lustra domosque,

Verg. A. 3, 646.— So, even with a noun in the sing., in the midst of, surrounded by:

erat inter ceteram planitiem mons,

Sall. J. 92, 5:

tibicines inter exercitum positi,

Gell. 1, 11, 3:

inter caedem aquila,

Tac. A. 1, 60; cf.:

inter ceteram praedam,

Liv. 22, 16, 7; 8, 10, 10:

inter purpuram atque aurum,

id. 9, 17, 16. —

With verbs of motion.

Between, through, among:

inter medias stationes hostium erupere,

Liv. 35, 11:

acies inter bina castra procedunt,

id. 4, 18, 3; Tac. A. 14, 33:

inter oppositas classes transmisit,

Suet. Caes. 58:

spatiabatur in nemore Parmenion medius inter duces,

Curt. 7, 2, 23:

medios inter hostes Londinium perrexit,

Tac. A. 14, 33.—

Pregn., including motion to and position between or among things mentioned, among, into the midst of:

inter densas, umbrosa cacumina, fagos Adsidue veniebat,

Verg. E. 2, 3:

te mea dextera magna inter praemia ducet,

id. A. 12, 437:

dico te priore nocte venisse inter falcarios in Laecae domum,

among the scythe-makers, into the street of the scythe-makers, Cic. Cat. 1, 4, 8.—

Transf., of relations conceived as local.

In discrimination (doubt, choice, etc.), between two or more objects:

judicium inter deas tres,

Cic. Div. 1, 50, 114; cf.:

inter Marcellos et Claudios patricios judicare,

id. de Or. 1, 39, 176:

inter has sententias dijudicare,

id. Tusc. 1, 11, 23:

inter diversas opiniones electio, Quint. prooem. 2: discrimen inter gratiosos cives atque fortes,

id. Balb. 21, 49:

inter optime valere et gravissime aegrotare nihil prorsus interesse,

id. Fin. 2, 13, 43:

qui bellum et pacem inter dubitabant,

Tac. A. 12, 32:

trepidare inter scelus metumque,

id. H. 3, 39:

inter pugnae fugaeque consilium,

Liv. 1, 27.—So, with inter repeated:

ut nihil inter te atque inter quadrupedem aliquam putes interesse,

Cic. Par. 1; id. Fin. 1, 9, 30:

quid intersit inter popularem civem et inter constantem, severum et gravem,

id. Lael. 25, 95.—

In expressing any relation which connects two or more persons, conceived as between or among them (strife, rivalry, friendship, intercourse, etc.).

In gen.:

quos inter magna fuit contentio,

Nep. Mil. 4, 4:

Nestor componere lites Inter Peliden festinat et inter Atriden,

Hor. Ep. 1, 2, 12:

certamen inter primores civitates,

Liv. 10, 6.—Esp., with pronouns, to express all reciprocal relations, among, with, or between one another; mutually, together:

quasi nunc non norimus nos inter nos,

Ter. Ad. 2, 4, 7; Cic. Div. 1, 28, 58; id. Att. 10, 4, 10; id. N. D. 1, 26, 51:

quod colloquimur inter nos,

with one another, id. de Or. 1, 8, 32; cf.:

inter nos naturā ad civilem communitatem conjuncti sumus,

id. Fin. 3, 20, 66:

vobis inter vos voluntatem fuisse conjunctam,

id. Div. in Caecil. 11, 34: Ciceronis pueri amant inter se, love one another (like the Fr. s ' entr ' aimer), id. Att. 6, 1, 12:

inter se consultare,

id. de Or. 2, 3, 13:

inter se amare,

id. Q. Fr. 3, 3, 1:

neque solum se colent inter se ac diligent,

id. Lael. 22, 82:

Di inter se diligunt,

id. N. D. 1, 44, 122:

furtim inter se aspiciebant,

id. Cat. 3, 5, 13:

complecti inter se lacrimantes milites coepisse,

Liv. 7, 42:

haec inter se cum repugnent, plerique non vident,

Cic. Tusc. 3, 29, 72:

inter se nondum satis noti,

Liv. 21, 39:

ratio et oratio conciliat homines inter se,

Cic. Off. 1, 16, 50:

ne nostra nobiscum aut inter nos cessatio vituperetur,

id. Fam. 9, 3, 4:

quae res eos in magno diuturnoque bello inter se habuit,

Sall. J. 79, 3.—Sometimes pleon., the reciprocal relation being sufficiently expressed by the context:

manus conserentis inter se Romanos exercitus,

Sall. H. 1, 41, 19 Dietsch:

Ulixes cum Ajace summa vi contendere inter se,

Dict. Cret. 5, 14:

conferti inter se,

id. 2, 46.—

So of things:

ita effici complexiones atomorum inter se,

mutual, reciprocal, Cic. Fin. 1, 6, 19:

colles duos inter se propinquos occupat,

near one another, Sall. J. 98, 3:

haud procul inter se erant,

id. ib. 41, 2:

multum inter se distant istae facultates,

Cic. de Or. 1, 49, 215:

res inter se similes,

Quint. 9, 2, 51:

inter se dissimilis,

id. 9, 4, 17.—

Of a common privacy, secrecy, etc.: inter nos, between or among ourselves, confidentially, like the Fr. entre nous:

nec consulto dicis occulte, sed quod inter nos liceat, ne tu quidem intellegis,

Cic. N. D. 1, 26, 74:

quod inter nos liceat dicere,

id. Att. 2, 4:

quod inter nos sit,

but let that be between ourselves, Sen. Ep. 12, 2. —

With nouns denoting a multitude of persons, like apud (not ante-Aug.):

haudquaquam inter id genus contemptor habebatur,

Liv. 6, 34, 5:

inter hostes variae fuere sententiae,

id. 4, 18, 1:

credula fama inter gaudentes,

Tac. H. 1, 34:

more inter veteres recepto,

id. ib. 2, 85.—

Of a class of persons or things to which the subject is referred.

In gen., among:

homines inter suos nobiles,

Cic. Fl. 22, 52:

inter suos et honestus et nobilis,

id. Clu. 5, 11:

in oratoribus vero admirabile est, quantum inter omnes unus excellat,

id. Or. 2, 6:

inter philosophos (Xenophon) reddendus est,

Quint. 10, 1, 37:

ille Croesus, inter reges opulentissimus,

Sen. Contr. 2, 9:

Borysthenes inter Scythiae amnes amoenissimus,

Mel. 2, 1, 6.— So freq. with sup., inter and acc. take the place of a gen.:

honestissimus inter suos numerabatur,

Cic. Rosc. Am. 6, 16:

plurimum inter eos valere,

Caes. B. G. 2, 4, 4:

maximum imperium inter finitimos,

Liv. 5, 3, 10:

inter Atheniensīs longe clarissimi,

Curt. 4, 13, 15; Plin. 34, 8, 21, § 81; Petr. 78; Sen. Suas. 2, 7; 2, 12; Just. 12, 7, 2; 36, 2, 6.

Esp.: inter paucos, etc., [p. 977] among few, i. e. among the few select ones, eminently, especially:

pingunt et vestes in Aegypto inter pauca mirabili genere,

Plin. 35, 11, 42, § 150; cf.:

sternutamento utilis inter pauca,

id. 24, 11, 58, § 97:

pugna inter paucas memorata populi Romani clades,

Liv. 22, 7; cf.:

inter paucos disertus,

Quint. 10, 3, 13:

inter paucos familiarium Neroni assumptus est,

Tac. A. 16, 18:

claritudine paucos inter senum regum,

id. ib. 11, 10; so, inter alios: judicatur inter alios omnes beatus, qui in proelio profuderit animam, among all others to be noticed, i. e. especially, in the highest degree, Amm. 2, 3, 6; so,

inter cuncta,

Hor. Ep. 1, 18, 96:

inter omnia,

Curt. 3, 3, 18:

inter cetera,

Liv. 37, 12.—

In judic. lang., t. t.: inter sicarios, on the charge of assassination:

cum praetor quaestionem inter sicarios exercuisset,

Cic. Fin. 2, 16, 54; id. Clu. 53, 147; cf.:

in recuperatorio judicio ejus maleficii, de quo inter sicarios quaeritur,

id. Inv. 2, 20, 60:

longo intervallo judicium inter sicarios hoc primum committitur,

id. Rosc. Am. 5, 11:

sexcenti sunt, qui inter sicarios et de veneficiis accusabant,

id. ib. 32, 90:

si ostenderis, quomodo sis eos inter sicarios defensurus,

id. Phil. 2, 4, 8.—

In some idiomatic phrases.

Inter manus, within reach, i. e. close at hand:

ante oculos interque manus sunt omnia vestras,

Verg. A. 11, 311; also, upon or in the hands:

inter manus domum ablatus,

Liv. 3, 13:

inter quas (manus) collapsus extinguitur,

Curt. 8, 2, 39:

inter manus auferri,

Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 11, § 28:

inter manus meas crevit,

under my hands, Sen. Ep. 12:

manus inter maestorumque ora parentum,

before their faces and within their reach, Verg. A. 2, 681.—

Inter viam, vias, on the way:

dum rus eo, coepi egomet mecum inter vias,

Ter. Eun. 4, 2, 1; Plaut. Poen. 5, 3, 43:

si se inter viam obtulerit,

Cic. Att. 4, 3, 5. —

Of time.

Between two dates or periods specified:

dies XLV. inter binos ludos,

Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 52 fin.; Liv. 1, 3.—

During, in the course of, within; for which, in English, we sometimes use by or at:

quot prandia inter continuum perdidi triennium,

Plaut. Stich. 1, 3, 61:

omnia agentur, quae inter decem annos nefarie flagitioseque facta sunt,

Cic. Verr. 1, 13; cf.:

qui inter annos tot unus inventus sit, quem, etc.,

id. de Imp. Pomp. 23, 68:

inter ipsum pugnae tempus,

Liv. 36, 20:

inter noctem lux orta,

id. 32, 29:

qui plus cernant oculis per noctem quam inter diem,

Gell. 9, 4.—

Freq., with substt., to denote an act performed at a certain time, in the course of, while:

haec inter cenam Tironi dictavi,

at table, Cic. Quint. Fragm. 3, 1, 6; cf.:

illuseras heri inter scyphos,

id. Fam. 7, 22:

inter fulmina et tonitrua,

id. Phil. 5, 6, 15:

promptior inter tenebras affirmatio,

Tac. A. 2, 82:

inter initia,

at the beginning, Cels. 3, 25.—

During, and hence under the circumstances described, i. e. in spite of, notwithstanding:

nobis inter has turbas senatus tamen frequens flagitavit triumphum,

amid, in spite of these commotions, Cic. Fam. 16, 11:

utrumque consilium aspernatus, quod inter ancipitia deterrimum est, dum media sequitur,

Tac. H. 3, 40:

senum coloniae inter male parentes et injuste imperantes aegra municipia et discordantia,

id. Agr. 32; cf.:

ita neutris cura posteritatis inter infensos vel obnoxios,

id. H. 1, 1.—

Inter haec, inter quae, meanwhile, during this time:

= interea, inter haec major alius terror,

in the mean time, Liv. 2, 24; cf.:

inter haec jam praemissi Albam erant equites,

id. 1, 29; 3, 57, 7; 44, 10, 5; Curt. 3, 1, 1; Suet. Tib. 8; 63:

inter quae tribuni plebei petivere, etc.,

Tac. A. 1, 15; 2, 34; 58; 3, 33; id. H. 1, 78; Curt. 4, 2, 10:

inter quae unctione uti licet,

Cels. 4, 2, 3.—

So with gerunds and gerundives: inter agendum,

at, while, Verg. E. 9, 24; Quint. 12, 3, 10:

inter disceptandum,

id. 12, 7, 6:

inter res agendas,

Suet. Caes. 45.—

In composition its final r is assimilated in intellego and its derivatives.

Between; as, intercedere, interponere. —

At intervals, from time to time; as, interaestuare, intermittere, intervisere.—

Under, down, to the bottom; as, interire, interficere.