firebrand

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fax, făcis (also in the nom. sing. ‡ faces, acc. to Paul. ex Fest. p. 87, 9 Müll.; gen. plur.: facum, acc. to Charis. p. 113 P., but without example), f. [root bhā, to shine; cf. favilla], a torch, firebrand, flambeau, link, orig. of pine or other resinous wood.

Lit. (syn.: taeda, funale, cerĕus, candela, lucerna, laterna): alii faces atque aridam materiem de muro in aggerem eminus jaciebant, * Caes. B. G. 7, 24, 4; Liv. 22, 16, 7:

ambulare cum facibus,

Hor. S. 1, 4, 52:

malleolos et faces ad inflammandam urbem comparare,

Cic. Cat. 1, 13, 32; cf.:

ego faces jam accensas ad hujus urbis incendium exstinxi,

id. Pis. 2, 5:

servi in tecta nostra cum facibus immissi,

id. Att. 14, 10, 1; cf.:

faces incendere,

id. Phil. 2, 36, 91:

si te in Capitolium faces ferre vellet,

id. Lael. 11, 37:

ardentem facem praeferre,

id. Verr. 2, 4, 34, § 74:

castris inicere,

Tac. H. 4, 60;

subdere urbi,

Curt. 5, 7, 4:

faces ferro inspicare,

Verg. G. 1, 292; cf.:

facis incidere,

Plin. 18, 26, 63, § 233:

dilapsam in cineres facem,

Hor. C. 4, 13, 28.—At weddings, the torch carried before the bride on the way to her home, usually made of white-thorn (Spina alba) or pine, the nuptial torch: spina, nuptiarum facibus auspicatissima, Masur. ap. Plin. 16, 18, 30, § 75; Fest. s. v. patrimi, p. 245; s. v. rapi, p. 289 Müll.; Varr. ap. Non. 112, 27; id. ap. Serv. Verg. E. 8, 29; Plaut. Cas. 1, 30; Cat. 61, 98 sq.; Verg. E. 8, 29; Ov. M. 10, 6; Stat. Th. 2, 259 al.;

hence, nuptiales,

Cic. Clu. 6, 15; Liv. 30, 13, 12:

maritae,

Ov. H. 11, 101:

legitimae,

Luc. 2, 356.—Cf. Anthon's Dict. of Antiq. p. 434, and v. infra. Torches were also carried in funeral processions, Verg. A. 11, 142; Prop. 3, 13 (4, 12), 17; Ov. F. 2, 561; id. H. 21, 172; Sen. Tranq. 11; id. Vit. Beat. fin.; id. Ep. 222;

and in the Eleusinian mysteries,

Juv. 15, 140.—An attribute of Cupid, Tib. 2, 1, 82; Prop. 3, 16 (4, 15), 16; Ov. M. 1, 461; 10, 312 al.;

of the Furies,

Verg. A. 7, 337; Ov. M. 4, 482; 508; 6, 430; Quint. 9, 3, 47 al.—

Transf.

On account of the use of torches at weddings ( poet.), a wedding, marriage:

face nuptiali digna,

Hor. C. 3, 11, 33; cf.:

te face sollemni junget sibi,

Ov. M. 7, 49.—And referring at the same time to the funeral torch:

viximus insignes inter utramque facem,

i. e. between marriage and death, Prop. 4 (5), 11, 46.—

The light of the heavenly bodies ( poet.):

dum roseā face sol inferret lumina caelo,

Lucr. 5, 976; cf.:

Phoebi fax, Cic. poët. Div. 1, 11, 18: canentes Rite crescentem face Noctilucam,

Hor. C. 4, 6, 38:

aeterna fax,

i. e. the sun, Sen. Thyest. 835.—

A fiery meteor, fire-ball, shooting-star, comet:

noctivagaeque faces caeli flammaeque volantes,

Lucr. 5, 1191; cf.:

nocturnasque faces caeli, sublime volantes,

id. 2, 206:

emicant et faces non nisi cum decidunt visae, etc.,

Plin. 2, 26, 25, § 96:

tum facibus visis caelestibus, tum stellis iis, quas Graeci cometas, nostri cincinnatas vocant,

Cic. N. D. 2, 5, 14; id. Cat. 3, 8, 18; Liv. 41, 21, 13; 29, 14, 3; Verg. A. 2, 694; Ov. M. 15, 787; Luc. 1, 528; Petr. 122; Sen. Oet. 232.—

Of lightning:

facem flammantem dirigere,

Val. Fl. 1, 569; id. 4, 671. —

Of the eyes:

oculi, geminae, sidera nostra, faces,

Prop. 2, 3, 14:

has ego credo faces, haec virginis ora Dianae,

Val. Fl. 5, 380; cf.:

tranquillaeque faces oculis et plurima vultu materinest,

Stat. Ach. 1, 164.—

Prima fax (noctis), early torchlight, immediately after dark (post-class.); cf.:

luminibus accensis, Auct. B. Afr. 89: tempus diei occiduum, mox suprema tempestas, hoc est diei novissimum tempus: deinde vespera: ab hoc tempore prima fax dicitur, deinde concubia, etc.,

Macr. S, 1, 3 fin.; Gell. 3, 2, 11; 18, 1 fin.; App. M. 2, p. 119, 20.

Trop.

That which illuminates, makes conspicuous ( poet.):

incipit parentum nobilitas facem praeferre pudendis,

Juv. 8, 139; cf. Sall. J. 80.—

That which inflames or incites, incitement, stimulus, cause of ruin, destruction (freq. and class.):

cum corporis facibus inflammari soleamus ad omnes fere cupiditates eoque magis incendi, quod, etc.,

Cic. Tusc. 1, 19, 44:

me torret face mutua Calais,

flame of love, Hor. C. 3, 9, 13; cf.:

iraï fax,

Lucr. 3, 303:

dicendi faces,

flames, fires of eloquence, Cic. de Or. 2, 51, 205; cf.:

alicui quasi quasdam verborum faces admovere,

id. ib. 3, 1, 4:

alicui acriores ad studia dicendi faces subdere,

Quint. 1, 2, 25 Spald.:

hortator studii causaque faxque mei,

guide, leader, Ov. Pont. 1, 7, 28; and: incitator et fax omnium, Prud. steph. 10, 67:

subicere faces invidiae alicujus,

Cic. Mil. 35, 98; cf.:

flagrantibus jam militum animis velut faces addere,

Tac. H. 1, 24:

acerrimam bello facem praetulit,

id. ib. 2, 86:

(rogationes promulgavit) duas faces novantibus res ad plebem in optimates accendendam,

Liv. 32, 38, 9:

inde faces ardent, a dote,

Juv. 6, 139: adolescentulo ad libidinem facem praeferre, i. e. to be a leader or guide, Cic. Cat. 1, 6, 13:

Antonius omnium Clodi incendiorum fax,

instigator, id. Phil. 2, 19, 48; cf.:

fax accusationis et origo,

Plin. Ep. 4, 9, 3:

fax hujus belli (Hannibal),

Liv. 21, 10, 11; Vell. 2, 25, 3:

dolorum cum admoventur faces,

Cic. Off. 2, 10, 37; cf. id. Tusc. 2, 25, 61:

(dolor) ardentes faces intentat,

id. ib. 5, 27, 76:

quae (Agrippinae) Gaium et Domitium Neronem principes genuere totidem facis generis humani,

destroyers, Plin. 7, 8, 6, § 45.— Absol.:

cum his furiis et facibus, cum his exitiosis prodigiis (i e. Gabinio et Pisone),

Cic. Har. Resp. 2, 4.

incendĭum, ĭi, n. [incendo], a burning, fire, conflagration.

Lit. (freq. and class.; equally common in sing. and plur.):

incendium facere,

to set fire to, Cic. Par. 4, 2, 31; Caes. B. G. 5, 19 fin.:

excitare, restinguere,

Cic. Mur. 25, 51 (v. under II.):

in ipso urbis incendio,

Caes. B. C. 1, 5, 3:

frumentum flumine atque incendio corruperunt,

id. B. G. 7, 55, 8:

omnia incendiis vastare,

Hirt. B. G. 8, 25, 1; cf.:

nihil cogitant nisi caedes, nisi incendia, nisi rapinas,

Cic. Cat. 2, 5, 10:

si incendium in arce fuerit,

Quint. 7, 7, 4:

si janua tenebitur incendio,

id. 2, 13, 16:

cunctos qui proelio superfuerant, incendium hausit,

Tac. H. 4, 60 fin.:

neglecta solent incendia sumere vires,

Hor. Ep. 1, 18, 85; cf. Verg. A. 5, 680:

Aetna nocturnis mirus incendiis,

Plin. 3, 8, 14, § 88:

vivendum est illic, ubi nulla incendia,

Juv. 3, 197:

incendia praedandi causa facere,

Paul. Sent. 5, 20, 1:

fortuita incendia,

id. ib. 5, 20, 3.—

Transf.

In gen., fire, burning, heat ( poet. and in post-Aug. prose):

siderum,

Plin. 2, 68, 68, § 172:

Auster Africae incendia cum serenitate affert,

id. 18, 33, 76, § 329:

stomachi,

Lucr. 4, 872.—

Concr., a firebrand, torch ( poet.), Verg. A. 9, 71; Ov. M. 14, 539.—

Trop., fire, flame, heat, glow, vehemence (class.; a favorite trope of Cic.).

In gen.:

si quod esset in suas fortunas incendium excitatum, id se non aquā sed ruinā restincturum,

Cic. Mur. 25, 51 fin.; cf. id. Rep. 1, 1:

miseriarum,

id. Tusc. 4, 32, 69:

invidiae incendio conflagrare,

id. Cat. 1, 11, 29:

incendio alieni judicii conflagrare,

Liv. 39, 6, 4: res cogit, huic tanto incendio succurrere omnes, qui, etc., Asin. Poll. ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 33, 5:

populare,

Liv. 22, 40, 3:

annonae,

a raising of the price of corn, Manil. 4, 168; Ps.-Quint. Decl. 12, 4.—

Esp., the fire of passion: ita mihi in pectore atque in corde facit amor incendium, Plaut. Merc. 3, 4, 3:

cupiditatum incendiis inflammatus,

Cic. Fin. 5, 24, 70:

restinctis jam animorum incendiis,

id. Or. 8, 27:

oratione concitare,

id. de Or. 2, 47, 197:

abstruso pectus ejus flagravit incendio (i. e. dolore),

Vell. 2, 130, 4:

militaris tumultus,

id. 2, 125, 4:

aliae Satyris incendia mitia praebent,

enkindle, inflame, Ov. F. 1, 411:

movere,

id. A. A. 2, 301.