ternĭo

ālĕa, ae, f. [of uncer. origin; Curtius asserts an obscure connection with the words for bone; Sanscr. asthi; Zend, açti; Gr. osteon; Lat. os (ossis)].

A game with dice, and in gen., a game of hazard or chance. There were among the Romans two kinds of dice, tesserae and tali, Cic. Sen. 16, 58. The tesserae had six sides, which were marked with I. II. III. IV. V. VI.; the tali were rounded on two sides, and marked only on the other four. Upon one side there was one point, unio, an ace, like the ace on cards, called canis; on the opp. side, six points called senio, six, sice; on the two other sides, three and four points, ternio and quaternio. In playing, four tali were used, but only three tesserae. They were put into a box made in the form of a tower, with a strait neck, and wider below than above, called fritillus, turris, turricula, etc. This box was shaken, and the dice were thrown upon the gaming-board. The highest or most fortunate throw, called Venus, jactus Venereus or basilicus, was, of the tesserae, three sixes, and of the tali when they all came out with different numbers. The worst or lowest throw, called jactus pessimus or damnosus, canis or canicula, was, of the tesserae, three aces, and of the tali when they were all the same. The other throws were valued acc. to the numbers. When one of the tali fell upon the end (in caput) it was said rectus cadere, or assistere, Cic. Fin. 3, 16, 54, and the throw was repeated. While throwing the dice, it was customary for a person to express his wishes, to repeat the name of his mistress, and the like. Games of chance were prohibited by the Lex Titia et Publicia et Cornelia (cf. Hor. C. 3, 24, 58), except in the month of December, during the Saturnalia, Mart. 4, 14, 7; 5, 85; 14, 1; Suet. Aug. 71; Dig. 11, 5. The character of gamesters, aleatores or aleones, was held as infamous in the time of Cicero, cf. Cic. Cat. 2, 5, 10; id. Phil. 2, 23, although there was much playing with aleae, and old men were esp. fond of this game, because it required little physical exertion, Cic. Sen. 16, 58; Suet. Aug. 71; Juv. 14, 4; cf.

Jahn,

Ov. Tr. 2, 471; Rupert. ad Tac. G. 24, 5:

provocat me in aleam, ut ego ludam,

Plaut. Curc. 2, 3, 75.—Ludere aleā or aleam, also sometimes in aleā:

in foro aleā ludere,

Cic. Phil. 2, 23, 56; Dig. 11, 5, 1: ludit assidue aleam, Poët. ap. Suet. Aug. 70:

aleam studiosissime lusit,

Suet. Claud. 33; so id. Ner. 30; Juv. 8, 10:

repetitio ejus, quod in aleā lusum est,

Dig. 11, 5, 4.—Hence, in aleā aliquid perdere, Cic. Phil. 2, 13:

exercere aleam,

Tac. G. 24:

indulgere aleae,

Suet. Aug. 70:

oblectare se aleā,

id. Dom. 21:

prosperiore aleā uti,

to play fortunately, id. Calig. 41.— Trop.: Jacta alea esto, Let the die be cast! Let the game be ventured! the memorable exclamation of Cæsar when, at the Rubicon, after long hesitation, he finally decided to march to Rome, Suet. Caes. 32, ubi v. Casaub. and Ruhnk.—

Transf., any thing uncertain or contingent, an accident, chance, hazard, venture, risk:

alea domini vitae ac rei familiaris,

Varr. R. R. 1, 4:

sequentes non aleam, sed rationem aliquam,

id. ib. 1, 18:

aleam inesse hostiis deligendis,

Cic. Div. 2, 15:

dare summam rerum in aleam,

to risk, Liv. 42, 59:

in dubiam imperii servitiique aleam ire,

fortune, chance, id. 1, 23:

alea belli,

id. 37, 36:

talibus admissis alea grandis inest,

Ov. A. A. 1, 376:

periculosae plenum opus aleae,

Hor. C. 2, 1, 6: M. Tullius extra omnem ingenii aleam positus, raised above all doubt of his talents, Plin. praef. § 7: emere aleam, in the Pandects, to purchase any thing uncertain, contingent, e. g. a draught of fishes, Dig. 18, 1, 8; so ib. 18, 4, 7.

as, assis, m. (nom. assis, Don. ad Ter. Phorm. 1, 1, 9, and Schol. ad Pers. 2, 59; old form assārĭus, ii, m.; and in the gen. plur. assariūm, Varr. L. L. 8, § 71 Müll.; Charis. p. 58 P.) [heis, Dor. ais, Tarent. as, Hinter].

In gen., unity, a unit; as a standard for different coins, weight, measure, etc. (in Vitr. 3, 1, p. 61 Rode, perfectus numerus, the perfect number, fundamental number), acc. to the duodecimal system, divided into 12 parts, or uncias, with the following particular designations: uncia = 1s./12 duodecima (sc. pars) sextans = 2/12 = 1s./6 sexta quadrans = 3/12 = 1s./4 quarta, also teruncius or triuncis triens = 4/12 = 1s./3 tertia or quincunx = 5s./12 sextans cum quadrante semissis s. semis = 6/12 = 1s./2 dimidia septunx = 7s./12 quadrans cum triente bessis s. bes = 8/12 = 2/3, for beis s. binae partes assis. dodrans = 9/12 = 3s./4 terni quadrantes dextans s. decunx = 10/12 = 5s./6 quini sextantes deunx = 11s./12 undecim unciaeThe uncia was again divided into smaller parts: semuncia = 1/2 uncia = 1/24 assis. duella = 1/3 uncia = 1/36 assis. sicilicus (-um) = 1/4 uncia = 1/48 assis. sextula = 1/6 uncia = 1/72 assis. drachma = 1/8 uncia = 1/96 assis. hemisecla = 1/12 uncia = 1/144 assis. scripulum = 1/24 uncia = 1/288 assis.The multiples of the as received the following designations: dupondius = 2 asses. tripondius s. tressis = 3 asses. (quadressis) = 4 asses. quinquessis = 5 asses. sexis (only in the connection decussissexis in Vitr. 1. c.) = 6 asses. septissis = 7 asses. octussis = 8 asses. nonussis (novissis?) = 9 asses. decussis = 10 asses. bicessis = 20 asses. tricessis = 30 asses, and so on to centussis = 100 asses. (Cf. Varr. L. L. 5, § 169 sq. Müll.)

Esp.

1.. As a copper coin, the as was, acc. to the ancient custom of weighing money, originally a pound (asses librales or aes grave), of the value of about 8 8 d. /89, or 16 2/3 cents, and was uncoined (aes rude) until Servius Tullius stamped it with the figures of animals (hence pecunia, from pecus); cf. Varr. R. R. 2, 1, 9; Plin. 33, 3, 13, § 42 sqq. In the first Punic war, on account of the scarcity of money, the as was reduced to a sixth part of its original weight, i. e. two ounces; hence asses sextantarii (of the value of about 1 103 d. /297, or 2.8 cents), and the state gained five sixths. In the second Punic war, and the dictatorship of Fabius, the as was again reduced one half, to one ounce; hence asses unciales, about equal to 200 d. /297, or 1.4 cents. Finally, the Lex Papiria (A.U.C. 563, B.C. 191) reduced the as to half an ounce; hence asses semiunciales = 100 d. /297, or 7.9 1/3 mills, which continued as a standard even under the emperors. In all these reductions, however, the names of coins remained, independent of the weight of the as: uncia, sextans, quadrans, etc.; cf. Grotef. Gr. II. p. 253 sq.—From the small value of the as after the last reduction, the following phrases arose: quod non opus est, asse carum est, Cato ap. Sen. Ep. 94:

Quod (sc. pondus auri) si comminuas, vilem redigatur ad assem,

Hor. S. 1, 1, 43:

viatica ad assem Perdiderat,

to the last farthing, id. Ep. 2, 2, 27:

ad assem impendium reddere,

Plin. Ep. 1, 15:

rumores Omnes unius aestimemus assis,

Cat. 5, 3:

Non assis facis?

id. 42, 13.—Hence,

The proverbs,

Assem habeas, assem valeas, your worth is estimated by your possessions, Petr. 77, 6:

crumena plena assium,

Gell. 20, 1.—

Assem elephanto dare, to give something (as a petition, and the like) with trembling to a superior (a metaphor derived from trained elephants, which, after playing their parts, were accustomed to take pay for themselves, which was given them with fear by the multitude; cf. Plin. 8, 5, 5, § 14), Augustus ap. Quint. 6, 3, 59, and Macr. S. 2, 4; Varr. ap. Non. p. 531, 10 sq.—

In inheritances and other money matters, where a division was made, the as, with its parts, was used to designate the portions. Thus haeres ex asse, sole heir; haeres ex semisse, he who receives one half of the inheritance; haeres ex dodrante, he who receives three fourths; and so, haeres ex besse, triente, quadrante, sextante, etc.;

ex semiunciā, ex sextulā, ex duabus sextulis, etc.,

Dig. 28, 5, 50; 34, 9, 2; Suet. Caes. 83; Cic. Caecin. 6 et saep.:

Nerva constituit, ut tu ex triente socius esses, ego ex besse,

Dig. 17, 2, 76:

bessem fundi emere ab aliquo,

ib. 26, 21, 2, § 39:

quadrans et semissis fundi,

ib. 6, 1, 8 al.;

hence, in assem, in asse, or ex asse,

in all, entirely, completely, Dig. 36, 45:

vendere fundum in assem,

ib. 20, 6, 9; so Col. 3, 3, 8 and 9:

in asse,

id. 2, 12, 7:

sic in asse flunt octo menses et dies decem,

id. 2, 12, 7:

ex asse aut ex parte possidere,

Dig. 2, 8, 15; Sid. Ep. 2, 1; 6, 12; 8, 6 al.—

As a measure of extent.

An acre, acc. to the same divisions as above, from scripulum to the as, Col. 5, 1, 9 sq.:

proscindere semissem, iterare assem,

Plin. 18, 19, 49, § 178.—

A foot, Col. 5, 3.—

Of weight, a pound, acc. to the same division; cf.

Fann. Pond. 41: In haec solide sexta face assis eat,

Ov. Med. Fac. 60.← Mathematicians (v. Vitr. l. c.) called the number 6 perfectus numerus (since 1 + 2 + 3 = 6), and formed, accordingly, the following terminology: 1 = sextans, as a dice-number. unio. 2 = triens.......... binio. 3 = semissis.......... ternio. 4 = bessis (dimoiros)..... quaternio. 5 = quintarius....... quinio. 6 = perfectus numerus.... senio. 7 = ephektos, sex adjecto asse = 6 + 1. 8 = adtertiarius, sex adjectā tertiā = 6 + 2 (epitritos). 9 = sesquialter, sex adjectā dimidiā = 6 + 3 (hêmiolios). 10 = bes alter, sex duabus partibus additis = 6 + 4 (epidimoiros). 11 = adquintarius, sex quinque partibus additis = 6 + 5 (epipentamoiros). 12 = duplio (diplasiôn).