the degenerate

* * *

* * *

dē-scisco, īvi or ĭi, ītum, 3, v. n., orig. a publicist's t. t. to free one's self from a connection with any one, to withdraw, leave, revolt from, = sciscendo deficere; and with an indication of the terminus, to desert to, go over to any one (class. prose).

Prop.:

multae longinquiores civitates ab Afranio desciscunt,

Caes. B. C. 1, 60 fin.; so,

ab aliquo,

id. ib. 2, 32, 2; Cic. Phil. 11, 9, 21; Liv. 6, 36; Nep. Alc. 5, 1; id. Dat. 5, 5; Just. 5, 1 fin. et saep.:

ad aliquem (opp. a nobis deficere),

Liv. 31, 7; cf.:

Praeneste ab Latinis ad Romanos descivit,

id. 2, 19;

and simply: ad aliquem,

id. 26, 21; Front. Strat. 4, 3, 14 al.; cf. pass. impers.:

quibus invitis descitum ad Samnites erat,

Liv. 9, 16; and Flor. 3, 5, 6.— Absol.:

cum Fidenae aperte descissent,

Liv. 1, 27; 21, 19; Tac. H. 1, 31; Suet. Caes. 68; Nep. Tim. 3, 1; id. Ham. 2, 2; Front. Strat. 1, 8, 6: Stat. Th. 2, 311 al.—

Transf. beyond the political sphere, to depart, deviate, withdraw from a person or thing; to fall off from, be unfaithful to:

a nobis desciscere quaeres?

Lucr. 1, 104:

a se ipse,

Cic. Att. 2, 4, 2:

si Cicero a Demosthene paulum in hac parte descivit,

Quint. 9, 4, 146:

cur Zeno ab hac antiqua institutione desciverit,

Cic. Fin. 4, 8; so,

a pristina causa,

id. Fam. 1, 9, 17 Orell. N. cr.:

a veritate,

id. Ac. 2, 15:

a natura,

id. Tusc. 3, 2:

a disciplina,

Vell. 2, 81:

a virtute,

id. 2, 1:

a consuetudine parentum,

Plin. Ep. 3, 20, 4 et saep.:

a vita,

to separate, sever one's self, Cic. Fin. 3, 18, 61 (opp. manere in vita).— Pass. impers.:

praecipiti cursu a virtute descitum, ad vitia transcursum,

Vell. 2, 1.—Stating the terminus, to fall off to, decline to; to degenerate into:

ab excitata fortuna ad inclinatam et prope jacentem,

Cic. Fam. 2, 16; cf.:

ad saevitiam, ad cupiditatem,

Suet. Dom. 10: in regem (i. e. to degenerate, be transformed), Flor. 4, 3:

in monstrum,

id. 4, 11.—

Of subjects not personal:

quis ignorat et eloquentiam et ceteras artes descivisse ab ista vetere gloria,

Tac. Or. 28:

(vitis) gracili arvo non desciscit,

does not degenerate, Col. 3, 2, 13:

semina,

id. 3, 10, 18.

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.

dē-cŏlor, ōris ( acc. plur. heterocl. decoloros, Prud. steph. 1, 113), adj., deprived of it's natural color, discolored, defaced, faded, etc. ( poet., and in post-Aug. prose): decolorem sanguinem omnem exsorbuit, Cic. poet. Tusc. 2, 8 (transl. from Sophoc. Trach. 1058: ek de chlôron haima mou Pepôken êdê):

Indus,

swarthy, Prop. 4, 3, 10; Ov. Tr. 5, 3, 24;

and India,

id. M. 4, 21;

so heres, (sc. Aethiope genitus),

Juv. 6, 600:

decolor fuligine,

id. 7, 226:

decolor sanguine,

stained, Ov. Tr. 4, 2, 42; cf. Stat. Th. 12, 410:

ara,

id. Pont. 3, 2, 54:

seges,

Luc. 7, 851:

uniones,

Plin. 9, 35, 57, § 116:

resina,

id. 16, 12, 23, § 59.—

Poet., of abstract subjects: deterior ac decolor aetas (i. e. the brazen and iron age, in comparison with the golden), depraved, degenerate, * Verg. A. 8, 326:

fama,

Ov. H. 9, 4.

dē-sīdo, sēdi (de-sīdi, Cic. l. l. infra, Lamprid. Alex. Sev. 39, 7), 3, v. n., v. consido. —Of inanimate things, esp. of places, to sink, fall, or settle down.

Prop.:

tantos terrae motus factos esse, ut multa oppida corruerint, multis locis labes factae sint terraeque desiderint,

Cic. Div. 1, 35 fin.; 1, 43, 97; Liv. 32, 9; and poet. of the apparent sinking of mountains to one flying aloft:

Gargara desidunt surgenti,

Stat. Th. 1, 549:

ovum inane natat, plenum desidit,

Varr. R. R. 3, 9, 11; Just. 4, 1, 10:

ex urina quod desidit album est,

sediment, Cels. 2, 7:

tumor ex toto desidit,

id. 7, 18. —

Trop., to deteriorate, degenerate: desidentes mores, Liv. prooem. 9.