cōnfīdō

Confisus means, subjectively, like securus, depending on something, and making one’s self easy, πεποιθῶς; whereas fretus (φρακτός, ferox) means, objectively, like tutus, protected by something, ἐῤῥωμένος. (i. 20.)

Fides; Fidelitas; Fiducia; Confidentia; Audacia; Audentia. 1. Fides and fidelitas mean the fidelity which a man himself observes towards others; fides, in a more general sense, like πίστις, the keeping of one’s word and assurance from conscientiousness, together with the reliance of others upon us as springing from this quality, the credit we possess; fidelitas denotes, in a more special sense, like πιστότης, the faithful adherence to persons to whom we have once devoted ourselves; whereas fiducia and confidentia denote the trust we place in others; fiducia, the laudable trust in things, in which we actually can trust, which is allied to the courage of trusting in ourselves, in opp. to timor; Cic. Div. ii. 31. Plin. Ep. v. 17, like θάρσος; but confidentia denotes a blamable blind trust, particularly in one’s own strength, in opp. to foresight and discretion, and which converts spirit into presumption, like θράσος. 5. Fiducia and confidentia have their foundation in trusting to the prosperous issue of anything; audacia and audentia, in the contempt of danger; audacia sometimes means a laudable boldness, as a word of higher import than fiducia; sometimes a blamable boldness, as a civil term for temeritas, like τόλμα; but audentia is always a laudable spirit of enterprise. Juven. xiii. 108. Quum magna malæ superest audacia causæ, creditur a multis fiducia. Sen. Ep. 87. Quæ bona sunt, fiduciam faciunt, divitiæ audaciam. (v. 256.)

1. Fidere (πείθειν) means to trust; confidere, to trust firmly, both with reference to strength and assistance; whereas fidem habere, to give credit, and credere, to place belief, namely, with reference to the good intentions of another. Liv. ii. 45. Consules magis non confidere quam non credere suis militibus; the former with reference to their valor, the latter with reference to their fidelity. 2. Fidere, etc., denote trust as a feeling; committere, permittere, as an action; the committens acts in good trust in the power and will of another, whereby he imposes upon him a moral responsibility; to intrust; the permittens acts to get rid of the business himself, whereby he imposes at most only a political or legal responsibility, as to leave (or, give up) to. Cic. Font. 14. Ita ut commissus sit fidei, permissus potestati. Verr. i. 32. v. 14. (v. 259.)