culpa

1. Culpa (κολάψαι) denotes guilt as the state of one who has to answer for an injury, peccatum, delictum, maleficium, scelus, flagitium, or nefas; hence a responsibility, and, consequently, a rational being is supposed, in opp. to casus, Cic. Att. xi. 9. Vell. P. ii. 118, or to necessitas, Suet. Cl. 15; whereas noxia, as the state of one who has caused an injury, and can therefore be applied to any that is capable of producing an effect, in opp. to innocentia. Liv. iii. 42, 2. Illa modo in ducibus culpa, quod ut odio essent civibus fecerant; alia omnis penes milites noxia erat. Cic. Marc. 13. Etsi aliqua culpa tenemur erroris humani, a scelere certe liberati sumus; and Ovid, Trist. iv. 1, 23. Et culpam in facto, non scelus esse meo, coll. 4, 37; hence culpa is used as a general expression for every kind of fault, and especially for a fault of the lighter sort, as delictum. 2. Culpa and noxia suppose an injurious action; but vitium (from αὐάτη, ἄτη) merely an action or quality deserving censure, and also an undeserved natural defect. 3. Nocens, innocens, denote guilt, or absence of guilt, in a specified case, with regard to a single action; but noxius, innoxius, together with the poetical words nocuus, innocuus, relate to the nature and character in general. Plaut. Capt. iii. 5, 7. Decet innocentem servum atque innoxium confidentem esse; that is, a servant who knows himself guiltless of some particular action, and who, in general, does nothing wrong. 4. Noxius denotes a guilty person only physically, as the author and cause of an injury, like βλαβερός; but sons (ὀνοτός) morally and juridically, as one condemned, or worthy of condemnation, like θῶος. (ii. 152.)