“life” in Latin

As a state; opposed to death, vita (Greek, βίος, general term; opposed to mors); anima, spiritus (breathy of life); salus (existence from moment to moment; opposed to interitus, exitium); caput (the head, as seat of life); lux, haec lux (the light of day: ☞ vitae lux is without good authority; Vid: commentators on Cic., Cat., 1, 6, 15). Physical life, vita, quae corpore et spiritu continetur: in my life, in vita mea; dum vivo; me vivo: to have life, vivere; vitam habere; in vita esse; vita or hac luce frui (to enjoy life): to receive life, nasci; in lucem edi: to receive new life and strength, reviviscere et recreari: to lose life, vitam amittere, perdere; interfici, necari (to be killed); necari (with violence): to come to life again, reviviscere: to destroy one’s own life, mortem sibi consciscere; manus sibi or vim vitae suae inferre; manus sibi afferre (☞ the following phrases are unusual and rather poetical: manu vitam sibi exhaurire; occupare diem fati; occupare manu mortem; finem vitae sibi ponere, etc.: avoid se interficere): to take away the life of anyone, vitam alicui auferre, adimere, eripere; aliquem vita or hac luce privare; alicui vim afferre; (more rarely) aliquem vita expellere: to seek the life of anyone, alicujus vitae or capiti insidiari; alicujus vitam appetere (ferro atque manibus); necem or interitum alicui parare: to despair of the life of anyone, *aegri salutem desperare (as a physician; aegri salus, Cic., De N.D., 3, 38, 91): to give one his life, vitam alicui dare (general term, also of a physician; Vid: Plin., 2, 20, 8); vitam alicui concedere, alicui mortem remittere, usuram lucis alicui dare (to a person condemned to death); alicujus vitae parcere, consulere (to spare the life); aliquem procreare (to beget); aliquem parere (to bring forth): your letter has given me a little life again (figuratively), litterae tuae me sollicitum aliquid levarunt (after Cic., Att. 4, 7, 1; but litterae tuae mihi quiddam quasi animulae restillarunt is only conjecture in Cic., Att., 4, 7, 1): to call into life, gignere, procreare (to beget); facere, efficere (to make, effect, of things): to preserve one’s life, aliquem conservare: to owe one’s life to another, natum esse aliquo (to be begotten); alicui salutem debere, alicujus beneficio vivere (to owe one’s deliverance or preservation): to pray for one’s life, mortem deprecari: to pray for the life of another, alicujus vitam deprecari ab aliquo: to come off with one’s life, salvum, incolumem evadere: my life is in danger, I run the risk of my life, in vitas periculum addictus sum; caput agitur.

In respect of the manner how or where one lives, vita; victus (in respect of domestic management, so that when vita and victus occur near each other, vita refers to the public, and victus to the private life; e.g., Nep., Alcib., 1, 3; non minus in vita, quam in victu splendidus erat): in public life, in republica gerenda: common life, vita quotidiana: in common life, in vitae consuetudine; vulgo (commonly): the language of common life, genus sermonis usitatum: to use the language of common life, verbis quotidianis uti: to lead a certain life, vivere (with an adverb); vitam agere (with an adjective; ☞ but not vitam ducere; i. e., to drag on life); e.g., to lead a happy life, vivere feliciter, beate; vitam felicem agere: to lead a poor life, vitam tolerare inopem.

In respect of the time during which one lives, vita; aetas: to devote one’s life to studies, omnem suam vitam consumere in studiis: to devote one’s life to the investigation of a thing, aetatem agere in quaerenda aliqua re: to pass the rest of one’s life in retirement, quod reliquum est vitae in otio degere: he has often in his life destroyed an innocent citizen by false witness, saepe in aetate sua perdidit civem innocentem falso testimonio.

In respect of time and action; to describe the life of anyone, alicujus vitae imaginem exprimere: to review one’s life, *vitae memoriam recolere; praeteriti temporis spatium respicere (☞ Cic., Arch., 1, 1).

Reality, original, verum: to draw one to the life, ad verum (☞ not ad vivum) exprimere: alicujus similitudinem effingere ex vero (Plin., Ep., 4, 28, extr.): to represent one to the life, effingere alicujus imaginem dicendo (Quint., 6, 1, 8): to describe or paint anything to the life, aliquid sic exponere quasi agatur res, non quasi narretur (Cic.); aliquid ita ostendere, ut non clarius futurum sit spectantibus (Quint., of a battle).

That which is as dear to us as our life; e.g., my life! mea vita! mea lux! you are my life, certe tu vita es mihi (comedy).

PHRASES, (a) Course of life, vitae (or Vivendi) cursus, curriculum (the period or space of life); vivendi or vitae via (way of life): to choose our course of life, deligere quam viam vivendi ingressuri simus: to enter upon, walk in a right course of life, rectam vitae viam sequi: to finish or complete the course of life, vitae cursum or vivendi curriculum conficere: (b) Plan of life, vitae or vivendi consilium; vitae institutum; vitae propositum; vitae ratio et institutio; vita: to sketch out a plan of life, vivendi consilium (or, simply, vitam) constituere: to change one’s plan of life, institutorum mutationem facere; vitae propositum mutare. (c) Rule of life, vitae, vivendi or (in respect of conduct) agendi praeceptum; vitae lex; lex qua vivamus; vitae ratio (plur., vitae rationes): to draw up rules of life for one’s self, vitae rationes suscipere: to give rules of life to anyone, vivendi praecepta alicui dare: to receive or learn rules of life from anyone, agendi praecepta ab aliquo accipere. (d) Weariness of life, vivendi or vitae satietas (a being satisfied with life); vitae odium (distaste for life; opposed to vitae amor): I feel weariness of life, vitae satietas me cepit; vitae me taedet: everyday life, quotidianae vitae consuetudo.

Mode of living, conduct, vita; mores (manners, behavior). A bad, shameful life, vita turpis: to lead a bad, disgraceful life, turpiter, improbe, vivere: a virtuous life, vita honesta, sancta; vita honesta or per virtutem acta: to lead a virtuous life, honeste, sancte, vivere: a dissolute life, vita omnibus flagitiis, or omnibus libidinibus, dedita: to lead a dissolute life, omnibus flagitiis, or omnibus libidinibus, deditum esse; luxuria diffluere.

Liveliness, sprightliness, alacritas (liveliness); spiritus (enlivening spirit): spirit and life of an orator, calor et vehementia dicentis: there is no life here, omnia hic jacent, languent.