ignāvia

1. Ignavia denotes the love of idleness, in an ideal sense, inasmuch as the impulse to action distinguishes the more noble from the ordinary man, and gives him an absolute value; in opp. to industria, Tac. Ann. xii. 12. xvi. 18; whereas inertia denotes the love of idleness in a real tangible sense, inasmuch as activity makes a man a useful member of society, and gives him a relative value. Ignavia is inherent in the temperament, and has no inclination for action; inertia lies in the character and habits, and has no desire to work. A lazy slave is called inors; a person of rank, that passes his time in doing nothing, is ignavus. 2. Segnitia, desidia, socordia, and pigritia, are the faults of a too easy temperament. Segnitia (from sequi, ὄκνος,) wants rousing, or compulsion, and must be conquered, before it resigns its ease, in opp. to promptus. Tac. Agr. 21. Desidia (from sedere) lays its hands on its lap, and expects that things will happen of themselves; socordia is susceptible of no lively interest, and neglects its duties from want of thought, like phlegm; pigritia has an antipathy to all motion, and always feels best in a state of absolute bodily rest, like slothfulness. (iv. 212.)

1. Vereri (ὁρᾶν?) like αἰδεῖσθαι, has its foundation in what is strikingly venerable; metuere and timere, like δεῖσαι; and φοβεῖσθαι, in the threatening danger of an object. The timens and metuens fear the danger; the verens, the disgrace and shame. Cic. Phil. xii. 12. Quid? veteranos non veremur? nam timeri ne ipsi quidem volunt. Sen. 11, 37. Metuebant eum servi, verebantur liberi, carum omnes habebant. Liv. xxxix. 37. Veremur quidem vos Romani et si ita vultis etiam timemus. Afran. ap. Gell. xv. 13. Ubi malunt metui, quam vereri se ab suis. Senec. Ir. iii. 32. Quibusdam timeamus irasci, quibusdam vereamur. 2. Metus (ματᾶν) is fear, only as the anticipation of an impending evil, and reflection upon it, the apprehension that proceeds from foresight and prudence, like δέος, synonymously with cautio; whereas timor (from τρέμω), the fear that proceeds from cowardice and weakness. Or, metus is an intellectual notion; fear, as from reflection, in opp. to spes; for instances, see Cic. Verr. ii. 54. Off. ii. 6. Liv. xxx. 9. Suet. Aug. 25. Tac. H. i. 18. Ann. ii. 12, 38. Sen. Ep. 5. Suet. Aug. 5. Cels. ii. 6. Curt. viii. 6:—whereas timor is a moral notion, fear as a feeling, in opp. to fiducia, animus. Cic. Divin. ii. 31. Att. v. 20. Rull. i. 8. Sallust. Jug. ii. 3. Tac. Hist. ii. 80. Plin. Ep. v. 17. 3. In the like manner are spes, hope, and fiducia, confidence, distinguished. Sen. Ep. 16. Jam de te spem habeo, nondum fiduciam. Tac. Agr. 2. Nec spem modo ac votum securitas publica, sed ipsius voti fiduciam ac robur assumpserit. Suet. Cl. 10. Aliquanto minore spe quam fiducia. Liv. x. 25. Curt. ix. 4, 25. 4. Timor denotes fear, as a temporary state; timiditas, fearfulness, as an habitual quality, which is connected with ignavia, as a more precise expression for the more general feeling. Lactant. iii. 17. Epicurus . . . ignavum prohibet accedere ad rem publicam, pigrum exercere, timidum militare. Ignavia is inaptitude for any noble action, and particularly for deeds of valor; timiditas is, under certain circumstances, excusable; ignavia is absolutely blamable. 5. Metus and timor have their foundation in reflection, whereby a person is made clearly aware of the object and ground of his apprehension; whereas horror and formido is an immediate feeling, which overpowers the understanding by the dreadful image of the nearness of some horrid object, and can give no account of the ground of its fear; formido (fremere) expresses this state immediately as a state of mind, like ὀῤῥωδία; whereas horror (χέρσος) as the bodily expression of this state, by the hair standing on end, the eyes wildly staring, etc., like φρίκη. Tac. H. iv. 45. Metus per omnes ac præcipua Germanici militis formido. (ii. 190.)