meminī¹

Meminisse denotes remembrance as a state of mind, like μεμνῆσθαι, in as far as one has retained something in memory, without ever having forgotten it, like memorem esse; whereas reminisci and recordari denote remembrance as an act of the mind, in as far as one again brings to one’s mind what had already been driven out of one’s thoughts, like ἀναμιμνήσκεσθαι. But reminisci denotes this act of the mind as momentary, like in memoriam revocare; whereas recordari denotes it as of some duration, like revocata in memoriam contemplari. Cic. Lig. 12, 35. Equidem, cum tuis omnibus negotiis interessem, memoria teneo, qualis T. Ligarius, quæstor urbanus, fuerit erga te et dignitatem tuam; sed parum est, me hoc meminisse; spero etiam te, qui oblivisci nihil soles, nisi injurias, quoniam hoc est animi, quoniam etiam ingenii tui, te aliquid de hujus illo quæstorio officio cogitantem, etiam de aliis quibusdam quæstoribus reminiscentem recordari. This passage shows, that memoria tenere is only a circumlocution for meminisse: there is another passage where recordari is employed as the consequence of reminisci, but there is no instance of the converse; for reminisci and recordari have the same relation to each other as intueri and conspicere. Cic. Sen. 21. Pueri . . . . ita celeriter res innumerabiles arripiunt, ut eas non tum primum accipere videantur, sed reminisci et recordari: he might have added, Quæ non satis meminerint, sed in aliquantum temporis obliti sint. Tusc. i. 24, 58. Animus, quum se collegit atque recreavit, tum agnoscit illa reminiscendo; ita nihil aliud est discere, quam recordari. Senec. Ep. 100. Magis reminiscor quam teneo. (i. 166.)