ignāvus — Lewis & Short
ignāvus, a, um, adj.in-gnavus, navus,
I inactive, lazy, slothful, idle, sluggish, listless, without spirit, cowardly, dastardly (syn.: iners, socors; opp.: strenuus, alacer, fortis).
I Lit., of living beings (freq. and class.):
homines,Plaut. Rud. 3, 5, 49:
si non fecero Ei male aliquo pacto, me esse dicito ignavissimum,id. Bacch. 3, 6, 27:
quid ergo ille ignavissumus mi latitabat?id. Trin. 4, 2, 82; 1, 2, 128; id. Poen. 4, 2, 24:
homo inertior, ignavior, magis vir inter mulieres proferri non potest,Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 78, § 192:
ignavus miles ac timidus,id. Tusc. 2, 23, 54; cf.:
compertum habeo, milites neque ex ignavo strenuum neque fortem ex timido exercitum oratione imperatoris fieri,Sall. C. 58, 1:
feroces et inquieti inter socios, ignavi et imbelles inter hostes,Liv. 26, 2, 11:
ignavissimus ac fugacissimus hostis,id. 5, 28, 8:
ignavissimi homines (opp.: fortissimi viri),Sall. C. 12 fin.:
canis Ignavus adversum lupos,Hor. Epod. 6, 2:
(apes) Ignavaeque fame et contracto frigore pigrae,Verg. G. 4, 259:
ignavum, fucos, pecus a praesepibus arcent,id. A. 1, 435:
genus ignavum quod lecto gaudet,Juv. 7, 105.— Subst.:
cedentibus ignavis et imbecillis,Cic. Rep. 1, 32:
in bello poena ignavis ab imperatoribus constituitur,id. Caecin. 16, 46:
in victoria vel ignavis gloriari licet, adversae res etiam bonos detractant,Sall. J. 53 fin.; cf.:
gloriam, honorem, imperium bonus ignavus aeque sibi exoptant,id. C. 11, 2:
favimus ignavo,Ov. Am. 3, 2, 73.—
(b) With gen.:
legiones operum et laboris ignavae,Tac. A. 11, 18; cf.:
possis ignavus haberi et subiti casus improvidus, si, etc.,Juv. 3, 272.
II Transf.
A Of inanim. and abstr. things (mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose):
quae vitia non sunt senectutis, sed inertis, ignavae, somniculosae senectutis,Cic. de Sen. 11, 36:
nemora,i. e. unfruitful, Verg. G. 2, 208:
globus,i. e. immovable, Plin. 2, 8, 6, § 33; cf.
gravitas,Ov. M. 2, 821:
stagna jacentis aquae,Luc. 5, 442:
ignavo stupuerunt verba palato,i. e. speechless, Ov. Am. 2, 6, 47:
mora,id. A. A. 1, 186:
anni,spent in idleness, id. Am. 1, 15, 1; cf.
otia,id. Tr. 1, 7, 25:
septima lux,i. e. the Jewish Sabbath, Juv. 14, 106: ignavum conferunt stipendium, only money, not soldiers, arms, etc., Vell. 2, 39, 1:
sucus meconium vocatur, multum opio ignavior,weaker, less efficacious, Plin. 20, 18, 76, § 202: quorundam flos tantum jucundus, reliquae partes ignavae, ut violae ac rosae, without smell, id. 21, 7, 18, § 37:
cornicula ante oculos ignava,i. e. of no use, id. 11, 28, 34, § 100:
ignavum est rediturae parcere vitae,Luc. 1, 492.—
B Of things that produce inactivity or indolence, that renders slothful or inactive: nec nos impediet illa ignava ratio, quae dicitur: appellatur enim quidam a philosophis a)rgo\s lo/gos, cui si pareamus, nihil omnino agamus in vita. Sic enim interrogant:
Si fatum tibi est, etc.... Recte genus hoc interrogationis ignavum et iners nominatum est, quod eadem ratione omnis e vita tolletur actio,relaxing, Cic. Fat. 12, 28 sq.:
frigus,Ov. M. 2, 763:
aestus,id. ib. 7, 529:
dolor,Plin. 11, 18, 20, § 64.—Hence, adv. in two forms, ignāvē and ignā-vĭter.
(a) Ignave, sluggishly, slothfully, without spirit:
ne quid abjecte, ne quid timide, ne quid ignave, ne quid serviliter muliebriterve faciamus,Cic. Tusc. 2, 23, 55:
dicere multa,flatly, tamely, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 67.—
(b) Ignaviter, lazily, sluggishly, tardily: ignaviter quaerere, Lucil. ap. Non. 513, 14; Quadrig. ap. Prisc. p. 1010 P.; Hirt. ap. Cic. Att. 15, 6, 2.—
b Comp.:
carpere ignavius herbas,Verg. G. 3, 465.