incĭpĭo — Lewis & Short
incĭpĭo, cēpi, ceptum, 3 (archaic incepsit inceperit, Paul. ex v. a. and n. [in-capio; lit., to seize upon, lay hold of; opp. to desinere; hence, with the accessory idea of action),
Fest. p. 107 Müll.),I to begin to do something, to take in hand (syn. incoho; in class. prose, viz. in Cic., only in the tempp. press., while coepi is used in the tempp. perff.); constr. usually with the inf., less freq. absol., with the acc., ab, or adv. of place or time.
I Act.
(a) With inf.:
ut homines mortem vel optare incipiant vel certe timere desistant,Cic. Tusc. 1, 49, 117:
huic incipio sententiae diffidere,id. ib. 5, 1, 3:
prius quam incipit tinnire,Plaut. As. 2, 4, 42:
bella gerere,Cic. N. D. 2, 3, 9:
leges neglegere,id. Rep. 1, 43 fin.:
queri cum multis incipiunt,Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 23, § 56:
nimis cito diligere,id. Lael. 21, 78:
amare aliquem,id. ib. 16, 60:
fossas complere,Caes. B. G. 5, 51, 4:
rem frumentariam expedire,id. B. C. 1, 54, 4:
triplicem aciem ducere,id. ib. 1, 64, 7;
2, 30, 1: cum maturescere frumenta inciperent,id. ib. 6, 29, 4; cf. id. ib. 3, 49, 1:
cum primum pabuli copia esse inciperet,id. B. G. 2, 2, 2; cf.:
ictus erat, qua crus esse incipit,Ov. M. 6, 255; 8, 474; 15, 256:
opes pellere dominatione,Sall. H. 3, 61, 3:
si res explicare incipiam,Nep. Pelop. 1:
Bessus agere gratias incipit,Curt. 5, 12, 1:
cenare,Suet. Aug. 74:
promovere scalas,Tac. A. 15, 4 fin.:
si dormire incipis ortu luciferi,Juv. 8, 11:
male quod mulier facere incepit, nisi id efficere perpetrat, etc.... Si bene facere incepit, etc. (shortly afterward, occeperunt),Plaut. Truc. 2, 5, 12 and 14:
satis nequam sum, utpote qui hodie inceperim Amare,id. Rud. 2, 5, 5.—
(b) Absol.:
ut incipiendi ratio fuerit, ita sit desinendi modus,Cic. Off. 1, 37, 135; cf. Plin. Ep. 9, 4, 1; Sen. Ep. 116:
dum incipimus,Quint. 11, 3, 144:
dum deliberamus, quando incipiendum sit, incipere jam serum est,id. 12, 6, 3:
in incipiendo, etc.,id. 11, 1, 6: ac statim sic rex incipit, thus begins (to speak), Sall. J. 109 fin.; cf.:
nec sic incipies, ut scriptor cyclicus olim: Fortunam Priami, etc.,Hor. A. P. 136:
sic incipit, with a foll. direct quotation,id. S. 2, 6, 79; Ov. M. 9, 281;
and simply incipit,Hor. S. 1, 9, 21:
sapere aude, Incipe,make a beginning, begin, id. Ep. 1, 2, 41; Juv. 4, 34:
priusquam incipias, consulto opus est,Sall. C. 1, 6:
turpe inceptu est,Ter. Phorm. 2, 4, 16:
incipientes atque adhuc teneri (pueri),who are beginning to learn, beginners, Quint. 1, 2, 26:
incipiens,id. 2, 5, 18; 2, 6, 5; 8 prooem. § 1; 3;
10, 7, 18: quoties madidum ver incipit,Juv. 9, 52 al. —
(g) With acc. (once in Cic., once in Cæs., v. infra):
facinus audax incipit,Plaut. Aul. 3, 4, 1:
facinus,Sall. C. 20, 3:
pugilatum,Plaut. Capt. 4, 2, 13:
iter,id. Cas. 4, 4, 2:
aliquid novi negotii,Ter. Phorm. 4, 4, 29:
bellum (opp. deponere),Sall. J. 83, 1:
tam prava,id. ib. 64, 2:
indigna nobis,id. H. 2, 41, 8:
opus,Liv. 7, 34, 13:
bellum,id. 21, 21, 6; 26, 37, 9; 42, 43, 3:
sementem,Verg. G. 1, 230:
Maenalios versus,id. E. 8, 21:
si id facere non potueris, quod, ut opinio mea fert, ne incipies quidem,Cic. Planc. 19, 48; Quint. 1, 12, 5:
iter mihi incepi,Plaut. Cas. 2, 1, 16:
tantum incepi operis,id. Men. 2, 3, 80:
mandata,Tac. A. 12, 10; 4, 46:
auspicia a parricidio,Just. 26, 2 init.: multa, Cat. ap. Gell. 16, 14, 2.— Pass.:
tanta incepta res est,Plaut. Capt. 2, 1, 31:
nuptiarum gratia haec sunt ficta atque incepta,Ter. And. 5, 1, 17; 3, 3, 7:
si inceptam oppugnationem reliquissent,Caes. B. G. 7, 17, 6:
quia dici extremum erat, proelium non inceptum,Sall. J. 21, 2:
proelium incipitur,id. ib. 57, 3;
74, 2: saxis proelium incipitur,Tac. H. 5, 17:
satis cito incipi victoriam,id. ib. 2, 25; id. A. 2, 5; 2, 76; 12, 67 fin.:
iter inceptum celerant,Verg. A. 8, 90:
inceptumque decurre laborem,id. G. 2, 39:
inceptum frustra summitte furorem,id. A. 12, 832:
deus me vetat Inceptos iambos Ad umbilicum adducere,Hor. Epod. 14, 7:
in re incipiunda ad defendendam noxiam,Ter. Phorm. 1, 4, 48:
in contentionibus aut incipiendis aut finiendis,Quint. 11, 3, 128:
a tantis princeps incipiendus erat,Ov. F. 5, 570.—
(d) With ab or an adv. of place or time:
a Jove incipiendum putat,Cic. Rep. 1, 36 (acc. to the Gr. of Aratus, e)k *dio\s a)rxw/mesqa):
ab illis incipit uxor,Juv. 6, 348; Quint. 10, 1, 46:
incipiamus ab iis,id. 9, 2, 6:
semper ab excusatione aetatis incipientem,id. 6, 3, 76:
potissimum incipiam ab ea parte,id. 3, 7, 1:
optime manus a sinistra parte incipit, in dextra deponitur,id. 11, 3, 106:
amicitia incepta a parvis cum aetate accrevit simul,Ter. And. 3, 3, 7.— Pass. impers.:
optime incipitur a longis, recte aliquando a brevibus,Quint. 9, 4, 92.
II Neutr., to begin to be, to begin, commence (rare but class.); constr. with abl. instrum., or absol.
(a) With abl.:
tertius sinus Acrocerauniis incipit montibus,Plin. 4, 1, 1, § 1:
censere ut principium anni inciperet mense Decembri,Tac. A. 13, 10:
verbum petere quo incipiant,Quint. 10, 7, 21.—
(b) Absol.:
cum ver esse coeperat ... cum rosam viderat, tum incipere ver arbitrabatur,Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 10, § 27:
quoties incipit sensus aut desinit,Quint. 9, 4, 67:
hic annus incipit vicesimus,Plaut. Capt. 5, 3, 3:
narrationis incipit mihi initium,Ter. And. 4, 2, 26:
jam tum inceperat turba inter eos,id. Eun. 4, 4, 58:
tempus erat quo prima quies mortalibus aegris Incipit,Verg. A. 2, 269:
mox Idumaea incipit et Palaestina,Plin. 5, 13, 14, § 68:
epistula, quam incipiente febricula scripseras,Cic. Att. 7, 8, 2:
incipientes curas principis onerari,Tac. A. 1, 19:
incipiens adhuc et nondum adulta seditio,id. H. 1, 31:
incipiens omnia sentit amor,Ov. A. A. 2, 648:
Menander Syracusanus incipientis juventae,Plin. 8, 5, 5, § 14:
incipiente aestate,id. 27, 13, 109, § 133:
trixago incipientibus hydropicis efficax,id. 24, 15, 80, § 131:
quem (honorem) et incipientes principes et desinentes adeo concupis cunt ut auferant,Plin. Pan. 57.—Hence, in-ceptum, i, n., a beginning, attempt, undertaking (freq. in historians and poets, but not in Cæs.;
also rare in Cic.): cujus ego non modo factum, sed inceptum ullum conatumve contra patriam deprehendero,Cic. Cat. 2, 12, 27:
servetur ad imum, Qualis ab incepto processerit (persona),from the beginning onwards, Hor. A. P. 127: permanere in incepto, Luccei. ap. Cic. Fam. 5, 14 fin.:
a quo incepto studioque me ambitio mala detinuerat,Sall. C. 4, 2:
cujus neque consilium neque inceptum ullum frustra erat,id. J. 7, 6; cf.:
ni ea res longius nos ab incepto traheret,the subject, id. ib. 7 fin.:
absistere incepto,Liv. 31, 26, 5:
desistere incepto,Verg. A. 1, 37:
haerere in incepto,id. ib. 2, 654:
peragere inceptum,id. ib. 4, 452; cf.:
perficere inceptum,Sall. J. 11 fin.:
piget incepti,Verg. A. 5, 678:
nunc ad inceptum redeo,Sall. J. 4, 9; 42, 5:
turpe inceptum est,Ter. Phorm. 2, 4, 16.— In plur.:
cupidus incepta patrandi,Sall. J. 70, 5:
juventus Catilinae inceptis favebat,id. C. 17, 6:
incepta mea inpedivit,id. H. 4, 61, 12; cf.:
inceptis annue, diva, meis,Ov. Am. 3, 2, 56; and:
di nostra incepta secundent,Verg. A. 7, 259:
gravia et magna professa,Hor. A. P. 14.