vĭa — Lewis & Short
vĭa (vĕa,
Varr. R. R. 1, 2, 14), ae (I gen. sing. vias, Enn. ap. Prisc. p. 679 P., or Ann. v. 421 Vahl.; viāï, Enn. ap. Cic. Sen. 6, 16, or Ann. v. 209 ib.; Lucr. 1, 406; 1, 659; 2, 249 et saep.; dat. plur. VIEIS, Inscr. Lat. 206, 50), f. Sanscr. vah-āmi, bring, lead; Gr. o)/xos, o)/xhma, vehicle; Germ. Wagen; Engl. wagon; from this root are also veho, vexo, etc., a way, in the most general sense (for men, beasts, or carriages, within or without a city), a highway, road, path, street.
I Lit.
1 In gen.:
viae latitudo ex lege duodecim tabularum in porrectum octo pedes habet, in anfractum, id est ubi flexum est, sedecim,Dig. 8, 3, 8:
Romam in montibus positam et convallibus, non optimis viis, angustissimis semitis,Cic. Agr. 2, 35, 96:
et modo quae fuerat semita, facta via est,Mart. 7, 61, 4:
aut viam aut semitam monstret,Plaut. Rud. 1, 3, 30:
mi opsistere in viā,id. Curc. 2, 3, 5:
ire in viā,Ter. Eun. 3, 2, 42:
omnibus viis notis semitisque essedarios ex silvis emittebat,Caes. B. G. 5, 19 (opp. semita), id. ib. 7, 8; Liv. 44, 43, 1; cf.:
decedam ego illi de viā,Plaut. Trin. 2, 4, 80; cf. id. Curc. 2, 3, 8:
paulum ad dexteram de viā declinavi,Cic. Fin. 5, 2, 5:
decedere viā,Suet. Tib. 31:
aestuosa et pulverulenta via,Cic. Att. 5, 14, 1:
quā (viā) Sequanis invitis propter angustias ire non poterant,Caes. B. G. 1, 9:
cursare huc illuc viā deterrimā,Cic. Att. 9, 9, 2:
in viam se dare,to set out on a journey, id. Fam. 14, 12:
te neque navigationi neque viae committere,id. ib. 16, 4, 1:
tu abi tuam viam,Plaut. Rud. 4, 3, 88:
milites monuit, viā omnes irent, nec deverti quemquam paterentur,along the highway, Liv. 25, 9, 4.—In a double sense:
ire publicā viā,Plaut. Curc. 1, 1, 35.—Prov.: qui sibi semitam non sapiunt, alteri monstrant viam, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 58, 132 (Trag. v. 358 Vahl.):
de viā in semitam degredi,Plaut. Cas. 3, 5, 40:
totā errare viā,Ter. Eun. 2, 2, 14.—
2 In partic., as the name of a particular street or road:
tres ergo viae, a supero mari Flaminia, ab infero Aurelia, media Cassia,Cic. Phil. 12, 9, 22:
Via Appia,id. Mil. 6, 15; id. Imp. Pomp. 18, 55; cf. Liv. 9, 29, 6;
v. Appius: Via Campana,Suet. Aug. 94;
v. Campania: Sacra Via, in Rome, in the fourth region,Varr. L. L. 5, § 47 Müll.; Fest. p. 290 ib.; Cic. Planc. 7, 17; Hor. Epod. 4, 7; 7, 8:
Via Sacra,id. S. 1, 9, 1;
also written as one word, SACRAVIA,Inscr. Grut. 638, 7; 1033, 1; cf. Charis. p. 6 P.; Diom. p. 401 ib. (v. sacer, I. A.); cf. Becker, Antiq. 1, p. 219 sq.— Hence, Sacrăvĭenses, ĭum, m., those dwelling on the Sacra Via, Fest. s. v. October equus, p. 178 Müll.—
B Transf.
1 Abstr., like our way, for march, journey (syn. iter):
cum de viā languerem,Cic. Phil. 1, 5, 12:
nisi de viā fessus esset,id. Ac. 1, 1, 1: tridui via, a three days' march or journey, Caes. B. G. 1, 38:
bidui,id. ib. 6, 7; Cic. Div. 1, 15, 27:
longitudo viae,Liv. 37, 33, 3:
flecte viam velis,Verg. A. 5, 28:
tum via tuta maris,Ov. M. 11, 747:
feci Longa Pherecleā per freta puppe vias,id. H. 16, 22:
ne inter vias praeterbitamus, metuo,by the way, on the road, Plaut. Poen. 5, 3, 43; Ter. Eun. 4, 2, 1; Turp. ap. Non. p. 538, 8 et saep.—
2 In gen., a way, passage, channel, pipe, etc.; thus, a lane in a camp, Caes. B. G. 5, 49; a passage between the seats of a theatre, Mart. 5, 14, 8; Tert. Spect. 3; of the veins:
omnes ejus (sanguinis) viae,Cic. N. D. 2, 55, 137; of the chyle ducts:
quaedam a medio intestino usque ad portas jecoris ductae et directae viae,id. ib.; the windpipe, Ov. M. 15, 344; 14, 498; a cleft through which any thing penetrates, Verg. G. 2, 79; cf. Ov. M. 11, 515; the path or track of an arrow, Verg. A. 5, 526; a stripe in a party-colored fabric, Tib. 2, 3, 54 et saep.—
II Trop.
A In gen., a way, method, mode, manner, fashion, etc., of doing any thing, course (cf. modus):
vitae,Cic. Fl. 42, 105; id. Agr. 1, 9, 27; id. Sest. 67, 140; Hor. Ep. 1, 17, 26; Sen. Brev. Vit. 9, 5; Lact. Epit. 67, 12:
via vivendi,Cic. Off. 1, 32, 118:
rectam vitae viam sequi,id. ib.:
Socrates hanc viam ad gloriam proximam dicebat esse,id. ib. 2, 12, 43:
haec ad aeternam gloriam via est,Plin. 2, 7, 5, § 18:
haec una via omnibus ad salutem visa est,Liv. 36, 27, 8:
invenire viam ad mortem,Plin. Ep. 3, 16, 12:
totidem ad mortem viae sunt,Sen. Contr. 1, 8, 6:
cum eum hortarer ut eam laudis viam rectissimam esse duceret,Cic. Brut. 81, 281: haec est una via laudis, id. Sest. 65, 137:
totam ignoras viam gloriae,id. Phil. 1, 14, 33:
quae tum promptissima mortis via, exsolvit venas,Tac. A. 16, 17:
habeo certam viam atque rationem, quā omnes illorum conatus investigare et consequi possim,Cic. Verr. 1, 16, 48:
defensionis ratio viaque,id. ib. 2, 5, 1, §
4: non tam justitiae quam litigandi tradunt vias,id. Leg. 1, 6, 18:
docendi via,id. Or. 32, 114:
optimarum artium vias tradere,id. Div. 2, 1, 1:
(di) non ... nullas dant vias nobis ad significationum scientiam,id. ib. 2, 49, 102:
rectam instas viam,i. e. you speak correctly, truly, Plaut. As. 1, 1, 41.—Adverb.: rectā viā, directly:
ut rectā viā rem narret ordine omnem,Ter. Heaut. 4, 3, 28.—
B Pregn. (cf. ratio), the right way, the true method, mode, or manner:
ingressu'st viam, i. e. rectam,Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 273:
in omnibus quae ratione docentur et viā, primum constituendum est, quid quidque sit, etc.,rationally and methodically, Cic. Or. 33, 116:
ut ratione et viā procedat oratio,id. Fin. 1, 9, 29.—Adverb.: viā, rightly, properly (opp. to wandering out of the way):
ipsus eam rem secum reputavit viā,Ter. And. 2, 6, 11:
viā et arte dicere,Cic. Brut. 12, 46. —
C Viam perficere, i. e. to attain an end, Just. Inst. proöem. 1.