1. viscus — Lewis & Short
viscus, ĕris, and more freq. in the viscĕra, um, n.prop. the soft parts; cf.: viscum, viscidus,
plur.:I the inner parts of the animal body, the internal organs, the inwards, viscera (the nobler parts, the heart, lungs, liver, as well as the ignobler, the stomach, entrails, etc.; cf.: ilia, intestina, exta).
(a) Sing.: mortui praecordia et viscus omne, Cels. praef. med.; Lucr. 1, 837; 3, 719; Tib. 1, 3, 76; Ov. M. 6, 290; 15, 365; Luc. 3, 658; Quint. Decl. 1, 14; Nemes. Cyn. 139.—
(b) Plur. (only so in class. prose), Cels. 4, 11; 7, 9, 2; Lucr. 2, 669; 3, 249; 3, 375 al.; Ov. M. 7, 601; 8, 846; 12, 390; 15, 314; id. F. 4, 205 al.—Of the uterus, Quint. 10, 3, 4; Dig. 48, 8, 8.—Of the testicles, Petr. 119; Plin. 20, 13, 51, § 142.—
B Transf.
1 The flesh, as lying under the skin:
cum Herculi Dejanira sanguine Centauri tinctam tunicam induisset, inhaesissetque ea visceribus,Cic. Tusc. 2, 8, 20: ut multus e visceribus sanguis exeat, Poët. ap. Cic. Tusc. 2, 14, 34:
heu quantum scelus est, in viscera viscera condi!Ov. M. 15, 88:
boum,Cic. N. D. 2, 63, 159:
taurorum,Verg. A. 6, 253; 8, 180.—
2 The fruit of the womb, offspring, child (poet. and in post-Aug. prose):
(Tereus) in suam sua viscera congerit alvum,Ov. M. 6, 651; 8, 478; 10, 465; id. H. 11, 118; cf. Curt. 4, 14, 22:
viscera sua flammis inicere,i. e. one's own writings, Quint. 6, praef. § 3 Spald.—
II Trop., like our bowels, for the interior, inward or inmost part:
itum est in viscera terrae,Ov. M. 1, 138:
montis (Aetnae),Verg. A. 3, 575:
in medullis populi Romani ac visceribus haerebant,Cic. Phil. 1, 15, 36:
in venis atque in visceribus rei publicae,id. Cat. 1, 13, 31; cf. id. Tusc. 4, 11, 24:
haec in dicendo non extrinsecus alicunde quaerenda, sed ex ipsis visceribus causae sumenda sunt,id. de Or. 2, 78, 318: quae (e)gkeleu/smata) mihi in visceribus haerent, id. Att. 6, 1, 8:
neu patriae validas in viscera vertite vires,i. e. her own citizens, Verg. A. 6, 833:
de visceribus tuis,i. e. from your means, property, Cic. Q. Fr. 1, 3, 7; so,
aerarii,id. Dom. 47 fin.: magnarum domuum, the heart, i. e. the favorite, Juv. 3, 72.