con-scĭus, a, um, adj. [scio], that knows something in company with others or by himself, knowing with others or self-knowing (freq. in all periods and species of composition).
- I. Knowing or conscious of something with another, privy to; and subst., a (male or female) participant in a thing, an accessory, accomplice, confidant, etc.; constr. with the gen., dat., in, and de aliquā re, an obj.- or rel.-clause, or absol. (cf. Rudd. II. p. 71).
- (α) With gen. with or without dat. pers. (cf. β infra): qui tam audacis facinoris mi conscius, Ter. Phorm. 1, 3, 4; cf.: alius alii tanti facinoris conscii, Sall. C. 22, 2: si conscius Dymno tanti sceleris fuissem, Curt. 6, 10, 20; and: nondum tot flagitiorum exercitui meo conscius, Tac. A. 1, 43: T. Pomponius, homo omnium meorum in te studiorum et officiorum maxime conscius, Cic. Fam. 5, 5, 1; so, maleficii, id. Clu. 22, 59: conjurationis, Sall. C. 37, 1: ante actae vitae, Liv. 9, 26, 14: infirmitatis nostrae, Quint. 10, 3, 19: interficiendi Postumi Agrippae, Tac. A. 3, 30; cf.: Caesarianae necis, Suet. Ner. 3; and necis (opp. auctor), id. ib. 33: peccati erilis, Hor. S. 2, 7, 60: adjutores quosdam, conscios sui ( = sui consilii) nactus, Caes. B. C. 3, 108, 2.
Poet.: arva versi regis, Ov. M. 7, 385; cf.: quorum nox conscia sola est, id. ib. 13, 15: fati sidera, Verg. A. 4, 519: mentis, Ov. H. 17, 265 al.
- (β) With dat.: huic facinori tanto tua mens liberalis conscia esse non debuit, Cic. Cael. 21, 52: temeritati et mendacio meo, id. Verr. 2, 4, 56, § 124 (quoted in Arus. Mess. p. 220 Lind.): Fabricium quem … conscium illi facinori fuisse arbitrabatur, Cic. Clu. 20, 56 al.: verbis, Tib. 1, 9, 41: coeptis, Ov. M. 7, 194.
Poet.: sacris nox, Ov. M. 6, 588 Heins.: deliciis meis antra, id. H. 15, 138: conubiis aether, Verg. A. 4, 168 Wagn. N. cr.: gens nascenti conscia Nilo, Luc. 1, 20.
- (γ) With in: mihi in privatis omnibus conscius, Cic. Att. 1, 18, 1; so, conscius vestris in lacrimis adfueram, Prop. 1, 10, 2.
- * (δ) With de: addit ad extremum, se audisse a Curione his de rebus conscium esse Pisonem, Cic. Att. 2, 24, 3; cf. conscientia, II. A. β.
(ε) With rel.-clause: multis consciis quae gereretur, Nep. Dion, 8, 4.
(ζ) Absol.: nec mihi conscius est ullus homo, Plaut. Rud. 4, 2, 21; id. Truc. 1, 1, 40; cf.: fac me consciam, id. Cist. 2, 3, 46; Ter. Heaut. 1, 1, 69; Cic. Att. 2, 24, 1; cf. Nep. Milt. 3, 6; Quint. 5, 7, 37; Tac. A. 1, 5; Hor. C. 3, 6, 29.
Poet.: cetera nox et nos et turris conscia novit, Ov. H. 18, 105: silva, id. M. 2, 438: rubor, Cat. 65, 24 al.
Hence, subst.: conscĭus, i, m., of those who are participants in a crime, conspiracy, etc., a partaker, jointconspirator, accessory, accomplice, confidant, etc., Nep. Dion, 9, 1; Quint. 4, 2, 48; 9, 2, 81 sq.; Suet. Dom. 10: consciorum nomina exponere, Curt. 8, 6, 24: Othonis, Tac. H. 1, 39 al.: se (sacerdotes Germanorum) ministros deorum, illos (equos) conscios putant (sc. deorum), id. G. 10.
- II. With sibi, knowing something in one’s self, conscious of.
- A. In gen., in a good and bad sense.
- (α) With gen.: qui (sc. populus Romanus) si alicujus injuriae sibi conscius fuisset, etc., Caes. B. G. 1, 14; so, sibi nullius culpae, Cic. Off. 3, 18, 73: mihi dissimulati in ullā parte judicii, Quint. 3, 6, 64: sibi irae et iracundiae, Suet. Claud. 38: sermonis adversus majestatem tuam habiti nullius conscii sumus nobis, Curt. 7, 1, 21: mens sibi recti, Verg. A. 1, 604; cf. without sibi, Ov. F. 4, 311: admissae nequitiae, Prop. 1, 15, 38: audacis facti (lupus), Verg. A. 11, 812.
- (β) With dat.: sibi factis mens, Lucr. 3, 1018.
- (γ) With in: nuila sibi turpi in re, Lucr. 6, 393.
- (δ) With acc. and inf. as object, Ter. Ad. 3, 2, 50: etsi mihi sum conscius, numquam me nimis cupidum fuisse vitae, Cic. Tusc. 2, 4, 10; Quint. 12, 11, 8.
(ε) With rel.- or subj.-clause: cum sibi conscius esset, quam inimicum deberet Caesarem habere, Hirt. B. G. 8, 44 fin.
With adv.: mulieres male sibi consciae, Just. 2, 5, 7.
Absol.: ego pol, quae mihi sum conscia, hoc certo scio, etc., Ter. Eun. 1, 2, 119: conscia mens ut cuique sua est, etc., Ov. F. 1, 485.
Poet.: virtus, Verg. A. 12, 668.
Constrr. analogous to the Greek: conscius sum mihi benefacienti and benefaciens (σύνοιδα ἐμαυτῷ πεποιηκότι or ποιῶν), are mentioned by Prisc. p. 1205 P., as much used earlier, but without exs. in proof.
- B. In partic., conscious to one’s self of wrong (rare, and mostly poet.): nihil est miserius quam animus hominis conscius, Plaut. Most. 3, 1, 13: animus, Lucr. 4, 1131; Sall. C. 14, 3; Sen. Hippol. 496.
Poet.: vultus, Sen. Herc. Fur. 692.