Lewis & Short

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sententĭa, ae, f. [for sentientia, from sentio], a way of thinking, opinion, judgment, sentiment; a purpose, determination, decision, will, etc.

  1. I. Lit. (cf.: opinio, voluntas, studium).
    1. A. In gen.: quoniam sententiae atque opinionis meae voluistis esse participes, nihil occultabo et quoad potero, vobis exponam, quid de quāque re sentiam, Cic. de Or. 1, 37, 172: sententia et opinio mea, id. ib. 2, 34, 146: senis sententia de nuptiis, Ter. And. 1, 3, 2: de aliquā re, id. Ad. 3, 5, 5; id. Phorm. 2, 4, 4; cf.: de diis immortalibus habere non errantem et vagam, sed stabilem certamque sententiam, Cic. N. D. 2, 1, 2: de hac sententiā Non demovebor, Plaut. Pers. 3, 1, 45; cf. Cic. Verr. 1, 17, 52: de sententiā deducere, deicere, depellere, deterrere, decedere, desistere, etc., v. h. vv.: nisi quid tua secus sententia est, Plaut. Ep. 2, 2, 95; cf.: mihi sententia eadem est, id. Trin. 2, 4, 44: adhuc in hac sum sententiā, nihil ut faciamus nisi, etc., Cic. Fam. 4, 4, 5: eā omnes stant sententiā, Plaut. Curc. 2, 1, 35; cf.: perstat in sententiā Saturius, Cic. Rosc. Com. 18, 56; so, in sententiā manere, permanere, etc., v. h. vv.: non prima sed melior vicit sententia, Plin. Pan. 76, 2.
      Plur.: variis dictis sententiis, quarum pars censebant, etc., Caes. B. G. 7, 77: erant sententiae, quae censerent, id. B. C. 2, 30: sententiae numerantur, non ponderantur, Plin. Ep. 2, 12, 5: nos quibus Cotta tantum modo locos ac sententias hujus disputationis tradidisset, the leading thoughts, Cic. de Or. 3, 4, 16.
      Prov.: quot homines, tot sententiae, many men, many minds, Ter. Phorm. 2, 4, 14; Cic. Fin. 1, 5, 15.
      1. 2. In the phrases,
          1. (α) Sententia est, with subj.-clause, it is my purpose, will, opinion, etc., Auct. Her. 3, 24, 40: si honestatem tueri ac retinere sententia est, if one’s purpose be, if one be determined, Cic. Off. 3, 33, 116; and: stat sententia, with obj.clause, Ov. M. 8, 67; cf., parenthetically: sic stat sententia, id. ib. 1, 243.
          2. (β) De sententiā alicujus aliquid facere, Cic. Cael. 29, 68: neque ego haud committam, ut si quid peccatum siet, Fecisse dicas de meā sententiā, according to my wish, to suit me, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 9, 115: gerere, Cic. Sull. 19 fin.; cf. id. Verr. 2, 5, 21, § 53; id. Att. 16, 16, C, § 11; 7, 5 fin.; Liv. 38, 45, 5 et saep.
          3. (γ) Meā quidem sententiā, in my opinion or judgment, as I think: nimis stulte faciunt, meā quidem sententiā, Plaut. Men. 1, 1, 5: meā quidem sententiā, id. Cas. 3, 3, 1; id. Poen. 5, 6, 1; Ter. Ad. 1, 1, 40; 5, 9, 2; id. Phorm. 2, 2, 21; and simply meā sententiā, Plaut. Ep. 3, 3, 11; id. Merc. 2, 3, 58; Cic. Rep. 1, 26, 42; 1, 45, 69; id. de Or. 2, 23, 95 al.
          4. (δ) Ex meā (tuā, etc.) sententiā, according to my (thy, etc.) wish: quoniam haec evenerunt nostrā ex sententiā, Plaut. Men. 5, 9, 89; id. Cist. 1, 2, 7; id. Men. 2, 2, 1; 5, 7, 30; id. Truc. 5, 72; id. Capt. 2, 3, 87; Ter. Heaut. 4, 3, 5; Cic. Fam. 2, 7, 3; 2, 15, 1; and more freq., simply ex sententiā, to one’s mind or liking, Plaut. Pers. 1, 1, 18; id. Capt. 2, 2, 97; id. Mil. 4, 1, 1; id. Aul. 4, 1, 3; id. Truc. 5, 69; Ter. Heaut. 4, 5, 17; id. Hec. 5, 4, 32; id. Phorm. 2, 1, 26; Cic. de Or. 1, 27, 123; id. Att. 5, 21; id. Fam. 1, 7, 5; 12, 10, 2; Sall. J. 43, 5 et saep. (v. also infra, B. 2.).
            (ε) Praeter animi sententiam, against one’s inclination: quam (crapulam) potavi praeter animi mei sententiam, Plaut. Rud. 2, 7, 29.
    2. B. In partic., publicists’ and jurid. t.t., an official determination, a decision, sentence, judgment, vote (cf. suffragium): SENATVOS SENTENTIAM VTEI SCIENTES ESETIS, EORVM SENTENTIA ITA FVIT, S. C. de Bacch.: (L. Tarquinius) antiquos patres majorum gentium appellavit, quos priores sententiam rogabat, Cic. Rep. 2, 20, 35: non viribus … res magnae geruntur, sed consilio, auctoritate, sententiā, id. Sen. 6, 17: (Marcellinus) sententiam dixit, ut, etc. … postea Racilius de privatis me primum sententiam rogavit, etc., id. Q. Fr. 2, 1, 2: accurate sententiam dixi … factum est senatusconsultum in meam sententiam, id. Att. 4, 1, 6: DE SENATVOS SENTENTIAD … DE PR. VRBANI SENATVOSQVE SENTENTIAD, S. C. de Bacch.: ex senatus sententiā, Cic. Fam. 12, 4, 1: victos paucis sententiis, Liv. 22, 61, 8.
      Hence, sententiam dare, to vote: meae partes exquirendae magis sententiae quam dandae sunt, Liv. 8, 20, 12: omnes in eam sententiam ierunt, id. 23, 10, 4: cum in hanc sententiam pedibus omnes issent, id. 22, 56, 1: aliquem sequor, aliquem jubebo sententiam dividere, to divide the question, Sen. Vit. Beat. 3, 2; cf.: quod fieri in senatu solet … cum censuit aliquis quod ex parte mihi placeat, jubeo illum dividere sententiam et sequor, id. Ep. 21, 9.
      Hence, de eventu fortuna judicat, cui de me sententiam non do, I give no vote, Sen. Ep. 14, 16.
      Of the people in the comitia: de singulis magistratibus sententiam ferre, Cic. Agr. 2, 11, 26: de quo foedere populus Romanus sententiam non tulit, id. Balb. 15, 34.
      Of the votes of judges: itur in consilium: servus ille innocens omnibus sententiis absolvitur, quo facilius vos hunc omnibus sententiis condemnare possitis, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 45, § 100; id. Clu. 26, 72: condemnatur enim perpaucis sententiis, id. Verr. 2, 1, 30, § 75: M. Cato (judex) sententiam dixit, pronounced the decision or sentence, id. Off. 3, 16, 66: sententiis paribus reus absolvitur, Sen. Ep. 81, 26.
      1. 2. Ex animi mei (tui) sententiā, in the formula of an oath, to the best of my (your) knowledge and belief, on my (your) conscience: (majores) jurare ex sui animi sententiā quemque voluerunt, Cic. Ac. 2, 47, 146: quod ex animi tui sententiā juraris, id non facere perjurium est, id. Off. 3, 29, 108; Liv. 22, 53, 10; 43, 15 fin.
        In a play on this signif. and that of ex sententiā, supra: ridicule illud L. Nasica censori Catoni, cum ille: Ex tui animi sententiā tu uxorem habes? Non hercule, inquit, ex animi mei sententiā, Cic. de Or. 2, 64, 260; cf. Quint. 8, 5 init.; Gell. 4, 20, 2 sqq.
        Transf., as a formula of assurance: me quidem, ex animi mei sententiā, nulla oratio laedere potest, by my faith, Sall. J. 85, 27.
  2. II. Transf., of words, discourse, etc., sense, meaning, signification, idea, notion, etc.: sonitum ut possis sentire, neque illam Internoscere, verborum sententiam quae sit, Lucr. 4, 561: cum verbum potest in duas plurisve sententias accipi, Auct. Her. 4, 53, 67: cum continenter verbum non in eādem sententiā ponitur, Cic. Or. 39, 136: formantur et verba et sententiae paene innumerabiliter, id. de Or. 3, 52, 201: cognitā sententiā verba subtiliter exquiri noluerunt, id. Caecin. 20, 57: quod summum bonum a Stoicis dicitur convenienter naturae vivere, id habet hanc, ut opinor, sententiam: cum virtute congruere semper, id. Off. 3, 3, 13: haec (philosophia) nos docuit, ut nosmet ipsos nosceremus: cujus praecepti tanta vis, tanta sententia est, ut ea non homini cuipiam, sed Delphico deo tribueretur, such depth of meaning, id. Leg. 1, 22, 58: legis (with vis), id. ib. 2, 5, 11: de Domitio dixit versum Graecum eādem sententiā, quā etiam nos habemus Latinum: Pereant amici, etc., id. Deiot. 9, 25: est vitium in sententiā, si quid absurdum, aut alienum est, id. Opt. Gen. 3, 7; cf. id. de Or. 3, 52, 200.
    1. B. Concr.
      1. 1. In gen., a thought expressed in words; a sentence, period: dum de singulis sententiis breviter disputo, Cic. Phil. 13, 10, 22: est brevitate opus, ut currat sententia, etc., Hor. S. 1, 10, 9: initia et clausulae sententiarum, Quint. 9, 3, 45; cf. id. 9, 3, 36; 11, 3, 135; 8, 4, 26; 9, 4, 18; 9, 4, 29; 10, 1, 130 al.
      2. 2. In partic., a philosophical proposition, an aphorism, apophthegm, maxim, axiom (cf. praeceptum): selectae (Epicuri) brevesque sententiae, quas appellatis κυρίας δόξας, Cic. N. D. 1, 30, 85: quid est tam jucundum cognitu atque auditu, quam sapientibus sententiis gravibusque verbis ornata oratio et perpolita, id. de Or. 1, 8, 31: acutae, id. ib. 2, 8, 34: concinnae acutaeque, id. Brut. 78, 272; Quint. 8, 5, 2 sq.; 9, 3, 76; 10, 1, 60; 11, 3, 120 al.: (Sophocles) sententiis densus, id. 10, 1, 68; cf. id. 10, 1, 90; 10, 1, 102: subiti ictūs sententiarum, Sen. Ep. 100, 8.