conscientia

conscĭentĭa, ae, f. [conscio], a knowing of a thing together with another person, joint knowledge, consciousness (in good prose, and very freq.).

I.

A joint knowledge of something, a being privy to, a knowing along with others, privity, cognizance, etc.

(α).

With gen. subj.:

omnium horum,

Cic. Cat. 1, 1, 1; so,

hominum,

id. Fin. 2, 9, 28:

plurium,

Liv. 2, 54, 7:

liberti unius,

Tac. A. 6, 21; cf. Suet. Calig. 56 al.:

generis humani,

Tac. Agr. 2.—

(β).

With gen. obj. (thus for the most part in Tac.):

in conscientiam facinoris pauci asciti,

Tac. H. 1, 25:

facti,

id. A. 2, 22:

conjurationis,

id. H. 1, 42:

stupri,

Dig. 48, 5, 29.— Plur.:

consilia conscientiaeque ejus modi facinorum,

Cic. Clu. 20, 56. —

(γ).

Absol.:

non modo eos persequi, ad quos maxime culpa corrupti judicii, sed etiam illos, ad quos conscientiae contagio pertinebit,

Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 71, § 183:

qui non modo a facti verum etiam a conscientiae suspitione afuit,

id. Cael. 10, 23:

nocte perfugit Tanagram, suam conscientiam metuens,

Liv. 33, 28, 10:

simulare,

Tac. A. 2, 40; 4, 3; cf. id. H. 1, 28; Curt. 7, 1, 31.—

II.

Consciousness, knowledge, feeling, sense.

A.

In gen. (rare).

(α).

With gen.:

unde haec illis tanta modestia, nisi a conscientiā virium et nostrarum et suarum?

Liv. 8, 4, 10 (cf. g); so,

contracti culpā periculi,

id. 3, 2, 11:

suae infirmitatis,

Quint. 1, 2, 10:

rebellionis,

Tac. A. 12, 31; cf.

defectionis,

id. Agr. 16:

victoriae,

id. ib. 27:

unionum in somno quoque,

Plin. 33, 3, 12, § 40:

amissae fortunae,

a recollection, Flor. 2, 12, 10:

ipsa pulcherrimi facti,

Cic. Phil. 2, 44, 114:

officii mei benevolentiaeque,

id. Fam. 3, 7, 6 fin.:

scelerum tuorum,

id. Pis. 17, 39; cf. Sall. C. 5, 7:

peccatorum,

Cic. Par. 5, 3, 40:

culpae,

Liv. 28, 19, 1 et saep.—In plur., Cic. Clu. 20, 56:

te conscientiae stimulant maleficiorum tuorum,

id. Par. 2, 2, 18; cf. under B. 2.—

* (β).

With de: satisfactionem ex nullà conscientiā de culpā proponere decrevi, Cat. ap. Sall. C. 35, 2; cf. conscius, I. d—

(γ).

With rel.-clause (very rare):

illi conscientia, quid abesset virium, detrectavere pugnam,

Liv. 3, 60, 6; 28, 19, 5.—

(δ).

Absol.: ut nostram stabilem conscientiam contemnamus, aliorum errantem opinionem aucupemur, self-consciousness, Cic. Fin. 2, 22, 71:

illud se tacere suam conscientiam non pati,

Liv. 5, 25, 6:

in veris quoque sufficit conscientia,

consciousness, Quint. 11, 1, 17: sine hac quidem conscientiā ipsa illa ex tempore dicendi facultas inanem modo loquacitatem dabit, without this feeling, equiv. to without this persuasion, id. 10, 3, 2:

quamvis capite defectionis ablato manebat plerisque militum conscientia,

Tac. H. 1, 5.— So pregn., with ne, a conscientious fear, guilty fear, Tac. Agr. 42.—

B.

In partic., a consciousness of right or wrong, the moral sense, conscience:

magna vis est conscientiae... in utramque partem, ut neque timeant qui nihil commiserint et poenam semper ante oculos versari putent qui peccarint,

Cic. Mil. 23, 61; cf.:

et virtutis et vitiorum grave ipsius conscientiae pondus,

id. N. D. 3, 35, 85:

bona conscientia turbam advocat, mala etiam in solitudine anxia atque sollicita est,

Sen. Ep. 43, 5:

ad purgandam publicam conscientiam,

Just. 31, 4, 3:

recta,

a good conscience, Cic. Att. 13, 20, 4; cf.

egregia,

Liv. 29, 33, 9: bona, Cels. ap. Quint. 2, 15, 32; Quint. 6, 1, 33; 9, 2, 93; Tac. Agr. 1:

optima,

Plin. Ep. 1, 12, 3:

salvā bonā conscientiā,

Sen. Q. N. 4, praef. §

15: integra,

Front. 1, 9, 3; Lact. 5, 19, 32:

mala,

a bad conscience, Sall. J. 62, 8; Quint. 12, 1, 3:

infelix,

id. 6, prooem. § 10.—

* b.

Prov.:

conscientia mille testes,

Quint. 5, 11, 41.—

2.

Sometimes absol. for a good, or for a bad conscience.

a.

A good conscience:

mea mihi conscientia pluris est quam omnium sermo,

Cic. Att. 12, 28, 2; cf.:

illud est hominis magni... maximi aestimare conscientiam mentis suae, etc.,

id. Clu. 58, 159:

in quibus ego nec dissentire a nostris salvā gratiā nec consentire salvā conscientiā possum,

Sen. Ep. 117, 1:

ad sacrificium integrā conscientiā venire,

Lact. 5, 19, 32; Front. Strat. 1, 9, 3.—

b.

A bad conscience:

hunc tu quas conscientiae labes in animo censes habuisse?

Cic. Off. 3, 21, 85; id. Cat. 2, 6, 13; id. Leg. 1, 14, 40; Sall. C. 15, 4; id. J. 35, 4; Quint. 5, 13, 46.—In the same sense:

animi,

Cic. Fin. 2, 16, 53; 2, 17, 54; id. Att. 13, 49 fin.; Caes. B. C. 3, 60; Phaedr. 3, prol. 47; and in plur.:

suae (quemque) malae cogitationes conscientiaeque animi terrent,

Cic. Rosc. Am. 24, 67.