Mors

mors, tis, f. [root mor, v. morior] (dat. morte, Varr. ap. Gell. 24), death in every form, natural or violent (syn.: letum, nex).

I.

Lit.:

omnium rerum mors est extremum,

Cic. Fam. 6, 21, 1:

mors ultima linea rerum est,

Hor. Ep. 1, 16, 79:

mortem sibi consciscere,

to kill one's self, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 56, § 129:

obire,

to die, id. Phil. 5, 17, 48;

Plaut Aul. prol. 15: nam necessest me... cras mortem exequi,

id. Ps. 4, 2, 38:

certae occumbere morti,

to submit to, Verg. A. 2, 62:

aliquem ad mortem dare,

to put to death, kill, Plaut. Am. 2, 2, 177:

morti,

Hor. S. 2, 3, 197:

aliquem morte multare,

Cic. Tusc. 1, 22, 50; so,

per vim,

id. Verr. 2, 1, 5, § 14:

morte multatus,

id. Tusc. 1, 40, 97; Tac. A. 6, 9; Plin. Ep. 8, 14, 15; Lact. 2, 9, 24:

morte punire,

Plin. Ep. 8, 14, 12; Tac. A. 4, 44; 11, 18:

mortis poena,

Cic. Cat. 4, 4, 7:

morti addici,

id. Off. 3, 10, 45:

omne humanum genus morte damnatum est,

Sen. Ep. 71, 15:

Antonius civium suorum vitae sedebat mortisque arbiter,

Sen. Polyb. 16, 2:

vitae et mortis habere potestatem,

Vulg. Sap. 16, 13:

illata per scelus,

assassination, Cic. Mil. 7, 17:

ad mortem se offerre pro patriā,

id. Tusc. 1, 15, 32: afferre, Serv. ap. Cic. Fam. 4, 12, 2:

multare aliquem usque ad mortem,

Ter. Ad. 1, 2, 9:

morte cadere,

Hor. C. 4, 2, 15: morte acerbissimā affici, Serv. ap. Cic. Fam. 4, 12, 2:

multare,

id. de Or. 1, 43, 100:

ad mortem duci,

id. Tusc. 1, 42, 100:

cui legatio ipsa morti fuisset,

brought death, id. Phil. 9, 1, 3:

imperfecta,

blindness, Stat. Th. 11, 582: morte suā mori, to die a natural death:

bella res est, mori suā morte,

Sen. Ep. 69, 6:

mors suprema,

Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 173; Sil. 5, 416: mortis fine, Boëth. Consol. 2, 7: quae rapit ultima mors est, Lucil. ap. Sen. Ep. 24, 20: proximus morti = moriens, Aug. Civ. Dei, 22, 8; App. M. 1, 72; cf.:

morti vicinus,

Aug. Serm. 306, 10; Hier. in Joel, 1, 13 al.; cf.:

cui, mors cum appropinquet,

Cic. Fin. 5, 11, 31:

cujus aetati mors propior erat,

Sall. H. 2, 41, 9:

adpropinquante morte,

Cic. Div. 1, 30, 64 sq.:

ut prorogetur tibi dies mortis,

Sen. Ben. 5, 17, 6:

circa mortis diem,

id. Ep. 27, 2:

mansurum est vitium usque ad diem mortis,

Cels. 7, 7, 15 init. — Poet.:

mors sola fatetur quantula sint hominum corpuscula,

Juv. 10, 173. —In plur.:

mortes, when several persons are spoken of: praeclarae mortes sunt imperatoriae,

Cic. Fin. 2, 30, 97; so Hor. S. 1, 3, 108:

meorum,

Plin. Ep. 8, 16, 1:

perdere mortes,

to throw away lives, to die in vain, Stat. Th. 9, 58:

hinc subitae mortes,

Juv. 1, 144.—Also of different forms or modes of death:

omnīs per mortīs,

Verg. A. 10, 854; cf.:

omni imagine mortium,

Tac. H. 3, 28; Sen. Clem. 1, 18, 2.—Rarely of an abstract thing:

fere rerum omnium oblivio morsque memoriae,

death, total loss, Plin. 14, 22, 28, § 142.—

B.

Personified.

1.

Mors, a goddess, the daughter of Erebus and Nox, Cic. N. D. 3, 17, 44; Verg. A. 11, 197; Hyg. Fab. praef.—

2.

(Eccl. Lat.) = eum qui habebat mortis imperium, id est, diabolum, Vulg. Heb. 2, 14; id. Isa. 28, 15; cf.:

ero mors tua, o mors,

id. Hos. 13, 14; id. Apoc. 6, 8.—

II.

Transf.

A.

A dead body, corpse (mostly poet. ): morte campos contegi, with corpses, Att. ap. Non. 110, 31:

mortem ejus (Clodii) lacerari,

body, corpse, Cic. Mil. 32, 86; Cat. 64, 362; Prop. 3, 5, 22:

vitis, quam juxta hominis mors laqueo pependerit,

Plin. 14, 19, 23, § 119; Stat. Th. 1, 768.—Hence, jestingly, of an old man:

odiosum est mortem amplexari,

a corpse, a skeleton, Plaut. Bacch. 5, 2, 33.—

B.

Like phonos, the blood shed by murder:

ensem multā morte recepit,

Verg. A. 9, 348.—

C.

That which brings death (of missiles), a deadly weapon ( poet. ):

mille cavet lapsas circum cava tempora mortes,

Stat. Th. 6, 792; Luc. 7, 517:

per pectora saevas Exceptat mortes,

Sil. 9, 369.—Of a sentence or threat of death:

ut auferat a me mortem istam,

Vulg. Ex. 10, 17;

of terrible pangs and anxieties: contritiones mortis,

id. 2 Reg. 22, 5:

dolores mortis,

id. Psa. 18, 4; 116, 3;

of a cruel and murderous officer: aderat mors terrorque sociorum et civium lictor Sestius,

Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 45, § 118.—

D.

Esp. (eccl. Lat.):

mors secunda,

the second death, future punishment, Vulg. Apoc. 2, 11; 20, 6; 14:

mors alone,

id. 1 Joh. 5, 16; also spiritual death, that of a soul under the dominion of sin:

stimulus mortis peccatum est,

id. 1 Cor. 15, 56; Rom. 8, 6 et saep.; cf. Lact. 7, 10 fin.