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aspĕrĭtas , ātis, f. asper,
I.the quality of asper, unevenness, roughness (opp. 2. levitas).
B. Transf.
1. Of taste, harshness, sharpness, acidity, tartness: “vini,Plin. 14, 19, 24, § 120: “pomi,id. 12, 10, 21, § 38: “aceti,id. 9, 35, 58, § 120: “aquarum,the brackish taste of water, id. 12, 9, 20, § 37 al.
2. Of hearing, roughness, harshness of tone: “vocis,Lucr. 4, 542: “soni,Tac. G. 3.—
3. Of sight, inequality, contrast: “cum aspectus ejus scaenae propter asperitatem eblandiretur omnium visus,on account of the contrast of light and shade, Vitr. 7, 5: “intercolumniorum,id. 3, 3.—
II. Trop.
A. Of moral qualities, roughness, harshness, severity, fierceness, asperity: “si quis asperitate est et immanitate naturae, congressus ut hominum fugiat atque oderit, etc.,Cic. Lael. 23, 87: “avunculi,Nep. Att. 5, 1: “patris,Ov. M. 9, 752: “artibus ingenuis Pectora mollescunt, asperitasque fugit,id. P. 1, 6, 8: “asperitatis et invidiae corrector,Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 129.—Of a rigid, austere manner of life: quam illorum (Stoicorum) tristitiam atque asperitatem fugiens Panaetius nec acerbitatem sententiarum nec disserendi spinas probavit, Cic. Fin. 4, 28, 79; cf. 1. asper, II. A.—And of rudeness in external appearance, opp. to a polished, cultivated bearing: “asperitas agrestis,Hor. Ep. 1, 18, 6.—
B. Of things, adversity, reverse of fortune, trouble, severity, difficulty (cf. 1. asper, II. B., and acerbitas): “in his vel asperitatibus rerum vel angustiis temporis obsequar studiis nostris,Cic. de Or. 1, 1, 3: “asperitas belli,Sall. J. 29, 1: “remedii,Tac. A. 1, 44.—Of style, roughness, harshness, τραχύτης (cf. 1. asper, II. B.): “oratio in quā asperitas contentionis oratoris ipsius humanitate conditur,Cic. de Or. 2, 53, 212. judicialis asperitas, id. ib. 2, 15, 64; so Quint. 1, 8, 11; 10, 5, 14 (cf. id. 11, 3, 23): “verborum,Ov. M. 14, 526.
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hide References (31 total)
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries from this page (31):
    • Cicero, Philippics, 9.1.2
    • Vitruvius, On Architecture, 3.3
    • Vitruvius, On Architecture, 2.3
    • Vitruvius, On Architecture, 7.5
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 14.526
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 9.752
    • Tacitus, Annales, 1.44
    • Tacitus, Annales, 4.56
    • Tacitus, Agricola, 12
    • Cicero, On Oratory, 1.1
    • Cicero, On Oratory, 2.53
    • Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, 4.542
    • Cornelius Nepos, Atticus, 5.1
    • Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 12.38
    • Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 12.37
    • Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 30.32
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 43, 21
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 44, 5
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 32, 12
    • Cicero, de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum, 4.28
    • Cicero, de Natura Deorum, 2.39
    • Cicero, De Amicitia, 23
    • Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, Book 1, 8.11
    • Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, Book 11, 3.23
    • Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, Book 10, 5.14
    • Gellius, Noctes Atticae, 2.6
    • Tacitus, Germania, 3
    • Sallust, Bellum Iugurthinum, 29
    • Sallust, Bellum Iugurthinum, 75
    • Ovid, Ex Ponto, 1.6
    • Ovid, Fasti, 4
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