clviii

Theme for the remainder of the month: Alphabet Soup

egeo, egere, egui

Definition: to need, want, require; to be needy; to lack

NB: this verb is used with both the genitive and ablative cases, the former "rarer in post-Augustan authors" and the latter "perhaps not before Cicero," according to the Oxford Latin Dictionary.

Sententia: Caesar's De Bello Gallico 6.11.

Itaque eius rei--causa antiquitus institutum--videtur, ne quis ex plebe contra potentiorem auxili egeret--: suos enim quisque opprimi et circumveniri non patitur, neque, aliter si faciat, ullam inter suos habet auctoritatem.

Thus it seems of this affair that it has been established like the ancients for a reason, lest anyone out of the public lack help against a more powerful--:for each does not suffer his own people to be conquered and to be encircled, nor, if he may do it otherwise, he has any responsibility among his own.

Caesar is essentially stating that you must be mindful of the people, and be nice to them, so that they support you and form a power base.

"Egeo" is found in Books 1, 2, and 4 of the Aeneid, most often in the present active participle form. Etymologically, it came from similar roots as the Old Norse noun "ekla," "a lack." And if you're interested in Old Norse, or in historical linguistics, I recommend looking at this site: http://odin.bio.miami.edu/norse/.