clxvii

Theme for the remainder of the month: Alphabet Soup

passim

Definition: hither and thither, all over the place, at random

Sententia: Cicero, Epistulae ad Familiares Liber Undecimus, XIII

Decimus Brutus to Cicero

...biduo me Antonius antecessit, itinera fecit multo maiora fugiens quam ego sequens; ille enim iit passim, ego ordinatim....

By two days Antony went before me, he fleeing made much greater marches than me following; for that one went all over the place (hither and thither) [in formation], I in order... [and so I wasn't able to pursue him].

This letter is from Decimus Brutus to Cicero asking advice for what to do in a particular military situation. Decimus Brutus is the man who convinced Gaius Julius Caesar to go to the Theater of Pompey on the Ides of March, thus playing a major role in his assassination. At the time of this letter in 43 on May 12th, Decimus Brutus is assisting Octavian against Antony in the civil war and tumult which followed the death of Caesar. Decimus Brutus is explaining to Cicero how he was unable to pursue Antony after forcing that man to retreat because he was delayed for two days.

"Passim" is a rather common word, used in Vergil, Catullus, and Ovid. In the Aeneid, it is in books 4 and 6 of the syllabus. Etymologically, it comes from "passus," the perfect participle of "pando" meaning "extended" + "-im," an adverbial suffix.