clxxxiv

genius, n.

Definition: Native intellectual power of an exalted type, such as is attributed to those who are esteemed greatest in any department of art, speculation, or practice; instinctive and extraordinary capacity for imaginative creation, original thought, invention, or discovery.

Just as a note, this definition of genius is a bit controversial, and far from complete. I am in a seminar entitled "Exploring the Nature of Genius," and we spent the first couple weeks of class just on formulating our individual definitions of genius. So this is just the OED definition, since my definition of genius' form is a 650 word essay. If you'd be interested in my definition, I could email you my essay, though I have to warn you that my definition is a bit radical compared with everyone else in my class.

[This English definition and all the rest this month come from the Oxford English Dictionary; the Latin definition as always comes from the Oxford Latin Dictionary]

Sententia: Vergil's Aeneid Book V, lines 94-96

Hoc magis inceptos genitori instaurat honores,

incertus, geniumne loci famulumne parentis

esse putet:

Because of this [serpent], he more properly started afresh the ceremonies he had begun before for his father, uncertain, whether he thought it was the guardian spirit of the place or an attendant creature [i.e. the snake] of the parent:

Random fact: magis also means "a plate"--magis, magidis, f. Also, this is non-literal translation. I have "polished translation" assignments, so I'm practicing making the Latin sound nice.

This bit of the Aeneid is during the funeral games of Book V. In the midst of Aeneas' rites for his father, a serpent appears, slithering around the shrine. In the above passage, Aeneas realizes that he needs to get his game together with respect to honoring his father, and so just after this passage, he sacrifices even more animals to his father.

"Genius" in Latin is not an overly common word, it does occur in the Aeneid in Book 5, as shown here, and also in Book 7. The Latin word "genius" comes from "gigno," "to beget, produce" (as is "gens" and several other words). The path from this Latin word to our current, though debated, view of genius is that from a "tutelary spirit" to a selective creative power only for the few in the 18th century. This comes partially because of association with "ingenium," "natural ability."

A somewhat related English word, "talent," also comes from Latin "talentum," meaning "a unit of measurement, a talent of silver as a unit of currency." The Latin developed into our meaning now through Old French "talent," meaning "will, disposition, inclination." A good deal of my etymological notes post-Latin have come from The Online Etymological Dictionary, an AMAZING resource. Any time you are curious about the origins of an English word, or even a derivative for a particular Latin word, be sure to check it out.