perspicio
οὐκ ἂν λάβοις παρὰ τοῦ μὴ ἔχοντος → you can't take from one who doesn't have, you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip, you can't get blood out of a turnip, you can't get blood from a stone, you can't get blood out of a stone
Latin > English (Lewis & Short)
perspĭcĭo: spexi, spectum, 3, v. a.,
I to look or see through, to look into, look at.
I Lit.: quo non modo non intrari, sed ne perspici quidem posset, Caes. B. G. 2, 17: eas (epistulas) ego oportet perspiciam, corrigam: tum denique edentur, to look through, read through, Cic. Att. 16, 5, 5: ut prae densitate arborum perspici caelum vix posset, to look at the sky, Liv. 40, 22.—
B Transf., to look closely at, to view, examine, inspect: domum, Cic. Fam. 5, 6, 3: villam, id. Mil. 20, 54: operis perspiciendi causā venire, Caes. B. G. 7, 44: minimis id granis constat, ut vix perspici quaedam possint, are scarcely visible, Plin. 17, 10, 14, § 71.—With a rel.-clause: perspicito prius, quid intus agatur, Plaut. Cas. 3, 6, 24.— Neutr.: in legem, Vulg. Jacob. 1, 25.—
II Trop., to perceive, note, observe, explore, prove, ascertain, etc.: res gestas funditus, Lucr. 1, 478: cum se ipse perspexerit, Cic. Leg. 1, 22, 59: sed tu perspice rem et pertenta, id. Q. Fr. 1, 4, 5; cf. id. de Or. 2, 78, 318: hoc, quaeso, perspicite atque cognoscite, id. Agr. 2, 35, 95: aliquid conjecturā, to guess, id. Imp. Pomp. 9, 26: cujus virtutem hostes, misericordiam victi, fidem ceteri perspexerunt, id. Verr. 2, 2, 2, § 4: nollem accidisset tempus, in quo perspicere posses, quanti te facerem, id. Fam. 3, 10, 2: quidam saepe in parvā pecuniā perspiciuntur, quam sint leves, id. Lael. 17, 63: perpaucos, quorum in se fidem perspexerat, relinquere in Galliā decrevit, Caes. B. G. 5, 5: videbitis et non perspicietis, Vulg. Act. 28, 26.—With object-clause: perspicio nihili meam vos facere gratiam, Plaut. Curc. 1, 2, 68; cf. Cic. Fam. 1, 2, 2: perspiciebant enim in Hortensii sententiam multis partibus plures ituros, id. ib. 1, 2, 2.—Pass. with nom. and inf., Cic. Fam. 1, 7, 3.— Hence, perspectus, a, um, P. a., clearly perceived, evident, well known: ars rebus cognitis penitusque perspectis continetur, Cic. de Or. 1, 20, 92; cf. id. ib. 1, 23, 108; id. Fam. 1, 7, 2: virtus alicujus experta atque perspecta, id. Balb. 6, 16: benevolentia mihi perspectissima, id. Att. 3, 15.—Adv.: per-spectē, intelligently, sensibly: ut docte et perspecte sapit, Plaut. Mil. 3, 1, 162.
