symbolus
διὸ δὴ πᾶς ἀνὴρ σπουδαῖος τῶν ὄντων σπουδαίων πέρι πολλοῦ δεῖ μὴ γράψας ποτὲ ἐν ἀνθρώποις εἰς φθόνον καὶ ἀπορίαν καταβαλεῖ → And this is the reason why every serious man in dealing with really serious subjects carefully avoids writing, lest thereby he may possibly cast them as a prey to the envy and stupidity of the public | Therefore every man of worth, when dealing with matters of worth, will be far from exposing them to ill feeling and misunderstanding among men by committing them to writing
Latin > English (Lewis & Short)
symbŏlus: i, m. (symbŏlum, i, n.,
I
v. infra), = σύμβολος or -ον,> a sign or mark by which one gives another to understand any thing, a token, symbol (mostly anteand post-class.): per symbolos pecunias capere, Cato ap. Front. Ep. ad Antonin. 1, 2 fin.: anulum Graeci a digitis appellavere: apud nos prisci ungulum vocabant: postea et Graeci et nostri symbolum, i. e. a signet, Plin. 33, 1, 4, § 10: miles hic reliquit symbolum, Expressam in cerā ex anulo suo imaginem, Plaut. Ps. 1, 1, 53 sq.; 2, 4, 26 sq.; 2, 2, 4; 4, 7, 15; 4, 7, 106; id. Bacch. 2, 3, 29; 2, 3, 51; Just. 2, 12, 1.—Neutr.: eorum quae pacta sunt symbola, App. Dogm. Plat. 2, p. 16, 9: istic symbolum'st, Plaut. Ps. 2, 2, 53.—
II = symbola, q. v.: vacantes potibus et dantes symbola, Vulg. Prov. 23, 21.
