118 On the UTILITY of defining 
caufe. In the primitive and literal applications of humidus and. 
uvidus, they denote fubjeéts furnifhed by the hand of nature 
with the attributes they refpectively denote. Thus, moifture 
is naturally inherent in humid ground and in a ripe grape. 
Drynefs, again, is the natural ftate of that which, being acci- 
dentally wet, is then faid to be madidus. 
—— nam dum fe continet Aufter, 
Dum fedet et ficcat madidas in carcere pennas, 
Contemnunt mediam temeraria lina Charybdin *. 
“ Sed ille fcripfit ad BaLBumillum fafciculum epiftolarum totum 
“ fibi aqua madidum redditum effe }.’’ This packet was fo much 
wetted from an accidental caufe, that Cicero tells us the letter 
addrefled to him was not legible. A fuperficial wetting would 
produce this effect. It is not neceflary to fuppofe, that the 
fajfciculus would be drenched like the ve/lis uvida before men- 
tioned, which, from the poroufnefs of the materials, had ab- 
forbed a quantity of water, and retained it as the fkin of the 
grape does its juice. ; 
Mapipus agrees with wvidus, in being applied to perfons 
as well as to things, and in fuggefting the idea of drunkennefs. 
He who was faid madere vino, was underftood to be “ vino riga- 
“ tus,’ that is, bedewed with wine. 
Faciam ut fit madidus fobrius }. 
The wit of the comic poet here refts upon his apprehenfion, 
that madidus refers to an external or fuperficial wetting in its 
primitive fenfe. 
WHILE 
* Juv. Sat. 5.98. { Plaut. Amph. 3. 4.18. . 
+ Cic, ad Quint. Frat. 2. 14. 
