Diligent: studious. Diligens & attentus. Cic. Studiosus ac diligens. Cic. In omni genere diligens. Cic. Diligentissimus artis. Plin. Verie diligent in obseruing an arte. Diligentissimus naturæ. Plin. Verie diligent and actiue in searching naturall causes. Diligentissimus omnis officij. Cic. Verie diligent and ready to doe any pleasure thathe can. Diligentissimus rei familiaris. Suet. A verie good husbaude: diligent in seeing to his substauce. Omnis est natura diligens sui. Cicer. Euerie nature bath a loue and care of it selfe. Manus diligens. Sene. Quædam negligentia diligens. Cic. Ad cætera magis diligentes. Quintil. More dililigent for other things. De alieno negligentes, de suo certè diligentes erunt. Plini. iun. Diligent about their owne. Diligens in tuendo. Plin. iun.

To fauour or loue meanely. Diligere & charum habere. Cic. Colere & diligere aliquem. Cic. Ante omnes aliquem diligere. To loue aboue al other. Admodum diligere. Cic. Vtrunque affectu pari diligere. Sen. To loue both alike. Beneuolentiam alicuius mirificè diligere. Cicer. To fauoure maruellously. Sodales fraterno more diligere. Ouid. Omnes diligere ex æquo. Ouid. To loue al alike. Furtim diligere. Ouid. To loue priuily. FidÊ alicuius complecti, officia, obseruantiãque diligere. Ci. Mirificè ab aliquo diligi. Cic. Diligere se. Cice. To stand in his owne conceit. Stultè aliquem diligere. Hor. Valde diligere. Cic. Vnicè diligere. Cic. To loue singularly.

I. Prop.: nihil est enim virtute amabilius, nihil quod magis alliciat ad diligendum: quippe cum propter virtutem et probitatem etiam eos, quos numquam vidimus, quodam modo diligamus, Cic. Lael. 8, 28; cf. id. ib. 9, 29 sq.; 14, 50; id. Rep. 1, 10 fin.; 1, 12 et saep. (cf. also the passages with diligo which are cited under amo, 1. and 1. colo, II. 2. b.); Caes. B. G. 6, 19 fin.; id. B. C. 1, 61, 3; Suet. Caes. 67; Verg. A. 9, 430; Hor. C. 2, 20, 7 et saep.: satin habes, si feminarum nulla'st, quam aeque diligam? Plaut. Am. 1, 3, 11; cf. id. ib. 3, 3, 18; Verg. A. 1, 344; Hor. C. 2, 5, 17; Suet. Caes. 50; 52; id. Aug. 62 al.: te in germani fratris dilexi loco, Ter. And. 1, 5, 57; cf. Verg. A. 4, 31; Suet. Calig. 24 al.: quem di diligunt, whom the gods favor, denoting a fortunate person, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 7, 18; Ter. And. 5, 6, 9; id. Phorm. 5, 6, 14. —Prov.: diligitur nemo, nisi cui fortuna secunda est, Ov. P. 2, 3, 23.

II. Transf.

A. Of inanimate objects: fidem est complexus, observantiamque dilexit, Cic. Balb. 28; cf.: Caesaris consilia in re publica, id. Prov. Cons. 10 fin.: benevolentiam, diligentiam, prudentiam mirifice, id. Att. 12, 34 fin.: aviae memoriam, Suet. Vesp. 2: auream mediocritatem, Hor. C. 2, 10, 6: Cypron, id. ib. 1, 30, 2 et saep. —

B. Very rarely, of inanimate subjects, to love, choose, affect: montes amant cedrus, larix, etc.... montes et valles diligit abies, Plin. 16, 18, 30, 73 sq.—

C. With inf. for amare, to do willingly or habitually, to be fond of doing: pira nasci tali solo maxime diligunt, Pall. Febr. 25, 1.—Hence,

1. dī-lĭgens, entis, P. a., prop. esteeming, loving; hence, in respect to an inanimate object, careful, assiduous, attentive, diligent, accurate with regard to it, opp. negligens (very freq. and class.).

A. In gen.

(a). With praepp.: qui in re adventitia atque hereditaria tam diligens, tam attentus esset, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 48; so, in rebus omnibus, id. Lael. 17, 62: in exquirendis temporibus, id. Rep. 2, 14 fin.: in ostentis animadvertendis, id. Div. 1, 42 fin.: in compositione, id. Quint. 10, 1, 79: in philosophia, id. ib. 129: in eloquendo, id. ib. 63: in symmetria, Plin. 34, 8, 19, 58 al.: ad custodiendum aliquem diligentissimus, Cic. Cat. 1, 8, 19; so, ad reportandum, id. Verr. 2, 4, 3, 6: ad cetera, Quint. 1, 1, 7: diligentes circa hoc, Plin. 31, 5, 30, 56: circa aerarium, Eutr. 8, 7.—

(b). With gen.: omnis officii diligentissimus, Cic. Cael. 30, 73: veritatis, Nep. Epam. 3: imperii, id. Con. 1, 2: disciplinae, Vell. 1, 6; cf.: litterarum veterum, Gell. 4, 11, 4: compositionis, Quint. 9, 4, 77: aliarum rerum quae vitam instruunt, Sen. Vit. Beat. 3, 3: temperamenti, Plin. Pan. 79, 5: naturae, attentively investigating it, Plin. 13, 4, 7, 31; so, medicinae, id. 32, 3, 13, 26 et saep.—

(g). With dat.: Corinthios video publicis equis assignandis et alendis, orborum et viduarum tributis fuisse quondam diligentes, Cic. Rep. 2, 20, 32.—

(d). Absol.: experientissimus ac diligentissimus orator, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 21: pro cauto ac diligente, Caes. Fragm. ap. Charis. p. 101 P.; for which: ut a diligenti curiosus distat, Quint. 8, 3, 55; cf. id. 1, 4, 24; 2, 15, 10 et saep.—

B. Transf., of inanimate subjects: assidua ac diligens scriptura, Cic. de Or. 1, 33, 150; cf.: diligentior notitia, Plin. 6, 22, 24, 84: stilus, Tac. Or. 39: remedia, Sen. Ep. 95; Plin. 3, 5, 6, 45; Vell. 1, 4.—

C. In partic., with reference to domestic affairs, frugal, thrifty, economical (cf. its opp. negligens = prodigus, and Ruhnk. Rutil. Lup. p. 95, a, ed. Frotsch.): homo frugi ac diligens, qui sua servare vellet, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 18; Plin. Ep. 2, 6, 1; cf. opp. negligens, ib. 4, 13, 8; and c. c. parcus and opp. luxuriosus, Auct. Her. 4, 34: cum te pro illiberali diligentem (appelles), Quint. 9, 3, 65: ex re familiari, cujus diligentissimus erat, Suet. Gramm. 23.—Hence, dīlĭgenter, adv. (acc. to II. A.), carefully, attentively, diligently: accurate agatur, docte et diligenter, Plaut. Capt. 2, 1, 30; id. Men. 5, 6, 3; Ter. Eun. 2, 1, 1; 2, 3, 47 al.; Cic. Phil. 1, 15 fin.; id. Fam. 6, 5; id. Att. 16, 16 A. fin.; Caes. B. G. 2, 5 al.—Comp., Cic. Rep. 1, 22; id. Brut. 22, 86; Caes. B. G. 3, 16 fin.; id. B. C. 3, 8, 4; Vulg. Act. 22, 30 al.—Sup., Cic. Lael. 2, 7; id. Rep. 2, 3; Caes. B. G. 2, 28 fin.; id. B. C. 3, 81 al.—

2. dīlectus, a, um, P. a., loved, beloved, dear (rare).—With dat.: pueri dilecti Superis, Ov. M. 10, 153; so id. ib. 5, 395; 8, 758.—In sup., Stat. Th. 8, 99; Vulg. Heb. 6, 9.—Absol.: luce mihi carior dilectior fili, Macr. Somn. Scip. 2, 1 init.; Claud. Rapt. Pros. 3, 74 al.—Subst.: dīlectus, i, m., = o( e)rw/menos, a favorite, Suet. Aug. 98.