An instrument or engine. Mundi machina. Lucret. The framing and workemanship of the world. Belli machina. Virg. An engine of warre. Arictaria machina. Virru. Ingens machina. Horat. Machinæ murales. Plin. Admouere machinam. Cic. To set an engine to. Apponere machinam, Vide APPONO. Fabricata machina. Virg. Machina. Bud. ex Vlp. A scaffolde in building. Machinæ, per translationem. Plaut. Things crastily inuented: subtile deuises: crastie meanes to deceiue. Dolus & machina. Cic. Dolum ad aliquem, machinámue commoliri. Cic. To worke deceite and craft against. Quid isti doli, quid machinæ, quid præstigiæ prosunt? Cic. Vt omnes adlnbeam machinas ad tenendum adolescentem. Cic. That I may vse all the meanes that I can.

I. Lit.

A. In gen.: moles et machina mundi, Lucr. 5, 96: omnes illae columnae machinā appositā dejectae sunt, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 55, 145: torquet nunc lapidem, nunc ingens machina tignum, Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 73: trahuntque siccas machinae carinas, id. C. 1, 4, 2: frumentaria, Dig. 33, 7, 12.—

B. Esp.,

1. A platform on which slaves were exposed for sale: amicam de machinis emere, Q. Cic. Petit. Cons. 2, 8.—

2. A painter's easel, Plin. 35, 10, 37, 120.—

3. A scaffold for building: de machinā cadere, Dig. 13, 6, 5; Plin. 19, 2, 8, 30.—

4. A military machine, warlike engine: machinis omnium generum expugnare oppidum, Sall. J. 21: aut haec in nostros fabricata est machina muros, Verg. A. 2, 46: murales, Plin. 7, 56, 57, 202: arietaria, Vitr. 10, 19.—

II. Trop., a device, plan, contrivance; esp. a trick, artifice, stratagem: at nunc disturba quas statuisti machinas, i. e. abandon your schemes, Plaut. Ps. 1, 5, 137: totam hanc legem ad illius opes evertendas tamquam machinam comparari, Cic. Agr. 2, 18, 50: omnes ad amplificandam orationem quasi machinae, Quint. 11, 1, 44: dolum aut machinam commoliar, Caecil. ap. Cic. N. D. 3, 29, 73: quantas moveo machinas! Plaut. Mil. 3, 2, 1: aliquam machinabor machinam, Unde aurum efficiam, id. Bacch. 2, 2, 54.