A tuneable voice. Flexibilis & commutabilis omnium rerum materia. Cicer.

Bankes shaking with the beating of winde and water on them. Virides ripæ, Ouid. Viridissima gramine ripa. Virgil. A banke faire and greene with grasse. Vmbrosa ripa. Hor. Equo aduersam ascendit ripam. Cic. He rode vp with hys horse on the banke of the otherside. Assuetæ ripis volucres. Virg. Taciturna ripa caret ventis. Hor. Obliquis ripis cingere flumina. Ouid. Fluuium extra ripas diffluentem coercere. Cice. To stay in riuers flowing ouer the bankes. Capacibus ripis effusus amnis. Ouid. A riuer fiowing ouer the great bankes. Habitare ripis. Virg. To dwel on, &c. In viridi & opaca ripa inambulare. Ci. Intrare ripas fluminis. Virg. Altis ripis labuntur aquæ. Hor. Flumina ripas rodunt. Lucret. The riuers eate and weate away the bankes. Tybris ripas stringens flumine pleno. Vir.

I. Lit.: mollis juncus, Verg. E. 2, 72: comam mollis ... hyacinthi, id. G. 4, 137: aurum, flexible, id. A. 10, 818: tiliae, Ov. M. 10, 92: crura, Verg. G. 3, 76: colla, id. A. 11, 622: bracchia, Ov. A. A. 1, 595: cervix, id. F. 4, 185: commissurae, Cic. N. D. 2, 60: molle litus, of soft sand, Caes. B. G. 5, 9: harena, Ov. M. 2, 577: aqua, id. A. A. 1, 476: fraga, id. M. 13, 816: castaneae, Verg. E. 1, 82: mollissima vina ( = mitissima, lenissima), id. G. 1, 341; cf.: molli mero, Hor. C. 1, 7, 19; and: molle Calenum, Juv. 1, 69: alvus, relaxed, open bowels, Cels. 3, 12: cibus, mild, not sharp, id. 4, 4, 4: ovum, soft, id. 4, 4, 5: prata, Verg. G. 2, 384: gramen, Ov. F. 6, 328: humus, id. A. A. 3, 688: lana, id. F. 2, 742: torus, id. Am. 2, 4, 14: arcus, slack, unbent, unstrung, id. H. 4, 92: feretrum, made soft by a layer of leaves, Verg. A. 11, 64: mollissima cera, Cic. de Or. 3, 45, 177: mollia panis, the soft part of bread, the crumb, id. 13, 12, 26, 82: molles genae, soft, delicate, Ov. H. 10, 44: capilli, id. P. 3, 3, 17: manus, id. Am. 1, 4, 24: latus, id. M. 14, 710: molles Zephyri, soft, gentle, id. A. A. 3, 728; so, hiems, Stat. S. 3, 5, 83: aestas, Verg. G. 1, 312: caelum, Flor. 1, 16, 3; 4, 12, 27: Euphrates mollior undis, gentler, calmer, Verg. A. 8, 726: aditus, easy, Sil. 4, 491; so, iter, Quint. 4, 2, 46: via, id. 1, 6, 22: fastigium, gentle, not steep, Caes. B. C. 2, 10: clivus, Verg. E. 9, 8: modicis et mollibus clivis, Curt. 8, 39, 6: jugum montis, Tac. G. 1: trames, Ov. F. 3, 13.—Prov.: molli bracchio objurgare aliquem, with a gentle arm, i. e. in a forbearing manner, Cic. Att. 2, 1, 6: in molli carne vermes nascuntur, it is the soft flesh that breeds the worms, Petr. 57.— Subst.: mollia, ĭum, n., a kind of fishes, mollusks, Plin. 11, 51, 112, 267.—

II. Trop.

A. Tender, delicate, susceptible: mollibus annis, in tender youth, Ov. H. 1, 111: os molle, easily blushing, id. Tr. 4, 3, 70: mollissima corda, Juv. 15, 131: mollissimae aures, modest, Plin. Pan. 68.—

2. In a bad sense, soft, effeminate, unmanly, weak (syn. effeminatus): philosophus tam mollis, tam languidus, tam enervatus, Cic. de Or. 1, 52, 226: Sabaei, Verg. G. 1, 57: viri molles, i. e. pathici, Liv. 33, 28; Sen. Ep. 87: disciplina, effeminate, Cic. Fin. 1, 11, 37: delicatior ... molliorque ratio, id. ib. 5, 5, 12: vita, Ov. Tr. 5, 3, 9: desine mollium querellarum, Hor. C. 2, 9, 17: mollis teneraque vox, Quint. 11, 3, 23: educatio, id. 1, 2, 6: actio, id. 11, 3, 128: Gallorum mens est mollis ac minime resistens ad calamitates perferendas, Caes. B. G. 3, 19: sententiae, Cic. Cat. 1, 12, 30: si taedio laboris longaeque viae, ut est mollis ad talia gens (Gallorum), dilaberentur, Liv. 22, 2, 4: Romanos molliores facere ad paciscendum, id. 42, 62, 6; cf.: sunt qui in rebus contrariis parum sibi constent, voluptatem severissime contemnant, in dolore sint molliores, etc., Cic. Off. 1, 21, 71: molles in aure fenestrae, Juv. 1, 104.—

B. Soft, pleasant, mild, easy: orationem mollem teneramque reddidit, soft, pleasant, Cic. Brut. 9, 38: mollis et jucunda senectus, id. Sen. 1, 2: ita eum placidum mollemque reddidi, ut, etc., calm and gentle, id. Caecil. 10, 28: verba, Hor. Epod. 5, 83: mollia jussa, mild, easy, Verg. G. 3, 41: vincuntur molli pectora dura prece, soft, tender, touching, Tib. 3, 4, 76: sic accensum sed molliora referre jussum dimittit, to return a gentler answer, Tac. H. 4, 32 fin.: saepius molliora respondens, id. A. 12, 46: mollis versus, an elegiac or amatory poem, Ov. Tr. 2, 307; Prop. 1, 7, 19 (opp. durus versus, a heroic poem, id. 2, 1, 41): ridere mollia, to smile gently, Ov. A. A. 3, 513: cuncta tamen ad imperatorem in mollius relata, in a milder, more favorable light, Tac. A. 14, 39: pilenta, having a gentle motion, Verg. A. 8, 666; id. G. 2, 389: mollissima fandi tempora, id. A. 4, 293: hora mollior, more favorable, Ov. P. 3, 3, 84: signa, Cic. Brut. 18, 70: duriora Callon, jam minus rigida Calamis, molliora adhuc supra dictis Myron fecit, more agreeable, Quint. 12, 10, 7: mollis animus et ad accipiendam et ad deponendam offensionem, Cic. Att. 1, 17, 2: in inimicitiis auricula infima mollior, id. Q. Fr. 2, 13 (15), 4.—Subst.: molle, is, n., softness, smoothness: molle atque facetum Vergilio adnuerunt Camenae, Hor. S. 1, 10, 45.—

C. Weak, untrustworthy: nihil est tam molle, tam tenerum, tam aut fragile aut flexibile quam voluntas erga nos civium, Cic. Mil. 16, 42.—Hence, adv.: mollĭter.

1. Lit., softly, gently, agreeably (class.): molliter sustine me, Plaut. Ps. 5, 2, 7: aves nidos mollissime substernunt, Cic. N. D. 2, 52, 129: recubans, id. de Or. 3, 17, 63: ossa cubent, Ov. Tr. 3, 3, 76: excudent alii spirantia mollius aera, more easily, agreeably, Verg. A. 6, 847: cura molliter semina conlocandi, Plin. 15, 10, 9, 35: colles ad orientem molliter devexi, gently, gradually, Col. 1, 2, 3 sq.—

2. Trop.: quod ferendum est molliter sapienti, calmly, patiently, Cic. Sen. 2, 5: abnuere, Liv. 30, 3: delicate et molliter vivere, voluptuously, Cic. Off. 1, 30, 106: aegritudinem pati, sensitively, weakly, Sall. J. 82, 2: ne quid per metum, mollius consuleretur, too compliantly, Liv. 30, 7, 3: interpretari mollius aliquid, rather mildly, favorably, Tac. H. 2, 96.