In ancient Roman religion, Mens, also known as Mens Bona (Latin for "Good Mind"), was the personification of thought, consciousness and the mind, and also of "right-thinking". The founding (dies natalis) of her temple in Rome was celebrated on June 8.[J E Sandys ed., A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (London 1894) p. 389] and was dedicated in 215 BC.
In Latin poetry
In Latin love elegy, Mens Bona is represented as a guardian against Desire (
Cupido) and amorous pursuits.
Propertius celebrated his escape from erotic bondage to his Cynthia by dedicating himself to the shrine of Mens Bona.
[Guy Lee trans., Propertius: The Poems (OUP 2009) p.102 (III.24.19-20)] Ovid depicted
Cupid as leading Mens Bona as a captive in his
Roman triumph.
[A D Melville trans., Ovid: The Love Poems (OUP 2008) p. 5 and p. 176 (Amores I.2.32-3)]
Legacy
The Latin word
mens expresses the idea of "mind" and is the origin of English words like
mental and
dementia. The gifted-only organization Mensa International was originally to be named
mens in the sense of "mind", but took instead the name
Mensa (Latin: "table") to avoid ambiguity with "men's" in English and "mens" in other languages such as the Dutch language. In the Dutch vocabulary, "mens" is the word for "man" as in "mankind".
See also
Further reading
-
Richardson, L. (1992). A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome (pp. 251). Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. .
-
Scullard, H.H. (1981). Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic (p. 148). London: Thames and Hudson. .
