The expression appears in
Ovid's
Fasti (III, 296) and has been translated as "There is a spirit here". Its interpretation, and in particular the exact sense of has been discussed extensively in the literature. The classicist
H. J. Rose first compared the to the concept of
mana in various
Oceanic cultures, hypothesizing that the earliest layers of archaic Roman religion included a vast array of minor divine entities with little relevance beyond a single specific function. According to Rose, minor gods such as —who was associated with the belt worn by the bride in the
Roman wedding ceremony—represented a specific manifestation of the . However, the supposition that a
numinous presence in the natural world constituted an "
animistic" element left over in historical Roman religion and especially in the etymology of Latin theonyms was criticized as "mostly a scholarly fiction" by McGeough (2004). Furthermore, it is high-unlikely that the represents any 'original' aspect of Roman or Italic religion untainted by Hellenic influence. Until the time of
Augustus (), the term was never used to refer to any particular god. In fact, according to the classicist
Ittai Gradel, given that the
gender of the word was neuter, it simply could not have been
personified. Moreover, the tern often appears in tandem with a
genitive form of the words ("god") or ("goddess"), thus clearly distinguishing the from the deity themselves. Instead, the term denoted some abstract concept possessed by a deity. For instance, the 1st-century CE
Roman poet Horace recounts a myth wherein
Jupiter forms a layer of ice over snow utilizing his "" ("unimpeded or unmixed "). Deities could also possess multiple : In the
Aeneid,
Virgil—a 1st-century BCE Roman poet—ascribes to the goddess
Juno , in the plural, and
Servius—a 4th-century CE Grammarian—writes, in his commentaries upon the
Aeneid, that "" ("Juno has many "). was not reserved exclusively for gods; it was also available to humans—the
Roman Senate, and later, the
emperor themselves, were sometimes described as holding . Furthermore,
Cicero, a 2nd-century BCE Roman statesman, ascribes to the Roman people collectively, stating in a publication oration that he "will always exhibit vis-à-vis the Roman people the same piety ("") that the most respectable men show to the gods" ("") and that their "power ("") will be as venerable and sacred as the one of the immortal gods" (""). It was also possible to transfer from a god to a human, as
Ovid implores the god
Mars and the emperor Augustus to grant to
Gaius Caesar during his campaign against
Parthia. Cicero utilizes the phrase "" to translate
Ancient Greek "''
" (""), a passage from the Odyssey'' meaning "will of the gods." Like Cicero, the 1st-century BCE Roman author
Varro also relates the term to a
Homeric context, though Varro claims that Homer utilized the word in connection with
Jupiter, whereas the Greek passage reference by Cicero is used to describe all gods and never specifically Jupiter. Elsewhere in his writings, Cicero equates the term with "" ("plan") and "" ("will"), writing "" ("Because you already know what is the will of the supreme ruler and master, what is his intention, what is his wish"). Other Ciceronian writings, however, appear to utilize the term to mean "power:" Cicero writes "" ("Great might is to be found, on the one hand, in the power of the immortal gods, and on the other hand, in the state itself"). In certain passages, both the translation as "power" and as "will" seem appropriate, such as "" ("All things yield to the will/power of the gods"). Cicero also states that human virtue ("") many "come nearer to the power of the gods" whilst "founding new cities" or "saving those already founded." Fenechlu suggests that this passage implies that, just as was an essential characteristic of a Roman man, was vital for the divine. Varro writes that it was the general wisdom of his day that the term signified the ("power") of the divine, and that it derived from "" ("nod, command, will"), in reference to the power of a deity whose nod could command reality. According to the classicist
Carmen Fenechlu, the particular choice of the term , which refers more specifically to judicial or political authority, as opposed to the term , which denotes more generic power, implies that Varro had intended to convey that the superiority and "special nature" of the . Cicero provides a passage wherein he directly compares the of the
Quirites with the of the gods, writing "" ("Then I beg and implore you, citizens, whose might comes very near to the power of the immortal gods."). Within this passage, the term is associated with the mortal humans, whereas the term is specifically connected with the divine, perhaps reflecting the aforementioned equation of with , and the consequent implication that the represented a sort of higher authority. Furthermore, Cicero directly associates the power of the with the political institutions of Rome, writing "" ("Great is the force, great is the divine power ("") of the senate whose members hold one and the same opinion.").
Ovid, a 1st-century BCE Roman poet, associates the term with the adjective ("sacred"), describing a "" ("sacred fountain") that "many think holds " (""). Moreover, he writes of himself and poets in general that "" ("Yes, we bards are called , and the care of the gods; there are those who even think we have the "). According to the classicist
L. R. Lind, this particular passage perhaps employs the original meaning of the term "," which was not sacred, but instead "taboo, cursed." Lind suggests that , as supernatural forces of the divine, could inspire fear and awe, and the usage of the denoted these emotions. ==Numina and specific religions ==