invita Minervaphr.
/ɪnˈvʌɪtɑː mɪˈnəːvɑː/ When one is not in the vein or mood; without inspiration.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > unwillingness > unwilling [phrase]
invita Minerva1584
in spite of Minerva1589
1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft xii. iii. 219 It should be vnto them (Inuita Minerua) to banket or danse with Minerua.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §292 That nothing bee done Inuitâ Mineruâ, but Secundum Genium.
1848 ‘G. Eliot’ Let. Feb. (1954) I. 250 I have tired myself with trying to write cleverly ‘invita Minerva’.
a1855 in Newsp. & Gen. Reader's Compan. § 509 Haydn never began a symphony invita Minerva.
1954 ‘M. Cost’ Invitation from Minerva 126 It is always a mistake to do anything invita Minerva... Briefly, against the grain.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
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