Make Your Point > Archived Issues > FACILIS DESCENSUS

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connect today's word to others: The descent into Hell is easy; it's getting back out that's hard. Virgil noted that in the Aeneid, the epic poem that gave us today's term, facilis descensus. (The full phrase is facilis descensus Averni, "the descent to Avernus [a lake leading to the underworld] is easy.") It's in Book 6 of Virgil's Aeneid when Aeneas journeys to the underworld. Before he descends, a Sibyl warns him:      "The path to hell is easy:      black Dis’s door is open night and day:      but to retrace your steps, and go out to the air above,      that is work, that is the task." It's a helpful warning, and very Sibylline. (Can you define that word?) In the underworld, Aeneas watches as Rhadamanthus doles out punishments--Rhadamanthine ones, naturally. (Can you define that, too?) Don't worry, Aeneas does get out of the underworld! Getting in was easy. And it's pretty easy to see that a facile descensus is an "easy descent." How about the related terms facile and facile princeps: what do these have to do with ease or easiness? make your point with... "FACILIS DESCENSUS" Literally an "easy descent," a facilis descensus is a quick, easy path to destruction or to immoral behavior. Pronunciation: Many ways are acceptable. I'm going with "FASS uh liss duh SEN sus." Part of speech: Noun. Like the phrases "a slippery slope," "the way to ruin," and "a rapid decline," our phrase "facilis descensus" works as a noun: "a facilis descensus," "this facilis descensus," "they undertook a facilis descensus." Other forms: The full version, if you prefer, is "facilis descensus Averni" or "facilis descensus Averno." How to use it: Be sure to put it in italics: "facilis descensus" and not just "facilis descensus." This term is great for drama, whether you're serious or kidding. But like with other hefty, foreign, scholarly terms, we should use it with care. I figure it's easier for people to understand it when they see how it's spelled, so maybe it's better to use it in writing, not conversation. You can refer to some choice, action, habit, course of action, or period of time as a facilis descensus, or discuss someone's facilis descensus, often from one thing to another. Or, say that someone goes down (or stumbles down) a facilis descensus; that someone takes, chooses, follows, or undertakes a facilis descensus; that someone gets shoved down or gets sucked onto a facilis descensus, etc. Or, say where someone's facilis descensus takes them: "By a facilis descensus, I arrived at the cheesecake display." You can also simply use this phrase as a standalone sentence, if you want to comment on how easy it is to fall into destructive habits. examples: Listening to Crime and Punishment on audio, I sweated along with the young murderer Raskolnikov on his facilis descensus. "It is an agreeable thing to be taken care of by someone else, and it is not difficult for a democratic people to conclude that such care is a right of those not so well off against those better off. Facilis descensus Averno. Under the original Progressives and in the New Deal, people accepted that the benefits of government care should preserve the incentive to work; but in time, this point was no longer sustained."    — Harvey Mansfield, City Journal, 2015 study it: Explain the meaning of "facilis descensus" without saying "a quick path to the dark side" or "a slippery slope into evil behavior." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "It's a facilis descensus from _____ to _____." Serious example: "It's a facilis descensus from dire need to thievery." Silly example: "It's a facilis descensus from 'just a quick break' to the eighth YouTube video." before you review, play: Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first. Our game this month is "Inspired by, but in no way associated with, Jeopardy!" In each issue, I'll create three "answers" for you, and you supply the "questions." (That is, you'll respond in the form of a question, like "What is...?" or "Who is...?") From the previous issue: 1. Category: Before & After. Answer: It's an advantageous attacking device--hidden, paradoxically, on display. Question: What is an open secret weapon? 2. Category: Alliterative Appellations in Athletics. Answer: Although she's no detective, thanks to her pink outfits and pink golf bag, the LPGA champion Paula Creamer earned this alliterative nickname. Question: What is "The Pink Panther"? 3. Category: "SNOO." Answer: Overly curious, or an imaginative beagle. Question: What is "Snoopy"? Try these today: 1. Category: Alliterative Appellations in Athletics. Answer: With a gift for trash talk and one-liners, the boxer Muhammad Ali was known as the "Louisville This." 2. Category: "SNOO." Answer: For a few minutes of relief when tired, you hit this. 3. Category: A-Z. (Starts with A, Ends with Z.) Answer: It's what you hear around the hive--or, an adjective meaning "full of excited talk or activity." review today's word: 1. A near opposite of FACILIS DESCENSUS is A. A PIG IN A POKE. B. A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB. C. A STAR-CROSSED LOVER. 2. With free samples, they try to lure us down a facilis descensus to _____. A. an open mind B. healthy snacking C. an expensive addiction Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. C