Who is Afflatus?
Afflatus is a Latin term used by Cicero in De Natura Deorum, ("The Nature of the Gods") and has been translated as "inspiration". Cicero's usage was a literalising of "inspiration", which had already become figurative. As "inspiration" had come to mean simply the gathering of a new idea, Cicero reiterated the idea of a rush of unexpected breath, a powerful force that would render the poet helpless and unaware of its origin. Literally, the Latin afflatus means "to blow upon/toward". It was originally spelt adflatus, made up of ad (to) and flatus (blowing/breathing), the noun form of flāre (to blow). It can be taken to mean "to be blown upon" by a divine wind, like its English equivalent inspiration, which comes from inspire, meaning "to breathe/blow onto". In English, afflatus is used for the literal form of inspiration. It generally refers not to the usual sudden originality but the staggering and stunning blow of a new idea, which the recipient may be unable to explain. In Romantic l...
