god
Orcus
also: black Orcus, Orco
Roman god of the underworld and death, by metonymy the realm of the dead. In the Aratea the drowning sailor is divided from "black Orcus" by only a thin plank.
Reading notes
- On the Ends of Good and Evil §2.22 the seventh I pledge to Orcus
Orcus is the Roman god of the underworld and death, here standing for death itself. The quoted line voices a reckless willingness to die that Cicero says ill suits Epicurus's professed fear of pain.