Philos. Obs. [ad. L. ēlicitus, pa. pple. of ēlicĕre to draw forth.]
Of an act: Evolved immediately from an active power or quality; opposed to imperate.
The ‘elicit acts’ of the will are its internal acts (i.e., the volitions themselves); its ‘imperate acts’ are the external acts ‘commanded’ by it. In Ethics, the ‘elicit acts’ of a particular virtue are those essentially implied in its definition; its ‘imperate acts’ are those which it may under peculiar circumstances require.
1624. F. White, Repl. Fisher, 544. Satisfaction sometimes importeth all the actions elicite or imperate, which a sinner must performe on his part.
1646. S. Bolton, Arraignm. Err., 314. Not … the elicite acts of conscience, but the imperate, commanded and externall acts.
1660. Jer. Taylor, Duct. Dubit., II. iii. § 6 I. 411. The imperate acts or outward expressions of the Vertue of one Commandement, must not contradict the elicite acts of another.
1665. Glanvill, Sceps. Sci., 26. Experience … attests, that our wills determine … our corporeal motions. What else means the distinction of the Schools of actions imperate and elicit?
1693. G. Firmin, Rev. Mr. Davis’s Vind., i. 9. Can the Elicite Act of the Will be forced, and yet the Essence of the Will be preserved?
1751. Chambers, Cycl., s.v. Will.
