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D I C T I O N A R YO F
LATIN
QUOTATIONS
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Also by Jon R. Stone
Latin for the Illiterati (1996)
More Latin for the Illiterati (1999)
and
The Craft of Religious Studies (1998)
The Essential Max Müller: On Language, Mythology, and Religion (2002)
Expecting Armageddon: Essential Readings in Failed Prophecy (2000)
A Guide to the End of the World (1993)
On the Boundaries of American Evangelicalism (1997)
Prime-Time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting (1997)
TH ER O U T L E D G E
DI C T I O N A R YO F
LATIN
QUOTATIONS
The Illiterati’s Guide to Latin Maxims,
Mottoes, Proverbs, and Sayings
Jon R. Stone
ROUTLEDGE
NEW YORK AND LONDON
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Published in 2005 by
Routledge
270 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Published in Great Britain by
Routledge
2 Park Square
Milton Park, Abingdon,
Oxon OX14 4RN U.K.
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group.
Copyright © 2005 by Jon R. Stone.
Printed in the United States of America on acid free paper.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The Routledge dictionary of Latin quotations : the illiterati's guide to Latin maxims,
mottoes, proverbs and sayings / Jon R. Stone.
p. cm.
Latin with English translations.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-415-96908-5 (alk. paper)—ISBN 0-415-96909-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)—ISBN 0-415-
97431-3 (jacketed hardback)
1. Quotations, Latin. 2. Quotations, Latin—Translations into English. I. Stone, Jon R., 1959-
PN6080.R68 2004
398.9'71--dc222004002081
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For Benton Johnson
A Gifted Teacher, An Inspiring Mentor —
With Great Admiration
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CONTENTS
Preface ix
References and Sourcesxv
Pronunciation Guidexvii
The Routledge Dictionary of Latin Quotations
Latin Proverbs and Maxims1
Latin Mottoes and Phrases131
Familiar Latin Quotations225
Abbreviations335
Main Authors Cited 337
Selected English–Latin Index 341
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PREFACE
In a recent airing of a PBS travel program, a group of San Francisco-area
college students were filmed visiting China, their ancestral home. After arriv-
ing in a wayside village, one of the women students quoted the ancient prov-
erb, “When you drink water, remember the source,” and then asserted, “That’s
very Chinese!” There is a similar Chinese aphorism that rebukes those who
would drink from a fountain without first giving thought to the ancestor who
had dug the well. In both instances, the notion is the same: we owe our lives,
but also our daily conveniences, to those who came before us. Whether Chi-
nese or American, Asian or Western, the proverb aptly applies to all. Our
ancestors planted the trees whose fruits we now eat; they built the roads and
bridges over which we now drive. Indeed, it is they who handed down to us
the storehouse of folk wisdom that we draw upon daily to guide, enrich, and
inform our lives.
For those of us who study cultural history, much of what we find in ancient
proverbial wisdom centers around themes of memory and connection.
Ancient wisdom encourages us to be ever mindful of our ties, as well as our
obligations, to the past. The way we go in this life follows after those who came
before us. “Via trita, via tuta,” the old Roman adage asserts, “The beaten path
is the safe path.” There is a certain comfort and assurance in knowing that the
road we travel upon is a familiar one and that it will not lead us astray. The
image that emerges, then, is of one generation after another following a trail
blazed by revered ancestors—of following and then of passing on a tradition
set down in custom as well as in word.
At the same time, the connection is not only from past to present, but also
from present to future. A people’s life continues onward ever mindful of their
connection to their forebears, but also of what guideposts or markers they will
leave for their descendants. Someday, we too will be ancestors, and the wis-
dom we have gleaned from our experiences will guide those who follow after
us—or so we hope.
Four centuries ago, Sir Francis Bacon published De Sapientia Veterum (On
the Wisdom of the Ancients), a delightful book of Classical myths and fables in
which he sought to recover examples of “humane wisedome” from antiquity
that had been “buried in obliuion [oblivion] and silence.” In his Preface,
Bacon observed that “There is found among men … a two-fold use of Para-
bles, and those … referred to contrary ends; conducing as well to foulding
[folding] up and keeping of things under a vaile [veil], as to the inlightening
[enlightening] and laying open of obscurities.” These Parables, he noted, must
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be “accounted … as Sacred reliques [relics] or abstracted ayres [airs] of better
times, which by tradition from more ancient Nations fell into the Trumpets
and Flutes of the Græcians,” and had since found their way to his own time.
For his part, Bacon was much more interested in the second of these two
uses, that is, of laying open obscurities and enlightening those who might
encounter them. But from another perspective, Bacon’s observation that
fables, allegories, parables, similes, and “ænigmaes” hide as well as reveal
knowledge, remains the more intriguing of the two aims of ancient wisdom,
despite his waving it aside. To shroud something is not merely to conceal it,
but, at the same time, to protect and preserve it. A culture’s “sacred reliques”
are not for “rude and impatient” hands to mishandle, lest they become pro-
faned. It is for this reason that we frequently find ancient wisdom couched in
the abstractions, subtleties, and nuances of metonymy and metaphor, of anal-
ogy and pun.
Much like Bacon’s small book, this present collection of nearly 8,000 prov-
erbs, mottoes, and quotations also seeks to gather and preserve De Sapientia
Veterum of the Latin tradition, ancient wisdom written down and passed on
from the birth of the Republic to the Fall of the Empire, and into the age of
Renaissance and Reformation. To be sure, Roman customs and mores were
deeply rooted in tradition and upheld the conservative cultural values that
characterized the Republic. But beyond that, their aim was to safeguard the
sacred genius of a people who had forged a social and political system that
brought predictability and order within an otherwise chaotic world. Much of
this wisdom fell into the “Flutes and Trumpets” of the Romans through
Rome’s contact with and admiration of Greek civilization. “Aurea Mediocri-
tas” (the golden mean), moderation in all things, was among these ideals that
the Romans borrowed from the Greeks, but then added their own emphasis
on social obligation and the caution not to tempt Fate. Virtus (virtue), aretê,
the highest Greek ideal, translated easily into Roman thought as maintaining
balance between one’s social and familial duties and the striving after personal
honor through heroic acts of valor. In fact, Honos or Honor meant everything
to the Romans and strongly shaped the Roman ethos, as did Fides (faith) and
Magnanimitas (greatness of spirit). “Facte nova virtute, puer; sic itur ad astra,”
encouraged Virgil: “go on and increase in valor, young man; thus is the path to
the stars.”
The use of proverbs, mottoes, and maxims appears common to all cul-
tures. Such pith expresses the essence of a culture’s customs and traditions in
the form of mnemonic or memory devices meant to inform as well as to
entertain. For instance, the Hebrew Book of Proverbs makes very effective
use of parallel phrasings that are preserved when rendered in English, such
as “pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall”
(16:18), and “a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up
anger” (15:1). For their part, Latin authors and orators made effective use of
meter and rhyme as mnemonic devices. As with “via trita, via tuta,” the
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phrase “mox nox” (soon night, or night is approaching) likewise employs
meter and rhyme. The same is the case with “mone sale” (advise with salt),
and “nec habeo, nec careo, nec curo” (I have not, I want not, I care not),
which are both fairly easy to remember.
Another interesting mnemonic device is the tongue twister, examples of
which we also encounter in Latin literature. One clever tongue twister is “mala
mali malo mala contulit omnia mundo” (man’s jaw and an apple brought all
evils in the world). Another is the phrase “sunt pueri pueri, pueri puerilia
tractant” (children are children, and children occupy themselves with childish
things), which features a repetition of the same word bracketed by two words
that closely rhyme. Elsewhere in the literature, we chance upon examples of
the chiasmus or cross pattern, such as the menacing phrase from Plautus that
goes “altera manu fert lapidem, panem ostentat altera” (he shows us bread in
one hand, but holds a stone in the other). Notice that the phrase begins and
ends with “altera,” and, at least in terms of its syllabic sounds, closely resem-
bles a palindrome.
Apart from being witty, the mnemonic cast of ancient proverbial wisdom
served to teach children and remind adults of the way they should go in life.
The phrase way of life is itself a metaphor for how life is to be lived in mimesis
or imitation of great cultural heroes. Across traditions, this same motif pre-
dominates. At times, the way is presented in terms of a choice between two
roads, as in the “bivium virtutis et vitii” (the two paths of virtue and of vice).
At other times, virtue, in Horace’s words, “est medium vitiorum et utrinque
reductum” (is the middle between two vices, and is equally removed from
either extreme). In Juvenal, we find the admonition, “semita certe tranquillæ
per virtutem patet unica vitæ” (only one path in this life leads to tranquility:
the path of virtue). And, as a last example, there is the anonymous saying,
“errantem in viam reductio” (lead the wanderer back into the right way).
In addition, these types of literary devices served to reinforce traditional
methods of teaching by example, methods likewise embraced by the Romans,
who preferred practical to theoretical knowledge. Accordingly, we find
instances, such as in Seneca, who expressed this idea using the path or road
metaphor in a rhyming doublet: “longum iter est per præcepta, breve et effi-
cax per exempla” (teaching by precept is a long road, but brief and beneficial is
the way by example). Moreover, wisdom is at times personified both in terms
of its mimetic and its mnemonic aspects. One such example is in Lucius Afra-
nius, who wrote: “Usus me genuit, mater peperit Memoria. Sophiam vocant
me Graii, vos Sapientiam” (Practice was my father, Memory my mother. The
Greeks call me Sophia, you call me Wisdom).
In this way, ancient wisdom served both mimetic and mnemonic aims. It is
in memory and a culture’s connection to its past that tradition and custom
and a people’s way of life are preserved and protected against change. For, as
Cicero wrote, “memoria est thesaurus omnium rerum e custos” (memory is
the treasury and guardian of all things).
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As with my two previous books, Latin for the Illiterati (1996) and More
Latin for the Illiterati (1999), both published by Routledge, the creation of this
third Latin lexicon presented a number of problems that need to be men-
tioned here as a sort of “caveat lector,” a caution to the reader. First, as much as
I would have liked to have gathered together all the wisdom of the ancients
into one volume, because of page constraints I have had to content myself
with a text of fewer than 400 pages. Even so, the selections contained in this
treasury of proverbs and quotations represent the widest possible survey of
that literature, including such authors and orators as Cato, Juvenal, Seneca,
Pliny, Ovid, Cicero, Virgil, Publilius Syrus, Terence, Horace, Plautus, Lucre-
tius, and many others. These are persons whose wisdom and humor spoke to
their own time, but speak to ours as well.
Second, because this collection draws from a wide range of sources in the
Classical, Medieval, Renaissance, and later periods, there exist noticeable
variations and inconsistencies in spelling and syntax that cannot be recon-
ciled. For example, the letters “j” and “y” came to indicate the letter “i”
when consonated. The aspirated letter “h” is sometimes inserted after “c”
and between double vowels, usually to distinguish hard from soft sounds
and to mark double vowels that were not diphthongs. Consequently, the
reader will encounter such spelling changes as jus and judex for ius and
iudex, inclytus for inclitus, lacrymis or lachrymis for lacrimis, ahereus for
aereus, and so on. Apart from these types of irregularities, it should be
pointed out that not all irregular spellings or syntactical “errors” can be cor-
rected to satisfy everyone’s tastes. I still receive letters from conscientious
readers who chastise me for having retained the use of “j” and “corrupted”
Medieval syntax in my earlier lexicons.
But these “corruptions” should not surprise us. All languages become cor-
rupted with use. What should amaze us is that many people fail to see change
as a natural development of human cultural life. All things change from being
stretched, even language. To think of language as “corrupted” assumes that
there was an original point of perfection from which the language began to
degrade, such as the Fall in the Garden or the confusion of tongues at the
Tower of Babel. Much to the contrary, language is a tool for communicating
among people as well as a means of communicating across space and time. As
the conversation moves forward, some words change their spellings and
meanings, some become obsolete and later discarded, and new words are
introduced either to replace worn-out expressions or to express new or emerg-
ing ideas. Witness the archaic forms in the quotes from Sir Francis Bacon cited
above. Shall we consider Jacobean English as the true and pure form and
Modern Standard English as its defilement? Of course not. There is no pure
language, for language, as a human creation, is neither fixed nor constant, but
changes with the needs and conventions of the times.
In addition to irregularities in spelling and syntax, I have also had to wres-
tle with variant and contradictory versions of quotations, as well as discrepan-
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cies over the original authorship of proverbs and maxims. In the case of
variant renderings of quotations and sayings, it seemed best to consult multi-
ple sources (including Web-based, such as The Latin Library on-line) and then
select the version that appeared most frequently in published form (even then,
I encountered a number of typographical errors in books and mis-scanned or
miskeyed texts on the Web). With respect to author attribution, in most cases
I simply listed all the authors to whom the quote had been ascribed.
While, for the sake of convenience, the main text has been divided into
three sections—Proverbs and Maxims, Mottoes and Phrases, and Familiar
Quotations—not all entries fit neatly into these categories. Some proverbs and
maxims appear as mottoes on ancient and modern crests. What is more, some
of the authored proverbs and maxims are lengthy and would thus seem better
suited to the section of quotations. And, of course, not all readers will know in
which sections to look for the entries that fall between these categories—or
will even agree with where they have been placed. For these inconveniences,
these slight mea culpas, I beg the reader’s kind indulgence. Doubtless these,
and all other faults and omissions in the text, will pursue me through this life
like the Furies, and then follow me to the shades below.
Finally, as I had observed in the Prefaces of my earlier Latin texts, there is
much in Latin literature to offend modern sensibilities. Racial and sexist epithets
are not unique to our time nor even to Western culture. All traditional societies
felt threatened by differences both within and without, and many viciously
attacked dissenters—and still do. Doubtless, such phrases as “Æthiopiem lavare”
(to wash an Ethiopian) and “Græculus esuriens” (ever the hungry young Greek)
are racially offensive. In terms of sexist remarks, one tends to find jabs at both
men and women. For instance, Publilius Syrus wrote that “women surpass men
at scheming evil” (In Latin, “malo in consilio feminæ vincunt viros”); while, at
about the same time, Ovid, his contemporary, penned the phrase: “forma viros
neglecta decet,” or “neglect of appearance becomes men.” While both comments
can be read as sheer sarcasm, they can also be seen as offensive. Though a few
selections such as these have been included in this text, their appearance is merely
for historical purposes. I did not (and do not) believe that it was my role as a lex-
icographer to sanitize Roman cultural attitudes toward race, class, or gender.
Notwithstanding these minor imperfections, it is hoped that The Routledge
Dictionary of Latin Quotations will offer to the reader, both now and in future
generations, a treasury of ancient wisdom that, to quote Horace, “delectando
pariterque monendo,” delights while at the same time instructs.
Vita enim mortuorum in memoria vivorum est posita — Cicero
Jon R. Stone
August 2003
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REFERENCES AND SOURCES
Adkins, Lesley and Roy A. Adkins. Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
Bacon, Sir Francis. The Wisedome of the Ancients (de Sapientia Veterum, 1609),
translated by Arthur Gorges. Amsterdam: Da Capo Press, 1968 [facsimile
of 1619 edition].
Boardman, John, et al. (Eds.). The Oxford History of the Classical World. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1986.
Cassell’s Concise Latin-English/English-Latin Dictionary (compiled by D.P.
Simpson). New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.
Champion, Selwyn G. Racial Proverbs (2nd ed.). London: Routledge and
Kegan Paul, 1950.
Collins, John F. A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin. Washington, D.C.: The Catho-
lic University of America Press, 1985.
Grant, Michael. History of Rome. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1978.
Greenough, J.B. et al. (Eds.). Allen & Greenough’s New Latin Grammar. New
Rochelle, NY: Aristide D. Caratzas, 1983 [reprint of 1903 edition].
Guterman, Norbert. A Book of Latin Quotations. New York: Anchor Books,
1966.
Harbottle, Thomas Benfield. Dictionary of Quotations (Classical). New York:
Macmillan, 1897.
King, W. Francis H. Classical and Foreign Quotations: A Polyglot Dictionary of
Historical and Literary Quotations, Proverbs and Popular Sayings (2nd
ed.). New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1965.
Lewis, James John. The Collegiate Law Dictionary. Brooklyn, New York: The
American Law Book Co., 1925.
MacDonnel, D.E. A Dictionary of Quotations, in Most Frequent Use, Taken
Chiefly from Latin and French, but Comprising Many from the Greek,
Spanish, and Italian Languages, Translated into English, with Illustrations
Historical and Idiomatic (8th edition, revised and corrected). London: G.
& W.B. Whittaker, 1822.
Mawson, C.O. Sylvester and Charles Berlitz (Eds.). Dictionary of Foreign Terms
(2nd ed.). New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1979.
Meissner, C. Latin Phrase-Book (H.W. Auden, trans.). London: Macmillan &
Co., 1938.
Novum Testamentum Latine: Textum Vaticanum (11th ed., Eberhard Nestle,
Ed.). Stuttgart: Württembergische Bibelanstalt, 1971.
xv
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Nunn, H.P.V. An Introduction to Ecclesiastical Latin. Cambridge University
Press, 1922.
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University
Press, 1955.
Shelton, Jo-Ann. As the Romans Did (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University
Press, 1998.
Sidwell, Keith. Reading Medieval Latin. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1995.
Simpson, D.P. Cassell’s Latin Dictionary. New York: Macmillan, 1977.
Smith, Sir William. Smaller Classical Dictionary. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co.,
1958.
Stevenson, Burton. Stevenson’s Book of Proverbs, Maxims and Familiar Phrases.
London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1949.
Stone, Jon R. Latin for the Illiterati. New York and London: Routledge, 1996.
——. More Latin for the Illiterati. New York and London: Routledge, 1999.
Trayner, John. Latin Phrases and Maxims. Edinburgh: William Patterson, 1861.
Webster’s II: New Riverside University Dictionary. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Co., 1984.
Webster’s New World Dictionary of the English Language. New York: World
Publishing Company, 1964.
Wheelock, Frederick M. Latin (College Outline Series). New York: Barnes &
Noble Books, 1962.
Wood, James. Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and
Foreign Sources, etc. London and New York: Frederick Warne and Co.,
1893.
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PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
Most Latin word sounds have corresponding English word sounds, follow-
ing the same rules for short and long pronunciation of vowels. For example,
the long a in father is the same sound as the long a in the Latin word pater. The
short a in the English words par and far are very similar in sound to that of the
Latin words pax and fax. The short e in pet is similar in sound to the Latin et,
as the short i in twig is the same as the i in the Latin word signum. The long o
in Ohio sounds very much like the o in the Latin word dolor. In the same way,
the short o in pot is pronounced similarly to the short o in populas. Likewise,
the Latin u in runa and pudicus, one long and the other short, sound the same
as the long and short u vowels in rude and put.
The reader should also keep in mind that in Latin, unlike English, all sylla-
bles in words are pronounced, including the final e and es of words, such as
arte and artes, duce and duces, fide and fides, opinione, and legiones, and the
like.
With respect to Latin consonants, one should nearly always pronounce
them as those in English (e.g., b = b, d = d, f = f, l = l, m = m, n = n, p = p, r =
r, s = s, t = t, etc.), with the exception of c , g, h, and v, which are always pro-
nounced like k (as in kirk), g (as in give, gave, and go), h (as in hard), and w (as
in we and was) respectively. The letters i–j, when placed before another vowel,
such as iam/jam and ius/jus, are pronounced like the consonant y (as in you,
yam, and use), not the consonant j. The convention of substituting the letter j
for i when used as a consonant appeared after the Classical period. Although
its use is vexing to most Latin purists today, for the sake of simplicity, its use is
retained here.
Finally, with respect to vowel diphthongs, most Classical Latin linguists
prefer to pronounce them as follows: æ as if it were a long i (as in pine); œ as oi
(as in boy); au as ou or ow (as in bough or now); ei as a long a (as in weight); eu
as eu (as in feud); and ui as wee (as in the French oui).
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LATIN PROVERBS AND MAXIMS
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A
a cane non magno sæpe tenetur aper: a boar is often held by a not-so-large dog
(Ovid)
a facto ad jus non datur consequentia: the inference from the fact to the law is not
allowed
a fonte puro pura defluit aqua: from a pure spring pure water flows
a fronte præcipitium a tergo lupi: a precipice before (me), wolves behind (me) (i.e.,
caught between death and dismemberment)
a minimis quoque timendum: one ought to fear even the tiniest of creatures
a prima descendit origine mundi causarum series: even from the first beginnings
of the world descends a series of causes (Lucan)
a proximis quisque minime anteiri vult: no one likes to be surpassed by those of
his own level (Livy)
a verbis legis non est recedendum: from the words of the law there is no departure
ab abusu ad usum non valet consequentia: (fig.) the abuse of a thing is no
argument against its use
ab actu ad posse valet illatio: it is possible to infer the future from the past
ab alio expectes, alteri quod feceris: what you do to others, you may expect
another to do to you (Laberius and Publilius Syrus)
ab alto speres alteri quod feceris: expect from Heaven what you have done to
another
ab hoc et ab hac et ab illa: from this and from this and from that (i.e., from here,
there, and everywhere; confusedly)
ab honesto virum bonum nihil deterret: nothing deters a good man from what
honor requires of him (Seneca)
ab inopia ad virtutem obsepta est via: the way from poverty to virtue is an
obstructed one
ab uno disce omnes: from one learn all (i.e., from one sample we judge the rest)
(Virgil)
abeunt studia in mores: pursuits become habits (Ovid)
abi in malam crucem: (fig.) to the devil with you!
abores serit diligens agricola, quarum adspiciet baccam ipse numquam: the
diligent farmer plants trees of which he himself will never see the fruit (Cicero)
absens hæres non erit: the absent one will not be the heir (i.e., out of sight, out of
mind)
absentem lædit cum ebrio qui litigat: to quarrel with a drunk is to dispute with a
man who is not there (Publilius Syrus)
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absque argento omnia vana actus legis nulli facit injuriam
absque argento omnia vana: without money all is vain
abstineto a fabis: abstain from beans (i.e., have nothing to do with elections—the
ballot having been cast with beans)
absurdum est ut alios regat, qui seipsum regere nescit: it is absurd that he
should rule others who knows not how to rule himself
abundans cautela non nocet: abundant caution does no harm
abusus non tollit usum: abuse does not take away use
accensa domo proximi, tua quoque periclitatur: when your neighbor’s house is on
fire, yours is likewise in danger
acceptissima semper munera sunt, auctor quæ pretiosa facit: those gifts are
always the most acceptable that owe their value to the giver (Ovid)
accidit in puncto, et toto contingit in anno: it happens in a moment, and happens
all year long
accidit in puncto quod non contingit in anno: what does not occur in the whole
course of the year may happen in a moment
accipere quam facere præstat injuriam: it is better to receive than to do an injury
(Cicero)
acclinus falsis animus meliora recusat: the mind attracted by what is false refuses
better things (Horace)
accusare nemo se debet nisi coram Deo: no one is bound to accuse himself unless
it be before God
acer et ad palmæ per se cursurus honores, si tamen horteris fortius ibit equus:
the spirited horse, which will of itself strive to win the race, will run still more
swiftly if encouraged (Ovid)
acer et vehemens bonus orator: a good orator is pointed and impassioned (Cicero)
acerrima proximorum odia: the hatred of those closest to us is the most bitter
(Tacitus)
acerrimus ex omnibus nostris sensibus est sensus videndi: the keenest of all our
senses is the sense of sight (Cicero)
acribus initiis, incurioso fine: alert (or energetic) at the beginning, careless (or
negligent) at the end (Tacitus)
acta deos nunquam mortalia fallunt: the deeds of men never escape the gods
(Ovid)
acta exteriora indicant interiora secreta: external actions indicate internal secrets
acti labores jucundi: the remembrance of past labors is pleasant
actio personalis moritur cum persona: a personal action (or right) dies with the
person
actis ævum implet, non segnibus annis: his lifetime is full of deeds, not of indolent
years (Ovid)
actum ne agas: do not do what is done (i.e., leave well enough alone) (Terence and
Cicero)
actus Dei nemini facit injuriam: the act of God does injury to no one
actus Dei nemini nocet: the act of God brings harm to no one
actus legis nulli facit injuriam: the act of the law does injury to no one
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actus me invito factus, non est meusadversus miseros … inhumanus est
actus me invito factus, non est meus actus: an act done against my will is not my
act
actus non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea: the act does not make the person guilty,
unless the mind be guilty
ad auctores redit sceleris coacti culpa: the guilt of enforced crimes lies on those
who impose them (Seneca)
ad calamitatem quilibet rumor valet: any rumor is sufficient against calamity (i.e.,
when a disaster happens, every report confirming it obtains ready credence)
ad damnum adderetur injuria: that would be adding insult to injury (Cicero)
ad Græcas kalendas soluturos: they will pay at the Greek calends (i.e., never; there
is no Greek calends) (Cæsar Augustus)
ad mala quisque animum referat sua: let each recall his own woes (Ovid)
ad nocendum potentes sumus: we all have power to do harm (Seneca)
ad perditam securim manubrium adjicere: to throw the handle after the hatchet
(i.e., to give up in despair)
ad perniciem solet agi sinceritas: honesty is often goaded to ruin (Phædrus)
ad pœnitendum properat, cito qui judicat: the one who judges in haste repents in
haste (Publilius Syrus)
ad præsens ova cras pullis sunt meliora: eggs today are better than chickens
tomorrow (i.e., a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush)
ad quæstionem legis respondent judices, ad quæstionem facti respondent
juratores: it is the judge’s business to answer to the question of law, the jury’s to
answer to the question of fact
ad tristem partem strenua est suspicio: one is quick to suspect where one has
suffered harm before (or, the losing side is full of suspicion) (Publilius Syrus)
ad vivendum velut ad natandum is melior qui onere liberior: he is better
equipped for life, as for swimming, who has the lesser to carry (Apuleius)
addecet honeste vivere: it much becomes us to live honorably
addere legi justitiam decus: it is to one’s honor to combine justice with law
adeo facilius est multa facere quam diu: it is much easier to try one’s hand at many
things than to concentrate one’s powers on one thing (Quintilian)
adeo in teneris consuescere multum est: so much depends upon habit in the
tender years (i.e., such are the advantages of an early education) (Virgil)
adhibenda est in jocando moderatio: moderation should be used in joking (Cicero)
adhuc tua messis in herba est: your crop is still in grass (Ovid)
adjuvat in bello pacatæ ramus olivæ: in war the olive branch of peace is of use (Ovid)
adolescentem verecundum esse decet: it becomes a young man to be modest
(Plautus)
adsit regula, peccatis quæ pœnas irroget æquas: have a rule apportioning to each
offense its appropriate penalty (Horace)
adversæ res admonent religionum: adversity reminds men of religion (Livy)
adversus miseros … inhumanus est jocus: jokes directed against the unfortunate
are inhumane (Quintilian)
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adversus solem ne loquitor aliena pericula, cautiones nostræ
adversus solem ne loquitor: neither speak against the sun (i.e., do not dispute with
what is obvious)
ædificatum solo, solo cedit: the thing built on the land goes with the land
ægrescit medendo: he grows worse with the treatment (i.e., the remedy is worse
than the disease) (adapted from Virgil)
ægroto, dum anima est, spes est: to the sick, while there is life there is hope
(Cicero)
æmulatio æmulationem parit: emulation begets emulation
æqua lege necessitas, sortitur insignes et imos: necessity apportions impartiality
to the high and the low (Horace)
æqua tellus pauperi recluditur regumque pueris: the impartial earth opens alike
for the child of the pauper and that of the king (Horace)
æquabit nigras candida una dies: one single bright day will equal the black ones
æquari pavet alta minori: a lofty thing fears being made equal with a lower
æquo animo pœnam, qui meruere, ferant: let those who have deserved their
punishment bear it patiently (Ovid)
æquum est peccatis veniam poscentem reddere rursus: the one who asks pardon
for faults should grant the same to others (Horace)
ære quandoque salutem redimendam: safety must sometimes be bought with
money
ærugo animi, rubigo ingenii: rusty mind, blighted genius (i.e., idleness is the blight
of genius)
æs debitorem leve, gravius inimicum facit: a slight debt produces a debtor, a large
one an enemy (Laberius)
æstimatio delicti præteriti ex post facto non crescit: the nature of a crime is not
altered by subsequent acts
ætatem non tegunt tempora: our temples do not conceal our age
ævo rarissima nostro simplicitas: simplicity is nowadays very rare (Ovid)
age officium tuum: act your office
agentes, et consentientes, pari pœna puniendi: those acting and those consenting
ought to bear equal punishment
agite pro viribus: act according to your strength
alia res sceptrum, alia plectrum: ruling men is one thing, entertaining them is
another
aliæ nationes servitutem pati possunt, populi Romani est propria libertas:
other nations may be able to put up with slavery, but liberty is peculiar to the
Roman people (Cicero)
aliena nobis, nostra plus aliis placent: other people’s things are more pleasing to
us, and ours to other people (Publilius Syrus)
aliena opprobria sæpe absterrent vitiis: we are often deterred from crime by the
disgrace of others (Horace)
aliena optimum frui insania: it is best to profit by the madness of others
aliena pericula, cautiones nostræ: others’ dangers are our warnings
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aliena vitia in oculis habemus amabit sapiens, cupient cæteri
aliena vitia in oculis habemus, a tergo nostra sunt: the vices of others we have
before our eyes, our own are behind our backs (Seneca)
alieno in loco haud stabile regnum est: the throne of another is not stable (i.e.,
sovereignty over a foreign land is insecure) (Seneca)
alienos agros irrigas tuis sitientibus: you water the fields of others while your own
are parched
alienum est omne quicquid optando evenit: what we obtain merely by asking is
not really our own (Publilius Syrus)
alii sementem faciunt, alii metentem: some do the planting, others the reaping
aliis lætus, sapiens sibi: cheerful for others, wise for himself
aliorum medicus, ipse ulceribus scates: a physician to others, while you yourself
are full of ulcers
aliquando bonus dormitat Homerus: sometimes even the good Homer nods off
(Horace)
aliquando et insanire jucundum est: it is pleasant at times to play the madman
(Seneca)
aliquid mali propter vicinum malum: something bad from a bad neighbor (i.e., to
be harmed because of an evil neighbor)
aliquis malo sit usus ab illo: let us derive some use or benefit from that evil
aliquis non debet esse judex in propria causa: no one should be a judge in his own
cause
aliter catuli longe olent, aliter sues: puppies and pigs have a very different smell
(Plautus)
alitur vitium vivitque tegendo: the taint is nourished and lives by being concealed
(i.e., vice lives and thrives by secrecy) (Virgil)
aliud est celare, aliud tacere: it is one thing to conceal, another to be silent
aliud legunt pueri, aliud viri, aliud senes: boys read books one way, men another,
old men another (Terence)
alium silere quod valeas (or voles), primus sile: to make another person hold his
tongue, be first silent (Seneca)
alius est amor, alius cupido: love is one thing, lust another (Lucius Afranius)
alius peccat, alius plectitur: one man sins, the other is punished
allegans contraria non est audiendus: no one is to be heard whose evidence is
contradictory
alta sedent civilis vulnera dextræ: deep-seated are the wounds dealt out in civil
conflict (or civil wars) (Lucan)
alteri sic tibi: do to another as to yourself
alterum alterius auxilio eget: one thing needs the help of another
altissima quæque flumina minimo sono labuntur: the deepest rivers flow with the
least noise (i.e., still waters run deep) (Curtius)
ama et fac quod vis: love and do what you will (adapted from St. Augustine)
amabit sapiens, cupient cæteri: the wise man loves, the others are lecherous
(Lucius Afranius)
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amans iratus multa mentituramittit merito proprium
amans iratus multa mentitur: an angry lover tells himself many lies (Publilius
Syrus)
amantes amentes: in love, in delirium (Terence)
amantes sunt amentes: lovers are lunatics (Terence)
amantium iræ amoris redintegratio est: the quarrels of lovers are the renewal of
love (Terence)
amare et sapere vix deo conceditur: even a god finds it hard to love and be wise at
the same time (Publilius Syrus and Laberius)
amarus vitiorum fructus: the fruit of sin is bitter
amat victoria curam: victory and care are close friends
ambiguum pactum contra venditorem interpretandum est: an ambiguous
contract is to be interpreted against the seller
amici probantur rebus adversis: friends are proved by adversity (Cicero)
amici vitium ni feras, prodis tuum: unless you bear with the faults of a friend, you
betray your own (Publilius Syrus)
amicitia fucata vitanda: feigned friendship [is] to be avoided
amicitia semper prodest, amor et nocet: friendship always benefits, love
sometimes injures (Seneca and Publilius Syrus)
amicitiæ immortales, mortales inimicitias debere esse: friendships should be
immortal, enmities should be mortal (Livy)
amico ficto nulla fit injuria: no injury is done to a feigned friend
amicorum esse communia omnia: friends’ goods are common property
amicos esse fures temporis: friends are thieves of time (Francis Bacon)
amicum ita habeas, posse ut fieri hunc inimicum scias: be on such terms with
your friend as if you knew that he might one day become your enemy (Laberius)
amicum perdere est damnorum maximum: to lose a friend is the greatest of all
losses (Publilius Syrus)
amicus certus in re incerta cernitur: a true friend is certain when certainty is
uncertain (i.e., a friend in need is a friend indeed) (Ennius)
amicus est unus animus in duobus corporibus: a friend is one soul in two bodies
(Aristotle)
amicus in necessitate probatur: a friend is proven in time of necessity (or, a friend
in need is a friend indeed)
amicus Plato, amicus Socrates, sed magis amica veritas: Plato is my friend,
Socrates is my friend, but truth is more my friend
amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas: Plato is my friend, but truth is more my friend
amicus verus rara avis: a true friend is a rare bird
amicus vitæ solatium: a friend is the solace of life
amittimus iisdem modis quibus acquirimus: we gain and lose by the same means
amittit famam qui se indignis comparat: he loses repute who compares himself
with unworthy people (Phædrus)
amittit merito proprium, qui alienum appetit: the one who covets what is
another’s deservedly loses what is his own (Phædrus)
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amor animi arbitrio sumiturappetitus rationi pareat
amor animi arbitrio sumitur, non ponitur: we choose to love, we do not chose to
cease loving (Publilius Syrus)
amor Dei et proximi summa beatitudo: the love of God and our neighbor is the
highest happiness
amor et melle et felle est fecundissimus: love has both honey and gall in
abundance (Plautus)
amor gignit amorem: love begets love
amor omnibus idem: love is the same in all (Virgil)
amor tussisque non celantur: love, and a cough, are not concealed (Ovid)
amoris vulnus idem sanat qui facit: love’s wounds are cured by love itself (Publilius
Syrus)
an nescis longas regibus esse manus?: do you not know that kings have long
hands? (Ovid)
an quisquam est alius liber, nisi ducere vitam cui licet, ut voluit?: is any man
free except the one who can pass his life as he pleases? (Persius)
anguillam cauda tenes: you hold an eel by the tail (i.e., you have caught a lion by
the tail)
anguis in herba latet: a snake concealed in the grass
animi cultus quasi quidam humanitatis cibus: cultivation is as necessary to the
soul as food is to the body (Cicero)
animi scrinium servitus: servitude [is] the cage of the soul
animo ægrotanti medicus est oratio: kind words are as a physician to an afflicted
spirit
animum rege, qui nisi paret imperat: rule your spirit well, for if it is not subject to
you, it will rule over you (Horace)
animus æquus optimum est ærumnæ condimentum: a patient mind is the best
remedy for trouble (Plautus)
animus est nobilitas: the soul is the nobility
animus hominis est anima scripti: the intention of the person is the intention of
the written instrument
animus tamen omnia vincit; ille etiam vires corpus habere facit: courage
conquers all things; it even gives strength to the body (Ovid)
annus inceptus habetur pro completo: a year begun we reckon as completed
ante victoriam ne canas triumphum: do not celebrate your triumph before you
have conquered
antiquissima quæque commenticia: all that is most ancient is a lie (or, a fiction)
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