FAMILIAR LATIN QUOTATIONS

A

a diis quidem immortalibus quæ potest homini major esse poena, furore atque

dementia?: what greater punishment can the immortal gods inflict upon man than

madness or insanity? (Cicero)

A!, virgo infelix, herbis pasceris amaris!: ah, unfortunate maiden, you will have to

graze on bitter herbs! (Calvus)

abiit, excessit, evasit, erupit: he has left, gone off, escaped, broken away (Cicero,

said of Catiline’s flight)

absentem qui rodit amicum, qui non defendit, alio culpante; hic niger est; hunc

tu, Romane, caveto: he who attacks an absent friend, or who does not defend him

when spoken ill of by another; that man is a dark character; you, Romans, beware

of him (Horace)

absentes tinnitu aurium præsentire sermones de se receptum est: it is generally

admitted that those absent are warned by a ringing in the ears when they are being

talked about (Pliny the Elder)

abstineas igitur damnandis; hujus enim vel una potens ratio est, ne crimina

nostra sequantur ex nobis geniti; quoniam dociles imitandis turpibus ac

pravis omnes sumus: let us refrain from doing ill; for one powerful reason, lest

our children should follow our crimes; we are all too prone to imitate whatever is

base and depraved (Juvenal)

ac primam scelerum matrem, quæ semper habendo plus sitiens patulis rimatur

faucibus aurum, trudis avaritiam: expel avarice, the mother of all wickedness,

who, always thirsty for more, opens wide her jaws for gold (Claudian)

accipe nunc Danaum insidias, et crimine ab uno disce omnes: learn now of the

treachery of the Greeks, and from one example the character of the nation may be

known (Virgil)

accipe nunc, victus tenuis quid quantaque secum afferat. In primis valeas

bene: now learn what and how great benefit a moderate diet brings with it. Before

all, you will enjoy good health (Horace)

accipiunt leges, populus quibus legibus exlex: they consent to laws that place the

people outside the law (Lucilius)

ad nullum consurgit opus, cum corpore languet: when the body is indisposed, it

is in vain that we call on the mind for any strenuous application (Gallus)

ad populum phaleras, ego te intus et in cute novi: to the vulgar herd with your

trappings, I know you both inside and outside (i.e., I know that person too well to

be deceived by appearances) (Persius)

adde cruorem stultitiæ, atque ignem gladio scrutare: to your folly add

bloodshed, and stir the fire with the sword (Horace)

adde quod ingenuas didicisse

alter remus aquas, alter mihi radat

adde quod ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes emollit mores nec sinit esse feros:

add the fact that to have studied faithfully the liberal arts softens behavior, not

allowing it to be savage (Ovid)

adeone homines immutari ex amore, ut non cognoscas eundem esse?: that a

person should be so changed by love, as not to be known again as the same person?

(Terence)

adeste, fideles, læti triumphantes; venite, venite in Bethlehem: O come, all ye

faithful, joyful and triumphant; O come, ye, O come, ye, to Bethlehem (a Christian

hymn)

adhuc neminem cognovi poëtam, qui sibi non optimus videretur: I have never

yet known a poet who did not think himself super-excellent (Cicero)

adulandi gens prudentissima laudat sermonem indocti, faciem deformis amici:

the skillful class of flatterers praises the discourse of the ignorant and the face of

the disfigured friend (Juvenal)

æquam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem, non secus in bonis ab

insolenti temperatam lætitia: when things are steep, remember to stay levelheaded

and to restrain yourself from immoderate joy in prosperity (Horace)

æstuat infelix angusto limite mundi: the unhappy man frets at the narrow limits of

the world (Juvenal)

ætas parentum pejor avis tulit nos nequiores, mox daturos progeniem

vitiosiorem: the age of our fathers, which was worse than that of our ancestors,

produced us, who are shortly to raise a progeny even more vicious than ourselves

(Horace)

agere considerate pluris est quam cogitare prudenter: it is of more consequence

to act considerately than to think sagely (Cicero)

agnosco veteris vestigia flammæ: I recognize some traces of my former flame (i.e.,

my passion is not wholly extinguished) (Virgil)

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis, dona nobis pacem: Lamb

of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, grant us peace

(from the Catholic Mass)

ah!, quam dulce est meminisse: ah!, how sweet it is to remember

ah!, vitam perdidi operose nihil agendo: alas!, I have lost my life in laboring over

nothing (Grotius)

alea jacta est: the die is cast (Julius Cжsar, after crossing the Rubicon in 49 BCE)

aliena negotia centum per caput, et circa saliunt latus: a hundred troubles of

other people leap through my head and at my side (Horace)

aliena negotia curo, excussus propriis: I attend to the business of other people,

having lost my own (Horace)

alieni appetens, sui profusus: greedy for the things of others, lavish with his own

(Sallust, in reference to Catiline)

aliquod crastinus dies ad cogitandum dabit: tomorrow will give some food for

thought (Cicero)

alter remus aquas, alter mihi radat arenas: let me strike the water with one oar,

and with the other scrape the sands (i.e., let me stay close to shore) (Propertius) alter rixatur de lana sæpe caprina animoque supersunt jam prope post

alter rixatur de lana sæpe caprina propugnat nugis armatus: another frequently

disputes about goat’s wool and rises in arms for trifles (Horace)

altera manu fert lapidem, panem ostentat altera (or altera panem ostentat): he

carries a stone in one hand, and shows bread in the other (Plautus)

alterius sic altera poscit opem res et conjurat amice: thus one thing demands the

aid of the other and both unite in friendly assistance (Horace)

alterutra clarescere fama; sive bonum, sive malum, fama est: to become famous

in one way or the other; whether it be good or bad, it is fame

amabilis insania; mentis gratissimus error: a delightful insanity; a most pleasing

error of the mind (Horace)

ambiguas in vulgum spargere voces: to scatter ambiguous reports among the

people (Virgil)

amor et melle et felle est foecundissimus: gustu dat dulce, amarum ad

satietatem usque aggerit: love has both honey and gall in abundance: it gives

sweetness to the taste, but it also brings bitterness to satiety (Plautus)

amori finem tempus, non animus facit: it is time, not the mind, that puts an end to

love (Publilius Syrus)

amoto quæramus seria ludo: joking aside, let us turn to serious matters (Horace)

amphora coepit institui; currente rota cur urceus exit?: a vase was begun; why

from the revolving wheel does it turn out a worthless pitcher? (i.e., what began

with great fanfare turned out to be something of little note) (Horace)

ampliat ætatis spatium sibi vir bonus; hoc est vivere bis vita posse priore frui:

the good man extends the terms of his life; it is to live twice to be able to enjoy

one’s former life (Martial)

an dives sit omnes quærunt, nemo an bonus: everyone inquires if he is rich, no

one asks if he is good

an nescis, quantilla prudentia mundus (or orbis) regatur?: do you not know with

how very little wisdom the world is governed?

an præter esse reale actualis essentiæ sit aliud esse necessarium, quo res

actualiter existat?: whether, besides the real being of the actual being, there be

any other being necessary to cause a thing to be? (Martinus Scriblerus, said as a jibe

against philosophers)

an quidquid stultius, quam quos singulos contemnas, eos aliquid putare esse

universos?: can there be any greater folly than the respect you pay to men

collectively when you despise them individually? (Cicero)

an quisquam est alius liber, nisi ducere vitam cui licet, ut voluit?: is there a man

free, other than he, who has the power of passing life in what manner he pleases? (i.e., the

essence of freedom is to do as one pleases without injury to another) (Persius)

anima certe, quia spiritus, in sicco habitare non potest; ideo in sanguine fertur

habitare: the soul, which is spirit, cannot dwell in dust; it is carried along to dwell

in the blood (St. Augustine)

animal bipes implume (or, animal implume, bipes): a two-legged animal without

feathers (Plato’s definition of man, ridiculed by Diogenes as a “plucked chicken”)

animoque supersunt jam prope post animam: their spirit seems even to survive

their breath (Sidonius Apollinaris)

animum pictura pascit inani arma, viri, ferte arma!; vocat lux

animum pictura pascit inani: he fills his mind with an idle picture (Virgil)

animus hoc habet argumentum divinitatis suæ, quod illum divina delectant: the

soul has this proof of its divinity, that divine things delight it (Seneca)

animus hominis semper appetit agere aliquid: the mind of man is always longing

to do something (Cicero)

animus quod perdidit optat atque in præterita se totus imagine versat: the

mind yearns after what is gone and loses itself in dreaming of the past (Petronius)

ante, inquit, cicumspiciendum est, cum quibos edas et bibas, quam quid edas et

bibas: he (Epicurus) says that you should rather have regard to the company with

whom you eat and drink, than to what you eat and drink (Seneca)

ante senectutem curavi ut bene viverem, in senectute (curo) ut bene moriar;

bene autem mori est libenter mori: before old age I took care to live well; in old

age I take care to die well; but to die well is to die willingly (Seneca)

ante tubam tremor occupat artus: before the trumpet sounds he trembles all over

(Virgil)

antequam incipias, consulto; et ubi consulueris, facto opus est: before you

begin, consider well; and when you have considered, act (Sallust)

apparent rari nantes in gurgite vasto: they appear thinly scattered and swimming

in the vast deep (i.e., brilliant thoughts are sometimes lost in an ocean of words)

(Virgil)

aquam hercle plorat, quom lavat, profundere: he will even weep to throw away

the water he has washed with (Plautus)

Arcades ambo, et cantare pares, et respondere parati: Arcadians both, and both

equally skilled in the song, and ready in the response (Virgil)

arcanum neque tu scrutaberis ullius unquam; commissumque teges et vino

tortus et ira: never inquire into another man’s secret; but conceal that which is

entrusted to you, though tortured both by wine and passion to reveal it (Horace)

ardeat ipsa licet, tormentis gaudet amantis: though she is aflame herself, she takes

joy in the torments of her lover (Juvenal)

ardua cervix, argumtumque caput, brevis alvos, obessaque terga, luxuriatque

toris animosum pectus: his neck is high and erect, his head replete with

intelligence, his belly short, his back full, and his proud chest swells with hard

muscles (Virgil)

ardua molimur; sed nulla nisi ardua virtus: I attempt an arduous task; but there is

no virtue that is not of difficult achievement (Ovid)

argentum accepi, dote imperium vendidi: I have received money, and sold my

authority for her dowry (Plautus)

argilla quidvis imitaberis uda: you may model (or mold) any form you please out of

moist clay (Horace)

arma amens capio; nec sat rationis in armis: I madly take arms; but have not wit

enough to use them to any purpose (Virgil)

arma, viri, ferte arma!; vocat lux ultima victos, nunquam omnes hodie

moriemur inulti: arms, ye men, bring me arms!; their last day summons the

vanquished; not all of us shall die unavenged this day (Virgil) arma virumque cano, Troiæ qui atqui vultus erat multa et præclara

arma virumque cano, Troiæ qui primus ab oris Italiam fato profugus

Laviniaque venit litora, multum ille et terris jactatus et alto vi superum, sævæ

memorem Iunonis ob iram: I sing of arms and the man who first from the shores

of Troy came destined an exile to Italy and the Lavinian beaches, much buffeted he

on land and on the deep by force of the gods because of fierce Juno’s neverforgetting

anger (Virgil, opening lines of the Aeneid)

ars est sine arte, cujus principium est mentiri, medium laborare, et finis

mendicare: it is an art without art, which has its beginning in falsehood, its middle

in toil, and its end in poverty (i.e., alchemy)

arte citæ veloque rates remoque moventur; arte levis currus, arte regendus

amor: by arts, sails, and oars, ships are rapidly moved; arts move the light chariot,

and establish love (Ovid)

artificis Naturæ ingens opus aspice: look upon the immense work of the artist

Nature

asperges me, Domine, hyssopo, et mundabor: sprinkle me with hyssop, Lord, and

I shall be clean (from the Catholic Mass)

asperges me hyssopo, et mundabor; lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor:

sprinkle me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I will be made whiter

than snow (Psalm 51:7)

assiduo labuntur tempora motu, non secus ad flumen. Neque enim consistere

flumen. Nec levis hora potest: time glides by with constant movement, not

unlike a stream. For neither can a stream stay its course, nor can the fleeting hour

(Ovid)

at cum longa dies sedavit vulnera mentis, intempestive qui fovet illa novat:

when time has assuaged the wounds of the mind, he who unseasonably reminds us

of them opens them afresh (Ovid)

at ingenium, ingens inculto latet hoc sub corpore: yet under this rough exterior

lies concealed a mighty genius (Horace)

at non effugies meos iambos: but you cannot escape my iambics (Catullus)

at pater ut gnati, sic nos debemus amici si quod sit vitium non fastidire: but at

least we might do for a friend what a father does for his child, and not be disgusted

by a blemish (Horace)

at pulchrum est digito monstrari et dicier, hic est: it is pleasing to be pointed at

with the finger and then have it said, there he is (Persius)

at tuba terribili sonitu taratantara dixit: but the trumpet sounded with its terrible

taratantara (Ennius)

at vindicta bonum vita jucundius ipsa; nempe hoc indocti: but revenge is a

blessing sweeter than life itself; or so rude men feel (Juvenal)

atque in perpetuum, frater, ave atque vale: and so, brother, hail and farewell

forever (Catullus)

atque in rege tamen pater est: and yet in the king there is the father (Ovid)

atque inter silvas Academi quærere verum: and seek for truth in the groves of the

Academy (Horace)

atqui vultus erat multa et præclara minantis: and yet you had the look of one who

threatened (i.e., promised) many fine things (Horace)

audax omnia perpeti gens humana ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus

audax omnia perpeti gens humana ruit per vetitum et nefas: in its boldness to

dare all things, the human race rushes into that which is wicked and forbidden

(Horace)

aude aliquid brevibus Gyaris et carcere dignum, si vis esse aliquis—probitas

laudatur et alget: dare to do something worthy of transportation and imprisonment, if

you wish to be somebody—virtue is praised but left out to freeze (Juvenal)

auferre, trucidare, rapere, falsis nominibus imperium, atque; ubi solitudinem

faciunt, pacem appellant: to rob, to ravage, to murder, in their imposing

language, are the arts of civil policy. Where they have made the world a desert,

they call it peace (Tacitus)

augescunt aliæ gentes, aliæ minuuntur inque brevi spatio mutantur sæcula

animantum et quasi cursores vitai lampada tradunt: some nations increase,

others are reduced, and in a short while the generations of living creatures are

changed, and like runners relay the torch of life (Lucretius)

aurea nunc vere sunt sæcula; plurimus auro venit honos; auro conciliatur

amor: the age we live in is the true age of gold; by gold men attain to the highest

honor and win even love (Ovid)

auream quisquis mediocritatem diligit, tutus caret obsoleti sordibus tecti, caret

invidenda sobrius aula: whoever loves the golden mean is serene, and exempted

equally from the filth of an old mansion and from the cares of a splendid court (Horace)

auro pulsa fides, auro venalia jura, aurum lex sequitur, mox sine lege pudor: by

gold all good faith has been banished, by gold our rights are abused, the law itself

follows gold, and soon there will be an end to every modest restraint

aurum irrepertum et sic melius situm: gold discovered and all the better for being

so (Horace)

aurum vis hominemne? Habeas? Hominem?, quid ad aurum?: the man or his

gold? Which will you take? The man?, when you could have the gold? (Lucilius)

aut formosa fores minus, aut minus improba vellem. Non facit ad mores tam

bona forma malos: I would that you were either less beautiful, or less corrupt.

Such perfect beauty does not suit such imperfect morals (Ovid)

aut insanit homo, aut versus facit: the fellow is either mad or he is composing

verses (i.e., writing poetry) (Horace)

aut nihil est sensus animis a morte relictum aut mors ipsa nihil: either the soul

feels nothing after death, or death itself is nothing (Lucan)

aut petis aut urgues ruiturum, Sisyphe, saxum: either you pursue or push, O

Sisyphus, the stone destined to keep rolling (Ovid)

aut virtus nomen inane est, aut decus et pretium recte petit experiens vir: either

virtue is an empty name, or the man of enterprise justly aims at honor and reward (Horace)

ave Cæsar, morituri te salutant (or salutamus): hail Cжsar, those (or we) who are

about to die salute you (Suetonius, a salutation of the gladiators to the Roman

emperor)

ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum; benedicta tu in mulieribus, et

benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus: hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with

you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus

(11th Century salutation to the Virgin Mary) ave verum corpus, natum ex Maria bis vincit qui se vincit in victoria

ave verum corpus, natum ex Maria Virgine: hail the true body, born of the Virgin

Mary (a 14th Century Eucharistic hymn)

B

barbarus hic ego sum, quia non intelligor ulli: I am a barbarian here, for no one

understands what I say (Ovid)

beatus ille qui procul negotiis, ut prisca gens mortalium, paterna rura bobus

exercet suis, solutus omni foenore: happy the man who, remote from busy life, is

content, like the earlier race of mortals, to plough his paternal lands with his own

oxen, freed from all borrowing and lending (Horace)

beatus vir qui timet Dominum, in mandatis ejus volet nimis: happy is the man

who fears the Lord, who is all the more willing to follow his commands (Psalm

112:1)

bella, horrida bella, et Thybrim multo spumantem sanguine cerno: wars,

horrible wars, and the Tiber foaming with much blood (Virgil)

bellaque matribus detestata: and the wars that mothers detest (Horace)

bellum autem ita suscipiatur, ut nihil aliud, nisi pax, quæsita videatur: let war

be carried out in such a way that nothing but peace may seem to be its aim (Cicero)

bellum magis desierat, quam pax coeperat: it was rather a cessation of war than a

beginning of peace (Tacitus)

bene merenti bene profuerit, male merenti par erit: to a well-deserving man,

God will show favor, to an ill-deserving man, God will be simply just (Plautus)

bene nummatum decorat Suedela Venusque: the goddesses of persuasion and

love adorn the train of the well-moneyed man (Horace)

bene si amico feceris, ne pigeat fecisse, ut potius pudeat si non feceris: if you

have acted kindly to your friend, do not regret that you have done so, as you should

rather be ashamed of having acted otherwise (Plautus)

benedicite, omnia opera Domini, Domino; laudate et superexaltate eum in

secula: bless the Lord, all the works of the Lord; praise him and exalt him above all

things forever (Daniel 3:57)

benefacta male locata, malefacta arbitror: favors injudiciously conferred I reckon

evils (Cicero)

benefacta sua verbis adornant: they enhance their favors by their words (Pliny)

beneficia usque eo læta sunt dum videntur exsolvi posse; ubi multum

antevenere, pro gratia odium redditur: benefits are acceptable, while the

receiver thinks he may return them; but once exceeding that, hatred is given

instead of thanks (i.e., no one wants to be indebted for a favor that is greater than

can be repaid) (Tacitus)

beneficus est qui non sua, sed alterius causa benigne facit: the one who is

beneficent acts kindly not for his own benefit, but for another’s (Cicero)

bis vincit qui se vincit in victoria: he conquers twice who, at the moment of

victory, conquers (or restrains) himself (Publilius Syrus)

blanda truces animos fertur mollisse canam mihi et Musis

blanda truces animos fertur mollisse voluptas: alluring pleasure is said to have

softened the savage dispositions [of early mankind] (Ovid)

Boeotum in crasso jurares aëre natum: you would swear that he was born in the

thick air of the Boeotians (i.e., he’s not very smart) (Horace)

bona malis paria non sunt, etiam pari numero; nec lætitia ulla minimo

moerore pensanda: the blessings of life do not equal its ills, even when of equal

number; nor can any pleasure, however intense, compensate for even the slightest

pain (Pliny the Elder)

bono vinci satius est quam malo more injuriam vincere: the good would rather

suffer defeat than defeat injustice by evil means (Sallust)

bonosque soles effugere atque abire sentit, qui nobis pereunt et imputantur:

each of us feels the good days speed and depart, and they are lost and counted

against us (Martial)

bonum certamen certavi, cursum consummavi, fidem servavi: I have fought the

good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (St. Paul, 2 Timothy 4:7)

bonum summum quo tendimus omnes: that supreme good to which we all aspire

(Lucretius)

bos alienus subinde prospectat foras: another person’s ox every now and then

turns its eyes wistfully to the door

breve tempus ætatis satis est longum ad bene honesteque vivendum: a short

term on earth is long enough for a good and honorable life (Cicero)

brevis a natura nobis vita data est; at memoria bene redditæ vitæ est

sempiterna: the life given to us by nature is short; but the memory of a well-spent

life is eternal (Cicero)

brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio: in trying to be concise, I become obscure (Horace)

bruta fulmina et vana: thunderbolts that strike blindly and in vain (Pliny the Elder)

C

cadit statim simultas, ab altera parte deserta; nisi pariter, non pugnant: a

quarrel is quickly settled when deserted by one party: there is no battle unless there

be two (Seneca)

cæca invidia est, nec quidquam aliud scit quam detrectare virtutes: envy is

blind, and can only disparage the virtues of others (Livy)

cælum prospexit stellis fulgentibus aptum: she looked up at the sky studded with

glittering stars (Ennius)

Cæsarem vehis, Cæsarisque fortunam: fear not, you carry Cжsar and his fortunes

(Julius Cжsar, remarking to the ship’s captain during a storm)

cætera fortunæ, non mea, turba fuit: the rest of the crowd were friends of my

fortune, not of me (Ovid)

campos ubi Troja fuit: the fields where Troy once stood (Lucan)

canam mihi et Musis: I will sing to myself and the Muses (i.e., if no one else will listen) candida de nigris, et de candentibus causa et origo est materia negotii

candida de nigris, et de candentibus atra: he makes black white and white he turns

to black (Ovid)

candidus in nauta turpis color; æquoris unda debet et a radiis sideris esse

niger: a fair complexion is a disgrace in a sailor; he ought to be tanned from the

spray of the sea and the rays of the sun (Ovid)

canis a non canedo: a dog cannot sing (and, thus, it is called “canis”) (Varro)

canis ingens, catena vinctus, in pariete erat pictus superque quadrata littera

scriptum, Cave Canem: a large dog, tied to a chain, was painted on the wall and

over the picture was written in block letters, Beware the Dog (Petronius)

cantate Domino canticum novum, quia mirabilia fecit: sing to the Lord a new

song, because he has done marvelous things (Psalm 97:1)

cantilenam eandem canis: you are always singing the same tune (Terence)

captum te nidore suæ putat ille culinæ: he thinks that you are taken with the smell

of his kitchen (i.e., you have become a parasite) (Juvenal)

caput artis est, decere quod facias: the chief thing in any art you may practice is

that you do only the one for which you are fit

cari sunt parentes, cari liberi, propinqui, familiares; sed omnes omnium

caritates, patria una complexa est: dear are our parents, dear our children, our

relatives, and our associates; but all our affections for all these are embraced in our

affection for our native land (Cicero)

carmen perpetuum primaque origine mundi ad tempora nostra: a song for all

ages, and from the first origin of the world to our own times (adapted from Ovid)

carmina nil prosunt; nocuerunt carmina quondam: my songs are of no use; they

once wrought me harm (Ovid)

carmina spreta exolescent; si irascare, agnita videntur: if you show contempt for

abuse, it will gradually die away; if you show irritation, it will be seen as deserved

(Tacitus)

carmine di superi placantur, carmine manes: the gods above and the gods below

are alike propitiated by song (Horace)

carmine fit vivax virtus; expersque sepulcri, notitiam seræ posteritatis habet:

by song virtue is made immortal; and, exempt from burial, it obtains the homage of

remote posterity (Ovid)

Castor gaudet equis, ovo prognatus eodem pugnis: Castor delights in horses, he

has sprung from the same egg in boxing (Horace)

castrant alios, ut libros suos, per se graciles, alieno adipe suffarciant: they

castrate the books of other men, in order that with the fat of their works they may

lard their own lean volumes (a reference to plagiarism) (Jovius)

casus ubique valet; semper tibi pendeat hamus. Quo minime credas gurgite,

piscis erit: there is scope for chance everywhere; let your hook be always ready. In

the eddies where you least expect it, there will be a fish (Ovid)

Cato esse, quam videri, bonus malebat: Cato would rather be good, than seem

good (Sallust)

causa et origo est materia negotii: the cause and beginning is the matter of the

business (i.e., if trouble or harm results, it is assumed that the perpetrator entered

with that intent)

causa latet, vis est notissima

cineres credis curare

causa latet, vis est notissima: the cause is hidden but its strength (or effect) is well

noted (Ovid)

cautus enim metuit foveam lupus, accipiterque suspectos laqueos, et opertum

miluus hamum: for the wolf once cautioned dreads the pitfall, the hawk the

suspected snare, and the fish the concealed hook (Horace)

caveant consules ne quid res publica detrimenti caperet: let the consuls see to it

that no harm come to the Republic (after Cжsar Augustus)

cavendum est ne major poena, quam culpa, sit; et ne iisdem de causis alii

plectantur, alii ne appellentur quidem: care should be taken in all cases, that the

punishment not exceed the guilt; and also that some men may not suffer for

offenses which, when committed by others, are allowed to pass with impunity

(Cicero)

cedant arma togæ, concedat laurea linguæ: let arms yield to the toga, let the

victor’s laurel yield to the orator’s tongue (Cicero)

cedant carminibus reges, regumque triumphi: kings, and the triumphs of kings,

must yield to the power of song (Ovid)

cedat amor rebus; res age, tutus eris: let love give way to business; give attention

to business, and you will be safe (Ovid)

cede repugnanti: cedendo victor abibis: yield to the one who opposes; by yielding

you will obtain the victory (Ovid)

cedite, Romani scriptores; cedite, Graii: give place, Roman writers; give place,

Greeks (Propertius)

cedunt grammatici; vincuntur rhetores turba tacet: the grammarians give way;

the rhetoricians are beaten off and all the assemblage is silent (Juvenal)

centum doctum hominum consilia sola hæc devincit dea Fortuna: this goddess,

Fortune, single-handedly frustrates the plans of a hundred learned men (Plautus)

cereus in vitium flecti, monitoribus asper: pliable as wax to vice, obstinate under

reproof (Horace, in reference to youth)

cernis ut ignavum corrumpant otia corpus ut capiant vitium ni moveantur

aquæ: you see how sloth wastes the sluggish body, as water is corrupted unless it

moves (Ovid)

certum est quia impossibile est: it is true because it is impossible (Tertullian, in

reference to Christianity)

cessante causa, cessat (et) effectus: when the cause ceases, the effect must (also)

cease (Coke)

chairete, nikomen: greetings, we win (Philippides, before dying, having run to

Athens from Marathon to bring news of the Greek defeat of the Persian army)

cignoni non sine causa Apoloni dicata sint, quod ab eo divinationem habere

videantur, qua providentes quid in morte boni sit, cum cantu et voluptate

moriantur: the swan is not dedicated to Apollo without cause, because foreseeing

his happiness in death, he dies with singing and pleasure (Cicero)

cineres credis curare sepultos?: do you think that the ashes of the dead can be

affected by this? (i.e., do you think the dead can be affected by the thoughts or

actions of the living?)

citharoedus ridetur chorda qui conscia mens ut cuique sua est

citharoedus ridetur chorda qui semper obberrat eadem: the harpist who is always

at fault on the same string is derided (Horace)

cito fit quod dii volunt: what the gods want happens soon (Petronius)

civitas ea autem in libertate est posita, quæ suis stat viribus, non ex alieno

arbitrio pendet: the state alone is free that rests upon its own strength, and

depends not on the arbitrary will of another (Livy)

claudite jam rivos, pueri; sat prata biberunt: close up the sluices now, boys; the

meadows have drunk enough (Virgil)

coelo tegitur qui non habet urnam: the one who has no urn to hold his bones is

covered by the vault of heaven (Lucan)

coelum ipsum petimus stultitia: in our foolishness, we assail heaven itself (Horace)

coepisti melius quam desinis. Ultima primis cedunt: you begin better than you

end. The last is inferior to the first (Ovid)

cogitatio nostra coeli munimenta perrumpit, nec contenta est, id, quod

ostenditur, scire: our thoughts break through the defenses of heaven and are not

satisfied with knowing what is offered to sense observation (Seneca)

committunt multi eadem diverso crimina fato, ille crucem sceleris pretium

tulerit, hic diadema: how different the fate of men who commit the same crimes,

for the same villainy one man goes to the gallows and another is raised to a throne

commodat in lusus numina surda Venus: Venus lends deaf ears to love’s deceits

(Ovid)

commune vitium in magnis liberisque civitatibus, ut invidia gloriæ comes sit: it

is a usual fault in great and free states that envy should be the companion of glory

(Cornelius Nepos)

componitur orbis regis ad exemplum; nec sic inflectere sensus humanos edicta

valent, quam vita regentis: the world is fashioned according to the example of

kings, and edicts have less effect on the people than the life of the ruler (Claudian)

compositum miraculi causa: a narrative made up only for the sake of the wonder

that it may occasion (Tacitus)

condicio dulcis sine pulvere palmæ: the happy state of getting the victor’s palm

without the dust of racing (Horace)

condo et compono quæ mox depromere possim: I compose and lay up what I

may soon after be able to bring forward (Horace)

confiteor Deo omnipotenti: I confess to God the Almighty (from the Catholic

Mass)

conjunx est mihi, sunt nati: dedimus tot pignora fatis: I have a wife, I have sons;

all of them hostages given to fate (Lucan)

conscia mens recti famæ mendacia risit (or ridet): sed nos in vitium credula

turba sumus: the mind conscious of integrity scorns the lies of rumor; but we are a

crowd always ready to believe a scandal (Ovid)

conscia mens ut cuique sua est, ita concipit intra pectora pro facto spemque

metumque suo: according to the state of a man’s conscience, so in his mind do

hope and fear arise on account of his deeds (Ovid)

constitit hic arcumque manu

crescit indulgens sibi dirus hydrops

constitit hic arcumque manu celerisque sagittas corripuit fidus quæ tela

gerebat Achates: hereupon he stopped and took up in his hand a bow and swift

arrows, the weapons that trusty Achates carried (Virgil)

conticuere omnes, intentique ora tenebant: all were at once silent and listened

with intent (Virgil)

contra verbosos noli contendere verbis; sermo datur cunctis, animi sapientia

paucis: do not contend with words against wordy people; speech is given to all,

wisdom to few (Dionysius Cato)

conveniens homini est hominem servare voluptas. Et melius nulla quæritur

arte favor: it is a pleasure appropriate to man for him to save a fellow man; and

gratitude is acquired in no better way (Ovid)

corpore sed mens est ægro magis ægra; malique in circumspectu stat sine fine

sui: the mind is sicker than the sick body; in contemplation of its sufferings it

becomes hopeless (Ovid)

corporis et fortunæ bonorum, ut initium, finis est. Omnia orta occidunt, et

aucta senescunt: the blessings of good health and good fortune, as they have a

beginning, must also have an end. Everything rises but to fall, and grows but to

decay (Sallust)

corrumpunt bonos mores colloquia prava: evil (or depraved) conversation will

corrupt good morals (Erasmus, after St. Paul)

cras amet qui nunquam amavit, quique amavit cras amet: let those love now who

never loved before; let those who always loved, now love all the more

cras ingens iterabimus æquor: tomorrow we will be back on the vast ocean

(Horace)

credat Judæus Apella: let Apella the Jew believe it (i.e., only the credulous believe

it) (Horace, in derogation of monotheistic religious faith)

crede mihi, miseris coelestia numina parcunt; nec semper læsos, et sine fine,

premunt: believe me, the gods spare the afflicted, and do not always oppress those

who are unfortunate (Ovid)

credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem coeli et terræ,

visibilium omnium et invisibilium: I believe in one God, the omnipotent Father,

maker of heaven and the earth, and of all things visible and invisible (from the

Catholic Mass)

credo pudicitiam Saturno rege moratam in terris: I believe that during the reign

of Saturn (the Golden Age), chastity dwelt upon the earth

credula vitam spes fovet, et fore cras semper ait melius: credulous hope

cherishes life, and ever whispers to us that tomorrow will be better (Tibullus)

crescentem sequitur cura pecuniam, majorumque fames. Multa petentibus

desunt multa. Bene est cui Deus obtulit parca quod satis est manu: the

accumulation of wealth is followed by an increase of care and by an appetite for

more. The one who seeks for much will ever be in want of much. It is best with him

to whom God has given that which is sufficient, though every satisfaction be

withheld (Horace)

crescit indulgens sibi dirus hydrops: the fatal dropsy gains on the patient from his

gratifying his thirst (Horace)

creta an carbone notandi? cujus rei libet simulator atque

creta an carbone notandi?: are they to be marked with chalk or charcoal? (i.e., as

good or bad) (Horace)

crine ruber, niger ore, brevis pede, lumine læsus, rem magnam prestas Zoile si

bonus es: red-haired, black-mouthed, lame, squint-eyed; it is a wonder, Zoilus, if

you are a good man

crudelis ubique luctus, ubique pavor, et plurima mortis imago: everywhere is

heart-rending wail, everywhere consternation, and death in a thousand shapes

(Virgil)

crux criticorum, medicorum, mathematicorum, et cetera: the greatest difficulty

that can occur to critics, physicians, mathematicians, etc.

cui dono lepidum novum libellum?: to whom do I give my new charming little

book? (Catullus)

cui flavam religas comam, simplex munditiis?: for whom are you fixing your

golden hair, simply but elegantly? (Horace)

cui Fortuna ipsa cedit: to whom Fortune herself yields (Cicero)

cui—gratia, fama, valetudo contingat abunde, et mundus victus, non deficiente

crumena: to whom—endowed with grace, fame, and health, with decent fare, and

a purse not ill-supplied (Horace)

cui lecta potenter erit res nec facundia deseret hunc nec lucidus ordo: the

speaker who has chosen a theme suited to his powers will never be at a loss for

felicitous language or lucid arrangement (Horace)

cui licet quod majus, non debet quod minus est non licere: he to whom the

greater thing is lawful, has certainly a right to do the smaller thing

cui mens divinior atque os magna sonaturum des nominis hujus honorem: to

the one whose soul is more than ordinarily divine, and who has the gift of uttering

lofty thoughts, you may justly concede the honorable title of poet (Horace)

cui non conveniat sua res, ut calceus olim, si pede major erit, subvertet, si

minor, uret: as a shoe, when too large, is apt to trip one, and when too small, to

pinch the feet, so it is with the one whose fortune does not suit him (Horace)

cui peccare licet peccat minus. Ipsa potestas semina nequitiæ languidiora facit:

he who has it in his power to commit sin is less inclined to do so. The very idea of

being able weakens the desire (Ovid)

cui Pudor, et Justitae Soror, incorrupta Fides, nudaque Veritas; quando ullum

invenient parem?: when will Honor and Justice’s sister, uncorrupted Faith, and

naked Truth, find anyone equal to him?

cuicunque aliquis quid concedit, concedere videtur et id, sine quo res ipsa esse

non potest: to whomsoever someone grants a thing, the same one grants that

without which the thing cannot be enjoyed (i.e., the use of something is implied in

the giving of it)

cujus conatibus obstat res angusta domi: one whose efforts are opposed by

straitened circumstances at home (Horace)

cujus rei libet simulator atque dissimulator: an accomplished pretender and

dissembler (Sallust)

cujus tu fidem in pecunia

curatio funeris, conditio sepulturæ

cujus tu fidem in pecunia perspexeris, verere ei verba credere?: can you fear to

trust the word of a man whose honesty you have known in his handling of money?

(Terence)

cujus vulturis hoc erit cadaver?: to which vulture shall this carcass fall? (Martial)

cujuslibit rei simulator atque dissimulator: a man who could, with equal skill,

pretend to be what he was not, and not to be what he really was (Sallust, said of

Catiline)

cum altera lux venit jam cras hesternum consumpsimus; ecce aliud cras egerit

hos annos, et semper paulum erit ultra: when another day has arrived, we will

find that we have consumed our yesterday’s tomorrow; another morrow will urge

on our years, and still be a little beyond us (Persius)

cum ames non sapias aut cum sapias non ames: when you are in love you are not

wise, or rather, when you are wise you do not fall in love (Publilius Syrus)

cum autem sublatus fuerit ab oculis, etiam cito transit e mente: once he was

taken from our sight, his memory quickly passed out of our minds (Thomas а

Kempis)

cum dubia et fragilis sit nobis vita tributa, in morte alterius spem tu tibi ponere

noli: since we have received a precarious and frail life, beware of placing your

hopes in the death of others (Cato)

cum fortuna manet, vultum servatis amici; cum cedit, turpi vertitis ora fuga:

while fortune lasts, you have always the service of friends; but, when it ceases, you

will turn your backs in shameful flight (Ovid )

cum frueris felix quæ sunt adversa caveto; non eodem cursu respondent ultima

primis: when fortune is lavish of her favors, beware of adversity; events do not

always succeed each other in one train of fortunes (Cato)

cum insanientibus furere: to rave with the insane (Petronius)

cum jam fulva cinis fuero: when I will be nothing but a heap of yellow ashes

(Calvus)

cum multis aliis quæ nunc perscribere longum est: with many other matters that

it would be tedious now to write in full (i.e., etc., etc., etc.)

cum odio sui coepit veritas. Simul atque apparuit, inimica est: the first reaction

to truth is hatred. The moment it appears, it is treated as an enemy (Tertullian)

cuncti adsint, meritæque expectent præmia palmæ: let all attend, and expect the

rewards due to well-earned laurels (Virgil)

cunctis servatorem liberatoremque acclamantibus: all having him as savior and

deliverer

cur valle permutem Sabina divitias operosiores?: why should I exchange my

Sabine valley for riches that bring with them more trouble? (Horace)

cura pii dis sunt, et qui coluere, coluntur: the pious-hearted are cared for by the

gods, and those who reverence them are reverenced (Ovid)

curatio funeris, conditio sepulturæ, pompæ exequiarum, magis sunt vivorum

solatia, quam subsidia mortuorum: the care of the funeral, the place of the

burial, and the pomp of obsequies, are consolations to the living, but of no

advantage to the dead (Cжsar Augustus)

curtæ nescio quid semper abest rei de asini umbra disceptare

curtæ nescio quid semper abest rei: a nameless something is always wanting to our

imperfect fortune (Horace)

D

da mi basia mille, deinde centum, dein mille altera, dein secunda centum,

deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum: give me a thousand kisses, then a

hundred, then another thousand, then a second hundred, then yet another

thousand, then a hundred (Catullus)

da mihi castitatem et continentiam, sed noli modo: give me chastity and

continency, but not yet (St. Augustine)

da quod jubes et jube quod vis. Imperas nobis continentiam: give what you

command, and command what you give. You impose continence upon us (St.

Augustine)

da spatium vitæ, multos da, Jupiter, annos!: God grant us life, God grant us many

years! (Juvenal)

da ubi consistam, et terram movebo: give me a place to stand and I will move the

earth (after Archimedes)

dabit Deus his quoque finem: God will put an end to these troubles as well (Virgil)

damnant quod non intelligunt: they condemn what they do not understand (Cicero

and Quintilian)

dantur opes nulli nunc nisi divitibus: wealth nowadays goes all to the rich

(Martial)

dapibus supremi grata testudo Jovis: the lyre is a welcome accompaniment at the

banquets of sovereign Jove (Horace)

dat Galenus opes, dat Justinianus honores, sed Moses sacco cogitur ire pedes:

Galen gives wealth, Justinian honors, but Moses must go on foot with a beggar’s

wallet (Robert Burton)

dat inania verba, dat sine mente sonum: he utters empty words; he utters sound

without meaning (Virgil)

dat veniam corvis, vexat censura columbas: he pardons the ravens, but visits the

doves with censure (i.e., they clip the wings of doves but let birds of prey fly freely)

(Juvenal)

date, et dabitur vobis: give and it shall be given to you (St. Luke 6:38)

date obolum Belisario: give alms to Belisarius (a Roman general who, according to

legend, was reduced to poverty)

Davus sum, non OEdipus: I am Davus (a plain man), not Oedipus (who solved the

riddle of the Sphinx) (Terence)

de alieno largitor, et sui restrictor: lavish of what is another’s, restrained with what

is his own (Cicero)

de asini umbra disceptare: to argue about the shadow of an ass (i.e., to argue over

trifling matters)

de fide et officio judicis non recipitur

deridet, sed non derideor

de fide et officio judicis non recipitur quæstio: no question can be entertained

respecting the good intention and duty of the judge

de hoc multi multa, omnis aliquid, nemo satis: of this many have said many

things, all something, no one enough

de nihilo nihil fit, in nihilum nil posse reverti: out of nothing comes nothing, and

nothing can be reduced to nothing (attributed to the Epicureans)

de non apparentibus et (de) non existentibus eadem est ratio: the reasoning

must be the same with respect to things that do not appear as to things that do not

exist (Coke)

de omni re scibili et quibusdam aliis: of all things knowable and certain others

(i.e., to have a great deal of knowledge; a “know it all”) (quoted by Mirandola)

de omnibus rebus et quibusdam aliis: about everything, and certain other things

(i.e., a book that rambles on and on)

de profundis clamavi ad te, Domine; Domine, exaudi vocem meam: from the

depths I have cried unto you, O Lord; O Lord, hear my voice (Psalm 129:1)

debetis velle quæ velimus: you ought to wish as we wish (Plautus)

decet affectus animi neque se nimium erigere nec subjicere serviliter: we ought

to allow the affections of the mind to be neither too much elated nor abjectly

depressed (Cicero)

decipit frons prima multos; rara mens intelligit quod interiore condidit cura

angulo: the first appearance deceives many; our understandings rarely reach to that

which has been carefully reposed in the inmost recesses of the mind (i.e., looks can be

deceiving, but actions produced under trial reveal the true character of the person)

Dei jussu non unquam credita Teneris: God commanded that she be believed by

none of her Trojan countrymen (Virgil, said of Cassandra)

delere licebit quod non edideris; nescit vox missa reverti: it will be permitted to

blot out written words that you do not publish; but it is not possible to recall the

spoken word (Horace)

deliberat Roma, perit Saguntum: while Rome deliberates, Saguntum perishes (i.e.,

while we talk, our allies perish)

deliciæ illepidæ atque inelegantes: unmannerly and inelegant pleasures (Catullus)

delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi: the kings err, the Greeks are punished (Horace)

delphinum silvis appingit, fluctibus aprum: he portrays a dolphin in the woods

and a boar in the waves (i.e., he introduces objects unsuited to the scene) (Horace)

demens judicio vulgi, sanus fortasse tuo: mad in the judgment of the mob, sane,

perhaps, in your own (Horace)

deos agere curam rerum humanarum credi, ex usu vitæ est: poenasque

maleficiis, aliquando seras, nunquam autem irritas esse: it is advantageous that

the gods should be believed to attend to the affairs of man; and the punishment of

evil deeds, though sometimes late, is never fruitless (Pliny the Elder)

deos enim reliquos accepimus, Cæsares dedimus: the other gods were handed

down to us, but we ourselves made the Cжsars gods (Valerius Maximus)

deridet, sed non derideor: he laughs, but I am not laughed at desiderantem quod satis est, neque dies iræ, dies illa, sæclum solvet

desiderantem quod satis est, neque tumultuosum sollicitat mare, non

verberatæ grandine vineæ fundusque mendax: a storm at sea, a vine-wasting

hail tempest, a disappointing farm, cause no anxiety to him who is content with

enough (Horace)

desine de quoquam quicquam bene velle mereri, aut aliquem fieri posse putare

pium: give up wanting to deserve any thanks from anyone, or thinking that

anybody can be grateful (Catullus)

desinit in piscem mulier formosa superne: a woman elegantly formed above,

ending in nothing but a fish (i.e., a mermaid, but applied to literary works that

begin with much promise but end in great disappointment) (Horace)

desipere in loco: to act foolishly at the proper time (i.e., to unwind occasionally)

(Horace)

despicio terrena et solem contemplor: I despise earthly things and contemplate

the sun

deteriores omnes sumus licentia: we are all the worse for license (Terence)

detur aliquando otium quiesque fessis: let ease and rest be sometimes granted to

the weary (Seneca)

Deus non immolationibus et sanguine multo colendum: quæ enim ex

trucidatione immerentium voluptas est?; sed mente pura, bono honestoque

proposito. Non templa illi, congestis in altitudinem saxis, struenda sunt; in

suo cuique consecrandus est pectore: God is not to be worshipped with sacrifices

and blood, for what pleasure can He have in the slaughter of the innocent?; but with a

pure mind, a good and honest purpose. Temples are not to be built for Him with stones

piled on high; God is to be consecrated in the breast of each man (Seneca)

Deus hæc fortasse benigna reducet in sedem vice: perhaps God, by some

gracious change, will restore things to their proper place (Horace)

Deus quædam munera universo humano generi dedit, a quibus excluditur

nemo: God has given some gifts to the whole human race from which none is

excluded (Seneca)

di bene fecerunt, inopis me quodque pusilli finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca

loquentis: the gods be praised for having made me of a poor and humble mind,

with a desire to speak but seldom and briefly (Horace)

di faciles, peccasse semel concedite tuto: id satis est. Poenam culpa secunda

ferat: indulgent gods, grant me to sin once with impunity: that is sufficient. Let a

second offense bear its punishment (Ovid)

dicam insigne, recens, adhuc indictum ore alio: I will utter something striking,

something fresh, something as yet unsung by another’s lips (Horace)

dicebamus hesterno die: we were saying yesterday (Luis de Leon, on resuming a

lecture interrupted by his arrest and five years’ imprisonment)

dicenda tacenda locutus: saying things that should be said, and things that should

not be said (Horace)

dicere quæ puduit, scribere jussit amor: what I was ashamed to say, love has

commanded me to write (Ovid)

dies iræ, dies illa, sæclum solvet in favilla teste David cum Sibylla: the day of

wrath, that day shall dissolve the world in ashes, as David and the Sibyl attest

dies iste, quem tamquam extremum

dissimiles hic vir, et ille puer

dies iste, quem tamquam extremum reformidas, æterni natilis est: this day,

which you fear as your last, is the birthday of eternity (Seneca)

dies si in obligationibus non ponitur, præsenti die debetur: a bond may be

enforced immediately, when the day on which it is to be fulfilled is not specified

difficile est saturam (or satiram) non scribere: it is difficult not to write satire

(Juvenal)

difficilis facilis, jucundus acerbus es idem: nec tecum possum vivere nec sine

te: difficult or easy, pleasant or bitter, you are the same you: I cannot live with you

nor without you (Martial)

difficilis, querulus, laudator temporis acti: harsh, complaining, and the eulogist of

times that are past (said of the aged who complain about the present while extolling

the past) (Horace)

diffugere nives, redeunt jam gramina campis arboribusque comæ: the snows

have dispersed, and the grass returns to the fields and the leaves to the trees

(Horace)

diffugiunt, cadis cum fæce siccatis, amici, ferre jugum pariter dolosi: when the

wine casks are drained to the lees, our friends soon disperse, too faithless to bear as

well the yoke of sorrow

digito monstrari et dicier, hic est: to be pointed at by the finger and to have it said,

there he is (Persius)

dignum laude virum Musa vetat mori: the Muse forbids the virtuous man to die

(Horace)

diis proximus ille est quem ratio, non ira movet, qui facta rependens consilio

punire potest: he is next to the gods, whom reason, not passion, impels, and who,

after weighing the facts, can measure the punishment with discretion (Claudian)

dilexi justiciam et odi iniquitatem, propterea morior in exilio: I have loved

justice and hated injustice, therefore I die an exile (Pope Gregory VII, on his

deathbed)

dilige et quod vis fac: love and do what you will (St. Augustine)

diruit, ædificat, mutat quadrata rotundis: he pulls down, he builds up, he changes

square into round (i.e., he is acting out of caprice) (Horace)

disce, puer, virtutem ex me, verumque laborem, fortunam ex aliis: learn, my

son, virtue and true labor from me, good fortune from others (Virgil)

discit enim citius, meminitque libentius illud quod quis deridet quam quod

probat et veneratur: each learns more readily, and retains more willingly, what

makes him laugh than what he approves of and respects (Horace)

discite justitiam moniti, et non temnere divos: warned by me, learn justice, and

not to despise the gods (Virgil)

discrepant facta cum dictis: the facts do not agree with the statements (Cicero)

disertissime Romuli nepotum: most eloquent of the descendants of Romulus

(Catullus, to Cicero)

disjice compositam pacem, sere crimina belli: cast aside the patched-up peace,

sow the seeds of wicked war (Virgil)

dissimiles hic vir, et ille puer: how different from the present man was the youth of

earlier days (Ovid)

dives agris, dives positis in foenore dulcis amor patriæ, dulce videre

dives agris, dives positis in foenore nummis: rich in lands, rich in money laid out

at interest (Horace)

divine Plato escam malorum appeliat voluptatem, quod ea videlicet homines

capiantur, ut pisces hamo: Plato divinely calls pleasure the bait of evil, inasmuch

as men are caught by it as fish by a hook (Cicero)

divitiæ grandes homini sunt, vivere parce æquo animo: it is great wealth to a man

to live frugally with a contented mind (Lucretius)

divitiarum et formæ gloria fluxa atque fragilis; virtus clara æternaque habetur:

the glory of wealth and of beauty is fleeting and frail; virtue is bright and

everlasting (Sallust)

dixeris egregie notum si callida verbum reddiderit junctura novum: you will

have spoken well if, by skillful arrangement of your words, you have made the

ordinary seem new (Horace)

doceo insanire omnes: I teach that all men are mad (Horace)

dolore affici, sed resistere tamen: to be affected by grief, but still to resist it (after

Pliny the Younger)

doloris medicinam a philosophia peto: I look to philosophy to provide an antidote

to sorrow (Cicero)

doloris omnis privatio recte nominata est voluptas: what we rightly call pleasure

is the absence of all pain (Cicero)

dolus an virtus quis in hoste requirat?: who shall ask of an enemy whether he

succeeded by strategy or by valor? (Virgil)

Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum; sed tantum dic verbo, et

sanabitur anima mea: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my

roof; but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed (from the Catholic Mass)

Dominus vobiscum; et cum spiritu tuo: the Lord be with you; and with your spirit

(from the Catholic Mass)

donec gratus eram tibi: in the days when I was dear to you (Horace)

donec virenti canities abest morosa: so long as youth is green and old age is far off

(Horace)

donum exitiale Minervæ: the fatal gift to Minerva (i.e., the Trojan horse) (Virgil)

duas tantum res anxius optat, panem et circenses: only two things does he worry

about or long for, bread and circus entertainment (Juvenal)

duce tempus eget: the time calls for a leader (Lucan)

ducimus autem hos quoque felices, qui, ferre incommoda vitæ, nec jactare

jugum, vita didicere magistra: we also deem those happy who, from the

experience of life, have learned to bear its ills, and without remarking on their

weight (Juvenal)

dulces moriens reminiscitur Argos: as he died he remembered Argos, the home of

his youth (Virgil)

dulcique animos novitate tenebo: and I will hold your mind captive with sweet

novelty (Ovid)

dulcis amor patriæ, dulce videre suos: sweet is the love of one’s country, sweet it is

to see one’s kindred people (Ovid)

dulcis et alta quies, placidæque ego si risi quod ineptus pastillos

dulcis et alta quies, placidæque simillima morti: sweet and deep repose, very

much resembling quiet death (Virgil)

dum deliberamus quando incipiendum incipere jam serum est: while we are

deliberating to begin, the time to begin is past (Quintilian)

dum loquimur, fugerit invida ætas; carpe diem, quam minimum credula

postero: while we are talking, time flies without favor; seize the day, not trusting

the slightest in what is to come (Horace)

dum ne ob malefacta peream, parvi æstimo: so long as I do not die for doing evil,

I care little for dying (Plautus)

dum vires annique sinunt, tolerate laborem; jam veniet tacito curva senecta

pede: whilst your strength and years permit, you should endure and encounter

labor; remember that crooked age, with silent steps, will soon arrive (Ovid)

dummodo sit dives, barbarus ipse placet: provided he be only rich, the very

barbarian pleases us (Ovid)

durum!; sed levius fit patientia quicquid corrigere est nefas: it is hard!; but that

which we are not permitted to correct is rendered lighter by patience (Horace)

E

e coelo descendit, gnothi seauton: from heaven came down the precept, know

thyself (Juvenal)

ea sola voluptas solamenque mali: that was his sole delight and solace in his woe

(Virgil)

ea sub oculis posita negligimus; proximorum incuriosi, longinqua sectamur:

we disregard the things that lie under our eyes; indifferent to what is close at hand,

we inquire after things that are far away (Pliny the Younger)

ecce spectaculum dignum, ad quod respiciat intentus operi suo Deus. Ecce par Deo

dignum, vir fortis cum mala fortuna compositus: behold a worthy sight, to which

the God, turning his attention to his own work, may direct his gaze. Behold an equal

thing, worthy of a God, a brave man matched in conflict with evil fortune (Seneca)

ego consuetudinem sermonis vocabo consensum eruditorum; sicut vivendi,

consensum bonorum: I consider as the rule of language the style of the learned;

as the rule of life the manners of the good (Quintilian)

ego de caseo loquor, tu de creta respondes: while I talk to you of cheese, you talk

to me of chalk (Erasmus)

ego nec studium sine divite vena, nec rude quid prosit video ingenium: I see

not what good can come from study without a rich vein of genius untrained by art

(Horace)

ego, si bonam famam mihi servasso, sat ero dives: if I keep my good character, I

shall be rich enough (Plautus)

ego si risi quod ineptus pastillos Rufillus olet, lividus et mordax videar?: if I

smile at the perfumes with which Rufillus is scented, must I therefore be regarded

as envious or ill-natured? (Horace)

ego sum qui sum esse quam videri bonus malebat; ita

ego sum qui sum: I am who I am (Exodus 3:14)

ego sum rex Romanus et supra grammaticam: I am king of the Romans and

above grammar (Emperor Sigismund at the Council of Constance)

ego sum via et veritas et vita: I am the way and the truth and the life (St. John 14:6)

ego sum vitis vera, et Pater meus agricola est: I am the true vine, and my Father

is the vinedresser (St. John 15:1)

ego verum amo, verum volo mihi dici; mendacem odi: I love truth and wish to

have it always spoken to me; I hate a liar (Plautus)

egregii mortalem, altique silenti: a being of extraordinary and profound silence

(Horace)

eheu!, fugaces, Posthume, Posthume, labuntur anni; nec pietas moram rugis et

instanti senectæ afferet, indomitæque morti: alas!, Posthumus, the years glide

swiftly away; nor can even piety delay the wrinkles of approaching age, or the

progress of indomitable death (Horace)

eheu!, quam brevibus pereunt ingentia fatis (or causis): alas!, By what slight

means are great affairs brought to destruction (Claudian)

eloquentia, alumna licentiæ, quam stulti libertatem vocabant: eloquence, the

foster-child of license, which fools call liberty (Tacitus)

emori nolo, sed me esse mortuum nihil curo: I would not die, but I care not to be

dead (variant of Epicharmos, as quoted by Cicero)

emori nolo: sed me esse mortuum nihil æstimo: I do not wish to die; but I care

not if I were dead (Epicharmos, as quoted by Cicero)

entia non sunt multiplicanda præter necessitatem: no more things should be

presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary (attributed to William of Occam,

known as Occam’s razor)

equitis et quoque jam migravit ab aure voluptas omnis ad incertos oculos, et

gaudia vana: our gentry no longer receives any pleasure through the ear, and relish

only delusive shows and empty pomp (Horace)

equo ne credite, Teucri. Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes: do

not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even when they are

bearing gifts (Virgil)

erant in officio, sed tamen qui mallent imperantium mandata interpretari,

quam exsequi: they attended to their duties, but still as if they would rather debate

the commands of their superiors than obey them (Tacitus)

eripe turpi colla jugo. Liber, liber sum, dic age: tear away your neck from the

yoke. Come, say free, I am free (Horace)

errare malo cum Platone, quam cum istis vera sentire: I’d rather be wrong with

Plato than think right with those men (Cicero)

erubuit; salva res est: he blushed; the affair is safe (Terence)

esse est percipi: to be is to be perceived (Berkeley)

esse quam videri bonus malebat; ita quo minus petebat gloriam, eo magis illum

sequebatur: he chose to be good rather than to seem good; and so, the less he

strove for fame, the closer it followed after him (Sallust)

est animus tibi rerumque prudens, et et cum spiritu tuo

est animus tibi rerumque prudens, et secundis temporibus dubiisque rectus:

you possess a mind both sagacious in the management of affairs and steady at once

in prosperous times (Horace)

est animus tibi, sunt mores et lingua, fidesque: you have a man’s soul, good

manners and powers of speech, and fidelity (Horace, said of a gentleman)

est bonus, ut melior vir non alius quisquam: he is so good that no man can be

better (Horace)

est brevitate opus, ut currat sententia: there is need of conciseness, as the thought

may run on (Horace)

est deus in nobis, et sunt commercia coeli. Sedibus ætheriis spiritus ille venit:

there is a god within us, and we hold commerce with heaven. That spirit comes

from abodes on high (Ovid)

est enim lex nihil aliud nisi recta et a numine deorum tracta ratio, imperans

honesta, prohibens contraria: for law is nothing else but right reason supported

by the authority of the gods, commanding what is honorable and prohibiting the

contrary (Cicero)

est hic, est ubi vis, animus si te non deficit æquus: it is here, it is everywhere, if

only a well-regulated mind does not fail you (Horace, said of happiness)

est modus in rebus; sunt certi denique fines quos ultra citraque nequit

consistere rectum: there is a mean (or middle) in everything. There are fixed

limits beyond which and short of which right is not able to find a place (Horace)

est multi fabula plena joci: it is a story full of fun (Ovid)

est profecto Deus, qui quæ nos gerimus auditque et videt; neque id verum

existimo, quod vulgo dicitur, Fortuna humana fingit aptatque, ut lubet: there is

certainly a God who sees and hears the things that we do; I cannot believe that which is

ordinarily said, that Fortune makes and unmakes all human affairs at pleasure (Plautus)

est quadam (or quoddam) prodire tenus, si non datur ultra: it is something to

proceed thus far, if it be not permitted to go farther (Horace)

est tempus quando nihil, est tempus quando aliquid, nullum tamen est tempus

in quo dicenda sunt omnia: there is a time when nothing may be said, a time

when something may be said, but no time when all things may be said

estne Dei sedes nisi terra, et pontus, et aër, et coelum, et virtus? Superos quid

quærimus ultra? Jupiter est, quodcunque vides, quodcunque moveris: has

God a dwelling other than earth and sea and air and heaven and virtue? Why do we

seek the gods beyond? Whatever you see, wherever you go, there is Jupiter (Lucan)

esto peccator et pecca fortiter, sed fortius fide et gaude in Christo: be a sinner

and sin strongly, but more strongly have faith and rejoice in Christ (Martin Luther)

esto quod es; quod sunt alii, sine quemlibet esse; quod non es, nolis; quod

potes esse, velis: be what you are; let whoever will be what others are; do not be

what you are not; but resolutely be what you can be

esurientes implevit bonis, et divites dimisit inanes: he has filled the hungry with

good things, and the rich he has sent away empty (St. Luke 1:53)

et campos ubi Troja fuit: and the fields where Troy once was (Virgil)

et cum spiritu tuo: and with thy spirit (liturgical response to Dominus vobiscum,

the Lord be with you)

et ego in Arcadia et penitus toto divisos orbe

et ego in Arcadia: I too have been to Arcadia (i.e., I know all about it)

et errat longe mea quidem sententia qui imperium credit gravius esse aut

stabilius, vi quod fit, quam illud quod amicitia adjungitur: it is a great error,

according to my opinion, in those who believe that a government is more firm, or

more assured, when it is supported by force, than when it exists by kindness and

voluntary obedience (Terence)

et facere et pati fortiter Romanum est: bravery and endurance make a man a

Roman (Livy)

et illa erant fercula, in quibus mihi esurienti te inferebatur sol et luna: and

these were the dishes wherein to me, hunger-starved for you, they served up the

sun and moon (St. Augustine)

et ipse quidem, quamquam medio in spatio integræ ætatis ereptus, quantum ad

gloriam, longissimum ævum peregit: and he, though carried off in the prime of

life, had lived long enough for glory (Tacitus)

et jam summa procul villarum culmina fumant, majoresque cadunt altis de

montibus umbræ: and now the cottage roofs yonder smoke, and the shadows fall

longer from the mountain tops (Virgil)

et mea cymba semel vasta percussa procella illum, quo læsa est, horret adire

locum: my raft, once shaken by the overpowering storm, shrinks from approaching

the spot where it has been shattered (Ovid)

et meæ, si quid loquar audiendum, vocis accedet bona pars: if any opinion of

mine is worthy of attention, it shall be given freely in his favor (Horace)

et mihi res, non me rebus, subjungere (or submittere) conor: I try to subject (or

submit) circumstances to myself, not myself to circumstances (Horace)

et nati natorum, et qui nascentur ab illis: and the children of our children, and

those who shall be born to them (i.e., for our many generations to come) (Virgil)

et nomen pacis dulce est et ipsa res salutaris, sed inter pacem et servitutem

plurimum interest. Pax est tranquilla libertas, servitus postremum malorum

omnium non modo bello, sed morte etiam repellendum: the name of peace is

sweet and the thing itself is salutary, but there is a great difference between peace

and slavery. Peace is freedom in tranquility, slavery is the worst of all evils, to be

resisted not only by war, but even by death (Cicero)

et nos quoque tela sparsimus: we too have hurled javelins (i.e., we too are proud

warriors, or veterans of war)

et nova fictaque nuper habebunt verba fidem, si Græco fonte cadunt parce

detorta: and new and lately invented terms will be well received, if they descend,

with slight deviation, from a Grecian source (Horace)

et nulli cessura fides, sine crimine mores, nudaque simplicitas, purpureusque

pudor: and I have good faith that will yield to none, and ways without reproach,

and unadorned simplicity, and blushing modesty (Ovid)

et nunc magna mei sub terras currit imago: and now my shade shall descend

illustrious to the grave (Virgil)

et penitus toto divisos orbe Britannos: even to Britannia, that land completely

separated from the world (Virgil)

et Phoebo digna locuti, quique sui exemplo quodcunque malo

et Phoebo digna locuti, quique sui memores alios fecere merendo: omnibus his

nivea cinguntur tempora vitta: those who spoke things worthy of Phoebus, and

those who made men recollect them for their merits: all have their temples bound

with a snow-white ribbon (a reference to Elysium) (Virgil)

et pudet, et metuo, semperque eademque precari, ne subeant animo tædia

justa tuo: I am ashamed to be always begging and begging the same things, and

fear lest you should conceive for me the disgust I merit (Ovid)

et quæ sibi quisque timebat unius in miseri exitium conversa tulere: and what

each man feared for himself was easily borne, when it was turned to the destruction of a

single wretch! (Virgil, in reference to casting lots to sacrifice one of a number of people)

et quorum pars magna fui: and in which I played a prominent part (Virgil)

et res non semper, spes mihi semper adest: my hopes are not always realized, but

I always hope (Ovid)

et tu, Brute (fili mi): you too, Brutus (my son) (Julius Cжsar; Suetonius reports that

this was said in Greek: kai su, teknon, you too, my son)

etenim omnes artes, quæ ad humanitatem pertinent, habent quoddam

commune vinculum, et quasi cognatione quadam inter se continentur: all the

arts, which belong to polished life, are held together by some common tie, and

connected, as it were, by some intimate relation (Cicero)

etiam quæ sibi quisque timebat unius in miseri exitium conversa tulere: what

each man feared would happen to himself did not trouble him when he saw that it

would ruin another (Virgil)

etiam sanato vulnere cicatrix manet: though the wound is healed, a scar remains

evolare rus ex urbe tanquam ex vinculis: to fly from the town into the country, as

though from bonds (Cicero)

ex diuturnitate temporis omnia præsumuntur esse solemniter acta: everything

established for a length of time is presumed to have been done in due form

ex humili magna ad fastigia rerum extollit, quoties voluit fortuna jocari:

whenever Fortune is in a joking mood, she raises men from a humble station to the

imposing summit of affairs (Juvenal)

ex quovis ligno non fit Mercurius: the god Mercury is not to be fashioned from

just any piece of wood (Horace)

ex vita discedo, tanquam ex hospitio, non tanquam ex domo: I depart from life

as from an inn, not as from a home (Cicero)

ex vultibus hominum mores colligere: to construe men’s characters by their looks

exacto contentus tempore vita cedat uti conviva satur: content with his past life,

let him take leave of life like a satiated guest (Horace)

excepto quod non simul esses, cætera lætus: except that you were not with me, in

other respects I was happy

exeat aula qui vult esse pius: let him who will be good retire from the court (a

reference to the corruption that surrounds the court system) (Lucretius)

exemplo quodcunque malo committitur, ipsi displicet auctori: whatever is

committed from a bad example is displeasing even to its author (i.e., we hate the

faults in others that we see in ourselves) (Juvenal) exigite ut mores teneros ceu pollice facile omnes cum valemus recta

exigite ut mores teneros ceu pollice ducat, ut si quis cera vultum facit: require

him as with his thumb to mold their youthful morals, just as one fashions a face

with plastic wax (Juvenal)

exigo a me non ut optimis par sim, sed ut malis melior: I require myself not to

be equal to the best, but to be better than the bad (Seneca)

exigua est virtus præstare silentia rebus; at contra, gravis est culpa tacenda

loqui: slight is the merit of keeping silence on a matter; on the other hand, serious

is the guilt of talking on things whereon we should be silent (Ovid)

exigui numero, sed bello vivida virtus: small in number, but their valor is quick for

war (Virgil)

exilioque domos et dulcia limina mutant atque alio patriam quærunt sub sole

jacentem: they exchange their home and sweet thresholds for exile, and seek

another country under another sun (Virgil)

exitio est avidium mare nautis: the greedy sea is destruction to sailors (Horace)

expende Hannibalem: quot libras in duce summo invenies?: weigh Hannibal:

how many pounds will you find in that great leader? (Juvenal)

explorant adversa viros; perque aspera duro nititur ad laudem virtus interrita

clivo: adversity tries men; and virtue struggles after fame regardless of the adverse

heights (Silius Italicus)

exuerint sylvestrem animum, cultuque frequenti, in quascunque voces artes,

haud tarda sequentur: they lay aside their rustic ideas, and by repeated

instruction will advance apace into whatever arts you may initiate them (Virgil)

F

Fabius Verrucosus beneficium ab homine duro aspere datum, panem

lapidosum vocabat: Fabius Verrucosus called a favor roughly bestowed by a hard

man bread made of stone (Seneca)

fabula, nec sentis, tota jactaris in urbe: though you do not know it, you are the

talk of the town (Ovid)

facetiarum apud præpotentes in longum memoria est: men in power long

remember the jests of which they have been the subject (Tacitus)

facies non omnibus una, nec diversa tamen; qualem decet esse sororum: the

features were not the same in them all, nor yet are they quite different; but such as

we would expect in sisters (i.e., a reference to family resemblance) (Ovid)

facile esse momento, quo quis velit, cedere possessione magnæ fortunæ; facere

et parare eam difficile atque arduum esse: it is easy at any moment to surrender

a large fortune; to build one up is a difficult and arduous task (Livy)

facile omnes cum valemus recta consilia ægrotis damus. Tu si hic sis aliter

senties: it is easy for us to give the right advice to the sick when we all are well.

Were you in my place, you would feel otherwise (Terence)

facilis descensus Averno (est) fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor

facilis descensus Averno (est), noctes atque dies patet atri janua Ditis; sed

revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras, hoc opus, hic labor est: the

descent to Avernus (hell) is easy; night and day the gate of gloomy Dis (Hades)

stands open; but to retrace your steps and escape to the upper air, this is work, this

is toil (Virgil)

facilius per partes in cognitionem totius adducimur: we are more easily led part

by part to an understanding of the whole (Seneca)

facis de necessitate virtutem: you make a virtue of necessity (St. Jerome)

faciunt næ intelligendo, ut nihil intelligant: they are so knowing, that they know

nothing (Terence)

facta canam; sed erunt qui me finxisse loquantur: I am about to sing of facts; but

some will say I have invented them (Ovid)

facta ejus cum dictis discrepant: his actions do not square with his words (Cicero)

facte nova virtute, puer; sic itur ad astra: go on and increase in valor, young man;

thus the path to immortality (Virgil)

fænum habet in cornu, longe fuge: he has hay on his horns; flee far away (Horace)

fallacia alia aliam trudit: one falsehood thrusts aside another (i.e., leads to more)

(Terence)

fallentis semita vitæ: the narrow path of an unnoticed (or deceptive) life (Horace)

fallit enim vitium, specie virtutis et umbra, cum sit triste habitu, vultuque et

veste severum: vice can deceive under the shape and shadow of virtue, when sad

and severe in its dress and countenance (Juvenal)

fallitur, egregio quisquis sub principe credit servitium. Nunquam libertas

gratior extat quam sub rege pio: whoever thinks it slavery to serve under an eminent

prince is mistaken. Liberty is never more gracious than under a pious king (Claudian)

falso damnati crimine mortis: condemned to die on a false charge (Virgil)

falsus honor juvat et mendax infamia terret quem nisi mendosum et

mendacem?: whom does false honor aid and calumny deter but the vicious and the

liar? (Horace)

fama est obscurior annis: the fame (or rumor) has become obscure through the

years (Virgil)

fama, malum quo non aliud velocius ullum, mobilitate viget, viresque acquirit

eundo: rumor, than which no evil thing of any kind is more swift, increases with

travel and gains strength by its progress (Virgil)

fama volat parvam subito vulgata per urbem: the rumor forthwith flies abroad,

dispersed throughout the small town (Virgil)

famem fuisse suspicor matrem mihi: I suspect that hunger was my mother

(Plautus)

fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum, donec requiescat in te (or, fecisti

enim nos ad te, et cor inquietum donec requiescat in te): you (God) have

created us for yourself, and our heart cannot be quieted until it finds rest in you

(St. Augustine)

felices ter et amplius quos irrupta flere licet certe

felices ter et amplius quos irrupta tenet copula, nec, malis divulsus

querimoniis, suprema citius solvet amor die: happy three times over are those

who enjoy uninterrupted union, and whose love, unbroken by evil complaints, shall

not dissolve until the last day (Horace)

fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt: men willingly believe what they

wish to believe (Julius Cжsar)

fertilior seges est alienis semper in agris, vicinumque pecus grandius uber

habet: the crop is always greater in the lands of another, and the cattle of our

neighbor are deemed more productive than our own (Ovid)

fervens difficili bile tumet jecur: my hot passion swells with savage wrath (Horace)

festinare nocet, nocet et cunctatio sæpe; tempore quæque suo qui facit, ille

sapit: it is bad to hurry, and delay is often as bad; the wise person is the one who

does everything in its proper time (Ovid)

festinat decurrere velox flosculus angustæ, miseræque brevissima vitæ portio;

dum bibimus, dum serta, unguenta, puellas poscimus, obrepit non intellecta

senectus: the flower of our brief and narrow existence fades rapidly into decline,

its course is quickly ended; whilst we drink, and call for garlands, for perfumes, and

for girls, old age steals upon us by surprise (Juvenal)

festinatione nil tutius in discordiis civilibus: nothing is safer than dispatch in civil

quarrels (Tacitus)

fictis meminerit nos jocari fabulis: be it remembered that we are amusing you with

tales of fiction (Phжdrus)

fidem fati virtute sequemur: with my own virtue I shall strive to achieve the

promise given to me by destiny

fidem qui perdit, quo se servet relicuo?: the one who has lost his honor, what has

he left to live upon? (Publilius Syrus)

fides quærens intellectum (or, fidens quærens intellectum): faith seeking

understanding (i.e., belief before understanding) (St. Augustine)

fiere non potest, ut filius istarum lacrimarum pereat: it is not possible that the

son of these tears should be lost (St. Augustine)

finge datos currus, quid agas?: suppose the chariot (of the sun) be committed to

you, what would you do? (Ovid, Apollo to Phжthon)

fingit equum tenera docilem cervice magister ire viam qua monstret eques: the

trainer trains the docile horse to turn, with his sensitive neck, whichever way the

rider indicates (Horace)

fingunt se medicos quivis idiota, sacerdos, Judæus, monachus, histrio, rasor,

anus: any untrained person, priest, Jew, monk, play actor, barber, or old wife is

ready to prescribe for you in sickness

flebit, et insignis tota cantabitur urbe: he shall regret it and be a marked man, the

butt of some merry song (Horace)

flere licet certe: flendo diffundimus iram; perque sinum lacrimæ, fluminis

instar enim: truly it is allowed us to weep: by weeping we disperse our wrath; and

tears go through the heart, even like a stream (Ovid)

floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia fortuna belli semper ancipiti in loco

floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant, omnia nos itidem despascimur aurea

dicta: as bees taste of everything in the flowery meadows, so we feed on every

golden word that falls from his lips (i.e., one who selects the best of everything that

is encountered) (Lucretius)

foecunda culpæ sæcula nuptias primum inquinavere et genus et domos: this

age, fertile of guilt, has first polluted the marriage bed, and with it our people and

our houses (Horace)

foenum habet in cornu, longe fuge, dummodo risum excutiat sibi, non hic

cuiquam parcit amico: he has a wisp of hay on his horn, flee far from him; if only

he raise a laugh for himself, there is no friend he would spare (Horace)

foliis tantum ne carmina manda; ne turbata volent rapidis ludibria ventis:

neither commit your oracles to leaves of paper, lest they fly about dispersed, the

sport of rushing winds (Virgil)

formidinem mortis vicit aurum: gold has conquered the fear of death (Apuleius)

formosa virgo est; dotis dimidium vocant isti, qui dotes neglegunt uxorias: the

girl is pretty; this is half the dowry, say those men who are not interested in a dowry

(Lucius Afranius)

formosos sæpe inveni pessimos, et turpi facie multos cognovi optimos: I have

often found good-looking people to be very base, and I have known many ugly

people most estimable (Phжdrus)

forsan et hæc olim meminisse juvabit; durante, et vosmet rebus servate

secundis: perhaps it will be a delight to us some day to recall these misfortunes;

bear them, therefore, and reserve yourselves for better times (Virgil)

forsan miseros meliora sequentur: perhaps a better fate awaits the afflicted (Virgil)

forsitan et nostrum nomen miscebitur istis: perhaps my name will be linked with

theirs (Ovid)

fortem posce animum mortis terrore carentem, qui spatium vitæ extremum

inter munera ponat Naturæ: pray for a strong soul free from the fear of death,

which regards the final period of life among the gifts of Nature (Juvenal)

fortes creantur fortibus et bonis; est in juvencis, est in equis patrum virtus, nec

imbellem feroces progenerant aquilæ columbam: brave men are begotten by

the brave and good; there is in steers and in horses the virtue of their sires, nor does

the fierce eagle beget the dove (Horace)

fortes et strenuos etiam contra fortunam insistere, timidos et ignoros ad

desperationem formidine properare: the brave and bold persist even against

fortune; the timid and cowardly rush to despair through fear alone (Tacitus)

fortes in fine assequendo et suaves in modo assequendi simus: let us be resolute

in prosecuting our purpose and mild in the manner of attaining it (Aquaviva)

fortuito quodam concursu atomorum: certain fortuitous concourse of atoms

(Cicero)

fortuna amorem pejor infammat magis: when fortune frowns, love’s flame burns

fiercer (Seneca)

fortuna belli semper ancipiti in loco est: the fortune of war stands ever on the

verge (Seneca)

fortuna miserrima tuta est garrit aniles ex re fabellas

fortuna miserrima tuta est: nam timor eventus deterioris abest: the most

wretched fortune is safe; for there is no fear of anything worse (Ovid)

fortunæ majoris honos, erectus et acer: an honor to his distinguished position,

upright and brave (Claudian)

fragili quærens illidere dentem offendet solido: he (my adversary), in trying to fix

a tooth in some tender part, shall strike it against the solid (i.e., shall find firm

resistance) (Horace)

fragrantia durant Herculea collecta manu: when gathered by Hercules’s hand,

they keep their fragrance

frater, ave atque vale: brother, hello and goodbye (Catullus)

frustra retinacula tendens ferter equis auriga, neque audit currus habenas: in

vain, as he tugs at the reins, is the charioteer borne along by the steeds, and the

chariot heeds not the curb (Virgil)

frustra vitium vitaveris illud, si te alio pravus detorseris: in vain do you avoid one

fault if you perversely turn aside into another (Horace)

fuge magna; licet sub paupere tecto reges et regum vita præcurrere amicos:

avoid greatness; under a poor roof there may be found more happiness than kings

and their courtiers in palaces enjoy (Horace)

fugit improbus, ac me sub cultro linquit: the rogue runs away and leaves me with

the knife at my throat (i.e., to be sacrificed) (Horace)

fuimus Troës, fuit Ilium, et ingens gloria Teucrorum: we Trojans are no more;

Ilium is no more, and the great glory of the Teucrians (Virgil)

fuit hæc sapientia quondam, publica privatis secernere, sacra profanis,

concubitu prohibere vago, dare jura maritis, oppida moliri leges incidere

ligno: this of old was accounted wisdom: to separate public from private property,

things sacred from profane, to restrain from vagrant concubinage, to ordain laws

for married people, to build cities, to engrave laws on tablets (Horace)

fumum et opes strepitumque Romæ: the smoke, the wealth, the din of Rome

(Juvenal and Horace)

fungar inani munere: I shall discharge a fruitless and unavailing duty (Virgil)

fungar vice cotis, acutum reddere quæ ferrum valet, exsors ipsa secandi: I shall

perform the office of a whetstone, which can make other things sharp, though it is

itself incapable of cutting (Horace)

G

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres: all of Gaul is divided into three parts (Julius

Cжsar)

garrit aniles ex re fabellas: he tells a fable according to the circumstance (i.e., his

argument is more fable than fact) (Horace)

gaudeamus igitur, juvenes dum

Grais ingenium, Grais dedit ore

gaudeamus igitur, juvenes dum sumus; post jucundam juventutem, post

molestam senectutem, nos habebit humus: let us rejoice, therefore, while we

are young; after the pleasures of youth and after the weariness of old age, the earth

will hold us (a students’ song dating from the 13th century)

gaudent prænomine molles auriculæ: his delicate ears are delighted with the title

(Horace)

gaudet equis, canibusque, et aprici gramine campi: he delights in horses, dogs,

and the grass of the sunny plain (Horace)

gaudete vosque, O Lydiæ lacus undæ; ridete quidquid est domi cachinnorum:

rejoice you too, waters of the Lydian lake, and laugh out loud all the laughter you

have at your command (Catullus)

gaudetque viam fecisse ruina: he rejoices at having made his way by ruin (Lucan,

said of Julius Cжsar)

genus et proavos et quæ non fecimus ipsi, vix ea nostra voco: birth, ancestry,

and what we have ourselves not done, I would hardly call our own (Ovid)

genus humanum superavit: he surpassed the human race in natural ability

(Lucretius)

genus immortale manet, multosque per annos stat fortuna domus, et avi

numerantur avorum: the race continues immortal, and through many years the

fortune of the house stands steadfast, and it numbers grandchildren of

grandchildren (Virgil)

gigni de nihilo nihil; in nihilum nil posse reverti: nothing can be produced from

nothing; nothing can be returned into nothing (Persius)

gigni pariter cum corpore, et una crescere sentimus pariterque senescere

mentem: we see that the mind is born with the body, that it grows with it, and also

ages with it (Lucretius)

gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonæ voluntatis. Laudamus te,

benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te: glory to God in the highest, and

peace on earth to men of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we

glorify you (from the Catholic Mass)

gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et

semper, et in sæcula sæculorum: glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to

the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without

end (from the Catholic Mass)

Græcia capta ferum victorem cepit, et artes intulit agresti Latio: Greece, once

conquered, in turn conquered its uncivilized conqueror, and brought the arts to

rustic Latium (Horace)

Græculus esuriens in coelum jusseris ibit: command the hungry Greek to go to

heaven, and he will go (i.e., he will attempt the impossible) (Juvenal)

Grais ingenium, Grais dedit ore rotundo Musa loqui: to the Greeks the Muse

gave ingenuity, to the Greeks it gave eloquent speech (Horace)

Gram. loquitur, Dia. vera docet habet cerebrum sensus arcem; hic

Gram. loquitur, Dia. vera docet, Rhe. verba colorat, Mu. canit, Ar. numerat,

Geo. ponderat, As. docet astra: Grammar speaks, Dialectics teaches the truth,

Rhetoric gives color to speech, Music sings, Arithmetic numbers, Geometry weighs

and measures, and Astronomy teaches the stars (i.e., the seven liberal arts)

grammatici certant, et adhuc sub judice lis est: the grammarians quibble and still

the case (or question) is unresolved (Horace)

grammaticus, rhetor, geometres, pictor, aliptes, augur, schoenobates, medicus,

magus, omnia novit Græculus esuriens: in cælum jusseris ibit: grammarian,

rhetorician, geometrician, painter, athletic trainer, diviner, tightrope walker,

doctor, magician, the hungry Greek can do everything: send him to heaven, and

he’ll go there too (Juvenal)

gratia, Musa, tibi. Nam tu solatia præbes; tu curæ requis, tu medicina mali:

thanks to you, my Muse. For you afford me comfort; you are a rest from my cares,

a cure for my woes (Ovid)

gratia, quæ tarda est, ingrata est: gratia namque cum fieri properat, gratia

grata magis: a favor tardily bestowed is no favor: for a favor quickly granted is a

more agreeable favor (Ausonius)

gratis anhelans, multa agendo nihil agens: panting without a cause, and, in

pretending to do much, really doing nothing (Phжdrus)

gratulor quod eum quem necesse erat diligere, qualiscunque esset, talem

habemus, ut libenter quoque diligamus: I am glad that the one whom I must

have loved from duty, whatever he might have been, is the same one whom I can

love from inclination (Trebonius, according to Tullium)

gratum hominem semper beneficium delectat; ingratum semel: a kindness is

always delightful to a grateful person; to the ungrateful, only at the time of its

receipt (Seneca)

grave pondus illum magna nobilitas premit: his exalted rank weighs heavy on him

as a grievous burden (Seneca)

gutta cavat lapidem, consumitur annulus usu, et teritur pressa vomer aduncus

humo: the drop hollows the stone, the ring is worn by use, and the crooked

ploughshare is frayed away by the pressure of the earth (Ovid)

H

habemus luxuriam atque avaritiam, publice egestatem, privatim opulentiam:

we have luxury and avarice, public debt and private opulence (Sallust, attributed to

Cato, said of Rome)

habet aliquid ex iniquo omne magnum exemplum, quod contra singulos,

utilitate publica rependitur: every great example of punishment has in it some

tincture of injustice, but the wrong to individuals is compensated by the promotion

of the public good (Tacitus)

habet cerebrum sensus arcem; hic mentis est regimen: the brain is the citadel of

the senses: this guides the principle of thought (Pliny the Elder)

habet iracundia hoc mali, non vult has poenas garrula lingua dedit

habet iracundia hoc mali, non vult regi: there is in anger this evil, that it will not

be controlled (Seneca)

hac quoque de causa, si te proverbia tangunt, mense malos Maio nubere vulgus

ait: for this reason, if you believe proverbs, let me tell you the common one: “It is

unlucky to marry in May” (Ovid)

hæ tibi erunt artes, pacisque imponere morem, parcere subjectis et debellare

superbos: these shall be your arts, to set forth the law of peace, to spare the

conquered, and to subdue the proud (Virgil)

hæc amat obscurum; volet hæc sub luce videri, judicis argutum quæ non

formidat acumen; hæc placuit semel; hæc decies repetita placebit: one (poem)

courts the shade; another, not afraid of the critic’s keen eye, chooses to be seen in a strong

light; the one pleases but once, the other will still please if ten times repeated (Horace)

hæc ego mecum compressis agito labris; ubi quid datur oti, illudo chartis: these

things I revolve around myself with compressed lips; when I have any leisure, I

amuse myself with my writings (Horace)

hæc est condicio vivendi, aiebat, eoque responsura tuo nunquam est par fama

labori: such is the lot of life, he said, and so your merits will never receive their due

reward of praise (Horace)

hæc perinde sunt, ut illius animus, qui ea possidet. Qui uti scit, ei bona, illi qui

non utitur recte, mala: these things are exactly according to the disposition of the

one who possesses them. To the one who knows how to use them, they are

blessings; to the one who does not use them rightly, they are evils (Terence)

hæc prima lex in amicitia sanciatur, ut neque rogemus res turpes, nec faciamus

rogati: be this the first law established in friendship, that we neither ask of others

what is dishonorable, nor ourselves do it when asked (Cicero)

hæc scripsi non otii abundantia, sed amoris erga te: I have written this, not as

having abundance of leisure, but out of love for you (Cicero)

hæc studia adolescentiam alunt, senectutem oblectant, secundas res ornant,

adversis solatium ac perfugium præbent, delectant domi, non impediunt

foris, pernoctant nobiscum, peregrinantur, rusticantur: these (literary) studies

are the food of youth and the consolation of old age; they adorn prosperity and are

the comfort and refuge of adversity; they are pleasant at home and are no

encumbrance abroad; they accompany us at night, in our travels, and in our rural

retreats (Cicero)

hæc sunt jucundi causa cibusque mali: these things are at once the cause and food

of this delicious malady (Ovid)

hæc vivendi ratio mihi non convenit: this mode of living does not suit me (Cicero)

hæret lateri lethalis arundo: the deadly arrow sticks in his (or her) side (Virgil)

hanc personam induisti, agenda est: you have assumed this part, and you must act

it out (Seneca)

hanc veniam petimusque damusque vicissim: we give this privilege and receive it

in turn (Horace, a reference to the author as critic)

has poenas garrula lingua dedit: this punishment a prating tongue brought on him

(Ovid)

has vaticinationes eventus hic locus est partes ubi se via findit in

has vaticinationes eventus comprobavit: the event has verified these predictions

(Cicero)

haud facile emergunt quorum vitutibus obstat res angusta domi: it is not easy

for people to rise out of obscurity when they have to face straitened circumstances

at home (Juvenal)

haud scio an pietate adversus deos sublata fides etiam et societas generi

humani et una excellentissima virtus justitia tollatur: in all probability the

disappearance of piety toward the gods will entail the disappearance of faith and

sodality among men as well as justice, the greatest of all the virtues (Cicero)

Hectora quis nosset, si felix Troja fuisset? Publica virtuti per mala facta via est:

who would have known of Hector if Troy had been fortunate? A highway is open to

virtue through the midst of misfortunes (Ovid)

hei mihi!, difficile est imitari gaudia falsa, difficile est tristi fingere mente

jocum: oh my!, it is hard to feign the joys one does not feel, hard to feign

merriment when one’s heart is sad (Tibullus)

hei mihi!, qualis erat!, quantum mutatus ab illo Hectore, qui redit, exuvias

indutus Achilli: oh my!, how sad he looked!, how changed from that Hector who

returned in triumph arrayed in the spoils of Achilles (Virgil)

hei mihi!, quam facile est (quamvis hic contigit omnes), alterius lucta fortia

verba loqui!: oh my!, how easy it is (how much all have experienced it), to indulge

in brave words in another person’s trouble! (Ovid)

heu, cadit in quemquam tantum scelus!: alas, that so great a crime falls upon

anyone! (Paradin)

heu, melior quanto sors tua sorte mea!: alas, how much better is your fate than

mine! (Ovid)

heu!, quantum fati parva tabella vehit!: alas!, with what a weight of destiny is this

one small plank carried! (Ovid)

heu!, totum triduum!: alas!, three whole days! (Terence, a reference to the

separation of lovers)

hi motus animorum atque hæc certamina tanta pulveris exigui jactu compressa

quiescent: these passions of their souls, these conflicts so fierce, will cease, and be

repressed by the casting of a little dust (Virgil)

hi narrata ferunt alio; mensuraque ficti crescit et auditus aliquid novus adjicit

auctor: some report elsewhere whatever is told them; the measure of fiction always

increases, and each fresh narrator adds something to what he has heard (Ovid)

hic dies, vere mihi festus, atras eximet curas: this day, for me a true holiday, shall

banish gloomy cares (Cicero)

hic est enim sanguis meus novi testamenti: this is the new covenant in my blood

(St. Matthew 26:28)

hic gelidi fontes, hic mollia prata, Lycori, hic nemus, hic toto tecum

consumerer ævo: here are cool springs, Lycoris, here soft meadows, here a grove;

here with you could I pass my whole life (Virgil)

hic locus est partes ubi se via findit in ambas: this is the spot where the way

divides into two branches (Virgil)

hic murus aheneus esto, nil conscire his saltem accumulem donis, et

hic murus aheneus esto, nil conscire sibi, nulla pallescere culpa: let this be your

brazen wall of defense, to have nothing on your conscience, no guilt to make you

turn pale (Horace)

hic niger est; hunc tu, Romane, caveto: this fellow is a dark heart; be careful of

him, Roman (Horace)

hic nigræ succus loliginis, hæc est ægrugo mera: this is the very venom of dark

detraction; this is pure malignity (Horace)

hic patet ingeniis campus, certusque merenti stat favor; ornatur propriis

industria donis: here is a field open for talent, and here merit will have certain

favor, and industry graced with its due reward (Claudian)

hic rogo, non furor est ne moriare mori?: I ask, is it not madness to die that you

may not die? (Martial)

hic situs est Phaëthon currus auriga paterni; quem si non tenuit, magnis tamen

excidit ausis: here lies buried Phaлthon, the driver of his father’s carriage, which

he did not manage, still he perished in a great attempt (Ovid)

hic transitus efficit magnum vitæ compedium: this change effects a great savings

of life (i.e., of time)

hic ubi nunc urbs est, tum locus urbis erat: here, where the city now stands, was

at that time nothing but its site (Ovid)

hic ver assiduum, atque alienis mensibus æstas: here is ceaseless spring, and

summer in months in which summer is alien (Virgil, referring to Italy)

hic victor cæstus artemque repono: here victorious I lay aside my gauntlet and my

net (Virgil)

hic vivimus ambitiosa paupertate omnes: here we all live in a state of ostentatious

poverty (Juvenal)

hinc illæ lacrimæ (or lacrymæ)!, hæc illa ’st misericordia: hence these tears!, and

hence all that compassion (Terence)

hinc omne principium, huc refer exitum: to them ascribe every undertaking, to

them the issue (Horace, referring to the gods)

hinc subitæ mortes atque intestata senectus: hence sudden deaths and intestate

old age (Juvenal)

hinc totam infelix vulgatur fama per urbem: hence the unhappy news is spread

abroad through the whole city (Virgil)

hinc usura vorax, avidumque in tempore fænus, et concussa fides, et multis

utile bellum: hence arise devouring usury, grasping interest, shaken credit, and

war of advantage to many (Lucan, said of the ambition of Cжsar)

hinc venti dociles resono se carcere solvunt, et cantum accepta pro libertate

rependunt: hence the obedient winds are loosed from their sounding prison, and

repay the liberty they have received with a tune (said of an organ)

his lachrymis vitam damus, et miserescimus ultro: to these tears we grant him

life, and pity him besides (Virgil)

his legibus solutis respublica stare non potest: with these laws repealed, the

republic cannot last (Cicero)

his saltem accumulem donis, et fungar inani munere: let me at least bestow upon

him those last offerings, and discharge a vain and unavailing duty (Virgil) hoc erat in votis; modus agri non ita homo est animal bipes rationale

hoc erat in votis; modus agri non ita magnus; hortus ubi, et tecto vicinus jugis

aquæ fons, et paulum silvæ super his foret: this was in my prayers: a piece of

ground not too large, with a garden, and a spring of never-failing water near my

house, and a little woodland besides (Horace)

hoc est quod palles?; cur quis non prandeat, hoc est?: is it for this you look so

pale?; is this a reason why one should not dine? (Persius)

hoc fonte derivata clades in patriam populumque fluxit: from this source has the

destruction flowed, which overwhelmed the country and its people (Horace)

hoc Herculi, Iovis satu edito, potuit fortasse contingere, nobis non item: this

might perchance happen to Hercules, of the royal seed of Jove, but not to us

(Cicero)

hoc patrium est, potius consuefacere filium sua sponte recte facere, quam

alieno metu: it is a father’s duty to accustom his son to act rightly of his own free

will rather than from fear of the consequences (Terence)

hoc per se nihil est, sed si minimum addideris maximum fieret: this by itself is

nothing, but if you should add even the least to it, it would become the greatest

hoc præstat amicitia propinquitati, quod ex propinquitate benevolentia tolli

potest, ex amicitia non potest: friendship has this advantage over kinship, that

kinship can exist without goodwill but friendship cannot (Cicero)

hoc scito, nimio celerius venire quod molestum est, quam id quod cupide

petas: be sure of this, that that which is disagreeable comes more speedily than that

which you eagerly desire (Plautus)

hoc volo, sic jubeo, sit pro ratione voluntas: this I wish, thus I command, let my

will stand in place of reason (Juvenal)

hodie mecum eris in paradiso: today, you shall be with me in Paradise (St. Luke

23:43; one of the Seven Last Words of Christ)

hoi pleiones kakai: the majority of humanity is bad (Bias, one of the Seven Greek

Sages, from the Greek)

homine imperito nunquam quidquam injustius qui, nisi quod ipse fecit, nihil

rectum putat: nothing so unjust as an ignorant man, who thinks nothing right but

what he himself has done (Terence)

homines amplius oculis quam auribus credunt: longum iter est per præcepta,

breve et efficax per exempla: men trust their eyes rather than their ears: the way

by precept is long and tedious, by example short and effectual (Seneca)

homini amico et familiari non est mentiri meum: it is not my habit to lie to

friends or family (Lucilius)

homo ad res perspicacior Lynceo vel Argo, et oculeus totus: a man more clearsighted

for business than Lynceus or Argus, and eyes all over (Appuleius)

homo antiqua virtute ac fide: a man of the ancient virtue and loyalty (Terence)

homo constat ex duabus partibus, corpore et anima, quorum una est corporea,

altera ab omni materiæ concretione sejuncta: man is composed of two parts,

body and soul, of which the one is corporeal, the other separated from all

combination with matter (Cicero)

homo est animal bipes rationale: man is a two-footed reasoning animal (Boлthius)

homo qui erranti comiter monstrat

ibi omnis effusus labor

homo qui erranti comiter monstrat viam, quasi lumen de suo lumine accendit,

facit; nihilominus ipsi luceat, cum illi accenderit: the one who kindly shows the

way to one who has gone astray, acts as though he had lighted another’s lamp from

his own, which both gives light to the other and continues to shine for himself

(Cicero)

honestum quod vere dicimus, etiamsi a nullo laudatur, laudabile est sua

natura: that which we truly call honorable is praiseworthy in its own nature, even

though it should be praised by no one (Cicero)

horæ cedunt, et dies, et menses, et anni, nec præteritum tempus unquam

revertitur: hours and days, months and years, pass away, and time once past never

returns (Cicero)

horror ubique animos, simul ipsa silentia terrent: everywhere horror seizes the

soul, and the very silence is dreadful (Virgil)

hos ego versiculos feci, tulit alter honores; sic vos non vobis fertis aratra boves;

sic vos non vobis mellificatis apes; sic vos non vobis vellora fertis aves; sic vos

non vobis nidificatis aves: I wrote these lines, another received the credit; thus do

you oxen bear the yoke for others; thus do you bees make honey for others; thus do

you sheep wear fleeces for others; thus do you birds build nests for others (Virgil)

hos successus alit: possunt, quia posse videntur: success encourages them: they

can because they think they can (Virgil)

hospes nullus tam in amici hospitium devorti potest, quin ubi triduum

continuum fuerit jam odiosus siet: no one can be so welcome a guest that he will

not become an annoyance when he has stayed three continuous days in a friend’s

house (Plautus)

huc propius me, dum doceo insanire omnes, vos ordine adite: come near me all

in order, and I will convince you that you are mad, every one (Horace)

huic maxime putamus malo fuisse nimiam opinionem ingenii atque virtutis: we

think that what harmed him the most was that he entertained too high an opinion

of his own talents and virtue (Cornelius Nepos, said of Alcibiades)

huic versatile ingenium sic pariter ad omnia fuit, ut natum ad id unum diceres,

quodcunque ageret: this man’s genius was so versatile, so equal to every pursuit,

that you would pronounce him to have been born for whatever thing in which he

was engaged (Livy, said of Cato the Elder)

hunc tu, Romane, caveto: of him, Romans, do thou beware (Horace)

I

i demens!, et sævas curre per Alpes, ut pueris placeas, et declamatio fias: go

madman!, and run over the savage Alps to please schoolboys, and become the

subject of declamation (Juvenal, in reference to Hannibal)

iam seges est ubi Troia fuit: now are cornfields where Troy once was (Ovid)

iam ver egelidos refert tepores: now Spring restores balmy warmth (Catullus)

ibi omnis effusus labor: by that one (negligence) all his labor was lost (Virgil) ibis, redibis, non morieris in bello illa placet tellus in qua res parva

ibis, redibis, non morieris in bello: you shall go, you shall return, you shall not die

in the wars (an ambiguous quote that can also be rendered: ibis, redibis non,

morieris in bello: you shall go, you shall not return, you shall die in the wars)

id mutavit, quoniam me immutatum videt: he has changed his mind because he

sees me unchanged (Terence)

id quod est præstantissimum maximeque optabile omnibus sanis et bonis et

beatis, cum dignitate otium: the thing that is the most outstanding, and chiefly

to be desired by all healthy and good and well-off persons, is leisure with honor

(Cicero)

idoneus quidem mea sententia, præsertim quum et ipse eum audiverit, et

scribat de mortuo; ex quo nulla suspicio est amicitiæ causa eum esse

mentitum: a competent person in my opinion, as he was accustomed often to hear

him, and published his sentiments after the subject of them ceased to exist; there is

no reason therefore to suppose that his partiality has misled him from the truth

(Cicero)

ignavissimus quisque, et, ut res docuit, in periculo non ausurus, nimio verbis et

lingua ferox: every coward, who, as experience has proved, will fly in the hour of

danger, is the most boastful in his words and language afterward (Tacitus)

ignavum fucos pecus a præsepibus arcent: they (bees) drive from their hives the

drones, a lazy bunch (Virgil)

ignoranti quem portum petat, nullus suus ventus est: if a person does not know

to which port he is steering, no wind is favorable to him (Seneca)

ignorent populi, si non in morte probaris, an scieris adversa pati: the world

would not know, if you did not prove by your death, that you knew how to bear up

against adverse circumstances (Lucan, in reference to Pompey)

ignotis errare locis, ignota videre flumina gaudebat, studio minuente laborem:

he delighted to wander over unknown regions, to visit unknown rivers, the interest

lessening the fatigue (Ovid)

iliacos intra muros peccatur et extra: sin is committed as well within the walls of

Troy as without (i.e., both sides are to be blamed) (Virgil and Horace)

ilicet infandum cuncti contra omina bellum contra fata deum, perverso numine

poscunt: forthwith, against the omens and against the oracles of the gods, all to a

man, under an adverse influence, clamor for unholy war (Virgil)

illa est agricolæ messis iniqua suo: that is a harvest that ill repays its husbandman

(Ovid)

illa injusta bella sunt, quæ sunt sine causa suscepta; nam extra ulciscendi aut

propulsandorum hostium causam bellum geri justum nullum potest: those

wars are unjust that are undertaken without provocation; for only a war waged for

revenge or defense can be just (Cicero)

illa laus est, magno in genere et in divitiis maximis, liberos hominem educare,

generi monumentum et sibi: it is a merit in a man of high birth and large fortune

to train up his children so as to be a credit to his family and himself (Plautus)

illa placet tellus in qua res parva beatum me facit, et tenues luxuriantur opes:

that spot of earth has special charms for me, in which a limited income produces

happiness, and moderate wealth abundance (Martial)

illam, quicquid agit, quoquo vestigial immortale odium et nunquam

illam, quicquid agit, quoquo vestigia flectit, componit furtim, subsequiturque

decor: in whatever she does, wherever she turns, grace steals into her movements

and attends her steps (Tibullus)

ille fuit vitæ Mario modus, omnia passo quæ pejor Fortuna potest, omnibus uso

quæ melior: such was the complexion of the life of Marius, that he had suffered

the worst inflictions of Fortune, and enjoyed her choicest blessings (Lucan)

ille igitur nunquam direxit brachia contra torrentem; nec civis erat qui libera

posset verba animi proferre et vitam impendere vero: he never was that citizen

who would attempt to swim against the torrent, who would freely make his

opinions known, and stake his life for the truth (Juvenal)

ille per extentum funem mihi posse videtur ire poëta, meum qui pectus

inaniter angit irritat mulcet falsis terroribus implet ut magus: et modo me

Thebis, modo ponit Athenis: that man seems to me able to walk on the tightrope

who, as a poet, tortures my breast with fictions, can rouse me, then soothe me, fill

me with unreal terrors like a magician, set me down either at Thebes or Athens

(Horace)

ille potens sui lætusque degit, cui licet in diem dixisse, vixi: cras vel atra nube

polum pater occupato vel sole puro: the man lives master of himself and

cheerful, who can say day after day, I have lived; tomorrow let the Father above

overspread the sky either with cloud or with clear sunshine (Horace)

ille quidem dignum virtutibus suis vitæ terminum posuit: he ended his days in a

manner befitting his virtues (Apuleius)

ille vir haud magna cum re, sed plenus fidei: he is a man, not of large fortune, but

full of good faith

illi inter sese multa vi brachia tollunt in numerum, versantque tenaci forcipe

massam: they (the Cyclops), keeping time, one by one raise their arms with mighty

force, and turn the iron lump with the biting tongs (Virgil)

illi robur et æs triplex circe pectus erat, qui fragilem truci commisit pelago

ratem primus: that man had oak and triple brass around his breast who first

entrusted his frail raft to the savage sea (Horace)

illud amicitiæ sanctum ac venerabile nomen nunc tibi pro vili sub pedibusque

jacet: the sacred and venerable name of friendship is now despised by you and

trodden under foot (Ovid)

imago animi vultus est, indices oculi: the countenance is the portrait of the soul,

and the eyes mark its intentions (Cicero)

immo id, quod aiunt, auribus teneo lupum nam neque quomodo a me amittam,

invenio: neque, uti retineam scio: it is true, they say, I have caught a wolf by the

ears: for I know neither how to get rid of him nor how to keep him in restraint

(Terence)

immoritur studiis, et amore senescit habendi: he is killing himself with his

efforts, and in his greed of gain is becoming an old man (Horace)

immortale odium et nunquam sanabile vulnus: a deadly hatred, and a wound that

can never be healed (i.e., religious disagreement) (Juvenal) improbæ crescunt divitiæ, tamen in solo vivendi causa palato est

improbæ crescunt divitiæ, tamen curtæ nescio quid semper abest rei: riches

increase to an enormous extent, yet something is ever wanting to our still imperfect

fortune (Horace)

improbe amor, quid non mortalia pectora cogis?: cruel love, what is there to

which you do not drive mortal hearts? (Virgil)

in æquali jure melior est conditio possidentis: where the right is equal, the claim

of the party in possession is the best (or, possession is nine-tenths of the law)

in amore hæc omnia insunt vitia; injuriæ, suspiciones, inimicitiæ, induciæ,

bellum, pax rursus: in love there are all these evils, wrongs, suspicions, enmities,

treaties, and alternate war and peace (Terence)

in furias ignemque ruunt; amor omnibus idem: they rush into the flames of

passion; love is the same in all (Virgil)

in illo viro, tantum robur corporis et animi fuit, ut quocunque loco natus esset,

fortunam sibi facturus videretur: in that man there was such oak-like strength of

body and mind that whatever his rank by birth might have been, he gave promise of

attaining the highest place in the lists of fortune (Livy, said of Cato the Elder)

in manus tuas commendo spiritum meum: into Thy hands I commend my spirit

(Luke 23:46; one of the Seven Last Words of Christ)

in melle sunt sitæ linguæ vestræ atque orationes, corda felle sunt lita atque

aceto: your tongues and your words are steeped in honey, but your hearts are in

gall and vinegar (Plautus)

in mercatura facienda multæ fallaciæ et quasi præstigiæ exercentur: in

commerce many deceptions, not to say legerdemain, are practiced

in nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas corpora: I am inclined to speak of

bodies changed into new forms (Ovid)

in nullum reipublicæ usum ambitiosa loquela inclaruit: he became celebrated for

an affected and ambitious verbosity attended with no advantage whatsoever to the

republic (Tacitus)

in omnibus negotiis prius quam aggrediare, adhibenda est præparatio diligens:

in all matters, before beginning, a diligent preparation should be made (Cicero)

in pretio pretium est, dat census honores, census amicitias; pauper ubique

jacet: worth lies in wealth; wealth purchases honors and friendships; the poor man

everywhere is neglected (Ovid)

in principatu commutando, civium nil præter domini nomen mutant pauperes:

in a change of masters, the poor change nothing except their master’s name

(Phжdrus)

in principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum:

in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was

God (St. John 1:1)

in scirpo nodum quæris: you are looking for a knot in a bullrush (Plautus)

in solo vivendi causa palato est: to gratify the palate is the sole object of their

existence (Juvenal)

in te, Domine, speravi; non infandum, regina, jubes renovare

in te, Domine, speravi; non confundar in æternum: Lord, I have set my hope in

thee; I shall not be destroyed forever

in turbas et discordias pessimo cuique plurima vis: pax et quies bonis artibus

indigent: in seasons of tumult and discord, the worst men have most power;

mental and moral excellence require peace and quietness (Tacitus)

incedis per ignes suppositos cineri doloso: you are treading on fires hidden under

a treacherous crust of ashes (after Horace)

inceptis gravibus plerumque et magna professis, purpureus, late qui splendeat,

unus et alter adsuitur pannus: oftentimes to lofty beginnings and to such as

promise great things, one or two purple patches are stitched on in order to make a

brilliant display (Horace)

incerta hæc si tu postules ratione certa facere, nihilo plus agas, quam si des

operam ut cum ratione insanias: if you require reason to make that certain

which is uncertain, you are simply attempting to go mad by the rules of reason

(Terence)

incidit in Scyllam qui vult vitare Charybdim: he falls into Scylla in struggling to

escape Charybdis (i.e., to fall into one danger while trying to avoid another)

(Horace)

incipe; dimidium facti est coepisse. Supersit dimidium: rursum hoc incipe, et

efficies: begin; to begin is half the work. Let half still remain; begin this again, and

you will have finished (Ausonius)

incipe, parve puer, risu cognoscere matrem: begin, little boy, to recognize your

mother with a smile (Virgil)

indica tigris agit rabida cum tigride pacem perpetuam; sævis inter se convenit

ursis; ast homini ferrum letale incude nefanda produxisse parum est: the

Indian tigers live in perpetual peace with each rabid tigress; savage bears agree

among themselves; but man without remorse beats out the deadly sword on the

accursed anvil (Juvenal)

indignor quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus: I am indignant when sometimes

even Homer nods off (Horace)

indignor quidquam reprehendi, non quia crasse compositum, illepideve

putetur, sed quia nuper: I feel indignant when a work is censured not as uncouth

or rough, but as new

indocti discant, et ament meminisse periti: let the unlearned learn, and the

learned take pleasure in refreshing their memories (Hйnault, after Pope)

inerat Vitellio simplicitas ac liberalitas, quæ, nisi adsit modus, in exitium

vertuntur: Vitellius possessed both simplicity and liberality, qualities which, unless

taken in moderation, are generally ruinous to the possessor (Tacitus)

inertis est nescire, quid liceat sibi. Id facere, laus est, quod decet; non, quod

licet: it is the act of the indolent not to know what he may lawfully do. It is

praiseworthy to do what is becoming, and not merely what is lawful (Seneca)

inest virtus et mens interrita lethi: he has a valiant heart and a soul undaunted by

death (Ovid)

infandum, regina, jubes renovare dolorem: a grief too great to be told, O queen,

you bid me renew (Virgil, Aeneas’s reply to Dido) infantem nudum cum te natura integer vitæ scelerisque purus non

infantem nudum cum te natura creavit, paupertatis onus patienter ferre

memento: nature having created you and made you come into the world naked,

remember to bear poverty with patience (Cato)

infelix Dido nulli bene jucta marito: hoc pereunte fugis, hoc fugiente peris:

unhappy Dido ill-provided with husband and lover: the former by dying causes

your flight, the latter by fleeing causes your death (Ovid)

infinita est velocitas temporis, quæ magis apparet respicientibus: the swiftness

of time is infinite, as is most evident to those who look back (Seneca)

inflatum plenumque Nerone propinquo: puffed up and full of his relationship to

Nero (Juvenal)

infortunia nostra, alienis collata, leviora: our misfortunes, compared with those of

others, become lighter (from the Emblemata of Alciato)

ingeniis patuit campus, certusque merenti stat favor: ornatur propriis industria

donis: the field is open to talent and merit is sure of its reward: the gifts with which

industry is crowned are her own

ingenio arbusta ubi nata sunt non obsitu: where trees have grown by nature’s art,

not planted by human hands (Nжvius)

ingenium cui sit, cui mens divinior, atque os magna sonaturum, des nominis

hujus honorem: the one who possesses genius, a superior mind, and eloquence to

display great things, is entitled to the honored name of poet (Horace)

ingenium ingens inculto latet hoc sub corpore: a great genius lies hid under this

coarse body (or rough exterior) (Horace)

ingenium magni detractat livor Homeri: envy depreciates the genius of the great

Homer (Ovid)

ingentes animos angusto in corpore versant: they have mighty souls at work

within a stinted body (Virgil)

ingrata patria, ne ossa quidem mea habebis: ungrateful country, you shall not

have even my bones (Scipio Africanus)

ingratus est, qui beneficium accepisse se negat, quod accepit: ingratus est, qui

dissimulat; ingratus, qui non reddit; ingratissimus omnium, qui oblitus est:

he is ungrateful who denies that he has received a kindness which has been

bestowed upon him: he is ungrateful who conceals it; he is ungrateful who makes

no return for it; most ungrateful of all is he who forgets it (Seneca)

ingrediturque solo, et caput inter nubila condit: she (fame) walks on the earth,

and her head is concealed in the clouds (Virgil)

insani sapiens nomen ferat, æquus iniqui, ultra quod satis est virtutem si petat

ipsam: let the wise man bear the name of fool, and the just of injust, if he pursue

virtue itself beyond the proper bounds (Horace)

insanire parat certa ratione modoque: he is preparing to act the madman with a

certain degree of reason and method (i.e., there is a method in his madness)

(Horace)

integer vitæ scelerisque purus non eget Mauris jaculis neque arcu: the man of

upright life and free from crime has no need of Moorish javelin or bow (Horace)

inter cetera mala, hoc quoque habet ira furor brevis est; animum rege

inter cetera mala, hoc quoque habet stultitia proprium, semper incipit vivere:

among other evils, folly has also this special characteristic, it is always beginning to

live (Seneca)

inter Græcos græcissimus, inter Latinos latinissimus: in Greek he is the most

accomplished Grecian, and in Latin the most thorough Latinist (said of Erasmus)

inter spem curamque, timores inter et iras, omnem crede diem tibi diluxisse

supremum; grata superveniet quæ non sperabitur hora: in the midst of hope

and care, in the midst of fears and passions, believe each day that dawns on you is

your last; more gratefully will you greet the hour that is not expected (Horace)

interea gustus elementa per omnia quærunt, nunquam animo pretiis

obstantibus; interius si attendas, magis illa juvant, quæ pluris emuntur: in the

meantime, they search for relishes through all the elements, with minds regardless

of expense; look at it closely, those things please more that cost the higher price

(Juvenal)

intus et in jecore ægro nascuntur domini: masters spring up in our own breasts,

and from a sickly liver (Persius)

inveni portum, Spes et Fortuna valete, sat me lusistis, ludite nunc alios: I have

reached the port; Hope and Fortune, farewell; you have made sport enough of me,

make sport of others now (the final lines of Le Sage’s novel Gil Blas)

invidus alterius macrescit rebus opimis; invidia Siculi non invenere tyranni

majus tormentus: the envious man grows lean at the prosperity of another; no

greater punishment than envy was devised by Sicilian tyrants (Horace)

invidus, iracundus, iners, vinosus, amator, nemo adeo ferus est, ut non

mitescere possit, si modo culturæ patientem commodet aurem: the envious,

the passionate, the indolent, the drunken, the lewd, none is so savage that he

cannot be tamed, if only he lend a patient ear to culture (Horace)

invisa potentia, atque miseranda vita eorum, qui se metui quam amari malunt:

the power is detested, and the life wretched, of those who would rather be feared

than loved (Cornelius Nepos)

ipsæ rursum concedite sylvæ: once again, ye woods, I say good-bye (Virgil)

ipse dixit. Ipse autem erat Pythagoras: he himself said it. This himself was

Pythagoras (Cicero)

ipse docet quid agam; fas est et ab hoste doceri: he himself teaches me what to

do; it is right to be taught by the enemy (Ovid)

ipse pavet; nec qua commissas flectat habenas, nec scit qua sit iter; nec, si sciat,

imperet illis: scared himself, he knows neither how to turn the reins entrusted to

him, nor which way to go; nor, if he did, could he control the horses (Ovid, said of

Phaлthon)

ipse quis sit, utrum sit an non sit, id quoque nescit: he knows not who he is, nor

if he is, nor if he is not (Catullus)

ira furor brevis est; animum rege, qui, nisi paret, imperat; hunc frenis, hunc tu

compesce catena: anger is a brief madness; control your temper, for unless it

obeys, it commands you; restrain it with bit and chain (Horace)

irarum tantos volvis sub pectore jam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnia

irarum tantos volvis sub pectore fluctus?: do you roll such billows of wrath within

your breast? (Virgil)

iras et verba locant: they let out for hire their passions and their words (Martial)

ire tamen restat, Numa quo devenit et Ancus: it still remains for you to go where

Numa has gone, and Ancus before you (Horace)

is habitus animorum fuit, ut pessimum facinus auderent pauci, plures vellent,

omnes paterentur: such was the public temper, that some few dared to perpetrate

the vilest crimes, more were desirous to do so, and all looked passively on (Tacitus)

is mihi demum vivere et frui anima videtur, qui aliquo negotio intentus,

præclari facinoris aut artis bonæ famam quærit: he alone appears to me to live

and to enjoy life, who, being engaged in some business, seeks reputation by some

famous action, or some useful art (Sallust)

is mihi videtur amplissimus qui sua virtute in altiorem locum pervenit: he is in

my regard the most illustrious man who has risen by his own virtues (Cicero)

is ordo vitio careto, cæteris specimen esto: let that order be free from vice, and

afford an example to all others (from the Twelve Tables, in reference to the

Patricians)

ista decens facies longis vitiabitur annis; rugaque in antiqua fronte senilis erit:

your comely face will be marred by length of years; and the wrinkle of age will one

day scar your aged brow (Ovid)

ita feri ut se mori sentiat: strike him so that he can feel that he is dying (Suetonius,

attributed to Caligula)

ita me Dii ament!, ubi sim nescio: may God love me!, for I know not where I am

(Terence)

ita oportuit intrare in gloriam suam: so in that way he was obliged to enter in his

glory

J

jacet ecce Tibullus, vix manet e toto parva quod urna capit: see, here Tibullus

lies, of all that he was there hardly remains enough to fill a little urn (Ovid)

jam nunc minaci murmure cornuum perstringis aures; jam litui strepunt: even

now you stun our ears with the threatening murmur of horns; already I hear the

clarions sound (Horace)

jam pauca aratro jugera regiæ moles relinquent: soon will regal piles leave but

few acres to the plough (Horace)

jam portum inveni, Spes et Fortuna valete!; nil mihi vobiscum est, ludite nunc

alios: now I have gained the port, Hope and Fortune, farewell!; I have nothing

more to do with you, now go make sport of others (an epitaph)

jam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna: now the Virgin goddess of justice

returns, now the reign of Saturn (the return of Astrжa, goddess of Justice, was

thought by Romans to be a signal for the return of the Golden Age) (Virgil)

jam seges est ubi Troja fuit

justitia nihil exprimit præmii, nihil

jam seges est ubi Troja fuit, resecandaque falce luxuriat Phrygio sanguine

pinguis humus: new fields of corn wave where Troy once stood, and the ground

enriched with Trojan blood is luxuriant with grain ready for the sickle (Ovid)

jam summa procul villarum culmina fumant: now the high tops of the far-off

villas send forth their smoke (Virgil)

jam ver egelidos refert tepores: now Spring restores balmy warmth (Catullus)

jamque dies, ni fallor adest quem semper acerbum semper honoratum (sic dii

voluistis) habebo: that day I shall always recollect with grief; with reverence also

(for the gods so willed it) (Virgil)

jamque opus exegi quod nec Jovis ira, nec ignis, nec poterit ferrum, nec edax

abolere vetustas: I have now completed a work that neither the wrath of Jove, nor

fire, nor sword, nor the consuming tooth of time, shall be able to destroy (Ovid,

meant as irony)

Jasper fert myrrham, thus Melchior, Balthazar aurum. Hæc quicum secum

portet tria nomina regum, solvitur a morbo, Domini pietate, caduco: Jasper

brings myrrh, Melchior frankincense, and Balthazar gold. Whoever carries with

him the names of these three kings will, by the grace of the Lord, be exempt from

the falling sickness (a medieval European charm)

jubilate Deo, omnis terra; servite Domino in lætitia: sing joyfully to God, all the

earth; serve the Lord with gladness (Psalm 99:2)

jucunda atque idonea dicere vitæ (or, jucunda et idonea dicere vitæ): to describe

whatever is pleasant and proper in life (Horace)

judice te mercede caret, per seque petenda est externis virtus incomitata

bonis: in your judgment virtue needs no reward, and is to be sought for its own

sake, unaccompanied by external benefits (Ovid)

junctæque Nymphis Gratiæ decentes: the beauteous Graces linked hand in hand

with the Nymphs (Horace)

jungere equos Titan velocibus imperat Horis: Titan commands the swift-flying

Hours to yoke the horses of the sun (Ovid)

Jupiter in multos temeraria fulmina torquet, qui poenem culpa non meruere

pati: Jupiter hurls his reckless thunderbolts against many who have not by guilt

deserved such punishment (Ovid)

jura negat sibi nata, nihil non arrogat armis: he denies that laws were made for

him, and claims everything by force of arms (Horace)

juravi lingua, mentem injuratam gero: I have sworn with my tongue, but my mind

is unsworn (Cicero)

jus omnium in omnia, et consequenter bellum omnium in omnes: the right of

all to everything, and therefore of all to make war on all (Hobbes)

jus sanguinis, quod in legitimis succesionibus spectatur, ipso nativitatis

tempore quæsitum est: the right of blood, which is regarded in all lawful

inheritances, is found in the very time of nativity

justitia nihil exprimit præmii, nihil pretii: per se igitur expetitur: justice extorts

no reward, no kind of price; it is sought, therefore, for its own sake (Cicero) justitia non novit patrem nec latrantem curatne alta Diana

justitia non novit patrem nec matrem, solum veritatem spectat: justice knows

neither father nor mother, it regards the truth alone

justitia tanta vis est, ut ne illi quidem, qui maleficio et scelere pascuntur,

possint sine ulla particula justitiæ vivere: there is such force in justice, that even

those who live by crime and wickedness cannot live without some small portion of

it among them (Cicero)

justum bellum quibus necessarium, et pia arma quibus nulla nisi in armis

relinquitur spes: war is just to those for whom it is necessary, and to take up arms

is a sacred duty with those who have no other hope left (Livy)

justum et tenacem propositi virum, non civium ardor prava jubentium, non

vultus instantis tyranni mente quatit solida: not the rage of the citizens

commanding wrongful measures, not the aspect of the threatening tyrant, can

shake from his firm purpose the person who is just and resolute (Horace)

L

labitur et labetur in omne volubilis ævum: the stream flows, and will go on

flowing forever (Horace)

labitur occulte, fallitque volubilis ætas, ut celer admissis labitur amnis aquis:

time rolls on steadily, and eludes us as it steals past, like the swift river that glides

on with rapid stream (Ovid)

labor omnia vincit improbus, et duris urgens in rebus egestas: persevering labor

overcomes all difficulties, and want that urges us on in the pressure of things

(Virgil)

lacrimus oculos suffusa nitentis: her glittering eyes filled with tears (Virgil)

lacrymæque decoræ, gratior et pulchro veniens in corpore virtus: his tears

become him, and even virtue becomes more pleasing when it shows itself in a fairer

form (Virgil)

lætus in præsens animus, quod ultra est oderit curare, et amara lento temperet

risu. Nihil est ab omni parte beatum: the mind that is cheerfully contented with

the present will shrink from caring about anything beyond, and will temper the

bitter things of life with an easy smile. There is nothing that is blessed in every

respect (Horace)

lætus sum laudari me abs te, pater, a laudato viro: I am pleased it is you, father, a

man highly praised, who praises me (Nжvius and Cicero, quoting the words of

Hector)

lapsus ubi?, quid feci?, aut officii quid omissum est?: where did I err?, what did I

accomplish?, or what duty was left undone? (from the Emblemata of Alciato)

latius regnes, avidum domando spiritum, quam si Libyam remotis Gadibus

jungas, et uterque Poenus serviat uni: by subduing an avaricious spirit you will

rule a wider empire than if you united Libya to the far-off Gades, and the

Carthaginian on both shores should be subject to you alone (Horace)

latrantem curatne alta Diana canem?: does the high-stepping Diana care for the

dog that bays her?

laudant illa sed ista legunt

licet quot vis vivendo condere sæcla

laudant illa sed ista legunt: they praise those works, but they are not the ones they

read (Martial)

laudate Dominum, omnes gentes; laudate eum, omnes populi: praise the Lord,

all nations; praise him, all peoples (Psalm 117:1)

laudatus abunde, non fastiditus si tibi, lector, ero: abundantly, reader, shall I be

praised if I do not cause you disgust (Ovid)

laudem virtutis necessitati damus: we give to necessity the praise of virtue

(Quintilian)

laudibus arguitur vini vinosus: he is convicted of being a wine-bibber by his praise

of wine (Horace)

laudo Deum verum, plebem voco, congrego clerum, defunctos ploro, pestem

fugo, festa decoro: I praise the true God, I summon the people, I call together the

clergy, I bewail the dead, I put to flight plague, I celebrate festivals (inscription on a

church bell)

laudo manentem; si celeres quatit pennas, resigno quæ dedit, et mea virtute me

involvo probamque pauperiem sine dote quæro: I praise her (Fortune) while she

stays with me; if she flaps her swift feathers, I resign all she has given me, and wrap

myself up in my own virtue and pay addresses to honest undowered poverty (Horace)

legum ministri magistratus, legum interpretes judices; legum denique idcirco

omnes servi sumus, ut liberi esse possimus: the magistrates are the ministers of

the laws, the judges their interpreters; we are all, in short, servants of the laws, so

that we may be a free people (Cicero)

legum servi sumus ut liberi esse possimus: we are slaves of the law so that we may

be able to be free (Cicero)

leniter ex merito quidquid patiare ferendum est, quæ venit indigne poena

dolenda venit: whatever you suffer deservedly should be borne with resignation;

the penalty that comes upon us undeservedly comes as a matter for just complaint

(Ovid)

lepus tute es; et pulpamentum quæris!: you are a rabbit; yet you seek game!

(Livius Andronicus)

lex est ratio summa insita in natura, quæ jubet ea, quæ facienda sunt,

prohibetque contraria: law is the highest reason implanted in nature, which

commands what ought to be done and forbids what is contrary (Cicero)

libera Fortunæ mors est; capit omnia tellus quæ genuit: death is not subject to

Fortune; the earth holds everything that she ever brought forth (Lucan)

libera me ab homine malo, a meipso: deliver me from the evil man, from myself

(St. Augustine)

libertas, quæ sera, tamen respexit inertem: liberty, which, though late, regarded

me in my helpless state (Virgil)

libertas ultima mundi quo steterit ferienda loco: in the spot where liberty has

made her last stand she was fated to be smitten (Lucan, attributed to Julius Cжsar)

licet quot vis vivendo condere sæcla; mors æterna tamen nilo minus illa

manebit: you may live to complete as many generations as you will, nevertheless,

that everlasting death will still be waiting (Lucretius)

lingua melior, sed frigida bello luxuriant animi rebus plerumque

lingua melior, sed frigida bello dextera: excels in speech, but of a right hand slow

to war (Virgil)

linguæ centum sunt, oraque centum, ferrea vox: it (rumor) has a hundred

tongues, a hundred mouths, a voice of iron (Virgil)

linquenda tellus, et domus, et placens uxor, neque harum, quas colis, arborum,

te, præter invisas cupressos, ulla brevem dominum sequetur: your estate, your

home, and your pleasing wife must be left, and of these trees that you are rearing,

not one shall follow you, their short-lived owner, except the hateful cypresses (the

cypress being used to mark graveyards) (Horace)

litoria litoribus contraria, fluctibus undas imprecor, arma armis; pugnent

ipsique nepotes!: I pray that shore shall clash with shore, and wave with billow; let

them fight themselves and their descendants! (Virgil)

longa est injuria, longæ ambages: the account of this injury is long, and longer for

the telling of it (Virgil)

longa mora est, quantum noxæ sit ubique repertum enumerare; minor fuit ipsa

infamia vero: it would take long to enumerate how great an amount of crime was

everywhere perpetrated; even the report itself came short of the truth (Ovid)

longe mea discrepat istis et vox et ratio: both my language and my sentiments

differ widely from theirs (Horace)

longumque illud tempus cum non ero magis me movet quam hoc exiguum,

quod mihi tamen longum videtur: that long time to come when I shall not exist

has more affect on me than this short present time, which seems endless (Cicero)

luctantem Icariis fluctibus Africum mercator metuens, otium et oppidi laudat

rura sui; mox reficit rates quassas, indocilis pauperiem pati: the merchant,

dreading the southwest wind wrestling with the Icarian waves, praises retirement

and the rural life of his native town; but soon he repairs his shattered boat,

incapable of being taught to endure poverty (Horace)

lucus a non lucendo: the grove does not shine (a play on the words lucus, grove, and

lucendo, shine)

ludit in humanis divina potentia rebus, et certam præsens vix habet hora

fidem: the powers above seem to play with human affairs, so that we can scarcely

be assured of the present hour [which itself is passing] (Ovid)

lupo agnum eripere postulant: they insist on snatching the lamb from the wolf

(Plautus)

lupus est homo homini, non homo, quom qualis sit non novit (or simply, homo

homini lupus): man is a wolf to man, not a man, when he has not yet found out

what he is like (Plautus)

lusisti satis, edisti satis, atque bibisti; tempus abire tibi est: you have amused

yourself, you have eaten and have drunk enough; it is time for you to depart (Horace)

luxuriant animi rebus plerumque secundis; nec facile est æqua commoda mente

pati: the feelings generally run riot in prosperity; and to bear good fortune with

evenness of mind is no easy task (Ovid)

macies et nova febrium terris

major sum quam cui possit Fortuna

M

macies et nova febrium terris incubuit cohors: a wasting disease and an unheardof

battalion of fevers have swooped down on the earth (Horace)

macte nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad astra: persevere in virtue (or valor), my son,

thus is the way to the stars (Virgil)

maculæ quas incuria fudit: the blemishes (or errors) that carelessness has produced

magister artis ingeniique largitor venter: the belly is the teacher of arts, and the

bestower of genius (i.e., hunger [necessity] is the mother of invention) (Persius)

magna eloquentia, sicut flamma, materia alitur, et motibus excitatur et urendo

clarescit: it is the eloquence as of a flame; it requires material to feed it, motion to

excite it, and it brightens as it burns (Tacitus)

magna est admiratio copiose sapienterque dicentis: great is our admiration of the

orator who speaks with fluency and discretion (Cicero)

magna fuit quondam capitis reverentia cani, inque suo pretio ruga senilis erat:

great was the respect formerly paid to the hoary head, and great the honor to the

wrinkles of age (Ovid)

magna vis est, magnum nomen, unum et idem sentientis senatus: great is the

power, great the authority, of a senate which is unanimous in its opinions (Cicero)

Magne Pater Divum, sævos punire tyrannos, haud alia ratione velis: virtutem

videant, intabescantque videndo: Great Father of the Gods, devise for tyrants no

punishment but this: let them contemplate virtue and wither in despair at having

forsaken it (Persius)

magnificat anima mea Dominum; et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari

meo: my soul magnifies the Lord; and my spirit rejoices in God my savior (the

Hymn of the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation, St. Luke 1:46-47)

magno de flumine mallem quam ex hoc fonticulo tantundem sumere: I had

rather take my glass of water from a great river like this than from this little fountain

(Horace, criticizing those who store large quantities of things and never use them)

magnum hoc ego duco quod placui tibi qui turpi secernis honestum: I account

it a great honor that I have pleased a man like you, who knows so well to

discriminate between the base and the honorable (Horace)

magnus ab integro sæculorum (or sæclorum) nascitur ordo: the mighty cycle of

the ages begins its turn anew (Virgil)

major privato visus dum privatus fuit, et omnium consensu capax imperii nisi

imperasset: he seemed much greater than a private citizen while he was a private

citizen, and had he never become emperor everyone would have agreed that he had

the capacity to be emperor (Tacitus, said of Emperor Galba)

major rerum mihi nascitur ordo: a greater succession of events presents itself to

my muse (Virgil)

major sum quam cui possit Fortuna nocere multaque ut eripiat, multo mihi

plura relinquet. Excessere metum mea jam bona: I am above being injured by

Fortune; though she snatch away much, more will remain to me. The blessings I

now enjoy transcend fear (Ovid)

majore tumultu planguntur nummi me justum esse gratis oportet

majore tumultu planguntur nummi quam funera, nemo dolorem fingit in hoc

casu. … Ploratur lacrimis amissa pecunia veris: money is bewailed with a

greater tumult than death; no one feigns grief in this case. … The loss of money is

wept over with true tears (Juvenal)

mala mali malo mala contulit omnia mundo; causa mali tanti foemina sola fuit:

man’s jaw and an apple brought all evils in the world; and the cause of all this

mischief was the woman

mala merx hæc, et callida est: she is a bad bargain and a crafty one (Plautus)

male si mandata loquaris, aut dormitabo aut ridebo: if you deliver badly what is

committed to you, I shall either laugh or fall asleep (Horace)

malim indisertam prudentiam, quam stultitiam loquacem: I prefer sense that is

faulty in expression to loquacious folly (Cicero)

malo cum Platone errare, quam cum aliis recte sentire: I had rather be wrong

with Plato than think right with others (Cicero)

malus est enim custos diuturnitatis metus, contraque benevolentia fidelis vel

ad perpetuitatem: fear is a bad custodian of that which is intended to last; whereas

mildness and goodwill ensure fidelity forever (Cicero)

manet alta mente repostum, judicium Paridis spretæque injuria formæ: deepseated

in her mind remains the judgment of Paris and the wrong done to her

slighted beauty (Virgil, referring to Juno’s vengeance)

Mantua me genuit, Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc Parthenope, cecini pascua,

rura, duces: Mantua gave me birth, Calabri snatched me away, now Parthenope

holds me; I sang of shepherds, pastures, and heroes (Virgil’s epitaph)

Mantua, væ!, miseræ nimium vicina Cremonæ: Mantua, alas!, too near the

unhappy Cremona (quoted by Jonathan Swift upon seeing a woman accidentally

sweep a violin off a table with her dress)

manum non verterim, digitum non porrexerim: I would not turn my hand or

stretch out my finger (Cicero)

mare quidem, commune certo est omnibus: the sea surely is common to all

(Plautus)

maria montesque polliceri coepit: he began to promise seas and mountains (Sallust)

marmoreo Licinus tumulo jacet, at Cato parvo, Pompeius nullo. Quis putet

esse deos? Saxa premunt Licinum, levat altum Fama Catonem, Pompeium

tituli. Credimus esse deos: Licinus lies in a marble tomb, Cato in a humble one,

Pompey in none. Who can believe that the gods exist? Heavy lies the stone on Licinus;

Fame raises Cato on high; his glories raise Pompey. We believe that the gods do exist

martyres non facit poena sed causa: not the punishmnent but the cause makes the

martyr (St. Augustine)

materiem, qua sis ingeniosus, habes: you have a subject on which to show your

ingenuity (i.e., a task upon which to display your talents) (Ovid)

maxima debetur puero reverentia, si quid turpe paras, nec tu pueri

contempseris annos: we owe the greatest reverence to a child; if you ever have

something base in mind, do not ignore your son’s tender years (Juvenal)

me justum esse gratis oportet: it is my duty to show justice without recompense

(Seneca)

me miseram, quod amor non est

merses profundo; pulchrior evenit

me miseram, quod amor non est medicabilis herbis!: oh, unhappy me, that there

should be no herbs to cure love!

me nemo ministro fur erit: no one shall become a thief with my help (Juvenal)

me non solum piget stultitiæ meæ, sed etiam pudet: I am not only annoyed at my

folly, I am ashamed of it

mea mihi conscientia pluris est quam omnium sermo: my own conscience is

more to me than what the world says (Cicero)

mea virtute me involvo: I wrap myself in my virtue (Horace)

mecum facile redeo in gratiam: I easily recover my goodwill myself (Phжdrus)

medio de fonte leporum, surgit amari aliquid, quod in ipsis floribus angat:

from the midst of the very fountain of delight, something bitter arises to vex us

even amid the flowers themselves (Lucretius)

mediocribus esse poëtis non di (or dii), non homines, non concessere

columnæ: mediocrity in poets is condemned by gods and men, and booksellers too

(Horace)

mel in ore, verba lactis, fel in corde, fraus in factis (also, mel in ore et verba

lactis, sed fel in corde et fraus in factis): honey in his mouth, words of milk; gall

in his heart, deceit in his deeds

melius non tangere, clamo: I cry out, better it is not to touch (Horace)

melius, pejus, prosit, obsit, nil vident nisi quod libuerit: better or worse, for

good or for harm, they see nothing but what they please (Terence)

membra reformidant mollem quoque saucia tactum; vanaque sollicitis incutit

umbra metum: the wounded limb shrinks from even a gentle touch, and the

unsubstantial shadow strikes the timid with alarm (Ovid)

memini etiam quæ nolo, oblivisci non possum quæ volo: I remember what I

would not, and I cannot forget what I would (Themistocles, as quoted by Cicero)

men servasse ut essent qui me perderent?: did I save them that they might

destroy me? (Pacuvius)

mene salis placidi vultum fluctusque quietos ignorare jubes? Mene huic

confidere monstro?: do you desire that I should not distrust the appearance of the

placid sea, and of the waves which are now quiet? Do you wish that I should

confide in such a monster? (Virgil)

mens immota manet; lachrymæ volvuntur inanes: the mind remains unmoved;

tears are shed in vain (Virgil)

mens peccat, non corpus, et unde consilium abfuit culpa abest: it is the mind

that sins, not the body, and where there was no intention there is no criminality

(Livy)

mensuraque juris vis erat: and might was the measure of right (Lucan)

meo sum pauper in ære: I am poor, but I am not in debt (Horace)

meos tam suspicione quam crimine judico carere oportere: I judge that

members of my family should never be suspected of breaking the law (Julius Cжsar)

merses profundo; pulchrior evenit: plunge it into the depths; it comes forth all the

fairer (Horace)

meum est propositum in taberna miseris succurrere disco

meum est propositum in taberna mori, ut sint vina proxima morientis ori. Tunc

cantabunt lætius angelorum chori, sit Deus propitius huic potatori: I desire

to end my days in a tavern drinking, may my neighbor hold for me the glass when I

am sinking; that the chorus of angels may cry, God be merciful to this the one who

has been drinking (a 12th-century poem)

meus hic est; hamum vorat: he’s mine; he has swallowed my hook (Plautus)

meus mihi, suus cuique (est) carus: mine is dear to me, and dear is his to everyone

(Plautus)

migravit ab aure voluptas omnis: all pleasure has fled from the ear (Horace)

mihi forsan, tibi quod negarit, porriget hora: the hour will perhaps extend to me

what it has denied to you (Horace)

mihi istic nec seritur nec metitur: there is neither sowing nor reaping in that affair

for me (i.e., there is no profit in it for me) (Plautus)

mihi res, non me rebus, subjungere conor: my aim is to subject circumstances to

me, not myself to them (Horace)

mihi tarda fluunt ingrataque tempora: for me the time passes away slowly and

joyously (Horace)

militat omnis amans et habet sua castra Cupido: every lover is a soldier and has

his camp in Cupid (Ovid)

mille hominum species et rerum discolor usus; velle suum cuique est, nec voto

vivitur uno: there are a thousand kinds of men, and different hues they give to

things; each one follows his own inclination, neither wishing to live the same way

(Persius)

millia frumenti tua triverit area centum, non tuus hinc capiet venter plus ac

meus: though your threshing-floor should yield a hundred thousand bushels of

grain, will your belly therefore hold more than mine? (Horace)

minor in parvis fortuna furit, leviusque ferit leviora Deus: fortune is gentle to

the lowly, and God strikes what is weak with less power (Seneca)

minus habeo quam speravi; sed fortasse plus speravi quam debui: I have less

than I had hoped for; but maybe I had hoped for more than I ought (Seneca)

mirantur taciti, et dubio pro fulmine pendent: they stand in silent astonishment,

and wait for the fall of the yet doubtful thunderbolt (Statius)

miremur te non tua: let me have something to admire in yourself, not in what

belongs to you (Juvenal)

mirum videtur quod sit factum jam diu?: does it seem wonderful because it was

done long ago? (Livius Andronicus)

miscebis sacra profanis: you will mix sacred things with profane (Horace)

miscuit utile dulci: he mixes what is useful and sweet (Horace)

miser Catulle, desinas ineptire, et quod vides perisse perditum ducas: poor

Catullus, drop your silly fancies, and what you see is lost, let it be lost (Catullus)

misericordia Domini inter pontem et fontem: between bridge and stream the

Lord’s mercy may be found (St. Augustine)

miseris succurrere disco: I am learning to help the distressed (Virgil)

miserum est aliorum incumbere

mors terribilis iis, quorum cum vita

miserum est aliorum incumbere famæ ne collapsa ruant subductis tecta

columnis: it is a wretched thing to lean upon the fame of others, lest the roof

should fall in ruins when the pillars are withdrawn (Juvenal)

mobilitate viget, viresque acquirit eundo: it grows by moving, and gathers

strength as it speeds on (Virgil, said both of rumor and fame)

modeste tamen et circumspecto judicio de tantis viris pronunciandum est, ne,

quod plerisque accidit, damnent quæ non intelligunt: we should, however,

pronounce our opinions of such men with modesty and circumspect judgment, lest,

as is the case with many, we should be found condemning what we do not

understand (Quintilian)

modo me Thebis, modo ponit Athenis: he now places me in Thebes, and now at

Athens (Horace, said of a playwright able to change scenes without interrupting the

continuity of the story)

molle meum levibus cor est violabile telis: my tender heart is vulnerable by his

(Cupid’s) light arrows (Ovid)

mollissima corda humano generi dare se natura fatetur, quæ lachrymas dedit:

hæc nostri pars optima sensus: nature confesses that she gave the most tender

hearts to the human race when she gave them tears: this is the best part of our

senses (Juvenal)

molliter austerum studio fallente laborem: the interest in the pursuit gently

beguiling the severity of the toil (Horace)

momento mare vertitur; eodem die ubi luserunt, navigia sorbentur: in a

moment the sea is agitated, and on the same day ships are swallowed up where

lately they sported (Seneca)

monstro quod ipse tibi possis dare; semita certe tranquillæ per virtutem patet

unica vitæ: I show you what you can do for yourself; the only path to a tranquil life

lies through virtue (Juvenal)

monstrum horrendum, informe, ingens, cui lumen ademptum: a monster

horrendous, hideous, and vast, deprived of sight (Virgil, of the blinded Cyclops,

Polyphemus)

monstrum nulla virtute redemptum a vitiis: a monster whose vices are not

redeemed by a single virtue (Juvenal)

moriamur et in media arma ruamus. Una salus victis nullam sperare salutem:

let us die even as we rush into the thick of the fight. The only safe course for the

defeated is to expect no safety (Virgil)

moribus antiquis res stat Romana virisque: the Roman republic stands by its

ancient manners and men (Ennius)

mors hominum felix quæ se nec dulcibus annis inserit et mæstis—sæpe vocata

venit: death is kind to men when it comes not during the sweet but during the sad

years—then, indeed, it is often prayed for (Boлthius)

mors infanti felix, juvenis acerba, nimis sera est seni: death is favorable for the

child, bitter to the youth, too late for the old (Publilius Syrus)

mors terribilis iis, quorum cum vita omnia exstinguuntur, non iis quorum laus

emori non potest: death is full of terrors for those to whom loss of life means

complete extinction, not for those who leave behind them an undying name (Cicero) mortalia facta peribunt; nedum multi committunt eadem diverso

mortalia facta peribunt; nedum sermonum stet honos et gratia vivax: all a

mortal’s works must perish; how much less shall the power and grace of language

long survive! (Horace)

mortalium rerum misera beatitudo: the miserable bliss of all mortal things

(Boлthius)

morte carent animæ, semperque priore relicta sede novis domibus vivunt

habitantque receptæ: souls are immortal and are admitted, after quitting their

first abode, into new homes, and they live and dwell in them forever (Ovid)

movet cornicula risum furtivis nudata coloribus: the crow, stripped of its stolen

colors, provokes our ridicule (i.e., there is nothing more amusing than a proud pig

stripped of its feathers) (Horace)

mulier cupido quod dicit amanti, in vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua: what

a woman says to an ardent lover ought to be written on the winds and in the swiftly

flowing water (Catullus)

mulier profecto nata est ex ipsa mora: woman is surely born of tardiness itself

(Plautus)

multa dies, variusque labor mutabilis ævi, retulit in melius; multos alterna

revisens lusit, et in solido rursus Fortuna locavit: time and the changed labor

of ages have restored many things; and Fortune, after many capricious alterations,

has placed them upon solid ground (Virgil)

multa fero ut placeam genus irritabile vatum: much I endure to soothe (or

appease) the irritable race of poets (Horace)

multa ferunt anni venientes commoda secum; multa recedentes adimunt: the

coming years bring with them many advantages; as they recede they take many

away (Horace)

multa me docuit usus, magister egregius: necessity, that excellent master, has

taught me many things (Pliny the Younger)

multa petentibus desunt multa. Bene est, cui Deus obtulit parca, quod satis est

manu: those who long for much are in want of much. Happy is he to whom God

has given, with sparing hand, as much as is enough (Horace)

multa quidem scripsi; sed quæ vitiosa putavi, emendaturis ignibus ipse dedi:

much have I written; but what I considered faulty I myself committed to the

correcting flames (Ovid)

multa renascentur quæ jam cecidere, cadentque quæ nunc sunt in honore

vocabula, si volet usus, quem penes arbitrium est, et jus, et norma loquendi:

many words now in disuse will revive, and many now in vogue will be forgotten, if

usage wills it, in whose hands is the choice and the right to lay down the law of

language (Horace)

multa rogant utenda dari; data reddere nolunt: they ask many a sum on loan; but

they are loath to repay (Ovid)

multa tulit fecitque puer, sudavit et alsit, ut posset contingere metam: he

suffered and did much in youth, he bore heat and cold, in order to reach the goal

multi committunt eadem diverso crimina fato, ille crucem sceleris pretium

tulit, hic diadema: many commit the same crimes with a different destiny; one

bears a cross as the price of his villainy, another wears a crown (Juvenal)

multi mortales, dediti ventri atque munera, crede mihi, capiunt

multi mortales, dediti ventri atque somno, indocti incultique vitam sicuti

peregrinantes transiere; quibus profecto contra naturam corpus voluptati,

anima oneri: many men have passed through life like travelers in a strange land,

without spiritual or moral culture, and given up to the lusts of appetite and

indolence, whose bodies, contrary to their nature, were enslaved to indulgence, and

their souls a burden (Sallust)

multis ille bonis flebilis occidit nulli flebilior quam tibi (or mihi): he fell

lamented by many good men, by none more lamented than by you (or by me)

(Horace, said of Quintilian)

multis parasse divitias non finis miseriarum fuit, sed mutatio; non est in rebus

vitium sed in animo: the acquisition of riches has been to many, not the end of

their miseries, but a change in them; the fault is not in the riches, but in the

disposition (Seneca)

multorum te etiam oculi et aures non sentientem, sicuti adhuc fecerunt,

speculabuntur atque custodient: without your knowledge, the eyes and ears of

many will see and watch you, as they have done already (Cicero)

multos castra juvant, et lituo tubæ permistus sonitus, bellaque matribus

detestata: the camp and the clang of the trumpet mingled with the clarion, and

wars detested by mothers, have delights for many (Horace)

multos qui conflictari adversis videantur, beatos; ac plerosque, quanquam

magnas per opes, miserrimos: si illi gravem fortunam constanter tolerent, hi

prospera inconsulte utantur: there are many who appear to encounter adversity

who are happy; while there are some in the midst of riches who are miserable; all

depends on the fortitude with which the former bear pressure, and on the

unadvised manner in which the latter employ their wealth (Tacitus)

mundæque parvo sub lare pauperum coenæ, sine aulæis et ostro, sollicitam

explicuere frontem: a neat, simple meal under the humble roof of the poor,

without hangings and purple, has smoothed the wrinkles of an anxious brow

(Horace)

munditiæ, et ornatus, et cultus hæc feminarum insignia sunt, his gaudent et

gloriantur: neatness, ornament, and dress, are peculiar badges of women; in these

they delight and glory (Livy)

munditiis capimur: non sine lege capillis: we are captivated by neatness: let not

your hair be out of order (Ovid)

munera accipit frequens, remittit nunquam: he frequently accepts presents, but

never gives any in return (Plautus)

munera, crede mihi, capiunt hominesque deosque; placatur donis Jupiter ipse

datis: gifts, believe me, captivate both men and gods; Jupiter himself is won over

and appeased by gifts (Ovid) nam de mille fabæ modiis dum ne Æsopum quidem trivit

N

nam de mille fabæ modiis dum surripis unum, damnum est, non facinus mihi

pacto lenius isto: if from a thousand bushels of beans you steal one, my loss, it is

true, is in this case less, but not your villainy (Horace)

nam ego illum periisse duco, cui quidem periit pudor: I regard that man as lost

who has lost his sense of shame (Plautus)

nam et majorum instituta tueri sacris cerimoniisque retinendis, sapientis est:

for it is the part of a wise man to protect the institutions of his forefathers by

retaining the sacred rites and ceremonies

nam neque divitibus contingunt gaudia solis, nec vixit male qui natus

moriensque fefellit: joys do not fall to the rich alone, nor has he lived ill of whose

birth and death no one took note (Horace)

nam neque quies gentium sine armis, neque arma sine stipendiis, neque

stipendia sine tributis haberi queunt: for the quiet of nations cannot be

maintained without arms, nor can arms be maintained without pay, nor pay without

taxation (Tacitus)

nam pro jucundis aptissima quæque dabunt di (or dii); carior (or charior) est

illis homo quam sibi: the gods will give what is most suitable rather than what is

most pleasing; man is dearer to them than he is to himself (Juvenal)

namque sub Aurora jam dormitante lucerna somnia quo cerni tempore vera

solent: those dreams are true that we have in the morning, as the lamp begins to

flicker (Ovid)

namque tu solebas meas esse aliquid putare nugas: for you used to think my

trifles were worth something (Catullus)

narratur et prisci Catonis sæpe mero caluisse virtus: it is said that the virtue even

of the elder Cato was often warmed by wine (Horace)

natales grate numeras?, ignoscis amicis?, lenior et melior fis accendente

senecta?: do you count your birthdays thankfully?, forgive your friends?, grow

gentler and better with advancing age? (Horace)

natura beatis omnibus esse dedit, si quis cognoverit uti: nature has granted to all

to be happy, if we only knew how to use its benefits (Claudian)

natura dedit usuram vitæ tanquam pecuniæ nulla præstitua die: nature has lent

us life at interest, like money, and has fixed no day for its payment (Cicero)

natura ipsa valere, et mentis viribus excitari, et quasi quodam divino spiritu

afflari: to be strong by nature, to be urged on by the powers of the mind, and to be

inspired, as it were, by a divine spirit (Cicero; said of genius)

Natura, quam te colimus inviti quoque!: O Nature, how we bow to you even

against our will! (Seneca)

naturæ debitum reddiderunt: they paid the debt of nature (i.e., death) (Cornelius

Nepos)

natus sum, esuriebam, quærebam; nunc repletus requiesco: I was born, I felt

hungry, and sought for food; now that I am satiated, I lay me down to rest

ne Æsopum quidem trivit: neither has he come across Aesop (i.e., as a student, he

knows nothing)

ne pereant lege mane rosa nec Veneris pharetris macer est, aut

ne pereant lege mane rosas: cito virgo senescit: pick roses in the morning, lest

they wither: a maiden soon grows old (Florus)

ne pueros coram populo Medea trucidet: you will not let Medea slay her sons

before the people (Horace)

ne quid falsi dicere audeat, ne quid veri non audeat: let him not dare to say

anything that is false, nor let him dare say what is not true (Cicero)

ne te longis ambagibus ultra quam satis est morer: not to detain you by long

digressions more than enough (i.e., to make a long story short) (Horace)

nec audiendi qui solent dicere, vox populi, vox Dei, quum tumultuositas vulgi

semper insaniæ proxima sit: and those people should not be listened to who keep

saying, the voice of the people is the voice of God, since the riotousness of the

crowd is very close to madness (Alcuin, in a letter to Charlemagne)

nec historia debet egredi veritatem, et honeste factis veritas sufficit: history

should not overstep the limits of truth, and indeed, in recording noble deeds, the

truth is sufficient (Pliny the Younger)

nec me pudet, ut istos, fateri nescire quod nesciam: I am not ashamed, as some

are, to confess my ignorance of that which I do not know (Cicero)

nec meus audet rem tentare pudor, quam vires ferre recusent: my modesty does

not permit me to attempt a thing which my powers are not equal to accomplish (Virgil)

nec mihi mors gravis est posituro morte dolores: death is not grievous to me, for

by death shall I lay aside my pains (Ovid)

nec minor est virtus, quam quærere, parta tueri: casus inest illic; hic erit artis

opus: it is no less merit to keep what you have got than to gain it: in the one there

is chance; the other will be a work of art (Ovid)

nec, quæ præteriit, iterum revocabitur unda; nec, quæ præteriit, hora redire

potest: neither can the wave which has passed by be again recalled, nor can the

hour which has passed ever return (Ovid)

nec quies gentium sine armis, nec arma sine stipendiis, nec stipendia sine

tributis haberi queunt: neither can the quiet of nations be maintained without

arms, nor can arms be maintained without pay, nor pay without taxation (after

Tacitus)

nec satis est pulchra esse poëmata; dulcia sunto: it is not enough that poetry

should be so polished as to satisfy the judgment; it should appeal to our feelings

and imagination (Horace)

nec sit terris ultima Thule: nor shall Thule be the extremity of the world (Seneca)

nec tamen est quisquam, sacros qui lædat amantes: no one would hurt a lover,

for lovers are sacred (Propertius)

nec tibi quid liceat, sed quid fecisse decebit occurrat; mentemque domet

respectus honesti: do not consider what you may do, but what it will become you

to have done; and let the sense of honor subdue your mind (Claudian)

nec Veneris pharetris macer est, aut lampade fervet: inde faces ardent, veniunt

a dote sagittæ: he is not made lean by Venus’s quiver, nor does he burn with her

torch; it is from this that his fires are fed, from her dowry the arrows come

(Juvenal) nec verbum verbo curabis reddere neque salsum neque suave esse potest

nec verbum verbo curabis reddere fidus interpres: as a true translator you will

take care not to render (or translate) word for word (Horace)

nec vero me fugit, quam sit acerbum, parentum scelera filiorum poenis lui: it

does not escape me that it is a cruel thing for the children to suffer for their

parents’ misdeeds (Cicero)

nec vidisse semel satis est, juvat usque morari, et conferre gradum, et veniendi

discere causas: nor is it enough to have once seen him; they are delighted to

linger near him, and to keep step with him, and to learn the reason for his coming

(Virgil)

negatas artifex sequi voces: he attempts to express himself in a language that nature

has denied him (Persius)

negotium populo Romano melius quam otium committi: the Roman people

understand work better than leisure (Appius Claudius)

nemini credo, qui large blandus est dives pauperi: I trust no rich man who is

officiously kind to a poor man (Plautus)

nemo malus felix, minime corruptor: no evil person is happy, least of all a

corrupter of morals (Juvenal)

nemo mathematicus genium indemnatus habebit: no mathematician will be held

a genius until he is condemned (Juvenal)

nemo parum diu vixit, qui virtutis perfectæ perfecto functus est munere: no

one has lived too short a life who has discharged the perfect work of perfect virtue

(Cicero)

nemo potest personam diu ferre fictam: no one can play a feigned part for long

(Seneca)

nemo quam bene vivat, sed quamdiu, curat: quum omnibus possit contingere

ut bene vivat, ut diu nulli: no one cares how well they live, but only how long; it

is within the reach of every one to live well, it is within no one’s power to live long

(Seneca)

nemo tam divos habuit faventes, crastinum ut possit sibi polliceri: nobody has

ever found the gods so much his friends that he can promise himself another day

(Seneca)

nequaquam nobis divinitus esse creatam naturam mundi, quanta stat prædita

culpa: the nature of the universe has by no means been made through divine

power, seeing how great are the faults that mar it (Lucretius)

nequaquam satis in re una consumere curam: it is by no means enough to spend

all our care on a single object (Horace)

neque extra necessitates belli præcipuum odium gero: I bear no particular hatred

beyond the necessity of war

neque (enim) quies gentium sine armis, neque arma sine stipendiis, neque

stipendia sine tributis haberi queunt: the quiet of nations cannot be maintained

without arms, nor can arms be maintained without pay, nor pay without taxation

(Tacitus)

neque salsum neque suave esse potest quicquam, ubi amor non admiscetur:

not a thing can be either salt or sweet without a dash of love (Plautus)

neque semper arcum tendit Apollo nihil infelicius eo, cui nihil unquam

neque semper arcum tendit Apollo: nor does Apollo always keep his bow drawn

(Horace)

nequeo monstrare, et sentio tantum: what I can experience but cannot express

(Juvenal)

nequiquam, quoniam medio de fonte leporum surgit amari aliquid quod in

ipsis floribus angat: all is vanity, since from the very fountain of enchantment

rises a drop of bitterness to bring torment among all the flowers (Lucretius)

nescio qua natale solum dulcedine captos (or cunctos) ducit, et immemores

non sinit esse sui: our native land charms us with inexpressible sweetness and

never allows us to forget that we belong to it (Ovid)

nescio qua præter solitum dulcedine læti: elated beyond the usual by some

unaccountable delight (Virgil)

nescio quid majus nascitur Iliade: something greater than the Iliad now springs to

life (Propertius)

nescire autem quid ante quam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum.

Quid enim est ætas hominis, nisi (ea) memoria rerum veterum cum

superiorum ætate contexitur?: not to know what occurred before you were born

is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven

into the life of our ancestors by the records of history? (Cicero)

nihil agit qui diffidentem verbis solatur suis; is est amicus qui in re dubia re

juvat, ubi re est opus: he does nothing who seeks to console a desponding person

with words; a friend is one who aids with deeds at a critical time where deeds are

called for (Plautus)

nihil cupientium nudus castra peto: naked I repair to the camp of those who desire

nothing (Horace)

nihil enim legit, quod non excerperet. Dicere etiam solebat, nullum esse

librum tam malum, ut non aliqua parte prodesset: he reads no book from

which he did not make extracts. He also used to say, no book was so bad but good

of some kind might be got out of it (Pliny the Elder)

nihil est aptius ad delectationem lectoris, quam temporum varietates,

fortunæque vicissitudines: nothing contributes more to the delight of a reader

than the changes of times and the vicissitudes of fortune (Cicero)

nihil est (autem) tam volucre quam maledictum, nihil facilius emittitur, nihil

citius excipitur, nihil latius dissipatur: nothing is so swift as calumny, nothing more

easily uttered, nothing more readily received, nothing more widely disseminated (Cicero)

nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius

ratione tota comitiorum: nothing is more uncertain than the masses, nothing more

obscure than human will, nothing more deceptive than the whole electoral process

(Cicero)

nihil est quod credere de se non possit, quum laudatur dis æqua potestas: there

is nothing of which it (power) cannot believe itself capable, when it is praised as

equal to that of the gods (Juvenal)

nihil infelicius eo, cui nihil unquam evenit adversi, non licuit enim illi se

experiri: there is no one more unfortunate than the man who has never been

unfortunate, for it has never been in his power to try himself (Seneca) nihil peccat nisi quod nihil peccat nil intra est oleam, nil extra est in

nihil peccat nisi quod nihil peccat: his only sin is that he does not sin (Pliny the

Younger)

nihil scriptum miraculi causa: nothing is written here to excite wonder (i.e., for

effect) (Tacitus)

nihil tam absurdum, quod non dictum sit ab aliquo philosophorum: there is

nothing so absurd that has not at sometime been said by some philosopher (after

Cicero)

nihil turpius est quam gravis ætate senex, qui nullum aliud habet argumentum,

quo se probet diu vixisse, præter ætatem: there is nothing more disgraceful

than an old man who has no other proof to offer, of his having lived long in the

world, than his age (Seneca)

nil actum credens, dum quid superesset agendum: he believed nothing done so

long as anything remained to be done (Lucan, said of Julius Cжsar)

nil actum reputans, si quid superesset agendum: thinking that nothing was done,

if anything remained to be done (Lucan)

nil admirari prope est res una, Numici, solaque, quæ possit facere et servare

beatum: to marvel at nothing, Numicius, is almost the one and only thing that can

make and keep men happy (Horace)

nil æquale homini fuit illi: there was no consistency in that man (Horace)

nil conscire sibi, nulla pallescere culpa: to be conscious of no guilt, and to turn

pale at no charge (Horace)

nil (or nihil) cupientium nudus castra peto: naked myself, I make for the camp of

those who desire nothing (Horace)

nil desperandum Teucro duce et auspice Teucro: there is no ground for despair

while Teucer is leader and Teucer is under his auspices (Horace)

nil dictu foedum visuque hæc limina tangat, intra quæ puer est: let nothing

filthy, either heard by the ear or seen by the eye, enter this threshold, within which

there is a child (Juvenal)

nil ego contulerim jucundo sanus amico: as long as I have my senses, there is

nothing I would prefer to an agreeable friend (Horace)

nil erit ulterius quod nostris moribus addat posteritas; eadem cupient

facientque minores; omne in præcipiti vitium stetit: there will be nothing left

for posterity to add to our manners; our descendants will wish for and do the same

things as we do; every vice has reached its culminating point (Juvenal)

nil fuit unquam sic impar sibi: never before was there such an inconsistent person

(Horace)

nil fuit unquam tam dispar sibi: nothing was ever so unlike itself (Horace)

nil igitur fieri de nilo posse fatendum’st: therefore we must conclude that nothing

comes from nothing (Lucretius)

nil igitur mors est ad nos neque pertinet hilum, quandoquidem natura animi

mortalis habetur: death therefore is nothing to us nor does it concern us a bit,

seeing that the nature of the spirit we possess is something mortal (Lucretius)

nil intra est oleam, nil extra est in nuce duri: [if this be not true, then] there is no

pit in the olive, nor has the nut any shell (Horace)

nil me officit unquam, ditior hic, aut nolo barbam vellere mortuo leoni

nil me officit unquam, ditior hic, aut est quia doctior; est locus uni cuique

suus: it never in the least annoys me that another is richer or more learned than I;

everyone has his own place assigned to him (Horace)

nil mihi rescribas, tu tamen ipse veni!: write nothing back to me, and you yourself

come! (Ovid)

nil obstet tibi, dum ne sit te ditior alter: nothing stops you, so long as there is not

another wealthier than yourself (Horace)

nil oriturum alias, nil ortum tale fatentes: confessing that none like you had arisen

before, or will likely arise in the future (Horace, said of Cжsar Augustus)

nil rectum nisi quod placuit sibi ducunt: they deem nothing right except what

seems good to themselves (Horace)

nil sine te mei prosunt honores: the honors I obtain are nothing without you

(Horace, to the Muse)

nil sole et sale utilius: nothing so useful as the sun and salt

nil temere uxori de servis crede querenti; sæpe etenim mulier quem conjux

diligit, odit: do not rashly believe a wife who complains of servants; for often the

wife hates those whom the husband prefers (Dionysius Cato)

nimia illæc licentia profecto evadet in aliquod magnum malum: this excessive

license will most certainly eventuate in some great evil (Terence)

nimia subtilitas in jure reprobatur, et talis certitudo certitudinem confundit:

too much subtlety in law is condemned, and so much certainty confounds certainty

nimirum insanus paucis videatur, eo quod maxima pars hominum morbo

jactatur eodem: he appears insane to only a few, because the majority is infected

with the same disease (Horace)

nimius in veritate, et similitudinis quam pulchritudinis amantior: too

meticulous as regards truth, and with a greater liking for exactness than beauty

(Quintilian)

nisi Dominus ædificaverit domum, in vanum laboraverunt qui ædificant eam.

Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, frustra vigilat qui custodit eam: Unless

the Lord builds the house, its builders have labored in vain. Unless the Lord guards

the city, those who guard need not be vigilant (Psalm 126:1)

nitor in adversum, nec me, qui cætera vincit impetus, et rapido contrarius

evehor orbi: I struggle against an opposing current; the torrent that sweeps away

others does not overpower me, and I make headway against the on-rushing stream

(Ovid)

nobis non licet esse tam disertis, qui Musas colimus severiores: we who

cultivate the Muses of a graver spirit cannot indulge ourselves in such license

(Martial)

noctemque diemque fatigat: he wears out both night and day at his work (Virgil)

nocturna versate manu, versate diurna: let these be your studies by night and by

day

nolo barbam vellere mortuo leoni: I do not wish to pluck the beard of a dead lion

(Martial) non adeo cecidi, quamvis abjectus, ut non ego mordaci distrinxi carmine

non adeo cecidi, quamvis abjectus, ut infra te quoque sim; inferius quo nihil

esse potest: though cast off, I have not fallen so low as to be beneath you; than

which nothing can be lower (Ovid)

non agitur de vectigalibus, non de sociorum injuriis; libertas et anima nostra in

dubio est: it is not a question of our revenues, nor of the wrongs of our allies; our

liberty and very lives are in peril (Sallust)

non alias cælo ceciderunt plura sereno: never till then so many thunderbolts from

cloudless skies (i.e., a bolt from the blue) (Virgil)

non amo nimium diligentes: I do not like those who are too diligent (Scipio

Africanus)

non amo te, Sabidi, nec possum dicere quare; hoc tantum possum dicere, non

amo te: I do not love you, Sabidius, nor can I say why; this only can I say, I do not

love you (Martial)

non ampliter sed munditer convivium; plus salis quam sumptus: the

entertainment was more neat than ample; there was more of relish than of meat

(Cornelius Nepos)

non Angli, sed angeli: not Angles, but angels (Pope Gregory the Great, upon seeing

English youths for sale in the Roman slave market)

non bene junctarum discordia semina rerum: the discordant seeds of things ill

joined (Ovid)

non canimus surdis, respondent omnia silvæ: I sing not to deaf ears, for all the

forest gives an answer (Virgil)

non convivere, nec videre saltem, non audire licet; nec urbe tota quisquam est

tam prope, tam proculque nobis: I may not live with him, nor even see him or

hear him; in all the city there is no one so near me and so far away (Martial)

non deerat voluntas, sed facultas: not the will, but the ability, was wanting

non eadem est ætas, non mens: my age is no longer the same, nor my inclination

(Horace)

non eadem ratio est, sentire et demere morbos; sensus inest cunctis; tollitur

arte malum: to be aware of disease and to remove it is not the same thing: the

sense of it exists in all; by skill alone is disease removed (Ovid)

non ebur neque aureum mea renidet in domo lacunar: in my dwelling no ivory

gleams, nor paneled roof covered with gold (Horace)

non ego avarum cum te veto fieri, vappam jubeo ac nebulonem: when I say, be

not a miser, I do not bid you to become a worthless prodigal (Horace)

non ego illam mihi dotem esse puto, quæ dos dicitur, sed pudicitiam, et

pudorem, et sedatam cupidinem: in my opinion, a woman’s true dowry is not

that which is called a dowry, but virtue, modesty, and restrained desires (Plautus)

non ego mordaci distrinxi carmine quenquam; nec meus ullius crimina versus

habet: I have not attacked anyone with biting satire, nor does my poetry contain a

charge against anyone (Ovid)

non ego mordaci distrinxi carmine quenquam; … nulla venenato litera mista

joco est: I have not attacked anyone with biting satire; … nor does any venomous

jest lurk concealed in what I have written (Ovid, an alternate version)

non ego omnino lucrum omne esse non id videndum, conjugum ut bonis

non ego omnino lucrum omne esse utile homini existimo: I do not at all

consider that every kind of gain is useful to a man (Plautus)

non ego paucis, offendar maculis, quas aut incuria fudit, aut humana parum

cavit natura: I shall not be offended with a few faults, ones that arise either from

inadvertence or from the frailty of our nature (Horace)

non ego ventosæ venor suffragia plebis: I do not hunt after the votes of the fickle

multitude (Horace)

non enim gazæ neque consularis summovet lictor miseros tumultus mentis et

curas laqueata circum tecta volantes: for neither regal treasure, nor the consul’s

lictor, nor the cares that hover about fretted ceilings, can remove the unhappy

tumults of the mind (Horace)

non equidem invideo, miror magis: in truth I feel no envy, I am greatly surprised

(Virgil)

non equidem studeo, bullatis ut mihi nugis pagina turgescat, dare pondus

idonea fumo: I do not study to swell my page with pompous trifles, suited only to

give weight to smoke (Persius)

non esse consuetudinem populi Romani, ullam accipere ab hoste armato

conditionem: it is not the custom of the Roman people to accept terms from an

armed enemy (Julius Cжsar)

non esse cupidum pecunia est; non esse emacem vectigal est; contentum vero

suis rebus esse, maximaæ sunt, certissimæque divitiae: not to be avaricious is

money; not to be extravagant is a revenue; to be truly content with our own is the

greatest and most certain wealth of all (Cicero)

non est ad astra mollis e terris via: there is no easy way from the earth to the stars

(Seneca and Cicero)

non est, crede mihi, sapientis dicere “vivam”; sera nimis vita est crastina; vive

hodie: believe me, the wise do not say “I shall live”; life tomorrow will be too late;

live today (Martial)

non est de pastu omnium quæstio, sed de lana: it is not a question of feeding the

sheep, but of wool (i.e., of fleecing them) (attributed to Pius II)

non est de sacco tanta farina tuo: all this flour is not from your sack (said of a

plagiarist)

non est nostri ingenii: it is not within my range of ability (Cicero)

non est paupertas, Nestor, habere nihil: it is not poverty, Nestor, to have nothing

(Martial)

non fumum ex fulgore, sed ex fumo dare lucem: not to bring smoke from light,

but from smoke to bring light (said of an accomplished novelist) (Horace)

non hoc ista sibi tempus spectacula poscit: the present moment is not one to

indulge in spectacles of this kind (Virgil)

non hominis culpa, sed ista loci: it is not the fault of the man, but of the place (Ovid)

non id videndum, conjugum ut bonis bona, at ut ingenium congruat et mores

moribus; probitas, pudorque virgini dos optima est: in marriage the relative

proportion of property is not so much to be considered, as the union of mind, and

the identity of manner and disposition; chastity and modesty form the best portion

that a virgin can bring to her husband (Terence) non ignara mali, miseris succerrere non possidentem multa vocaveris

non ignara mali, miseris succerrere disco: no stranger myself to misfortune, I am

learning to aid those in misery (Virgil)

non illa colo calathisve Minervæ femineas assueta manus: her feminine hands

were not trained to the basket (or distaff) of Minerva (Virgil)

non ille pro charis amicis, aut patria timidus perire: he dares for his country or

his friends to die (Horace)

non ingenerantur hominibus mores tam a stirpe generis ac seminis quam ex iis

rebus, quæ ab ipsa natura nobis ad vitæ consuetudinem suppeditantur,

quibus alimar et vivimus: our character is not so much the product of race and

heredity as of those circumstances by which nature forms our habits, by which we

are nourished and live (Cicero)

non magni pendis, quia contigit: you do not value it highly, because it came by luck

(Horace)

non me pudet fateri nescire quod nesciam: I am not ashamed to confess myself

ignorant of what I do not know (Cicero)

non mihi si linguæ centum sint oraque centum, ferrea vox, omnes scelerum

comprendere formas omnia poenarum percurrere nomina possim: not if I had

a hundred tongues, a hundred mouths, and a voice of iron, could I repeat all the

types of wickedness, and run over all the names of penal woes (Virgil)

non modo proditori, sed ne perfugæ quidem locus in meis castris cuiquam

fuit: not only no traitor, but no deserter, has found a place in my camp (Cicero)

non nobis, Domine, non nobis; sed nomini tuo da gloriam: not to us, Lord, not

to us; but to your Name give glory (Psalm 113:9)

non nostrum (inter vos) tantas componere lites: it is not for us to settle such

disputes (among you) (Virgil)

non numero hæc judicantur sed pondere: these things are not to be judged by

their number, but by their weight (Cicero)

non nunc agitur de vectigalibus, non de sociorum injuriis; libertas et anima

nostra in dubio est: the question is not now respecting our revenues, or injuries

to our allies; our liberties and lives are all at stake (Cicero)

non omnis moriar; multaque pars mei vitabit libitinam: not all of me shall die;

and a great part of me will escape the grave (Horace)

non opus est magnis placido lectore poëtis; quamlibet invitum difficilemque

tenent: great poets have no need of an indulgent reader; they hold captive

everyone however unwilling and hard to please he may be (Ovid)

non placet quem scurræ laudant, manipulares mussitant: I do not like the man

whom the gentry praise, but of whom the people of his own class say nothing

(Plautus)

non possidentem multa vocaveris recte beatum. Rectius occupat nomen beati,

qui deorum muneribus sapienter uti, duramque callet pauperiem pati,

pejusque leto flagitium timet: you would not justly call him blessed who has

many possessions; more justly does he claim the name blessed who knows how to

use wisely the gifts of the gods and to bear the hardships of poverty, and who fears

disgrace worse than death (Horace)

non possum ferre, Quirites, Græcam noris quam elegans formarum

non possum ferre, Quirites, Græcam urbem: I cannot, Romans, endure a Greek

city (Juvenal)

non pronuba Juno, non Hymenæus adest, non illi Gratia lecto; Eumenides

stravere torum: no Juno guardian of the marriages rites, no Hymenжus, no one of

the Graces, stood by that nuptial couch (Ovid)

non qui soletur, non qui labentia tarde tempora narrando fallat, amicus adest:

there is no friend near to console me, none to beguile the weary hours with his talk (Ovid)

non quisquam fruitur veris odoribus, Hybleos latebris nec spoliat favos, si

frontem caveat, si timeat rubos: ornat spina rosas, mella tegunt apes: he will

never obtain the flowery sweets of spring, nor the honeyed treasures of Mount

Hyblo, who cannot face the difficulties that surround them: the rose is guarded by

thorns, and honey is protected by bees

non satis est pulchra esse poëmata; dulcia sunto, et quocumque volent animum

auditoris agunto: it is not enough that poems be beautiful; they must also be

affecting, and move at will the hearer’s soul (Horace)

non tali auxilio, nec defensoribus istis tempus eget: the times require other aid

and other defenders than those you bring (Virgil)

non tam commutandarum, quam evertendarum rerum cupidi: desiring not so

much to change things as to overturn them (Cicero)

non tam portas intrare patentes, quam fregisse juvat: nec tam patiente colono

arva premi, quam si ferro populetur et igni. Concessa pudet ira via: the

conqueror is not so much pleased by entering into open gates as by forcing his way:

he desires not the fields to be cultivated by the patient husbandman, he would have

them depopulated by fire and sword. It would be his shame to go by a way already

granted to his passage (Lucan)

non tamen adeo virtutum sterile seculum, ut non et bona exempla prodiderit:

yet the age was not so utterly destitute of virtues but that it produced some good

examples (Tacitus)

non tu corpus eras sine pectore. Di tibi formam, di tibi divitias dederant,

artemque fruendi: you were at no time ever a body without a soul. The gods have

given you beauty, the gods have given you wealth, and the skill to enjoy it (Horace,

to Tibullus)

non usitata, nec tenui ferar penna: I will be borne on no common, no feeble, wing

(Horace)

non ut diu vivamus curandum est, sed ut satis: our care should not be so much to

live long, but to have lived enough (Seneca)

nondum amabam, et amare amabam. … quærebam quid amarem, amans

amare: not yet I loved, yet I loved to love. … I sought what I might love, in love

with loving (St. Augustine)

nonumque prematur in annum, membranis intus positis: delere licebit quod

non edideris; nescit vox missa reverti: let it be kept until the ninth year, the

manuscript put away at home; you may destroy whatever you have not published;

once let out, what you have said cannot be called back (Horace)

noris quam elegans formarum spectator siem: you will see how nice a judge of

beauty I am (Terence) nos fragili vastum ligno sulcavimus num flatus telluris honor?

nos fragili vastum ligno sulcavimus æquor: we have plowed the vast ocean in a

fragile boat (Ovid)

nos hæc novimus esse nihil: we know that these things are nothing (i.e., mere

trifles) (Martial)

nos patriæ fines et dulcia linquimus arva: we leave the confines of our native

country and our delightful plains (Virgil)

nos te, nos facimus, Fortuna, deam: it is we, O Fortune, we who make you a

goddess (Juvenal)

noscenda est mensura sui spectandaque rebus in summis minimisque: a man

should know his own measure, and have regard to it in the smallest matters as well

as the greatest (Juvenal)

nosque ubi primus equis Oriens adflavit anhelis illic sera rubens accendit

lumina Vesper: and when the Rising Sun has first breathed on us with its panting

horses, over there the red Evening Star is lighting his late lamps (Virgil)

nostra sine auxilio fugiunt bona. Carpite florem: our advantages fly away without

aid. Pluck the flower (Ovid)

notandi sunt tibi mores: the manners of men are to be carefully observed (Horace)

novem Iovis concordes filiæ sorores: you nine daughters of Jupiter, sisters of one

heart (Nжvius)

novi ego hoc sæculum, moribus quibus siet: I know this age, what its character is

(Plautus)

novi ingenium mulierum, nolunt ubi velis, ubi nolis cupiunt ultro: I know the

nature of women; when you will they won’t, when you won’t they long for it

(Terence)

novum et ad hunc diem non auditum: new and unheard of till this day (Cicero)

nox atra cava circumvolat: black night envelopes them with its hollow shade (Virgil)

nudo detrahere vestimenta me jubes: you order me to strip the clothes from a

naked man (Plautus)

nulli negabimus, nulli differemus justitiam: we shall not negate, nor delay, the

justice that is due (from the Magna Carta)

nulli vendemus, nulli negabimus aut differemus, rectum aut justitiam: to no

one will we sell, nor deny, nor delay, right or justice (from the Magna Carta)

nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri, quo me cunque rapit tempestas,

deferor hospes: bound to swear by the opinions of no master, I present myself a

guest wherever the storm drives me (Horace)

nullum ab labore me reclinat otium: no period of rest releases me from labor

(Horace)

nullum numen habes, si sit prudentia; nos te nos facimus, Fortuna, deam

coeloque locamus: you have no divine power where there is prudence; it is we, O

Fortune, we who make you a goddess and place you in heaven (Juvenal)

nullus difficilis cupienti labor: no labor is difficult if you wish to do it (St. Jerome)

num barbarorum Romulus rex fuit?: Romulus was not a king of barbarians, was

he? (Cicero)

num flatus telluris honor?: surely honor is not simply a blast [of air] from the earth?

numerisque fertur lege solutis O cives, cives, quærenda pecunia

numerisque fertur lege solutis: he is borne along in numbers free from law (Horace)

numerus certus pro incerto ponitur: a certain number is put for an uncertain

number (i.e., without trying to be exact)

numquam se minus otiosum esse quam cum otiosus, nec minus solum quam

cum solus esset: never less idle than when wholly idle, nor less alone than when

wholly alone (Cicero)

numquam sis ex toto otiosus, sed aut legens, aut scribens, aut orans, aut

meditans, aut aliquid utilitatis pro communi laborans: never to be completely

idle, but either reading, or writing, or praying, or meditating, or working at

something useful for all in common (Thomas а Kempis)

nunc animis opus, Ænea, nunc pectore firmo: now, Aeneas, you have need of

courage, now a resolute heart (Virgil)

Nunc Dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace: now

let your servant depart in peace, Lord, according to your word (St. Luke 2:29)

nunc est bibendum, nunc pede libero pulsanda tellus: now for drinking, now for

dancing to a lively beat (Horace)

nunc omnis ager, nunc omnis parturit arbor; nunc frondent sylvæ, nunc

formosissimus annus: now every field is green, and every tree in bloom; the

woods are in full leaf, and the year is in its highest beauty (Virgil)

nunc patimur longæ pacis mala; sævior armis luxuria incubuit, victumque

ulciscitur orbem: now we suffer the evils of a long peace; luxury more cruel than

war broods over us and avenges a conquered world (Juvenal)

nunc positis novus exuviis nitidusque juventa: now, all new, his slough cast off,

and shining in youth (Virgil)

nunc scio quid sit amor: now I know too well what love is (Virgil)

nunquam se plus agere, quam nihil quum ageret; nunquam minus solum esse,

quam quum solus esset: he said he never had more to do than when he had nothing

to do, and never was less alone than when alone (Cicero, quoting Scipio Africanus)

nunquam sero te venisse putabo, si salvus veneris: I shall never think that you are

late arriving, provided you arrive safely (Cicero)

nunquam sunt grati qui nocuere sales: never agreeable are those witty remarks

that are meant to injure

nutritur vento, vento restinguitur igni: lenis alit flammas, grandior aura necat:

fire is fed by the wind and extinguished by the wind: a gentle breeze feeds it, too

strong a blast puts it out (Ovid)

O

O cæca nocentum consilia! O semper timidum scelus!: O the blind counsels of

the guilty! O how ever cowardly the wicked! (Statius)

O cives, cives, quærenda pecunia primum est; virtus post nummos: O citizens,

citizens, you must first seek for wealth, for virtue after money (Horace) O Corydon, Corydon, secretum O major tandem, parcas, insane

O Corydon, Corydon, secretum divitis ullum esse putas? Servi ut taceant,

jumenta loquentur, et canis, et postes, et marmora: O Corydon, Corydon, do

you think anything a rich man does can be kept secret? Even if his servants say

nothing, his beasts of burden, and dogs, and door posts, and marble slabs will speak

(Juvenal)

O curas hominum! O quantum est in rebus inane!: O human cares! O how much

emptiness is in their affairs! (Persius and Lucilius)

O curvæ in terris animæ et coelestium inanes!: O you souls bent down to earth

and void of everything heavenly! (Persius)

O di, reddite mi hoc pro pietate mea: O gods, grant me this in return for my piety

(Catullus)

O diem lætum, notandumque mihi candidissimo calculo: O happy day, and one

to be marked for me with the whitest of chalk (Pliny the Younger)

O faciles dare summa deos, eademque tueri difficiles: O, how easily the gods

give high circumstances, and how reluctant they are to ensure them when given

(Lucan)

O fallacem hominum spem: O, how deceitful is the hope of men (Cicero)

O fama ingens, ingentior armis!: O great in fame, greater still in deeds!

O formose puer, nimium ne crede colori: O handsome child, trust not too much

in your youthful color (Virgil)

O Fortuna, velut luna, statu variabilis, semper crescis aut decrescis: O Fortune,

like the moon, you are changeable, ever waxing and waning (from the Carmina

Burana)

O fortunatam natam me consule Romam!: O fortunate Rome, born when I was

consul! (Cicero)

O fortunate adolescens, qui tuæ virtutis Homerum præconem inveneris: O

happy youth, to have Homer as the publisher of your valor (Alexander the Great, at

the tomb of Achilles)

O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint, agricolas!; quibus ipsa, procul

discordibus armis, fundit humo facilem victum justissima tellus: O, how

happy are the tillers of the ground, if only they knew their blessings!; for whom, far

from the clash of arms, the most just earth pours forth from its soil an easy

sustenance (Virgil)

O homines ad servitutem paratos!: O men, how you prepare yourselves for

slavery! (Tacitus)

O imitatores, servum pecus!: O imitators, you servile herd! (i.e., you miserable

apes!) (Horace)

O laborum dulce lenimen: O sweet solace of labors (Horace, in reference to

Apollo’s lyre)

O lente, lente, currite moctis equi: O slowly, slowly, run ye horses of the night

(Ovid)

O magna vis veritatis, quæ … facile se per se ipsa defendit: O mighty force of

truth, that by itself so easily defends itself (Cicero)

O major tandem, parcas, insane, minori: O you, who are a greater madman, spare

me, I pray, who am not so far gone (Horace)

O matre pulchra filia pulchrior

O terque quaterque beati!

O matre pulchra filia pulchrior: O what a beautiful mother, and a still more

beautiful daughter (Horace)

O Meliboee, deus nobis hæc otia fecit: O Meliboee, it is a god who has made this

leisurely life for us (Virgil)

O mihi præteritos referat si Iuppiter annos: O, if only Jupiter would restore to me

those bygone years (Virgil)

O miseras hominum mentes! O pectora cæca!: O, how wretched are the minds of

men! O, how blind their hearts! (Lucretius)

O miseri quorum gaudia crimen habent!: O you wretched, whose joys are tainted

with guilt! (Pseudo-Gallus)

O morte ipsa mortis tempus indignius!: O, more cruel than death itself was the

moment of death! (Pliny the Younger)

O munera nondum intellecta deum: O that the gifts of the gods should not yet be

understood (Lucan)

O nimium nimiumque oblite tuorum: O too, too forgetful of your kin (Ovid)

O passi graviora, dabit deus his quoque finem: O you who have suffered greater

misfortunes than these, God will grant an end to them as well (Virgil)

O præclarum custodem ovium lupum!: O what an excellent protector of sheep,

the wolf! (Cicero)

O qualis facies et quali digna tabella!: O what a face and what a picture it would

have been a subject for! (Juvenal)

O quam cito transit gloria mundi!: O how quickly the world’s glory passes away!

(Thomas а Kempis)

O quam contempta res est homo, nisi supra humana surrexerit!: O what a

contemptible thing is man, unless he rises above human concerns! (or, the human

condition) (Seneca)

O quanta qualia sunt illa Sabbata, quæ semper celebrat superna curia: O what

their joy and their glory must be, those endless Sabbaths the blessed ones see (Peter

Abelard)

O quanta species cerebrum non habet!: O that such beauty should be devoid of

brains! (Phжdrus)

O quantum caliginis mentibus nostris objicit magna felicitas!: O how our minds

are darkened by excess of happiness! (Seneca)

O quantum in rebus inane!: O what a void there is in things! (Persius)

O rus quando te aspiciam?, quandoque licebit nunc veterum libris, nunc somno

et inertibus horis ducere sollicitæ jucunda oblivia vitæ?: O country, when will

I see you?, and when will I be permitted to quaff a sweet oblivion of anxious life,

now from the books of the ancients, now from sleep and idle hours? (Horace)

O sæclum insapiens et infacetum!: O this crude and ignorant age! (Catullus)

O Salutaris Hostia: O saving Victim (first words of the hymn used at the beginning

of the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament)

O si tacuisses, philosophus mansisses: O if you had only remained silent, you

would have remained a philosopher (Boлthius)

O terque quaterque beati!: O thrice, four times happy they! (Virgil) O Tite tute Tati tibi tanta tyranne odimus accipitrem quia semper vivit

O Tite tute Tati tibi tanta tyranne tulisti!: O Titus Tatius, you tyrant, so much

you have brought upon yourself! (Ennius)

O ubi campi!: O where are those fields!; O for life in the country! (Virgil)

O vita!, misero longa felici brevis: O life!, long to the wretched, short to the happy

(Publilius Syrus)

O vitæ philosophia dux!: O philosophy, life’s guide! (Cicero)

obruat illud male partum, male retentum, male gestum imperium: let that

power fall that has been wrongfully acquired, wrongfully retained, and wrongfully

administered (Cicero)

obsecro, tuum est?; vetus credideram: pray, is it yours?; I thought it something

old

observantior æqui fit populus, nec ferre negat, cum viderit ipsum auctorem

parere sibi: the people become more observant of justice, and do not refuse to

submit to the laws when they see them obeyed by their enactor (Claudian)

obstupui, steteruntque comæ, et vox faucibus hæsit: I was astounded, my hair

stood on end, and my voice stuck fast in my throat (Virgil)

obtrectatio ac livor pronis auribus accipiuntur; quippe adulationi fædum

crimen servitutis, malignitati falsa species libertatis inest: disparagement and

calumny are devoured with a greedy ear; flattery wears the badge of servitude,

whilst malignity speaks the tone of independence, and is therefore well received

(Tacitus)

occasiones namque hominem fragilem non faciunt, sed qualis sit ostendunt:

circumstances do not make a man weak, but they show what manner of man he is

(Thomas а Kempis)

occidit miseros crambe repetita magistros: cabbage repeated is the death of the

wretched masters (Juvenal)

odero si potero. Si non, invitus amabo: I will hate [you] if I can. If not, then

unwillingly will I love [you] (Ovid)

oderunt hilarem tristes, tristemque jocosi, sedatum celeres, agilem gnavumque

remissi: the sad detest the cheerful, and the cheerful the sad; the swift dislike the

sedate, and the careless dislike the busy and industrious (Horace)

odi et amo: quare id faciam, fortasse requiris. Nescio, sed fieri sentio et

excrucior: I hate and I love: why I do so you may well inquire. I do not know, but I

feel it happen and am in agony (Catullus)

odi profanum vulgus et arceo. Favete linguis: I hate the profane masses and keep

them at a distance. Favor by your tongues (i.e., keep silent) (Horace)

odi puerulos præcoci ingenio: I hate boys of precocious talent (Cicero)

odi summussos; proinde aperte dice quid sit quod times: I hate the whisperers;

say out loud what it is you fear (Nжvius)

odia in longum jaciens, quæ reconderet, auctaque promeret: he lays his

resentment aside, but stores it up to bring it forward with greater bitterness

(Tacitus)

odimus accipitrem quia semper vivit in armis: we hate the hawk because it always

lives in arms (Ovid)

odit populus Romanus privatam

omnia jam fient, fieri quæ posse

odit populus Romanus privatam luxuriam, publicam magnificentiam diligit: the

Romans hate private luxury, but they love public magnificence (Cicero)

ohe!, jam satis est!: hey!, that’s enough already! (Horace)

omne capax movet urna nomen: in the spacious urn of death is shaken every name

(Horace)

omne corpus mutabile est; ita efficitur ut omne corpus mortale sit: everybody is

subject to change; hence it comes to pass that everybody is subject to death

(Cicero)

omne epigramma sit instar apis, aculeus illi, sint sua mella, sit et corporis

exigui: every epigram should be like a bee: have a sting like it, honey, and a small

body (Martial)

omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci, lectorem delectando pariterque

monendo: he gains universal applause who mingles the useful with the agreeable,

at once delighting and instructing the reader (Horace)

omnes amicos habere operosum est; satis est inimicos non habere: it is an

arduous task to make all men your friends; it is enough to have no enemies (Seneca)

omnes autem et habentur et dicuntur tyranni, qui potestate sunt perpetua, in

ea civitate quæ libertate usa est: all men are considered as tyrants who possess

themselves of perpetual power in a state that once enjoyed the blessings of liberty

(Cornelius Nepos)

omnes eodem cogimur; omnium versatur urna serius, ocius, sors exitura, et

nos in æternum exsilium impositura cymbæ: we are all driven to the same ferry;

the lot of each is shaken in the urn, destined sooner or later to come forth, and

place us in Charon’s boat for the exile (Horace)

omnes homines, qui de rebus dubiis consultant, ab odio, amicitia, ira, atque

misericordia vacuos esse decet: all men who consult on doubtful matters should

be void of hatred, friendship, anger, and pity (Sallust)

omnes omnium caritates patria una complectitur: our country alone embraces all

our affections for all (Cicero)

omnes, quibus res sunt minus secundæ, magis sunt, nescio quomodo suspiciosi:

ad contumeliam omnia accipiunt magis; propter suam impotentiam se credunt

negligi: all those whose affairs are not prosperous are, somehow or other, extremely

suspicious: they take every hint as an affront, and think the neglect with which they

are treated is due to their humble position (Terence)

omni autem in re consensio omnium gentium lex naturæ putanda est: but in

every matter the consensus among all nations is to be regarded as the law of nature

(Cicero)

omnia fanda nefanda, malo permista furore, justificam nobis mentem avertere

deorum: the confusion of the right and wrong, in this accursed war, has deprived

us of the protecting care of the gods (Catullus)

omnia Græce!, cum sit turpe magis nostris nescire Latine: all things must be in

Greek!, when it is more shameful for our Romans to be ignorant of Latin (Juvenal)

omnia jam fient, fieri quæ posse negabam; et nihil est de quo non sit habenda

fides: all things will now come to pass that I used to think impossible; and there is

nothing that we may not hope to see take place (Ovid) omnia mea mecum porto omnibus modis, qui pauperes sunt

omnia mea mecum porto (or, omnia mea porto mecum): all that is mine I carry

with me (Bias, one of the Seven Greek Sages, and Cicero)

omnia mea mecum sunt: all I have (my worldly goods) I carry with me (Seneca)

omnia mutari, et nil vere interire, ac summam materiæ prorsus eandem

manere, satis constat: that all things are changed, and that nothing really

perishes, and that the sum of matter remains exactly the same, is sufficiently certain

(Francis Bacon)

omnia perdidimus, tantummodo vita relicta est: we have lost everything, only life

is left (Ovid)

omnia profecto, cum se a coelestibus rebus referet ad humanas, excelsius

magnificentiusque et dicet et sentiet: when a man descends from heavenly

things to human, he will certainly both speak and feel more loftily and nobly on

every theme (Cicero)

omnia quæ nunc vetustissima creduntur, nova fuere; … et quod hodie exemplis

tuemur, inter exempla erit: everything that is now regarded as very ancient was

once new; … and what we are defending today by precedent, will sometime later be

a precedent itself (Tacitus)

omnia scelera etiam, ante effectum operis, quantum culpæ satis est, perfecta

sunt: all crimes are committed, so far as the blame attaching to them is concerned,

before they are actually carried into effect (Seneca)

omnia serviliter pro dominatione: servile in all his actions for the sake of power

(Tacitus, of Emperor Otho)

omnibus a suprema die eadem, quæ ante primum; nec magis a morte sensus

ullus aut corpori aut animæ quam ante natalem: his last day places man in the

same state as he was before he was born; not after death has the body or soul any

more feeling than they had before birth (Pliny the Elder)

omnibus hoc vitium est cantoribus, inter amicos ut nunquam inducant animum

cantare rogati, injussi nunquam desistant: this is a general fault of all singers,

that among their friends they never make up their minds to sing, however, pressed;

but when no one asks them, they will never stop (Horace)

omnibus hostes reddite nos populis, civile avertite bellum: commit us to

hostility with every other nation, but avert from us civil war (Lucan)

omnibus in terris, quæ sunt a Gadibus usque Auroram et Gangem, pauci

dignoscere possunt vera bona, atque illis multum diversa, remota erroris

nebula: in all the lands which stretch from Gades even to the region of the Dawn

and the Ganges, there are few who are able, by removing the mist of error, to

distinguish between what is really good and what is widely diverse (Juvenal)

omnibus invideas, Zoile; nemo tibi: you may envy all men, Zoilus; but no man

envies you (Martial)

omnibus modis, qui pauperes sunt homines miseri vivunt; præsertim quibus

nec quæstus est, nec didicere artem ullam: the poor live wretchedly in every

way; especially those who have no means of livelihood and have learned no craft

(Plautus)

omnis dolor aut est vehemens, aut parcus deorum cultor, et infrequens

omnis dolor aut est vehemens, aut levis; si levis, facile fertur, si vehemens,

certe brevis futurus est: all pain is either severe or slight; if slight, it is easily

borne; if severe, it will no doubt be brief (Cicero)

omnis enim res virtus, fama, decus, divina humanaque pulchris divitiis parent;

quas qui construxerit, ille clarus erit, fortis, justus: all things divine and

human, as virtue, fame, and honor, defer to fair wealth; and the one who has

amassed it will be illustrious, brave, and just (Horace)

omnium artium domina eloquentia: eloquence, the mistress of all the arts (after

Tacitus)

omnium rerum, ex quibus aliquid acquiritur, nihil est agricultura melius, nihil

uberius, nihil dulcius, nihil homine libero dignius: of all pursuits from which

profit accrues, nothing is superior to agriculture, nothing more productive, nothing

more enjoyable, nothing more worthy of a free man (Cicero)

operosa parvus carmina fingo: I, a little one, compose laborious songs (Horace)

optima quæque dies miseris mortalibus ævi prima fugit: subeunt morbi

tristisque senectus, et labor; et duræ rapit inclementia mortis: all the best

days of life slip away from us poor mortals first: diseases soon come, and sad old

age, and decay; and the cruelty of unmerciful death snatches us away (Virgil)

orator est vir bonus dicendi peritus: an orator is a good man skilled in speaking

(Cato the Elder)

os homini sublime dedit coelumque tueri jussit; et erectos ad sidera tollere

vultus: to man, the gods gave an upright countenance to survey the heavens, and to

look upward to the stars (Ovid)

os, orare, vale, communio, mensa negatur: speech, prayer, greeting, association,

and food are forbidden (i.e., the sentence of excommunication)

osculo Filium hominis tradis?: you betray the Son of Humanity with a kiss? (St.

Luke 22:48)

P

pallida mors æquo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas, regumque turres: pale

death approaches with equal step, and kicks its way equally into the tents of the

poor and the turrets of kings (Horace)

pange, lingua, gloriosi proelium certaminis: sing, my tongue, of the battle in the

glorious struggle (St. Venantius Fortunatus)

parce, puer, stimulis et fortius utere loris: boy, spare the whip and grasp the reins

more firmly (Ovid)

parcus deorum cultor, et infrequens, insanientis dum sapientiæ consultus erro;

nunc retrorsum vela dare, atque iterare cursus cogor relictos: a sparing and

infrequent worshipper of the gods, as long as I strayed from the way by senseless

philosophy; I am now forced to turn my sail back and retrace the course I had

deserted (Horace)

pars hominum vitiis gaudet peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo, et

pars hominum vitiis gaudet constanter, et urget propositum; pars multa natat,

modo recta capessens, interdum pravis obnoxia: a part of humanity rejoices

consistently in its vices and pursues its purpose; many more waver between doing

what is right and complying with what is wrong (Horace)

parta meæ Veneri sunt munera; namque notavi ipse locum aëriæ quo

congessere palumbes: I have found out a gift for my fair Venus; I have found

where the wood-pigeons breed (Virgil)

pars magna bonitatis est velle fieri bonum: a great step toward goodness is the

desire to be good (Seneca)

parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus: the mountains are in labor, a

ridiculous mouse will be born (Horace, said of works that promise much at the

outset but yield little in the end)

parva sunt hæc; sed parva ista non contemnendo majores nostri maximam hanc

rem fecerunt: these are small things; but it was by not despising these small things

that our forefathers made the republic so great (Livy)

parvula (nam exemplo est) magni formica laboris ore trahit quodcunque potest

atque addit acervo, quem struit, haud ignara ac non incauta futuri: the ant

(for example) is a creature of great industry, drags with its mouth all it can, and

adds to the heap it piles up, not ignorant or improvident of the future (Horace)

pascitur in vivis livor, post fata quiescit; tunc suus, ex merito, quemque tuetur

honos: envy feeds upon the living, after death it rests; then the honor a man

deserves protects him (Ovid)

Pater, in manus tuas commendo spiritum meum: Father, into Your hands I

commend my spirit (St. Luke 23:46; one of the Seven Last Words of Christ)

pater ipse colendi haud facilem esse viam voluit, primusque per artem movit

agros, curis acuens mortalia corda: the father of tillage himself, did not wish the

way to be easy; he was the first to raise the soil by art, inciting the human heart by

anxiety (Virgil)

pauca Catonis verba, sed a pleno venientia pectore veri: the words of Cato were

few, but they came from a heart full of truth (Lucan)

paulo hoc melius quam mediocre, hoc minus malum quam ut pessumum: it is a

little better than mediocre, a little less bad than worst (Lucilius)

pauper enim non est cui rerum suppetit usus. Si ventri bene, si lateri

pedibusque tuis, nil divitiæ poterunt regales addere majus: that man is not

poor who has a sufficiency for all his wants. If it is well with your stomach, your

lungs, and your feet, the wealth of kings cannot add more (Horace)

pauper sum, fateor, patior; quod di dant fero: I am poor, I admit; I put up with it;

what the gods give I bear with (Plautus)

pax Cererem nutrit, pacis alumna Ceres: peace is the nurse of Ceres; Ceres is the

nursling of peace (Ovid)

peccare docentes fallax historias movet: he falsely relates stories that are merely

lessons in vice (Horace)

peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo, et opere, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima

culpa: I have sinned greatly in thought, word, and deed, through my fault, through

my fault, through my most grievous fault (from the Catholic Mass)

pecunia non olet; atqui e lotio est perierunt tempora longi servitii

pecunia non olet; atqui e lotio est: money has no smell; yet that is money made

from urine (Vespasian’s answer to Titus’s objection to levying a tax on public

latrines; and Titus’s reply to Vespasian)

Pelion imposuisse Olympo: I have piled Pelion on Olympus (i.e., I have scaled

heaven) (Horace)

pelle moras; brevis est magni fortuna favoris: away with delay; brief is the time of

fortune’s great favor (Silius Italicus)

penitus toto divisos orbe Britannos: the Britons, completely separated from all the

world (Virgil)

per varios casus, per tot discrimina rerum: through various misfortunes, and so

many perils (i.e., after such a strange variety of adventures) (Virgil)

peragit tranquilla potestas quod violenta nequit; mandataque fortius urget

imperiosa quies: power can accomplish more by calmness than by violence, and

calmness best enforces the imperial mandate (Claudian)

peras imposuit Jupiter nobis duas; propriis repletam vitiis post tergum dedit.

Alienis ante pectus suspendit gravem: Jupiter has laid two knapsacks on us; he

has placed one behind our backs filled with our own faults, and he has hung

another before us, heavy with the faults of other people (Phжdrus)

percunctatorem fugito, nam garrulus idem est; nec retinent patulæ commissa

fideliter aures: avoid an inquisitive person, for he is sure to be a talker; ears always

open to hear will not keep faithfully what is entrusted to them (Horace)

perdis, et in damno gratia nulla tuo: you lose, and for your loss you get no thanks

(Ovid)

perfida, sed quamvis perfida, cara tamen: faithless, but, though faithless, still dear

(Tibullus)

perge; decet, forsan miseros meliora sequentur: persevere; it is fitting, for a

better fate awaits the afflicted (Virgil)

pergis pugnantia secum frontibus adversis componere: you are attempting to

reconcile things that are opposite in their natures (Horace)

periculosæ plenum opus aleæ tractas, et incedis per ignes suppositos cineri

doloso: the work you are treating is one full of dangerous hazard, and you are

treading over fires lurking beneath treacherous ashes (Horace)

periculosum est credere et non credere; ergo exploranda est veritas, multum

prius quam stulta prave judicet sententia: it is equally dangerous to believe and

to disbelieve; therefore search diligently into the truth rather than form foolish

ideas that would pervert your judgment (Phжdrus)

perierat totus orbis, nisi iram finiret misericordia: the whole world would perish

if pity did not put an end to anger (Seneca the Elder)

periere mores, jus, decus, pietas, fides, et qui redire nescit cum perit, pudor:

we have lost all morals, justice, honor, piety, and faith, and with them that sense of

shame which, once lost, can never be restored (Seneca)

perierunt tempora longi servitii: my long period of service has led to no

advancement (Juvenal) perpetuus nulli datur usus, et hæres plures efficimus quoties metimur a

perpetuus nulli datur usus, et hæres hæredem alterius, velut unda supervenit

undam: perpetual possession is allowed to none, and one heir succeeds another as

wave follows wave (Horace)

personam tragicam forte vulpes viderat. O quanta species, inquit, cerebrum

non habet!: a fox happened to see a tragic actor’s mask. How beautiful, he said, but

it has no brains! (Phжdrus)

pharmaca das ægroto, aurum tibi porrigit æger, tu morbum curas illius, ille

tuum: you give medicine to a sick man, he hands you gold; you cure his sickness

and he cures yours

philosophia stemma non inspicit. Platonem non accepit nobilem philosophia,

sed fecit: philosophy does not look into pedigrees. It did not receive Plato as

noble, but it made him such (Seneca)

Phoenices primi, famæ si creditur, ausi mansuram rudibus vocem signare

figuris: the Phoenicians, if rumor may be trusted, were the first who dared to write

down the fleeting word in rude letters (Lucan)

pictoribus atque poëtis quidlibet audendi semper fuit æqua potestas: the power

of daring anything their fancy suggests has always been conceded to the painter and

the poet (Horace)

piger scribendi ferre laborem; scribendi recte; nam, ut multum, nil moro: too

indolent to bear the toil of writing, I mean of writing well; for I say nothing about

the quantity of his composition (Horace, said of someone who is a prolific writer,

but not a prolific rewriter)

Pindarum quisquis studet æmulari, ceratis, ope Dædalea, nititur pennis, vitreo

daturus nomina ponto: the one who imitates the poet Pindar relies on wings

affixed with wax, as by the art of Dжdalus, and is sure to give his name to a glassy

sea (Horace)

placato possum non miser esse Deo: if God be appeased, I cannot be wretched

(Ovid)

plausibus ex ipsis populi, lætoque furore, ingenium quodvis incaluisse potest:

at the applause of the public, and at its transports of joy, every genius may grow

warm (Ovid)

plausus tunc arte carebat: in those days applause was unaffected (Ovid)

plenus annis abiit, plenus honoribus: he is gone from us, full of years and full of

honors (Pliny the Younger)

plerique enim lacrimas fundunt ut ostendant; et toties siccos oculos habent,

quoties spectator definit: many shed tears merely for show; and have their eyes

quite dry whenever there is no one to observe them (Seneca)

ploravere suis non respondere favorem speratum meritis: they lamented that

their merits did not meet with the gratitude for which they hoped (Horace)

plura sunt quæ nos terrent, quam quæ premunt; et sæpius opinione quam re

laboramus: there are more things to alarm us than to harm us; and we suffer much

more often in apprehension than in reality (Seneca)

plures efficimus quoties metimur a vobis, semen est sanguis Christianorum: as

often as we are mown down by you, the more we grow in numbers; the blood of

Christians is seed (Tertullian)

plurimum facere, et minimum ipse

præcipuum munus annalium reor

plurimum facere, et minimum ipse de se loqui: to do the most and say the least of

himself as possible (Sallust)

pluris est oculatus testis unus quam auriti decem. Qui audiunt, audita dicunt;

qui vident, plane sciunt: one eyewitness is better than ten who have heard.

Hearers can only tell what they have heard; those who see, know what they have

seen (Plautus)

plus ægri ex abitu viri, quam ex adventu voluptatis cepi: I have felt more

displeasure at his going than pleasure at his coming (Plautus)

plus est quam vita salusque, quod perit; in totum mundi prosternimur ævum:

more than life and safety is lost in the present conflict; we are laid prostrate even to

the last generation of the world (Lucan)

plus etenim fati valet hora benigni quam si nos Veneris commendet epistola

Marti: a moment of smiling fortune is of more avail [to a soldier] than if he were

recommended to Mars by a letter from Venus (Juvenal)

poena potest demi, culpa perennis erit: the punishment can be remitted; the crime

is everlasting (Ovid)

poëtica surgit tempestas: a storm is gathering in the poetic world (Juvenal)

pol!, me occidistis, amici: by heaven!, my friends, you have destroyed me (i.e., with

friends like you, who needs enemies) (Horace)

ponamus nimios gemitus; flagrantior æquo non debet dolor esse viri, nec

vulnere major: let us dismiss excessive laments; a man’s grief should not be

immoderate, nor greater than the wound received (Juvenal)

pone seram, cohibe; sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Cauta est, et ab illis

incipit uxor: apply locks and restraint; but who shall guard your own guards? Your

wife is cunning, and will begin by seducing them (Juvenal)

ponto nox incubat atra, intonuere poli et crebris micat ignibus æther: black

night sits brooding on the deep; the heavens thunder and the ether gleams with

incessant flashes (Virgil)

populumque falsis dedocet uti vocibus: he instructs the people to forget false

rumors and false impressions (Horace)

populus me sibilat; at mihi plaudo ipse domi, simul ac nummos contemplor in

arca: the people boo me; but at home I applaud myself when I contemplate the

money in my chest (Horace, said of the miser)

poscentes vario multum diversa palato: requiring, with various taste, things widely

different from each other (Horace)

possunt quia posse videntur: they can because they think they can (or, appear as

though they were able) (Virgil)

post mediam noctem visus quum somnia vera: he appeared to me in a vision after

midnight, when dreams are true (Horace)

præbet mihi littera linguam; et, si non liceat scribere, mutus ero: this letter

gives me a tongue; and were I not allowed to write, I should be dumb (Ovid)

præcipuum munus annalium reor, ne virtutes sileantur, utque pravis dictis

factisque ex posteritate et infamia metus sit: the principal office of history I take

to be this, to prevent virtuous actions from being passed over in silence, and that evil

words and deeds should fear an infamous reputation with posterity (Tacitus) præsertim ut nunc sunt mores, adeo propemodum sæculi res in unum

præsertim ut nunc sunt mores, adeo res redit, si quisquis reddit, magna

habenda est gratia: in the present state of manners, the matter is brought to this

point, that, if any man pays a debt, the creditor must accept it as a favor (Terence)

pravo vivere naso, spectandum nigris oculis, nigroque capillo: with an ugly nose,

to be remarkable for fine black eyes and hair (i.e., the beauty of one thing is

overlooked by a noticeable flaw elsewhere) (Horace)

prima urbes inter, divum domus, aurea Roma: first among cities, home of the

gods, is golden Rome (Ausonius)

primo avulso non deficit alter aureus: the first being wrenched away, another of

gold succeeds (Virgil)

primus vere rosam atque autumno carpere poma: to pick the first rose of spring

and the first apples of autumn (Virgil)

principibus placuisse viris non ultima laus est. Non cuivis homini contingit

adire Corinthum: it is not the least praise to have pleased leading men. Not

everyone is lucky enough to go to Corinth (Horace)

principiis obsta; sero medicina paratur, cum mala per longas convaluere

moras: stop it at the beginning; a cure is attempted too late when, through long

delay, the illness has gained strength (Ovid)

privatus illis census erat brevis, commune magnum: their private fortunes were

small, the wealth of the public was great (Horace)

pro patria, pro liberis, pro aris atque focis suis certare: to fight for our country,

for our children, for our altars, and for our hearths (Sallust)

pro superi!, quantum mortalia pectora cæcæ noctis habent!: heavens!, how dark

the night that shrouds the hearts of men! (Ovid)

pro virtute felix temeritas: instead of valor, successful rashness (Seneca, said of

Alexander the Great)

probam pauperiem sine dote quæro: I court virtuous poverty without a dowry

(Horace)

procul hinc, procul este, severæ!: away from here, keep far away, cruel women!

(Ovid)

procul hinc, procul esto profani!; conclamat vates, totoque absistite luco: away

from here, be far away, you profane ones!; and quit entirely the sacred grove (Virgil)

procul, O procul este, profani!: keep away, oh keep far away, you profane ones!

(Virgil)

prodigus et stultus donat quæ spernit et odit. Hæc seges ingratos tulit, et feret

omnibus annis: the spendthrift and fool gives away what he despises and hates.

This seed has ever borne, and will bear, an ungrateful brood (Horace)

proditionem amo, sed proditorem non laudo: I love the treason but I do not

praise the traitor (Plutarch)

projicit ampullas et sesquipedalia verba: he throws away his inkwell and his

foot-and-a-half-long words (Horace)

propemodum sæculi res in unum illum diem fortuna cumulavit: it may almost

be said that into that day fate crowded the events of a century (Curtius, of the

Battle of Arbela)

propriæ telluris herum natura

quæ potest esse vitæ jucunditas

propriæ telluris herum natura, neque illum, nec me, nec quemquam statuit.

Nos expulit ille; illum aut nequities, aut vafri inscitia juris, postremo expellet

certe vivacior hæres: nature has appointed neither him nor me, nor anyone, lord of

this land in perpetuity. That one has ejected us; either some villainy or quirk at law,

at any rate, an heir surviving him, will at last eject him (Horace)

proque sua causa quisque disertus erat: everyone was eloquent in his own cause

(Ovid)

protectio trahit subjectionem, et subjectio protectionem: protection involves

allegiance, and allegiance protection

provocarem ad Philippum, inquit, sed sobrium: I would appeal to Philip, she said,

but to Philip sober (Valerius Maximus)

proximus ardet Ucalegon: the house of your neighbor, Ucalegon, is on fire (i.e.,

beware that it might spread to your own) (Virgil)

prudens futuri temporis exitum caliginosa nocte premit Deus; ridetque, si

mortalis ultra fas trepidat: God in his wisdom veils in the darkness of night the

events of the future; and smiles if a mortal is unduly solicitous about what he is not

permitted to know (Horace)

pudet hæc opprobria nobis et dici potuisse, et non potuisse refelli: it is

shameful that such reproaches should be cast upon us and that we are unable to

meet them with a refutation (Horace)

pudore et liberalitate liberos retinere, satius esse credo, quam metu: it is better

to keep children to their duty by a sense of honor, and by kindness, than by the fear

of punishment (Terence)

pugna magna victi sumus: in a great battle we were defeated (Livy)

pulchrum est benefacere reipublicæ: etiam bene dicere haud absurdum est: it

is commendable to act well for the republic: even to speak well should not be

without its praise (Sallust)

Q

quadrupedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum: hooves, with their

four-footed galloping sound, are shaking the powdery plain (Virgil)

quæ caret ora cruore nostro?: what coast is without our blood? (Horace)

quæ culpare soles, ea tu ne feceris ipse; turpe est doctoris cum culpa redarguit

ipsum: do not do yourself what you generally blame in others; it is improper for a

doctor to indulge in what he forbids others (Cato)

quæ lædunt oculum festinas demere; si quid est animum, differs curandi

tempus in annum: if anything affects your eye, you hasten to have it removed; but

if anything affects your mind, you postpone the term of cure for a year (Horace)

quæ lucis miseris tam dira cupido?: how is it that the wretched have such an

infatuated longing for light? (i.e., for life) (Virgil)

quæ potest esse vitæ jucunditas sublatis amicitiis?: what sweetness is left in life if

you take away friendship? (Cicero)

quæ regio in terris nostri non plena quantum mutatus ab illo Hectore

quæ regio in terris nostri non plena laboris?: what region of the earth is not full

of the story of our calamities? (Virgil)

quæ sint, quæ fuerint, quæ mox ventura trahantur: what is, what has been, and

what shall in time be (Virgil)

quæ supra nos nihil ad nos: the things that are above us are nothing to us

quæ te dementia cepit?: what madness has seized you? (Virgil)

quælibet concessio fortissime contra donatorem interpretanda est: every man’s

grant shall be taken most strongly against himself (i.e., the author of the document

shall suffer the loss)

quæque ipse miserrima vidi et quorum pars magna fui: and the most miserable

things that I myself saw and of which I was a major part (Virgil)

quærenda pecunia primum, virtus post nummos: money must be sought for in

the first instance, virtue after riches (Horace)

qualis sit animus, ipse animus nescit: what the soul is, the soul itself knows not

(Cicero)

quam inique comparatum est, hi qui minus habent ut semper aliquid addant

divitioribus!: how unjust is the fate that ordains that those who have less should be

always adding to the store of the more wealthy! (Terence)

quam seipsum amans sine rivale: how much in love with himself, and that without

a rival (i.e., loved by self, hated by all) (Cicero)

quamdiu se bene gesserit: so long as he conducts himself well

quamquam longissimus, dies cito conditur (or simply, longissimus dies cito

conditur): and yet, the longest day soon comes to an end (Pliny the Younger)

quamvis digressu veteris confusus amici laudo tamen: though distressed at the

departure of my old friend, yet I commend him for going (Juvenal)

quando ullum invenient parem?: when shall they find (or look upon) his like again?

(Horace)

quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus: sometimes even the good Homer gets

sleepy (Horace)

quanta est gula, quæ sibi totos ponit apros, animal propter conviva natum: how

great a glutton is the one who has whole boars served up for him, an animal created

only for banquets (Juvenal)

quanto plura recentium seu veterum revolvo, tanto ludibria rerum mortalium

cunctis in negotiis observantur: the more I go over in my mind the transactions

of the ancients, the more frivolity and absurdity I observe in human affairs (Tacitus)

quanto quisque sibe plura negaverit, a diis plura feret. Nil cupientium nudus

castra peto; multa petentibus desunt multa: the more a man denies himself, the

more will he receive from the gods. Naked, I seek the camp of those who desire

nothing; those who require much are ever more in want (Horace)

quantum mutatus ab illo Hectore qui redit exuvias indutus Achilli!: how greatly

changed from that Hector who comes home wearing the armor stripped from

Achilles! (Virgil)

quantum nobis notrisque hace

qui blandiendo dulce nutrivit

quantum nobis notrisque hace fabula de Christo profuerit notum est: everyone

knows what a godsend this story about Christ has been to us and to our order

(attributed to Pope Leo X)

quare facit opium dormire? Quia in eo est virtus dormitiva: why does opium

induce sleep? Because it has in it a sleeping quality (attributed to Moliиre, in

mockery of circular argumentation)

quare, si fieri potest, et verba omnia et vox hujus alumnum urbis oleant; ut

oratio Romana plane rideatur, non civitate donata: wherefore, if it can be done,

all your words and your voice will give the fragrance of a student of this city, that

your speech may appear to be truly that of Rome, and not that of a foreigner on

whom it has bestowed its freedom (Quintilian)

quare videmus araneam aut muscam aut formicam, in electro, monumento plus

quam regio, sepultas, æternizari: whence we see spiders, flies, or ants entombed

in amber, a more than royal tomb (Francis Bacon)

quare vitia sua nemo confitetur? Quia etiam nunc in illis est. Somnum narrare

vigilantis est: why does no one confess his vices? It is because he is yet in them. It

is for a waking man to tell his dreams (Seneca)

quas aut incuria fudit, aut humana parum cavit natura: faults originating from

carelessness, or of which human nature was not sufficiently aware (Horace)

quatuor sunt genera Idolorum quæ mentes humanas obsident. Iis (docendi

gratia) nomina imposuimus; ut primum genus, Idola Tribus; secundum, Idola

Specus; tertium, Idola Fori; quartum, Idola Theatri vocentur: there are four

classes of Idols that beset human minds. To these (for the sake of distinction), I have

assigned names; the first class, Idols of the Tribe; the second, Idols of the Cave; the

third, Idols of the Marketplace; the fourth, Idols of the Theater (Francis Bacon)

quem semper acerbum, semper honoratum—sic dii voluistis—habebo: that

daythat I will always recall with grief, but—as the gods have willed it—with

reverence (Virgil)

quem Venus arbitrum dicet bibendi?: who will Venus seat as judge of drinking?

(Horace)

qui amans egens ingressus est princeps in amoris vias, superavit ærumnis suis

ærumnas Herculi: the lover who first set out on the highway of love with an

empty purse went in for labors harder than the labors of Hercules (Plautus)

qui amicus est amat; qui amat non utique semper amicus est. Itaque amicitia

semper prodest; amor etiam aliquando nocet: he who is a friend must love; but

he who loves is not always a friend. Thus friendship is always advantageous, while

love is sometimes injurious (Seneca)

qui Bavium non odit, amet tua carmina, Mævi: the one who does not despise

Bavius, may love your songs, O Mжvius (reputedly two of the worst poets of

antiquity) (Virgil)

qui blandiendo dulce nutrivit malum, sero recusat ferre, quod subiit, jugum:

the one who has fostered the sweet poison of love by fondling it, finds it too late to

refuse the yoke that he has of his own accord assumed (Seneca)

qui cupit optatam cursu contingere qui semel est læsus fallaci piscis ab

qui cupit optatam cursu contingere metam, multa tulit fecitque puer, sudavit et

alsit: the one who desires to reach with speed the desired goal must in his youth

have suffered and labored much through the extremes of heat and cold (Horace)

qui Curios simulant et Bacchanalia vivunt: those who pretend to be Curii and live

like Bacchanals (i.e., who feign prudence but live profligate lives) (Juvenal)

qui fingit sacros auro vel marmore vultus, non facit ille deos: qui rogat, ille

facit: the one who fashions sacred things of gold or marble is not the one who

makes them gods: he makes them such who prays to them (Martial)

qui fit, Mæcenas, ut nemo, quam sibi sortem seu ratio dederit, seu fors

objecerit, illa contentus vivat; laudet diversa sequentes?: how does it happen,

Mжcenas, that no one lives content with the lot that either reason has chosen for

him or chance has thrown in his way; but that he praises the fortune of those who

follow other pursuits? (Horace)

qui legitis flores et humi nascentia fragra, frigidus, O pueri fugite hinc, latet

anguis in herba: you children who pluck flowers and strawberries on the ground,

run away, a snake lurks in the grass (Virgil)

qui mores hominum multorum vidit et urbes: he who saw the manners of many

men and cities (Horace, said of Ulysses)

qui mori didicit, servire dedidicit. Supra omnem potentiam est, certe extra

omnem: the one who has learned to die has learned how to avoid being a slave.

Such a person is most certainly beyond the reach of all human power (Seneca)

qui nil molitur inepte: one who works at nothing ineptly (i.e., whose efforts are

always successful) (Horace)

qui non vult fieri desidiosus, amet: let the one who does not wish to be idle fall in

love (after Ovid)

qui nunc it per iter tenebricosum illuc unde negant redire quemquam: now he

goes along the darksome way from whence they say no one returns (Catullus)

qui recte vivendi prorogat horam rusticus expectat dum defluat amnis, at ille

labitur et labetur in omne volubilis ævum: the one who postpones the hour for

living aright is like the yokel who waits till the river flows by; but it glides and will

glide on to all eternity (Horace)

qui se ultro morti offerant, facilius reperiuntur, quam qui dolorem patienter

ferant: it is easier to find men who will volunteer to die than men who will endure

pain with patience (Julius Cжsar)

qui semel a veritate deflexit, hic non majore religione ad perjurium quam ad

mendacium perduci consuevit: he who has once deviated from the truth usually

commits perjury with as little scruple as he would tell a lie (Cicero)

qui semel aspexit quantum dimissa petitis præstant, mature redeat, repetatque

relicta: let him who has once perceived how much what he has given up is better

than what he has chosen, immediately return and resume what he has relinquished

(Horace)

qui semel est læsus fallaci piscis ab hamo, omnibus unca cibis æra subesse

putat: the fish, once wounded by the treacherous hook, thinks the barb concealed

in every food (Ovid)

qui simulat verbis, nec corde est fidus

quid non ebrietas designat? Operta

qui simulat verbis, nec corde est fidus amicus, tu quoque fac simile; et sic ars

deluditur arte: if anyone feigns with you in speaking and is not a sincere friend, do

the same with him, and thus let art be foiled by art (Dionysius Cato)

qui statuit aliquid, parte inaudita altera, æquum licet statuerit, haud æquus

est: the one who decides in any case, without hearing the other side of the

question, though he might determine justly, is not therefore just (Seneca)

qui studet optatam cursu contingere metam multa tulit fecitque puer, sudavit

et alsit: he who would reach the desired goal must, while a boy, suffer and labor

much and bear both heat and cold (Horace)

qui utuntur vino vetere sapientis puto et qui libenter veteres spectant fabulas:

I regard those men as wise who take old wine and love to see old plays (Plautus)

quia me vestigia terrent, omnia te adversum spectantia, nulla retrorsum: [said

the fox to the sick lion] those footprints frighten me, because all are going toward

you but none are coming back (Horace)

quia te non capio, tu capies me: because I do not grasp you, you will grasp me (i.e.,

to be captivated by a complex subject) (attributed to Aristotle)

quicquid agunt homines, votum, timor, ira, voluptas, gaudia, discursus, nostri

est farrago libelli: everything humanity does, its wishes, fear, anger, pleasures,

joys, runnings to and fro, form the medley of my book (Juvenal)

quicquid Amor jussit non est contemnere tutum. Regnat, et in dominos jus

habet ille deos: it is not safe to despise what Love commands. Love reigns

supreme, and rules the mighty gods (Ovid)

quicquid servatur, cupimus magis: ipsaque furem cura vocat. Pauci, quod sinit

alter, amant: we covet what is guarded; the very care invokes the thief. Few love

what they may have (Ovid)

quid brevi fortes jaculamur ævo multa? Quid terras alio calentes sole

mutamus?: why do we, whose life is so brief, aim at so many things? Why do we

change to lands warmed by another sun? (Horace)

quid deceat, quid non obliti: neglectful of what is seemly and what is not (Horace)

quid dem?, quid non dem?; renuis tu quod jubet alter: what shall I give?, what

shall I withhold?; what you decline, another demands (Horace)

quid dignum tanto feret hic promissor hiatu?: what will this promiser produce

worthy of such boastful language? (Horace)

quid fit, Mæcenas, ut nemos, quam sibi sortem seu ratio dederit, seu sors

objecerit, illa contentus vivat, laudet divera sequentes?: how comes it,

Mжcenas, that no person is contented with his course in life, whether selected by

choice, or thrown in his way by chance, but that all praise those who follow a

different pursuit? (Horace)

quid me alta silentia cogis rumpere?: why force me to break the deep silence?

(Virgil)

quid non ebrietas designat? Operta recludit; spes jubet esse ratas; in prælia

trudit inertem (or inermem); sollicitis animis onus eximit; addocet artes:

what does drunkenness not affect? It unlocks secrets; bids our hopes to be realized;

urges the listless (or unarmed) to the fight; lifts the load from troubled minds;

teaches accomplishments (Horace)

quid nos dura refugimus ætas? Quid quis iniquæ tam patiens urbis, ut

quid nos dura refugimus ætas? Quid intactum nefasti liquimus?: what have we,

a hardened generation, shrunk from? What have we, in our impiety, left inviolate?

(Horace)

quid prodest, Pontice, longo sanguine censeri, pictosque ostendere vultus

majorum?: what good is it, Ponticus, to be accounted of a long line and to display

the painted busts of our ancestors? (Juvenal)

quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur: why do you laugh? Change the

name and the story is told of you (Horace)

quid Romæ faciam?; mentiri nescio: what should I do at Rome?; I know not how

to lie (i.e., how can I be at home in a place whose morals are far worse than my

own?) (Juvenal)

quid sit pulchrum, quid turpe, quid utile, quid non: what is becoming, what is

base, what is useful, and what is not (i.e., the aim of all moral inquiry) (Horace)

quid velit et possit rerum concordia discors: what the discordant concord of

things means and can educe (Horace)

quid verum atque decens curo et rogo, et omnis in hoc sum: my care and study

are in what is true and becoming, and in this I am wholly absorbed (Horace)

quid voveat dulci nutricula majus alumno, quam sapere, et fari posse quid

sentiat?: what can a nurse wish better for her child than to be wise, and to have the

ability of communicating such ideas (Horace)

quidquid agunt homines, votum timor ira voluptas gaudia discursus nostri

farrago libelli est: everything humanity does, its hope, fear, rage, pleasure, joys,

business, are the medley of my little book (Juvenal)

quidquid delirant reges plectuntur Achivi: for any madness of their kings, it is the

Greeks who take the beating (Horace)

quidquid præcipies, esto brevis, ut cito dicta percipiant animi dociles,

teneantque fideles omne supervacuum pleno de pectore manat: whatever you

teach be brief; what is quickly said the mind readily receives and faithfully retains,

everything superfluous runs over as from a full vessel (Horace)

quieta movere magna merces videbatur: just to stir things up seemed a great

reward in itself (Sallust)

quin corpus onustum hesternis vitiis animum quoque prægravat una, atque

affigit humo divinæ particulam auræ: and the body, overloaded with yesterday’s

excess, weighs down the soul also along with it, and fastens to the ground a particle

of the divine aura (Horace)

Quintili Vare, legiones redde: Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions (Cжsar

Augustus, quoted in Suetonius)

quique sui memores alios fecere merendo: those who have ensured their

remembrance by their merits (Virgil)

quis expedivit psittaco suum chaira?: who taught that parrot his “hello”? (Persius)

quis furor, O cives, quæ tanta licentia ferri?: what fury, O citizens, what dreadful

outrages of the sword? (Virgil)

quis iniquæ tam patiens urbis, ut teneat se?: who can be so patient in this city, and

who so steeled as to contain himself? (Juvenal)

quis nescit, primam esse historiæ

quod petiit spernit, repetit quod

quis nescit, primam esse historiæ legem, ne quid falsi dicere audeat?; deinde

ne quid veri non audeat?: who does not know that it is the first law of history not

to dare to say anything that is false?; and the second not to dare to say anything

that is not true? (Cicero)

quis novus hic nostris successit sedibus hospes? Quam sese ore ferens!: what

new guest is this who has approached our dwelling? How proudly he bears himself!

(Virgil)

quis talia fando temperet a lacrymis?: who, in speaking such things, can abstain

from tears? (Virgil)

quis tulerit Gracchos de seditione querentes?: who can endure the Gracchi

complaining of sedition? (the Gracchi were seditious men) (Juvenal)

quisnam igitur liber? Sapiens qui sibi imperiosus; quem neque pauperies neque

mors neque vincula terrent: responsare cupidinibus, contemnere honores

fortis, et in seipso totus teres atque rotundus: who then is free? The one who

is wisely in command of himself; whom neither poverty, nor death, nor chains

terrify; who is strong to resist his appetites and despise honors, and is complete in

himself, smooth and round like a globe (Horace)

quo me cunque rapit tempestas, deferor hospes: wherever the storm may blow

me, it carries a willing guest (Horace)

quo mihi fortunam, si non conceditur uti?: of what use is fortune to me, if I am

not permitted to use it? (Horace)

quo more pyris vesci Calaber jubet hospes: in the same manner that a Calabrian

would insist on your eating pears (i.e., to force on someone what is neither liked

nor valued) (Horace)

quo res cunque cadent, unum et commune periclum, una salus ambobus erit:

whatever may be the issue, we have both one common peril and one safety (Virgil)

quo teneam vultus mutantem Protea nodo?: by what knot shall I hold this

Proteus who is ever changing his shape? (Horace)

quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra?: how long will you abuse

our patience, Catiline? (Cicero)

quocunque aspicio, nihil est nisi mortis imago: wherever I look, I see nothing but

some image of death (Ovid)

quod crebo videt non miratur, etiamsi cur fiat nescit. Quod ante non vidit, id si

evenerit, ostentum esse censet: a man does not marvel at what he sees

frequently, even though he be ignorant of the reason. If anything happens that he

has not seen before, he calls it a prodigy (Cicero)

quod enim ipsi experti non sunt, id docent ceteros: they are teaching others an

art in which they themselves have no experience (Cicero)

quod medicorum est promittunt medici, tractant fabrilia fabri scribimus

indocti doctique poëmata passim: physicians practice what belongs to physicians

and workers handle the tools they have been trained to use, but all of us

everywhere, trained and untrained alike, write poems (Horace)

quod petiit spernit, repetit quod nuper omisit: he despises what he sought, and

he seeks that which he lately threw away (i.e., said of a capricious person) (Horace)

quod petis hic est—est Ulubris rara avis in terris, nigroque

quod petis hic est—est Ulubris: what you seek is here—it is at Ulubrж (i.e.,

happiness was here all along) (Horace)

quod prestare potes, ne bis promiseris ulli, ne sis verbosus, dum vis urbanus

haberi: promise nobody twice the service you can render him, and be not talkative,

so that you do not appear a prattler when you wish to show someone your kindness

quod semper, quod ubique, (et) quod ab omnibus creditum est: what is always,

what is everywhere, (and) what is believed by all (St. Vincent of Lerins)

quod sequitur, fugio; quod fugit, usque sequor: what follows I flee; what flees I

ever pursue (Ovid)

quod si deficiant vires, audacia certe laus erit; in magnis et voluisse sat est:

even though strength should fail, surely boldness will have its praise; in great

attempts it is enough to dare (Propertius)

quod spiro et placeo, si placeo, tuum est: that I am inspired and give pleasure, if I

give pleasure, it is because of you (Horace)

quod tantis Romana manus contexuit annis, proditor unus iners, angusto

tempore vertit: what Roman hands had raised in so many years, one single traitor

destroyed in one pull (Claudian)

quod tuum’st meum’st; omne meum est autem tuum: what is thine is mine, and

all mine is thine (Plautus)

quod verum est, meum est: what is true belongs to me (Seneca)

quod vile est carum, quod carum est vile; putato, sic tibi nec parcus, nec avarus

habeberis ulli: consider what is vile as dear, and what is dear as vile; by such acting

you will not feel the want of it, neither be considered as avaricious (Dionysius

Cato)

quodcunque ostendis mihi sic, incredulus odi: whatever you show me in an

overwrought way, I detest and disbelieve (Horace)

quodsi me lyricis vatibus inseres, sublimi feriam sidera vertice: but if you give

me a place among the lyric poets, I shall rise up till my head strikes the stars

(Horace)

quorum pars magna fui: of which things I was an important part (Virgil)

quot capita tot sententiæ, suus cuique mos est: so many heads, so many minds,

each has his own way (attributed to Terence)

quot coelum stellas, tot habet tua Roma puellas: there are as many girls in your

Rome as there are stars in the sky (Ovid)

quousque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra?: how long will you abuse

our patience, Catiline? (Cicero)

quum talis sis, utinam noster esses!: how I wish you were one of us, since I find

you so worthy!

R

rara avis in terris, nigroque simillima cygno (or cycno): a bird rarely seen on

earth, and very much resembling a black swan (i.e., something unique) (Juvenal)

rara temporum felicitate, ubi sentire

regibus boni quam mali suspectiores

rara temporum felicitate, ubi sentire quæ velis, et quæ sentias dicere licet: such

was the happiness of the times, that you might think as you chose and speak as you

thought (Tacitus, said of the reigns of Nerva and Trajan)

rari nantes in gurgite vasto: swimming one here and another there in a vast abyss

(i.e., good ideas drowning in an ocean of poorly chosen words) (Virgil)

rari quippe boni; numero vix sunt totidem quot Thebarum portæ, vel divitis

ostia Nili: rare indeed are the good; in number they are scarcely as many as the

gates of Thebes or the mouths of the Nile (Juvenal)

rarus sermo illis, et magna libido tacendi: their conversation was rare, and their

seeming desire was to be silent (Juvenal)

re ipsa repperi, facilitate nihil esse homini melius, neque clementia: I have

learned by experience that nothing is more advantageous to a person than courtesy

and compassion (Terence)

rebus angustis animosus atque fortis appare; sapienter idem contrahes vento

nimium secundo turgida vela: wisely show yourself spirited and resolute when

perils press you; likewise reef your sails when they swell too much by a favoring

breeze (Horace)

recedant vetera, nova sint omnia: let ancient things depart and all things around be

new (from the Sacris Solemniis)

recta actio non erit, nisi recta fuit voluntas, ab hac enim est actio. Rursus,

voluntas non erit recta, nisi habitus animi rectus fuerit, ab hoc enim est

voluntas: an action will not be right unless the intention is right, for from it comes

the action. Again, the intention will not be right unless the state of the mind has

been right, for from it proceeds the intention (Seneca)

rectius vives, Licini, neque altum semper urgendo, neque, dum procellas

cautus horrescis, nimium premendo littus iniquum: you will live more

prudently, Licinius, by neither always keeping out to sea, nor, while with caution

you shrink from storms, hugging too closely the treacherous shore (Horace)

reddere personæ scit convenientia cuique: he knows how to assign to each

character what it is proper and becoming to each person (Horace, said of a

playwright)

reddere qui voces jam scit puer, et pede certo signat humum, gestit paribus

colludere, et iram colligit ac ponit temere, et mutatur in horas: the boy who

just knows how to talk and treads the ground with firm foot, (and) delights to play

with his friends, is easily provoked and easily appeased, and changes every hour

(Horace)

redit agricola labor actus in orbem, atque in se sua per vestigia volvitur annus:

the husbandman’s toil returns in a circle, and the year rolls in its former footsteps

(Virgil)

reges dicuntur multis urgere culullis, et torquere mero, quam perspexisse

laborent, an sit amicitia dignus: kings are said to press with many a cup, and test

with wine the man whom they desire to test whether he be worthy of their

friendship (Horace)

regibus boni quam mali suspectiores sunt, semperque his aliena virtus

formidolosa est: the good are more suspected by kings than the bad, and virtue in

other men is to them always a source of dread (Sallust)

regis ad exemplum totus componitur risum teneatis, amici?

regis ad exemplum totus componitur orbis: the world is fashioned according to

the example of kings (i.e., “the sentiments of the court have a great influence on the

sentiments of all people” — Matthew Henry) (Claudian)

regnare nolo, liber ut non sim mihi: I would not be a king and forfeit my liberty

(Phжdrus)

regnavit a ligno Deus: God reigned from the wood (St. Venantius Fortunatus)

regum æquabat opes animis; seraque revertens nocte domum, dapibus mensas

onerabat inemptis: he equaled the wealth of kings in contentment of mind, and at

night, returning home, would load his table with unbought dainties (Virgil, said of

the husbandman)

reipublicæ forma laudari facilius quam evenire, et si evenit, haud diuturna esse

potest: it is easier to praise a republican form of government than to establish one;

and when it is established, it cannot be of long duration (Tacitus)

rem facias, rem, si possis, recte; si non, quocunque modo rem: make a fortune

honestly if you can; if not, make it by any means (Horace)

requiem æternam dona eis, Domine; et lux perpetua luceat eis: grant them

eternal rest, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine on them (from the Catholic Mass

for the Dead)

res ad triarios rediit: the situation has come down to the triarii, the third line of

defense (i.e., the situation is critical) (Livy)

res est blanda canor; discant cantare puellæ: singing is a charming

accomplishment; let girls learn to sing (Ovid)

res humanæ ita sese habent: in victoria vel ignavis gloriari licet, adversæ res

etiam bonos detrectant: this is how it is with human affairs: in victory even

cowards boast, whereas in defeat even the brave are discredited (Sallust)

res rustica sic est: si unam rem sero feceris, omnia opera sero facies: this is how

it is with farming: if you put off doing one thing, you will be late with everything

(Cato the Elder)

res sacros non modo manibus attingi, sed ne cogitatione quidem violari fas

fuit: not only should sacred things not be touched with the hands, but they should

not be violated in thought (Cicero)

respicere exemplar vitæ morumque jubebo doctum imitatorem, et veras hinc

ducere voces: I would advise the one who wishes to imitate well to look closely

into life and manners and thereby learn to express them with truth (Horace)

restat iter coelo; coelo tentabimus ire; da veniam coepto, Juptier alte, meo:

there remains a way through the heavens; through the heavens we will attempt to

go; high Jupiter, pardon my bold design (Ovid, of Dжdalus, who escaped the

labyrinth on wings)

revocate animos, moestumque timorem mittite: rouse your courage, and cast off

desponding fear (Virgil)

rex datur propter regnum, non regnum propter regem. Potentia non est nisi ad

bonum: a king is given for the sake of the kingdom, not the kingdom for the sake

of the king. His power is only from the public good

ridet argento domus: the house is smiling with silver (Horace)

risum teneatis, amici?: could you keep from laughing, friends? (Horace)

rixatur de lana sæpe caprina

sævit amor ferri, et scelerata insania

rixatur de lana sæpe caprina: he often quarrels about goat’s wool (i.e., he often

disputes the obvious, or about nothing worth disputing) (Horace)

Roma locuta est; causa finita est: Rome has spoken; the case is settled (St.

Augustine)

Romæ rus optas, absentem rusticus urbem tollis ad astra levis: at Rome, you

long for the country, in the country you laud the distant city to the stars (Horace)

Romæ Tibur amem, ventosus, Tibure Romam: fickle as the wind, I love Tibur

when at Rome, and Rome when at Tibur (Horace)

Romam cuncta undique atrocia aut pudenda confluunt celebranturque: all

things atrocious and shameless flow from all parts to Rome (Tacitus)

rorate, coeli, desuper, et nubes pluant justum; aperiatur terra, et germinet

salvatorem: drop down dew, heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down

righteousness; let the earth be opened, and a savior spring to life (Isaiah 45:8)

rusticus expectat dum defluat amnis; at ille labitur et labetur in omne volubilis

ævum: the yokel waits until the river flows by; but it still glides on, and will glide

on forever (i.e., someone who waits for change in vain) (Horace)

S

sæpe audivi, non de nihilo, dici, mendacem memorem esse oportere: I have

often heard it said, and with good reason, that a liar should have a good memory

(Apuleius)

sæpe Faunorum voces exauditæ, sæpe visæ formæ deorum: the voices of the

Fauns are often heard and the shapes of gods often seen

sæpe grandis natu senex nullum aliud habet argumentum, quo se probet diu

vixisse, præter ætatem: often a man who is very old in years has no evidence to

prove that he has lived a long life other than his age (Seneca)

sæpe stylum vertas, iterum quæ digna legi sint scripturus; neque, te ut miretur

turba, labores contentus paucis lectoribus: you must often make erasures if you

mean to write what is worthy of being read a second time; labor not for the

admiration of the crowd, but be content with a few choice readers (Horace)

sæpius locutum, nunquam me tacuisse poenitet: I have often regretted having

spoken, never having kept silent (Publilius Syrus)

sæpius ventis agitatur ingens pinus, et celsæ graviore casu decidunt turres,

feriuntque summos fulmina (or fulgura) montes: the huge pine is more

frequently shaken by the winds, high towers fall with a heavier crash, and it is the

mountain tops that the thunderbolts strike (Horace)

sæva paupertas, et avitus apto cum lare fundus: cruel poverty, and an ancestral

piece of land with a dwelling to match (Horace)

sævit amor ferri, et scelerata insania belli: the passions are in arms, and nothing is

heard of but the insane wickedness of war (Virgil)

sævitque animis ignobile vulgus scire volunt secreta domus, atque

sævitque animis ignobile vulgus, jamque faces et saxa volant; furor arma

ministrat: the rude rabble are enraged, now the firebrands and stones are seen to

fly about; their fury supplies them with arms (Virgil)

saltabat elegantius (or melius), quam necesse est probæ mulieri: she danced

more elegantly (or much better) than what becomes a virtuous woman (Sallust, said

of Sempronia)

saltat Milonius, ut semel icto accessit fervor capiti, numerusque lucernis:

Milonius dances as soon as the wine gets into his heated head, and the lights are

doubled to his view (Horace)

salve, Regina, mater misericordiæ, vita, dulcedo et spes nostra, salve!: hail,

Queen, mother of mercy, hail our life, our sweetness, and our hope! (an 11thcentury

hymn to the Virgin Mary)

sanctus haberi justitiæque tenax factis dictisque mereris?; agnosco procerem:

dare to be held a man without blame, and tenacious of justice both in word and

deed; then I recognize in you the nobleman (Juvenal)

sanitas sanitatum, omnia sanitas: sanity of sanity, all is sanity (Mйnage, 1693)

sapientia quoque perseveranit mecum: wisdom also continued with me (Francis

Bacon)

satis diu vel naturæ vixi, vel gloriæ: I have lived long enough both in years and in

glory (Julius Cжsar)

satis est orare Jovem, quæ donat et aufert; det vitam, det opes, æquum mi

animum ipse parabo: it is enough to pray to Jove for those things that he gives

and takes away; let him grant life, let him grant wealth; I will provide myself with a

well-poised mind (Horace)

satis superque me benignitas tua ditavit: your generosity has enriched me enough,

and more than enough (Horace)

satura tota nostra est: satire is wholly ours (Quintilian, a reference to Roman

character)

saucius ejurat pugnam gladiator, et idem immemor antiqui vulneris arma

capit: the wounded gladiator forswears fighting, and yet, forgetful of his former

wound, he takes up arms again

scimus, et hanc veniam petimusque damusque vicissim: this we know, and this

allowance we give and admit in turn (Horace)

scio enim cui credidi: I know in whom I have believed (2 Timothy 1:12)

scio quid valeant humeri, et quid ferre recusent: I know what shoulders can bear,

and what they cannot support

scio: tu coactus tua voluntate es: I know it: you are constrained by your will

(Terence)

scire, deos quoniam propius contingis, oportet: you ought to know, since you live

near the gods (Horace)

scire potestates herbarum usumque medendi: to know the potential of herbs and

their use in healing (Virgil)

scire volunt secreta domus, atque inde timeri: they wish to know of the family

secrets, and so to be feared (Juvenal)

scit genius, natale comes qui

sed vatem egregium cui non sit

scit genius, natale comes qui temperet astrum: the genius, our companion who

rules our natal star, knows (Horace)

scribimus indocti, doctique poëmata passim: we, both the learned and unlearned,

are in the habit of writing poetry (Horace)

scripta ferunt annos; scriptis Agamemnona nosti, et quisquis contra vel simul

arma tulit: writings survive the years; it is by writings that you know Agamemnon,

and those who fought for or against him (Ovid)

secreta hæc murmura vulgi: those secret whisperings of the crowd (Juvenal)

secretum iter et fallentis semita vitæ: a quiet journey in the untrodden paths of life

(Horace)

secundas res splendidiores facit amicitia, et adversas partiens communicansque

leviores: friendship makes prosperity brighter while it lightens adversity by

sharing its griefs and anxieties (Cicero)

secundæ res acrioribus stimulis animum explorant; quia miseriæ tolerantur,

felicitate corrumpimur: prosperity tries the soul with sharper temptations; while

hardships may be endured, one is corrupted by good fortune (Tacitus)

sed nisi peccassem, quid tu concedere posses? Materiam veniæ sors tibi nostra

dedit: had I not sinned, what had there been for you to pardon? My fate has given

you the material for mercy (Ovid)

sed notat hunc omnis domus et vicinia tota, introrsum turpem, speciosum pelle

decora: but all his family and the entire neighborhood regard him as inwardly

base, and only showy outside (Horace)

sed nunc amoto quæramus seria ludo: but now, laying banter aside, let us look to

more serious matters (Horace)

sed nunc non erat his locus: but there was at this time no place for these matters

(Horace)

sed quum res hominum tanta caligine volvi adspicerem, lætosque diu florere

nocentes, vexarique pios: rursus labefacta cadebat religio: when I beheld

human affairs involved in such dense darkness, the guilty exulting in their

prosperity, and pious men suffering wrong, what religion I had began to re el

backward and fall (Claudian)

sed summa sequar fastigia rerum: but I will trace the footsteps of the chief events

(Virgil)

sed taciti fecere tamen convicia vultus: but still her silent looks loudly reproached

me (Ovid)

sed te nos facimus, Fortuna, deam, coeloque locamus: we, O Fortune, make you

a goddess, and place you in the heavens

sed tu ingenio verbis concipe plura meis?: but do you of your own ingenuity take

up more than my words? (Ovid)

sed vatem egregium cui non sit publica vena, qui nihil expositum soleat

deducere, nec qui communi feriat carmen triviale moneta, hunc qualem

nequeo monstrare, et sentio tantum, anxietate carens animus facit: a poet of

superior merit, whose vein is of no vulgar kind, who never tosses off anything trite,

nor coins a trivial poem at the public mint, I cannot describe, but only recognize as

a person whose soul is free from all anxiety (Juvenal) segnem ac desidem, et circo et seseque i perire mavolunt ibidem

segnem ac desidem, et circo et theatris corruptum militem: a slothful and

listless military, debauched by the circus and the theaters (Tacitus)

semel profecto premere felices Deus cum coepit, urget; hos habent magna

exitus: once God has begun to throw down the prosperous, he overthrows them

altogether; such is the end of the mighty (Seneca)

semen est sanguis Christianorum: the blood of the Christians is seed (Tertullian,

in reference to Roman persecution of the Church)

semper ad eventum festinat et in medias res non secus ac notas auditorem

rapit: he always hurries to the main event and whisks his audience into the middle

of things as though they already knew (Horace)

semper eris pauper, si pauper es, Æmiliane: if you are poor, Emilian, you will

always be poor (Martial)

semper habet lites alternaque jurgia lectus, in quo nupta jacet; minimum

dormitur in illo: the bed in which a wife lies is always the scene of quarrels and

mutual recriminations; there is very little chance of sleep there (Juvenal)

senex cum extemplo est, jam nec sentit, nec sapit; ajunt solere eum rursum

repuerascere: when the elderly man reaches the last stage of life, without senses or

mentality, they say that he has grown a child again (Plautus)

senilis stultitia, quæ deliratio appellari solet, senum levium est, non omnium:

the foolishness of old age, which is termed dotage, does not characterize all who

are old, but only those who are frivolous (Cicero)

seria cum possim, quod delectantia malim scribere, tu causa es, lector: that I

dwell on lighter topics when I could handle those that are more serious, you,

reader, are the cause (Martial)

series implexa causarum: the complicated series of causes (Seneca)

sero respicitur tellus, ubi fune soluto currit in immensum panda carina salum:

it is late to look back upon the land, when, the cable being loosed, the vessel is

making its way into the immense deep (Ovid)

sero te amavi, pulchritudo tam antiqua et tam nova, sero te amavi; et ecce intus

eras et ego foris, et ibi te quærebam: too late came I to love you, O beauty both

so ancient and so new, too late came I to love you; and behold, you were within me,

and I out of myself, where I made search for you (St. Augustine)

serpentes avibus geminentur, tigribus agni: let serpents couple with birds, and

lambs with tigers (Horace)

serpentum major concordia; parcit cognatis maculis similis fera. Quando leoni

fortior eripuit vitam leo?: there is greater agreement among serpents than among

men; a wild beast of a like kind spares kindred spots. When did a stronger lion

deprive another of life? (Juvenal)

serus in coelum redeas, diuque lætus intersis populo: late may you return to

heaven, and long may you continue to delight your people with your presence

(Horace, addressed to Cжsar Augustus)

seseque i perire mavolunt ibidem quam cum stupro redire ad suos popularis:

they would rather die on the spot than go back to their people in disgrace (Nжvius)

sex horas somno, totidem des legibus si pace frui volumus, bellum

sex horas somno, totidem des legibus æquis: quatuor orabis, des epulisque

duas. Quod superest ultra, sacris largire Camenis: give six hours to sleep, as

many as to the study of law: four hours you shall pray, and two give to meals.

Devote what is beyond that to the sacred Muses (Coke)

si antiquitatem spectes, est vetustissima; si dignitatem, est honoratissima; si

jurisdictionem, est capacissima: if you consider its antiquity, it is most ancient; if

its dignity, it is most honorable; if its jurisdiction, it is most extensive (Coke, said of

the English House of Commons)

si bene commemini, causæ sunt quinque bibendi; hospitis adventus, præsens

sitis, atque futura, aut vini bonitas, aut quælibet altera caus: if I remember

correctly, there are five excuses for drinking: the visit of a guest, present thirst,

thirst to come, the goodness of the wine, or any other excuse you choose (Pиre

Sermond)

si componere magnis parva mihi fas est: if I may be allowed to compare small

things with great (Ovid)

si computes annos, exiguum tempus; si vices rerum, ævum putes: a brief time if

you count the years; an age if you count the changes it brought forth (Pliny the

Younger)

si foret in terris, rideret Democritus: if Democritus were on earth, he would laugh

(Horace)

si foret in terris, rideret Heraclitus: if Heraclitus were on earth, he would laugh

si fractus illabatur orbis, impavidum ferient ruinæ: if the world should break in

pieces around him, the ruins would leave him undaunted (i.e., nothing can shatter

the steadfastness or resolve of an upright man) (Horace)

si fueris Romæ, Romano vivito more; si fueris alibi, vivito sicut ibi: if you are at

Rome, live in the Roman style; if you are elsewhere, live as they live there (i.e.,

when in Rome, do as the Romans) (St. Ambrose)

si genus humanum, et mortalia temnitis arma; at sperate deos memores fandi

atque nefandi: if you despise the human race and mortal arms, yet be hopeful that

the gods will not be forgetful of right and wrong (Virgil)

si leonina pellis non satis est, assuenda vulpina: if the lion’s skin is not enough,

we must sew on the fox’s

si mihi pergit quæ vult dicere, ea quæ non vult audiet: if he proceeds to state

what he pleases against me, he shall have something in return that it will not please

him to hear (Terence)

si nihil attuleris, ibis Homere fora: if you do not bring anything, Homer, you will

go outside

si numeres anno soles et nubila toto, invenies nitidum sæpius isse diem: if you

count the sunny and the cloudy days of the whole year, you will find that the

sunshine predominates (Ovid)

si pace frui volumus, bellum gerendum est; si bellum omittimus, pace

nunquam fruemur: if we desire to enjoy peace, we must first wage war; if we

shrink from war, we shall never enjoy peace (Cicero) si parva licet componere magnis sic enim dilexit Deus mundum, ut

si parva licet componere magnis: if it be allowable to compare small things with

great (Virgil)

si pecasse negamus, fallimur, et nulla est in nobis veritas: if we say that we have

no sin we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us (from Marlowe’s play Faust,

after 1 John 1:8)

si possem sanior essem; sed trahit invitam nova vis; aliudque Cupido, mens

aliud suadet: if it were in my power, I would be wiser; but a newly felt power

carries me off in spite of myself; love leads me one way, my understanding another

(Ovid)

si quoties homines peccant sua fulmina mittat Jupiter, exiguo tempore inermis

erit: if Jupiter hurled his thunderbolt as often as men sinned, he would soon be out

of thunderbolts (Ovid)

si sursum non efferor alis, saltem cursu prætervehor omnes: though I do not

soar high on my wings, I fly by all who are in the race

si una eademque res legatur duobus, alter rem, alter valorem rei: if one and the

same thing is bequeathed to two people, one should have the thing, the other the

value of the thing (Justinian)

si veris magna paratur fama bonis, et si successu nuda remoto inspicitur virtus,

quicquid laudamus in ullo majorum, fortuna fuit: if honest fame attends the

truly good, if, setting aside the ultimate success, virtue and valor are alone to be

considered, then was his fortune as proud as any to be found in the records of our

ancestry (a tribute to Pompey by Lucan)

si vis me flere, dolendum est primum ipsi tibi: if you wish me to weep, you must

first show grief yourself (Horace)

si volet usus, quem penes arbitrium est et jus norma loquendi: if usage wills,

within whose power are the laws and rules of speech (Horace)

sic ait, et dicto citius tumida æquora placat: so speaks the god, and quicker than

he speaks he calms the swelling seas (Virgil)

sic aliud ex alio numquam desistet oriri vitaque mancipio nulli datur, omnibus

usu: so one thing will never cease to arise from another, and no one possesses life

as an owner, but all are tenants (Lucretius)

sic canibus catulos similes, sic matribus hædos noram; sic parvis componere

magna solebam: thus I knew that pups are like dogs and kids like goats; so I used

to compare great things with small (Virgil)

sic delatores, genus hominum publico exitio repertum, et ne poenis quidem

unquam satis coërcitum, per præmia eliciebantur: thus were informers, a race

of men discovered for public destruction, and never sufficiently restrained by pains

or penalties, allured and brought forward by rewards (Tacitus)

sic ego nec sine te nec tecum vivere possum; et videor voti nescius esse mei:

thus neither with you nor without you can I live; and I seem not to know my own

wishes (Ovid)

sic enim dilexit Deus mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret: for God so

loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son (St. John 3:16)

sic leve, sic parvum est, animum

siqua recordanti benefacta priora

sic leve, sic parvum est, animum quod laudis avarum subruit ac reficit: so light,

so insignificant a thing is that which casts down or revives a soul that is greedy of

praise (Horace)

sic quisque pavendo dat vires famæ, nulloque auctore malorum, quæ finxere

timent: thus each person by his fears gives wings to rumor, and, without any real

source of apprehension, men fear what they themselves have fashioned (Lucan)

sic, sic juvat ire sub umbras: thus, thus, it is my choice to go beneath the shadows

(i.e., to Hades) (Virgil)

sic visum Veneri, cui placet impares formas, atque animos sub juga ahenea

sævo mittere cum joco: such is the will of Venus, whose pleasure it is in cruel

sport to subject to her brazen yoke persons and tempers ill-matched (Horace)

sic vos non vobis mellificatis apes; sic vos non vobis nidificatis aves; sic vos non

vobis vellera fertis oves: thus you bees make honey not for yourselves; thus you

birds build nests not for yourselves; thus you sheep bear fleeces not for yourselves

(Virgil, as a challenge to Bathyllus who claimed authorship of a set of verses that

Virgil himself had composed)

Sicelides Musæ, paulo majora canamus: Sicilian Muses, let us sing of slightly

grander things (Virgil)

sicut modo geniti infantes, rationabile, sine dolo lac concupiscite: after the

fashion of newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word (1 Peter 2:2)

simul et jucunda et idonea dicere vitæ: to tell at once what is pleasant and proper

in life (Horace)

simul flare sorbereque haud facile est: ego hic esse et illic simul, haud potui:

to blow and to swallow at the same time is not easy; I cannot at the same time be

here and also there (Plautus)

sine Cerere et Baccho, friget Venus: without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus is cold

(i.e., without food and drink, love is cold) (adapted from Terence)

sine Cerere et Libero friget Venus: without the aid of Ceres (bread) and Liberty,

Venus (love) freezes (adapted from Terence)

sine pennis volare haud facile est; meæ alæ pennas non habent: it is not easy

flying without feathers; my wings are not yet fledged (Plautus)

sine virtute esse amicitia nullo pacto potest; quæ autem inter bonos amicitia

dicitur, hæc inter malos factio est: there can be no friendship without virtue; for

among good men it is called friendship, among bad men it is called faction (Sallust)

singula quæque locum teneant sortita decenter: let each thing keep the place that

it occupies with propriety (Horace)

singula quid referam?; nil non mortale tenemus, pectoris exceptis ingeniique

bonis: why do I go into details?; we have nothing that is not mortal except what

our hearts and our intellects endow us with (Ovid)

singuli enim decipere et decipi possunt: nemo omnes, neminem omnes

fefellunt: individuals indeed may deceive and be deceived; but no one has ever

deceived all men, nor have all men ever deceived anyone (Pliny the Younger)

siqua recordanti benefacta priora voluptas est homini: if a man can take any

pleasure in recalling the kindnesses he has done (Catullus)

sit mihi fas audita loqui spectatum veniunt, veniunt

sit mihi fas audita loqui: let me have permission to state what I have heard (Virgil)

sit mihi quod nunc est, etiam minus; ut mihi vivam quod superest ævi, si quid

superesse volunt di: may I continue to possess what I have now, or even less; so I

may live the remainder of my days after my own manner, if the gods will that any

should remain (Horace)

sit tua cura sequi; me duce tutus eris: be it your care to follow; with me for your

guide, you will be safe (Ovid)

sive pium vis hoc, sive hoc muliebre vocari; confiteor misero molle cor esse

mihi: whether you call my heart affectionate, or you call it womanish, I confess

that to my misfortune it is soft (Ovid)

Socratem audio dicentem, cibi condimentum essa famem, potionis sitim: I hear

Socrates saying that the best seasoning for food is hunger, for drink, thirst (Cicero)

Socrates quidem quum rogaretur cujatem se esse diceret, Mundanum, inquit,

totius enim mundi se incolam et civem arbitrabatur: when Socrates was asked

of what country he professed to be a citizen, he answered, “of the world,” for he

considered himself an inhabitant and citizen of the whole world (Cicero)

solem præ jaculorum multitudine et sagittarum non videbis; in umbra igitur

pugnabimus: you will not see the sun for the clouds of javelins and arrows; then

we will fight in the shade (Cicero; the Persian’s challenge to Leonides at

Thermopylж, and Leonides’s reply)

solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant: they make a desert and call it peace (i.e.,

they exterminate a people and say that peace has been restored) (Tacitus)

sollicitant alii remis freta cæca, ruuntque in ferrum; penetrant aulas, et limina

regum: some disturb unknown seas with oars, some rush upon the sword; some

push their way into the courts and portals of kings (Virgil)

solventur risu tabulæ, tu missus abibis: the case is dismissed with a laugh, the

court is dismissed, and you are sent away (Horace)

somnium narrare vigilantis est, et vita sua confiteri sanitatis indicium est: the

one who is awake can recount his dream, and, similarly, the confession of sin

indicates a sound mind (Seneca)

somnus agrestium lenis virorum non humiles domos fastidit, umbrosamque

ripam: the gentle sleep of the country folk disdains not humble dwellings and the

shady bank (Horace)

sors tua mortalis; non est mortale quod optas: your lot is mortal; and you wish

what no mortal may (Ovid)

spargere voces in vulgam ambiguas: spreading ambiguous rumors among the

common crowd (Virgil)

spatio brevi spem longam reseces; dum loquimur, fugerit invida ætas; carpe

diem, quam minimum credula postero: from the short space of life you should

exclude distant hopes; for while we speak, the envious hours are passing away; seize

the day, trusting little as possible to what comes after (Horace)

spectatum admissi, risum teneatis, amici?: can even the friends who are admitted

to see the work refrain from laughter? (Horace)

spectatum veniunt, veniunt spectentur ut ipsæ: the women come to see, they

come also to be seen (Ovid)

sperat infestis, metuit secundis stulte, quid est somnus, gelidæ nisi

sperat infestis, metuit secundis alteram (ad) sortem bene præparatum pectus: a

well-prepared heart hopes in adversity and fears in prosperity for a change of

fortune (Horace)

spes bona dat vires, animum quoque spes bona firmat; vivere spe vidi qui

moriturus erat: good hope gives strength, good hope also confirms resolution; the

one who was on the point of death, I have seen hope revive

spes donare novas largus, amaraque curarum eluere efficax: mighty to inspire

new hopes, and able to drown the bitterness of cares (Horace, said of wine)

spiritalis enim virtus sacramenti ita est ut lux: etsi per immundos transeat: non

inquinatur: the spiritual virtue of a sacrament is like light; although it passes

among the impure, it is not polluted (St. Augustine)

spiritus intus alit, totamque infusa per artus mens agitat molem et magno se

corpore miscet: the spirit within nourishes, and the mind that is diffused

throughout the living parts of nature activates the whole mass and mingles with the

vast body of the universe (Virgil)

spretæ injuria formæ: the insult offered to her slighted beauty (Virgil)

sta, viator, heroëm calcas: stop, traveler, you trample upon a hero (an epitaph)

stabant orantes primi transmittere cursum tendebantque manus ripæ ulterioris

amore: they stood begging to be the first to make the voyage over and they

reached out their hands in longing for the further shore (Virgil)

stabat mater dolorosa juxta crucem lacrymosa qua pendebat filius: the

sorrowing mother stood, weeping by the cross where her son hung dying (opening

words of the Stabat Mater)

stat sua cuique dies; breve et irreparabile tempus omnibus est vitæ; sed famam

extendere factis, hoc virtutis opus: each one has his appointed day; short and

irreparable is the brief life of all; but to extend our fame by our deeds, this is the

work of manhood (or virtue) (Virgil)

statim daret, ne differendo videretur negare: he would give at once, lest by

delaying he should seem to deny the favor (Cornelius Nepos)

status enim reipublicæ maxime judicatis rebus continetur: the standing of a

republic is very largely bound up in its judicial decisions (Cicero)

stemmata quid faciunt? Quid prodest, Pontice, longo sanguine censeri

pictosque ostendere vultus?: of what use are pedigrees? Of what advantage,

Ponticus, is it to be counted by the length of your bloodline, or the display of

family portraits? (Juvenal)

stimulos dedit æmula virtus: he was spurred on by rival valor (Lucan)

strangulat inclusus dolor, atque exæstuat intus, cogitur et vires multiplicare

suas: suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to

multiply its strength (Ovid)

strenua nos exercet inertia; navibus atque quadrigis petimus bene vivere; quod

petis hic est: busy idleness urges us on; we seek to live aright by sailing and

chariot-driving; what you seek for is here (Horace)

stulte, quid est somnus, gelidæ nisi mortis imago? Longa quiescendi tempora

fata dabunt: fool, what is sleep but the image of icy death? The fates shall give us a

long period of rest (Ovid)

suave mari magno, turbantibus tacitæ per amica silentia lunæ

suave mari magno, turbantibus æquora ventis, e terra magnum alterius

spectare laborem: how delightful it is when on the great sea the winds have raised

its waters into billows, to witness the perils of another from the land (Lucretius)

subdola cum ridet placidi pellacia ponti: when the calm sea shows its false,

alluring smile (Lucretius)

substantia prior et dignior est accidente: the substance should be considered as

prior to, and of more weight than, the accident

subtilis veterum judex et callidus audis: you are known as a fine and skillful judge

of things old (Horace)

successore novo vincitur omnis amor: all love is vanquished by a new love (Ovid)

sufficit huic tumulus, cui non suffecerit orbis: a tomb now suffices for him for

whom the world did not suffice (said of Alexander the Great)

sumite materiam vestris, qui scribitis, æquam viribus, et versate diu, quid ferre

recusent, quid valeant humeri: you who write, choose a subject suited to your

abilities, and long ponder what your powers are equal to, and what they are unable

to perform (Horace)

summa petit livor: perflant altissima venti: envy assails the highest: the winds

howl around the highest peaks (Ovid)

summa sequor fastigia rerum: I will trace the principal heads of events (Virgil)

summam (or summum) nec metuas diem, nec optes: you should neither fear nor

wish for your last day (Martial)

sunt bona, sunt quædam mediocria, sunt mala plura quæ legis: of those that you

read, some are good, some are middling, but more are bad (Martial, referring to

books)

sunt delicta tamen, quibus ignovisse velimus: there are some faults, however, that

we are willing to pardon (Horace)

sunt Jovis omnia plena: all things are full of the god Jove (Virgil)

superstitio, in qua inest inanis timor Dei; religio, quæ Dei pio cultu

continetur: there is in superstition a senseless fear of God; religion consists in the

pious worship of him (Cicero)

supremus ille dies non nostri extinctionem sed commutationem affert loci: the

last day does not bring extinction to us, but change of place (Cicero)

suum cuique incommodum ferendum est, potius quam de alterius commodis

detrahendum: every one should bear his own grievances and inconveniences,

rather than detract from or abridge the comforts of another (Cicero)

T

tabesne cadavera solvat, an rogus, haud refert: it makes no difference whether

corruption, or the funeral pyre, dissolve the carcass (Lucan)

tacitæ per amica silentia lunæ: through the friendly silence of the soundless

moonlight (Virgil)

tacitum vivit sub pectore vulnus

te sine nil altum mens inchoat

tacitum vivit sub pectore vulnus: the secret wound still lives within the heart

(Virgil)

tale tuum carmen nobis, divine poëta, quale sopor fessis in gramine: your song

is to us, O heavenly poet, as sleep to the weary on the soft grass (Virgil)

talibus ex adyto dictis Cumæa Sibylla horrendas canit ambages, antroque

remugit, obscuris vera involvens: in words like these the Sybil utters her fearful

oracles of dubious import, and sounds them forth from her cavern, blending truth

with obscurity (Virgil)

tam bonus gladiator rudem tam cito accepisti?: has so great a gladiator so quickly

accepted a wooden foil? (i.e., retired) (Cicero)

tam felix utinam, quam pectore candidus essem: oh, that I were as happy as I am

clear in conscience (Ovid)

tamen illic vivere vellem, oblitusque meorum obliviscendus et illis: yet I could

find it in my heart to live there, forgetting my friends and being forgotten by them

(Horace)

tamen me cum magnis vixesse invita fatebitur usque invidia: nevertheless, even

envy, however unwilling, will have to admit that I have lived among great men

(Horace)

tandem poculum moeroris exhausit: he has exhausted at last the cup of grief

(Cicero)

tandem tandem justitia obtinet: at last, at last, justice prevails

tantæ molis erat Romanam condere gentem: so great a task it was to found the

Roman people (Virgil)

tantum religio potuit suadere malorum: so potent was religion in persuading to

evil deeds (Lucretius, in reference to the sacrifice of Iphigenia)

tantum se fortunæ permittunt, etiam ut naturam dediscant: they give themselves

up so much to fortune, as even to forget their nature (Curtius)

tantum series juncturaque pollet tantum de medio sumptis accedit honoris: of

such force are order and arrangement that so much honor may be imparted to

subjects from common life (Horace)

tantum vertice in auras ætherius quantum radice in Tartara tendit: its summit

stretches as far into the upper ether as its roots into Tartarus (i.e., the nether world)

tarda sit illa dies, et nostro serior ævo: slow may that day approach, and long after

our time (Ovid)

te, Fortuna, sequor; procul hinc jam foedera sunto; credidimus fatis, utendum

est judice bello: you, Fortune, I follow; hence far all treaties past; to fate I commit

myself, and the arbitration of war (Lucan, on Cжsar crossing the Rubicon)

te matutinus flentem conspexit Eous et flentem paulo vidit post Hesperus

idem: Eos saw you weeping at dawn, and at sunset Hesperus found you weeping

still (Cinna, referring to Zmyrna, mother of Adonis)

te propter nullos tellus tua postulat imbres, arida nec pluvio supplicat herba

Jovi: because of you, your land never pleads for showers, nor does its parched grass

pray to Jove for rain (Tibullus, in reference to the Nile River)

te sine nil altum mens inchoat: without you my mind originates nothing lofty

(Virgil, to Mжcenas)

te spectem, suprema mihi cum tibi nullum periculum esse perspicio

te spectem, suprema mihi cum venerit hora, et teneam moriens deficiente

manu: may I be looking at you when my last hour has come, and dying may I hold

you with my weakening hand (Tibullus)

tecum vivere amem, tecum obeam libens: with you I should love to live, with you

be ready to die (Horace)

tempora labuntur, tacitisque senescimus annis; et fugiunt fræno non

remorante dies: time glides away and we grow older through the silent years; the

days flee away and are restrained by no rein (Ovid)

tempus abire tibi est, ne … rideat et pulset lasciva decentius ætas: it is time for

you to be gone, lest … the age more decent in its wantonness should laugh at you

and drive you off the stage (Horace)

tempus erat quo prima quies mortalibus ægris incipit et dono divum gratissima

serpit: it was the time when first sleep begins for weary mortals and, by the gift of

the gods, creeps over them most welcomely (Virgil)

tempus est quædam pars æternitatis: time is a certain fraction of eternity (Cicero)

tempus ferax, tempus edax rerum: time the producer, time the devourer of things

(after Ovid)

tempus in agrorum cultu consumere dulce est: it is delightful to spend one’s time

in the tillage of the fields (Ovid)

tendimus huc omnes; metam properamus ad unam. Omnia sub leges mors

vocat atra suas: we are all bound thither; we are hastening to the same common

goal. Black death calls all things under the sway of its laws (Ovid)

tene magis salvum populus velit an populum tu? Servet in ambiguo, qui

consulit et tibi et Urbi, Iuppiter: is your life dearer to the people than the

people’s life to you? May Jupiter, who keeps watch over you and Rome, leave the

answer in doubt (Varius)

teneris, heu, lubrica moribus ætas!: alas!, the slippery nature of tender youth

(Claudian)

tentanda via est qua me quoque possim tollere humo, victorque virum volitare

per ora: I, too, must attempt a way by which I may raise myself above the ground

and soar victorious through the mouths of men (Virgil)

ter conatus ibi collo dare brachia circum, ter frustra comprensa manus effugit

imago: three times I attempted to throw my arms there around her neck, and three

times clutched in vain, her image eluded my grasp (Virgil)

terminat hora diem, terminat auctor opus: the hour ends the day, the author ends

the work (from Marlowe’s play The Jew of Malta)

terra antiqua, potens armis atque ubere glebæ: an ancient land, powerful in arms

and in the fertility of its soil (Virgil, of Italy)

terretur minimo pennæ stridore columba unguibus, accipiter, saucia facta tuis:

the dove, O hawk, that has once been wounded by your talons is frightened by the

least movement of a wing (Ovid)

tibi nullum periculum esse perspicio, quod quidem sejunctum sit ab omnium

interitu: I can see no danger to which you are exposed, other than that which

threatens the destruction of us all (Cicero)

timeo Danaos et dona ferentes

tu quamcunque Deus tibi

timeo Danaos et dona ferentes: I fear the Greeks, even when they bear gifts (i.e.,

beware of Greeks bearing gifts) (Virgil)

timeo hominem unius libri: I fear the man of one book (St. Thomas Aquinas)

Titus, amor et deliciæ humani generis: Titus, the darling and delight of the

human race (Suetonius)

tollimus in cælum curvato gurgite, et idem subducta ad manes imos

descendimus unda: we are carried up to the heaven by the circling wave, and

immediately the wave subsiding, we descend to the lowest depths (Virgil)

torva leæna lupum sequitur, lupus ipse capellam, florentem cytisum sequitur

lasciva capella, te Corydon, O Alexi: trahit sua quemque voluptas: fierce

lioness goes after wolf, that same wolf after a goat, the wanton goat goes after the

flowering clover, and I go after you, O Alexis: each follows its own delight (Virgil)

totus hic locus est contemnendus in nobis, non negligendus in nostris: this

place [where we are buried] is wholly to be disregarded by us, but not to be

neglected by our surviving friends (Cicero)

totus in toto, et totus in qualibet parte: wholly complete and complete in every

part (ancient definition of the human mind; also said of the human heart)

trahit ipse furoris impetus, et visum est lenti quæsisse nocentem: the very

violence of their rage drags them on, and to inquire who is guilty were [for them] a

waste of time (Lucan)

tribus Anticyris caput insanabile: a head incurable by three Anticyrж (i.e., a person

incurably insane) (Horace)

tristia mæstum vultum verba decent; iratum, plena minarum; ludentem, lasciva;

severum, seria dictu: sorrowful words become the sorrowful; angry words suit the

passionate; light words befit a playful expression; serious words suit the grave

(Horace)

Tros Tyriusve mihi nullo discrimine agetur: Trojan or Tyrian, it shall make no

difference to me (i.e., I treat all the same) (Virgil)

truditur dies die, novæque pergunt interire lunæ: day presses on the heels of day,

and new moons hasten to their wane (Horace)

tu est Christus, filius Dei vivi: you are the Christ, the son of the living God (St.

Matthew 16:16)

tu ne quæsieris, scire nefas, quem mihi, quem tibi finem di dederint,

Leuconoë: do not inquire, for it is not permitted to know such things, Leuconoл,

what end the gods have in store for me and for you (Horace)

tu nihil invita dices faciesve Minerva: you must say and do nothing against

Minerva (i.e., against the one who inspires you) (Horace)

tu quamcunque Deus tibi fortunaverit horam, grata sume manu; nec dulcia

differ in annum, ut quocunque loco fueris, vixisse libenter te dicas: receive

with a thankful hand every hour that God may have granted you, and defer not the

comforts of life to another year; that in whatever place you are, you may say you

have lived freely (Horace)

tu regere imperio populos, Romane ultima semper expectanda dies

tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento: You, Roman, remember to rule

peoples with your power (Virgil)

tu vero felix, Agricola, non vitæ tantum claritate, sed etiam opportunitate

mortis: you were truly lucky, Agricola, not only in the distinction of your life, but

also in the opportune timing of your death (Tacitus)

tui me miseret, mei piget: I pity you and vex myself (Ennius)

tum, ut adsolet in amore et ira, jurgia, preces, exprobratio, satisfactio: then

there is the usual scene when lovers are excited with each other, quarrels,

entreaties, reproaches, and then fondling reconciliation (Tacitus)

tuo tibi judicio est utendum. Virtutis et vitiorum grave ipsius conscientia

pondus est; qua sublata jacent omnia: you must use your own judgment on

yourself. Great is the weight of conscience in deciding on your own virtues and

vices; if that be taken away, all is lost (Cicero)

turba Remi sequitur fortunam, ut semper, et odit damnatos: the Roman mob

follows the lead of fortune, as it always does, and hates those who are condemned

(Juvenal)

turpis et ridicula res est elementarius senex: juveni parandum, seni utendum

est: nothing can be as shameful or ridiculous as to see an old man in his rudiments:

it is for youth to acquire, and for age to use those acquirements (Seneca)

tuta petant alii. Fortuna miserrima tuta est; nam timor eventus deterioris

abest: let others seek security. My most wretched fortune is secure; for there is no

fear of worse to follow (Ovid)

U

uberibus semper lacrymis, semperque paratis in statione sua, atque

expectantibus illam quo jubeat manare (modo): with tears always in abundance,

and always ready at their station, and awaiting her signal to flow as she bids them

(Juvenal)

ubi plura nitent in carmine, non ego paucis offendar maculis, quas aut incuria

fudit, aut humana parum cavit natura: when many beauties appear in a work, I

will not cavil at a few faults that proceed either from negligence or from the

imperfection of our nature (Horace)

ubi summus imperator non adest ad exercitum, citius quod non facto ’st usus

fit, quam quod facto ’st opus: when the emperor is not with the army, that is

sooner done which need not to be done than that which requires to be done (Plautus)

ubi sunt qui ante nos fuerunt? (or, ubi sunt?): where are those who lived before us?

udum et molle lutum es; nunc nunc properandus, et acri fingendus sine fine

rota: you are now but soft and moist clay, and therefore instantly and incessantly to

be formed by the glowing wheel (Persius)

ultima semper expectanda dies homini (est), dicique beatus ante obitum nemo

supremaque funera debet: a person should ever look to his last day, and no one

should be accounted happy before he is dead, or until his funeral rites have been

performed (Ovid)

unde ingenium par materiæ?

ut nec pes, nec caput uni reddatur

unde ingenium par materiæ?: where can we find talent equal to the subject?

(Juvenal)

uni odiisque viro telisque frequentibus instant. Ille velut rupes vastum quæ

prodit in æquor, obvia ventorum furiis, expostaque ponto, vim cunctam atque

minas perfert coelique marisque, ipsa immota manens: they attack this one

man with their hate and their shower of weapons. But he is like some rock that

stretches into the vast sea and that, exposed to the fury of the winds and beaten

against by the waves, endures all the violence and threats of heaven and sea, himself

standing unmoved (Virgil)

uni quippe vacat, studiis odiisque carenti, humanum lugere genus: there is only

one person, who, being equally free from attachments and resentments, is at leisure

to weep for the miseries of the human race (Lucan, said of Cato)

uno avulso, non deficit alter: when one is plucked away, another shall not be

wanting (i.e., when you save one, another person in need will appear) (Virgil)

unus homo nobis cunctando restituit rem; non ponebat enim rumores ante

salutem: one man, by delaying, restored the state; for he preferred the public

safety to idle report (i.e., sometimes victory comes through partial engagements

with the enemy over time, rather than by one direct assault) (Ennius, said of

Fabius’s battles against Hannibal)

unus Pellæo juveni non sufficit orbis; æstuat infelix angusto limite mundi: one

world is not enough for the youth of Pella; the unhappy man frets at the narrow

limits of the world (Juvenal, said of Alexander the Great)

urbem quam dicunt Romam, Meliboee, putavi, stultus ego, huic nostræ

similem: the city, Meliboeus, that they call Rome, I foolishly imagined to be like

this town of ours (Virgil)

urbem venalem et mature perituram, si emptorem invenerit: a city for sale and

ripe for ruin, once it finds a purchaser (Sallust, referring to Rome)

urbes constituit ætas: hora dissolvit. Momento fit cinis diu sylva: it takes an age

to build a city, an hour to ruin it. A forest is long in growing, but in a moment it

may be reduced to ashes (Seneca)

urit enim fulgore suo, qui prægravat artes infra se positas; exstinctus amabitur

idem: the one who weighs down the merits of those beneath him blinds them by

his very splendor; but when his light is extinguished, he will be admired (Horace)

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 (Lucius Afranius)

ut ignis aquam conjectus, continuo restinguitur et refrigeratur, sic refervens

falsum crimen in purissimam et castissimam vitam collatum, statim concidit

et extinguitur: as fire when thrown into water is cooled down and put out, so also

a false accusation, when brought against a man of the purest and holiest character,

boils over and is at once dissipated and vanishes (Cicero)

ut nec pes, nec caput uni reddatur formæ: so that neither the foot nor the head

shall belong to the same form (i.e., an incongruous picture or situation) (Horace)

ut nemo in sese tentat descendere valet ima summis mutare, et

ut nemo in sese tentat descendere nemo; sed præcedenti spectatur mantica

tergo, quæsieris: you ask why no man attempts to descend into himself, but looks

to the knapsack on the shoulders of him who proceeds (i.e., they see the faults of

the ones who go ahead, but not the faults they themselves carry) (Persius)

ut solet accipiter trepidas agitare columbas: as the hawk is wont to pursue the

trembling doves (Ovid)

ut turpiter atrum desinat in piscem mulier formosa superne: so that which is a

beautiful woman on top ends in a dark ugly fish (Horace, referring to a mermaid tale)

ut vellum, his potius nugis tota illa dedisset tempora sævitiæ!: would to heaven

he had given up to trifles like these all the time, which he devoted to savage and

cruel purposes! (Juvenal)

utendum est ætate; cito pede præterit ætas; quam cuperes votis hunc revocare

diem?: use the occasion, for it passes swiftly by; with how many wishes would you

not then endeavor to recall the present day? (Ovid)

utinam populus Romanus unam cervicem haberet!: if only the Roman people

had one neck! (Suetonius, attributed to Emperor Caligula)

utinam tam facile vera invenire possem, quam falsa convincere: I wish that I

could as easily discover the truth as I can detect falsehood (Cicero)

utque alios industria, ita hunc ignavia ad famam protulerat: while other men

have attained to fame by their industry, this man has done so by his indolence

(Tacitus)

uvaque conspecta livorem ducit ab uva: the grape gains its purple tinge by looking

at another grape (Juvenal)

uxorem accepi, dote imperium vendidi: I have taken a wife, I have sold my

sovereignty for a dowry (Plautus)

uxorem, Posthume, ducis? Dic qua Tisiphone, quibus exagitare colubris?: are

you marrying a wife, Posthumous? By what Fury, say, by what snakes are you

driven mad? (Juvenal)

uxori nubere nolo meæ: I will not marry a wife to be my master (Martial)

V

væ!, puto deus fio: woe is me!, I think I am becoming a god (Vespasian, said when

fatally ill)

valeant mendacia vatum: away with the lies of poets! (also, of prophets) (Ovid)

valeat res ludicra, si me palma negata macrum, donata reducit opimum:

farewell to the drama, if the palm as it is granted or denied makes me happy or

miserable (Horace)

valet ima summis mutare, et insignem attenuat Deus, obscura promens: God

can change the lowest into the highest, can extinguish the proud, and bring the

obscure into prominence (Horace)

vana quoque ad veros accessit fama

verborum paupertas, imo egestas

vana quoque ad veros accessit fama timores: idle rumors were also added to wellfounded

fears (Lucan)

vanescit absens et novus intrat amor: the absent love vanishes and the new love

enters (i.e., absence makes the heart grow fonder—for someone else) (Ovid)

vanitas vanitatum, dixit Ecclesiastes; vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas: vanity

of vanities, says the Preacher; vanity of vanities, and everything is vanity

(Ecclesiastes 1:2)

Vare, Vare, redde mihi legiones meas!: Varus, Varus, give me back my legions!

(Suetonius; the exclaim of Cжsar Augustus upon hearing news of the rout of his

troops commanded by Varus)

vehemens in utramque partem, aut largitate nimia aut parsimonia: ready to

rush to either extreme of liberality or thrift (Terence)

Veiosque habitante Camillo, illic Roma fuit: when Camillus lived at Veii, Rome

was there (Lucan)

velim mehercule cum istis errare, quam cum aliis recte sentire: by Hercules, I

would rather err with those men than think rightly with these others

vellem nescire literas: I wish I never knew how to write (Emperor Nero, as quoted

by Suetonius, upon signing his own death warrant)

velocius ac citius nos corrumpunt vitiorum exempla domestica, magnis cum

subeant animos auctoribus: the examples of vice at home more easily and more

quickly corrupt us than others, since they steal into our minds under the highest

authority (Juvenal)

venator sequitur fugientia; capta relinquit; semper et inventis ulteriora petit:

the hunter follows things that flee from him; he leaves them when they are taken;

and ever seeks for that which is beyond what he has found (Ovid)

vendentem thus et odores: selling frankincense and perfumes (Horace, in reference

to books or writings destined for use as wrapping paper)

venerationi mihi semper fuit non verbosa rusticitas, sed sancta simplicitas: I

have always revered not crude verbosity, but holy simplicity (St. Jerome)

venient annis sæcula seris, quibus Oceanus vincula rerum laxet, et ingens

pateat tellus, Tiphysque novos detegat orbes; nec sit terris ultima Thule: in

later years a time will come when Oceanus shall relax his bars and a vast territory

shall appear, and Tiphys shall discover new worlds, and Thule shall be no longer

the remotest spot on earth (Seneca, predicting the discovery of the New World)

venit summa dies et ineluctabile tempus Dardaniæ: the last day and inevitable

hour of Troy is come (Virgil)

veniunt a dote sagittæ: the arrows were shot from the dowry (Juvenal)

vera redit facies, dissimulata perit: our natural countenance comes back, the

assumed mask falls off (Petronius)

verba animi proferre, et vitam impendere vero: to speak the words of the mind,

and to stake one’s life for the truth (Juvenal)

verborum paupertas, imo egestas: a poverty of words, or rather an utter want of

them (Seneca) verbosa ac grandis epistola venit a virtus est vitium fugere, et sapientia

verbosa ac grandis epistola venit a Capreis: a lengthy and momentous letter came

from Capri (Juvenal, in reference to Emperor Tiberias’ missive from his residence

at Capri condemning Sejanus in 31 CE; also rendered derisively as “a grand and

wordy letter from Capri”)

verbum Domini manet in æternum: the word of the Lord remains forever (1

Peter 1:25)

verbum non amplius addam: I will not add another word (Horace)

versus inopes rerum, nugæque canoræ: verses devoid of substance, melodious

trifles (Horace)

vertere seria ludo: to turn from serious to playful (Horace)

verum ubi plura nitent in carmine, non ego paucis offendar maculis: but where

many beauties shine in a poem, I will not be offended at a few blemishes (Horace)

vetat dominans ille in nobis deus, injussu hinc nos suo demigrare: the divinity

who rules within us, forbids us to leave this world without his command (Cicero)

vexilla regis prodeunt, fulget crucis mysterium; qua vita mortem pertulit, et

morte vitam protulit: the banners of the king advance, the mystery of the Cross

shines bright; on which his life endured death, and by death brought forth life (St.

Venantius Fortunatus)

viamque insiste domandi, dum faciles animi juvenum, dum mobilis ætas: enter

upon the way of training while the spirits in youth are still pliant, while they are at

that period when the mind is docile (Virgil)

victrix causa diis placuit, sed victa Catoni: the victorious cause pleased the gods,

that of the vanquished by Cato (Lucan)

video barbam et pallium; philosophum nondum video: I see the beard and cloak,

but I don’t yet see a philosopher (Aulus Gellius)

video meliora proboque deteriora sequor: I see and approve the better things but

I follow the worse (Ovid)

videtis quantum scelus contra rem publicam vobis nuntiatum sit?: how great an

evil do you see that may have been announced by you against the Republic?

(Cicero)

vidit et erubit lympha pudica Deum: the modest water saw God and blushed (a

reference to Christ’s first miracle, the turning of water into wine in St. John 2:1–11)

vincere scis, Hannibal, victoria uti nescis: you know how to conquer Hannibal,

but you know not how to profit by your victory (Livy)

vir bonus est quis? Qui consulta patrum, qui leges juraque servat: what man is

to be called good? The one who keeps the decrees of the fathers, and who

maintains the laws and justice (Horace)

Virgilium vidi tantum: so far I have only seen Virgil (Ovid)

virtus est vitium fugere, et sapientia prima stultitia caruisse: to flee vice is the

beginning of virtue, and the beginning of wisdom is to have gotten rid of folly

(Horace)

virtus præmium est optimum. Virtus

vive, vale: si quid novisti rectius istis

virtus præmium est optimum. Virtus omnibus rebus anteit profecto. Libertas,

salus, vita, res, parentes, patria et prognati tutantur, servantur; virtus omnia

in se habet; omnia assunt bona, quem penes est virtus: virtue is the highest

reward. Virtue truly goes before all things. Liberty, safety, life, property, parents,

country, and children are protected and preserved. Virtue has all things in herself;

he who has virtue has all things that are good attending him (Plautus)

virtus, recludens immeritis mori coelum, negata tentat iter via; coetusque

vulgares, et udam spernit humum fugiente penna: virtue, opening heaven to

those who deserve not to die, explores its way by a path denied to others, and

spurns with soaring wing the vulgar crowds and the foggy earth (Horace)

virtus repulsæ nescia sordidæ intaminatis fulget honoribus; nec sumit aut ponit

secures arbitrio popularis auræ: virtue, which knows no base repulse (or disgrace

of defeat), shines with unsullied honors, neither receives nor resigns the badges of

office at the will of popular whim (Horace)

virtute ambire oportet, non favitoribus. Sat habet favitorum semper, qui recte

facit: we should try to succeed by merit, not by favor. He who does well will always

have favor enough (Plautus)

virtutis expers verbis jactans gloriam ignotos fallit, notis est derisui: a fellow

who brags of his fame but is devoid of valor imposes on strangers what is the jest of

those who know him (Phжdrus)

virtutum primam esse puta compescere linguam: proximus ille deo est qui scit

ratione tacere: I think that the first virtue is that of holding the tongue: he

approaches the gods, who, though in the right, can be silent (Cato)

virum mihi, Camena, insece versutum: tell me, O Muse, of the skillful man (Livius

Andronicus)

vis consilii (or consili) expers mole ruit sua; vim temperatam dii (or di) quoque

provehunt in majus; iidem (or idem) odere vires omne nefas animo moventis

(or moventes): strength or force, lacking judgment, collapses by its own weight;

when power is governed by moderation, it is aided by the gods; but they hate it

when directed to all manner of wickedness (Horace)

vita data utenda; data est sine foenore nobis mutua, nec certa persolvenda die:

life is given to us to be used; it is a loan without interest, and we have no date fixed

for repayment (Pedo Albinovanus)

vita dum superest, bene est: if only life remain, I am content (Mжcenas)

vitæ post-scenia celant: they conceal what goes on behind the scenes (i.e., the secret

actions of their lives) (Lucretius)

vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus: let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love

(Catullus)

vive sine invidia, mollesque inglorius annos exige, et amicitias sic tibi junge

pares: live free from envy and spend your peaceful years without fame, and thus

live in friendship with your peers (Ovid)

vive, vale: si quid novisti rectius istis, candidus imperti; si non, his utere

mecum: farewell and live well: if you know of any precepts better than these, be so

candid as to communicate them; if not, partake of these with me (Horace) vivendi recte qui prorogat horam volat ambiguis mobilis alis hora; nec

vivendi recte qui prorogat horam, rusticus expectat dum defluat amnis; at ille

labitur et labetur in omne volubilis ævum: he who postpones the hour of living

rightly is like the yokel who waits till the river shall have passed by; but that river

still flows and will continue to flow for all eternity (Horace)

vivendum est recte, cum propter plurima, tum his præcipue causis, ut linguas

mancipiorum contemnas; nam lingua mali pars pessima servi: you should live

virtuously for many reasons, but particularly on this account, that you may be able

to despise the tongues of your domestics; the tongue is the worst part of a bad

servant (Juvenal)

vivere si nequis recte, discede peritus: if you know not how to live rightly, leave

the society of those who do (Horace)

vivitur exiguo melius: natura beatis omnibus esse dedit, si quis cognoverit uti:

men live best upon a little; nature has ordained all to be happy, if they would but

learn to use their talents (Claudian)

vivitur parvo bene, cui paternum splendet in mensa tenui salinum; nec leves

somnos timor aut cupido sordidus aufert: he lives well on little on whose frugal

table the paternal salt-cellar shines, and whose soft slumbers are not disturbed by

fear or the sordid passion for gain (Horace)

vivo et regno, simul ista reliqui, quæ vos ad coelum fertis rumore secundo: I

live and am king, as soon as I have left those interests of the city that you exalt to

the skies with such praise (Horace)

vivunt in Venerem frondes, etiam nemus omne per altum felix arbor amat;

nutant ad mutua palmæ foedera, populeo suspirat populus ictu, et platani

platanis, alnoque assibilat alnus: the leaves live to love, and over the whole lofty

grove each happy tree loves; palm nods to palm in mutual pledge of love; the

poplar sighs for the poplar’s embrace; plane tree whispers to plane tree, and alder to

alder (Claudian)

vivunt in Venerum frondes omnisque vicissim felix arbor amat; nutant ad

mutua palmæ foedera: the leaves live but to love, and in all the lofty grove the

happy trees love each his neighbor (Claudian)

vix a te videor posse tenere manus: I feel hardly able to keep my hands off you

(Ovid)

vixere fortes ante Agamemnona multi; sed omnes illacrymabiles urgentur,

ignotique longa nocte, carent quia vate sacro: many brave men lived before

Agamemnon; but all of them, unwept and unknown, are overwhelmed in endless

night, because they are without a sacred bard to sing their praises (Horace)

vixerunt: they have lived (i.e., they are dead) (Cicero, said of the Catilinarian

conspirators)

vixi dubius, anxius morior, nescio quo vado: I have lived in doubt, I die in anxiety,

and I know not whither I go

vixi, et quem dederat cursum fortuna, peregi: et nunc magna mei sub terras

currit imago: I have lived, and I have run the course that fortune allotted me; and

now my shade shall descend illustrious to the grave (Virgil)

volat ambiguis mobilis alis hora; nec ulli præstat velox Fortuna fidem: the

shifting hour flies with doubtful wings; nor does swift Fortune keep faith with

anyone (Seneca)

vox tantum atque ossa supersunt vulturus in silvis miserum mandebat

vox tantum atque ossa supersunt; vox manet: the voice and bones are all that is

left; the voice remains (Ovid)

vulgus ignavum et nihil ultra verba ausurum: a cowardly populace that will dare

nothing beyond talk (Tacitus)

vulnus alit venis, et cæco carpitur igni: he (or she) nourishes the poison in the

veins, and is consumed by the hidden fire (Virgil, said of love that is hidden)

vulturus in silvis miserum mandebat homonem. Heu!, quam crudeli condebat

membra sepulchro!: in the woods a vulture was eating a wretched man. Alas!,

what a cruel grave into which his limbs were being buried! (Ennius)

A

a diis quidem immortalibus quæ potest homini major esse poena, furore atque

dementia?: what greater punishment can the immortal gods inflict upon man than

madness or insanity? (Cicero)

A!, virgo infelix, herbis pasceris amaris!: ah, unfortunate maiden, you will have to

graze on bitter herbs! (Calvus)

abiit, excessit, evasit, erupit: he has left, gone off, escaped, broken away (Cicero,

said of Catiline’s flight)

absentem qui rodit amicum, qui non defendit, alio culpante; hic niger est; hunc

tu, Romane, caveto: he who attacks an absent friend, or who does not defend him

when spoken ill of by another; that man is a dark character; you, Romans, beware

of him (Horace)

absentes tinnitu aurium præsentire sermones de se receptum est: it is generally

admitted that those absent are warned by a ringing in the ears when they are being

talked about (Pliny the Elder)

abstineas igitur damnandis; hujus enim vel una potens ratio est, ne crimina

nostra sequantur ex nobis geniti; quoniam dociles imitandis turpibus ac

pravis omnes sumus: let us refrain from doing ill; for one powerful reason, lest

our children should follow our crimes; we are all too prone to imitate whatever is

base and depraved (Juvenal)

ac primam scelerum matrem, quæ semper habendo plus sitiens patulis rimatur

faucibus aurum, trudis avaritiam: expel avarice, the mother of all wickedness,

who, always thirsty for more, opens wide her jaws for gold (Claudian)

accipe nunc Danaum insidias, et crimine ab uno disce omnes: learn now of the

treachery of the Greeks, and from one example the character of the nation may be

known (Virgil)

accipe nunc, victus tenuis quid quantaque secum afferat. In primis valeas

bene: now learn what and how great benefit a moderate diet brings with it. Before

all, you will enjoy good health (Horace)

accipiunt leges, populus quibus legibus exlex: they consent to laws that place the

people outside the law (Lucilius)

ad nullum consurgit opus, cum corpore languet: when the body is indisposed, it

is in vain that we call on the mind for any strenuous application (Gallus)

ad populum phaleras, ego te intus et in cute novi: to the vulgar herd with your

trappings, I know you both inside and outside (i.e., I know that person too well to

be deceived by appearances) (Persius)

adde cruorem stultitiæ, atque ignem gladio scrutare: to your folly add

bloodshed, and stir the fire with the sword (Horace)

adde quod ingenuas didicisse

alter remus aquas, alter mihi radat

adde quod ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes emollit mores nec sinit esse feros:

add the fact that to have studied faithfully the liberal arts softens behavior, not

allowing it to be savage (Ovid)

adeone homines immutari ex amore, ut non cognoscas eundem esse?: that a

person should be so changed by love, as not to be known again as the same person?

(Terence)

adeste, fideles, læti triumphantes; venite, venite in Bethlehem: O come, all ye

faithful, joyful and triumphant; O come, ye, O come, ye, to Bethlehem (a Christian

hymn)

adhuc neminem cognovi poëtam, qui sibi non optimus videretur: I have never

yet known a poet who did not think himself super-excellent (Cicero)

adulandi gens prudentissima laudat sermonem indocti, faciem deformis amici:

the skillful class of flatterers praises the discourse of the ignorant and the face of

the disfigured friend (Juvenal)

æquam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem, non secus in bonis ab

insolenti temperatam lætitia: when things are steep, remember to stay levelheaded

and to restrain yourself from immoderate joy in prosperity (Horace)

æstuat infelix angusto limite mundi: the unhappy man frets at the narrow limits of

the world (Juvenal)

ætas parentum pejor avis tulit nos nequiores, mox daturos progeniem

vitiosiorem: the age of our fathers, which was worse than that of our ancestors,

produced us, who are shortly to raise a progeny even more vicious than ourselves

(Horace)

agere considerate pluris est quam cogitare prudenter: it is of more consequence

to act considerately than to think sagely (Cicero)

agnosco veteris vestigia flammæ: I recognize some traces of my former flame (i.e.,

my passion is not wholly extinguished) (Virgil)

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis, dona nobis pacem: Lamb

of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, grant us peace

(from the Catholic Mass)

ah!, quam dulce est meminisse: ah!, how sweet it is to remember

ah!, vitam perdidi operose nihil agendo: alas!, I have lost my life in laboring over

nothing (Grotius)

alea jacta est: the die is cast (Julius Cжsar, after crossing the Rubicon in 49 BCE)

aliena negotia centum per caput, et circa saliunt latus: a hundred troubles of

other people leap through my head and at my side (Horace)

aliena negotia curo, excussus propriis: I attend to the business of other people,

having lost my own (Horace)

alieni appetens, sui profusus: greedy for the things of others, lavish with his own

(Sallust, in reference to Catiline)

aliquod crastinus dies ad cogitandum dabit: tomorrow will give some food for

thought (Cicero)

alter remus aquas, alter mihi radat arenas: let me strike the water with one oar,

and with the other scrape the sands (i.e., let me stay close to shore) (Propertius) alter rixatur de lana sæpe caprina animoque supersunt jam prope post

alter rixatur de lana sæpe caprina propugnat nugis armatus: another frequently

disputes about goat’s wool and rises in arms for trifles (Horace)

altera manu fert lapidem, panem ostentat altera (or altera panem ostentat): he

carries a stone in one hand, and shows bread in the other (Plautus)

alterius sic altera poscit opem res et conjurat amice: thus one thing demands the

aid of the other and both unite in friendly assistance (Horace)

alterutra clarescere fama; sive bonum, sive malum, fama est: to become famous

in one way or the other; whether it be good or bad, it is fame

amabilis insania; mentis gratissimus error: a delightful insanity; a most pleasing

error of the mind (Horace)

ambiguas in vulgum spargere voces: to scatter ambiguous reports among the

people (Virgil)

amor et melle et felle est foecundissimus: gustu dat dulce, amarum ad

satietatem usque aggerit: love has both honey and gall in abundance: it gives

sweetness to the taste, but it also brings bitterness to satiety (Plautus)

amori finem tempus, non animus facit: it is time, not the mind, that puts an end to

love (Publilius Syrus)

amoto quæramus seria ludo: joking aside, let us turn to serious matters (Horace)

amphora coepit institui; currente rota cur urceus exit?: a vase was begun; why

from the revolving wheel does it turn out a worthless pitcher? (i.e., what began

with great fanfare turned out to be something of little note) (Horace)

ampliat ætatis spatium sibi vir bonus; hoc est vivere bis vita posse priore frui:

the good man extends the terms of his life; it is to live twice to be able to enjoy

one’s former life (Martial)

an dives sit omnes quærunt, nemo an bonus: everyone inquires if he is rich, no

one asks if he is good

an nescis, quantilla prudentia mundus (or orbis) regatur?: do you not know with

how very little wisdom the world is governed?

an præter esse reale actualis essentiæ sit aliud esse necessarium, quo res

actualiter existat?: whether, besides the real being of the actual being, there be

any other being necessary to cause a thing to be? (Martinus Scriblerus, said as a jibe

against philosophers)

an quidquid stultius, quam quos singulos contemnas, eos aliquid putare esse

universos?: can there be any greater folly than the respect you pay to men

collectively when you despise them individually? (Cicero)

an quisquam est alius liber, nisi ducere vitam cui licet, ut voluit?: is there a man

free, other than he, who has the power of passing life in what manner he pleases? (i.e., the

essence of freedom is to do as one pleases without injury to another) (Persius)

anima certe, quia spiritus, in sicco habitare non potest; ideo in sanguine fertur

habitare: the soul, which is spirit, cannot dwell in dust; it is carried along to dwell

in the blood (St. Augustine)

animal bipes implume (or, animal implume, bipes): a two-legged animal without

feathers (Plato’s definition of man, ridiculed by Diogenes as a “plucked chicken”)

animoque supersunt jam prope post animam: their spirit seems even to survive

their breath (Sidonius Apollinaris)

animum pictura pascit inani arma, viri, ferte arma!; vocat lux

animum pictura pascit inani: he fills his mind with an idle picture (Virgil)

animus hoc habet argumentum divinitatis suæ, quod illum divina delectant: the

soul has this proof of its divinity, that divine things delight it (Seneca)

animus hominis semper appetit agere aliquid: the mind of man is always longing

to do something (Cicero)

animus quod perdidit optat atque in præterita se totus imagine versat: the

mind yearns after what is gone and loses itself in dreaming of the past (Petronius)

ante, inquit, cicumspiciendum est, cum quibos edas et bibas, quam quid edas et

bibas: he (Epicurus) says that you should rather have regard to the company with

whom you eat and drink, than to what you eat and drink (Seneca)

ante senectutem curavi ut bene viverem, in senectute (curo) ut bene moriar;

bene autem mori est libenter mori: before old age I took care to live well; in old

age I take care to die well; but to die well is to die willingly (Seneca)

ante tubam tremor occupat artus: before the trumpet sounds he trembles all over

(Virgil)

antequam incipias, consulto; et ubi consulueris, facto opus est: before you

begin, consider well; and when you have considered, act (Sallust)

apparent rari nantes in gurgite vasto: they appear thinly scattered and swimming

in the vast deep (i.e., brilliant thoughts are sometimes lost in an ocean of words)

(Virgil)

aquam hercle plorat, quom lavat, profundere: he will even weep to throw away

the water he has washed with (Plautus)

Arcades ambo, et cantare pares, et respondere parati: Arcadians both, and both

equally skilled in the song, and ready in the response (Virgil)

arcanum neque tu scrutaberis ullius unquam; commissumque teges et vino

tortus et ira: never inquire into another man’s secret; but conceal that which is

entrusted to you, though tortured both by wine and passion to reveal it (Horace)

ardeat ipsa licet, tormentis gaudet amantis: though she is aflame herself, she takes

joy in the torments of her lover (Juvenal)

ardua cervix, argumtumque caput, brevis alvos, obessaque terga, luxuriatque

toris animosum pectus: his neck is high and erect, his head replete with

intelligence, his belly short, his back full, and his proud chest swells with hard

muscles (Virgil)

ardua molimur; sed nulla nisi ardua virtus: I attempt an arduous task; but there is

no virtue that is not of difficult achievement (Ovid)

argentum accepi, dote imperium vendidi: I have received money, and sold my

authority for her dowry (Plautus)

argilla quidvis imitaberis uda: you may model (or mold) any form you please out of

moist clay (Horace)

arma amens capio; nec sat rationis in armis: I madly take arms; but have not wit

enough to use them to any purpose (Virgil)

arma, viri, ferte arma!; vocat lux ultima victos, nunquam omnes hodie

moriemur inulti: arms, ye men, bring me arms!; their last day summons the

vanquished; not all of us shall die unavenged this day (Virgil) arma virumque cano, Troiæ qui atqui vultus erat multa et præclara

arma virumque cano, Troiæ qui primus ab oris Italiam fato profugus

Laviniaque venit litora, multum ille et terris jactatus et alto vi superum, sævæ

memorem Iunonis ob iram: I sing of arms and the man who first from the shores

of Troy came destined an exile to Italy and the Lavinian beaches, much buffeted he

on land and on the deep by force of the gods because of fierce Juno’s neverforgetting

anger (Virgil, opening lines of the Aeneid)

ars est sine arte, cujus principium est mentiri, medium laborare, et finis

mendicare: it is an art without art, which has its beginning in falsehood, its middle

in toil, and its end in poverty (i.e., alchemy)

arte citæ veloque rates remoque moventur; arte levis currus, arte regendus

amor: by arts, sails, and oars, ships are rapidly moved; arts move the light chariot,

and establish love (Ovid)

artificis Naturæ ingens opus aspice: look upon the immense work of the artist

Nature

asperges me, Domine, hyssopo, et mundabor: sprinkle me with hyssop, Lord, and

I shall be clean (from the Catholic Mass)

asperges me hyssopo, et mundabor; lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor:

sprinkle me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I will be made whiter

than snow (Psalm 51:7)

assiduo labuntur tempora motu, non secus ad flumen. Neque enim consistere

flumen. Nec levis hora potest: time glides by with constant movement, not

unlike a stream. For neither can a stream stay its course, nor can the fleeting hour

(Ovid)

at cum longa dies sedavit vulnera mentis, intempestive qui fovet illa novat:

when time has assuaged the wounds of the mind, he who unseasonably reminds us

of them opens them afresh (Ovid)

at ingenium, ingens inculto latet hoc sub corpore: yet under this rough exterior

lies concealed a mighty genius (Horace)

at non effugies meos iambos: but you cannot escape my iambics (Catullus)

at pater ut gnati, sic nos debemus amici si quod sit vitium non fastidire: but at

least we might do for a friend what a father does for his child, and not be disgusted

by a blemish (Horace)

at pulchrum est digito monstrari et dicier, hic est: it is pleasing to be pointed at

with the finger and then have it said, there he is (Persius)

at tuba terribili sonitu taratantara dixit: but the trumpet sounded with its terrible

taratantara (Ennius)

at vindicta bonum vita jucundius ipsa; nempe hoc indocti: but revenge is a

blessing sweeter than life itself; or so rude men feel (Juvenal)

atque in perpetuum, frater, ave atque vale: and so, brother, hail and farewell

forever (Catullus)

atque in rege tamen pater est: and yet in the king there is the father (Ovid)

atque inter silvas Academi quærere verum: and seek for truth in the groves of the

Academy (Horace)

atqui vultus erat multa et præclara minantis: and yet you had the look of one who

threatened (i.e., promised) many fine things (Horace)

audax omnia perpeti gens humana ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus

audax omnia perpeti gens humana ruit per vetitum et nefas: in its boldness to

dare all things, the human race rushes into that which is wicked and forbidden

(Horace)

aude aliquid brevibus Gyaris et carcere dignum, si vis esse aliquis—probitas

laudatur et alget: dare to do something worthy of transportation and imprisonment, if

you wish to be somebody—virtue is praised but left out to freeze (Juvenal)

auferre, trucidare, rapere, falsis nominibus imperium, atque; ubi solitudinem

faciunt, pacem appellant: to rob, to ravage, to murder, in their imposing

language, are the arts of civil policy. Where they have made the world a desert,

they call it peace (Tacitus)

augescunt aliæ gentes, aliæ minuuntur inque brevi spatio mutantur sæcula

animantum et quasi cursores vitai lampada tradunt: some nations increase,

others are reduced, and in a short while the generations of living creatures are

changed, and like runners relay the torch of life (Lucretius)

aurea nunc vere sunt sæcula; plurimus auro venit honos; auro conciliatur

amor: the age we live in is the true age of gold; by gold men attain to the highest

honor and win even love (Ovid)

auream quisquis mediocritatem diligit, tutus caret obsoleti sordibus tecti, caret

invidenda sobrius aula: whoever loves the golden mean is serene, and exempted

equally from the filth of an old mansion and from the cares of a splendid court (Horace)

auro pulsa fides, auro venalia jura, aurum lex sequitur, mox sine lege pudor: by

gold all good faith has been banished, by gold our rights are abused, the law itself

follows gold, and soon there will be an end to every modest restraint

aurum irrepertum et sic melius situm: gold discovered and all the better for being

so (Horace)

aurum vis hominemne? Habeas? Hominem?, quid ad aurum?: the man or his

gold? Which will you take? The man?, when you could have the gold? (Lucilius)

aut formosa fores minus, aut minus improba vellem. Non facit ad mores tam

bona forma malos: I would that you were either less beautiful, or less corrupt.

Such perfect beauty does not suit such imperfect morals (Ovid)

aut insanit homo, aut versus facit: the fellow is either mad or he is composing

verses (i.e., writing poetry) (Horace)

aut nihil est sensus animis a morte relictum aut mors ipsa nihil: either the soul

feels nothing after death, or death itself is nothing (Lucan)

aut petis aut urgues ruiturum, Sisyphe, saxum: either you pursue or push, O

Sisyphus, the stone destined to keep rolling (Ovid)

aut virtus nomen inane est, aut decus et pretium recte petit experiens vir: either

virtue is an empty name, or the man of enterprise justly aims at honor and reward (Horace)

ave Cæsar, morituri te salutant (or salutamus): hail Cжsar, those (or we) who are

about to die salute you (Suetonius, a salutation of the gladiators to the Roman

emperor)

ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum; benedicta tu in mulieribus, et

benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus: hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with

you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus

(11th Century salutation to the Virgin Mary) ave verum corpus, natum ex Maria bis vincit qui se vincit in victoria

ave verum corpus, natum ex Maria Virgine: hail the true body, born of the Virgin

Mary (a 14th Century Eucharistic hymn)

B

barbarus hic ego sum, quia non intelligor ulli: I am a barbarian here, for no one

understands what I say (Ovid)

beatus ille qui procul negotiis, ut prisca gens mortalium, paterna rura bobus

exercet suis, solutus omni foenore: happy the man who, remote from busy life, is

content, like the earlier race of mortals, to plough his paternal lands with his own

oxen, freed from all borrowing and lending (Horace)

beatus vir qui timet Dominum, in mandatis ejus volet nimis: happy is the man

who fears the Lord, who is all the more willing to follow his commands (Psalm

112:1)

bella, horrida bella, et Thybrim multo spumantem sanguine cerno: wars,

horrible wars, and the Tiber foaming with much blood (Virgil)

bellaque matribus detestata: and the wars that mothers detest (Horace)

bellum autem ita suscipiatur, ut nihil aliud, nisi pax, quæsita videatur: let war

be carried out in such a way that nothing but peace may seem to be its aim (Cicero)

bellum magis desierat, quam pax coeperat: it was rather a cessation of war than a

beginning of peace (Tacitus)

bene merenti bene profuerit, male merenti par erit: to a well-deserving man,

God will show favor, to an ill-deserving man, God will be simply just (Plautus)

bene nummatum decorat Suedela Venusque: the goddesses of persuasion and

love adorn the train of the well-moneyed man (Horace)

bene si amico feceris, ne pigeat fecisse, ut potius pudeat si non feceris: if you

have acted kindly to your friend, do not regret that you have done so, as you should

rather be ashamed of having acted otherwise (Plautus)

benedicite, omnia opera Domini, Domino; laudate et superexaltate eum in

secula: bless the Lord, all the works of the Lord; praise him and exalt him above all

things forever (Daniel 3:57)

benefacta male locata, malefacta arbitror: favors injudiciously conferred I reckon

evils (Cicero)

benefacta sua verbis adornant: they enhance their favors by their words (Pliny)

beneficia usque eo læta sunt dum videntur exsolvi posse; ubi multum

antevenere, pro gratia odium redditur: benefits are acceptable, while the

receiver thinks he may return them; but once exceeding that, hatred is given

instead of thanks (i.e., no one wants to be indebted for a favor that is greater than

can be repaid) (Tacitus)

beneficus est qui non sua, sed alterius causa benigne facit: the one who is

beneficent acts kindly not for his own benefit, but for another’s (Cicero)

bis vincit qui se vincit in victoria: he conquers twice who, at the moment of

victory, conquers (or restrains) himself (Publilius Syrus)

blanda truces animos fertur mollisse canam mihi et Musis

blanda truces animos fertur mollisse voluptas: alluring pleasure is said to have

softened the savage dispositions [of early mankind] (Ovid)

Boeotum in crasso jurares aëre natum: you would swear that he was born in the

thick air of the Boeotians (i.e., he’s not very smart) (Horace)

bona malis paria non sunt, etiam pari numero; nec lætitia ulla minimo

moerore pensanda: the blessings of life do not equal its ills, even when of equal

number; nor can any pleasure, however intense, compensate for even the slightest

pain (Pliny the Elder)

bono vinci satius est quam malo more injuriam vincere: the good would rather

suffer defeat than defeat injustice by evil means (Sallust)

bonosque soles effugere atque abire sentit, qui nobis pereunt et imputantur:

each of us feels the good days speed and depart, and they are lost and counted

against us (Martial)

bonum certamen certavi, cursum consummavi, fidem servavi: I have fought the

good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (St. Paul, 2 Timothy 4:7)

bonum summum quo tendimus omnes: that supreme good to which we all aspire

(Lucretius)

bos alienus subinde prospectat foras: another person’s ox every now and then

turns its eyes wistfully to the door

breve tempus ætatis satis est longum ad bene honesteque vivendum: a short

term on earth is long enough for a good and honorable life (Cicero)

brevis a natura nobis vita data est; at memoria bene redditæ vitæ est

sempiterna: the life given to us by nature is short; but the memory of a well-spent

life is eternal (Cicero)

brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio: in trying to be concise, I become obscure (Horace)

bruta fulmina et vana: thunderbolts that strike blindly and in vain (Pliny the Elder)

C

cadit statim simultas, ab altera parte deserta; nisi pariter, non pugnant: a

quarrel is quickly settled when deserted by one party: there is no battle unless there

be two (Seneca)

cæca invidia est, nec quidquam aliud scit quam detrectare virtutes: envy is

blind, and can only disparage the virtues of others (Livy)

cælum prospexit stellis fulgentibus aptum: she looked up at the sky studded with

glittering stars (Ennius)

Cæsarem vehis, Cæsarisque fortunam: fear not, you carry Cжsar and his fortunes

(Julius Cжsar, remarking to the ship’s captain during a storm)

cætera fortunæ, non mea, turba fuit: the rest of the crowd were friends of my

fortune, not of me (Ovid)

campos ubi Troja fuit: the fields where Troy once stood (Lucan)

canam mihi et Musis: I will sing to myself and the Muses (i.e., if no one else will listen) candida de nigris, et de candentibus causa et origo est materia negotii

candida de nigris, et de candentibus atra: he makes black white and white he turns

to black (Ovid)

candidus in nauta turpis color; æquoris unda debet et a radiis sideris esse

niger: a fair complexion is a disgrace in a sailor; he ought to be tanned from the

spray of the sea and the rays of the sun (Ovid)

canis a non canedo: a dog cannot sing (and, thus, it is called “canis”) (Varro)

canis ingens, catena vinctus, in pariete erat pictus superque quadrata littera

scriptum, Cave Canem: a large dog, tied to a chain, was painted on the wall and

over the picture was written in block letters, Beware the Dog (Petronius)

cantate Domino canticum novum, quia mirabilia fecit: sing to the Lord a new

song, because he has done marvelous things (Psalm 97:1)

cantilenam eandem canis: you are always singing the same tune (Terence)

captum te nidore suæ putat ille culinæ: he thinks that you are taken with the smell

of his kitchen (i.e., you have become a parasite) (Juvenal)

caput artis est, decere quod facias: the chief thing in any art you may practice is

that you do only the one for which you are fit

cari sunt parentes, cari liberi, propinqui, familiares; sed omnes omnium

caritates, patria una complexa est: dear are our parents, dear our children, our

relatives, and our associates; but all our affections for all these are embraced in our

affection for our native land (Cicero)

carmen perpetuum primaque origine mundi ad tempora nostra: a song for all

ages, and from the first origin of the world to our own times (adapted from Ovid)

carmina nil prosunt; nocuerunt carmina quondam: my songs are of no use; they

once wrought me harm (Ovid)

carmina spreta exolescent; si irascare, agnita videntur: if you show contempt for

abuse, it will gradually die away; if you show irritation, it will be seen as deserved

(Tacitus)

carmine di superi placantur, carmine manes: the gods above and the gods below

are alike propitiated by song (Horace)

carmine fit vivax virtus; expersque sepulcri, notitiam seræ posteritatis habet:

by song virtue is made immortal; and, exempt from burial, it obtains the homage of

remote posterity (Ovid)

Castor gaudet equis, ovo prognatus eodem pugnis: Castor delights in horses, he

has sprung from the same egg in boxing (Horace)

castrant alios, ut libros suos, per se graciles, alieno adipe suffarciant: they

castrate the books of other men, in order that with the fat of their works they may

lard their own lean volumes (a reference to plagiarism) (Jovius)

casus ubique valet; semper tibi pendeat hamus. Quo minime credas gurgite,

piscis erit: there is scope for chance everywhere; let your hook be always ready. In

the eddies where you least expect it, there will be a fish (Ovid)

Cato esse, quam videri, bonus malebat: Cato would rather be good, than seem

good (Sallust)

causa et origo est materia negotii: the cause and beginning is the matter of the

business (i.e., if trouble or harm results, it is assumed that the perpetrator entered

with that intent)

causa latet, vis est notissima

cineres credis curare

causa latet, vis est notissima: the cause is hidden but its strength (or effect) is well

noted (Ovid)

cautus enim metuit foveam lupus, accipiterque suspectos laqueos, et opertum

miluus hamum: for the wolf once cautioned dreads the pitfall, the hawk the

suspected snare, and the fish the concealed hook (Horace)

caveant consules ne quid res publica detrimenti caperet: let the consuls see to it

that no harm come to the Republic (after Cжsar Augustus)

cavendum est ne major poena, quam culpa, sit; et ne iisdem de causis alii

plectantur, alii ne appellentur quidem: care should be taken in all cases, that the

punishment not exceed the guilt; and also that some men may not suffer for

offenses which, when committed by others, are allowed to pass with impunity

(Cicero)

cedant arma togæ, concedat laurea linguæ: let arms yield to the toga, let the

victor’s laurel yield to the orator’s tongue (Cicero)

cedant carminibus reges, regumque triumphi: kings, and the triumphs of kings,

must yield to the power of song (Ovid)

cedat amor rebus; res age, tutus eris: let love give way to business; give attention

to business, and you will be safe (Ovid)

cede repugnanti: cedendo victor abibis: yield to the one who opposes; by yielding

you will obtain the victory (Ovid)

cedite, Romani scriptores; cedite, Graii: give place, Roman writers; give place,

Greeks (Propertius)

cedunt grammatici; vincuntur rhetores turba tacet: the grammarians give way;

the rhetoricians are beaten off and all the assemblage is silent (Juvenal)

centum doctum hominum consilia sola hæc devincit dea Fortuna: this goddess,

Fortune, single-handedly frustrates the plans of a hundred learned men (Plautus)

cereus in vitium flecti, monitoribus asper: pliable as wax to vice, obstinate under

reproof (Horace, in reference to youth)

cernis ut ignavum corrumpant otia corpus ut capiant vitium ni moveantur

aquæ: you see how sloth wastes the sluggish body, as water is corrupted unless it

moves (Ovid)

certum est quia impossibile est: it is true because it is impossible (Tertullian, in

reference to Christianity)

cessante causa, cessat (et) effectus: when the cause ceases, the effect must (also)

cease (Coke)

chairete, nikomen: greetings, we win (Philippides, before dying, having run to

Athens from Marathon to bring news of the Greek defeat of the Persian army)

cignoni non sine causa Apoloni dicata sint, quod ab eo divinationem habere

videantur, qua providentes quid in morte boni sit, cum cantu et voluptate

moriantur: the swan is not dedicated to Apollo without cause, because foreseeing

his happiness in death, he dies with singing and pleasure (Cicero)

cineres credis curare sepultos?: do you think that the ashes of the dead can be

affected by this? (i.e., do you think the dead can be affected by the thoughts or

actions of the living?)

citharoedus ridetur chorda qui conscia mens ut cuique sua est

citharoedus ridetur chorda qui semper obberrat eadem: the harpist who is always

at fault on the same string is derided (Horace)

cito fit quod dii volunt: what the gods want happens soon (Petronius)

civitas ea autem in libertate est posita, quæ suis stat viribus, non ex alieno

arbitrio pendet: the state alone is free that rests upon its own strength, and

depends not on the arbitrary will of another (Livy)

claudite jam rivos, pueri; sat prata biberunt: close up the sluices now, boys; the

meadows have drunk enough (Virgil)

coelo tegitur qui non habet urnam: the one who has no urn to hold his bones is

covered by the vault of heaven (Lucan)

coelum ipsum petimus stultitia: in our foolishness, we assail heaven itself (Horace)

coepisti melius quam desinis. Ultima primis cedunt: you begin better than you

end. The last is inferior to the first (Ovid)

cogitatio nostra coeli munimenta perrumpit, nec contenta est, id, quod

ostenditur, scire: our thoughts break through the defenses of heaven and are not

satisfied with knowing what is offered to sense observation (Seneca)

committunt multi eadem diverso crimina fato, ille crucem sceleris pretium

tulerit, hic diadema: how different the fate of men who commit the same crimes,

for the same villainy one man goes to the gallows and another is raised to a throne

commodat in lusus numina surda Venus: Venus lends deaf ears to love’s deceits

(Ovid)

commune vitium in magnis liberisque civitatibus, ut invidia gloriæ comes sit: it

is a usual fault in great and free states that envy should be the companion of glory

(Cornelius Nepos)

componitur orbis regis ad exemplum; nec sic inflectere sensus humanos edicta

valent, quam vita regentis: the world is fashioned according to the example of

kings, and edicts have less effect on the people than the life of the ruler (Claudian)

compositum miraculi causa: a narrative made up only for the sake of the wonder

that it may occasion (Tacitus)

condicio dulcis sine pulvere palmæ: the happy state of getting the victor’s palm

without the dust of racing (Horace)

condo et compono quæ mox depromere possim: I compose and lay up what I

may soon after be able to bring forward (Horace)

confiteor Deo omnipotenti: I confess to God the Almighty (from the Catholic

Mass)

conjunx est mihi, sunt nati: dedimus tot pignora fatis: I have a wife, I have sons;

all of them hostages given to fate (Lucan)

conscia mens recti famæ mendacia risit (or ridet): sed nos in vitium credula

turba sumus: the mind conscious of integrity scorns the lies of rumor; but we are a

crowd always ready to believe a scandal (Ovid)

conscia mens ut cuique sua est, ita concipit intra pectora pro facto spemque

metumque suo: according to the state of a man’s conscience, so in his mind do

hope and fear arise on account of his deeds (Ovid)

constitit hic arcumque manu

crescit indulgens sibi dirus hydrops

constitit hic arcumque manu celerisque sagittas corripuit fidus quæ tela

gerebat Achates: hereupon he stopped and took up in his hand a bow and swift

arrows, the weapons that trusty Achates carried (Virgil)

conticuere omnes, intentique ora tenebant: all were at once silent and listened

with intent (Virgil)

contra verbosos noli contendere verbis; sermo datur cunctis, animi sapientia

paucis: do not contend with words against wordy people; speech is given to all,

wisdom to few (Dionysius Cato)

conveniens homini est hominem servare voluptas. Et melius nulla quæritur

arte favor: it is a pleasure appropriate to man for him to save a fellow man; and

gratitude is acquired in no better way (Ovid)

corpore sed mens est ægro magis ægra; malique in circumspectu stat sine fine

sui: the mind is sicker than the sick body; in contemplation of its sufferings it

becomes hopeless (Ovid)

corporis et fortunæ bonorum, ut initium, finis est. Omnia orta occidunt, et

aucta senescunt: the blessings of good health and good fortune, as they have a

beginning, must also have an end. Everything rises but to fall, and grows but to

decay (Sallust)

corrumpunt bonos mores colloquia prava: evil (or depraved) conversation will

corrupt good morals (Erasmus, after St. Paul)

cras amet qui nunquam amavit, quique amavit cras amet: let those love now who

never loved before; let those who always loved, now love all the more

cras ingens iterabimus æquor: tomorrow we will be back on the vast ocean

(Horace)

credat Judæus Apella: let Apella the Jew believe it (i.e., only the credulous believe

it) (Horace, in derogation of monotheistic religious faith)

crede mihi, miseris coelestia numina parcunt; nec semper læsos, et sine fine,

premunt: believe me, the gods spare the afflicted, and do not always oppress those

who are unfortunate (Ovid)

credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem coeli et terræ,

visibilium omnium et invisibilium: I believe in one God, the omnipotent Father,

maker of heaven and the earth, and of all things visible and invisible (from the

Catholic Mass)

credo pudicitiam Saturno rege moratam in terris: I believe that during the reign

of Saturn (the Golden Age), chastity dwelt upon the earth

credula vitam spes fovet, et fore cras semper ait melius: credulous hope

cherishes life, and ever whispers to us that tomorrow will be better (Tibullus)

crescentem sequitur cura pecuniam, majorumque fames. Multa petentibus

desunt multa. Bene est cui Deus obtulit parca quod satis est manu: the

accumulation of wealth is followed by an increase of care and by an appetite for

more. The one who seeks for much will ever be in want of much. It is best with him

to whom God has given that which is sufficient, though every satisfaction be

withheld (Horace)

crescit indulgens sibi dirus hydrops: the fatal dropsy gains on the patient from his

gratifying his thirst (Horace)

creta an carbone notandi? cujus rei libet simulator atque

creta an carbone notandi?: are they to be marked with chalk or charcoal? (i.e., as

good or bad) (Horace)

crine ruber, niger ore, brevis pede, lumine læsus, rem magnam prestas Zoile si

bonus es: red-haired, black-mouthed, lame, squint-eyed; it is a wonder, Zoilus, if

you are a good man

crudelis ubique luctus, ubique pavor, et plurima mortis imago: everywhere is

heart-rending wail, everywhere consternation, and death in a thousand shapes

(Virgil)

crux criticorum, medicorum, mathematicorum, et cetera: the greatest difficulty

that can occur to critics, physicians, mathematicians, etc.

cui dono lepidum novum libellum?: to whom do I give my new charming little

book? (Catullus)

cui flavam religas comam, simplex munditiis?: for whom are you fixing your

golden hair, simply but elegantly? (Horace)

cui Fortuna ipsa cedit: to whom Fortune herself yields (Cicero)

cui—gratia, fama, valetudo contingat abunde, et mundus victus, non deficiente

crumena: to whom—endowed with grace, fame, and health, with decent fare, and

a purse not ill-supplied (Horace)

cui lecta potenter erit res nec facundia deseret hunc nec lucidus ordo: the

speaker who has chosen a theme suited to his powers will never be at a loss for

felicitous language or lucid arrangement (Horace)

cui licet quod majus, non debet quod minus est non licere: he to whom the

greater thing is lawful, has certainly a right to do the smaller thing

cui mens divinior atque os magna sonaturum des nominis hujus honorem: to

the one whose soul is more than ordinarily divine, and who has the gift of uttering

lofty thoughts, you may justly concede the honorable title of poet (Horace)

cui non conveniat sua res, ut calceus olim, si pede major erit, subvertet, si

minor, uret: as a shoe, when too large, is apt to trip one, and when too small, to

pinch the feet, so it is with the one whose fortune does not suit him (Horace)

cui peccare licet peccat minus. Ipsa potestas semina nequitiæ languidiora facit:

he who has it in his power to commit sin is less inclined to do so. The very idea of

being able weakens the desire (Ovid)

cui Pudor, et Justitae Soror, incorrupta Fides, nudaque Veritas; quando ullum

invenient parem?: when will Honor and Justice’s sister, uncorrupted Faith, and

naked Truth, find anyone equal to him?

cuicunque aliquis quid concedit, concedere videtur et id, sine quo res ipsa esse

non potest: to whomsoever someone grants a thing, the same one grants that

without which the thing cannot be enjoyed (i.e., the use of something is implied in

the giving of it)

cujus conatibus obstat res angusta domi: one whose efforts are opposed by

straitened circumstances at home (Horace)

cujus rei libet simulator atque dissimulator: an accomplished pretender and

dissembler (Sallust)

cujus tu fidem in pecunia

curatio funeris, conditio sepulturæ

cujus tu fidem in pecunia perspexeris, verere ei verba credere?: can you fear to

trust the word of a man whose honesty you have known in his handling of money?

(Terence)

cujus vulturis hoc erit cadaver?: to which vulture shall this carcass fall? (Martial)

cujuslibit rei simulator atque dissimulator: a man who could, with equal skill,

pretend to be what he was not, and not to be what he really was (Sallust, said of

Catiline)

cum altera lux venit jam cras hesternum consumpsimus; ecce aliud cras egerit

hos annos, et semper paulum erit ultra: when another day has arrived, we will

find that we have consumed our yesterday’s tomorrow; another morrow will urge

on our years, and still be a little beyond us (Persius)

cum ames non sapias aut cum sapias non ames: when you are in love you are not

wise, or rather, when you are wise you do not fall in love (Publilius Syrus)

cum autem sublatus fuerit ab oculis, etiam cito transit e mente: once he was

taken from our sight, his memory quickly passed out of our minds (Thomas а

Kempis)

cum dubia et fragilis sit nobis vita tributa, in morte alterius spem tu tibi ponere

noli: since we have received a precarious and frail life, beware of placing your

hopes in the death of others (Cato)

cum fortuna manet, vultum servatis amici; cum cedit, turpi vertitis ora fuga:

while fortune lasts, you have always the service of friends; but, when it ceases, you

will turn your backs in shameful flight (Ovid )

cum frueris felix quæ sunt adversa caveto; non eodem cursu respondent ultima

primis: when fortune is lavish of her favors, beware of adversity; events do not

always succeed each other in one train of fortunes (Cato)

cum insanientibus furere: to rave with the insane (Petronius)

cum jam fulva cinis fuero: when I will be nothing but a heap of yellow ashes

(Calvus)

cum multis aliis quæ nunc perscribere longum est: with many other matters that

it would be tedious now to write in full (i.e., etc., etc., etc.)

cum odio sui coepit veritas. Simul atque apparuit, inimica est: the first reaction

to truth is hatred. The moment it appears, it is treated as an enemy (Tertullian)

cuncti adsint, meritæque expectent præmia palmæ: let all attend, and expect the

rewards due to well-earned laurels (Virgil)

cunctis servatorem liberatoremque acclamantibus: all having him as savior and

deliverer

cur valle permutem Sabina divitias operosiores?: why should I exchange my

Sabine valley for riches that bring with them more trouble? (Horace)

cura pii dis sunt, et qui coluere, coluntur: the pious-hearted are cared for by the

gods, and those who reverence them are reverenced (Ovid)

curatio funeris, conditio sepulturæ, pompæ exequiarum, magis sunt vivorum

solatia, quam subsidia mortuorum: the care of the funeral, the place of the

burial, and the pomp of obsequies, are consolations to the living, but of no

advantage to the dead (Cжsar Augustus)

curtæ nescio quid semper abest rei de asini umbra disceptare

curtæ nescio quid semper abest rei: a nameless something is always wanting to our

imperfect fortune (Horace)

D

da mi basia mille, deinde centum, dein mille altera, dein secunda centum,

deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum: give me a thousand kisses, then a

hundred, then another thousand, then a second hundred, then yet another

thousand, then a hundred (Catullus)

da mihi castitatem et continentiam, sed noli modo: give me chastity and

continency, but not yet (St. Augustine)

da quod jubes et jube quod vis. Imperas nobis continentiam: give what you

command, and command what you give. You impose continence upon us (St.

Augustine)

da spatium vitæ, multos da, Jupiter, annos!: God grant us life, God grant us many

years! (Juvenal)

da ubi consistam, et terram movebo: give me a place to stand and I will move the

earth (after Archimedes)

dabit Deus his quoque finem: God will put an end to these troubles as well (Virgil)

damnant quod non intelligunt: they condemn what they do not understand (Cicero

and Quintilian)

dantur opes nulli nunc nisi divitibus: wealth nowadays goes all to the rich

(Martial)

dapibus supremi grata testudo Jovis: the lyre is a welcome accompaniment at the

banquets of sovereign Jove (Horace)

dat Galenus opes, dat Justinianus honores, sed Moses sacco cogitur ire pedes:

Galen gives wealth, Justinian honors, but Moses must go on foot with a beggar’s

wallet (Robert Burton)

dat inania verba, dat sine mente sonum: he utters empty words; he utters sound

without meaning (Virgil)

dat veniam corvis, vexat censura columbas: he pardons the ravens, but visits the

doves with censure (i.e., they clip the wings of doves but let birds of prey fly freely)

(Juvenal)

date, et dabitur vobis: give and it shall be given to you (St. Luke 6:38)

date obolum Belisario: give alms to Belisarius (a Roman general who, according to

legend, was reduced to poverty)

Davus sum, non OEdipus: I am Davus (a plain man), not Oedipus (who solved the

riddle of the Sphinx) (Terence)

de alieno largitor, et sui restrictor: lavish of what is another’s, restrained with what

is his own (Cicero)

de asini umbra disceptare: to argue about the shadow of an ass (i.e., to argue over

trifling matters)

de fide et officio judicis non recipitur

deridet, sed non derideor

de fide et officio judicis non recipitur quæstio: no question can be entertained

respecting the good intention and duty of the judge

de hoc multi multa, omnis aliquid, nemo satis: of this many have said many

things, all something, no one enough

de nihilo nihil fit, in nihilum nil posse reverti: out of nothing comes nothing, and

nothing can be reduced to nothing (attributed to the Epicureans)

de non apparentibus et (de) non existentibus eadem est ratio: the reasoning

must be the same with respect to things that do not appear as to things that do not

exist (Coke)

de omni re scibili et quibusdam aliis: of all things knowable and certain others

(i.e., to have a great deal of knowledge; a “know it all”) (quoted by Mirandola)

de omnibus rebus et quibusdam aliis: about everything, and certain other things

(i.e., a book that rambles on and on)

de profundis clamavi ad te, Domine; Domine, exaudi vocem meam: from the

depths I have cried unto you, O Lord; O Lord, hear my voice (Psalm 129:1)

debetis velle quæ velimus: you ought to wish as we wish (Plautus)

decet affectus animi neque se nimium erigere nec subjicere serviliter: we ought

to allow the affections of the mind to be neither too much elated nor abjectly

depressed (Cicero)

decipit frons prima multos; rara mens intelligit quod interiore condidit cura

angulo: the first appearance deceives many; our understandings rarely reach to that

which has been carefully reposed in the inmost recesses of the mind (i.e., looks can be

deceiving, but actions produced under trial reveal the true character of the person)

Dei jussu non unquam credita Teneris: God commanded that she be believed by

none of her Trojan countrymen (Virgil, said of Cassandra)

delere licebit quod non edideris; nescit vox missa reverti: it will be permitted to

blot out written words that you do not publish; but it is not possible to recall the

spoken word (Horace)

deliberat Roma, perit Saguntum: while Rome deliberates, Saguntum perishes (i.e.,

while we talk, our allies perish)

deliciæ illepidæ atque inelegantes: unmannerly and inelegant pleasures (Catullus)

delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi: the kings err, the Greeks are punished (Horace)

delphinum silvis appingit, fluctibus aprum: he portrays a dolphin in the woods

and a boar in the waves (i.e., he introduces objects unsuited to the scene) (Horace)

demens judicio vulgi, sanus fortasse tuo: mad in the judgment of the mob, sane,

perhaps, in your own (Horace)

deos agere curam rerum humanarum credi, ex usu vitæ est: poenasque

maleficiis, aliquando seras, nunquam autem irritas esse: it is advantageous that

the gods should be believed to attend to the affairs of man; and the punishment of

evil deeds, though sometimes late, is never fruitless (Pliny the Elder)

deos enim reliquos accepimus, Cæsares dedimus: the other gods were handed

down to us, but we ourselves made the Cжsars gods (Valerius Maximus)

deridet, sed non derideor: he laughs, but I am not laughed at desiderantem quod satis est, neque dies iræ, dies illa, sæclum solvet

desiderantem quod satis est, neque tumultuosum sollicitat mare, non

verberatæ grandine vineæ fundusque mendax: a storm at sea, a vine-wasting

hail tempest, a disappointing farm, cause no anxiety to him who is content with

enough (Horace)

desine de quoquam quicquam bene velle mereri, aut aliquem fieri posse putare

pium: give up wanting to deserve any thanks from anyone, or thinking that

anybody can be grateful (Catullus)

desinit in piscem mulier formosa superne: a woman elegantly formed above,

ending in nothing but a fish (i.e., a mermaid, but applied to literary works that

begin with much promise but end in great disappointment) (Horace)

desipere in loco: to act foolishly at the proper time (i.e., to unwind occasionally)

(Horace)

despicio terrena et solem contemplor: I despise earthly things and contemplate

the sun

deteriores omnes sumus licentia: we are all the worse for license (Terence)

detur aliquando otium quiesque fessis: let ease and rest be sometimes granted to

the weary (Seneca)

Deus non immolationibus et sanguine multo colendum: quæ enim ex

trucidatione immerentium voluptas est?; sed mente pura, bono honestoque

proposito. Non templa illi, congestis in altitudinem saxis, struenda sunt; in

suo cuique consecrandus est pectore: God is not to be worshipped with sacrifices

and blood, for what pleasure can He have in the slaughter of the innocent?; but with a

pure mind, a good and honest purpose. Temples are not to be built for Him with stones

piled on high; God is to be consecrated in the breast of each man (Seneca)

Deus hæc fortasse benigna reducet in sedem vice: perhaps God, by some

gracious change, will restore things to their proper place (Horace)

Deus quædam munera universo humano generi dedit, a quibus excluditur

nemo: God has given some gifts to the whole human race from which none is

excluded (Seneca)

di bene fecerunt, inopis me quodque pusilli finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca

loquentis: the gods be praised for having made me of a poor and humble mind,

with a desire to speak but seldom and briefly (Horace)

di faciles, peccasse semel concedite tuto: id satis est. Poenam culpa secunda

ferat: indulgent gods, grant me to sin once with impunity: that is sufficient. Let a

second offense bear its punishment (Ovid)

dicam insigne, recens, adhuc indictum ore alio: I will utter something striking,

something fresh, something as yet unsung by another’s lips (Horace)

dicebamus hesterno die: we were saying yesterday (Luis de Leon, on resuming a

lecture interrupted by his arrest and five years’ imprisonment)

dicenda tacenda locutus: saying things that should be said, and things that should

not be said (Horace)

dicere quæ puduit, scribere jussit amor: what I was ashamed to say, love has

commanded me to write (Ovid)

dies iræ, dies illa, sæclum solvet in favilla teste David cum Sibylla: the day of

wrath, that day shall dissolve the world in ashes, as David and the Sibyl attest

dies iste, quem tamquam extremum

dissimiles hic vir, et ille puer

dies iste, quem tamquam extremum reformidas, æterni natilis est: this day,

which you fear as your last, is the birthday of eternity (Seneca)

dies si in obligationibus non ponitur, præsenti die debetur: a bond may be

enforced immediately, when the day on which it is to be fulfilled is not specified

difficile est saturam (or satiram) non scribere: it is difficult not to write satire

(Juvenal)

difficilis facilis, jucundus acerbus es idem: nec tecum possum vivere nec sine

te: difficult or easy, pleasant or bitter, you are the same you: I cannot live with you

nor without you (Martial)

difficilis, querulus, laudator temporis acti: harsh, complaining, and the eulogist of

times that are past (said of the aged who complain about the present while extolling

the past) (Horace)

diffugere nives, redeunt jam gramina campis arboribusque comæ: the snows

have dispersed, and the grass returns to the fields and the leaves to the trees

(Horace)

diffugiunt, cadis cum fæce siccatis, amici, ferre jugum pariter dolosi: when the

wine casks are drained to the lees, our friends soon disperse, too faithless to bear as

well the yoke of sorrow

digito monstrari et dicier, hic est: to be pointed at by the finger and to have it said,

there he is (Persius)

dignum laude virum Musa vetat mori: the Muse forbids the virtuous man to die

(Horace)

diis proximus ille est quem ratio, non ira movet, qui facta rependens consilio

punire potest: he is next to the gods, whom reason, not passion, impels, and who,

after weighing the facts, can measure the punishment with discretion (Claudian)

dilexi justiciam et odi iniquitatem, propterea morior in exilio: I have loved

justice and hated injustice, therefore I die an exile (Pope Gregory VII, on his

deathbed)

dilige et quod vis fac: love and do what you will (St. Augustine)

diruit, ædificat, mutat quadrata rotundis: he pulls down, he builds up, he changes

square into round (i.e., he is acting out of caprice) (Horace)

disce, puer, virtutem ex me, verumque laborem, fortunam ex aliis: learn, my

son, virtue and true labor from me, good fortune from others (Virgil)

discit enim citius, meminitque libentius illud quod quis deridet quam quod

probat et veneratur: each learns more readily, and retains more willingly, what

makes him laugh than what he approves of and respects (Horace)

discite justitiam moniti, et non temnere divos: warned by me, learn justice, and

not to despise the gods (Virgil)

discrepant facta cum dictis: the facts do not agree with the statements (Cicero)

disertissime Romuli nepotum: most eloquent of the descendants of Romulus

(Catullus, to Cicero)

disjice compositam pacem, sere crimina belli: cast aside the patched-up peace,

sow the seeds of wicked war (Virgil)

dissimiles hic vir, et ille puer: how different from the present man was the youth of

earlier days (Ovid)

dives agris, dives positis in foenore dulcis amor patriæ, dulce videre

dives agris, dives positis in foenore nummis: rich in lands, rich in money laid out

at interest (Horace)

divine Plato escam malorum appeliat voluptatem, quod ea videlicet homines

capiantur, ut pisces hamo: Plato divinely calls pleasure the bait of evil, inasmuch

as men are caught by it as fish by a hook (Cicero)

divitiæ grandes homini sunt, vivere parce æquo animo: it is great wealth to a man

to live frugally with a contented mind (Lucretius)

divitiarum et formæ gloria fluxa atque fragilis; virtus clara æternaque habetur:

the glory of wealth and of beauty is fleeting and frail; virtue is bright and

everlasting (Sallust)

dixeris egregie notum si callida verbum reddiderit junctura novum: you will

have spoken well if, by skillful arrangement of your words, you have made the

ordinary seem new (Horace)

doceo insanire omnes: I teach that all men are mad (Horace)

dolore affici, sed resistere tamen: to be affected by grief, but still to resist it (after

Pliny the Younger)

doloris medicinam a philosophia peto: I look to philosophy to provide an antidote

to sorrow (Cicero)

doloris omnis privatio recte nominata est voluptas: what we rightly call pleasure

is the absence of all pain (Cicero)

dolus an virtus quis in hoste requirat?: who shall ask of an enemy whether he

succeeded by strategy or by valor? (Virgil)

Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum; sed tantum dic verbo, et

sanabitur anima mea: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my

roof; but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed (from the Catholic Mass)

Dominus vobiscum; et cum spiritu tuo: the Lord be with you; and with your spirit

(from the Catholic Mass)

donec gratus eram tibi: in the days when I was dear to you (Horace)

donec virenti canities abest morosa: so long as youth is green and old age is far off

(Horace)

donum exitiale Minervæ: the fatal gift to Minerva (i.e., the Trojan horse) (Virgil)

duas tantum res anxius optat, panem et circenses: only two things does he worry

about or long for, bread and circus entertainment (Juvenal)

duce tempus eget: the time calls for a leader (Lucan)

ducimus autem hos quoque felices, qui, ferre incommoda vitæ, nec jactare

jugum, vita didicere magistra: we also deem those happy who, from the

experience of life, have learned to bear its ills, and without remarking on their

weight (Juvenal)

dulces moriens reminiscitur Argos: as he died he remembered Argos, the home of

his youth (Virgil)

dulcique animos novitate tenebo: and I will hold your mind captive with sweet

novelty (Ovid)

dulcis amor patriæ, dulce videre suos: sweet is the love of one’s country, sweet it is

to see one’s kindred people (Ovid)

dulcis et alta quies, placidæque ego si risi quod ineptus pastillos

dulcis et alta quies, placidæque simillima morti: sweet and deep repose, very

much resembling quiet death (Virgil)

dum deliberamus quando incipiendum incipere jam serum est: while we are

deliberating to begin, the time to begin is past (Quintilian)

dum loquimur, fugerit invida ætas; carpe diem, quam minimum credula

postero: while we are talking, time flies without favor; seize the day, not trusting

the slightest in what is to come (Horace)

dum ne ob malefacta peream, parvi æstimo: so long as I do not die for doing evil,

I care little for dying (Plautus)

dum vires annique sinunt, tolerate laborem; jam veniet tacito curva senecta

pede: whilst your strength and years permit, you should endure and encounter

labor; remember that crooked age, with silent steps, will soon arrive (Ovid)

dummodo sit dives, barbarus ipse placet: provided he be only rich, the very

barbarian pleases us (Ovid)

durum!; sed levius fit patientia quicquid corrigere est nefas: it is hard!; but that

which we are not permitted to correct is rendered lighter by patience (Horace)

E

e coelo descendit, gnothi seauton: from heaven came down the precept, know

thyself (Juvenal)

ea sola voluptas solamenque mali: that was his sole delight and solace in his woe

(Virgil)

ea sub oculis posita negligimus; proximorum incuriosi, longinqua sectamur:

we disregard the things that lie under our eyes; indifferent to what is close at hand,

we inquire after things that are far away (Pliny the Younger)

ecce spectaculum dignum, ad quod respiciat intentus operi suo Deus. Ecce par Deo

dignum, vir fortis cum mala fortuna compositus: behold a worthy sight, to which

the God, turning his attention to his own work, may direct his gaze. Behold an equal

thing, worthy of a God, a brave man matched in conflict with evil fortune (Seneca)

ego consuetudinem sermonis vocabo consensum eruditorum; sicut vivendi,

consensum bonorum: I consider as the rule of language the style of the learned;

as the rule of life the manners of the good (Quintilian)

ego de caseo loquor, tu de creta respondes: while I talk to you of cheese, you talk

to me of chalk (Erasmus)

ego nec studium sine divite vena, nec rude quid prosit video ingenium: I see

not what good can come from study without a rich vein of genius untrained by art

(Horace)

ego, si bonam famam mihi servasso, sat ero dives: if I keep my good character, I

shall be rich enough (Plautus)

ego si risi quod ineptus pastillos Rufillus olet, lividus et mordax videar?: if I

smile at the perfumes with which Rufillus is scented, must I therefore be regarded

as envious or ill-natured? (Horace)

ego sum qui sum esse quam videri bonus malebat; ita

ego sum qui sum: I am who I am (Exodus 3:14)

ego sum rex Romanus et supra grammaticam: I am king of the Romans and

above grammar (Emperor Sigismund at the Council of Constance)

ego sum via et veritas et vita: I am the way and the truth and the life (St. John 14:6)

ego sum vitis vera, et Pater meus agricola est: I am the true vine, and my Father

is the vinedresser (St. John 15:1)

ego verum amo, verum volo mihi dici; mendacem odi: I love truth and wish to

have it always spoken to me; I hate a liar (Plautus)

egregii mortalem, altique silenti: a being of extraordinary and profound silence

(Horace)

eheu!, fugaces, Posthume, Posthume, labuntur anni; nec pietas moram rugis et

instanti senectæ afferet, indomitæque morti: alas!, Posthumus, the years glide

swiftly away; nor can even piety delay the wrinkles of approaching age, or the

progress of indomitable death (Horace)

eheu!, quam brevibus pereunt ingentia fatis (or causis): alas!, By what slight

means are great affairs brought to destruction (Claudian)

eloquentia, alumna licentiæ, quam stulti libertatem vocabant: eloquence, the

foster-child of license, which fools call liberty (Tacitus)

emori nolo, sed me esse mortuum nihil curo: I would not die, but I care not to be

dead (variant of Epicharmos, as quoted by Cicero)

emori nolo: sed me esse mortuum nihil æstimo: I do not wish to die; but I care

not if I were dead (Epicharmos, as quoted by Cicero)

entia non sunt multiplicanda præter necessitatem: no more things should be

presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary (attributed to William of Occam,

known as Occam’s razor)

equitis et quoque jam migravit ab aure voluptas omnis ad incertos oculos, et

gaudia vana: our gentry no longer receives any pleasure through the ear, and relish

only delusive shows and empty pomp (Horace)

equo ne credite, Teucri. Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes: do

not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even when they are

bearing gifts (Virgil)

erant in officio, sed tamen qui mallent imperantium mandata interpretari,

quam exsequi: they attended to their duties, but still as if they would rather debate

the commands of their superiors than obey them (Tacitus)

eripe turpi colla jugo. Liber, liber sum, dic age: tear away your neck from the

yoke. Come, say free, I am free (Horace)

errare malo cum Platone, quam cum istis vera sentire: I’d rather be wrong with

Plato than think right with those men (Cicero)

erubuit; salva res est: he blushed; the affair is safe (Terence)

esse est percipi: to be is to be perceived (Berkeley)

esse quam videri bonus malebat; ita quo minus petebat gloriam, eo magis illum

sequebatur: he chose to be good rather than to seem good; and so, the less he

strove for fame, the closer it followed after him (Sallust)

est animus tibi rerumque prudens, et et cum spiritu tuo

est animus tibi rerumque prudens, et secundis temporibus dubiisque rectus:

you possess a mind both sagacious in the management of affairs and steady at once

in prosperous times (Horace)

est animus tibi, sunt mores et lingua, fidesque: you have a man’s soul, good

manners and powers of speech, and fidelity (Horace, said of a gentleman)

est bonus, ut melior vir non alius quisquam: he is so good that no man can be

better (Horace)

est brevitate opus, ut currat sententia: there is need of conciseness, as the thought

may run on (Horace)

est deus in nobis, et sunt commercia coeli. Sedibus ætheriis spiritus ille venit:

there is a god within us, and we hold commerce with heaven. That spirit comes

from abodes on high (Ovid)

est enim lex nihil aliud nisi recta et a numine deorum tracta ratio, imperans

honesta, prohibens contraria: for law is nothing else but right reason supported

by the authority of the gods, commanding what is honorable and prohibiting the

contrary (Cicero)

est hic, est ubi vis, animus si te non deficit æquus: it is here, it is everywhere, if

only a well-regulated mind does not fail you (Horace, said of happiness)

est modus in rebus; sunt certi denique fines quos ultra citraque nequit

consistere rectum: there is a mean (or middle) in everything. There are fixed

limits beyond which and short of which right is not able to find a place (Horace)

est multi fabula plena joci: it is a story full of fun (Ovid)

est profecto Deus, qui quæ nos gerimus auditque et videt; neque id verum

existimo, quod vulgo dicitur, Fortuna humana fingit aptatque, ut lubet: there is

certainly a God who sees and hears the things that we do; I cannot believe that which is

ordinarily said, that Fortune makes and unmakes all human affairs at pleasure (Plautus)

est quadam (or quoddam) prodire tenus, si non datur ultra: it is something to

proceed thus far, if it be not permitted to go farther (Horace)

est tempus quando nihil, est tempus quando aliquid, nullum tamen est tempus

in quo dicenda sunt omnia: there is a time when nothing may be said, a time

when something may be said, but no time when all things may be said

estne Dei sedes nisi terra, et pontus, et aër, et coelum, et virtus? Superos quid

quærimus ultra? Jupiter est, quodcunque vides, quodcunque moveris: has

God a dwelling other than earth and sea and air and heaven and virtue? Why do we

seek the gods beyond? Whatever you see, wherever you go, there is Jupiter (Lucan)

esto peccator et pecca fortiter, sed fortius fide et gaude in Christo: be a sinner

and sin strongly, but more strongly have faith and rejoice in Christ (Martin Luther)

esto quod es; quod sunt alii, sine quemlibet esse; quod non es, nolis; quod

potes esse, velis: be what you are; let whoever will be what others are; do not be

what you are not; but resolutely be what you can be

esurientes implevit bonis, et divites dimisit inanes: he has filled the hungry with

good things, and the rich he has sent away empty (St. Luke 1:53)

et campos ubi Troja fuit: and the fields where Troy once was (Virgil)

et cum spiritu tuo: and with thy spirit (liturgical response to Dominus vobiscum,

the Lord be with you)

et ego in Arcadia et penitus toto divisos orbe

et ego in Arcadia: I too have been to Arcadia (i.e., I know all about it)

et errat longe mea quidem sententia qui imperium credit gravius esse aut

stabilius, vi quod fit, quam illud quod amicitia adjungitur: it is a great error,

according to my opinion, in those who believe that a government is more firm, or

more assured, when it is supported by force, than when it exists by kindness and

voluntary obedience (Terence)

et facere et pati fortiter Romanum est: bravery and endurance make a man a

Roman (Livy)

et illa erant fercula, in quibus mihi esurienti te inferebatur sol et luna: and

these were the dishes wherein to me, hunger-starved for you, they served up the

sun and moon (St. Augustine)

et ipse quidem, quamquam medio in spatio integræ ætatis ereptus, quantum ad

gloriam, longissimum ævum peregit: and he, though carried off in the prime of

life, had lived long enough for glory (Tacitus)

et jam summa procul villarum culmina fumant, majoresque cadunt altis de

montibus umbræ: and now the cottage roofs yonder smoke, and the shadows fall

longer from the mountain tops (Virgil)

et mea cymba semel vasta percussa procella illum, quo læsa est, horret adire

locum: my raft, once shaken by the overpowering storm, shrinks from approaching

the spot where it has been shattered (Ovid)

et meæ, si quid loquar audiendum, vocis accedet bona pars: if any opinion of

mine is worthy of attention, it shall be given freely in his favor (Horace)

et mihi res, non me rebus, subjungere (or submittere) conor: I try to subject (or

submit) circumstances to myself, not myself to circumstances (Horace)

et nati natorum, et qui nascentur ab illis: and the children of our children, and

those who shall be born to them (i.e., for our many generations to come) (Virgil)

et nomen pacis dulce est et ipsa res salutaris, sed inter pacem et servitutem

plurimum interest. Pax est tranquilla libertas, servitus postremum malorum

omnium non modo bello, sed morte etiam repellendum: the name of peace is

sweet and the thing itself is salutary, but there is a great difference between peace

and slavery. Peace is freedom in tranquility, slavery is the worst of all evils, to be

resisted not only by war, but even by death (Cicero)

et nos quoque tela sparsimus: we too have hurled javelins (i.e., we too are proud

warriors, or veterans of war)

et nova fictaque nuper habebunt verba fidem, si Græco fonte cadunt parce

detorta: and new and lately invented terms will be well received, if they descend,

with slight deviation, from a Grecian source (Horace)

et nulli cessura fides, sine crimine mores, nudaque simplicitas, purpureusque

pudor: and I have good faith that will yield to none, and ways without reproach,

and unadorned simplicity, and blushing modesty (Ovid)

et nunc magna mei sub terras currit imago: and now my shade shall descend

illustrious to the grave (Virgil)

et penitus toto divisos orbe Britannos: even to Britannia, that land completely

separated from the world (Virgil)

et Phoebo digna locuti, quique sui exemplo quodcunque malo

et Phoebo digna locuti, quique sui memores alios fecere merendo: omnibus his

nivea cinguntur tempora vitta: those who spoke things worthy of Phoebus, and

those who made men recollect them for their merits: all have their temples bound

with a snow-white ribbon (a reference to Elysium) (Virgil)

et pudet, et metuo, semperque eademque precari, ne subeant animo tædia

justa tuo: I am ashamed to be always begging and begging the same things, and

fear lest you should conceive for me the disgust I merit (Ovid)

et quæ sibi quisque timebat unius in miseri exitium conversa tulere: and what

each man feared for himself was easily borne, when it was turned to the destruction of a

single wretch! (Virgil, in reference to casting lots to sacrifice one of a number of people)

et quorum pars magna fui: and in which I played a prominent part (Virgil)

et res non semper, spes mihi semper adest: my hopes are not always realized, but

I always hope (Ovid)

et tu, Brute (fili mi): you too, Brutus (my son) (Julius Cжsar; Suetonius reports that

this was said in Greek: kai su, teknon, you too, my son)

etenim omnes artes, quæ ad humanitatem pertinent, habent quoddam

commune vinculum, et quasi cognatione quadam inter se continentur: all the

arts, which belong to polished life, are held together by some common tie, and

connected, as it were, by some intimate relation (Cicero)

etiam quæ sibi quisque timebat unius in miseri exitium conversa tulere: what

each man feared would happen to himself did not trouble him when he saw that it

would ruin another (Virgil)

etiam sanato vulnere cicatrix manet: though the wound is healed, a scar remains

evolare rus ex urbe tanquam ex vinculis: to fly from the town into the country, as

though from bonds (Cicero)

ex diuturnitate temporis omnia præsumuntur esse solemniter acta: everything

established for a length of time is presumed to have been done in due form

ex humili magna ad fastigia rerum extollit, quoties voluit fortuna jocari:

whenever Fortune is in a joking mood, she raises men from a humble station to the

imposing summit of affairs (Juvenal)

ex quovis ligno non fit Mercurius: the god Mercury is not to be fashioned from

just any piece of wood (Horace)

ex vita discedo, tanquam ex hospitio, non tanquam ex domo: I depart from life

as from an inn, not as from a home (Cicero)

ex vultibus hominum mores colligere: to construe men’s characters by their looks

exacto contentus tempore vita cedat uti conviva satur: content with his past life,

let him take leave of life like a satiated guest (Horace)

excepto quod non simul esses, cætera lætus: except that you were not with me, in

other respects I was happy

exeat aula qui vult esse pius: let him who will be good retire from the court (a

reference to the corruption that surrounds the court system) (Lucretius)

exemplo quodcunque malo committitur, ipsi displicet auctori: whatever is

committed from a bad example is displeasing even to its author (i.e., we hate the

faults in others that we see in ourselves) (Juvenal) exigite ut mores teneros ceu pollice facile omnes cum valemus recta

exigite ut mores teneros ceu pollice ducat, ut si quis cera vultum facit: require

him as with his thumb to mold their youthful morals, just as one fashions a face

with plastic wax (Juvenal)

exigo a me non ut optimis par sim, sed ut malis melior: I require myself not to

be equal to the best, but to be better than the bad (Seneca)

exigua est virtus præstare silentia rebus; at contra, gravis est culpa tacenda

loqui: slight is the merit of keeping silence on a matter; on the other hand, serious

is the guilt of talking on things whereon we should be silent (Ovid)

exigui numero, sed bello vivida virtus: small in number, but their valor is quick for

war (Virgil)

exilioque domos et dulcia limina mutant atque alio patriam quærunt sub sole

jacentem: they exchange their home and sweet thresholds for exile, and seek

another country under another sun (Virgil)

exitio est avidium mare nautis: the greedy sea is destruction to sailors (Horace)

expende Hannibalem: quot libras in duce summo invenies?: weigh Hannibal:

how many pounds will you find in that great leader? (Juvenal)

explorant adversa viros; perque aspera duro nititur ad laudem virtus interrita

clivo: adversity tries men; and virtue struggles after fame regardless of the adverse

heights (Silius Italicus)

exuerint sylvestrem animum, cultuque frequenti, in quascunque voces artes,

haud tarda sequentur: they lay aside their rustic ideas, and by repeated

instruction will advance apace into whatever arts you may initiate them (Virgil)

F

Fabius Verrucosus beneficium ab homine duro aspere datum, panem

lapidosum vocabat: Fabius Verrucosus called a favor roughly bestowed by a hard

man bread made of stone (Seneca)

fabula, nec sentis, tota jactaris in urbe: though you do not know it, you are the

talk of the town (Ovid)

facetiarum apud præpotentes in longum memoria est: men in power long

remember the jests of which they have been the subject (Tacitus)

facies non omnibus una, nec diversa tamen; qualem decet esse sororum: the

features were not the same in them all, nor yet are they quite different; but such as

we would expect in sisters (i.e., a reference to family resemblance) (Ovid)

facile esse momento, quo quis velit, cedere possessione magnæ fortunæ; facere

et parare eam difficile atque arduum esse: it is easy at any moment to surrender

a large fortune; to build one up is a difficult and arduous task (Livy)

facile omnes cum valemus recta consilia ægrotis damus. Tu si hic sis aliter

senties: it is easy for us to give the right advice to the sick when we all are well.

Were you in my place, you would feel otherwise (Terence)

facilis descensus Averno (est) fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor

facilis descensus Averno (est), noctes atque dies patet atri janua Ditis; sed

revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras, hoc opus, hic labor est: the

descent to Avernus (hell) is easy; night and day the gate of gloomy Dis (Hades)

stands open; but to retrace your steps and escape to the upper air, this is work, this

is toil (Virgil)

facilius per partes in cognitionem totius adducimur: we are more easily led part

by part to an understanding of the whole (Seneca)

facis de necessitate virtutem: you make a virtue of necessity (St. Jerome)

faciunt næ intelligendo, ut nihil intelligant: they are so knowing, that they know

nothing (Terence)

facta canam; sed erunt qui me finxisse loquantur: I am about to sing of facts; but

some will say I have invented them (Ovid)

facta ejus cum dictis discrepant: his actions do not square with his words (Cicero)

facte nova virtute, puer; sic itur ad astra: go on and increase in valor, young man;

thus the path to immortality (Virgil)

fænum habet in cornu, longe fuge: he has hay on his horns; flee far away (Horace)

fallacia alia aliam trudit: one falsehood thrusts aside another (i.e., leads to more)

(Terence)

fallentis semita vitæ: the narrow path of an unnoticed (or deceptive) life (Horace)

fallit enim vitium, specie virtutis et umbra, cum sit triste habitu, vultuque et

veste severum: vice can deceive under the shape and shadow of virtue, when sad

and severe in its dress and countenance (Juvenal)

fallitur, egregio quisquis sub principe credit servitium. Nunquam libertas

gratior extat quam sub rege pio: whoever thinks it slavery to serve under an eminent

prince is mistaken. Liberty is never more gracious than under a pious king (Claudian)

falso damnati crimine mortis: condemned to die on a false charge (Virgil)

falsus honor juvat et mendax infamia terret quem nisi mendosum et

mendacem?: whom does false honor aid and calumny deter but the vicious and the

liar? (Horace)

fama est obscurior annis: the fame (or rumor) has become obscure through the

years (Virgil)

fama, malum quo non aliud velocius ullum, mobilitate viget, viresque acquirit

eundo: rumor, than which no evil thing of any kind is more swift, increases with

travel and gains strength by its progress (Virgil)

fama volat parvam subito vulgata per urbem: the rumor forthwith flies abroad,

dispersed throughout the small town (Virgil)

famem fuisse suspicor matrem mihi: I suspect that hunger was my mother

(Plautus)

fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum, donec requiescat in te (or, fecisti

enim nos ad te, et cor inquietum donec requiescat in te): you (God) have

created us for yourself, and our heart cannot be quieted until it finds rest in you

(St. Augustine)

felices ter et amplius quos irrupta flere licet certe

felices ter et amplius quos irrupta tenet copula, nec, malis divulsus

querimoniis, suprema citius solvet amor die: happy three times over are those

who enjoy uninterrupted union, and whose love, unbroken by evil complaints, shall

not dissolve until the last day (Horace)

fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt: men willingly believe what they

wish to believe (Julius Cжsar)

fertilior seges est alienis semper in agris, vicinumque pecus grandius uber

habet: the crop is always greater in the lands of another, and the cattle of our

neighbor are deemed more productive than our own (Ovid)

fervens difficili bile tumet jecur: my hot passion swells with savage wrath (Horace)

festinare nocet, nocet et cunctatio sæpe; tempore quæque suo qui facit, ille

sapit: it is bad to hurry, and delay is often as bad; the wise person is the one who

does everything in its proper time (Ovid)

festinat decurrere velox flosculus angustæ, miseræque brevissima vitæ portio;

dum bibimus, dum serta, unguenta, puellas poscimus, obrepit non intellecta

senectus: the flower of our brief and narrow existence fades rapidly into decline,

its course is quickly ended; whilst we drink, and call for garlands, for perfumes, and

for girls, old age steals upon us by surprise (Juvenal)

festinatione nil tutius in discordiis civilibus: nothing is safer than dispatch in civil

quarrels (Tacitus)

fictis meminerit nos jocari fabulis: be it remembered that we are amusing you with

tales of fiction (Phжdrus)

fidem fati virtute sequemur: with my own virtue I shall strive to achieve the

promise given to me by destiny

fidem qui perdit, quo se servet relicuo?: the one who has lost his honor, what has

he left to live upon? (Publilius Syrus)

fides quærens intellectum (or, fidens quærens intellectum): faith seeking

understanding (i.e., belief before understanding) (St. Augustine)

fiere non potest, ut filius istarum lacrimarum pereat: it is not possible that the

son of these tears should be lost (St. Augustine)

finge datos currus, quid agas?: suppose the chariot (of the sun) be committed to

you, what would you do? (Ovid, Apollo to Phжthon)

fingit equum tenera docilem cervice magister ire viam qua monstret eques: the

trainer trains the docile horse to turn, with his sensitive neck, whichever way the

rider indicates (Horace)

fingunt se medicos quivis idiota, sacerdos, Judæus, monachus, histrio, rasor,

anus: any untrained person, priest, Jew, monk, play actor, barber, or old wife is

ready to prescribe for you in sickness

flebit, et insignis tota cantabitur urbe: he shall regret it and be a marked man, the

butt of some merry song (Horace)

flere licet certe: flendo diffundimus iram; perque sinum lacrimæ, fluminis

instar enim: truly it is allowed us to weep: by weeping we disperse our wrath; and

tears go through the heart, even like a stream (Ovid)

floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia fortuna belli semper ancipiti in loco

floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant, omnia nos itidem despascimur aurea

dicta: as bees taste of everything in the flowery meadows, so we feed on every

golden word that falls from his lips (i.e., one who selects the best of everything that

is encountered) (Lucretius)

foecunda culpæ sæcula nuptias primum inquinavere et genus et domos: this

age, fertile of guilt, has first polluted the marriage bed, and with it our people and

our houses (Horace)

foenum habet in cornu, longe fuge, dummodo risum excutiat sibi, non hic

cuiquam parcit amico: he has a wisp of hay on his horn, flee far from him; if only

he raise a laugh for himself, there is no friend he would spare (Horace)

foliis tantum ne carmina manda; ne turbata volent rapidis ludibria ventis:

neither commit your oracles to leaves of paper, lest they fly about dispersed, the

sport of rushing winds (Virgil)

formidinem mortis vicit aurum: gold has conquered the fear of death (Apuleius)

formosa virgo est; dotis dimidium vocant isti, qui dotes neglegunt uxorias: the

girl is pretty; this is half the dowry, say those men who are not interested in a dowry

(Lucius Afranius)

formosos sæpe inveni pessimos, et turpi facie multos cognovi optimos: I have

often found good-looking people to be very base, and I have known many ugly

people most estimable (Phжdrus)

forsan et hæc olim meminisse juvabit; durante, et vosmet rebus servate

secundis: perhaps it will be a delight to us some day to recall these misfortunes;

bear them, therefore, and reserve yourselves for better times (Virgil)

forsan miseros meliora sequentur: perhaps a better fate awaits the afflicted (Virgil)

forsitan et nostrum nomen miscebitur istis: perhaps my name will be linked with

theirs (Ovid)

fortem posce animum mortis terrore carentem, qui spatium vitæ extremum

inter munera ponat Naturæ: pray for a strong soul free from the fear of death,

which regards the final period of life among the gifts of Nature (Juvenal)

fortes creantur fortibus et bonis; est in juvencis, est in equis patrum virtus, nec

imbellem feroces progenerant aquilæ columbam: brave men are begotten by

the brave and good; there is in steers and in horses the virtue of their sires, nor does

the fierce eagle beget the dove (Horace)

fortes et strenuos etiam contra fortunam insistere, timidos et ignoros ad

desperationem formidine properare: the brave and bold persist even against

fortune; the timid and cowardly rush to despair through fear alone (Tacitus)

fortes in fine assequendo et suaves in modo assequendi simus: let us be resolute

in prosecuting our purpose and mild in the manner of attaining it (Aquaviva)

fortuito quodam concursu atomorum: certain fortuitous concourse of atoms

(Cicero)

fortuna amorem pejor infammat magis: when fortune frowns, love’s flame burns

fiercer (Seneca)

fortuna belli semper ancipiti in loco est: the fortune of war stands ever on the

verge (Seneca)

fortuna miserrima tuta est garrit aniles ex re fabellas

fortuna miserrima tuta est: nam timor eventus deterioris abest: the most

wretched fortune is safe; for there is no fear of anything worse (Ovid)

fortunæ majoris honos, erectus et acer: an honor to his distinguished position,

upright and brave (Claudian)

fragili quærens illidere dentem offendet solido: he (my adversary), in trying to fix

a tooth in some tender part, shall strike it against the solid (i.e., shall find firm

resistance) (Horace)

fragrantia durant Herculea collecta manu: when gathered by Hercules’s hand,

they keep their fragrance

frater, ave atque vale: brother, hello and goodbye (Catullus)

frustra retinacula tendens ferter equis auriga, neque audit currus habenas: in

vain, as he tugs at the reins, is the charioteer borne along by the steeds, and the

chariot heeds not the curb (Virgil)

frustra vitium vitaveris illud, si te alio pravus detorseris: in vain do you avoid one

fault if you perversely turn aside into another (Horace)

fuge magna; licet sub paupere tecto reges et regum vita præcurrere amicos:

avoid greatness; under a poor roof there may be found more happiness than kings

and their courtiers in palaces enjoy (Horace)

fugit improbus, ac me sub cultro linquit: the rogue runs away and leaves me with

the knife at my throat (i.e., to be sacrificed) (Horace)

fuimus Troës, fuit Ilium, et ingens gloria Teucrorum: we Trojans are no more;

Ilium is no more, and the great glory of the Teucrians (Virgil)

fuit hæc sapientia quondam, publica privatis secernere, sacra profanis,

concubitu prohibere vago, dare jura maritis, oppida moliri leges incidere

ligno: this of old was accounted wisdom: to separate public from private property,

things sacred from profane, to restrain from vagrant concubinage, to ordain laws

for married people, to build cities, to engrave laws on tablets (Horace)

fumum et opes strepitumque Romæ: the smoke, the wealth, the din of Rome

(Juvenal and Horace)

fungar inani munere: I shall discharge a fruitless and unavailing duty (Virgil)

fungar vice cotis, acutum reddere quæ ferrum valet, exsors ipsa secandi: I shall

perform the office of a whetstone, which can make other things sharp, though it is

itself incapable of cutting (Horace)

G

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres: all of Gaul is divided into three parts (Julius

Cжsar)

garrit aniles ex re fabellas: he tells a fable according to the circumstance (i.e., his

argument is more fable than fact) (Horace)

gaudeamus igitur, juvenes dum

Grais ingenium, Grais dedit ore

gaudeamus igitur, juvenes dum sumus; post jucundam juventutem, post

molestam senectutem, nos habebit humus: let us rejoice, therefore, while we

are young; after the pleasures of youth and after the weariness of old age, the earth

will hold us (a students’ song dating from the 13th century)

gaudent prænomine molles auriculæ: his delicate ears are delighted with the title

(Horace)

gaudet equis, canibusque, et aprici gramine campi: he delights in horses, dogs,

and the grass of the sunny plain (Horace)

gaudete vosque, O Lydiæ lacus undæ; ridete quidquid est domi cachinnorum:

rejoice you too, waters of the Lydian lake, and laugh out loud all the laughter you

have at your command (Catullus)

gaudetque viam fecisse ruina: he rejoices at having made his way by ruin (Lucan,

said of Julius Cжsar)

genus et proavos et quæ non fecimus ipsi, vix ea nostra voco: birth, ancestry,

and what we have ourselves not done, I would hardly call our own (Ovid)

genus humanum superavit: he surpassed the human race in natural ability

(Lucretius)

genus immortale manet, multosque per annos stat fortuna domus, et avi

numerantur avorum: the race continues immortal, and through many years the

fortune of the house stands steadfast, and it numbers grandchildren of

grandchildren (Virgil)

gigni de nihilo nihil; in nihilum nil posse reverti: nothing can be produced from

nothing; nothing can be returned into nothing (Persius)

gigni pariter cum corpore, et una crescere sentimus pariterque senescere

mentem: we see that the mind is born with the body, that it grows with it, and also

ages with it (Lucretius)

gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonæ voluntatis. Laudamus te,

benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te: glory to God in the highest, and

peace on earth to men of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we

glorify you (from the Catholic Mass)

gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et

semper, et in sæcula sæculorum: glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to

the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without

end (from the Catholic Mass)

Græcia capta ferum victorem cepit, et artes intulit agresti Latio: Greece, once

conquered, in turn conquered its uncivilized conqueror, and brought the arts to

rustic Latium (Horace)

Græculus esuriens in coelum jusseris ibit: command the hungry Greek to go to

heaven, and he will go (i.e., he will attempt the impossible) (Juvenal)

Grais ingenium, Grais dedit ore rotundo Musa loqui: to the Greeks the Muse

gave ingenuity, to the Greeks it gave eloquent speech (Horace)

Gram. loquitur, Dia. vera docet habet cerebrum sensus arcem; hic

Gram. loquitur, Dia. vera docet, Rhe. verba colorat, Mu. canit, Ar. numerat,

Geo. ponderat, As. docet astra: Grammar speaks, Dialectics teaches the truth,

Rhetoric gives color to speech, Music sings, Arithmetic numbers, Geometry weighs

and measures, and Astronomy teaches the stars (i.e., the seven liberal arts)

grammatici certant, et adhuc sub judice lis est: the grammarians quibble and still

the case (or question) is unresolved (Horace)

grammaticus, rhetor, geometres, pictor, aliptes, augur, schoenobates, medicus,

magus, omnia novit Græculus esuriens: in cælum jusseris ibit: grammarian,

rhetorician, geometrician, painter, athletic trainer, diviner, tightrope walker,

doctor, magician, the hungry Greek can do everything: send him to heaven, and

he’ll go there too (Juvenal)

gratia, Musa, tibi. Nam tu solatia præbes; tu curæ requis, tu medicina mali:

thanks to you, my Muse. For you afford me comfort; you are a rest from my cares,

a cure for my woes (Ovid)

gratia, quæ tarda est, ingrata est: gratia namque cum fieri properat, gratia

grata magis: a favor tardily bestowed is no favor: for a favor quickly granted is a

more agreeable favor (Ausonius)

gratis anhelans, multa agendo nihil agens: panting without a cause, and, in

pretending to do much, really doing nothing (Phжdrus)

gratulor quod eum quem necesse erat diligere, qualiscunque esset, talem

habemus, ut libenter quoque diligamus: I am glad that the one whom I must

have loved from duty, whatever he might have been, is the same one whom I can

love from inclination (Trebonius, according to Tullium)

gratum hominem semper beneficium delectat; ingratum semel: a kindness is

always delightful to a grateful person; to the ungrateful, only at the time of its

receipt (Seneca)

grave pondus illum magna nobilitas premit: his exalted rank weighs heavy on him

as a grievous burden (Seneca)

gutta cavat lapidem, consumitur annulus usu, et teritur pressa vomer aduncus

humo: the drop hollows the stone, the ring is worn by use, and the crooked

ploughshare is frayed away by the pressure of the earth (Ovid)

H

habemus luxuriam atque avaritiam, publice egestatem, privatim opulentiam:

we have luxury and avarice, public debt and private opulence (Sallust, attributed to

Cato, said of Rome)

habet aliquid ex iniquo omne magnum exemplum, quod contra singulos,

utilitate publica rependitur: every great example of punishment has in it some

tincture of injustice, but the wrong to individuals is compensated by the promotion

of the public good (Tacitus)

habet cerebrum sensus arcem; hic mentis est regimen: the brain is the citadel of

the senses: this guides the principle of thought (Pliny the Elder)

habet iracundia hoc mali, non vult has poenas garrula lingua dedit

habet iracundia hoc mali, non vult regi: there is in anger this evil, that it will not

be controlled (Seneca)

hac quoque de causa, si te proverbia tangunt, mense malos Maio nubere vulgus

ait: for this reason, if you believe proverbs, let me tell you the common one: “It is

unlucky to marry in May” (Ovid)

hæ tibi erunt artes, pacisque imponere morem, parcere subjectis et debellare

superbos: these shall be your arts, to set forth the law of peace, to spare the

conquered, and to subdue the proud (Virgil)

hæc amat obscurum; volet hæc sub luce videri, judicis argutum quæ non

formidat acumen; hæc placuit semel; hæc decies repetita placebit: one (poem)

courts the shade; another, not afraid of the critic’s keen eye, chooses to be seen in a strong

light; the one pleases but once, the other will still please if ten times repeated (Horace)

hæc ego mecum compressis agito labris; ubi quid datur oti, illudo chartis: these

things I revolve around myself with compressed lips; when I have any leisure, I

amuse myself with my writings (Horace)

hæc est condicio vivendi, aiebat, eoque responsura tuo nunquam est par fama

labori: such is the lot of life, he said, and so your merits will never receive their due

reward of praise (Horace)

hæc perinde sunt, ut illius animus, qui ea possidet. Qui uti scit, ei bona, illi qui

non utitur recte, mala: these things are exactly according to the disposition of the

one who possesses them. To the one who knows how to use them, they are

blessings; to the one who does not use them rightly, they are evils (Terence)

hæc prima lex in amicitia sanciatur, ut neque rogemus res turpes, nec faciamus

rogati: be this the first law established in friendship, that we neither ask of others

what is dishonorable, nor ourselves do it when asked (Cicero)

hæc scripsi non otii abundantia, sed amoris erga te: I have written this, not as

having abundance of leisure, but out of love for you (Cicero)

hæc studia adolescentiam alunt, senectutem oblectant, secundas res ornant,

adversis solatium ac perfugium præbent, delectant domi, non impediunt

foris, pernoctant nobiscum, peregrinantur, rusticantur: these (literary) studies

are the food of youth and the consolation of old age; they adorn prosperity and are

the comfort and refuge of adversity; they are pleasant at home and are no

encumbrance abroad; they accompany us at night, in our travels, and in our rural

retreats (Cicero)

hæc sunt jucundi causa cibusque mali: these things are at once the cause and food

of this delicious malady (Ovid)

hæc vivendi ratio mihi non convenit: this mode of living does not suit me (Cicero)

hæret lateri lethalis arundo: the deadly arrow sticks in his (or her) side (Virgil)

hanc personam induisti, agenda est: you have assumed this part, and you must act

it out (Seneca)

hanc veniam petimusque damusque vicissim: we give this privilege and receive it

in turn (Horace, a reference to the author as critic)

has poenas garrula lingua dedit: this punishment a prating tongue brought on him

(Ovid)

has vaticinationes eventus hic locus est partes ubi se via findit in

has vaticinationes eventus comprobavit: the event has verified these predictions

(Cicero)

haud facile emergunt quorum vitutibus obstat res angusta domi: it is not easy

for people to rise out of obscurity when they have to face straitened circumstances

at home (Juvenal)

haud scio an pietate adversus deos sublata fides etiam et societas generi

humani et una excellentissima virtus justitia tollatur: in all probability the

disappearance of piety toward the gods will entail the disappearance of faith and

sodality among men as well as justice, the greatest of all the virtues (Cicero)

Hectora quis nosset, si felix Troja fuisset? Publica virtuti per mala facta via est:

who would have known of Hector if Troy had been fortunate? A highway is open to

virtue through the midst of misfortunes (Ovid)

hei mihi!, difficile est imitari gaudia falsa, difficile est tristi fingere mente

jocum: oh my!, it is hard to feign the joys one does not feel, hard to feign

merriment when one’s heart is sad (Tibullus)

hei mihi!, qualis erat!, quantum mutatus ab illo Hectore, qui redit, exuvias

indutus Achilli: oh my!, how sad he looked!, how changed from that Hector who

returned in triumph arrayed in the spoils of Achilles (Virgil)

hei mihi!, quam facile est (quamvis hic contigit omnes), alterius lucta fortia

verba loqui!: oh my!, how easy it is (how much all have experienced it), to indulge

in brave words in another person’s trouble! (Ovid)

heu, cadit in quemquam tantum scelus!: alas, that so great a crime falls upon

anyone! (Paradin)

heu, melior quanto sors tua sorte mea!: alas, how much better is your fate than

mine! (Ovid)

heu!, quantum fati parva tabella vehit!: alas!, with what a weight of destiny is this

one small plank carried! (Ovid)

heu!, totum triduum!: alas!, three whole days! (Terence, a reference to the

separation of lovers)

hi motus animorum atque hæc certamina tanta pulveris exigui jactu compressa

quiescent: these passions of their souls, these conflicts so fierce, will cease, and be

repressed by the casting of a little dust (Virgil)

hi narrata ferunt alio; mensuraque ficti crescit et auditus aliquid novus adjicit

auctor: some report elsewhere whatever is told them; the measure of fiction always

increases, and each fresh narrator adds something to what he has heard (Ovid)

hic dies, vere mihi festus, atras eximet curas: this day, for me a true holiday, shall

banish gloomy cares (Cicero)

hic est enim sanguis meus novi testamenti: this is the new covenant in my blood

(St. Matthew 26:28)

hic gelidi fontes, hic mollia prata, Lycori, hic nemus, hic toto tecum

consumerer ævo: here are cool springs, Lycoris, here soft meadows, here a grove;

here with you could I pass my whole life (Virgil)

hic locus est partes ubi se via findit in ambas: this is the spot where the way

divides into two branches (Virgil)

hic murus aheneus esto, nil conscire his saltem accumulem donis, et

hic murus aheneus esto, nil conscire sibi, nulla pallescere culpa: let this be your

brazen wall of defense, to have nothing on your conscience, no guilt to make you

turn pale (Horace)

hic niger est; hunc tu, Romane, caveto: this fellow is a dark heart; be careful of

him, Roman (Horace)

hic nigræ succus loliginis, hæc est ægrugo mera: this is the very venom of dark

detraction; this is pure malignity (Horace)

hic patet ingeniis campus, certusque merenti stat favor; ornatur propriis

industria donis: here is a field open for talent, and here merit will have certain

favor, and industry graced with its due reward (Claudian)

hic rogo, non furor est ne moriare mori?: I ask, is it not madness to die that you

may not die? (Martial)

hic situs est Phaëthon currus auriga paterni; quem si non tenuit, magnis tamen

excidit ausis: here lies buried Phaлthon, the driver of his father’s carriage, which

he did not manage, still he perished in a great attempt (Ovid)

hic transitus efficit magnum vitæ compedium: this change effects a great savings

of life (i.e., of time)

hic ubi nunc urbs est, tum locus urbis erat: here, where the city now stands, was

at that time nothing but its site (Ovid)

hic ver assiduum, atque alienis mensibus æstas: here is ceaseless spring, and

summer in months in which summer is alien (Virgil, referring to Italy)

hic victor cæstus artemque repono: here victorious I lay aside my gauntlet and my

net (Virgil)

hic vivimus ambitiosa paupertate omnes: here we all live in a state of ostentatious

poverty (Juvenal)

hinc illæ lacrimæ (or lacrymæ)!, hæc illa ’st misericordia: hence these tears!, and

hence all that compassion (Terence)

hinc omne principium, huc refer exitum: to them ascribe every undertaking, to

them the issue (Horace, referring to the gods)

hinc subitæ mortes atque intestata senectus: hence sudden deaths and intestate

old age (Juvenal)

hinc totam infelix vulgatur fama per urbem: hence the unhappy news is spread

abroad through the whole city (Virgil)

hinc usura vorax, avidumque in tempore fænus, et concussa fides, et multis

utile bellum: hence arise devouring usury, grasping interest, shaken credit, and

war of advantage to many (Lucan, said of the ambition of Cжsar)

hinc venti dociles resono se carcere solvunt, et cantum accepta pro libertate

rependunt: hence the obedient winds are loosed from their sounding prison, and

repay the liberty they have received with a tune (said of an organ)

his lachrymis vitam damus, et miserescimus ultro: to these tears we grant him

life, and pity him besides (Virgil)

his legibus solutis respublica stare non potest: with these laws repealed, the

republic cannot last (Cicero)

his saltem accumulem donis, et fungar inani munere: let me at least bestow upon

him those last offerings, and discharge a vain and unavailing duty (Virgil) hoc erat in votis; modus agri non ita homo est animal bipes rationale

hoc erat in votis; modus agri non ita magnus; hortus ubi, et tecto vicinus jugis

aquæ fons, et paulum silvæ super his foret: this was in my prayers: a piece of

ground not too large, with a garden, and a spring of never-failing water near my

house, and a little woodland besides (Horace)

hoc est quod palles?; cur quis non prandeat, hoc est?: is it for this you look so

pale?; is this a reason why one should not dine? (Persius)

hoc fonte derivata clades in patriam populumque fluxit: from this source has the

destruction flowed, which overwhelmed the country and its people (Horace)

hoc Herculi, Iovis satu edito, potuit fortasse contingere, nobis non item: this

might perchance happen to Hercules, of the royal seed of Jove, but not to us

(Cicero)

hoc patrium est, potius consuefacere filium sua sponte recte facere, quam

alieno metu: it is a father’s duty to accustom his son to act rightly of his own free

will rather than from fear of the consequences (Terence)

hoc per se nihil est, sed si minimum addideris maximum fieret: this by itself is

nothing, but if you should add even the least to it, it would become the greatest

hoc præstat amicitia propinquitati, quod ex propinquitate benevolentia tolli

potest, ex amicitia non potest: friendship has this advantage over kinship, that

kinship can exist without goodwill but friendship cannot (Cicero)

hoc scito, nimio celerius venire quod molestum est, quam id quod cupide

petas: be sure of this, that that which is disagreeable comes more speedily than that

which you eagerly desire (Plautus)

hoc volo, sic jubeo, sit pro ratione voluntas: this I wish, thus I command, let my

will stand in place of reason (Juvenal)

hodie mecum eris in paradiso: today, you shall be with me in Paradise (St. Luke

23:43; one of the Seven Last Words of Christ)

hoi pleiones kakai: the majority of humanity is bad (Bias, one of the Seven Greek

Sages, from the Greek)

homine imperito nunquam quidquam injustius qui, nisi quod ipse fecit, nihil

rectum putat: nothing so unjust as an ignorant man, who thinks nothing right but

what he himself has done (Terence)

homines amplius oculis quam auribus credunt: longum iter est per præcepta,

breve et efficax per exempla: men trust their eyes rather than their ears: the way

by precept is long and tedious, by example short and effectual (Seneca)

homini amico et familiari non est mentiri meum: it is not my habit to lie to

friends or family (Lucilius)

homo ad res perspicacior Lynceo vel Argo, et oculeus totus: a man more clearsighted

for business than Lynceus or Argus, and eyes all over (Appuleius)

homo antiqua virtute ac fide: a man of the ancient virtue and loyalty (Terence)

homo constat ex duabus partibus, corpore et anima, quorum una est corporea,

altera ab omni materiæ concretione sejuncta: man is composed of two parts,

body and soul, of which the one is corporeal, the other separated from all

combination with matter (Cicero)

homo est animal bipes rationale: man is a two-footed reasoning animal (Boлthius)

homo qui erranti comiter monstrat

ibi omnis effusus labor

homo qui erranti comiter monstrat viam, quasi lumen de suo lumine accendit,

facit; nihilominus ipsi luceat, cum illi accenderit: the one who kindly shows the

way to one who has gone astray, acts as though he had lighted another’s lamp from

his own, which both gives light to the other and continues to shine for himself

(Cicero)

honestum quod vere dicimus, etiamsi a nullo laudatur, laudabile est sua

natura: that which we truly call honorable is praiseworthy in its own nature, even

though it should be praised by no one (Cicero)

horæ cedunt, et dies, et menses, et anni, nec præteritum tempus unquam

revertitur: hours and days, months and years, pass away, and time once past never

returns (Cicero)

horror ubique animos, simul ipsa silentia terrent: everywhere horror seizes the

soul, and the very silence is dreadful (Virgil)

hos ego versiculos feci, tulit alter honores; sic vos non vobis fertis aratra boves;

sic vos non vobis mellificatis apes; sic vos non vobis vellora fertis aves; sic vos

non vobis nidificatis aves: I wrote these lines, another received the credit; thus do

you oxen bear the yoke for others; thus do you bees make honey for others; thus do

you sheep wear fleeces for others; thus do you birds build nests for others (Virgil)

hos successus alit: possunt, quia posse videntur: success encourages them: they

can because they think they can (Virgil)

hospes nullus tam in amici hospitium devorti potest, quin ubi triduum

continuum fuerit jam odiosus siet: no one can be so welcome a guest that he will

not become an annoyance when he has stayed three continuous days in a friend’s

house (Plautus)

huc propius me, dum doceo insanire omnes, vos ordine adite: come near me all

in order, and I will convince you that you are mad, every one (Horace)

huic maxime putamus malo fuisse nimiam opinionem ingenii atque virtutis: we

think that what harmed him the most was that he entertained too high an opinion

of his own talents and virtue (Cornelius Nepos, said of Alcibiades)

huic versatile ingenium sic pariter ad omnia fuit, ut natum ad id unum diceres,

quodcunque ageret: this man’s genius was so versatile, so equal to every pursuit,

that you would pronounce him to have been born for whatever thing in which he

was engaged (Livy, said of Cato the Elder)

hunc tu, Romane, caveto: of him, Romans, do thou beware (Horace)

I

i demens!, et sævas curre per Alpes, ut pueris placeas, et declamatio fias: go

madman!, and run over the savage Alps to please schoolboys, and become the

subject of declamation (Juvenal, in reference to Hannibal)

iam seges est ubi Troia fuit: now are cornfields where Troy once was (Ovid)

iam ver egelidos refert tepores: now Spring restores balmy warmth (Catullus)

ibi omnis effusus labor: by that one (negligence) all his labor was lost (Virgil) ibis, redibis, non morieris in bello illa placet tellus in qua res parva

ibis, redibis, non morieris in bello: you shall go, you shall return, you shall not die

in the wars (an ambiguous quote that can also be rendered: ibis, redibis non,

morieris in bello: you shall go, you shall not return, you shall die in the wars)

id mutavit, quoniam me immutatum videt: he has changed his mind because he

sees me unchanged (Terence)

id quod est præstantissimum maximeque optabile omnibus sanis et bonis et

beatis, cum dignitate otium: the thing that is the most outstanding, and chiefly

to be desired by all healthy and good and well-off persons, is leisure with honor

(Cicero)

idoneus quidem mea sententia, præsertim quum et ipse eum audiverit, et

scribat de mortuo; ex quo nulla suspicio est amicitiæ causa eum esse

mentitum: a competent person in my opinion, as he was accustomed often to hear

him, and published his sentiments after the subject of them ceased to exist; there is

no reason therefore to suppose that his partiality has misled him from the truth

(Cicero)

ignavissimus quisque, et, ut res docuit, in periculo non ausurus, nimio verbis et

lingua ferox: every coward, who, as experience has proved, will fly in the hour of

danger, is the most boastful in his words and language afterward (Tacitus)

ignavum fucos pecus a præsepibus arcent: they (bees) drive from their hives the

drones, a lazy bunch (Virgil)

ignoranti quem portum petat, nullus suus ventus est: if a person does not know

to which port he is steering, no wind is favorable to him (Seneca)

ignorent populi, si non in morte probaris, an scieris adversa pati: the world

would not know, if you did not prove by your death, that you knew how to bear up

against adverse circumstances (Lucan, in reference to Pompey)

ignotis errare locis, ignota videre flumina gaudebat, studio minuente laborem:

he delighted to wander over unknown regions, to visit unknown rivers, the interest

lessening the fatigue (Ovid)

iliacos intra muros peccatur et extra: sin is committed as well within the walls of

Troy as without (i.e., both sides are to be blamed) (Virgil and Horace)

ilicet infandum cuncti contra omina bellum contra fata deum, perverso numine

poscunt: forthwith, against the omens and against the oracles of the gods, all to a

man, under an adverse influence, clamor for unholy war (Virgil)

illa est agricolæ messis iniqua suo: that is a harvest that ill repays its husbandman

(Ovid)

illa injusta bella sunt, quæ sunt sine causa suscepta; nam extra ulciscendi aut

propulsandorum hostium causam bellum geri justum nullum potest: those

wars are unjust that are undertaken without provocation; for only a war waged for

revenge or defense can be just (Cicero)

illa laus est, magno in genere et in divitiis maximis, liberos hominem educare,

generi monumentum et sibi: it is a merit in a man of high birth and large fortune

to train up his children so as to be a credit to his family and himself (Plautus)

illa placet tellus in qua res parva beatum me facit, et tenues luxuriantur opes:

that spot of earth has special charms for me, in which a limited income produces

happiness, and moderate wealth abundance (Martial)

illam, quicquid agit, quoquo vestigial immortale odium et nunquam

illam, quicquid agit, quoquo vestigia flectit, componit furtim, subsequiturque

decor: in whatever she does, wherever she turns, grace steals into her movements

and attends her steps (Tibullus)

ille fuit vitæ Mario modus, omnia passo quæ pejor Fortuna potest, omnibus uso

quæ melior: such was the complexion of the life of Marius, that he had suffered

the worst inflictions of Fortune, and enjoyed her choicest blessings (Lucan)

ille igitur nunquam direxit brachia contra torrentem; nec civis erat qui libera

posset verba animi proferre et vitam impendere vero: he never was that citizen

who would attempt to swim against the torrent, who would freely make his

opinions known, and stake his life for the truth (Juvenal)

ille per extentum funem mihi posse videtur ire poëta, meum qui pectus

inaniter angit irritat mulcet falsis terroribus implet ut magus: et modo me

Thebis, modo ponit Athenis: that man seems to me able to walk on the tightrope

who, as a poet, tortures my breast with fictions, can rouse me, then soothe me, fill

me with unreal terrors like a magician, set me down either at Thebes or Athens

(Horace)

ille potens sui lætusque degit, cui licet in diem dixisse, vixi: cras vel atra nube

polum pater occupato vel sole puro: the man lives master of himself and

cheerful, who can say day after day, I have lived; tomorrow let the Father above

overspread the sky either with cloud or with clear sunshine (Horace)

ille quidem dignum virtutibus suis vitæ terminum posuit: he ended his days in a

manner befitting his virtues (Apuleius)

ille vir haud magna cum re, sed plenus fidei: he is a man, not of large fortune, but

full of good faith

illi inter sese multa vi brachia tollunt in numerum, versantque tenaci forcipe

massam: they (the Cyclops), keeping time, one by one raise their arms with mighty

force, and turn the iron lump with the biting tongs (Virgil)

illi robur et æs triplex circe pectus erat, qui fragilem truci commisit pelago

ratem primus: that man had oak and triple brass around his breast who first

entrusted his frail raft to the savage sea (Horace)

illud amicitiæ sanctum ac venerabile nomen nunc tibi pro vili sub pedibusque

jacet: the sacred and venerable name of friendship is now despised by you and

trodden under foot (Ovid)

imago animi vultus est, indices oculi: the countenance is the portrait of the soul,

and the eyes mark its intentions (Cicero)

immo id, quod aiunt, auribus teneo lupum nam neque quomodo a me amittam,

invenio: neque, uti retineam scio: it is true, they say, I have caught a wolf by the

ears: for I know neither how to get rid of him nor how to keep him in restraint

(Terence)

immoritur studiis, et amore senescit habendi: he is killing himself with his

efforts, and in his greed of gain is becoming an old man (Horace)

immortale odium et nunquam sanabile vulnus: a deadly hatred, and a wound that

can never be healed (i.e., religious disagreement) (Juvenal) improbæ crescunt divitiæ, tamen in solo vivendi causa palato est

improbæ crescunt divitiæ, tamen curtæ nescio quid semper abest rei: riches

increase to an enormous extent, yet something is ever wanting to our still imperfect

fortune (Horace)

improbe amor, quid non mortalia pectora cogis?: cruel love, what is there to

which you do not drive mortal hearts? (Virgil)

in æquali jure melior est conditio possidentis: where the right is equal, the claim

of the party in possession is the best (or, possession is nine-tenths of the law)

in amore hæc omnia insunt vitia; injuriæ, suspiciones, inimicitiæ, induciæ,

bellum, pax rursus: in love there are all these evils, wrongs, suspicions, enmities,

treaties, and alternate war and peace (Terence)

in furias ignemque ruunt; amor omnibus idem: they rush into the flames of

passion; love is the same in all (Virgil)

in illo viro, tantum robur corporis et animi fuit, ut quocunque loco natus esset,

fortunam sibi facturus videretur: in that man there was such oak-like strength of

body and mind that whatever his rank by birth might have been, he gave promise of

attaining the highest place in the lists of fortune (Livy, said of Cato the Elder)

in manus tuas commendo spiritum meum: into Thy hands I commend my spirit

(Luke 23:46; one of the Seven Last Words of Christ)

in melle sunt sitæ linguæ vestræ atque orationes, corda felle sunt lita atque

aceto: your tongues and your words are steeped in honey, but your hearts are in

gall and vinegar (Plautus)

in mercatura facienda multæ fallaciæ et quasi præstigiæ exercentur: in

commerce many deceptions, not to say legerdemain, are practiced

in nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas corpora: I am inclined to speak of

bodies changed into new forms (Ovid)

in nullum reipublicæ usum ambitiosa loquela inclaruit: he became celebrated for

an affected and ambitious verbosity attended with no advantage whatsoever to the

republic (Tacitus)

in omnibus negotiis prius quam aggrediare, adhibenda est præparatio diligens:

in all matters, before beginning, a diligent preparation should be made (Cicero)

in pretio pretium est, dat census honores, census amicitias; pauper ubique

jacet: worth lies in wealth; wealth purchases honors and friendships; the poor man

everywhere is neglected (Ovid)

in principatu commutando, civium nil præter domini nomen mutant pauperes:

in a change of masters, the poor change nothing except their master’s name

(Phжdrus)

in principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum:

in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was

God (St. John 1:1)

in scirpo nodum quæris: you are looking for a knot in a bullrush (Plautus)

in solo vivendi causa palato est: to gratify the palate is the sole object of their

existence (Juvenal)

in te, Domine, speravi; non infandum, regina, jubes renovare

in te, Domine, speravi; non confundar in æternum: Lord, I have set my hope in

thee; I shall not be destroyed forever

in turbas et discordias pessimo cuique plurima vis: pax et quies bonis artibus

indigent: in seasons of tumult and discord, the worst men have most power;

mental and moral excellence require peace and quietness (Tacitus)

incedis per ignes suppositos cineri doloso: you are treading on fires hidden under

a treacherous crust of ashes (after Horace)

inceptis gravibus plerumque et magna professis, purpureus, late qui splendeat,

unus et alter adsuitur pannus: oftentimes to lofty beginnings and to such as

promise great things, one or two purple patches are stitched on in order to make a

brilliant display (Horace)

incerta hæc si tu postules ratione certa facere, nihilo plus agas, quam si des

operam ut cum ratione insanias: if you require reason to make that certain

which is uncertain, you are simply attempting to go mad by the rules of reason

(Terence)

incidit in Scyllam qui vult vitare Charybdim: he falls into Scylla in struggling to

escape Charybdis (i.e., to fall into one danger while trying to avoid another)

(Horace)

incipe; dimidium facti est coepisse. Supersit dimidium: rursum hoc incipe, et

efficies: begin; to begin is half the work. Let half still remain; begin this again, and

you will have finished (Ausonius)

incipe, parve puer, risu cognoscere matrem: begin, little boy, to recognize your

mother with a smile (Virgil)

indica tigris agit rabida cum tigride pacem perpetuam; sævis inter se convenit

ursis; ast homini ferrum letale incude nefanda produxisse parum est: the

Indian tigers live in perpetual peace with each rabid tigress; savage bears agree

among themselves; but man without remorse beats out the deadly sword on the

accursed anvil (Juvenal)

indignor quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus: I am indignant when sometimes

even Homer nods off (Horace)

indignor quidquam reprehendi, non quia crasse compositum, illepideve

putetur, sed quia nuper: I feel indignant when a work is censured not as uncouth

or rough, but as new

indocti discant, et ament meminisse periti: let the unlearned learn, and the

learned take pleasure in refreshing their memories (Hйnault, after Pope)

inerat Vitellio simplicitas ac liberalitas, quæ, nisi adsit modus, in exitium

vertuntur: Vitellius possessed both simplicity and liberality, qualities which, unless

taken in moderation, are generally ruinous to the possessor (Tacitus)

inertis est nescire, quid liceat sibi. Id facere, laus est, quod decet; non, quod

licet: it is the act of the indolent not to know what he may lawfully do. It is

praiseworthy to do what is becoming, and not merely what is lawful (Seneca)

inest virtus et mens interrita lethi: he has a valiant heart and a soul undaunted by

death (Ovid)

infandum, regina, jubes renovare dolorem: a grief too great to be told, O queen,

you bid me renew (Virgil, Aeneas’s reply to Dido) infantem nudum cum te natura integer vitæ scelerisque purus non

infantem nudum cum te natura creavit, paupertatis onus patienter ferre

memento: nature having created you and made you come into the world naked,

remember to bear poverty with patience (Cato)

infelix Dido nulli bene jucta marito: hoc pereunte fugis, hoc fugiente peris:

unhappy Dido ill-provided with husband and lover: the former by dying causes

your flight, the latter by fleeing causes your death (Ovid)

infinita est velocitas temporis, quæ magis apparet respicientibus: the swiftness

of time is infinite, as is most evident to those who look back (Seneca)

inflatum plenumque Nerone propinquo: puffed up and full of his relationship to

Nero (Juvenal)

infortunia nostra, alienis collata, leviora: our misfortunes, compared with those of

others, become lighter (from the Emblemata of Alciato)

ingeniis patuit campus, certusque merenti stat favor: ornatur propriis industria

donis: the field is open to talent and merit is sure of its reward: the gifts with which

industry is crowned are her own

ingenio arbusta ubi nata sunt non obsitu: where trees have grown by nature’s art,

not planted by human hands (Nжvius)

ingenium cui sit, cui mens divinior, atque os magna sonaturum, des nominis

hujus honorem: the one who possesses genius, a superior mind, and eloquence to

display great things, is entitled to the honored name of poet (Horace)

ingenium ingens inculto latet hoc sub corpore: a great genius lies hid under this

coarse body (or rough exterior) (Horace)

ingenium magni detractat livor Homeri: envy depreciates the genius of the great

Homer (Ovid)

ingentes animos angusto in corpore versant: they have mighty souls at work

within a stinted body (Virgil)

ingrata patria, ne ossa quidem mea habebis: ungrateful country, you shall not

have even my bones (Scipio Africanus)

ingratus est, qui beneficium accepisse se negat, quod accepit: ingratus est, qui

dissimulat; ingratus, qui non reddit; ingratissimus omnium, qui oblitus est:

he is ungrateful who denies that he has received a kindness which has been

bestowed upon him: he is ungrateful who conceals it; he is ungrateful who makes

no return for it; most ungrateful of all is he who forgets it (Seneca)

ingrediturque solo, et caput inter nubila condit: she (fame) walks on the earth,

and her head is concealed in the clouds (Virgil)

insani sapiens nomen ferat, æquus iniqui, ultra quod satis est virtutem si petat

ipsam: let the wise man bear the name of fool, and the just of injust, if he pursue

virtue itself beyond the proper bounds (Horace)

insanire parat certa ratione modoque: he is preparing to act the madman with a

certain degree of reason and method (i.e., there is a method in his madness)

(Horace)

integer vitæ scelerisque purus non eget Mauris jaculis neque arcu: the man of

upright life and free from crime has no need of Moorish javelin or bow (Horace)

inter cetera mala, hoc quoque habet ira furor brevis est; animum rege

inter cetera mala, hoc quoque habet stultitia proprium, semper incipit vivere:

among other evils, folly has also this special characteristic, it is always beginning to

live (Seneca)

inter Græcos græcissimus, inter Latinos latinissimus: in Greek he is the most

accomplished Grecian, and in Latin the most thorough Latinist (said of Erasmus)

inter spem curamque, timores inter et iras, omnem crede diem tibi diluxisse

supremum; grata superveniet quæ non sperabitur hora: in the midst of hope

and care, in the midst of fears and passions, believe each day that dawns on you is

your last; more gratefully will you greet the hour that is not expected (Horace)

interea gustus elementa per omnia quærunt, nunquam animo pretiis

obstantibus; interius si attendas, magis illa juvant, quæ pluris emuntur: in the

meantime, they search for relishes through all the elements, with minds regardless

of expense; look at it closely, those things please more that cost the higher price

(Juvenal)

intus et in jecore ægro nascuntur domini: masters spring up in our own breasts,

and from a sickly liver (Persius)

inveni portum, Spes et Fortuna valete, sat me lusistis, ludite nunc alios: I have

reached the port; Hope and Fortune, farewell; you have made sport enough of me,

make sport of others now (the final lines of Le Sage’s novel Gil Blas)

invidus alterius macrescit rebus opimis; invidia Siculi non invenere tyranni

majus tormentus: the envious man grows lean at the prosperity of another; no

greater punishment than envy was devised by Sicilian tyrants (Horace)

invidus, iracundus, iners, vinosus, amator, nemo adeo ferus est, ut non

mitescere possit, si modo culturæ patientem commodet aurem: the envious,

the passionate, the indolent, the drunken, the lewd, none is so savage that he

cannot be tamed, if only he lend a patient ear to culture (Horace)

invisa potentia, atque miseranda vita eorum, qui se metui quam amari malunt:

the power is detested, and the life wretched, of those who would rather be feared

than loved (Cornelius Nepos)

ipsæ rursum concedite sylvæ: once again, ye woods, I say good-bye (Virgil)

ipse dixit. Ipse autem erat Pythagoras: he himself said it. This himself was

Pythagoras (Cicero)

ipse docet quid agam; fas est et ab hoste doceri: he himself teaches me what to

do; it is right to be taught by the enemy (Ovid)

ipse pavet; nec qua commissas flectat habenas, nec scit qua sit iter; nec, si sciat,

imperet illis: scared himself, he knows neither how to turn the reins entrusted to

him, nor which way to go; nor, if he did, could he control the horses (Ovid, said of

Phaлthon)

ipse quis sit, utrum sit an non sit, id quoque nescit: he knows not who he is, nor

if he is, nor if he is not (Catullus)

ira furor brevis est; animum rege, qui, nisi paret, imperat; hunc frenis, hunc tu

compesce catena: anger is a brief madness; control your temper, for unless it

obeys, it commands you; restrain it with bit and chain (Horace)

irarum tantos volvis sub pectore jam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnia

irarum tantos volvis sub pectore fluctus?: do you roll such billows of wrath within

your breast? (Virgil)

iras et verba locant: they let out for hire their passions and their words (Martial)

ire tamen restat, Numa quo devenit et Ancus: it still remains for you to go where

Numa has gone, and Ancus before you (Horace)

is habitus animorum fuit, ut pessimum facinus auderent pauci, plures vellent,

omnes paterentur: such was the public temper, that some few dared to perpetrate

the vilest crimes, more were desirous to do so, and all looked passively on (Tacitus)

is mihi demum vivere et frui anima videtur, qui aliquo negotio intentus,

præclari facinoris aut artis bonæ famam quærit: he alone appears to me to live

and to enjoy life, who, being engaged in some business, seeks reputation by some

famous action, or some useful art (Sallust)

is mihi videtur amplissimus qui sua virtute in altiorem locum pervenit: he is in

my regard the most illustrious man who has risen by his own virtues (Cicero)

is ordo vitio careto, cæteris specimen esto: let that order be free from vice, and

afford an example to all others (from the Twelve Tables, in reference to the

Patricians)

ista decens facies longis vitiabitur annis; rugaque in antiqua fronte senilis erit:

your comely face will be marred by length of years; and the wrinkle of age will one

day scar your aged brow (Ovid)

ita feri ut se mori sentiat: strike him so that he can feel that he is dying (Suetonius,

attributed to Caligula)

ita me Dii ament!, ubi sim nescio: may God love me!, for I know not where I am

(Terence)

ita oportuit intrare in gloriam suam: so in that way he was obliged to enter in his

glory

J

jacet ecce Tibullus, vix manet e toto parva quod urna capit: see, here Tibullus

lies, of all that he was there hardly remains enough to fill a little urn (Ovid)

jam nunc minaci murmure cornuum perstringis aures; jam litui strepunt: even

now you stun our ears with the threatening murmur of horns; already I hear the

clarions sound (Horace)

jam pauca aratro jugera regiæ moles relinquent: soon will regal piles leave but

few acres to the plough (Horace)

jam portum inveni, Spes et Fortuna valete!; nil mihi vobiscum est, ludite nunc

alios: now I have gained the port, Hope and Fortune, farewell!; I have nothing

more to do with you, now go make sport of others (an epitaph)

jam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna: now the Virgin goddess of justice

returns, now the reign of Saturn (the return of Astrжa, goddess of Justice, was

thought by Romans to be a signal for the return of the Golden Age) (Virgil)

jam seges est ubi Troja fuit

justitia nihil exprimit præmii, nihil

jam seges est ubi Troja fuit, resecandaque falce luxuriat Phrygio sanguine

pinguis humus: new fields of corn wave where Troy once stood, and the ground

enriched with Trojan blood is luxuriant with grain ready for the sickle (Ovid)

jam summa procul villarum culmina fumant: now the high tops of the far-off

villas send forth their smoke (Virgil)

jam ver egelidos refert tepores: now Spring restores balmy warmth (Catullus)

jamque dies, ni fallor adest quem semper acerbum semper honoratum (sic dii

voluistis) habebo: that day I shall always recollect with grief; with reverence also

(for the gods so willed it) (Virgil)

jamque opus exegi quod nec Jovis ira, nec ignis, nec poterit ferrum, nec edax

abolere vetustas: I have now completed a work that neither the wrath of Jove, nor

fire, nor sword, nor the consuming tooth of time, shall be able to destroy (Ovid,

meant as irony)

Jasper fert myrrham, thus Melchior, Balthazar aurum. Hæc quicum secum

portet tria nomina regum, solvitur a morbo, Domini pietate, caduco: Jasper

brings myrrh, Melchior frankincense, and Balthazar gold. Whoever carries with

him the names of these three kings will, by the grace of the Lord, be exempt from

the falling sickness (a medieval European charm)

jubilate Deo, omnis terra; servite Domino in lætitia: sing joyfully to God, all the

earth; serve the Lord with gladness (Psalm 99:2)

jucunda atque idonea dicere vitæ (or, jucunda et idonea dicere vitæ): to describe

whatever is pleasant and proper in life (Horace)

judice te mercede caret, per seque petenda est externis virtus incomitata

bonis: in your judgment virtue needs no reward, and is to be sought for its own

sake, unaccompanied by external benefits (Ovid)

junctæque Nymphis Gratiæ decentes: the beauteous Graces linked hand in hand

with the Nymphs (Horace)

jungere equos Titan velocibus imperat Horis: Titan commands the swift-flying

Hours to yoke the horses of the sun (Ovid)

Jupiter in multos temeraria fulmina torquet, qui poenem culpa non meruere

pati: Jupiter hurls his reckless thunderbolts against many who have not by guilt

deserved such punishment (Ovid)

jura negat sibi nata, nihil non arrogat armis: he denies that laws were made for

him, and claims everything by force of arms (Horace)

juravi lingua, mentem injuratam gero: I have sworn with my tongue, but my mind

is unsworn (Cicero)

jus omnium in omnia, et consequenter bellum omnium in omnes: the right of

all to everything, and therefore of all to make war on all (Hobbes)

jus sanguinis, quod in legitimis succesionibus spectatur, ipso nativitatis

tempore quæsitum est: the right of blood, which is regarded in all lawful

inheritances, is found in the very time of nativity

justitia nihil exprimit præmii, nihil pretii: per se igitur expetitur: justice extorts

no reward, no kind of price; it is sought, therefore, for its own sake (Cicero) justitia non novit patrem nec latrantem curatne alta Diana

justitia non novit patrem nec matrem, solum veritatem spectat: justice knows

neither father nor mother, it regards the truth alone

justitia tanta vis est, ut ne illi quidem, qui maleficio et scelere pascuntur,

possint sine ulla particula justitiæ vivere: there is such force in justice, that even

those who live by crime and wickedness cannot live without some small portion of

it among them (Cicero)

justum bellum quibus necessarium, et pia arma quibus nulla nisi in armis

relinquitur spes: war is just to those for whom it is necessary, and to take up arms

is a sacred duty with those who have no other hope left (Livy)

justum et tenacem propositi virum, non civium ardor prava jubentium, non

vultus instantis tyranni mente quatit solida: not the rage of the citizens

commanding wrongful measures, not the aspect of the threatening tyrant, can

shake from his firm purpose the person who is just and resolute (Horace)

L

labitur et labetur in omne volubilis ævum: the stream flows, and will go on

flowing forever (Horace)

labitur occulte, fallitque volubilis ætas, ut celer admissis labitur amnis aquis:

time rolls on steadily, and eludes us as it steals past, like the swift river that glides

on with rapid stream (Ovid)

labor omnia vincit improbus, et duris urgens in rebus egestas: persevering labor

overcomes all difficulties, and want that urges us on in the pressure of things

(Virgil)

lacrimus oculos suffusa nitentis: her glittering eyes filled with tears (Virgil)

lacrymæque decoræ, gratior et pulchro veniens in corpore virtus: his tears

become him, and even virtue becomes more pleasing when it shows itself in a fairer

form (Virgil)

lætus in præsens animus, quod ultra est oderit curare, et amara lento temperet

risu. Nihil est ab omni parte beatum: the mind that is cheerfully contented with

the present will shrink from caring about anything beyond, and will temper the

bitter things of life with an easy smile. There is nothing that is blessed in every

respect (Horace)

lætus sum laudari me abs te, pater, a laudato viro: I am pleased it is you, father, a

man highly praised, who praises me (Nжvius and Cicero, quoting the words of

Hector)

lapsus ubi?, quid feci?, aut officii quid omissum est?: where did I err?, what did I

accomplish?, or what duty was left undone? (from the Emblemata of Alciato)

latius regnes, avidum domando spiritum, quam si Libyam remotis Gadibus

jungas, et uterque Poenus serviat uni: by subduing an avaricious spirit you will

rule a wider empire than if you united Libya to the far-off Gades, and the

Carthaginian on both shores should be subject to you alone (Horace)

latrantem curatne alta Diana canem?: does the high-stepping Diana care for the

dog that bays her?

laudant illa sed ista legunt

licet quot vis vivendo condere sæcla

laudant illa sed ista legunt: they praise those works, but they are not the ones they

read (Martial)

laudate Dominum, omnes gentes; laudate eum, omnes populi: praise the Lord,

all nations; praise him, all peoples (Psalm 117:1)

laudatus abunde, non fastiditus si tibi, lector, ero: abundantly, reader, shall I be

praised if I do not cause you disgust (Ovid)

laudem virtutis necessitati damus: we give to necessity the praise of virtue

(Quintilian)

laudibus arguitur vini vinosus: he is convicted of being a wine-bibber by his praise

of wine (Horace)

laudo Deum verum, plebem voco, congrego clerum, defunctos ploro, pestem

fugo, festa decoro: I praise the true God, I summon the people, I call together the

clergy, I bewail the dead, I put to flight plague, I celebrate festivals (inscription on a

church bell)

laudo manentem; si celeres quatit pennas, resigno quæ dedit, et mea virtute me

involvo probamque pauperiem sine dote quæro: I praise her (Fortune) while she

stays with me; if she flaps her swift feathers, I resign all she has given me, and wrap

myself up in my own virtue and pay addresses to honest undowered poverty (Horace)

legum ministri magistratus, legum interpretes judices; legum denique idcirco

omnes servi sumus, ut liberi esse possimus: the magistrates are the ministers of

the laws, the judges their interpreters; we are all, in short, servants of the laws, so

that we may be a free people (Cicero)

legum servi sumus ut liberi esse possimus: we are slaves of the law so that we may

be able to be free (Cicero)

leniter ex merito quidquid patiare ferendum est, quæ venit indigne poena

dolenda venit: whatever you suffer deservedly should be borne with resignation;

the penalty that comes upon us undeservedly comes as a matter for just complaint

(Ovid)

lepus tute es; et pulpamentum quæris!: you are a rabbit; yet you seek game!

(Livius Andronicus)

lex est ratio summa insita in natura, quæ jubet ea, quæ facienda sunt,

prohibetque contraria: law is the highest reason implanted in nature, which

commands what ought to be done and forbids what is contrary (Cicero)

libera Fortunæ mors est; capit omnia tellus quæ genuit: death is not subject to

Fortune; the earth holds everything that she ever brought forth (Lucan)

libera me ab homine malo, a meipso: deliver me from the evil man, from myself

(St. Augustine)

libertas, quæ sera, tamen respexit inertem: liberty, which, though late, regarded

me in my helpless state (Virgil)

libertas ultima mundi quo steterit ferienda loco: in the spot where liberty has

made her last stand she was fated to be smitten (Lucan, attributed to Julius Cжsar)

licet quot vis vivendo condere sæcla; mors æterna tamen nilo minus illa

manebit: you may live to complete as many generations as you will, nevertheless,

that everlasting death will still be waiting (Lucretius)

lingua melior, sed frigida bello luxuriant animi rebus plerumque

lingua melior, sed frigida bello dextera: excels in speech, but of a right hand slow

to war (Virgil)

linguæ centum sunt, oraque centum, ferrea vox: it (rumor) has a hundred

tongues, a hundred mouths, a voice of iron (Virgil)

linquenda tellus, et domus, et placens uxor, neque harum, quas colis, arborum,

te, præter invisas cupressos, ulla brevem dominum sequetur: your estate, your

home, and your pleasing wife must be left, and of these trees that you are rearing,

not one shall follow you, their short-lived owner, except the hateful cypresses (the

cypress being used to mark graveyards) (Horace)

litoria litoribus contraria, fluctibus undas imprecor, arma armis; pugnent

ipsique nepotes!: I pray that shore shall clash with shore, and wave with billow; let

them fight themselves and their descendants! (Virgil)

longa est injuria, longæ ambages: the account of this injury is long, and longer for

the telling of it (Virgil)

longa mora est, quantum noxæ sit ubique repertum enumerare; minor fuit ipsa

infamia vero: it would take long to enumerate how great an amount of crime was

everywhere perpetrated; even the report itself came short of the truth (Ovid)

longe mea discrepat istis et vox et ratio: both my language and my sentiments

differ widely from theirs (Horace)

longumque illud tempus cum non ero magis me movet quam hoc exiguum,

quod mihi tamen longum videtur: that long time to come when I shall not exist

has more affect on me than this short present time, which seems endless (Cicero)

luctantem Icariis fluctibus Africum mercator metuens, otium et oppidi laudat

rura sui; mox reficit rates quassas, indocilis pauperiem pati: the merchant,

dreading the southwest wind wrestling with the Icarian waves, praises retirement

and the rural life of his native town; but soon he repairs his shattered boat,

incapable of being taught to endure poverty (Horace)

lucus a non lucendo: the grove does not shine (a play on the words lucus, grove, and

lucendo, shine)

ludit in humanis divina potentia rebus, et certam præsens vix habet hora

fidem: the powers above seem to play with human affairs, so that we can scarcely

be assured of the present hour [which itself is passing] (Ovid)

lupo agnum eripere postulant: they insist on snatching the lamb from the wolf

(Plautus)

lupus est homo homini, non homo, quom qualis sit non novit (or simply, homo

homini lupus): man is a wolf to man, not a man, when he has not yet found out

what he is like (Plautus)

lusisti satis, edisti satis, atque bibisti; tempus abire tibi est: you have amused

yourself, you have eaten and have drunk enough; it is time for you to depart (Horace)

luxuriant animi rebus plerumque secundis; nec facile est æqua commoda mente

pati: the feelings generally run riot in prosperity; and to bear good fortune with

evenness of mind is no easy task (Ovid)

macies et nova febrium terris

major sum quam cui possit Fortuna

M

macies et nova febrium terris incubuit cohors: a wasting disease and an unheardof

battalion of fevers have swooped down on the earth (Horace)

macte nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad astra: persevere in virtue (or valor), my son,

thus is the way to the stars (Virgil)

maculæ quas incuria fudit: the blemishes (or errors) that carelessness has produced

magister artis ingeniique largitor venter: the belly is the teacher of arts, and the

bestower of genius (i.e., hunger [necessity] is the mother of invention) (Persius)

magna eloquentia, sicut flamma, materia alitur, et motibus excitatur et urendo

clarescit: it is the eloquence as of a flame; it requires material to feed it, motion to

excite it, and it brightens as it burns (Tacitus)

magna est admiratio copiose sapienterque dicentis: great is our admiration of the

orator who speaks with fluency and discretion (Cicero)

magna fuit quondam capitis reverentia cani, inque suo pretio ruga senilis erat:

great was the respect formerly paid to the hoary head, and great the honor to the

wrinkles of age (Ovid)

magna vis est, magnum nomen, unum et idem sentientis senatus: great is the

power, great the authority, of a senate which is unanimous in its opinions (Cicero)

Magne Pater Divum, sævos punire tyrannos, haud alia ratione velis: virtutem

videant, intabescantque videndo: Great Father of the Gods, devise for tyrants no

punishment but this: let them contemplate virtue and wither in despair at having

forsaken it (Persius)

magnificat anima mea Dominum; et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari

meo: my soul magnifies the Lord; and my spirit rejoices in God my savior (the

Hymn of the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation, St. Luke 1:46-47)

magno de flumine mallem quam ex hoc fonticulo tantundem sumere: I had

rather take my glass of water from a great river like this than from this little fountain

(Horace, criticizing those who store large quantities of things and never use them)

magnum hoc ego duco quod placui tibi qui turpi secernis honestum: I account

it a great honor that I have pleased a man like you, who knows so well to

discriminate between the base and the honorable (Horace)

magnus ab integro sæculorum (or sæclorum) nascitur ordo: the mighty cycle of

the ages begins its turn anew (Virgil)

major privato visus dum privatus fuit, et omnium consensu capax imperii nisi

imperasset: he seemed much greater than a private citizen while he was a private

citizen, and had he never become emperor everyone would have agreed that he had

the capacity to be emperor (Tacitus, said of Emperor Galba)

major rerum mihi nascitur ordo: a greater succession of events presents itself to

my muse (Virgil)

major sum quam cui possit Fortuna nocere multaque ut eripiat, multo mihi

plura relinquet. Excessere metum mea jam bona: I am above being injured by

Fortune; though she snatch away much, more will remain to me. The blessings I

now enjoy transcend fear (Ovid)

majore tumultu planguntur nummi me justum esse gratis oportet

majore tumultu planguntur nummi quam funera, nemo dolorem fingit in hoc

casu. … Ploratur lacrimis amissa pecunia veris: money is bewailed with a

greater tumult than death; no one feigns grief in this case. … The loss of money is

wept over with true tears (Juvenal)

mala mali malo mala contulit omnia mundo; causa mali tanti foemina sola fuit:

man’s jaw and an apple brought all evils in the world; and the cause of all this

mischief was the woman

mala merx hæc, et callida est: she is a bad bargain and a crafty one (Plautus)

male si mandata loquaris, aut dormitabo aut ridebo: if you deliver badly what is

committed to you, I shall either laugh or fall asleep (Horace)

malim indisertam prudentiam, quam stultitiam loquacem: I prefer sense that is

faulty in expression to loquacious folly (Cicero)

malo cum Platone errare, quam cum aliis recte sentire: I had rather be wrong

with Plato than think right with others (Cicero)

malus est enim custos diuturnitatis metus, contraque benevolentia fidelis vel

ad perpetuitatem: fear is a bad custodian of that which is intended to last; whereas

mildness and goodwill ensure fidelity forever (Cicero)

manet alta mente repostum, judicium Paridis spretæque injuria formæ: deepseated

in her mind remains the judgment of Paris and the wrong done to her

slighted beauty (Virgil, referring to Juno’s vengeance)

Mantua me genuit, Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc Parthenope, cecini pascua,

rura, duces: Mantua gave me birth, Calabri snatched me away, now Parthenope

holds me; I sang of shepherds, pastures, and heroes (Virgil’s epitaph)

Mantua, væ!, miseræ nimium vicina Cremonæ: Mantua, alas!, too near the

unhappy Cremona (quoted by Jonathan Swift upon seeing a woman accidentally

sweep a violin off a table with her dress)

manum non verterim, digitum non porrexerim: I would not turn my hand or

stretch out my finger (Cicero)

mare quidem, commune certo est omnibus: the sea surely is common to all

(Plautus)

maria montesque polliceri coepit: he began to promise seas and mountains (Sallust)

marmoreo Licinus tumulo jacet, at Cato parvo, Pompeius nullo. Quis putet

esse deos? Saxa premunt Licinum, levat altum Fama Catonem, Pompeium

tituli. Credimus esse deos: Licinus lies in a marble tomb, Cato in a humble one,

Pompey in none. Who can believe that the gods exist? Heavy lies the stone on Licinus;

Fame raises Cato on high; his glories raise Pompey. We believe that the gods do exist

martyres non facit poena sed causa: not the punishmnent but the cause makes the

martyr (St. Augustine)

materiem, qua sis ingeniosus, habes: you have a subject on which to show your

ingenuity (i.e., a task upon which to display your talents) (Ovid)

maxima debetur puero reverentia, si quid turpe paras, nec tu pueri

contempseris annos: we owe the greatest reverence to a child; if you ever have

something base in mind, do not ignore your son’s tender years (Juvenal)

me justum esse gratis oportet: it is my duty to show justice without recompense

(Seneca)

me miseram, quod amor non est

merses profundo; pulchrior evenit

me miseram, quod amor non est medicabilis herbis!: oh, unhappy me, that there

should be no herbs to cure love!

me nemo ministro fur erit: no one shall become a thief with my help (Juvenal)

me non solum piget stultitiæ meæ, sed etiam pudet: I am not only annoyed at my

folly, I am ashamed of it

mea mihi conscientia pluris est quam omnium sermo: my own conscience is

more to me than what the world says (Cicero)

mea virtute me involvo: I wrap myself in my virtue (Horace)

mecum facile redeo in gratiam: I easily recover my goodwill myself (Phжdrus)

medio de fonte leporum, surgit amari aliquid, quod in ipsis floribus angat:

from the midst of the very fountain of delight, something bitter arises to vex us

even amid the flowers themselves (Lucretius)

mediocribus esse poëtis non di (or dii), non homines, non concessere

columnæ: mediocrity in poets is condemned by gods and men, and booksellers too

(Horace)

mel in ore, verba lactis, fel in corde, fraus in factis (also, mel in ore et verba

lactis, sed fel in corde et fraus in factis): honey in his mouth, words of milk; gall

in his heart, deceit in his deeds

melius non tangere, clamo: I cry out, better it is not to touch (Horace)

melius, pejus, prosit, obsit, nil vident nisi quod libuerit: better or worse, for

good or for harm, they see nothing but what they please (Terence)

membra reformidant mollem quoque saucia tactum; vanaque sollicitis incutit

umbra metum: the wounded limb shrinks from even a gentle touch, and the

unsubstantial shadow strikes the timid with alarm (Ovid)

memini etiam quæ nolo, oblivisci non possum quæ volo: I remember what I

would not, and I cannot forget what I would (Themistocles, as quoted by Cicero)

men servasse ut essent qui me perderent?: did I save them that they might

destroy me? (Pacuvius)

mene salis placidi vultum fluctusque quietos ignorare jubes? Mene huic

confidere monstro?: do you desire that I should not distrust the appearance of the

placid sea, and of the waves which are now quiet? Do you wish that I should

confide in such a monster? (Virgil)

mens immota manet; lachrymæ volvuntur inanes: the mind remains unmoved;

tears are shed in vain (Virgil)

mens peccat, non corpus, et unde consilium abfuit culpa abest: it is the mind

that sins, not the body, and where there was no intention there is no criminality

(Livy)

mensuraque juris vis erat: and might was the measure of right (Lucan)

meo sum pauper in ære: I am poor, but I am not in debt (Horace)

meos tam suspicione quam crimine judico carere oportere: I judge that

members of my family should never be suspected of breaking the law (Julius Cжsar)

merses profundo; pulchrior evenit: plunge it into the depths; it comes forth all the

fairer (Horace)

meum est propositum in taberna miseris succurrere disco

meum est propositum in taberna mori, ut sint vina proxima morientis ori. Tunc

cantabunt lætius angelorum chori, sit Deus propitius huic potatori: I desire

to end my days in a tavern drinking, may my neighbor hold for me the glass when I

am sinking; that the chorus of angels may cry, God be merciful to this the one who

has been drinking (a 12th-century poem)

meus hic est; hamum vorat: he’s mine; he has swallowed my hook (Plautus)

meus mihi, suus cuique (est) carus: mine is dear to me, and dear is his to everyone

(Plautus)

migravit ab aure voluptas omnis: all pleasure has fled from the ear (Horace)

mihi forsan, tibi quod negarit, porriget hora: the hour will perhaps extend to me

what it has denied to you (Horace)

mihi istic nec seritur nec metitur: there is neither sowing nor reaping in that affair

for me (i.e., there is no profit in it for me) (Plautus)

mihi res, non me rebus, subjungere conor: my aim is to subject circumstances to

me, not myself to them (Horace)

mihi tarda fluunt ingrataque tempora: for me the time passes away slowly and

joyously (Horace)

militat omnis amans et habet sua castra Cupido: every lover is a soldier and has

his camp in Cupid (Ovid)

mille hominum species et rerum discolor usus; velle suum cuique est, nec voto

vivitur uno: there are a thousand kinds of men, and different hues they give to

things; each one follows his own inclination, neither wishing to live the same way

(Persius)

millia frumenti tua triverit area centum, non tuus hinc capiet venter plus ac

meus: though your threshing-floor should yield a hundred thousand bushels of

grain, will your belly therefore hold more than mine? (Horace)

minor in parvis fortuna furit, leviusque ferit leviora Deus: fortune is gentle to

the lowly, and God strikes what is weak with less power (Seneca)

minus habeo quam speravi; sed fortasse plus speravi quam debui: I have less

than I had hoped for; but maybe I had hoped for more than I ought (Seneca)

mirantur taciti, et dubio pro fulmine pendent: they stand in silent astonishment,

and wait for the fall of the yet doubtful thunderbolt (Statius)

miremur te non tua: let me have something to admire in yourself, not in what

belongs to you (Juvenal)

mirum videtur quod sit factum jam diu?: does it seem wonderful because it was

done long ago? (Livius Andronicus)

miscebis sacra profanis: you will mix sacred things with profane (Horace)

miscuit utile dulci: he mixes what is useful and sweet (Horace)

miser Catulle, desinas ineptire, et quod vides perisse perditum ducas: poor

Catullus, drop your silly fancies, and what you see is lost, let it be lost (Catullus)

misericordia Domini inter pontem et fontem: between bridge and stream the

Lord’s mercy may be found (St. Augustine)

miseris succurrere disco: I am learning to help the distressed (Virgil)

miserum est aliorum incumbere

mors terribilis iis, quorum cum vita

miserum est aliorum incumbere famæ ne collapsa ruant subductis tecta

columnis: it is a wretched thing to lean upon the fame of others, lest the roof

should fall in ruins when the pillars are withdrawn (Juvenal)

mobilitate viget, viresque acquirit eundo: it grows by moving, and gathers

strength as it speeds on (Virgil, said both of rumor and fame)

modeste tamen et circumspecto judicio de tantis viris pronunciandum est, ne,

quod plerisque accidit, damnent quæ non intelligunt: we should, however,

pronounce our opinions of such men with modesty and circumspect judgment, lest,

as is the case with many, we should be found condemning what we do not

understand (Quintilian)

modo me Thebis, modo ponit Athenis: he now places me in Thebes, and now at

Athens (Horace, said of a playwright able to change scenes without interrupting the

continuity of the story)

molle meum levibus cor est violabile telis: my tender heart is vulnerable by his

(Cupid’s) light arrows (Ovid)

mollissima corda humano generi dare se natura fatetur, quæ lachrymas dedit:

hæc nostri pars optima sensus: nature confesses that she gave the most tender

hearts to the human race when she gave them tears: this is the best part of our

senses (Juvenal)

molliter austerum studio fallente laborem: the interest in the pursuit gently

beguiling the severity of the toil (Horace)

momento mare vertitur; eodem die ubi luserunt, navigia sorbentur: in a

moment the sea is agitated, and on the same day ships are swallowed up where

lately they sported (Seneca)

monstro quod ipse tibi possis dare; semita certe tranquillæ per virtutem patet

unica vitæ: I show you what you can do for yourself; the only path to a tranquil life

lies through virtue (Juvenal)

monstrum horrendum, informe, ingens, cui lumen ademptum: a monster

horrendous, hideous, and vast, deprived of sight (Virgil, of the blinded Cyclops,

Polyphemus)

monstrum nulla virtute redemptum a vitiis: a monster whose vices are not

redeemed by a single virtue (Juvenal)

moriamur et in media arma ruamus. Una salus victis nullam sperare salutem:

let us die even as we rush into the thick of the fight. The only safe course for the

defeated is to expect no safety (Virgil)

moribus antiquis res stat Romana virisque: the Roman republic stands by its

ancient manners and men (Ennius)

mors hominum felix quæ se nec dulcibus annis inserit et mæstis—sæpe vocata

venit: death is kind to men when it comes not during the sweet but during the sad

years—then, indeed, it is often prayed for (Boлthius)

mors infanti felix, juvenis acerba, nimis sera est seni: death is favorable for the

child, bitter to the youth, too late for the old (Publilius Syrus)

mors terribilis iis, quorum cum vita omnia exstinguuntur, non iis quorum laus

emori non potest: death is full of terrors for those to whom loss of life means

complete extinction, not for those who leave behind them an undying name (Cicero) mortalia facta peribunt; nedum multi committunt eadem diverso

mortalia facta peribunt; nedum sermonum stet honos et gratia vivax: all a

mortal’s works must perish; how much less shall the power and grace of language

long survive! (Horace)

mortalium rerum misera beatitudo: the miserable bliss of all mortal things

(Boлthius)

morte carent animæ, semperque priore relicta sede novis domibus vivunt

habitantque receptæ: souls are immortal and are admitted, after quitting their

first abode, into new homes, and they live and dwell in them forever (Ovid)

movet cornicula risum furtivis nudata coloribus: the crow, stripped of its stolen

colors, provokes our ridicule (i.e., there is nothing more amusing than a proud pig

stripped of its feathers) (Horace)

mulier cupido quod dicit amanti, in vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua: what

a woman says to an ardent lover ought to be written on the winds and in the swiftly

flowing water (Catullus)

mulier profecto nata est ex ipsa mora: woman is surely born of tardiness itself

(Plautus)

multa dies, variusque labor mutabilis ævi, retulit in melius; multos alterna

revisens lusit, et in solido rursus Fortuna locavit: time and the changed labor

of ages have restored many things; and Fortune, after many capricious alterations,

has placed them upon solid ground (Virgil)

multa fero ut placeam genus irritabile vatum: much I endure to soothe (or

appease) the irritable race of poets (Horace)

multa ferunt anni venientes commoda secum; multa recedentes adimunt: the

coming years bring with them many advantages; as they recede they take many

away (Horace)

multa me docuit usus, magister egregius: necessity, that excellent master, has

taught me many things (Pliny the Younger)

multa petentibus desunt multa. Bene est, cui Deus obtulit parca, quod satis est

manu: those who long for much are in want of much. Happy is he to whom God

has given, with sparing hand, as much as is enough (Horace)

multa quidem scripsi; sed quæ vitiosa putavi, emendaturis ignibus ipse dedi:

much have I written; but what I considered faulty I myself committed to the

correcting flames (Ovid)

multa renascentur quæ jam cecidere, cadentque quæ nunc sunt in honore

vocabula, si volet usus, quem penes arbitrium est, et jus, et norma loquendi:

many words now in disuse will revive, and many now in vogue will be forgotten, if

usage wills it, in whose hands is the choice and the right to lay down the law of

language (Horace)

multa rogant utenda dari; data reddere nolunt: they ask many a sum on loan; but

they are loath to repay (Ovid)

multa tulit fecitque puer, sudavit et alsit, ut posset contingere metam: he

suffered and did much in youth, he bore heat and cold, in order to reach the goal

multi committunt eadem diverso crimina fato, ille crucem sceleris pretium

tulit, hic diadema: many commit the same crimes with a different destiny; one

bears a cross as the price of his villainy, another wears a crown (Juvenal)

multi mortales, dediti ventri atque munera, crede mihi, capiunt

multi mortales, dediti ventri atque somno, indocti incultique vitam sicuti

peregrinantes transiere; quibus profecto contra naturam corpus voluptati,

anima oneri: many men have passed through life like travelers in a strange land,

without spiritual or moral culture, and given up to the lusts of appetite and

indolence, whose bodies, contrary to their nature, were enslaved to indulgence, and

their souls a burden (Sallust)

multis ille bonis flebilis occidit nulli flebilior quam tibi (or mihi): he fell

lamented by many good men, by none more lamented than by you (or by me)

(Horace, said of Quintilian)

multis parasse divitias non finis miseriarum fuit, sed mutatio; non est in rebus

vitium sed in animo: the acquisition of riches has been to many, not the end of

their miseries, but a change in them; the fault is not in the riches, but in the

disposition (Seneca)

multorum te etiam oculi et aures non sentientem, sicuti adhuc fecerunt,

speculabuntur atque custodient: without your knowledge, the eyes and ears of

many will see and watch you, as they have done already (Cicero)

multos castra juvant, et lituo tubæ permistus sonitus, bellaque matribus

detestata: the camp and the clang of the trumpet mingled with the clarion, and

wars detested by mothers, have delights for many (Horace)

multos qui conflictari adversis videantur, beatos; ac plerosque, quanquam

magnas per opes, miserrimos: si illi gravem fortunam constanter tolerent, hi

prospera inconsulte utantur: there are many who appear to encounter adversity

who are happy; while there are some in the midst of riches who are miserable; all

depends on the fortitude with which the former bear pressure, and on the

unadvised manner in which the latter employ their wealth (Tacitus)

mundæque parvo sub lare pauperum coenæ, sine aulæis et ostro, sollicitam

explicuere frontem: a neat, simple meal under the humble roof of the poor,

without hangings and purple, has smoothed the wrinkles of an anxious brow

(Horace)

munditiæ, et ornatus, et cultus hæc feminarum insignia sunt, his gaudent et

gloriantur: neatness, ornament, and dress, are peculiar badges of women; in these

they delight and glory (Livy)

munditiis capimur: non sine lege capillis: we are captivated by neatness: let not

your hair be out of order (Ovid)

munera accipit frequens, remittit nunquam: he frequently accepts presents, but

never gives any in return (Plautus)

munera, crede mihi, capiunt hominesque deosque; placatur donis Jupiter ipse

datis: gifts, believe me, captivate both men and gods; Jupiter himself is won over

and appeased by gifts (Ovid) nam de mille fabæ modiis dum ne Æsopum quidem trivit

N

nam de mille fabæ modiis dum surripis unum, damnum est, non facinus mihi

pacto lenius isto: if from a thousand bushels of beans you steal one, my loss, it is

true, is in this case less, but not your villainy (Horace)

nam ego illum periisse duco, cui quidem periit pudor: I regard that man as lost

who has lost his sense of shame (Plautus)

nam et majorum instituta tueri sacris cerimoniisque retinendis, sapientis est:

for it is the part of a wise man to protect the institutions of his forefathers by

retaining the sacred rites and ceremonies

nam neque divitibus contingunt gaudia solis, nec vixit male qui natus

moriensque fefellit: joys do not fall to the rich alone, nor has he lived ill of whose

birth and death no one took note (Horace)

nam neque quies gentium sine armis, neque arma sine stipendiis, neque

stipendia sine tributis haberi queunt: for the quiet of nations cannot be

maintained without arms, nor can arms be maintained without pay, nor pay without

taxation (Tacitus)

nam pro jucundis aptissima quæque dabunt di (or dii); carior (or charior) est

illis homo quam sibi: the gods will give what is most suitable rather than what is

most pleasing; man is dearer to them than he is to himself (Juvenal)

namque sub Aurora jam dormitante lucerna somnia quo cerni tempore vera

solent: those dreams are true that we have in the morning, as the lamp begins to

flicker (Ovid)

namque tu solebas meas esse aliquid putare nugas: for you used to think my

trifles were worth something (Catullus)

narratur et prisci Catonis sæpe mero caluisse virtus: it is said that the virtue even

of the elder Cato was often warmed by wine (Horace)

natales grate numeras?, ignoscis amicis?, lenior et melior fis accendente

senecta?: do you count your birthdays thankfully?, forgive your friends?, grow

gentler and better with advancing age? (Horace)

natura beatis omnibus esse dedit, si quis cognoverit uti: nature has granted to all

to be happy, if we only knew how to use its benefits (Claudian)

natura dedit usuram vitæ tanquam pecuniæ nulla præstitua die: nature has lent

us life at interest, like money, and has fixed no day for its payment (Cicero)

natura ipsa valere, et mentis viribus excitari, et quasi quodam divino spiritu

afflari: to be strong by nature, to be urged on by the powers of the mind, and to be

inspired, as it were, by a divine spirit (Cicero; said of genius)

Natura, quam te colimus inviti quoque!: O Nature, how we bow to you even

against our will! (Seneca)

naturæ debitum reddiderunt: they paid the debt of nature (i.e., death) (Cornelius

Nepos)

natus sum, esuriebam, quærebam; nunc repletus requiesco: I was born, I felt

hungry, and sought for food; now that I am satiated, I lay me down to rest

ne Æsopum quidem trivit: neither has he come across Aesop (i.e., as a student, he

knows nothing)

ne pereant lege mane rosa nec Veneris pharetris macer est, aut

ne pereant lege mane rosas: cito virgo senescit: pick roses in the morning, lest

they wither: a maiden soon grows old (Florus)

ne pueros coram populo Medea trucidet: you will not let Medea slay her sons

before the people (Horace)

ne quid falsi dicere audeat, ne quid veri non audeat: let him not dare to say

anything that is false, nor let him dare say what is not true (Cicero)

ne te longis ambagibus ultra quam satis est morer: not to detain you by long

digressions more than enough (i.e., to make a long story short) (Horace)

nec audiendi qui solent dicere, vox populi, vox Dei, quum tumultuositas vulgi

semper insaniæ proxima sit: and those people should not be listened to who keep

saying, the voice of the people is the voice of God, since the riotousness of the

crowd is very close to madness (Alcuin, in a letter to Charlemagne)

nec historia debet egredi veritatem, et honeste factis veritas sufficit: history

should not overstep the limits of truth, and indeed, in recording noble deeds, the

truth is sufficient (Pliny the Younger)

nec me pudet, ut istos, fateri nescire quod nesciam: I am not ashamed, as some

are, to confess my ignorance of that which I do not know (Cicero)

nec meus audet rem tentare pudor, quam vires ferre recusent: my modesty does

not permit me to attempt a thing which my powers are not equal to accomplish (Virgil)

nec mihi mors gravis est posituro morte dolores: death is not grievous to me, for

by death shall I lay aside my pains (Ovid)

nec minor est virtus, quam quærere, parta tueri: casus inest illic; hic erit artis

opus: it is no less merit to keep what you have got than to gain it: in the one there

is chance; the other will be a work of art (Ovid)

nec, quæ præteriit, iterum revocabitur unda; nec, quæ præteriit, hora redire

potest: neither can the wave which has passed by be again recalled, nor can the

hour which has passed ever return (Ovid)

nec quies gentium sine armis, nec arma sine stipendiis, nec stipendia sine

tributis haberi queunt: neither can the quiet of nations be maintained without

arms, nor can arms be maintained without pay, nor pay without taxation (after

Tacitus)

nec satis est pulchra esse poëmata; dulcia sunto: it is not enough that poetry

should be so polished as to satisfy the judgment; it should appeal to our feelings

and imagination (Horace)

nec sit terris ultima Thule: nor shall Thule be the extremity of the world (Seneca)

nec tamen est quisquam, sacros qui lædat amantes: no one would hurt a lover,

for lovers are sacred (Propertius)

nec tibi quid liceat, sed quid fecisse decebit occurrat; mentemque domet

respectus honesti: do not consider what you may do, but what it will become you

to have done; and let the sense of honor subdue your mind (Claudian)

nec Veneris pharetris macer est, aut lampade fervet: inde faces ardent, veniunt

a dote sagittæ: he is not made lean by Venus’s quiver, nor does he burn with her

torch; it is from this that his fires are fed, from her dowry the arrows come

(Juvenal) nec verbum verbo curabis reddere neque salsum neque suave esse potest

nec verbum verbo curabis reddere fidus interpres: as a true translator you will

take care not to render (or translate) word for word (Horace)

nec vero me fugit, quam sit acerbum, parentum scelera filiorum poenis lui: it

does not escape me that it is a cruel thing for the children to suffer for their

parents’ misdeeds (Cicero)

nec vidisse semel satis est, juvat usque morari, et conferre gradum, et veniendi

discere causas: nor is it enough to have once seen him; they are delighted to

linger near him, and to keep step with him, and to learn the reason for his coming

(Virgil)

negatas artifex sequi voces: he attempts to express himself in a language that nature

has denied him (Persius)

negotium populo Romano melius quam otium committi: the Roman people

understand work better than leisure (Appius Claudius)

nemini credo, qui large blandus est dives pauperi: I trust no rich man who is

officiously kind to a poor man (Plautus)

nemo malus felix, minime corruptor: no evil person is happy, least of all a

corrupter of morals (Juvenal)

nemo mathematicus genium indemnatus habebit: no mathematician will be held

a genius until he is condemned (Juvenal)

nemo parum diu vixit, qui virtutis perfectæ perfecto functus est munere: no

one has lived too short a life who has discharged the perfect work of perfect virtue

(Cicero)

nemo potest personam diu ferre fictam: no one can play a feigned part for long

(Seneca)

nemo quam bene vivat, sed quamdiu, curat: quum omnibus possit contingere

ut bene vivat, ut diu nulli: no one cares how well they live, but only how long; it

is within the reach of every one to live well, it is within no one’s power to live long

(Seneca)

nemo tam divos habuit faventes, crastinum ut possit sibi polliceri: nobody has

ever found the gods so much his friends that he can promise himself another day

(Seneca)

nequaquam nobis divinitus esse creatam naturam mundi, quanta stat prædita

culpa: the nature of the universe has by no means been made through divine

power, seeing how great are the faults that mar it (Lucretius)

nequaquam satis in re una consumere curam: it is by no means enough to spend

all our care on a single object (Horace)

neque extra necessitates belli præcipuum odium gero: I bear no particular hatred

beyond the necessity of war

neque (enim) quies gentium sine armis, neque arma sine stipendiis, neque

stipendia sine tributis haberi queunt: the quiet of nations cannot be maintained

without arms, nor can arms be maintained without pay, nor pay without taxation

(Tacitus)

neque salsum neque suave esse potest quicquam, ubi amor non admiscetur:

not a thing can be either salt or sweet without a dash of love (Plautus)

neque semper arcum tendit Apollo nihil infelicius eo, cui nihil unquam

neque semper arcum tendit Apollo: nor does Apollo always keep his bow drawn

(Horace)

nequeo monstrare, et sentio tantum: what I can experience but cannot express

(Juvenal)

nequiquam, quoniam medio de fonte leporum surgit amari aliquid quod in

ipsis floribus angat: all is vanity, since from the very fountain of enchantment

rises a drop of bitterness to bring torment among all the flowers (Lucretius)

nescio qua natale solum dulcedine captos (or cunctos) ducit, et immemores

non sinit esse sui: our native land charms us with inexpressible sweetness and

never allows us to forget that we belong to it (Ovid)

nescio qua præter solitum dulcedine læti: elated beyond the usual by some

unaccountable delight (Virgil)

nescio quid majus nascitur Iliade: something greater than the Iliad now springs to

life (Propertius)

nescire autem quid ante quam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum.

Quid enim est ætas hominis, nisi (ea) memoria rerum veterum cum

superiorum ætate contexitur?: not to know what occurred before you were born

is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven

into the life of our ancestors by the records of history? (Cicero)

nihil agit qui diffidentem verbis solatur suis; is est amicus qui in re dubia re

juvat, ubi re est opus: he does nothing who seeks to console a desponding person

with words; a friend is one who aids with deeds at a critical time where deeds are

called for (Plautus)

nihil cupientium nudus castra peto: naked I repair to the camp of those who desire

nothing (Horace)

nihil enim legit, quod non excerperet. Dicere etiam solebat, nullum esse

librum tam malum, ut non aliqua parte prodesset: he reads no book from

which he did not make extracts. He also used to say, no book was so bad but good

of some kind might be got out of it (Pliny the Elder)

nihil est aptius ad delectationem lectoris, quam temporum varietates,

fortunæque vicissitudines: nothing contributes more to the delight of a reader

than the changes of times and the vicissitudes of fortune (Cicero)

nihil est (autem) tam volucre quam maledictum, nihil facilius emittitur, nihil

citius excipitur, nihil latius dissipatur: nothing is so swift as calumny, nothing more

easily uttered, nothing more readily received, nothing more widely disseminated (Cicero)

nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius

ratione tota comitiorum: nothing is more uncertain than the masses, nothing more

obscure than human will, nothing more deceptive than the whole electoral process

(Cicero)

nihil est quod credere de se non possit, quum laudatur dis æqua potestas: there

is nothing of which it (power) cannot believe itself capable, when it is praised as

equal to that of the gods (Juvenal)

nihil infelicius eo, cui nihil unquam evenit adversi, non licuit enim illi se

experiri: there is no one more unfortunate than the man who has never been

unfortunate, for it has never been in his power to try himself (Seneca) nihil peccat nisi quod nihil peccat nil intra est oleam, nil extra est in

nihil peccat nisi quod nihil peccat: his only sin is that he does not sin (Pliny the

Younger)

nihil scriptum miraculi causa: nothing is written here to excite wonder (i.e., for

effect) (Tacitus)

nihil tam absurdum, quod non dictum sit ab aliquo philosophorum: there is

nothing so absurd that has not at sometime been said by some philosopher (after

Cicero)

nihil turpius est quam gravis ætate senex, qui nullum aliud habet argumentum,

quo se probet diu vixisse, præter ætatem: there is nothing more disgraceful

than an old man who has no other proof to offer, of his having lived long in the

world, than his age (Seneca)

nil actum credens, dum quid superesset agendum: he believed nothing done so

long as anything remained to be done (Lucan, said of Julius Cжsar)

nil actum reputans, si quid superesset agendum: thinking that nothing was done,

if anything remained to be done (Lucan)

nil admirari prope est res una, Numici, solaque, quæ possit facere et servare

beatum: to marvel at nothing, Numicius, is almost the one and only thing that can

make and keep men happy (Horace)

nil æquale homini fuit illi: there was no consistency in that man (Horace)

nil conscire sibi, nulla pallescere culpa: to be conscious of no guilt, and to turn

pale at no charge (Horace)

nil (or nihil) cupientium nudus castra peto: naked myself, I make for the camp of

those who desire nothing (Horace)

nil desperandum Teucro duce et auspice Teucro: there is no ground for despair

while Teucer is leader and Teucer is under his auspices (Horace)

nil dictu foedum visuque hæc limina tangat, intra quæ puer est: let nothing

filthy, either heard by the ear or seen by the eye, enter this threshold, within which

there is a child (Juvenal)

nil ego contulerim jucundo sanus amico: as long as I have my senses, there is

nothing I would prefer to an agreeable friend (Horace)

nil erit ulterius quod nostris moribus addat posteritas; eadem cupient

facientque minores; omne in præcipiti vitium stetit: there will be nothing left

for posterity to add to our manners; our descendants will wish for and do the same

things as we do; every vice has reached its culminating point (Juvenal)

nil fuit unquam sic impar sibi: never before was there such an inconsistent person

(Horace)

nil fuit unquam tam dispar sibi: nothing was ever so unlike itself (Horace)

nil igitur fieri de nilo posse fatendum’st: therefore we must conclude that nothing

comes from nothing (Lucretius)

nil igitur mors est ad nos neque pertinet hilum, quandoquidem natura animi

mortalis habetur: death therefore is nothing to us nor does it concern us a bit,

seeing that the nature of the spirit we possess is something mortal (Lucretius)

nil intra est oleam, nil extra est in nuce duri: [if this be not true, then] there is no

pit in the olive, nor has the nut any shell (Horace)

nil me officit unquam, ditior hic, aut nolo barbam vellere mortuo leoni

nil me officit unquam, ditior hic, aut est quia doctior; est locus uni cuique

suus: it never in the least annoys me that another is richer or more learned than I;

everyone has his own place assigned to him (Horace)

nil mihi rescribas, tu tamen ipse veni!: write nothing back to me, and you yourself

come! (Ovid)

nil obstet tibi, dum ne sit te ditior alter: nothing stops you, so long as there is not

another wealthier than yourself (Horace)

nil oriturum alias, nil ortum tale fatentes: confessing that none like you had arisen

before, or will likely arise in the future (Horace, said of Cжsar Augustus)

nil rectum nisi quod placuit sibi ducunt: they deem nothing right except what

seems good to themselves (Horace)

nil sine te mei prosunt honores: the honors I obtain are nothing without you

(Horace, to the Muse)

nil sole et sale utilius: nothing so useful as the sun and salt

nil temere uxori de servis crede querenti; sæpe etenim mulier quem conjux

diligit, odit: do not rashly believe a wife who complains of servants; for often the

wife hates those whom the husband prefers (Dionysius Cato)

nimia illæc licentia profecto evadet in aliquod magnum malum: this excessive

license will most certainly eventuate in some great evil (Terence)

nimia subtilitas in jure reprobatur, et talis certitudo certitudinem confundit:

too much subtlety in law is condemned, and so much certainty confounds certainty

nimirum insanus paucis videatur, eo quod maxima pars hominum morbo

jactatur eodem: he appears insane to only a few, because the majority is infected

with the same disease (Horace)

nimius in veritate, et similitudinis quam pulchritudinis amantior: too

meticulous as regards truth, and with a greater liking for exactness than beauty

(Quintilian)

nisi Dominus ædificaverit domum, in vanum laboraverunt qui ædificant eam.

Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, frustra vigilat qui custodit eam: Unless

the Lord builds the house, its builders have labored in vain. Unless the Lord guards

the city, those who guard need not be vigilant (Psalm 126:1)

nitor in adversum, nec me, qui cætera vincit impetus, et rapido contrarius

evehor orbi: I struggle against an opposing current; the torrent that sweeps away

others does not overpower me, and I make headway against the on-rushing stream

(Ovid)

nobis non licet esse tam disertis, qui Musas colimus severiores: we who

cultivate the Muses of a graver spirit cannot indulge ourselves in such license

(Martial)

noctemque diemque fatigat: he wears out both night and day at his work (Virgil)

nocturna versate manu, versate diurna: let these be your studies by night and by

day

nolo barbam vellere mortuo leoni: I do not wish to pluck the beard of a dead lion

(Martial) non adeo cecidi, quamvis abjectus, ut non ego mordaci distrinxi carmine

non adeo cecidi, quamvis abjectus, ut infra te quoque sim; inferius quo nihil

esse potest: though cast off, I have not fallen so low as to be beneath you; than

which nothing can be lower (Ovid)

non agitur de vectigalibus, non de sociorum injuriis; libertas et anima nostra in

dubio est: it is not a question of our revenues, nor of the wrongs of our allies; our

liberty and very lives are in peril (Sallust)

non alias cælo ceciderunt plura sereno: never till then so many thunderbolts from

cloudless skies (i.e., a bolt from the blue) (Virgil)

non amo nimium diligentes: I do not like those who are too diligent (Scipio

Africanus)

non amo te, Sabidi, nec possum dicere quare; hoc tantum possum dicere, non

amo te: I do not love you, Sabidius, nor can I say why; this only can I say, I do not

love you (Martial)

non ampliter sed munditer convivium; plus salis quam sumptus: the

entertainment was more neat than ample; there was more of relish than of meat

(Cornelius Nepos)

non Angli, sed angeli: not Angles, but angels (Pope Gregory the Great, upon seeing

English youths for sale in the Roman slave market)

non bene junctarum discordia semina rerum: the discordant seeds of things ill

joined (Ovid)

non canimus surdis, respondent omnia silvæ: I sing not to deaf ears, for all the

forest gives an answer (Virgil)

non convivere, nec videre saltem, non audire licet; nec urbe tota quisquam est

tam prope, tam proculque nobis: I may not live with him, nor even see him or

hear him; in all the city there is no one so near me and so far away (Martial)

non deerat voluntas, sed facultas: not the will, but the ability, was wanting

non eadem est ætas, non mens: my age is no longer the same, nor my inclination

(Horace)

non eadem ratio est, sentire et demere morbos; sensus inest cunctis; tollitur

arte malum: to be aware of disease and to remove it is not the same thing: the

sense of it exists in all; by skill alone is disease removed (Ovid)

non ebur neque aureum mea renidet in domo lacunar: in my dwelling no ivory

gleams, nor paneled roof covered with gold (Horace)

non ego avarum cum te veto fieri, vappam jubeo ac nebulonem: when I say, be

not a miser, I do not bid you to become a worthless prodigal (Horace)

non ego illam mihi dotem esse puto, quæ dos dicitur, sed pudicitiam, et

pudorem, et sedatam cupidinem: in my opinion, a woman’s true dowry is not

that which is called a dowry, but virtue, modesty, and restrained desires (Plautus)

non ego mordaci distrinxi carmine quenquam; nec meus ullius crimina versus

habet: I have not attacked anyone with biting satire, nor does my poetry contain a

charge against anyone (Ovid)

non ego mordaci distrinxi carmine quenquam; … nulla venenato litera mista

joco est: I have not attacked anyone with biting satire; … nor does any venomous

jest lurk concealed in what I have written (Ovid, an alternate version)

non ego omnino lucrum omne esse non id videndum, conjugum ut bonis

non ego omnino lucrum omne esse utile homini existimo: I do not at all

consider that every kind of gain is useful to a man (Plautus)

non ego paucis, offendar maculis, quas aut incuria fudit, aut humana parum

cavit natura: I shall not be offended with a few faults, ones that arise either from

inadvertence or from the frailty of our nature (Horace)

non ego ventosæ venor suffragia plebis: I do not hunt after the votes of the fickle

multitude (Horace)

non enim gazæ neque consularis summovet lictor miseros tumultus mentis et

curas laqueata circum tecta volantes: for neither regal treasure, nor the consul’s

lictor, nor the cares that hover about fretted ceilings, can remove the unhappy

tumults of the mind (Horace)

non equidem invideo, miror magis: in truth I feel no envy, I am greatly surprised

(Virgil)

non equidem studeo, bullatis ut mihi nugis pagina turgescat, dare pondus

idonea fumo: I do not study to swell my page with pompous trifles, suited only to

give weight to smoke (Persius)

non esse consuetudinem populi Romani, ullam accipere ab hoste armato

conditionem: it is not the custom of the Roman people to accept terms from an

armed enemy (Julius Cжsar)

non esse cupidum pecunia est; non esse emacem vectigal est; contentum vero

suis rebus esse, maximaæ sunt, certissimæque divitiae: not to be avaricious is

money; not to be extravagant is a revenue; to be truly content with our own is the

greatest and most certain wealth of all (Cicero)

non est ad astra mollis e terris via: there is no easy way from the earth to the stars

(Seneca and Cicero)

non est, crede mihi, sapientis dicere “vivam”; sera nimis vita est crastina; vive

hodie: believe me, the wise do not say “I shall live”; life tomorrow will be too late;

live today (Martial)

non est de pastu omnium quæstio, sed de lana: it is not a question of feeding the

sheep, but of wool (i.e., of fleecing them) (attributed to Pius II)

non est de sacco tanta farina tuo: all this flour is not from your sack (said of a

plagiarist)

non est nostri ingenii: it is not within my range of ability (Cicero)

non est paupertas, Nestor, habere nihil: it is not poverty, Nestor, to have nothing

(Martial)

non fumum ex fulgore, sed ex fumo dare lucem: not to bring smoke from light,

but from smoke to bring light (said of an accomplished novelist) (Horace)

non hoc ista sibi tempus spectacula poscit: the present moment is not one to

indulge in spectacles of this kind (Virgil)

non hominis culpa, sed ista loci: it is not the fault of the man, but of the place (Ovid)

non id videndum, conjugum ut bonis bona, at ut ingenium congruat et mores

moribus; probitas, pudorque virgini dos optima est: in marriage the relative

proportion of property is not so much to be considered, as the union of mind, and

the identity of manner and disposition; chastity and modesty form the best portion

that a virgin can bring to her husband (Terence) non ignara mali, miseris succerrere non possidentem multa vocaveris

non ignara mali, miseris succerrere disco: no stranger myself to misfortune, I am

learning to aid those in misery (Virgil)

non illa colo calathisve Minervæ femineas assueta manus: her feminine hands

were not trained to the basket (or distaff) of Minerva (Virgil)

non ille pro charis amicis, aut patria timidus perire: he dares for his country or

his friends to die (Horace)

non ingenerantur hominibus mores tam a stirpe generis ac seminis quam ex iis

rebus, quæ ab ipsa natura nobis ad vitæ consuetudinem suppeditantur,

quibus alimar et vivimus: our character is not so much the product of race and

heredity as of those circumstances by which nature forms our habits, by which we

are nourished and live (Cicero)

non magni pendis, quia contigit: you do not value it highly, because it came by luck

(Horace)

non me pudet fateri nescire quod nesciam: I am not ashamed to confess myself

ignorant of what I do not know (Cicero)

non mihi si linguæ centum sint oraque centum, ferrea vox, omnes scelerum

comprendere formas omnia poenarum percurrere nomina possim: not if I had

a hundred tongues, a hundred mouths, and a voice of iron, could I repeat all the

types of wickedness, and run over all the names of penal woes (Virgil)

non modo proditori, sed ne perfugæ quidem locus in meis castris cuiquam

fuit: not only no traitor, but no deserter, has found a place in my camp (Cicero)

non nobis, Domine, non nobis; sed nomini tuo da gloriam: not to us, Lord, not

to us; but to your Name give glory (Psalm 113:9)

non nostrum (inter vos) tantas componere lites: it is not for us to settle such

disputes (among you) (Virgil)

non numero hæc judicantur sed pondere: these things are not to be judged by

their number, but by their weight (Cicero)

non nunc agitur de vectigalibus, non de sociorum injuriis; libertas et anima

nostra in dubio est: the question is not now respecting our revenues, or injuries

to our allies; our liberties and lives are all at stake (Cicero)

non omnis moriar; multaque pars mei vitabit libitinam: not all of me shall die;

and a great part of me will escape the grave (Horace)

non opus est magnis placido lectore poëtis; quamlibet invitum difficilemque

tenent: great poets have no need of an indulgent reader; they hold captive

everyone however unwilling and hard to please he may be (Ovid)

non placet quem scurræ laudant, manipulares mussitant: I do not like the man

whom the gentry praise, but of whom the people of his own class say nothing

(Plautus)

non possidentem multa vocaveris recte beatum. Rectius occupat nomen beati,

qui deorum muneribus sapienter uti, duramque callet pauperiem pati,

pejusque leto flagitium timet: you would not justly call him blessed who has

many possessions; more justly does he claim the name blessed who knows how to

use wisely the gifts of the gods and to bear the hardships of poverty, and who fears

disgrace worse than death (Horace)

non possum ferre, Quirites, Græcam noris quam elegans formarum

non possum ferre, Quirites, Græcam urbem: I cannot, Romans, endure a Greek

city (Juvenal)

non pronuba Juno, non Hymenæus adest, non illi Gratia lecto; Eumenides

stravere torum: no Juno guardian of the marriages rites, no Hymenжus, no one of

the Graces, stood by that nuptial couch (Ovid)

non qui soletur, non qui labentia tarde tempora narrando fallat, amicus adest:

there is no friend near to console me, none to beguile the weary hours with his talk (Ovid)

non quisquam fruitur veris odoribus, Hybleos latebris nec spoliat favos, si

frontem caveat, si timeat rubos: ornat spina rosas, mella tegunt apes: he will

never obtain the flowery sweets of spring, nor the honeyed treasures of Mount

Hyblo, who cannot face the difficulties that surround them: the rose is guarded by

thorns, and honey is protected by bees

non satis est pulchra esse poëmata; dulcia sunto, et quocumque volent animum

auditoris agunto: it is not enough that poems be beautiful; they must also be

affecting, and move at will the hearer’s soul (Horace)

non tali auxilio, nec defensoribus istis tempus eget: the times require other aid

and other defenders than those you bring (Virgil)

non tam commutandarum, quam evertendarum rerum cupidi: desiring not so

much to change things as to overturn them (Cicero)

non tam portas intrare patentes, quam fregisse juvat: nec tam patiente colono

arva premi, quam si ferro populetur et igni. Concessa pudet ira via: the

conqueror is not so much pleased by entering into open gates as by forcing his way:

he desires not the fields to be cultivated by the patient husbandman, he would have

them depopulated by fire and sword. It would be his shame to go by a way already

granted to his passage (Lucan)

non tamen adeo virtutum sterile seculum, ut non et bona exempla prodiderit:

yet the age was not so utterly destitute of virtues but that it produced some good

examples (Tacitus)

non tu corpus eras sine pectore. Di tibi formam, di tibi divitias dederant,

artemque fruendi: you were at no time ever a body without a soul. The gods have

given you beauty, the gods have given you wealth, and the skill to enjoy it (Horace,

to Tibullus)

non usitata, nec tenui ferar penna: I will be borne on no common, no feeble, wing

(Horace)

non ut diu vivamus curandum est, sed ut satis: our care should not be so much to

live long, but to have lived enough (Seneca)

nondum amabam, et amare amabam. … quærebam quid amarem, amans

amare: not yet I loved, yet I loved to love. … I sought what I might love, in love

with loving (St. Augustine)

nonumque prematur in annum, membranis intus positis: delere licebit quod

non edideris; nescit vox missa reverti: let it be kept until the ninth year, the

manuscript put away at home; you may destroy whatever you have not published;

once let out, what you have said cannot be called back (Horace)

noris quam elegans formarum spectator siem: you will see how nice a judge of

beauty I am (Terence) nos fragili vastum ligno sulcavimus num flatus telluris honor?

nos fragili vastum ligno sulcavimus æquor: we have plowed the vast ocean in a

fragile boat (Ovid)

nos hæc novimus esse nihil: we know that these things are nothing (i.e., mere

trifles) (Martial)

nos patriæ fines et dulcia linquimus arva: we leave the confines of our native

country and our delightful plains (Virgil)

nos te, nos facimus, Fortuna, deam: it is we, O Fortune, we who make you a

goddess (Juvenal)

noscenda est mensura sui spectandaque rebus in summis minimisque: a man

should know his own measure, and have regard to it in the smallest matters as well

as the greatest (Juvenal)

nosque ubi primus equis Oriens adflavit anhelis illic sera rubens accendit

lumina Vesper: and when the Rising Sun has first breathed on us with its panting

horses, over there the red Evening Star is lighting his late lamps (Virgil)

nostra sine auxilio fugiunt bona. Carpite florem: our advantages fly away without

aid. Pluck the flower (Ovid)

notandi sunt tibi mores: the manners of men are to be carefully observed (Horace)

novem Iovis concordes filiæ sorores: you nine daughters of Jupiter, sisters of one

heart (Nжvius)

novi ego hoc sæculum, moribus quibus siet: I know this age, what its character is

(Plautus)

novi ingenium mulierum, nolunt ubi velis, ubi nolis cupiunt ultro: I know the

nature of women; when you will they won’t, when you won’t they long for it

(Terence)

novum et ad hunc diem non auditum: new and unheard of till this day (Cicero)

nox atra cava circumvolat: black night envelopes them with its hollow shade (Virgil)

nudo detrahere vestimenta me jubes: you order me to strip the clothes from a

naked man (Plautus)

nulli negabimus, nulli differemus justitiam: we shall not negate, nor delay, the

justice that is due (from the Magna Carta)

nulli vendemus, nulli negabimus aut differemus, rectum aut justitiam: to no

one will we sell, nor deny, nor delay, right or justice (from the Magna Carta)

nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri, quo me cunque rapit tempestas,

deferor hospes: bound to swear by the opinions of no master, I present myself a

guest wherever the storm drives me (Horace)

nullum ab labore me reclinat otium: no period of rest releases me from labor

(Horace)

nullum numen habes, si sit prudentia; nos te nos facimus, Fortuna, deam

coeloque locamus: you have no divine power where there is prudence; it is we, O

Fortune, we who make you a goddess and place you in heaven (Juvenal)

nullus difficilis cupienti labor: no labor is difficult if you wish to do it (St. Jerome)

num barbarorum Romulus rex fuit?: Romulus was not a king of barbarians, was

he? (Cicero)

num flatus telluris honor?: surely honor is not simply a blast [of air] from the earth?

numerisque fertur lege solutis O cives, cives, quærenda pecunia

numerisque fertur lege solutis: he is borne along in numbers free from law (Horace)

numerus certus pro incerto ponitur: a certain number is put for an uncertain

number (i.e., without trying to be exact)

numquam se minus otiosum esse quam cum otiosus, nec minus solum quam

cum solus esset: never less idle than when wholly idle, nor less alone than when

wholly alone (Cicero)

numquam sis ex toto otiosus, sed aut legens, aut scribens, aut orans, aut

meditans, aut aliquid utilitatis pro communi laborans: never to be completely

idle, but either reading, or writing, or praying, or meditating, or working at

something useful for all in common (Thomas а Kempis)

nunc animis opus, Ænea, nunc pectore firmo: now, Aeneas, you have need of

courage, now a resolute heart (Virgil)

Nunc Dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace: now

let your servant depart in peace, Lord, according to your word (St. Luke 2:29)

nunc est bibendum, nunc pede libero pulsanda tellus: now for drinking, now for

dancing to a lively beat (Horace)

nunc omnis ager, nunc omnis parturit arbor; nunc frondent sylvæ, nunc

formosissimus annus: now every field is green, and every tree in bloom; the

woods are in full leaf, and the year is in its highest beauty (Virgil)

nunc patimur longæ pacis mala; sævior armis luxuria incubuit, victumque

ulciscitur orbem: now we suffer the evils of a long peace; luxury more cruel than

war broods over us and avenges a conquered world (Juvenal)

nunc positis novus exuviis nitidusque juventa: now, all new, his slough cast off,

and shining in youth (Virgil)

nunc scio quid sit amor: now I know too well what love is (Virgil)

nunquam se plus agere, quam nihil quum ageret; nunquam minus solum esse,

quam quum solus esset: he said he never had more to do than when he had nothing

to do, and never was less alone than when alone (Cicero, quoting Scipio Africanus)

nunquam sero te venisse putabo, si salvus veneris: I shall never think that you are

late arriving, provided you arrive safely (Cicero)

nunquam sunt grati qui nocuere sales: never agreeable are those witty remarks

that are meant to injure

nutritur vento, vento restinguitur igni: lenis alit flammas, grandior aura necat:

fire is fed by the wind and extinguished by the wind: a gentle breeze feeds it, too

strong a blast puts it out (Ovid)

O

O cæca nocentum consilia! O semper timidum scelus!: O the blind counsels of

the guilty! O how ever cowardly the wicked! (Statius)

O cives, cives, quærenda pecunia primum est; virtus post nummos: O citizens,

citizens, you must first seek for wealth, for virtue after money (Horace) O Corydon, Corydon, secretum O major tandem, parcas, insane

O Corydon, Corydon, secretum divitis ullum esse putas? Servi ut taceant,

jumenta loquentur, et canis, et postes, et marmora: O Corydon, Corydon, do

you think anything a rich man does can be kept secret? Even if his servants say

nothing, his beasts of burden, and dogs, and door posts, and marble slabs will speak

(Juvenal)

O curas hominum! O quantum est in rebus inane!: O human cares! O how much

emptiness is in their affairs! (Persius and Lucilius)

O curvæ in terris animæ et coelestium inanes!: O you souls bent down to earth

and void of everything heavenly! (Persius)

O di, reddite mi hoc pro pietate mea: O gods, grant me this in return for my piety

(Catullus)

O diem lætum, notandumque mihi candidissimo calculo: O happy day, and one

to be marked for me with the whitest of chalk (Pliny the Younger)

O faciles dare summa deos, eademque tueri difficiles: O, how easily the gods

give high circumstances, and how reluctant they are to ensure them when given

(Lucan)

O fallacem hominum spem: O, how deceitful is the hope of men (Cicero)

O fama ingens, ingentior armis!: O great in fame, greater still in deeds!

O formose puer, nimium ne crede colori: O handsome child, trust not too much

in your youthful color (Virgil)

O Fortuna, velut luna, statu variabilis, semper crescis aut decrescis: O Fortune,

like the moon, you are changeable, ever waxing and waning (from the Carmina

Burana)

O fortunatam natam me consule Romam!: O fortunate Rome, born when I was

consul! (Cicero)

O fortunate adolescens, qui tuæ virtutis Homerum præconem inveneris: O

happy youth, to have Homer as the publisher of your valor (Alexander the Great, at

the tomb of Achilles)

O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint, agricolas!; quibus ipsa, procul

discordibus armis, fundit humo facilem victum justissima tellus: O, how

happy are the tillers of the ground, if only they knew their blessings!; for whom, far

from the clash of arms, the most just earth pours forth from its soil an easy

sustenance (Virgil)

O homines ad servitutem paratos!: O men, how you prepare yourselves for

slavery! (Tacitus)

O imitatores, servum pecus!: O imitators, you servile herd! (i.e., you miserable

apes!) (Horace)

O laborum dulce lenimen: O sweet solace of labors (Horace, in reference to

Apollo’s lyre)

O lente, lente, currite moctis equi: O slowly, slowly, run ye horses of the night

(Ovid)

O magna vis veritatis, quæ … facile se per se ipsa defendit: O mighty force of

truth, that by itself so easily defends itself (Cicero)

O major tandem, parcas, insane, minori: O you, who are a greater madman, spare

me, I pray, who am not so far gone (Horace)

O matre pulchra filia pulchrior

O terque quaterque beati!

O matre pulchra filia pulchrior: O what a beautiful mother, and a still more

beautiful daughter (Horace)

O Meliboee, deus nobis hæc otia fecit: O Meliboee, it is a god who has made this

leisurely life for us (Virgil)

O mihi præteritos referat si Iuppiter annos: O, if only Jupiter would restore to me

those bygone years (Virgil)

O miseras hominum mentes! O pectora cæca!: O, how wretched are the minds of

men! O, how blind their hearts! (Lucretius)

O miseri quorum gaudia crimen habent!: O you wretched, whose joys are tainted

with guilt! (Pseudo-Gallus)

O morte ipsa mortis tempus indignius!: O, more cruel than death itself was the

moment of death! (Pliny the Younger)

O munera nondum intellecta deum: O that the gifts of the gods should not yet be

understood (Lucan)

O nimium nimiumque oblite tuorum: O too, too forgetful of your kin (Ovid)

O passi graviora, dabit deus his quoque finem: O you who have suffered greater

misfortunes than these, God will grant an end to them as well (Virgil)

O præclarum custodem ovium lupum!: O what an excellent protector of sheep,

the wolf! (Cicero)

O qualis facies et quali digna tabella!: O what a face and what a picture it would

have been a subject for! (Juvenal)

O quam cito transit gloria mundi!: O how quickly the world’s glory passes away!

(Thomas а Kempis)

O quam contempta res est homo, nisi supra humana surrexerit!: O what a

contemptible thing is man, unless he rises above human concerns! (or, the human

condition) (Seneca)

O quanta qualia sunt illa Sabbata, quæ semper celebrat superna curia: O what

their joy and their glory must be, those endless Sabbaths the blessed ones see (Peter

Abelard)

O quanta species cerebrum non habet!: O that such beauty should be devoid of

brains! (Phжdrus)

O quantum caliginis mentibus nostris objicit magna felicitas!: O how our minds

are darkened by excess of happiness! (Seneca)

O quantum in rebus inane!: O what a void there is in things! (Persius)

O rus quando te aspiciam?, quandoque licebit nunc veterum libris, nunc somno

et inertibus horis ducere sollicitæ jucunda oblivia vitæ?: O country, when will

I see you?, and when will I be permitted to quaff a sweet oblivion of anxious life,

now from the books of the ancients, now from sleep and idle hours? (Horace)

O sæclum insapiens et infacetum!: O this crude and ignorant age! (Catullus)

O Salutaris Hostia: O saving Victim (first words of the hymn used at the beginning

of the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament)

O si tacuisses, philosophus mansisses: O if you had only remained silent, you

would have remained a philosopher (Boлthius)

O terque quaterque beati!: O thrice, four times happy they! (Virgil) O Tite tute Tati tibi tanta tyranne odimus accipitrem quia semper vivit

O Tite tute Tati tibi tanta tyranne tulisti!: O Titus Tatius, you tyrant, so much

you have brought upon yourself! (Ennius)

O ubi campi!: O where are those fields!; O for life in the country! (Virgil)

O vita!, misero longa felici brevis: O life!, long to the wretched, short to the happy

(Publilius Syrus)

O vitæ philosophia dux!: O philosophy, life’s guide! (Cicero)

obruat illud male partum, male retentum, male gestum imperium: let that

power fall that has been wrongfully acquired, wrongfully retained, and wrongfully

administered (Cicero)

obsecro, tuum est?; vetus credideram: pray, is it yours?; I thought it something

old

observantior æqui fit populus, nec ferre negat, cum viderit ipsum auctorem

parere sibi: the people become more observant of justice, and do not refuse to

submit to the laws when they see them obeyed by their enactor (Claudian)

obstupui, steteruntque comæ, et vox faucibus hæsit: I was astounded, my hair

stood on end, and my voice stuck fast in my throat (Virgil)

obtrectatio ac livor pronis auribus accipiuntur; quippe adulationi fædum

crimen servitutis, malignitati falsa species libertatis inest: disparagement and

calumny are devoured with a greedy ear; flattery wears the badge of servitude,

whilst malignity speaks the tone of independence, and is therefore well received

(Tacitus)

occasiones namque hominem fragilem non faciunt, sed qualis sit ostendunt:

circumstances do not make a man weak, but they show what manner of man he is

(Thomas а Kempis)

occidit miseros crambe repetita magistros: cabbage repeated is the death of the

wretched masters (Juvenal)

odero si potero. Si non, invitus amabo: I will hate [you] if I can. If not, then

unwillingly will I love [you] (Ovid)

oderunt hilarem tristes, tristemque jocosi, sedatum celeres, agilem gnavumque

remissi: the sad detest the cheerful, and the cheerful the sad; the swift dislike the

sedate, and the careless dislike the busy and industrious (Horace)

odi et amo: quare id faciam, fortasse requiris. Nescio, sed fieri sentio et

excrucior: I hate and I love: why I do so you may well inquire. I do not know, but I

feel it happen and am in agony (Catullus)

odi profanum vulgus et arceo. Favete linguis: I hate the profane masses and keep

them at a distance. Favor by your tongues (i.e., keep silent) (Horace)

odi puerulos præcoci ingenio: I hate boys of precocious talent (Cicero)

odi summussos; proinde aperte dice quid sit quod times: I hate the whisperers;

say out loud what it is you fear (Nжvius)

odia in longum jaciens, quæ reconderet, auctaque promeret: he lays his

resentment aside, but stores it up to bring it forward with greater bitterness

(Tacitus)

odimus accipitrem quia semper vivit in armis: we hate the hawk because it always

lives in arms (Ovid)

odit populus Romanus privatam

omnia jam fient, fieri quæ posse

odit populus Romanus privatam luxuriam, publicam magnificentiam diligit: the

Romans hate private luxury, but they love public magnificence (Cicero)

ohe!, jam satis est!: hey!, that’s enough already! (Horace)

omne capax movet urna nomen: in the spacious urn of death is shaken every name

(Horace)

omne corpus mutabile est; ita efficitur ut omne corpus mortale sit: everybody is

subject to change; hence it comes to pass that everybody is subject to death

(Cicero)

omne epigramma sit instar apis, aculeus illi, sint sua mella, sit et corporis

exigui: every epigram should be like a bee: have a sting like it, honey, and a small

body (Martial)

omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci, lectorem delectando pariterque

monendo: he gains universal applause who mingles the useful with the agreeable,

at once delighting and instructing the reader (Horace)

omnes amicos habere operosum est; satis est inimicos non habere: it is an

arduous task to make all men your friends; it is enough to have no enemies (Seneca)

omnes autem et habentur et dicuntur tyranni, qui potestate sunt perpetua, in

ea civitate quæ libertate usa est: all men are considered as tyrants who possess

themselves of perpetual power in a state that once enjoyed the blessings of liberty

(Cornelius Nepos)

omnes eodem cogimur; omnium versatur urna serius, ocius, sors exitura, et

nos in æternum exsilium impositura cymbæ: we are all driven to the same ferry;

the lot of each is shaken in the urn, destined sooner or later to come forth, and

place us in Charon’s boat for the exile (Horace)

omnes homines, qui de rebus dubiis consultant, ab odio, amicitia, ira, atque

misericordia vacuos esse decet: all men who consult on doubtful matters should

be void of hatred, friendship, anger, and pity (Sallust)

omnes omnium caritates patria una complectitur: our country alone embraces all

our affections for all (Cicero)

omnes, quibus res sunt minus secundæ, magis sunt, nescio quomodo suspiciosi:

ad contumeliam omnia accipiunt magis; propter suam impotentiam se credunt

negligi: all those whose affairs are not prosperous are, somehow or other, extremely

suspicious: they take every hint as an affront, and think the neglect with which they

are treated is due to their humble position (Terence)

omni autem in re consensio omnium gentium lex naturæ putanda est: but in

every matter the consensus among all nations is to be regarded as the law of nature

(Cicero)

omnia fanda nefanda, malo permista furore, justificam nobis mentem avertere

deorum: the confusion of the right and wrong, in this accursed war, has deprived

us of the protecting care of the gods (Catullus)

omnia Græce!, cum sit turpe magis nostris nescire Latine: all things must be in

Greek!, when it is more shameful for our Romans to be ignorant of Latin (Juvenal)

omnia jam fient, fieri quæ posse negabam; et nihil est de quo non sit habenda

fides: all things will now come to pass that I used to think impossible; and there is

nothing that we may not hope to see take place (Ovid) omnia mea mecum porto omnibus modis, qui pauperes sunt

omnia mea mecum porto (or, omnia mea porto mecum): all that is mine I carry

with me (Bias, one of the Seven Greek Sages, and Cicero)

omnia mea mecum sunt: all I have (my worldly goods) I carry with me (Seneca)

omnia mutari, et nil vere interire, ac summam materiæ prorsus eandem

manere, satis constat: that all things are changed, and that nothing really

perishes, and that the sum of matter remains exactly the same, is sufficiently certain

(Francis Bacon)

omnia perdidimus, tantummodo vita relicta est: we have lost everything, only life

is left (Ovid)

omnia profecto, cum se a coelestibus rebus referet ad humanas, excelsius

magnificentiusque et dicet et sentiet: when a man descends from heavenly

things to human, he will certainly both speak and feel more loftily and nobly on

every theme (Cicero)

omnia quæ nunc vetustissima creduntur, nova fuere; … et quod hodie exemplis

tuemur, inter exempla erit: everything that is now regarded as very ancient was

once new; … and what we are defending today by precedent, will sometime later be

a precedent itself (Tacitus)

omnia scelera etiam, ante effectum operis, quantum culpæ satis est, perfecta

sunt: all crimes are committed, so far as the blame attaching to them is concerned,

before they are actually carried into effect (Seneca)

omnia serviliter pro dominatione: servile in all his actions for the sake of power

(Tacitus, of Emperor Otho)

omnibus a suprema die eadem, quæ ante primum; nec magis a morte sensus

ullus aut corpori aut animæ quam ante natalem: his last day places man in the

same state as he was before he was born; not after death has the body or soul any

more feeling than they had before birth (Pliny the Elder)

omnibus hoc vitium est cantoribus, inter amicos ut nunquam inducant animum

cantare rogati, injussi nunquam desistant: this is a general fault of all singers,

that among their friends they never make up their minds to sing, however, pressed;

but when no one asks them, they will never stop (Horace)

omnibus hostes reddite nos populis, civile avertite bellum: commit us to

hostility with every other nation, but avert from us civil war (Lucan)

omnibus in terris, quæ sunt a Gadibus usque Auroram et Gangem, pauci

dignoscere possunt vera bona, atque illis multum diversa, remota erroris

nebula: in all the lands which stretch from Gades even to the region of the Dawn

and the Ganges, there are few who are able, by removing the mist of error, to

distinguish between what is really good and what is widely diverse (Juvenal)

omnibus invideas, Zoile; nemo tibi: you may envy all men, Zoilus; but no man

envies you (Martial)

omnibus modis, qui pauperes sunt homines miseri vivunt; præsertim quibus

nec quæstus est, nec didicere artem ullam: the poor live wretchedly in every

way; especially those who have no means of livelihood and have learned no craft

(Plautus)

omnis dolor aut est vehemens, aut parcus deorum cultor, et infrequens

omnis dolor aut est vehemens, aut levis; si levis, facile fertur, si vehemens,

certe brevis futurus est: all pain is either severe or slight; if slight, it is easily

borne; if severe, it will no doubt be brief (Cicero)

omnis enim res virtus, fama, decus, divina humanaque pulchris divitiis parent;

quas qui construxerit, ille clarus erit, fortis, justus: all things divine and

human, as virtue, fame, and honor, defer to fair wealth; and the one who has

amassed it will be illustrious, brave, and just (Horace)

omnium artium domina eloquentia: eloquence, the mistress of all the arts (after

Tacitus)

omnium rerum, ex quibus aliquid acquiritur, nihil est agricultura melius, nihil

uberius, nihil dulcius, nihil homine libero dignius: of all pursuits from which

profit accrues, nothing is superior to agriculture, nothing more productive, nothing

more enjoyable, nothing more worthy of a free man (Cicero)

operosa parvus carmina fingo: I, a little one, compose laborious songs (Horace)

optima quæque dies miseris mortalibus ævi prima fugit: subeunt morbi

tristisque senectus, et labor; et duræ rapit inclementia mortis: all the best

days of life slip away from us poor mortals first: diseases soon come, and sad old

age, and decay; and the cruelty of unmerciful death snatches us away (Virgil)

orator est vir bonus dicendi peritus: an orator is a good man skilled in speaking

(Cato the Elder)

os homini sublime dedit coelumque tueri jussit; et erectos ad sidera tollere

vultus: to man, the gods gave an upright countenance to survey the heavens, and to

look upward to the stars (Ovid)

os, orare, vale, communio, mensa negatur: speech, prayer, greeting, association,

and food are forbidden (i.e., the sentence of excommunication)

osculo Filium hominis tradis?: you betray the Son of Humanity with a kiss? (St.

Luke 22:48)

P

pallida mors æquo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas, regumque turres: pale

death approaches with equal step, and kicks its way equally into the tents of the

poor and the turrets of kings (Horace)

pange, lingua, gloriosi proelium certaminis: sing, my tongue, of the battle in the

glorious struggle (St. Venantius Fortunatus)

parce, puer, stimulis et fortius utere loris: boy, spare the whip and grasp the reins

more firmly (Ovid)

parcus deorum cultor, et infrequens, insanientis dum sapientiæ consultus erro;

nunc retrorsum vela dare, atque iterare cursus cogor relictos: a sparing and

infrequent worshipper of the gods, as long as I strayed from the way by senseless

philosophy; I am now forced to turn my sail back and retrace the course I had

deserted (Horace)

pars hominum vitiis gaudet peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo, et

pars hominum vitiis gaudet constanter, et urget propositum; pars multa natat,

modo recta capessens, interdum pravis obnoxia: a part of humanity rejoices

consistently in its vices and pursues its purpose; many more waver between doing

what is right and complying with what is wrong (Horace)

parta meæ Veneri sunt munera; namque notavi ipse locum aëriæ quo

congessere palumbes: I have found out a gift for my fair Venus; I have found

where the wood-pigeons breed (Virgil)

pars magna bonitatis est velle fieri bonum: a great step toward goodness is the

desire to be good (Seneca)

parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus: the mountains are in labor, a

ridiculous mouse will be born (Horace, said of works that promise much at the

outset but yield little in the end)

parva sunt hæc; sed parva ista non contemnendo majores nostri maximam hanc

rem fecerunt: these are small things; but it was by not despising these small things

that our forefathers made the republic so great (Livy)

parvula (nam exemplo est) magni formica laboris ore trahit quodcunque potest

atque addit acervo, quem struit, haud ignara ac non incauta futuri: the ant

(for example) is a creature of great industry, drags with its mouth all it can, and

adds to the heap it piles up, not ignorant or improvident of the future (Horace)

pascitur in vivis livor, post fata quiescit; tunc suus, ex merito, quemque tuetur

honos: envy feeds upon the living, after death it rests; then the honor a man

deserves protects him (Ovid)

Pater, in manus tuas commendo spiritum meum: Father, into Your hands I

commend my spirit (St. Luke 23:46; one of the Seven Last Words of Christ)

pater ipse colendi haud facilem esse viam voluit, primusque per artem movit

agros, curis acuens mortalia corda: the father of tillage himself, did not wish the

way to be easy; he was the first to raise the soil by art, inciting the human heart by

anxiety (Virgil)

pauca Catonis verba, sed a pleno venientia pectore veri: the words of Cato were

few, but they came from a heart full of truth (Lucan)

paulo hoc melius quam mediocre, hoc minus malum quam ut pessumum: it is a

little better than mediocre, a little less bad than worst (Lucilius)

pauper enim non est cui rerum suppetit usus. Si ventri bene, si lateri

pedibusque tuis, nil divitiæ poterunt regales addere majus: that man is not

poor who has a sufficiency for all his wants. If it is well with your stomach, your

lungs, and your feet, the wealth of kings cannot add more (Horace)

pauper sum, fateor, patior; quod di dant fero: I am poor, I admit; I put up with it;

what the gods give I bear with (Plautus)

pax Cererem nutrit, pacis alumna Ceres: peace is the nurse of Ceres; Ceres is the

nursling of peace (Ovid)

peccare docentes fallax historias movet: he falsely relates stories that are merely

lessons in vice (Horace)

peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo, et opere, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima

culpa: I have sinned greatly in thought, word, and deed, through my fault, through

my fault, through my most grievous fault (from the Catholic Mass)

pecunia non olet; atqui e lotio est perierunt tempora longi servitii

pecunia non olet; atqui e lotio est: money has no smell; yet that is money made

from urine (Vespasian’s answer to Titus’s objection to levying a tax on public

latrines; and Titus’s reply to Vespasian)

Pelion imposuisse Olympo: I have piled Pelion on Olympus (i.e., I have scaled

heaven) (Horace)

pelle moras; brevis est magni fortuna favoris: away with delay; brief is the time of

fortune’s great favor (Silius Italicus)

penitus toto divisos orbe Britannos: the Britons, completely separated from all the

world (Virgil)

per varios casus, per tot discrimina rerum: through various misfortunes, and so

many perils (i.e., after such a strange variety of adventures) (Virgil)

peragit tranquilla potestas quod violenta nequit; mandataque fortius urget

imperiosa quies: power can accomplish more by calmness than by violence, and

calmness best enforces the imperial mandate (Claudian)

peras imposuit Jupiter nobis duas; propriis repletam vitiis post tergum dedit.

Alienis ante pectus suspendit gravem: Jupiter has laid two knapsacks on us; he

has placed one behind our backs filled with our own faults, and he has hung