List of Latin proverbs
The following is a list of some Latin and Roman proverbs and sayings, in alphabetical order, with English translations.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
- Ab imo pectore -- "With all [my] heart" (attributed to Julius Caesar)
- Absentem laedit, qui cum ebrio litigat. -- "He who quarrels with a drunk hurts an absentee."
- Acta est fabula -- "What happened is a fable," or "The fable is ended" (Augustus' last words)
- Ad astra per aspera - "To the stars through difficulties," motto of Kansas. (more frequently as "per aspera ad astra")
- Aegroto dum anima est, spes est. -- "As long as a sick person is conscious (or, has a good character, or reacts), there is still hope."
- Age quod agis - "Do what you do", in the sense of "Do well what you do" or "Be serious in what you do"
- Amor patriae nostra lex. -- "Love of the fatherland is our law."
- Alea iacta est. -- "The die is cast!" (Said by Julius Caesar when he crossed the Rubicon, contrary to law.)
- Ars longa, vita brevis. -- "Art is long, life is short."
- Asinus asinorum in saecula saeculorum. -- "The greatest jackass in eternity."
- Audaces fortuna iuvat -- "Luck helps those who're brave." (Vergil, Aeneis 10,284)
- Audi, vide, tace, si tu vis vivere. -- "Hear, see, be silent, if you [wish] to be alive ."
- Audiatur et altera pars. -- "The other part should be heard, too."
- Auri sacra fames. -- "The accursed hunger for gold." (Vergil, Aeneis 3,57; later quoted by Seneca quod non mortalia pectora coges, auri sacra fames -- "What aren't you able to bring men to do, miserable hunger for gold!")
B
- Beati pauperes spiritu -- "Lucky are those of a poor mind" (Sermon on the Mount)
- Beatus, qui prodest, quibus potest. -- "He is lucky who helps everyone he can." or, very differently, "He is lucky the one who gets ad advantage from those on which he has some power."
- Bene diagnoscitur, bene curatur. -- "Something that is well diagnosed can be cured well."
- Bis dat, qui cito dat. -- "He who gives quickly gives twice."
- Bis repetita non placent -- "Repetitions are not well-received." (Horace, Ars Poetica 365)
- Bona diagnosis, bona curatio. -- "Good diagnosis, good cure."
- Bona valetudo melior est quam maximae divitiae. -- "Good health is worth more than the greatest wealth."
C
- Carpe diem -- "Use the day" (Horace, Odes I,11,8)
- Cibi condimentum est fames. -- "Hunger is a spice for any meal."
- Concordia civium murus urbium. -- "Harmony of citizens is the wall of cities."
- Consuetudinis vis magna est. -- "The power of habit is great."
- Consuetudo altera natura est. -- "Habit is second nature."
- Contraria contrariis curantur. -- "Opposites are cured by their opposites."
- Contra vim mortis non est medicamen in hortis. -- "There's no herb against the power of death."
- Cuiusvis hominis est errare -- "Every human can err." (Cicero)
- Cura, ut valeas! -- "Take Care."
D
- De gustibus non est disputandum. -- "Matters of taste ought not to be disputed."
- De mortuis nihil nisi bene. -- "Of the dead, nothing but good."; "Say only good things about the dead."
- Delenda Carthago -- "Carthago must be destroyed" (Cato the elder)
- Deliriant isti Romani. -- "They are mad, those Romans"; -- René Goscinny, Asterix and Obelix comic
- Desinit in piscem mulier formosa superne - "The beautiful woman ends in a fish tail." (Horace, Ars poetica)
- Diem perdidi -- "I lost the day" (Emperor Titus, passed down in Suetonius's biography (8))
- Divide et impera. -- "Divide and conquer."
- Donec eris felix multos numerabis amicos. -- "As long as you're happy, you'll have many friends." (Ovid, Tristia I,9,5)
- Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. -- Horace, Odes III, 2, 13 -- "It is sweet and honorable to die for the fatherland."
- Dum spiro, spero. -- "As long as I breathe, I hope."
- Dura lex, sed lex. -- "The law is harsh, but it is [still] the law."
- Dura necessitas. -- "Necessity is harsh."
E
- E fructu arbor cognoscitur. -- "The tree can be recognized by its fruits."
- Errare humanum est. Perseverare diabolicum. -- "To err is human. To repeat error is of the Devil." (Seneca)
- Et nunc reges, intelligite erudimini qui judicatis terram... -- "And now kings, be warned, you who judge on earth..." (Bible)
- Exegi monumentum aere perennius -- "I built a monument, more durable than ore" (Horace, Odes III, 30, 1)
F
- Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere -- "Lucky [is the person] who could realize things" (variant of Vergil, Georgica 2, 490)
- Festina lente ! "Make haste slowly" - proceed quickly but with caution, a motto of Augustus Caesar.
- Fide, sed qui, vide. -- "Trust but take care whom."
- Fluctuat nec mergitur -- "Shaken by the waves, but it will not sink" (inscription on Paris' coat of arms)
- Fortes fortuna uvat. or Audaces fortuna juvat. -- "Fortune favors the brave."
G
- Gloria victis. -- "Glory to the defeated."
- Gutta cavat lapidem non vi, sed saepe cadendo. -- "A drop drills the rock not with force but by falling repeatedly."
H
- Habent sua fata libelli. -- "Books have their fate."
- Hannibal ante portas. -- "Hannibal before the gates," i.e. wasting time while the enemy is already here.
- Hic Rhodus, hic salta. -- "It's Rhodos, jump here." Aesop
- Hodie mihi, cras tibi. -- "What's to me today, tomorrow to you."
- Homines quod volunt credunt. -- "Men believe what they want to." (Julius Caesar)
- Homo homini lupus est. -- "Man is a wolf to man." Hobbes
- Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto. "I am human, so nothing that is human is foreign to me."
- Hypotheses non fingo. -- "I feign no hypotheses" (I do not assert that any hypotheses are true). Newton, Principia
I
- Ignorantia iuris nocet. "Being ignorant of law harms."
- Ignorantia legis non excusat. "Ignorance of the law is no excuse."
- Ignoti nulla cupido. "The unknown does not tempt."
- Inter arma enim silent leges (Musae). -- "During wars laws" (or "arts") "are silent." Cicero, Oratio Pro Annio Milone (IV)
- In dubio pro reo -- "When in doubt, in favour of the accused"
- In vino veritas. -- "There is truth in wine." That is, "Wine in excess will bring out truth."
- Ira furor brevis est -- "Anger is a short rage" (Horace, epistles I, 2, 62)
- Is fecit, cui prodest. -- "Done by the one who profits from it."
- Iurare in verba magistri. -- "Swear by teacher's words."
- Justitia omnibus. -- "Justice for all."
L
- Laborare est orare. -- "To work is to pray."
- Laborare omnia vincit. -- "Labor conquers all."
M
- Major e longinquo reverentia. -- "Viewed from a distance, everything is beautiful." Cornelius Tacitus, annals 1,47
- Manus manum lavat. -- "One hand washes the other."
- Medicus curat, natura sanat. -- "The doctor cares [for his patient], nature heals [him]."
- Memento mori. -- "Remember your mortality." Also, ironically, "Remember to die." it is the motto of the Friars of Trappa.
- Mens sana in corpore sano. -- "A healthy spirit in a healthy body." (This quotation is out of context: As quoted here, it appears to say that a healthy body is the prerequisite for a healthy spirit, but that's not how it was meant initially. The complete quote is Orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano, which means "Let's hope that there is a healthy spirit in a healthy body."; Juvenal, Satires 10, 356)
- Morituri te salutant -- "Those who are doomed to die greet you" (traditional greeting of the gladiators prior to battle; passed on by Suetonius, Claudius 21)
N
- Naturo abhorret a vacuo. -- "Nature abhors a vacuum."
- Nec Hercules contra plures.
- Nemo me impune lacessit. -- "No-one attacks me with impunity," the Scots national motto.
- Neque ignorare medicum oportet quae sit aegri natura.
- Nihil lacrima citius arescit. -- "Nothing dries more quickly than a tear."
- Nil sine numini. -- "Nothing without Providence."
- Nomen est omen. -- "A name is an omen."
- Non fui, fui, non sum, non curo. -- "I was not, I was, I am not, I don't care." (found on tombstones abbreviated NFFNSNC)
- Non licet omnibus adire Corinthum -- "Not everybody is granted [the privilege of] going to Corinth" (Horace, epistles I, 17, 36)
- Non omnia possumus omnes. -- "All of us cannot do everything." (Vergil)
- Non scholae, sed vitae discimus. -- "We don't learn from school but from life." (Original quotation Seneca's is "Non vitae, sed scholae discimus")
- Non ut edam vivo, sed ut vivam edo. -- "I don't live to eat, but I eat to live."
- Non vestimentum virum ornat, sed vir vestimentum. -- "Not the raiment graces the man, but the man the raiment."
- Non vini vi no, sed vi no aquae.
- Nondum amabam, et amare amabam. -- "I did not love, even if I yearned to love."
- Nosce te ipsum! -- "Know thyself!"
- Nulla dies sine linea. -- "No day without a line."
- Nulla est medicina sine lingua Latina. -- "No medicine without Latin."
- Nulla regula sine exceptione. -- "No rule without exception."
- Nulla res tam necessaria est quam medicina. -- "Nothing is so necessary as medicine."
- Nunc est bibendum -- "Now it's time to drink" (Horace, Odes I, 37, 1)
O
- O fortunatos nimium sua si bona norint, agricolas -- "Oh fortunate farmers [i.e., non-mariners], if only they would see their luck" (Vergil, Georgica 2, 458ff.)
- O tempora! O mores! -- "Oh times! Oh morals!" (Cicero, Catilina I, 1, 2)
- Oculi plus vident quam oculus. -- "Several eyes see more than only one."
- Omnes homines sibi sanitatem cupiunt, saepe autem omnia, quae valetudini contraria sunt, faciunt. -- "All men wish to be healthy, but often they do everything that's disadvantageous to their health."
- Omnia mea mecum porto. -- "All that's mine I carry with me."
- Omnia vincit amor. -- "Love conquers all."
- Omnium artium medicina nobilissima est. -- "Medicine is the noblest of all arts."
- Optimum medicamentum quies est. -- "Peace is the best medicine."
- Ora et labora. -- "Pray and work."
P
- Panem et circenses -- "Bread and games" (Decimus Junius Juvenal, Satires 10, 81)
- Pax melior est quam iustissimum bellum. -- "Peace is better than the most just war."
- Pecunia not olet. -- "Money does not smell" (Remark by Roman emperor Vespasian on the plan to tax public urinals.)
- Per aspera ad astra. -- "Through hardships to the stars." (The motto of NASA.)
- Per scientiam ad salutem aegroti. -- "To heal the sick through knowledge."
- Plenus venter non studet libenter. -- "A full belly doesn't like studying."
- Plures crapula quam gladius perdidit. -- "Drunkenness takes more lives than the sword."
- Post cenam non stare sed mille passus meare. -- "Do not rest after dinner, but walk a mile."
- Post hoc non est propter hoc. -- "'After this' is not 'because of this'."
- Praesente medico nihil nocet. -- "In the presence of a doctor nothing can harm."
- Praevenire melius est quam praeveniri. -- "It is better to precede than to be preceded."
- Primum non nocere. -- "First, do no harm" (a physician's principle).
Q
- Qualis artifex pereo -- "What a great artist dies with me." (attributed to Nero by Suetonius)
- Quid novi ex Africa? -- "What's new from Africa?" (derived from an Aristotle quote)
- Quidquid agis, prudenter agas, et respice finem! -- "Whatever you do, may you do it prudently, and toe the line!"
- Quidquid discis, tibi discis. -- "Whatever you learn, you learn it for yourself."
- Quidquid id est timeo puellas et oscula dantes. -- "Whatever it is, I fear the girls, even when they kiss." (a variant on Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes)
- Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur. -- "Anything said in Latin sounds profound."
- Qui habet aures audiendi audiat -- "Those who have ears to hear, hear!" (Bible)
- Qui rogat, non errat. -- "Who asks isn't wrong."
- Qui scribit, bis legit. -- "Who writes, reads twice."
- Qui tacet, consentire videtur. -- "Who is silent seems to agree."
- Qui vult dare parva non debet magna rogare. -- "He who wishes to give little shouldn't ask for much."
- Quo errat demonstrator -- "Where the prover errs" (a pun on Quod erat demonstrandum)
- Quo vadis? -- "Where are you going?" (Bible)
- Quod erat demonstrandum -- "What was to be proven" (Euklid)
- Quod licet Iovis, non licet bovis. -- "All that is allowed to Jupiter is not necessarily allowed to an ox."
- Quod medicina aliis, aliis est acre venenum. -- "One person's medicine is another's foul poison."
- Quot capita, tot sententiae. -- "As many opinions as people."
- Quousque tandem? -- "For how much longer?" (Cicero)
R
- Reddite ergo quae sunt Caesaris, Caesari -- "Give Caesar what's Caesar's" (Bible)
- Repetitio est mater studiorum. -- "Repetition is the mother of study."
S
- Saepe morborum gravium exitus incerti sunt. -- "The effects of serious illnesses are often unknown."
- Salus aegroti suprema lex. -- "The well-being of the patient is the most important law."
- Sic transit gloria mundi. -- "Thus passes worldly glory." In Bible; repeated during the coronation of the Pope.
- Similia similibus curantur. -- "Like cures like."
- Sine labore non erit panis in ore. -- "Without work there won't be any bread in your mouth."
- Si decem habeas linguas, mutum esse addecet. -- "Even if you had ten tongues, you should hold them all."
- Si tacuisses, philosophus mansisses. -- "If you had kept your silence, you would have stayed a philosopher."
- Si vis pacem, para bellum. -- "If you want peace, prepare for war." (Vegetius, Epitoma rei militaris)
- Si vis pacem, para iustitiam. -- "If you want peace, prepare justice."
- Sol lucet omnibus -- "The sun shines for everyone" (Gaius Petronius Arbiter, Satyricon 100)
- Summum ius summa inuria. -- "More law, less justice." (Cicero, De officiis I, 10, 33)
T
- Tarde venientibus ossa. -- "For those who come late, only the bones."
- Tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis. -- "The times are changed, and we are changed in them."
- Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes -- "I fear the Danaens even if they bring presents" (Vergil, Aeneis, 2, 49)
- Tres faciunt collegium. -- "Three makes a company."
- Tu quoque fili -- "You too, son" (Julius Caesar)
U
- Ubi concordia, ibi victoria. -- "Where there is harmony, there is victory."
- Ubi fumus, ibi ignis. -- "Where there's smoke, there's fire."
- Ubi tu Gaius, ibi ego Gaia. -- "Where you are, Gaius, there I, Gaia, will be." (This is said to have been a nuptial formula, but it is only known from Greek sources.)
- Una salus victis, nullam sperare salutem
- Unum castigabis, centum emendabis. -- "If you reprove one error, you will correct a hundred."
- Usus magister est optimus. -- "Practice makes perfect."
- Ut ameris, amabilis esto. -- "Be amiable, then you'll be loved."
- Ut sis nocte levis, sit cena brevis! -- "That your sleeping hour be peaceful, let your dining hour be brief!" (Sis is one hour before sunset.)
V
- Vade retro -- "Step back!" (Publius Terent, Formio I, 4, 203)
- Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas -- "Everything's vain" (Bible)
- Veni, vidi, vici -- "I came, I saw, I triumphed" (Julius Caesar, after defeating king Pharnakles near Zela in 47 BC)
- Ventis secundis, tene cursum. -- "Go with the flow."
- Verba docent, exempla trahunt. -- "Words instruct, illustrations lead."
- Veritas odium paret -- "Truth creates hatred" (Terence, Andria 68)
- Victrix causa diis placuit sed victa Catoni -- "The victorious cause pleased the gods, but the [female] defeated pleased Cato" (Lucanus, Pharsalia 1, 128)
- Video meliora proboque deteriora sequor -- "I see the better and acknowledge it, but I follow the worse (Ovid)
- Vinum et musica laetificant cor -- "Wine and music delight the heart" (Bible)
- Vox populi, vox dei. -- "The voice of the people is the voice of God."
