List of Latin proverbs

The following is a list of some Latin and Roman proverbs and sayings, in alphabetical order, with English translations.

Table of contents

1 A
2 B
3 C
4 D
5 E
6 F
7 G
8 H
9 I
10 L
11 M
12 N
13 O
14 P
15 Q
16 R
17 S
18 T
19 U
20 V
21 See also

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 -- "Seize 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"; -- Ren� 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 have built a monument more durable than bronze." (Horace, Odes III, 30, 1)(referring to his immortal poetry)

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 bis, sed saepe cadendo; sic homo fit sapiens bis non, sed saepe legendo. -- "A drop drills a rock by falling not twice, but many times; so too is a human not made smart by reading two, but by many books." (Giordano Bruno)
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 salutamus -- "We who are doomed to die greet you" (traditional greeting of the gladiators prior to battle; passed on by Suetonius, Claudius 21)

N

Naturo abhorret vacuum. -- "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. -- "Nor does it behoove [the doctor] to ignore the sick man's temperament." A. Cornelius Celsus, 'De Medicina', Prooemium.

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 nobis solum nati sumus -- "We are not born for ourselves alone"
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 poena sine lege -- "No punishment without a law."
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."
Orare et laborare. -- "Pray and work." (Motto of Benedictine Order)

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 out of 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?"
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."
Rustica progenies semper villana fuit. -- "A rustic (as in, provincial, peasant-like) ancestry will always remain rustic."

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 --"The only [hope of ]safety for the defeated is to relinquish all hope of safety." (Vergil, Aeneid, II, 354)
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 conquered" (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 was pleasing to the Gods, but the lost cause to Cato" (Lucanus, Pharsalia 1, 128)(Dedication on the south side of the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery)
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."