Verba Rōmānōrum 1



ºVerba Rōmānōrum 1

(Words of the Romans 1)

1. carpe diem, quam minimē crēdula posterō. (Horace)

Enjoy the day, trusting as little as possible in the next.

2. vēnī, vīdī, vīcī. (Caesar)

I came, I saw, I conquered.

3. omnia vincit amor. (Vergil)

Love conquers all things.

4. labor omnia vincit improbus. (Vergil)

Unremitting labor conquers all things.

5. aliud agendī tempus, aliud quiescendī. (Cicero)

There is one time for action, another for resting.

6. alterī vīvās oportet, sī tibi vīs vīvere. (Seneca the Younger)

You should live for another person, if you wish to live for yourself.

7. bonum ex malō nōn fit. (Seneca the Younger)

Good does not arise out of evil.

8. confessiō conscientiae vox est. (Seneca the Elder)

Confession is the voice of conscience.

9. corpora nostra lentē augescunt, cito exstinguuntur. (Tacitus)

Our bodies grow slowly, but they are quickly extinguished.

10. disce legendō. (Ps.-Cato)

Learn by reading.

11. dīves quī fierī vult, et cito vult fierī. (Juvenal)

A person who wishes to become rich also wishes to become rich quickly.

12. doctrīna est fructus dulcis rādīcis amārae. (Ps.-Cato)

Learning is a sweet fruit with a bitter root.

13. effugere nēmō id potest quod futūrum est. (Cicero)

No one can escape what is going to happen.

14. ēmit morte immortālitātem. (Quintilian)

He bought immortality through his death.

15. facile vincere nōn repugnantēs. (Cicero)

It is easy to defeat those who do not fight back.

16. fāta regunt hominēs. (Juvenal)

The fates rule mankind.

17. fortūna opēs auferre potest, nōn animum. (Seneca the Younger)

Fortune can take away our wealth, but not our spirit.

18. frequens imitātiō transit in mōrēs. (Quintilian)

Frequent imitation passes into habit.

19. hōc ūnum certum est, nihil esse certī. (Seneca the Younger)

This one thing is certain, nothing is certain.

20. hominēs vitia sua et amant simul et ōdērunt. (Seneca the Younger)

People both love and hate their own flaws at the same time.

21. in rēbus dubiīs plūrimī est audācia. (Publilius Syrus)

In uncertain matters, boldness is worth the most.

22. inhūmānum verbum est ultiō. (Seneca the Younger)

Vengeance is an inhuman word.

23. iniūriam quī factūrus est iam fēcit. (Seneca the Younger)

A person who is going to commit an injury has already done so.

24. intemperantia omnium perturbātiōnum māter est. (Cicero)

Intemperance is the mother of all derangements.

25. īra odium generat, concordia nūtrit amōrem. (Ps.-Cato)

Anger generates hatred, but harmony fosters love.

26. longa est vīta, sī plēna est. (Seneca the Younger)

Life is long, if it is full.

27. maximum remedium īrae mora est. (Seneca the Younger)

Delay is the greatest remedy for anger.

28. meliōra sunt ea quae nātūrā quam illa quae arte perfecta sunt. (Cicero)

What has been accomplished by nature is better than what has been accomplished by artifice.

29. multa sunt quae ego nescīre mālō. (Cicero)

There are many things which I prefer not to know.

30. multī mentiuntur ut dēcipiant, multī quia dēceptī sunt. (Seneca the Younger)

Many people lie in order to deceive, many because they have been deceived.

31. mūtārī fāta nōn possunt. (Cicero)

The fates cannot be altered.

32. nātūrā homō mundum et ēlegans animal est. (Seneca the Younger)

By nature, man is a neat and elegant animal.

33. nātūrae iūra sacra sunt etiam apud pīrātās. (Seneca the Elder)

The laws of nature are sacred even among pirates.

34. nātūrāle est magis nova quam magna mīrārī. (Seneca the Younger)

It is natural to admire new things more than great things.

35. nāvis quae in flūmine magna est in marī parvula est. (Seneca the Younger)

A ship which is big in a river is tiny in the sea.

36. nē damnent quae nōn intellegunt. (Quintilian)

People should not criticize what they do not understand.

37. nēminem pecūnia dīvitem fēcit. (Seneca the Younger)

Money has made no one rich.

38. nēmō adeō ferus est ut nōn mītescere possit. (Horace)

No one is so savage that he cannot become mild.

39. nihil agendō hominēs male agere discunt. (Columella)

By doing nothing, people learn to act badly.

40. nihil sibi quisquam dē futūrō dēbet prōmittere. (Seneca the Younger)

No one should promise himself anything about the future.

41. nōlīte velle quod fierī nōn potest. (Cicero)

Do not wish for what cannot happen.

42. nōn ut diū vīvāmus cūrandum est, sed ut satis. (Seneca the Younger)

We should not worry about living for a long time, but about living sufficiently.

43. num, tibi cum faucēs ūrit sitis, aurea quaeris pōcula? (Horace)

When thirst is burning your throat, you don’t demand golden cups, do you?

44. numquam temeritās cum sapientiā commiscētur. (Cicero)

Rashness is never combined with wisdom.

45. nusquam est quī ubīque est. (Seneca the Younger)

A person who is everywhere is nowhere.

46. ōdērunt peccāre bonī virtūtis amōre. (Horace)

Good people shun wrongdoing because of their love of virtue.

47. omnēs hominēs aut līberī sunt aut servī. (Justinian’s Digest)

Everyone is either free or a slave.

48. omnēs sē ipsōs nātūrā dīligunt. (Cicero)

Everyone naturally loves himself.

49. omnia etiam fēlīcibus dubia sunt. (Seneca the Younger)

Everything is in doubt, even for those who are fortunate.

50. omnia quae tū vīs ea cupiō. (Plautus)

I wish for everything that you want.

51. plūs potest quī plūs valet. (Plautus)

The person with more strength has more power.

52. post glōriam invidia sequitur. (Sallust)

Envy follows after glory.

53. quod dare nōn possīs verbīs prōmittere nōlī. (Ps.-Cato)

Do not promise with words what you cannot give.

54. quod sequitur fugiō; quod fugit ipse sequor. (Ovid)

Whatever pursues, I flee; whatever flees, I myself pursue.

55. quot hominēs, tot sententiae. (Terence)

There are as many opinions as there are people.

56. saepius pauper et fidēlius rīdet. (Seneca the Younger)

A poor person laughs more often and more honestly.

57. sagittā Cupīdō cor meum transfixit. (Plautus)

Cupid has shot my heart through with an arrow.

58. sērum auxilium post proelium. (Livy)

Help (comes) late after the battle.

59. spēs spem excitat, ambitiōnem ambitiō. (Seneca the Younger)

Hope stirs hope, ambition ambition.

60. tot mala sum passus quot in aethere sīdera lūcent. (Ovid)

I have suffered as many bad things as there are stars shining in the sky.

Verba Rōmānōrum 2

1. ab honestō vir bonus nullā rē dēterrēbitur. (Seneca the Younger)

A good man will be deterred from decency by nothing.

2. ācerrima proximōrum odia sunt. (Tacitus)

The hatreds of those closest are sharpest.

3. adversus hostēs necessāria est īra. (Seneca the Younger)

Anger is necessary against one’s enemies.

4. aliīs quod triste et amārum est, hōc tamen esse aliīs possit praedulce vidērī. (Lucretius)

What to some people is depressing and bitter may nevertheless be very sweet to others.

5. aliīs tempora dēsunt, aliīs tempora supersunt. (Seneca the Younger)

Some peope lack time, others have too much time.

6. aliquid crastinus diēs ad cōgitandum nōbīs dabit. (Cicero)

Tomorrow will give us something to think about.

7. amantium caeca iūdicia sunt. (Cicero)

The judgements of lovers are blind.

8. aspiciunt oculīs superī mortālia iustīs. (Ovid)

The gods above look with just eyes on mortal affairs.

9. aut rīdenda omnia aut flenda sunt. (Seneca the Younger)

Everything should be either laughed at or wept over.

10. avāritia bēlua fera, immānis, intoleranda est. (Sallust)

Greed is a wild beast, huge, intolerable.

11. bellum nec timendum nec prōvocandum. (Pliny the Younger)

War is neither to be feared nor to be provoked.

12. bonitās nōn est pessimīs esse meliōrem. (Seneca the Younger)

Being better than the worst is not goodness.

13. brevissima ad dīvitiās per contemptum dīvitiārum via est. (Seneca the Younger)

The shortest way to riches is through the spurning of riches.

14. cito fit quod deī volunt. (Petronius)

What the gods want happens quickly.

15. crēdēbās dormientī haec tibi confectūrōs deōs? (Terence)

Did you suppose that the gods would make these things happen for you while you slept?

16. cum mentior et mentīrī mē dīcō, mentior an vērum dīcō? (Aulus Gellius)

When I tell a lie and say that I am telling a lie, am I telling a lie or speaking the truth?

17. deōs nēmō sānus timet. (Seneca the Younger)

No sane person fears the gods.

18. dignus es porcōs pascere. (Martial)

You are fit to feed pigs.

19. dīvīna nātūra dedit agrōs, ars hūmāna aedificāvit urbēs. (Varro)

Divine nature gave fields, human skill built cities.

20. dolōris medicīnam ā philosophiā petō. (Cicero)

I seek medicine for pain from philosophy.

21. dūcunt volentem fāta, nōlentem trahunt. (Seneca the Younger)

The fates lead the willing, but drag the unwilling.

22. ego adulescentulōs existimō in scholīs stultissimōs fierī, quia nihil ex eīs quae in ūsū habēmus aut audiunt aut vident. (Petronius)

I believe that young people become very stupid in the schools, since they neither hear nor see any of those things which we consider useful.

23. ēnumerat mīles vulnera, pastor ovēs. (Propertius)

The soldier counts his wounds, the shepherd his sheep.

24. errāre mālō cum Platōne quam cum istīs vēra sentīre. (Cicero)

I prefer to be wrong with Plato than to hold true opinions with those fellows.

25. etiam sine magistrō vitia discuntur. (Seneca the Younger)

Vices are learned even without a teacher.

26. factum fierī infectum nōn potest. (Terence)

What has been done cannot be made undone.

27. fateor saepe peccasse; homō sum. (Petronius)

I confess I have often made mistakes; I am human.

28. fertilior seges est aliēnīs semper in agrīs. (Ovid)

Crops are always more fertile in other people’s fields.

29. firmissima est inter parēs amīcitia. (Quintus Curtius)

Friendship is always firmest among equals.

30. fortūna in omnī rē dominātur. (Sallust)

Fortune controls everything.

31. genus est mortis male vīvere. (Ovid)

Living badly is a sort of death.

32. ignāviā nēmō immortālis factus est. (Sallust)

No one has been made immmortal through laziness.

33. in fugā foeda mors est, in victōriā glōriōsa. (Cicero)

Death in flight is shameful, in victory glorious.

34. incrēdibile est quam facile etiam magnōs virōs dulcēdō ōrātiōnis abdūcat ā vērō. (Seneca the Younger)

It is incredible how easily the sweetness of a speech leads even great men away from the truth.

35. lītore quot conchae, tot sunt in amōre dolōrēs. (Ovid)

There are as many sorrows in love as there are shells on the shore.

36. longius aut propius mors sua quemque manet. (Propertius)

Further away or nearer at hand, each person’s death awaits them.

37. lūdit in hūmānīs dīvīna potentia rēbus. (Ovid)

The power of the gods plays amidst human affairs.

38. maior3 frāter dīvidat patrimōnium, minor ēligat. (Seneca the Elder)

Let the elder brother divide the inheritance, the younger one choose.

39. maior ignōtārum rērum est terror. (Livy)

Fear of unknown things is greater.

40. mālō prospicere quam acceptā iniūriā ulciscī. (Terence)

I prefer to be on the lookout than to take vengeance after suffering a wrong.

41. malus bonum malum esse vult ut sit suī similis. (Plautus)

The bad person wants the good person to be bad, so that he should be like him himself.

42. manet incolumis mundus, īdem semper erit, quoniam semper fuit īdem. (Manilius)

The world remains safe, it will always be the same, since it has always been the same.

43. medicus nihil aliud est quam animī consōlātiō. (Petronius)

A doctor is nothing but a source of consolation for the mind.

44. moritur omne quod nascitur. (Minucius Felix)

Everything which is born dies.

45. mors dolōrum omnium exsolūtiō est et fīnis, ultrā quem mala nostra nōn exeunt. (Seneca the Younger)

Death is a release and end of all pains, beyond which our ills do not extend.

46. mors nec bonum nec malum est. (Seneca the Younger)

Death is neither a good thing nor a bad thing.

47. mors somnō similis est. (Cicero)

Death is like sleep.

48. mortālia facta perībunt. (Horace)

Mortal deeds will perish.

49. nātūra mūtārī nōn potest. (Cicero)

Nature cannot be changed.

50. nātūram sī sequēmur ducem, numquam aberrābimus. (Cicero)

If we follow nature as our guide, we will not go astray.

51. nēmō patriam, quia magna est, amat, sed quia sua. (Seneca the Younger)

No one loves his country because it is great, but because it is his own.

52. nescīs quid vesper sērus vehat. (Varro)

You do not know what the late evening brings.

53. nihil difficile amantī. (Cicero)

Nothing is difficult for a lover.

54. nihil est bellō fūnestius. (Seneca the Younger)

Nothing is more deadly than war.

55. nihil est mortī tam simile quam somnus. (Cicero)

Nothing is so like death as sleep.

56. nihil est quod deus efficere nōn possit. (Cicero)

There is nothing which god cannot bring about.

57. nihil est quod longinquitās temporis nōn efficere possit. (Cicero)

There is nothing which length of time cannot bring about.

58. nihil perpetuum, pauca diūturna sunt. (Seneca the Younger)

Nothing is permanent, few things last for a long time.

59. nīl admīrārī prope rēs est ūna sōlaque quae possit facere et servāre beātum. (Horace)

To be surprised at nothing is almost the one and only thing which can make and keep a person happy.

60. nōn bonus est hominī somnus post prandium. (Plautus)

Sleep after lunch is not good for a person.

61. nōn census nec clārum nōmen avōrum sed probitās magnōs ingeniumque facit. (Ovid)

Not wealth nor the famous name of one’s ancestors but rather honesty and genius make people great.

62. nōn miscentur contrāria. (Seneca the Younger)

Opposites do not mix.

63. nōn omnēs eadem mīrantur amantque. (Horace)

Not everyone admires and likes the same things.

64. nōn omnēs quī habent citharam sunt citharoedī. (Varro)

Not everyone who has a lyre is a lyre-player.

65. nōn quaerit aeger medicum ēloquentem, sed sānantem. (Seneca the Younger)

A sick person does not look for an eloquent doctor, but one who cures him.

66. nōn quia difficilia sunt nōn audēmus, sed quia nōn audēmus difficilia sunt. (Seneca the Younger)

It is not because they are difficult that we do not dare (to do) things; rather they are difficult because we do not dare (to do) them.

67. nōs nōn plūris sumus quam bullae. (Petronius)

We are worth no more than bubbles are.

68. nulla flendī est maior causa, quam flēre nōn posse. (Seneca the Elder)

There is no greater reason for weeping than not to be able to weep.

69. numquam aliud nātūra, aliud sapientia dīcit. (Juvenal)

Nature never says one thing, wisdom another.

70. occultae inimīcitiae magis timendae sunt quam apertae. (Cicero)

Hidden enmities are more to be feared than open ones.

71. omnem crēde diem tibi dīluxisse suprēmum. (Horace)

Believe that every day has dawned for you for the last time.

72. omnēs immemorem beneficiī ōdērunt. (Cicero)

Everyone detests a person who forgets a favor.

73. omnia praeclāra rāra. (Cicero)

All excellent things are rare.

74. omnis vīta servitium est. (Seneca the Younger)

All of life is slavery.

75. onerātus magis sum quam honōrātus. (Livy)

I am more burdened than honored.

76. opprime, dum nova sunt, mala sēmina morbī. (Ovid)

Check the evil seeds of disease while they are fresh.

77. optimōs vītae diēs effluere prohibē. (Seneca the Younger)

Stop the best days of your life from flowing away.

78. palleat omnis amans; hīc est color aptus amantī. (Ovid)

Every lover should be pale; that color suits a lover.

79. parēs cum paribus facillimē congregantur. (Cicero)

Like gather together with like very easily.

80. parva levēs capiunt animōs. (Ovid)

Small things captivate light minds.

81. perīculōsius est timērī quam dēspicī. (Seneca the Younger)

It is more dangerous to be feared than to be despised.

82. piger ipse sibi obstat. (Seneca the Younger)

A lazy person is an obstacle to himself.

83. plūs alimentī est in pāne quam in ullō aliō. (Celsus)

There is more nourishment in bread than in anything else.

84. post mortem nihil est, ipsaque mors nihil. (Seneca the Younger)

There is nothing after death, and death itself is nothing.

85. potior dignitās sine vītā quam vīta sine dignitāte. (Valerius Maximus)

Honor without life is better than life without honor.

86. potior perīculōsa lībertās quiētō servitiō. (Sallust)

Freedom with danger is better than tranquil slavery.

87. praeferre patriam līberīs rēgem decet. (Seneca the Younger)

A ruler should value his country more than his children.

88. prīma virtūs est vitiō carēre. (Quintilian)

Being without vice is the first virtue.

89. quam caeca avāritia est! (Cicero)

How blind greed is!

90. quās dederis, sōlās semper habēbis opēs. (Martial)

The only wealth you will always have is what you have given away.

91. quid lībertāte pretiōsius? (Pliny the Younger)

What is more valuable than freedom?

92. quidquid bene dictum est ab ullō meum est. (Seneca the Younger)

Whatever has been well said by anyone is mine.

93. quidquid servātur cupimus magis. (Ovid)

Whatever is guarded we desire more.

94. quod bonum est, bonōs facit. (Seneca the Younger)

What is good makes people good.

95. quod parum nōvit, nēmo docēre potest. (Ovid)

No one can teach what he scarcely knows.

96. quod tuum est, meum est, omne meum est autem tuum. (Plautus)

What is yours is mine, and all that is mine is yours.

97. quot caelum stellās, tot habet tua Rōma puellās. (Ovid)

Your Rome has as many girls as the sky has stars.

98. regitur fātīs mortāle genus. (Seneca the Younger)

The human race is controlled by the fates.

99. rēs est forma fugax. (Seneca the Younger)

Beauty is a fleeting thing.

100. semper est honestum virum bonum esse, semper est ūtile. (Cicero)

It is always decent to be a good man, it is always useful.

101. senectūs est nātūrā loquācior. (Cicero)

Old age is by nature rather garrulous.

102. sī ūnam rem sērō fēceris, omnia opera sērō faciēs. (Cato)

If you do one thing late, you will do all your tasks late.

103. sōlem ē mundō tollere videntur, quī amīcitiam ē vītā tollunt. (Cicero)

Those who remove friendship from life seem to remove the sun from the world.

104. suāve marī magnō turbantibus aequora ventīs, ē terrā magnum alterius spectāre labōrem.(Lucretius)

When the winds are tossing the waters in a great sea, it is pleasant to watch another person’s great difficulty from the land.

105. sunt aliquid mānēs: lētum nōn omnia fīnit. (Propertius)

The shades of the dead are something; death does not end everything.

106. sunt apud infernōs tot mīlia formōsārum. (Propertius)

There are among those below so many thousands of beautiful women.

107. tanta vīs probitātis est, ut eam etiam in hoste dīligāmus. (Cicero)

Honesty has such power that we appreciate it even in an enemy.

108. tantī est, quantī fungus putridus. (Plautus)

He is worth as much as a rotten mushroom.

109. temerāriīs remediīs gravēs morbī cūrantur. (Seneca the Elder)

Serious diseases are treated with risky remedies.

110. tempus in agrōrum cultū consūmere dulce est. (Ovid)

It is pleasant to spend time in cultivating one’s fields.

111. timidum dēmentia somnia terrent. (Propertius)

Mad dreams terrify a timid person.

112. tot sine amōre virī, tot sunt sine amōre puellae! (Ovid)

There are so many men without love, so many girls without love!

113. tranquillās etiam naufragus horret aquās. (Ovid)

A person who has been shipwrecked shudders even at calm waters.

114. tū mihi sōla placēs: placeam tibi sōlus! (Propertius)

You alone please me: may I alone please you!

115. ūsus efficācissimus rērum omnium magister. (Pliny the Elder)

Practice is the most effective teacher in all affairs.

116. ūtilius regnō est, meritīs acquīrere amīcōs. (Ps.-Cato)

It is worth more than a kingdom to acquire friends by one’s merits.

117. vērus amīcus est is quī est tamquam alter īdem. (Cicero)

A true friend is one who is as it were a second self.

118. vīlius argentum est aurō, virtūtibus aurum. (Horace)

Silver is cheaper than gold, gold than virtues.

119. vīta et mors iūra nātūrae sunt. (Sallust)

Life and death are laws of nature.

120. vītae sequere nātūram ducem. (Seneca the Younger)

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