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Dicta Hodierna

Ad astra per aspera - To the stars through difficultiesAlea iacta est. - The die is cast. (attr. to Caesar)Amantes sunt amentes. - Lovers are lunatics.Amor omnia vincit. - Love conquers all.Arma placent miseris. - Taking up arms suits the desperate.Ars artis gratia - Art for art's sakeArs longa, vita brevis. - Art is long, life is short.Aut disce aut discede. - Either learn or leave.Barbarus hic ego sum, quia non intelligor ullis Barbarus hic ego sum, quia non intelligor ullis et

rident stolidi verba Latina. - I'm the barbarian here, since no one understands me and these fools laugh at my Latin. (Ovid)

Bene nati, bene vestiti, et mediocriter docti - Well born, well dressed, and only moderately educated

Beneficium accipere libertatem est vendere. - To accept a favor is to sell one's freedom.Bona prudentiae pars est nosse stultas vulgi cupiditates et absurdas opiniones. - A good part of

prudence is recognizing what are just the foolish desires and absurd beliefs of the general public. (Erasmus)

Bonum certamen certavi, cursum consummavi, fidem servavi. - I've fought the good fight, I've run my course, I've kept the faith.

Bonitas non est pessimis esse meliorem. - Being good is not just being better than the worst.Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero. - Seize the day, trust as little as possible in

tomorrow. (Horace)Caveat emptor. - Let the buyer beware.Cetera quis nescit? - The rest, who doesn't know?Cogito ergo sum. - I think therefore I am. (Descartes)cum grano salis - with a grain of saltCum tacent, clamant. - Since they're silent, they're shouting. (Cicero)Dabit deus his quoque finem. - This too shall pass. (Vergil)Damnant quod non intelligunt. - They condemn what they don't understand.De gustibus non est disputandum. - One must not argue about tastes.De mortuis nil nisi bonum. - Speak only good of the dead.Degeneres animos timor arguit. - Fear exposes cowardly hearts.Deo volente - God willingdies irae - judgment day (Dies irae , dies illa / Solvet saeclum in favilla)Docendo discitur. - One learns by teaching.Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. - It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country. Dulce est desipere in loco. - It's good to cut loose every now and then.Dum spiro spero. - While I breathe I hope. Dum vivimus vivamus. - Let's live while we're alive.Dux femina facti - A woman was the leader of the deed. (Vergil)Ego primum tollo, nominor quoniam leo. - I get the best part because I'm the lion. (Phaedrus)Equi dentes inspicere donati - Looking a gift horse in the mouth (St. Jerome)Errare est humanum. - To err is human.

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Esse quam videri. - To be [good], rather than to seem. (Sallust, describing Cato the Younger)Est modus in rebus. - There's a fine line in things. (Horace)Et tu, Brute? - Even you, Brutus? (Shakespeare)Ex nihilo nihil fit. - Nothing comes from nothing. (Lucretius)Facilis descensus Averno. - Easy is the descent to Hell. (Vergil)Facilius est multa facere quam diu. - It's easier to do many different things than one thing for a

long time.Facito aliquid operis, ut semper te diabolus inveniat occupatum. - Do some work so the devil

always finds you busy. (St. Jerome)Facta non verba - Deeds not wordsFama, malum qua non aliud velocius ullum. - Rumor, the swiftest of all evils. (Vergil)Fata obstant. - The Fates stand in the way (It just wasn't meant to be.)Festina lente. - Make haste slowly.Fiat lux! - Let there be light!Finis coronat opus. - The end crowns the work.Flamma fumo est proxima. - Where there's smoke there's fire.Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit. - Perhaps one day remembering even this will be

pleasant. (Vergil)Fortis (Fortes) Fortuna iuvat. - Fortune helps the brave.Fraus latet in generalibus. - Error lurks in generalities.Gaudeamus igitur, iuvenes dum sumus. - Let us therefore rejoice, while we are young.Gloria virtutem tanquam umbra sequitur. - Adulation follows virtue like a shadow. (Cicero)Hominem te memento. - Remember you're only human.Humanius est deridere vitam quam deplorare. - It is more civilized to laugh at life than to cry

about it. (Seneca)Id est genus hominum. - Such is humankind. (Terence) Ignorantia legis neminem excusat. - Ignorance of the law excuses no one.Imum nolo, summum nequeo; quiesco. - I don't want to be the worst, I can't be the best, so I just

take it easy.infra dignitatem - below one's dignityin flagrante delicto - caught red-handed (while the crime is blazing)In hoc signo vinces. - In this sign you will conquer.In medio tutissimus ibis - The middle road is the safest. (Ovid)In utrumque paratus. - Ready for either event.Ipsa scientia potestas est. - Knowledge itself is power. (Francis Bacon)Iuris praecepta sunt haec: honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere - These are

the guiding principles of law: to live honestly, not to injure another, to grant to each his own (Corpus Iuris Civilis)

Iustitia omnibus - Justice for allLabor omnia vincit. - Work conquers all.Lasciva est nobis pagina, vita proba. - My writing is lewd, but my life is not. (Martial)Leve fit quod bene fertur onus. - A burden that is carried well becomes light.Lusisti satis, edisti satis atque bibisti: tempus abire tibi est - You've played enough, eaten

enough, and drunk enough: it's time for you to go. (Horace)magnum opus - a masterpiece

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Mea mihi conscientia pluris est quam omnium sermo. - My conscience means more to me than what people will say. (Cicero)

Memento mori. - Remember that we are dying.Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa - My fault, my fault aloneMedice, cura te ipsum. - Physician, heal thyself.Mendacem memorem esse oportere. - A liar should have a good memory. (Quintilian)Mens sana in corpore sano - A sound mind in a sound bodyMilitat omnis amans. - Every lover is a warrior. (Ovid) Morituri te salutant. - Those about to die salute you.mos maiorum - the custom of our ancestorsne quid nimis - nothing to excessNe sutor ultra crepidam. - The shoemaker should stick to shoes. ("A man's got to know his

limitations.")Nec scire fas est omnia. - One can't know everything.Nec verbum verbo curabis reddere fidus interpres. - As a faithful translator you should not

render word for word.Nec vitia nostra nec remedia pati possumus. - [We've reached the point that] we can endure

neither our faults or the cure for them. (Livy)Nemo est liber qui corpori servit. - No one is free who is a slave to his body. (Seneca)Nemo me impune lacessit. - No one hurts me without paying for it.Nescire autem antequam natus sis quid acciderit, id est semper esse puerum. - Not to know what

happened before you were born is always to be a child. (Cicero)Nihil est ab omni parte beatum. - Nothing is good in every way. (Every silver lining has its

cloud.)Nil desperandum. - Don't despair.Nil nimium studeo, Caesar, tibi velle placere. - I'm in no great hurry to please you, Caesar.

(Catullus)Nolo quod cupio statim tenere nec victoria mi placet parata. - I don't want to achieve my goal

too quickly and I don't like an easy victory.Non amo te, Sabidi, nec possum dicere quare; hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te. - I don't

like you, Sabidius, and I can't say why; all I can say is I don't like you.Non bene olet qui bene semper olet. - No one smells good who always smells good.non compos mentis - not of sound mindNon omne quod licet honestum est. - Not everything that is permitted is honorable (Just because

there's no law against it doesn't make it right).Non omnes qui habent citharam sunt citharoedi. - Not everyone who has a lyre is a lyre player.

(Varro)Non omnia possumus omnes. - We all can't do everything.Non semper ea sunt quae videntur. - Things are not always what they seem.Nosce te ipsum. (Greek: Gnothi seauton) - Know thyself.Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae fuit. - There has been no great intellect

without a bit of insanity. (Seneca)Nullum saeculum magnis ingeniis clausum est. - No age is closed to great intellects. (Seneca)Nunc pueri in scholis ludunt, iuvenes ridentur in foro. - Today children play games in school,

[tomorrow] they will be laughed at in the forum (in the real world).O saeculum insipiens et infacetum! - What a silly and witless age [we live in]! (Catullus)

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O tempora! O mores! - O the times, O the customs! (Cicero)Odi et amo, quare id faciam, fortasse requiris. Nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior. - I hate her

and love her. Why I do this perhaps you ask. I don't know, but I can feel it and I'm in agony. (Catullus)

Odi profanum vulgus et arceo. - I hate the common crowd and I avoid them. (Horace)Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci. - You'll make you point more convincingly by

mixing in a spoonful of sugar. (Horace)Otium sine litteris mors est. - Leisure without literature is death.Panem et circenses. - [All the people want is] free food and entertainment. (Juvenal)Parva leves capiunt animos. - Little things captivate little minds. (Ovid)Perfer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim. - Stick to it and hand in there; this trouble will one

day be a blessing.Piscem natare doces. - You're teaching a fish how to swim. (preaching to the converted)Possunt quia posse videntur. - They can because they think they can. (Vergil)Praemonitus praemunitus. - Forewarned is forearmed.Puto deus fio. - I think I'm becoming a god. (said to be the dying words of Vespasian)Quae fuerant vitia mores sunt. - Things which had been vices are now everyday customs.

(Seneca)Quae nocent docent. - Things that hurt you teach you.Quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus. - Sometimes even good Homer misses a beat.Qui dedit beneficium taceat; narret qui accepit. - Whoever does a good deed should be quiet

about it; let the one who benefited from the good deed talk about it.Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum. - Whoever wants peace should prepare for war.

(Vegetius)Qui non est hodie, cras minus aptus erit. - He who is not prepared today will be less so

tomorrow.Qui timide rogat docet negare. - He who asks timidly encourages rejection.Quid ad aeternum? - What's its significance in the light of eternity?quid pro quo - something for somethingQuis custodiet ipsos custodes? - Who'll watch the watchmen? (Juvenal)Quo me, Bacche, rapis, tui plenum? - Bacchus, to what lengths do you drag me when I've had my fill of you? (cr. "Whiskey you're the devil, you're leading me astray...")quod erat demonstrandum - that which was to be provedQuot homines tot sententiae. - There are as many opinions as there are people. (Terence)rara avis - rare bird (unusual/eccentric person)Res age, tute eris. - Stay busy, you'll be OK (advice to the lovelorn).Res est magna tacere. - It's a great thing to be able to keep one's mouth shut.Res ipsa loquitur. - The matter speaks for itself.Rident stolidi verba Latina. - Fools laugh at the Latin language. (from Ovid)Saepe grandis natui senex nullum aliud habet argumentum quo se probet diu vixisse praeter

aetatem. - Often an old man has no proof of his long life except for his age.Serit arbores quae saeclo prosint alteri. - He plants trees to benefit future generations.sesquipedalia verba - words a foot and a half long (hifalutin talk)Si foret in terris, rideret Democritus. - If he were here today, Democritus would laugh.Sic transit gloria mundi. - Thus passes the glory of the world.simplex munditiis - simple in its elegance (Horace)

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sine ira et studio - [to report the facts] without spite or prejudice (Tacitus)sine qua non - something indispensable Si post fata venit gloria, non propero. - If glory comes only after death, I'm in no hurry [to be

famous].Spectatum veniunt, veniunt spectentur ut ipsae. - They come to see and they come to be seen.

(Ovid)Stultum est timere quod vitare non potes. - It's foolish to fear what you can't avoid.sub rosa - "under the rose," i.e., secretSum quod eris, fui quod es. - I am what you will be, I have been what you are. (epitaph)Summa sedes non capit duos. - The top spot doesn't hold two.Suum cuique. - To each his own.Taciturnitas stulto homini pro sapientia est. - Silence for a fool is taken as wisdom.tarde sed tute - slowly but surelyTempus fugit. - Time flies.Timeo Danaos et dona ferentis. - I fear Greeks, especially when bearing gifts. (Vergil)Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito. - Don't you give in to your misfortunes, but on the

contrary go on that much more determined. (Vergil)Utinam tam facile vera invenire possem quam falsa convincere. - If only I could find what's true

as easily as I can disprove what's false. (Cicero)Vae victis! - Woe to the vanquished! (Too bad for the losers!) (Livy)Veni, vidi, vici. - I came, I saw, I conquered. (attributed to Caesar)Video barbam et pallium, philosophum nondum video. - I see the beard and cloak, buy I don't

yet see a philosopher.("the sizzle without the steak")Vitanda est improba siren Desidia. - One must avoid that shameful temptress Sloth. (Horace)Vive valeque! - Live and be well! (cf. "Live long and prosper!")volens et potens - willing and able

Et cetera:

Meum est propositum in taberna moriVinum sit appositum morientis oriUt dicant cum venerint angelorum choriDeus sit propitius huic potatori. (from the Carmina Burana)

Gaudeamus igitur, iuvenes dum sumus (2x)Post iucundam iuventutem, post molestam senectutemNos habebit humus, nos habebit humus. (Gaudeamus Igitur or De Brevitate Vitae)

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