Latin Phrases Quotes
30 quotes
Latin Phrases
Timeless Latin expressions with modern translations
30 Quotes
Sapere aude
— Epistulae, Book I, Epistle 2, line 40
Dura lex, sed lex
— Digest of Justinian, Book 48, Title 19, 28 §14
Festina lente
— Motto frequently associated with Augustus; mentioned by Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Life of Augustus 25.
Alea iacta est
— Attributed to Caesar when crossing the Rubicon, per Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars
Mens sana in corpore sano
— Satires, X, line 356
Nil desperandum
— Odes, Book I, Ode 7
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes
— Satires, Book VI, Line 347
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis
— Medieval maxim, appearing in European legal and literary texts
Quod me nutrit me destruit
— Reportedly annotated by Marlowe in his copy of Ovid's Metamorphoses; phrase attributed to the spirit of tragic Renaissance reflection
He who fears death will never do anything worthy of a living man
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium
Veni, vidi, vici
— Commentarii de Bello Gallico (The Gallic Wars)
Malum consilium quod mutari non potest
— Sententiae, Maxim 338
It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium
Ignoti nulla cupido
— Sententiae, Maxim 582
Amor fati
— The Gay Science, Section 276
Fortune favors the bold, but wisdom guides the prudent through tempests unseen
— Sententiae
Docendo discimus
— Attributed to Seneca in pedagogical texts and later Latin collections
Divide et impera
— Described as a tactical policy in Commentarii de Bello Gallico (The Gallic Wars)
The greatest wealth is a poverty of desires
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium
Audentis fortuna iuvat
— The Aeneid, Book 10, Line 284
I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true; I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to the light I have
— Meditations, Book VI
Dum spiro, spero
— Letters to Atticus, Book 9, Letter 10
Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero
— Odes, Book 1, Poem 11
Homo homini lupus
— Asinaria, line 495
Acta non verba
— Roman proverb, often adopted as a motto
Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re
— Letters and instructions to Jesuits, featured in Jesuit educational philosophy (late 16th century)
Labor omnia vincit improbus
— Georgics, Book I, line 145
De gustibus non est disputandum
— Classical Latin proverb, used in various texts—exact author unknown.
Non ducor, duco
— Motto of São Paulo, Brazil
Ars longa, vita brevis
— Aphorismi, I.1