Latin Phrases Quotes
140 quotes
Latin Phrases
Timeless Latin expressions with modern translations
140 Quotes
The noblest mind has the longest memory
— Sententiae
If you want to be loved, be lovable
— Ars Amatoria, Book III
The greatest remedy for anger is delay
— De Ira (On Anger)
He who restrains his anger overcomes his greatest enemy
— Sententiae
To himself everyone is immortal; he may know that he is going to die, but he can never know that he is dead
— The Note-Books of Samuel Butler, 1912
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer
— Return to Tipasa, 1952 essay
Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety
— The Republic
Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little
— Usener Fragment 69
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it
— Metaphysics, Book IV
The wise man, even when he holds his tongue, says more than the fool when he speaks
— De Oratore
In vino veritas
— Natural History, Book 14, Chapter 28
Justice is the constant and perpetual will to allot to every man his due
— Digest of Justinian
Fortune, who is ever capricious, often spares the man she has marked for ruin, but wrecks him with a stroke when least expected
— Ab Urbe Condita, Book 2
The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself
— Laws, Book I
Life, like a fire, begins in smoke and ends in ashes
— Historiae (fragments)
What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say
— Sententiae
Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis
— Commonly attributed to Ovid, although found in 16th-century sources.
He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger
— Analects, Book II
Yield not to evils, but proceed ever more boldly against them
— Aeneid, Book VI
We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more in imagination than in reality
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter XIII
Endure and persist; this pain will turn to good by and by
— Amores I, 11, 8
No wind serves him who addresses his voyage to no certain port
— Essays, Book I, Chapter 23
The drops of rain make a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling
— De Rerum Natura, Book I
We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit
— The Story of Philosophy, 1926
As long as you live, keep learning how to live
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, Letter LXXVI
He who is brave is free
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium
The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious
— Meditations, Book VII
Success is not found in never falling, but in rising every time you fall
— Attributed in Analects, Book V
Let us live, since we must die
— Odes, Book II, Ode 13
Let us give in to the times; adversity is but change that has not come to completion
— Metamorphoses, Book XV
Men trust their ears less than their eyes
— Histories, Book I, 8
To live is to think
— Tusculan Disputations, Book V
Veritas filia temporis
— Noctes Atticae (Attic Nights), Book 12, Chapter 11
He who climbs to the top must climb alone
— Satires, Book III, line 64
The greatest wealth is to live content with little
— Paradoxa Stoicorum
Non ducor, duco
— Attributed proverb, Roman Stoic tradition
Nothing is pleasant that is not spiced with variety
— Sententiae
To govern was to serve, not to rule
— Annals, Book 6
Discendo discimus
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, Letter 7 (often attributed, context disputed)
He who has not a good memory should never take upon himself the trade of lying
— Essais, Book I, Chapter IX
Amor vincit omnia
— Eclogues, X, 69
Si vis pacem, para bellum
— De Re Militari, Book III
Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi
— Heauton Timorumenos
Ars est celare artem
— Ars Amatoria, II.313
The wise man is always similar to himself
— Tusculan Disputations
Even the gods cannot help those who do not seize opportunities
— De Officiis
Silent enim leges inter arma
— Pro Milone, chapter 4, section 11
Ducunt volentem fata, nolentem trahunt
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, Letter 107
To do is to be
— Summarized from Kantian moral philosophy (Paraphrased from "Critique of Practical Reason")
Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast
— Histories, Book IV, Section 6
If a man does not know to what port he is steering, no wind is favorable to him
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, Letter 71
What is harder than rock, or softer than water? Yet soft water hollows out hard rock. Persevere.
— Epistulae ex Ponto, Book III, Epistle 10, line 8
He who has injured thee was either stronger or weaker than thee. If weaker, spare him; if stronger, spare thyself
— On Anger
The chief happiness for man is to be what he is
— The Praise of Folly
The highest law is the safety of the people
— De Legibus, Book III, Section 3.8
Refrain from seeking happiness by changing external things, but devote yourself to the cultivation of your own mind
— Meditations, Book 6
He who has begun is half done
— Epistles, I.2.40
What we do for ourselves dies with us; what we do for others and the world remains and is immortal
— .
We are slaves of the laws so that we may be free
— Pro Cluentio
A wise man adapts himself to circumstances, as water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it
— Sententiae
Faber est suae quisque fortunae
— attributed proverb, ca. 4th-3rd century BCE
The sun shines on all alike
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium
Brave men rejoice in adversity, just as brave soldiers triumph in war
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter LXVII
Festina lente
— Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Augustus, section 25
He who has a why to live can bear almost any how
— Twilight of the Idols
While we teach, we learn
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, Letter 7
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Moralia, On Listening to Lectures
Know that you are a man, and do not deem yourself a god
— Attic Nights, Book XII
If you wish to improve, be content to appear clueless or stupid in extraneous matters
— Discourses, Book III, Chapter 17
Malum consilium quod mutari non potest
— Sententiae (collection of maxims)
Where there is life, there is hope
— Sententiae
Alea iacta est
— Attributed by Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars
Carpe diem
— Odes, Book I, Poem 11
A room without books is like a body without a soul
— Pro Archia Poeta, ch. 7
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity
— Letters to Lucilius
He who can suppress a moment’s anger may prevent a day of sorrow
— De Ira (On Anger)
He conquers who endures
— Satires, IV.52
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, Letter CIV
Homo sum: humani nihil a me alienum puto
— Heauton Timorumenos, Act 1, Scene 1
Veni vidi vici
— Reported message to the Roman Senate, 47 BC.
He who trusts everyone with his secrets makes himself a slave
— Sententiae 1059
Examine all things; hold fast to that which is good
— Discourses, Book II
Let justice be done though the heavens fall
— Roman legal maxim, widely attributed in classical sources
The body is the prison of the soul
— Tusculanae Disputationes (Tusculan Disputations)
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes
— Satire VI
A man who does nothing never has time to do anything
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (Moral Letters to Lucilius)
He who does not prevent a crime when he can, encourages it
— De Ira (On Anger), Book I
The wise man is the master of his mind, the fool its slave
— Sententiae
Amor tussisque non celatur
— Sententiae (collection of maxims)
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished
— Tao Te Ching
Where there is doubt, let liberty prevail
— Pro Milone, Chapter 8
Shun no toil to make yourself remarkable by some talent or other
— Fables, Book IV, Fable XX
The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living
— Philippics, IX, 10
To err is human, but to persist in error is diabolical
— Proverbs (Adages), often attributed in De Inventione, Book II
To err is human, to forgive, divine
— Attributed, though popularized in various forms in Seneca's writings
Where there is unity, there is always victory
— Sententiae
You wish to be loved, love
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, Letter 9
He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men
— Lectures on Ethics
It is the nature of the wise to resist pleasures, but the foolish to be a slave to them
— Tusculan Disputations, Book V
Labor conquers all things
— Georgics, Book I, line 145
The mind ought sometimes to be amused, that it may the better return to thought and to itself
— Fables, Book III, Epilogue
The beginning is the most important part of the work
— The Republic, Book II
He who allows oppression shares the crime
— Orationes Philippicae
No one can be wise on an empty stomach
— Daniel Deronda, Chapter 20
No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man
— .
O quam cito transit gloria mundi
— The Imitation of Christ, Book I, Chapter 3
The greatest wealth is a poverty of desires
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, Letter II
If you want to be wise, learn to question widely and listen well
— De Oratore
The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it
— Meditations, Book IV
No one becomes wise by chance
— Trinummus
To be everywhere is to be nowhere
— Letter II, Letters to Lucilius
Even virtue is fairer when it appears in a beautiful body
— Sententiae, Maxim 22
No man was ever wise by chance
— Trinummus
He who does not know how to relax is fit only to be a slave
— Epistles, Book I, Epistle XVIII
Vita brevis, ars longa
— Aphorismi, Section 1
So many men, so many opinions; every one his own way
— Phormio, Act II, Scene IV
Dum spiro, spero
— Letters, attributed, echoed by later sources
Acta, non verba
— Traditional Latin maxim
It is sweetest and most honorable to die for one’s country
— Odes, Book III, Ode 2, line 13: "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori"
He who fears death will never do anything worth of a man who is alive
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium
To consult the wise is the first step toward wisdom
— Bellum Catilinae (The Conspiracy of Catiline)
Let us cultivate our garden
— Candide (1759)
It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter II
To enjoy the things we ought and to hate the things we ought has the greatest bearing on excellence of character
— Nicomachean Ethics, Book II
An angry man opens his mouth and shuts his eyes
— Quoted in Valerius Maximus, Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX
If you wish to be a writer, write
— Discourses, Book II, Chapter 19
Aut viam inveniam aut faciam
— Attributed during the crossing of the Alps, context per ancient sources.
It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, Letter XXVII
Mens regnum bona possidet
— Sententiae (Maxims)
It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver
— The Prince, Chapter XVIII
So it goes with all things worldly: as soon as they have reached their peak, they begin to decline
— Histories
The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts
— Meditations, Book V
Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness
— On Clemency, Book I, Chapter 5
No mortal is wise at all moments
— Naturalis Historia, Book VII, Chapter 40
A true friend is discerned in adversity
— Laelius de Amicitia (On Friendship)
Little by little, the bird builds its nest
— Epistulae ex Ponto, Book 1, Epistle 2
A rolling stone gathers no moss
— Sententiae 612
Things done without order cannot endure
— Epistles, Letter 114
Fortune favors the bold
— Aeneid, Book X
Nothing is so difficult that it cannot be accomplished by diligence
— Tusculan Disputations