Claudian Quotes

Claudius Claudianus, usually known in English as Claudian , was a Latin poet associated with the court of the emperor Honorius at Mediolanum , and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost entirely in hexameters or elegiac couplets, falls into three main categories: poems for Honorius, poems for Stilicho, and mythological epic. Wikipedia  

✵ 370 – 404
Claudian: 11   quotes 17   likes

Famous Claudian Quotes

“Virtue hidden hath no value.”

Panegyricus de Quarto Consulatu Honorii Augusti, line 222 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Claudian/De_IV_Consulatu_Honorii*.html#222.

“Death renders all equal.”
Omnia mors aequat.

De Raptu Proserpinae Bk. II, line 302 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Claudian/De_Raptu_Proserpinae/2*.html#302.
Variant translation: Death makes all things equal.

“Whoso causes terror is himself more fearful.”
Qui terret plus ipse timet.

Panegyricus de Quarto Consulatu Honorii Augusti, line 290 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Claudian/De_IV_Consulatu_Honorii*.html#290.

“No longer can I complain that the unrighteous man reaches the highest pinnacle of success. He is raised aloft that he may be hurled down in more headlong ruin.”
Iam non ad culmina rerum<br/>iniustos crevisse queror; tolluntur in altum<br/>ut lapsu graviore ruant.

Iam non ad culmina rerum
iniustos crevisse queror; tolluntur in altum
ut lapsu graviore ruant.
In Rufinum, Bk. I, lines 21-23 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Claudian/In_Rufinum/1*.html#21.

“But he whom reason, not anger, animates is a peer of the gods.”
Dis proximus ille est,<br/>quem ratio non ira movet.

Dis proximus ille est,
quem ratio non ira movet.
Panegyricus dictus Manlio Theodoro consuli, lines 227-228 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Claudian/Manlio_Theodoro*.html#227.

“Quiet authority accomplishes what violence cannot, and that mandate compels more which comes from a commanding calm.”
Peragit tranquilla potestas<br/>quod violenta nequit; mandataque fortius urget<br/>imperiosa quies.

Peragit tranquilla potestas
quod violenta nequit; mandataque fortius urget
imperiosa quies.
Panegyricus dictus Manlio Theodoro consuli, lines 239-241 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Claudian/Manlio_Theodoro*.html#239.

Claudian Quotes

“If thou make any law or establish any custom for the general good, be the first to submit thyself thereto; then does a people show more regard for justice nor refuse submission when it has seen their author obedient to his own laws. The world shapes itself after its ruler's pattern, nor can edicts sway men's minds so much as their monarch's life; the unstable crowd ever changes along with the prince.”
In commune iubes si quid censesque tenendum, <br/>primus iussa subi: tunc observantior aequi <br/>fit populus nec ferre negat, cum viderit ipsum <br/>auctorem parere sibi. componitur orbis <br/>regis ad exemplum, nec sic inflectere sensus <br/>humanos edicta valent quam vita regentis.

In commune iubes si quid censesque tenendum,
primus iussa subi: tunc observantior aequi
fit populus nec ferre negat, cum viderit ipsum
auctorem parere sibi. componitur orbis
regis ad exemplum, nec sic inflectere sensus
humanos edicta valent quam vita regentis.
Panegyricus de Quarto Consulatu Honorii Augusti, lines 296-301 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Claudian/De_IV_Consulatu_Honorii*.html#296.

“Biting poverty and cruel Cupid are my foes. Hunger I can endure; love I cannot.”
Paupertas me saeva domat dirusque Cupido:<br/>sed toleranda fames, non tolerandus amor.

Paupertas me saeva domat dirusque Cupido:
sed toleranda fames, non tolerandus amor.
Epigram XV http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Claudian/Carmina_Minora*/omnia.html#XV

“Nature has given the opportunity of happiness to all, knew they but how to use it.”
Natura beatis,<br/>omnibus esse dedit, si quis cognoverit uti.

Natura beatis,
omnibus esse dedit, si quis cognoverit uti.
In Rufinum, Bk. I, lines 215-216 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Claudian/In_Rufinum/1*.html#215.

“Presence will minish awe.”
Minuit praesentia famam.

De Bello Gildonico, line 387 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Claudian/De_Bello_Gildonico*.html#385.
Variant translation: Presence diminishes fame.

“Vile latens virtus.”

Virtue hidden hath no value.
Panegyricus de Quarto Consulatu Honorii Augusti, line 222 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Claudian/De_IV_Consulatu_Honorii*.html#222.

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