1. Quotes
  2. Authors
  3. Persius

Persius Quotes

Persius, in full Aulus Persius Flaccus , was a Roman poet and satirist of Etruscan origin. In his works, poems and satires, he shows a stoic wisdom and a strong criticism for what he considered to be the stylistic abuses of his poetic contemporaries. His works, which became very popular in the Middle Ages, were published after his death by his friend and mentor, the stoic philosopher Lucius Annaeus Cornutus. Wikipedia  

✵ 4. December 34 AC – 24. November 62 AC
Persius photo
Persius: 12   quotes 1   like

Famous Persius Quotes

“None, none descends into himself, to find
The secret imperfections of his mind.”
Ut nemo in sese tentat descendere! nemo! Sed praecedenti spectatur mantica tergo.

Persius

Satire IV, line 23 (translated by John Dryden).
The Satires

“O but it is a fine thing to have a finger pointed at one, and to hear people say, "That's the man!"”
At pulchrum est digito monstrari et dicier "hic est".

Persius

Satire I, line 28.
The Satires

“That master of arts, that dispenser of genius, the Belly.”
Magister artis ingenique largitor<br/>venter.

Persius

Prologue, line 10.
The Satires

“Is all your knowledge to go so utterly for nothing unless other people know that you possess it?”
Usque adeone<br/>scire tuum nihil est, nisi te scire hoc sciat alter?

Persius

Usque adeone
scire tuum nihil est, nisi te scire hoc sciat alter?
Satire I, line 26.
The Satires

“The man who wishes to bend me with his tale of woe must shed true tears – not tears that have been got ready overnight.”
Nec nocte paratum,<br/>plorabit qui me volet incurvasse querella.

Persius

Nec nocte paratum,
plorabit qui me volet incurvasse querella.
Satire I, line 90.
The Satires

“Who’ll read that sort of thing?”
Quis leget haec?

Persius

Satire I, line 2 (translated by W. S. Merwin).
The Satires

Persius Quotes

“But when to-morrow comes, yesterday's morrow will have been already spent: and lo! a fresh morrow will be for ever making away with our years, each just beyond our grasp.”
Cum lux altera venit,<br/>iam cras hesternum consumpsimus; ecce aliud cras<br/>egerit hos annos et semper paulum erit ultra.

Persius

Cum lux altera venit,
iam cras hesternum consumpsimus; ecce aliud cras
egerit hos annos et semper paulum erit ultra.
Satire V, line 67.
The Satires

“Let them recognize virtue and rot for having lost it.”
Virtutem videant intabescantque relicta.

Persius

Satire III, line 38.
Alternate translation (by William Gifford):—
"In all her charms, set Virtue in their eye,
And let them see their loss, despair, and—die!"
The Satires

“Our life is our own to-day, to-morrow you will be dust, a shade, and a tale that is told. Live mindful of death; the hour flies.”
Nostrum est<br/>quod vivis, cinis et manes et fabula fies.<br/>vive memor leti, fugit hora.

Persius

Nostrum est
quod vivis, cinis et manes et fabula fies.
vive memor leti, fugit hora.
Satire V, line 151.
The Satires

Life , Death

“Don’t consult anyone’s opinions but your own.”
Nec te quaesiveris extra.

Persius

Satire I, line 7.
The Satires

“Live with yourself: get to know how poorly furnished you are.”
Tecum habita: noris quam sit tibi curta supellex.

Persius

Satire IV, line 52.
The Satires

“VENIENTI OCCURRITE MORBO”

Persius

Similar authors

Virgil photo
Virgil 138
Ancient Roman poet
Gaio Valerio Catullo photo
Gaio Valerio Catullo 25
Latin poet
Claudian photo
Claudian 11
Roman Latin poet
Martial photo
Martial 31
Latin poet from Hispania
Apuleius photo
Apuleius 15
Berber prose writer in Latin
Sappho photo
Sappho 16
ancient Greek lyric poet
Juvenal photo
Juvenal 24
ancient roman poet
Euripidés photo
Euripidés 116
ancient Athenian playwright
Plautus photo
Plautus 54
Roman comic playwright of the Old Latin period
Horace photo
Horace 92
Roman lyric poet