Latin quotes

Latin quotes with translation | page 10

“And now the high crest sinks, now the head is nodding overpowered and the huge neck has slipped from around the fleece it guarded, like refluent Po or Nile that sprawls in seven streams or Alpheus when his waters enter the Hesperian world.”
Iamque altae cecidere iubae nutatque coactum iam caput atque ingens extra sua vellera cervix ceu refluens Padus aut septem proiectus in amnes Nilus et Hesperium veniens Alpheos in orbem.

“Huge as the snakes that armed the Giants when they stormed heaven, or as the hydra that wearied Hercules by the waters of Lerna, or as Juno's snake that guarded the boughs with golden foliage.”
Quantis armati caelum petiere Gigantes anguibus, aut quantus Lernae lassavit in undis Amphitryoniaden serpens, qualisque comantis auro servauit ramos Junonius anguis.

“We often want one thing and pray for another, not telling the truth even to the gods.”
Saepe aliud volumus, aliud optamus, et verum ne dis quidem dicimus.

“In peace, as a wise man, he should make suitable preparation for war.”
in pace, ut sapiens, aptarit idonea bello

“To have a great man for an intimate friend seems pleasant to those who have never tried it; those who have, fear it.”
Dulcis inexpertis cultura potentis amici; Expertus metuit.[http://books.google.com/books?id=BGxQAAAAcAAJ&q=%22Dulcis+inexpertis+cultura+potentis+amici+Expertus+metuit%22&pg=PA207#v=onepage]

“And, indeed, when I reflect on this subject I find four reasons why old age appears to be unhappy: first, that it withdraws us from active pursuits; second, that it makes the body weaker; third, that it deprives us of almost all physical pleasures; and, fourth, that it is not far removed from death.”
Etenim, cum complector animo, quattuor reperio causas, cur senectus misera videatur: unam, quod avocet a rebus gerendis; alteram, quod corpus faciat infirmius; tertiam, quod privet fere omnibus voluptatibus; quartam, quod haud procul absit a morte.

“How few philosophers are to be found who are such in character, so ordered in soul and in life, as reason demands; who regard their teaching not as a display of knowledge, but as the rule of life; who obey themselves, and submit to their own decrees!”
Quotus enim quisque philosophorum invenitur, qui sit ita moratus, ita animo ac vita constitutus, ut ratio postulat? qui disciplinam suam non ostentationem scientiae, sed legem vitae putet? qui obtemperet ipse sibi et decretis suis pareat?

“Driven away by barbarian thrumming the Muse has spurned the six-footed exercise ever since she beheld these patrons seven feet high.”
Ex hoc barbaricis abacta plectris<br/>spernit senipedem stilum Thalia,<br/>ex quo septipedes videt patronos.

“To all this, his illustrious mind reflects the noblest ornament; he places no part of his happiness in ostentation, but refers the whole of it to conscience; and seeks the reward of a virtuous action, not in the applauses of the world, but in the action itself.”
Ornat haec magnitudo animi, quae nihil ad ostentationem, omnia ad conscientiam refert recteque facti non ex populi sermone mercedem, sed ex facto petit.

“What difference does it make how much you have? What you do not have amounts to much more.”
Quid enim refert, quantum habeas? multo illud plus est, quod non habes.

“Unbecoming to a gentleman, too, and vulgar are the means of livelihood of all hired workmen whom we pay for mere manual labour, not for artistic skill; for in their case the very wage they receive is a pledge of their slavery.”
Illiberales autem et sordidi quaestus mercennariorum omnium, quorum operae, non quorum artes emuntur; est enim in illis ipsa merces auctoramentum servitutis.

“It's good fishing in troubled waters.”
Aqua turbida piscosior est.

“Around this time Siward, the mighty earl of Northumbria, almost a giant in stature, very strong mentally and physically, sent his son to conquer Scotland. When they came back and reported to his father that he had been killed in battle, he asked, "Did he receive his fatal wound in the front or the back of his body?" The messengers said, "In the front." Then he said, "That makes me very happy, for I consider no other death worthy for me or my son."”
Circa hoc tempus Siwardus consul fortissimus Nordhymbre, pene gigas statura, manu uero et mente predura, misit filium suum in Scotiam conquirendam. Quem cum bello cesum patri renuntiassent, ait, "Recepitne uulnus letale in anteriori uel posteriori corporis parte?" Dixerunt nuntii, "In anteriori." At ille, "Gaudeo plane, non enim alio me uel filium meum digner funere."

“Then they invite her to join the dance and approach the holy rites, and make room for her in their ranks and rejoice to be near her. Just as Idalian birds, cleaving the soft clouds and long since gathered in the sky or in their homes, if a strange bird from some distant region has joined them wing to wing, are at first all filled with amaze and fear; then nearer and nearer they fly, and while yet in the air have made him one of them and hover joyfully around with favouring beat of pinions and lead him to their lofty resting-places.”
Dehinc sociare choros castisque accedere sacris hortantur ceduntque loco et contingere gaudent. qualiter Idaliae volucres, ubi mollia frangunt nubila, iam longum caeloque domoque gregatae, si iunxit pinnas diversoque hospita tractu venit avis, cunctae primum mirantur et horrent; mox propius propiusque volant, atque aere in ipso paulatim fecere suam plausuque secundo circumeunt hilares et ad alta cubilia ducunt.

“Since the soul in me is dead,
Better save the skin.”
Mortuus in anima<br/>curam gero cutis.

“Oblige people never so often, and, if you deny them on a single point, they remember nothing but that refusal.”
Quamlibet saepe obligati, si quid unum neges, hoc solum meminerunt quod negatum est.

“Learn what life requires,
How little nature needs!”
Discite, quam parvo liceat producere vitam, Et quantum natura petat.

“Now he goes along the dark road, thither whence they say no one returns.”
Qui nunc it per iter tenebricosum illuc, unde negant redire quemquam.

“Groundless superstition ill becomes an army; Valour is the only deity that rules in the warrior's breast.”
Deforme sub armis vana superstitio est: dea sola in pectore Virtus bellantum viget.

“The other, his brow heavy with threats, had long been muttering and smouldering with hidden fire.”
Talibus orantem vultu gravis ille minaci iamdudum premit et furiis ignescit opertis.

“Altars seldom smoke in prosperous times.”
Rarae fumant felicibus arae.

“No one can have God for his Father, who has not the Church for his mother.”
Habere non potest Deum patrem qui ecclesiam non habet matrem.

“He [Hercules] will find a way — or make one.”
inveniet viam aut faciet.

“Take while you can; brief is the moment of profit.”
Accipe quam primum; brevis est occasio lucri.

“And what else did John have in mind but what is virtuous, so that he could not endure a wicked union even in the king's case, saying: "It is not lawful for thee to have her to wife." He could have been silent, had he not thought it unseemly for himself not to speak the truth for fear of death, or to make the prophetic office yield to the king, or to indulge in flattery. He knew well that he would die as he was against the king, but he preferred virtue to safety. Yet what is more expedient than the suffering which brought glory to the saint.”
Quid autem aliud Ioannes nisi honestatem consideravit? ut inhonestas nuptias etiam in rege non posset perpeti, dicens: Non licet tibi illam uxorem habere. Potuit tacere, nisi indecorum sibi iudicasset mortis metu verum non dicere, inclinare regi propheticam auctoritatem, adulationem subtexere. Sciebat utique moriturum se esse, quia regi adversabatur: sed honestatem saluti praetulit. Et tamen quid utilius quam quod passionis viro sancto advexit gloriam?

“Too much straightforwardness is foolish against a shameless person.”
Contra impudentem stulta est nimia ingenuitas

“Just as a vessel caught by the Pleiads on the foaming deep and kept safe only by its anxious helmsman’s care cleaves unharmed the sea that contending winds make boisterous, so Pollux warily watches the blows.”
Spumanti qualis in alto Pliade capta ratis, trepidi quam sola magistri cura tenet, rapidum ventis certantibus aequor intemerata secat, Pollux sic providus ictus servat.

“That he had love-affairs in the provinces, too, is suggested by another of the ribald verses sung during the Gallic triumph:
Home we bring our bald whoremonger;
Romans, lock your wives away!
All the bags of gold you lent him
Went his Gallic tarts to pay.”
Ne provincialibus quidem matrimoniis abstinuisse vel hoc disticho apparet iactato aeque a militibus per Gallicum triumphum:<br/>"Urbani, servate uxores: moechum calvom adducimus.<br/>Aurum in Gallia effutuisti, hic sumpsisti mutuum."

“And now cruel famine came – famine that is ever first in the train of great disasters.”
Jamque comes semper magnorum prima malorum<br/>saeva fames aderat.

“Polyxo, the priestess beloved of Phoebus.”
Vates Phoebo dilecta Polyxo.

“And what he fears he cannot make attractive with his touch he abandons.”
Et quae Desperat tractata nitescere posse relinquit.

“Sometimes quoted as Carthago delenda est.”
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

“Drink! live like the Greeks! eat! gorge!. (translator unknown)”
Bibite ! pergraecamini ! Este ! effercite vos !

“Man only is endowed with wisdom so as to understand religion, and this is the principal if not the only difference betwixt him and dumb animals; for other things that seem peculiar to him, though they are not the same in them, yet they appear to be alike … What is there more peculiar to man than reason, and foresight? Yet there are animals which make several different ways of retiring from their dens; that when in danger they may escape; which without understanding and forethought they could not do. Others make provision for the future.”
Solus (homo) sapientia instructus est ut religionem solus intellegat, et haec est hominis atque mutorum vel praecipua, vel sola distantia; nam caetera quae videntur hominis esse propria, etsi non sint talia in mutis, tamen similia videri possunt … Quid tam proprium homini quam ratio, et providentia futuri? Atqui sunt animalia, quae latibulis suis diversos, et plures exitus pandant; ut si quod periculum inciderit, fuga pateat obsessis; quod non facerent, nisi inesset illis intelligentia, et cogitatio. Alia provident in futurum.

“Think to yourself that every day is your last; the hour to which you do not look forward will come as a welcome surprise.”
Omnem crede diem tibi diluxisse supremum. grata superveniet, quae non sperabitur hora.

“Poverty is the lack of many things, but avarice is the lack of all things.”
Inopiae desunt multa, avaritiae omnia.

“But he who knows what insanity is, is sane; whereas insanity can no more be sensible of its own existence, than blindness can see itself.”
Sanus est, qui scit quid sit insania, quippe insania scire se non potest, non magis quam caecitas se videre.

“Those who are actuated by the desire of fame and glory are amazingly gratified by approbation and praise, even though it comes from their inferiors.”
Omnes enim, qui gloria famaque ducuntur, mirum in modum assensio et laus a minoribus etiam profecta delectat.

“Jupiter laughs at the false oaths of lovers.”
Periuria ridet amantum<br/>Iuppiter.

“If any one is angry with you, meet his anger by returning benefits for it: a quarrel which is only taken up on one side falls to the ground: it takes two men to fight.”
Irascetur aliquis: tu contra beneficiis prouoca; cadit statim simultas ab altera parte deserta; nisi paria non pugnant.

“Therefore, lord…we believe that you are something than which nothing greater can be thought.”
Ergo domine...credimus te esse aliquid quo nihil maius cogitari possit.

“You will always be poor, if you are poor, Aemilianus. Wealth is given to-day to none save the rich.”
Semper eris pauper, si pauper es, Aemiliane; Dantur opes nulli nunc, nisi divitibus.

“Dries his wet face with her soft hair.”
Umida siccat mollibus ora comis.

“Let me have a plump home-born slave, have a wife not too lettered, have night with sleep, have day without a lawsuit.”
Sit mihi verna satur: sit non doctissima conjux: Sit nox cum somno: sit sine lite dies.

“In all her charms, set Virtue in their eye,
And let them see their loss, despair, and—die!”
Virtutem videant, intabescantque relicta.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
Semper in absentes felicior aestus amantes.

“The beginnings of all things are small.”
Omnium rerum principia parva sunt.

“Why is there anything at all rather than nothing whatsoever?”
cur aliquid potius extiterit quam nihil

“Why Opium produces sleep: … Because there is in it a dormitive power.”
Quare Opium facit dormire: … Quia est in eo Virtus dormitiva.

“He read with a charming full voice, and when everyone was applauding, "how much", he asked, "would you have applauded if you had heard the original?"”
Quam cum suavissima et maxima voce legisset, admirantibus omnibus "quanto" inquit "magis miraremini, si audissetis ipsum!"

“For of all gainful professions, nothing is better, nothing more pleasing, nothing more delightful, nothing better becomes a well-bred man than agriculture.”
Omnium autem rerum, ex quibus aliquid adquiritur, nihil est agri cultura melius, nihil uberius, nihil dulcius, nihil homine libero dignius.

“The frame wearied with labours lies prostrate on the ground, but it is no penalty to lie down with Christ. Your limbs unbathed, are foul and disfigured with filth and dirt; but within they are spiritually cleansed, although without the flesh is defiled.”
Humi iacent fessa laboribus viscera, sed poena non est cum Christo iacere. Squalent sine balneis membra situ et sorde deformia, sed spiritaliter intus abluitur quod foris carnaliter sordidatur.

“Blind counsels of the wicked! Crime cowardly ever!”
O caeca nocentum consilia! o semper timidum scelus!

“You should not speak ill of an absent friend.”
Ne male loquare absenti amico.

“He who flees will fight again.”
Qui fugiebat, rursus sibi proeliabitur.

“Indeed rhetoricians are permitted to lie about historical matters so they can speak more subtly.”
Quidem concessum est rhetoribus ementiri in historiis ut aliquid dicere possint argutius.

“Behold the sword of the Lord will descend suddenly and quickly upon the earth.”
Ecce gladius Domini super terram, cito et velociter.

“Boldness is a mask for fear, however great.”
Audendo magnus tegitur timor.

“For the man who considers himself the best critic generally studies sound and unsound composition with equal interest, being no more greedy for lofty utterances to praise than for contemptible ones to ridicule. In this way technique, grandeur, and propriety in the use of the Latin language are particularly underrated by the armchair critics, who, with an insensibility which goes hand in hand with scurrility, and wishing to read only what they may criticize, cannot, by their very abuse of literature, be making a proper use of it.”
Nam qui maxume doctus sibi videtur, dictionem sanam et insanam ferme appetitu pari revolvit, non amplius concupiscens erecta quae laudet quam despecta quae rideat. atque in hunc modum scientia pompa proprietas linguae Latinae iudiciis otiosorum maximo spretui est, quorum scurrilitati neglegentia comes hoc volens tantum legere, quod carpat, sic non utitur litteris, quod abutitur.

“They wander in deep woods, in mournful light,
Amid long reeds and drowsy headed poppies
And lakes where no wave laps, and voiceless streams,
Upon whose banks in the dim light grow old
Flowers that were once bewailèd names of kings.”
Errantes silva in magna et sub luce maligna<br/>inter harundineasque comas gravidumque papaver<br/>et tacitos sine labe lacus, sine murmure rivos,<br/>quorum per ripas nebuloso lumine marcent<br/>fleti, olim regum et puerorum nomina, flores.

“That most knowing of persons – gossip.”
Is qui scit plurimum, rumor.

“A cry like the last yell when warring cities are opened up.”
Clamorem, bello supremus apertis urbibus.

“Dead! And so great an artist!”
Qualis artifex pereo!

“All happiness or unhappiness solely depends upon the quality of the object to which we are attached by love.”
Tota felicitas aut infelicitas in hoc solo sita est; videlicet in qualitate obiecti, cui adhaeremus amore.

“What then? Shall I not follow in the footsteps of my predecessors? I shall indeed use the old road, but if I find one that makes a shorter cut and is smoother to travel, I shall open the new road. Men who have made these discoveries before us are not our masters, but our guides. Truth lies open for all; it has not yet been monopolized. And there is plenty of it left even for posterity to discover.”
Quid ergo? non ibo per priorum vestigia? ego vero utar via vetere, sed si propiorem planioremque invenero, hanc muniam. Qui ante nos ista moverunt non domini nostri sed duces sunt. Patet omnibus veritas; nondum est occupata; multum ex illa etiam futuris relictum est.

“Do not wonder, if the common people speak more truly than those of high rank; for they speak with more safety.”
Ne mireris, si vulgus verius loquatur quam honoratiores; quia etiam tutius loquitur.

“No image is there, to no metal is the divine form entrusted, in hearts and minds does the goddess delight to dwell.”
Nulla autem effigies, nulli commissa metallo forma dei: mentes habitare et pectora gaudet.

“If, then, the Greeks or others say that they were not committed to the care of Peter and his successors, they necessarily confess that they are not of the sheep of Christ; for the Lord says, in John, that there is one fold, one shepherd, and one only.”
Sive ergo Graeci sive alii se dicant Petro ejusque successoribus non esse commissos: fateantur necesse est, se de ovibus Christi non esse, dicente Domino in Joanne, unum ovile et unicum esse pastorem.

“Nowhere do men remain loyal for long when Fortune proves unstable.”
Stat nulla diu mortalibus usquam, Fortuna titubante, fides.

“Here is laid the Body
of Jonathan Swift, Doctor of Sacred Theology,
Dean of this Cathedral Church,
where fierce Indignation
can no longer
injure the Heart.
Go forth, Voyager,
and copy, if you can,
this vigorous (to the best of his ability)
Champion of Liberty.”
Hic depositum est Corpus IONATHAN SWIFT S.T.D. Hujus Ecclesiæ Cathedralis Decani, Ubi sæva Indignatio Ulterius Cor lacerare nequit, Abi Viator Et imitare, si poteris, Strenuum pro virili Libertatis Vindicatorem.

“A just fortune awaits the deserving.”
Sors aequa merentes respicit.

“It is a bad plan that admits of no modification.”
Malum est consilium, quod mutari non potest.

“Thrace, steeped in the passionate love of war.”
Studiis multum Mavortia, Thrace.

“We multiply whenever we are mown down by you; the blood of Christians is seed.”
Plures efficimur, quoties metimur a vobis; semen est sanguis christianorum.

“Can you also, Lucullus, affirm that there is any power united with wisdom and prudence which has made, or, to use your own expression, manufactured man? What sort of a manufacture is that? Where is it exercised? when? why? how?”
Etiamne hoc adfirmare potes, Luculle, esse aliquam vim, cum prudentia et consilio scilicet, quae finxerit vel, ut tuo verbo utar, quae fabricata sit hominem? Qualis ista fabrica est? ubi adhibita? quando? cur? quo modo?

“The man who is tenacious of purpose in a rightful cause is not shaken from his firm resolve by the frenzy of his fellow citizens clamoring for what is wrong, or by the tyrant's threatening countenance.”
Iustum et tenacem propositi virum non civium ardor prava iubentium, non vultus instantis tyranni mente quatit solida.

“He died full of years and of glory.”
Plenus annis abit, plenus honoribus.

“Honorable things, not secretive things, are sought by good men.”
Honesta enim bonis viris, non occulta quaeruntur.

“Hurl your calumnies boldly; something is sure to stick.”
Audacter calumniare, semper aliquid haeret.

“It is outrageous that a strictly abstemious reader should sit in judgement on a poet a little drunk.”
Iniurium est de poeta male sobrio lectorem abstemium iudicare.

“Soon, if any envy still spreads clouds before you, it shall perish, and after me you shall be paid the honours you deserve.”
Mox, tibi si quis adhuc praetendit nubila livor, occidet, et meriti post me referentur honores.

“I've never written for a fasting man;
A taste of wine is good before my verse.
But sleep is better than a little wine,
For when sleeping one thinks my songs are dreams.”
Jejunis nil scribo: meum post pocula si quis<br/>legerit, hic sapiet.<br/>Sed magis hic sapiet, si dormiet: et putet ista<br/>somnia missa sibi.

“The hero withdrew and betook himself for a space to his companions, waiting.”
Cessit et ad socios paulum se rettulit heros opperiens.

“I have received blows from him.”
Ab ipso colaphos acceperim or Ab ipso colaphos accepi.

“Either no feeling remains to the soul after death, or death itself matters not at all.”
Aut nihil est sensus animis a morte relictum aut mors ipsa nihil.

“Friendship is always helpful, but love sometimes even does harm”
Amicitia semper prodest, amor aliquando etiam nocet

“Sky, not spirit, do they change, those who cross the sea.”
Caelum, non animum mutant, qui trans mare currunt.

“Does not, as fire dropped upon water is immediately extinguished and cooled, so, does not, I say, a false accusation, when brought in contact with a most pure and holy life, instantly fall and become extinguished?”
Nonne, ut ignis in aquam conjectus, continuo restinguitur et refrigeratur, sic refervens falsum crimen in purissimam et castissimam vitam collatum, statim concidit et extinguitur?

“The hungry slave
Brings danger to his master, not himself.”
Non sibi sed domino grauis est quae seruit egestas.

“Fortune favours the brave.”
Fortes Fortuna iuvat.

“But ne'er the subject of your work proclaim
In its own colors and its genuine name;
Let it by distant tokens be conveyed,
And wrapped in other words, and covered in their shade.
At last the subject from the friendly shroud
Bursts out, and shines the brighter from the cloud;
Then the dissolving darkness breaks away,
And every object glares in open day.
Thus great Ulysses' toils were I to choose
For the main theme that should employ my Muse,
By his long labors of immortal fame
Should shine my hero, but conceal his name;
As one who, lost at sea, had nations seen,
And marked their towns, their manners, and their men,
Since Troy was leveled to the dust by Greece—
Till a few lines epitomized the piece.”
Jam vero cum rem propones, nomine nunquam Prodere conveniet manifesto: semper opertis Indiciis, longe et verborum ambage petita Significant, umbraque obducunt: inde tamen, ceu Sublustri e nebula, rerum tralucet imago Clarius, et certis datur omnia cernere signis. Hinc si dura mihi passus dicendus Ulysses, Non ilium vero memorabo nomine, sed qui Et mores hominum multorum vidit et urbes Naufragus, eversae post saeva incendia Trojae, Addam alia, angustis complectens omnia dictis.

“While there's life, there's hope.”
Modo liceat vivere, est spes.

“The crowd is at silent odds with the prince. As is the way of a populace, the man of the future is the favourite.”
Tacitumque a principe vulgus<br/>dissidet, et, qui mos populis, venturus amatur.

“Make way, you Roman writers, make way, Greeks!
Something greater than the Iliad is born.”
Cedite Romani scriptores, cedite Grai! Nescio quid maius nascitur Iliade.

“Believe me, wise men don't say ‘I shall live to do that’, tomorrow's life is too late; live today.”
Non est, crede mihi, sapientis dicere ‘Vivam’: Sera nimis vita est crastina: vive hodie.

“What the discordant harmony of circumstances would and could effect.”
Quid velit et possit rerum concordia discors

“It is with life just as with swimming; that man is the most expert who is the most disengaged from all encumbrances.”
Ad vivendum velut ad natandum is melior qui onere liberior.

“For to those who have not the means within themselves of a virtuous and happy life every age is burdensome; and, on the other hand, to those who seek all good from themselves nothing can seem evil that the laws of nature inevitably impose. To this class old age especially belongs, which all men wish to attain and yet reproach when attained; such is the inconsistency and perversity of Folly! They say that it stole upon them faster than they had expected. In the first place, who has forced them to form a mistaken judgement? For how much more rapidly does old age steal upon youth than youth upon childhood? And again, how much less burdensome would old age be to them if they were in their eight hundredth rather than in their eightieth year? In fact, no lapse of time, however long, once it had slipped away, could solace or soothe a foolish old age.”
Quibus enim nihil est in ipsis opis ad bene beateque vivendum, eis omnis aetas gravis est; qui autem omnia bona a se ipsi petunt, eis nihil potest malum videri quod naturae necessitas afferat. quo in genere est in primis senectus, quam ut adipiscantur omnes optant, eandem accusant adeptam; tanta est stultitiae inconstantia atque perversitas. obrepere aiunt eam citius quam putassent. primum quis coegit eos falsum putare? qui enim citius adulescentiae senectus quam pueritiae adulescentia obrepit? deinde qui minus gravis esset eis senectus, si octingentesimum annum agerent, quam si octogesimum? praeterita enim aetas quamvis longa, cum effluxisset, nulla consolatione permulcere posset stultam senectutem.

“A few months before the murder [of Domitian] a raven perched on the Capitol and croaked out the words: "All will be well!" – a portent which some wag explained in the following verse:
There was a raven, strange to tell,
Perched upon Jove's own gable, whence
He tried to tell us "All is well!" –
But had to use the future tense.”
Ante paucos quam occideretur menses cornix in Capitolino elocuta est: εσται πάντα καλως, nec defuit qui ostentum sic interpretaretur: <br/>Nuper Tarpeio quae sedit culmine cornix, <br/>"Est bene" non potuit dicere, dixit: "Erit."