Verba Rōmānōrum 1
(Words of the Romans 1)
carpe diem, quam minimē crēdula posterō. (Horace)
Enjoy the day, trusting as little as possible in the next.
vēnī, vīdī, vīcī. (Caesar)
I came, I saw, I conquered.
omnia vincit amor. (Vergil)
Love conquers all things.
labor omnia vincit improbus. (Vergil)
Unremitting labor conquers all things.
aliud agendī tempus, aliud quiescendī. (Cicero)
There is one time for action, another for resting.
alterī vīvās oportet, sī tibi vīs vīvere. (Seneca the Younger)
You should live for another person, if you wish to live for yourself.
bonum ex malō nōn fit. (Seneca the Younger)
Good does not arise out of evil.
confessiō conscientiae vox est. (Seneca the Elder)
Confession is the voice of conscience.
corpora nostra lentē augescunt, cito exstinguuntur. (Tacitus)
Our bodies grow slowly, but they are quickly extinguished.
disce legendō. (Ps.-Cato)
Learn by reading.
dīves quī fierī vult, et cito vult fierī. (Juvenal)
A person who wishes to become rich also wishes to become rich quickly.
doctrīna est fructus dulcis rādīcis amārae. (Ps.-Cato)
Learning is a sweet fruit with a bitter root.
effugere nēmō id potest quod futūrum est. (Cicero)
No one can escape what is going to happen.
ēmit morte immortālitātem. (Quintilian)
He bought immortality through his death.
facile vincere nōn repugnantēs. (Cicero)
It is easy to defeat those who do not fight back.
fāta regunt hominēs. (Juvenal)
The fates rule mankind.
fortūna opēs auferre potest, nōn animum. (Seneca the Younger)
Fortune can take away our wealth, but not our spirit.
frequens imitātiō transit in mōrēs. (Quintilian)
Frequent imitation passes into habit.
hōc ūnum certum est, nihil esse certī. (Seneca the Younger)
This one thing is certain, nothing is certain.
hominēs vitia sua et amant simul et ōdērunt. (Seneca the Younger)
People both love and hate their own flaws at the same time.
in rēbus dubiīs plūrimī est audācia. (Publilius Syrus)
In uncertain matters, boldness is worth the most.
inhūmānum verbum est ultiō. (Seneca the Younger)
Vengeance is an inhuman word.
iniūriam quī factūrus est iam fēcit. (Seneca the Younger)
A person who is going to commit an injury has already done so.
intemperantia omnium perturbātiōnum māter est. (Cicero)
Intemperance is the mother of all derangements.
īra odium generat, concordia nūtrit amōrem. (Ps.-Cato)
Anger generates hatred, but harmony fosters love.
longa est vīta, sī plēna est. (Seneca the Younger)
Life is long, if it is full.
maximum remedium īrae mora est. (Seneca the Younger)
Delay is the greatest remedy for anger.
meliōra sunt ea quae nātūrā quam illa quae arte perfecta sunt. (Cicero)
What has been accomplished by nature is better than what has been accomplished by artifice.
multa sunt quae ego nescīre mālō. (Cicero)
There are many things which I prefer not to know.
multī mentiuntur ut dēcipiant, multī quia dēceptī sunt. (Seneca the Younger)
Many people lie in order to deceive, many because they have been deceived.
mūtārī fāta nōn possunt. (Cicero)
The fates cannot be altered.
nātūrā homō mundum et ēlegans animal est. (Seneca the Younger)
By nature, man is a neat and elegant animal.
nātūrae iūra sacra sunt etiam apud pīrātās. (Seneca the Elder)
The laws of nature are sacred even among pirates.
nātūrāle est magis nova quam magna mīrārī. (Seneca the Younger)
It is natural to admire new things more than great things.
nāvis quae in flūmine magna est in marī parvula est. (Seneca the Younger)
A ship which is big in a river is tiny in the sea.
nē damnent quae nōn intellegunt. (Quintilian)
People should not criticize what they do not understand.
nēminem pecūnia dīvitem fēcit. (Seneca the Younger)
Money has made no one rich.
nēmō adeō ferus est ut nōn mītescere possit. (Horace)
No one is so savage that he cannot become mild.
nihil agendō hominēs male agere discunt. (Columella)
By doing nothing, people learn to act badly.
nihil sibi quisquam dē futūrō dēbet prōmittere. (Seneca the Younger)
No one should promise himself anything about the future.
nōlīte velle quod fierī nōn potest. (Cicero)
Do not wish for what cannot happen.
nōn ut diū vīvāmus cūrandum est, sed ut satis. (Seneca the Younger)
We should not worry about living for a long time, but about living sufficiently.
num, tibi cum faucēs ūrit sitis, aurea quaeris pōcula? (Horace)
When thirst is burning your throat, you don’t demand golden cups, do you?
numquam temeritās cum sapientiā commiscētur. (Cicero)
Rashness is never combined with wisdom.
nusquam est quī ubīque est. (Seneca the Younger)
A person who is everywhere is nowhere.
ōdērunt peccāre bonī virtūtis amōre. (Horace)
Good people shun wrongdoing because of their love of virtue.
omnēs hominēs aut līberī sunt aut servī. (Justinian’s Digest)
Everyone is either free or a slave.
omnēs sē ipsōs nātūrā dīligunt. (Cicero)
Everyone naturally loves himself.
omnia etiam fēlīcibus dubia sunt. (Seneca the Younger)
Everything is in doubt, even for those who are fortunate.
omnia quae tū vīs ea cupiō. (Plautus)
I wish for everything that you want.
plūs potest quī plūs valet. (Plautus)
The person with more strength has more power.
post glōriam invidia sequitur. (Sallust)
Envy follows after glory.
quod dare nōn possīs verbīs prōmittere nōlī. (Ps.-Cato)
Do not promise with words what you cannot give.
quod sequitur fugiō; quod fugit ipse sequor. (Ovid)
Whatever pursues, I flee; whatever flees, I myself pursue.
quot hominēs, tot sententiae. (Terence)
There are as many opinions as there are people.
saepius pauper et fidēlius rīdet. (Seneca the Younger)
A poor person laughs more often and more honestly.
sagittā Cupīdō cor meum transfixit. (Plautus)
Cupid has shot my heart through with an arrow.
sērum auxilium post proelium. (Livy)
Help (comes) late after the battle.
spēs spem excitat, ambitiōnem ambitiō. (Seneca the Younger)
Hope stirs hope, ambition ambition.
tot mala sum passus quot in aethere sīdera lūcent. (Ovid)
I have suffered as many bad things as there are stars shining in the sky.
Click here to download file