PMAQ literary quotations

Festinā lentē - Augustus

Hurry Slowly

Vae victis- Brennus

Woe to the conquered

Karthage Delenda est- Cato the Elder

Carthage must be destroyed

Avē atque Valē- Catullus

Hail and goodbye

Fortuna caeca est - Cicero

Fortune is blind

Non nōbis solum nati sumus- Cicero

we are not born for ourselves alone

O tempora, o mores- Cicero

O the time, o the customs

In hoc signo vinces- Constantine

You will conquer this sign

Nihil nimis- Apollo’s temple in Delphi

Nothing in excess

Nos morituri te salutamas- gladiators before fights

We about to die greet you

Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero- Horace

Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in tomorrow

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori- Horace

It is sweet and proper to die for your country

Exegi monumentum aere perennius- Horace

I create a monument more lasting than bronze

Sic semper tyrannis- John Wilkes booth

Thus always to tyrants

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres- Julius Caesar

All of Gaul is divided into three parts

Veni vidi vici- Julius Caesar

I came, I saw, I conquered

alea iacta est- Julius Caesar my boy crossing my favorite river

The die has been cast

Difficile est saturam non scribere- Juvenal

It is difficult not to write Satire

Mens sana in corpore sano- Juvenal

A healthy mind in a healthy body

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes- Juvenal

Who will guard the guards themselves?

Ventrem feri- agrippina the younger

Strike the belly

Acta est fabula plaudite omnes- Augustus

The play is finished, all applaud

Qualis artifex pereo- Nero

As what an artist I die

Vae puto deus fio- Vespasian

Woe, I think I am becoming a god

A fortiori- law phrase

From the stronger

Ab initio- law phrase

From the beginning

Actus reus- law phrase

A guilty act

Ad adsurdum- law phrase

To the point if absurdity

Ad hoc- law phrase

To this

Ad nauseam- law phrase

To the point of nausea

Alibi- law phrase

In another place

Amicus curiae- law phrase

Friend of the court

Corpus delicti- law phrase

The body of the crime

De iure- law phrase

By the right

Ex parte- law phrase

From the part of/on behalf of

Ex post facto- law phrase

After the fact

Habeas corpus- law phrase

You may have the body

Ipso facto- law phrase

By the fact itself

Mens rea- law phrase

Guilty mind

Post hoc, ergo propter hoc- law phrase

After this, therefore because of this

Prima facie- law phrase

At first appearance

Quid pro quo- law phrase

Something for another thing

Stare decisis- law phrase

Decision stands

Militat omnis amans- Ovid

Every lover is a soldier

Prefer et obdura-Ovid

Carry on and be strong

Rident stolidi verba Latina- Ovid

Fools laugh at Latin words

Tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis- Ovid

Times change, and we are changed in them

Tempux edax rerum- Ovid

Time is the consumer of things

Ut ameris esto amabilis- Ovid

Be lovable so you might be loved

Annuit coeptis- Ovid

He has nodded on our undertakings

Ad astra per aspera

To the stars through hardship

Ad hominem

A personal attack/ to the men

Ars gratia artis

Art for the sake of art

Bona fide

Genuine

Caveat emptor

Let the buyer beware

Cui bono

To whom it does benefit

Cum grano salis

With a grain of salt

De facto

From the fact/happens naturally

Deus ex machina

God out of the machine

Dum spiro, spero

While I breath, I hope

Ex cathedra

From the chair

Fiat lux

Let there be light

Flagrante delicto

With the crime blazing

Gaudeamus igitur

Therefore let us rejoice

Hannibal ad portas

Hannibal at the gates

In aere piscari, in mari venari

To fish in the air and hunt in the sea

In loco parentis

In the place of a parent

In pectore

In the chest

In situ

In site (unmoved)

In unguem

To the nail

ipse dixit

He himself said

Lapsus linguae

Slip of the tongue

Magnum opus

A great work/masterpiece

Mos maiorum

The custom of the elders

Non sequitur

It does not follow

Non sibi sed patriae

Not for himself but for his country

Nosce te ipsum

Know yourself

Sine die

Without an appointed day

Res ipsa loquitur

The thing speaks for itself

Tabula rasa

A blank slate

Terra firma

Solid ground

Terra incognita

Unknown land

Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes

I fear the Greeks, even bringing gifts

Memento mori

Remember that you die

Ex nihilo nihil fit- Lucretius

Nothing comes from nothing

Quot homines, tot sententiae- Terence

As many men, so many options

Crescit eundo/ vires acquirt eundo- Vergil

To grow by going

Cave canem

Beware the dog

De mortuis nihil nisi bonum

Nothing except good about the dead

Errare humanum est

To err is human

In vino veritas

Truth in wine

Nihil sub sole novum

Nothing new under the sun

Auribus teneo lupum-Tiberius

I grab a wolf by the ears

Tempus fugit/ fugit irrepabile tempus- Vergil

Time flies

Cogito ergo sum- Renee Decartes

I think therefore I am

Faber est quisquis suae fortunae - Sallust

Each is the craftsman of his own fortune

oderint dum metuant- Accius

Let them hate so long as they fear

Humani Nihil a me alienum puto-Terence

I think nothing human to be foreign to me

Aut viam inveniam aut faciam- Hannibal

Either I’ll find a way or I’ll make one

ne plus ultra

Not more beyond (the best)