phrase
cīvis rōmānus sum
cīvis rōmānus sum
Classical[ˈkiː.wɪs roːˈmaː.nʊs ˈsũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈt͡ʃiː.vis roˈmaː.nus ˈsum]
Meaning
- I am a Roman citizen.
constitue nihil esse opis in hac voce “Civis Romanus sum,”
1935 translation by L. H. G. Greenwood lay it down that to cry “I am a Roman citizen” shall help no man at all (literally, “lay it down that there is noting of help in the cry "I am a Roman citizen"”)70 BCE, Cicero, In Verrem 2.5.55Cervices in carcere frangebantur indignissime civium Romanorum, ut iam illa vox et imploratio “Civis Romanus sum,” qua saepe multis in ultimis terris opem inter barbaros et salutem tulit, ea mortem illis acerbiorem et supplicium maturius ferret
In that prison, Roman citizens were most shamefully strangled. That phrase "I am a Roman citizen," which had so often brought to many help and safety when amongst the barbarians in the furthest corners of the world, had now only brought to them a quicker and more painful death70 BCE, Cicero, In Verrem 2.5.57
Origins
Said by Cicero. From cīvis (“a citizen”) + rōmānus (“Roman”) + sum (“I am”).