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Sententiae clārae
Famous Latin sayings, with where they come from
Each marked as the author's own words, a later form of a classical line, or Latin from after antiquity.
- Carpe diemPluck the dayClassical Horace, Odes 1.11.8
- Fortēs fortūna iuvatFortune helps the braveClassical Pliny the Younger, Letters 6.16.11
- Audentēs fortūna iuvatFortune helps those who dareClassical Vergil, Aeneid 10.284
- Omnia vincit AmorLove conquers allClassical Vergil, Eclogues 10.69
- Ōdī et amōI hate and I loveClassical Catullus 85
- Vīvāmus, mea Lesbia, atque amēmusLet us live, my Lesbia, and let us loveClassical Catullus 5.1
- Vēnī, vīdī, vīcīI came, I saw, I conqueredClassical Suetonius, Life of Julius Caesar 37
- Ālea iacta estThe die is castClassical Suetonius, Life of Julius Caesar 32
- Sīc itur ad astraThus one goes to the starsClassical Vergil, Aeneid 9.641
- Per aspera ad astraThrough hardships to the starsLater Latin later motto, after Seneca, Hercules Furens 437
- Mementō morīRemember that you will dieLater Latin medieval monastic saying
- Dum spīrō, spērōWhile I breathe, I hopeLater Latin later motto; compare Cicero, Letters to Atticus 9.10.3
- Nōsce tē ipsumKnow thyselfAdapted the Delphic maxim; Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 1.52
- Labor omnia vincitWork conquers allAdapted after Vergil, Georgics 1.145–146
- Mēns sāna in corpore sānōA sound mind in a sound bodyClassical Juvenal, Satires 10.356
- Quis custōdiet ipsōs custōdēs?Who will guard the guards themselves?Classical Juvenal, Satires 6.347–348
- Pānem et circēnsēsBread and circusesClassical Juvenal, Satires 10.81
- Festīnā lentēMake haste slowlyAdapted Augustus's saying, in Greek, in Suetonius, Life of Augustus 25.4
- Tempus fugitTime fliesAdapted after Vergil, Georgics 3.284
- Sī vīs pācem, parā bellumIf you want peace, prepare for warAdapted after Vegetius, Epitome of Military Science 3, preface
- Dulce et decōrum est prō patriā morīIt is sweet and fitting to die for one's countryClassical Horace, Odes 3.2.13
- Nīl dēspērandumNever despairClassical Horace, Odes 1.7.27
- Sapere audēDare to be wiseClassical Horace, Epistles 1.2.40
- Nōn omnis moriarI shall not wholly dieClassical Horace, Odes 3.30.6
- Exēgī monumentum aere perenniusI have built a monument more lasting than bronzeClassical Horace, Odes 3.30.1
- Nunc est bibendumNow is the time to drinkClassical Horace, Odes 1.37.1
- Ēheu fugācēs, Postume, Postume, lābuntur annīAlas, Postumus, Postumus, the fleeting years slip byClassical Horace, Odes 2.14.1–2
- Omnia mūtantur, nihil interitEverything changes, nothing perishesClassical Ovid, Metamorphoses 15.165
- Gutta cavat lapidemDripping water hollows stoneClassical Ovid, Letters from the Black Sea 4.10.5
- Forsan et haec ōlim meminisse iuvābitPerhaps one day it will be a joy to remember even thisClassical Vergil, Aeneid 1.203
- Fēlīx quī potuit rērum cognōscere causāsHappy is he who could learn the causes of thingsClassical Vergil, Georgics 2.490
- Possunt, quia posse videnturThey can because they think they canClassical Vergil, Aeneid 5.231
- Vīrēs acquīrit eundōShe gathers strength as she goesClassical Vergil, Aeneid 4.175
- Mēns agitat mōlemMind moves matterClassical Vergil, Aeneid 6.727
- Timeō Danaōs et dōna ferentēsI fear the Greeks even bearing giftsClassical Vergil, Aeneid 2.49
- Ūna salūs victīs nūllam spērāre salūtemThe one hope of the defeated is to hope for noneClassical Vergil, Aeneid 2.354
- Homō sum: hūmānī nihil ā mē aliēnum putōI am human: I think nothing human foreign to meClassical Terence, The Self-Tormentor 77
- Ō tempora! Ō mōrēs!Oh, the times! Oh, the customs!Classical Cicero, Against Catiline 1.2
- Esse quam vidērīTo be, rather than to seemAdapted after Sallust, The War with Catiline 54.6
- Vae victīs!Woe to the conquered!Classical Livy 5.48.9
- Ars longa, vīta brevisArt is long, life is shortAdapted Hippocrates' first aphorism; Seneca, On the Shortness of Life 1.1
- Nūlla diēs sine līneāNo day without a lineAdapted a proverb from Pliny, Natural History 35.84
- In vīnō vēritāsIn wine, truthAdapted proverb; compare Pliny, Natural History 14.141
- Errāre hūmānum estTo err is humanLater Latin proverb, after ancient sayings
- Amor fātīLove of fateLater Latin Nietzsche, The Gay Science 276 (1882)
- Cōgitō, ergō sumI think, therefore I amLater Latin Descartes, Principles of Philosophy 1.7 (1644)
- Ōrā et labōrāPray and workLater Latin Benedictine motto
- Fīat lūxLet there be lightClassical Genesis 1:3, Vulgate
- In hōc signō vincēsIn this sign you will conquerAdapted Constantine's vision, from Eusebius, Life of Constantine 1.28
- Requiēscat in pāceMay he (or she) rest in peaceLater Latin Latin liturgy
- Dē gustibus nōn est disputandumThere is no arguing about tastesLater Latin scholastic proverb
- Dīvide et imperāDivide and ruleLater Latin early modern political maxim