phrase
quot servī
quot servī, tot hostēs
Classical[ˈkʷɔt ˈsɛr.wiː ˈtɔt ˈhɔs.teːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈkʷɔt ˈsɛr.vi ˈtɔt ˈɔs.tes]
Meaning
- every slave is an enemy
Quot servi, tot hostes, in proverbio est, de quo Sinnius Capito existomat errorem hominibus intervenisse praepostere plurimis enuntiantibus.
"As many slaves, so many enemies," is in a proverb, of which Sinnius Capito reckons an error by humans has intervened irregularly through many tellings.1880, Sextus Pompeius Festus, edited by Karl Otfried Müller, Sexti Pompei Festi De verborum significatione quae supersunt cum Pauli Epitome, Leipzig, page 261/1:
Origins
Literally, “as many slaves, so many enemies”. Most likely a simplification of earlier proverbs such as totidem hostēs esse quot servōs (“to be just as many enemies as slaves”) in Seneca the Younger.