Latin Proverbs, Mottoes, Phrases, and Words: Group A
(classical-language maxims, slogans, adages, proverbs, and words of wisdom that can still capture our modern imagination)
Expressions of general truths: Latin to English maxims, proverbs, and mottoes
Word entries are from Latin unless otherwise indicated.
From Quintus Ennius (239 - 169 B.C.). He served in the Roman army as a centurion during the Second Punic War. Cato brought him to Rome, and he became a Roman citizen in 184. B.C.
He wrote tragedies and comedies adapted from the Greek, satires, epigrams, a didactic poem on nature, a poem on mythology, a poem on Scipio's victory over Hannibal, and the Annals, a history of Rome in eighteen books.
A person appointed by a judge to assist by giving advice in the handling of a legal case.
Motto of German Emperor Albrecht of Habsburg (1438-1439).
This is true until you start looking for something when you need it.
Love for one's native country.
Normally, the order in Latin is "Omnia vincit amor."
Motto of German Emperor Joseph I (1705-1711).
The symbol & first appeared as one of the characters with the alphabet on the "hornbook sheet". It meant "and per se and"; now it is used as a short-hand for "and". The character itself is a conventionalized printed version of an abbreviatrion used for Latin et, "and".
The "hornbook" was a type of book made of a single page on which were printed capital (upper case) letters, small (lower case) letters, syllables, an exorcism, and part of the Lord's Prayer in a space less than three by four inches made for the teaching of reading. It was pasted on a paddle-shaped piece of wood and protected by a thin, transparent sheet of horn. Such a "book" was used as a primer in England and America from the 16th to the 18th centuries.
From the Odyssey, a Homeric epic poem recounting the wanderings of Odysseus (Latin: Ulysses) after the fall of Troy.
The oldest surviving source of Greek mythology along with the Iliad, it describes Odysseus' ten-year journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War.
"It provides both an insight into a long-lost civilization and a gripping narrative rich in evocative details, complex characters, and universal themes."
A traitor or disloyal friend; an unsuspected danger.
One of two mottoes of the State of South Carolina, USA. Another translation is, "Ready for anything."This motto has special application for those who embark on a new adventure, and it may also apply to those who anticipate the unpredictable final adventure of all mortals.
The other motto is Dum spiro spero, "While I have breath, I hope."