Latin Sayings

"Exegi monumentum aere perennius." I have erected a monument more lasting than
bronze. (Horace)
"nonne amicus certus in re incerta cernitur?" (a friend in need is a friend in deed (our
equivalent))
"Nihil Sine Labore" (Nothing without work)
"Veni, Vidi, Dormivi" (I came, I saw, I slept)
"Corripe Cervisiam" (Seize the beer!)
"Taurus excreta cerebrum vincit" (Bullshit baffles brains)
"Homo praesumitur bonus donec probetur malus" (One is innocent until proven guilty.)
"Roma locuta est. Causa finita est" (Rome has spoken. The cause is finished.)
"Mors ultima linea rerum est" (Death is everything's final limit)
Cogita ante salis. (Think before you leap (or roughly - Look before you leap.) )
Ante bellum- before the war
terra firma- solid ground
Carpe Diem! Seize the day (Horace)
Veni, vidi, vici. I came, I saw, I conquered. (Caesar)
Ridentem dicere verum quid vetat.(Horace, Satires) What prevents me fromspeaking the
truth with a smile?
Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur. It is a wise man who speaks little.
Cogito Ergo Sum. I think Therefore I am.
Non Gradus Anus Rodentum! Not Worth A Rats Ass!
Si hoc signum legere potes, operis boni in rebus Latinis alacribus et fructuosis potiri
potes! If you can read this sign, you can get a good job in the fast-paced, high-paying
world of Latin!)
Sona si Latine loqueris. (Honk if you speak Latin.)

Re vera, potas bene. (Say, you sure are drinking a lot.)

Romani quidem artem amatoriam invenerunt. (You know, the Romans invented the art of
love.)
Mellita, domi adsum. (Honey, I'm home.)
Magister Mundi sum! (I am the Master of the Universe!)
Estne volumen in toga, an solum tibi libet me videre? (Is that a scroll in your toga, or are
you just happy to see me?)
Vescere bracis meis. (Eat my shorts.)
"illigitimi non carborundum" ((Check out
http://latin.about.com/homework/latin/library/blhumez01.htm for the history of the
phrase.) Roughly Translated: Don't let the bastards grind you down.)
Da mihi sis cerevisiam dilutam. (I'll have a light beer.)
Da mihi sis bubulae frustrum assae, solana tuberosa in modo Gallico fricta, ac quassum
lactatum coagulatum crassum. (Give me a hamburger, french fries, and a thick shake.)
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt. (When catapults
are outlawed, only outlaws will have catapults.)
Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris. (If Caesar were alive, you'd be chained to an oar.)
"Errare humanum est" ((to err is human) mistakes are human)
"Cave cibum, valde malus est." (Beware the food, it is very bad.)
"Stercus accidit" (shit happens)
"In Vino Veritas" (In wine there is truth (People say what they really mean when they're
drunk))
"pax vobiscum" (peace be with you)
Ubi fumus, ibi ignis. Where there's smoke, there's fire.
"dulce et decorum est pro patria mori." (it is sweet and fitting to die for ones country)
"ad infinitum" (to infinity)

"ad nauseam" (to sickness)

"Veritas Lux Mea" (The truth enlightens me / The truth is my light (Motto of Seoul
National University in South Korea))
"Medio tutissmus ibis" (You will go most safely by the middle course)
"Exitus acta probat" (The outcome justifies the deed)
"Fronti nulla fides" (No reliance can be placed on appearance)
"Bellum omium contra omnes" (Everyman's struggle against everyman (from
"Leviathan" by Thomas Hobbes))
"Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis" (All things are changing, and we are changing
with them)
"Nemo nisi mors" (No one but death (shall part us))
"primum non nocere" (first do no harm)
"Pacta Sunt Servanda" (Accords (or treaties) should be observed (Basic principle of
International Law))
"Qui tacet consentit" (silence implies consent)
"fabas indulcet fames" (literally "hunger sweetens beans" or hunger makes everything
taste good!)
"Corruptio optimi pessima" (corruption of the best is worst)
"Res melius evinissent cum Coca" (Things go better with Coke.)
"Nemo dat quod non habet" (No one gives what he doesn't have.)
"Qui potest capere capiat" (Let him accept it who can. Freely: If the shoe fits, wear it.)
"Quod scripsi, scripsi." (What I have written, I have written--Pilate. And he probably did
speak in Latin.)
"Contra Felicem vix deus vires habet." (against a lucky man a god scarcely has power.)
"Deus et natua non faciunt frusta" (God and nature do not work together in vain)
"sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt" ((Vergil: the Aeneid: ) these are the
tears of things, and our mortality cuts to the heart)

"Mens sibi conscia recti" (a mind conscious of its rectitude)

"Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem" (remember to keep a calm mind in
difficulties)
"delenda est Carthago" (Carthage must be destroyed)
"Deus commodo muto consisto quem meus canis sententia existo." (Which, in a very
ham-fisted way, with generosity, comes close to being:)
"Meliora Cogito" (I strive for the best")
"O tempora, O mores!" (Oh the times, oh the morals! (Cicero))
"Quemadmoeum gladis nemeinum occidit, occidentis telum est" (A sword is never a
killer, it's a tool in the killer's hands")(Lucius Annaeus Seneca "the younger" ca. (4 BC 65 AD))
"Odi et amo, quare id facere forasse requiris...Nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior" (I
hated and I love, perhaps you ask why I do it...I don't know, but I feel it and I'm tortured.)
Malum consilium quod mutari non potest. It's a bad plan that can't be changed.(Publilius
Syrus 403)
Homines libenter quod volunt credunt. Men freely believe what they want to. (used by
Julius Caesar, but probably borrowed from Terentius.)
Qui vult dare parva non debet magna rogare. He who wishes to give little shouldn't ask
for much.
Flamma fumo est proxima. Flame follows smoke. (Plautus, Curculio)
Adversus incendia excubias nocturnas vigilesque commentus est. Against the dangers of
fires, he (=Augustus) conceived of the idea of night guards and watchmen. (Suetonius,
Life of Augustus)
Trahimur omnes studio laudis. We are all attracted by the desire for praise.
Avarus animus nullo satiatur lucro. A greedy mind is satisfied with no (amount of) gain.
Alea iacta est. The die has been cast. (Caesar as he was crossing the Rubicon river )
Exegi monumentum aere perennius. I have erected a monument more lasting than bronze.
(Horace)

Fama nihil est celerius. Nothing is swifter than rumor.

Fama volat. Fame has wings.
Mea mihi conscientia pluris est quam omnium sermo. My conscience is more to me than
what the world says.
Modus operandi- method of work
Ab ovo usque ad mala- from start to finish (from horsd'oeuvre to dessert)
vademecum- go with me (for:'guide')
novus ordo saeclorum- a new order of ages
Agnus Dei- Lamb of god
annuit coeptis- God has favored us
tabula rasa- a clean slate
cui bono- for whose good (in whose interests)?
sine qua non- necesssity
Conditio sine qua non- condition, necessarily to be fulfilled
caeca invidia est- envy is blind
rara avis- a rare bird
lapsus alumni- error made
dies irae- the Day of Wrath, or Judgment Day
sub rosa- under the rose (i.e. confidentially)
ex cathedra- with authority
Fiat lux. Let there be light (Vulgate Genesis)
Qui tacet consentit. He who is silent agrees.
Fides Punica. Treachery (Livy)

Quid Novi. What's New?

Nullum Gratuitum Prandium. There is no free lunch!
Homo homini lupus. A man to a man is like a wolf
Hic puer est stultissimus omnium! This boy is the stupidest of all!
O di immortales! Good heavens! (uttered by Cicero on the Senate floor.)
Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes.(Vergil, Aeneid II.49) Whatever it is, I
fear the Greeks, even bearing gifts.
Quidquid id est timeo puellas et oscula dantes. Whatever it is, I fear the girls, even when
they kiss.
Venienti occurrite morbo.(Persius, Satires) Meet the misfortune as it comes.
Forsan miseros meliora sequentur.(Virgil) For those in misery perhaps better things will
follow.
Multi famam, conscientiam pauci verentur.(Pliny) Many fear their reputation, few their
conscience.
Gaudeamus igitur (iuvenes dum sumus). Therefore, let us rejoice (while we are young)
infra dignitatem. undignified (beneath (our) dignity).
lapsus calumni. A slip of the pen
mirabile dictu. Wonderful to say
E Pluribus Unum. One from many
post proelia praemia. After the battles come the rewards
"qualis pater talis filius." (As is the father, so is the son; like father, like son)
"Semper Ubi Sub Ubi" (always wear underwear (This is actually a joke told among
students of Latin. It is an incorrect usage begging a strict translation into English.))
Maxima debetur puero reverentia. We owe the greatest respect to a child.
Uva Uvam Vivendo Varia Fit. Diverse grapes, through time, grow together.
"Alma Mater." (Old school (actual translation - nourishing mother) )

Ad hoc. For one reason

"Alter ego." ("Other 'I'" or "Other Self")
naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret You can drive nature out with a pitchfork
but she always comes back. Literally, "Nature can be expelled with a fork, but
nevertheless always returns"
Studium discendi voluntate quae cogi non potest constat (Quintilian Institutio Oratoria,
iii) Study depends on the good will of the student, a quality which cannot be secured by
compulsion.
Vacca foeda. (Stupid cow.)
Die dulci fruere. (Have a nice day.)
Mihi ignosce. Cum homine de cane debeo congredi. (Excuse me. I've got to see a man
about a dog.)
Raptus regaliter. (Royally screwed.)
Ne auderis delere orbem rigidum meum! (Don't you dare erase my hard disk!)
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane
mittam. (I have a catapult. Give me all the money, or I will fling an enormous rock at
your head.)
Gramen artificiosum odi. (I hate Astroturf.)
Furnulum pani nolo. (I don't want a toaster.)
Sentio aliquos togatos contra me conspirare. (I think some people in togas are plotting
against me.)
Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione. (I'm not interested in your dopey religious cult.)
Noli me vocare, ego te vocabo. (Don't call me, I'll call you.)
Cave ne ante ullas catapultas ambules. (If I were you, I wouldn't walk in front of any
catapults.)
Canis meus id comedit. (My dog ate it.)

Illiud Latine dici non potest. (You can't say that in Latin.)
Vidistine nuper imagines moventes bonas? (Seen any good movies lately?)
Nullo metro compositum est. (It doesn't rhyme.)
Non curo. Si metrum non habet, non est poema. (I don't care. If it doesn't rhyme, it isn't a
poem.)
Fac ut gaudeam. (Make my day.)
Braccae illae virides cum subucula rosea et tunica Caledonia-quam elenganter
concinnatur! (Those green pants go so well with that pink shirt and the plaid jacket!)
Visne saltare? Viam Latam Fungosam scio. (Do you want to dance? I know the Funky
Broadway.)
Utinam barbari spatium proprium tuum invadant! (May barbarians invade your personal
space!)
Utinam coniurati te in foro interficiant! (May conspirators assassinate you in the mall!)
Utinam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant! (May faulty logic undermine
your entire philosophy!)
Radix lecti. (Couch potato.)
Quo signo nata es? (What's your sign?)
O! Plus! Perge! Aio! Hui! Hem! (Oh! More! Go on! Yes! Ooh! Ummm!)
Spero nos familiares mansuros. (I hope we'll still be friends.)
Tam exanimis quam tunica nehru fio. (I am as dead as the nehru jacket.)
Ventis secundis, tene cursum. (Go with the flow.)
Totum dependeat. (Let it all hang out.)
Te precor dulcissime supplex! (Pretty please with a cherry on top!)
Fac me cocleario vomere! (Gag me with a spoon!)
Te audire non possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure. (I can't hear you. I have a banana
in my ear.)

Prehende uxorem meam, sis! (Take my wife, please!)

Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit
materiari? (How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck
wood?)
Nihil est--in vita priore ego imperator Romanus fui. (That's nothing--in a previous life I
was a Roman Emperor.)
Aio, quantitas magna frumentorum est. (Yes, that is a very large amount of corn.)
Recedite, plebes! Gero rem imperialem! (Stand aside plebians! I am on imperial
business.)
Oblitus sum perpolire clepsydras! (I forgot to polish the clocks!)
Sic faciunt omnes. (Everyone is doing it.)
Fac ut vivas. (Get a life.)
Anulos qui animum ostendunt omnes gestemus! (Let's all wear mood rings!)
"Insula Gilliganis." (Gilligan's Island.)
"Exterioris pagina puella." (Cover Girl.)
"Coruscantes disci per convexa caeli volantes." (Flying saucers.)
Escariorium lavator. (Dishwashing machine.)
Instrumentum aeri temperando. (Airconditioner.)
Aeronavis abstractio a prestituto cursu. (Hijacking.)
Nummus americanus. (Greenback ($US)
Latine loqui coactus sum. (I have this compulsion to speak Latin.)
Qui vir odiosus! (What a bore!)
Heu! Tintinnuntius meus sonat! (Darn! There goes my beeper!)
Labra lege. (Read my lips.)
Non erravi perniciose! (I did not commit a fatal error!)

Fortunatus sum! Pila mea de gramine horrido modo in pratum lene recta volvit! (Isn't that
lucky! My ball just rolled out of the rough and onto the fairway!)
Haec trutina errat. (There is something wrong with this scale.)
Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum Europe vincendarum. (Sometimes I get this
urge to conquer large parts of Europe.)
Eheu, litteras istas reperire non possum. (Unfortunately, I can't find those particular
documents.)
Scio cur summae inter se dissentiant! Numeris Romanis utor! (I know why the numbers
don't agree! I use Roman numerals!)
Estne tibi forte magna feles fulva et planissima? (Do you by chance happen to own a
large, yellowish, very flat cat?)
Prescriptio in manibus tabellariorium est. (The check is in the mail.)
Braccae tuae aperiuntur. (Your fly is open.)
In dentibus acticis frustrum magnum spinaciae habes. (You have a big piece of spinach in
your teeth.)
Prospice tibi--ut Gallia, tu quoque in tres partes dividareis. (Watch out--you might end up
divided into three parts, like Gaul.)
Bene, cum Latine nescias, nolo manus meas in te maculare. (Well, if you don't understand
plain Latin, I'm not going to dirty my hands on you.)
Sane ego te vocavi. Forsitan capedictum tuum desit. (I did call. Maybe your answering
machine is broken.)
Vinum bellum iucunumque est, sed animo corporeque caret. (It's a nice little wine, but it
lacks character and depth.)
Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat. (It's not the heat, it's the humidity.)
Di! Ecce hora! Uxor mea me necabit! (God, look at the time! My wife will kill me!)
Purgamentum init, exit purgamentum. (Garbage in, garbage out.)
Credo nos in fluctu eodem esse. (I think we're on the same wavelength.)
Lex clavatoris designati rescindenda est. (The designated hitter rule has got to go.)

Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem.

(In the good old days, children like you were left to perish on windswept crags.)
Quomodo cogis comas tuas sic videri? (How do you get your hair to do that?)
Feles mala! Cur cista non uteris? Stramentum novum in ea posui. (Bad kitty! Why don't
you use the cat box? I put new litter in it.)
(At a barbeque) Animadvertistine, ubicumque stes, fumum recta in faciem ferri? (Ever
noticed how wherever you stand, the smoke goes right into your face?)
Neutiquam erro. (I am not lost.)
Hocine bibo aut in eum digitos insero? (Do I drink this or stick my fingers in it?)
Vah! Denuone Latine loquebar? Me ineptum. Interdum modo elabitur. (Oh! Was I
speaking Latin again? Silly me. Sometimes it just sort of slips out.)
In hoc signo vinces. (It reads: Under this sign (the cross of God) thou shalt conquer. This
Latin phrase was said to have been writen in the sky before Consantine, with the sign of a
burning cross, previous to the battled at Milvian Bridge north of Rome in 312ad.)
Caveat emptor (Let the buyer beware.)
Cave canem (Beware of the dog.)
Cave canem...te necet lingendo (Beware of the dog, he may lick you to death.)
Dei gratia (By the grace of God.)
De mortuis nil nisi bonum (Say nothing but good of the dead.)
Diis aliter visum (The Gods decided otherwise.)
Divide et impera (Divide and rule.)
Fax mentis incedium gloriae (The passion of glory is the torch of the mind.)
Docendo discimus (We learn by teaching.)
Ex nilhilo nihil fit (From, or out of, nothing, nothing comes; nothing begetes nothing.)
Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (Who watches the watchmen? (Juvenal))
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur (Anything said in Latin sounds profound.)

"Homo homini lupus" ((lit.: Man is to another man a wolf.", i.e., People are wolves to
each other). For the correct use of this tag from Plautus, see for example
http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/killing/wolf.html )
"Quod omne animal post coitum est triste." Aristoteles Every animal is sad after a
copulation.
"Ars longa, vita brevis." Hypocrates The work (art) is long, the life is short.
"De gustibus non est disputandum." Ther's no accounting for tastes.
"In his ordo est ordinem non servare." In this case the only rule is not obeying any rules.
"O diem praeclarum!" Oh, what a beautiful day!
"Astra non mentiuntur, sed astrologi bene mentiuntur de astris." The stars never lie, but
the astrologs lie about the stars.
"si hoc legere scis nimium eruditiones habes." (essentially it says, "if you can read this,
you're overeducated.")
"Cogito Ergo Doleo." (I think therefore I am depressed.)
"in flagrante delicto" (red-handed)
"Multa ferunt anni venientes commoda secum, Multa recedentes adimiunt"--Horace, Ars
Poetica (The years as they come bring may agreeable things with them; as they go, they
take many away.)
"Exemplum de simia, quae, quando plus ascendit, plus apparent posteriora eius"--Saint
Bonaventure (He doth like the ape, that the higher he clymbes the more he shows his ars.
--Translation by Sir Francis Bacon)
"Anicularum lucubrationes" (Old wives' tales.)
"Sic transit gloria mundi" (thus passes the glory of the world)
"Errare humanun est - sed perseverare diabolicum" (mistakes are human, but to continue
making mistakes is devilish)
"Vita luna" (crazy life)
"Re vera, potas bene." (Say, you sure are drinking a lot.)
"Primum viveri deinde philosophari" (Live before you philosophize. or Leap before you
look.)

"Quid pro quo?" (what for what?)

"a fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi" (The modern version would either be "between a rock
and a hard place" lit: "a precipice in front, wolves behind"!)
"Nos morituri te salutant!" (which means "We, who are about to die, salute you" it was
used when gladiatiors were about to undergo their punishment during the Roman Circus
celebrations. They hailed Cesar with that saying.)
"Veni Vidi Vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered)
"Absconde obesito illegitimo" (Get outta here you fat bastard (Buddy Hacket))
"Vincit omnia veritas" (The truth conquers all)
"tum podem extulit horridulum" (you are talking shit)
"Illegitimus non carborundum" (Don't let the bastards wear you down) (is equally
ungrammatical; and "carborundum" is not Latin. It is a 20th-century joke, as far as Ican
tell first spread about by Gen. "Vinegar" Joe Stilwell (of the Burmese campaign in WW
II). See and the page after it. )
"stercus tauri" (manure of the bull (Bull Shit) )