"Stop wandering about! You aren't likely to read your own notebooks, or ancient histories, or the anthologies you've collected to enjoy in your old age. Get busy with life's purpose, toss aside empty hopes, get active in your own rescue - if you care for yourself at all - and do it while you can."
~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 3.14
"To bear trials with a calm mind
robs misfortune of its strength and burden."
~ Seneca, Hercules Oetaeus, 231-232
"In all things we should try to make ourselves be as grateful as possible. For gratitude is a good thing for ourselves, in a manner in which justice, commonly held to belong to others, is not. Gratitude pays itself back in large measure."
~~ Seneca, Moral Letters, 81.19
"Everything lasts for a day, the one who remembers, and the remembered."
~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.35
Ibi semper est victoria ubi concordia est.
"Where there is concord, there always is victory."
~ Publilius Syrus, Sententia 289
With macrons: Ibi semper est victōria ubi concordia est.
"It's a disgrace in this life when the soul surrenders first while the body refuses to."
~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.29
Fures privatorum in nervo atque in compedibus aetatem agunt; fures publici in auro atque in purpura.
"Thieves who steal from private individuals spend their life in bond and shackles; thieves who steal from the public treasury, in gold and purple."
~ Cato the Elder, 234 - 149 B.C.E.
"It's not at all that we have too short a time to live, but that we squander a great deal of it. Life is long enough, and it's given in sufficient measure to do many great things if we spend it well. But when it's poured down the drain of luxury and neglect, when it's employed to no good end, we're finally driven to see that it has passed by before we even recognized it passing. And so it is - we don't receive a short life, we make it so."
~ Seneca, On the Brevity of Life, 1.3-4a
felices ferias!
"happy holidays!"
The common word in Latin for a holiday - feriae - exists only in the plural; it has no singular in Classical Latin (though a singular form was invented by back formation in Late Latin). Hence, the word translated into English means both "holiday" and "holidays."
With macrons: fēlīcēs fēriās!
"The mind must be given relaxation - it will rise improved and sharper after a good break. Just as rich fields must not be forced - for they will quickly lose their fertility if never given a break - so constant work on the anvil will fracture the force of the mind. But it regains its powers if it is set free and relaxed for a while. Constant work gives rise to a certain kind of dullness and feebleness in the rational soul."
~ Seneca, On Tranquility of Mind, 17.5
ad hominem
"to the person" = personal
Usually used in English in the phrase "ad hominem attack," referring to the rhetorical device of attacking the person of one's opponent in an argument, rather than attacking the ideas of one's opponent; thus, a rhetorical fallacy (personal arguments rather than logical ones); calling one's opponent names rather than trying to refute their arguments
"You know what wine and liqueur tastes like. It makes no difference whether a hundred or a thousand bottles pass through your bladder - you are nothing more than a filter."
~ Seneca, Moral Letters, 77.16
Moribus antiquis res stat Romana virisque.
"The Roman state stands on its ancient customs (moribus) and heroes (or "and men" - virisque)."
~ Quintus Ennius, c. 239 - c. 169 B.C.E.
"You are afraid of dying. But, come now, how is this life of yours anything but death?"
~ Seneca, Moral Letters, 77.18
"For it's disgraceful for an old person, or one in sight of old age, to have only the knowledge carried in their notebooks. Zeno said this . . . what do you say? Cleanthes said that . . . what do you say? How long will you be compelled by the claims of another? Take charge and stake your own claim - something posterity will carry in its notebook."
~ Seneca, Moral Letters, 33.7
Necessitas non habet legem.
"Necessity does not know any law." (Literally, "Necessity does not have any law.")
~ Bernard of Clairvaux, 1090 - 1153 C.E. (French reformer of monastic life); quoted by Oliver Cromwell in speech to Parliament on September 12th, 1654 C.E.
With macrons: Necessitās nōn habet lēgem.
"Do you then ponder how the supreme of human evils, the surest mark of the base and cowardly, is not death, but the fear of death? I urge you to discipline yourself against such fear, direct all your thinking, exercises, and reading this way - and you will know the only path to human freedom."
~ Epictetus, Discourses, 3.26.38-39
ad hoc
"for this purpose" (literally "to this," where "this" is neuter)
In English, the Latin phrase ad hoc is used to designate something that exists for only a specific purpose. For example, an "ad hoc committee" is a committee formed to deal with a specific issue, rather than a permanent, standing committee. Once that issue is resolved, the ad hoc committee disbands, its purpose having been fulfilled.
"Think of the whole universe of matter and how small your share.. Think about the expanse of time and how brief - almost momentary - the part marked for you. Think of the workings of fate, and how infinitesimal your role."
~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 5.24
Dies dolorem minuit.
"Time (lit. "A day." as in "Each day") diminishes sorrow."
~ Robert Burton, 1577-1640, English author of The Anatomy of Melancholy
With macrons: diēs dolōrem minuit.
"Both Alexander the Great and his mule-keeper were both brought to the same place by death - they were either received into the all-generative reason, or scattered among the atoms.'
~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.24
Saturnalibus, optimo dierum!
"On Saturnalia, on the best of days!"
~ Gaius Valerius Catullus, c. 84 - c. 54 B.C.E. (poem 14a)
"Death lies heavy upon one
who, known exceedingly well by all,
dies unknown to himself."
~ Seneca, Thyestes, 400
Res publica virum docet.
"Public affairs (or "affairs of state") teach a man."
~ Attributed to Plutarch, a Greek author, apparently translated into Latin by Erasmus of Rotterdam.
The term res publica literally means "public matters," sometimes translated as "Republic," though that is not the sense here. The idea that involvement in public affairs - social and governmental matters in the community - is part of the education of a young man is common in ancient Greek democracies such as Athens and in ancient Rome. Our English word "idiot" actually comes from the ancient Greek word for "private," meaning a person who lives a private life and does not take part in public life is an . . . idiot. A less sexist, modern version might be Res publica civem docet - "Public affairs teach the citizen."
With macrons: Rēs pūblica virum docet.
Rēs pūblica cīvem docet.
"I tell you, you only have to learn to live like the healthy person does . . . living with complete confidence. What confidence? The only one worth holding, in what is trustworthy, unhindered, and can't be taken away - your own reasoned choice."
~ Epictetus, Discourses, 3.26.23b-24
ab initio, sometimes abbreviated in English usage ab init.
"from the beginning"
"This is the mark of perfection of character - to spend each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, laziness, or any pretending."
~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7.69
Semper pluris feci ego
potioremque habui libertatem quam pecuniam.
"I have always valued freedom more highly than money, and preferred it."
~ Gnaeus Naevius (c. 270 - c. 201 B.C.E.), Agitatoria
"Soon you will doe, and still you aren't sincere, undisturbed, or free from suspicion that external things can harm you, nor are you gracious to all, knowing that wisdom and acting justly are one and the same."
~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.37
Experientia docet.
"Experience teaches"
~ Cornelius Tacitus (56 - 120 C.E.)
"You aren't bothered, are you, because you weigh a certain amount and not twice as much? So why get worked up that you've been given a certain lifespan and not more? Just as you are satisfied with your normal weight, so you should be with the time you've been given."
~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.49
ab ovo usque ad mala
"from egg(s) to apples" = "from beginning to end" (egg was sometimes and ancient Roman appetizer course, apples and other fruit were frequently a dessert course, so the expression comes from feasting - "from appetizers to dessert")
"Walk the long gallery of the past, of empires and kingdoms succeeding each other without number. And you can also see the future, for surely it will be exactly the same, unable to deviate from the present rhythm. It's all one whether we've experienced forty years or an aeon. What more is there to see?"
~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7.49
"As Cicero says, we hate gladiators if they are quick to save their lives by any means; we favor them if they show contempt for their lives."
~ Seneca, On Tranquility of Mind, 11.4b
Praestatur laus virtuti, sed multo ocius verno gelu tabescit.
"Praise is bestowed upon virtue, but melts away more quickly than a spring frost."
~ Livius Andronicus (c. 280 - c. 205 B.C.E.)
Ditat Deus.
"God enriches."
~ Motto of the State of Arizona
With macrons: "Dītat Deus."
"I say, let no one rob me of a single day who isn't going to make a full return on the loss."
~ Seneca, On Tranquility of Mind, 1.11b
dis volentibus (more common, shortened form of deis volentibus)
"with the gods being willing," "if the gods are willing," "gods willing"
This expression is a Latin construction called an Ablative Absolute which has no exact parallel in English. Both the Latin words are in the Ablative case.
The equivalent expression for a single god would be deo volente, the Christian expression is normally rendered with a capital d: Deo volente = "God willing."
"Were all the geniuses of history to focus on this single theme, they could never fully express their bafflement at the darkness of the human mind. No person would give up even an inch of their estate, and the slightest dispute with a neighbor can mean hell to pay; yet we easily let others encroach on our lives - worse, we often pave the way for those who will take it over. No person hands out their money to passerby, but to how many do each of us hand out our lives! We're tight-fisted with property and money, yet think too little of wasting time, the one thing about which we should all be the toughest misers."
~ Seneca, On the Brevity of Life, 3.1-2
Est unusquisque faber ipse suae fortunae.
"Every man is the craftsman of his own fortune."
~ Appius Claudius Caecus (c. 340 - c. 273 B.C.E.)
"It's better to conquer grief than to deceive it."
~ Seneca, On Consolation to Helvia, 17.1b
Spem successus alit.
"Success feeds hope."
~ Anonymous
Proverbial; motto of Clan Ross of Scotland
"Think of the life you have lived until now as over and, as a dead man, see what's left as a bonus and live it according to Nature. Love the hand that fate deals you and play it as your own, for what could be more fitting?"
~ Marcus Aurelius, Mediations, 7.56-57
"Don't behave as if you are destined to live forever. What's fated hangs over you. As long as you live and while you can, become good now."
~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.17
"Keep death and exile before your eyes each day, along with everything that seems terrible - by doing so, you'll never have a base thought nor will you have excessive desire."
~ Epictetus, Enchiridion, 21
"Anything that can be prevented, taken away, or coerced is not a person's own - but those things that can't be blocked are their own."
~ Epictetus, Discourses, 3.24.3
"Philosophy doe not claim to get a person any external possession. To do so would be beyond its proper field. As wood is to the carpenter, bronze is to the sculptor, so our own lives are the proper material in the art of living."
~ Epictetus, Discourses, 1.15.2
"Let each thing you would do, say, or intend be like that of a dying person."
~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 2.11.1
"Let us prepare our minds as if we'd come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life's books each day . . . The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time."
~ Seneca, Moral Letters, 101.7b-8a
