February 28th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad arbitrium"

 February 28th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad arbitrium"

"ad arbitrium"

"at will," "at pleasure," "at judgment" (according to one's judgment)

Pridie Kalendas Martias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 27th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad absurdum"

 February 27th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad absurdum"

"ad absurdum"

"to the point of absurdity"

a.d. III Kalendas Martias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 26th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Actum ne agas."

 February 26th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Actum ne agas."

"Actum ne agas."

"Do not do what is already done," id est, once the matter is settled, do not persist in trying to stir things up. Appears in Terence as "Actum," aiunt, "ne agas."

~ Publius Terentius Afer (c. 195/185 - c. 159 B.C.E.), Phormio II.iii.72

a.d. IV Kalendas Martias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 25th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Philosophum non facit barba."

 February 25th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Philosophum non facit barba."

"Philosophum non facit barba."

"A beard does not make a philosopher." (Appearance does not make reality.)

I had learned this as a proverb of uncertain origin. I've seen it attributed to Plutarch (odd, since he wrote in Greek, not Latin) and Aulus Gellius (but could not track that down, even with the Internet). 

a.d. V Kalendas Martias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 24th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Moribus antiquis res stat Romana virisque."

 February 24th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Moribus antiquis res stat Romana virisque."

"Moribus antiquis res stat Romana virisque."

"The Roman state stands by its ancient customs and heroes." (vir, translated "hero" here, is the Latin word for "man," but does also have the meaning of a heroic man, which is intended here).

~ Quintus Ennius (c. 239 - c, 169 B.C.E.), Annales, location uncertain

a.d. VI Kalendas Martias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 23rd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Acta est fabula."

 February 23rd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Acta est fabula."

"Acta est fabula.

"The story is finished," or "the play is finished," "the drama has been acted out," with the sense of "it's all over" - rather like English "it's curtains!" This is the Latin given for the Greek allegedly quoted by the Emperor Augustus as he was dying. 

a.d. VII Kalendas Martias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 22nd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Experientia docet."

 February 22nd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Experientia docet."

"Experientia docet;" the original is actually past tense, "experientia docuit."

"Experience teaches," it originally appears as "experience has taught."

~ Publius Cornelius Tacitus (c. 56 - c. 120 C.E.), Histories, book 5, chapter 6, contains experientia docuit, in the past tense.

a.d. VIII Kalendas Martias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 21st, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Pellitur e medio sapientia, vi geritur res,/ spernitur orator bonus, horridus miles amatur;/ haud doctis dictis certantes, sed maledictis . . ."

February 21st, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Pellitur e medio sapientia, vi geritur res,/ spernitur orator bonus, horridus miles amatur;/ haud doctis dictis certantes, sed maledictis . . ."

"Pellitur e medio sapientia, vi geritur res,

spernitur orator bonus, horridus miles amatur;

 haud doctis dictis certantes, sed maledictis . . .."

"Wisdom is driven out from our midst, brute force rules the state,

the good orator is scorned, the horrid soldier is loved;

those contending do so not with learned words, but with curses . . . 

~ Quintus Ennius (c. 239 - c. 169 B.C.E.), Annales, VIII

a.d. IX Kalendas Martias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 20th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Acheruntis pabulum"

 February 20th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Acheruntis pabulum"

"Acheruntis pabulum," also rendered as "Acherontis pabulum" to give the river its more common Greek name

"food of Acheron" - Acheron, or Acheruns in some Latin renderings, is the name of a river of the Underworld. So, Acheruntis pabulum, "food of Acheron," is that which "feeds" the river of death - in other words, those doomed to die. One source recommended "food for the gallows" as an expression in English that captures the idea. 

~ Titus Maccius Plautus, Casina II.i.12

a.d. X Kalendas Martias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 19th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Accusare nemo se debet."

 February 19th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Accusare nemo se debet."

"Accusare nemo se debet."

"No one ought to accuse themselves," "no one is required to incriminate themselves."

a.d. XI Kalendas Martias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 18th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Accipere quam facere iniuriam praestat."

 February 18th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Accipere quam facere inuriam praestat."

"Accipere quam facere  iniuriam praestat."

"It is better to receive an injury than to inflict one." (Remember, as previously noted, Latin iniuria has a wide semantic range, as does English "injury" - its root implies "injustice" rather than physical harm). 

~ based on a passage in Marcus Tullius Cicero, Tusculuan Disputations, v.56

a.d. XII Kalendas Martias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 17th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Amat victoria curam."

 February 17th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Amat victoria curam."

"Amat victoria curam."

"Victory loves care," id est, "Victory loves/requires careful preparation."

a.d. XIII Kalendas Martias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 16th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Humanum amarest; humanum autem ignoscerest."

February 16th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Humanum amarest; humanum autem ignoscerest."

"Humanum amarest; humanum autem ignoscerest."

"To love is human; but to be indulgent is human also." Note the contractions of amare est and ignoscere est.

~ Titus Maccius Plautus, Mercator, 320

a.d. XIV Kalendas Martias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 15th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "A capite ad calcem."

 February 15th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "a capite ad calcem"

"a capite ad calcem"

"from head to heel" (rather similar to English "head to toe," but with alliteration - in Latin and in English translation!)

a.d. XV Kalendas Martias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 14th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Iniuria solvit amorem."

 February 14th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Iniuria solvit amorem."

"Iniuria solvit amorem."

"Injury destroys love" (Iniuria is literally "injustice," but carries almost the same range of literal and figurative meanings as English "injury")

a.d. XVI Kalendas Martias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 13th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Ut saepe summa ingenia in occulto latent."

 February 13th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Ut saepe summa ingenia in occulto latent."

"Ut saepe summa ingenia in occulto latent."

"How often it is that great geniuses lie hidden in obscurity,"

~ Titus Maccius Plautus, Captivi, 165

Idibus Februariis anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI  

February 12th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Labor omnia vincit."

 February 12th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Labor omnia vincit."

"Labor omnia vincit."

"Labor conquers all," or "work conquers all" . . . (Seen on an old Carpenters' Union plaque at the Museum of Work and Culture in Woonsocket, RI, recently)

Pridie Idus Februarias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 11th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Senatus Populusque Romanus (S.P.Q.R.)"

 February 11th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Senatus Populusque Romanus (S.P.Q.R.)"

"Senatus Populusque Romanus (S.P.Q.R.)"

"The Roman Senate and People," often rendered as "The Senate and People of Rome" - on of the first great bits of logo branding in history, the Roman Republic used S.P.Q.R. to indicate that official acts were done by the Senate ("council of elders," etymologically) and the People (in whom power resided, according to Republican ideals). This logo continued in use long after the fall of the Republic and rise of the Empire, in which power was actually far more vested in the emperor and the military than the senate or the people. It is interesting that the enclitic "-que," which added onto a word in Latin is like using the conjunction "and" before a word in English, gets its own letter in the S.P.Q.R. (not just S.P.R. as one might expect), perhaps indicating that early Romans really did think of it as a separate word in its own right, even though it is attached to other words like an English suffix. 

a.d. III Idus Februarias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 10th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Abyssus abyssum invocat."

 February 10th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Abyssus abyssum invocat."

"Abyssus abyssum invocat."

"Abyss calls to abyss," "Hell calls to Hell," id est, one depravity leads to another, though more literally, "Deep calls to deep."

~ Psalm 42:7

a.d. IV Idus Februarias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 9th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Spe Salvi"

 February 9th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Spe Salvi"

"Spe Salvi"

"Saved in Hope"

~ Motto on the heraldic achievement of Bishop Robert C. Evans, D.D., J.C.L., of the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island

On this day, February 9th, 2023, I visited the Museum of Work and Culture in Woonsocket, RI, and in that museum visited the RI Catholic Schools Archive. Catholic schools were a big part of the life experience of Woonsocket, RI, so I wanted to find a Latin motto that went with this visit . . . 

a.d. V Idus Februarias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 8th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Lucem diffundo."

 February 8th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Lucem diffundo."

"Lucem diffundo."

"I spread light."

~ Motto of the city of New Bedford, Massachusetts

Today I am visiting the city of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The seal of the city prominently displays the motto, translating "I spread (the) light." There is a lighthouse on the seal, so one interpretation has been that the lighthouse is speaking, but the motto likely goes back to New Bedford's role as a whaling city, with New Beford whale oil lighting the lamps of the nation and the world (including that lighthouse.' 

a.d. VI Idus Februarias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 7th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Aliis volat propriis."

 February 7th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Aliis volat propriis."

"Aliis volat propriis."

"She flies with her own wings." Today, February 7th, 2023, I'm getting on a plane in Phoenix to fly to Boston, so I wanted a "flying" theme . . . 

~ Motto of the state of Oregon

a.d. VII Idus Februarias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 6th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Quem di diligunt adulescens moritur, dum valet sentit sapit."

February 6th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Quem di diligunt adulescens moritur, dum valet sentit sapit."

"Quem di diligunt adulescens moritur, dum valet sentit sapit."

"He whom the gods esteem dies young, while he still is healthy, perceptive, and wise." This sentence is spoken sarcastically in a Roman play by an enslaved person to his young enslaver, and the Roman playwright is paraphrasing a famous line from a Greek play by Menander in the first half of the line - ὃν οἱ θεοὶ φιλούσιν ἀποθνήσκει νέος

~ Plautus, Bacchides, IV, 7, 18.

a.d. VIII Idus Februarias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 5th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Stylus virum arguit."

 February 5th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Stylus virum arguit."

"Stylus virum arguit," also "stylus virum ostendit."

"The pencil (or "style") shows the man," id est, one's writing style reveals what sort of person one is. Stylus is a Greek-derived word for a writing implement, often used for a pencil in modern usage, but also applied to what the word has come to be in English - "style." One does see a more Latinized form, "stilus," as well as the more Greek "stylus." "Arguit" and "ostendit" both have the sense of "show," "reveal," "make clear."

Nonis Februariis anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 4th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Abusus non tollit usum."

 February 4th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Abusus non tollit usum."

"Abusus non tollit usum."

"Abuse does not remove use," id est, the possibility that something could be abused is not a reason to remove the legitimate use of that thing. One phrasing of a legal principle, ab abusu ad usum non valet consequentia - "the consequence from abuse does not apply to use." This sort of argument, which has any number of legitimate applications, is often used in an attempt to defend the indefensible - things that have NO legitimate use, like military-style weapons for civilians.

Pridie Nonas Februarias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 3rd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Ab uno disce omnes."

 February 3rd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Ab uno disce omnes."

"Ab uno disce omnes."

"Learn all from one," id est, from one example, learn about all others of similar kind. Of course, one must always be very careful in attempting to extrapolate a general characteristic from a particular member of any group. 

~ based on Vergil's Aeneid ii.65-66 (where it appears with the alternate form omnis)

a.d. III Nonas Februarias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 2nd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Veritas" (Motto of Harvard University)

 February 2nd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Veritas" (Motto of Harvard University)

"Veritas"

"Truth"

~ Motto of Harvard University

a.d. IV Nonas Februarias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

February 1st, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Lupus est homo homini, non homo, quom qualis sit non novit."

 February 1st, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Lupus est homo homini, non homo, quom qualis sit non novit."

"Lupus est homo homini, non homo, quom qualis sit non novit."

"A human is a wolf, not a human, to another human, when he has not learned what they are like." (I note a number of translators render this as "Man is a wolf to man, not a man, when he's a stranger."). The form quom is somewhat archaic, the Classical Latin form would be cum.

~ Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254 - c. 184 B.C.E.), Asinaria, 495

Kalendis Februariis anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI