Latin Quotations

As I mentioned before, I ended up doing a lot of research into Latin and famous Latin quotations in working on writing and editing my novel(s).

Here are some of my favorite quotations that I came across in that research (some of which made it into my novel(s) and many which probably won't):

Cedit item retro, de terra quod fuit ante, in terras - What once sprung from the earth sinks back into the earth. (Lucretius)

Collige virgo rosas dum flos novas et nova pubes - Pick the flowers, girl, while they are still fresh and youth is new. (Ausonius, Epigrammata Rosae 2:49)

Expedit esse deos, et, ut expedit, esse putemus - It is convenient that there be gods, and, as it is convenient, let us believe that there are. (Ovid)

Homo sum humani nil a me alienum puto - I am human; I consider nothing human alien to me. (Terence, Heauton Timorumenos, I.1)

Homo unius libri timeo - I fear a man of one book. (Thomas Aquinas)

Idque apud imperitos humanitas vocabatur, cum pars servitutis esset - Because they didn't know better, they called it "civilization," when it was part of their slavery. (Tacitus)

Inter urinas et faeces nascimur - We are born between urine and feces. (St. Augustine)

Intret amicitiae nomine tectus amor - Let love steal in disguised as friendship. (Ovid)

Ita res accedent lumina rebus - Truths kindle light for truths. (Lucretius)

Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur - The world wants to be deceived, so let it be deceived. (Petronius)

Nec alii obest aut prodest alterius religio - One man's religion neither harms nor helps another man. (Tertullian)

Necessitas etiam timidos fortes facit - Necessity makes even the timid brave. (Sallust)

Nemo enim est tam senex qui se annum non putet posse vivere - No one is so old as to think that he cannot live one more year. (Cicero)

Nequam illud verbum'st, bene vult, nisi qui bene facit - That expression 'He means well' is useless unless he does well. (Plautus, Trinummus, II.4)

Nescire autem quid ante quam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum - To be ignorant of the past to be forever a child. (Cicero)

Nihil tam absurde dici potest, quod non dicatur ab aliquo philosophorum - There is nothing so ridiculous that some philosopher has not already said it. (Cicero)

Non aetate, verum ingenio apiscitur sapientiai - Not by age but by capacity is wisdom acquired. (Plautus, Trinummus, II.2)

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Please note that my posting these quotes is not necessarily an endorsement of the words. There are a few of these I find interesting enough to momentarily consider, but don't/can't ultimately agree with.

Ovid's argument for believing in god(s), for instance, is interesting but ultimately unsatisfying. I don't believe in things because it is convenient to do so; I believe in things (or don't) because I actually believe in them (or don't). It is in fact often inconvenient to believe the things I believe. I've found myself more than once thinking that it would have been so much easier/more convenient if I had continued believing in God - but that convenience alone is not enough to pursue me back to Christianity.

Similarly, Tertullian's assertion that "One man's religion neither harms nor helps another man" is ideal, but complete bullshit in practice. One man's religion shouldn't harm another, and yet - so often - they do.