Latin Via Proverbs: Home - Previous - Next

 

Group 17: Latin

 

222. Mors ianua vitae.

223. Mors corona vitae.

224. Mors est latro hominis.

225. Homo mancipium mortis.

226. Vita est exspectatio mortis.

227. Philosophia ars vitae.

228. Somnus frater mortis est.

229. Littera custos historiae.

230. Sol oculus mundi.

231. Luna oculus noctis.

232. Scientia sol mentis.

233. Inscitia mater arrogantiae.

234. Repetitio mater memoriae.

235. Sapientia gubernator navis.

236. Sapientia est sanitas animi.

 

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Study Guide

 

222. Death is the doorway of life. (You can see this saying used as a motto for a pre-Raphaelite painting by Joseph Noel Paton.)

 

223. Death is the crown of life. (Compare a similar saying from the Christian tradition: Corona martyrii, corona vitae, "The crown of martyrdom, the crown of life.")

 

224. Death is a thief of humanity. (This is a phrase adapted from the medieval question-and-answer Dialogue of Pippin and Alcuin.)

 

225. Humanity is death's possession. (In other words, death owns each person. The Latin mancipium means "right of ownership." Hence the word "emancipation," for the liberation of slaves. This is also a phrase adapted from the medieval question-and-answer Dialogue of Pippin and Alcuin.)

 

226. Life is a waiting for death. This is also a phrase adapted from the medieval question-and-answer Dialogue of Pippin and Alcuin.)

 

227. Philosophy is the art of life. (The saying is found in Cicero. You can find a similar saying in Seneca: sapientia ars vitae, "wisdom is the art of life.")

 

228. Sleep is the brother of death. (Notice that because somnus is a masculine noun, it is designated as the "brother" of death. If the saying were reversed in Latin, it would be "death is the sister of sleep," since mors is a feminine noun.)

 

229. Writing is the guardian of history. (This is also a phrase adapted from the medieval question-and-answer Dialogue of Pippin and Alcuin.)

 

230. The sun is the eye of the world. (You can read a brief essay about this proverb at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)

 

231. The moon is the eye of the night. (You can read a brief essay about this proverb at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)

 

232. Knowledge is the sun of the mind. (You can read a brief essay about this proverb at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)

 

233. Ignorance is the mother of arrogance. (You can read a brief essay about this proverb at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)

 

234. Repetition is the mother of memory. (You can read a brief essay about this proverb at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)

 

235. Wisdom is the pilot of the ship. (The Latin pilot, "gubernator," is where we get the words for governor, government, etc. This phrase made its way into Erasmus's Adagia, 5.1.63).

 

236. Wisdom is the health of mind. (This saying can be found in Cicero.)

 

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