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Group 115: Latin

1484. Spes vitam fovet.

1485. Dies diem docet.

1486. Lusus habet finem.

1487. Res plus valent quam verba.

1488. Lucernam adhibes in meridie.

1489. Rara menda facies caret.

1490. Faenum habet in cornu.

1491. Serpentem in sinu foves.

1492. Colubram sinu fovet, contra se ipse misericors.

1493. In sinu viperam habet.

1494. Manum habet sub pallio.

1495. Ubi dolet, ibi manus adhibemus.

1496. Leporem frondium strepitus terret.

1497. Excelsis multo facilius casus nocet.

1498. Difficiles aditus virtus habet.

1499. Noctes atque dies patet atri ianua Ditis.

1500. Celerem habet ingressum amor, regressum tardum.

1501. Odia multorum sub vultu, multorum sub osculo latent.

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Study Guide

1484. Hope nourishes life. (You can find a version of this in Tibullus: credula vitam spes fouet et fore cras semper ait melius, "Trusting hope nourishes life and always says that things will be better tomorrow.")

1485. One day teaches another. (The idea is that you keep on learning, one day after the other, so if you do not know something on one occasion, you learn what you need for next time. Another form of the idea is Dies posterior prioris est discipulus, "The next day is the student of the day before.")

1486. Playtime has an end. (You can find this saying in Ovid.)

1487. Things are worth more than words. (You can find this saying in Sallust's account of Pompey's speech to the Roman Senate.)

1488. You're holding up a lantern in mid-day. (You can find this saying in Erasmus's Adagia, 2.5.6.)

1489. It is the rare face that lacks a blemish. () Rara menda facies caret.

1490. He's got hay on his horn. (You can find this saying in Erasmus's Adagia, 1.1.81, and it also appears in Horace. The idea is that a dangerous bull would be so indicated by tying a bit of straw on his horn!)

1491. You're nourishing a serpent in your bosom. (There's a famous Aesop's fable about the foolish farmer who warmed the frozen serpent in his bosom.)

1492. You're nourishing a snake in your bosom, showing mercy to your own disadvantage. (This saying is adapted from Phaedrus's version of the Aesop's fable of the man and the snake. You can find the same idea in Erasmus's Adagia, 4.2.40.)

1493. He's got a viper in his bosom. (You can see this phrase used in one of the speeches of Cicero, which actually refers to a viperam illam venenatam ac pestiferam, "a poisonous and pestilent viper," metaphorically speaking!)

1494. He's got his hand under his cloak. (You can find this in Erasmus's Adagia, 2.10.31. The proverb was used by someone who was lazy, with idle hands.)

1495. We put our hands where it hurts. (You can find this saying in an even simpler form: Ubi dolor, ibi manus.)

1496. The rustling of leaves frightens the rabbit. (The rabbit is the proverbially timid animal in the fables of Aesop.)

1497. Falling does much more harm from on high. (You can find this in the sayings of Publilius Syrus.)

1498. Virtue has difficult approaches. (The full form of the phrase is Difficiles aditus virtus habet. At vitiorum prona via est; illic ultro descendimus omnes, "Difficult are the approaches of virtue, but the way to vice slopes downward and we all descend there unaided.")

1499. The gates of dark Dis lie open night and day. (Dis, or Dis Pater, was one of the Roman names for Pluto, Greek Hades, hence the name Dis can stand for the underworld itself. The description is from Vergil's Aeneid.)

1500. Love makes a swift entrance, and a slow exit. (You can find this illustrated in the love emblems of Otto Vaenius.)

1501. Hatred lurks beneath many countenances, beneath the kiss of many. (You can find this in the sayings of Publilius Syrus.)