Latin Via Proverbs: Home - Previous - Next
Group 24: Latin
321. Honori comes invidia est.
322. Virtuti sapientia comes.
323. Virtuti inimica voluptas.
324. Virtuti damnosa quies.
325. Diuturna quies vitiis alimentum.
326. Vicina saepe vitia virtutibus.
327. Nemini nimium bene est.
328. Medico male est, si nemini male est.
329. Sapienti dictum sat est.
330. Asino gramen est et baculus.
331. Asinus asino et sus sui pulcher.
332. Nemo non formosus filius matri.
333. Homo homini lupus.
334. Vae miseris ovibus, iudex lupus est.
335. Vivis piscibus aqua, mortuis vinum.
336. Longo in itinere etiam palea oneri est.
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Study Guide
321. Envy is a companion to honor. (You can find a collection of Latin sayings about "envy" at the Bestiaria Latina blog.)
322. Wisdom is a companion to virtue. (In other words, virtue and wisdom go hand in hand. You can see an emblem illustrating this motto in Otto Vaenius's Q. Horatii Flacci Emblemata, published in 1612.)
323. Pleasure is an enemy to virtue. (The Latin adjective inimicus is literally "un-friendly," -in-amicus. You can find this saying in Cicero.)
324. Repose is hazardous to virtue. (This is something like the English saying "idle hands are the devil's workshop.")
325. Endless relaxation is nourishment for vices. (You can see an emblem illustrating this motto in Otto Vaenius's Q. Horatii Flacci Emblemata, published in 1612.)
326. Vices often border on virtues. (This is a proverb that I think is especially true: there is a fine line between virtuous and vicious behavior. Compare a similar saying from Latin Via Proverbs Group 15: Summum ius summa iniuria, "Extreme justice is extreme injustice.")
327. Too much is not good for anybody. (Literally, "for nobody is too much good." The Latin nemo, "nobody," is a contraction of ne-homo, "no-man." A fuller form of this phrase is Cur nimium adpetimus? Nemini nimium bene est, "Why do we seek too much? Too much is good for nobody." The saying is a fragment from the Roman comic playwright Afranius.)
328. It is bad for the doctor, if nobody is sick. (You can read an essay on this saying at AudioLatinProverbs.com.)
329. A word to the wise man is enough. (This is the origin of the English saying, "a word to the wise," although most people have forgotten the "is enough" that used to be part of this saying. The Latin dictum literally means "a thing said," from the Latin verb dicere, "to say." The idea is that the wise man does not have to learn from facts; instead, he can appreciate what he is told and act accordingly.)
330. For the donkey there is grass and the stick. (A fuller form of this saying is Asino gramen et baculus, servo panis et scutica, "For the donkey there is grass and the stick, for the slave bread and the whip." The donkey is often a metaphorical symbol of the slave or servant in Latin proverbs and fables.)
331. To a donkey a donkey is beautiful, and to a pig a pig is beautiful. (You can read a brief essay about this proverb at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)
332. There is no man who is not a beautiful son to his mother. (You can read a brief essay about this saying at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)
333. Man is a wolf to man. (You can read a brief essay about this proverb at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)
334. Alas for the wretched sheep: the judge is a wolf. (You can read a brief essay about this proverb at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)
335. Water for the living fish, and wine for the dead ones. (You can read a brief essay about this saying at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)
336. On a long journey, even straw is a burden. (Notice the use of the dative predicate here: palea oneri est. This use of the dative is difficult to translate into English; the idea is that the straw serves as a burden, plays the role of a burden, etc. Notice also the word order in the prepositional phrase: longo in itinere, which is the same word order as in the famous Latin phrase summa cum laude.)
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