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Group 107: Latin

1388. Sol omnibus lucet.

1389. Lux in tenebris lucet.

1390. Nemo omnibus placet.

1391. Hic iacet lepus.

1392. Latet anguis in herba.

1393. Veritas numquam latet.

1394. Forma numen habet.

1395. Simile gaudet simili.

1396. Minervam sus docet.

1397. Clavam extorquet Herculi.

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Study Guide

1388. The sun shines on everyone. (You can find this saying in Petronius.)

1389. A light shines in the shadows. (You can find this phrase in the Gospel of John.)

1390. No one can please everybody. (Compare these variations on the same idea: Difficile omnibus placere, "it is difficult to please everybody," or Nemo invenitur qui satisfaciat omnibus, "No one can be found who satisfies everybody." I especially like these variants: Ne Iuppiter quidem omnibus placet, "Not even Jupiter can please everybody," and Iuppiter neque pluens neque abstinens omnibus placet, "Iupiter (the sky), rainy or clear, cannot please everybody.")

1391. Here lies the rabbit. (This is the Latin equivalent of "the crux of the matter" or "the heart of the matter." The term comes from hunting, finding the quarry at last!)

1392. A snake hides in the grass. (This saying appears in Vergil's Eclogues. You can find the phrase in Whitney's Choice of Emblemes.)

1393. Truth never hides. (This is the opening line of an empigram of Reusner (best known for his riddle collection, Aenigmatographia): Veritas numquam latet, interitque numquam, "Truth never hides, and never dies.")

1394. Beauty has a divine power. (You can find this saying in Ovid's Amores.)

1395. Like delights in like. (You can find this in Erasmus's Adagia, 1.2.21.)

1396. The pig is teaching Minerva, the goddess of wisdom. (This saying appears in Erasmus's Adagia, 1.1.40.)

1397. He's stealing the club from Hercules. (Another saying found in Erasmus's Adagia, 4.1.95.)