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Latin Via Proverbs: Home - Previous - Next

 

Group 132: Latin

 

1718. Aquila petit solem.

1719. Aquilam cornix lacessit.

1720. Aquilam testudo vincit.

1721. Bubo canit lusciniae.

1722. Fictio cedit veritati.

1723. Laus alit artes.

1724. Mos regit legem.

1725. Occasio facit furem.

1726. Opes parit industria.

1727. Sola apis mel conficit.

 

Proverbs 1711-1720

Proverbs 1721-1730

 

Study Guide

 

1718. The eagle seeks the sun. (The eagle is proverbial for its keen eyesight, supposedly being able to gaze directly into the sun. The association of the eagle and the sun is featured prominently in the Physiologus tradition and in medieval bestiaries.)

 

1719. The crow provokes the eagle. (You will find this saying in Erasmus's Adagia, 3.3.18.)

 

1720. The turtle defeats the eagle. (You will also find this saying in Erasmus's Adagia, 1.7.68.)

 

1721. An owl is singing to a nightingale. (This is another saying from Erasmus's Adagia, 4.4.12.)

 

1722. Fiction gives way to truth. (This is a Roman legal maxim. A fuller form is: Fictio cedit veritati, fictio juris non est ubi veritas, "fiction gives way to truth; where there is truth, there is no fiction of law.")

 

1723. Praise nourishes the arts. (Compare also this form: Honos alit artes, "Honor nourishes the arts.")

 

1724. Custom governs law. (In other words, custom is considered by some to be above the law.) Mos regit legem.

 

1725. Opportunity makes the thief. (You can find this illustrated in Otto Vaenius's Amorum emblemata.)

 

1726. Hard work begets wealth. (This is a popular family motto.)

 

1727. The bee alone makes honey. (Compare Phaedrus's fable about the bees going to court about their honey.)