Seneca on success
Seneca is circumspect on success.Non est tuum, fortuna quod fecit tuum.It is not yours, what Fortune has made yours.Non est: it is notTuum: yoursFortuna: the goddess of luckQuod: whatFecit: madeTuum: ...
28 Apr 20251min
Gellius sets the stage
Gellius sets the stage for a morality tale."In Circo Maximo," inquit, "venationis amplissimae, pugna populo dabatur."“In the Circus Maximus,” he said, “a most magnificent hunt and fight was being give...
27 Apr 20253min
Aeneas makes landfall
Aeneas makes landfall in Italy having lost his father.Hic labor extremus, longarum haec meta viarum.This, our final struggle, the last of our long wanderings.Hic: thisLabor: labour, effort, struggle, ...
24 Apr 20252min
Martial on the essence of wealth
Martial’s irony captures the essence of wealth.Quas dederis solas semper habebis opes.The only riches you will always have, you will have given away.Quas: relative pronoun referring to opesDederis: yo...
23 Apr 20252min
Statius puts in a pin in self-help
Statius is no self-help guru.Invida Fata piis et Fors ingentibus ausis rara comes.Fate spites the righteous and Fortune rarely attends to the daring.Invida: jealous, spitefulFata: fates, destiniesPiis...
22 Apr 20252min
Seneca's secret of contentment
Seneca’s secret to be content.Nisi sapienti sua non placentUnless to the wise person, his own things are not pleasingOr more idiomatically: The wise alone are content with what is theirsNisi: unlessSa...
21 Apr 20252min
Virgil on the universality of sorrow
Virgil, on the sorrow lived and seen as one wanders the world.Sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt.There are tears for such things, and mortal things that touch the heart. Sunt: there areLac...
20 Apr 20252min
Martial is not in a hurry to die famous
Why rush fame, if the price is death? Martial is in no hurry.Si post fata venit gloria, non propero.If after the fates glory comes, I am not rushing.Si: ifPost fata: after the fates (i.e. after death)...
16 Apr 20251min
