#1: Amor Vincit Omnia
Over the centuries, certain
Latin phrases have been used widely enough in English to get included in the dictionary.
This list contains some of our favorites.
What It Means: "love
conquers all things"
Where It Comes From:
Shortly before the start of the first millennium, the
Roman poet Virgil wrote "love conquers all things; let us too surrender
to Love."
The phrase and the concept (in Latin and in English)
caught on: a character in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, written in the
late 1300s, wore a brooch engraved "Amor Vincit Omnia";
Caravaggio used the phrase as the title of his
painting of Cupid in the early seventeenth century;
the twentieth
century poet Edgar Bowers reinterpreted the phrase all over again in the poem
with that title.
#2: In Vino Veritas
What It Means: "there is truth in
wine"
Where It Comes From:
It has long been obvious that alcohol can cause people
to say things they otherwise wouldn't.
In the first century AD, Pliny the Elder referred to
the "common proverb that in wine, there is truth [in vino veritas]."
#3: Carpe Diem
What It Means:
"enjoy the pleasures of the moment without
concern for the future" (literally, "pluck the day")
Where It Comes From:
During the 1st century BC, the Roman poet Horace
wrote, "Seize the day; put no trust in the morrow."
The notion of living for the moment crops up over
centuries of poetry, including in the writings of Shakespeare, Milton and
Byron.
Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress,"
written in the 1600s, has been called the "carpe diem" poem. In it,
the narrator urges his love to submit to his embraces before "worms shall
try / That long-preserved virginity."
#4: Utile Dulci
What It Means: "the useful with the
agreeable"
Where It Comes From:
In Ars Poetica, Horace offered
this advice:
"He who joins the useful with the agreeable, wins
every vote, by delighting and at the same time instructing the reader."
In other words, the successful poet – or more broadly,
communicator – combines the edifying with the enjoyable, turns business into
pleasure.
#5: Semper Fidelis
What It Means: "always faithful"
Where It Comes From:
These two words have long served as motto for
families, schools, and organizations – most
famously, since
1883, for the United States Marine Corps.
Semper Fidelis is also the title
of the USMC march, composed by John Phillips Sousa.
#6: Caveat Emptor
What It Means: "let the buyer
beware"
Where It Comes From:
In early Roman law, sales of goods were governed bycaveat emptor: buyers were
advised to scrutinize the goods before purchase, because sellers had few
obligations.
Over time, the imperative of caveat
emptor has been softened by warranties,
both express and implied.
#7: Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc
What It Means: "after this, therefore on account of
it"
Where It Comes From:
Post hoc, ergo propter hocrefers to the
logical mistake of claiming that one thing
caused another just because it happened first.
For example, the rooster crows and the sun rises – but
to argue that the rooster's
crowing causes the sun to rise would be post hoc,
ergo propter hoc reasoning.
A more familiar example might be when politicians take
credit for improvements
that occurred
after they took office – as if their policies necessarily caused those
improvements.
(It was Aristotle who laid the groundwork for
classifying bad arguments based on
logical errors like this one.)
#8: Per Angusta Ad Augusta
What It Means: "through difficulties to honors"
Where It Comes From:
These four words have inspired students and soldiers
for centuries. Alternative translations include "through trial to
triumph" and "through difficulties to great things."
The first known use of the term is lost in time.
#9: Si Monumentum Requiris,
Circumspice
What It Means: "if you seek his monument, look
around"
Where It Comes From:
It took 35 years to complete London's magnificent St.
Paul's Cathedral. When its architect, Sir Christopher Wren, died twelve years
later in 1723, he was entombed inside, under a simple slab of black marble.
Wren's son placed a dedication nearby, which contains
the words "Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice"
("Reader, if you seek a monument, look around you").
The phrase is generally used to describe a person's
legacy – and can be taken to mean that what we leave behind (including
intangible things like relationships) best represents our life.
#10: Aere Perennius
What It Means: "more lasting than
bronze"
Where It Comes From:
In the final poem in his third book of Odes, Horace boasts
that his poetry will outlive
any manmade monument: "Exegi monumentum aere
perennius." ("I have made a monument
more lasting than bronze.")
Given that his words continue to be used two thousand
years later, perhaps he's right.
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