Background Image

...

Fortune Moulds And Circumscribes Human Affairs As She Pleases. [lat., Fortuna Humana Fingit Artatque Ut Lubet.]

-Plautus

...

Please Wait....
Translating....

Fortune Moulds And Circumscribes

Plautus

...

Fortune Moulds And Circumscribes Human Affairs As She Pleases. [lat., Fortuna Humana Fingit Artatque Ut Lubet.]

Views: 10

Topic

More From Plautus

He That Would Eat The Nut Must Crack The Shell.

Know This, That Troubles Come Swifter Than The Things We Desire.

This Is The Great Fault Of Wine; It First Trips Up The Feet: It Is A Cunning Wrestler.

In Everything The Middle Road Is Best.

Besides That, When Elsewhere The Harvest Of Wheat Is Most Abundant, There It Comes Up Less By One-fourth Than What You Have Sowed. There, Methinks, It Were A Proper Place For Men To Sow Their Wild Oats, Where They Would Not Spring Up.

Courage In Danger Is Half The Battle. [lat., Bonus Animus In Mala Re, Dimidium Est Mali.]

Keep What You Have Got; The Known Evil Is Best. [lat., Habeas Ut Nactus; Nota Mala Res Optima Est.]

It Is Well For One To Know More Than He Says.

In Grasping At Uncertainties We Lost That Which Is Certain.

To Love Is Human, It Is Also Human To Forgive.

No Guest Is So Welcome In A Friend's House That He Will Not Become A Nuisance After Three Days.

Modesty Should Accompany Youth.

Because Those, Who Twit Others With Their Faults, Should Look At Home.

Are You Not Accustomed To Look At Home, When You Abuse Others?

Let Deeds Match Words.

The Man Who Masters His Own Soul Will Forever Be Called Conqueror Of Conquerors.

It Is Best To Know The Worst At Once.

One Eye-witness Is Of More Weight Than Ten Hearsays. Those Who Hear, Speak Of Shat They Have Heard; Whose Who See, Know Beyond Mistake. [lat., Pluris Est Oculatus Testis Unus, Quam Auriti Decem. Qui Audiunt, Audita Dicunt; Qui Vident, Plane Sciunt.]

I Know That We Women Are All Justly Accounted Praters; They Say In The Present Day That There Never Was In Any Age Such A Wonder To Be Found As A Dumb Woman. [lat., Nam Multum Loquaces Merito Omnes Habemus, Nec Mutam Profecto Repertam Ullam Esse Hodie Dicunt Mulierem Ullo In Seculo.]

And So It Happens Oft In Many Instances; More Good Is Done Without Our Knowledge Than By Us Intended. [lat., Itidemque Ut Saepe Jam In Multis Locis, Plus Insciens Quis Fecit Quam Prodens Boni.]

There Are Games In Which It Is Better To Lose Than Win.

I Count Him Lost, Who Is Lost To Shame. [lat., Nam Ego Illum Periisse Duco, Cui Quidem Periit Pudor.]

Property Is Unstable, And Youth Perishes In A Moment. Life Itself Is Held In The Grinning Fangs Of Death, Yet Men Delay To Obtain Release From The World. Alas, The Conduct Of Mankind Is Surprising.

Without Feathers It Isn't Easy To Fly: My Wings Have Got No Feathers. [lat., Sine Pennis Volare Hau Facilest: Meae Alae Pennas Non Habent.] [alt., Flying Without Feathers Is Not Easy; My Wings Have No Feathers.]

For I Know That Many Good Things Have Happened To Many, When Least Expected; And That Many Hopes Have Been Disappointed.

If Anything Is Spoken In Jest, It Is Not Fair To Turn It To Earnest.

A Mouse Relies Not Solely On One Hole.

A Mouse Never Entrusts His Life To Only One Hole.

Remind A Man Of What He Remembers, And You Will Make Him Forget It.

You Must Spend Money, If You Wish To Make Money.

There Can Be No Profit, If The Outlay Exceeds It. [non Enim Potest Quaestus Consistere, Si Eum Sumptus Superat.]

The Fool Too Late, His Substance Eaten Up, Reckons The Cost.

If I Can Only Keep My Good Name, I Shall Have Riches Enough.

Your Wealth Is Where Your Friends Are

This Is The Great Evil In Wine, It First Seizes The Feet; It Is A Cunning Wrestler. [lat., Magnum Hoc Vitium Vino Est, Pedes Captat Primum; Luctator Dolosu Est.]

Nothing Is More Annoying Than A Tardy Friend. [lat., Tardo Amico Nihil Est Quidquam Iniquius.]

Riches, Rightly Used, Breed Delight.

The Day, Water, Sun, Moon, Night - I Do Not Have To Purchase These Things With Money.

It Is Our Human Lot, It Is Heaven's Will, That Sorrow Follow Joy.

Things We Do Not Expect, Happen More Frequently Than We Wish.

We Should Try To Succeed By Merit, Not By Favor. He Who Does Well Will Always Have Patrons Enough. [lat., Virtute Ambire Oportet, Non Favitoribus. Sat Habet Favitorum Semper, Qui Recte Facit.]

It Is Easy To Rule Over The Good.

It Is Difficult To Whistle And Drink At The Same Time.

Courage Easily Finds Its Own Eloquence.

I Much Prefer A Compliment, Even If Insincere, To Sincere Criticism.

Smooth Words In Place Of Gifts. [lat., Dicta Docta Pro Datis.]

Man Proposes, God Disposes.

Know Not What You Know, And See Not What You See. [lat., Etiam Illud Quod Scies Nesciveris; Ne Videris Quod Videris.]

A Word To The Wise Is Sufficient

A Woman Smells Well When She Smells Of Nothing.

The Sea Is Certainly Common To All.

Vulgarity Of Manners Defiles Fine Garments More Than Mud.

Bad Conduct Soils The Finest Ornament More Than Filth.

Ah Yes, The Gods Use Us Mortals As Footballs!

If You Speak Insults You Will Hear Them Also.

Courage In Danger Is Half The Battle.

That Which You Know, Know Not; And That Which You See, See Not.

The Bell Never Rings Of Itself; Unless Some One Handles Or Moves It It Is Dumb.

You Will Not Be A Chip The Richer.

I've Seen Many Men Avoid The Region Of Good Advice Before They Were Really Near It.

Let Not Your Expenditure Exceed Your Income.

The Prudent Man Really Frames His Own Fortunes For Himself.

Man Is A Wolf To Man. [lat., Homo Homini Lupus.]

It Is Customary These Days To Ignore What Should Be Done In Favour Of What Pleases Us.

In Everything The Middle Course Is The Best; Everything In Excess Brings Trouble.

No Man Is Wise Enough By Himself.

I Esteem Death A Trifle, If Not Caused By Guilt.

One Eye Witness Is Better Than Ten Hear Sayers.

I Regard That Man As Lost, Who Has Lost His Sense Of Shame.

How Great In Number Are The Little Minded Men

The Gods Confound The Man Who First Found Out How To Distinguish Hours! Confound Him, Too, Who In This Place Set Up A Sun-dial, To Cut And Hack My Days So Wretchedly Into Small Portions.

Fortune Moulds And Circumscribes Human Affairs As She Pleases. [lat., Fortuna Humana Fingit Artatque Ut Lubet.]

It Is Sheer Folly To Take Unwilling Hounds To The Chase.

It Well Becomes A Young Man To Be Modest.

Unexpected Results Are The Rule Rather Than The Exception.

I Count Him Lost, Who Is Lost To Shame.

To Snatch The Worm From The Trap.

He Gains Wisdom In A Happy Way, Who Gains It By Another's Experience. [lat., Feliciter Sapit Qui Alieno Periculo Sapit.]

Consider The Little Mouse, How Sagacious An Animal It Is Which Never Entrusts Its Life To One Hole Only.

Little Do You Know What A Gloriously Uncertain Thing Law Is.

You Drown Him By Your Talk.

Even The Whole Of Life Is Not Sufficient For Thorough Learning.

To Waste One's Breath; To Pump Into A Sieve.

Feast To-day Makes Fast To-morrow. Lat.

It Is A Tiresome Way Of Speaking, When You Should Despatch The Business, To Beat About The Bush.

You Have Eaten A Meal Dangerously Seasoned. [you Have Laid Up A Grief In Store For Yourself.]

Flying Without Feathers Is Not Easy: My Wings Have No Feathers.

Woman Is Certainly The Daughter Of Delay Personified!

We Can More Easily Endure That Which Shames Than That Which Vexes Us.

Feast Today Makes Fast Tomorrow

Flame Is Very Near To Smoke.

He Who Has In Due Season Become Rich, Unless He Saves In Due Season, Will In Due Season Starve.

He Is Hailed A Conqueror Of Conquerors. [lat., Victor Victorum Cluet.]

Nothing But Heaven Itself Is Better Than A Friend Who Is Really A Friend.

The Woman Who Has The Best Perfume Is She Who Has None.

You Love A Nothing When You Love An Ingrate.

He Who Would Eat The Kernel, Must Crack The Shell. [lat., Qui E Nuce Nucleum Esse Vult, Frangat Nucem.]

I Have Lost My Oil And My Labor. (labored In Vain.) [lat., Oleum Et Operam Perdidi.]

No One Can Be So Welcome A Guest That He Will Not Become An Annoyance When He Has Stayed Three Continuous Days In A Friend's House. [lat., Hospes Nullus Tam In Amici Hospitium Diverti Potest, Quin Ubi Triduum Continuum Fuerit Jam Odiosus Siet.

Where There Are Friends There Is Wealth.

It Is Only When We Have Lost Them That We Fully Appreciate Our Blessings.

Feast To-day Makes Fast To-morrow. [lat., Festo Die Si Quid Prodegeris, Profesto Egere Liceat Nisi Peperceris.]

That Least Pleases Us Which Is Most Urged On Us.

The Mind Is Hopeful; Success Is In God's Hands. [lat., Sperat Quidem Animus: Quo Eveniat, Diis In Manu Est.]

I Am Myself My Own Commander. [lat., Egomet Sum Mihi Imperator.]

A Man With Courage Has Every Blessing.

Do You Never Look At Yourself When You Abuse Another Person?

He Who Accuses Another Of Wrong Should Look Well Into His Own Conduct.

Tattletales, And Those Who Listen To Their Slander, By My Good Will, Should All Be Hanged. The Former By Their Tongues, The Latter By Their Ears. [lat., Homines Qui Gestant, Quique Auscultant Crimina, Si Meo Arbitratu Liceat, Omnes Pendeant Gestores Linguis, Auditores Auribus.]

It Does Not Matter A Feather Whether A Man Be Supported By Patron Or Client, If He Himself Wants Courage. [lat., Animus Tamen Omnia Vincit. Ille Etiam Vires Corpus Habere Facit.]

He Whom The Gods Love Dies Young, While He Is In Health, Has His Senses And His Judgments Sound.

Always Bring Money Along With Your Complaints.

In Misfortune If You Cultivate A Cheerful Disposition You Will Reap The Advantage Of It.

It Is Wretched Business To Be Digging A Well Just As Thirst Is Mastering You.

If You Want To Do Something, Do It!

He Who Tries To Protect Himself From Deception Is Often Cheated, Even When Most On His Guard.

I Trust No Rich Man Who Is Officiously Kind To A Poor Man.

Women Have Many Faults, But The Worst Of Them All Is That They Are Too Pleased With Themselves And Take Too Little Pains To Please The Men.

Confidence Begets Confidence. Courage, An Independent Spark From Heaven's Bright Throne, By Which The Soul Stands Raised, Triumphant, High, Alone. Courage In Danger Is Half The Battle.

He Whom The Gods Love Dies Young.

He Who Rushes Headlong Into Love Will Fare Worse Than If He Had Cast Himself From A Precipice.

A Mouse Does Not Rely On Just One Hole.

For Enemies Carry About Slander Not In The Form In Which It Took Its Rise . The Scandal Of Men Is Everlasting; Even Then Does It Survive When You Would Suppose It To Be Dead.

Virtue Is The Highest Reward. Virtue Truly Goes Before All Things. Liberty, Safety, Life, Property, Parents, Country, And Children Are Protected And Preserved. Virtue Has All Things In Herself; He Who Has Virtue Has All Things That Are Good Attending Him. [lat., Virtus Praemium Est Optimum. Virtus Omnibus Rebus Anteit Profecto. Libertas, Salus, Vita, Res, Parentes, Patria Et Prognati Tutantur, Servantur; Virtus Omnia In Se Habet; Omnia Assunt Bona, Quem Penes Est Vertus.]

The Bell Never Rings Of Itself; Unless Some One Handles Or Moves It It Is Dumb. [lat., Nunquam Aedepol Temere Tinniit Tintinnabulum; Nisi Quis Illud Tractat Aut Movet, Mutum Est, Tacet.]

All Good Men And Women Should Be On Their Guard To Avoid Guilt, And Even The Suspicion Of It.

If You Have Overcome Your Inclination And Not Been Overcome By It, You Have Reason To Rejoice.

If You Are Content, You Have Enough To Live Comfortably.

The Man Who Would Be Fully Employed Should Procure A Ship Or A Woman, For No Two Things Produce More Trouble.

He Is Happy In His Wisdom Who Has Learned At Another's Expense.

Every One Can Remember That Which Has Interested Himself.

Courage Is Its Own Reward.

A Contented Mind Is The Best Source For Trouble.

What Is Thine Is Mine, And All Mine Is Thine. [lat., Quod Tuum'st Meum'st; Omne Meum Est Autem Tuum.]

It Is Easier To Begin Well Than To Finish Well.

There's No Such Thing, You Know, As Picking Out The Best Woman: It's Only A Question Of Comparative Badness, Brother.

Badly Gotten, Badly Spent. [lat., Male Partum, Male Disperit.]

In Everything The Middle Course Is Best: All Things In Excess Bring Trouble To Men. [lat., Modus Omnibus In Rebus, Soror, Optimum Est Habitu; Nimia Omnia Nimium Exhibent Negotium Hominibus Ex Se.]

Ones Oldest Friend Is The Best.

He Who Is Most On His Guard Is Often Himself Taken In.

Your Piping-hot Lie Is The Best Of Lies.

Laws Are Subordinate To Custom.

He Who Seeks For Gain, Must Be At Some Expense.

Good Merchandise, Even Hidden, Soon Finds Buyers.

You Will Stir Up The Hornets. [lat., Irritabis Crabones.]

A Well-balanced Mind Is The Best Remedy Against Affliction.

And One Eye-witness Weighs More Than Ten Hear-fays. Seeing Is Believing, All The World O'er.

Your Tittle-tattlers, And Those Who Listen To Slander, By My Good Will Should All Be Hanged - The Former By Their Tongues, The Latter By The Ears.

How Often The Highest Talent Lurks In Obscurity.

It Wasn't For Nothing That The Raven Was Just Now Croaking On My Left Hand.

He Can Do Most Who Has Most Power.

Things We Not Hope For Often Come To Pass Than Things We Wish.

If You Squander On A Holyday, You Will Want On A Workday Unless You Have Been Sparing.

To Ask That Which Is Unjust At The Hands Of The Just, Is An Injustice In Itself; To Expect That Which Is Just From The Unjust, Is Simple Folly.

Poverty Is A Thorough Instructress In All The Arts. [lat., Paupertas . . . Omnes Artes Perdocet.]

'he Means Well' Is Useless Unless He Does Well.

What You Lend Is Lost; When You Ask For It Back, You May Find A Friend Made An Enemy By Your Kindness. If You Begin To Press Him Further, You Have The Choice Of Two Things - Either To Lose Your Loan Or Lose Your Friend.

Food Of Acheron. (grave.) [lat., Pabulum Acheruntis.]

Wine Is A Cunning Wrestler.

We Only Appreciate The Comforts Of Life In Their Loss.

The Evil That We Know Is Best.

Arrogance Is The Outgrowth Of Prosperity.

Practice Yourself What You Preach.

Practice What You Preach

I Seek The Utmost Pleasure And The Least Pain.

He Who Falls In Love Meets A Worse Fate Than He Who Leaps From A Rock.

Falling In Love

Man's Fortune Is Usually Changed At Once; Life Is Changeable. [lat., Actutum Fortunae Solent Mutarier; Varia Vita Est.]

I Am Undone! I Have Smashed The Waggon. [i Have Ruined All.]

If You Spend A Thing You Can Not Have It. [lat., Non Tibi Illud Apparere Si Sumas Potest.]

If You Are Wise, Be Wise; Keep What Goods The Gods Provide You.

Courage Is To Take Hard Knocks Like A Man When Occasion Calls.

Drink, Live Like The Greeks, Eat, Gorge.

That's A Miserable And Cursed Word, To Say I Had, When What I Have Is Nothing.

The Gods Give That Man Some Profit To Whom They Are Propitious. [lat., Cui Homini Dii Propitii Sunt Aliquid Objiciunt Lucri.]

Find Me A Reasonable Lover Against His Weight In Gold.

Enemies Carry A Report In Form Different From The Original.

Conquered, We Conquer.

Man Is No Man, But A Wolf

Patience Is The Best Remedy For Every Trouble.

Out Of Many Evils The Evil Which Is Least Is The Least Of Evils. [lat., E Malis Multis, Malum, Quod Minimum Est, Id Minimum Est Malum.]

It Is Not Fair To Treat As Serious That Which Is Only Said In Joke.

A Good Disposition I Far Prefer To Gold; For Gold Is The Gift Of Fortune; Goodness Of Disposition Is The Gift Of Nature. I Prefer Much Rather To Be Called Good Than Fortunate.

No Man Has Perpetual Good Fortune. [lat., Nulli Est Homini Perpetuum Bonum.]

What Is Yours Is Mine, And All Mine Is Yours.

Not By Age But By Capacity Is Wisdom Acquired.

To Make Any Gain Some Outlay Is Necessary.

I Suspect That Hunger Was My Mother.

He Is A Friend Who, In Dubious Circumstances, Aids In Deeds When Deeds Are Necessary.

You Little Know What A Ticklish Thing It Is To Go To Law. [lat., Nescis Tu Quam Meticulosa Res Sit Ire Ad Judicem.]

To An Honest Man, It Is An Honor To Have Remembered His Duty.

Worthy Things Happen To The Worthy.

Every Man, However Wise, Needs The Advice Of Some Sagacious Friend In The Affairs Of Life.

We Are Pouring Our Words Into A Sieve, And Lose Our Labor. [lat., In Pertusum Ingerimus Dicta Dolium, Operam Ludimus.]

Fire Is Next Akin To Smoke.

Whatever Disgrace We May Have Deserved, It Is Almost Always In Our Power To Re-establish Our Character.

Where There Are Sheep, The Wolves Are Never Very Far Away.

To Blow And To Swallow At The Same Time Is Not Easy; I Cannot At The Same Time Be Here And Also There. [lat., Simul Flare Sorbereque Haud Facile Est: Ego Hic Esse Et Illic Simul, Haud Potui.]

The Stronger Always Succeeds.

That Wife Is An Enemy To Her Husband Who Is Given In Marriage Against Her Will.

How Bitter It Is To Reap A Harvest Of Evil For Good That You Have Done! [lat., Ut Acerbum Est, Pro Benefactis Quom Mali Messem Metas!]

Good Things Soon Find A Purchaser.

Trending Author

Victor Davis Hanson

Category