150 Foreign Expressions to Inspire You

150 Foreign Expressions to Inspire You 150 Foreign Expressions to Inspire You 150 Foreign Expressions to Inspire You By Mark Nichol Here’s a writing challenge for you: I’ve listed foreign expressions, mostly in Latin, that offer wisdom or otherwise encapsulate a thought-provoking idea. Select one (or more) that resonates with you and employ it as a writing prompt. Note the evocative strength of â€Å"Alis volat propiis,† or the motivating force of â€Å"Audentes fortuna juvat.† Can you taste the bitter regret of â€Å"Dis aliter visum†? What kind of cynical crime noir can you concoct around â€Å"Cherchez la femme†? You’re welcome to suggest others. (Note, however that these are all complete sentences. I have phrases set aside for another day.) 1. Abeunt studia in mores: Practices zealously pursued pass into habits. 2. Absit invidia: Let there be no envy or ill will. 3. Abusus non tollit usum: Abuse does not take away use. (Abuse is not an argument against proper use.) 4. Age quod agis: Do what you are doing. (To the business at hand.) 5. Aide-toi, le ciel t’aidera: Help yourself, and heaven will help you. 6. Alea jacta est: The die is cast. 7. Alis volat propriis: She flies with her own wings. 8. Amor vincit omnia: Love conquers all things. 9. Ars est celare artem: It is (true) art to conceal art. 10. Ars longa, vita brevis: Art is long, life is short. 11. Au pays des aveugles les borgnes sont rois: In the country of the blind, the one-eyed men are kings. 12. Audentes fortuna juvat/Fortes fortuna bravat: Fortune favors the bold/Fortune favors the brave. 13. Bis dat qui cito dat: He gives twice who gives promptly. 14. C’est autre chose: That’s a different thing. 15. C’est la guerre: That’s war. (It cannot be helped.) 16. C’est la vie: That’s life. (That’s how things happen.) 17. C’est plus qu’un crime, c’est une faute: It is worse than a crime, it is a blunder. 18. Ca va sans dire: It goes without saying. 19. Caveat lector: Let the reader beware. 20. Ce n’est que le premier pas qui coute: It is only the first step that costs. 21. Cedant arma togae: Let arms yield to the toga. (Let military power give way to civil power.) 22. Cetera desunt: The rest is missing. 23. Chacun a son gout: Everyone to his taste. 24. Che sara, sara: What will be will be. 25. Cherchez la femme: Look for the woman. 26. Corruptio optimi pessima: The corruption of the best is the worst of all. 27. Credo quia absurdum est: I believe it because it is absurd. 28. Credo ut intelligam: I believe so that I may understand. 29. Damnant quod non intelligunt: They condemn what they do not understand. 30. De gustibus non est disputandum: There is no disputing about tastes. 31. De minimis non curat lex: The law takes no account of trifles. 32. De mortuis nil nisi bonum: Of the dead (say) nothing but good. 33. Dis aliter visum: The gods decreed otherwise. 34. Docendo discimus: We learn by teaching. 35. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori: It is sweet and seemly to die for one’s country. 36. Dum spiro, spero: While I breathe, I hope. 37. Dum vivimus vivamus: While we live, let us live. 38. Dux femina facti: A woman was leader of the exploit. 39. Ecce signum: Behold the sign. (Look at the proof.) 40. Ecrasez l’infame: Crush the infamous thing. 41. Eheu fugaces labuntur anni: Alas! The fleeting years glide on. 42. Est modus in rebus: There is a proper measure in things. 43. Ex nihilo nihil fit: From nothing, nothing is produced. 44. Ex pede Herculem/Ex ungue leonem: From the foot (we may judge the size of) Hercules, from the claw (we may judge) the lion. 45. Exceptio probat regulam de rebus non exceptis: An exception establishes the rule as to things not excepted. 46. Exitus acta probat: The outcome justifies the deed. 47. Facilis descensus Averno: The descent to Avernus is esay. (The road to evil is easy.) 48. Fas est et ab hoste doceri: It is right even to learn from an enemy. 49. Fata viam invenient: The Fates will find a way. 50. Festina lente: Make haste slowly. 51. Fiat experimentum in corpore vili: Let experiment be made on a worthless body. 52. Fiat justitia, ruat caelum: Let justice be done, though the heavens fall. 53. Fiat lux: Let there be light. 54. Finem respice: Consider the end. 55. Finis coronat opus: The end crowns the work. 56. Fluctuat nec mergitur: It is tossed by the waves but does not sink. 57. Forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit: Perhaps this too will be a pleasure to look back on one day. 58. Fronti nulla fides: No reliance can be placed on appearance. 59. Gardez la foi: Keep faith. 60. Gaudeamus igitur: Let’s make merry. 61. Gnothi seauton: Know thyself. 62. Hoc age: Do this. (Apply yourself to what you are about.) 63. Hoc opus, hic labor est: This is the hard work, this is the toil. 64. Honi soit qui mal y pense: Shamed be he who thinks evil of it. 65. Humanum est errare: To err is human. 66. Ignorantia juris neminem excusat: Ignorance off the law excuses no one. 67. Il faut cultiver notre jardin: We must cultivate our garden. (We must tend to our own affairs.) 68. Ils ne passeront pas: They shall not pass. 69. In hoc signo vinces: By this sign you shall conquer. 70. Invenit/Pinxit: He (or she) devised/painted it. 71. Ira furor brevis est: Anger is a brief madness. 72. J’y suis, j’y reste: Here I am, here I remain. 73. Jacta alea est: The die is cast. 74. La reine/le roi le vuit: The queen (or the king) wills it. 75. La reine/le roi s’avisera: The queen (or king) will consider. 76. Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch’entrate: Abandon hope, all ye who enter. 77. Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connait point: The heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing of. 78. Magna est veritas et praevalebit: Truth is mighty and will prevail. 79. Medio tutissimus ibis: You will go most safely by the middle course. 80. Morituri te salutamus: We who about to die salute you. 81. Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur: With the name changed, the story applies to you. 82. Natura non facit saltum: Nature makes no leap. 83. Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret: You may drive Nature out with a pitchfork, but she will keep coming back. 84. Ne cede malis: Yield not to misfortune. 85. Nemo me impune lacessit: No one attacks me with impunity. 86. Nil desperandum: Never despair. 87. Non omnia possumus omnes: We can’t all do all things. 88. Non omnis moriar: I shall not wholly die. 89. Non sum qualis eram: I am not what I used to be. 90. Nosce te ipsum: Know thyself. 91. Nous avons change tout cela: We have changed all that. 92. Nous verrons ce que nous verrons: We shall see what we shall see. 93. Oderint dum metuant: Let them hate, so long as they fear. 94. Odi et amo: I hate and I love. 95. Omne ignotum pro magnifico: The unknown tends to be exaggerated in importance or difficulty. 96. Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis: All things are changing, and we are changing with them. 97. Omnia vincit amor: Love conquers all. 98. Ora pro nobis: Pray for us. 99. Ou sont les neiges d’antan?: Where are the snows of yesteryear? 100. Panta rhei: All things are in flux. 101. Parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus: The mountains are in labor, and a ridiculous mouse will be brought forth. 102. Pereant qui ante nos nostra dixerunt: May they perish who have expressed our bright ideas before us. 103. Pereunt et imputantur: The hours pass away and are reckoned on our account. 104. Place aux dames: Make room for the ladies. 105. Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose (sometimes abbreviated to just â€Å"Plus ca change . . .): The more things change, the more they stay the same. 106. Poeta nascitur, on fit: A poet is born, not made. 107. Primum non nocere: The first thing is to do no harm. 108. Qui facit per alium facit per se: He who does through another does through himself. 109. Qui s’excuse s’accuse: He who excuses himself accuses himself. 110. Qui va la?: Who goes there? 111. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes: Who will keep the keepers? 112. Quo vadis?: Where are you going? 113. Quos deus vult perdere prius dementat: Those whom a god wishes to destroy he first drives mad. 114. Quot homines, tot sententiae: There are as many opinions as there are men. 115. Rem acu tetigisti: You have touched the point with a needle. 116. Requiescat in pace: Rest in peace. 117. Respice finem: Consider the outcome. 118. Resurgam: I shall rise again. 119. Revenons a nos moutons: Let us return to our sheep. (Let us return to our subject.) 120. Salus populi suprema lex esto: Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law. 121. Se non e vero, e ben trovato: Even if it is not true, it is well conceived. 122. Si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait!: If youth only knew, if age only could! 123. Si monumentum requiris, circumspice: If you seek his monument, look around. 124. Si vis pacem, para bellum: If you wish peace, prepare for war. 125. Sic itur ad astra: Thus one goes to the stars (Such is the way to immortality.) 126. Sic semper tyrannis: Thus ever to tyrants. 127. Sic transit gloria mundi: So passes away the glory of the world. 128. Silent leges inter arma: The laws are silent in the midst of arms. 129. Similia similibus curantur: Like is cured by like. 130. Similis simili gaudet: Like takes pleasure in like. 131. Siste viator: Stop, traveler. 132. Solvitur ambulando: It is solved by walking. (The problem is solved by a practical experiment.) 133. Sunt lacrimae rerum: There are tears for things. 134. Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis: The times are changing, and we are changing with them. 135. Tempus fugit: Time flies. 136. Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes: I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts. 137. Tout comprende c’est tout pardonner: To understand all is to forgive all. 138. Tout est perdu fors l’honneur: All is lost save honor. 139. Truditur dies die: The day is pushed forth by day. (One day hurries on another.) 140. Tuebor: I will defend. 141. Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono: The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. 142. Vada retro me, Satana: Get behind me, Satan. 143. Vae victis: Woe to the vanquished. 144. Varium et mutabile semper femina: Woman is ever a fickle and changeable thing. 145. Verbum sat sapienti est: A word to the wise is sufficient. 146. Vincit omnia veritas: Truth conquers all things. 147. Vive la difference: Long live the difference (between the sexes). 148. Vogue la galere: Let the galley be kept rowing. (Keep on, whatever may happen.) 149. Voila tout: That’s all. 150. Vox populi vox Dei: The voice of the people is the voice of God. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? 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