Latin Sayings in English
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Carpe diem!
"Seize the day!"
An exclamation urging someone to make the most of the present time and not worry about the future.
Cogito ergo sum.
"I think, therefore I am."
French philosopher Descartes' famous formula of 1641 attempting to prove his own existence.
Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.
"It is a sweet and glorious thing to die for one's country."
From Horace, Odes III, 2, 13. Used by Wilfred Owen for the title of his anti-war poem Dulce et Decorum Est.
Festina lente.
"Hurry slowly."
An oxymoron - similar to "more haste, less speed".
in vino veritas
"in wine, truth"
(meaning that a drunk man reveals the truth about himself)
Nil desperandum.
"Do not despair."
per ardua ad astra
"through struggle to the stars"
(motto of the Royal Air Force and others)
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
"Who shall guard the guards?"
quod erat demonstrandum (QED)
"which was to be demonstrated"
The abbreviation is often written after a mathematical proof.
Tempus fugit.
"Time flies."
Veni, vidi, vici.
"I came, I saw, I conquered."
The report sent by Julius Caesar to the Roman Senate after his battle in 47 BC against King Pharnaces II.