Classical Quotations

tum sterilis exurere Sirius agros

Virgil, Aeneid 3.141

(The Sirius [the Dog Star] scorched the infertile fields)

Seemed appropriate as here in the UK we experience our hottest day of the year so far

φεῦ, μέγας τις ἦλθε δαίμων, ὥστε μὴ φρονεῖν καλῶς.

Aeschylus, Persians 725

(Alas, some great power came upon him, so that he didn't think clearly)

brevi spatio silet

Ovid, Metamorphoses 7.307

(She's silent for a short time)

ὅντε διὰ βροτοὶ ἄνδρες ὁμῶς ἄφατοί τε φατοί τε,
ῥητοί τ᾽ ἄρρητοί τε Διὸς μεγάλοιο ἕκητι.

Hesiod, Works and Days 3-4

(Through great Zeus' will, mortal men are both spoken about and not spoken about alike, both famous and not famous)

solitum quidem Britannis feminarum ductu bellare testabatur

Tacitus, Annals 14.35

(she [Boudica] was testifying that it was indeed customary for Britons to wage war under female leadership)

tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem!

Virgil, Aeneid 1.33

(It was such a great task to establish the Roman race!)

τάξιν ἔχοντες τὴν κρατίστην διά τε τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀρετὴν καὶ διὰ τὴν ὑμετέραν προθυμίαν

Xenophon, Hellenica 1.1.28

(holding the best position because of our excellence and because of your zeal)

The birthplace of the Emperor Titus as an early example of someone's place of birth being preserved as a tourist destination. I wonder if there was a gift shop?

natus est ... sordidis aedibus, cubiculo uero perparuo et obscuro, nam manet adhuc et ostenditur

Suetonius, Lives of the 12 Caesars - Titus 1

(He was born ... in a dirty house, in a very small and dark room, which still exists and is shown to people)

καὶ παλαίων δ᾽ ἐν τῷ βαλανείῳ πυκνὰ ἕδραν στρέφειν, ὅπως πεπαιδεῦσθαι δοκῇ

Theophrastus, Characters - The Late Learner (27)

(And sitting in the bath he twists and turns like a wrestler, so that he seems to have been educated)

([Nero] married one man from that impure herd - his name was Pythagoras - in the manner of a customary marriage. The bridal veil was put on the Emperor)

uni ex illo contaminatorum grege (nomen Pythagorae fuit) in modum sollemnium coniugiorum denupsisset. inditum imperatori flammeum

Tacitus, Annals 15.37

ὅτι καὶ τὸν Ἀχιλλέως ἄρα τάφον ἐστεφάνωσεν: Ἡφαιστίωνα δὲ λέγουσιν ὅτι τοῦ Πατρόκλου τὸν τάφον ἐστεφάνωσε

Arrian, Anabasis 1.12.1

([they say] that he [Alexander the Great] garlanded the tomb of Achilles and they say that Hephaestion garlanded the tomb of Patroclus)

is longe omnium amicorum carissimus erat regi

Curtius, Historiae Alexandri Magni 3.12.16

(He was by far the dearest of all the king's friends)

It's day 1 of LGBT+ History Month here in the UK, so here's a description of the relationship between Hephaestion & Alexander the Great #LBGTHistoryMonth

inter feras satius est aetatem degere quam in hac tanta immanitate versari

Cicero, Pro Sexto Roscio 52

(It is beter to spend one's life among wild beasts rather than stay in such great cruelty as this)

παλαιγενέων κλέα φωτῶν / μνήσομαι

Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 1.1-2

(I will recall the glories of men born long ago)

Οὐρανὸς πρῶτος τοῦ παντὸς ἐδυνάστευσε κόσμου

Apollodorus 1.1.1

(Ouranos first held power over the whole cosmos.)

This is probably the first question I would ask Virgil when he came to my ideal dinner party: why did you almost quote a humorous poem by Catullus (yesterday's quote from a poem spoken by a lock of hair) at this moment of high drama and emotion with Dido?

invitus, regina, tuo de litore cessi

Virgil Aeneid 6.460

(Unwillingly, queen, did I leave your shore)

Aeneas' words to Dido in the Underworld

invita, o regina, tuo de vertice cessi

Catullus 66.39

(Unwillingly, O Queen, did I leave your head)

A lock of hair bemoans being cut from the head of Queen Berenice as an offering to the gods

ἕξομέν τι παραμυθεῖσθαι αὐτὸν καὶ πείθειν ἠρέμα, ἐπικρυπτόμενοι ὅτι οὐχ ὑγιαίνει;

Plato, Republic 5.476e

(Are we able to soften him in some way and gently persuade him, concealing the fact that he is not of sound mind?)

ἄρχειν τε εἵλοντο λυπρὴν οἰκέοντες μᾶλλον ἢ πεδιάδα σπείροντες ἄλλοισι δουλεύειν

Herodotus 9.122.4

(They chose to rule, living in a barren place, rather than sow seeds on the plain and be slaves to others)

ambo animis, ambo insignes praestantibus armis / hic pietate prior

Virgil, Aeneid 11.291-2

(Both men distinguished in spirit, both men distinguished with their outstanding weapons, but this man [Aeneas] the better in piety).

The envoys from Diomedes report his views on Hector & Aeneas

ξένος πανταχοῦ εἰμι

Xenophon, Memorabilia 2.1.13

(I am a stranger everywhere)

non ego nobilium sedeo studiosus equorum

Ovid, Amores 3.2.1

(I am not sitting here because I'm keen for noble horses)

τὸ δ᾽ ἄχνυμαι, / φθόνον ἀμειβόμενον τὰ καλὰ ἔργα.

Pindar, Pythian Odes 7.18-19

(But I am saddened that fine acts are repaid with envy).

o tempora, o mores!

Cicero, In Catilinam 1.2

(O the times! O the customs!)

Cicero bewails the current state of affairs which led to the Catilinarian Conspiracy of 63BC

The Greeks had this view, clearly set out in Iliad Book 24, that no mortal leads a completely happy life; the gods always mix in some misfortune. Here, Hecuba, until recently queen of Troy, comments that, because of mankind's changing fortunes, we cannot know how blessed a life is until it is over.

μηδένα νομίζετ᾽ εὐτυχεῖν, πρὶν ἂν θάνῃ.

Euripides, Trojan Women 510

(Consider no-one to be fortunate, until they die)

Publius Clodius Pulcher died on this day (Jan 18) in 52BC. Most famous for his gate-crashing of the Bona Dea festival (62BC) and being the driving force behind Cicero's exile (58BC)