I sing of man and war
Virgil
Vocabulary
- arma: arms/weapons;
- virumque: and man;
- cano: I sing;
Notes
- I sing of man and war is the opening 3 words to Virgil’s Aeneid and is a reference to the Homeric Epics the Iliad (war) and the Odyssey (Man).
Categoria: Latin Phrases
I think therefore I am
Descartes
Notes
- Cogito ergo sum is quoted from René Descartes’s Principles of Philosophy (1644).
- This phrase originally appeared in french as Je pense, donc je suis in Descartes’ discourse on Method (1637).
Vocabulary
- cogito: I think;
- ergo: therefore;
- sum: I am;
In other languages:
- Je pense, donc je suis (French);
Divide and Conquer
Phillip ii of Macedon
Notes
- Divide et impera (divide and conquer) refers to the process of breaking up powerful forces, each of which can be conquered more easily.
- The phrase is said to have originated with Phillip II of Macedon, but it was also famously used by Julius Caesar.
Vocabulary
- divide: divide;
- et: and;
- impera: rule/conquer;
I came, I saw, I conquered
Julius Caesar
Notes
- Attributed to Julius Caesar, describing his victory at the Battle of Zela (47 B.C.E.);
- Quoted in Plutarch’s Life of Caesar and Suetonius’ Lives of the Twelve Caesars
Vocabulary
- vini: I came;
- vidi: I saw;
- vici: I conquered;
The die has been cast
Julius Caesar
Notes
According to Sutonius and Plutarch, Alea iacta est was said by Julius Caesar just before he crossed the Rubicon, which marked the beginning the Roman Civil War against Pompey.
Vocabulary
- alea: the die;
- iacta: cast;
- est: is;