Latin Proverbs, Mottoes, Phrases, and Words: Group A

A scholarly expression referring to observations one has made.

Ne Hercules quidem adversus duos.

"Not even Hercules fights against two."

Also translated as, "Don't waste your time arguing the obvious."

When confronted by an important, irrefutable fact, there is no point in arguing about it any further.

Motto of Henry I (918-936) who forced the dukes of Bavaria and Swabia to recognize his authority. He protected Saxony against the Slavs by building several fortresses and by creating a powerful cavalry which he used to defeat the invading Magyars on the Unstrut River in 933.

He succeeded in annexing the key Carolingian realm of Lorraine to the east Franconian realm. He is regarded as the actual founder of the German Empire.

Motto of Castle Jr. College, Windham, New Hampshire, USA.

A legal term found in some wills, meaning, "for use only during a person's life."

This term is generally used to describe someone who takes the unpopular (opposite) side in an argument (either out of contentiousness or out of a zeal for the truth).

This epithet originally applied to the Vatican official charged with finding objections to beatification or canonization; or, in other words, it was his responsibility to argue against the sainthood of a candidate who is being considered.

Since the 16th century, this individual's title has been promotor fidei, "promotor of the faith" as expressed in the Catholic Encyclopedia which clarifies his function as follows: "The seemingly negative work of the promoter of the faith undoubtedly has a great positive value, in as much as it prevents the Church from pronouncing a certain and favorable judgment on the life and works of a person without possessing unquestionable proof."

A noun that means "an invalid"; as an adjective, it means "sick". In British universities, aeger is the traditional term used on students' medical excuses for failing to appear for an examination, and a medical excuse itself may also be called an aeger.

This statement, by Virgil, is also translated as, "The remedy (cure) is worse than the disease."

Also translated as, "A note from the doctor." In British universities, an aegrotat is an official medical excuse. The meaning is extended to mean that an unclassified degree may be granted by a British university to a student who completes all academic requirements except final examinations, if the student is too sick to participate in the examinations.

This recognizes the value of maintaining a clear head while participating in the activities of life; especially, when making special decisions.

Anyone who has composure or equanimity usually behaves aequo animo.

In the Bronze Age, this metal represented permanence, since bronze tools were so much less brittle than the stone implements of earlier times. When a Roman spoke of something as being aere perennius, or "more durable than bronze", he meant that it would last forever.

Alfred Henderson, Latin Proverbs, page 10 (1869), quoting Seneca. An equivalent English proverb: "I had rather wear out than rust out." Written by George Whitfield in his Remark (c. 1770).