Conscience. Guilt. Se judice nemo nocens absolvitur. "No guilty man before his own conscience is ever acquitted.” Satires, XIII, 3. Purity. Childhood. Nil dictu foedum visuque haec limina tangat, Intra quae puer est. "Permit no word or sight degrading to approach the door that guards thy child.” — Satires, XIV, 44. Nature. Wisdom. Nunquam aliud Natura, aliud Sapientia dicit. "Nature and wisdom never disagree.” — Satires, XIV, 321. 66 Honesty. Probitas laudatur et alget. Honesty is praised and shivers with the cold." A forcible expression of the way in which some men, while feigning honesty, pursue the worst. Money. Avarice. Crescit amor nummi quantum ipsa pecunia crescit ; "The love of money increases with our wealth, and he who has none wishes for it least." Man. Providence. Fortune. Nam pro jucundis aptissima quaeque dabunt Di; Carior est illis homo quam sibi. "For the gods will bestow what is most suitable rather than what is most agreeable; man is more dear to them than he is to himself." Protinus ad censum, de moribus ultima fiet "The first question will concern his possessions; that about his morals will be last considered." society no longer exists. Let us hope that this condition of CURTIUS. PROBABLY FLOURISHED ABOUT 150 A.D. QUINTUS CURTIUS RUFUS is distinguished as the biographer of Alexander the Great. Nothing is known with any certainty concerning his life or the time at which he lived. His chief work is De Rebus Gestis Alexandri Magni in ten books, the first two of which are wholly lost, while the others exist only in fragments. Reason. Permanence. Nihil potest esse diuturnum, cui non subest ratio. "Nothing can be lasting where reason does not rule." - Lib. IV, 14, 19. Vicissitude. Life. Fortune. Breves et mutabiles vices rerum sunt, et fortuna numquam simpliciter indulget. “The vicissitudes of human affairs are brief and changeable, and fortune never grants indulgence merely." - Lib. IV, 14, 20. Necessity. Sloth. Despair. Hope. Ignaviam necessitas acuit, et saepe desperatio spei causa est. "Necessity arouses sloth, and despair is often the cause of hope.”Lib. V, 4, 31. Habit. Nature. Consuetudo natura potentior est. "Habit is more powerful than nature." — Lib. V, 5. 21. Trifles. Parva saepe scintilla contempta magnum excitavit incendium. "A small spark neglected has often caused a mighty conflagration." — Lib. VI, 3, II. Stupidity. Affairs of Others. In suo quisque negotio hebetior est quam in alieno. "Every one is more stupid in his own affairs than in those of another." - Lib. VII, 1, 10. Cowardice. Bravado. Canis timidus vehementius latrat quam mordet. "A cowardly cur barks more furiously than he bites.” — Lib. VII, 4, 13. Merit. Ostentation. Altissima quaeque flumina minimo sono labuntur. "The deepest rivers glide with the slightest sound.” — Ib. Nature. Virtue. High Aims. Nihil tam alte natura constituit, quo virtus non possit eniti. "Nature has placed nothing so high but that virtue can attain it.”. Lib. VII, II, IO. Might. Gratitude for Kindness. Non est diuturna possessio, in quam gladio inducimus : beneficiorum gratia sempiterna est. "There is no permanent possession which we secure by the sword; gratitude for kindness is eternal.” — Lib. VIII, 8, 11. Prosperity. Disposition. Res secundae valent commutare naturam, et raro quisquam erga bona sua satis cautus est. "Prosperity affects a change of nature, and seldom has any one been sufficiently cautious concerning his own good fortune." — Lib. X, 1, 40. Adversity. Prosperity. Calamitas querula est et superba felicitas. Death. Courage. Cowardice. Effugit mortem quisquis contemserit, timidissimum quemque consequitur. "He who despises death, escapes it; the cowardly it overtakes." AUSONIUS. BORN ABOUT 310 A.D.-DIED ABOUT 392 A.D. DECIMUS MAGNUS AUSONIUS was a Latin poet and grammarian born at Bordeaux, in France, about 310 A.D. He studied law, became a teacher of rhetoric, and was appointed instructor of Gratian, son of the Emperor Valentinian. He was a royal favorite, and was finally elevated to the dignity of Consul. He was the author of numerous works which are still extant, of which the most celebrated is the Epigrammata. This is a collection of short verses, many of which are very felicitous. The Idyllia is another collection, of twenty short poems, and the Mosella, a poem containing some fine passages and a beautiful description of the river Moselle. Ausonius was a man of wide experience and rich scholarship, but sadly wanting in poetic power. Beginnings. Tasks. Incipe; dimidium facti est, coepisse. Supersit Dimidium rursum hoc incipe, et efficies. Begin; to have begun is half the task. Let the other half remain ; again begin this and thou wilt have finished all." — Epigrammata, 81, 1. Favors. Benevolence. Promptness. Gratia, quae tarda est, ingrata est: gratia namque A favor grudgingly bestowed is not a favor; but when it hastens in its course, it finds an added grace.” — Epigr. 82, 1. Favors. Benevolence. Promptness. Si bene quid facias, facias cito: nam cito factum. If you would do a kindness, do it quickly; for a prompt benefaction will be appreciated; a favor grudgingly bestowed causes ingratitude." - Epigr. 83. 1. Ingratitude. Man. Nil homine terra pejus ingrato creat. "The earth produces nothing worse than an ungrateful man.” Epigr. 140, 1. 66 Fortune. Humility. Pride. Fortuna nunquam sistit in eodem statu: Et summa in imum vertit ac versa erigit. • Fortune never remains the same, but is ever changing; it debases the proud and exalts the humble.” — Epigr. 143, 1. Fortune. Rule of Life. Si fortuna juvat, caveto tolli; Si fortuna tonat, caveto mergi. "If fortune favors, be not elated; if fortune thunders, be not dis mayed." — Epigr. 312, 5. |