Gifts. Acceptissima semper Munera sunt, auctor quae pretiosa facit. Those gifts are always most acceptable, which our love for the donor makes precious." Rule of Life. Perseverance. Aut non tentaris, aut perfice. "Either try not, or accomplish.” Concessions. Cede repugnanti; cedendo victor abibis. "Concede to your opponent; by yielding you will come away victorious." By a wise concession we may often gain greater advantage than by obstinate resistance. Life. Success. Contigimus portum, quo mihi cursus erat. “I have reached the harbor to which I steered my course." Education. Refinement. Ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes "To have thoroughly learned the liberal arts refines the manners, and permits them not to be unpolished." Plenty. Poverty. Inopem me copia fecit. "Plenty has made me poor." The expression of Narcissus on finding that inordinate love of self had cost him the esteem of others, and that while in the midst of temporal plenty, he was poor in that which only can make men truly rich. A Literary Monument. Jamque opus exegi, quod nec Jovis ira, nec ignis, Nec poterit ferrum, nec edax abolere vetustas. "I have now completed a work which neither the wrath of Jove, nor fire, nor sword, nor consuming time will be able to destroy." The poet here refers to his literary works, and the passing centuries have strongly corroborated the truth of his prediction. Ovid's Literary Style. Nulla venenato litera mixta joco est. "Not a letter of my writings is sullied by a malevolent joke." What a splendid commendation ! 66 Burdens. Cheerfulness. Leve fit quod bene fertur onus. The load becomes light when borne with cheerfulness." Hospitality to Strangers. Longa via est, nec tempora longa supersunt, Dixit; et hospitibus janua nostra patet. "The road is long, and the hours are far spent, said he; my door is always open to strangers." Prosperity. The Feelings. Luxuriant animi rebus plerumque secundis; The feelings often run riot amid prosperity, and to bear good fortune with evenness of mind is no easy task." Avoid Extremes. Medio tutissimus ibis. "You will go most safely in the middle." Shun breakers by avoiding extremes. Union is Strength. Quae non prosunt singula, multa juvant. "Things which singly are of little avail are of great service when united." Measure of Greatness. Quantum quisque feret, respiciendus erit. "Each one must be regarded according to what he contributes." The proper way to estimate individuals is not by what they seem to be worth to themselves, but by what they make themselves worth to the community in which they move. Injury engenders Caution. Qui semel est laesus fallaci piscis ab hamo, "The fish that has been once hurt by the deceitful hook thinks that the barbed metal lies concealed in every morsel." Confidence. Adversity. Scilicet ut fulvum spectetur in ignibus aurum, Tempore sic duro est inspicienda fides. "As the yellow gold is tried in the fire, so confidence is to be tested in times of adversity." NEPOS. FLOURISHED ABOUT 40 B.C. CORNELIUS NEPOS was a Roman historian of whom but little is known, except that he was a friend of Cicero and Catullus. Of his various writings all are lost, with the exception, perhaps, of a series of twenty-five biographies of noted men, commonly known as Vitae Excellentium Imperatorum, and first published under the name of Aemilius Probus, an obscure writer of about the fourth century. It has since been identified, however, with reasonable certainty, as a part of the lost work of Nepos, De Viris Illustribus. It is remarkable for the purity of its Latin and the simplicity of its style, and on this account has long been a favorite text-book in the schools. Government. Loyalty. Citizenship. Nullum est imperium tutum nisi benevolentia munitum. "No government is safe unless it is fortified in the good-will of its subjects." · Dion. 5. - Fear. Love. Miseranda vita eorum, qui se metui quam amari malunt. "The life of those is to be pitied, who prefer to be feared rather than loved." - Dion. 9. Great Men. Merit. Success. Magnos homines virtute metimur, non fortuna. "We prize great men for their estimable qualities, not for their success." Eum. I. Envy. Glory. Statesmanship. Commune vitium in magnis liberisque civitatibus, ut invidia comes gloriae sit. "It is a common vice in great and free states, for envy to be the companion of glory."- Chabr. 3. Honor. Disgrace. Praestat honesta mors turpi vitae. "An honorable death is preferable to a disgraceful life."- Chabr. 4. Themistocles. Self-esteem. Huic maxime putamus malo fuisse, nimiam opinionem ingenii atque virtutis. "This we think was his especial misfortune, that he entertained too high an opinion of his own genius and valor." A reference to the character of Themistocles. Manners. Fortune. Sui cuique mores fingunt fortunam. "Every one's fortune is determined by his own manners." |