Complaint is the largest tribute heaven receives, 45 and the sincerest part of our devotion. Swift.
Compliments are only lies in court clothes. J. Sterling.
Componitur orbis / Regis ad exemplum; nec sic inflectere sensus / Humanos edicta valent, quam vita regentis—Manners are fashioned after the example of the king, and edicts have less effect on them than the life of the ruler. Claud.
Compose thy mind, and prepare thy soul calmly to obey; such offering will be more acceptable to God than every other sacrifice. Metastasio.
Compositum miraculi causa—A story trumped up to astonish. Tac.
Compos mentis—Of a sound mind. 50
Compound for sins they are inclined to / By damning those they have no mind to. Butler.
Comprendre c'est pardonner—To understand is to pardon. Mad. de Staël.
Compte rendu—Report, return. Fr.
Con agua pasada no muele molino—The mill grinds no corn with water that has passed. Sp. Pr.
Con amore—With love; earnestly. It.
Con arte e con inganno si vive mezzo l'anno; con inganno si vive l'altra parte—People live with art and deception one half the year, and with deception and art the other half. It. Pr.
Conceal not the meanness of thy family, nor think it disgraceful to be descended from peasants; for when it is seen thou art not thyself ashamed, no one will endeavour to make thee so. Cervantes.
Conceit in weakest bodies strongest works. Ham., iii. 4.
Conceit may puff a man up, but never prop him up. Ruskin.
Concentration is the secret of strength in politics, in war, in trade, in short, in all the management of human affairs. Emerson.
Concio ad clerum—An address to the clergy. 5
Concordia discors—A jarring or discordant concord. Ovid.
Concordia res parvæ crescunt, discordia maximæ dilabuntur—With concord small things increase, with discord the greatest go to ruin. Sall.
Concours—A competition. Fr.
Condemnable idolatry is insincere idolatry—a human soul clinging spasmodically to an Ark of the Covenant, which it half feels is now a phantasm. Carlyle.
Condemn the fault, and not the actor of it! / 10 Why, every fault's condemned ere it be done. Meas. for Meas., ii. 2.
Condense some daily experience into a glowing symbol, and an audience is electrified. Emerson.
Con dineros no te conocerás, sin dineros no te conocerán—With money you would not know yourself; without it, no one would know you. Sp. Pr.
Condition, circumstance, is not the thing, / Bliss is the same in subject or in king. Pope.
Conditions are pleasant or grievous to us according to our sensibilities. Lew. Wallace.
Con el Rey y con la Inquisicion, chitos—With 15 the King and the Inquisition, hush! Sp. Pr.
Confessed faults are half mended. Sc. Pr.
Confess yourself to Heaven; / Repent what's past; avoid what is to come; / And do not spread the compost on the weeds, / To make them ranker. Ham., iii. 4.
Confess you were wrong yesterday; it will show you are wise to-day. Pr.
Confidence imparts a wondrous inspiration to its possessor. It bears him on in security, either to meet no danger or to find matter of glorious trial. Milton.
Confidence in another man's virtue is no slight 20 evidence of a man's own. Montaigne.
Confidence in one's self is the chief nurse of magnanimity. Sir P. Sidney.
Confidence is a plant of slow growth in an aged bosom. Chatham.
Confidence is a thing not to be produced by compulsion. Men cannot be forced into trust. D. Webster.
Confido, conquiesco—I trust, and am at rest. M.
Confine your tongue, lest it confine you. Pr. 25
Confrère—A brother monk or associate. Fr.
Confusion now hath made his masterpiece. / Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope / The Lord's anointed temple, and stole thence / The life o' the building. Macb., ii. 1.
Confusion worse confounded. Milton.
Congé d'élire—A leave to elect. Fr.
Con poco cervello si governa il mondo—The 30 world is governed with small wit. It. Pr.
Conquer we shall, but we must first contend; / 'Tis not the fight that crowns us, but the end. Herrick.
Conscia mens recti famæ mendacia risit—The mind conscious of integrity ever scorns the lies of rumour. Ovid.
Conscience does make cowards of us all; / And thus the native hue of resolution / Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought; / And enterprises of great pith and moment, / With this regard, their currents turn awry, / And lose the name of action. Ham., iii. 1.
Conscience is but a word that cowards use, / Devised at first to keep the strong in awe; / Our strong arms be our conscience, swords our law. Rich. III., v. 3.
Conscience is our magnetic needle; / reason, 35 our chart. Joseph Cook.
Conscience is the chamber of justice. Origen.
Conscience is the compass of the unknown. Joseph Cook.
Conscience is the sentinel of virtue. Johnson.
Conscience is the voice of the soul; the passions, of the body. Rousseau.
Conscience is wiser than science. Lavater. 40
Conscientia mille testes—Conscience is equal to a thousand witnesses. Pr.
Con scienza—With a knowledge of the subject. It.
Consecrated is the spot which a good man has trodden. Goethe.
Consecration is going out into the world where God Almighty is, and using every power for His glory. Ward Beecher.
Conseil d'état—Council of state. 45
Consensus facit legem—Consent makes the law. L.
Consequitur quodcunque petit—He attains to whatever he aims at. M.
Conservatism is the pause on the last movement. Emerson.
Consideration, like an angel, came, / And whipp'd th' offending Adam out of him, / Leaving his body as a paradise, / To envelop and contain celestial spirits. Henry V., i. 1.
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; 50 they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Jesus.
Consilio et animis—By counsel and courage. M.
Conspicuous by its absence. Lord John Russell.
Constans et fidelitate—Constant and with faithfulness. M.
Constant attention wears the active mind, / Blots out her powers, and leaves a blank behind. Churchill.
Constantia et virtute—By constancy and virtue. 55 M.
Constantly choose rather to want less than to have more. Thomas à Kempis.
Constant occupation prevents temptation. It. Pr.
Constant thought will overflow in words unconsciously. Byron.
Consuetudinis magna vis est—The force of habit is great. Cic.
Consuetudo est altera lex—Custom is a second 60 law. L.
Consuetudo est secunda natura—Custom is a second nature. St. Aug.
Consuetudo pro lege servatur—Custom is observed as law. L.
Consult duty, not events. Landor.
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes?... I'd rather be a dog and bay the moon than such a Roman. Jul. Cæs., iv. 3.
Contas na maõ, e o demonio no coraçaõ—Rosary 5 in the hand, and the devil in the heart. Port. Pr.
Contemni est gravius stultitiæ quam percuti—To be despised is more galling to a foolish man than to be whipped.
Contemporaries appreciate the man rather than his merit; posterity will regard the merit rather than the man. Colton.
Contempt is a dangerous element to sport in; a deadly one, if we habitually live in it. Carlyle.
Contempt is a kind of gangrene, which, if it seizes one part of a character, corrupts all the rest by degrees. Johnson.
Contempt is the only way to triumph over 10 calumny. Mde. de Maintenon.
Contented wi' little, an' cantie (cheerily happy) wi' mair. Burns.
Content if hence th' unlearn'd their wants may view, / The learn'd reflect on what before they knew. Pope.
Contention is a hydra's head; the more they strive, the more they may. Burton.
Contention, like a horse / Full of high feeding, madly hath broken loose, / And bears all down before him. 2 Hen. IV., i. 1.
Contentions fierce, / Ardent, and dire, spring 15 from no petty cause. Scott.
Contentions for trifles can get but a trifling victory. Sir P. Sidney.
Content is better than riches. Pr.
Content is the true philosopher's stone. Pr.
Contentment, as it is a short road and pleasant, has great delight and little trouble. Epictetus.
Contentment consisteth not in adding more 20 fuel, but in taking away some fire. Fuller.
Contentment is natural wealth. Socrates.
Contentment will make a cottage look as fair as a palace. W. Secker.
Contentment without money is the philosopher's stone. Lichtwer.
Content's a kingdom, and I wear that crown. Heywood.
Content thyself to be obscurely good; / When 25 vice prevails, and impious men bear sway, / The post of honour is a private station. Addison.
Content with poverty, my soul I arm; / And virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm. Dryden after Hor.
Contesa vecchia tosto si fa nuova—An old feud is easily renewed. It. Pr.
Conticuere omnes, intentique ora tenebant—All were at once silent and listened intent. Virg.
Continued eloquence wearies. Pascal.
Contra bonos mores—Against good morals. 30
Contra malum mortis, non est medicamen in hortis—Against the evil of death there is no remedy in the garden.
Contraria contrariis curantur—Contraries are cured by contraries.
Contrast increases the splendour of beauty, but it disturbs its influence; it adds to its attractiveness, but diminishes its power. Ruskin.
Contrat social—The social compact, specially Rousseau's theory thereof.
Contra verbosos noli contendere verbis; / 35 Sermo datur cunctis, animi sapientia paucis—Don't contend with words against wordy people; speech is given to all, wisdom to few. Cato.
Contredire, c'est quelquefois frapper à une porte, pour savoir s'il y a quelqu'un dans la maison—To contradict sometimes means to knock at the door in order to know whether there is any one in the house. Fr. Pr.
Contre fortune bon cœur—Against change of fortune set a bold heart. Fr. Pr.
Contre les rebelles, c'est cruauté que d'estre humain et humanité d'estre cruel—Against rebels it is cruelty to be humane, and humanity to be cruel. Corneille Muis.
Contre-temps—A mischance. Fr.
Contrivances of the time / For sowing broadcast 40 the seeds of crime. Longfellow.
Contumeliam si dicis, audies—If you utter abuse, you must expect to receive it. Plaut.
Conversation enriches the understanding; but solitude is the school of genius. Gibbon.
Conversation in society is found to be on a platform so low as to exclude science, the saint, and the poet. Emerson.
Conversation is an abandonment to ideas, a surrender to persons. A. B. Alcott.
Conversation is an art in which a man has all 45 mankind for competitors. Emerson.
Conversation is a traffic; and if you enter into it without some stock of knowledge to balance the account perpetually, the trade drops at once. Sterne.
Conversation will not corrupt us if we come to the assembly in our own garb and speech, and with the energy of health to select what is ours and reject what is not. Emerson.
Converse with a mind that is grandly simple, and literature looks like word-catching. Emerson.
Conversion—a grand epoch for a man; properly the one epoch; the turning-point which guides upwards, or guides downwards, him and his activities for evermore. Carlyle.
Conversion is the awakening of a soul to see 50 into the awful truth of things; to see that Time and its shows all rest on Eternity, and this poor earth of ours is the threshold either of heaven or hell. Carlyle.
Convey a libel in a frown, / And wink a reputation down. Swift.
Convey thy love to thy friend as an arrow to the mark; not as a ball against the wall, to rebound back again. Quarles.
Conviction, never so excellent, is worthless till it convert itself into conduct. Carlyle.
Copia verborum—Superabundance of words.
Coraçaõ determinado, naõ soffre conselho—He 55 brooks no advice whose mind is made up. Port. Pr.
Coram domino rege—Before our lord the king.
Coram nobis—Before the court.
Coram non judice—Before one who is not a judge.
Corbies (crows) and clergy are kittle shot (hard to hit). Sc. Pr.
Corbies dinna pick oot corbies' een, i.e., harm each other. Sc. Pr.
Cordon bleu—A skilful cook (lit. a blue ribbon). Fr.
Cordon sanitaire—A guard to prevent a disease spreading. Fr.
Corn is gleaned with wind, and the soul with 5 chastening. Geo. Herbert.
Cor nobile, cor immobile—A noble heart is an immovable heart.
Coronat virtus cultores suos—Virtue crowns her votaries. M.
Corpo ben feito naõ ha mester capa—A body that is well made needs no cloak. Port. Pr.
Corpora lente augescunt, cito extinguuntur—All bodies are slow in growth, rapid in decay. Tac.
Corporations cannot commit treason, nor be 10 outlawed nor excommunicated, for they have no souls. Coke.
Corporations have neither bodies to be punished nor souls to be damned. Thurlow.
Corporis et fortunæ bonorum, ut initium, finis est. Omnia orta occidunt, et aucta senescunt—The blessings of health and fortune, as they have a beginning, must also have an end. Everything rises but to fall, and grows but to decay. Sall.
Corpo satollo non crede all' affamato—A satisfied appetite does not believe in hunger. It. Pr.
Corps d'armée—A military force. Fr.
Corps diplomatique—The diplomatic body. Fr. 15
Corpus Christi—Festival in honour of the Eucharist or body of Christ.
Corpus delicti—The body of the offence. L.
Corpus sine pectore—A body without a soul. Hor.
Correct counting keeps good friends. Gael. Pr.
Correction does much, but encouragement does 20 more. Goethe.
Correction is good, administered in time. Dan. Pr.
Corre lontano chi non torna mai—He runs a long way who never turns. It. Pr.
Corrigenda—Corrections to be made.
Corrupted freemen are the worst of slaves. Garrick.
Corruption is like a ball of snow, when once 25 set a rolling it must increase. Colton.
Corruptions can only be expiated by the blood of the just ascending to heaven by the steps of the scaffold. De Tocqueville.
Corruptio optimi pessima—The corruption of the best is the worst. Anon.
Corruptissima in republica plurimæ leges—In a state in which corruption abounds laws are very numerous. Tac.
Cor unum, via una—One heart, one way. M.
Corvées—Forced labour, formerly exacted of the 30 peasantry in France. Fr.
Cosa ben fatta è fatta due volte—A thing well done is twice done. It. Pr.
Cosa fatta, capo ha—A thing which is done has a head, i.e., it is never done till completed. It. Pr.
Cosa mala nunca muere—A bad thing never dies. Sp. Pr.
Così fan tutti—So do they all. It.
Cos ingeniorum—A whetstone to their wit. 35
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, / But not expressed in fancy; rich, not gaudy; / For the apparel oft proclaims the man. Ham., i. 3.
Costumbre hace ley—Custom becomes law. Sp. Pr.
Could everything be done twice, it would be done better. Ger. Pr.
Could great men thunder / As Jove himself does, Jove would ne'er be quiet; / For every pelting, petty officer / Would use his heaven for thunder; nothing but thunder. Meas. for Meas., ii. 2.
Could we forbear dispute and practise love, / 40 We should agree as angels do above. Waller.
Could you see every man's career in life, you would find a woman clogging him ... or cheering him and goading him. Thackeray.
Couleur de rose—A flattering representation. Fr.
Count art by gold, and it fetters the feet it once winged. Ouida.
Count the world not an inn but an hospital; and a place not to live in, but to die in. Colton.
Countries are well cultivated, not as they 45 are fertile, but as they are free. Montesquieu.
Coup de grace—The finishing stroke. Fr.
Coup de main—A bold effort; a surprise.
Coup de pied—A kick. Fr.
Coup de soleil—Stroke of the sun. Fr.
Coup d'essai—First attempt. Fr. 50
Coup d'état—A sudden stroke of policy. Fr.
Coup de théâtre—Theatrical effect. Fr.
Coup d'œil—A glance of the eye; a prospect.
Courage against misfortune, and reason against passion. Pr.
Courage and modesty are the most unequivocal 55 of virtues, for they are of a kind that hypocrisy cannot imitate. Goethe.
Courage consists in equality to the problem before us. Emerson.
Courage consists not in blindly overlooking danger, but in meeting it with the eyes open. Jean Paul.
Courage consists not in hazarding without fear, but being resolutely minded in a just cause. Plutarch.
Courage! even sorrows, when once they are vanished, quicken the soul, as rain the valley. Salis.
Courage is generosity of the highest order, 60 for the brave are prodigal of the most precious things. Colton.
Courage is on all hands considered an essential of high character. Froude.
Courage is the wisdom of manhood; foolhardiness, the folly of youth. Pr.
Courage mounteth with occasion. King John, ii. 1.
Courage never to submit or yield. Milton.
Courage of soul is necessary for the triumphs 65 of genius. Mme. de Staël.
Courage of the soldier awakes the courage of woman. Emerson.
Courage, or the degree of life, is as the degree of circulation of the blood in the arteries. Emerson.
Courage sans peur—Courage without fear. Fr.
Courage, sir, / That makes man or woman look their goodliest. Tennyson.
Courage, so far as it is a sign of race, is peculiarly the mark of a gentleman or a lady; but it becomes vulgar if rude or insensitive. Ruskin.
Courtesy costs nothing. Pr. 5
Courtesy is cumbersome to him that kens it not. Sc. Pr.
Courtesy is often sooner found in lowly sheds with smoky rafters, than in tapestry halls and courts of princes, where it first was named. Milton.
Courtesy itself must convert to disdain, if you come in her presence. Much Ado, i. 1.
Courtesy never broke one's crown. Gael. Pr.
Courtesy of temper, when it is used to veil 10 churlishness of deed, is but a knight's girdle around the breast of a base clown. Scott.
Courtship consists in a number of quiet attentions, not so pointed as to alarm, nor so vague as not to be understood. Sterne.
Coûte qu'il coûte—Let it cost what it may. Fr.
Cover yourself with honey and the flies will fasten on you. Pr.
Covetous men need money least, yet most affect it; and prodigals, who need it most, do least regard it. Theod. Parker.
Covetousness bursts the bag. Pr. 15
Covetousness is a sort of mental gluttony, not confined to money, but greedy of honour and feeding on selfishness. Chamfort.
Covetousness is ever attended with solicitude and anxiety. B. Franklin.
Covetousness is rich, while modesty goes barefoot. Phædrus.
Covetousness, like jealousy, when it has once taken root, never leaves a man but with his life. T. Hughes.
Covetousness often starves other vices. Sc. 20 Pr.
Covetousness swells the principal to no purpose, and lessens the use to all purposes. Jeremy Taylor.
Covetousness, which is idolatry. St. Paul.
Coward dogs / Most spend their mouths when what they seem to threaten / Runs far before them. Henry V., ii. 4.
Cowardice is the dread of what will happen. Epictetus.
Cowards are cruel, but the brave / Love mercy, 25 and delight to save. Gay.
Cowards die many times before their deaths; / The valiant never taste of death but once. / Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, It seems to me most strange that men should fear; / Seeing that death, a necessary end, / Will come when it will come. Jul. Cæsar, ii. 2.
Cowards falter, but danger is often overcome by those who nobly dare. Queen Elizabeth.
Cowards father cowards, and base things sire base; / Nature hath meal and bran, contempt and grace. Cymb., iv. 2.
Cowards tell lies, and those that fear the rod. G. Herbert.
Crabbed age and youth / Cannot live together. 30 Shakespeare.
Craftiness is a quality in the mind and a vice in the character. Sanial Dubay.
Craft maun hae claes (clothes), but truth gaes naked. Sc. Pr.
Crafty men contemn studies; simple men admire them; and wise men use them; for they teach not their own use; but that is wisdom without them, and above them won by observation. Bacon.
Craignez honte—Fear shame. M.
Craignez tout d'un auteur en courroux—Fear 35 the worst from an enraged author. Fr.
Crambe repetita—Cabbage repeated (kills). Juv.
Cras credemus, hodie nihil—To-morrow we will believe, but not to-day. Pr.
Crea el cuervo, y sacarte ha los ojos—Breed up a crow and he will peck out your eyes. Sp. Pr.
Creaking waggons are long in passing. Fris. Pr.
Created half to rise and half to fall, / Great 40 lord of all things, yet a prey to all; / Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurl'd; / The glory, jest, and riddle of the world. Pope.
Creation is great, and cannot be understood. Carlyle.
Creation lies before us like a glorious rainbow; but the sun that made it lies behind us, hidden from us. Jean Paul.
Creation's heir, the world, the world is mine. Goldsmith.
Creation sleeps! 'Tis as the general pulse / Of life stood still, and Nature made a pause, / An awful pause, prophetic of her end. Young.
Credat Judæus Apella—Apella, the Jew, may 45 believe that; I cannot. Hor.
Crede quod est quod vis—Believe that that is which you wish to be. Ovid.
Crede quod habes, et habes—Believe that you have it, and you have it.
Credit keeps the crown o' the causey, i.e., is not afraid to show its face. Sc. Pr.
Creditors have better memories than debtors. Pr.
Credo, quia absurdum—I believe it because it is 50 absurd. Tert.
Credula res amor est—Love is a credulous affection. Ovid.
Credula vitam / Spes fovet, et fore cras semper ait melius—Credulous hope cherishes life, and ever whispers to us that to-morrow will be better. Tibull.
Credulity is perhaps a weakness almost inseparable from eminently truthful characters. Tuckerman.
Credulity is the common failing of inexperienced virtue. Johnson.
Creep before you gang (walk). Sc. Pr. 55
Crescentem sequitur cura pecuniam, / Majorumque fames—Care accompanies increasing wealth, and a craving for still greater riches. Hor.
Crescit amor nummi quantum ipsa pecunia crescit—The love of money increases as wealth increases. Juv.
Crescit occulto velut arbor ævo—It grows as a tree with a hidden life. Hor.
Crescit sub pondere virtus—Virtue thrives under oppression. M.
Cressa ne careat pulchra dies nota—Let not a day so fair be without its white mark. Hor.
Creta an carbone notandi?—Are they to be marked with chalk or charcoal? Hor.
Crime and punishment grow out of one stem. 5 Punishment is a fruit that, unsuspected, ripens within the flower of the pleasure that concealed it. Emerson.
Crime cannot be hindered by punishment, but only by letting no man grow up a criminal. Ruskin.
Crime, like virtue, has its degrees. Racine.
Crimen læsæ majestatis—Crime of high treason.
Crimen quos inquinat, æquat—Crime puts those on an equal footing whom it defiles.
Crimes generally punish themselves. Goldsmith. 10
Crimes sometimes shock us too much; vices almost always too little. Hare.
Crimina qui cernunt aliorum, non sua cernunt, / Hi sapiunt aliis, desipiuntque sibi—Those who see the faults of others, but not their own, are wise for others and fools for themselves. Pr.
Crimine ab uno / Disce omnes—From the base character of one learn what they all are. Virg.
Cripples are aye better schemers than walkers. Sc. Pr.
Criticism is a disinterested endeavour to learn 15 and propagate the best that is known and thought in the world. Matthew Arnold.
Criticism is as often a trade as a science, requiring, as it does, more health than wit, more labour than capacity, more practice than genius. La Bruyère.
Criticism is like champagne, nothing more execrable if bad, nothing more excellent if good. Colton.
Criticism is not construction; it is observation. G. W. Curtis.
Criticism must never be sharpened into anatomy. The life of the imagination, as of the body, disappears when we pursue it. Willmott.
Criticism often takes from the tree caterpillars 20 and blossoms together. Jean Paul.
Criticism should be written for the public, not the artist. Wm. Winter.
Critics all are ready made. Byron.
Critics are men who have failed in literature and art. Disraeli.
Critics are sentinels in the grand army of letters, stationed at the corners of newspapers and reviews to challenge every new author. Longfellow.
Critics must excuse me if I compare them to 25 certain animals called asses, who, by gnawing vines, originally taught the great advantage of pruning them. Shenstone.
Crosses are ladders that lead to heaven. Pr.
Crows do not pick out crows' eyes. Pr.
Cruci dum spiro fido—Whilst I breathe I trust in the cross. M.
Crudelem medicum intemperans æger facit—A disorderly patient makes a harsh physician. Pub. Syr.
Crudelis ubique / Luctus, ubique pavor, et 30 plurima mortis imago—Everywhere is heart-rending wail, everywhere consternation, and death in a thousand shapes. Virg.
Cruel as death, and hungry as the grave. Thomson.
Cruel men are the greatest lovers of mercy; avaricious, of generosity; proud, of humility,—in others. Colton.
Cruelty in war buyeth conquest at the dearest price. Sir P. Sidney.
Cruelty is no more the cure of crimes than it is the cure of sufferings. Landor.
Crux criticorum—The puzzle of critics. 35
Crux est si metuas quod vincere nequeas—It is torture to fear what you cannot overcome. Ausonius.
Crux medicorum—The puzzle of physicians.
Cry "Havock," and let slip the dogs of war. Jul. Cæs., iii. 1.
Cucullus non facit monachum—The cowl does not make the monk. Pr.
Cudgel thy brains no more about it, for your 40 dull ass will not mend his pace with beating. Ham., v. 1.
Cui bono?—Whom does it benefit?
Cuidar muitas cousas, fazer huma—Think of many things, do only one. Port. Pr.
Cuidar naõ he saber—Thinking is not knowing. Port. Pr.
Cui lecta potenter erit res / Nec facundia deseret hunc nec lucidus ordo—He who has chosen a theme suited to his powers will never be at a loss for felicitous language or lucid arrangement. Hor.
Cuilibet in arte sua perito credendum est—Every 45 man is to be trusted in his own art. Pr.
Cui licitus est finis, etiam licent media—Where the end is lawful the means are also lawful. A Jesuit maxim.
Cui malo?—Whom does it harm?
Cui mens divinior atque os / Magna sonaturum des nominis hujus honorem—To him whose soul is more than ordinarily divine, and who has the gift of uttering lofty thoughts, you may justly concede the honourable title of poet. Hor.
Cui non conveniat sua res, ut calceus olim, / Si pede major erit, subvertet, si minor, uret—As a shoe, when too large, is apt to trip one, and when too small, to pinch the feet; so is it with him whose fortune does not suit him. Hor.
Cui placet alterius, sua nimirum est odio sors—When 50 a man envies another's lot, it is natural he should be discontented with his own. Hor.
Cui placet, obliviscitur; cui dolet, meminit—Acts of kindness are soon forgotten, but the memory of an offence remains. Pr.
Cui prodest scelus, is fecit—He has committed the crime who profits by it. Sen.
Cuique suum—His own to every one. Pr.
Cui serpe mozzica, lucenta teme—Whom a serpent has bitten fears a lizard. It. Pr.
Cujus est solum, ejus est usque ad cœlum—He 55 who owns the soil owns everything above it to the very sky. L.
Cujus rei libet simulator atque dissimulator—A finished pretender and dissembler. Sall.
Cujusvis hominis est errare: nullius nisi insipientis in errore perseverare—Every one is liable to err; none but a fool will persevere in error. Cic.
Cujus vita fulgor, ejus verba tonitrua—His words are thunderbolts whose life is as lightning. Mediæval Pr.
Cujus vulturis hoc erit cadaver?—To what harpy's will shall this carcass fall? Mart.
Cul de sac—A street, a lane or passage, that has no outlet. Fr.
Culpam pœna premit comes—Punishment follows 5 hard upon crime as an attendant. Hor.
Cultivated labour drives out brute labour. Emerson.
Cultivate not only the cornfields of your mind, but the pleasure-grounds also. Whately.
Cultivation is as necessary to the mind as food to the body. Cic.
Culture, aiming at the perfection of the man as the end, degrades everything else, as health and bodily life, into means. Emerson.
Culture enables us to express ourselves. 10 Hamerton.
Culture implies all which gives the mind possession of its own powers. Emerson.
Culture inverts the vulgar views of nature, and brings the mind to call that apparent which it uses to call real, and that real which it uses to call visionary. Emerson.
Culture is a study of perfection. Matthew Arnold.
Culture is the passion for sweetness and light, and (what is more) the passion for making them prevail. Matthew Arnold.
Culture (is the process by which a man) becomes 15 all that he was created capable of being, resisting all impediments, casting off all foreign, especially all noxious, adhesions, and showing himself at length in his own shape and stature, be these what they may. Carlyle.
Culture merely for culture's sake can never be anything but a sapless root, capable of producing at best a shrivelled branch. J. W. Cross.
Culture must not omit the arming of the man. Emerson.
Culture of the thinking, the dispositions (Gesinnungen), and the morals is the only education that deserves the name, not mere instruction. Herder.
Cum grano salis—With a grain of salt, i.e., with some allowance.
Cum privilegio—With privilege. 20
Cunctando restituit rem—He restored the cause (of Rome) by delay. Said of Fabius, surnamed therefore Cunctator.
Cuncti adsint, meritæque expectent præmia palmæ—Let all attend, and expect the rewards due to well-earned laurels. Virg.
Cunctis servatorem liberatoremque acclamantibus—All hailing him as saviour and deliverer.
Cunning is the art of concealing our own defects, and discovering other people's weaknesses. Hazlitt.
Cunning is the dwarf of wisdom. W. G. 25 Alger.
Cunning is the intensest rendering of vulgarity, absolute and utter. Ruskin.
Cunning is to wisdom as an ape to a man. William Penn.
Cunning leads to knavery; 'tis but a step, and that a very slippery, from the one to the other. Lying only makes the difference; add that to cunning, and it is knavery. La Bruyère.
Cunning signifies especially a habit or gift of over-reaching, accompanied with enjoyment and a sense of superiority. Ruskin.
Cunning surpasses strength. Ger. Pr. 30
Cupias non placuisse nimis—Do not aim at too much popularity. Mart.
Cupid is a knavish lad, / Thus to make poor females mad. Mid. N. Dream, iii. 2.
Cupid makes it his sport to pull the warrior's plumes. Sir P. Sidney.
Cupido dominandi cunctis affectibus flagrantior est—The desire of rule is the most ardent of all the affections of the mind. Tac.
Cupid's butt-shaft is too hard for Hercules' 35 club. Love's L. Lost, i. 2.
Curæ leves loquuntur, ingentes stupent—Light troubles are loud-voiced, deeper ones are dumb. Sen.
Cura facit canos—Care brings grey hairs. Pr.
Cura pii dis sunt, et qui coluere, coluntur—The pious-hearted are cared for by the gods, and they who reverence them are reverenced. Ovid.
Cura ut valeas—Take care that you keep well. Cic.
Curiosa felicitas—Studied felicity of thought or 40 of style.
Curiosis fabricavit inferos—He fashioned hell for the inquisitive. St. Augustine.
Curiosity is a desire to know why and how; such as is in no living creature but man. Hobbes.
Curiosity is lying in wait for every secret. Emerson.
Curiosity is one of the forms of feminine bravery. Victor Hugo.
Curiosity is the direct incontinency of the spirit. 45 Knock, therefore, at the door before you enter on your neighbour's privacy; and remember that there is no difference between entering into his house and looking into it. Jeremy Taylor.
Curiosity is the kernel of the forbidden fruit. Fuller.
Curiosus nemo est, quin idem sit malevolus—Nobody is inquisitive about you who does not also bear you ill-will. Plaut.
Curious to think how, for every man, any the truest fact is modelled by the nature of the man. Carlyle.
Currente calamo—With a running pen.
Cursed be the social ties that warp us from 50 the living truth. Tennyson.
Curse on all laws but those which love has made. Pope.
Curses always recoil on the head of him who imprecates them. If you put a chain around the neck of a slave, the other end fastens itself around your own. Emerson.
Curses are like chickens; they always return home. Pr.
Curses, not loud, but deep, mouth-honour, breath, / Which the poor heart would fain deny, but dare not. Macb., v. 3.
Curst be the man, the poorest wretch in life, / The crouching vassal to the tyrant wife, / Who has no will but by her high permission; / Who has not sixpence but in her possession; / Who must to her his dear friend's secret tell; / Who dreads a curtain lecture worse than hell. / Were such the wife had fallen to my part, / I'd break her spirit or I'd break her heart. Burns.
Curst be the verse, how well soe'er it flow, / That tends to make one worthy man my foe, / Give virtue scandal, innocence a fear, / Or from the soft-ey'd virgin steal a tear. Pope.
Curs'd merchandise, where life is sold, / And avarice consents to starve for gold. Rowe from Lucan.
Custom does often reason overrule, / And only serves for reason to the fool. Rochester.
Custom doth make dotards of us all. Carlyle. 5
Custom forms us all; / Our thoughts, our morals, our most fixed belief, / Are consequences of our place of birth. A. Hill.
Custom is the law of one set of fools, and fashion of another; but the two often clash, for precedent is the legislator of the one and novelty of the other. Colton.
Custom is the plague of wise men and the idol of fools. Pr.
Custom may lead a man into many errors, but it justifies none. Fielding.
Custom reconciles to everything. Burke. 10
Custos morum—The guardian of morality.
Custos regni—The guardian of the realm.
Custos rotulorum—The keeper of the rolls.
Cutis vulpina consuenda est cum cute leonis—The fox's skin must be sewed to that of the lion. L. Pr.
Cut men's throats with whisperings. Ben 15 Jonson.
Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin, / Unhousel'd, disappointed, unanel'd; / No reckoning made, but sent to my account / With all my imperfections on my head. Ham., i. 5.
Cut out the love of self, like an autumn lotus, with thy hand. Buddha.
Cutting honest throats by whispers. Scott.
Cut your coat according to your cloth. Pr.
Daar niets goeds in is, gaat niets goeds nit—Where 20 no good is in, no good comes out. Dut. Pr.
Daar 't een mensch wee doet, daar heeft hij de hand—A man lays his hand where he feels the pain. Dut. Pr.
Daar twee kijven hebben ze beiden schuld—When two quarrel both are to blame. Dut. Pr.
Daar zijn meer dieven als er opgehangen worden—There are more thieves than are hanged. Dut. Pr.
Dabit Deus his quoque finem—God will put an end to these calamities also. Virg.
Da capo—From the beginning. It. 25
D'accord—Agreed; in tune. Fr.
Da chi mi fido, / Guardi mi Dio. / Da chi non mi fido, / Mi guarderò io—From him I trust may God keep me; from him I do not trust I will keep myself. It. Pr.
Dachtet ihr, der Löwe schliefe, weil er nicht brüllte?—Did you think the lion was sleeping because it did not roar? Schiller.
Da die Götter menschlicher noch waren, / Waren Menschen göttlicher—When the gods were more human, men were more divine. Schiller.
Dádivas quebrantan peñas—Gifts dissolve rocks. 30 Sp. Pr.
Da du Welt nicht kannst entsagen, / Erobre dir sie mit Gewalt—Where thou canst not renounce the world, subdue it under thee by force. Platen.
Dafür bin ich ein Mann, dass sich aushalte in dem was ich begonnen, dass ich einstehe mit Leib und Leben für das Trachten meines Geistes—For this end am I a man, that I should persevere steadfastly in what I have began, and answer with my life for the aspiration of my spirit. Laube.
Daily life is more instructive than the most effective book. Goethe.
[Greek: daitos eïsês]—An equal diet. Hom.
[Greek: Dakry' adakrya]—Tearless tears. Eurip. 35
Dal detto al fatto v'è un gran tratto—From saying to doing is a long stride. It. Pr.
Da locum melioribus—Make way for your betters. Ter.
Dame donde me asiente, que yo me haré donde me acueste—Give where I may sit down, and I will make where I may lie down. Sp. Pr.
Dames quêteuses—Ladies who collect for the poor. Fr.
Dämmerung ist Menschenlos in jeder Beziehung—Twilight 40 (of dawn) is the lot of man in every relation. Feuchtersleben.
Damna minus consueta movent—Losses we are accustomed to, affect us little. Juv.
Damnant quod non intelligunt—They condemn what they do not understand. Quinct.
Damn'd neuters, in their middle way of steering, / Are neither fish, nor flesh, nor good red-herring. Dryden.
Damnosa hæreditas—An inheritance which entails loss. L.
Damnosa quid non imminuit dies?—What is 45 there that corroding time does not impair? Hor.
Damnum absque injuria—Loss without injustice. L.
Damnum appellandum est cum mala fama lucrum—Gain at the expense of credit must be set down as loss. Pr.
Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, / And without sneering, teach the rest to sneer. / Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike; / Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike. Pope.
Danari fanno danari—Money breeds money. It. Pr.
Dance attendance on their lordships' pleasure. 50 Hen. VIII., v. 2.
Dan Chaucer, well of English undefiled, / On Fame's eternal bead-roll worthy to be filed. Spenser.
Dandies, when first-rate, are generally very agreeable men. Bulwer Lytton.
Danger for danger's sake is senseless. Victor Hugo.
Danger is the very basis of superstition. It produces a searching after help supernaturally when human means are no longer supposed to be available. B. R. Haydon.
Danger levels man and brute, / And all are fellows in their need. Byron.
Danger past, God forgotten. Pr. 5
Dannosa è il dono che toglie la libertà—Injurious is the gift that takes away our liberty. It. Pr.
Dans l'adversité de nos meilleurs amis, nous trouvons toujours quelque chose qui ne nous déplait pas—In the misfortune of our best friends we find always something which does not displease us. La Roche.
Dans la morale, comme l'art, dire n'est rien, faire est tout—In morals as in art, talking is nothing, doing is all. Renan.
Dans l'art d'intéresser consiste l'art d'écrire—The art of writing consists in the art of interesting. Fr.
Dans le nombre de quarante ne fait-il pas un 10 zéro?—In the number forty is there not bound to be a cipher? Fr.
Dans les conseils d'un état, il ne faut pas tant regarder ce qu'on doit faire, que ce qu'on peut faire—In the councils of a state, the question is not so much what ought to be done, as what can be done. Fr.
Dante was very bad company, and was never invited to dinner. Emerson.
Dante, who loved well because he hated, / Hated wickedness that hinders loving. Browning.
Dantur opes nulli nunc nisi divitibus—Wealth now-a-days goes all to the rich. Mart.
Dapes inemptæ—Dainties unbought, i.e., home 15 produce. Hor.
Dapibus supremi / Grata testudo Jovis—The shell (lyre) a welcome accompaniment at the banquets of sovereign Jove. Hor.
Dare pondus idonea fumo—Fit only to give importance to trifles (lit. give weight to smoke). Pr.
Dare to be true, nothing can need a lie; / A fault which needs it most, grows two thereby. George Herbert.
Daring nonsense seldom fails to hit, / Like scattered shot, and pass with some for wit. Butler.
Darkness visible. Milton. 20
Darkness which may be felt. Bible.
Dark night, that from the eye his function takes, / The ear more quick of apprehension makes. Mid. N. Dream, iii. 2.
Dark with excessive bright. Milton.
Das Alte stürzt, es ändert sich die Zeit, / Und neues Leben blüht aus den Ruinen—The old falls, the time changes, and new life blossoms out of the ruins. Schiller.
Das Alter der göttlichen Phantasie / Es 25 ist verschwunden, es kehret nie—The age of divine fantasy is gone, never to return. Schiller.
Das Alter wägt, die Jugend wagt—Age considers, youth ventures. Raupach.
Das arme Herz, hienieden / Von manchem Sturm bewegt, / Erlangt den wahren Frieden, / Nur, wo es nicht mehr schlägt—The poor heart, agitated on earth by many a storm, attains true peace only when it ceases to beat. Salis-Seewis.
Das Auge des Herrn schafft mehr als seine beiden Hände—The master's eye does more than both his hands. Ger. Pr.
Das begreife ein andrer als ich!—Let another try to understand that; I cannot. A. Lortzing.
Das Beste, was wir von der Geschichte haben, 30 ist der Enthusiasmus, den sie erregt—The best benefit we derive from history is the enthusiasm which it excites. Goethe.
Das Edle zu erkennen ist Gewinnst / Der nimmer uns entrissen werden kann—The ability to appreciate what is noble is a gain which no one can ever take from us. Goethe.
Das einfach Schöne soll der Kenner schätzen; / Verziertes aber spricht der Menge zu—The connoisseur of art must be able to appreciate what is simply beautiful, but the common run of people are satisfied with ornament. Goethe.
Das Erste und Letzte, was vom Genie gefordert wird, ist Wahrheitsliebe—The first and last thing which is required of genius is love of truth. Goethe.
Das Geeinte zu entzweien, das Entzweite zu einigen, ist das Leben der Natur—Dividing the united, uniting the divided, is the life of Nature. Goethe.
Das Geheimniss ist für die Glücklichen—Mystery 35 is for the favoured of fortune. Schiller.
Das Genie erfindet, der Witz findet bloss—Genius invents, wit merely finds. Weber.
Das Gesetz ist der Freund des Schwachen—Law is the protector of the weak. Schiller.
Das Gesetz nur kann uns Freiheit geben—Only law can give us freedom. Goethe.
Das Gewebe dieser Welt ist aus Nothwendigkeit und Zufall gebildet; die Vernunft des Menschen stellt sich zwischen beide, und weiss sie zu beherrschen—The web of this world is woven out of necessity and contingency; the reason of man places itself between the two, and knows how to control them. Goethe.
Das glaub' ich—That is exactly my opinion. 40 Ger. Pr.
Das Glück deiner Tage / Wäge nicht mit der Goldwage. / Wirst du die Krämerwage nehmen, / So wirst du dich schämen und dich bequemen—Weigh not the happiness of thy days with goldsmith's scales. Shouldst thou take the merchant's, thou shalt feel ashamed and adapt thyself. Goethe.
Das Glück giebt Vielen zu viel, aber Keinem genug—Fortune gives to many too much, but to no one enough. Ger. Pr.
Das glücklichste Wort es wird verhöhnt, / Wenn der Hörer ein Schiefohr ist—The happiest word is scorned, if the hearer has a twisted ear. Goethe.
Das grosse unzerstörbare Wunder ist der Menschenglaube an Wunder—The great indestructible miracle is man's faith in miracle. Jean Paul.
Das Grösste, was dem Menschen begegnen 45 kann, ist es wohl, in der eigenen Sache die allgemeine zu vertheitigen—The noblest function, I should say, that can fall to man is to vindicate all men's interests in vindicating his own. Ranke.
Das hat die Freude mit dem Schmerz gemein, / Dass sie die Menschen der Vernunft beraubt—Joy has this in common with pain, that it bereaves man of reason. Platen.
Das Heiligste, die Pflicht, ist leider das, was wir am öftersten in uns bekämpfen und meistens wider Willen thun—Duty, alas! which is the most sacred instinct in our nature, is that which we most frequently struggle with in ourselves, and generally do against our will. R. Gutzkow.
Das Herz gleicht dem Mühlsteine der Mehl gibt, wenn man Korn aufshüttet, aber sich selbst zerreibt, wenn man es unterlasst—The heart is like a millstone, which yields meal if you supply it with grain, but frets itself away if you neglect to do so. Weber.
Das Herz und nicht die Meinung ehrt den Mann—It is his heart, and not his opinion, that is an honour to a man. Schiller.
Das höchste Glück ist das, welches unsere 5 Mängel verbessert und unsere Fehler ausgleicht—The best fortune that can fall to a man is that which corrects his defects and makes up for his failings. Goethe.
Das Hohngelächter der Hölle—The scoffing laughter of Hell. Lessing.
Das Ideal in der Kunst, Grösse in Ruhe darzustellen, sei das Ideal auf dem Throne—Let the ideal in art, the representation of majesty in repose, be the ideal on the throne. Jean Paul.
Das ist die wahre Liebe, die immer und immer sich gleich bleibt, / Wenn man ihr alles gewährt, wenn man ihr alles versagt—That is true love which is ever the same (lit. equal to itself), whether everything is conceded to it or everything denied. Goethe.
Das Jahrhundert / Ist meinem Ideal nicht reif. Ich lebe / Ein Bürge derer, welche kommen werden—The century is not ripe for my ideal; I live as an earnest of those that are to come. Schiller.
Das Kind mit dem Bade verschütten—To throw 10 away the child with the bath, i.e., the good with the bad. Ger. Pr.
Das Kleine in einen grossen Sinne behandeln, ist Hoheit des Geistes; das Kleine für gross und wichtig halten, ist Pedantismus—To treat the little in a large sense is elevation of spirit; to treat the little as great and important is pedantry. Feuchersleben.
Das Leben dünkt ein ew'ger Frühling mir—Life seems to me an eternal spring. Lortzing.
Das Leben eines Staates ist, wie ein Strom, in fortgehender Bewegung; wenn der Strom steht, so wird er Eis oder Sumpf—The life of a state, like a stream, lies in its onward movement; if the stream stagnates, it is because it is frozen or a marsh. J. v. Müller.
Das Leben gehört den Lebendigen an, und wer lebt, muss auf Wechsel gefasst sein—Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes. Goethe.
Das Leben heisst Streben—Life is a striving. 15 Ger. Pr.
Das Leben ist die Liebe / Und des Lebens Leben Geist—Life is love, and the life of life, spirit. Goethe.
Das Leben ist nur ein Moment, der Tod ist auch nur einer—Life is but a moment, death also is but another. Schiller.
Das Leben lehrt uns, weniger mit uns / Und andern strenge sein—Life teaches us to be less severe both with ourselves and others. Goethe.
Das Nächste das Liebste—The nearest is the dearest. Ger. Pr.
Das Nächste steht oft unergreifbar fern—What 20 is nearest is often unattainably far off. Goethe.
Da spatium tenuemque moram; male cuncta, ministrat / Impetus—Allow time and slight delay; haste and violence ruin everything. Stat.
Das Publikum, das ist ein Mann / Der alles weiss und gar nichts kann—The public is a personage who knows everything and can do nothing. L. Roberts.
Das Recht hat eine wächserne Nase—Justice has a nose of wax. Ger. Pr.
Das Reich der Dichtung ist das Reich der Wahrheit / Schliesst auf das Heiligthum, es werde Licht—The kingdom of poetry is the kingdom of truth; open the sanctuary and there is light. A. v. Chamisso.
Das Schicksal ist ein vornehmer aber theurer 25 Hofmeister—Fate is a distinguished but expensive pedagogue. Goethe.
Das schönste Glück des denkenden Menschen ist, das Erforschliche erforscht zu haben, und das Unerforschliche ruhig zu verehren—The fairest fortune that can fall to a thinking man is to have searched out the searchable, and restfully to adore the unsearchable. Goethe.
Das schwere Herz wird nicht durch Worte leicht—Words bring no relief to a saddened heart. Schiller.
Das Schwerste in allen Werken der Kunst ist dass dasjenige, was sehr ausgearbeitet worden, nicht ausgearbeitet scheine—The most difficult thing in all works of art is to make that which has been most highly elaborated appear as if it had not been elaborated at all. Winkelmann.
Das Siegel der Wahrheit ist Einfachheit—The seal of truth is simplicity. Boerhave.
Das sind die Weisen, / Die durch Irrtum zur 30 Wahrheit reisen; / Die bei dem Irrtum verharren, / Das sind die Narren—Those are wise who through error press on to truth; those are fools who hold fast by error. Rückert.
Das Sprichwort sagt: Ein eigner Herd, / Ein braves Weib sind Gold und Perlen wert—A proverb says: A hearth of one's own and a good wife are worth gold and pearls. Goethe.
Das Talent arbeitet, das Genie schafft—Talent works, genius creates. Schumann.
Das Unglück kann die Weisheit nicht, Doch Weisheit kann das Unglück tragen—Misfortune cannot endure wisdom, but wisdom can endure misfortune. Bodenstedt.
Das Universum ist ein Gedanke Gottes—The universe is a thought of God. Schiller.
Das Unvermeidliche mit Würde trage—Bear 35 the inevitable with dignity. Streckfuss.
Das Vaterland der Gedanken ist das Herz: an dieser Quelle muss schöpfen, wer frisch trinken will—The native soil of our thoughts is the heart; whoso will have his fresh must draw from this spring. Börne.
Das Verhängte muss geschehen, / Das Gefürchte muss nahn—The fated must happen; the feared must draw near. Schiller.
Das Volk ist frei; seht an, wie wohl's ihm geht!—The people are free, and see how well they enjoy it. Mephisto, in "Faust."
Das Volk schätzt Stärke vor allem—The people rate strength before everything. Goethe.
Das Vortreffliche ist unergründlich, man mag damit anfangen was man will—What is excellent cannot be fathomed, probe it as and where we will. Goethe.
Das Wahre ist gottähnlich; es erscheint nicht unmittelbar, wir müssen es ans seinen Manifestationen errathen—Truth is like God; it reveals itself not directly; we must divine it out of its manifestations. Goethe.