The Roman World

cross the Rubicon (idiom)

To take a step you cannot undo.

The Rubicon, January 49 BC.

the die is cast (idiom)

The decision is made and there is no going back.

What he said at the crossing.

veni, vidi, vici (idiom)

I came, I saw, I conquered — used of a job done fast and without difficulty.

Zela, 47 BC — the war report.

Caesar's wife must be above suspicion (idiom)

People in public positions must avoid even the appearance of wrongdoing, guilty or not.

The Bona Dea scandal, 62 BC.

beware the Ides of March (idiom)

A warning that a specific day, or a trusted circle, holds danger.

Spurinna's warning, 15 March 44 BC.

Et tu, Brute? (idiom)

Said when the person betraying you is the last one you expected.

Brutus, in the Senate.

sic semper tyrannis (idiom)

Thus always to tyrants — a slogan claiming that oppressors get what is coming to them.

What the assassins told themselves.

bread and circuses (idiom)

Food and entertainment handed out by those in power to keep the public quiet.

Juvenal's complaint.

circus (word)

a show with performers like clowns and acrobats, or a place where many streets meet; it can also describe a very busy or chaotic situation.

The Circus Maximus.

a Roman holiday (idiom)

Enjoyment taken from watching somebody else suffer.

Byron on the Dying Gaul.

fiddle while Rome burns (idiom)

To busy yourself with trivia while a disaster you could be addressing unfolds.

Nero and the fire of AD 64.

triumph (word)

a great success or victory after a lot of hard work; as a verb, it means to win or succeed against something difficult.

The victory parade.

laurel (word)

a type of evergreen tree with shiny leaves, often used as a symbol of success or victory.

The victor's wreath.

rest on one's laurels (idiom)

To rely on past success and stop making the effort to keep improving.

What the wreath came to mean.

to the victor belong the spoils (idiom)

Whoever wins gets to take everything that comes with winning.

The plunder in the parade.

purple (word)

a colour made by mixing red and blue; it is also used to describe royal power or very fancy writing.

The dye reserved for emperors.

wear the purple (idiom)

To hold supreme power, or to be born into the family that holds it.

Holding the office itself.

all roads lead to Rome (idiom)

Different paths can take one to the same goal.

The road network and the Golden Milestone.

Rome wasn't built in a day (idiom)

It takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive.

A medieval proverb about Roman scale.

when in Rome, do as the Romans do (idiom)

It is wise to adapt to the circumstances; it is wise to follow common custom.

Ambrose's advice on local custom.

forum (word)

a place or meeting where people can exchange ideas and discuss particular issues, either in person or on the internet.

The square at the centre of civic life.

vox populi (idiom)

The opinion of ordinary people, taken as a verdict.

What was heard in it.

Hannibal at the gates (idiom)

A threat so close and so serious that everything else stops mattering.

Hannibal in Italy, 218–203 BC.

a Pyrrhic victory (idiom)

A win that costs so much it feels almost like a defeat.

Pyrrhus beats Rome and loses anyway.

divide and conquer (idiom)

To keep opponents from uniting so that each can be dealt with separately.

How Rome handled the defeated.

fortune favours the bold (idiom)

Luck tends to go to the person willing to take the risk.

Virgil, Aeneid X.

si vis pacem, para bellum (idiom)

If you want peace, prepare for war — the argument that strength is what prevents attack.

Vegetius on why armies train.

casus belli (idiom)

The event a side points to as its justification for going to war.

The paperwork of a just war.

semper fidelis (idiom)

Always faithful — a pledge of loyalty that does not expire.

The soldier's oath.

the sword of Damocles (idiom)

A constant, looming danger that could strike at any moment, hanging over someone who seems fortunate.

Cicero's story about power.

carpe diem (idiom)

Seize the day — make use of today rather than counting on tomorrow.

Horace, Odes 1.11.

tempus fugit (idiom)

Time flies — said when far more of it has gone than you expected.

Virgil, Georgics.

memento mori (idiom)

A reminder that you are going to die, and that this should change how you spend the time.

The warning in the chariot.

in vino veritas (idiom)

People say what they actually think once they have had a drink.

Pliny the Elder.

festina lente (idiom)

Make haste slowly — move quickly, but never faster than you can do it properly.

Augustus' favourite motto.

to err is human (idiom)

Making mistakes is part of being a person, so a mistake alone is not a scandal.

Cicero, then Pope.

homo homini lupus (idiom)

Man is a wolf to man — people are dangerous to each other.

Plautus, Asinaria.

alter ego (idiom)

A second self — either a trusted other person or a different side of yourself.

Cicero on friendship.

tabula rasa (idiom)

A blank slate — a mind or a situation with nothing yet written on it.

The scraped wax tablet.

magnum opus (idiom)

Somebody's greatest work — the one they will be remembered for.

The great work.

in medias res (idiom)

Starting in the middle of the action rather than at the beginning.

Horace, Ars Poetica.

non sequitur (idiom)

A conclusion or remark that does not follow from what came before.

The rhetorician's verdict.

ad nauseam (idiom)

Repeated so often that everyone is sick of it.

Past what an audience bears.

bona fide (idiom)

Genuine and honestly meant — the real thing, not a pretence.

The Roman standard of good faith.

caveat emptor (idiom)

Let the buyer beware — checking what you are buying is your own problem.

What Rome did not actually say.

quid pro quo (idiom)

Something given in return for something else, usually as an understood trade.

From the apothecary's substitute.

de facto (idiom)

In practice, whatever the official position says.

The question of fact.

de jure (idiom)

According to the law, whether or not that is what actually happens.

The question of law.

ipso facto (idiom)

By that very fact — the consequence follows automatically, with no further step.

Consequences that need no hearing.

the status quo (idiom)

The way things currently are, especially when someone wants to keep them that way.

In statu quo ante bellum.

ad hoc (idiom)

Made for this one situation, with no general rule behind it.

For this case only.

cui bono (idiom)

Who benefits? — asked to find out who is really behind something.

The judge Cassius's question.

ignorance of the law is no excuse (idiom)

Not knowing a rule existed will not get you out of having broken it.

Straight out of the Digest.

modus operandi (idiom)

A person's characteristic way of doing something, recognisable across occasions.

How the thing was done.

persona non grata (idiom)

Someone who is no longer welcome, and has been told so.

Vienna Convention, Article 9.

annus horribilis (idiom)

A thoroughly awful year.

annus mirabilis (idiom)

A year of remarkable achievement or good fortune.

nota bene (idiom)

Note well — pointing the reader at something they must not skip.

per capita (idiom)

Per person — a total divided by the number of people it covers.

per se (idiom)

In itself — used to separate a thing from what happens to surround it.

vice versa (idiom)

The other way round — the same statement with the two parts swapped.