Horace 65–8 bc
Roman poet 

1. Works of serious purpose and grand promises often have a purple patch or two stitched on, to shine far and wide.
   Ars Poetica l. 14
2. Brevis esse laboro,
   Obscurus fio.
   
    
   I strive to be brief, and I become obscure.
   Ars Poetica l. 25
3. Parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.
   
    
   Mountains will go into labour, and a silly little mouse will be born.
   Ars Poetica l. 139
4. In medias res
   Non secus ac notas auditorem rapit.
   
    
   He whisks his audience into the middle of things as though they knew already.
   Ars Poetica l. 148
5. Laudator temporis acti.
   
    
   A praiser of past times.
   Ars Poetica l. 173
6. Indignor quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus.
   
    
   I'm aggrieved when sometimes even excellent Homer nods.
   Ars Poetica l. 359
7. Ut pictura poesis.
   
    
   A poem is like a painting.
   Ars Poetica l. 361
8. Not gods, nor men, nor even booksellers have put up with poets being second-rate.
   Ars Poetica l. 372
9. Nullius addictus iurare in verba magistri,
   Quo me cumque rapit tempestas, deferor hospes.
   
    
   Not bound to swear allegiance to any master, wherever the wind takes me I travel as a visitor.
   the motto of the Royal Society ‘Nullius in verba [In the word of none]’, emphasizing reliance on experiment rather than authority, was adapted from this
   Epistles bk. 1, no. 1, l. 14
10. Si possis recte, si non, quocumque modo rem.
    
     
    If possible honestly, if not, somehow, make money.
    Epistles bk. 1, no. 1, l. 66; see Pope
11. Nos numerus sumus et fruges consumere nati.
    
     
    We are just statistics, born to consume resources.
    Epistles bk. 1, no. 2, l. 27
12. Sapere aude.
    
     
    Dare to know.
    Epistles bk. 1, no. 2, l. 40
13. Ira furor brevis est.
    
     
    Anger is a short madness.
    Epistles bk. 1, no. 2, l. 62
14. Nil admirari prope res est una, Numici,
    Solaque quae possit facere et servare beatum.
    
     
    To marvel at nothing is just about the one and only thing, Numicius, that can make a man happy and keep him that way.
    Epistles bk. 1, no. 6, l. 1; see Pope
15. Naturam expelles furca, tamen usque recurret.
    
     
    You may drive out nature with a pitchfork, yet she'll be constantly running back.
    Epistles bk. 1, no. 10, l. 24
16. Caelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt.
    
     
    They change their clime, not their frame of mind, who rush across the sea.
    Epistles bk. 1, no. 11, l. 27
17. Concordia discors.
    
     
    Discordant harmony.
    Epistles bk. 1, no. 12, l. 19
18. And once sent out a word takes wing beyond recall.
    Epistles bk. 1, no. 18, l. 71
19. Tua res agitur, paries cum proximus ardet.
    
     
    It is your business, when the wall next door catches fire.
    Epistles bk. 1, no. 18, l. 84
20. No verse can give pleasure for long, nor last, that is written by drinkers of water.
    Epistles bk. 1, no. 19, l. 2
21. Sic leve, sic parvum est, animum quod laudis avarum
    Subruit aut reficit.
    
     
    How light, how small is the thing which casts down or restores a mind greedy for praise.
    Epistles bk. 2, no. 1, l. 181
22. Atque inter silvas Academi quaerere verum.
    
     
    And seek for truth in the groves of Academe.
    Epistles bk. 2, no. 2, l. 45
23. Do you count your birthdays thankfully?
    Epistles bk. 2, no. 2, l. 210
24. Vitae summa brevis.
    
     
    Life's short span.
    Odes bk. 1, no. 4, l. 15
25. Nil desperandum.
    
     
    Never despair.
    Odes bk. 1, no. 7, l. 27
26. Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.
    
     
    Seize the day, put no trust in the future.
    Odes bk. 1, no. 11, l. 8
27. Integer vitae scelerisque purus.
    
     
    Wholesome of life and free of crimes.
    Odes bk. 1, no. 22, l. 1
28. Nunc est bibendum.
    
     
    Now for drinking.
    Odes bk. 1, no. 37, l. 1
29. Auream quisquis mediocritatem
    Diligit.
    
     
    Someone who loves the golden mean.
    Odes bk. 2, no. 10, l. 5
30. Eheu fugaces, Postume, Postume,
    Labuntur anni.
    
     
    Ah me, Postumus, Postumus, the fleeting years are slipping by.
    Odes bk. 2, no. 14, l. 1
31. Nihil est ab omni
    Parte beatum.
    
     
    Nothing is an unmixed blessing.
    Odes bk. 2, no. 16, l. 27
32. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.
    
     
    Lovely and honourable it is to die for one's country.
    Odes bk. 3, no. 2, l. 13; see Owen, Pound
33. Opaco
    Pelion imposuisse Olympo.
    
     
    To pile Pelion on top of shady Olympus.
    Odes bk. 3, no. 4, l. 52
34. Vis consili expers mole ruit sua.
    
     
    Force, unaided by judgement, collapses through its own weight.
    Odes bk. 3, no. 4, l. 65
35. Exegi monumentum aere perennius.
    
     
    I have erected a monument more lasting than bronze.
    Odes bk. 3, no. 30, l. 1
36. Non omnis moriar.
    
     
    I shall not altogether die.
    Odes bk. 3, no. 30, l. 6
37. Non sum qualis eram bonae
    Sub regno Cinarae.
    
     
    I am not as I was when good Cinara was my queen.
    Odes bk. 4, no. 1, l. 3; see Dowson
38. Many brave men lived before Agamemnon's time; but they are all, unmourned and unknown, covered by the long night, because they lack their sacred poet.
    Odes bk. 4, no. 9, l. 25
39. Dulce est desipere in loco.
    
     
    It's good to be silly at the right moment.
    Odes bk. 4, no. 12, l. 28
40. Est modus in rebus.
    
     
    There is moderation in everything.
    Satires bk. 1, no. 1, l. 106
41. …Ab ovo
    Usque ad mala.
    
     
    From the egg right through to the apples.
    from the start to the finish of a meal
    Satires bk. 1, no. 3, l. 6
42. Ridiculum acri
    Fortius et melius magnas plerumque secat res.
    
     
    Humour very often cuts the knot of serious questions more trenchantly and successfully than severity.
    Satires bk. 1, no. 10, l. 34
43. A host is like a general: misfortunes often reveal his genius.
    Satires bk. 2, no. 8, l. 73