Avarus nisi cum moritur, nil recte facit
“The miser does nothing right except when he dies.”
Publilius Syrus, Sententiae
What does “Avarus nisi cum moritur, nil recte facit” mean?
Avarus nisi cum moritur, nil recte facit translates as “The miser does nothing right except when he dies.”
A greedy man benefits others only by leaving his wealth behind. It is a biting comment on avarice.
“Avarus nisi cum moritur, nil recte facit” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Avarus | the miser, the greedy man | nominative singular masculine (subject) of avarus, “greedy”, used as a noun |
| nisi | except, unless | conjunction; here “except” before the clause that follows |
| cum | when | conjunction (not the preposition “with”); introduces the clause “when he dies” |
| moritur | he dies | 3rd person singular present indicative of morior, “I die” (a deponent verb: passive form, active meaning) |
| nil | nothing | short form of nihil; accusative singular neuter, object of facit |
| recte | rightly, properly | adverb, from rectus, “straight, right” |
| facit | he does | 3rd person singular present indicative active of facio, “I do, I make” |
How to pronounce “Avarus nisi cum moritur, nil recte facit”
The main differences are the v (w in Classical, v in Church) and the soft c in “facit” (k in Classical, ch in Church). Moritur is stressed on the first syllable, because the second-to-last syllable is short.
The story behind it
Word for word the line says “the miser, unless when he dies, does nothing rightly”. The odd-looking “nisi cum” means “except when”: the one moment a miser does something right is when he dies.
It is one of the sayings attributed to Publilius Syrus, a Syrian-born slave brought to Italy who gained his freedom and became a celebrated writer of short stage plays (mimes) in the first century BC. His lines were collected in the Sententiae, a list of one-line maxims arranged alphabetically.
The point is a bitter joke about avarice: a hoarder gives nothing while alive, so his death is the first time his wealth finally reaches other people. The thought is still easy to recognise in modern talk about wills and inheritance.
How to use “Avarus nisi cum moritur, nil recte facit”
A dark-humoured epigraph for an essay on inheritance, wealth or greed, or a pointed line in a speech or toast about a famous skinflint. It is too sharp for a gift card and an odd choice for a tattoo, unless you want the joke.
- Latin
- Avarus nisi cum moritur, nil recte facit
- English
- The miser does nothing right except when he dies.
- Source
- Publilius Syrus, Sententiae
- Era
- Classical
- Theme
- Money
Common mistakes
- “Cum” here means “when”, not “with”. Reading it as “with” makes the sentence nonsense.
- “Nil” is just a short form of “nihil”, not a different word. Both mean “nothing”.
- The maxim is often quoted without “nisi cum moritur”, which loses the whole joke.
- Avarus is masculine. For a greedy woman you would write avara, and the verb forms would stay the same.
Questions about “Avarus nisi cum moritur, nil recte facit”
What does “Avarus nisi cum moritur, nil recte facit” mean literally?
“The miser, except when he dies, does nothing rightly.” The sting is that his death is the only useful thing he does.
Who said “Avarus nisi cum moritur, nil recte facit”?
It is attributed to Publilius Syrus, a Roman writer of mimes in the first century BC, and comes from his collection of maxims called the Sententiae.
How do you pronounce “Avarus nisi cum moritur, nil recte facit”?
In Classical Latin: ah-WAH-roos NIH-see koom MOH-rih-toor neel REK-teh FAH-kit. In Church Latin the w becomes v and the c of facit sounds like ch.
Does “cum” here mean “with”?
No. Here it is a conjunction meaning “when”, and it is followed by the verb moritur, “he dies”.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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