Una navis est iam bonorum omnium
“All good men are now in the same boat.”
Cicero, Epistulae ad familiares
What does “Una navis est iam bonorum omnium” mean?
Una navis est iam bonorum omnium translates as “All good men are now in the same boat.”
Shared danger unites people who might otherwise disagree. It calls for solidarity in a crisis.
“Una navis est iam bonorum omnium” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Una | one, a single | feminine nominative singular of unus, “one”; agrees with navis |
| navis | ship | nominative singular (feminine) of navis, “ship”; the subject of est |
| est | is | third person singular present indicative of sum, “I am” |
| iam | now, by this time | adverb of time; suggests a situation that has newly developed |
| bonorum omnium | of all the good (men) | genitive plural (masculine) of bonus, “good”, used as a noun, and of omnis, “all”; the genitive of possession: “belonging to all good men” |
How to pronounce “Una navis est iam bonorum omnium”
Classical has v as w and a hard sound throughout; the Church version has v as English v. Stress una on the first syllable, navis on the first, bonorum on the second (bo-NO-rum) and omnium on the first.
The story behind it
Word for word the line says “one ship is now of all the good”, which English renders as “all good men are now in the same boat”. It comes from Cicero’s letters to friends and associates, the Epistulae ad familiares.
Cicero lived through the political crises that ended the Roman Republic in the first century BC. In such letters he often speaks of boni, the “good men”, meaning those who supported the traditional order of the Republic.
The ship was a stock image of the state in Roman and Greek writing, so “one ship” suggests a shared fate. Today the idea survives in the English expression about being in the same boat.
How to use “Una navis est iam bonorum omnium”
A fitting motto for a team, family or group facing a hard stretch together, or a line for a speech about unity in a crisis. It also works as a caption for a photo of a crew, a rowing club or friends who went through something together.
- Latin
- Una navis est iam bonorum omnium
- English
- All good men are now in the same boat.
- Source
- Cicero, Epistulae ad familiares
- Era
- Classical
- Theme
- Solidarity
Common mistakes
- The word boni does not simply mean “nice people”. In Cicero it is a political label for respectable supporters of the Republic.
- Una navis is not “a ship” in the sense of just any vessel. Una stresses “one and the same”, which is the point of the line.
- Do not swap bonorum omnium into the singular or another gender without checking the endings, since both are genitive plural masculine.
Questions about “Una navis est iam bonorum omnium”
What does “Una navis est iam bonorum omnium” mean literally?
“One ship is now of all the good men”, meaning that all good men now share the same ship, or fate.
Who said “Una navis est iam bonorum omnium”?
It comes from Cicero’s letters, the Epistulae ad familiares, written in the last years of the Roman Republic.
How do you pronounce “Una navis est iam bonorum omnium”?
In Classical Latin: OO-nah NAH-wis est YAH-m boh-NOH-room OM-nee-oom. The Church version is OO-nah NAH-vees est YAH-m boh-NOH-room OM-nee-oom.
Is “Una navis est iam bonorum omnium” good for a tattoo?
The Latin is correct and reads well. Note that “good men” had a political sense for Cicero, so decide whether you want the plain English meaning of solidarity.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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