Greek original · Effort
Χαλεπὰ τὰ καλά
Chalepa ta kala
“Beautiful things are difficult.”
Greek proverb quoted by Plato (Republic, Hippias Major)
Meaning
What does “Chalepa ta kala” mean?
Anything truly good or beautiful takes effort to achieve or to understand.
Origin
The story behind it
Plato quotes this already old proverb several times, for example at the end of the Hippias Major, where Socrates admits that defining beauty is hard.
Greek and Latin
From Greek to Latin
The Greek originalΧαλεπὰ τὰ καλά
Chalepa ta kala
The Latin versionDifficilia quae pulchra
Erasmus gives the Latin form difficilia quae pulchra in his Adagia.
Pronunciation
How to say it
Roughly kha-leh-PA ta ka-LA.
When to use it
How to use it today
An encouraging line for students, athletes, artists and anyone working hard on something worthwhile.
- Greek
- Χαλεπὰ τὰ καλά
- Transliteration
- Chalepa ta kala
- English
- Beautiful things are difficult.
- Latin
- Difficilia quae pulchra
- Source
- Greek proverb quoted by Plato (Republic, Hippias Major)
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