Latin quotes starting with M
155 Latin quotes starting with M, from Macte animo, generose puer, sic itur ad astra to Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. Each with translation, meaning and the story behind it.
M
Macte animo, generose puer, sic itur ad astra
Take courage, noble youth: this is the way to the stars.
Magis illa iuvant quae pluris emuntur
Things please us more when they cost more.
Magister dixit
Magister mundi sum
I am master of the world.
Magna Carta
Great Charter.
Magna cum laude
With great praise.
Magna est veritas et praevalebit
Magna pars hominum est quae non peccatis irascitur, sed peccantibus
Magna pars libertatis est bene moratus venter et contumeliae patiens
Magna res est vocis et silentii temperamentum
Knowing the right balance of speech and silence is a great thing.
Magna servitus est magna fortuna
A great fortune is a great slavery.
Magnas inter opes inops
Poor in the midst of great wealth.
Magno cum gaudio
Magnos animos magnis honoribus fieri
Great spirits are made by great honours.
Magnum opus
Great work.
Magnum vectigal est parsimonia
Thrift is a great source of income.
Magnus gubernator et scisso navigat velo
A great pilot sails on even with a torn sail.
Maior e longinquo reverentia
Maior poena minorem absorbet
Maiorem hac dilectionem nemo habet, ut animam suam quis ponat pro amicis suis
Maiores pennas nido
Mala enim et impia consuetudo est contra deos disputandi, sive ex animo id fit sive simulate
Mala fides superveniens non nocet
Mala herba cito crescit
A bad weed grows quickly.
Mala hostibus eveniant
Mala malus mala mala dat
Mala sunt vicina bonis
Bad things are neighbours of good things.
Mala ultro adsunt
Troubles come of their own accord.
Male captus, bene detentus
Wrongly captured, properly detained.
Male parta male dilabuntur
Ill-gotten gains are ill spent.
Male vivet quisquis nesciet bene mori
Whoever does not know how to die well will live badly.
Mali corvi malum ovum
Mali principii malus finis
A bad beginning has a bad end.
Malim equidem indisertam prudentiam quam stultitiam loquacem
I would rather have good sense without eloquence than folly that talks a lot.
Malitiis non est indulgendum
Malleus maleficarum
Malo arboris nodo malus clavus et cuneus infigendus est
Malo mori quam foedari
Malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Malum discordiae
Malum est consilium, quod mutari non potest
It is a bad plan that cannot be changed.
Malum in se
Wrong in itself.
Malum prohibitum
Wrong because it is prohibited.
Malum quidem nullum esse sine aliquo bono
Malum quo communius, eo peius
The more common an evil, the worse it is.
Manibus date lilia plenis
Give lilies with full hands.
Mantua me genuit, Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc Parthenope; cecini pascua, rura, duces
Manu forti
With a strong hand.
Manu militari
With a military hand.
Manu propria
With one's own hand.
Manus Dei
Manus manum lavat
One hand washes the other.
Marcet sine adversario virtus
Virtue withers without an opponent.
Mare clausum
Mare ditat, rosa decorat
The sea enriches, the rose adorns.
Mare liberum
Mare nostrum
Our sea.
Margaritas ante porcos
Maria omnia caelo miscuit
Mater artium necessitas
Necessity is the mother of the arts.
Mater Dei
Mother of God.
Mater familias
The mother of the family.
Mater lectionis
Mother of reading.
Mater semper certa est
The mother is always certain.
Materia medica
Medical material.
Maxima debetur puero reverentia
The greatest respect is owed to a child.
Mea culpa
My fault.
Mea mihi conscientia pluris est quam omnium sermo
My conscience matters more to me than what everyone says.
Mea navis aëricumbens anguillis abundat
My hovercraft is full of eels.
Media vita in morte sumus
In the midst of life we are in death.
Medicus curat, natura sanat
The doctor treats, nature heals.
Medio flumine quaerere aquam
To look for water in the middle of a river.
Medio tutissimus ibis
You will go most safely in the middle.
Mediocribus esse poetis non homines, non di, non concessere columnae
Meliora
Melius est nomen bonum quam divitiae multae
A good name is better than great riches.
Memento audere semper
Memento mori
Remember that you will die.
Memento vivere
Remember to live.
Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris
Remember, man, that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Meminerunt omnia amantes
Memores acti, prudentes futuri
Mindful of the past, wise for the future.
Memoria minuitur, nisi eam exerceas
Memory weakens unless you exercise it.
Memoriae sacrum
Sacred to the memory.
Mendacem memorem esse oportet
A liar needs a good memory.
Mens agitat molem
The mind moves matter.
Mens et manus
Mind and hand.
Mens impudicam facere, non casus, solet
It is the mind, not what happens, that makes a woman unchaste.
Mens rea
Guilty mind.
Mens regnum bona possidet
A good mind possesses a kingdom.
Mens sana in corpore sano
A healthy mind in a healthy body.
Mente et artificio
With mind and skill.
Merx ultronea putet
Goods offered unasked stink.
Meum est propositum in taberna mori
It is my intention to die in the tavern.
Mihi cura futuri
Mihi enim vivere Christus est et mori lucrum
Mihi fere satis est quod vixi vel ad aetatem vel ad gloriam
I have lived almost long enough, both for my years and for my glory.
Mihi omne tempus est ad meos libros vacuum
All my time is free for my books.
Miles gloriosus
The boastful soldier.
Militat omnis amans, et habet sua castra Cupido
Militem aut monachum facit desperatio
Minima de malis
Mirabile dictu
Misce stultitiam consiliis brevem
Mix a little folly with your wisdom.
Miserando atque eligendo
Miserere nobis
Miserrima est fortuna quae inimico caret
Missio Dei
The mission of God.
Mobiles ad superstitionem perculsae semel mentes
Minds once shaken are easily moved to superstition.
Mobilis in mobili
Moving in the moving element.
Moderatio in omnibus
Modicus cibi, medicus sibi
Whoever eats moderately is his own doctor.
Modus operandi
Modus ponens
The mode that affirms.
Modus tollens
The mode that denies.
Modus vivendi
A way of living.
Molliter ossa cubent
Monstrum horrendum, informe, ingens, cui lumen ademptum
Montani semper liberi
Mora semper amantes incitat
Delay always spurs lovers on.
Moralitas, voluntas, creativitas
Morbi perniciosiores pluresque sunt animi quam corporis
Diseases of the mind are more numerous and more harmful than those of the body.
Moribus antiquis res stat Romana virisque
The Roman state stands on its ancient customs and its men.
Moriendo renascor
Mors certa, hora incerta
Death is certain, its hour uncertain.
Mors nobis tempus habetur iners
For us death is counted as idle time.
Mors ultima linea rerum est
Death is the final boundary of things.
Mors, ubi est victoria tua?
Morte magis metuenda senectus
Old age is more to be feared than death.
Mortem misericors saepe pro vita dabit
Mercy will often give death instead of life.
Mortui vivos docent
Mos maiorum
The custom of the ancestors.
Motu proprio
On his own initiative.
Mulgere hircum
To milk a he-goat.
Mulier est hominis confusio
Mulieres in ecclesia taceant
Multa e corpore existunt quae acuant mentem, multa quae obtundant
Many things in the body sharpen the mind, many blunt it.
Multa fidem promissa levant
Many promises lessen trust.
Multa hospitia, nullas amicitias
Many places to stay, no friendships.
Multa paucis
Much in few words.
Multa petentibus desunt multa
Multi famam, conscientiam pauci verentur
Many fear their reputation, few their conscience.
Multi sunt vocati, pauci vero electi
Multis e gentibus vires
From many peoples, strength.
Multitudo errantium non parit errori patrocinium
Multitudo sapientium sanitas orbis
A multitude of the wise is the health of the world.
Multo autem ad rem magis pertinet qualis tibi videaris quam aliis
What matters much more is how you see yourself than how others see you.
Multum clamoris, parum lanae
Multum in parvo
Much in little.
Mundus senescit
The world grows old.
Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur
The world wants to be deceived, so let it be deceived.
Munera nunc edunt et, verso pollice vulgus cum iubet, occidunt populariter
Munit haec et altera vincit
Mutatis mutandis
With the necessary changes made.
Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur
Change the name and the story is about you.