Arcem facere e cloaca
“To make a citadel out of a sewer.”
Cicero, Pro Plancio 95
What does “Arcem facere e cloaca” mean?
Arcem facere e cloaca translates as “To make a citadel out of a sewer.”
To blow up something trivial into something huge – like making a mountain out of a molehill.
“Arcem facere e cloaca” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Arcem | citadel, fortress | accusative singular of arx, “citadel”; the direct object of facere |
| facere | to make | present infinitive of facio, “I make, I do” |
| e | out of | preposition; takes the ablative. The form ex is used before vowels, e before consonants |
| cloaca | sewer | ablative singular of cloaca, “sewer, drain”; follows the preposition e |
How to pronounce “Arcem facere e cloaca”
The two differ only in the c of arcem and the c of facere, which are hard (k) in Classical Latin and soft (ch) in Church Latin. Stress falls on the first syllable of arcem and facere and on the second-to-last syllable of cloaca.
The story behind it
Word for word the phrase says “to make a citadel out of a sewer”. An arx was the fortified high point of a Roman town, so the picture is of building something grand from something low and unimpressive.
Cicero uses the expression in his speech in defence of Gnaeus Plancius (Pro Plancio), at section 95, where it works as a proverbial way of describing exaggeration. Latin dictionaries record it as a proverb in its own right.
Today it is best understood as the Roman counterpart of “making a mountain out of a molehill”, and it suits any situation where a small matter is blown out of proportion.
How to use “Arcem facere e cloaca”
It fits a witty caption about someone overreacting, a card for a friend who is making a fuss over nothing, or a motto for a desk where you keep small problems in perspective. As a tattoo it suits someone who likes an unusual, humorous Latin line.
- Latin
- Arcem facere e cloaca
- English
- To make a citadel out of a sewer.
- Source
- Cicero, Pro Plancio 95
- Era
- Antiquity
- Theme
- Humor
Common mistakes
- It is an infinitive phrase, so it reads “to make a citadel out of a sewer”. To say “he makes a citadel out of a sewer” you would need a finite verb, such as facit.
- The preposition e (or ex) takes the ablative, so cloaca must end in -a as an ablative. The accusative form would be cloacam, which is wrong here.
- Do not mistake arcem for arcum (“bow”). Arx, “citadel”, has the accusative arcem, which is a different word from arcus, “bow”.
- The phrase is a figurative proverb, so a literal translation about building a fortress from a drain misses the point of exaggeration.
Questions about “Arcem facere e cloaca”
What does “Arcem facere e cloaca” mean literally?
“To make a citadel out of a sewer.” It means to turn something small or lowly into something grand.
Who said “Arcem facere e cloaca”?
Cicero uses it in his speech Pro Plancio, section 95. Latin dictionaries also record it as a proverb.
How do you pronounce “Arcem facere e cloaca”?
In Classical Latin: AR-kem FAH-kih-reh eh kloh-AH-kah. In Church Latin the c in arcem and facere becomes ch.
Is “Arcem facere e cloaca” the Latin for “making a mountain out of a molehill”?
It is the closest classical equivalent in meaning, though the imagery differs. It is not a word-for-word match for the English idiom.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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