Fortis est non perturbari in rebus asperis
“It is the mark of the brave not to be shaken in difficult times.”
After Cicero, De officiis 1.80
What does “Fortis est non perturbari in rebus asperis” mean?
Fortis est non perturbari in rebus asperis translates as “It is the mark of the brave not to be shaken in difficult times.”
Real strength is staying calm when things get hard.
“Fortis est non perturbari in rebus asperis” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Fortis | brave, strong | nominative singular, masculine or feminine, of fortis, “brave, strong”; here the predicate of est |
| est | it is | third person singular present indicative of sum, “I am” |
| non | not | adverb of negation, here negating the infinitive perturbari |
| perturbari | to be shaken, to be thrown into confusion | present passive infinitive of perturbo, “I disturb, I throw into confusion” |
| in | in | preposition taking the ablative here, “in, amid” |
| rebus | things, circumstances | ablative plural of res, “thing, matter, circumstance” |
| asperis | harsh, difficult | ablative plural feminine of asper, “rough, harsh”, agreeing with rebus |
How to pronounce “Fortis est non perturbari in rebus asperis”
Both pronunciations sound the same here, since the quote has no c or g before e or i and no v. The stress falls on the first syllable of fortis, the third of perturbari (the long a), the first of rebus and the first of asperis.
The story behind it
Word for word the line says “brave it is not to be shaken in rough things”, which in natural English becomes “it is the mark of the brave not to be shaken in difficult times”. Here fortis means brave in the sense of steady and strong of character, and in rebus asperis is a standard phrase for hard circumstances.
The line is a shortened form of a sentence in Cicero’s On Duties (De officiis, 1.80), written in 44 BC. There Cicero says it belongs to a brave and steady mind not to be thrown into confusion in difficult times.
Cicero was drawing on Greek Stoic ideas about courage and self-command and adapting them for a Roman reader. Because the shortened Latin is not Cicero’s exact wording, it is best credited as “after Cicero”, as on this page.
How to use “Fortis est non perturbari in rebus asperis”
A fitting motto for a desk, a note of encouragement to someone going through a hard stretch, or a tattoo about calm under pressure. It also suits an essay on courage, leadership or Stoic ideas.
- Latin
- Fortis est non perturbari in rebus asperis
- English
- It is the mark of the brave not to be shaken in difficult times.
- Source
- After Cicero, De officiis 1.80
- Era
- Antiquity
- Theme
- Courage
Common mistakes
- The correct spelling is perturbari. A shop design on this site’s source material spells it “pertubaris”, which is not a Latin word, so check any product before you buy or ink it.
- The line is not word for word Cicero. It is a shortened form of his sentence in De officiis 1.80, so quote it as “after Cicero”.
- Fortis does not mean “strong” only in a physical sense. Here it means brave and steady of mind.
- Perturbari is passive, “to be shaken”. Turning it into an active form such as perturbare would change the meaning to “to shake (someone else)”.
Questions about “Fortis est non perturbari in rebus asperis”
What does “Fortis est non perturbari in rebus asperis” mean literally?
Literally, “brave it is not to be shaken in rough things”. In natural English: it is the mark of the brave not to be thrown into confusion in hard times.
Who said “Fortis est non perturbari in rebus asperis”?
It is a shortened form of a sentence by Cicero in De officiis (On Duties) 1.80, so it is credited as “after Cicero” rather than as his exact words.
How do you pronounce “Fortis est non perturbari in rebus asperis”?
In Classical Latin: FOR-tiss est nohn per-toor-BAH-ree in REH-boos AHS-peh-rees. The Church pronunciation is the same for this line.
Is “Fortis est non perturbari in rebus asperis” correct Latin for a tattoo?
Yes, if spelled exactly as given, with perturbari. Do not copy the misspelling “pertubaris” from some shop designs. Always compare the spelling with this page before inking.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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