Multa hospitia, nullas amicitias
“Many places to stay, no friendships.”
Seneca, Epistulae morales 2.2 (excerpt)
What does “Multa hospitia, nullas amicitias” mean?
Multa hospitia, nullas amicitias translates as “Many places to stay, no friendships.”
Always on the move, you meet many people but make no real friends.
“Multa hospitia, nullas amicitias” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Multa | many | neuter accusative plural of multus, “much, many”; agrees with hospitia |
| hospitia | places of hospitality, hosts’ houses | accusative plural of hospitium, hospitii (neuter), “hospitality, lodging”; object of habeant, which is left out here |
| nullas | no | feminine accusative plural of nullus, “no, none”; agrees with amicitias |
| amicitias | friendships | accusative plural of amicitia, amicitiae (feminine), “friendship”; second object of habeant |
How to pronounce “Multa hospitia, nullas amicitias”
Church Latin drops the h, turns ti before a vowel into tsee and c before i into ch. The stress is the same in both: hos-PIH, ah-mih-KIH.
The story behind it
Word for word the phrase says “many lodgings, no friendships”. The words are accusative because in Seneca they are the objects of habeant, “they have”, which is left out here.
The line comes from Seneca’s second letter to Lucilius, Epistulae morales 2.2. Seneca writes that people who spend their lives travelling end up with many hosts but no friends, and that the same happens to readers who rush through many authors without settling on any.
His point is about reading: depth with a few good books is better than skimming many. Quoted alone, the phrase has become a remark about restless travel and shallow connections.
How to use “Multa hospitia, nullas amicitias”
It works as a slightly ironic caption for travel photos, a motto about depth over variety, or a reminder for readers and students who flit from book to book.
- Latin
- Multa hospitia, nullas amicitias
- English
- Many places to stay, no friendships.
- Source
- Seneca, Epistulae morales 2.2 (excerpt)
- Era
- Antiquity
- Theme
- Friendship
Common mistakes
- Seneca’s full sentence has a verb, ut multa hospitia habeant, nullas amicitias, “so that they have many lodgings, no friendships”. The short form leaves it out, so cite it as an excerpt.
- Hospitia does not mean “hospitals”. It means places where a guest is received.
- The saying is not only about travel. Seneca uses travellers as an image for readers who never stay long with any author.
Questions about “Multa hospitia, nullas amicitias”
What does “Multa hospitia, nullas amicitias” mean literally?
“Many lodgings, no friendships.” With Seneca’s verb restored: they have many places to stay but no friendships.
Who wrote “Multa hospitia, nullas amicitias”?
Seneca, in his second letter to Lucilius (Epistulae morales 2.2). The phrase is a shortened excerpt of his sentence.
Why are the words of “Multa hospitia, nullas amicitias” in the accusative?
In Seneca they are the objects of the verb habeant, “they have”, which the short form omits.
How do you pronounce “Multa hospitia, nullas amicitias”?
Classical: MOOL-tah hos-PIH-tee-ah NOOL-lahs ah-mih-KIH-tee-ahs. Church Latin: MOOL-tah os-PEE-tsee-ah NOOL-lahs ah-mee-CHEE-tsee-ahs.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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