Nec minor est virtus quam quaerere, parta tueri
“Keeping what you have gained is no less a skill than gaining it.”
Ovid, Ars amatoria 2.13
What does “Nec minor est virtus quam quaerere, parta tueri” mean?
Nec minor est virtus quam quaerere, parta tueri translates as “Keeping what you have gained is no less a skill than gaining it.”
Holding on to success takes as much effort as achieving it.
“Nec minor est virtus quam quaerere, parta tueri” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Nec | and not; nor | conjunction (nec = neque); here it negates minor, “not less” |
| minor | less, smaller | nominative singular, comparative adjective (minor, minus) agreeing with virtus |
| est | is | 3rd person singular present indicative of sum, esse, “to be” |
| virtus | a skill, a merit, a virtue | nominative singular feminine of virtus, virtutis; the subject of est. Here it means skill or merit rather than moral virtue |
| quam | than | conjunction; introduces the comparison after minor |
| quaerere | to seek, to gain | present infinitive active of quaero, “I seek”; the thing compared with tueri |
| parta | things won, what has been gained | accusative plural neuter of the perfect participle (passive) of pario, “I bring forth, I gain”; object of tueri |
| tueri | to keep, to guard | present infinitive of tueor, “I watch over” (a deponent verb: passive form, active meaning) |
How to pronounce “Nec minor est virtus quam quaerere, parta tueri”
The difference lies in virtus: Classical has a w sound and a short u (WIR-toos, the first syllable like “weer” in “weir”), Church Latin has a v sound (VEER-toos). The ae in quaerere is “eye” in Classical and “eh” in Church Latin.
The story behind it
Word for word the line says “nor is it less a skill to seek than to guard what has been gained”. It is a pentameter-style half of a couplet, a neat balance of two verbs, quaerere (to get) and tueri (to keep).
It comes from Ovid’s Ars amatoria (“The Art of Love”), Book 2, a playful Roman poem of advice on love, written around the turn of the first century AD. In Book 2 Ovid moves from winning a lover to keeping one, and this line makes the point that holding on takes as much effort as the chase.
Taken out of its erotic setting, the line is often quoted about any success: a business, a reputation, a title or a friendship. The idea is that winning is only half the task.
How to use “Nec minor est virtus quam quaerere, parta tueri”
It suits a card for someone who has reached a goal and now has to maintain it, a desk motto about sustaining a business or habit, or an essay on the effort of keeping success. As a tattoo it reads as a statement about perseverance after the victory.
- Latin
- Nec minor est virtus quam quaerere, parta tueri
- English
- Keeping what you have gained is no less a skill than gaining it.
- Source
- Ovid, Ars amatoria 2.13
- Era
- Classical
- Theme
- Effort
Common mistakes
- Do not read virtus as “virtue” in the moral sense. Here it means skill, merit or effort.
- The line is about love in Ovid’s own context, not about winning in war or business. Using it more widely is a later reuse.
- The word parta is a neuter plural participle (“things gained”), not a noun in its own right. Changing it to a singular form changes the grammar and the sense.
- The full line is often cut to “quaerere, parta tueri”, which loses the comparison “not less … than”.
Questions about “Nec minor est virtus quam quaerere, parta tueri”
What does “Nec minor est virtus quam quaerere, parta tueri” mean literally?
“Nor is it less a skill to seek than to guard what has been won.” In plain English: keeping your gains takes as much skill as making them.
Who said “Nec minor est virtus quam quaerere, parta tueri”?
The Roman poet Ovid, in Ars amatoria 2.13, where he advises on keeping a lover after winning one.
How do you pronounce “Nec minor est virtus quam quaerere, parta tueri”?
Classical: nek MEE-nor est WIR-toos kwam KWY-reh-reh PAR-tah too-EH-ree. Church Latin changes virtus to VEER-toos and quaerere to KWEH-reh-reh.
Is “Nec minor est virtus quam quaerere, parta tueri” good Latin for a tattoo?
Yes, it is genuine classical Latin by Ovid and grammatically correct as written. Be aware that virtus here means skill or merit, and that the line originally concerns love.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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