NIHIL

The notes here are taken from the actual Scala, so be warned that references to the "previous" proverb refer to its order in the Scala, not its order here. You can read more about the word at the Verbosum blog: NIHIL.

Nihil dat qui non habet. ~ Note: Another Latin legal maxim.

Post mortem nihil est, ipsaque mors nihil. ~ Note: In English, the Latin phrase "post mortem" is still used to refer to the autopsy used to determine the cause of death.

Nihil fit sine causa. ~ Note: You can see this principle invoked by Cicero against the Epicurean philosophy, in his treatise De Finibus, 1(ait enim declinare atomum sine causa; quo nihil turpius physico, quam fieri quicquam sine causa dicere).

Nihil in terra sine causa fit. ~ Note: You can find these words in the Biblical book of Job, 5.

Qui nihil amat, quid ei homini opus vita est? ~ Note: Once again you have both the dative (ei homini) and ablative (vita) complements of the phrase opus est.

Hoc unum scio: me nihil scire. ~ Note: Note that "me nihil scire" is an accusative+infinitive construction in indirect statement: (that) I know nothing.

Nisi causas scimus, nihil scimus. ~ Note: Compare the difference between knowing the causes of things and learning only from the outcome: Ex eventu sciemus.

Nihil non potest fortis animus. ~ Note: Note that here the double negative does make a positive: There is nothing a brave heart cannot do = a brave heart can do anything.

Nihil dulcius quam omnia scire. ~ Note: Note how the infinitive phrase here, omnia scire, is being used as a noun.

Nihil sine labore. ~ Note: This is the motto of St. Andrew's High School in Worthing, England.

Nihil sub sole novum. ~ Note: This is a saying from the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes, 1.

Nihil novum super terram. ~ Note: Nihil is the subject and novum is the predicate adjective: nihil (est) novum, "nothing is new." You can also find the saying in this form, Nil novi super terram, which is slightly different: nil novi is a noun phrase meaning "nothing new" (partitive genitive), so it would be rendered in English: "there is nothing new."

Nihil nisi mors certum est. ~ Note: This is a variation on the previous saying - now make the even more bold assertion that nothing is sure but death. Compare the famous English saying, "Nothing is sure but death and taxes," which goes back to the English author Daniel Defoe, but which was made famous by Benjamin Franklin.

Hoc unum certum est: nihil esse certi. ~ Note: The word "certi" here is in the genitive singular, an example of the so-called partitive genitive which you can find used with the word "nihil" - in English we say "nothing certain" but in Latin you say "nihil certi," "nothing (of) certain." (Compare the English "I'll have none of that!")

In hominum vita nihil est certi. ~ Note: Or, to put it more succinctly: Nil homini certum.

Nihil morte certius. ~ Note: Note that the indeclinable nihil is regarded as a neuter noun, hence the form certius, the neuter singular comparative form of certus: Nothing is more certain than death.

Solum certum nihil esse certi. ~ Note: Note how the noun phrase "nihil...certi" - nothing (of) certain - wraps around the infinitive: The one thing that is certain (solum certum) is that there is nothing certain (nihil esse certi).

Nihil sine ratione faciendum est. ~ Note: Here is another gerundive expressing necessity: Nothing is to be done without a plan.

Quam bene valere, melius in vita nihil. ~ Note: Notice that the expression of the comparison (quam) comes before the actual comparative word (melius), which is a word order we really cannot manage in English. Also, the indeclinable word "nihil" is regarded as a neuter noun, hence the neuter form "melius."

Aut Caesar aut nihil. ~ Note: This motto was famously attributed to Cesare Borgia.

Nihil amantibus durum est. ~ Note: You can find this phrase in Jerome, Epistle 22. where he invokes the example of the Biblical patriarch Jacob (Israel) who loved Rachel and labored seven years to make her his wife; Genesis 29.20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

Nihil discit qui sine ordine discit. ~ Note: Well, I have to confess that I have been a bit disorderly in my own studies! :-)

Nihil agendo, homines male agere discunt. ~ Note: Here you have the gerund used in the ablative, nihil agendo: by doing nothing, while doing nothing, etc.

Beata morte nihil beatius. ~ Note: The indeclinable nihil is regarded as neuter, hence the comparative neuter form: beatius. The ablative phrase "beata morte" expresses the comparison: Nothing is more happy than a happy death.

Nihil est ab omni parte beatum. ~ Note: The indeclinable nihil is regarded as a neuter singular, hence the neuter form of the participle, beatum. This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 3.1.87.

Felix qui nihil debet. ~ Note: Again, it helps to expand a bit on the Latin if you want to translate into English: Felix (est is) qui nihil debet. This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 2.7.98.

Qui nihil audet, nihil gaudet. ~ Note: The rhyme reveals the medieval origins of this proverb. Compare the English rhyming proverb: No pain, no gain.

Qui nihil audet, nihil accipit. ~ Note: The charm of this proverb depends on its parallel structure: nihil...nihil... Compare the English saying, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Pace nihil melius. ~ Note: From the use of melius here, you can see here that nihil is regarded as a neuter thing - or, rather, no-thing.

Unus nihil, duo plurimum possunt. ~ Note: Note the parallel structure: unus/duo and nihil/plurimum, with the verb serving for both.

Qui nihil habet, nihil perdit. ~ Note: Remember that it is sometimes helpful to add the word "can" when rendering a Latin verb into English, as here: "He who has nothing can lose nothing" (or, to use another English idiom, "has nothing to lose").

Praestat aliquid quam nihil. ~ Note: Recall that the verb praesto can introduce a comparison: Something is more outstanding (praestat) than nothing.

Nil sine magno vita labore dedit mortalibus. ~ Note: These words come from Horace's Satires, 1.9.

Nihil gratius est pace. ~ Note: As you have seen before, the indeclinable nihil is treated as a neuter noun, hence the neuter comparative form of gratus: gratius.

Qui nimium petit, nihil accipit. ~ Note: Here the contrast is between nimium (too much) and nihil (nothing at all).

Nihil est dictu facilius. ~ Note: You can find these words in Terence's Phormio. Compare the English expression: "That's easy to say."

Qui nimium probat, nihil probat. ~ Note: This is a type of logical fallacy: people who make sweeping conclusions can end up undermining what they originally set out to demonstrate. So, here is some advice to those of your writing the obligatory five paragraph essays for school: Don't feel obliged to show in the final paragraph that you have made an argument on a cosmic scale; just stick to what you originally set out to show. Qui nimium probat, nihil probat!

Dives est qui nihil cupit. ~ Note: This is a wonderful proverbial paradox: wealth comes not from what you do have, but from what you don't want: nihil cupere.

Sine ope divina nihil valemus. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings collected by Erasmus in his Adages, 3.9.54.

Mente nihil homini dedit Deus ipse divinius. ~ Note: The words are from Cicero's De Officiis, 3. Note the neuter form of the comparative adjective: divinius.

De absentibus nihil nisi bonum. ~ Note: This expresses the same idea again: (Say) nothing about those who are absent (nihil de absentibus), unless what you say is something good (nisi bonum).

Nihil discit qui cito discit. ~ Note: Again, the antecedent of the relative pronoun is not expressed: (Is) nihil discit, qui cito discit.

Deo nihil clausum est. ~ Note: As you can see, God plays the same role here as the all-seeing sun in the proverbs cited earlier, e.g. "Sol omnia aperit."

Cum re opus est, nihil prosunt verba. ~ Note: Note that here the word cum means "when," and the ablative re is a complement to the phrase opus est.

Si nihil velis timere, metuas omnia. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings recorded by Publilius Syrus.

Nihil recte sine exemplo docetur aut discitur. ~ Note: The advice is from Columella, De Re Rustica 12.

Fama nihil est celerius. ~ Note: Note that fama here is in the ablative, expressing the comparison: fama celerius, "swifter than rumor."

Mente nihil celerius. ~ Note: As often, the verb "est" is implied but not expressed: Mente nihil (est) celerius.

Vitium est omnia credere, vitium nihil credere. ~ Note: This is the same idea as in the previous saying, but now expressed in terms of omnia v. nihil.

Ars sine scientia nihil. ~ Note: The words are attributed to the 14th-century Parisian scholar Jean Mignot (Iohannes Mignotius); on the occasion of the building of the Cathedral of Milan, he was countering the idea that "Scientia est unum et ars aliud."

Nihil pulchrum, nisi utile. ~ Note: This is a more extreme utilitarian aesthetic, rejected the idea of beauty for its own sake. It is the motto inscribed on the Manchester Art Gallery in Manchester, England.

Homini nihil habenti nihil deest. ~ Note: The word nihil is the object of the participle, habenti: the man who has nothing (nihil habenti) lacks nothing (nihil deest). Note that the verb deest takes a dative complement: homini.

Nihil eripit Fortuna, nisi quod et dedit. ~ Note: This is a more elaborate version of the previous saying: Nihil eripit Fortuna, "Fortune can take away nothing, " nisi quod et dedit, "except that which she likewise gave" (the word et is being used adverbially there).

Multum scit qui nihil scit, si tacere scit. ~ Note: You can also find the saying in this form: Qui nihil scit, satis scit, si tacere noverit.

Nihil potentius auro. ~ Note: The word potentius is the neuter comparative form of potens, and auro expresses the comparison: Nothing is more powerful than gold.

In dubio nihil faciendum. ~ Note: Here the gerundive expresses the idea of a command: nihil faciendum, "do nothing!"

Homini nihil inimicius quam sibi ipse. ~ Note: The indeclinable noun nihil is regarded as neuter singular, hence the adjective: inimicius (neuter comparative of inimicus). The adjective inimicus in turn takes a dative complement: homini... sibi.

Saepe nihil inimicius homini quam sibi ipse. ~ Note: The indeclinable nihil is treated as a neuter noun, as you can see from the adjective, inimicius (neuter comparative form of inimicus).

Qui nimis probat, nihil probat. ~ Note: This is a principle of medieval philosophy which seems to have gained a new life of its own in arguments being conducted on the Internet!

Nihil, nisi quod praeteriit certum est. ~ Note: You have already seen that the future is uncertain: Omne futurum incertum.

Nihil est perpetuum datum. ~ Note: You can find this observation in Plautus's Cistellaria.

Deus et Natura nihil faciunt frustra. ~ Note: This expands on the idea of the previous proverb to add God into the equation with nature. In medieval philosophy this was connected with the idea of parsimony, made most famous in the principle of Ockham's Razor.

Natura nihil agit frustra. ~ Note: The implied contrast, of course, is that human beings do all kinds of things that are vain or useless. We should take a lesson from nature, who does not waste her time in such things!

Nihil facit servus, si multi domini imperent. ~ Note: Notice the subjunctive, imperent, which gives the statement a purely hypothetical quality.

Iustum perficito, nihil timeto. ~ Note: This is a motto of the Rogers family.

Nihil est simul et inventum et perfectum. ~ Note: Notice the et...et... construction, equivalent to English "both...and..."

Sub sole nihil perfectum. ~ Note: Compare the English saying, "Nobody's perfect."

Nihil est utile, nisi quod honestum est. ~ Note: Like the previous saying, this provides an equation of what is utile and what is honestum: nothing can be utile if it is not honestum.

Hodie nihil, cras omnia. ~ Note: This is a variation on the previous saying but this time with nihil-omnia in place of nullus-maximus.

Cras credo, hodie nihil. ~ Note: Although the Latin word "credo" has a range of meaning that reaches far beyond English "credit," you can sometimes see this motto in bars, where customers are expected to pay their bill, and not drink on credit!

Mors est res certa, nihil est incertius hora. ~ Note: The word hora is in the ablative, as part of the comparison: incertius hora, "more uncertain than the hour (of death)."

Nihil morte certius sed nihil incertius hora mortis. ~ Note: Note the parallelism with a nice criss-cross chiasmus: morte certius || incertius hora mortis.

Nihil est animo velocius. ~ Note: Here you have the neuter comparative form of velox, velocius: nihil velocius, nothing is faster...

Nihil annis velocius. ~ Note: Again, you see the comparative form of an adjective in the neuter: velocius - "Nothing is more swift than the years."

Nihil dulcius veritatis luce. ~ Note: You can find this saying expressed in Cicero's Academica 2.

Nihil possumus contra veritatem. ~ Note: This is a maxim of legal Latin, but it can also apply to life at large.

In rebus humanis, nihil firmum. ~ Note: The indeclinable neuter nihil is treated as a neuter noun, hence the neuter adjective: nihil (est) firmum.

Firmum in vita nihil. ~ Note: As you have seen before, the indeclinable noun nihil is regarded as a neuter noun, hence the neuter adjective firmum.

Nihil audentibus arduum. ~ Note: See the note about "nil" in the previous proverb; "nihil" is likewise the subject of this statement.

Ultra vires nihil aggrediendum. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 3.8.87.

Nihil agere delectat. ~ Note: Here the infinitive phrase, nihil agere, is the subject of the sentence: "To do nothing is delightful."

Nihil est difficile volenti. ~ Note: Volenti is the present active participle, dative, of the verb volo: Nothing is difficult for the one who is willing.

Forti nihil difficile. ~ Note: This time you have the dative of the adjective fortis, meaning the person who is brave or strong.

Forti et fideli nihil difficile. ~ Note: This expands on the previous proverb with the dative forti.

Amanti nihil difficile. ~ Note: Here you have the participle of the amo: Nothing is difficult for the one who loves.

Fideli nihil difficile. ~ Note: Here you have the dative form of fidelis, fideli: For a faithful person, nothing is difficult.

Nihil perpetuo durat. ~ Note: Here the word perpetuo is adverbial: in perpetuity, for a peretual period of time. There are actually three different adverbial forms of perpetuus which you will find listed in the dictionary - perpetuo, perpetue, and even perpetuum - but perpetuo is the form you will find most commonly used.

Nihil interit; omnia mutantur. ~ Note: Notice that in English, we use the verb "change" both transitively ("I need to change my address") and intransitively ("I think his address changed") - in Latin, this intransitive sense of change is expressed with the passive: omnia mutantur, all things change.

Nihil temere credideris. ~ Note: This is one of the monostichs of Cato (so-called).

Natura nihil temere facit. ~ Note: Or, as we might say in English, "Nature takes her time."

Nihil diu occultum. ~ Note: This expresses the same idea as the previous saying: nothing is long hidden because, in time, it is revealed.

Dum nihil habemus maius, calamo ludimus. ~ Note: These are the self-deprecating words of Phaedrus about the writing of fables.

Avaritia nihil miserius. ~ Note: The word miserius is the neuter comparative form of the adjective miser, so it agrees with nihil. What to do with avaritia? It needs to be the ablative of comparison: "There is nothing (nihil) more wretched (miserius) than avaritia (avaritia, ablative)."

Nihil venit sine industria, nisi paupertas. ~ Note: This provides the negative flipside of the previous saying: with great efforts come great rewards, but without work (sine industria), nothing comes but poverty.

Nihil, invita Minerva, facies. ~ Note: This is a fuller form of the previous saying, this time with a verb expressed: facies.

Absque labore nihil ~ Note: This is a motto of the Steele family.

Nihil recusandum, quod donatur. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 3.10.54.

Cupiditati nihil satis. ~ Note: The word satis can take a dative complement, as here: Nothing is enough for desire. In other words: Desire can never get enough!

Naturae satis est parum, cupiditati nihil. ~ Note: Note the parallel structure: naturae/cupiditati and parum/nihil. While the form of naturae is ambiguous the parallel cupiditati helps identify naturae as dative.

Sublata lucerna, nihil interest inter mulieres. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 3.4.77. You can also find the saying in this form: Sublata lucerna, omnes mulieres aequales sunt.

Nihil enim est opertum, quod non revelabitur, et occultum, quod non scietur. ~ Note: You can also find this saying used in the shortened form: Nihil opertum est, quod non revelabitur.

Nihil ita occultum est quod non reveletur. ~ Note: Note the subjunctive reveletur, which gives the statement a general hypothetical quality; there is nothing so hidden which couldn't be known (sooner or later).

Nihil sui cum fidibus. ~ Note: Note that sui is the dative singular of the noun, sus, pig (it is not from the familiar adjective suus). The pig, like the jackdaw, and also the donkey, is regularly the butt of proverbial jokes, as here.

Laterem qui lavat, nihil facit. ~ Note: Compare the saying included by Erasmus in his Adagia, 1.4.48: Laterem lavas.

Nil manet aeternum, nihil immutabile vere est. ~ Note: The words are from the medieval poem sometimes called the Cella Alcuini.

Nihil graculo cum fidibus. ~ Note: This is a variation on the previous saying; this time instead of the Muses, the saying features a musical instrument - the lyre. This is one of the sayings that Erasmus included in his Adagia, 1.4.37.

Nihil graculo cum Musis. ~ Note: In English we would say: "A jackdaw has nothing (to do) with the Muses." The call of the jackdaw is singularly unmusical, of course! Compare the saying in the Adagia of Erasmus, 1.7.22: Graculus inter Musas.

Lacrima nihil citius arescit. ~ Note: This is an emphatic form of the previous saying. Now nothing drives more quickly than a tear (lacrima is now in the ablative case, for comparison).

Adversus regulam nihil scire omnia scire est. ~ Note: The words are from Tertullian's De Praescriptione Haereticorum.

Momo satisfacere nihil potest. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 1.5.74 (Momo satisfacere).

Dimidio vitae nihil differunt felices at infelicibus. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 2.1.9.

Nihil est tam difficile, quin possit disci. ~ Note: Nihil est tam difficile, quin possit disci: nihil tam occultum, quin quaerendo inveniatur.

Nihil tam occultum, quin quaerendo inveniatur. ~ Note: Nihil est tam difficile, quin possit disci: nihil tam occultum, quin quaerendo inveniatur.

Post mortem incipiunt aliquando valere poetae, sed tunc incipiunt lucra valere nihil. ~ Note: Post mortem incipiunt aliquando valere poetae, / sed tunc incipiunt lucra valere nihil. (Sutor)