VIS

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: VIS.

Vi verum vincitur. ~ Note: Here the proverb depends on alliteration: v-v-v. You can find these words in Plautus's Amphitruo.

Naturae vis maxima. ~ Note: You can understand maxima here as a true superlative ("the greatest of all") or just as an emphatic adjective: "extremely great."

Non vi, sed virtute. ~ Note: This is a third contrast: not vis as opposed to verum, not vis as opposed to ratio, but vis as opposed to virtus.

Fit via vi. ~ Note: Here the Latin relies on a nice sound play: via and vi. This is also a motto of the Way family, which adds to the play on words, since the English family name is a translation of one of the Latin words in the motto.

Magna vis auri. ~ Note: This is a variation on the previous saying, now with aurum in place of pecunia. You can find this sentiment in Cicero's Tusculan Disputations, 5.

Ratione, non vi. ~ Note: This is a more hopeful take on the opposition between ratio and vi: Let us act reasonably, not violently - Ratione, non vi.

Qui timet amicum, vim non novit nominis. ~ Note: The nomen here is the nomen of "amicus" itself, from the same root as the verb "amo" - and the opposite of a nemicus, an enemy or "non-friend." The Latin word "vis" is often used to indicate the "meaning" of a word (compare the English use of "force" to refer to the meaning of a statement). This is another one of the sayings collected by Publilius Syrus.

In corde spes, vis et vita. ~ Note: You can see this motto on a memorial medallion here: image.

Non vi, sed iure. ~ Note: Yet another opposition: vis as opposed to ius. Compare also the earlier saying: Vis legibus est inimica.

Contra vim non valet ius. ~ Note: This is a pessimistic take on the power of force, which can overwhelm the force of justice itself.

Vires hominis breves sunt. ~ Note: These words are invoked as an example of catachresis, or what we might call a mixed metaphor, in the Rhetorica ad Herennium, 4.45. The idea is that the terms "longus" and "brevis" do not really apply to the idea of a person's strength - except insofar as a person's strength might be short-lived, which is an extension of the meaning of "brevis," but not its literal meaning.

Magna vis pecuniae. ~ Note: Here you have a noun phrase as the subject, vis pecuniae (the power of money) and a predicate adjective, agreeing with vis: magna.

Melior est sapientia quam vires. ~ Note: Here you have vis now in the plural: vires. You can find these words in the Biblical book of Wisdom, 6.

Artem natura superat, sine vi, sine cura. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings collected by Wegeler, 67.

Ratio contra vim parum valet. ~ Note: Note the contrast between this and the preceding statement: reason may be the queen and mistress of all things, but she cannot stand up to brute force.

Vis legibus est inimica. ~ Note: Here the word vis is the feminine noun, "force, violence;" hence the feminine form, inimica: violence is an enemy to law. (The Latin use of "leges" to mean the law as a whole can be rendered in English with the singular "law.")

Magna vis necessitatis. ~ Note: Note the implied verb: Magna (est) vis necessitatis.

Contra vim mortis nulla herba in hortis. ~ Note: You can also see it expressed with a diminutive of herba, herbula: Contra vim mortis non herbula crescit in hortis.

Non prodest ratio, ubi vis imperat. ~ Note: Here the opposition is not between truth and force as in the previous saying, but between reason and force, ratio and vis.

Magna est vis consuetudinis. ~ Note: Here is the passage in Cicero's Tusculan Disputations, 2: Consuetudinis magna est vis: pernoctant venatores in nive, in montibus uri se patiuntur.

Quanta est vis eloquentiae! ~ Note: Just like quam, the word quantus can also be used as an exclamation, as here: quanta est vis, how great is the power! The punctuation lets you know that this is an exclamation, but the words could also be a question: Quanta est vis eloquentiae?

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

Consilio pollet, cui vim natura negavit. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings included in the distichs attributed to the so-called "Cato." Here is the complete distich: Corporis exigui vires contemnere noli: / consilio pollet, cui vim natura negavit.

Nihil arbitrii virium feceris. ~ Note: As often, the word nihil takes a genitive complement: "nothing of mastery" = "no mastery." The idea is to commit no act in which you master something or exert your will by means of force. This is one of the sayings included in the monostichs attributed to the so-called "Cato."

Prudentia maior viribus. ~ Note: The saying is adapted from Avianus's fable of the thirsty crow and the pebbles.

Magna vis conscientiae. ~ Note: Here you have a noun with a predicate adjective: magna (est) vis conscientiae.

Vis vim generat. ~ Note: The meaning of "vis" that you want here is an act of force or violence - one act of violence gives rise (generat) to another.

Vis, unita, fortior. ~ Note: The noun vis is feminine, hence the feminine form of the participle unita. The comparative form of fortis, fortior, has the same form for both masculine and feminine singular.

Gutta cavat lapidem, non vi, sed saepe cadendo; sic homo fit doctus, non vi, sed saepe legendo. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings collected by Wegeler, 482.

Ars compensabit, quod vis tibi parva negabit. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings collected by Wegeler, 65.

Corporis exigui vires contemnere noli. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings included in the distichs attributed to the so-called "Cato." Here is the complete distich: Corporis exigui vires contemnere noli: / consilio pollet, cui vim natura negavit.

Victus cultusque corporis ad valetudinem referantur et ad vires, non ad voluptatem. ~ Note: This is included by André Rouillé in his anthology of Cicero's notable sententiae.

Tantum cibi et potionis adhibendum est ut reficiantur vires, non opprimantur. ~ Note: This is included by André Rouillé in his anthology of Cicero's notable sententiae.

Duplex est vis animorum: una pars in appetitu posita, altera in ratione. ~ Note: This is included by André Rouillé in his anthology of Cicero's notable sententiae.