“These are the only paths of investigation to contemplate: how it both is and is not possible not to be…and how it is both unnecessary and necessary not to be”

     αἵπερ ὁδοὶ μοῦναι διζήσιός εἰσι νοῆσαι·

     ἡ μὲν ὅπως ἔστιν τε καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἔστι μὴ εἶναι, ….

     ἡ δ’ ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν τε καὶ ὡς χρεών ἐστι μὴ εἶναι

Some great structure in this piece. The stripped down version on the twitter-feed (“the only paths of investigation: how it is and isn’t possible not to be; and how it is isn’t and is necessary not to be”) seems vaguely (and haphazardly) Heraclitean.

Victor cum victis pariter miscebitur umbris.

 
“I fear the very foolish fate of the moth.”

δέδοικα μῶρον  κάρτα πυραύστου μόρον.

The English doesn’t reflect the Greek word here for “moth” which indicates the way that it dies….”burnt by fire”.

ὑγιαίνειν μὲν ἄριστον ὰνδρὶ θνητῷ,
δεύτερον δὲ καλὸν φυὰν γενέσθαι,
τὸ τρίτον δὲ πλουτεῖν ὰδόλως,
καὶ τὸ τέταρτον ἡβᾶν μετὰ τῶν φίλων.

Fortuna vitrea est: tum cum splendet frangitur.

Publilius Syrus.

“For the wicked, profit is superior to justice”

κακοῖς τὸ κέρδος τῆς δίκης ὑπέρτερον

πάντα γὰρ μίαν ἱκνεῖται δασπλῆτα Χάρυβδιν,
αί μεγάλαι τ’ ἀρεταὶ καὶ ὁ πλοῦτος.

pro captu lectoris habent sua fata libelli.

Maurus

τίς γὰρ δεδοικὼς μηδὲν ἔνδικος βροτῶν;

nam si vos omnibus imperitare vultis, sequitur ut omnes servitutem accipiant?

This is taken from a speech delivered by the British leader Caratacus, who was defeated and led to Rome after an unsuccessful uprising aimed at casting off the Roman yoke during the reign of Claudius. Before the conflict with the Romans, Caratacus huc illuc volitans illum diem, illam aciem testabatur aut reciperandae libertatis aut servitutis aeternae initium fore. (Caratacus, rushing all about here and there that day, declared that that battle would be the beginning either of recovering their freedom or of eternal servitude.” Tacitus, Annals XII.34) Vae victis!