Juvenal
Juvenal
Decimus Iūnius Iuvenālis , known in English as Juvenal /ˈdʒuːvənəl/, was a Roman poet active in the late 1st and early 2nd century AD, author of the Satires. The details of the author's life are unclear, although references within his text to known persons of the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD fix his terminus post quem...
NationalityRoman
ProfessionPoet
world sincerity assurance
When great assurance accompanies a bad undertaking, such is often mistaken for confiding sincerity by the world at large.
strong men sin
Man, wretched man, whene'er he stoops to sin, Feels, with the act, a strong remorse within.
wisdom sake sin
Hold it the greatest sin to prefer existence to honour, and for the sake of life to lose the reasons for living.
fear desire reason
When did reason ever direct our desires or our fears?
grief men blow
Let me moderate our sorrows. The grief of a man should not exceed proper bounds, but be in proportion to the blow he has received. [Lat., Ponamus nimios gemitus: flagrantior aequo Non debet dolor esse viri, nec vulnere major.]
circles example authority
Examples of vicious courses practiced in a domestic circle corrupt more readily and more deeply when we behold them in persons in authority.
wife dowry objects
The dowry, not the wife, is the object of attraction.
nemo depravity depraved
Nobody ever became depraved all at once. [Lat., Nemo repente fuit turpissimus.]
grapes contact
The grape becomes tinted from the grape it comes in contact with.
The itch of scribbling.
dinner gains fine
The only gain from the friendship of the great is a fine dinner.
men purses empty
The man whose purse is empty can cheerfully sing before the robber.
mother giving-up law
Give up all hope of peace so long as your mother-in-law is alive.
money smell may
The smell of money is good, come whence it may. [Alluding to Vespasian's tax on ordure.]