Three Latin Life Sayings I Learned at 42 That I Wish I Had Known at 22
Learn this Archaic knowledge before it’s too late.
Something strange has happened lately; the universe speaks to me in Latin.
I found Latin aphorisms in the most unusual places: graffiti painted on crosswalks, even tattooed on people, like that waitress with the Latin phrase “Res Non Verba” (actions, not words) on her arm.
So, I started writing them down on a notepad and then looking for their origin and meaning. Every time I did that, I learned to solve some problems I was dealing with.
And I want to share three of the latest Latin sayings that I learned, which would have done me a lot of good in my twenties, to save you some grief on your way.
Let’s start.
Agere sequitur esse
“Acting follows from being.”
I first saw this Latin saying engraved with a razor on a park bench.
In searching for its provenance, I discovered that it is a metaphysical principle of St. Thomas Aquinas with roots in Plato and Aristotle.
After reflecting on it, I realized that this Latin saying meant that one cannot be without doing things.
