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The influence of Latin on science, philosophy, medicine, and theology cannot be overstated. One part of its legacy consists of popular sayings we use to this day, albeit sometimes in translation. This is true for both English and Russian (and I imagine, many other languages), so in this post we will look at some phrases of Latin origin every Russian speaker is likely to recognize. Please note that I am not a specialist in Latin, but do visit our Latin blog for more information!

Bread and circuses

This famous saying comes from the Latin saying “panem et circenses” referring to the preference given by the masses to everyday needs and simple pleasures over long-term concerns. The Russian equivalent is хлеба и зрелищ.

The two components are хлеб (bread) and зрелища (spectacles, singular зрелище). As you notice, Russian does not translate the “circus” part as a literal цирк — the circus with animals and clowns — but captures the entertainment aspect of it.

Now, what’s the weird form used for хлеб and зрелища? The Latin uses the accusative/direct object case due to the fact that “(people demand) bread and circuses.” In the Russian, however, we have mass nouns, for which we must use the genitive partitive to say that they want “some bread and some spectacles.”

«Мерседес-бенц». Больше ничего человеку не надо, не предлагайте ему ничего больше. Без надобности. Только хлеба и зрелищ! (A Mercedes Benz. There’s nothing else a person needs; don’t offer them anything else. There’s no need. Bread and circuses only!) [Светлана Алексиевич. Время second-hand // «Дружба народов», 2013] – to learn more about the Nobel-prize-winning author, check out our previous blog post!

Vox populi vox Dei

This Latin phrase literally means, “the voice of the people is the voice of God.” As I found out, “vox pop” in English refers to the “man on the street” interview with a passer-by. Not so in Russian, where the translation of the phrase, глас народа — глас Божий is used to assert the opinion of the masses or majority as the one that should be followed.

Глас is the higher-register equivalent of голос, voice. As you may remember, these equivalents came from Old Church Slavonic and came to refer to the more noble things. Народ (singular) is people, and Божий is the posessive adjective for Бог, God.

А во-вторых, всякому сведущему и умному человеку, ежели он один, свойственно заблуждаться, тогда как десять, двадцать тысяч невежд или глупцов, сошедшихся вместе, ошибиться не могут, ибо глас народа ― глас Божий. (Secondly, any knowledgeable and intelligent person, if they are alone, is prone to errors, while ten or twenty thousand ignorant or foolish people gathered in one place are presumed to be immune to errors since the voice of the people is the voice of God.)  [Д. С. Мережковский. Воскресшие Боги. Леонардо да Винчи (1901)] 

Business with Pleasure

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“Utile dulci” is part of a larger quote by Horace, where he praises writers who “join the useful with the agreeable.” The closest idiomatic equivalent I can think of in English is “to combine business with pleasure.” In Russian, the phrase is совмещать приятное с полезным (literally, “to combine the pleasant with the useful”) and is used to talk about adding pleasant elements to a work activity, or vice versa. Think of that trip to see the Statue of Liberty while in New York for business.

Во Флориде можно прекрасно сочетать приятное с полезным ― комфортно отдыхать и совершенствовать свой английский язык. (You can easily combine business with pleasure in Florida — have a comfortable vacation and improve your English.) [Татьяна Буржинская. Америка ― ваш путь к успеху! (2001) // «Туризм и образование», 2001.03.15]

Naturally, there are many, many more phrases of Latin origin, so should we keep this going? What are some of your favorites?