Top 40 Propertius Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Let no one be willing to speak ill of the absent.”

— Propertius

2. “Let each man pass his days in that endeavor wherein his gift is greatest.”

— Propertius

3. “Let each man have the wit to go his own way.”

— Propertius

4. “In great things it is enough even to have willed.”

— Propertius

5. “In love, a verse of Mimnermus has more power than one of Homer.”

— Propertius

6. “Something greater than the Iliad now springs to birth -Nescio quid maius nascitur Iliade.”

— Propertius

7. “There is something beyond the grave; death does not end all, and the pale ghost escapes from the vanquished pyre.”

— Propertius

8. “No rival will steal away my sure love; that glory will be my gray hair.”

— Propertius

9. “Cupid is naked and does not like artifices contrived by beauty.”

— Propertius

10. “I say as an expert, no one is faithful in love -Expertus dico, nemo est in amore fidelis.”

— Propertius

11. “Afflicted by love’s madness all are blind.”

— Propertius

12. “Beauty is fading, nor is fortune stable; sooner or later death comes to all.”

— Propertius

13. “Among absent lovers, ardor always fares better.”

— Propertius

14. “Always in absent lovers love’s tide flows stronger.”

— Propertius

15. “By gold all good faith has been banished; by gold our rights are abused; the law itself is influenced by gold, and soon there will be an end of every modest restraint.”

— Propertius

16. “You, O money, are the cause of a restless life! Because of you we journey toward a premature death; you provide cruel nourishment for the evils of men; the seed of our cares sprouts from your head.”

— Propertius

17. “Love presses my head with carefully placed feet, wretch that he is, until he has taught me to detest chaste girls, and to live with no counsel.”

— Propertius

18. “Great is the height I just scale, but the prospect of glory gives me strength.”

— Propertius

19. “Trapassa anche le sponde del fato un grande amore.”

— Propertius

20. “The eyes are the pioneers that first announce the soft tale of love.”

— Propertius

21. “Allow me, whom Fortune always desires to bury, lay down my life in these final trivialities. Many have freely died in longlasting loves, among whose number may the earth cover me as well.”

— Propertius

22. “Let’s give the historians something to write about.”

— Propertius

23. “Love can be put off, never abandoned.”

— Propertius

24. “Anyone who is an enemy of mine, let him love women, but let he who is my friend rejoice in men.”

— Propertius

25. “Every man now worships gold, all other reverence being done away.”

— Propertius

26. “Not only the bull attacks his enemies with curved horn, but also the sheep, when harmed fights back.”

— Propertius

27. “Even a faithful mistress can be bent by constant threats.”

— Propertius

28. “Fickleness has always befriended the beautiful.”

— Propertius

29. “Make room, Roman writers, make room for Greek writers; something greater than the Iliad is born.”

— Propertius

30. “There is no wide road which leads to the Muses.”

— Propertius

31. “Even if my strength should fail, my daring will win me praise: in might enterprises even the will to succeed is enough.”

— Propertius

32. “Fame due to the achievements of the mind never perishes.”

— Propertius

33. “Love is fostered by confidence and constancy; he who is able to give much is able also to love much.”

— Propertius

34. “Faith is not sure, if you cannot turn love to quarrel; may my enemies obtain a mild mistress.”

— Propertius

35. “Tell me who is able to keep his bed chaste, or which goddess is able to live with one god alone?”

— Propertius

36. “A cause breaks or exalts a soldier’s strength; unless that cause is just, shame will make him throw his weapons away.”

— Propertius

37. “Never change when love has found its home.”

— Propertius

38. “Age makes all things greater after their death; a name comes to the tongue easier from the grave.”

— Propertius

39. “Love never offers to anyone wings so easy that he does not hold him back with his other hand.”

— Propertius

40. “To each man at his birth nature has given some fault.”

— Propertius

41. “Do not unto another that which you would not he should do unto you.”

— Propertius

42. “And nobility will not be able to help you with your love; Love does not know how to cede to ancestral images.”

— Propertius

43. “The law itself follows gold.”

— Propertius

44. “That death is best which comes appropriately at a ripe age.”

— Propertius

45. “If she is pleasing to one man, a girl is taken care of.”

— Propertius

46. “If you see anything, always deny that you’ve seen; or if perchance something pains you, deny that you’re hurt.”

— Propertius