Legenda: Proverbia de Aquila

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Proverbia de Aquila

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These proverbs about the Eagle emphasize the special qualities of the eagle, and sometimes refer to proverbs or stories about the eagle, such as the Aesopic fables about the eagle and the beetle, or the fable about the eagle shot by an arrow that was tipped with eagle feathers.

For more information about the eagle in Latin bestiaries, visit the Aquila in the Zoo. If you find some of the proverbs below difficult to understand, you will find some English translations at the Zoo page, along with some additional notes there that you might find helpful - plus you can find many other proverbs about the eagle, too!

Use this Study Guide to organize your learning activities.

Iupiter aquilam delegit.	.
Aquila in nubibus.
Omnis aër aquilae pervius.
Ubi cadaver, ibi aquila.	Note: In the ancient world, there was an association between vultures and eagles, so this saying is found about eagles just as about vultures (and bald eagles do, in fact, physically resemble vultures).
Aquilam volare doces.	volare: complementary infinitive with doces
Aquila non captat muscas.
Aquilam testudo vincit.
Scarabeus aquilam quaerit.	Note: This proverb refers to the Aesopic fable about how the beetle got its revenge on the eagle by climbing up into the eagle's nest and destroying the eagle's eggs, one by one, pushing them out of the nest.
Lupus aquilam fugit.
Deus et alatam aquilam assequitur.	et aquilam: adverbial use of et
Ala me aligeram gravi exitio dedit.	Note: In an Aesop's fable, this is what the eagle said when it saw that it had been pierced with an arrow made from an eagle feather.
Nostris ipsorum alis capimur.
Aquilae senecta.	Note: In its old age the eagle was reputed to drink but not eat because its beak would grow more and more crooked until finally it was unable to consume food, but could only imbibe. The phrsae "an eagle's old age" thus referred to old men who drank a lot!
Aquila alba.	Note: This is used to refer to something extraordinarily rare.