Latin expression ( Potius sero, quam nunquam- potius sero, kvam nunquam) belongs to the Roman historian Titus Livy (59 BC - 17 AD). He used it in book IV of his famous work “The History of Rome from the Foundation of the City”
"1... That year (445) was unkind both in domestic affairs and in the military. Already at the very beginning of it, the tribune Gaius Canuleus announced a proposal to allow legal marriages between patricians and plebeians, in which the patricians saw a threat to the purity of their blood and orderliness of ancestral rights
2... Meanwhile, the consuls turned the Senate against the tribunes, and the tribunes turned the people against the consuls. The madness of the tribunes, the consuls said, was becoming unbearable: there was nowhere else to go - it was flaring up in the City. more wars than in foreign lands. And the reason for this is both the people and the patricians, both the tribunes and the consuls
11... And there is no end to this: the people's tribunes and senators cannot coexist in one state: either the estate of some, or the position of others must cease to exist; "
"History of Rome from the foundation of the city" - general ledger Tita Livia. He wrote it over thirty years and traced the history of the city from its foundation to 9 AD. Today, parts 1–10 and 21–45 of the 142 are fully known, the rest have survived to this day in retellings and fragments
Aphorisms of Titus Livy
- Woe to the vanquished
- Sometimes most beats the best
- No crime can have a legal basis
- There is no law that would satisfy everyone
Better late than never
- In German: Besser spät als nie
- In English: Better late than never
- In French: Mieux vaut tard que jamais
- In Italian: Meglio tardi che mai
- In Spanish: Mas vale tarde que nunca
Chinese equivalent of the saying “better late than never” - Don’t be afraid to hesitate, be afraid to stop
Use of the expression in literature
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« But I finally confessed. Better late than never. Why did you attack me like that?"(Evgeny Yevtushenko “Wolf Passport”)
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« And dreams must come true. And better late than never. The rest of the money went quickly."(Nina Katerli (Splash of Champagne)
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« But I remembered in time,” I added quietly. - Better late than never. “Truly better”(Arkady Weiner, Georgy Weiner (“Medicine against fear”)
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« ...Serpilin said dissatisfied to the communications chief. - Better late than never! Pull the connection here!”(Konstantin Simonov “The Living and the Dead”)
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« Where convenience lay, I did not dare question the general; “It’s better late than never,” I just thought, but I realized that I wouldn’t be able to get information from him about the state of the allied army...”(A. A. Ignatiev “Fifty years in service”)
—
« ...said mom. - Better late than never. Father walked along the platform"(K. G. Paustovsky “Distant Years”)
Better late than never (Potius sero, quam nunquam) - it is better to do something late, belatedly, than never to do it.
The expression came from Ancient Rome(Latin Potius sero, quam nunquam). This expression first appears in the fourth book of the “History of the Roman People” by the historian of Ancient Rome Titus Livius (59 BC-17 AD). These words are spoken by Dionysius of Halicarnassus.
The expression came to the Russian language in this form from foreign European languages and, above all, from French: Mieux vaut tard que jamais.
The proverb is listed in the Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable - “Better Late Than Never”.
The expression is listed in the American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer, 1992. It is indicated that in English The expression has been used since the 1200s and was usually added to it - “but better never late.” That is full version of this proverb - better late than never, but better never late.
Better late than never
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER. This phrase is said to those who do something late, or as a call to action if someone already doubts the need for belated decisions or actions. The proverb is international and goes back to Lat. Potius (Pmestat) sero quam nunquam. Many people used it ancient writers, for example, Titus Livia in the famous “History”. Often quoted as a French proverb: Mieux vaut tard quejamais. English: Better late than never. Spanish: Mas vale tarde que nunca. Italian: Meglio tardi che mat. German: Besser spat als nie. Polish: Liepiejpoino niz nigdy. ffi.
Now everyone famous saying"Better late than never!" is a good incentive for action. If before there was no opportunity to achieve your cherished goals or any thoughts did not come to your mind, you are now complaining: “If only I could lose twenty years... Or go back to the old days..., then...!! But those around you are increasingly saying: “Start now! You can still do a lot." And there is a lot of evidence of this in literature, the Internet and other information sources, when people started working on their figure after 50 years and achieved incredible results, became writers, earned a fortune for themselves, reached financial heights, and turned any ideas into reality.. .
A few notable examples of this:
American John Rainton, having worked as a truck driver until he was 69 years old, retired to a well-deserved rest in order to spend almost 7 years in idleness that bored him, to gather pensioners like him, and to organize a company of “grandparents on call”, whose clients were children who did not have their own grandparents. The business turned out to be so successful that within 3 years the company had branches in 12 states, and John Rainton himself became a millionaire.
And here are two women (below in the video), participants in bodybuilding competitions: 73-year-old Kelly Nelson and her 45-year-old daughter Colleen. Kelly began training at the age of 53 at home. Later she started going to the local gym. She also introduced her daughter to figure skating. I think not every 20-year-old girl can boast of such ideal forms!
Let's look at the other side of this phrase. Should we always be guided by it?
There are a lot of things in life that become irrelevant over time. It happens that we didn’t have time to do something, because other values were a priority at that time! And all our lives we cherish the dream of unfulfilled hopes and live in the past!
You dreamed of becoming a doctor and it didn’t work out! So maybe now we shouldn’t grab onto this idea, but continue our professional growth in the current direction and look for the positive here?!
There are enough people among us who live yesterday!
Once, a friend of mine was planning to put things in order at work for a long time. She said that she wanted to make all the documents perfect, revise old reports, adjust plans, clean out folders... And finally she managed to devote some of her precious time to this! And!.... A week later their organization was reorganized. All the perfect folders are now rotting in the garage....
Maybe once again it’s worth really assessing the situation, setting the right emphasis, looking into the future, choosing an excellent perspective for your goal and not being guided by the phrase “Better late than never.” And tell yourself: “This doesn’t matter anymore, I’ll live in the present moment and think about something else...!”
And yet! Let's not forget the most important values of our life - the values of communication!
Better late than never: Give your loved one a smile, a kind word! Give love to your children, care and understanding to your parents!
In the bustle of life, we often become, and when we remember about it, sometimes it’s too late! Children grow up, parents leave... And we can no longer change time!
Remember how much kind words have you referred to other people today?
Will something happen in life that your child will never know how much you love him?
Good feelings, words of recognition - let them accompany your life. And the phrase " Better late than never" will become a little different: "The sooner, the better!"
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// Essay-argument on the proverb “Better late than never”
“Better late than never” is an old Russian proverb that contains the wisdom of generations. But in fact, what is better: not finishing the job or finishing it later? It is this meaning that is embedded in this proverb, because there is no time frame for a good deed.
My dad worked as an electrician. His work was difficult and responsible; he was often called out early in the morning because something might break down. Whether it’s a lamp in the park or an outlet at a pensioner’s on the other side of town. He was an electrician who worked for the house management. He had to get up at dawn, collect his tools and go to his least favorite job.
Every day, leaving home, he sighed heavily at the door. My father never complained, but from such moments it became clear that this work was for the family, and not for the soul. He worked like this for five years. Such is the length of dad's patience. But one evening, at a family dinner, dad could no longer contain this lump in himself and said that he would no longer go to this job, it did not bring him joy.
My dad is a military man by education; he graduated from the military department at the Law Institute. When he started talking about the army, about discipline, beautiful shape, then his face lit up with a smile that was not there when he walked to past work. Thanks to old connections, my father was back in action. This is how my dad changed his field of activity. You can do this at any time, at any age, because better late than never!
I remember how I came to my grandmother on winter holidays, and she talked about her classmate. He was tall, stately, and he really liked his grandmother. But she found out about this twenty years later, at a alumni meeting. And the classmate was silent all the years because of his embarrassment. Who knows how their lives would have turned out thanks to one revelation? Grandmother was already married, but as a woman, she was pleased with such attention. There’s just nothing that can be returned. Too much time has passed. Act now in present moment, at this second!
How many times have you said thank you to your mom for cooking dinner? She tried, she put in her love and care. She would really like to hear “thank you.” How they shine mom's eyes from simple human gratitude, and your cheeks fill with blush. How nice it is for a person to receive kindness in return! This is the beauty of the human soul.
One day my mother passed away, and I never had time to say “thank you” to her. Therefore, it is better to speak late than when there is no one left to speak.
As they say, “better late than never”... Last Friday there was another scam from local hucksters called “Black Friday in Russian”. Already in the name itself lies the essence, bgggg. Black Friday isn't like everyone else's normal people in the world on the last Friday of November, and has its own special date, as well as its own special crooked path that leads to nowhere.After all, imagination was still only enough for another deception (increasing prices before discounts, which makes goods with a discount more expensive than without it, lack of availability of goods with so-called “mega-discounts”, etc.). Further evidence has been obtained that Without na@balov, local hucksters don’t know how to work. But why bother with Black Friday LLC? Do you represent Black Friday LLC in the USA? What kind of absent-minded idiocy? Do the local hucksters really have even less brains than I think? And at the same time they still have the impudence 3.14Z to say that they cannot withstand competition from foreign stores...
...The first Russian day of record shopping discounts, known as “Black Friday,” began with the fact that the site
Blackfriday 2013.ru
collapsed at midnight. It was at this time that a million users simultaneously visited the Internet page. Today is the first attempt in Russia to learn American tradition sales in the virtual sphere. So far, clients are not very happy with her.
The global online sale in Moscow began on December 6 at 00.00 and will last 24 hours.
After the site crashed overnight, the administration of the Internet resource promised to fix the problem by 8:00 Moscow time (4:00 GMT), but then took a timeout for a few more hours, the BBC Russian service reports. The site is now working.
In order to make a purchase, you need to go to the Black Friday website, select the product you like, then go to the online store website, select a convenient form of payment there and purchase the product. Next to the items that are included in the sale, there is a banner informing that the item is participating in the Black Friday program. However, many items are no longer available and have been sold out.
As for discounts, not everything is smooth here either. “Discount on goods, including not only clothing, accessories, toys, cosmetics, but also household and sports goods, household appliances and electronics will account for up to 90%,” the organizers previously reported. However, customers of online stores presented on the Black Friday website were disappointed with the discounts.
Many of them did not exceed 20-35%.
“Discounts on main products are 10-15%, they are now available in almost any store. In the same M-Video, a number of goods are cheaper than this promotion in partner stores. I saw a 90% discount only on software, every little thing, lamps, in other words, on little things, which are already marked up by more than 400%. I’m ashamed of Russia,” wrote user Alexander Maksimov in
group
"Sale
www.
BlackFriday
2013.
ru " on the social network VKontakte.
Black Friday in the USA and other countries of the world is a landmark day for all shopaholics and those who like to save money. Traditionally, the winter shopping season, which accounts for 20-40% of stores' annual revenue, kicks off on Black Friday after Americans eat the traditional Thanksgiving turkey on Thursday. Crazy discounts in American stores last only one day and are usually accompanied by stampedes, fights and even sometimes shooting. In the United States, up to half of the country's population visits stores on Black Friday...
