Vis Consilii Expers – The Latin Corner – Take Four

Vis consilii expers mole ruit sua.

— Horace, Odes Book III, Poem 4, Line 65

Wolfgang in German: Kraft ohne (= expers /nicht teilhabend an etwas) Einsicht (Überlegung, besonnene Klugheit) stürzt durch ihre eigene Schwere (Masse, Größe …).

Norbert in English: Power without insight collapses by its own weight. (Insight could also be replaced with thoughtfulness or wisdom).

Oh, good ol’ Horace! It’s like he is talking about politics in the United States of America in 2017. Power without insight was a problem in ancient Rome, it was a problem in Nazi Germany, and it’s a problem in Trump’s America.

Just remember:

Vis consilii expers mole ruit sua.

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