De mortuis nil nisi bonum
Encyclopedia
De mortuis nihil nisi bonum is a Latin
phrase which indicates that it is socially inappropriate to say anything negative about a (recently) deceased person. Sometimes shortened to nil nisi bonum, the phrase derives from the sentence "de mortuis nil nisi bonum dicendum est" and is variously translated as "Speak no ill of the dead", "Of the dead, speak no evil", "Do not/ Don't speak ill of the dead" or, strictly literally, "Of the dead, nothing unless good".
The first recorded use of the phrase is by Diogenes Laërtius
in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
, where he attributes it to Chilon of Sparta
. Since both men were Greek, the original aphorism was rendered as τὸν τεθνηκóτα μὴ κακολογεῖν ("Don't badmouth a dead man"). In 1432 Italian theologian Ambrogio Traversari translated Diogenes' work into Latin, popularizing the phrase in that language.http://books.google.com/books?id=ok4F_SawQaEC&pg=PA758&lpg=PA758&dq=diogenes+laertius+latin+translation&source=bl&ots=AO36GOQW4r&sig=1GbvWL3P9mUXGFiHPzZDjMZyhCc&hl=en&ei=UXqbSvy6OImqtgPSwoGTDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3#v=onepage&q=diogenes%20laertius%20latin%20translation&f=false
"Well. De mortuis, and all that, but I wasn't exactly keen on him. I thought him rather an unwholesome little beast.
"It's a good thing Mr. Noakes ain't alive to see all that 'eap of coal. That's a fire as does credit to any chimney."
Steps on the path, and a dismal little procession passing the window: a sergeant of police and another uniformed man, carrying a stretcher between them.
Mr. Puffett glanced from the window and removed his bowler hat. "And where's all 'is cheeseparin' brought 'im now?" he demanded. "Nowhere."
"De mortuis," said Peter, "and then some."
"Yes, he seems to be getting a nice derangement of epitaphs, poor old creature."
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
phrase which indicates that it is socially inappropriate to say anything negative about a (recently) deceased person. Sometimes shortened to nil nisi bonum, the phrase derives from the sentence "de mortuis nil nisi bonum dicendum est" and is variously translated as "Speak no ill of the dead", "Of the dead, speak no evil", "Do not/ Don't speak ill of the dead" or, strictly literally, "Of the dead, nothing unless good".
The first recorded use of the phrase is by Diogenes Laërtius
Diogenes Laertius
Diogenes Laertius was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is known about his life, but his surviving Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is one of the principal surviving sources for the history of Greek philosophy.-Life:Nothing is definitively known about his life...
in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is a biography of the Greek philosophers by Diogenes Laërtius, written in Greek, perhaps in the first half of the third century AD.-Overview:...
, where he attributes it to Chilon of Sparta
Chilon of Sparta
Chilon of Sparta was a Lacedaemonian and one of the Seven Sages of Greece.-Early life:Chilon was the son of Damagetus, and lived towards the beginning of the 6th century BC.-Standing and influence:...
. Since both men were Greek, the original aphorism was rendered as τὸν τεθνηκóτα μὴ κακολογεῖν ("Don't badmouth a dead man"). In 1432 Italian theologian Ambrogio Traversari translated Diogenes' work into Latin, popularizing the phrase in that language.http://books.google.com/books?id=ok4F_SawQaEC&pg=PA758&lpg=PA758&dq=diogenes+laertius+latin+translation&source=bl&ots=AO36GOQW4r&sig=1GbvWL3P9mUXGFiHPzZDjMZyhCc&hl=en&ei=UXqbSvy6OImqtgPSwoGTDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3#v=onepage&q=diogenes%20laertius%20latin%20translation&f=false
In literature and popular culture
- A cinematic use appears early in the film Lawrence of ArabiaLawrence of Arabia (film)Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely...
during T. E. LawrenceT. E. LawrenceLieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18...
's funeral scene. Two characters are looking at a bust of Lawrence and one, a clergyman, says, "Well, nil nisi bonum. But did he really deserve... a place in here?" referring to St Paul's CathedralSt Paul's CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
where the scene takes place. - The phrase is used in the title of John Collier'sJohn Collier (writer)John Henry Noyes Collier was a British-born author and screenplay writer best known for his short stories, many of which appeared in The New Yorker from the 1930s to the 1950s. They were collected in a 1951 volume, Fancies and Goodnights, which won the International Fantasy Award and remains in...
short storyShort storyA short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
"De Mortuis"; Collier uses this phrase to give the story an implied ending. - This phrase is famously misquoted in Act I of Anton Chekhov'sAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
play The SeagullThe SeagullThe Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
. The character Shamrayev conflates it with the phrase de gustibus non est disputandumDe gustibus non est disputandumDe gustibus non disputandum est is a Latin maxim. It means “one must not dispute about tastes.” The implication is that opinions about matters of taste are not objectively right or wrong, and hence that disagreements about matters of taste cannot be objectively resolved.This phrase...
, resulting in de gustibus aut bene, aut nihil ("Let be said of taste either good or nothing"). - John Buchan has his character Sir Edward Leithen use the shortened phrase, "de mortuis, &c." after his destruction of the criminal mastermind Andrew Lumley in The Power-HouseThe Power-HouseThe Power-House is a novel by John Buchan, a thriller set in London, England. It was written in 1913, when it was serialised in Blackwood's Magazine, and it was published in book form in 1916. The narrator is the barrister and Tory MP Edward Leithen, who features in a number of Buchan's novels...
, published in 1916. - The phrase is repeated in Louise GluckLouise GlückLouise Elisabeth Glück is an American poet of Hungarian Jewish heritage. She was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 2003, after serving as a Special Bicentennial Consultant three years prior in 2000....
's poem "The open grave" in her collection Vita Nova, and in Adam Lindsay GordonAdam Lindsay GordonAdam Lindsay Gordon was an Australian poet, jockey and politician.- Early life :Gordon was born at Fayal in the Azores, son of Captain Adam Durnford Gordon who had married his first cousin, Harriet Gordon, both of whom were descended from Adam of Gordon of the ballad...
's "Sunlight on the sea" in his collection Sea Spray and Smoke Drift - Dorothy L. SayersDorothy L. SayersDorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
. Murder Must AdvertiseMurder Must AdvertiseMurder Must Advertise is a Lord Peter Wimsey mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, published in 1933.Most of the action takes place in an advertising agency, a setting with which Sayers was very familiar. One of her advertising colleagues, Bobby Bevan, was the inspiration for the character Mr Ingleby...
"What sort of chap was Dean?"
"Well. De mortuis, and all that, but I wasn't exactly keen on him. I thought him rather an unwholesome little beast.
- Dorothy L. SayersDorothy L. SayersDorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
again. Busman's HoneymoonBusman's HoneymoonBusman's Honeymoon is a 1937 novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, her eleventh featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. It is the fourth and last novel to feature Harriet Vane.-Plot introduction:...
"They're takin' Mr. Noakes away."
"It's a good thing Mr. Noakes ain't alive to see all that 'eap of coal. That's a fire as does credit to any chimney."
Steps on the path, and a dismal little procession passing the window: a sergeant of police and another uniformed man, carrying a stretcher between them.
Mr. Puffett glanced from the window and removed his bowler hat. "And where's all 'is cheeseparin' brought 'im now?" he demanded. "Nowhere."
"De mortuis," said Peter, "and then some."
"Yes, he seems to be getting a nice derangement of epitaphs, poor old creature."
- In Kurt VonnegutKurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
's Player PianoPlayer PianoPlayer Piano, author Kurt Vonnegut's first novel, was published in 1952. It is a dystopia of automation and capitalism, describing the dereliction they cause in the quality of life. The...
, Dr. Paul Proteus recalls the phrase in relation to fellow workers who would make a faux pas during an annual gathering and not be invited back next year. - In Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
's short story, "Silence Please" (from the collection Tales from the White HartTales from the White HartTales from the White Hart is a collection of short stories by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, in the "club tales" style.Thirteen of the fifteen stories originally appeared across a number of different publications. "Moving Spirit" and "The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch" were first...
), this phrase is mentioned in description of a college student/inventor's death. - The phrase is slightly parodied in the TorchwoodTorchwoodTorchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
episode "Something BorrowedSomething Borrowed (Torchwood)"Something Borrowed" is the ninth episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood. It was broadcast by BBC Three on 5 March 2008 and repeated on BBC Two one week later.-Synopsis:...
"; after team member Doctor Owen HarperOwen HarperOwen Harper is a fictional character played by Burn Gorman, and a regular in the BBC television series Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. The character last appeared onscreen in the Series 2 finale, "Exit Wounds"....
is brought back to a state of living death- still capable of independent thought and movement while being physically deceased-, his teammate Ianto JonesIanto JonesIanto Jones is a fictional character in the BBC television series Torchwood, played by Welsh actor Gareth David-Lloyd. A series regular, Ianto appears in every episode of the programme's first three series, as well as two crossover episodes of Torchwoods parent show, Doctor Who...
explains that he has begun to agree with Owen since his death because he was brought up not to speak ill of the dead, "even if they still do most of their talking for themselves".