The
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
phrase (also ) "Of the dead,
aynothing but good", abbreviated as , is a mortuary
aphorism, indicating that it is socially inappropriate to speak ill of the dead as they are unable to justify themselves.
The full sentence () translates to "Of the dead nothing but good is to be said". Freer translations into English are often used as aphorisms, these include: "Speak no ill of the dead", "Of the dead, speak no evil", and "Do not speak ill of the dead".
The aphorism is first recorded in
Greek, as (, "Of the dead do not speak ill"), attributed to
Chilon of Sparta
Chilon of Sparta ( grc, Χείλων) (fl. 6th century BC) was a Spartan and one of the Seven Sages of Greece.
Life
Chilon was the son of Damagetus, and lived towards the beginning of the 6th century BC. Herodotus speaks of him as contemporary ...
(), one of the
Seven Sages of Greece
The Seven Sages (of Greece) or Seven Wise Men (Greek: ''hoi hepta sophoi'') was the title given by classical Greek tradition to seven philosophers, statesmen, and law-givers of the 7–6th century BC who were renowned for their wisdom.
The S ...
, in the ''
Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a principal sourc ...
'' (Book 1, Chapter 70) by
Diogenes Laërtius
Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Ancient Greece, Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a ...
, published in the early 4th century AD.
The Latin version dates to the
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
, from the translation of Diogenes' Greek by
humanist monk
Ambrogio Traversari
Ambrogio Traversari, also referred to as Ambrose of Camaldoli (138620 October 1439), was an Italian monk and theologian who was a prime supporter of the papal cause in the 15th century. He is honored as a saint by the Camaldolese Order.
Biography ...
(, published 1433).
Usages
Literary
Novels
* In ''
The Last Chronicle of Barset'' (1867), by
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...
, after the sudden death of the Bishop's wife, the Archdeacon describes as a proverb "founded in humbug" that only need be followed in public and is unable to bring himself to adopt "the namby-pamby every-day decency of speaking well of one of whom he had ever thought ill."
* In ''
The Power-House
''The 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 Edw ...
'' (1916), by
John Buchan
John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation.
After a brief legal career ...
, after destroying the villain, Andrew Lumley, the hero, Sir Edward Leithen, says , an abbreviated version of the phrase, in reference to the dead Lumley.
* In ''
Player Piano'' (1952), by
Kurt Vonnegut, the phrase is used by the narrator after describing individuals "with nothing to lose anyway, men who had fallen into disfavor one way or another, who knew they had received their last invitation" to the Meadows.
* In ''
Deus Irae'' (1976), by
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928March 2, 1982), often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his l ...
and
Roger Zelazny, Father Handy thinks of the phrase in reference to millions of people killed by nerve gas. He then subverts the phrase to in blaming them for complacently voting in the politicians responsible.
* In ''McNally's Dilemma (1999) by
awrence Sanders and Vincent Lardo McNally the narrator uses the phrase 'De mortuis nil nisi bonum' when a married with a step-daughter playboy George is found murdered. George's reputation was well known in West palm beach Florida and many including his wife would've argued that he got what he deserved.
Short stories
* In "De Mortuis" (1942), by
John Collier John Collier may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*John Collier (caricaturist) (1708–1786), English caricaturist and satirical poet
*John Payne Collier (1789–1883), English Shakespearian critic and forger
*John Collier (painter) (1850–1934), ...
, after an unwitting cuckold is accidentally informed of his wife's infidelities, he plans an opportunistic revenge; the titular phrase, , implies the murderous ending of the story.
* In "
EPICAC", by
Kurt Vonnegut, after the demise of his friend/project, EPICAC, the supercomputer, the protagonist states the phrase in a memoir of someone who has done great for him.
Poetry
* In "Sunlight on the Sea" (The Philosophy of a Feast), by
Adam Lindsay Gordon, the mortuary phrase is the penultimate line of the eighth, and final, stanza of the poem.
Philosophy

* In ''Thoughts for the Times on War and Death'' (1915), Sigmund Freud denounced the cultural stupidity that was the First World War (1914–18); yet, in the essay "Our Attitude Towards Death", recognised the humanity of the participants, and the respect owed them in the mortuary phrase .
Cinema
* In the war–adventure film ''
Lawrence of Arabia
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
'' (1962), the phrase is cautiously used at the funeral of
T. E. Lawrence
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
, officiated at
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
; two men, a clergyman and a soldier, Colonel Brighton, are observing a bust of the dead "Lawrence of Arabia", and commune in silent mourning. The clergyman asks: "Well, . But did he really deserve . . . a place in here?" Colonel Brighton's reply is a pregnant silence.
Theatre

* In ''
The Seagull
''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises t ...
'' (1896), by
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
, a character mangles the mortuary phrase, conflating it with the
maxim ("About taste there is no disputing"), which results in the mixed mortuary opinion: ("Let nothing be said of taste, but what is good").
*In ''
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
'' (1599) by
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, Mark Antony uses what is possibly a perverted form of the phrase , when he says: "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones..."
In other languages
Other languages have expressions that have a similar meaning. For example, in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, one might use (''Aḥare mot k'doshim emor''), which may be translated into: "After the death, say 'they were holy'". The expression is formed by names of three consecutive
sedras in
Leviticus:
Acharei Mot
Acharei Mot (also Aharei Mot, Aharei Moth, or Acharei Mos) (, Hebrew for "after the death") is the 29th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It is the sixth weekly portion (, ''parashah'') in the Book of Leviticus, co ...
,
Kedoshim
Kedoshim, K'doshim, or Qedoshim ( — Hebrew for "holy ones," the 14th word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 30th weekly Torah portion (, ''parashah'') in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the seventh in the Book ...
and
Emor
Emor ( he, אֱמֹר — Hebrew for "speak," the fifth word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 31st weekly Torah portion ( he, פָּרָשָׁה, ''parashah'') in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the eighth in ...
, and has been taken to mean that one should not speak bad of the dead.
References
{{Reflist
Latin quotations
Death