all roads lead to Rome
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Modern wording of medieval sentiment; apparently originally a reference to Roman roads generally and the Milliarium Aureum (Golden Milestone) specifically.[1]
Appears in the Latin form mīlle viae dūcunt hominēs per saecula Rōmam (“a thousand roads lead men forever to Rome”) in Liber Parabolarum, 591 (1175), by Alain de Lille.[2]
The earliest English form appears to be “right as diverse pathes leden the folk the righte wey to Rome”, in A Treatise on the Astrolabe (Prologue, ll. 39–40), 1391, by Geoffrey Chaucer.[3][4][5][6]
Proverb[edit]
- Different paths can take one to the same goal. Synonyms: there's more than one way to skin a cat
Translations[edit]
different paths can take to the same goal
References[edit]
- ^ Schaaf, P. (1867/1886) Ante-nicene fathers: The Apostolic fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, volume 1, electronic reprint edition, Grand Rapids, MI, USA: CCEL: Roberts, A. & Donaldson, J, Eds., page 1
- ^ Samuel Singer; Kuratorium Singer (1995), Walter de Gruyter, editor, Thesaurus Proverbiorum Medii Aevi: Lexikon der Sprichwörter des Romanisch-germanischen Mittelalters[1], ISBN 978 311008529 7, page 355
- ^ A Treatise on the Astrolabe, Part 1
- ^ Gregory Y. Titelman (1996) Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, ISBN 0-679-44554-4, page 8
- ^ Linda Flavell; Roger Flavell (1993) Dictionary of Proverbs and their Origins
- ^ “User Groups : Who Said It? : all roads lead to Rome”, in Quoteland.com[2], (Please provide a date or year)
