Nihil admirari

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Nihil admirari (or “Nil admirari”) is a Latin phrase. It means “to wonder about nothing”.

[edit] Origin

When Anaxagoras was informed about the death of his son, he said: “Sciebam me genuisse mortalem.” (I knew that I brought out mortal life). By referring to that occurrence Marcus Tullius Cicero states that real sapience consist of preparing oneself for all possible incidents and not to wonder about anything. ^[1] For example Horace and Seneca refer to similar occurrences. ^{[2] [3]}

[edit] References

1. ^ Cicero, “Tusculanae disputationes” (3,30)
2. ^ Horace, “Epistulae” (1,6,1)
3. ^ Seneca, “Epistulae Morales” (8,5)