For I am too cautious or (to speak more truly) too timid, to exaggerate anything beyond what is proven by trustworthy and sure evidence.
• Res gestae, XVIII, vi, 23
• Res gestae, XVIII, vi, 23
“
Cum nos cauti vel (ut verius dixerim) timidi, nihil exaggeremus, praeter ea quae fidei testimonia neque incerta monstrarunt.
— Ammianus Marcellinus
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Cum nos cauti vel (ut verius dixerim) timidi, nihil exaggeremus, praeter ea quae fidei testimonia neque incerta monstrarunt." in the context of "For I am too cautious or (to speak more truly) too timid, to exaggerate anything beyond what is proven by trustworthy and sure evidence.
• Res gestae, XVIII, vi, 23" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Ammianus Marcellinus" (Quotes: John C. Rolfe, Ammianus: Roman History, LCL, vols. 1, 2, 3 (1935, 1939, 1940)
Norbert Guterman, A Book of Latin Quotations (1966), pp. 356–9)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus, occasionally anglicised as Ammian (Greek: Αμμιανός Μαρκελλίνος; c. 330 – c. 391–400), was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius). Written in Latin and known as the Res gestae, his work chronicled the history of Rome from the accession of the Emperor Nerva in 96 to the death of Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. Only the sections covering the period 353 to 378 survive.
About Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus, occasionally anglicised as Ammian (Greek: Αμμιανός Μαρκελλίνος; c. 330 – c. 391–400), was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius). Written in Latin and known as the Res gestae, his work chronicled the history of Rome from the accession of the Emperor Nerva in 96 to the death of Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. Only the sections covering the period 353 to 378 survive.
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