# Of the dead, say nothing but good \[Latin translation\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [March 23, 2026, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693 "2026-03-23T00:32:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/1 "2026-03-23T00:32:22Z")
**Political warning: I am using Trump in this ‘exchange’.** What is the nearest translation into Latin of the following dialogue: > Of the dead, say nothing but good. > Trump is dead. > Good. De mortuis, bonum tantum dic. Trump mortuus est Bonum Nihil nisi bene pro mortuis dic. Trump mortuus est. Bene. Nihil nisi bonum mortuis Trump mortuus est Bonum De mortuis nil nisi bonum. Trump mortuus est Bonum ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/2 "2026-03-23T00:47:15Z")
I think the second. The proper word is “well” – adverb, _bene_ – as it modifies “to speak” (_dicere_). Not sure why they didn’t write the word “_dicere_” in full. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/3 "2026-03-23T00:52:42Z")
Isn’t _good_ used as a noun in that expression? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/4 "2026-03-23T00:56:16Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I think the second. I think the second, as well. > [@JKellyMap](#): > > Not sure why they didn’t write the word “_dicere_” in full. ‘They’ are Google Translate. > [@Monty](#): > > Isn’t _good_ used as a noun in that expression? I think it is an adjective. ‘Say nothing but _good_ (adjective) [things].’ ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/5 "2026-03-23T00:58:16Z")
Using an adjective in place of a noun is standard, accepted Latin, so that’d work fine. What I’m less sure about is how well Latin could handle a single-word sentence of “Good”. Latin does have single-word sentences, but in all of the cases I can think of (like Caesar’s famous speech), the word is a verb. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/6 "2026-03-23T01:00:31Z")
True, but an adverb (like _bene_) works okay in some single-word sentences. _Minime_ (“in the least; ‘leastly’”) is one way to say “no.” _Ita vero_ (“truly in this way”) is one way to “yes.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/7 "2026-03-23T01:17:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What I’m less sure about is how well Latin could handle a single-word sentence of “Good”. It’s a bit of a pun. The first sentence means, ‘Say only good things of the dead.’ The last sentence is, ‘Good.’’ The joke is turning ‘Of the dead, say only good’ into ‘Of the dead, say only “Good.”’ Hence, ‘Good.’ Is that sort of humour possible in Latin? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/8 "2026-03-23T01:22:42Z")
Looking forward to a good day in the future when I can use Trump and good in the same sentence. Like: Its good that Trump is dead. He can’t hurt innocent people anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/9 "2026-03-23T01:50:45Z")
Yes, I understand the goal. I’m just not sure if it works or not. But others are a lot better at Latin than I am. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/10 "2026-03-23T12:26:36Z")
I hope nobody has a definitive answer because Johnny will have to [write it a hundred times or have his balls cut off.](https://youtu.be/0lczHvB3Y9s?si=2_ySbJ3x3JUvTf8T) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/11 "2026-03-23T12:50:21Z")
The standard Latin phrase is _[De mortuis nil nisi bonum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_mortuis_nil_nisi_bonum)_. For some people you might prefer HL Mencken’s sardonic update: _De mortuis nil nisi bunkum_ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/12 "2026-03-23T12:57:23Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > The standard Latin phrase is _[De mortuis nil nisi bonum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_mortuis_nil_nisi_bonum)_. Google translates that ti ‘Nothing but good comes from the dead,’ which is different from ‘Of the dead nothing but good is to be said,’ in the Wikipedia article. Is Google wrong? Or is the sentence idiomatic (‘Don’t listen to the words, listen to what I’m saying.’)? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/13 "2026-03-23T13:06:36Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Is Google wrong Well… I suppose there’s a potential ambiguity given that it’s so compressed, but the usage has been around for a couple of millennia at least, whereas Google Translate… hasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/14 "2026-03-23T13:39:54Z")
The phrase, as linked (i.e., the Wikipedia article title) is a truncated version of the whole phrase, which is actually: > De mortuis nil nisi bonum **dicendum est** The missing words translate to “is to be spoken” or “must be said”. That’s the missing bit of meaning. Google isn’t wrong; it was given incomplete information. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/15 "2026-03-23T14:46:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What I’m less sure about is how well Latin could handle a single-word sentence of “Good”. euge, bene, optime _Perhaps_ “bonum”? Virgil does have [bla bla bla] / Bonum sit! ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/16 "2026-03-23T14:53:43Z")
I’ll have y’all know that when I saw the OP, I had to look up whether Trump had suddenly died. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-the-dead-say-nothing-but-good-latin-translation/1028693/17 "2026-03-23T15:00:05Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > I had to look up whether Trump had suddenly died. My wife calls me a Boy Scout. 😉