Some thoughts stay with us for centuries. This printable Italian cryptogram hides a famous quote attributed to Marco Aurelio behind a simple letter-and-number code. In Italian, a memorable quote like this is often called an aforisma.
At first, the puzzle may look like a random collection of numbers, but each letter you uncover brings the whole thought into focus. Try to work out not only the missing letters, but also what the quote is saying about knowledge and opinions before checking the solution.
You can use the optional hints if you need a little help, or challenge yourself to solve the entire puzzle unaided.
Divertiti! 😊
Marco Aurelio (121–180 AD), known in English as Marcus Aurelius, was a Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher. He ruled the Roman Empire for almost twenty years, but today he is just as well known for the Meditations, his reflections on life, duty and how we respond to the world around us.
Here are five things you might not know about the man behind the quote.
Written in Greek
Despite being a Roman emperor, the private writings now known as the Meditations were written in Greek, the language used by many educated Romans for philosophy.
Never meant for publication
The Meditations were personal notes and reflections, written for himself rather than for an audience. They survived and were passed down after his death.
The Antonine Plague
The Antonine Plague swept through the Roman Empire during his reign and caused enormous loss of life, one of several major crises he faced as emperor.
His son was Commodus
When Marco Aurelio died in 180 AD, his son Commodus succeeded him. His turbulent reign was very different from his father's and brought the era of Rome's so-called Five Good Emperors to an end.
A disputed quote
The line is widely attributed to Marco Aurelio, but no original source for it has been identified in the Meditations or his other surviving writings.
In this quote, sa comes from sapere, "to know". But Italian has another very common verb for "to know": conoscere. They aren't interchangeable.
We generally use sapere for knowing a fact or piece of information:
Sai dov'è la stazione?
Do you know where the station is?
Non so la risposta.
I don't know the answer.
We also use sapere for knowing how to do something:
Sai nuotare?
Can you swim?
Conoscere, on the other hand, is used for being familiar or acquainted with a person, place or subject:
Conosci Marco?
Do you know Marco?
Conosco bene Roma.
I know Rome well.
So in Marco Aurelio's quote, nessuno di loro sa niente sull'argomento means that none of them knows anything about the subject, we're talking about knowledge or information, so Italian uses sapere.
Knowing, and being known
Nessuno appears in Marco Aurelio's quote, and it's a word Luigi Pirandello made famous in a very different context. His novel Uno, nessuno e centomila (One, No One and One Hundred Thousand) explores how we see ourselves, how others see us, and whether anyone can ever truly know us.
If you'd like another challenge, try this interactive online cryptogram featuring a quote by Luigi Pirandello.
