Nulla dies sine linea

Nulla dies sine linea is a Latin phrase meaning "no day without a line". The idea was originated by Pliny the Elder (Natural History, XXXV, 84),[1] where the idea applies to the Greek painter Apelles, who did not go a day without drawing at least one line. The phrase itself is attested for the first time in the Proverbiorum libellus by Polydore Vergil  (1470-1555).[2]

In classical Latin, linea literally means a "linen thread", hence a "line", and figuratively designates a line, drawn with a feather or a brush,[3] but not a line of text. However, many writers have adopted this phrase to mean a line of text.

  1. ^ Apelli fuit alioqui perpetua consuetudo numquam tam occupatum diem agendi, ut non lineam ducendo exerceret artem, quod ab eo in proverbium venit. «D'ailleurs, c'était une habitude systématique d'Apelle, aussi occupé fût-il, de ne pas laisser passer un jour sans pratiquer son art en traçant une ligne, ce qui a donné lieu à un proverbe.»
  2. ^ Polydorus Vergilius, Proverbiorum libellus, Venise, 1498, fol. 16r.
  3. ^ Félix Gaffiot, Dictionnaire latin-français, p. 912, s. v. linea.