all roads lead to Rome

English

Etymology

Modern wording of medieval sentiment; apparently originally a reference to Roman roads generally and the Milliarium Aureum (Golden Milestone) specifically.[1]

Appears in the Latin form mīlle viae dūcunt hominēs per saecula Rōmam (“a thousand roads lead men forever to Rome”) in Liber Parabolarum, 591 (1175), by Alain de Lille.[2]

The earliest English form appears to be “right as diverse pathes leden the folk the righte wey to Rome”, in A Treatise on the Astrolabe (Prologue, ll. 39–40), 1391, by Geoffrey Chaucer.[3][4][5][6]

Proverb

all roads lead to Rome

  1. Different paths can take one to the same goal.
    Synonym: there's more than one way to skin a cat

Translations

References
  1. Schaaf, P. (1867/1886) Ante-nicene fathers: The Apostolic fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, volume 1, electronic reprint edition, Grand Rapids, MI, USA: CCEL: Roberts, A. & Donaldson, J, Eds., page 1
  2. Samuel Singer; Kuratorium Singer (1995), Walter de Gruyter, editor, Thesaurus Proverbiorum Medii Aevi: Lexikon der Sprichwörter des Romanisch-germanischen Mittelalters‎, →ISBN, page 355
  3. A Treatise on the Astrolabe, Part 1
  4. Gregory Y. Titelman (1996) Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, →ISBN, page 8
  5. Linda Flavell; Roger Flavell (1993) Dictionary of Proverbs and their Origins
  6. “User Groups : Who Said It? : all roads lead to Rome”, in Quoteland.com‎, (Please provide a date or year)
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