FrenchIl n'y a pas loin du Capitole à la roche Tarpéienne
Meaning: Glory and disgrace are close neighbors — the fall can follow the honors very quickly.
Literally: It is not far from the Capitol to the Tarpeian Rock
Example: “Adulé hier, le ministre est déjà en disgrâce : il n'y a pas loin du Capitole à la roche Tarpéienne.” — Adored only yesterday, the minister has already fallen from grace: glory and disgrace are never far apart.
English equivalent: The bigger they are, the harder they fall
Origin: Victorious Roman generals were carried in triumph to the temple on the Capitoline Hill. The Tarpeian Rock, from which traitors were thrown to their deaths, stood on the same hill a short walk away. The geography made the moral, and Mirabeau put it to the Assembly in 1790.
More French idioms
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- Acheter chat en poche To buy something sight unseen, and be cheated.
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