Necessity is the mother of invention
Meaning: Difficult situations inspire creative solutions.
Origin: The idea goes back to Plato's Republic, where a city is said to be created by human needs. The Latin mater artium necessitas — necessity is the mother of the arts — appears in William Horman's schoolbook Vulgaria (1519), and William Wycherley's play Love in a Wood (1672) has the English "Necessity, the mother of invention."
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Nécessité est mère d'invention (literally: Necessity is the mother of invention)
- Spanish: La necesidad es la madre de la invención (literally: Necessity is the mother of invention)
- Japanese: 必要は発明の母 (Hitsuyō wa hatsumei no haha) (literally: Necessity is the mother of invention)
- German: Not macht erfinderisch (literally: Need makes one inventive)
More proverbs about Challenge
- Fortune favors the bold — Taking risks often leads to rewards.
- Strike while the iron is hot — Act quickly when the opportunity presents itself.
- If you can't beat them, join them — If you can't win against something, align with it.
- You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs — Progress requires sacrifice.
- What doesn't kill you makes you stronger — Adversity builds resilience and character.
- Nothing ventured, nothing gained — You must take risks to achieve rewards.
From our tongue twisters
- Apelle figlio di Apollo fece una palla di pelle di pollo e tutti i principi della città di Capua la palpeggiarono. — A wall of 'p/ll/l/a' that seems to grow longer as you speak it faster.
- Se la serpe si avvicina alla siepe del serpente, il serpente scappa dalla siepe. — A sibilant 's/se/si/sci' minefield; both words (serpe and serpente) slither through the s…
- Chi è Ciccio Capece? Ciccio Capece è un capocaccia che caccia con la cacciaballa. — A 'c/ci/ccia' onslaught — Italian's hard and soft c in the same sentence, non-stop.