“Non est ad astra mollis e terris via” is a line from Seneca’s tragedy Hercules Furens, line 437 in the edition the reader uses. It means that there is no easy way from the earth to the stars. Megara, the wife of Hercules, says it to Lycus, the tyrant who has seized Thebes while Hercules is away in the underworld. Lycus sneers that the darkness of Tartarus weighs on Hercules; Megara answers with this line.
Mollis, usually “soft”, here means “easy”, and it agrees with via, the subject, which Seneca keeps for the end of the line. Ad astra is “to the stars”, ē terrīs “from the earth”. The motto per aspera ad astra is often linked to Seneca, but this is the line he wrote. With the long vowels marked it reads Nōn est ad astra mollis ē terrīs via. Tap the words to check each one.
Seneca · Hercules Furens 437
Tap a word — or reveal the translation.