I found out something today that's really quite cool. It turns out the quote "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" is attributed to Saint Ambrose! Yes, a Father of the Church from the fourth century! This blew my mind because it's yet another testament to the everyday quotes that stem from the Bible and Saints.
In a letter to Saint Augustine, Saint Ambrose wrote...
Si fueris Romae, Romano vivito more; si fueris alibi, vivito sicut ibi
Translated into English, that means "When you are in Rome live in the Roman style; when you are elsewhere live as they live elsewhere." This was in reference to another quote by Ambrose... "When I go to Rome, I fast on Saturday, but in Milan I do not. Do you also follow the custom of whatever church you attend, if you do not want to give or receive scandal." While the general meaning of it has changed, the quote is the same.
It was quoted as a proverb in the "Commonplace Book" in 1530 and then again in the nineteenth century in America in "Voyages of Radisson." It's so amazing how such a well known quote can originate from the scribblings of one holy man to another.
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