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Pecunia non olet ("money does not smell") is a Latin saying. The phrase originally related to the urine tax levied by the Roman emperors Nero and Vespasian in the 1st century upon the collection of urine.

Histroy

The Urine Tax (Latin: vectigal urinae) was a tax levied by the Roman emperor Nero in the 1st century upon the collection of urine. The lower classes of Roman society urinated into pots which were emptied into cesspools. The liquid was then collected from public latrines, where it served as the raw material for a number of chemical processes: it was used in tanning, and also by launderers as a source of ammonia to clean and whiten woollen togas.

The tax was eventually discontinued, but it was re-enacted by Nero's successor Vespasian and applied to all public toilets within Rome's now famous Cloaca Maxima (great sewer) system. The Roman historians Suetonius and Dio Cassius report that when Vespasian's son Titus complained to him about the disgusting nature of the tax, his father held up a gold coin and told him, "Non olet! ("It doesn't stink!"). (Dio Cassius, Roman History, Book 65, chapter 14.) This phrase is still used today to show that money is all equally filthy (or clean), regardless of its source. Vespasian's name still attaches to public urinals in France (vespasiennes), Italy (vespasiani), and Romania (vespasiene).

In literature

"Vespasian's axiom" is referred to in passing in the Balzac short story "Sarrasine," in connection with the mysterious origins of the wealth of a Parisian family. The proverb receives some attention in Roland Barthes's detailed analysis of the Balzac story in his critical study S/Z (Barthes, S/Z, trans. Richard Miller [New York: Hill and Wang - Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1974] pages 39-40; see lexia number 26). It is possible that F. Scott Fitzgerald alludes to Vespasian's axiom in The Great Gatsby. As Nick crosses the Queensborough Bridge he observes "the city rising up across the river in white heaps and sugar lumps all built with a wish out of non-olfactory money." (Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, New York, Scribner, 1925, p. 73).

Equivalents in other languages

The saying has equivalents in a number of other languages:

Bulgarian: парите не миришат.
Czech: Peníze nesmrdí.
Dutch: Geld stinkt niet.
Estonian: Raha ei haise.
Finnish: Raha ei haise
French: L'argent n'a pas d'odeur
German: Geld stinkt nicht.
Hungarian: A pénznek nincs szaga.
Polish: Pieniądze nie śmierdzą.
Romanian: Banii nu au miros.
Russian: деньги не пахнут.
Slovak: Peniaze nesmrdia.
Slovenian: Denar ne smrdi.
Swedish: Pengar luktar inte.

References

Ivar Lissner, "Power and Folly: the story of the Caesars".
Dio Cassius, lxvi, 14.
Suetonius, "De Vita Caesarum--Divus Vespasianus"
Dominique Laporte, "History of Shit"

External links

Translation of "De Vita Caesarum--Divus Vespasianus" [1]
Translation of "History" by Dio Cassius [2]

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+{{citation style}}
-'''''Pecunia non olet''''' ("money does not smell") is a Latin saying related to the '''urine tax''' levied by the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] emperors [[Nero]] and [[Vespasian]] in the 1st century upon the  collection of [[urine]].
-Urine Tax ({{lang-la|vectigal urinae}}) was a [[tax]] levied by the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] emperor [[Nero]] in the 1st century upon the  collection of [[urine]]. The lower classes of Roman society urinated into pots which were emptied into [[cesspool]]s. The liquid was then collected from public latrines, where it served as the raw material for a number of chemical processes: it was used in [[tanning]], and also by [[laundry|launderers]] as a source of [[ammonia]] to clean and whiten [[wool]]len [[toga]]s.
+'''''Pecunia non olet''''' ("money does not smell") is a Latin saying. The phrase originally related to the '''urine tax''' levied by the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] emperors [[Nero]] and [[Vespasian]] in the 1st century upon the  collection of [[urine]].
+==Histroy==
+The Urine Tax ({{lang-la|vectigal urinae}}) was a [[tax]] levied by the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] emperor [[Nero]] in the 1st century upon the  collection of [[urine]]. The lower classes of Roman society urinated into pots which were emptied into [[cesspool]]s. The liquid was then collected from public latrines, where it served as the raw material for a number of chemical processes: it was used in [[tanning]], and also by [[laundry|launderers]] as a source of [[ammonia]] to clean and whiten [[wool]]len [[toga]]s.
 The tax was eventually discontinued, but it was re-enacted by Nero's successor [[Vespasian]] and applied to all public toilets within Rome's now famous [[Cloaca Maxima]] (great sewer) system.  The Roman historians [[Lives of the Twelve Caesars|Suetonius]] and [[Dio Cassius]] report that when Vespasian's son [[Titus]] complained to him about the disgusting nature of the tax, his father held up a gold coin and told him, "''Non olet!'' ("It doesn't stink!"). ([[Dio Cassius]], ''Roman History'', Book 65, chapter 14.) This phrase is still used today to show that money is all equally filthy (or clean), regardless of its source. Vespasian's name still attaches to public [[urinal]]s in France (''vespasiennes''), Italy (''vespasiani''), and Romania (''vespasiene'').
+==In literature==
 "Vespasian's axiom" is referred to in passing in the Balzac short story "Sarrasine," in connection with the mysterious origins of the wealth of a Parisian family.  The proverb receives some attention in Roland Barthes's detailed analysis of the Balzac story in his critical study ''S/Z''  (Barthes, ''S/Z,'' trans. Richard Miller [New York: Hill and Wang - Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1974] pages 39-40; see lexia number 26). It is possible that [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]] alludes to Vespasian's axiom in [[The Great Gatsby]]. As Nick crosses the Queensborough Bridge he observes "the city rising up across the river in white heaps and sugar lumps all built with a wish out of non-olfactory money." (Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, New York, Scribner, 1925, p. 73).
+==Equivalents in other languages==
-The saying has equivalents in a number of other languages.  The French say "L'argent n'a pas d'odeur"; the Dutch say "Geld stinkt niet". In Slovak is "Peniaze nesmrdia", in Slovenian is "Denar ne smrdi". In German the maxim is "Geld stinkt nicht", in Czech "Peníze nesmrdí", in Romanian "Banii nu au miros", in Hungarian "A pénznek nincs szaga", in Finnish and Estonian "Raha ei haise", in Swedish "Pengar luktar inte", in Polish "Pieniądze nie śmierdzą", in Bulgarian "парите не миришат" and in Russian "деньги не пахнут".
+The saying has equivalents in a number of other languages:
+*'''Bulgarian''': парите не миришат.
+*'''Czech''': Peníze nesmrdí.
+*'''Dutch''': Geld stinkt niet.
+*'''Estonian''': Raha ei haise.
+*'''Finnish''': Raha ei haise
+*'''French''': L'argent n'a pas d'odeur
+*'''German''': Geld stinkt nicht.
+*'''Hungarian''': A pénznek nincs szaga.
+*'''Polish''': Pieniądze nie śmierdzą.
+*'''Romanian''': Banii nu au miros.
+*'''Russian''': деньги не пахнут.
+*'''Slovak''': Peniaze nesmrdia.
+*'''Slovenian''': Denar ne smrdi.
+*'''Swedish''': Pengar luktar inte.
 ==References==