When in Rome do as the Romans do

Posted by ESC on July 04, 2009 at 12:23

In Reply to: When in Rome do as the Romans do posted by Farideh Zendehboodi on July 04, 2009 at 11:28:

: What's the meaning of this proverb; 'when in Rome do as the Romans do'? - and I would like to know about its history and detail.

Here's all I know:

WHEN IN ROME, DO AS THE ROMANS DO - "Don't set your own rules when you are someone's guest. The proverb has been traced back to the 1530 'Commonplace Book' and it is first cited in the United States in 'Voyages of Radisson' . The proverb is often attributed to Saint Ambrose (c.340-397), whose advice to Saint Augustine read: Si fueris Romae, Romano vivito more; si fueris alibi, vivito sicut ibi ('When you are in Rome live in the Roman style; when you are elsewhere live as they live elsewhere') English diviine Jeremy Taylor (1613-67) also used the proverb." From Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).