Contra vim mortis non crescit herba in hortis

Contra vim mortis non crescit herba in hortis (or Contra vim mortis non crescit salvia in hortis, Latin meaning "No herb grows in the gardens against the power of death", or "No sage grows in the gardens against the power of death", respectively,^[1] is a phrase that appears in medieval literature. The broader meaning of the maxim is, "Although you search any garden, you won't find a medical remedy against the lethal power of death". The second wording that uses salvia in place of herba is a wordplay with the name of "salvia" (sage), which literally means healer or healthmaker.

Like many adages and maxims handed on from the Latin cultural tradition, this line is a hexameter, the rhythmical verse typical of the great epic poetry in both Greek and Latin literature.

According to Jan Wielewicki in his Dziennik spraw Domu zakonnego OO. Jezuitów u św. Barbary w Krakowie, these words were said by Sigismund III Vasa on his deathbed. In Das Buch der Zitate by Gerhard Hellwig, the phrase appears in Flos medicinae.

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