Nulla dies sine linea

Nulla dies sine linea is a Latin phrase meaning "no day without a line". The idea was originated by Pliny the Elder (Natural History, XXXV, 84), where the idea applies to the Greek painter Apelles, who did not go a day without drawing at least one line. The phrase itself is attested for the first time in the Proverbiorum libellus by Polydore Vergil  (1470-1555).

In classical Latin, linea literally means a "linen thread", hence a "line", and figuratively designates a line, drawn with a feather or a brush, but not a line of text. However, many writers have adopted this phrase to mean a line of text.