Need help with a quote

[j_ky2002]

Can anyone translate this to Latin for me?
"I will not forgive myself."
For personal reasons, I plan on getting this tattooed onto my chest, in reverse, so I can read it every time I look into the mirror. If someone could translate it, I'll talke care of the reversing.
Thanks

[benissimus]

I recommend Mihi non ignoscam

You can also do Non ignoscam mihi or Non mihi ignoscam if it sounds better to you. An intriguing request...

[Episcopus]

This is like Dawson's Creek.

[j_ky2002]

why exactly is that?

[j_ky2002]

Nice avatar, by the way.
She is beautiful.
Who is it?

[Evito]

I recommend Mihi non ignoscam

You can also do Non ignoscam mihi or Non mihi ignoscam if it sounds better to you. An intriguing request...

I thought I posted her but I think I hit the preview-button instead...
I suggested Mihi ipse non ignoscam
how does that sound to you? I used ipse because he said "myself"...

[bingley]

In English ___self/selves does double duty as emphatic pronoun and reflexive pronoun. 'I will not forgive me' would be unidiomatic. In the statement as given I don't think the ipse is necessary.

[j_ky2002]

Would the Lating for "I will NEVER forgive myself" be any different?
You folks are great, I appreciate all the help. I hate to be so picky, but it is going to be a tatoo, and I would like it to be as correct as possible.
-Jay

[j_ky2002]

Latin
tattoo
Sorry.
-Jay

[benissimus]

If you want to say "never", just replace the non with numquam or its variant form nunquam. That is, mihi numquam/nunquam ignoscam, if you take my advice.

[j_ky2002]

...has been quite helpful. I now just have to find a font I like and get the job done, thank you.

[klewlis]

that seems like a scary thing to tattoo on one's chest. what if you decide later that you WILL forgive yourself??? :)

and why latin? (just out of curiosity)

[j_ky2002]

1. I will never forgive myself for what happened, period.
2. I want it in latin, and REVERSED, so that I will be able to read it in a mirror, so that only I will understand it. Its for me, no one else, so I want to make it as hard as possible for anyone else to read/understand it.
3. If you really want something SCARY I could sit down and tell you my life story. It'll make your skin crawl.
Thanks to those who helped.

[klewlis]

1. I will never forgive myself for what happened, period.
2. I want it in latin, and REVERSED, so that I will be able to read it in a mirror, so that only I will understand it. Its for me, no one else, so I want to make it as hard as possible for anyone else to read/understand it.
3. If you really want something SCARY I could sit down and tell you my life story. It'll make your skin crawl.
Thanks to those who helped.

It might not be so scary to me, considering my line of work--I work with prostitutes and drug addicts, most of whom have lived horrific lives from childhood.

You would be amazed at how your life could change-- how you could change, regardless of how it feels right now. I hope that someday you'll be able to forgive yourself; if you don't, it can lead to all sorts of bitterness, anger, even self-hatred. It's healthier to forgive, even if it takes a long time. I don't want to tell you what to do, but I do think that it belies a great deal of despair to think that you will NEVER forgive yourself, no matter what. In spite of the deepest evil and pain we can experience, I believe that there is nothing so horrible that it cannot be healed. There is ALWAYS hope.

Anyway, I apologize if this is inappropriate to you or the thread... but I always feel that such things need to be said. :)

[Barrius]

1. I will never forgive myself for what happened, period.

I hope that someday you'll be able to forgive yourself; if you don't, it can lead to all sorts of bitterness, anger, even self-hatred. It's healthier to forgive, even if it takes a long time. I don't want to tell you what to do, but I do think that it belies a great deal of despair to think that you will NEVER forgive yourself, no matter what. In spite of the deepest evil and pain we can experience, I believe that there is nothing so horrible that it cannot be healed. There is ALWAYS hope.

I'll add my two cents ;o)

Psalm 103:12 (KJV) As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. If God can forgive and FORGET our sins, certainly we can accept His decision and do the same. Learn from our mistakes - maybe even get a tattoo - and go on!

[j_ky2002]

I thought I posted this already, but I must have hit the "preview" button instead.
1. I'm a cop, but what happened had nothing to do with my career.
2. What happened will affect those I love for the rest of thier lives.
3. What happened was something I failed to do, which I swore I would do, and I will have to live with that the rest of my life.
4. The rest of my life will be pennance for my failure.
On the bright side, this forum has inspired me to try to teach myself latin. Can anyone reccomend a good learning book that I could pick up at a chain bookstore, such as Barnes and Nobel or Hastings?

[benissimus]

I recommend Wheelock's Latin, but you may want to read the first page of this thread for some of the arguments against it: http://www.textkit.com/greek-latin-foru ... c.php?t=53 . Basically, it teaches by using genuine or slightly adapted sentences from real Latin texts as opposed to the made-up Latin that most textbooks use created by the author. The main complaint is that the explanations aren't that great and there aren't enough examples, so I highly recommend you ask question here, but do that no matter what book you choose! We have an answer key for the main exercises on this site, and there are also self-tutorial exercises in the back with their own key. It may not be your style of textbook though.

If you want to take a reading course, there are many choices, but they tend to be more confusing than grammar courses because they avoid giving explanations. If you take the time to learn the grammar and terms, then the grammar-focused books will be much easier to understand than the reading courses.

Moreland & Fleischer's "Latin: An Intensive Course" is highly recommended as a rapid course, but not for your typical student.

Textkit has a few free books... I recommend the one by D'Ooge, "Latin for Beginners", if you choose one of our books.

[Barrius]

Textkit has a few free books... I recommend the one by D'Ooge, "Latin for Beginners", if you choose one of our books.

I looked at Wheelock's in our local bookstore, but decided to download "Latin for Beginners" for free. If I didn't care for Latin, and abandoned D'Ooge's book, at least I wasn't out anything.

That said, I love the language, I'm just a neophyte in it, but will continue. I've already decided to contribute to the contest (thanks to Jeff and all involved here!) For someone who knew almost nothing about Latin, I have found D'Ooge's work an excellent book.

I'm looking forward to reading the classics in the language they were written in.

[j_ky2002]

Would that be "non ignoscam"
or "non ignosco"?

[j_ky2002]

This may be a double post...
I have modified the idea, and I am just getting "unforgiven" i Latin on my chest,
WOuld that be NON IGNOSCAM
or NON IGNOSCO?

[Turpissimus]

Hmmmm, there seems to be quite an epidemic of people having bits of Latin tattooed on themselves. Only just this week for instance we had some chap writing in to translate some sentiments about his family that he was going to have needled onto his body.

I think, that when you are about eighty years old, and in the swimming pool with the other senior citizens, you might come to regret the decision to have some feeling you felt at a particulary tough time in your life engraved on your chest.

However, to answer you're question, "non ignosco" is "I do not forgive"; "numquam ignoscam" is "I shall never forgive". I suspect that when you are older and looking at yourself in the mirror, that is exactly the thought you will be thinking.

[Timothy]

I looked at Wheelock's in our local bookstore, but decided to download "Latin for Beginners" for free. If I didn't care for Latin, and abandoned D'Ooge's book, at least I wasn't out anything.

D'Ooge is good. But if you find that not to your taste then you will do yourself a favor by sampling the other beginner book, by Collar and Danielle. They have slightly different approaches one of which should appeal to your learning tastes.

- Tim

[Barrius]

D'Ooge is good. But if you find that not to your taste then you will do yourself a favor by sampling the other beginner book, by Collar and Danielle. They have slightly different approaches one of which should appeal to your learning tastes.

How astute you are, I am doing exactly that (when I have time). I prefer D'Ooge, but Collar & Daniell offer a few more exercises, so I try to work them all.

My biggest problem is simply a lack of time, work interferes with my Latin , as do kids, family and vocabulary on Textkit. I'm trying to decide whick book to use to post another vocabulary from. I'm in it for the long haul, no rush, however impatient I might be. I DO appreciate any and all help that has been rendered, and that will be given in the future.

[Turpissimus]

As for unforgiven, just on it's own, that would be (hold on here while I formulate something plausible):

inignoscitus

"ignoscitus" is "forgiven". I've added in- to convey the idea of negation.

About the textbooks, I think if after you've memorized all your conjugations and declensions and what have you, and you find that reading Latin still is something of a headache, then I can heartily recommend Moreland and Fleisher's "Latin: an Intensive Course" to you as it has lots of reading that simulates the difficulty of real latin prose and poetry and presents it to you from the very beginning. And it doesn't skip out the difficult bits of grammar and syntax until later either. Using that textbook you won't get the impression, for instance, that the subjunctive is anything less than a mood at the heart of the Latin language - M&F present it in the first or second unit. That way you won't get a warped sense of what's important in Latin grammar, as I once did.

A complete beginner who is not of the very highest motivation cannot crack open a page of M&F and not feel slightly overwhelmed, but I mention the textbook here merely to give some praise to it's ability to make someone, like myself, who had studied latin for a fair while and still felt that Caesar was beyond him, feel that Rome was at last beginning to yield it's secrets.

[whiteoctave]

unforgiven cannot be captured by a single word; an impersonal construction such as mihi non ignotum must needs be constructed.

~D

[benissimus]

"ignoscitus" is "forgiven". I've added in- to convey the idea of negation.

I don't think ignoscitus is a possible form...

[Turpissimus]

Blast! Yes you're correct. The past participle of ~nosco verbs is ~notus isn't it? That's what you get when you stay away from yer latin.

Blast again!

[benissimus]

Well, I think you just proved your point from the other tattoo thread

[j_ky2002]

ok, so what is the majority decision?
MIHI NON IGNOTUM
or
INIGNOTUS?

[benissimus]

I think the more verbose option whiteoctave offered is the only correct choice mentioned so far meaning 'unforgiven'. The word for 'forgive' is intransitive in Latin so you can't really capture it with one word as you can in English.

[j_ky2002]

I also got
MIHI NON IGNOSCAM
is that more accurate than
MINI NON IGNOTUM?

[benissimus]

I also got
MIHI NON IGNOSCAM
is that more accurate than
MINI NON IGNOTUM?

They are both correct, but as I said only one means 'unforgiven'. The first means 'I shall not forgive myself', the second roughly means 'unforgiven', but make sure to spell it 'mihi', not 'mini'.

[j_ky2002]

Thanks