I'm trying to translate a motto into Latin for a friend of mine, and my Latin is rusty enough that I'd love some other sets of eyes to check my work before it gets calligraphied and painted onto things!
The original English is:
Light a candle or suffer in darkness.
My Latin translation is:
Incendete candelam aut dolete in tenebris.
So, any errors you can catch? I know there are some other options for "suffer" so let me know if you happen to know the connotations for this one are all wrong. But I'm mostly concerned about my rusty grammar.
Thanks for any help you can give!
Short English to Latin translation
-
- Textkit Neophyte
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Wed May 26, 2010 10:18 pm
-
- Textkit Zealot
- Posts: 1093
- Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:08 am
- Location: Toronto
Re: Short English to Latin translation
I can't comment on word choice or anything like that, but I can tell you that it should be "incendite".
-
- Textkit Zealot
- Posts: 3270
- Joined: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:45 pm
Re: Short English to Latin translation
I think "accendite" for "light" and "incendite" for "burn".
Strictim "accendite" non "incendite", ut opinor.
Strictim "accendite" non "incendite", ut opinor.
I'm writing in Latin hoping for correction, and not because I'm confident in how I express myself. Latinè scribo ut ab omnibus corrigar, non quod confidenter me exprimam.
-
- Textkit Neophyte
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Wed May 26, 2010 10:18 pm
Re: Short English to Latin translation
Yes, I'd wondered if accendite would be more appropriate to the context. And I'm not at all surprised I got some grammar wrong.
Thanks, both of you!!
Thanks, both of you!!
- Scribo
- Global Moderator
- Posts: 917
- Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:28 pm
- Location: Between Ilias and Odysseia (ok sometimes Athens).
Re: Short English to Latin translation
unam candelam accendite aut in tenebris dolete
although I would perhaps use umbris rather than tenebris?
although I would perhaps use umbris rather than tenebris?
(Occasionally) Working on the following tutorials:
(P)Aristotle, Theophrastus and Peripatetic Greek
Intro Greek Poetry
Latin Historical Prose
(P)Aristotle, Theophrastus and Peripatetic Greek
Intro Greek Poetry
Latin Historical Prose
-
- Textkit Zealot
- Posts: 764
- Joined: Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:52 pm
Re: Short English to Latin translation
hi, I had some questions on how you are using the two imperatives in your sentence:
INCENDITE: is your phrase meant to be addressed to a specific group of individuals? or is it more a general statement, like a maxim or precept, giving general advice and not addressed to any specific individual? if the latter, i would use instead the second person singular subjunctive ACCENDAS: see woodcock page 96, s126 note (ii):
http://books.google.fr/books?id=WmT6mS5v4dAC&pg=PA96
DOLETE: are you actually ordering the persons to suffer if they don’t do X? or are you saying that they should do X in order to avoid suffering? if the latter, i would use instead NE plus subjunctive. for an e.g. of this construction, see cicero’s pro caelio s80:
CONSERVATE PARENTI FILIVM, PARENTEM FILIO, NE AVT SENECTVTEM IAM PROPE DESPERATAM CONTEMPSISSE AVT ADVLESCENTIAM PLENAM SPEI MAXIMAE NON MODO NON ALVISSE VOS VERVM ETIAM PERCVLISSE ATQVE ADFLIXISSE VIDEAMINI.
this would give overall ACCENDAS CANDELAM NE IN TENEBRIS DOLEAS, without considering other options for the other words, e.g. CANDELAM/CEREVM etc. cheers, chad
INCENDITE: is your phrase meant to be addressed to a specific group of individuals? or is it more a general statement, like a maxim or precept, giving general advice and not addressed to any specific individual? if the latter, i would use instead the second person singular subjunctive ACCENDAS: see woodcock page 96, s126 note (ii):
http://books.google.fr/books?id=WmT6mS5v4dAC&pg=PA96
DOLETE: are you actually ordering the persons to suffer if they don’t do X? or are you saying that they should do X in order to avoid suffering? if the latter, i would use instead NE plus subjunctive. for an e.g. of this construction, see cicero’s pro caelio s80:
CONSERVATE PARENTI FILIVM, PARENTEM FILIO, NE AVT SENECTVTEM IAM PROPE DESPERATAM CONTEMPSISSE AVT ADVLESCENTIAM PLENAM SPEI MAXIMAE NON MODO NON ALVISSE VOS VERVM ETIAM PERCVLISSE ATQVE ADFLIXISSE VIDEAMINI.
this would give overall ACCENDAS CANDELAM NE IN TENEBRIS DOLEAS, without considering other options for the other words, e.g. CANDELAM/CEREVM etc. cheers, chad