I would like to create a motto for our Hot Air Ballooning club. Stealing from Descartes, I would like to say: “I am safe; therefore, I am”.
My assumption is that the word Incolumis is closer than Salus regarding the meaning I would like to convey. Would “Incolumis Ego Sum” be correct?
Any help would be appreciated.
John
Austin, Texas
i don’t know whether you purposefully swapped ergo (‘therefore’) for ego (which means ‘i’, but is not necessary for the sense). if you want to say ’ i am safe’ then your phrase is fine; you might well want to add the ‘r’ again, so as to get ergo and any logical progression back. your translation is not the easiest, since it will only be pleasing if ‘i am safe’ (which in english has to be rendered by an adjective and the verb ‘to be’) is rendered by a latin verb. otherwise the cartesian tinge will swiftly fade away. since latin is a language of such precision are you able to explain exactly what your phrase means. in order for it to be logical, i suppose, the sense of ‘safe’ must play upon one’s not being, i.e. being dead. ‘i have not died therefore i am’ would probably not be the most expedient motto for a ballooning club. ‘i live therefore i am’ - vivo ergo sum - also contains the implicit suggestion that there is danger of death. ‘valeo ergo sum’ would mean ‘i am in good health/well therefore i am’, but there isn’t really the notion in that of having avoided danger, it’s just being well generally. ‘servor ergo sum’ could mean ‘i am saved from danger therefore i am’ or ‘i am preserved (in some way) therefore i am’.
without a verb non saucius ergo sum would make the phrase more divisible as ‘i (am) unwounded therefore i am’, though it clearly adds another word.
~D
I think the servor thing is nice whiteoctave, you obviously took into account that this is a hot air ballooning club and there could be er…casus, shall we say latinly. In my opinion however I would replace esse with exsistere, the sum just wouldn’t be vivid enough for me because it’s used so often. Anyway just another roll of the die.
Hmm… the meaning I would like to convey is that we take safety into account before all else. So, it would be more like, Because I am careful (act safely); therefore, I am.
So with this in mind, I want to get as close to three words as possible, while perhaps keeping the Descartes spirit…
Thanks,
John
ah i see, well incolumis is probably inappropriate since that conveys ‘safe’ in the sense of one’s body (typically) not being harmed. ‘caveo ergo sum’, ‘i take care therefore i am’ is presumably the closest option, and would be a nice choice since caveo is so often used with reference to avoiding danger. plus it is not greatly dissimilar from cogito in sound.
less good would be ‘attendo ergo sum’.
~D
Perhaps also something like ‘cavendo salutem adeptus’ or replacing the ppp (in form of course) of adipisci with perhaps continui. You could go further perhaps and write ‘cavendo contineo corpus’ (by being careful I hold my body together = I am careful therefore I exist [in one piece].
… in both of your posts works well from my perspective. I have some deciding to do. I had not thought of Caveo. I will let you know what we decide.
All the best,
John
How about gravitatem decipimus diligentia, “we cheat gravity through diligence,” or maybe diligentia alae nostri, “diligence [is] our wings.” Not sure if this is good Latin (I’m a novice).
When we use the English word “safety,” we often don’t really mean safety, do we, what we mean is, the caution and preparation and the attitude that ensures safety. So, maybe diligentia can fit here. Or maybe tutella.
How about, I inflate, therefore I fly? Oops, that’s not Latin. 
How about: Primus caveo ergo sum.