Hi,
SCITE ET STRENUE is written on our faculty crest, I was having trouble translating it. Can someone help?
Thanks
Jerome
Salve Jerome,
Welcome to Textkit. You write you are having trouble - what are your thoughts so far?
Are you studying Latin, or “just passing through”?
actually, no, I’m studying engineering. The Faculty crest has this latin phrase which is supposed to be an age-old engineering phrase.
Well, i make it something like “Understand thee, and promptly”. Now, understand ye, i’m a real beginner and this clearly needs some elucidation or context. It looks rather imperious, but perhaps it should be taken as an entreaty to make the most of your time in this place to learn what you can, as quickly as you can. Doesn’t look particularly engineering related to me.
Do none of your faculty know? The Dean at least, being the head of the department, and occupying a political position, should know.
HTH,
sis.
Sci te would be “know yourself,” but scite, as one word, is “know (plural).” Et, usually “and,” can also mean “even” or “also.” “Strenue” should probably be rendered “vigorously.” Therefore, “Know, even vigorously,” or, in better English, “Seek vigorously to know.” Mea sententia, of course.
David
I think both words are adverbs which would make the translation “ingeniously and forcefully” or less literal “(with) finesse and strength”.
And since we seem to have a surprisingly high number of students of Swedish I’ll give a Swedish translation as well “Stiligt och starkt”.
This is the problem with not writing macrons.
I think the adverbial assumption on both words is probably the most logical/typical of this sort of thing.
Ooh. Now that seems a bit more apposite to engineering.
Oops! Hadn’t seen scitus, -a, -um with its corresponding adverb scitus before. That clears it up. Still a bit misleading, à mon avis.
David
What’s that about your bird?
