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This is what it always was and will always be

Where is the thus meaning in here from the word sic? And the word this is not written.

I've always wondered how these translations are made since I tried translating it (as a rookie) and got something along the lines of

Thus it always was and thus it always will be.

Source:

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2 Answers 2

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Translation generally isn't a one-to-one mapping between Latin words and English words. While sīc is often glossed as "thus", you might also translate it as "like this", or "in this way", or "in this sort of condition", or "accordingly", or "as you see".

Sīc erat means something like "it was like this" or "it was this sort of way", so I would say "this is what it was" (or perhaps "this is how it was") is a reasonable translation.

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    More pointedly, "thus it always was" and "this is always what it always was" mean the same thing.
    – cmw
    Jan 28, 2022 at 4:12
  • I found out that the artist is South African. Perhaps that explains the wording "This is what it always was," whereas I, an American, expect "This is how it always was." Jan 29, 2022 at 16:07
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I am no scholar of Latin, but I am fluent in Spanish and English. Spanish is a variant of ancient Latin, which I believe died out because only Roman Catholic priests were permitted to learn it and speak it. The Catholic Church prohibited laypersons from learning Latin or speaking Latin. Hence it was never passed down through generations.

If you were to translate from Latin to Spanish, the phrase would read: “Si siempre era, entonces siempre será”

Translate this Spanish phrase into English and you now have this: “If it always was, then it will always be.”

Translating from Latin to Spanish and then from Spanish to English reduces speculation of how it would have read in English because Spanish to English is more straight forward, and Latin translates into Spanish quite easily because the words are similarly spelled and phonetically similar. This is not scientific but I am fluent in Spanish and English. Hope this helps.

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    Sic and si are not the same word.
    – Cairnarvon
    May 26, 2022 at 5:50
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    Right, Sic semper erat = Siempre ha sido así. May 26, 2022 at 10:38

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