3

I'm looking for a good translation of "things and places", hopefully someone can help me. The context: Let's say it'll be used as a title that covers a chapter of things and places in general; things such as artwork (paintings and statues) and architecture, and places like specific cities - not necessarily connected.

Suggestions when I've tried to look this up have been rebus et locis, res et loca and rebus et loci.

After what I've found loca is used when places are connected, which in this case will not be the case. I've learned from my studies that loci is plural of locus, but found out that it was a bit more complicated than this. And then it is res vs rebus. I really could need help with this. What would be the best translation (or forming of the title)?

Improve this question
1
  • 1
    Welcome to the site!
    – Adam
    Commented Jan 27, 2022 at 14:33

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5

The differences you've found relate to case. Think like in English we have "he, him, his" - same word, different grammatical function.

The typical way of denoting a topic in ancient Latin (and quite often Neo-Latin) literature is with the preposition De (which means something akin to "concerning" or "on", like De Rerum Natura, "On the Nature of Things") + the words in the ablative case. For "things and places," you'd end up with something like:

De Rebus et Locis

Improve this answer
8
  • 1
    +1 for this. Still, since OP's "things" are like artwork, paintings, architecture, etc., I suggest that operibus might be more appropriate than rebus.
    – MPW
    Commented Jan 27, 2022 at 15:26
  • 3
    @MPW I wasn't sure if OP was limiting it to those sorts of things, or just giving them as examples of what things are. I would agree that operibus is a better fit for "works" created by people. Hopefully he can clarify.
    – cmw ♦
    Commented Jan 27, 2022 at 15:28
  • 2
    cmw's answer is correct and excellent; however, I must say that the title "Things and Places" leaves me a little flat. The suggested Latin answer also tends to suggest a global philosophical treatment, rather than just a semi-random list. You might want to consider adding another word or two to peak interest more, such as "Things and Places to Visit/View" or "Things and Places to Wonder at" or "Things and Places to Compare" The Latin for these could be "Res/Opera et Loci Visendi" or "Res/Opera et Loci Mirandi" or Res/Opera et Loci Comparandi."
    – Vegawatcher
    Commented Jan 27, 2022 at 15:32
  • @cmw : Agreed, details are scant here, so it's hard to say for sure. +1.
    – MPW
    Commented Jan 27, 2022 at 15:37
  • 1
    As a chapter title, using a vague word like "things" might be okay, because it would fit within a larger context. Maybe one chapter is entitled "People"; another, "Emotions", another "Hearth and Home," even so, all these are 'things" as well in one sense of the word. "De operibus et locis" tells me you are going to say something interesting about artwork/crafts and locations. This would not include a discussion about some purely utilitarian object or some natural object too small to be thought of as a location, but would certainly cover paintings, statutes, and architecture.
    – Vegawatcher
    Commented Jan 27, 2022 at 17:44

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.