3

Some ideas I have come up with are:- bellum est infandum war is an abomination inmite est bellum war is pitiless res cruenta et infanda est Mars War is a blood-soaked atrocity Mars furit infandus War blasphemously rages out of control. Marte nulla pestis saevior est no instrument of destruction is more savage than war.

For 'infandus' I suppose 'nefandus' could be substituted, the difference apparently being that nefandus implies the idea of a crime which nefandus does not necessarily always do, as 'arma nefanda' = "war so base that it is not to be spoken of without horror'. 'Caesar' In De Bello Hispaniensi writes of the barbarians 'nefandum crudelissimumque facinus aunt adgressi'.

Improve this question
3
  • 1
    Any particular cultural milieu you have in mind? I rather suspect this translates quite differently in a Christian vs a pagan context, for example. – C Monsour Nov 28 '19 at 0:30
  • 1
    Only CL equivalent. Something concise and graphic, like atrocissimum est bellum. – Jonathan Hadfield Nov 28 '19 at 17:00
  • Probably the best Latin would be bellum est Gehenna, suggested to me by a friend, Emeritus Professor Diggle. The concept of hell, in our sense of the word, is alien to the Classical world. – Jonathan Hadfield Oct 9 '20 at 8:36

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.