How do you say "I have constant value" in Latin?

Question

I'm mostly struggling with the "I have" portion as well as the actual layout of the sentence in Latin.

Even though every website seems to have a different Latin equivalent for English words, and many sites don't recognize a certain word as Latin when others do, I've made it this far:

I = Ego

Have = habeo or habere (not entirely sure what the difference is)

Constant = constans

Value (as in self-worth or intrinsic value) = virtus or pretium

Literally, that leaves me with my preferred translation of "Ego habeo constans virtus".

I think this would be phrased differently and with fewer words in an actual Latin sentence though. Depending on the site or tool I use, it leaves off either the "ego" "or habeo/habere". It sometimes also flips the location of the words just like how Spanish has adjectives after nouns. So I'm assuming the actual latin will look different from my literal, word-for-word translation (and hopefully shorter).

If someone were saying in Latin "I have constant value", what would it look like? The word constant needs to be in there and not some synonym because it's a critical piece of an eBook I'm incorporating this into.

It would be amazing if you could give the most accurate translation as well as a grammatical proof or explanation so I can have confidence in it. Variants of the latin sentence would also be helpful if you so desire.

Answer 1

Your attempt at translation was quite close to a grammatical sentence. But in Latin, one needs to consider declension and conjugation.

Ego = I

• This is correct. Normally, Latin drops pronouns like this, but since the intended meaning juxtaposes oneself with everyone else, this is a good word.

habeo = have

• This is the 1st person, singular, present, active, indicative form of habere. This form works here because it agrees with the person doing the action (I) and declares with certainty what the world truly is.

constans virtus ~~ constant value

• If these are the words you choose, you want the form that shows they are the object of the sentence. These forms are constantem and virtutem.

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Putting all these words together into a sentence, you get:

• Ego constantem virtutem habeo.

Alternatively, if you want to emphasize that one's virtue is enduring (and not transient), you could say:

• Ego virtutem habeo constantem.

Answer 2

I notice you chose a curiously mathematical wording. In light of this, you could also use a mathematical expression in Latin, and say:

Valorem constantem habeo.

(Personally, I'd lose the ego.) This is not classical Latin; in fact, the ancient Romans did not know the word valor. But this is the sort of Latin that Euler or Gauss wrote.

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There is actually a Latin word meaning “to have value,” valere. But when applied to people, it usually means “to be fine, in good health, strong,” also known from the Latin farewell greeting vale, which essentially means “be well.” In fact, most other words in the value/valour/valid/etc family derive from this verb (which is also the reason why a more common term for “farewell greeting” would be “valediction”!). But in itself it would too easily be misunderstood in this context.

Answer 3

In ancient times, the words dignitas or honor were used when speaking of the value of a person. The word is can often be eliminated in Latin, so I would translate it as:

Constans dignitas mea

"Constant is my value," giving emphasis to the constancy of it. Alternatively, it could be translated as:

Constans honor meus

Answer 4

To add another option, I think it's more idiomatic Latin to use the verb constāre directly.

Valor meus constat.
My value is constant.

(Or, equivalently, "my value remains fixed" or "my value doesn't change".)

Answer 5

Valorem immutabilem habeo.

Immutabilis is a less general word than constans, which has many meanings.

Answer 6

To me, virtus seems to be a very male-oriented word. Perhaps a different substitution like potens omnium would be better? This is how I personally would translate the phrase.

• Ego sum potens omnium
• "I am capable of all things" or more idiomatically in English, "I can do anything"