I'm wanting to write "I saw this and though of you" in latin, and am struggling with the "of you" section (I'm only a beginner)... Should this be "de +abl" or is there another translation/idiom?
Hoc vidi et de te cogitavi?
2 Answers
Your attempt is absolutely correct, cogitare is commonly used with de + ablative, meaning: "think of". It may be of interest to you that this verb can also be used with a plain accusative object, like: te cogitabam, "I was thinking of you".
But since you asked for alternative idioms: when you say "I thought of you" in this case, you are less saying "I was pondering you", but rather: "You came to mind." As it turns out, you can almost literally translate that to Latin:
Mihi in mentem venisti.
In mentem venire is a common expression used lots by Cicero, for example.
answered Oct 21, 2020 at 18:09
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2Love the ciceronian expression, it perfectly corresponds to the Italian venire in mente (e.g. mi venisti in mente) Oct 21, 2020 at 19:21
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2@VincenzoOliva Some would say Latin never died, it's just called Italian today ;) Oct 22, 2020 at 12:13
I, at least, would understand your meaning. If I were writing it more emotionally, I would say:
(Hoc) donum spectavi, et fit velut pro oculis meis advenisti.
"I saw this gift, and it was as if you walked in front of my eyes."
