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I'm looking for a nice Latin phrase to put on my college class ring.

Being honest: college was a pretty rough time for me, but I've pulled through a lot of hardships and I'm gonna be the first of my family to actually graduate.

I want to get something to remind myself of my struggles and commemorate the things I overcame, so I thought something along the lines of "Remember and Persevere" would be appropriate.

I took Latin throughout middle school, but alas, my shoddy memory is failing me.

Google translate spits out this:

memento quod perseverent

But if there is one thing I remember about Latin, it's that verbs (and other words for that matter) have all sorts of funky wacky endings, so I'm hesitant to trust Google here. I also know that there are a handful of synonyms for these words, so I'm not sure if these are the most appropriate choices.

Also, I'm not exactly married to that particular phrase, so if anyone has any other suggestions they think would be nice I'm open to ideas!

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Memento is fine. Quod makes no sense here, IMHO. The second verb could be the imperative persevera: Memento et persevera. An alternative might be obdura (with a bow to Catullus): Memento et obdura (I like the 3 + 3 syllables). If you like, atque instead of et makes it a tad more official, perhaps: Memento atque obdura. Thanks to C.M. Weimer for suggesting Recordare instead of Memento. Apart from other advantages mentioned in the comments, the similar sound of the two verbs is pleasing, it seems to me. So perhaps Recordare atque obdura.

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    +1 for Catullus. To keep on with Catullus, what about recordare instead of memento?
    – cmw ♦
    Mar 16, 2021 at 20:32
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    Since the -dare would elide with et, you'd still have 3-1-3 syllable scheme.
    – cmw ♦
    Mar 16, 2021 at 20:51
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    I very much like recordare, yes, bowing not only to Catullus, but also to the anonymous poet of the Dies irae (bien étonnés de se trouver ensemble); and of course agreed on the elision/syllable count.
    – Batavulus
    Mar 17, 2021 at 2:29
  • Definitely like Recordare! I am fond of the Dies Irae, so that is an interesting connection. Also didn't realize -dare and et would elide, so I'm liking "Recordare et obdura." With the elison in mind, and since my memory of pronunciation is a bit hazy, how would the phrase be pronounced? If I remember correctly, recordare would be "reh-core-dah-ray," right? So would the phrase be "reh-core-dah-rayt ohb-doo-rah"?
    – Zac
    Mar 17, 2021 at 18:01
  • Pronunciation becomes a whole different and complex topic, but something along those lines, yes, although others may want to be mores specific here.
    – Batavulus
    Mar 18, 2021 at 20:13

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