4

How would you say "abstract concept" + manifested, as in, made manifest?

I would like the describe abstract concepts/theoretical ideals, realised in the material world.

For example, a projection of God wandering our world might be described as "perfection manifested"

To say this in latin, would a more natural phrasing be "the manifestation of perfection" (using "manifestatio")

Or is there a way to apply the "past"-form "manifested" to perfectio directly, as in English? (I'm not sure what this grammatical construct is called in English)

1 Answer 1

3

In order to express the word manifested, you can either use the adjective manifestus or a perfect past participle.

Here's the adjective manifesus:

Singular:

Case Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nom. manifēstus manifēsta manifēstum
Gen. manifēstī manifēstae manifēstī
Dat. manifēstō manifēstae manifēstō
Acc. manifēstum manifēstam manifēstum
Abl. manifēstō manifēstā manifēstō
Voc. manifēste manifēsta manifēstum

Plural:

Case Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nom. manifēstī manifēstae manifēsta
Gen. manifēstōrum manifēstārum manifēstōrum
Dat. manifēstīs manifēstīs manifēstīs
Acc. manifēstōs manifēstās manifēsta
Abl. manifēstīs manifēstīs manifēstīs
Voc. manifēstī manifēstae manifēsta

Whether it's and adjective or a participle it has to agree in number, case, and gender with the noun it modifies. For example if you want to speak of "perfection manifested" in the nominative case, it would have to be the singular, feminine form to agree with perfectio:

perfectio manifesta

As for the participles, @brianpck pointed out in a comment that the verb manifesto is post-classical, so its perfect passive participle manifestatus (not to be confused with the adjective manifestus) is rarely used. Perhaps a better choice would be revelo, patefacio, or ostendo:

ostendere: to stretch out, spread before, expose to view, show, point out, exhibit, display

patefacere: to disclose, expose, detect, bring to light

revelare: to unveil, uncover, lay bare

Participles are declined similar to the way that adjectives are:

Singular:

Case Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nom. ostentus ostenta ostentum
Gen. ostentī ostentae ostentī
Dat. ostentō ostentae ostentō
Acc. ostentum ostentam ostentum
Abl. ostentō ostentā ostentō
Voc. ostente ostenta ostentum

Plural:

Case Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nom. ostentī ostentae ostenta
Gen. ostentōrum ostentārum ostentōrum
Dat. ostentīs ostentīs ostentīs
Acc. ostentōs ostentās ostenta
Abl. ostentīs ostentīs ostentīs
Voc. ostentī ostentae ostenta
7
  • Oh and then you attach it to the abstract noun as if it were an adjective? "manifestata perfectio"?
    – user9245
    Commented Apr 5, 2021 at 19:38
  • @theonlygusti. Yes, I'm about to update my answer to give more info. Commented Apr 5, 2021 at 19:39
  • 3
    Keep in mind that manifesto is a pretty uncommon word: L&S marks it as "poetic" and "post-classical." I would probably use a word like revelo, patefacio, or ostendo.
    – brianpck
    Commented Apr 5, 2021 at 20:00
  • @brianpck Thanks for the information. Do you know if incarnate existed in classical latin?
    – user9245
    Commented Apr 5, 2021 at 20:59
  • 2
    Also, while manifestare may be rare, manifestus is not, and it may be fitting here too. Commented Apr 5, 2021 at 22:28

Your Answer

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