5

I need to ask for a check on the correctness of the Latin translations I have, to see whether they are correct in context with the English phrases I had translated.

  1. Animae celare bestias exiguae laxis vestibus illicitus est. This is translated from - It is forbidden to conceal beasts of little intellect within the folds of your garment. This is spoken by a saint to a man who wants to take up holy orders but is attempting to smuggle animals into the monastery.
  2. Nam eum hinc ferunt. Translated from - For they beareth him hence. This refers to a group of men carrying another man away from danger.
  3. Diabolo se agnosci non placet. Translated from - The Devil does not like to be recognised.
  4. Nam idem quod eos edit edunt. Translated from - For they eateth that which eateth them. Refers to people who eat things which are capable of eating them, such as worms and parasites.
  5. Ferens infantes exit. Translated from - It came out carrying infants. Refers to a sinister old woman emerging from a small cottage carrying infants under her arms. I have also been given - Ferens infantes emersit.

1 Answer 1

3

1. What you have:

Animae celare bestias exiguae laxis vestibus illicitus est.

What you are trying to say:

It is forbidden to conceal beasts of little intellect within the folds of your garment.

What I think it should be:

Celare bestias animi exigui in sinibus vestis tuae illicitus est.

Changes: I moved some words to be closer to the ones they modify. I tried to preserve the word choices you made, since nearly all of them were near in meaning to the sense you are getting at. I changed animae to animi because you want the word animus not anima. The former means "intellect" while the latter refers to the spirit. You could also use mens (mentis in this case) to mean "intellect" as well. I changed laxis to sinibus because laxus means "empty," where as sinus means "fold." Finally, I changed vestibus to vestis because you are saying "of the garment," which requires a genitive. I added tuae after vestis to convey the "your."

2. What you have:

Nam eum hinc ferunt.

What you are trying to say:

For they beareth him hence

What I think it should be:

This one seems fine to me!

3. What you have:

Diabolo se agnosci non placet

What you are trying to say:

The Devil does not like to be recognized.

What I think it should be:

Diabolo agnosci non placet.

Changes: I only removed se because it is a reflexive pronoun in the accusative (i.e. the direct object), but passive verbs usually do not take objects. Literally, this one translates to "It is not pleasing for the devil to be recognized (himself)." You can see why the se (himself) does not seem to fit.

4. What you have:

Nam idem quod eos edit edunt.

What you are trying to say:

For they eateth that which eateth them.

What I think it should be:

Looks fine to me. Just note that it literally translates from Latin as "For they eat the same thing which eats them" (idem means "same"). This slightly different but I think it works well with what you are trying to accomplish.

5. What you have:

Ferens infantes exit.

What you are trying to say:

It came out carrying infants.

What I think it should be:

Ferens infantes emersit.

Changes: Now, you've already received commentary on this one in a separate question, but that's okay, I guess. The reason I prefer emersit over exit is that of connotations. Exit means "to go out/away, to become visible," but it also can mean "to die" or "to sprout." It would probably be pretty clear from context which one you mean, but emersit lacks these other connotations. One can also look at the English derivatives of the two words. Exeo (exit) leads to the word "exit" which usually means "to go away" or "to go out of the current place" which implies a motion away (not always, though). Emergo (emersit), on the other hand, leads to "emerge" which means "to come into view." I think this more accurately captures the picture you are painting. you obviously cannot rely solely on English derivatives when making word choices, but it can be a useful tool sometimes. If you are dead set on using exit, you should put it in the perfect exivit because it is in the past tense.

2
  • Thanks for this. One question regarding the phrase about concealing animals of little intellect within the folds of your garment. The translation I had for this was expressed to me thus - laxis vestibus for 'within the folds of your garments' is from Lucan, The Civil War. I am presuming this is correct from the 17th Century in England rather than classical Latin? Thanks. C Garvey
    – Chris G
    Commented Mar 30, 2018 at 17:18
  • @ChrisG I'm not sure what you mean by 17th century, as Lucan is a 1st century writer. That being said, the phrase laxis vestibus in the poem you mention is not used in the way you say. It is usually translated as "flowing robes" rather than "fold of clothes," according to two different translations I checked.
    – Sam K
    Commented Mar 30, 2018 at 17:57

Your Answer

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

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.