19
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Why not "Agne Dei"?
I found the question very interesting, and got me researching against my will.
Most of the texts of the Mass —and specifically these— come from antiquity, a time when Latin was still alive. Had there ...
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17
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What does "enim et" mean?
A quick web search shows that the phrase 'Diabolus enim et alii Daemones' (without the contra) appears to originate from the Fourth Council of the Lateran (1215). The full sentence is Diabolus enim et ...
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16
votes
What are the arguments for Classical pronunciations vs. Ecclesiastical pronunciation?
Just like in English, there are many ways to pronounce Latin.
Would you say that British pronunciation is correct and American is wrong?
Any valid pronunciation will do, but the best choice depends on ...
- 104k
15
votes
"Deus tu conversus vivificabis nos..."
The other answers are good for explaining the grammar. However, I would add that an important part of translating any text is remembering the context in which the passage was written. (I realize that ...
- 706
15
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How to say "To serve, not to be served" in Latin?
Welcome to the site!
Non ministrari, sed ministrare (VG Mt 20,28)
Is a well-attested phrase with that exact meaning. It literally means not to be served but to serve. The context is Jesus in the ...
- 10.4k
14
votes
"Deus tu conversus vivificabis nos..."
The Baronius press edition is going (rightly so, I think) for elegance of English rather than absolute correct correspondence to Latin grammar. Conversus is a little tricky here, because while it's ...
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13
votes
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What is an overview of the differences between Classical and Ecclesiastical Latin?
Henry Preston Vaughan Nunn, in his Introduction to Ecclesiastical Latin, is helpful in this regard. He sets the stage for the distinctions between Classical and Ecclesiastical Latin by briefly ...
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13
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Ave Verum Corpus: why ablative?
The subject is latus. Definition 6 in OLD is most relevant here:
6 (of solid objects, usu. w. abl.) To be bathed or soaked (in a fluid specified or implied), run, stream, overflow, etc.)
For ...
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12
votes
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How is Latium pronounced?
Forgive me if I use IPA notation. As a non-native speaker of English, I still have some difficulty with English vowels and don't really feel comfortable using English-based systems as Webster's
In ...
- 10.4k
12
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What are the arguments for Classical pronunciations vs. Ecclesiastical pronunciation?
One common argument for classical pronunciation is that it's "the way Romans spoke Latin." While I appreciate (and usually try to make) historically informed choices, this argument only tells part of ...
- 16k
12
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How to say "please pray for me" in ecclesiastical latin?
In Latin there is no equivalent for please, you use some form of I ask, instead. Aparently, having a specific word for please dates back just to the Renaissance, and in many languages it comes from ...
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12
votes
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liberalis corporis et sanguinis christi... liberalis?
A clue is in the next line:
S[anctus] Liberalis Attinensis Episcopus, Heliodori discipulus…
Saint Liberalis of Altinum, the Bishop and a student of Heliodorus…
In other words, "Liberalis" is the ...
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11
votes
"All-forgiving" expressed with the omni- prefix
I found two examples (from 1667 and 1709) that uses the first portmanteau that came to my mind: omnimisericors.
...laudo, adoro, & revereor te, Domine DEUS, Omnipotens, Omnimisericors, qui ...
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11
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Why not "Agne Dei"?
I compared the Latin Gloria with the Greek Doxa: Greek language has much more vocative forms than Latin. In the Doxa series of vocatives alternate with series of nominatives, mostly with the article "'...
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11
votes
Why is "O felicem virum, beatum Ioseph" in the accusative case here?
The vocative is used when addressing someone. The fact that it isn't used in the first part of this prayer makes me think that that portion is not meant to be addressed to Joseph (unlike the "Ora ...
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10
votes
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"To shed blood" – profundere or effundere?
Ignore the prefixes here. Semantically here they're exactly the same. They both mean "to pour out", and although profundere is more likely than effundere to mean "to cause to pour out", as a passive ...
cmw♦
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9
votes
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Help with Latin translation from a 17th century ecclesiastical Latin book
Your translation is definitely on the right track, but there are a couple of things I want to point out:
Omnis modifies generis; that is, omnis generis means "of every kind". There doesn't ...
- 104k
9
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"Stantes erant pedes nostri..."
Forgive me if I'm missing something, but:
I think your issue here may be with the English rather than the Latin. To say that something "was wont to do" something ("wont" with an o and no apostrophe ...
- 16k
9
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What does "angelorum planta agmini" mean?
The only way I can interpret this is as follows, although I am not certain:
[Maria, you are] an offshoot to the train of angels.
So planta is like the tendril of a larger thing, or like a foot ...
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9
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Miserere mei! Miserere nostri! Why genitive?
First, this is not specific to ecclesiastical Latin.
The same genitive is there in classical Latin as well.
The verb miserere is used impersonally.
It means roughly "to distress" or "to excite pity".
...
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9
votes
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What is meant by the expression 'Sic Transit Gloria Mundi'?
I've also answered the cross-posted version of this question on the Christianity Stack Exchange.
During papal coronations, these words are spoken to the pope while a cloth is burned in front of him. ...
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9
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How to pronounce “mihi” in a Magnificat?
As you've discovered, there's not a good universal standard for pronouncing Latin.
Classical Pronunciation
This probably isn't what you want, but it's what all the others are derived from. The h is ...
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9
votes
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Is filius necessarily a biological descendant?
Short answer: no. At least since Post-Classical Latin, and quite possibly from earlier.
One may or may not believe the quote attributed to Julius Caesar when he calls Brutus fili mi despite the fact ...
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9
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"Deep" Meaning of "Gloria in excelsis Deo"
If there is an implicit sit, it does not show uncertainty.
The conjunctive mood can show uncertainty, but it has other functions.
One of them is wishes (sometimes called optative), like sit Deus tibi ...
- 104k
9
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Origin of "animabus illis"
The ...abus dative/ablative plural is a rare feature of the first declension that can in exceptional cases be traced back at least to classical Latin. For example, you will find Cicero saying (Pro C. ...
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9
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Did I translate this Latin prayer to St Michael the Archangel correctly?
As Draconis and I mentioned in the comments, your translation is fine. If I might break it down:
tibi trádidit Dóminus ánimas redemptórum in supérna felicitáte locándas
The subject is dominus ...
cmw♦
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8
votes
"Deus tu conversus vivificabis nos..."
What you see is a symptom of English and Latin having grammatically different idiomatic expressions for things like that.
I cannot find a perfectly literal translation, but perhaps this series of ...
- 104k
8
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"Memento rerum conditor..."
Here's my understanding of the verse. (Note: I'm only a beginner with Latin.)
Remember (Memento), O founder/maker (conditor) of things (rerum), that (quod) once (olim), you took (sumpserīs) the ...
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8
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What is meant by the expression 'Sic Transit Gloria Mundi'?
Sic Transit Gloria Mundi is literally translated as So passes the glory of the world. The associated Wikipedia article includes some further detail about its use in the papal coronation ceremony from ...
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