12
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'idem hercle esset' meaning?
"By Hercules!" "Indeed!" - Common in classical and post-classical Latin.
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3DHercules
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9
votes
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What is the exact translation of 'solummodo'?
You can find it under the solus dictionary entry in Lewis and Short:
Strengthened by modo, and joined with it in one word, sōlummŏdo (only late Lat., for the true reading, Plin. 34, 8, 19, § 92, ...
cmw♦
- 50.7k
9
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What is the Nominative of 'uniuscuiusque'?
Yes, it's unusquisque. Both parts unus and quis are declined, always in the same case.
It is a compound pronoun meaning 'each single one'.
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9
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"Non possunt dari" translation
English actually has this same construction! Think of it as analogous to the phrase "Granted that" or "It is given that." It's used in philosophy as part of a hypothetical dialogue.
In Latin, the "...
cmw♦
- 50.7k
8
votes
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'Unde' and 'fit ut' meaning in this context
A very literal translation:
Whence it comes that the beginning which they see natural things possess, they attach to substances.
A more natural translation:
This is why they ascribe to ...
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7
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Ethics of Spinoza: producendam
This kind of metonymy is very common in Latin.
For a simple example, vir mortuus is literally "a dead man" but can also mean "the death of a man".
This is somewhat similar to how ...
- 110k
7
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Ethics of Spinoza - forte ea de causa
The ea (= eā) modifies causa, using the very common adjective–preposition–object of preposition arrangement: 'for this reason.'
The forte is from the noun fors, 'chance' (not the adjective fortis, '...
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7
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Is 'extra' an adverb or preposition here?
You are correct that extra is a preposition here. Although it can be an adverb, it has a clear object here that would not make syntactical sense otherwise.
This particular argument follows Spinoza's ...
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7
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"Non possunt dari" translation
Indeed, possunt dari litteraly means "they may exist" ("they may be [a] given").
A similar construction still exists in Italian:
Può darsi che... : it is possible that...
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7
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Using perfect participle as perfect active participle
This is a deponent verb.
Both the normal contemplare and the deponent contemplari exist and mean roughly the same thing.
I have the impression that the deponent one is more common, but the details ...
- 110k
6
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About Spinoza's Latin
That's quite a leap in logic there. First, people learned Latin in Latin schools, so their style would take after their teacher's, not necessarily the zeitgeist. Second, just because something is ...
cmw♦
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6
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'...quo plus..., eo plus ... ' translation?
The first thing to observe here is the quo–eo structure.
For example:
Quo plus edo, eo laetior sum.
The more I eat, the happier I am.
Therefore quo plus…eo plus means "the more&...
- 110k
5
votes
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Infinitive ' habere ' usage in this sentence
Accusativum cum infinitivo triggered by sequitur, though the accusative has been ellipsed: 'it follows that it has...'
This use falls under definition 7 of sequor in the Oxford Latin Dictionary:
7 ...
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5
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Ethics of Spinoza – About word order
The pronoun id refers to the event, so you can translate Deo id volente as "when/if/because God wants so/it".
The form id is neuter and thus cannot refer to lapis, and it is accusative (...
- 110k
4
votes
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English translation of a philosophical quote from Spinoza in Latin
Notandum "to be noted" ( compare: memorandum 'to be remembered')
This is followed by indirect speech: 'that...' with Accusative certam aliquam causam 'some sure CAUSE;' and Infinitive, dari ...
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3
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Partitive genitive in Spinoza
Yes, this does indeed appear to be a partitive genitive.
Changing the word order as you suggest is legitimate if it helps you.
I think it is most useful in its original place where una and sine alia ...
- 110k
3
votes
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Ethics of Spinoza - Question about Translation
Literally, '...they do nothing different than if someone... (makes the other conclusion about a circle)'
Or, to translate a bit more loosely, '...what they do is no different than what some other ...
- 19.1k
3
votes
'Unde' and 'fit ut' meaning in this context
UNDE
They actually mean the same thing. You can say whence or hence. The only problem you run into is the awkwardness of the Latin period in translation. Instead of keeping it one long sentence and ...
cmw♦
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3
votes
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The Nominative Case Uses
A Latin adjective can sometimes be read either as a mere attribute or more broadly.
For example, consider these two translations:
Homo conscius intelligit.
1. A conscious man understands.
2. A ...
- 110k
2
votes
Genitive with assigno
I would take cujuscunque rei causa to be a single noun phrase: "a cause for/of every individual thing". That is, assignari has a subject, but the object is left implied; if it were made explicit, it ...
- 64.6k
1
vote
Accepted
Genitive with assigno
The difference is not great between "The cause and reason ought to be assigned to each thing why or why not..." and "The cause and reason of each thing why or why not... ought to be assigned..." ...
- 8,623
1
vote
Ethics of Spinoza - Translation of "sit" and "satis"
Pretty much everything put forward in other answers is correct in its way. I'm just a bit surprised that none has rendered the subjunctive by 'would', as in:
As would be obvious to anyone attentive ...
- 18k
1
vote
'Unde' and 'fit ut' meaning in this context
I strongly suggest you to read English translations of William White and Samuel Shirley. These are more precise than Elwes translation.
White:
I fully expect that those who judge things confusedly,...
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