a saying, transleted into latin?n (“which bridge to cross and which to burn")?
Hey all
Im looking to getting a tattoo, and i have disidet to go for the saying:
“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn"
.. But i was thinking of getting it in latin, help anyone?
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You could use a English-to-Latin translating dictionary, but this is very risky! I just tried typing your quote into one, and I got this:
"congelo res in vita est scio quod pontus ut crux crucis quod quod ustulo"
WAIT! Don't go about tattooing this just yet! There's a bit of a problem - I tried using a Latin-to-English translator to see if the sentence converted back into the SAME quote... and this is what it translated back into:
"to congeal occurrence upon life is to know and bridge when cross and and to burn"
I highly suggest you go to a trustable source (e.g. someone who knows latin) with this, you do not want to end up with something thats lost in translation! I suggest asking a librarian, they are resourceful - and will, at least, point you into the right direction.
The tattoo you will like best in twenty-five years (and for the years after that) will be (omitting the dots) this one:
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.
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That said, and bearing in mind that my most recent Latin class was in 1952, a Latin motto should be short and pithy, which Latin grammar facilitates. There is no straightforward way to write a Latin word for build, because build has a Germanic root, not a Latin root. So the Latin word for 'build' may be translated into an English word with a Latin root, such as erect, construct, or, even, via texting, weave.
With that said,
Aut aduro pontes aut molior eÅsdem.
translates as
Either I burn bridges or I build them.
For some reason, one of the free online Latin translators insists on translating pontes as bishops. There is a confusion, evidently, with pontiffs; nevertheless, pontes is correct. 'Aut' means either, but 'aut...aut' means 'either...or', something else that online translators struggle with. The pronoun 'I' is implicit in the verb forms.
It is emphatically not my decision, but I still think the best tattoo is
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incendere an facere pontes.
Whether to burn or to build bridges.
angustissimum vitae scire, utrum transire et incendere pontem.
The hardest in life to know, which bridge to cross and which to burn.
As a side note, the reason the translator gives "priest" for pontes, is that the Latin word for priest (pontifex) literally means "one who builds bridges." Hence the connection.
Cheers