A Place of Brightness: Quotes from the World's Most Interesting Man: Latin Translations

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Quotes from the World's Most Interesting Man: Latin Translations

Translating the classic memes from the World's Most Interesting Man are fairly straightforward.

"I don't always drink beer. But when I do, I prefer Dos Equis."

Non semper cerevisiam bibo. Sed ubi eam bibo, duos equos praefero.

For "Stay thirsty, my friends," I spent a bit of time researching what exactly the phrase "Stay thirsty" really means. The stock translation using the verb maneo, manere didn't seem to really be the point of the English. "Stay thirsty," in this Ad Campaign seems to mean, "Be thirsty and proud to therefore drink a Dos Equis."

A delightful quote by Martin Luther came to mind that guided my verbal selection.

Esto peccator et pecca fortiter. Sed fortius fide et gaude in Christo.
"Be a sinner and sin bravely. But more bravely have faith and rejoice in Christ."
Letter to Melanchthon, August 1, 1521

If any of my students are reading this post, I hope you saw that enormous 'I' in the word fortius and therefore knew that it was a comparative adverb!

For certain theological reasons, I commune in the Eastern Orthodox Church. But I am grateful for my Lutheran upbringing and this quote from Luther is a treasure of grace.

And so, I decided that the imperative of esse does indeed capture what the meme means by "Stay thirsty." The plural imperative is este.

"Stay thirsty, my friends."
Este sitientes, mi amici.

Crafting yet more Latin translations of classic memes. Stay tuned.

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If you're interested in Latin or ancient history, or even just an entertaining read, check out the time-travel thriller In Saecula Saeculorum. Click to learn more.

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You'll travel back to ancient Rome on a harrowing mission to save the modern world. It's the adventure of four lifetimes.

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In Saecula Saeculorum, the 4th Novel in the Valquist Series

In this fourth novel of the Valquist Series, Andrew Valquist is retired (?) from the National Security Agency and teaching Latin at a Classical Academy in the Washington DC area. But in the world of espionage, looks can be deceiving. He's not necessarily happy with the role he has played in all this, but the school was actually a joint NSA/MI-6 Project in which four young people have been unwittingly prepared for a mission to travel back in time to ancient Rome to retrieve information from a library that may save the modern world from certain destruction. They know they have to at least try to save humanity, but can they also save each other?

Next Stop: Spanish, the 3rd Novel in the Valquist Series

This third novel in the Valquist Series can be read as an espionage action-adventure in its own right, but also you can use it as a way to either brush up on your Spanish or learn functional Spanish for the first time! John Valquist needs to learn Spanish. But he's in luck, since his uncle Andrew is a language expert and a former (?) spy who is taking him on a vacation to Spain so he can study the language. In Next Stop: Spanish, you have the chance to see and study the words John studies, and then watch him add more and more Spanish into his dialogue as the story progresses. During this vacation, they get pulled into espionage intrigue (why do these things always happen to the Valquist family?). In the dramatic conclusion, John will need to put together everything he has learned to save his uncle!

Amor Vincit Omnia: the 2nd Novel in the Valquist Series

In this second novel of the Valquist Series, Keith Massey takes you into the halls of the National Security Agency, where he himself worked for four years after 9/11 and an Arabic linguist. You follow our hero Andrew Valquist, as he starts work as a new recruit at the NSA. Little does he know that on his first on the job, he's about to fly off on an unexpected overseas assignment. He'll be even more surprised when he learns that his background in ancient Latin will be crucial to the mission!

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Quotes from the World's Most Interesting Man: Latin Translations

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