The Fire Within
- Thread starter ltavis
- Start date
Perhaps :ltavis dixit:Hi
Just wondering if i could get a translation for this phrase.
Cheers
IGNIS•INTVS
IGNIS•INTERIOR
I strongly recommend to wait for replies of other members of the forum.
Nota bene :
according to Latin Phrases & Quotes http://latin-phrases.co.uk/dictionary/i/
The fire within is translated as : ignis internum
According to Latin Vulgate Bible the fire within is translated as : ignis internecus (THE PROPHECY OF EZECHIEL: Chapter 1, 27)
To clarify the difference between these options: intus is an adverb (e.g., "intus amabamus," 'we were walking inside'); a similar adverb is intra ("on the inside, within"). Interior means "inner, internal, inner side of," and is the ordinarily expected noun for such. Internecus is not a Latin word; it may be a typo for intrinsecus, another adverb meaning "on the inside, inwards."
As far as I can tell, ignis internum ("the fire internal thing"), despite getting 1300 Google hits, is complete nonsense. Ignis internus would be correct, but, like our phrase 'internal affairs,' would have a bit more of a connotation of being civil or domestic fire than of just being fire that's on the inside. So ignis interior still seems the most straightforward rendering. Other options include intimus ("innermost") and intestinus ("internal" in a more bodily fashion).
If you could clarify exactly what kind of "fire" you have in mind (e.g., figurative vs. literal, large vs. small, etc.), we might also be able to come up with a more precise term to use there, e.g., ardor or flamma or incendium.
As far as I can tell, ignis internum ("the fire internal thing"), despite getting 1300 Google hits, is complete nonsense. Ignis internus would be correct, but, like our phrase 'internal affairs,' would have a bit more of a connotation of being civil or domestic fire than of just being fire that's on the inside. So ignis interior still seems the most straightforward rendering. Other options include intimus ("innermost") and intestinus ("internal" in a more bodily fashion).
If you could clarify exactly what kind of "fire" you have in mind (e.g., figurative vs. literal, large vs. small, etc.), we might also be able to come up with a more precise term to use there, e.g., ardor or flamma or incendium.
Based on my understanding (others may have better distinctions between the terms):
ardor means "heat, flame, brightness; heat of passion; loved one"
ignis means "fire, torch, brightness, glow, splendor; rage, fury, love, passion; sweetheart"
flamma means "flame, fire, blaze, torch, fever, glow, passion, sweetheart, danger, flare-up"
incendium means "fire, heat, conflagration"
Ignis is fire in the abstract (and by extension bright things like stars); flamma is a particular fire, incendium a large one; ardor is heat, and by extension fire. Almost any of them can be used to mean "passion," but ardor is the most obvious (and all the more so if you're an English-speaker). So if you want to emphasize the figurative element, I'd go with ardor interior. If you want to be more literal (which can be a valuable poetic device in itself to draw out a metaphor), ignis interior works fine, unless you want to focus more on a specific flame/blaze rather than fire in the abstract.
ardor means "heat, flame, brightness; heat of passion; loved one"
ignis means "fire, torch, brightness, glow, splendor; rage, fury, love, passion; sweetheart"
flamma means "flame, fire, blaze, torch, fever, glow, passion, sweetheart, danger, flare-up"
incendium means "fire, heat, conflagration"
Ignis is fire in the abstract (and by extension bright things like stars); flamma is a particular fire, incendium a large one; ardor is heat, and by extension fire. Almost any of them can be used to mean "passion," but ardor is the most obvious (and all the more so if you're an English-speaker). So if you want to emphasize the figurative element, I'd go with ardor interior. If you want to be more literal (which can be a valuable poetic device in itself to draw out a metaphor), ignis interior works fine, unless you want to focus more on a specific flame/blaze rather than fire in the abstract.
Ignis internus would be correct, but, like our phrase 'internal affairs,' would have a bit more of a connotation of being civil or domestic fire than of just being fire that's on the inside. So ignis interior still seems the most straightforward rendering.
Hey, there.
I realize that this thread is quite old, but I would just like to "put my two cents in" for the benefit of those who might, as I have, come across it by chance.
Adamas is quite right with this distinction. The distinction between internus and interior are difficult to apprehend until one considers their respective etymologies. I have been currently researching this issue myself, which is how I stumbled upon this thread. Interior is derived from interus/intera/interum the Old Latin adjectival ancestor to the Classical Latin preposition intra: "within/inside". It is easy to see that interior is actually the comparative form of that adjective. That being so, interior renders the sense of being inner with respect to a particular, discrete thing. Why the adjective interus was lost to Classical Latin, I do not know, because it was the direct descendant of the IE *h₁énteros, which had the same meaning as intra: "inside/within". Internus, on the other hand, is directly derived from the Classical Latin preposition inter, "between/among", and therefore renders the sense of "inward/internal", but more with respect to a group of individuals or individual units rather than inward to a particular individual. That is my best understanding; I hope that one of the moderators will find and check my reasoning here.