As long as i breathe, i fight/struggle
- Thread starter snabbalg
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Another way of saying what QMF suggested would be:
Dum spiro, dimico
or
Dum spiro, certo ... maybe this is a more abstract way to express it while my suggestion above and QMF's sentence are rather physical.
You could also try
Dum spiro, studeo
"As long as I breathe, I strive" ... be careful though, man errs as long as he doth strive
Dum spiro, dimico
or
Dum spiro, certo ... maybe this is a more abstract way to express it while my suggestion above and QMF's sentence are rather physical.
You could also try
Dum spiro, studeo
"As long as I breathe, I strive" ... be careful though, man errs as long as he doth strive
The subtle difference between the two phrases should be noted:
In 'dum spiro, spero', the implication is that of a natural result - while I breathe, I hope (i.e. hope resulting from the fact that one still breathes). This is clear from the fact that the indicative is used.
On the other hand, 'dum spiro, certo' is a much stronger proviso phrase emphasizing the condition necessary for carrying out one's resolution - as long as I can breath, I will fight (i.e. my resolution to fight shall continue as long as I breath). Perhaps the subjunctive would do better here: dum spirem, certem.
In 'dum spiro, spero', the implication is that of a natural result - while I breathe, I hope (i.e. hope resulting from the fact that one still breathes). This is clear from the fact that the indicative is used.
On the other hand, 'dum spiro, certo' is a much stronger proviso phrase emphasizing the condition necessary for carrying out one's resolution - as long as I can breath, I will fight (i.e. my resolution to fight shall continue as long as I breath). Perhaps the subjunctive would do better here: dum spirem, certem.
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I'm not quite sure whether the subjunctive is a preferable option here, Fulgor. It would turn the phrase into a dummodo-like construction like Oderint dum metuant (Let them hate, so long as they fear) ... which seems to put some more emphasis on the dum-clause. I'd understand that sentence to be "Let me fight, so long as I breathe", but with the meaning "...,what is important is that I breathe" in mind.
... but apart from that ...
... but apart from that ...
... I can see your point, but I actually thought this was exactly what snabbalg wanted to express. After all, in his original English phrase, breathing is the necessary condition for struggling as well, isn't it?Fulgor dixit:
Perhaps I didn't elucidate my point well enough. I meant to point out that I understand the phrase dum spiro, certo to plainly mean 'while I breathe, I fight' - two simple, unconditional, contemporaneous actions. This is the standard usage of dum with the indicative. If this is what the OP meant, then the phrase is just fine.
But I think that the OP's intention was to say something more like 'as long as I can breathe, I will fight' - a conditional sentence, where the outcome is dependent upon fulfillment of the condition. In this case, we need an indicative main clause along with a subjunctive proviso clause (strike my suggestion in my previous post - the future would do better here): Dum spirem, certabo. Although this might dismay the OP since the mimicry of the original quote is somewhat weaker.
But I think that the OP's intention was to say something more like 'as long as I can breathe, I will fight' - a conditional sentence, where the outcome is dependent upon fulfillment of the condition. In this case, we need an indicative main clause along with a subjunctive proviso clause (strike my suggestion in my previous post - the future would do better here): Dum spirem, certabo. Although this might dismay the OP since the mimicry of the original quote is somewhat weaker.
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Oh ... I see what you mean now
