Summary:
Hello. I am a novice self-taught Latin student, and I am trying to help a friend. They know I study Latin on the side, and asked me to create a Latin family motto for one of the fictional noble family's coat-of-arms in their historical fiction novel. I am fairly certain I have a few options, but I want more sets of eyes on it and opinions. I want more experienced opinions on the shades of meaning and to potentially catch any stupid mistakes I have made since I have been self-taught.
Text to be translated:
The motto is: 'Nothing good, but through adversity'.
Explication:
The intended meaning is that: 'when you desire something, you will have to work for it and it will always cost something'. The intended meaning is not that 'nothing good happens without something bad to balance it' (karmic balance), or that 'nothing good ever occurs by happenstance'. The intended focus is on the meaning that, 'nothing worth having is free, so you should expect to and be willing to put in the effort'.
My Attempts:
1. Nihil boni sine angustiis.
2. Nihil boni nisi per angustias
3. Nihil boni nisi ex angustiis
Variations/Nuance:
I have potentially considered replacing the genitive 'boni' with the nominative 'bonum', counting on the implication of a following 'est' to establish the state of being of a moral good, but I cannot find a source in my own readings and references that validates this possibly licentious usage or interpretation.
Of the three, (if all are correct), I think 1 is possibly the most succinct and 'punchy', as it were, but the other two may carry slightly different nuances with the change of preposition that I cannot fully appreciate due to a lack of experience.
I would be very grateful for any insight or opinion that anyone would care to offer. Many thanks in advance for your input.
Hello. I am a novice self-taught Latin student, and I am trying to help a friend. They know I study Latin on the side, and asked me to create a Latin family motto for one of the fictional noble family's coat-of-arms in their historical fiction novel. I am fairly certain I have a few options, but I want more sets of eyes on it and opinions. I want more experienced opinions on the shades of meaning and to potentially catch any stupid mistakes I have made since I have been self-taught.
Text to be translated:
The motto is: 'Nothing good, but through adversity'.
Explication:
The intended meaning is that: 'when you desire something, you will have to work for it and it will always cost something'. The intended meaning is not that 'nothing good happens without something bad to balance it' (karmic balance), or that 'nothing good ever occurs by happenstance'. The intended focus is on the meaning that, 'nothing worth having is free, so you should expect to and be willing to put in the effort'.
My Attempts:
1. Nihil boni sine angustiis.
2. Nihil boni nisi per angustias
3. Nihil boni nisi ex angustiis
Variations/Nuance:
I have potentially considered replacing the genitive 'boni' with the nominative 'bonum', counting on the implication of a following 'est' to establish the state of being of a moral good, but I cannot find a source in my own readings and references that validates this possibly licentious usage or interpretation.
Of the three, (if all are correct), I think 1 is possibly the most succinct and 'punchy', as it were, but the other two may carry slightly different nuances with the change of preposition that I cannot fully appreciate due to a lack of experience.
I would be very grateful for any insight or opinion that anyone would care to offer. Many thanks in advance for your input.