Inspirational Quote from Narnia

This is a quote from Book 1 (The Magician's Nephew) of the Narnia series by C. S. Lewis.

"Ours is a high and lonely destiny."

It has always resonated with me deeply and I wanted to give a try at translating it into Latin.
Here is what I have so far:

"Vestrum fatum altumsolumque est."

Anyone have any comments on this?
Thanks!
 
Oh, I just realized that vestrum is incorrect here – my revised translation is as follows:

"Nostrum fatum altumsolumque est."
 

Glabrigausapes

Philistine

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That looks good to me, although I don't quite get the lackofspace for the adjectives.

In sententious phrases it is common to omit the copula (est), but it's fine to leave it in.

I might also suggest superus or excelsus for 'high', of which the former connotes 'divine (celestial, dwelling in the remote skies)' & the latter, being a participle, means 'raised (as if from a lower starting point)'. Is it Aslan who says this?
 
That looks good to me, although I don't quite get the lackofspace for the adjectives.
I have learned that if you have a list of words you can jam them together and then tack the enclitic -que on the end.
But maybe that is more so for nouns – would it make more sense to put a space between the two adjectives here?

In sententious phrases it is common to omit the copula (est), but it's fine to leave it in.
I think I will leave it in for clarity, but thanks for mentioning that.

I might also suggest superus or excelsus for 'high', of which the former connotes 'divine (celestial, dwelling in the remote skies)' & the latter, being a participle, means 'raised (as if from a lower starting point)'.
I like the grandeur of these words – altum is a little more standard.
Among the two you suggested, I think excelsus fits better – I never felt that this quote implied shedding your nature and becoming divine.
However, it definitely invokes a feeling of rising to something higher, and excelsus definitely captures that feeling.

Is it Aslan who says this?
Interestingly, it isn't – there are actually two different characters who say it.
First is the magician, Uncle Andrew, who says it to his nephew Digory (the protagonist mentioned in the title).
Second is the mysterious queen, Jadis, who ultimately becomes the White Witch in the second book.
It's been a long time since I read the story, but if I remember correctly, Digory was kind of creeped out by these two vastly different individuals using these same exact words.
 

Glabrigausapes

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I have learned that if you have a list of words you can jam them together and then tack the enclitic -que on the end.
I'unno. :puzzled:
But maybe that is more so for nouns – would it make more sense to put a space between the two adjectives here?
I mean, we write Latin (and other dead languages) more or less according to our preferences. To follow all the conventions is pedantry (to paraphrase ol' Dwight Whitney), but to ignore them all would result in something of a bastard. In short, if you dig it, do it! :thumb-up:
First is the magician, Uncle Andrew, who says it to his nephew Digory (the protagonist mentioned in the title).
Second is the mysterious queen, Jadis, who ultimately becomes the White Witch in the second book.
Holy hell, I don't remember that at all! I wonder, could I have been sauced when I read these books... (I think I stopped at 3).
 
Ok, I think I will go for: "Nostrum fatum excelsum solumque est."

Since I wasn't quite sure which of the two characters said it first, I decided to check back.
It turns out that Jadis is actually the only one who says the quote verbatim (in Chapter 5).
Uncle Andrew inserts "my boy" because he is talking to his nephew – "Ours, my boy, is a high and lonely destiny" (Chapter 2).
This slightly-altered version does, however, come before the verbatim quote from Jadis.

So if I wanted to emulate Uncle Andrew exactly: "Nostrum fatum, mi puer, excelsum solumque est."
 

Glabrigausapes

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I'm glad you drew attention to this; I've always had a soft spot for Lewis because he also had a love of Spenser (& was an admirer of Tolkien). I wonder what he meant by putting this line in those two characters' mouths.

If Uncle Andrew were supposed to be 'good' (and I don't even remember the character so I don't know), & the White Witch 'bad', maybe it is to say that they are both capable of admitting/acknowledging the truth.
 
I mean Jadis is undoubtedly evil... as for Uncle Andrew, I don't think he is inherently good or evil – at least in Lewis' universe.
He does some questionable things (like sending unsuspecting children between worlds), but ultimately he himself is just as much a victim as they.
Jadis effectively enslaves him in her plan to "conquer" the world of humans, but this is a short-lived affair and fails relatively quickly.
After some more adventures (which become extremely humorous), he lives out his days peacefully in the English countryside.
Ultimately, Uncle Andrew is a selfish yet endearing character, whose eccentricity more or less drives the plot of the story.

And I think I should stop here because I feel like I am writing an English essay and it's supposed to be summer.
And what's even weirder is that I never studied this book in an English class, yet I know it better than many of the ones I did study! ::D
 

Glabrigausapes

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And what's even weirder is that I never studied this book in an English class, yet I know it better than many of the ones I did study!
You couldn't possibly have studied these books in English class because they're actually good books. In my own curriculum, very little was considered worth reading unless it was thoroughly American & relatively modern. I'm talking about riding that long, tedious Twain-train, baby.
:vomit:
 
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