Somnia ut si tibi semper vivendum sit, vive ut si cras...

gix1k

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Please translate for me....
Somnia ut si tibi semper vivendum sit, vive ut si cras tibi moriendum sit


Thanks in advance
 

Quasus

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Definitively ‘somniare’ was inspired e. g. by Spanish soñar ‘to dream’ (daydreams are meant). ‘Ut si’ seems to be modelled after ‘as if’. I guess it’s a human translation. :green:
 

Imprecator

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I think it's supposed to mean "dream (as in hope, etc.) as if you'll live forever", in which case I'd say something like somnia/spera/aspira quasi in perpetuum victurus sis (for the sake of parallelism).
 

Decimus Canus

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"Dream as if you must live for ever, live as if you must die tomorrow."
 

Quasus

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A perfect sample of please‐help‐me‐to‐translate‐in‐Latin stuff. :D
 

Imprecator

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If it's what Canus presumes, then victurus/moriturs would be replaced with tibi vivendum/moriturum.
 

Decimus Canus

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Quasus dixit:
A perfect sample of please‐help‐me‐to‐translate‐in‐Latin stuff. :D
What do you think is wrong with it?
 

Decimus Canus

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Imprecator dixit:
If it's what Canus presumes, then victurus/moriturs would be replaced with tibi vivendum/moriturum.
It's a passive periphrastic with a dative of agent implying obligation which is why I used the word "must" rather than simply "will". It's entirely possible I'm missing something of course (it would be neither the first time nor, I assume, the last) but I can't see anything wrong with it. On the contrary it looks very elegant.
 

Imprecator

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So the consensus is spera (etc) quasi tibi in perpetuum vivendum sit, vive quasi cras tibi moriendum sit.
 

Decimus Canus

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Consensus? Why do you see a need to change the original? I understand the quibble over the validity of somnia but why the need to change ut si to quasi?
 

scrabulista

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I'm a little weaker than others but my recollection is that the passive is a rare construction for something like this.
The OP wants the active periphrastic (passive is -nd-) but debes + infinitive works for "must" also.
 

Decimus Canus

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What the OP wanted was a translation of a phrase he already had. Instead of that everyone seems to want to rewrite the original phrase.
 

Quasus

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Decimus Canus dixit:
Quasus dixit:
A perfect sample of please‐help‐me‐to‐translate‐in‐Latin stuff. :D
What do you think is wrong with it?
In my opinion they are too stupid or banal or both.
 

Decimus Canus

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They often are, it is true. But the OP presumably doesn't know that until someone has translated it for him.

With this particular phrase I don't see all the problems that others seem to. The only one I see is that it makes more sense in English than in Latin as dreaming does not have the same connotations in both languages. I think somnia is meant to say "make grandiose plans" while it's actually saying "have possibly disturbing visions in your sleep".
 

Quasus

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I’ve read somewhere that if the original is apparent through a translation, then the translation is bad. In this sense this one is bad. But generally I agree with your remark.
 
B

Bitmap

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Quasus dixit:
I’ve read somewhere that if the original is apparent through a translation, then the translation is bad.
you had to read up on that? :p
 

gix1k

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Decimus Canus dixit:
What the OP wanted was a translation of a phrase he already had. Instead of that everyone seems to want to rewrite the original phrase.
Correct!!

What I was told it meant was this...

'Dream as if you'll live forever, Live as if you'll die today'

I didn't post what I thought because I wanted to see if actual Latin speakers would translate the phrase accordingly. That said, would you say it means that or would this....

“Sic somnia tamquam semper victurus, sic vive tamquam cras moriturus”

I guess it's possible for both to mean it..Here is the translation I kinda got..

-Dream= SOMNIA or SIC SOMNIA
-as if = TAMQUAM or UT SI
-you'll live = VICTURUS or TIBI VIVENDUM SIT
-forever= SEMPER
-Live = VIVE or SIC VIVE
-as if =TAMQUAM or UT SI
-you'll die=MORITURUS or TIBI MORIENDUM SIT
-tomorrow = CRAS
 
 

Matthaeus

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Yes, you've got the right idea. Canus only provided a literal translation.
 
 

cinefactus

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The intended meaning is obvious.

Somnia does not have the positive meaning of aspire in Latin. You may want to look at this.
 
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