For a motto, that is.
How would one render "All men are brothers" into Latin?
The modern sensibility would be something like "All people are family"
Thanks!
J
John Mck;70701 wrote:
For a motto, that is.
How would one render "All men are brothers" into Latin?
The modern sensibility would be something like "All people are family"
Thanks!
J
Omnes fratri sunt?
John Mck;70701 wrote:
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How would one render "All men are brothers" into Latin?
The modern sensibility would be something like "All people are family"
Jay’s literal translation looks to be correct but I have learned that proper Latin is never quite so easy.
What you thought would be a more modern version of the motto is quite shallow, rather like Miss America wishing for world peace. Why pair such a trite motto with your well designed arms? Spend more time and effort to find a motto that is as original as your arms.
If you do want "All men are brothers" as a motto (and I tend to agree with David that it’s a bit trite), why not just use it in English? Latin mottoes make sense if they are quotations from something that was originally written in Latin, but otherwise they’re sort of pretentious, don’t you think? Unless there’s a really good reason.
The practice reminds me of Addison’s essay on Italian operas (Spectator 18): "our great-grandchildren will be very curious to know the reason why their forefathers used to sit together like an audience of foreigners in their own country, and to hear whole plays acted before them in a tongue which they did not understand."
Jay Bohn;70703 wrote:
Omnes fratri sunt?
Close, but the case is wrong. Both nouns should be in the nominative: Omnes fratres sunt, or any arrangement thereof. One could additionally throw in homines for something closer to your original thought. If you’re so inclined, you could also go with a less elegant construction such as Omnes nostri fratres sunt ("All of us are brothers"), though this a perfect example of the joke that everything sounds better in Latin even if it really just says something completely banal.
Dcgb7f;70714 wrote:
. . . though this a perfect example of the joke that everything sounds better in Latin even if it really just says something completely banal.
Semper ubi sub ubi
Thanks for the feedback!
Considering that mottoes are more-or less optional, and this motto would be my father’s, (In whose name they will be registered) I might just postpone it for the time being. I’ve contacted HGW and will be sending in the information hopefully fairly quickly, and I don’t believe they require mottoes. If Dad is dead-set on a motto, I’ll go with whatever translation he wants, but the heraldic enthusiasm is mostly mine anyways
In the long run I will probably register something else (as a motto) in my own name at the USHR, along with perhaps a badge.