Latin... can anyone translate 5 words for me please?

[yogabird]

The ordinary comprehensive that I attended didn't do Latin and it would be a big help if someone out there knew how to translate this and was willing to help...

'one's best in all things'

oh blimey, I can't do it that way round, sorry!

Thanks Mercy

i just logged on to a site on google and it came up with this:

optimus in totus res

does that sound right or is it just a machine generated piece of nonsense?

optimus in totus sounds about right (not sure about the res part)

Actually I think res means things?

Sorry, it was a long time ago! If no-one else can help I can ask my mum who did Latin at a much higher level than me

yes res means things

only did Latin GCSE tho

Matella est mater and grumio the horny slave - remember him???

DH reckons it is:

optimus in omnibus rebus sum

ego sum polyspaston is all I remember and I think even that is spelt wrong! Good luck

You could try 'optime in omnibus'. However, what that really means is 'best at everything', whereas I suspect you want to say 'to do one's best at everything', for which I'd offer 'in omnibus operam dare'. Translating idioms from one language to another is hard, and English to Latin translation was always my worst subject, so I won't be surprised if there's still a mistake lingering in those.

I would have gone for "optime in omnibus" myself as well. As philomytha says, the translations of idioms are always tricky and can never be an exact science. I am always wary of translating the word "things" too literally as English uses the idea much more than other languages and I think optime in omnibus conveys what you want. Ph's other suggestions using opera (lit. "works") also good.

Disclaimer - I haven't studied latin for ages either so could be wrong.

Asdmum - I remember that! Did you did "ecce romani" by any chance? Very eighties but quite sweet.

I would say "optime in omnibus" I think. God I used to know this stuff

I suppose I'd tend to see "totus" as being more "the entirity" iykwim, while omnibus is more "everything". I THINK optimus refers to the gentry . I don't think I'd put res in there. Could be very wrong though as its nearly decades since I did this stuff.

I like " 'in omnibus operam dare'" , it has that latiny school motto sound to it too

But am still not sure about omnibus, even in that sentance

Am struggling to remember here, am off to see if there is an online translation thingy, surely there must be!

'optimus in omnibus sum' means 'I am the best in all things'.

If what you want is 'one ought to make an effort in all things, then either Philomena's suggestion; or 'in omnibus eniti' or 'in omnibus enitendum'. Of the two last 'in omnibus eniti' means 'to strive in all things', 'in omnibus enitendum' means 'one ought to strive in all things'.

(no no no I am not sure about OPTIMUS not OMNIBUS. Omnibus is ok. Optimus I think is a rich free aristocrat?

I shall away for clarification now)

wouldn't it be optime meum in omnes?

I thought omnibus was 'belonging to all?'

you need the 'my' best to get the sense of trying, but not necessarily being best.

it's quite hard, this, isn't it?

'in omnes' would mean 'into all people'; in when it's followed by the accusative denotes direction

and 'optime' is an adverb, so you can't use it with the possessive

nothing wrong with 'in omnibus'. 'in' is followed by the ablative which makes it denote 'location'; 'omnibus' can quite happily stand for 'all things'- and 'in omnibus' is indeed the sort of expression one finds in this context

agree with Fillyjonk that 'optimus' is weaker. It means 'the best', 'not one's best'; so it conveys the sense that the speaker thinks he is the best; rather than that one should do one's best

I think 'in omnibus enitendum' has a good ring to it

missed cory's. She sounds as though she knows what she's talkin g about. Damn.

That's odd, though, that enitere/are doesn't seem to give us any English words.

the infinitive is 'eniti'; it's a deponent ('enitor'); can't think of an English word derived from it

sorry, I'll stop now. Can't believe I'm doing this on a Sunday

this is hard because it trying to get the sense of it, a literal translation does not, I think, work.

cory, are you sure optime is an adverb? I thought it was basically latin for excellent.

I am off to find justification for my minority belief that optimus is a person

'in omnibus operam dare' actually doesn't have a "best" in it, does it?

it is (very roughly) "in/to everything give work"

in omnibus operum optiumum dare? to everything give the best work?

though that may be wrong as I cannot really remember about participles and stuff

your thinking of Optimus Prime, filly. From Transformers "Robots IN Disguise"

It's SEPTIMUS!

Fillyjonk on Sun 07-Dec-08 11:06:24

"cory, are you sure optime is an adverb? I thought it was basically latin for excellent."

Absolutely sure. 'Optimus' (or optima in the feminine, optimum in the neuter) is the adjective; it's the superlative form of bonus (good). Take away the case ending and add an -e and you get the adverb. Normal way of forming adverbs of 1st/2nd declension adjectives.

am not sure whether you can use 'optimus' with 'operam dare'; in any case it would have to be 'operam optimam'

oh, and the aristocratic person you're thinking of is an optimas (hence the optimates). It is of course derived from optimus, but is a separate noun

Semper superne nitens
always striving?

superne means 'from above'; was that the meaning you intended?

at onebat

actually you are probably right, that IS what I am thinking of, lol.

yeah I can't really remember where the vowels all go to will bow to your knowlege here, cory

(um...have we driven the OP away?

come back yogabird I want to know WHY you need to translate this passage into latin!)