03.05.24: review; birthday plans [5] notes: other points (i)

[1] soleō, solēre [2]: be in the habit of / accustomed to [doing something]

I mentioned in a previous post about the “two steps” to translation

[i] start with the literal:

• Soleō facere pelliculās ... │ I am accustomed to make [= to making films] …; I am in the habit of making films …

There is nothing grammatically wrong with the sentence and it is a common way in Latin of expressing the concept. It is perfectly acceptable English, but it sounds clumsy and old-fashioned.

[ii] Then think about how you would most neatly render it in your own language:

I usually make films …

And the reason I mention this is:

Imagine you saw that translation only at “stage 2”

• Soleō facere pelliculās ... │ I usually make films …

If you’re brand new to Latin, you might think: “OK, soleo means ‘usually’ or, facere means ‘I make’; but they don’t. That’s why it’s crucial to go through the first stage of literal translation.

[2] use of infinitives

The Latin infinitive has multiple uses, some of which involve considerable study. However, there are examples where English and Latin match.

[i] debeō, debēre [2]: owe; must / ought / should

• Quid dēbeō ¦ facere ¦ igitur? │ What, therefore, ought I ¦ to do? What, therefore, do I have ¦ to do?

[ii] possum, posse [irr.]: be able

• Sed nōn possum hoc ¦ vītāre. │ But I cannot avoid this. I am not able ¦ to avoid ¦ this.

[iii] oportet: it is necessary / proper

Again, a similar example of the “two step” translation:

Oportet by itself does not refer to anybody in particular

• oportet ¦ cūrāre ¦ et mentem et corpus │ it is necessary ¦ to take care of ¦ (one’s) mind and body = You need to take care of … (but not addressing anybody in particular i.e. like the French pronouns on or man)

It can, however, be used with pronouns to refer to a specific person:

• oportet nōs patriam ¦ amāre │Literally: it is appropriate / proper for us ¦ to love ¦ the country = We ought ¦ to love ¦ or we should love the country.

Caesarī ¦ tē oportet ¦ adsistere (Vulgate) │ You must ¦ stand ¦ before Caesar!

[iv] facile est: it’s easy

• nōn est facile ¦ exercēre ¦ mentem │ It isn’t easy ¦ to train ¦ the mind.

[v] coepī: I began

• coepī ¦ currere │ I started / began ¦ to run; I started running.

[image] the famous quotation showing a match between English and Latin in the use of the infintive:

• Errāre hūmānum est, persevērāre autem diabolicum. │To err is human, but to persist [in error] is diabolical.