Te quaeso...

July 9, 2009 1:32 PM

Elementary Latin Filter: We'd like to thank a priest... in Latin.

My Latin is really shaky, but I've gotten as far as "maximas tibi gratias agimus." At least I think that's right. I'd also like to say, "We wish you all the best." Would "omnia bona precamur" work, or do I have the wrong verb?


Gratias maximas in advance.

posted by Spinneret to Writing & Language (6 answers total)

Assuming it's a Catholic priest (Latin, priest, etc.), I'd just steal from the Gloria and have the liturgical allusion that way: gratias agimus tibi. Maybe you could even work in the rest of the line from the Gloria somehow, but riff on it? E.g., gratias agimus tibi propter magnam magnaniman tuam, or something like that?
posted by resurrexit at 1:48 PM on July 9, 2009

If you want to be cute about it, face away from him when you do it.

Little pre-Vatican II joke there...
posted by inturnaround at 1:49 PM on July 9, 2009

Fantastic, guys! And inturnaround, I think that would be pretty funny. We may do it.
posted by Spinneret at 1:59 PM on July 9, 2009

Maximas tibi gratias agimus is great for 'thank you very much'. My first thought on 'we wish you all the best' (which isn't a very Classical Latin idea, at any rate) is either something like benedicat te deus ('God bless you') or cura ut valeas ('fare well', 'be well'), or the definitely Roman and not Ecclesiastical di te ament ('may the gods be favorably disposed to you').
posted by lysimache at 3:40 PM on July 9, 2009

Yeah, I wouldn't say "Di te ament" to a Catholic priest any more than I would say "Go with Christ" to a Jew. Otherwise, I think lysimache has it.
posted by languagehat at 4:50 PM on July 9, 2009

Oh, yeah, yeah, don't actually *say* that di te ament to the priest! I just think it's how a Roman might express the same sentiment (always the trick with translating).
posted by lysimache at 5:05 PM on July 9, 2009