Brief Latin translation assistance

December 18, 2008 9:03 AM

Latin Translation Filter: "Facts are stubborn things."

...the best I can come up with (macrons not included) is.

'veritates destinati sunt"

...though I'm not sure if this captures the sentiment correctly. The sense I'm going for is that of the original context of this quote by John Adams:

Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.

I've consulted Whittaker's Words and a few Latin wordlists out there; the only other good candidates I can find for 'stubborn/obstinate' is 'pervicax/pervicacis' and 'tenax/tenacis'. Am I on the right track here?

(N.B. - this is not for any sort of homework. I'm mulling this over as a potential tattoo)

posted by jquinby to Society & Culture (4 answers total)

The sunt is probably unnecessary.

Unlike English, Latin can leave out the verb in copular sentences — ones meaning "X is Y". Check out, for instance, Ars longa, vita brevis: "Art [is] long-lasting, life [is] short." No ests required.

IANAC IANYC
posted by nebulawindphone at 11:45 AM on December 18, 2008

Response by poster: Ah, good point about the verb. Thanks!
posted by jquinby at 1:53 PM on December 18, 2008

Best answer: It is probably better latinitas to rephrase it as "truth is stubborn," veritas tenax (est). On the other hand, I think I just failed my Latin exam, so get a second opinion before you get it permanently inked on your body.
posted by Electrius at 4:04 PM on December 18, 2008

But why are you taking a perfectly great and robust English phrase and trying to encode it into somewhat pokey Latin? The English means what you think it means, and it has bristling consonant clusters and is in stately iambic meter. Don't screw up what makes it great.
posted by Casuistry at 7:10 AM on December 19, 2008 [3 favorites]