Poor in spirit

August 11, 2013 1:15 PM

This will seem like an obnoxious question, but I have my reasons. Would "Beati meretrices" be a grammatically accurate Latin translation of "Blessed are the whores"?
posted by outlandishmarxist to Education (6 answers total)

Sounds solid to me. It mirrors the phrasing of the Vulgate's version, anyway ("beati pauperes spiritu quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum," etc.).
posted by Oxydude at 1:23 PM on August 11, 2013

Best answer: meretrices is feminine, so it should be beatae meretrices.
posted by dd42 at 1:28 PM on August 11, 2013 [3 favorites]

seconding dd42!
posted by Theophylactic at 1:40 PM on August 11, 2013

Best answer: Beatae meretrices, since ii is nominative and plural.
posted by francesca too at 1:44 PM on August 11, 2013

Wouldn't there need to be a "sunt" somewhere?

"Beatae meretrices sunt"?
posted by ditto75 at 8:34 PM on August 11, 2013

Best answer: The sunt is implied — it's not strictly necessary to have a verb in a valid Latin sentence.
posted by stopgap at 9:53 PM on August 11, 2013 [4 favorites]