I need a Latin translation for "In books, truth, and in truth, monsters."

September 7, 2006 10:54 PM

I need a translation into Latin here. The phrase is: "In books, there is truth, and in truth, there are monsters." I'd like it to be as short and concise as possible, perhaps something like "In books, truth, and in truth, monsters." I'm working on a rather odd story right now, so I may have some more strange questions in the coming weeks. Thanks.
posted by Faint of Butt to Writing & Language (11 answers total)

It would be something like "In libros veritas est; in veritatem monstra sunt". My Latin is a bit rusty though so there may be more elegant ways of expressing this.
posted by greycap at 11:25 PM on September 7, 2006

Actually I've got that wrong - "in" would take the ablative in that phrase, I think. So replace my effort with "in libris veritas est; in veritate monstra sunt".
posted by greycap at 11:39 PM on September 7, 2006

Best answer: You could say it in four ways, each of which change the word order but not the sense:

1. Veritas in libris, monstra in veritate.
2. In libris veritas, in veritate monstra.
3. Veritas in libris, in veritate monstra.
4. In libris veritas, monstra in veritate.

1 and 2 are more elegant (they use chiasmus - the AB-BA balancing that emphasises the two uses of veritas). But all four are correct.
posted by athenian at 11:42 PM on September 7, 2006 [14 favorites]

And, if it counts for anything at all, I like 2 the best.
posted by Jofus at 3:06 AM on September 8, 2006

Response by poster: Thank you muchly. athenian's suggestion #2 is exactly what I was looking for.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:34 AM on September 8, 2006

Yeah, #2 needs to be on a t-shirt or something...
posted by Chorus at 4:22 AM on September 8, 2006

I want to read that story on the strength of that phrase alone.
posted by joedan at 6:18 AM on September 8, 2006

Bah, pipped to the post for best answer again. Ho hum... :)

Any way of posting the story to Projects once it's done? It does sound intriguing.
posted by greycap at 6:27 AM on September 8, 2006

Add my vote to the people wanting to see the monsters!
posted by Jilder at 7:02 AM on September 8, 2006

I know you've already picked a best answer, but let me suggest that instead of "in", you actually might like to use "ex"

Ex libris veritas, ex veritate monstra

This way the phrase conveys the idea that ideas emanate from sources. "From books ideas, from ideas monsters".

It's not as literal as athenian's translation, but I think it's more in keeping with the idea you're trying to convey.
posted by briank at 8:02 AM on September 8, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks, briank, but "in" is what I needed. I should be able to post the story to Projects sometime in November; I'm actually working on it for a proposed anthology, so assuming I'm accepted (cross wood, knock on fingers) I'll have to play by the publisher's rules. But here's hoping it all turns out well. Thank you all for your aid and support.

And as long as I have the floor for some shameless self-promotion, visit MicroHorror.com!
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:31 AM on September 8, 2006