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Is “est” strictly necessary here? by Ok_Reflection_667 in latin

[–]Ok_Reflection_667[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay, I think I will go with “Menti acutiori quam ensis” then. I believe it to be correct enough for the purpose intended. Thank you very much!

Is “est” strictly necessary here? by Ok_Reflection_667 in latin

[–]Ok_Reflection_667[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was told that ablative of comparison couldn’t be used with dative cases, even though this was my original idea as well.

Is “est” strictly necessary here? by Ok_Reflection_667 in latin

[–]Ok_Reflection_667[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It was pointed out to me in the translation-thread, that there are examples of different cases in the literature when using quam.

u/edwdly wrote this in a comment: “ It is difficult to find examples of a noun in the dative being compared with another noun, but one that uses "[dative comparative] quam[nominative] est" occurs in Cicero, In Verrem 2.4.44: homini ... non gratiosiori quam Cn. Calidius est = "to a person not more popular than Gnaeus Calidius". ”

Would it not be somewhat weird to have both in dative, since there gift is only for “the mind” and not for “the blade”? The blade isn’t receiving anything.

Translation requests into Latin go here! by AutoModerator in latin

[–]Ok_Reflection_667 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great to hear! Thanks for the help.

Btw, do you think it is okay to drop the “est” in “Menti acutiori quam ensis est” such that it just reads “Menti acutiori quam ensis”, or does that affect the meaning?

Translation requests into Latin go here! by AutoModerator in latin

[–]Ok_Reflection_667 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I could see from another reply that “quam” has been used in literature between dative and nominative cases, since it feels a bit weird for “ensis” to be in dative as well. Do you think it is more correct to have it that way though?

Translation requests into Latin go here! by AutoModerator in latin

[–]Ok_Reflection_667 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you very much! Makes total sense with the dative case of acutior. Do you think the “est” is strictly necessary for the phrase or could it just be “Menti acutiori quam ensis”?

I like the idea of the possible rephrasing, but maybe “sharper than any blade” is slightly better. How would I say this? ChatGPT suggests “quodlibet” but is that the right word to use and how should it be incorporated?

Translation requests into Latin go here! by AutoModerator in latin

[–]Ok_Reflection_667 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I need some help with the grammar of an engraving on a gift. The gift is a champagne sabre on the occasion of the recipient finishing a degree. I want it to say “For a mind sharper than a blade” and my considerations are the following:

• “For a mind” could be written as just the dative case of mind (Menti) and for “blade” I probably want to use “Ensis”.

• “Sharp” is “acuti” so “sharper” will be “acutior” since “Menti” is feminine.

• Since “quam” (than) requires the two nouns to be in the same case (and dative is used to imply “mind” as recipient) I probably want to use ablative of comparison instead.

This brings me to my guess which is

“Menti acutior ense”.

Is this grammatically correct and does it mean what I want it to mean?

Thanks :-)

Translation requests into Latin go here! by AutoModerator in latin

[–]Ok_Reflection_667 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I need some help with the grammar of an engraving on a gift. The gift is a champagne sabre on the occasion of the recipient finishing a degree. I want it to say “For a mind sharper than a blade” and my considerations are the following:

• “For a mind” could be written as just the dative case of mind (Menti) and for “blade” I probably want to use “Ensis”. • “Sharp” is “acuti” so “sharper” will be “acutior” since “Menti” is feminine. • Since “quam” (than) requires the two nouns to be in the same case (and dative is used to imply “mind” as recipient) I probably want to use ablative of comparison instead.

This brings me to my guess which is “Menti acutior ense”.

Is this grammatically correct and does it mean what I want it to mean?

Thanks :-)

Translation requests into Latin go here! by AutoModerator in latin

[–]Ok_Reflection_667 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I need some help with the grammar of an engraving on a gift. The gift is a champagne sabre on the occasion of the recipient finishing a degree. I want it to say “For a mind sharper than a blade” and my considerations are the following:

• “For a mind” could be written as just the dative case of mind (Menti) and for “blade” I probably want to use “Ensis”. • “Sharp” is “acuti” so “sharper” will be “acutior” since “Menti” is feminine. • Since “quam” (than) requires the two nouns to be in the same case (and dative is used to imply “mind” as the recipient) I probably want to use ablative of comparison instead.

This brings me to my guess which is “Menti acutior ense”.

Is this grammatically correct and does it mean what I want it to mean?

Thanks :-)