Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
Mighty gods, hearken to my curse!
Latin translation:
Di magni, exaudite imprecationem meam!
Added to glossary by
Joseph Brazauskas
Jul 18, 2008 19:12
15 yrs ago
English term
Mighty gods, hearken to my curse!
English to Latin
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
I'm looking for a Latin phrase that translates into something like "Mighty gods, hearken to my curse!" It's for a fiction story I'm editing, and it's presented as a sort of invocation in the story. You can be a bit creative, as I realize this a pretty specific English phrase. But it gives you the idea.
Many thanks in advance.
Many thanks in advance.
Proposed translations
(Latin)
| 5 +1 | Di magni, exaudite imprecationem meam! |
Joseph Brazauskas
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| 5 | Dii potentes, incantationem meam audite! |
Luciano Eduardo de Oliveira
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Change log
Jul 21, 2008 17:54: Joseph Brazauskas changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/828028">BrettMN's</a> old entry - "Mighty gods, hearken to my curse!"" to ""Di magni, exaudite imprecationem meam!""
Proposed translations
+1
3 hrs
Joseph Brazauskas
United States
United States
Native in English
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When You Want It Done Right
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, Spanish (Variant: Standard-Spain)
Works in: Latin to English, English to Latin, Greek (Ancient) to English, and 23 more.
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24
Selected
Di magni, exaudite imprecationem meam!
'Magni' is a standing epithet of the gods which means 'great, powerful'. Cf., e.g., Ennius, 'Annales', 5.207 Vahlen ('cum magnis dis'), Ibid., 482 ('Saturnia [i.e., Iuno] magna dearum'), Catullus, 53.5 (di magni, salaputium diesrtum!), etc.
'Exaudire' has the force 'hear (favourably)' = 'hearken', as we would say in older English.
'Imprecatio' may mean simply 'prayer' (as in Jerome, 'Epistulae', 130), but far more often it means 'curse, imprecation'.
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Note added at 3 hrs (2008-07-18 23:05:52 GMT)
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Other possible translations of 'curse' are 'maledictum' and 'exsecratio'.
'Exaudire' has the force 'hear (favourably)' = 'hearken', as we would say in older English.
'Imprecatio' may mean simply 'prayer' (as in Jerome, 'Epistulae', 130), but far more often it means 'curse, imprecation'.
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Note added at 3 hrs (2008-07-18 23:05:52 GMT)
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Other possible translations of 'curse' are 'maledictum' and 'exsecratio'.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you for your help!"
3 mins
Luciano Eduardo de Oliveira
Brazil
Brazil
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Brazil
Passionate, reliable
Native in: Portuguese 
Works in: English to Portuguese, German to Portuguese, Dutch to Portuguese, and 8 more.
Dii potentes, incantationem meam audite!
It's not very creative, but at least it's correct.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Gad Kohenov
: Maybe even omnipotentes :))
1 min
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| neutral |
Joseph Brazauskas
: The best orthography has 'di' or 'dei', while 'incantationem' means any 'enchantment' or 'spell', not necessarily a malicious one, i.e., not necessarily a 'curse'./According to the usage of authors of the best period, as witnessed by inscriptions and MSS.
3 hrs
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The best orthography is di or dei according to whom? The fact is that the three were used. I agree, though, with what you said about incantatio, that was the best I could come up at the moment, but that doesn't mean it's wrong.
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