Latin and Family Mottos

Re: translation 'i am god'

Posted By: Cornelius
Date: Wednesday, 22 June 2005, at 12:59 p.m.

In Response To: translation 'i am god' (aaron)

'Ego sum dei' is just plain wrong.
'Ego sum deus' is technically correct, but the use of the word "ego" is superfluous and unnatural, since the verb already contains this information - it should only be used for strong contrast ("You are not Caesar, but I am").
"Sum deus" is actually enough, and the form "Deus sum" should be preferred considering the natural Latin word order. Of course, since Latin lacks definite of indefinite articles, "Deus sum" can mean "I am God" or "I am a god". The latter is more sensible. If you want to lay more weight on the phrase, you might resort to "Ego sum deus" after all, in the sense of " -I- am God (whereas -You- are not)". This is a bit unnatural, however. Nevertheless, considering the degraded and contorted Latin used by the Church for many centuries, no-one will notice.

Messages In This Thread

translation 'i am god'
aaron -- Wednesday, 18 May 2005, at 7:12 a.m.

Re: translation 'i am god'
Cornelius -- Wednesday, 22 June 2005, at 12:59 p.m.

Re: translation 'i am god'
Craig -- Saturday, 23 July 2005, at 12:29 p.m.