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  2. Latin to English

mors ante infamia

English translation: More or less, yes

17:00 Jan 26, 2004
Latin to English translations [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary
Latin term or phrase: mors ante infamia
does this mean the same thing as malo mori quam foedari
Brian Smith
English translation:More or less, yes
Explanation:
They are both naturally translated as "death before dishonour", although the Latin wording is different.
Selected response from:

Chris Rowson (X)
Local time: 17:57
Grading comment
Graded automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +6More or less, yes
Chris Rowson (X)
5 +2I'd rather die than be disgraced
Luca Bassini
4 +2It embodies "to die without revealing secrets and to go to the grave without betraying trusts"
dawn39 (X)


  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +6
More or less, yes


Explanation:
They are both naturally translated as "death before dishonour", although the Latin wording is different.

Chris Rowson (X)
Local time: 17:57
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 49
Grading comment
Graded automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Pierre POUSSIN: Yes. Motto of Brittany: "Potius mori quam foedari!"
5 mins
agree  verbis
9 mins
agree  Cristina Moldovan do Amaral
21 mins
agree  Will Matter
45 mins
agree  dawn39 (X): yes, "more or less". Have a nice week, Chris :)
3 hrs
  -> Thank you, you too :-)
agree  JessicaC
16 hrs
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29 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
I'd rather die than be disgraced


Explanation:
The meanings are similar but "Malo...foederari" is a more complex sentence.

Luca Bassini
Italy
Local time: 17:57
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Will Matter: more colloquial but acceptable.
22 mins
agree  dawn39 (X): I like it, as well. Cheers! :)
2 hrs
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
It embodies "to die without revealing secrets and to go to the grave without betraying trusts"


Explanation:
Hi, Brian.
I have realized that you were the same asker on Dec 8 2003 (pair "English-Latin").Sorry...
You can see that I have hidden my answer.

This motto is the simplest way to translate an idea.
I think that both expressions mean the same, "more or less", as Chris has answered, but if you know the origin of this motto, you can realize that it embodies something more...
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
Here is the origin of this motto.
Hope you like it...

"Even in the "Book of the Fallen", the official Auror record of every death of their own while on active duty, there was no date. There was no cause of death, even, for they did not really know. It was the one name in the book for which there hadn't even been the mangled parts of a body found or a witness to the end; yet all the same, Sirius Black had become the epitome of how an Auror should die. *Their motto was simple*:
*"Mors Ante Infamia"*.
It embodied what they were, everything they prayed to be or do:
**to die without revealing secrets and to go to the grave without betraying trusts**.
In simpler terms:
*** "Death Before Dishonor."
It was an age-old axiom, but tragic stories like Sirius Black's drove home THE TRUTH INHERENT in the Auror's ancient maxim. In the end, Bill only hoped he could be so strong".
=========================
"Malo mori quam foedari"

"The index to mottoes in the 4th ed. of Fairbairn's "Book of Crests"
(1905, reprinted 1968) attributes this motto, meaning **"I would rather die than be dishonored"** to more than 30
surnames in addition to the Jackson
that Mr. Masters suggested".
==================
"Latin Mottoes from 16th-century sources -
- Malo mori quam foedari.
- *I prefer to die than to be dishonoured*.

www.shipbrook.com/jeff/mottoes.html
===========================
So,in my opinion, if one doesn´t know the origin, this motto could be translated as...

- "Death before dishonor (USA)/
dishonour"
- "Death before infamy" (???)
- "I would rather die than be dishonored"
- "I prefer to die than to be dishonoured".
=====================
Good luck!
:)



    Reference: http://www.thedarkarts.org/authors/robinlady/PU11.html
    palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/ exlibris/2000/06/msg00200.html
dawn39 (X)
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in pair: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Chris Rowson (X): Aha!
14 mins
  -> thanks, Chris! An "aha!" from you is very rewarding, indeed :)))
agree  Krzysztof Laskowski: But for God's sake, if this Latin sentence is to be correct, it has to sound: mors ante infamiam!
4 days
  -> you are right: "ante" + Acusative, but perhaps there is a reason to say "infamia" instead. Thanks and have a good day :)
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