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Sapiens dominabitur astris

English translation: The wise man will rule the stars

19:39 Jul 18, 2008
Latin to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Latin term or phrase: Sapiens dominabitur astris
Is "Sapiens dominabitur astris" even correct/grammatical Latin? I hear that it is a phrase used by a mystical society (and the exact phrase gets 4000 or so hits on Google), but a proofreader who knows Latin says it's incorrect and should be "Sapientes dominabuntur astris" (to mean "The wise shall have dominion over the stars").

My question: Which one is right? And if the first one is wrong, why has no one corrected this mystical group all these years! (That last question I know is rhetorical, really.)

Thanks much in advance.
BrettMN
Local time: 13:22
English translation:The wise man will rule the stars
Explanation:
I think you could translate it in this way too.
In addition, I'm agree with Anders Dalstrom who says both phrases are almost identical.
Selected response from:

grazy73
Local time: 14:22
Grading comment
Thank you for all of your help!! For this situation, I'm using the gender-neutral "person." Not to be PC, it just fits the story I'm working on better. Thanks again!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +4The wise man will rule the stars
grazy73
5 -1The wise man will lord it over the stars.
Joseph Brazauskas
3The wise man will be under the rule of stars
Guido5 (X)
3The wise man will prevail over stars (influence)
Nicoletta Degli Innocenti
3 -1A wise man can rule the stars
Gad Kohenov


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
A wise man can rule the stars


Explanation:
Sapiens dominabitur astris. A wise man can rule the stars.
I think this is the correct rendering.

Gad Kohenov
Israel
Local time: 21:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench, Native in HebrewHebrew

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Anders Dalström: I'd say both phrases are correct/almost identical. The first one is the future third person singular and the second is the future third person plural. That's the only difference between the two. And it's a deponent verb.
6 mins
  -> Thanks a lot. You are right about the singular/plural.
neutral  Olga Cartlidge: To be more precise - Where does ''can'' come from ? It seems to be a fairly straightforward use of Ind Futuri. // ...I assumed it was your own translation : - ))
6 mins
  -> I guess they translated is so as to sound good in English
disagree  Joseph Brazauskas: As Olga points out, there is no concept of 'can' in the Latin.
1 day 20 hrs
disagree  dolorespark: No concepts of 'can'?!? Non possum credere!
907 days
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
The wise man will rule the stars


Explanation:
I think you could translate it in this way too.
In addition, I'm agree with Anders Dalstrom who says both phrases are almost identical.

grazy73
Local time: 14:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you for all of your help!! For this situation, I'm using the gender-neutral "person." Not to be PC, it just fits the story I'm working on better. Thanks again!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Olga Cartlidge: I would however put the indefinite article here i.e. A wise / thinking man.
3 mins
  -> Thank you!
agree  Joseph Brazauskas
1 hr
  -> Thank you!
agree  matmcv (X): Will more accurate than can; agree with Olga re A v. The; sapiens could also be female
3 hrs
  -> Thank you!
agree  Nicoletta Degli Innocenti
20 hrs
  -> Thank you!
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22 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
The wise man will prevail over stars (influence)


Explanation:
The phrase is correct... although dominor is more commonly used with "in+ablative" or "in+accusative" the sense is clear...
I think all the translations proposed are correct but IMHO "prevail" is somewhat closer: the stars have some influence on our destiny, they have some power, but a wise man can be stronger and overcome this power (IMHO "to rule" in this case does not exactly fit: the wise man does not "rule" the stars, but his own destiny)


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Note added at 22 hrs (2008-07-19 18:12:59 GMT)
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By the way, if you do not like the gender specification, you could say: The wise will prevail/will rule over the stars"

Nicoletta Degli Innocenti
Local time: 20:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  matmcv (X): Not sure Nicoletta, have you seen (e.g. via Googling) references to "Fata regunt reges..."? "The fates rule kings, a wise person will master the stars." I suppose "prevail over" is close...
8 hrs
  -> Yes I have seen them... probably you are right; I was thinking about something in the line of "Astra inclinant, non necessitant" as common in Middle Ages. As per your citation, the origin is unknown but this does not look like classical Latin
neutral  Joseph Brazauskas: It found as commonly with inter = acc., the plain abl., the gen., and various object clauses.
22 hrs
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9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -1
The wise man will lord it over the stars.


Explanation:
Here the simple future indicative-'dominabitur'-is used with almost concessive force to emphasise something inevitiable, or at least unpleanst

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Note added at 11 hrs (2008-07-19 06:53:42 GMT)
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'Dominor' requires a dative of indirect object, even when an accusative seems called for in English; it constitutes, therefore, one of the so-called 'intransitive verbs with transitive force', (i.e., transitive force in the English but not the Latin sense), like 'cunctor' + an acc. in post-clasical Latin.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 11 hrs (2008-07-19 07:00:42 GMT)
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There is no intimaton of 'can', which is not expressed by the accusative without a preposition, and so has no plae in renering tisd nor any other, without

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Note added at 11 hrs (2008-07-19 07:05:12 GMT)
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more specific indications, such as temporal adverbs, which latter have begun to yield in the modern speech.

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Note added at 1 day20 hrs (2008-07-20 16:36:41 GMT)
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Cicero (Academica, 2.41) says 'Cleanthes, qui quasi maiorum est gentium Stoicus, Zenonis auditor, solem dominari et rerum potiri putat', Virgil (Georgics, 1.153f.) says 'interque nitentia culta//infelix lolium et steriles dominantur avenae', and Ovid (Metamorphoses, 7.552f.) 'pervenit ad miseros damno graviore colonos/pestis et in magnae dominatur moenibus urbis'. It is dubious at best whether the sun, the cosmos, darnel, oats, and a city are "sentient beings", and in all the passages just quoted 'lord it' is a viable rendering; in fact, at least one distinguished translator found it so.

Joseph Brazauskas
United States
Local time: 14:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 36

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  matmcv (X): Joseph, you cannot "lord it over" stars, only sentient beings (humans, maybe animals) because it requires petty pride in the subject knowing the object knows it is being lorded over./I don't know what you mean by that.
6 hrs
  -> The primary meaning of 'dominor' is 'lord it over, be lord and master of'; cf. Lewis & Short s.v. All its secondary meanings derive from this fundamental one./Then Cicero, Ovid, and Virgil must have been poor Latinists. Cf. my note.
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939 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
The wise man will be under the rule of stars


Explanation:
dominabitur is a passive form, so the wise man [also] will be dominated by stars.


    Reference: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=dominabitur&la=l...
Guido5 (X)
Local time: 20:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian
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