X-Message-Number: 17145
Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2001 21:24:10 -0500 (CDT)
From: Eivind Berge <>
Subject: Avoiding death in Latin

Kennita Watson asks:

> Would the proper [Latin] translation of "Avoid death." be "Evit
> mortem.",  "Evite mortem.", or something else?

You are right to make "mortem" accusative, since it is the direct
object, but the verb is wrong. Singular present active imperative
of "evito," a verb of the first conjugation, is identical to the
present stem, and the plural is formed by adding -te to this. So
the imperative would be "evita mortem" (singular) or "evitate
mortem" (plural; used when addressing more than one person).
However, it might be more proper to use the subjunctive mood
here, thus expressing the wish that people avoid or shun death,
rather than giving them an order. Present subjunctive of first
conjugation verbs is formed by changing the stem vowel from -a-
to -e-, followed by the usual indicative personal endings:

evites mortem = may you avoid/shun death
evitetis morem = may y'all avoid death
evitet mortem = may he/she/it avoid death
evitemus mortem = let us shun death
evitem mortem = let me avoid death
evitent mortem = let them avoid death

This is known as the "jussive" (or "hortatory") subjunctive, which
is one of the few cases where the subjunctive is employed in an
independent clause rather than a subordinate clause. It is rarely
used in the second person, however, so the imperative might not
be so inappropriate there after all.

And speaking of immortalist quotes in Latin, here's one by
Horace:

"non omnis moriar" = I shall not altogether die

If you on the other hand are a deathist, here's one for you by
Petronius:

"abiit ad plures" = he's gone to join the majority

This isn't Latin, but too cute to leave out. It turns out John
Donne was a cryonicist:

"One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death thou shalt die."

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